My 1001 Albums Journey

Album	You	Global	Diff
Opus Dei	5	2.39	+2.61
Space Ritual	5	2.68	+2.32
Jack Takes the Floor	5	2.71	+2.29
Vincebus Eruptum	5	2.8	+2.2
E.V.O.L.	5	2.89	+2.11
When I Was Born For The 7th Time	5	2.91	+2.09
Beach Samba	5	2.92	+2.08
Psychocandy	5	2.94	+2.06
Call of the Valley	5	2.95	+2.05
Reign In Blood	5	2.96	+2.04

Album	You	Global	Diff
Hybrid Theory	1	3.38	-2.38
Legalize It	1	3.07	-2.07
Untitled (Black Is)	1	3.05	-2.05
Spiderland	1	2.97	-1.97
Ill Communication	2	3.65	-1.65
Out Of The Blue	2	3.64	-1.64
Idlewild	1	2.57	-1.57
Calenture	1	2.55	-1.55
Blood Sugar Sex Magik	2	3.51	-1.51
Blackstar	2	3.48	-1.48

Artist	Albums	Average
R.E.M.	4	5
Led Zeppelin	4	5
Black Sabbath	3	5
Creedence Clearwater Revival	3	5
Frank Sinatra	3	5
Bob Dylan	5	4.4
The Rolling Stones	4	4.5
David Bowie	9	4.11
Fela Kuti	2	5
Deep Purple	2	5
The White Stripes	2	5
Stevie Wonder	2	5
Aretha Franklin	2	5
Sonic Youth	2	5
Marvin Gaye	2	5
Jimi Hendrix	2	5
Miles Davis	2	5
Van Halen	2	5
Radiohead	5	4.2
Johnny Cash	3	4.33
Bruce Springsteen	3	4.33
Beck	3	4.33
The Beach Boys	3	4.33
Beatles	5	4

Artist	Ratings
Lou Reed	5, 2
The Who	5, 4, 2, 3

Live!

Fela Kuti

5/5

October 5 2023 Good - loved the energy

Hunky Dory

David Bowie

5/5

A classic. Listened on 10/7/23

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Fatboy Slim

3/5

Fine. Good time capsule of the era. Repetitive but ok as dancing or background music. Can see why people get high to listen to it.

Since I Left You

The Avalanches

3/5

One of those albums that doesn't sound that breakthrough now but then you remember it came out in 2000 and realize that it had a big impact.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John

5/5

Jazz Samba

Stan Getz

4/5

Dire Straits

4/5

The White Album

Beatles

3/5

I know it’s a revolutionary (haha) album but it’s not the most listenable thing and has a lot silliness that feels like what a band who can do anything would do. The high points are amazing.

Country Life

Roxy Music

4/5

A very good album that can be listened to over and over again, but what is interesting about compared to other "classic albums" of that era is that there aren't any particularly stand-out popular songs. It isn't like listening to, say, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, and then you realize there are a lot of "big and popular" songs on there but also the lesser-known stuff is great. In this case, everything is "lesser known" but that doesn't take away from the quality of it.

Tonight's The Night

Neil Young

3/5

Deja Vu

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

5/5

Sign 'O' The Times

Prince

4/5

Graceland

Paul Simon

5/5

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

5/5

a great balance of well known songs and lesser known ones that are just as well crafted. Never would have listened to it other than this recommendation.

Boy In Da Corner

Dizzee Rascal

2/5

Post Orgasmic Chill

Skunk Anansie

5/5

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

3/5

Eliminator

ZZ Top

5/5

Transformer

Lou Reed

5/5

So many good songs that clearly have inspired so many others.

Elephant Mountain

The Youngbloods

4/5

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

TV On The Radio

4/5

1999

Prince

4/5

Machine Head

Deep Purple

5/5

Ace of Spades

Motörhead

5/5

Nixon

Lambchop

4/5

Really interesting listen. I wasn't familiar with it. and will likely add to my collection

Repeater

Fugazi

4/5

Not a big "noise rock" fan but when I give it enough time it kind of grows on me. I can see where people can really get into it.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

5/5

Parachutes

Coldplay

4/5

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

5/5

Damn that's a good album. Start to finish. Iconic songs that have stood the test of time, and have made the full round from being cool to being "dad rock" uncool to being simply timeless.

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

4/5

Play

Moby

4/5

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

5/5

One of the original - if not THE original - "outlaw country" albums.

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles

5/5

I think it is kind of hard to appreciate how good and breakthrough early Beatles work was when it came through. Now it sounds like so much that has come after it that maybe it feels classic but maybe a little dated. But then you realize that that’s because it changed everything - the top albums in the US before the Beatles hit were from broadway soundtracks, Andy Williams, and the Singing Nun. In that context this is mind blowing music that is still great today but even more amazing given how much it transformed pop music. This came out in 1964… the first Black Sabbath album came out in 1970.

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Megadeth

5/5

Dry

PJ Harvey

3/5

Ingenue

k.d. lang

4/5

Back At The Chicken Shack

Jimmy Smith

5/5

Love me some Jimmy Smith!!

Elephant

The White Stripes

5/5

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground

5/5

Still a wonderfully intriguing and subversive album.

Another Music In A Different Kitchen

Buzzcocks

4/5

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam & The Ants

3/5

Liquid Swords

GZA

3/5

Parklife

Blur

4/5

Interesting listening to this after Adam Ant, as you can hears echoes of it

Low-Life

New Order

4/5

Dummy

Portishead

4/5

The Good, The Bad & The Queen

3/5

it's fine. I would listen to it again, but not make an effort to do it.

If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

The Mamas & The Papas

4/5

Some classic songs on there

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

one of my favorite hip hop/rap albums I've ever listened to

Darklands

The Jesus And Mary Chain

4/5

Cloud Nine

The Temptations

5/5

Listened to it three times!

Legalize It

Peter Tosh

1/5

I really don't like reggae. I listened to this album and it felt like one long song.

Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.

4/5

Teen Dream

Beach House

4/5

Added

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

5/5

Iron Man, Paranoid and War Pigs all on this one album. It sets the prototype for heavy metal, yet there’s some weird soft songs too.

Ten

Pearl Jam

5/5

Stone cold classic

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

4/5

I think this is often referred to as "the White Album" of hip-hop and I agree. And in fact, I would say that the best songs on "Speakerboxx/The Love Below are actually stronger than the best songs on "The White Album" while many of the tracks are experimental, sometimes with interesting results, sometimes not, but generally rewards deep listening and consideration. Even though the biggest hits are pop radio standards, it isn't an "easy listening" album, not if you want to get the most out of it at least.

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

5/5

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

5/5

A true classic. Just ignore the murderer in the title.

Paris 1919

John Cale

4/5

Rings Around The World

Super Furry Animals

5/5

Has long been one of my favorites

Scissor Sisters

5/5

How did I not experience them before?

Made In Japan

Deep Purple

5/5

Nilsson Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson

5/5

Jack Takes the Floor

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

5/5

Could t find the actual album but listened to a bunch of other stuff

Murmur

R.E.M.

5/5

Awesome 80s alt rock

Born To Run

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

If aliens came down and asked “what is rock and roll?” I think a good place to start would be to play the song “Born to Run.” I’m not saying it is the best rock song ever. I’m not saying Bruce is the ultimate rock artist (I’m not even that big of a fan) but that song - and arguably this album - is just about pure of a distillation of rock and roll as you can get. Motors as euphemism about sex and talking about freedom felt while driving (or sex). The sound of it. Everything.

The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails

5/5

Still is a breakthrough piece that disturbs and fascinates while still entertaining.

Smash

The Offspring

4/5

It holds up remarkably well all these years later as a fun rocking album

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

3/5

Solid. Some great songs. Not one you NEED to hear. Just listen to the popular songs

The Specials

4/5

Interesting. Can hear their influence in many places.

Odessa

Bee Gees

3/5

It’s an ok album with no songs that are recognizable hits. It’s amazing that it comes from The Bee Gees as the band that I found myself comparing it to the most is The Fleet Foxes. Which I guess makes sense as the music is mellow with a lot of harmonizing. Also, is it just me, or does “The British Opera” melody sound an awful lot like the theme for The Polar Express?”

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

5/5

Damn this was great. Added to my collection.

Crosby, Stills & Nash

5/5

Elvis Is Back

Elvis Presley

4/5

That's The Way Of The World

Earth, Wind & Fire

4/5

Rain Dogs

Tom Waits

3/5

I keep trying Tom Waits. I feel like I should like him more, as I enjoy interesting songwriting sung by different and interesting voices. But it just never connects with me. I will keep trying though.

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin

5/5

Some of the most overplayed classic rock songs ever. And for damn good reason.

Fleet Foxes

5/5

A timeless album that I think will age incredibly well

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

3/5

Don’t feel like I HAD to hear this. It isn’t ahead of its time or secretly better than the things it sounds like. It isn’t bad and I enjoyed it but it didn’t surprise me either.

We're Only In It For The Money

The Mothers Of Invention

4/5

such an interesting thing to listen to here in 2024. It still feels subversive and some of the songs are actually good and listenable, but it is really more of an experiment and experience. The needling of the culture at the time is brilliant and much of it still holds up today. It isn’t an easy or fun listen so it’s not necessarily enjoyable but oddly, that is exactly what makes it enjoyable - you’re belong challenged and if you are willing to listen and read the lyrics and appreciate the time and place this came out it is rewarding.

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

5/5

It’s a great album that has timeless songs on it though the overall album is probably overshadowed by the three big hits: “Brown Sugar” “Wild Horses” and “Can’t you hear me knocking” - those are so well known and heard so much it almost lessens the rest of the material, which is still incredibly strong and vital. I mean if you had to explain the idea of “guitar riff” in rock, you’d be just fine choosing the opening few seconds of “Brown Sugar” and “Can’t you hear me knocking.” It’s like “oh, right that’s why Richards is amazing. Got it.” Also, this may be the first time I’ve ever truly and deeply listened to the words to Brown Sugar. Oh my.

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

5/5

It’s amazing how vital and current this album still sounds. Lyrically and musically.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

2/5

I continue to find the Red Hot Chili Peppers to be underwhelming for my tastes. I think they have some fantastic musicians and would probably like them better as an instrumental band. But Anthony’s voice is just kind of dull and the lyrics are lackluster to me. Most of it comes off to me as a really strong high school or college level band - which isn’t an insult, and the can be fun to listen to - but it does surprise me that they are as huge as they are, and I can’t get on that train.

Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3/5

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

3/5

I don’t know if I HAD to hear it but it grew on me a bit.

Don't Stand Me Down

Dexys Midnight Runners

3/5

Hate the low volume level mixes on parts. Takes you out of the album.

Vulnicura

Björk

3/5

I always find albums like this intriguing. They aren't unlistenable, but I also don't find them particularly engaging or entertaining. It is pleasant, and I think the production is brilliant, and some of the songwriting is powerful if purposefully dense. I enjoyed listening to it, and did so twice, but don't envision myself going back to it again. It's probably brilliant, but just not my think.

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Arctic Monkeys

4/5

Solid rock album with a few stand out catchy tunes.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

4/5

São Paulo Confessions

Suba

4/5

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

5/5

E.V.O.L.

Sonic Youth

5/5

They always amaze me both in terms of talent and when they were doing this - a decade ahead of the rest of music

Songs From A Room

Leonard Cohen

4/5

Electric

The Cult

4/5

Always forget how much I enjoy the cult

S&M

Metallica

3/5

Love the symphony. Love Metallica. It is interesting to listen to them together but not sure it adds that much.

Moon Safari

Air

5/5

Surprisingly good and entertaining. Will be adding to my collection

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns

Joni Mitchell

4/5

Nevermind

Nirvana

4/5

Hot take: the first six songs (Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, Breed, Lithium, Polly) is really what people think of when they praise this album. And for those songs, the praise is well-deserved. The second half of the album (Territorial Pissings through Endless, Nameless)? I think that's largely interchangable pop-punk that wouldn't have had nearly the impact that the first half had. Not saying it's bad - just not nearly the level that the first six songs are.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Byrds

3/5

It’s fine. Enjoyable listen but nothing that drew me in heavily.

Throwing Muses

3/5

Couldn’t find the original album listened to a bunch of other stuff.

The Libertines

4/5

Solid.

Tracy Chapman

5/5

The songwriting… some of the best ever

New Forms

Roni Size

3/5

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Bruce Springsteen

3/5

Lazer Guided Melodies

Spiritualized

2/5

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

4/5

California

American Music Club

3/5

With The Beatles

Beatles

4/5

Rapture

Anita Baker

3/5

A time capsule of 80s smooth r&b

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

4/5

A time capsule of 80s smooth r&b

Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

5/5

Back to Basics

Christina Aguilera

4/5

Better than I expected

Django Django

4/5

Really good album I wasn’t familiar with

Licensed To Ill

Beastie Boys

3/5

The cultural impact of the album is strong and there’s a few iconic songs on it. BUT - much of it hasn’t aged super well, either lyrically or sonically. It doesn’t sound as timeless to me as other revered albums. In addition, my hot take is that I hate how the Beastie Boys shout all their lyrics. It’s grating. People like to talk crap about Geddy Lee and Billy Corgan - I would put the Beasties up there in terms of sheer annoyance levels.

What's Going On

Marvin Gaye

5/5

3 + 3

The Isley Brothers

3/5

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

2/5

I know it’s supposed to be amazing but I find it uninteresting

Vol. 4

Black Sabbath

5/5

It may have the least instantly recognizable and most iconic Sabbath songs out of their first few albums, it is arguably the best distillation of what Sabbath was really about: a heavy blues-influenced band that wrote about things the blues didn’t usually write about. Listening to it now, it’s a few licks and different vocals away from being a Chris Stapleton album. Actually I’d like to hear him cover it.

Talking Heads 77

Talking Heads

4/5

Fun and still holds up well

Music From The Penguin Cafe

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

2/5

Meh

Wonderful Rainbow

Lightning Bolt

4/5

Usually don’t like this noisy stuffy but this was great.

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

5/5

Filled with classic classics

S.F. Sorrow

The Pretty Things

4/5

Good find

One World

John Martyn

4/5

I liked it a lot. Not familiar with the artist or the album. Cool stuff. Eclectic for sure.

Innervisions

Stevie Wonder

5/5

Filled with classic classics

Closer

Joy Division

3/5

Almost a four. Obviously depressing but also enjoyable to listen.

Crocodiles

Echo And The Bunnymen

4/5

Enjoyable

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

5/5

Enjoyable this may be my favorite hip hop album I’ve ever listened to

Garbage

3/5

Enjoyable

Tom Tom Club

4/5

Enjoyable

Shleep

Robert Wyatt

2/5

Ehhh.

xx

The xx

4/5

Can hear so many other recent songs in their melodies

Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)

Bob Dylan

3/5

Can hear so many other recent songs in their melodies

Exit Planet Dust

The Chemical Brothers

5/5

Holds up well

Music From Big Pink

The Band

5/5

Can hear so many other recent songs in their melodies

At Fillmore East

The Allman Brothers Band

5/5

An all time classic.

Iron Maiden

4/5

fantastic album though not my favorite from them.

On The Beach

Neil Young

4/5

Supa Dupa Fly

Missy Elliott

3/5

Reign In Blood

Slayer

5/5

Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes

4/5

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

4/5

Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney

5/5

Midnight Ride

Paul Revere & The Raiders

4/5

Pretzel Logic

Steely Dan

5/5

1989

Taylor Swift

5/5

It’s an unadulterated pop gem

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Eurythmics

4/5

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Genesis

4/5

James Brown Live At The Apollo

James Brown

5/5

Queens of the Stone Age

4/5

Picture Book

Simply Red

3/5

Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin

5/5

Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons

2/5

Blood, Sweat & Tears

4/5

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

Guero

Beck

4/5

Felt Mountain

Goldfrapp

3/5

Live Through This

Hole

4/5

Holds up well

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs

Derek & The Dominos

5/5

Still a great album, though maybe more blues than rock now. But amazing musicianship and lyrics.

Skylarking

XTC

3/5

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

4/5

Holds up well

Before And After Science

Brian Eno

4/5

Surprisingly entertaining

Ramones

5/5

Absolutely and utterly timeless. and yet surprisingly subdued and less raucous sounding today than it did when it was released.

Cut

The Slits

4/5

Young Americans

David Bowie

4/5

Two amazing songs show that experimentation can lead to pop hits and move the genre forward.

Black Sabbath

5/5

It is hard to imagine how disruptive and shocking this must have been in 1970

Beautiful Freak

Eels

4/5

a personal favorite

Tapestry

Carole King

5/5

Perfection

More Songs About Buildings And Food

Talking Heads

4/5

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

5/5

Something this dated and smooth jazz like shouldn’t be this funky and good.

Planet Rock: The Album

Afrika Bambaataa

4/5

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

1/5

The sonic equivalent of a shart. But if you do a shart on a canvas and put it up in a gallery while acting pretentious about it, you get to call it art and people will find value in it. Seriously though - I am really open minded about "you like what you like" but this has nearly no musical quality to it. It is just shouting and things clanging together. Every once in a while you hear something that you could connect to "industrial music" but that's like looking at some spilled paint and saying you can see the Mona Lisa in it.

2112

Rush

5/5

I’m a fan so I gotta rate it high. Can’t be objective about it.

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

Frank Sinatra

5/5

Pelican West

Haircut 100

2/5

A nice but kind of forgettable slice of 80s pop

Darkdancer

Les Rythmes Digitales

2/5

Off The Wall

Michael Jackson

3/5

The first two songs are obviously bangers. Classics. The rest of the album is good but less memorable.

Calenture

The Triffids

1/5

Boring

Like Water For Chocolate

Common

2/5

Boring

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

4/5

Pyromania

Def Leppard

4/5

A couple of really strong songs helps lift it

Your New Favourite Band

The Hives

2/5

Beach Samba

Astrud Gilberto

5/5

Frank

Amy Winehouse

4/5

Opus Dei

Laibach

5/5

Tommy

The Who

5/5

Master Of Puppets

Metallica

5/5

Best metal album ever

Vulgar Display Of Power

Pantera

5/5

Liked it better than I have in the past

Station To Station

David Bowie

5/5

Sincere

Mj Cole

2/5

what’s the point,

Bayou Country

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

Mott

Mott The Hoople

4/5

what’s the point,

Untitled (Black Is)

SAULT

1/5

Dookie

Green Day

4/5

Djam Leelii

Baaba Maal

4/5

Type of stuff I’m here for - never heard of this before and really liked it.

Illinois

Sufjan Stevens

4/5

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

The Incredible String Band

3/5

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

4/5

Diamond Life

Sade

3/5

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

5/5

Fragile

Yes

4/5

Idlewild

Everything But The Girl

1/5

Imperial Bedroom

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

3/5

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

5/5

Timeless

Goldie

4/5

It’s a five in the genre but I found it a little long for the type of music. Almost still gave it a five but…. It’s probably a 4.5.

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

4/5

Document

R.E.M.

5/5

One of my all time favorites. A perfect slice of lates 80s college alternative pop

The Poet

Bobby Womack

3/5

Rhythm Nation 1814

Janet Jackson

4/5

Hot Fuss

The Killers

3/5

Tigermilk

Belle & Sebastian

4/5

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic

4/5

Peter Gabriel 3

Peter Gabriel

5/5

Hejira

Joni Mitchell

3/5

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

2/5

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

Shaka Zulu

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

4/5

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

3/5

From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley

3/5

In Rainbows

Radiohead

4/5

The Doors

5/5

A classic

Third

Portishead

3/5

Marquee Moon

Television

5/5

Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits

2/5

C'est Chic

CHIC

4/5

Reggatta De Blanc

The Police

4/5

Honky Tonk Heroes

Waylon Jennings

4/5

My Generation

The Who

4/5

The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths

3/5

3 Feet High and Rising

De La Soul

4/5

Real Life

Magazine

4/5

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

4/5

Cupid & Psyche 85

Scritti Politti

2/5

Astral Weeks

Van Morrison

5/5

Night Life

Ray Price

3/5

Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C.

4/5

Stardust

Willie Nelson

3/5

Tusk

Fleetwood Mac

4/5

Not nearly as bad as everyont makes fun of...

Thriller

Michael Jackson

5/5

It is hard to comprehend how much of a cultural force this album is, but it helps when you listen to it and it essentially sounds as contemporary and vital today as it did then. And the three songs in a row of "Beat It" "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" is arguably the strongest three song set of pop songs on any pop album ever.

Tres Hombres

ZZ Top

4/5

It's A Shame About Ray

The Lemonheads

3/5

Grace

Jeff Buckley

5/5

Still sounds original and vital, a sound that still appears in music today. Mainstream music made possible by albums like this.

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4/5

Live At Leeds

The Who

2/5

I like the Who. I love live music. I generally hate live albums. This isn't an exception.

Dance Mania

Tito Puente

4/5

Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets

3/5

Blackstar

David Bowie

2/5

I’m sure it’s brilliant. It feels brilliant. It just. Is hard to enjoy.

Emergency On Planet Earth

Jamiroquai

3/5

Younger Than Yesterday

The Byrds

3/5

Kid A

Radiohead

4/5

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

3/5

The Nightfly

Donald Fagen

4/5

Homework

Daft Punk

3/5

Nothing's Shocking

Jane's Addiction

3/5

Street Signs

Ozomatli

4/5

Disintegration

The Cure

4/5

Sex Packets

Digital Underground

3/5

Led Zeppelin

5/5

Exile On Main Street

The Rolling Stones

4/5

The Sounds Of India

Ravi Shankar

4/5

American Idiot

Green Day

4/5

Damaged

Black Flag

4/5

Can hear what influenced the coming surge of speed and thrash metal in this, as well as more avante-garde indie stuff, mixed in with the raw punkness of it all.

Stripped

Christina Aguilera

3/5

Good pop album buoyed by two really great songs.

OK Computer

Radiohead

5/5

It still holds up and fact may be better now

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

5/5

Everything I love about jazz

Crooked Rain Crooked Rain

Pavement

5/5

It starts to sound remarkably like Wilco towards the end.

The Healer

John Lee Hooker

4/5

Arrival

ABBA

3/5

Two amazing and timeless songs lift up an album where the rest sounds dated

Mr. Tambourine Man

The Byrds

4/5

Can hear so many bands who followed in this. From Springsteen to Petty to Wilco to others.

#1 Record

Big Star

4/5

This is a stupidly good and enjoyable album to listen to.

Appetite For Destruction

Guns N' Roses

5/5

It’s easy to forget how damn good this album is. How a new band emerged this fully formed is amazing. Three of the songs - a quarter of the album - are radio stokes and rock classics (Jungle, Sweet Child, Paradise City) that are well deserving of both. Then there’s Nightrain, It’s so easy, and Mr Briwnstone, which would have been freshman album classics but are second tier only because they are overshadowed by the other big three. Interestingly, listening to this again, I realized how much of future albums, especially much of Use Your Illusion, draws on the sound of Think About You, rather than much of the above.

Either Or

Elliott Smith

2/5

It’s fine. Probably would be higher if I listened more closely to the lyrics. Otherwise it’s generic singer songwriter navel gazing music.

Zombie

Fela Kuti

5/5

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

5/5

A personal favorite and an album that has value far beyond the title track.

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

3/5

Machine Gun Etiquette

The Damned

3/5

Second Toughest In The Infants

Underworld

2/5

Sheet Music

10cc

2/5

Just can’t get into it

The Gershwin Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald

5/5

Dare!

The Human League

3/5

Bright Flight

Silver Jews

3/5

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

4/5

It’s still a vital, urgent and breakthrough album

Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

Lucinda Williams

5/5

This album may not sound fresh now, but coming in on the heels of the 90’s pop-country explosion, it was raw and gritty Americana that is one of the albums that marked a growing split between mainstream country and more rootsy country. This album, along with those form The Old 97s, Whiskeytown and a few others helps to pave the way (pun kind of intended) for Drive By Truckers, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and others. Putting aside its historical significance, it’s a great album that I still find compelling.

American Pie

Don McLean

3/5

One perfect song and a bunch of good well written but unremarkable folk songs

Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin

5/5

A great album that probably should be in more lists but doesn’t. I wonder if it is because the album cover isn’t iconic? It feels like it was thrown together without any thought.

The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow

5/5

Shockingly good. Never heard of them before.

The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett

2/5

Good example of psychedelic rock. But not a great one.

The World is a Ghetto

War

5/5

Really enjoyed this nugget of funk rock

Yeezus

Kanye West

4/5

Musically I found it much more enjoyable than I thought I would. Kanye may be nuts but he’s got talented. Lyrically though the personal level of anger can be wearing - and I like angry heavy metal! But this feels so directly angry and specifically mean spirited and insulting it can be a bit exhausting. But I would listen to again.

Surf's Up

The Beach Boys

4/5

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Some good stuff.

Private Dancer

Tina Turner

4/5

Odessey And Oracle

The Zombies

5/5

Lost Souls

Doves

2/5

Meh

3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...

Arrested Development

3/5

“Tennessee” is an amazing song and there’s good moments but in total it doesn’t hit me as much as others.

Heaven Or Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins

3/5

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz

5/5

Lost In The Dream

The War On Drugs

3/5

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

3/5

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco

5/5

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

George Michael

3/5

Freedom 90 is a perfect pop song though

Let It Bleed

The Rolling Stones

5/5

Music Has The Right To Children

Boards of Canada

2/5

Surrealistic Pillow

Jefferson Airplane

3/5

The two well known songs are so different from the rest!

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

2/5

I keep listening to them and keep not “getting” the Beastie Boys. Most of their stuff feels like really good novelty songs. Then there’s the great stuff, like Sabotage on this album, but even that feels a bit over the top.

Pearl

Janis Joplin

5/5

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

3/5

Pacific Ocean Blue

Dennis Wilson

5/5

This blew me away. Listened to it twice. His voice reminds me of Roger Waters. It’s trippy and airy and dirty and dreamy and gnarly all at the same time.

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

Small Faces

3/5

Are You Experienced

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Literally more than half the album and classic rock radio staples. It’s amazing. And not just the guitar heroics - the range of music is remarkable.

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

Didn’t like it as much as others from them but still good.

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagon

2/5

Here Are the Sonics

The Sonics

5/5

Love me some good garage rock

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

4/5

Siamese Dream

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

Several outstanding songs

British Steel

Judas Priest

4/5

Hot Shots II

The Beta Band

3/5

Good background stuff. Well done.

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

4/5

A personal favorite

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

3/5

Shalimar

Rahul Dev Burman

2/5

Hybrid Theory

Linkin Park

1/5

Not sure if there is another band with a bigger delta between how well liked they are and how little I understand the appeal. This is Korn for people who are scared by actual menacing heavy metal. Rap for people who need their music to sound bland and white. Rock for Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC fans who want to think they are bad asses. The production is overwrought and heavy handed. The lyrics are like what you would find in a high schoolers diary. The songwriting and structure are predictable, sloppy and cheesy. I can usually find redeeming qualities in the most saccharine of pop music confections and popular wide appealing music, but this feels like heavy metal done by a committee and focus groups to provide the widest appeal possible. This is in here because it sold a lot of records, not for quality.

The Pleasure Principle

Gary Numan

3/5

Less interesting than influential

Bongo Rock

Incredible Bongo Band

3/5

A fun and interesting listen. Not amazing though.

In The Court Of The Crimson King

King Crimson

4/5

Spiderland

Slint

1/5

What an indulgent unmelodic and nearly unlistenable mess.

KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)

Ministry

3/5

Armed Forces

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

3/5

In Utero

Nirvana

4/5

Franz Ferdinand

4/5

War

U2

4/5

If you want to know why U2 are global superstars, listen to The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. If you want to know why those were so radical for them and understand the rawness that appealed to early fans, and their political heart, listen to this.

Ctrl

SZA

3/5

Sonically I find it a two, maybe a one. It’s uninteresting to me. Lyrically it is literally and figuratively provocative. It comes from an underrepresented audience.

Live And Dangerous

Thin Lizzy

4/5

Urban Hymns

The Verve

4/5

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

3/5

I Should Coco

Supergrass

3/5

An interesting nugget of Britpop from the 90s. Almost a four star

Hearts And Bones

Paul Simon

3/5

Very listenable but not memorable

Shake Your Money Maker

The Black Crowes

5/5

I’d make the argument that this is one of the best debut albums ever. And “She talks to angels” is one of the best written a beautiful rock ballads ever.

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

2/5

Not bad but incredibly uninteresting

At Mister Kelly's

Sarah Vaughan

3/5

There's A Riot Goin' On

Sly & The Family Stone

3/5

Low

David Bowie

4/5

Enjoyed this more than I expected given there’s no well known singles on it.

Foxbase Alpha

Saint Etienne

3/5

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

The Residents

2/5

No. I listened to this back to back with “Low” from David Bowie, which isn’t exactly top 40 pop listenable stuff. But the difference is stark - Bowie manages to say something that feels like a complete, mature statement that is art. These guys sound like a bunch of high schoolers who could be good if they stopped fucking around in the studio. It’s immature and weird for the sake of being weird, not for the sake of advancing art or making a statement. Theres enough glimmers of talent that I won’t give it a one star but it’s close.

Harvest

Neil Young

4/5

It’s a three overall and a five in terms of influence with two amazing well know songs. So I’ll average it out to four.

The Bends

Radiohead

5/5

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

5/5

Completely and utterly timeless. Musical perfection.

Fifth Dimension

The Byrds

4/5

Wild Gift

X

3/5

Be

Common

4/5

Celebrity Skin

Hole

3/5

In A Silent Way

Miles Davis

5/5

Juju

Siouxsie And The Banshees

3/5

Sea Change

Beck

4/5

The Beach Boys Today!

The Beach Boys

4/5

Oracular Spectacular

MGMT

3/5

Leftism

Leftfield

3/5

Psychocandy

The Jesus And Mary Chain

5/5

Considering this came out in 1985, it feels so modern and fresh. A surprising hit with me.

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

3/5

Not my thing overall though the hits are great.

...And Justice For All

Metallica

4/5

Savane

Ali Farka Touré

3/5

I See A Darkness

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

2/5

Electric Ladyland

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Aladdin Sane

David Bowie

4/5

Not filled with his most popular songs but strong from start to finish and still sounds vital.

So

Peter Gabriel

4/5

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

5/5

Blue

Joni Mitchell

5/5

Oar

Alexander 'Skip' Spence

4/5

I can’t tell if this is brilliance, mediocrity, or indulgent trash. Maybe all of it? It’s surprisingly good to listen to and you can hear a lot of sounds that echo through other bands when you consider when it came out. But I can see why I never heard of it before this list.

Let's Get It On

Marvin Gaye

5/5

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

3/5

Arc Of A Diver

Steve Winwood

3/5

Heroes to Zeros

The Beta Band

3/5

The Band

4/5

Queen Of Denmark

John Grant

4/5

This is surprisingly good and entertaining. Sent me on a deeper dive on him and his music.

Boston

5/5

Rock 'N Soul

Solomon Burke

4/5

Trio

Dolly Parton

3/5

Penance Soiree

The Icarus Line

3/5

Liked it a lot and went digging deeper. But not a classic.

Bad Company

4/5

The definition of AOR. Fun but inoffensive but good to listen to.

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

5/5

It’s not only a remarkable album but I think it represents a turn towards a more raw sound that was more widely reflected in Tracy Chapman’s album from the same year, but was surrounded by polished arena rock, hair metal and boy band pop on the top selling albums. It’s one of those things that isn’t directly connected, but it is the fertilizer in the soil that allowed grunge and alternative to the explode a few years later.

Rocks

Aerosmith

5/5

Listen, I’m already a big fan. Seen them 13 times and it would have been 15 if they hadn’t cancelled their last tour. But putting that aside, this is a slab of 70s rock goodness that is fueled by drunkenness, drugs and debauchery. It’s dark and raw and I’ve always felt like it had a polished messiness to it. Amazing riffs supporting sleazy and sexy lyrics. It’s the type of stuff that inspires air guitar playing and teens to pick up an actual instrument and start a band, which this album certainly did. It’s a perfect example of that mid 70s hard rock sound that led to Van Halen and built off of Led Zep, and the Stones.

The White Room

The KLF

4/5

Brown Sugar

D'Angelo

3/5

Too Rye Ay

Dexys Midnight Runners

3/5

Come on Eileen is a song everyone should hear. Not sure if this album is one that everyone needs to hear. It’s enjoyable but not amazing.

Arise

Sepultura

4/5

Damn good metal album that is a great example of the thrash genre

Fever Ray

3/5

Very solid album that I may very well listen to again but also not the most amazing piece of electronica nor an all-time classic.

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

4/5

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie

5/5

Sulk

The Associates

2/5

...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears

2/5

This only has two stays because of the title track which is a stone cold classic pop song that is a total ear worm. The rest of the album is teenage diary poems drivel lyrics. No one needs to hear anything other than the title track.

Call of the Valley

Shivkumar Sharma

5/5

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon

2/5

A couple of good songs but the rest just reaffirms the magic that John and Paul had together along with the rest of the Beatles. Listen to the popular songs not the album.

Live At The Harlem Square Club

Sam Cooke

4/5

Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin

5/5

I may like it better than the Zoso (Led Zeppelin 4) album

Miriam Makeba

5/5

Casanova

The Divine Comedy

2/5

This feels like the type of music that falls into this category: Q: How do you know someone is a fan of The Devine Comedy? A: they tell you. Over and over and over again as they insist on how great it is. Listen, this is bad. It is clever. It is beautifully arranged and produced. But after a few songs, the joke gets old and repetitive. Fans of this think that SNL had one good season - the first. Liked SCTV more and if you ask about their favorite Monty Python sketch, they say something obscure and look down with disdain at the popular ones.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

5/5

I’ve listened to this album a few times and it always hits me with its dark beauty but when you put it in the context of 1979 (!!!) it’s absolutely remarkable. The Cure doesn’t exist without this. Sludge metal doesn’t. I’m not sure if grunge does either. Neither does half of 90s alternative. Worth listening to and paying attention to every detail.

White Ladder

David Gray

3/5

MTV Unplugged In New York

Nirvana

4/5

Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake

3/5

Not his most iconic work but enjoyable

Goodbye And Hello

Tim Buckley

4/5

A second proper listen really helped. A great piece of music with powerful songwriting.

Sunshine Hit Me

The Bees

2/5

It’s like the Eels but without the weirdness which just makes it boring and unremarkable. I don’t know how anyone could get excited about it. I use Apple Music and usually when there is an album or artist I haven’t heard of on here, the write up reveals something that informs me as to why it’s important. Neither the album nor the band have any wrote up at all. It not bad, it just doesn’t need to be heard before you die by any stretch of the imagination.

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

4/5

It’s not quite an all time classic but well worth a listen as one the top ones in the next level down in his catalog and 70s rock in general. But he has some stronger albums. Tiny Dancer is amazing though.

Alien Lanes

Guided By Voices

2/5

Sounds like something you’re supposed to like. The weird cover sums it up well - roughly done, incoherent and artsy in an amateur way.

Brothers

The Black Keys

3/5

Good. Not classic. Certainly not elite. And not even their best or most interesting. This gets a three. El Camino would/will get a four.

We Are Family

Sister Sledge

3/5

Blood On The Tracks

Bob Dylan

4/5

This album has a lot weight around it form a legendary standpoint. The songwriting is beautiful. Dylan’s voice, as almost always, is bizarre. But he manages to take deep songwriting, an impenetrable voice and sparse musicality and make it accessible.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

5/5

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

3/5

A Short Album About Love

The Divine Comedy

2/5

Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs

4/5

Frampton Comes Alive

Peter Frampton

5/5

Suzanne Vega

3/5

Femi Kuti

4/5

Fantastic album. I think it technically give it 4.5 stars.

All That You Can't Leave Behind

U2

3/5

This is better than I remember. For me, U2 is a three album band: War, Joshua Tree, and Achtung. And what a remarkable three albums they all are. Around them are a bunch of uneven but often band shifting albums with the occasional remarkable song. With All That You Can’t Leave Behind, U2 technically finds their future voice that becomes more consistent but a little less interesting. Some really solid tunes but none of the edgy excitement from earlier efforts. I couldn’t tell you if all the singles off this album were from this any of the next five. Beautiful Day and Elevation are classics at this point.

Junkyard

The Birthday Party

2/5

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

Soft Cell

3/5

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Coldplay

4/5

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

4/5

Me Against The World

2Pac

5/5

An album that shows the power of hip hop/rap, is entertaining, and accessible enough for the non fan to understand the artistry and power.

One Nation Under A Groove

Funkadelic

5/5

Signing Off

UB40

3/5

The Fat Of The Land

The Prodigy

4/5

McCartney

Paul McCartney

3/5

Doesn’t exactly blow you out of the water but it’s pleasant.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Beatles

5/5

It’s hard to do a fresh objective listen to this and separate it from the legacy of it. But maybe for that reason along it deserved five stars so that you can listen to it and decide if you think all the hubbub is worth it. It is a remarkable album still and even more amazing considering when it came out and how inventive it was. The songwriting is great but the production is amazing. George Martin is as much of a her in this as any of the Beatles.

Roots

Sepultura

3/5

Black Monk Time

The Monks

3/5

Couldn’t listen to the actual album but listened to enough know what they are about. Nothing terrible. Nothing compelling.

Deserter's Songs

Mercury Rev

4/5

Moody. Weird. But still listenable. Not sure if it’s a must listen but you should listen to something like this at least once. Hudson Line really hit me as a great song.

Berlin

Lou Reed

2/5

Disraeli Gears

Cream

5/5

Trying to check my white classic rock star preference here, this is still a must listen. It’s a bridge between old school rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock and even prog rock. You can hear the inspirations for everything Sabbath to Led Zeppelin to Rush to King Crimson and Pink Floyd echoing through it, all of which followed quickly on the heels of this.

The Who Sell Out

The Who

3/5

I really like The Who and the best known songs from this album are classics. And some of the deep tracks are gems. But the concept feels dated and high school humor silly now.

Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)

Loretta Lynn

4/5

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

4/5

Giant Steps

The Boo Radleys

3/5

A good if uninteresting album. Good next deep dive into shoegaze id you want it.

Superunknown

Soundgarden

5/5

An amazing piece of 90s rock that transcends the grunge era. Even the overplayed stuff is good.

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

5/5

A perfect jazz album accompanied by being so unique

Ys

Joanna Newsom

2/5

The vocals are shrill and harsh. The music lacks melody or cohesion. I think the songwriting is great. But the lack of interesting musicality undermines it all. It feels indulgent and purposefully obtuse. I can’t imagine listening to this and being like “this is what I need more of!” Things like this make me appreciate artists who challenge norms yet make interest and good music - like Tori Amos, David Byrne, David Bowie, PJ Harvey, etc. Escaped the 1 star realm only because the songwriting is strong and I think there’s some legitimate artistry here. But it made it just barely.

Let's Stay Together

Al Green

4/5

G. Love And Special Sauce

G. Love & Special Sauce

3/5

Stand!

Sly & The Family Stone

4/5

Rid Of Me

PJ Harvey

4/5

I’d give it four and a half if I could

Space Ritual

Hawkwind

5/5

So many influences and contemporaries in here. Shades of Pink Floyd, Sabbath, Rush, Phish, Grateful Dead, Sonic Youth, etc etc. just a little outside the mainstream but so good. Put it on and say it’s the new Queens of the Stone Age record and a lot of people would believe you.

Pink Moon

Nick Drake

5/5

Simple, sparse, maybe a little under-thought but that makes it raw. An exceptional example of a person and a guitar making a remarkable sound.

The Lexicon Of Love

ABC

4/5

Penthouse And Pavement

Heaven 17

3/5

Rust In Peace

Megadeth

3/5

A strong album but meaningful only for those diving deeper into the metal genre.

Bad

Michael Jackson

3/5

Not as strong as Thriller. Period.

Butterfly

Mariah Carey

3/5

Honey is a GREAT song. She’s an amazing singer. The rest of the album bores me.

Figure 8

Elliott Smith

3/5

Live At The Regal

B.B. King

5/5

An all time classic example of the blues.

Youth And Young Manhood

Kings of Leon

4/5

Rio

Duran Duran

4/5

Classic MTV 90s pop

Synchronicity

The Police

5/5

1984

Van Halen

5/5

Live / Dead

Grateful Dead

4/5

I am more of a fan of studio Dead than live Dead and there’s parts of this album that reinforce that and others that make me question it. “Dark Star” feels meandering and self-indulgent with a lot of noodling that doesn’t feel cohesive. It probably sounds good if you’re tripping on acid. But then “Turn On Your Love Light” is a jam-filled blues number with much more energy and focused direction. Giving this four stars because while it isn’t the most seminal album, it’s worth listening to so that you can understand what the Gratful Dead playing live were all about in their earlier days. I’m sure Deadheads will say there are better ones and maybe you should start there but this is a great picture of a particular sounds during a particular time.

Heroes

David Bowie

5/5

Discovering all of Bowles albums has been a real joy of this project. His ability to weave perfectly crafted but interesting pop tunes in with exploratory sounds is remarkable. Even more amazing that they all hang together as an album.

It's Too Late to Stop Now

Van Morrison

3/5

Solid but interesting mainly to Van fans

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

5/5

Still sounds timeless and classic. I discovered this in the early 2000s and kind of thought it sounds like a lot of other stuff around at the time. Then I realized it came out in 1988. A great example of alt rock.

Bat Out Of Hell

Meat Loaf

5/5

La Revancha Del Tango

Gotan Project

4/5

This was a hidden gem for me that I really enjoyed. A mix of jazz and electronics that wasn’t affected or boring or self indulgent

Imagine

John Lennon

4/5

Beatles solo albums really reinforce and define the roles that they played in the Beatles, true or not. Paul was the master pop tunesmith, Ringo was the lighthearted silly one, George was the quiet contemplative one with virtuosic ability, and John was the artistic visionary. This was more accessible than other Lennon solo material thanks to some well known song, including easily the most well known title track. But the deep tracks still feel a little unfocused and artsy for the sake of being artsy. Everyone should hear the title track if they haven’t. There’s a few other songs that are worth hearing. If you’re going to pick a Lennon solo album to listen to this is probably the right choice. Plastic Ono is “technically better” arguably, but this is the most representative.

Joan Armatrading

4/5

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

3/5

Classic voice. A lot of similar sounding songs.

Smile

Brian Wilson

4/5

All Hail the Queen

Queen Latifah

3/5

Giving this three stars doesn’t mean this isn’t good - it just is a bit of a capsule of time. It’s a heck of a debut album and its impact was big but it doesn’t change the fact that the songs all sound similar and distinctly from their time period, in a limiting sort of way. There are probably more timeless collections of music from that period and better examples of hip hop/rap from that period. But if you’re digging deep this feels like a must-listen.

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

5/5

This is a remarkable album in my opinion. There are some truly classic songs on here and the deeper cuts are still strong. The sound is still vital and Dylan’s limited vocals probably never served the music so well as on this album. You can hear echos of music past (blues, Elvis) and yet to come (alt country rock, indie rock, even some punk overtures) throughout the whole album. It’s great on its own but within the context of its cultural impact and timing it’s even more remarkable.

World Clique

Deee-Lite

4/5

A three musically. A four for the club scene it brought on people’s attention. There’s still only one truly great song on it through.

Soul Mining

The The

3/5

Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan

5/5

White Blood Cells

The White Stripes

5/5

New York Dolls

4/5

Classic glam

Tragic Songs of Life

The Louvin Brothers

4/5

You have to sing it a bit for sounding dated but technically it’s timeless. If Sturgill or Stapleton or similar did this album song for song people would rave over it. You can hear a lot to come in this.

Let Love Rule

Lenny Kravitz

3/5

It’s a good album. Super solid. Enjoyable. Not “must listen before you die” great but really good.

Selling England By The Pound

Genesis

4/5

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

5/5

Raw Power

The Stooges

5/5

Back In Black

AC/DC

5/5

If an alien landed and asked “what is rock and roll? What is hard rock?” this classic record would be a pretty good place to start. Some dark and evil sounding songs. A lot of songs about sex. A song about rock music itself. A song about sex that’s so much fun that your aunts dance to it at weddings. Great stuff and yeah, everyone should hear it all once.

Close To The Edge

Yes

4/5

Truth And Soul

Fishbone

4/5

Foo Fighters

4/5

Green

R.E.M.

5/5

Konnichiwa

Skepta

3/5

Giving this three stars as it seems to be an important album in the sub genre of London grime rap music… so it’s important if you’re getting deeper into rap, hip hop and EDM. But it isn’t broadly seminal. For me personally it got a little long and repetitive but that’s more style driven than this album specifically.

The Sun Rises In The East

Jeru The Damaja

3/5

Life Thru A Lens

Robbie Williams

4/5

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Iron Butterfly

4/5

Great piece of acid rock and you should hear the title track once

Like A Prayer

Madonna

2/5

Two fantastic, iconic songs (the first two). One decent one pop ditty (“Cherish”) a Prince song that I didn’t realize was one and a bunch dated sounding boring pop. I fast forwarded during “Love Song” and didn’t think it worked because it sounds so the same. It’s probably 2.75. Maybe 2.5. Going with 2.

Abbey Road

Beatles

3/5

I think the legacy looms larger than some of the music.

Beyond Skin

Nitin Sawhney

3/5

Fuzzy

Grant Lee Buffalo

2/5

Roxy Music

4/5

Born To Be With You

Dion

4/5

Was doubtful at first and thought this was going to be a two star review. But it grew on my and listened to it two and a half times. Feels like a less snarky Steely Dan. Or what Dawes ripped off thirty plus years later.

Go Girl Crazy

The Dictators

3/5

Interesting proto punk stuff that is worth a listen but didn’t stick with me

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

3/5

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

3/5

It’s impact in the times is bigger than how the music has held up, especially compared to their other albums.

Welcome To The Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

3/5

First few songs are actually really interesting. Even the first seven songs are good. The first three sound like the song equivalent of 80s brutalist architecture: dated, angular, not very soothing but kind of beautiful and interesting. But the two covers of Born to Run and San Jose really take you out of it and don’t add anything to the originals.

Make Yourself

Incubus

2/5

Never really got these guys. To me it feels like Tool for people who want a less aggressive vibe and less intrigue. And arguably less interesting. It’s prog rock if it was played by the jocks to attract the chicks instead of the nerds to be complex and complicated. Drive is good tho.

Dusty In Memphis

Dusty Springfield

3/5

Floodland

Sisters Of Mercy

3/5

Out Of The Blue

Electric Light Orchestra

2/5

The Last Of The True Believers

Nanci Griffith

3/5

I See You

The xx

2/5

American IV: The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash

4/5

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse

Faces

4/5

Parallel Lines

Blondie

4/5

Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub

3/5

Hard Again

Muddy Waters

4/5

When I Was Born For The 7th Time

Cornershop

5/5

I may be influenced by personal nostalgia here but I love this album. It’s a great example of style mashups that results in great songs

Club Classics Vol. One

Soul II Soul

2/5

The actual debut album is much better

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

5/5

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

3/5

Only By The Night

Kings of Leon

4/5

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

5/5

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

3/5

Really interesting as an artifact of psychedelic rock and remarkable considering the albums that came out around it. But while it’s great it feels more like a curiosity than a classic, or a classic example of a specific sub genre within a time. Three stars overall. Four stars if you’re a Pink Floyd fan. Maybe five within the world of psychedelic rock.

(What's The Story) Morning Glory

Oasis

3/5

I actually really wanted to like this more than I did. It was more rock than I give Oasis credit for (as opposed to soft pop) but it just felt… noisy and messy in an ineffective way.

Odelay

Beck

5/5

It amazes me how mainstream this was at the time.

Elastica

3/5

Liked it. But not something you MUST hear.

Music For The Jilted Generation

The Prodigy

4/5

It’s good, but not unlike the Grateful Dead, a band/genre at the other end of the spectrum, it’s probably a lot better in an altered state of mind. I enjoy listening to this at times but the repetitive nature that is inherent to the genre starts to wear on me.

Survivor

Destiny's Child

4/5

Moondance

Van Morrison

4/5

Copper Blue

Sugar

2/5

A decent but relatively nondescript piece of 90s grungy pop rock. There’s nothing wrong with it but there’s nothing here I recognize (1992 was just entering a long peak music discovery for me - I was buying anything vaguely interesting to me) so the result is somewhat generic for me. If you told me this was a collection of b-sides or outtakes from Collective Soul, Cool for August, or Tonic, I would have believed it. Probably more interesting if you’re a Husker Du or Bob Mould fan, but it isn’t something you need to hear before you die.

Gris Gris

Dr. John

4/5

If I Could Only Remember My Name

David Crosby

3/5

All Directions

The Temptations

4/5

Van Halen

5/5

Justified

Justin Timberlake

2/5

It’s a pop album. It’s fine.

Histoire De Melody Nelson

Serge Gainsbourg

2/5

Orbital 2

Orbital

3/5

Highway to Hell

AC/DC

4/5

New Boots And Panties

Ian Dury

3/5

This is what it sounds like if your weird artsy friends from high school got a record contract. Better than most could do but overly clever and not quite as good as they think they are.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins

4/5

This is way better than I remember it. I LOVED Siamese Dream but could never get into this album. Kind of dug it now. But still think it would have been better as a single album rather than a double.

Hysteria

Def Leppard

4/5

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

2/5

I Against I

Bad Brains

3/5

Walking Wounded

Everything But The Girl

3/5

The Next Day

David Bowie

3/5

Good. Not outstanding.

More Specials

The Specials

2/5

I am just not a ska fan.

Safe As Milk

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

3/5

Good reminder that alternative rock didn’t start in the 90s. There was weird and eccentric shit back in the 60s too.

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

3/5

Definitely sounds like a move

Vincebus Eruptum

Blue Cheer

5/5

It’s amazing to to think this came out seven months after Sgt Peppers and almost two years before Black Sabbath’s debut and a year before Led Zeppelin’s debut album. This is a must listen just for that - a relatively obscure band that gets easily forgotten made something that would still vital in an underground club show today.

Nighthawks At The Diner

Tom Waits

3/5

The Atomic Mr Basie

Count Basie & His Orchestra

4/5

So much fun

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Merle Haggard

3/5

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno

3/5

Heavy Weather

Weather Report

4/5

The jump from fusion to smooth jazz is a remarkably small one but this is an example of where that smoothness associated with fusion is beneficial with a little bit of funkiness underneath

Basket of Light

Pentangle

4/5

Channel Orange

Frank Ocean

4/5

Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi

3/5

Destroyer

KISS

3/5

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

2/5

Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Tortoise

3/5

Violent Femmes

4/5

The Stranger

Billy Joel

4/5

Filled withIconic classic songs

Devil Without A Cause

Kid Rock

3/5

A lot of this hasn’t aged well, but the songs that hit hard still do.

Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches

Happy Mondays

3/5

Kind of fun. Not iconic by a long shot. Almost gave it a four.

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago

4/5

They are more trippy and heavier than people think

Killing Joke

4/5

Peter Gabriel

3/5

You can hear the shadows of what made his later career so great. As others said, it’s a bit of a messy combo of songs with “Solsbury Hill” and “After the flood standing out”. He’s trying to be Bowie but doesn’t quite pull it off. But interesting to hear as part of his evolution

Funeral

Arcade Fire

4/5

An exciting interesting album without any particular standout songs/singles. An example of being interesting but accessible

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

2/5

Interesting. Kind of good college or maybe even high school rock band stuff. But not amazing.

Solid Air

John Martyn

3/5

Automatic For The People

R.E.M.

5/5

Lam Toro

Baaba Maal

3/5

Os Mutantes

4/5

I am a lyrics person so many non English music leaves me wanting more but this psychedelic garage rock was good and didn’t know how influential it was until now.

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash

4/5

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

4/5

Still sounds fresh and vital

The Rising

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

I'm Your Man

Leonard Cohen

3/5

Listened to this in the car in mid November with my almost five year old daughter. After one or two songs she goes “daddy are you listening to Halloween music?” Which is totally fair.

Destroy Rock & Roll

Mylo

4/5

At Budokan

Cheap Trick

5/5

Phrenology

The Roots

4/5

Future Days

Can

5/5

This is a remarkable album given how old it is. You can hear so much future music in it. To the point where it makes some other stuff that was “breakthrough” in the 90s and 2000s feel derivative!

Violator

Depeche Mode

5/5

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

5/5

You have to listen at least once. An atmospheric adventurous album tha still manages to have radio hits.

Traffic

3/5

Love traffic but this is a good but unremarkable album by them

The Real Thing

Faith No More