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Fri Oct 06 2023
With The Beatles
Beatles
3
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Sun Oct 08 2023
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
2
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Sun Oct 08 2023
The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
2
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Mon Oct 09 2023
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
2
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Tue Oct 10 2023
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin
3
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Wed Oct 11 2023
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
3
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Thu Oct 12 2023
Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
2
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Fri Oct 13 2023
16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Betweens
2
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Sat Oct 14 2023
Fear Of Music
Talking Heads
3
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Sun Oct 15 2023
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
3
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Mon Oct 16 2023
Dear Science
TV On The Radio
3
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Tue Oct 17 2023
Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
4
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Wed Oct 18 2023
Talking Timbuktu
Ali Farka Touré
3
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Thu Oct 19 2023
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
2
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Fri Oct 20 2023
System Of A Down
System Of A Down
4
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Sat Oct 21 2023
Green
R.E.M.
A strong 2. Considered a 3, but the few good moments don't outweigh the soporific quality of most of the album.
2
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Sun Oct 22 2023
Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
Strong 2
2
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Mon Oct 23 2023
C'est Chic
CHIC
49%
A strong 2 stars.
Nice guitar work, decent instrumentation in general, but quite repetitive and the songs are not nearly interesting enough to be so long.
2
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Tue Oct 24 2023
The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
76
Based on this new scale (my previous ratings are now all inaccurate):
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
I had to look this artist up. When I did, I did not expect that I'd enjoy this very much, as I'm not a fan of R&B, which was the first genre Wikipedia used to describe this artist.
This is actually a pretty genre-less album and I found it to be a refreshing, enjoyable experience.
4
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Wed Oct 25 2023
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
55
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
If I were rating these based on lyrics and general songwriting, it would have a much higher score. However, I also have to evaluate its delivery, which is why this cannot get more than three stars.
Bob Dylan is a great songwriter and composer, but in order for me to realize he's a great composer, I had to listen to other musicians cover his work.
3
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Thu Oct 26 2023
Paul Simon
Paul Simon
39
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
The album is good at what it does, but what it does isn't exciting to me. Some okay bits, especially the slightly bluesier songs near the end.
2
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Fri Oct 27 2023
Chelsea Girl
Nico
6
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
This is bad. The only thing that made this not get a 0 overall was the instrumentation. The vocals were terrible. Absolute waste of time and this is only an album you should hear before you die if you've been convicted of crimes against humanity and must be punished accordingly.
1
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Sat Oct 28 2023
Dummy
Portishead
49
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Interesting album. The vocals didn't really move me, but the compositions were pretty good.
3
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Sun Oct 29 2023
Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
79
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Solid album. Drumming was fun.
4
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Mon Oct 30 2023
Clube Da Esquina
Milton Nascimento
20
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
While the album isn't without its interesting moments, it doesn't appeal to me very much overall.
2
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Tue Oct 31 2023
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beatles
75
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
This is when The Beatles got more interesting. Almost proto-prog. Good stuff.
4
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Wed Nov 01 2023
Punishing Kiss
Ute Lemper
22
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Cabaret music. She has a good voice, but it's cabaret music. This is about as high a score as it can get.
2
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Thu Nov 02 2023
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
79
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Really good album. Long for this kind of list, but some really good stuff, here.
4
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Tommy
The Who
49
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Pretentious rock opera concept album with good drum fills, thanks to Keith Moon. Pinball Wizard's good, as are other bits, but overall, I can't rate it higher than this.
3
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Sat Nov 04 2023
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
22
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Ugh, surf rock. Nice vocal harmonies, I guess.
2
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Sun Nov 05 2023
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
18
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
This is just not for me. I get that she's an important figure in folk music, but I just can't. Some of those notes just hurt me.
1
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Mon Nov 06 2023
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno
21
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
More interesting than compelling, this album is more famous for its importance and influence than for its aesthetics.
2
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Tue Nov 07 2023
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
43
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
I like jazz, but I'm not a big fan of jazz singers. This album has moments that are jazz, moments that are jazzy and moments that are neither. It's pretty good, but forgettable.
3
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Wed Nov 08 2023
Achtung Baby
U2
7
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
For some reason, I'm not surprised that this list would include at least one atrocity committed by the world's most notorious musical terrorists, U2.
As much as I'd want to give everything U2 ever made a score of 0, at the very most, there were a handful moments during the album that had me tapping my foot. Granted, these moments were actually the brief pauses between songs, but still. The silent bits were great, is what I'm trying to say. If U2 had only recorded the silent bits, their contributions to the world would have been significantly less harmful.
Anyway, shame on anyone who thinks that people need to hear this before they die. What has humanity done to you, anyway? Here's a tip from me: if you've managed to get through life without ever having heard a U2 monstrosity, then don't change that. Just skip this torture, along with whatever other abominations by U2 this sadistic list may recommend.
1
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Thu Nov 09 2023
Elastica
Elastica
38
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
I appreciate the punk flavour sprinkled on top of this, but it's far too generic to earn a better score.
2
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Fri Nov 10 2023
All Hail the Queen
Queen Latifah
40
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Decent. I disliked this kind of music at the time, but today, I can see that this is a decent album.
3
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Protection
Massive Attack
19
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
This is just boring.
1
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Sun Nov 12 2023
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
51
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
This was better than I'd expected.
3
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Mon Nov 13 2023
Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
69
Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Eric Clapton's a racist shitbag, but he's not without talent as a guitarist. I'm not a fan of his playing, but that doesn't make it bad. Pretty good blues album. overall.
4
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Tue Nov 14 2023
21
Adele
29Based on this scale:
1 - 0 to 19
2 - 20 to 39
3 - 40 to 59
4 - 60 to 79
5 - 80 to 100
Decent first song and last song, forming the bread around an otherwise uninspired album. Good voice, but poor songwriting and worse composition.
2
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Kala
M.I.A.
16/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Repetitive and dull.
1
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Thu Nov 16 2023
...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
35/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This is generic bubble-gum pop, with occasional catchy bits. I'll say this much; this is far from the worst album I heard this week, thanks to this list.
2
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Fri Nov 17 2023
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
89/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
While the first band to have been described as heavy metal by a journalist and while their song "Communication Breakdown" is arguably the first heavy metal song, I think most people can agree that Black Sabbath's debut was the very first heavy metal ALBUM ever. While Led Zeppelin were largely a heavy blues band, Sabbath's influence is far more obvious in most of today's metal.
What a beginning it was. Iommi's iconic riffs, Ward's frenzied fills, Butler's unmistakable bass lines, with the eerie voice of music's most recognizable vocalist sprinkled on top, to create a proto-doom-metal experience that was just too much for people to handle in 1970.
Absolutely brilliant.
5
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Sat Nov 18 2023
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
95/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Absolute fucking masterpiece. End of story.
5
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Sun Nov 19 2023
Close To You
Carpenters
16/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
As the top reviewer brilliantly said, they should have stuck to carpentry. This is a special kind of boring. It gains a few points with a brief instrumental bit at the end, but not enough to move it out of 1 star territory.
1
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Mon Nov 20 2023
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
18/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Entirely unremarkable. Also, I tend to cringe at any genre name with the word "post" in it.
1
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Tue Nov 21 2023
Debut
Björk
50/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I wasn't sure about how I felt about Bjork's music when I first heard it in the 90s and today, I'm still not sure. Interesting compositions that are often cleverly delivered, but as a listener, I have to ask myself if it does anything for me, beside making me say "oh, that part was pretty cool" every once in a while. It's one of those things I can enjoy on some level if it's on, but I can't picture myself listening to her album on purpose.
3
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Wed Nov 22 2023
The Last Of The True Believers
Nanci Griffith
18/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This app thinks I dislike folk music. That's not really true; I just disliked what it showed me so far. However, I have very little patience for most country music (though I think Brad Paisley plays a mean guitar). Combining country music with this saccharine vocal style is enough to make me quite cross.
The few points it managed to earn were from some of the short instrumental passages.
1
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Thu Nov 23 2023
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
57/100
Based on this scale
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Full disclosure, I'm not a big fan of rap. I have nothing specifically against it, but when I listen to a song, the most important aspect of it to me is instrumentation and the least important aspect of it is its lyrics.
Rap is mostly about lyrics, with little regard for instrumentation. That's tough for someone like me. However, this album explores enough sounds to grab my interest, for moments, here and there.
I'm not into what he does, but he's pretty good at doing it.
3
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Who's Next
The Who
71/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This album has some great songs on it, but a lot of the other songs feel like filler. The Who has never put out an album of the same caliber as the likes of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, as far as I'm concerned. Still overall a very good album.
4
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Sat Nov 25 2023
Machine Head
Deep Purple
90/100
Based on the following scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Ah, Highway Star. I got a speeding ticket when this song came on, even though I was sitting at my desk.
Some great songs with minimal filler. Great stuff!
Oh, one reviewer called Blackmore's solos uninspired. I almost swallowed my tongue. Then, I looked at their history and had a laugh.
Amazing album.
5
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Sun Nov 26 2023
Elvis Is Back
Elvis Presley
36/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This album did not know much commercial success and I can see why. Pretty uninspired and generic. It's a well-produced consumer product, so it gets two stars, rather than one.
Oh, that bluesy number at the end earned it a few more points.
2
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Oxygène
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/100
Based on the following scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I'm trying to like electronic music. I really am. Today, styles descended from this are massively popular. Maybe it means that along the way, this stopped sucking. Either that, or it means that the masses like things that suck.
But yeah, this is sort of like the soundtrack to being given an anal probe by aliens and it leaves one wondering which was more unpleasant; the probe, or the music. At least, the probe presumably served some sort of purpose.
1
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Tue Nov 28 2023
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
37/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Not bad, but the band got better a bit later on.
2
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Wed Nov 29 2023
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
55/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
It felt a bit bland at first, but then the slightly "proggy" elements came in. Even then, the blandness wasn't wholly abandoned, but it managed to be interesting at times. Some nice bits with instrumentation.
3
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Thu Nov 30 2023
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
56/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Hmm, electronic music again? I'm going to continue to try to like it.
Y'know what? This has interesting bits. Two Hearts in 3/4 Time had me grinning. Frontier Psychiatrist is fun too.
3
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Fri Dec 01 2023
A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
45/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I would have probably enjoyed this more years ago, but I no longer do acid. Interesting, but not likely to make me listen a second time.
3
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Thriller
Michael Jackson
59/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Man, did this album ever rock my world when it came out. I was 10 years old at the time and if that version of me had rated this album, it would have had 5 stars.
Today, things are a bit different. No, I'm not talking about MJ's penchant for kids; I can separate the art from the artist. What I'm talking about is an album that has its fair share of filler content. At the time, it wouldn't have bothered me. Today, it does.
Beat It (best song by far, due in no small part to Eddie Van Halen's solo)
Billie Jean (the one other reviewers will say is the best)
Thriller
PYT (as much as I separate the art from the artist, it's hard not to find this one a bit creepy, but y'know, it's okay if I ignore the lyrics)
The Girl Is Mine (if it weren't for Paul McCartney's presence, this would fall under the filler songs)
Those songs are varying degrees of interesting. The rest is filler. A little less than half (arguably) the album being filler isn't bad, by pop standards, but when people call this "the best album ever", I laugh. This does not belong with the likes of Dark Side of the Moon or of Led Zeppelin's... entire discography. Or Tool's "Big Four" albums, if this list hadn't snubbed the band.
It's a good pop album, but the overwhelming majority of pop is garbage, so the bar isn't set very high.
3
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Sun Dec 03 2023
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
20/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This starts off sounding like a tribute to Tom Petty. Then, it gets more boring.
2
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Mon Dec 04 2023
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
56/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
It's Ray Charles. It's comfy, without offering me the mind trip that so many other musical journeys provide.
3
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Tue Dec 05 2023
Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
40/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Like the Internet, I love Dolly Parton as a person. Her music, however, is just not for me. She does cool stuff with her vibrato, mind you.
Not my thing, but she writes nice songs. I bumped this up to the minimum score for 3 stars.
3
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Wed Dec 06 2023
Pump
Aerosmith
70/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
A lot of reviewers hate this, but when this came out in '89, it was a lot of fun. At the time, raw sexual energy didn't upset people the way it does now.
Some people dismiss them as heavy-glam-rock clichés, while failing to realize that these clichés pretty much exist BECAUSE of Aerosmith. When it comes to sexually overdriven rock, they were it.
4
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Thu Dec 07 2023
Ocean Rain
Echo And The Bunnymen
20/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This is not nearly interesting enough, musically speaking, to be as pretentious as it manages to be.
Also, the vocals have a Bonoesque quality about them. Ew.
It barely made two stars, because I've heard worse.
2
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Fri Dec 08 2023
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
25/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
When the album started, I couldn't understand why this album was so poorly reviewed. By the time I got to the song "Tides", I was ready to give it a score that would have given it a strong three stars.
Then, the whole rest of the album happened. That was a weak one star.
So, two stars it is. There was enough that was good about the album to keep it there, but there was too many outright annoying bits to justify going any higher.
2
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Sat Dec 09 2023
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
100/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Led Zeppelin's entire discography is almost perfect.
The people who did not give this 5 stars will be the first against the wall when my reign begins.
5
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Sun Dec 10 2023
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
41/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Meh. Three okay songs. Sounds like a tribute to the Beatles.
3
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Mon Dec 11 2023
Crime Of The Century
Supertramp
64/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Ah, Supertramp. Prog pop's the best kind of pop. That's not saying much, but I rather like it. I'm more of a Breakfast in America kind of guy, mind you.
4
View Album
Tue Dec 12 2023
Ramones
Ramones
54/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Early punk rock, where simplicity is a quality. Fun album, lots of foot-tapping.
3
View Album
Wed Dec 13 2023
Group Sex
Circle Jerks
58/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Short, simple, fast and funny in a juvenile way. In short, punk.
3
View Album
Thu Dec 14 2023
Surf's Up
The Beach Boys
48/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This is a bit better than their usual surf pop nonsense. I don't see how this is "prog pop", but it's better than Animal Sounds, or whatever that stupid album was called.
3
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Fri Dec 15 2023
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
81/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This is the reason I tried this; to discover artists I didn't know. Really great album! The piano and drums are really enjoyable.
5
View Album
Sat Dec 16 2023
Low
David Bowie
53/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Not my favourite Bowie album by a long shot, but better than I thought it would be when I saw that it was a collaboration with Brian Eno.
3
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Sun Dec 17 2023
Superunknown
Soundgarden
44/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I was 22 years old when this came out. I think that may be why I think grunge is an overrated subgenre of rock. They thought they were reinventing the wheel, but they were just rehashing the same old rock tropes, with dirtier hair and more heroin.
It's a tough album to score. Fell on Black Days is good, Black Hole Sun is good and Spoonman is absolutely fantastic. The Day I Tried to Live isn't bad, but is about 4 minutes longer than it needed to be to make its point.
The rest of the album is uninspired, generic and an outright chore to try to finish. The guitar parts often feel like they're the end product of a random riff generator. Chris Cornell's voice is often the song's only redeemable quality.
So the album's high points save its overall score from falling in the two-star territory, but overall, it's mediocre. This won't go over well with all the 40something year olds who were teens when this came out. People tend to perceive whatever music they liked when they were 16 as the pinnacle of all music. They're usually wrong. I know it's subjective, but still, they're wrong.
I appreciate that Soundgarden were bringing a more metallic feel to the punk-influcenced grunge movement, but aside from that, meh. Still, this bears repeating; Spoonman is a fucking banger.
3
View Album
Mon Dec 18 2023
Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
22/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
1981 cookie-cutter pop. Life's too short to waste time on this.
2
View Album
Tue Dec 19 2023
Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
70/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Really cool live album.
4
View Album
Wed Dec 20 2023
Dusty In Memphis
Dusty Springfield
36/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
She had a nice voice and at times, the instrumentation was almost interesting, but these two factors couldn't really make up for the otherwise soporific nature of the album.
2
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Thu Dec 21 2023
Forever Changes
Love
59/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Very strong 3. Some really nice guitar parts and cool string arrangements, but none of the songs moved me enough to warrant giving it a higher score.
3
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Fri Dec 22 2023
Shaka Zulu
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
37/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
They're good at what they do, but what they do is a cappella. Granted, it's more interesting than most a cappella, but it's still a cappella. My patience for it is thin.
2
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Sat Dec 23 2023
Blunderbuss
Jack White
51/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Freedom at 21 is really good and a few other numbers on the album are decent as well, but it's not without its formula.
3
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Sun Dec 24 2023
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
10/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
No. Just no. Stop it with this nonsense. Why? Is this a prank?
1
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Mon Dec 25 2023
The Renaissance
Q-Tip
22/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Good rap is a rarity. This album is no surprise.
2
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Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
36/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I'm torn. On the one hand, I dislike Christmas music, but on the other hand, there is some legitimately good vocal work on this album. Strong 2 stars.
2
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Wed Dec 27 2023
From Elvis In Memphis
Elvis Presley
20/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Suspicious Minds narrowly saved this from getting 1 star. It feels more like a consumer product than like art. Late Elvis felt more like a Vegas act than like the earlier version of himself.
2
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Thu Dec 28 2023
Guero
Beck
30/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This album sits somewhere between "ok" and "just there" for me. It has moments, but I don't think I'll ever listen to it again on purpose.
3
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Fri Dec 29 2023
Hot Shots II
The Beta Band
21/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
When I loaded up the album, I saw that the first song on the album had far more listens than the other songs. While that's not always indicative of much, I sort of felt like this album was going to blow its load on the first track and the rest would be boring.
It turns out that as far as blown loads go, "Squares" wasn't much of one in the first place. "Human Being" wasn't a complete waste of my time, but otherwise...
2
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Sat Dec 30 2023
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
59/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
As a drummer, I really wanted to give them four stars, just because Stewart Copeland is so good. Message in a Bottle, Reggatta De Blanc and Walking on the Moon are all quite good, but the rest of the album is too unremarkable for me to justify four stars, so they get a a strong three.
3
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Sun Dec 31 2023
Untitled (Black Is)
SAULT
20/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This barely escaped 1 star, because every now and then, there'd be an interesting guitar phrase, a beat that was less boring than the rest, even if it lasted too long, or just a moment of near-creativity.
Otherwise, very little instrumentation; mostly loops. Maybe I'm supposed to pay attention to lyrics, but if I wanted lyrics, I'd read poetry. I ignore lyrics in music.
Honestly, I very nearly decided to give it one star. It's just not very good.
Also, there are way too many of those spoken interludes. What part of the word "music" eludes these artists?
I was really close to changing my mind and giving it one star, but then I got to the track Monsters. It wasn't great, or even particularly good, but I didn't feel like skipping it as I felt like skipping the other tracks, so it saved the album from the rating it probably actually deserves.
2
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Mon Jan 01 2024
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
29/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This isn't entirely without merit, mostly due to North American Scum, but it's quite repetitive and the tracks are all roughly seven times longer than they need to be.
2
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Tue Jan 02 2024
The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
19/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I'm a Montrealer, so I feel that it's my duty to like this. If so, I've failed in my duty. I don't understand why anyone would listen to something so mind-numbingly bland on purpose. I tried to give it two stars, because it's not quite as bad as some other albums to which I gave one star, but this doesn't deserve the second star, so I gave it 19/100, the maximum score for one star.
Also, it's way too long. This is punishment.
Half Moon Run would have been a much better option for this list.
1
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Wed Jan 03 2024
Rocks
Aerosmith
60/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Standard issue album by some of the most famous horny-hard-blues-rock bands out there. At the beginning of the album, I thought I was going to give it an entry-level four star score. After all, it has more foot-tapping moments than the overwhelming majority of albums I rated three stars. Then, I felt it dip toward the higher end of three stars. Then, back to four. Then, back to three. Finally, I settled on 60%, giving it the lowest score for four stars.
Brilliant? Hardly. Fun while it lasts? Sure.
Still, it'll get low average reviews today because overtly horny people tend to upset today's young people.
4
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Pretenders
Pretenders
54/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Solid. Better than I expected.
3
View Album
Fri Jan 05 2024
The Contino Sessions
Death In Vegas
17/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This list is hellbent on proving to me that electronic music sucks. Another one of those albums that keeps making you wondering when the thing will even start.
I mean, the thing starts with Dirge. At first, I thought "oh cool, a guitar!" Then the guitar went on to do nothing interesting.
Man, the track was long and boring.
It was all downhill from there for the next few tracks. Aisha had a few interesting moments, if you ignored Iggy Pop's stupid monologue. The tracks that came after were a bit better than the earlier tracks. Whatever points this atrocity managed to earn, it did so in the second half of the album.
This is not for me at all.
1
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Sat Jan 06 2024
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
57/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Hip hop is mostly not my thing, but this isn't bad. The jazzy bits help, though there's no actual jazz in there.
3
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Sun Jan 07 2024
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
80/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
First, I need to take a moment to address the top review for this. Its author thinks that people reading poetry over beats created in Ableton is more important than this classic rock album. Please. Absolutely nothing in the entire history of hip hop is as musically interesting as three of Blackmore's notes on guitar. While I agree that live albums shouldn't be on this list, I most certainly do not wish that some hip hop album had made the cut instead.
However, the absence of TOOL on this list is outright tragic.
With that out of the way, Child in Time is enough to be worth the price of admission, even if the version on 24 Karat Purple is arguably better.
Lost some points on having too many versions of the same songs, but otherwise, it was a good time.
Also, 0-3-5!
5
View Album
Mon Jan 08 2024
Urban Hymns
The Verve
21/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Bittersweet Symphony starts out like it might turn out to be interesting, but quickly becomes boring.
The rest of the album is worse.
The thing is, this is more boring than outright bad, so I had to give it 2 stars.
2
View Album
Tue Jan 09 2024
S&M
Metallica
39/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
As far as I'm concerned, Metallica stopped being a metal band the day the Black Album was released. They should have changed their name to Rockallica.
As this album happened in 1999, the band was already a full decade past its pre-sucking days. While the presence of older tracks on this album is welcome, the overall delivery is disappointing. Lars Ulrich is not a live drummer and it's painfully obvious here.
Also, when it comes to integrating an orchestra into metal, Dimmu Borgir (to name but one) released a far superior product to this. Metallica's effort make the band and the symphony feel like two separate entities playing in parallel, rather than acting as a cohesive whole. It's a fucking mess.
I would love to punch Bob Rock in the face for having convinced James Hetfield that he could sing. He can't. He used to scream well enough, as long as his vocals were layered over multiple tracks. Now that he tries to sing, it's painful.
Master of Puppets is on the shortlist of best albums ever. It's sad that the same band was responsible for... this.
Perhaps most importantly, my cat hates it.
2
View Album
Wed Jan 10 2024
Yeezus
Kanye West
53/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
This is a case of having to separate the art from the artist.
As a person, I can't stand Kanye West.
As a genre, I'm not a fan of hip hop, but I can appreciate it in moderate doses.
As shitty a person as Kanye West may be, this album is on the better side of the spectrum when it comes to hip hop. I don't pay attention to lyrics in music, so while the bits I picked up were idiotic, that is irrelevant to me. If I want lyrics, I'll read poetry. That's probably why I'm lukewarm on hip hop as a genre.
Anyway, this isn't bad.
3
View Album
Thu Jan 11 2024
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
58/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I expected more from this. The three hits were good, but the rest felt like filler, with decent moments.
3
View Album
Fri Jan 12 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
22/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
While it has occasional grooves that don't suck, this is better in tiny doses. A whole album of juvenile rappers yelling nonsense at me is a bit much. It's like going to Baskin Robbins and trying all of their one flavour.
It's not nearly good enough to be this long.
At one point, I was like "okay, I get the point of this long, repetitive song." It turns out I was only 5 seconds into the song, so this "long song" was in fact a set of several. Holy fuck, these guys have no creativity.
Please stop yelling at me with those squeaky little voices.
2
View Album
Sat Jan 13 2024
Van Halen
Van Halen
79/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
If it weren't for uninspired tracks like Atomic Punk, this would have made 5 stars. It's an excellent album, but it's not entirely without filler.
4
View Album
Sun Jan 14 2024
En-Tact
The Shamen
16/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
All right, you've convinced me. Electronic music must be garbage, because every bit of it in this list has been garbage.
Stop. Nobody needs to hear this abomination.
When I heard the first track, I thought it could only get better from there. Surely, the bottom of the suck barrel had been reached and broken.
I was wrong. It got much worse from there.
For a second, I thought Make It Mine may break from the cycle of suck, but it did not.
1
View Album
Mon Jan 15 2024
This Is Hardcore
Pulp
31/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Not actually bad, but not good either. The best parts can best be described as "okay" and the worst parts are just boring.
I tend to ignore lyrics, but from the bits I noticed, they're probably the best thing about this band.
2
View Album
Tue Jan 16 2024
Pearl
Janis Joplin
79/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Simple, heartfelt blues. This was such a nice change of pace from the Britpop and electronica bullshit through which I've had to suffer.
Didn't crack 5 stars because there are some weaker tracks, but the good tracks are absolutely fantastic.
4
View Album
Wed Jan 17 2024
Moss Side Story
Barry Adamson
14/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Daphuq? Is this a joke?
Debut album, no less?
"I want to put myself out there. Oh, I know! Concept album! Soundtrack for a movie that was never made! That's the ticket!"
Some moments didn't entirely suck, so still better than U2, but c'mon, man. Nobody needs to hear this before they die, unless it's their punishment.
1
View Album
Thu Jan 18 2024
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
21/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
I like neither The Byrds, nor country, so this was not very enjoyable at all.
2
View Album
Fri Jan 19 2024
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
28/100
Based on this scale:
1 star - 0 to 19
2 stars - 20 to 39
3 stars - 40 to 59
4 stars - 60 to 79
5 stars - 80 to 100
Not actually bad, but eminently forgettable. Case in point, I listened to a couple of songs, but had to put it away and came back a few days later. I had completely forgotten what I'd heard so far.
This list has no shortage of boring shit on it.
Here, the music is often interesting, until the singing ruins everything. If your voice has a naturally soporific quality about it, then just sing lullabies and leave the rest of us alone.
2