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Fri Oct 06 2023
Van Halen
Van Halen
There it is. The first album of this journey. Also the first album of what is arguably one of the most legendary rock bands of all time. And oh boy, what a debut. For this being their first album, it's spectacular! The sound immediately captured me in its fantastic energy. Eddie's guitar work will always stand the test of time. And do I even need to mention Eruption? Easily one of the greatest rock instrumentals of all time. It’s not a perfect album or anything, but it is very fun and good. I'm kind of lucky to get music that appeals to me like this as my first on the journey. I am now very excited to see what else this generator brings me. 4/5.
4
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Sat Oct 07 2023
Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
"It's like Moz once said, 'Hold on to your friends.' Morrissey. The Smiths. You don't know 'Meat is Murder'? It's one of the best songs ever written about industrialized beef consumption." Well, Eagleton Ron, let's see about that. I did not know what to expect going into this album. I've never heard a Smiths song before today, so going into an entire album might be somewhat of a risky move. Honestly, I thought it was pretty alright. I really liked the instrumental work. The guitar on tracks like "The Headmaster Ritual" and bass on "Barbarism Begins at Home" were pretty neat. Despite what I've heard about Morrissey as a person, his vocals are pretty good. I think some of what this album has to say is pretty good too. This is far from a bad album, and I see why it and it's band is iconic, but I don't think I'll really ever get a hankering to listen to it again, and it's not gonna stop me from eating cheeseburgers any time soon. 3/5. 7/10 if it was out of 10.
EDIT: As it turns out, I actually like this album way more than a lot of albums on the list, I just didn't know that would be the case two albums in. This is pretty good. 4/5.
4
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Sun Oct 08 2023
Bossanova
Pixies
This is definitely a pretty cool album alright! Similarly to The Smiths, I had never heard a Pixies song before. Unlike The Smiths, I'm not entirely sure if I had even heard of them before either. They did, however, influence some other bands that I like, so I was very eager to give this album a shot! And I gotta say, it was worth that shot. This album is great! The sound is pretty unique, but it really strikes a chord for me with it's blend of the lighter surf-rock and darker grunge styles. I think I saw a review on this site or some other site that said that some of the tracks don't stand out much on their own, but work really well together to form a great album. Honestly, I kind of agree. There were some great songs, don't get me wrong. I really liked Velouria, All Over the World, and Dig for Fire, for instance. But I feel that the experience of this album as a whole is probably better than the experience of most of these individual songs. Overall, I think this album is really good. Perhaps I'll be able to appreciate it a bit more once I get to some of their more popular albums like Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. Or maybe I'll like this one less in comparison. Who knows? But for now, I think I'll give it a 4/5.
4
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Mon Oct 09 2023
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
This album marks a few firsts for me. Perhaps the most notable of those being my first country album of the project, my first 60s album of project, and my first live album of the project. I definitely enjoyed listening to this. This is kind of a similar thing to the previous album I reviewed, "Bossanova", where the experience of the album is better than listening to its individual songs. This is made even more prominent with this being a live album where you can hear the reactions of the audience during the transitions between songs. Honestly, the energy of the crowd and Johnny himself are what make this such a fun listen. The songs are pretty good, but they're a bit basic and not really my thing. I do really like Johnny's singing though. His voice is iconic for a good reason. What's potentially even better than the songs, however, is just the feel of the whole show. The way the crowd reacts during songs like "San Quentin" is pretty entertaining, and the way Johnny plays along, clearly knowing how the prisoners feel, is just as good. I don't like the censorship though. Overall, I liked the experience, as well as the context behind it all, but I don't really see myself listening to it again. I have a lot of respect for Johnny Cash, however. Perhaps I should've listened to the legacy edition instead. From what I've heard, the legacy edition content includes some pretty neat things involving other artists. High 3/5.
3
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Tue Oct 10 2023
Bad
Michael Jackson
I'm kind of surprised to get an album from an artist as big as Michael Jackson this early on, but it's definitely a pleasant surprise. There's not really a ton to say about Bad. Contrary to its name, this album is quite good. Obviously, Michael's vocals are very unique and good. Some of the songs on here are quite forgettable, but the memorable ones are great! Obviously, the title track, as well as Smooth Criminal, are absolute classics. The sound of the album is very 80s. Even though I haven't heard it yet, I do feel like this album has a hard time living up to Thriller, but it is definitely a pretty good successor from an all-time great artist. Even if that artist may have allegedly been pretty weird with kids. Still, I am making it a goal to separate the art from the artist for this project. HIGH 4/5.
4
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Wed Oct 11 2023
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
I just keep getting luckier and luckier, don't I? From Johnny Cash, to Michael Jackson, to David Bowie. A back-to-back-to-back string of legendary artists. This is the first real concept album that I've reviewed so far. This album is essentially a rock opera telling the story of the titular androgynous alien rock star himself. From the moment he comes to a dying earth, to what seem to be his dying moments. I don't really know what to say about this album. It is absolutely a masterpiece. For once, I don't think there are any bad songs on the album. All the others have had at least a song or two that weren't quite as good as the others. This one though? All of the songs are bangers, both on their own and as a cohesive album. The sound is triumphant and glorious, yet also showing a sign of the loss of glory that Ziggy himself faces throughout the album's story. Bowie's vocals are great, with the backing tracks being even more awesome. Everything just comes together to form an absolutely legendary album from a legendary artist. 5/5. The first of the project.
5
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Thu Oct 12 2023
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
Well, a week has already gone by. And oh boy, do we have an interesting album to end the week with. This also marks a few firsts for me, similarly to the last one, the most notable of which to me being my first album by a female artist and my first non-rock or rock-inspired album. Funnily enough, that's not the only connection to the last album I listened to, as David Bowie actually covered the title track from this album. It might seem surprising, but I don't think I had heard of Nina Simone before today. I gotta say, this was a great introduction. I can't really say that this album had a bad song on it. The tone was very consistent and wonderful, despite this being a compilation album. Her voice is very pleasant to hear. The piano work was quite good. Some of the songs are about meaningful topics that weren't sung about as much in the 60s, with Four Women being the pinnacle of that. After doing some research, I can absolutely see the impact of this album and artist. And seeing as this is apparently the only one of Nina Simone's albums to be on this list, I feel like giving this album a 5/5 is the right call.
5
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Fri Oct 13 2023
Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
Behaviour (or Behavior for Americans like me) is definitely an interesting album. Apparently it's quite different from what is usually to be expected from the Pet Shop Boys, and I can kind of tell. Early on, this album didn't seem that amazing to me. Unlike a few of the albums I've listened to so far, I feel like the second half is better than the first. This might be kind of weird to say, but I feel like I'd enjoy listening to just the instrumentals of some of the songs more than the versions with vocals. The instrumentals, by the way, are amazing. I really like the chord progressions and instrumentation. Fun fact: some of the guitar work for this album was done by The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Pretty neat how some of the albums I've done for this project are connected to each other. This album has some pretty interesting subjects that it tackles. I didn't even notice at first that the opener "Being Boring" was supposed to be about AIDS. The ending was pretty good. I thought it was weird at first that it didn't end with the song called "The End of the World," but Jealousy proved to be an even better finisher. Overall, I don't feel that passionately about this album, but it's pretty good nonetheless. High 3/5.
3
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Sat Oct 14 2023
Arrival
ABBA
I can't believe these guys copied the famous Icelandic pop group BABBA and their classic song "Disco Girl". All Gravity Falls references aside, this album's pretty alright. I'm not huge on it or anything, but it's definitely not bad. ABBA isn't really a band made for full album listening. You just kind of throw on some of their songs during a community college Halloween party (I didn't say anything about referencing other shows). The instrumentals are pretty neat. Dancing Queen is an absolute classic for good reason. The singing isn't bad at all. I'm not the biggest ABBA fan out there, but I do respect them and their music. I just don't think the full album experience is anything special. The bonus track "Fernando" slaps though. Overall, pretty catchy and well done, but nothing to write home about. 3/5.
3
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Sun Oct 15 2023
american dream
LCD Soundsystem
Would you look at that. The first album I've listened to so far from the 21st century. Neat! Anyway, this album's alright. I think the general concept with what American Dream wants to say is pretty good. The subject matter is quite modern and the writing does good at showing these themes at times. The song "black screen" is a pretty good and a nice tribute to David Bowie. I think some of the instrumentals are pretty groovy. The bonus instrumental track "pulse (v.1)" really shows that LCD Soundsystem knows what they're doing. I do have a few problems though. Even though some instrumentals are really good, others have some weird decisions at times. My other problem is that it could've been a bit shorter. I don't really think this needed to be nearly 90 minutes. Because of this, it kind of dragged a bit at points. Overall, probably one of my least favorite albums for this project so far, but I wouldn't call it bad, and I see why others like it. I can definitely see this being subject to change, as other albums that show up might be a lot worse. light 3/5.
3
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Mon Oct 16 2023
Back to Basics
Christina Aguilera
And here we have the most overt pop album I've done so far. It was also released the year I was born! Anyway, this one's okay. I think Christina is a really good singer. Her voice lends well to these songs. The writing and subject matter is a bit basic, though. The album is a bit too long, but unlike the last album I listened to, LCD Soundsystem's "American Dream," that comes from the amount of songs, as opposed to the length of the songs. Something interesting about this album is the clear split between the first and second halves in terms of tone. The first half is fairly consistent, with the same general sound and use of horn samples throughout. The second half started by feeling pretty unique, then it made me uncomfortable, and it ended fairly strongly. Overall, nothing amazing, but a pretty decent album all things considered. 3/5.
3
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Tue Oct 17 2023
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
Well, I can't say I was something like this to happen so soon. We return to the world of LCD Soundsystem. I already listened to American Dream just two days ago, so how does Sound of Silver compare? I do think I liked it a bit more. For one, it's shorter. One of my big complaints with American Dream was just how long it was. Sound of Silver is still decently long, but I wouldn't consider it too long. What I would consider it, however, is repetitive. Each song typically contains a few lines that are repeated throughout, with the title track having just 5 lines total. The sound itself is also quite repetitive throughout the album. It didn't really drag or anything, but some songs definitely suffered a bit from the repetitive nature of this album. I think that's why my favorite song on the album was definitely the album's closer "New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down." I didn't think this album would have a better closer than Black Screen, but they proved me wrong. I guess it's kind of the other way around though, seeing as this album came out 10 years before American Dream. Overall, pretty decent and maybe a bit better than American Dream, but I still don't think I'm a huge LCD Soundsystem fan. 3/5.
3
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Wed Oct 18 2023
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
Well, that was definitely the weirdest album I've listened to so far. It's also my first non-English album, so that's neat. I actually liked this one quite a bit. As stated earlier, this album is very weird, but I think it's in a good way. It is psychedelic rock after all. This album goes all over the place, and yet somehow makes it sound somewhat cohesive. The lyrics, while I don't fully understand them due to the language barrier, yielded some good results when I put them into google translate. Despite having never heard of this band or album before today, I think this album deserves to be on here because of the cultural context behind it and the fact that it's just a fun album with plenty of surprising turns in its direction. low 4/5.
4
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Thu Oct 19 2023
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
Wow. What an album. This is the most recent album that I've listened to for this project so far. I can't believe I hadn't heard of Michael Kiwanuka until now. This album is phenomenal. The titular Michael Kiwanuka is a really good singer. The lyrics and subjects for these songs feel very personal to him. The sound is simultaneously classic-feeling and quite modern. This album has so many seamless song transitions, you'd think he was crazy. And I love it! This album really is just a great package. I've seen some people (including a certain "Internet's busiest music nerd") say that the album's interludes don't really work. I disagree. I think the interludes really drive home the feel of this album and provide more of those glorious transitions. This is easily the best album I've listened to for this project in like a week. 5/5.
5
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Fri Oct 20 2023
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
First off, I want to start by saying that I really like the name "The Flying Burrito Brothers". I just think it's really funny. With that positive statement out of the way, I am not the biggest fan of this album. Given the name of both the album and artist, you'd expect something really weird akin to the Os Mutantes album I listened to a few days ago. In reality, it is merely serviceable country music. I really do not like modern country music, but classic country's alright. It's just not really my thing. And you know what, that's okay. This album's sound is pretty good. The lyrics and subject matter are fine. Nothing really stuck out to me. I wouldn't call it bad per se. I'm sure there are people who would really like this album... but I'm not one of them. I will however show it some courtesy due to its influence and the fact that it's a country album that I didn't absolutely hate by giving it a low 3/5.
3
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Sat Oct 21 2023
Ramones
Ramones
Ramones by the Ramones is a pretty influential album, but not a very impressive one overall. This is one of the first real Punk albums ever released, so that's pretty cool! The sound of the songs is pretty neat, especially for the time. I do, however, have a few problems with this album. For one, it is quite repetitive. Even if I like the sound of the album, all of the songs sound the same, so there's not as much substance as I would like. Instead of feeling like 14 songs, it just feels like one 29-minute long song. Speaking of which, this album is really short, but I guess that's a good thing with the aforementioned repetition. Also this album has some really weird lyrics, and not in a good way. Take for instance, the second song, which is about wanting to beat a kid with a baseball bat. Yeah. Or the last song where the singer claims to be a Nazi (although that one can be explained by the perspective being from a Hitler Youth member). Overall, I definitely understand why this album is on here, but it's nothing really special to me personally. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Oct 22 2023
Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
Fifth Dimension by the Byrds is definitely an album that exists. I though it was alright. It is a fairly important and influential album, as it helped lay the groundwork for psychedelic rock. However, this album on its own isn't anything that I find that special. It's decent, but not much more. The fact that 4 out of the 11 songs are covers makes it feel less original than it should. There are some bonus songs as well, but I didn't really see a ton of value in them. I like the sound of the album, though. It's nice. Some of the songs are pretty good. The general feel of the album is good. It's nothing special, but I definitely wouldn't call it bad, and I definitely understand why it's on here. 3/5.
3
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Mon Oct 23 2023
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was. I wasn't looking forward to it that much at first. I didn't want to do another 60s album, I wasn't interested in doing an album mostly comprised of covers, the album cover didn't seem interesting to me. When I listened to the album, however, I really liked it. It was pretty good. The titular Otis Redding has quite a good singing voice for the songs he wants to sing. Despite most of them being covers, the songs fit together quite nicely. I really like the instrumentals, what with the brass and keyboards and all. I don't have much to really say about this album. It's just a really good soul album. It's kind of like a "greatest hits" of soul music in a way. I think this project is starting to make me realize how good soul music can be. Because of that and the impact it has had on soul as a genre, I think I'm going to give this a 5/5.
5
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Tue Oct 24 2023
On The Beach
Neil Young
On The Beach by Neil Young is a pretty good album, alright. It's only 8 songs, but none of them are particularly bad. Neil's a pretty decent singer. The whole album has this really well done feel where it's fairly melancholic, but not too depressing. The subject matter fits that as well, with some varied topics ranging from Neil's feelings on his career to Charles Manson. Apparently, this album is connected to some of Neil's other albums, so I may want to listen to those later. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who you ask, Neil Young has more albums on here than most other artists, so I'll eventually get to experience more of his long career. In conclusion, this album is just a solid folk rock album. I think I'll give it a strong 4/5.
4
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Wed Oct 25 2023
Transformer
Lou Reed
I want to start this review by getting a potentially controversial complaint out of the way. I'm not a big fan of Lou Reed's singing in this album. I can tell that he can sing if he wants to, but it doesn't sound like he wants to. Half the time it just sounds like he's talking. He does good when he tries though. However, despite my complaint there, I think everything else about the album is really good. The instrumentals are quite good and have some interesting sounds with each song. I really like David Bowie's work on this album. The pacing and of the album is just right. I think the biggest and most important thing to discuss about this album is the lyrics and subject matter. The fact that an album all about drug use, sexual orientation, and gender identity released in 1972 is astonishing. The songs get their points across quite well. Overall, while the singing could've been more interesting, this album is quite good and absolutely deserves to be on this list. high 4/5.
4
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Thu Oct 26 2023
Music
Madonna
This album is kind of like the opposite of Transformer for me. I think Madonna is a pretty good singer. Don't get me wrong, I think Lou Reed's singing could grow on me with future listens to other Lou Reed albums as well as the Velvet Underground albums, but I wasn't a big fan of his singing. What I'm trying to say is that while I think the singing was the worst part of Transformer, I think the best part of Madonna's "Music" is her singing. Nothing else really stuck out to me that much. I didn't like the sound on a lot of the songs. I just don't think that the contrast between the techno sound and the almost folk-like sound work well together. Some of the songs dragged on for me. Did "Paradise (Not for Me)" really need to be 6 minutes? Some of the songs were good though. I think the closer, Gone, is the best song in the album. The editing just isn't my thing a lot of the time. Overall, I can see why others might like it a bit and I understand why this album is on here, but this just isn't my thing at all. low 3/5.
3
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Fri Oct 27 2023
More Specials
The Specials
Despite the band's name, I did not find this album to be very special at all. As much as I can appreciate the instrument work that went into this album, I didn't really care for the sound. None of the songs really stuck out as being that great to me. The singing wasn't anything to write home about. I can appreciate some of the lyricization for some of the songs, with there being some good messages in there as well, but other songs just didn't really make sense to me. While I can appreciate what this album tried to do and I have respect for the band itself, I just don't think I am a fan of this type of music. low 3/5.
3
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Sat Oct 28 2023
Violator
Depeche Mode
I wasn't sure I would be a big fan of this album going into it, but I was very pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked it. There's something about this album compared to other synth-heavy albums I've listened to already (i.e. Behaviour, both LCD Soundsystem albums, etc.) that just really clicks with me. The sound is synthy, but also quite a bit darker than the others. I feel like I shouldn't have liked the sound much given my current track record, but it just works for me for some reason. The vocals stuck out to me as being quite good. The lyrics and subject matter are somewhat connected throughout each song without it seeming too repetitive. I don't really know what else to say. I think this album is pretty cool. Very high 4/5.
EDIT: This might actually be one of my favorite albums of all time. 5/5.
5
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Sun Oct 29 2023
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay
A Rush Of Blood To The Head is a good album in my opinion. Coldplay is one of those bands that you either love or hate, but I don't think I'm really in either camp. I don't think they deserve to be hated on, but I can see why someone might not like Coldplay that much. With that said, I did like this album in particular. I think that the overarching theme of relationships and existential crises is handled in a good and interesting way. The songs of the album are pretty alright. Clocks is an iconic song for a reason, and the other songs don't disappoint either. The singing is pretty good. The album is definitely on the longer side, but it didn't really drag for too long. This album isn't perfect and I don't really see myself listening to it again in the future, but it is without a doubt a well made album that I respect. Light 4/5.
4
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Mon Oct 30 2023
Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt
And here we have an album that just kind of exists to me. I don't really know what I can say about this album because of how neutral I am to its existence. I think the singing is pretty good. Bonnie Raitt definitely isn't a bad singer, I'll give her that. The songs are nice, albeit a bit repetitive at times in terms of what the songs are about. The instrumentals are fairly simple, but they get the job done quite well. Does this album deserve to be called "Album of the Year" at the Grammys? Probably not. Maybe this album was important and groundbreaking at the time, but it doesn't really seem special to me now. Still, I will acknowledge that is definitely not a bad album. 3/5.
3
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Tue Oct 31 2023
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
I wasn't looking forward to this album that much at first. It just kind of seemed like another random uk rock album I had never heard of to pad out the 1001 albums. Instead, what I got was arguably the best rock record I've listened to for this project so far. This thing is spectacular! I'll start with my one complaint, however, and that's the fact that I can't understand the singing sometimes. That's not a huge issues though, and the singing is good otherwise. The instrumentation kind of reminds me of Meat is Murder by The Smiths, but better, in my opinion. I did like that album, and in retrospect I'd probably bump it up to a low 4/5 instead of the 3 that I gave it, but I do like this album more. I think it's a pretty unique album that defined a somewhat important cultural scene back in the day. I think some of the ideas like having one song that's basically the one before it but backwards is a pretty novel concept, even if Don't Stop is probably the worst song on the album. I really liked the other songs though. Songs like Made in Stone and She Bangs the Drums really stuck out to me as being top-notch. The whole album has a fairly consistent tone, yet still gives some variety. Overall, a phenomenal album that I can't believe I hadn't heard of until now. 5/5.
5
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Wed Nov 01 2023
Urban Hymns
The Verve
This album's pretty alright. It's definitely not bad, in my opinion. I'd call it good even. The album started off very strongly with the band's most famous song by far "Bitter Sweet Symphony". And yeah, that song's an absolute classic. The other songs aren't bad though. Some of them drag a bit, like the back-to-back "Catching the Butterfly" and "Neon Wilderness", but most of the others are good. The singing is somewhat hit or miss, but when it's good, it's good. It's almost a concept album of sorts, all about life. I think it works well. I like the inclusion of a secret instrumental at the end, but why is the break in between so long? Overall, I think "good" is kind of how I feel about this album as a whole. I don't feel super strongly about it either way. It's just a decent album. light 4/5.
4
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Thu Nov 02 2023
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
What is there to be said about Pet Sounds that hasn't been said already? This is probably one of the most influential and important albums of all time. But does it deserve that status? Yeah, it totally does. This is a pretty solid album by today's standards, but by 1966 standards? This thing is a freakin masterpiece! This whole album is very finely crafted to make something great. The singing, both when solo and all together, is quite good. The writing and lyrics are impactful, leading to this whole album feeling very personal to Brian Wilson. The instrumentation is very diverse, and the tone ranges from very feel-good in songs like "Wouldn't It Be Nice", to quite somber pieces like "Caroline, No". Overall, while there may be a few albums I've given a 4 that I might like more than Pet Sounds, the sheer impact and impressive nature of this album warrants a very deserved 5/5.
5
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Abbey Road
Beatles
I know I said there wasn't much to say about Pet Sounds that hadn't already been said, but I genuinely don't know what to say about Abbey Road. It's The Beatles, likely the most iconic and influential band that has ever or will ever exist, at what is arguably their peak. Some people could go into a whole rant about how overrated The Beatles are, but I just can't. This album is a masterpiece by today's standards. Imagine how groundbreaking this was in 1969! The variance in tones and moods, the vocal harmonies between the band members, the writing, everything about this album is just phenomenal and very experimental for the time. The medley in the second half is mind-blowing at times when you think about the culture of the era. I can't really think of a song on here I don't like. Even something like Maxwell's Silver Hammer, as weird as it is, is still enjoyable for me. I think my favorite thing about this album is the finality of it all. You can feel that the band knew this would be the last album that they ever record. It adds this mood to the second half in particular that feels like the finale of a really good TV show or movie series. I haven't even listened to the other albums from before this, and yet, this feeling still shined through. It cannot be underestimated just how influential and amazing this album and band are. 5/5.
5
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Sat Nov 04 2023
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
Well, after listening to Pet Sounds and Abbey Road back to back, this seems like a bit of an end to a streak I had going with extremely iconic and beloved albums. This album, however, isn't bad. For one, I think that Solomon Burke has a phenomenal singing voice. His singing is easily the best part of this entire album. The compositions aren't bad on their own. All of the songs on the album are at least decent. My main problem with this album, however, is how similar it feels, not just to itself, but to other music. All of the songs are quite simple in terms of lyrics and the compositions are a bit too similar to each other for any of them to stand out. It also feels a bit derivative of other pieces of music from the era. Overall, a decent soul album, but not one that really sticks out to me. 3/5.
3
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Sun Nov 05 2023
Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
You know, every album I've listened to for a project has given me some reason to say, "Yeah, I could see this being one of the top 1000 or so most important albums to listen to." Whether the artist and/or album has an iconic legacy, the ties to a specific genre or music movement give it historical value, or the album is just really good, these albums (for the most part) all make sense to be on this list. Teenage Head by Flamin' Groovies does not make sense to be on this list. Between Wikipedia, Apple Music, and the description on this very website, the only thing of value that I gathered about this album is that Mick Jagger liked it. That's it. But hey, something doesn't have to be popular to deserve recognition. Maybe this album is really good to give it that value. Well, if you're looking for a really good album, look somewhere else. This album has two songs that I thought were decent (Yesterday's Numbers and Whiskey Woman). The others made me feel practically nothing. While this album isn't horrible or anything, and I didn't feel any true negativity while listening to this, I can not find a good reason as to why this should be considered for this list. 2/5. The first of this project.
2
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Mon Nov 06 2023
Melodrama
Lorde
Now this is an album that deserves to be on this list. I'm not really a fan of pop music in general, but Lorde's Melodrama is an album I can get behind. Everything about this album is very well crafted. From the lyrics, to the beats, to the storytelling. This is an incredibly well-made album that I have a ton of respect for. This almost doesn't feel like a pop album just because of how conceptual it is. This is a pretty good example of a concept album, with the whole album telling a story relating to the start and end of a relationship, beginning and ending with the party that started it all, going over the early obsession phase, the breakup, the acceptance of the breakup, and more. Overall, while this type of music isn't really "my thing" per se, I have a ton of respect for this album and artist and I can absolutely see why this is considered one of the best albums of 2017. High 4/5.
4
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Tue Nov 07 2023
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
Why is there not a single song on this album about buildings or food? I can't believe I was lied to. All jokes aside, this album's pretty alright. I really like the instrumentals for this one. The whole album is very funky and I like that. The lyrics, while some songs had me a bit stumped as to what they were about, were well written and some of the meaning behind some of the songs were quite good. The pacing of this album is pretty alright as well. Now, let's talk a bit about what is, if I had to guess, the most divisive aspect of this album and band; the singing. I feel like David Byrne's singing is very love-it-or-hate-it. I myself think it's really goofy most of the time, but sometimes the singing is pretty good. I don't hate listening to the singing, but it's not the ideal experience for me. Overall, this album is definitely influential and I understand why people really like it. light 4/5.
4
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Wed Nov 08 2023
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
Wow. What a beautiful work of art. This was one of those albums where I kind of had to listen to it to understand if the album deserves to be on this list or not. What I found while doing research was widespread critical acclaim, and even with that, I was still shocked at how great this was. Everything is so expertly crafted, and it honestly feels ahead of its time. The singing is emotional, the tone is consistent, and the writing is quite good. This is basically "Depression: The Album" and I mean that in the best way possible. Everything feels so organic, which is really sad when you think about it. Still, this is an absolute work of art that was severely underappreciated in its time. Thankfully, it has received widespread acclaim in the decades since this album's release, and has deservedly been included in this list. 5/5.
5
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Thu Nov 09 2023
The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators
This one's okay. I'm starting to run out of things to say about these albums. I definitely respect this album for being one of the first real psychedelic rock albums ever made. That gives it value and a reason to be on this list. The album itself definitely isn't bad. The instrumentals are good. The writing can be good at times. The singing is hit or miss for me. Sometimes it's good, other times it isn't. I think the singer does good screams. These reviews are really starting to blend together, aren't they? Oh well. This album isn't really anything special to me, but it was a nice short listen that I would call a milestone album for this specific genre of music. High 3/5.
3
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Fri Nov 10 2023
I Should Coco
Supergrass
I'm starting to feel like this list has every single britpop album ever made on it. Oh well, at least this one's pretty good. I like it. After listening to quite a few pop-punk albums for this project, I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about it, but I will say that this album is basically the perfect blend of pop and punk. The whole tone and mood of this album is consistently great and very enjoyable, with the exception of We're Not Supposed To. I didn't like that song very much. Other than that one song, this album is quite good overall. The singing is good, and the instrumentals complement that singing quite well. It's probably the most British album I've listened to so far, but that's not really in a bad way. This is definitely a solid album, and I somewhat understand it's inclusion in this list. light 4/5.
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Imagine
John Lennon
Let's start by getting this out of way: Yes, John Lennon was not a great person. However, I am here to listen to and review these albums primarily by how good they are, with the cultural impact of the album being the only other thing that even remotely impacts the rating. With that said, this album is just kind of alright. First of all, it does kind of peak at the beginning with the title track. There are other good songs on here, but I do feel like the titular "Imagine" is probably the best one. John's singing is pretty decent as well. The songs topics range from simple declarations of love for Yoko to what is arguably one of the first popular diss tracks in "How Do You Sleep?". That's honestly kind of funny. The instrumentals are quite good at times, and I really like George Harrison's guitar work. Overall, not the best work from a Beatle that I've heard, but it still isn't bad. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Nov 12 2023
m b v
My Bloody Valentine
This is kind of a weird one for me in terms of how I feel about it. There are definitely things that I like. I think that the instrumentation, while a bit noisy at times, is well-made and I can tell that the people at My Bloody Valentine have a talent for making music. Everything else about this album just doesn't click for me though. The singing, if you can call it that, is weird and slow and I don't think I like it much. I don't exactly know what this album is supposed to be about. Obviously, not every album needs to be high concept, but I'm just not sure what they were going for. I'm not the biggest fan of the whole feel of the album, but I can see why others like it. I just don't really "get it". It's well made and I can appreciate the work that went into it, especially with how long it took to get this thing to finally come out, but I just don't think it's for me. I'm definitely willing to give this band another try later for some of their other albums that are also on this list, but I don't really see why this one specifically needs to be on here. Low 3/5.
3
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Mon Nov 13 2023
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
Wow. What a great album. This one gives off a similar feel to Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake, another album that I listened to recently for this project. Honestly, I think I like this one a bit more. The sound of the songs themselves is great, with the singing and instruments complimenting each other quite well. The instruments in particular really stuck out to me as giving off the perfect type of sound for an album like this. What really elevates this album is the writing. This whole album is very self-reflective and very personal, which gives the lyrics a whole new level of gravity to what's being sung. This is just another expertly crafted album by another tragic artist that absolutely deserves to be on this list. 5/5.
5
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Tue Nov 14 2023
Dummy
Portishead
I have to say. This album was way better than I was expecting it to be. While I still haven't listened to a rap record for this project yet, this album does have hip-hop-esque production. That production, by the way, is really well done. And I mean that in the good way, not the steak way. This whole album just has immaculate vibes all throughout. The use of sampling suits the album very well. The singing is oddly fitting for an album with beats like this one. Speaking of beats, they're really good as well! This album's mood is perfectly executed, and there really isn't a bad song. This album gives me similar emotions to Violater by Depeche Mode, another album I've listened to for this project. Honestly, I should've given that one a 5 in retrospect, and I think this one deserves a 5/5 as well.
5
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Heroes
David Bowie
Well, well, well. If it isn't the first artist to give me a 5/5 for the project. My hopes for this one were quite high given Mr. Bowie's track record for me so far. Did he give me another 5/5? Well, I think Heroes barely misses the mark. This is still a pretty good album. It goes in some interesting directions, the instrumentation is great, and the singing, while not quite as consistently good as it was in Ziggy Stardust, is still pretty good. Speaking of instrumentation, Robert Fripp's guitar work is great, and the talent that went into this album is insane. The title track is really good, and some of the other tracks are quite good as well. I think my big complaint is that it just feels more confused than Ziggy Stardust. That album had a concept and it ran with it. Heroes doesn't really seem to have any major goals in mind. It starts with some pretty standard rock tracks before going into a more avant-garde set of instrumentals in the second half. I can appreciate the willingness to do more than the basics, but I don't really know if that switch worked for me as much as it could have. The instrumentals did make my math homework quite a bit more bearable though. Overall, Heroes is a pretty good album, but I definitely wouldn't call it my favorite of David Bowie's catalog. 4/5.
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Thu Nov 16 2023
Want Two
Rufus Wainwright
Well, here's a pretty weird album. But you know what? I liked it. This is an album that goes in a few interesting directions that come together to form a pretty solid album. The opening track didn't sell me and is probably the worst on the album. Once the other songs started, then it started to reel me in before closing on another somewhat weak note. But the stuff in between those two songs is quite good. The sound was well made. I've seen some reviews on this site claiming that all Rufus does is whine instead of sing. Honestly, I don't get where those people are coming from. I think that the singing is just fine. There's some pretty interesting subjects in the songs, and this album definitely shows the range of the artist. Overall, I thought this album was pretty decent. Although, maybe listening to Want One will make me understand it a bit more. light 4/5.
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Fri Nov 17 2023
Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
You know, I can't say I was ever expecting to listen to a female-fronted punk album featuring saxophone solos in it. Anyway, this one's okay. I was quite intrigued when doing research and also when I started the album. It's definitely an interesting album to say the least. The sound is pretty good, with the saxophone solos being a great touch. The lyrics and writing touch on subject that remain relevant to this day. However, I have two main problems with this album. First off, I'm not the biggest fan of the singing at times. It just doesn't really resonate with me all that much. Secondly, and this is the big one, is that after a few songs, this album became quite repetitive and samey. Each of the songs just kind of blended into each other. Overall, not a bad album, but not the greatest thing in the world. I do think that another rock album with saxophones from another band could be an interesting idea though. light 3/5.
3
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Sat Nov 18 2023
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
This is an absolutely fascinating album. To start off, it's a concept album, and a great one at that. The idea of an album all on the "downward spiral" of a man is one that can either be really good or really embarrassing. Fortunately, this one ends up in the former of those two categories. It is a very haunting album, to say the least. The writing captures that feeling of incoming madness and tells a great cohesive story. I have an immense amount of respect for this album. However, my respect for the album is quite a bit higher that how much I actually like the album. It's quite well made, but I don't really know if the sound of it is for me. The vocals feel too quiet at times, and I can see where they were going with the editing on the vocals and instruments when it comes to the concept, but I just don't really know how to feel when it comes to how good I think it sounds. The final thing I need to bring up is whether or not I prefer the original or the Johnny Cash version of Hurt. I think both versions have very distinct feels and honestly tell different stories. They're both very good in their own ways. Overall, this is an expertly made concept album that I'm never going to listen to again. 4/5.
4
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Sun Nov 19 2023
Fun House
The Stooges
This is some good stuff right here. This is a pretty short and focused album. It knows what it wants to do, and it does it in 7 songs throughout 36 minutes. This is just a really solid punk album all throughout. The writing fits the time period while also not aging too poorly (even if some parts can be made uncomfortable if you think too much about Iggy Pop's history). I really like the instrumentation on this album. One big problem I've had with some of the punk albums I've listened to is that they get pretty repetitive. Fortunately, with only 7 songs, this album doesn't have the time to get repetitive. The songs actually stand out from each other. I do think this album could've been a bit crazier though. With a name like Fun House, you'd think that this would be like an actual circus. This album is not that, but it's still pretty good. The vocals could've been better, but could've been a lot worse. The screaming was pretty good when it happened though. Overall, a pretty good punk album. 4/5.
4
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Mon Nov 20 2023
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
I want to start this review with the one complaint that I have about it. I did not enjoy listening to "The Murder Mystery." I have... respect for the song, but it just give me too much of a sensory overload that I feel like if I ever listened to this album again, I would probably skip this song. But would I ever listen to this album again? Yeah, probably. Aside from the one skippable song, this is basically a perfect album. Going back to when I listened to Lou Reed's "Transformer" a while back, my one complaint with that album was that I didn't like Reed's singing. Fortunately, his singing in this album is a million times better. The singing from the other members is great too. The songs have interesting writing that makes you really think about these songs. The instrumentation and tone are expertly crafted as well. Overall, this is a (mostly) phenomenal album, and I'm willing to excuse the one song that freaks my brain out and give this album a 5/5.
5
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Tue Nov 21 2023
Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
What a great album, man. I wasn't expecting there to be any movie soundtracks on this list, but if there's any movie soundtrack that deserves to be on this list, Superfly is a strong pick. Even when looking at this album on its own, it still tells somewhat of a story and serves as a concept album of sorts about drug abuse. Despite the subject material, this album is very funky, and I like that. Curtis's singing is quite good and works well with the songs. I think the instrumental songs added quite a bit to the album's concept to really make you understand what's going on in the story better. The pacing works wonders for this as well. Overall, this is a great album with a great concept that manages to stand out as both a great accompaniment to a movie that I might want to watch in the future, and an amazing standalone concept album. 5/5.
5
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Wed Nov 22 2023
At Budokan
Cheap Trick
Here's an album that I'm going to forget about as soon as I finish this review. Look, this isn't a bad album or anything. I think the instrument playing in particular is good enough. I just don't really care all that much. Maybe I would've cared a few weeks ago, but at this point it might be possible that I'm starting to become numb to 60s and 70s rock. The writing on these songs is incredibly basic and the singing isn't that impressive to me. On a more positive note, at least the songs don't all sound the same. They sound similar, but fortunately it's not too repetitive. I guess I kind of understand why this is on here from an impact standpoint. Apparently this album and band was pretty big in Japan and Cheap Trick did influence bands that I do like such as Nirvana and Green Day. However, this album in particular does nothing for me. 2/5.
2
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Thu Nov 23 2023
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra's "Out of the Blue" is another example of an album that I would call "pretty good." I think this album has a lot going for it. The production on this thing is top-notch. The instrumentation, the editing, and the whole flow of the album are very high quality, especially for 1977. The songs are quite enjoyable. Some of them are a bit somber in their theming, and others are Mr. Blue Sky. Speaking of which, the big hit from this album and ELO's biggest song ever is a hit for a reason. Sure, it is a bit overplayed and I may have heard it in too many movies by now, but it is absolutely a good song. The singing is alright. It's not the best singing I've heard, but it definitely isn't bad though. My main complaint about this album is that it's too long. This thing did not need 17 songs. Oh well, at least it wasn't annoying as well. The length really isn't that big of a deal. Overall, this is a solid album with some good songs. Light 4/5.
4
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Pyromania
Def Leppard
Here it is. The 50th album. And on Thanksgiving too! I'm genuinely shocked that I've managed to have the dedication to doing this for 50 whole days. So, is Def Leppard's Pyromania fitting for an occasion like this? Not really. This is a very basic rock album. The writing is fairly simple, the riffs are made to be catchy, and it's a very accessible album as a whole. Does this mean that the album is bad? I wouldn't say so. I enjoyed listening to this album. I just don't think it's anything too special. Bands like this thrive more on their standalone big hits than their full-fledged albums. Overall, this album does its job of being an accessible metal album and that's about it. It's fun and cheesy, but not exactly a masterpiece. High 3/5.
3
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Sat Nov 25 2023
Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
After 50 albums, I finally got a hip-hop album. I've never really been a hip-hop guy. I've always respected the genre, I just don't really listen to it all that much. Despite that, I was quite excited to finally listen to a hip-hop album for this project. So, does Ill Communication by Beastie Boys disappoint? Absolutely not. This is a very interesting album right here. It goes all over the place in the best way possible. I said that it was a hip-hop album, which is correct, but it also has elements of rock and jazz as well. Somehow, all of those blend together to form something good. The lyrics are very referential, with there being common theming between the references like jazz artists. I think the most interesting part of the album is the fact the second to last song is straight up a song all about Buddhism. That's just really interesting to me and I don't know why. I guess my main complaint is that the vocal effect on the vocals doesn't really resonate with me much. It just kind of makes it hard to understand the lyrics at times. Overall, this is a fascinating album and a somewhat worthy pick of being my first full hip-hop album that I've listened to. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Nov 26 2023
Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
You know, there's a lot to commend about this album as far as the time it was released in goes. This album is quite important. It was the first album of The Rolling Stones (one of the biggest and most influential bands of all time) that really hit it big. It also did some things that hadn't really been done before. The opening track "Mother's Little Helper" was apparently the first pop song ever written about middle-class drug dependency, at least according to Wikipedia. The song "Goin' Home" was one of the first popular 10-minute+ long songs, so that's kind of neat. However, I did not really like this album that much. I respect the album in regards to its musical talent and cultural significance. I think the singing and instrument playing is quite good. However, I have two major complaints. For one, it does get somewhat repetitive. It's not the most repetitive album I've ever heard that still gets points for its cultural significance (cough cough, Ramones, cough cough), but it is definitely somewhat noticable. Secondly, the biggest complaint of them all, is that the writing has not aged that well. This album is remarkably misogynistic at times, and was even criticized for this all the way back in the 60s when it released. I definitely felt uncomfortable at times with songs like "Under My Thumb" in particular. Overall, definitely a culturally significant album, but not one that I really liked listening to. 2/5.
2
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Mon Nov 27 2023
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Okay. So for whatever reason this album is like an enigma of sorts. The website says this album released in 1957, even though it released in December 1956, the album cover on this website is one that I couldn't find anywhere else, the album isn't on my streaming platform, and weirdest of all, the wikipedia link on this website links to the article for Fats Domino himself, rather than this album. Maybe things are just really weird with 50s albums (of which this is the first I've listened to for this project). I seriously have no idea what's going on here. Anyway, this album's alright. It's some pretty basic 50s rock and roll, which isn't really a bad thing. I think that this serves as a pretty good representation of music at the time. Mr. Domino is quite an influential artist, having influenced the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, however I was not able to find much evidence supporting the major cultural impact of this specific album. Maybe this is more of a representation of him and his career as a whole. Regardless of that, I give this album a high 3/5.
3
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Tue Nov 28 2023
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
This is a nice little album right here. Simon and Garfunkel are definitely one of the most legendary duos in all of music, and after listening to this album, I can kinda see why. This is another short album, but it doesn't feel like it went by too quickly. The songs are fairly simple, but they're good. There are some interesting things to look at here. The closing track seems pretty fitting for right now given that it's basically Christmas time and the world is still in the never ending chaos that is the 2020s. Speaking of now, this album has aged pretty well. The writing is, again, a bit basic, but still well thought out. The mood is a bit somber, but not too somber, with some lighthearted moments thrown in there. I don't have much to say. It's a solid folk rock album, and that's kind of it. High 3/5.
3
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Wed Nov 29 2023
The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
This might be the cheesiest album I've listened to for this project thus far. However, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this album. This is early 80s hip-hop in its purest form. This album is a bit repetitive at times, and some of the songs do go on for a bit too long. Fortunately, there's only 7 songs, so it is pretty short overall. Still, there is a nearly 6 minute long song about how much the group loves Stevie Wonder. I can't blame them, but I don't think the song needed to be that long. The title track, which also happens the be the album's closer, is an all-time classic. I wasn't sure if I had heard it before listening, but once it started, I recognized the beat, although it may have possibly been from another song that sampled it. Overall, a decently influential album that, while fun, doesn't really offer a whole much to stand out as an exceptional album. 3/5.
3
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Thu Nov 30 2023
Make Yourself
Incubus
I am going to say what is quite possibly the most controversial thing I have said for this website so far. I don't hate nu-metal. Don't get me wrong, there is some really bad nu-metal out there (I'll get to you eventually, Limp Bizkit), but it also has some decent stuff. This album is almost that. I didn't dislike this album as much as I thought I would. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't horrible. The vocals, could've been better, but definitely aren't the worst vocals I've ever heard. The instrumentals had some weird choices (turntable moment), but weren't really bad. The writing occasionally had some of that vulgarity that comes hand-in-hand with nu-metal, but wasn't too constant or that horrible when it was there. Despite those, I thought the album was kind of okay at times. This album isn't even fully nu-metal. Some songs don't really have those elements, like at all. Overall, an okay album, but not one with a ton of impact or anything to really stand out all that much. 2/5.
2
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Fri Dec 01 2023
A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
I don't know if I was in a bad mood or what, but I did not like this album. It basically represents everything that hasn't appealed to me with some of the albums on this project I've done so far. It's repetitive, unoriginal (I'm fine with covers, but with only 3 out of the 12 songs being written by the Everly Brothers themselves, it's a bit too much on the "they didn't write these songs" side of things), boring, and worst of all, it hasn't aged well! That first song. Oof... That is what you call an uncomfortable listen. I guess this serves as a representation of the music of the time, but maybe I just don't like the music of that time. I also don't like the singing. I don't know why, I just don't. The instrumentation is probably the best part of the album, and even then it's only average at best. Also, what's with all the fade-outs? I know I'm nitpicking at this point, but it happened for what I think was all of the songs. With all of those, as well as this specific album not really having much impact (even if the artists have had a slight cultural impact), I think this album warrants my first ever 1/5.
1
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Now this is some great music right here. After getting my first 1/5, I was really hoping that I would get something that was at least decent to follow it up. Luckily, Tea for the Tillerman is a great album. I really don't have any complaints. Cat Stevens is a very unique singer, but I definitely like his singing. I like how he's able to vary his singing depending on the song (or in the case of the absolute classic that is "Father and Son", depending on who's speaking in the song). The writing is meaningful and goes over various topics that are both personal and still relevant to many people to this day. The instrumentation is pleasant, with there being some variety in what instruments are used for different songs. Overall, this is an amazing album that, because I'll probably grow to like it even more over time, deserves a 5/5.
5
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Sun Dec 03 2023
Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
I genuinely can't tell if this is a good album or not. Every other album I've listened to, I've been able to determine whether it was good or bad. Abbey Road is a good album. A Date With The Everly Brothers is a bad album. As for Talking With the Taxman About Poetry? I don't know! This album has some stuff going for it. The instrumentation isn't bad at all. The way the music sounds is pretty decent. The writing, while a bit weird at times, contains some good lyrics. The messages are definitely respectable as well, with "There Is Power in a Union" being a fairly nice song about, well, power in forming a union. There's just one *small* problem with this album. I can't take this seriously, and it's all because of the singing. It's not painful like others on this site have said. It's just goofy and not fitting for these songs. Maybe with a better singer this would be definitively good. However, I can't say that I didn't feel anything. If there's one thing that this album isn't, it's boring, which should warrant a 3 or higher, but can I really say call this a good album? While there was some genuine enjoyment, some of it was also pretty ironic. Is it bad? Is it good? Well, I think I should look at cultural impact as a sort of tiebreaker, if you will. I wasn't able to find any significant cultural impact for this album, with Billy Bragg's career having a very minor cultural impact. Because of that, I think giving this album a high 2/5 seems fair.
2
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Mon Dec 04 2023
Planet Rock: The Album
Afrika Bambaataa
Don't get yourself ready for another rock album. We've been lied to. This is not another rock album. This is, as the name does not suggest, an 80s hip-hop album, and a mediocre one at that. I'll start with the thing I like. The beats aren't that bad. I liked them at times, and they were pretty well made. That's really the only thing about this album that stands out though. The rapping itself is just kind of okay. The lyrics are repetitive and uninteresting. The album also kind of drags a bit. It may only have 7 songs, but those songs range from nearly 4 minutes to 7 and a half minutes. Why? I don't know. My overall problem with this album is that it lacks substance. Most of the songs just feel like, "Hey, we're rockin' and rappin'! Here's the crew!" It feels like a couple of singles cobbled together to form a not-so-cohesive package... probably because that's what it is, at least according to the wikipedia article. Overall, this is an album that starts with a pretty decent hip-hop song, before continuing into an uninteresting drag, produced by someone with some major allegations against him. 2/5.
2
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Tue Dec 05 2023
Who's Next
The Who
Finally, an album that I can say, with 100% confidence, is deserving of being considered and album that you should listen to before you die. It feels like I haven't gotten very many of those lately. Luckily, this is a phenomenal and absolutely iconic album. You'd think that, given my track record as of lately, a 9-song, 44-minute-long album would drag quite a bit and have songs that feel like they never end. Somehow, that isn't the case. All of these songs are great, even if some of them could be seen as "filler-y". Admittedly, this album is strongest with the opening and closing tracks, but everything in the middle is still amazing. The usage of synthesizers and other instruments creates what are arguably some of the most iconic riffs of all time. I really liked the vocals. All of the singers do great jobs, and the screaming in particular was some of the most satisfying screaming I've ever heard in rock music. The album feels cohesive, yet varied at the same time. Overall, this is a legendary album, and a really good one at that. 5/5.
5
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Wed Dec 06 2023
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
Okay. Aftermath did not leave a good taste in my mouth for Rolling Stones albums. Sticky Fingers definitely has more impact than Aftermath, as well as higher praise. I mean, it does have a JoJo stand named after it, so clearly it must be better, right? This would be the part where I break the bad news and say that it isn't, but fortunately, Sticky Fingers is a way better album than Aftermath. Everything about it just works for me in ways that Aftermath didn't. I definitely liked the instrumentation more. The brass usage was definitely unexpected, but very welcome. The writing was also immensely better. My big complaint with Aftermath is that it just hasn't aged well. While Sticky Fingers isn't completely devoid of questionable lyrics (looking at you "Brown Sugar"), it definitely isn't as egregious as it was there. The songs are quite a bit more thoughtful as well. A lot of them are about drugs, but that fortunately doesn't get repetitive with how varied the songs can be. This album isn't perfect and it is a bit too long in my opinion, but it is a pretty good album that definitely deserves to be on this list. Strong 4/5.
4
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Thu Dec 07 2023
Gasoline Alley
Rod Stewart
If I had to describe this album in two words, those words would be "nothing special." This is certainly an album that exists. It's not horrible or anything, but it's not particularly interesting. The most interesting thing about this album is Rod Stewart's singing, which is interesting, but not exactly for the right reasons. I don't like it. It sounds like an elderly Chris Rock trying to be a mediocre folk artist. The other parts of this album are just kind of fine. The lyrics are okay, the instrumentation, while somewhat varied, doesn't stand out that much. This album kind of suffers from what I call "Long-Ass Song Syndrome", where an album has a fairly low song count, but most of the songs are way longer than they need to be, so the album kind of drags a bit. Think about it. Why does "Come Across Shorty" need to be 6 and half minutes long? More importantly, why is this album on the list? Rod Stewart had 10 number-one albums in the UK. Gasoline Alley was not one of them. This album has little to no cultural significance whatsoever aside from being one of the first albums of a pretty popular artist. Overall, this is a forgettable album that has no real reason to be on this list. 2/5. I sure hope the next album I get isn't another 70s rock album.
2
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Fri Dec 08 2023
The Coral
The Coral
Okay. This album does not deserve to be on this list. It simply does not have enough cultural significance or substantial quality to warrant its inclusion. Fortunately, more recent versions of the 1001 albums book have omitted this album from the list. With that said, this album isn't that bad, at least compared to the other albums that I've claimed do not deserve to be on the list. The sound is pretty good at times. It's somewhat interesting. The singing could be better, but it could be worse. The writing was a bit confusing, and I'm not exactly sure what most of the songs were about. The album doesn't really drag on for too long, which is good. I did actually like this album at times. However, it is fairly forgettable and, as stated earlier, is not significant or excellent enough to belong on this list. However, I will give this album credit for being decent and give it a light 3/5.
3
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Sat Dec 09 2023
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
So, are these guys fighting against Foo or for Foo? Weird band names aside, this is pretty great. First off, I have to commend how this band is even successful in the first place. The fact that the drummer of one of the biggest bands of the 90s managed start a band as the frontman and have it become nearly as successful as Nirvana was is immensely respectable. I have nothing but admiration for Dave Grohl. Speaking of Dave, despite the album sharing the name that would belong to a full band, this album is, for the most part, just Dave Grohl. And you know what? He does a pretty good job. This man has to have a crazy amount of talent to play all of the instruments, do all of the writing, and the singing for this one album. Good job! Anyway, all of the aforementioned aspects of this album are pretty good as well. The songs are memorable and stand out from each other. It's not necessary to have listened to Nirvana to understand this album, but it does help knowing the context behind everything to understand songs like "I'll Stick Around" and "Alone + Easy Target". I like the tone most of the time. Some songs aren't quite as good as others, but the whole album's pretty solid. However, I have to admit that it might have made more sense for "The Colour and the Shape" to have been the Foo Fighters album of the list. I mean, that's the one with Everlong on it. What more could you say. Despite that odd choice on the book author's part, this is still a solid album and a representation of what would come of grunge post-Nirvana. 4/5.
4
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Sun Dec 10 2023
Metallica
Metallica
If there's any genre that I listen to on my own time more than any other, it's probably metal. And yet, I haven't gotten an outstanding metal album yet for this project. Sure, I started with Van Halen and that was pretty good, but I have yet to get a truly defining metal album for this project. Until now. This is a really good album from one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Say what you will about their later albums or Lars's drumming or whatever. Their first 5 albums are some of the best of the genre, and this was the last of those. This is probably the band's conservative album. Not so much in the political sense (aside from Don't Tread on Me), but rather in the sense that it's not quite as experimental as albums like Master of Puppets or And Justice For All. Despite that, the style is so finely tuned that nothing else matters (see what I did there?). There is some variance in here. Look at this album's two most iconic tracks, Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters. The sounds have similar aspects, but the tone is very different between the two songs. The instrument playing is quite good, as this was near the end of Metallica's peak. I was surprised by the quality of James Hetfield's singing for songs like "The Unforgiven". Metallica's performance when playing live can be hit or miss, but the studio quality for those early albums was top-notch. The writing is solid and gets the points across well. Those points, by the way, remain relevant to this day. Overall, while this album probably isn't Metallica's best, it does remain as their most successful album, and absolutely deserves to be on this list for its excellent quality and cultural significance. Light 5/5.
5
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Mon Dec 11 2023
Better Living Through Chemistry
Fatboy Slim
This is not a review of an album. You want to know why? Because Better Living Through Chemistry by Fatboy Slim is not an album. It is a collection of random beats. That's it. Let me just say that I don't have a problem with instrumental songs or albums. I haven't listened to any other instrumental albums, but I do know that they can be good and meaningful. You don't need to use lyrics to have emotion in a song. You can use aspects of the musical composition like chord progression to tell a story. This collection of beats does not tell a story or do anything unique of the sort. It's just beats. The beats aren't bad. I could see these making for good songs. That's just the thing. These could make good songs. However they do not stand out enough on their own to constitute as good songs. They're serviceable background noise I guess, but they don't really have much value beyond that. Why is this album even on the list? Fatboy Slim apparently has better albums, one of which is also on this list! I think it's just another classic case of "We wanted to represent an artist so we used their debut album even if it's far from their best work." Overall, I don't care about this one. It's well made, but it doesn't mean anything to me. 2/5.
2
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Tue Dec 12 2023
Murmur
R.E.M.
You know, R.E.M. has never really stuck out to me as being one of the all-time great bands, but after doing some research that I hadn't done before, I can see why people consider them to be among the greats. They were one of the first big alt-rock bands, and with this being their debut album (what's with all the debut albums on this list, by the way?), Murmur serves as one of the first major alt-rock albums. So how does it hold up? I think it holds up pretty well. This is a good album. The writing is admittedly a bit confusing, but it just works for some reason. You can still feel that there's something to be said with each song. You can't hear it though. Yeah, the singing is a bit unintelligible at times, but I can tell that Michael Stipe is a decent enough singer. The instrumentation is quite nice, and has the perfect balance between positive and negative vibes. It kind of makes me feel similar things to how I felt with Meat is Murder by The Smiths all the way back for my second album of the project. However, this album doesn't have a weirdly, kind of mid title track, so I do think this is a better album. I don't even know why I'm comparing those two albums other than "I kind of felt similar feelings when listening to them." Anyway, this is good debut album from a pretty iconic band. 4/5.
4
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Wed Dec 13 2023
Hypnotised
The Undertones
I do not like this album. Let me explain why. The sound of the album is just kind of okay. It is passable early 80s punk rock. The bass is good at times. The singing is fine. It does nothing for me, but it's not inherently bad. Those are the positives. I don't like anything else. This might just be the most repetitive album I've ever listened to. Why does there need to be 15 songs if they all sound the same? All of these songs are practically the same thing, both in terms of sound and lyrics. Three of songs (20%) have the phrase "Boys will be boys", including a song of the name "Boys Will Be Boys". That should tell you what this album is like. Most of the songs are just about girls. That's it. I couldn't discern anything else! This album has absolutely no lasting impression; not just on me, but on culture as a whole. This album does not deserve to be on this list. I. Don't. Like. It. 1/5.
1
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Thu Dec 14 2023
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
Would you look at that. This album's pretty good. I liked it. However, I don't have much to say about 3+3 by The Isley Brothers. The singing is quite good. The sound is nice as well. Some songs lean more into funk, while others are closer to soul music. There's enough variety in the songs, both in terms of lyrics and sound, for it to not get too repetitive by the end of the album. The lyrics definitely aren't bad. This is just a pretty decent funk/soul album. I do have to point out that the Isley Brothers are still a thing, albeit with different brothers. The fact that these guys started in the 50s and still go today is very impressive. From what I've heard, this album is one of their best, and I believe it. This is some good stuff. light 4/5.
4
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Fri Dec 15 2023
In Our Heads
Hot Chip
Well, I think this might be the biggest surprise out of any album I've listened to so far. First of all, I was surprised to even get a relatively modern album. Sometimes it feels like this list is just 90s and earlier, so getting something from 2012 felt pretty nice (even if that was 11 years ago). What really surprised me with In Our Heads by Hot Chip is just how much I liked this album. I was really worried that I wouldn't be a fan of this album. I don't know why, but I just wasn't that excited. After listening to the album? This is pretty great! I had to make sure that I was in the right mentality for this album, as I had heard that it wasn't anything super mindblowing or complex. I just had to expect a pretty fun album with decent music. With that in mind, this album managed to exceed my expectations. The singing and writing are admittedly not the most special, but they're not actively bad either. The album is also a bit long. The sound of the album is where my praise really comes in. My favorite thing about this album is just how different each song is. They're all clearly the same genre, but each song stands out from each other in a way that a lot of albums just don't. This is a very good album that serves as a nice fun listen for someone looking for some good electronic music. Strong 4/5.
4
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Sat Dec 16 2023
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
Look. There are definitely some positives to "Ready To Die". However, there are also some very obvious things about this album that make my enjoyment of it lower that it probably should be. I should start with the positives. Obviously, The Notorious B.I.G. is arguably one of the greatest rappers of all time. His voice makes his rapping stand out in a great way. His flow is absolutely impeccable, and I do think that he is a great rapper. The sound of the album is also quite good, and there are some great songs on here. Unfortunately, this album has some major missteps. The writing, for one, falters at points. Sometimes, the "gangsta rap" lends itself to some thought-provoking tracks like "Things Done Changed" and "Juicy". Other times it just kind of ends up feeling edgy and unnecessarily vulgar. I'm fine with songs have controversial lyrics if they have a point to them. However, not all of these songs feel like they have a point to make beyond being about Biggie's history with crime. Finally, I have to talk about the skits. Sometimes they work to further tell a story, like at the end of "Warning". However, a lot of the times are just kind of gross. I have to admit; this was the first time I ever had to skip a song on an album. The interlude was just... no. On top of that, the ending skit of "Respect" was similar in that they are both just sex sounds. That's not music, and it kind of ruins the listening experience of the album. I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel. I understand the value of this album. It serves as a harrowing tale about the dangers of inner city crime, and Biggie himself is a phenomenal rapper. However, the skits and lyrical matter drag this album down to being one that I just don't personally enjoy listening to as a whole. 3/5.
3
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Sun Dec 17 2023
Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
I can't say I expected to get 2 rap albums in a row, but I'll take it I guess. Anyway, Boy In Da Corner is a weird album. It was one of the first big albums of the Grime genre, and I can't say I'm the biggest fan of it. It's not bad or anything. I just don't really get it myself. The rapping is decent enough. I don't really know if the accent works for rapping though. The beats aren't bad. They're well made. The writing isn't the best, but it's good at times. Surprisingly enough, I did somewhat start to warm up to it a bit by the end. That took a while though, as this album does drag quite a bit. Overall, I kind of understand why this was put on the list, but I wouldn't really recommend it myself. It just isn't my thing. High 2/5.
2
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Mon Dec 18 2023
Vulnicura
Björk
This might just be the most depressing album I've listened to so far. And I listened to a Nick Drake album! However, that is not a bad thing. Björk's Vulnicura is a concept album of sorts, focusing on emotions surrounding a real-life breakup of hers, among a few other things in the later songs. This album is executed wonderfully. This also ended up being the most artsy album I've listened to so far. This isn't the kind of music that you or I would listen to casually during a normal day, and that's fine. Different kinds of music can serve different purposes, and this album happens to succeed at its purpose. The sound is quite interesting. I really like the usage of string instruments, and the occasional electronic sound adds even more things to pay attention to while listening. The singing, while somewhat hard to understand at times due to the vocal effects, is very good. The writing is pretty simple, but oh so very effective. You can really feel that there's a story being told, and the given emotion that a song focuses on can really shine through. It's all very personal. It is, like the past few albums I've listened to, a bit long, but it works better here since the feelings one experiences regarding a breakup last for quite a while. Overall, while this is definitely not the kind of music that I listen to, Vulnicura does exactly what it wants to do in a very unique and respectable fashion. Light 4/5.
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Tue Dec 19 2023
Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
Wow. Now this is a great album. It's pretty cool that Kate Bush and her music got a resurgence in popularity recently, and based on this album, which happens to include the song that got really popular, it's absolutely deserved. The sound is quite interesting at times. I really like the usage of different instruments, particular on side A. You've got a cello in the title track, some really good strings in "Cloudbursting" and even a didgeridoo in "The Big Sky". When your album has didgeridoo in it, that automatically earns my respect as an album willing to take interesting directions. The writing is probably the highlight of this album for me. It's very interesting and does a great job at telling the story. Speaking of story, this is somewhat of a concept album, at least for the second half, which tells the story of someone lost at sea. While I do think that the first half is stronger from a music perspective, I highly respect side B, also called "The Ninth Wave" for doing something neat. Overall, this album is excellent and really paved the way for other artists to do similar, yet very different, things with their music. 5/5.
5
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Wed Dec 20 2023
Bummed
Happy Mondays
Well, well, well. We meet again, Madchester. I've listened to a few albums from this fairly niche movement before, and I quite liked them. The debut album from The Stone Roses in particular stood out to me as a truly great album. So how does Bummed by Happy Mondays compare? Not well. I did not care for this album. The sound is pretty decent. It's somewhat repetitive, but I wouldn't say it was too repetitive, even if it was kind bordering that edge. The singing was okay at times, but also was just kind of dumb at others. The lyrics don't make much sense to me. I couldn't really gather what most songs were about, and when I could, it was about drugs or sex. I just wasn't interested in this one. Apparently this band has another album on this list, so I'm not excited for that. However, apparently that album is better than this one, so I'll try to remain optimistic whenever that comes up. For now though, this album gets a 2/5 for being uninteresting.
2
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Thu Dec 21 2023
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
What the hell did I just listen to? I don't know how to feel about this! The sound is just weird. It's decent at times, but at others it just feels like noises. The singing is horrendous. Sometimes it sounds like Waluigi with weird voice effects. The falsetto is even worse! It genuinely sounds like Chris Chan at times (if you don't know who that is, good. Don't google them.). The writing is nonsense, and the theming is unclear. This album is just a load of nonsense! But you know, at least it's interesting. At least I can laugh at this album for how goofy it is. It actually kind of wraps around to a sort of "so bad it's good" type of deal. There's enjoyment to be had in the madness, even if it is completely ironic. Also, at least it's only 35 minutes! So, while I can't in good consciousness give this a high rating and I never want to listen to this again, I can at least give it the courtesy of not being a 1 since it actually stands out and isn't completely void of effort. Low 2/5.
2
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Fri Dec 22 2023
Medúlla
Björk
And so, we return to the world of Björk. I listened to Vulnicura a few days ago for this project, and I quite liked it. I thought it was a really good album. So, how does Medulla compare? Well, I think this one's good too. It's very refreshing to listen to an avant-garde album that doesn't make you want to tear your ears off after listening to Duck Stab yesterday. I think the idea of having an album focused primarily on a cappella is one with some substantial merit to it. While this album isn't totally instrument-less, it does focus on instruments less than the average album. Björk's singing is still quite good. This album was released 11 years before Vulnicura, and her voice didn't change much in that time, which is something that I consider to be good. This album isn't as focused as Vulnicura. That one was clearly a concept album through and through. While this album does occasionally go back to common themes tying to motherhood and politics, it's not as evident through the lyrics, which are a bit more abstract than they were in Vulnicura. Overall, while I liked that album a bit more, I do still think that Medulla is a good album, and my opinion of Björk's music remains a positive one. High 3/5.
3
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Sat Dec 23 2023
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
I've never been this happy to get a classic rock album. I didn't think I'd miss all of them, but after getting some other, more abstract stuff, sometimes it's just nice to kick back and listen to something classic, and it's hard to get more out of classic rock than Led Zeppelin. This album's pretty good. I really like the variety that's here. One thing I don't miss about a lot of classic rock albums is how samey the songs can feel. Luckily, Physical Graffiti has diversity in it's sound between each song. My opinion on Robert Plant's singing varies at times. Sometimes I'm not really feeling it, but most of the time I can definitely enjoy what it adds to the songs and performances of said songs. The writing on this album is also quite good. It's aged well, for the most part. This album is definitely a bit long and some of the songs definitely drag a bit, but it's not the worst instance of an album dragging I've heard so far. The sound in this album is quite great. The band's members definitely have substantial talent, and I think that Led Zeppelin's sound is extremely iconic. Overall, while it's not my favorite classic rock album, Physical Graffiti is still a really good album that deserves to be on this list. Strong 4/5.
4
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Sun Dec 24 2023
Soul Mining
The The
First off, I just want to say that "The The" is kind of a dumb band name. It's not the worst band name that exists, but I just think they could've come up with something better. Anyways, Soul Mining is a pretty good album. I really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. The album does start with the worst song, but it gets significantly better after it. The sound is very 80s, but it's not bad. I think the instrument usage is solid. The singing is quite different than what I expected from an early 80s English rock band, but that's also a good thing. Sometimes it's good to listen to different styles of singing. What really stands out about this album is the writing. This album really does have a way with words that turns songs like "The Sinking Feeling" and "Giant" from good songs to great songs. Overall, I think this album is quite good. Light 4/5.
4
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Mon Dec 25 2023
Drunk
Thundercat
Hey, look at that. A fairly modern album. You don't see a lot of those on this project, so it's pretty cool to get something new regardless of if it ends up being good or bad. Fortunately, I really liked this album. Let's start with the positives. I think the sound and production on this album is excellent. Thundercat clearly has a talent for music, which can be easily seen through things like the production of the album, as well as his bass playing. I also like his singing. It's nice. Another thing that I like is the whole feel of the album. It's nice, but also thought provoking. It manages to have songs about death that aren't completely depressing for a change. Speaking of which, the writing is alright. Some lines are kind of silly, but there's a charm there. I have two problems with this album. For one, it is a bit long and some of the short filler tracks are a bit unnecessary. Finally, the features could've been better. I think they do fine enough, but they don't really enhance the songs as much as they could have. Overall, this is a very nice album and a change of pace from what I usually get. Also, Fantano was wrong. This is not a 6/10. It's at least a 7. As for my own 5 star rating, I think I'll give it a light 4/5.
4
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Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! I think it's really fun that the guy who runs this website decided to give everyone the Christmas album on Christmas itself. You know, I can't say I've ever wanted a Christmas gift from a convicted murderer, but I will gladly take "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector", because this is some good stuff. There really isn't much to say. This is an album with some absolute Christmas classic. They're some pretty good covers too. Some of these, like the Ronettes version of "Sleigh Ride" are even considered by many to be the definitive versions of these songs. The songs themselves are good Christmas songs. None of them have aged particularly poorly (although as long as you're not including Baby It's Cold Outside, I'm pretty sure you're set). It does end weirdly with Phil Spector thanking the listener over an instrumental of Silent Night. Obviously that's weird now with what we know about Mr. Spector, but even on its own it's kind of a weird way to end the album. Overall, it's nothing crazy, but a nice little treat for the Christmas season. High 3/5.
3
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Wed Dec 27 2023
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
You know, I'm kind of surprised it took this long to get a Bob Dylan album given how highly praised he is. Oh well, I got one now and I thought "Bringing It All Back Home" was pretty good. You know an album's iconic when all of its songs have wikipedia articles. I'll start by talking about Dylan as a singer. Sometimes he's good, other times he's not. It kind of fluctuates for me. I didn't like his singing in the opening track, but it was alright for the rest of the album. Where Bob Dylan really shines though is not in his status as a singer, but as a songwriter. This is a man that knows how to write a song. The writing is fairly abstract, but it gets its point across quite well. I definitely think he makes for a better folk artist than a rock artist. I feel that the second half of this album, which focused more on folk than rock, is more consistent in its quality than the first, more rock-focused, half. Overall, while I'm not the biggest Bob Dylan fan in the world, I definitely see the value in his music, and am not opposed to listening to more of his albums in the future. Light 4/5.
4
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Thu Dec 28 2023
Document
R.E.M.
This is a pretty good album right here. I listened to Murmur by R.E.M. a few weeks ago and I thought that was quite good. Honestly, I like Document more though. The band's sound is definitely a bit more refined here than in Murmur. Case in point, the singing. It was kind of hard to hear the singing at times in Murmur. Now, Michael Stipe's singing is at the forefront of the album, and it's quite good. He's a pretty good singer that is largely responsible for R.E.M.'s iconic sound. The instrument playing also adds to that, with the whole album having a consistent, yet not too repetitive, feel to it. The writing, I feel, was also drastically improved from that album. This album's a lot more political than I expected it to be, with songs that clearly commentate on things the Reagan administration and even a song that directly name drops McCarthy in the title. Overall, this is a great album that reaffirms the opinion I gained from listening to Murmur that R.E.M. is a pretty good band. High 4/5.
4
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Fri Dec 29 2023
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
Here we have an album from an artist that I really didn't know anything about prior to today. Needless to say, I was definitely intrigued to see if PJ Harvey's music was anything that stood out to me. Fortunately, I think that this album is pretty good. I think the singing is very interesting. She's got quite a bit of range, which is never a bad thing. She also gets Thom Yorke from Radiohead to do the verses on one of the songs, which is pretty neat. The sound is nice. It is some solid alt-rock if I do say so myself. There's definitely variety in the tone of each song. The writing is good as well. Love is a common theme throughout the album, but it's not too repetitive and the songs do stand out from each other. Overall, this is a pretty solid album and I'm intrigued to listen to more of this artist's albums later in the project. Light 4/5.
4
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Sat Dec 30 2023
Be
Common
This album's great. I've been needing more good rap music for this project, and "Be" by Common absolutely delivers. Common is a pretty good rapper. I think his flow is nice and the writing is good. The album has a consistent tone and common theming in regards to what Common wants to say, which works well in this album's favor. The production on this thing is also quite great. As much as I hate Kanye West (I'm not calling him Ye) now, he definitely had a talent for music production in the past, which is something that is especially evident in albums like this. Overall, I don't really have a ton to say. This is just a pretty good rap album. 4/5.
4
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Sun Dec 31 2023
Rings Around The World
Super Furry Animals
This is an album that exists. You'd think with a name like "Super Furry Animals" that this band would have something unique and weird in a good way. Instead, Rings Around The World is just kind of mediocre. The singing isn't bad, but I'm not particularly impressed by it. The sound quality is okay. It sounds weird at times in regards to the production. The writing is fine. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood or something, but I just don't really get this album. I thought it could maybe be a light 3 at first, but then this weird thing happened at the end of "Receptacle for the Respectable" that I didn't like at all so I bumped it down a bit. I see no reason for this album to be on the list. It doesn't have enough cultural impact or quality to justify its inclusion. Apparently they're notable enough to have 2 albums on this list. Isn't that just great? 2/5.
2
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Mon Jan 01 2024
G. Love And Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce
Well, here it is. The last album of 2023. I've only been doing this for a few months, but the end of the year is still an important milestone. So, does G. Love And Special Sauce feel like a good album to end on? Probably not. It's not like this album's insanely iconic or anything. It really doesn't need to be on this list. But is it good? Eh. It's fine. I like the instrumental sound. I think that the jazz and blues influence was a good choice to make. The last song wasn't good though. However, I must specify that it is the sound of the instruments that I like, because the singing, if you can call it that, isn't great. He sounds weird. There might also be an effect on his voice, but I honestly can't tell. The writing is also confusing. I can kind of tell what some songs are about, but others don't really make sense. That can be good, but I don't think it works here. Overall, while this album is pretty decent from a sound perspective (mostly), it doesn't really stand out to me in much of a good way other than that. High 2/5.
2
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Tue Jan 02 2024
Illmatic
Nas
Well, here it is. The first album of 2024. I've only been doing this for a few months, but the beginning of a new year is still an important milestone. So, does Illmatic feel like a good album to start the year on? Absolutely. This is what a 1994 debut album that deserves to be on this list looks like. Everything about this album is just so immaculate. The beat production and sample usage creates this sound that really exudes this feeling of being in New York's inner city. I've never experienced that for myself, but through this album I can kind of see what that's like. The rapping itself is on a whole other level. Nas's internal rhyming on this thing is excellent and very impressive. The writing lends itself well to telling its story through some of the finest rapping you will ever hear. The one feature this album has, AZ's verse on "Life's a Bitch", is just as good as what Nas offers on that same song. That's not to mention how the pacing on this album is great too. My big problem with a similar East-coast 1994 debut rap album, Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G., was that it could've had better pacing, what with all of the skits and such. This album starts off with something like that in "The Genesis", but everything after that is just straight-up rapping. Overall, this is often considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and while I'm not an expert on the genre, I can definitely see why people feel that way. The impact of this album is hard to understate. 5/5.
5
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Wed Jan 03 2024
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
This one's alright. I think the best way I can put this album is "It's nothing special, but it also doesn't give me any reason to dislike it." It is perfectly average. The singing was worrying at first since I didn't really like the talking style of the first song, but then she started actually singing in the second song which sounded good for the rest of the album. The sound was decent. I really liked the bass in the last song. The writing was a bit basic and it was somewhat repetitive in theming at first, but it got better in the second half. I do like how the royal imagery of "The Queen and the Soldier" carries into "Knight Moves". I just think that's a neat theming idea. Overall, this is a decent folk rock album. 3/5.
3
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
Time for another artist to join the "I've gotten 2 albums from them for this project" club. This time, the Beastie Boys are back with their second album, Paul's Boutique. This one's okay. The writing could be better, but it's not that bad and could've aged worse. The rapping itself is still something that I'm not huge on, but it's not ear-grating either and I can see why it has its fans. The album goes on for quite a bit, but it doesn't drag too much. However, this album is not on the list for its sheer quality or anything (at least I don't think it is). No, this album is on here, and deservedly so, for technical reasons. This album is just a master class in the power of sampling. Most of the instrumentals on this album is sampling. One could say that this album is unoriginal as a result. However, I see this album for the technical accomplishment that it is. The sampling all works quite well, and this album was a sort of pioneer in that regard. Overall, while I think I liked Ill Communication more, Paul's Boutique certainly isn't bad. High 3/5.
3
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
What a surprise! Two returning artists in a row was not something I was expecting, but it is definitely something that I am more than okay with. Anyways, Bridge Over Troubled Water is really good. I thought that Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme was good, but nothing spectacular. I knew that there had to be something better in Simon and Garfunkel's catalogue. Fortunately, the iconic duo went out with this, which is widely considered to be their best album. Despite the fact that I haven't heard their other albums besides the two that I've gotten for this list so far, I would probably agree. The songwriting on this album is top-notch. It's very personal at times in regards to the then soon-to-end relationship between Simon and Garfunkel themselves. The sound on this thing is also great. I like the variety between each songs and their influences. The pacing is also quite good. It doesn't drag on or end too soon. Overall, this album absolutely deserves to be on this list for its quality and cultural significance. 5/5.
5
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Sat Jan 06 2024
One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
Here's a weird album. First of all, it's not on the streaming services, so I had to listen to it on YouTube. That doesn't really say anything about the quality of the album, but it might say something about its cultural significance. Anyway, as far as sound goes, this album's solid. It is some good funk music. The instrumentation is quite good and well-produced. The writing could've been better. It didn't exactly stand out to me that much and the nonsense moments like in the fourth song lack substance. The singing is good at times and somewhat forgettable at others. Finally, this album is just too long. There aren't very many songs, but they all go on for so long. Overall, this is an okay funk album. Not the best I've heard, but not particularly bad. 3/5.
3
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Sun Jan 07 2024
Ray Of Light
Madonna
Another returning artist. Nice. I wasn't really a big fan when I listened to "Music" by Madonna all the way back in October. I thought the singing was fine but nothing else stood out. Fortunately, "Ray of Light" is a significantly better album. The singing is still solid. Not much else to say about it. The writing is probably better. I don't really remember much about that other album's writing, so I can't exactly compare that much without looking up the lyrics for the songs in "Music", which isn't something I feel like doing. The sound is definitely what makes this album better. It's a lot more cohesive and the direction on what this album wanted to do is much clearer. One problem that both albums share is that they both drag. Every song on "Ray of Light" is 4 minutes or more. I don't think these songs needed to be as long as they are. Overall, I definitely understand why this album is on here and it's a significantly better Madonna album, I'm still not the hugest fan overall. High 3/5.
3
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Mon Jan 08 2024
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Liars
Wow. This sucks! Not only that, but this album seems to have almost no cultural significance whatsoever. Why is this on the list?! The singing is extremely boring and not at all enjoyable to listen to. The sound is listenable at best and painful at its worst, which also happens to be its most common. The writing doesn't make much sense. I can kind of see where this band may have been going for with the witch theming, but it doesn't feel cohesive whatsoever. I really don't know what to say. This is just worthless. Why the guy who made the book this website is based around thought this was a good addition is beyond me. Nobody should have to listen to this before they die, and if they listen to it after they die, they're in hell. 1/5.
1
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Tue Jan 09 2024
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Here's an interesting album right here. Queens of the Stone Age is one of those bands that I've heard good things about, but didn't really know what they were like or if I would like them. Well, after listening to their debut album, I can sort of see why people like them. The sound is interesting works to create a unique feel that I haven't heard from many other albums. The writing is kind of hit or miss for me, but has potential in my eyes. The singing is not really my thing but I can see why others might enjoy it. I feel like this album may not have been the best to represent this band however. From what I've seen, there are other albums from Queens of the Stone Age that are more beloved and deserving of being on this list. I feel like this is probably another case of "debut album syndrome" where the book just decides to represent a well-known artist through their debut album regardless of its quality or how well it represents the artist. The band does have another album on this list though, so maybe I'll like that one even more. For know, this album gets a high 3/5.
3
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Wed Jan 10 2024
Ace of Spades
Motörhead
For most people, Motorhead is one of those bands where you really only know them for one song. That was certainly the case for me, so I was quite excited to listen to the full album that the iconic "Ace of Spades" song comes from. After listening to this full thing, I was somewhat disappointed. This is not a bad album, not in the slightest. It does, however, have some major flaws. For one, it's pretty repetitive. The sound, which I like, feels the same all throughout, leading to there not being much to miss out on. The writing is sometimes samey but usually pretty decent. Finally, as far as big problems are concerned, there is one song on the album that is kind of gross. I don't like that song very much, but the other ones are alright. The title track is obviously amazing. This is the song people think of when Motorhead comes to mind, and I don't think that's a bad thing because this song is awesome. The other ones are good (save for that one), but don't really stand out much overall. Lets talk about the singing for a bit. Lemmy's one of those singers that you either love or hate the sound of. I think its funny. He sounds like an anthropomorphized pack of cigarettes, but that makes Motorhead sound unique in a way. Overall, I do really like Motorhead's sound and I think they're definitely an iconic band that deserves to be on this list, but this album did have some things left to be desired that hold it back a bit. 3/5.
3
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Thu Jan 11 2024
Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
Time for some more classic metal! This time, I'm looking at Deep Purple In Rock. Deep Purple has never been the biggest name in metal, but I think they served as an important stepping stone for the early foundations of metal. Obviously they weren't quite as important as a band like Black Sabbath for instance, but they've got some well known songs and albums, like this one! Anyways, this album's pretty alright. I like the sound. It's cool and the guitar solos are even cooler. I love a good guitar solo, and Ritchie Blackmore delivers some great ones in this album. The songs focus more on quality than quantity, with there only being 7. Fortunately, they're quite good. There's some variety in the writing, which is practically a godsend for early albums like these. The singing isn't bad. Overall, this is a fun album that serves as a good representation of early 70s metal. High 3/5. Barely misses that spark it needs to be a 4.
3
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Fri Jan 12 2024
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
I have a lot to say about this album. First of all, it definitely deserves to be on the list. Marvin Gaye is arguably one of the most iconic soul singer-songwriters of all time, and Let's Get It On is one of his most iconic songs and albums. Does the quality line up with the impact though? Yeah. It does. The best thing about this album is easily the singing. It is immensely satisfying to listen to. The writing is solid. One thing that would normally be a huge turn-off for me is just how much this album is trying to be a turn-on, if you know what I'm saying. Yeah, this album is very suggestive, but hear me out. You could look at these songs all having the unifying theme of sex and ask "Is that all he knows how to sing about?" However, you could also view this as a concept album. And you know what, it does a good job with that concept. If I wasn't a total virgin, I would totally have sex to this entire album. The subject matter of the album was not only groundbreaking for the time, but it also meant a lot to Marvin Gaye himself. Knowing what Marvin Gaye had to go through in his life makes this album feels a lot more personal than it would with any other artist. So, honestly, I look at this album and say, "Here is an artist making an album about a subject that people didn't want him to care about. He takes the idea, runs with it, and presents it all in a very beautiful way." Overall, I think this album is quite good. 4/5.
4
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Sat Jan 13 2024
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
100 ALBUMS! I have reached another milestone, and with it comes another album to listen to. Is "Electric Warrior" by T. Rex worthy of being my 100th album? I'm not sure. Despite the fact that I haven't heard of this album until now, this album definitely deserves to be on the list. It was one of the first, if not the first, glam rock albums ever made, which is definitely significant in my books. You can really hear that too. There were multiple parts in this album where I thought, "Yeah, I can see how this influenced David Bowie". In a way, the connection to the first album I ever gave a 5 kind of do make this deserving of being album #100. But is this album good? Yeah. The singing isn't my favorite. Sometimes it's good but it isn't always that way and it's kind of weird for some songs. The writing has good aspects such as interesting concepts and good imagery, but isn't always the most intriguing. The album is slightly repetitive, but it's not that big of a deal. Overall, this is a decent album that is worthy of being on this list, but not quite the big celebration I was hoping to get with album 100. Maybe #200 will be something great. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Jan 14 2024
Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
I'm running out of ways to start these reviews. This album's good. I wasn't expecting to like this album much at a first glance. I started to become hopeful when I did some basic research to find the reasoning for this album's inclusion. After listening to it, I can safely say that this album is pretty good. The singing works most of the time. You don't see female-fronted rock bands all the time, so it's cool to listen to something that's a bit different for once. The writing is fairly unique and has this dark energy to it that wasn't common for the time. The sound is pretty interesting. This has been called somewhat of a concept album, but it's pretty loose one. It really only has concepts in regards to its sound. This album is really ahead of its time in many ways. If I listened to this without knowing the year it released and someone asked me when I thought this album released, I definitely wouldn't have said 1981! I can definitely hear and see the influence that this album had on future alt-rock and post-punk artists in the years that followed this album. Overall, this is a great album that paved the way for others like it to come. Light 4/5.
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Mon Jan 15 2024
The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
This is a great album right here. I was pretty excited to listen to this one since The Kinks are a band that I've actually heard of. And you know what? For my first time listening to their music, they did not disappoint at all. "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" is not only an extremely influential album, but a really good one as well. While this certainly isn't the first concept album ever made, this was one of the early great examples of what a concept album can be. Most songs on this album focus on the theme of nostalgia and preserving memories. This is very evident with the songs, but fortunately, they don't all feel the same because of it. These songs are quite distinct in terms of both sound and lyrics. Both of those aspects, by the way, are great. I like the varied instrument usage throughout this album, even if quite a few of those instruments were actually just a mellotron. The writing is also quite varied. There are a few songs in the second half that don't really fit the theming and are a bit weaker than the other songs, but that doesn't really detract from the experience much. The sheer influence of this album is hard to understate. This band and album influenced so many other iconic bands and songs that in turn would be super influential on their own. It was kind of funny to find out that the opening of Mr. Blue Sky was practically copied and pasted from a song off of this album. Overall, this is a great album that absolutely deserves its place as one of the top 1001 albums to listen to before you die. 5/5.
5
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Tue Jan 16 2024
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
Let's get this out of the way. Fuck Jerry Lee Lewis. I can't believe that guy even had a career after people found out that he MARRIED HIS 13 YEAR OLD COUSIN. Anyway, this album isn't even that great to begin with. There really isn't much to this album. It's a live album, something that I believe I've only experienced once all the way back with that Johnny Cash album I did a while ago. That one was alright, not necessarily because it wasn't made by a pedophile, but because it had something special with its energy. Johnny's interactions with the crowd made it feel special, especially given the context. This album just kind of has cheering from the crowd and that's about it. The music itself is decent as far as sound. It's passable 50s/early 60s rock and roll, but it's not original at all. Jerry Lee Lewis only wrote two of the thirteen tracks off of the album. I know that that was kind of the norm at the time, but that still doesn't sit right with me, especially since he was also racist and most of these songs were originally written by black artists. Okay then, I could try to separate the art from the artist! The problem with that is how much he name drops himself. One of the two songs that he wrote was called "Lewis Boogie". So apparently, he's also a narcissist! On top of that, most of the songs are about love and stuff, so it's even harder to get that knowledge out of your head when you know that the song could've been written about a 13 year old. Overall, even if I could separate art from the artist, the content's of the album are not only negatively affected by the knowledge of what the singer did, but also aren't original or spectacular enough to warrant listening to this ever again! 1/5. Rest in piss Jerry, you piece of shit.
1
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Wed Jan 17 2024
KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)
Ministry
First of all, I just want to say that this album has one of the worst names for an album that I've ever heard. This genuinely gives off the same energy as that one Limp Bizkit album that I am sadly going to have to listen to later in the list. With that being said, I actually kind of really liked this album. This thing is freaking weird and I love it. The sound is unexpectedly thrashy in comparison to what I would expect from industrial metal, although that could just be because my main source of industrial metal was in The Downward Spiral, an album that I listened to earlier for the project. Honestly, I liked the sound of this album quite a bit. The vocals had a similar effect to those on The Downward Spiral, but they do still stand out a bit in comparison. The writing is kind of all over the place a bit. Also, hearing this album say the phrase "Jerry Lee Lewis is the devil" after listening to a Jerry Lee Lewis album for this project LITERALLY YESTERDAY was actually hilarious and I can't believe that that happened. It's true though. That guy sucked, unlike this album. The song that that lyric comes from, "Jesus Built My Hotrod", might be the highlight of this album for me. Finally, I do have one other complaint. Some of the songs, and to a lesser extent the album as a whole, did drag a bit. It could've been a bit shorter. Overall, this is a very weird industrial metal album that enjoyed listening to. Light 4/5.
4
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Thu Jan 18 2024
GREY Area
Little Simz
Oh hell yeah, something recent! I mean, I guess it was 5 years ago, but that's still a lot newer than 99% of the list. Anyways, this album's really good. The rapping style of Little Simz is definitely unique. I haven't really heard anything like it until now, but that's definitely not a bad thing. It's a rare case of a British rapper's raps not being overshadowed by the accent. The rhymes are usually really good too. Sure, you do have a few moments akin to rhyming the n-word with itself 8 times in a row, but those are few and far between and also not that egregious. The flow on the whole album is very nice. The beats are also quite well made. They have a nice vibe to it while still having each song sound a bit different. The features on this thing are also quite good. The last album that I got that was as recent as this one was from Michael Kiwanuka, which is funny because he actually has a feature on the last song of this album. His music work on that album was a 5/5, so obviously, he does a great job with his feature here too. The other features are also pretty good. Overall, this album is a great sign of things to come for this artist, and I can totally see why Fantano gave this a 9. High 4/5.
4
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Fri Jan 19 2024
Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
You know, I wasn't that excited to listen to this album. Instrumental hip-hop made entirely from samples didn't really interest me at all. However, upon listening to this album, I discovered that it's actually really good. This wasn't just an album made from samples. Apparently, it was the first album to be made entirely from samples, so it has a reason to be on this list, alongside my opinion that the musical contents of this album are also quite good. The sample usage is quite impressive and it pulls from a variety of songs from artists like Metallica, Bjork, and some band called Nirvana that isn't actually the Nirvana you think it is, but rather a 1960s British rock band. The whole sound of this album is quite nice to listen to. The vibes are absolutely immaculate. There's also quite a bit of variety in the sound. My one problem with this album is that some songs go on for far too long, but with some of those basically being two songs in one, I can excuse that. Overall, this is quite an impressive album that absolutely deserves to be listened to before you die. Light 5/5.
5
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Sat Jan 20 2024
Disraeli Gears
Cream
As if there wasn't enough already, it's time for some more 60s British rock. Cream was never the biggest band, but they garnered a pretty good reputation during the short few years of their formation, as well as the decades since. You know, aside from Eric Clapton being... Eric Clapton. With that said, this album is alright. It's not the most special album I've listened to, but it doesn't really have too many major faults for me to knock the album down much. The instrument playing is quite good. The sound is somewhat different in comparison to other bands of the time, which is rarely a bad thing. I lightly bashed Eric Clapton earlier, and while I stand by that when it comes to him as a person, he was a pretty good guitar player, I'll give him that. The wah-wah usage was apparently unique at the time, so that's cool. The writing doesn't stand out much, but it definitely isn't bad. Some of these songs are pretty cool. "Sunshine of your Love" is iconic for a reason, and the other songs are pretty decent as well. Overall, while this album doesn't stand out to me much, it nevertheless deserves its inclusion on this list for being decently significant for pop culture and also not bad. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Jan 21 2024
Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
This is a nice little album right here. I'm kind of surprised that I haven't gotten more solo albums from former members of huge bands. The only one I can think of off the top of my head until now was Imagine by John Lennon, so getting an album from a former Beach Boy was a pleasant surprise for today. And you know what? I really liked Pet Sounds when I listened to it, and I liked Pacific Ocean Blue as well. The album definitely has some common elements in its sound with what I know of the Beach Boys, but it also stands out pretty well. The sound has quite a bit of variety throughout the album. Each song sounds different and has a different theme to it. The singing is great. Did you really expect it not to be? There isn't much more to say. This is just a very solid album. Light 4/5.
4
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Mon Jan 22 2024
Arise
Sepultura
Sorry Os Mutantes, but I think I've found my new favorite Brazilian album. What can I say? I like me some good thrash metal, and Arise by Sepultura delivers just that. This is a pretty good thrash metal album, which is just what I need to thoroughly enjoy it. The sound is great. The riffs and solos are pretty good. The vocals are definitely growly, which fits the nature of thrash metal like this, but they are still intelligible, which is always a good thing. The lyrics are a bit nihilistic for my taste at times, but are still well-written and have some good points at others. This album's not perfect or anything. It does get a bit repetitive by the end, but I don't really care that much. I really enjoyed listening to this album, and that's good enough for me. 4/5.
4
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Tue Jan 23 2024
Moondance
Van Morrison
I don't really have much to say about this album. This is really good. Van Morrison's singing style is pretty unique for an artist like him, but I like it. I think he makes it work. The writing is nothing crazy, but certainly isn't bad. The sound of this album is quite nice. I like the varied instrument usage throughout the album. I've heard some people say that the second half is quite a bit worse than the first half. I would probably agree, although the second half isn't that bad. Overall, this is just a solid album that deserves to be on this list. It's a real shame that Van Morrison is kind of a wacko these days, but what are you gonna do about it? 4/5. Good album.
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
You know, I'm kind of surprised to get another live album just a little over a week after the last one I got. Fortunately, not only I do respect James Brown more than Jerry Lee Lewis as a person (although, unfortunately, he wasn't perfect either), I also liked Live At The Apollo more. This album isn't really special to me, but it's at least decent. James Brown was a really good singer. His screams are undeniably iconic and would justify him having multiple albums on this list, if he had more than one album on here. Apparently this is his only album that's on here. That doesn't seem right. Anyways, the writing is fairly basic, but that's to be expected of early 60s music. My biggest problem with this album is the mixing. I can only hear the singing in my right ear. That's a problem. This also doesn't really feel like a live album. A live album should really make you feel like you're there at the performance. This is just kind of music that is being played. Overall, not the most interesting album, but not particularly bad either. Light 3/5.
3
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson
I think I'm starting to regret doing this project. First of all, fuck Marilyn Manson. Second of all, fuck this album. It's not good. I was hoping that I could at least separate the art from the artist by enjoying the album, but the album isn't good enough for me to do that. I'll start with my one positive. The sound and the instruments are mostly tolerable. The guitar riffs, drum playing, and bass lines aren't that bad. There are, however, moments of noise. Painful noise. Painful noise that brings back bade memories from that Liars album that I listened to a few weeks ago. Still, the musical style of this album isn't particularly horrible. Everything else though? Not good. The vocals, while varied between songs, are never enjoyable to listen to. The pacing is pretty bad as well. This thing just does not end. Finally, my biggest problem, the writing is just gross. I think to look at what makes this album suck so much, we have to compare it to another 90s industrial concept album that Trent Reznor helped produce, that album of course being The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. I think that the main thing that makes that album work for me is that it's clearly a story about a fictional character. There may have been some elements derived from Trent Reznor's personal experiences, but it's still a clear story about a character. Antichrist Superstar doesn't feel like a story about a character. It just feels like Marilyn Manson himself screaming about his own life, which doesn't paint him in a flattering light. I know he was supposed to be this counter-culture icon or whatever, but it just feels gross to listen to this because it gives off the energy of a whining incel. Also, he says the n-word in the first song. Why the fuck did he think that was a good idea? Is he stupid? I get why this album's on here. The album and band do have the cultural significance to back its inclusion. However, it still sucks and I never want to listen to this creep's "music" ever again. 1/5.
1
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Fri Jan 26 2024
The Sensual World
Kate Bush
I'm gonna be honest. I genuinely did not know that Kate Bush had a second album on here. I obviously knew that Hounds of Love would be on here, but I didn't expect to listen to another album of hers. I'm not upset or anything, I'm just a bit surprised. And why would I be upset? I really liked Hounds of Love, and The Sensual World is pretty good too. A lot of what I liked about Hounds of Love does carry over to this album as well. Kate Bush's singing is still very unique and pleasant to listen to. The sound is still very majestic, with this album also featuring some neat contributions from people like David Gilmour from Pink Floyd (speaking of which, why haven't I gotten a Pink Floyd album yet?). I think the best thing about this album is the storytelling. Songs like Deeper Understanding and This Woman's Work have such a way with words that makes Kate Bush's music really stand out. Overall, while I do consider Hounds of Love to be the better album, The Sensual World is still a really good album. Light 4/5.
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Sat Jan 27 2024
OK Computer
Radiohead
You know, it's been a while since I've gotten an album that many consider to be one of the greatest albums of all time. I've gotten quite a few albums that have been highly praised, but not many, if any at all, of the albums I've listened to so far have been consistently put on a pedestal as high as that of OK Computer. This is one of those albums that people praise like its their god or something. But does OK Computer deserve this praise? Yeah. It totally does. This thing is, to put it simply, a masterpiece. The sound was groundbreaking for the time. To get British rock of a more somber nature like this in comparison to the dominating Britpop scene of the 90s was something that would forever change popular music. I really like the sound. It has this aura to it that is very hard to explain, but it just keeps you hooked the whole time. Thom Yorke's singing is certainly interesting. It gives everything this sense of emotion that is hard to replicate. The writing is very well done, with overarching themes enhancing the full album experience. One thing that I really didn't expect was that this album has a "weird song" that actually works for me. There are some very good albums out there that happen to have a "weird song" that does kind of drag down the experience just a tiny bit or even more in some cases. For instance, I really liked The Velvet Underground's self-titled album, but felt that the penultimate track, "The Murder Mystery", was a bit too unpleasant to listen to and it kind of dragged the experience just a tiny bit. OK Computer also has a weird track with "Fitter Happier". But for whatever reason, that track works in a full album setting. While I wouldn't want to listen to it on its own, the track does add something of value to the experience of listening to the whole album, which is something that I really have to commend. The other tracks are also quite great. I like how the sound can go from being fairly whimsical in a song like "Subterranean Homesick Alien" to being very somber and emotional in songs like "Exit Music (For a Film)". It ensures that the album doesn't get repetitive or boring. Overall, there's a reason why many people consider OK Computer to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, albums ever made. While there a few albums that I might like more, I can absolutely see why so many people consider this to be the best of the best. 5/5.
5
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Sun Jan 28 2024
Morrison Hotel
The Doors
You know what they say; good things don't last forever. I'm not saying that because of any "good album streaks" ending or whatever, I said that because this album doesn't last forever. Morrison Hotel is pretty good. Let's start with the best thing about this album in my opinion. I really like Jim Morrison's singing. I just think it sounds nice and different from other singing styles. It's a real shame that he died as young as he did. The rest of this album's sound is also quite good. It's nothing crazy, but it is very solid. The writing and lyrics aren't bad. There's some variety on here and the album doesn't really have any notably bad songs on it. Overall, this is a pretty good album and I wouldn't be opposed to listening to more albums from The Doors later for this project. Light 4/5.
4
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Mon Jan 29 2024
Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
So, does this count as my second Neil Young album or my first Neil Young and Crazy Horse album? I've been keeping track of which artists have given me multiple albums so far, and I need to know if Neil Young is now part of that list or not. It won't matter eventually, but I still want to know. Either way, this album is really good. I still think Neil Young is a pretty decent singer. The instrumentation is also quite good. Something interesting about this album is that it's split into clearly defined acoustic and electric sections for each half of the album. Surprisingly, this doesn't result in any weird pacing issues. The electric nature of the second half gets eased into despite there only being four songs on that part of the album. Another interesting thing is that this is sort of a hybrid between a studio album and a live album. It definitely feels more like than the former than the latter, but there is just a slight hint of what makes live albums different from studio albums. The writing is pretty good at times. There's a reason why the lyric "it's better to burn out than to fade away" is as iconic as it is, even if some of that fame is attributed to something very very sad. Overall, this is a great album that deserves to be on the list. Still, it's not quite my favorite album to contain the word "rust" in the title. I'll review that one eventually since it's also on this list. This one is a pretty close second place though. High 4/5.
4
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
Would you look at that? Just 4 days after I asked why I haven't gotten a Pink Floyd album yet in my The Sensual World review, I finally get one! And in the same week as Radiohead too! This has been a great week so far for my album listens. Anyways, Wish You Were Here totally lives up to the hype. This is really good. There's only 5 songs on here, so naturally those songs were made to be longer to compensate for that. However, they don't really feel that long. For as long songs like Welcome to the Machine and both sections of Shine On You Crazy Diamond are, they don't drag on at all. For Shine On, that can be explained by it being split into different sections, but the whole album has really good pacing. The songs are all excellent. I could probably talk about all of them individually, which is something I don't usually do. And I will! Shine On You Crazy Diamond is just such a great idea that gets executed flawlessly. The different sections vary, yet flow into each other without anything being jarring at all. Also it has a saxophone solo that surprisingly works really well! Welcome to the Machine and Have a Cigar are similar songs in concept, but stand out in comparison to each other and other songs. Having a guest singer on the latter definitely aids in that variance. The title track is just a masterpiece. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of wishing that someone you love was still here with you, even if they may not actually be dead. Finally, closing out with the rest of Shine On is a bold move, but one that definitely pays off. The whole sound of this album is excellent and results in the experience having this great vibe to it all. The singing is quite good. There is so much to say about this album that I unfortunately don't have the time to get into. This is just an excellent album, and I am very excited to get to other albums like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall later on. 5/5.
5
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Wed Jan 31 2024
A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
You know what they say; good things don't last forever. I'm not saying that because of the length of this album, although it is quite short. I'm saying that because I had a really good streak of albums going, and now it's over. This album sucks. Well, okay. That's a bit harsh. I'm not a fan though. Let's start with the positives. As far as instrumentation and sound go, the album's not that bad. The chamber-pop sound does work fine enough. The singing is also tolerable. It is basically just a worse Frank Sinatra though. I have two main complaints with this album. Problem 1 is that it has absolutely no reason to be on this list. Apparently there's another album from The Divine Comedy on here, but that one, from what I've read, has an argument to be made for its inclusion. It's not a great argument, but it is an argument. But this? I see absolutely no reason for this to be one of the top 1001 albums to listen to before you die. Like, why does The Divine Comedy get two albums on here but Weezer and MF DOOM get absolutely nothing? That doesn't seem fair to me. Finally, let's talk about this album's writing. It's bad. Straight-up. I don't get it. The album starts out innocently enough. The writing isn't great, but it's not horrible. Once you get to the song "If...", then things start going downhill quickly. That song just sucks. The line "If you were a tree I could put my arms around you and you could not complain" seems pretty rapey to me. The last stanza about a dog is just straight-up creepy. And the horse lines. Horses are brought up in two songs, with another being implied to be another horse song, and the way he sings about this subject makes me worry if this guy wants to pull an Enumclaw (DONT GOOGLE ENUMCLAW HORSE BY THE WAY). Overall, this is just not worthy of being on this list. I don't get it man. 2/5.
2
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Thu Feb 01 2024
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
Soft Cell
I'm starting to get annoyed by the sound of singing British men. I don't like this album. Soft Cell is the definition of a one-hit wonder. If you go on to Apple Music and look at the top songs from Soft Cell, the top 7 are just different releases of Tainted Love. And that's not even their song, so it doesn't even really count. This version and the original Gloria Jones version are about the same in quality for me. That song, at least, is pretty good. The others? Hoo-boy these are bad. The synths are fine. They're serviceable. The singing was kind of annoying as stated earlier. The writing does not stand out at all except for the very few moments that make you seriously question what you're doing with your life. Like, why am I listening to a song called Sex Dwarf. Let me repeat that. There is a song on this album called "Sex Dwarf." SEX. DWARF. I don't care anymore. This album's bad. It has no reason to be on here aside from one song that they didn't even write. 2/5. Tainted Love saves this from being a 1.
2
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Fri Feb 02 2024
The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips
Finally, some good music again. This time, it's The Flaming Lips, a band that I have vaguely heard of before and that's about it. Seriously though, this album is pretty good. I have a few minor problems to go over first. First of all, it is a bit long. It doesn't drag too much, but it is somewhat noticeable. Secondly, the singing isn't bad, but it isn't everyone's thing, and I could see why someone else might not like it. That's it for complaints. Time for praise! I like the sound of this album. It's not the craziest thing out there, but it is just a nice solid pop-rock sound. I like it. The writing is also quite good. There are some great songs on here. Songs like "Race for the Prize" and "Waitin' for a Superman" are so good that they have two versions on this album! The alternate versions are at the end, so they don't really have any negative bearing on the whole album experience. They're just kind of nice to have. The other songs are good as well. There's some good emotion to this album, with prevalent themes like death and the struggles of life being executed well. Overall, this is a great album that serves as a nice listen for the end of a middle-of-the-road day. 4/5.
4
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Sat Feb 03 2024
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
Time for another returning artist! This time, we return to Nick Drake, and artist whose debut album, Five Leaves Left, was given a 5/5 by me a few months ago. Now, I'm listening to his second album out of three, Bryter Layter. By the way, all three of his albums are on here, and I'm getting them in release order. Neat! Anyway, this album, like Five Leaves Left, is insanely good. It's fairly different from that other album. It's significantly more upbeat, which isn't a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, the depressing nature of Five Leaves Left is a big part of what makes that album such a good piece of art. However, I kind of like this album's blend of emotions. Bryter Layter does get emotional, but the overall sound is more accessible and laid-back in comparison to the consistently drab (but not in a bad way) sound of Five Leaves Left. However, despite the differences, everything else that made that album great still applies here. The singing and writing in particular are still excellent. The writing especially still holds up as being quite good. Let's talk about the sound itself. I like it. It just has this nice cozy feel to it that I feel isn't something that many of these albums have had. Don't get me wrong, I love a good crazy album every once in a while. But sometimes it's nice to just sit back and listen to something nice for a bit. The pacing is also near-perfect. Nothing drags or ends too soon. Overall, this album is just as good, if not better than Five Leaves Left, and I'm very excited to get to Pink Moon eventually. 5/5.
5
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Sun Feb 04 2024
Superunknown
Soundgarden
Well, this is an interesting change in pace. Surprisingly, this is the first grunge album I've gotten for this project! You'd think I would've gotten one in the 100+ albums I've gotten so far given how big grunge was in the 90s, but I guess the list needed more Britpop so I had to wait. Still, it's better late than never, because Superunknown by Soundgarden is amazing. I really like this album. This is my first time ever listening to Soundgarden, and they did not disappoint. I've always heard of this band and its frontman Chris Cornell with people giving nothing but praise, but even I didn't expect to like it this much. The sound is so captivating. As reliable as 4/4 is, it's always cool to switch things up in the time signature department every once in a while. The riffs and solos are quite good. And the singing? Top notch. Chris Cornell truly was an amazing singer. The writing is also solid. There really aren't any bad songs on here. Overall, this is a great album that I am happy to have listened to before I die. 5/5.
5
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Mon Feb 05 2024
Machine Head
Deep Purple
Alright, Deep Purple album #2! I listened to Deep Purple in Rock just under a month ago, and I thought it was a solid classic rock album. One thing that I saw when doing research for In Rock was that the general consensus for the best Deep Purple album was that it was either that or Machine Head. Well, after listening to Machine Head, I now have an answer for which one I like more. I'm gonna have to go with Machine Head. I mean, it's the one with Smoke on the Water. What more can I say? Well, quite a bit actually. I feel like, in retrospect, In Rock was a bit repetitive. Not the most repetitive album I've ever listened to, but it did feel a bit samey in some regards. I feel that Machine Head is a more sonically diverse album, albeit just slightly. The songs on this thing are pretty good. The aforementioned Smoke on the Water is an absolute classic and a pretty good song. The other songs are quite good too. I really like Pictures of Home and Never Before. The singing is still pretty decent. The lyrics are solid. There isn't a ton to say. I think that this is a pretty good improvement on what worked in Deep Purple In Rock. Light 4/5.
4
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beatles
Okay, I have to tell the story about this insane coincidence I experienced in regards to this album. Last night, I was looking around on itch.io for games and I saw one that included the phrase "a day in the life" in the title. So me, having brain rot, said out loud, "Oh my god, a day in the life? Beatles reference?" I then noticed the time and decided to check on what my next album would be. As I did this, I, again, said out loud, "Now watch me get a Beatles album." Lo and behold, I got Sgt. Pepper's and, needless to say, I was shocked. You know what else is needless to say? "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a really good album." What can I really say? It's The Beatles at the start of their peak. The songwriting is solid with there being a very light, but noticeable, concept for the album, making this one of the first notable concept albums to really hit it big. The sound is still great. I listened to the most recent mixing of this album and it sounds great. There's some nice transitions between songs and the variety between each and every song on this album is just wonderful. There's some very interesting choices that, in my opinion, work to make this album better. Letting George make his Indian-inspired song, having a song that only features John, Paul, and string instruments, and various others make this a very bold album for the time. And do I even need to talk about the sorta aforementioned "A Day in the Life?" That ending is just magnificent. Overall, while I do like Abbey Road more, Sgt. Pepper's is a great album that deserves to be considered one of the best of all time. 5/5.
5
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Wed Feb 07 2024
Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
I've never heard of this guy before, but apparently he had a song in the Shrek 2 soundtrack, so I trust that this guy has enough cultural significance to be on this list. However, I don't like this album. I've never really understood what people mean when they say that certain music is "pretentious". I get it now. This is pretentious. Maybe I just don't get it. I'm sure this has value to some people. I'm not one of those people. I think the background music works. If this was just instrumentals, it would be a decent background noise album but nothing more than that. Possibly high 2 or light 3. However, things change once this guy starts talking. Not singing, talking. Well, okay. He does actually sing a few times in this album. His voice is weird. It's not the worst voice I've ever heard, but it's not great. He could probably sing, maybe. It's very racially ambiguous. That's not important, I just felt like mentioning it because I don't know what else to say. The things he says don't really make sense. I'm tired. This album drags for way too long. I can't wait to listen to the other 4 albums this guy has. Yippee! I'll give it a light 2 because there's a semblance of something valuable here.
2
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
Going into this album, I wasn't that excited. I could tell that there was a good intent behind the album based on the research I did, but I wasn't sure if I would like the album or not. Fortunately, I thought it was a good album. I like the singing. It's nice. The concept behind the album is certainly respectable. Although, if I had listened to Exile on Main Street before this one, I would probably be able to appreciate it more. The sound is good, but it gets slightly repetitive near the end. The writing is also well made. Based on the pre-research, I expected it to be way too vulgar for my tastes. Fortunately, while the themes are always there, it really isn't that bad in that department. Overall, this seems like the kind of album that I'd be able to appreciate more on a re-listen, if I ever decide to do that. High 3/5.
3
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Winter In America
Gil Scott-Heron
It's time for another album that isn't on my streaming service! Fortunately, there's only been three of them, so that's good. Honestly, this is by far the best one I've had so far. My one major problem off the top of my head is that some songs drag a bit. Everything else is great. I like the singing. It's very soulful. The sound is pleasant to listen to. None of the songs are particularly bad. It's kind of interesting to hear a sort of prototype of rap in some of these songs. The writing is also quite good. Songs like The Bottle are able to tell great emotional stories, while songs like H2Ogate Blues provide political commentary that remains relevant to this day. Despite being made in 1974, this album honestly reminds me of some of the poetry and music that came out of the Harlem Renaissance all the way in the 1920s. It's cool to know that the stylings of such an important cultural movement were able to remain in art 50 years later. Overall, this is a great album and I wish it was available on the streaming service. Light 4/5.
4
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Sat Feb 10 2024
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
Here's another album that I don't really know what to say about. It's some good art rock. I like the sound. It's a great blend between being accessible and being weird, and I like that. The singing is solid. The writing is pretty good. The fact that this album was originally released just 7 days after 9/11 and yet songs like "Jesus, Etc." (great song by the way) reflect that tragedy very well with lines referencing tall buildings shaking is pretty neat. There's some other really good songs on here. I can totally see why people really like this album, but I can also see why others aren't entirely sold on it. I think it's solid. Not the worst thing to come out of September 2001, but not the best (if only Toxicity was on here). High 3/5.
3
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Sun Feb 11 2024
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
OH HELL YEAH! Queen has always been a band that I really like, but I've never really dived deep into their albums. I've always just kind of listened to and really enjoyed their big hits. So, after listening to Sheer Heart Attack in its entirety, do I still really like Queen? Of course I do. This band is excellent. The sound is just exquisite. The guitar work is always a joy to listen to and solos like that of the album's opener "Brighton Rock" show off that great talent. The drumming and bass help make it so that the sound is as lively as it is. And the singing. Do I even need to explain what makes Freddie Mercury's singing so great? No I don't. Everyone knows that he's one of the greatest singers in all of history. The songs are great. Some songs don't hit quite as hard as the others, but the ones that are great are really great. The aforementioned "Brighton Rock" sets a great stage for the album. "Killer Queen" is easily my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs from Queen's discography. It's just SO GOOD man! The triple transition from "Tenement Funster", "Flick of the Wrist", and "Lily of the Valley" is just so satisfying to listen to. I could go on. Overall, while I'm willing to bet that Queen has better albums, Sheer Heart Attack is still a great album from one of the greatest bands to ever perform. 5/5.
5
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Funeral
Arcade Fire
This is a great album right here. I feel like I've been getting a weirdly high amount of indie rock lately. I'm not complaining, I'm just noting that it's a thing. And why would I complain? Funeral by Arcade Fire is an amazing album. This album is very consistent in its tone, but in a good way, rather than a mind-numbingly repetitive way. There's common theming throughout the album making it a light concept album of sorts. The sound is very good. There really isn't a bad song on here. The writing is thoughtful, which makes sense given that a lot of the theming on this album comes from some of the band members having recently lost some of their relatives. I like the singing. The balance between the two main singers is nice. It's crazy to think that this was Arcade Fire's debut album. I can totally see why this is considered one of the best albums of the 2000s. I like it. 5/5.
5
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Tue Feb 13 2024
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
Finally, B A N A N A. Yeah this album's really good. It's one of the most highly praised and iconic albums of all time, and that's for a good reason. I think the best word to describe this album is "revolutionary". The sound is abrasive and the writing is dark in its subject matter. These weren't common attributes for music in 1967. This album changed that. Without it, music as a whole would likely be less powerful, less unconventional, and less willing to take risks. The songs are quite unique, not just for the time, but right now. The singing is definitely interesting. Having Nico do some of the singing was a great move since, while I feel this is arguably him at his peak, I can understand if someone wouldn't want to listen to Lou Reed's singing for 11 songs straight. The sound, while noisy and unpleasant at times, has a purpose at all times. The harsh sound and rapid acceleration of the song "Heroin" encapsulates the experience of a heroin rush, or so I've heard. It definitely sounds like how I've heard drug experience be described. The album is also thought provoking. This really is just a very culturally significant album. From the change it brought in music, to the absolutely iconic album cover painted by the legendary Andy Warhol, this is absolutely one of the top 1001 albums to listen to before you die. 5/5. That's three in a row!
5
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Wed Feb 14 2024
Live / Dead
Grateful Dead
Now this is one of the albums of all time. It's fine. The musical contents are respectable. The guitar work is nice. Jerry Garcia's a good guitarist, but he's not the kind of guy whose tap water I should be drinking, at least according to a certain anthropomorphic gecko. The writing, when it's there, is serviceable. I can see some ideas in there. I have a big problem with this album. It just goes on and on. It feels like 75% of this album sounds like a jam session. That's it. There is no reason why this needs to go on for 75 whole minutes. There also isn't a reason for this album to be on this list. Well, okay. This album does have some technical accomplishments, and I genuinely forgot that this was made in 1969. However, it's a live album that doesn't really come with the limited pros of a live album. While I can respect the sound and improvisational work of the album, I just don't really think I want to go back to it all that much. Light 3/5.
3
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Thu Feb 15 2024
Follow The Leader
Korn
Oh boy. There's certainly some things to be said about this album. Nu-metal is quite possibly the most polarizing music sub-genres out there. Some people enjoy it, but a lot of people hate it. So, would you be surprised if I told you that I don't hate "Follow the Leader" by Korn? I know, right? I think Korn's sound, at least instrumentally, is actually pretty interesting and I kind of like it a bit. It has this dingy feel to it all that isn't present in a ton of popular music. I think Jonathon Davis is also a fairly interesting vocalist. The weird grunts are not painful to listen to and his actual singing aids that aforementioned dingy tone. The writing could be better, but it's not the worst thing in the world. There are some decent songs on here. There are also some terrible songs on here. Namely, "All in the Family", which is just not good. The features are weird. I wasn't the biggest fan, but they weren't all bad. Overall, while I can absolutely see why others would despise this album and avoid it like the plague, I don't hate it. I find it to be a very interesting album that isn't the worst thing I've ever heard. It was somewhat enjoyable at times, and given how this album, for all intents and purposes, brought nu-metal in the mainstream to reign in the late 90s and early 00s, I can also see why this album was included on this list. Light 3/5.
3
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
It's kind of surprising that after over 130 albums, this is only the second 50s album I've gotten. I guess it really shouldn't be that surprising since the album era didn't really kick in until the 60s, but that's still kind of crazy. Anyways, this one's really good. I'd go so far as to easily call it the best live album I've listened to for this project so far, even if the original version, the one I listened to, isn't entirely live. This is an instrumental album, and a great one at that. One thing I really like about this album that I didn't expect from older music like this is that the tone in each song is pretty different. Sure, it's all the same instruments and such, but each song on this album has a different feel than the one that came before it, which is super respectable. The sound is quite good. There's some nice solos in there, with the one from "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" obviously being the highlight. Perhaps the full version is an even better experience, aside from the sheer length. I don't know if I feel like doing that, but it wouldn't be worst idea for music to listen to. Overall, this is a very impressive album for 1956 and a solid collection of instrumental jazz. Light 4/5.
4
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
Wow. This is amazing. The Flaming Lips did not disappoint when I listened to their album, "The Soft Bulletin" about 2 weeks ago. I really liked that album. And yet, there were able to outdo themselves just a few years later. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" is truly something special. The sound is quite a bit different than it was in their previous album, but I like it. You'd think that the more electronic and top-40-esque production would result in something that lacks what made prior work so great (I call this pulling a Raditude). However, Yoshimi manages to make something that seems more accessible at first, but retains the complex writing and musical compositions of The Soft Bulletin. This album also improves on problems I had with that album. The singing is better. The album now has a perfect length in comparison to The Soft Bulletin, which was a bit long in my opinion. The writing is still great here. The overarching themes make this a sort of concept album, with the first four songs telling a specific story that comes from the album's title. All of the songs on this album are great. I really like this album. I truly had no idea that I would like the Flaming Lips this much. 5/5.
5
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Sun Feb 18 2024
Aja
Steely Dan
I like this album. Some people don't, but that's okay. Not every type of music is going to appeal to everyone. Fortunately, Aja by Steely Dan is an album that appeals to me. I enjoy the sound of this album. It's got a nice blend of rock, jazz, and blues to it. The instrument work is quite nice, and the production is very high quality. The songs are good. There's only 7 of them, and they're all pretty decent. The writing is solid. There's some thought put into it. Would I call it one of the greatest albums ever made? Probably not. I get why others would, but I don't. The album is somewhat repetitive, but with the album only being 40 minutes, it's not that big of a deal. Overall, this is a good album that I don't get the hate behind. 4/5.
4
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Mon Feb 19 2024
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
This is it. This is what they play in Hell. I genuinely believe that, if there is a hell of some sorts, the music that plays there sounds like this. Is that a bad thing? YES. OF COURSE IT IS. The sound is atrocious. Half the time it sounds like suffering and pain. That's especially the case with the vocals. As others have pointed out, listening to this album occasionally feels like I'm being screamed at Hitler, which is fitting given that, like Hitler, this album belongs in the depths of Hell. The writing is bad. I google translated it from German to English, and most songs are just filled with random grim phrases strung together. I really don't know what to say. If anyone wants to experience what Hell sounds like, this is it. Here's the album for you! I don't want that though. People shouldn't listen to this before they die. Maybe if the vocals were better I could give it a 2, but as it is, this album gets a 1/5. The first one I've had in three weeks. I can see why this is the lowest rated album on this website.
1
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Tue Feb 20 2024
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
Well, after listening to the absolute nightmare that is Kollaps yesterday, something like this is exactly what I needed. This album rocks. Jimi Hendrix is quite possibly the most highly praised guitarist of all time. Does he deserve it? Absolutely. While it could be argued that his guitaring isn't special by today's standards, the reason why that could be is that so many other guitarists have been inspired by Jimi Hendrix. For coming from the 1960s, this is an absolute marvel. This album as a whole has some faults to it. It definitely feels a bit unfocused and the album does go on for a bit too long. However, that's not to say that I felt tired at the end, mainly because the album ends with its two best songs. I'm sorry Bob Dylan, but "All Along the Watchtower" is, for all intents and purposes, Jimi's song (although, to be fair, Dylan's version is pretty good as well). And "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is also an amazing track. The instrumental work is outstanding. Obviously, Jimi's guitar work is phenomenal, especially by 1968 standards, but the other sounds are also great. The singing and writing are both fairly solid. This is a really good album. 5/5.
5
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Wed Feb 21 2024
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
Well, this was a lie. This album is neither modern, country, or western. Anyways, this is a very groundbreaking, albeit fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of quality, album. I'll start with my biggest complaint, one that has been repeated for various older albums at this point. It's kind of repetitive. Most songs feel the same, which is kind of to be expected. However, when the album is fairly short and the quality of the songs is as high as it is, it isn't as big of a deal as it is with other album. The sound is great. While it doesn't really feel like country, which may be good or bad depending on who you ask, you can still feel the emotions that come with the best, most honest country music. Ray Charles, of course, was a great singer. The instrumentation elevates his singing to create a very high quality album. The main reason why this album deserves to be on this list is more so about the cultural significance rather than the actual album itself. This thing, as stated earlier, was groundbreaking. It's kind of funny since a lot of popular music in the 50s was white men covering songs made by black men, while this album is the complete opposite of that. How neat! This album broke racial boundaries and is considered an important album for a good reason. So, with every thing in mind, I think this album deserves a light 4/5.
4
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Fly Or Die
N.E.R.D
You know, out of all the albums on this list I've gotten so far, I think this album has had the biggest disparity between how much I thought I would like it, and how much I actually liked it. Based on things like the name, album cover, and apparent lack of a strong enough reason for this album's inclusion on the list, I didn't think I would like N.E.R.D's "Fly or Die" that much. However, I actually really like this album. First off, I just want to say that I had no idea that Pharrell Williams was in a band. I just think that's kind of cool. Second of all, this album is pretty unique. I really like the blend of various genres. The wikipedia article said this was rap rock, which was another reason I thought I wouldn't like it. However, there's a lot more soul influence than I thought there would be. There really isn't that much in here I'd truly call "rap rock", or maybe this album just shows what it can actually be. This whole album has this feel-good energy to it. The writing is a bit basic at times, but not in a painful way or anything. The singing is nice, the album doesn't go on for too long. I do have one complaint though. The ending was a bit underwhelming. Not the last song specifically, that one was good. All of them are good. I just liked the first few songs overall more than the last few overall. This is a real sleeper hit you guys. I can't believe no one told me how good this was! 4/5.
4
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Group Sex
Circle Jerks
Let's start with the elephant in the room. "Group Sex" is a terrible album name. There may be worse album names out there, but this might be the most infuriating for how blatant it is. I think "blatant" is probably the best word for this album. The sound is loud and fast, just like the album, which breezes by in 15 minutes. There are entire songs longer than this whole album. The singer isn't great. He's like the worst result of Joey Ramone, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Lemmy Kilmister having, well, group sex. The sound is fine. I don't care. Short album gets short review. 2/5.
2
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Now here's a divisive one. Red Hot Chili Peppers is another example of a very love it or hate it band. Some people love them while others find them annoying. As for me, I can see aspects of both in my opinion, though I do lean more towards the former. Californication is a pretty solid album. I like the sound. I think John Frusciante's guitar playing is nice and there's a good reason why Flea is one of the only examples of a band's bassist being the most popular member. I don't love Anthony Kiedis's vocals though. They work on songs like the title track, but other songs like the opener "Around The World" aren't my thing as far as vocals go. The writing is also a bit hit or miss. Some songs are very introspective and really come from personal experiences that warrant writing songs about them. Others aren't quite at that level. I will say that the first half is quite a bit better than the second half. Overall, a good album with some good songs, but I can see why people dislike this band and album, even if I myself have a mostly positive opinion of it. High 3/5.
3
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Sun Feb 25 2024
Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
I mean, it's 80s hip-hop. What do you want me to say? This album has everything that one would expect from 80s hip-hop. Group name-dropping, socially conscious lyrics, elements of African culture. Those aren't bad things, they're just things I've already experienced through other similar albums. I will say though that there is a very feel-good energy in "Done by the Forces of Nature" that makes this a pleasant listen. There's some good messages in here. I especially like the messaging in the song "Acknowledge your own History" with what it has to say about history and culture. I also like the part in that song where they diss Christopher Columbus. I just think that's funny. The beats are well made and the rapping is decent. Overall, while this album doesn't stand out much to me, it's still a positive, albeit a bit long, experience that gives me no real reason to truly dislike it. Light 3/5.
3
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Guero
Beck
This one's alright. I don't really know if it needs to be on here since there are apparently other, better Beck albums. On top of that, I don't really know if Beck has had enough of a cultural impact to warrant having 3 albums on here, but sure, I guess. This album isn't bad though. I like the overall sound. The instrumentals are nice. I'm not the biggest fan of Beck's vocals, but they aren't particularly bad or anything. The writing is unique. I guess that's kind of to be expected from the guy whose most popular song starts with the line "In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey." That song isn't on this album by the way, or any of the albums of his that are on this list. That's weird, but okay. What stands out to me for this album is the variety in both writing and sound. Some songs are very clearly in the alternative rock field that Beck established himself to be a part of, while others are almost hip-hop like in a way. The writing is also about a variety of things, although many tie into similar themes. Overall, a decent album with some pretty positive aspects. 3/5.
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Time for (what I believe to be) my third Brazilian album! I liked the debut album from Os Mutantes as well as Arise by Sepultura, so how does Jorge Ben's "Africa Brasil" compare? It's also really good! I guess there's just something about the Brazilian albums I've gotten so far that appeals to me. What appeals to me with this album is the sound. It's funky and I love it. The singing and writing are also both pretty good, even if I can't understand it. Though, from what my browser's translations gave me, there's some substance in these writings. Overall, given the quality and the apparent cultural impact that Jorge Ben has in Brazil, I think this is a worthy inclusion in this list. 4/5.
4
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Wed Feb 28 2024
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Wow. This is garbage! I genuinely don't see the value in this at all. Most of the songs aren't songs. In order for me to call something a song, you have to have some sense of rhythm, melody, or ideally, both. There's only like two songs on here that fit that and they both suck. The rest of the album is just pure noise. Sometimes it's just talking, other times it is literally just random noise. One songs on here was originally an actual song, but for whatever reason why sped up to become 16 seconds of sped-up garbage. I hate this. This infuriates me. This might be my least favorite album of all time. Everything here is stupid. I can't even call this music. Fuck this album. 1/5.
1
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black
Public Enemy
You know, after listening to Throbbing Gristle yesterday, all I wanted for today was something that I can actually call music. Fortunately, "Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black" by Public Enemy is actual music. That music happens to be pretty decent. It's not really my personal thing, but I still see the appeal. The rapping is good. It's got a nice flow to it. With that said, I definitely liked Chuck D's rapping a lot more than Flavor Flav's rapping. The writing is pretty solid. Public Enemy has this very direct and punchy approach with how it handles politics that I can really admire. The instrumentals are also good. The album does go on for quite a while, but there's just enough variety to warrant listening to the whole thing. Besides, the last song has Anthrax on it. That's just awesome. Overall, a solid rap album with a purpose. 3/5.
3
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Happy Leap Day everybody! This is the only leap day that I will listen to one of these albums on. Will this album make this day memorable at all? No. I wouldn't say so. This is a perfectly fine and serviceable album. Does it belong on this list? Not really. This album doesn't really have a ton of cultural impact. Although, admittedly, Bert Jansch himself, despite not being super well known himself, did influence quite a few artists that I like such as Neil Young and Nick Drake. Nick Drake in particular is the interesting one since, prior to listening to this album, I saw quite a bit of comparison in the reviews to him for this album. After listening to the album, I can kind of see it. The voice felt more Bob Dylan-esque for the first song, but later songs did give me an idea as to how someone could make comparisons to Nick Drake. This album isn't as good as his stuff though. A decent portion of the album is instrumentals, which is an interesting choice. His singing is fine. The musical contents are a bit samey, but not the worst in the world. The writing is probably the best part of the album, but it's still just kind of solid. Overall, nothing I really feel like revisiting ever again, but a pretty harmless album that's significantly better than a lot of the "this shouldn't be on here" albums that I've already listened to. 3/5.
3
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Sat Mar 02 2024
Madman Across The Water
Elton John
You know, I feel like it's been a while since I've gotten an album from a truly legendary artist. I've gotten albums recently from artists or groups that I'd consider "iconic", but no one that I've gotten in the past 10 days or so is anyone that I would consider as legendary as Elton John. The guy's just awesome, and so is this album. It's really good! The album opens with one of his most well known songs, "Tiny Dancer". Needless to say, it's a great song. The rest of the songs are also great. The sound on this album is very pleasant to listen to. Elton John's singing is just phenomenal. The instrumentation is very good. Elton John's piano work in particular is always great. The writing is solid. Overall, this is a great album from a truly iconic artist. 4/5.
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Sun Mar 03 2024
Face to Face
The Kinks
150 albums. I wasn't sure I'd get this far. This is actually the first 50-album milestone where I've gotten an album from an artist I had already gotten! 50th was my first Def Leppard album and 100th was my first T Rex album, but Face to Face is not my first album from The Kinks. I listened to Village Green Preservation Society about a month and half ago and I really liked it! So, how does Face to Face compare? Well, it's definitely an earlier album of theirs, that's for sure. It kind of gives of similar vibes to earlier Beatles work. It's good, but not nearly as groundbreaking and top-notch as later work. There are things that I really liked about Village Green that are here in Face to Face, but in a way that isn't as refined as it would be in later work. There is a variety of songs in terms of writing and sound, but there aren't as many songs that truly stand out. In fact, the only song on this album that's really seemed to make an impact is Sunny Afternoon. That song is great, and there are other really good songs too, but this album isn't really anything spectacular. I like the sound and singing, but as stated earlier, it does feel a bit too similar to early Beatles. The writing is quite good. I do like it. Overall, while Village Green is still a much more noteworthy and better album, Face to Face is still a solid collection of songs with a loose theme to tie them together. High 3/5.
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon
Alright! I haven't gotten very many solo albums from former members of iconic groups so far, so getting a Paul Simon solo album is neat. While I hadn't heard much about this album in comparison to something like Graceland, Hearts and Bones is actually pretty good. The sound is varied. One complaint (if you can call it that) that I have is that the final three songs give us one of the funniest tonal shifts I have ever heard in an album. You have two mostly serious songs with historical ties to tragedy with a funny car song in between them. That's just hilarious. Anyway, I still like Paul Simon's singing. The writing is pretty solid. Overall, while this might be a somewhat redundant pick for this list, I can see why some people have called this his most underrated album. I'd go so far as to say I liked it more than S&G's "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme", but not as much as Bridge Over Troubled Water. I'm feeling generous, so I'll give this album a light 4/5.
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Debut
Björk
Well, well, well. It finally happened. There have been 16 artists until now who have given me two albums for this generator (15 if you don't count the Neil Young and Crazy Horse album as being from the same artist as the Neil Young I've gotten). However, I have not gotten three albums from the same artist until now. The artist to first bestow three albums upon me... is Björk. I don't know how to feel about that. I don't dislike Björk. Quite the contrary. I thought Vulnicura was really good and Medulla, while not quite as good, was still not a bad album. It's just that Björk isn't really the kind of artist that I expected to ever listen to this many albums from in my life, especially before ever listening to a single full album from artists like Nirvana and Stevie Wonder. But, that's besides the point. Do I like Debut? Well, if I'm going to be honest, I think this is my favorite Björk album yet. Her singing sounds the same, which isn't a bad thing. I know singing experts would probably tell me that her voice has changed a lot since 1993, but I don't really hear it which, again, isn't a bad thing. The writing is pretty solid. She's not afraid to get weird while also remaining mostly comprehensible. One thing that makes listening to three Björk albums a potentially worthwhile experience is that she is an artist who is more than willing to experiment with each album. This is a very different album than the one's I've listened to before. This album has a lot more pop and electronic elements to it, as well as a generally more upbeat mood. That's not to say it's too positive or anything. There's still this aura of mystery surrounding each song. There really isn't a bad song on here. It's crazy to know that Björk's first album (even if technically wasn't her first) is so good. So you know, after listening to this album, I'd say that Björk being my first three-album artist is a good thing. High 4/5.
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Tragic Songs of Life
The Louvin Brothers
Well, this is an album. I find it weird that I've only gotten 50s albums and they're all from 1956 specifically. Did albums just not exist before 1956 and then stop existing from 1957 until 1960? Anyways, this album is one that exists. Country music has never been my thing. 50s music has never been my thing. You put the two together and you get an album that I'll forget about in a week. The singing is okay. The duo work is respectable. Definitely a bit cheesy. The sound is certainly repetitive, but not unlistenable. The writing is where this album gets interesting. It's quite dark at times. The last few songs in particular tackle things like war, murder, and grief. I mean, I guess that counts as a tragic song of life. There's quite a bit of Christian imagery in here. I'm not a Christian, so that does nothing for me. Overall, this is a forgettable album, but I surprisingly don't hate it in a similar way to similar albums like "A Date with the Everly Brothers". Light 2/5.
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Phaedra
Tangerine Dream
Did I just listen to something? I guess I did. Tangerine Dream's "Phaedra" doesn't really feel like an album to me. It feels more like 40 minutes of ambience. But hey, it's some damn good ambience. The production of this thing is immaculate. The sound makes for some decent background noise at times. I feel like I would enjoy this album a lot more if I just laid in bed and zoned out for 40 minutes. Perhaps then I would "get it". For now, I guess the best thing I can say about this album is "it has a purpose that it succeeds at." It kind of makes me feel like I'm in space. Fortunately, that's more so in the "drifting away in nothing" way and not the "lack of oxygen boiling my blood" way. It doesn't do much for me, but perhaps it will at another point in my life. I'll give this thing the benefit of the doubt. Light 3/5.
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Fri Mar 08 2024
Virgin Suicides
Air
From one ambient instrumental album to another ambient (mostly) instrumental album. It's kind of weird that I got two in a row of that. Interesting. Anyway, this one's pretty alright. It's a film soundtrack, which I believe I've only gotten once before with Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack. I think Superfly was better, but that's irrelevant. This one does it's job well. The sound is nice. I can tell that it fits a story. I haven't seen the movie that this score is from, so I'm not 100% sure if it fits the story or not. There isn't much to say. It's some solid instrumentals. High 3/5.
3
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
Okay. I just want to start this review with something that caught me off guard in the best way possible. When I was doing the research about this album, I found out who the members of Jurassic 5 are. The name "Chali 2na" stood out to me because I knew for a fact that I had heard the name somewhere before. I just wasn't sure what it was. Lo and behold, he was Neil DeGrasse Tyson in an Epic Rap Battles of History video. I had no idea that that guy was a legitimately successful rapper in a somewhat popular group! Anyways, this album is actually quite good. I like it. It kind of makes me feel similar things to how I felt listening to Fly or Die by N.E.R.D. Most of this album has this positive energy to it that is always nice to see. The flow in this album is amazing in my opinion. It just lines up well. The members actually play off of each other very well. The beats are nice. The writing is solid. My one complaint is that the song "One of Them" feels pretty out of place in this album. That's really it. I like this album quite a bit. 4/5.
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Smash
The Offspring
Finally, another artist I've heard of before. Although, that isn't much to say since the only thing I can think of when The Offspring comes to mind is that one Sam O'Nella clip. Anyways, this album isn't bad. It's a decent punk rock album. Throughout this journey, I have noticed some things that are common-place for certain genres. In particular, I have noticed some tropes of punk-rock. Tropes that are in here. Most of the songs on this album are quite short and pretty similar to each other. There's some light political commentary, but also some songs that are just there because why not. The sound on this album is good. The singing reminds me of Crazy Taxi, which makes sense given that The Offspring's music was in Crazy Taxi. I've never played Crazy Taxi. This review might make it seem like I dislike the album, but that isn't true. It is a perfectly fine album. 3/5.
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Woodface
Crowded House
You know, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't gotten very many albums from Australia or New Zealand so far. I believe Melodrama by Lorde is the only one I've gotten until now. Anyways, Woodface by Crowded House is a pretty good album. I did like Melodrama more, but like most of my album comparisons, this is completely meaningless. This album is enjoyable though. The sound is just nice. I like the singing. The harmonies work well. The writing isn't the best, but it does the job. I wasn't sure if this deserved to be on the list, but seeing as how these guys seemed to have had a much bigger impact in their home turf than in America, as well as the quality of this album, I'd say this is a decently deserving album of being on this list. High 3/5.
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Is This It
The Strokes
Man. It feels like it's been forever since I've gotten an album that I was actually excited to listen to. Every day for the past week or so (possibly even more) I've clicked on the next album button wondering "is this it?" Well, fortunately, "Is This It" is, in fact, it. This album is awesome. I love it. It feels like what the modern equivalent to something like The Velvet Underground would sound like in the best way possible. I think the clearest example of this is in the singing. Julian Casablancas is like if Lou Reed was a good singer. That was a joke, but I do like this singing more. The sound is just great. It's like the perfect mix of punk, alt-rock, and even pop at times. The writing is quite good as well. There's depth to this album. There really isn't a bad song. The popular ones like Last Nite are deservedly popular, but even the tracks that don't get talked about as much still stand strong. This isn't that important, but I find that both the original album cover and the replacement are quite good. I think the original fits the album better, but I do really like looking at the replacement. Although, that's not to say that the original isn't visually pleasing in a different way, if you know what I'm saying. Overall, this is easily the best album I've gotten in a while, and my second favorite album of 2001, only behind Toxicity by System of a Down. 5/5.
5
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Buzzcocks
Hooray. More British punk. My favorite. Those are the thoughts that were in my mind leading up to me listening to this album. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Don't get me wrong, there are still some major problems I have with this album. The writing is a bit basic, but not the worst I've ever heard in an album. The singing is easily my least favorite part of the album. I just don't like it. However, the instrumental sound is enough to make my overall experience with this album somewhat positive. I can definitely hear how these guys influenced more modern groups like Green Day. There's some decent variety in these songs, something that most other punk albums I've listened to lack. There's a song in 6/8 time signature for crying out loud! This album has memorable parts to it, which is a godsend for albums like this. I will say though that the second half is quite a bit better than the first half in my opinion. Overall, while this is far from my favorite album ever, this is also far from my least favorite album ever. Good job Buzzcocks! I don't like your band name, but this album's alright. 3/5.
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
Hell yeah. What can I say? You can't go wrong with some Jimi Hendrix. I honestly don't know whether I liked Electric Ladyland or this one more. I might have to do some relistening, although I'll probably wait after I've also heard Are You Experienced before I do that. This album is just awesome. The sound, as is to be expected, is phenomenal. Jimi's guitar playing was incredibly ahead of its time and holds up very well. The rest of the sound is also amazing. I really like the drumming on songs like Spanish Castle Magic. The singing is good. The writing is solid. There's some loose connected theming here without the album feeling repetitive. This is just an all-time classic from a true legend of music. 5/5.
5
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
George Michael
Nice. Another great album! George Michael is an artist that I've always just kind of known as "The Careless Whisper Guy" and not much else. I knew he was famous, but I hadn't heard much of his stuff. I didn't even know he was in Wham! Anyways, this album is really good. I wasn't sold on his singing at first, but it grew on me and I appreciate it. The sound is quite nice. It's a solid pleasant sound that I can't really pinpoint a genre for. The closest I'd call it is R&B, but that doesn't really paint the whole picture. The writing is also very good. There's substance to these lyrics, and every song has a purpose, leading to the album not feeling samey. Overall, this is a good album, but not quite in the top echelon for me. 4/5.
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
Alright! It's time for my second Bob Dylan album. You know what? I really liked this one. This is a truly legendary album right here. A lot of what I had to say about Bringing It All Back Home applies here too. Bob Dylan's singing is hit or miss, but when it works, it definitely works. The instrumental sound in this album is top-notch. Everything about the instruments just works wonderfully. The songwriting is easily the best thing about this album. The ability that Bob Dylan has to tell a full complex story in a song like "Tangled Up in Blue" or "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" is one that not very many songwriters have. While there are overarching themes, and it is speculated that multiple songs on here were written about Dylan's then-wife, each song's story stands out to create a great collection of stories in the form of amazing songs. Overall, this album absolutely deserves to be on this list for its cultural impact, and the sheer talent and quality behind it. 5/5.
5
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Sun Mar 17 2024
Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
I don't care about this album at all. Why should I? It has little to no cultural impact and should not have been included on this list over more impactful albums. How do these guys get on the list but artists like Louis Armstrong, MF DOOM, and Weezer get absolutely nothing? This whole album just feels derivative. I've heard people compare this album to Bob Dylan, with it said that he inspired this album. Well, and I'm saying this as someone whose last album they listened to before this was a Bob Dylan album, I don't see it. If anything, the singing in this reminds me more of Lou Reed than anyone. Even then, this guy's worse. The sound is fine, I guess. It's just that the jangle-pop sound can be heard through infinitely better and more significant bands of the time like The Smiths and R.E.M. The writing is nothing to write home about. The messaging is basic. I just don't care about this album. It means nothing to me. 2/5.
2
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
Eh. This album exists and that's about it. These guys call themselves disposable, and they're absolutely correct. This album could be removed from the list and I wouldn't bat an eye. I wouldn't be surprised if this album wasn't in the most recent version of this book. The beats are pretty decent, I will say. They definitely work for what they were going for. The rapping itself is just kind of okay. Nothing crazy. It's mostly just talking. The writing is confusing at times. It's a bit repetitive and sometimes it just feels like buzzwords. While I do respect this album and I can see what these guys were going for, I just don't really care enough about the final product to warrant thinking about this album ever again. 2/5.
2
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Queen II
Queen
I mean, what can I say? It's Queen. In the 5 weeks it's been since I listened to Sheer Heart Attack, my opinion of Queen has not changed much. They're still one of my favorite bands, and Queen II adds further reinforcing to that. This is an interesting album to include on the list, as it serves as a good representation of what early Queen was like before they started to lean more into the stadium appeal of songs like "We Will Rock You" and "Don't Stop Me Now". As great as those songs are, I actually really like the sound that albums like this and Sheer Heart Attack are going for. Everything I said about that album remains true here. The instrumental work is still amazing. Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest singers of all time even in 1974. The transitions on this thing are unlike any other. One thing that makes this album stand out is just how fantastical it is, particularly in the second half. Songs like "Ogre Battle" and "Seven Seas of Rhye" just have this whimsical and magical feel to them that makes them such great listens. Another standout track is "The March of the Black Queen", which almost acts a sort of precursor to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in that they both feature very distinct sections across a fairly long run-time. The first half is good too, just not as good as the second half. Overall, this album is great and Queen is still one of my favorite bands ever. 5/5.
5
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
If there was an award for "album with the title that least fits the sound of the album," it would go to this. You give me an album called "Shake Your Money Maker" and I'm expecting some off-the-wall dance music, not southern blues rock. Anyways, this album is fine, I guess. I have some problems. The sound itself is okay. There's definitely talent, I will admit. The singing is alright. I'd even call it good. The writing is okay. However, there is an overarching problem that I have with this album. It feels unoriginal. This album was made in 1990, yet it feels like it's trying too hard to sound like something from the 70s. I'm not saying that every song has to feel like it came out in the year that it came out. Some songs can fit an older style, while others can be ahead of their time. However, while I could potentially respect an album that serves as an homage to 70s rock, it feels like this album uses that less as a source of inspiration and more as a crutch that this album is bound to. Overall, while I can say that the contents of this album are objectively not bad, I just don't really care about it personally. 2/5.
2
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Thu Mar 21 2024
We're Only In It For The Money
The Mothers Of Invention
Well. That was certainly an interesting listen. I went into this album with a worry, but also a bit of hope. I had heard people call this album nonsense, which made me fear another Throbbing Gristle or Liars situation. However, Frank Zappa is a fairly iconic and respected figure. I mean, he has a Guilty Gear character named after him! There has to be something special about this guy, right? Well, fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Sure, there are definitely some noisy and unpleasant parts of this album. However, in comparison to some of the 1/5s that I've given, I respect this album and the vision behind it. There's an overarching theme and points to be made. Do I agree with all of them? Not fully, but I can see what these guys were trying to say. I mean, "your mind is the ugliest part of your body,"? I get it. I also didn't hate the sound all of the time. There are some songs on here that, while certainly weird, were enjoyable to listen to. The chaos does lean towards something like The Residents at some points, but at other times it feels more controlled like System of a Down (my favorite band). Overall, while it has its problems, I would say that listening to this album was an overall positive experience that I don't regret. I can see why this is on here! 3/5.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
Dude. This is awesome. I kind of love this album. I'll start with the one thing that was negative at first. I wasn't big on the vocals at first. They were 80s punk vocals, which I've never liked. However, weirdly enough, they kind of grew on me. They're not my favorite vocals, but they work at times. As for the rest of the album, it's just great. The writing is unique in a great way. The things these guys have to say make a lot of sense, and the writing gets their points across quite well, in addition to being entertaining. However, the sound is what makes this album so amazing. While there are some similar songs, it doesn't feel repetitive, unlike other punk albums of the time (looking at you, Undertones). There's tempo changes and stuff. I love tempo changes! Also, I like this version of "California Uber Alles" a lot more than the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprasy version that I listened to a few days ago. The guitar tone is energetic and fitting for the energy of the messages. The bass? Oh my god. The bass in this album is just wonderful. I love it so much! I think I know why I love this album so much. Between the heavy-handed politics, the guitar riffs, and the sheer insanity of this album, it kind of reminds me of System of a Down. I think I've mentioned (or at least implied) before that System of a Down is my favorite band, so hearing something even remotely similar to them is just what I need. Apparently these guys influenced SOAD, and I can hear it. Overall, I was very surprised by just how passionate I am about this album. I might have to check out the other Dead Kennedys albums. 5/5.
5
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Sat Mar 23 2024
Either Or
Elliott Smith
I want to start this review by bringing up a weird pattern I've had with albums lately. You see, 9 days ago, I got my second Jimi Hendrix album, which I gave a 5. After 1 album from a new artist, I then got my second Bob Dylan album, which was also a 5. This was followed by 2 new artists and then my second Queen album, also a 5. Finally (at least for now), I got 3 new artists, and my second Elliott Smith album. You notice the "1, 2, 3" going on there? That's just funny. But does the 5/5 part continue? Yeah, of course it does. I really have no complaints about Either/Or. Everything I said about Figure 8 applies here. The sound is still great, which is impressive considering it all comes from one guy. The singing compliments the tone of the album very well. The songwriting and storytelling is still top-notch. It's a very cohesive experience that feels very personal. There's variety in everything. This is just an amazing album. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you see it), I'm not sure I'm in the right headspace for the album right now, but I can tell just how good it is anyways. What can I say? This is a masterpiece. 5/5.
5
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Sun Mar 24 2024
British Steel
Judas Priest
Hell yeah. This is some good stuff right here. Not every album on the list needs to be some emotional masterpiece. Sometimes, it's just nice to do some headbanging to some classic metal, and it's hard for metal to get more classic than Judas Priest. This album's great. The sound is strong, and the songs manage to stand out from each other. I really like Rob Halford's vocals. There's a reason why he's considered to be one of the all time greats of metal vocalists. The energy of the album goes on for the perfect amount of time. Songs like "Breaking the Law" are absolute classics and very good songs. The writing is solid. Overall, I don't really have that much to say. This is just some great early metal. It's awesome, and I want more of it. 4/5.
4
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Haunted Dancehall
The Sabres Of Paradise
Look. My criteria for my album ratings is somewhat complex. I'm not going to explain the whole thing right now, but I have something to say. My criteria for giving an album a 1/5 is that if I am upset that I listened to a given album, that album gets a 1/5. I don't mean that in a "This album is sad" kind of way, I mean that in a "This project would be better without this album" kind of way. It is the simplest rating criteria that I have. I am upset that I listened to this album. How can you have so many albums from 1994 on this list (This is my 9th!) with some of them being worthless, culturally insignificant trash like this, and yet the Weezer blue album is nowhere to be seen?! WHY?! That album is awesome! This? I hate it. The sound itself is fine, I guess, but it leaves no lasting impact on me. There are some great instrumental albums out there with enough impact to warrant an inclusion on this list. This is not one of them. I've probably written reviews for this site that are longer than the wikipedia articles for this album and its band combined before! But you wanna know the biggest issue with this album. It does not fucking end. It lasts for 76 whole minutes, with there being multiple songs that go for 8 minutes each! On top of that, the songs are kind of repetitive. I'm pissed off. I genuinely question what logic there was behind this album being included. Wikipedia says that this was the first techno concept album. First of all, I don't believe that for one second. There had to have been something before this. Second of all, what is the concept for this album? Being shit? If so, good job "Sabres of Paradise," you succeeded! Now get out of my sight. 1/5.
1
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Rio
Duran Duran
Dude. After listening to a boring 76-minute long album with no cultural impact at all yesterday, an energetic 42-minute long album from a group that's sold over 100 million copies is exactly what I needed today! Rio by Duran Duran is a great album. I love it. It deserves to be on this list not just because of Duran Duran's cultural impact during the Second British Invasion of the 1980s, but also because it's just a damn good album. The sound is top-notch. Everything from the bass, to the vocals, to the instruments that only show up once like the saxophone in the first song and the ocarina in the last song just works to create a very energetic and fun album. The writing is solid, the pacing is perfect. It kind of reminds me of a more energetic Depeche Mode, and if you're making me think about Depeche Mode, you're probably doing something right. This is awesome and it's way better than that stupid Haunted Dancehall album. High 4/5.
4
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Wed Mar 27 2024
You Are The Quarry
Morrissey
Ah yes, The Smith. Just one of them. Here we have the first of four Morrissey albums that I'll be listening to for this project. He definitely does not deserve four albums, but if any of his solo albums are going to be on this list, this one makes more sense than the others. Anyways, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. Is it as good as the one The Smiths album I've gotten so far? No, definitely not. However, this album isn't that bad, but it's not perfect. I'll start with a complaint that I don't think I've ever made before. The singing is decent, and the instrumentals are quite solid, but I feel like they don't mesh well with each other. Anyways, the writing is certainly interesting. Some of it makes sense, other parts don't. I was expecting the album to feel like The Smiths, but it really didn't at all. That's fine and all, I just don't like the sound of this album as much. Has this album aged all that well? Not really. Sometimes it's for funny reasons, like in the first song where he brings up how America's never had a black president. Other things relate to more serious topics regarding who Morrissey is as a person. Overall, this album's fine, but kind of forgettable. Low 3/5.
3
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Konnichiwa
Skepta
Well, the pattern ends. I have now gotten 5 new artists in a row. Damn. Anyways, this is a fun album. My first experience with grime through Dizzee Rascal's "Boy in Da Corner" wasn't the most positive one. Maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace, but my thought upon listening to that album was "I don't think grime is for me." However, the great thing about listening to multiple albums from a certain genre is that preconceived notions can be disproved. I actually did go back to a few songs from that album after this, but I still am not really a fan of that album. Despite that, I actually like Skepta's "Konnichiwa." This album isn't the most serious thing out there, but it doesn't have to be. The rapping is enjoyable to listen to. The writing is solid and not too problematic. The beats are probably the best part. They just go so hard for no real reason. The album's not perfect, don't get me wrong. I did feel like the appeal of the album did start to dwindle by the end of the album. That's not to say that this album dragged or went on for too long. 44 minutes is like the perfect album length. However, it didn't feel quite as special after twelve songs. The features are also just fine. Overall, this is a surprisingly enjoyable album. Fantano was in the right when he gave this a 7/10. That would be equivalent to a 3.5/5, so I'll round up and give this album a light 4/5.
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Triangle
The Beau Brummels
Well. That was aggressively mid. I see no reason why this should be on the list. There are many other albums on this list that basically do what this one does but with more cultural importance and quality. Even the vocals are a bit too reminiscent of Bob Dylan at times. Basically, imagine a Bob Dylan album but with worse writing and no real meaning behind it. That's what this album is. I felt nothing listening to it. The song "And I've Seen Her" aged like milk. The others are okay I guess. The second to last song, "The Wolf of Velvet Fortune" is probably the best one. The sound is fine. I'm not upset that I listened to this, but it really isn't anything special to me at all. I'm not upset that I listened to this, mainly because it's only 28 minutes. I am going to forget about this as soon as I finish this review, and I'm okay with that. Low 2/5.
2
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Rubber Soul
Beatles
Alright! Beatles album #3! This time, we have Rubber Soul to look at. This is generally considered to be the turning point for the Beatles where they finally started to make truly amazing albums. I haven't heard the albums that came before this, but that seems about right. Regardless of if this was their first great album or not, it is definitely a great album to be sure. While their sound isn't quite as experimental or polished as it is on the other albums of theirs I've heard (Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's), it's still very strong. The writing, sound, and singing is all still great though. Not every song is as good as the rest. I thought "The Word" was just alright and the album ends with what is probably the worst one on the album, "Run For Your Life." This album does however contain some truly amazing songs though. Songs like "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", and especially "In My Life" stand out as being some of the best songs that you could listen to in 1965. Overall, while Rubber Soul isn't my favorite Beatles album, it is still a worthwhile listen that serves some importance in the career of the most iconic band to ever exist. High 4/5.
4
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Palo Congo
Sabu
Well this is a harmless little album right here. Does it need to be on this list? No, not really. However, I'm not upset at all that I listened to this. It's just nice. I don't really get a lot of 50s albums, so it's something different. The sound is a nice change of pace from the standard genres like rock, pop, hip-hop, and soul. It has a purpose and it fulfills that in every way it needs to. The instruments are pleasant and the singing/chanting works well. It does feel a bit quiet at times, but that's not that big of a deal. I'm sure this album has more value to other people and groups, but for me, it just serves as some decent background music. 3/5.
3
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
I feel like Bob Dylan's been coming up more than usual lately. Between me getting my second Dylan album just over 2 weeks ago and the various Dylan-inspired albums I've gotten since, it's definitely a noticeable pattern that has continued with my third Bob Dylan album today. However, this one's pretty different from the other two I got, mainly because this one released over 20 years after those other two that I've gotten. Because of that, the most obvious thing that's changed about Dylan is his voice. It's noticeably aged, but that's not a bad thing. I feel like his voice in this album is more consistently good, whereas earlier albums were kind of hit or miss in that regard. This version of his voice creates a different atmosphere than his earlier work, but the quality hasn't managed to take a hit. This is still a pretty good album. It's not perfect, don't get me wrong. I know I've defended Bob Dylan's singing, but I did not need to hear it for 73 straight minutes. If the last song had just been cut down from 16 and a half minutes to a normal song length, then we could've had a decent album length. Anyways, on to the positives that aren't the voice since I already went over that! Bob Dylan's songwriting is as strong as ever here. The storytelling and world building is still that of a man with lots of talent, now with 20 more years of life experience. The sound is nice. It's a little repetitive at times, but I still enjoy listening to all of these songs. Overall, while it's not a perfect album, this is yet another solid collection of songs from Bob Dylan. Light 4/5.
4
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
Mmm... nice. You know, I didn't really know anything about this album before today. I had seen it when I looked up the complete list of albums for this project, but I didn't know anything about the actual album itself. As it turns out, this is actually a pretty influential album right here. The album sold over a million copies and popularized the bossa nova genre. After doing my preliminary research, I came to the conclusion that this album deserves to be on this list. That conclusion was further supported by the thoughts that were entering my head when I listened to this album, because it's really good. Is it a bit repetitive? Yes. Do I care? No. The vibes here are just immaculate. I love the singing, the sound and compositions are top-notch. This is just a great collection of some nice music to just sit back and relax to. High 4/5.
4
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Stripped
Christina Aguilera
Yep. That was an album. This was my second experience with Christina Aguilera, and I'd say I enjoyed the two albums about the same. This is a solid pop album. As stated in my Back to Basics review, I think that her singing is quite good and impressive. The instrumentals are decent. They vary in quality, but most of them are good. The writing is pretty personal actually. The big reason for why this whole album feels personal was because Christina felt that her debut album wasn't personal enough, with her not really getting any creative control. This album was said to be her true debut, and I can see that. Is this my favorite album in the world? No. It really isn't my thing personally. On top of that, this thing is just way too long. They probably could've cut half the songs from here and all of the desired points would have still come across in a meaningful way. However, I have an immense amount of respect for this album and can see why it's on here. High 3/5.
3
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Music From Big Pink
The Band
Oh boy, another album with ties to Bob Dylan. Look. I like Bob Dylan, but I feel as though I've gotten too many albums recently that are either from Bob Dylan himself, similar to Bob Dylan in a noticeable way, or, in the case of this album, directly tied to Bob Dylan. Also, before I talk about the album itself, I just want to say that "The Band" might be one of the worst band names I've ever heard. It's just super pretentious. Fortunately, despite my complaints, this album definitely isn't bad. Despite the ties to Bob Dylan, this album doesn't really feel like an album of his. There are aspects that are reminiscent of his work such as the songwriting at times, but this album manages to stand out as something original and not riding off of another artist's popularity and style. There's a good genre mix in here, with aspects of rock, country, and r&b showing all throughout. The sound is solid, with singing that compliments the writing. The writing is quite good. Overall, this album definitely has the impact and quality that an album needs to be included on this list, even if it's not my personal favorite album ever. Light 4/5.
4
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Nixon
Lambchop
Meh. This album bores me. This was considered one of the best albums of 2000? I don't get it. I haven't even listened to albums like Kid A and Stankonia yet, but I already know that those albums are better than this. That's not even taking albums that I have heard into account that I did enjoy more like Figure 8 and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. The sound on this album is fine. I can respect the blend of various genres. Some songs lean more into country elements, others feel more like a chamber pop type thing. The singing is serviceable. The falsetto isn't great, but everything else is alright. The writing doesn't really speak to me. It just feels like words are entering my head and exiting right out. Maybe that's a me problem, but I have seen others call this album unfocused and nonsensical, so I don't think that's the whole truth. The mixing isn't great either. The vocals felt too quiet. Also, what does this album have to do with Nixon? Nothing about this album makes me think of him. Overall, this album really doesn't need to be on here and is just kind of forgettable. 2/5.
2
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
If I had to describe this album using one of the words from its title, corners wouldn't make sense at all, so I'll just go ahead and call this album brilliant. This is some great jazz right here. The work that went into this album is tremendous. The mastery of the instruments, understanding of music itself, and complexity behind the compositions make this a great listen. It serves well as good background noise for other tasks, but also has enough depth to it to be able to spend the whole 42 minutes just analyzing the sound. All of the instruments just blend well to create an album that's well worth a listen, or maybe even multiple. Light 4/5.
4
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Sun Apr 07 2024
Untitled (Black Is)
SAULT
Well, well. What do we have here? An album from the current decade? Who would've thought?! I've finally reached an album from the 2020s! There are a very small amount of albums from the past few years on this list, mainly because we just don't know how culturally significant many albums from the recent years will go on to be. That brings us to an important question regarding this album in particular. Why is this album on the list? It's not particularly well-known. Well, my theory is that this has less to do with music culture and more with the world's culture in 2020. 2020 was a year of many shocking things that still impact us today. Obviously the COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest of these, but not far behind were the Black Lives Matter protests brought upon by the deaths of individuals like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Let's not beat around the bush any further. This is a protest album. That's why this album is on here. It represents the cultural attitude of the time. In particular, the black cultural attitude of the time. You see, I'm white. This means that I am not the target demographic for this album. However, that does not mean that I'm unable to appreciate this album and what it stands for. This album has some great messages about police brutality, self-love, and faith. Do I personally relate to any of it? No. But if this album was able to relate to its target demographic during the time it came it, then I would say that this album was a success in that regard. The features are solid. I find it interesting that every album I've gotten so far from 2019 or later has involved Michael Kiwanuka in some capacity. Is he just that great of an artist? Yes. The musical contents of this album could admittedly be better though. As much as I respect what this album's saying, it is a bit too blunt with it at times, making the album feel less like an actual album and more like affirmations or preaching at times. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just isn't for me personally. The vocals are serviceable. The album does go on for a bit too long. The album is fairly repetitive. However, this album is an overall positive experience, just not one made for me specifically. High 3/5.
3
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Jazz Samba
Stan Getz
Time for my second bossa nova album involving Stan Getz of the week! Yeah this album is very similar to Getz/Gilberto, which is an album that I listened to 6 days ago. My thoughts are basically the same, with the exception of this album not having as much of a cultural impact despite coming earlier. I guess it's one of those things where this album helped lay the foundations, but Getz/Gilberto perfected it to the point where it's the one that popularized the genre. Basically, this is the Wolfenstein 3D to Getz/Gilberto's DOOM. Still a good album, but not quite as great as the other one. The sound is still here, although the singing that I really liked from that other album is missing. What gives? Anyways, this album is perfectly fine, but a bit of a redundant pick when you have a better and more culturally impactful album from one of the same artists that is also on this list. High 3/5.
3
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
Guys I'm tired. I am tired of Bob Dylan. THIS IS MY FOURTH BOB DYLAN ALBUM AND MY THIRD OF THE PAST MONTH! I don't even dislike him or anything, I'm just tired of getting all of these albums that come from him or are inspired by him or involve him in some way. Still, regardless of my frustration with the random album generation, I have to admit that this is an objectively great album. I could say a lot about this album, but I don't really need to because I've said it all about the other albums of his. The songwriting and storytelling are great and the singing is very love-it-or-hate-it. "Like a Rolling Stone" is a great opener. There's a decent variety in this album's sound. It's another Bob Dylan album. What can I say? High 4/5. Now please give me at least 2 months before another one of these.
4
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Wed Apr 10 2024
This Is Hardcore
Pulp
This album name is an utter lie. This isn't hardcore! Oh well, at least the album is good. With how much I've seen complaints about the overabundance of Britpop on this list, I haven't gotten very many Britpop albums as of lately, and the one's I've gotten so far have been mostly alright, with Pulp's "This is Hardcore" being no different. This album is fairly Bowie-esque in a way, mainly with the singing at times. I kind of like it. The sound is pretty enjoyable to listen to. The writing is slightly repetitive and the album is a bit long, but those are minor issues that don't really impact the album all that much. I think this is a pretty good album. Not the best I've listened to, but a fairly solid album that gives me a good first impression of Pulp. Maybe I'll like Different Class even more! Light 4/5.
4
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Autobahn
Kraftwerk
Time for another artist I've heard of! I've been on a good streak with that lately, but that's mainly because two out of the past 4 albums I've gotten were from artists that I've gotten earlier in the project. Kraftwerk is a fairly iconic band, so I wasn't surprised to see one of their albums in here. Based on my research this seems to be the album that put them on the map of popular music. After listening to it, I guess I can see why. Is this my favorite album ever? No. Not even close. It's a good album though. The sound is enjoyable to listen to. I like how the album doesn't just throw everything at you right away and builds up to the different sounds that it wants to make. The whole feel of the album is pretty mystical. The 22-minute long title track is probably the most interesting song on the album for multiple reasons. This seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of album based on the reviews I've read from this site. I'd say I'm closer to the love it side, but I'm not super passionate about it. Still, this album is pretty good, and I'm excited to hear what else this band has to offer from the two other albums they have on this list. High 3/5.
3
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Fri Apr 12 2024
White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
This is a solid album right here. The White Stripes are, in fact, a band I've heard of, but I had really only heard one of their songs before, so getting to experience an album of theirs was an intriguing experience. This is not the album with Seven Nation Army on it, but it is the album that truly kickstarted their career, so I'd say it deserves to be on here in addition to their other album Elephant. If it was just this album, then I'd have some questions, but the two of them both being on the list is something that I can accept. The sound of this album is quite nice. One interesting thing that this album does that I haven't really seen a ton of is that this album goes for more of a quantity over quality approach with the songs. That's not to say that the songs are bad, it's just that there's a higher focus on making more short songs rather than fully fleshing out ideas for specific songs. Fortunately, each song is short, so an album with 16 songs ends up being a tight 40 minutes rather than a 70+ minute slog. I like the singing. I think it fits the overall feel these two were going for. The songwriting is decent. There's a very unique feel with this album that I'm not sure how to put into words. It feels raw, but not too heavy. I guess that's garage rock for you, and this album spearheaded the 2000s revival of garage rock in addition to other albums like Is This It by the Strokes. I don't like this album quite as much as that one, but this one is still pretty good. 4/5.
4
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Sat Apr 13 2024
Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
FINALLY. It is about time that I got a Black Sabbath album. What's funny is that I got this after an album from The White Stripes. I got white and black. That's funny. Anyways, I am very happy to finally get to this band since, in my opinion, they are one of the most important bands to have ever existed. I say that because, for all intents and purposes, Black Sabbath created metal music. They may not have made the first metal song, but they were the first true metal band. However, Vol. 4 isn't an album that I've seen a ton of discussion on. My research brought me to the conclusion that this is generally considered to be one of their better albums, but there isn't as much cultural impact for this one compared to the band's other albums on this list, those being their self-titled debut and Paranoid. Despite that, this is a great album. The sound is just amazing. Every member brings something to the table. Tony Iommi's guitar work is practically perfect, Geezer Butler serves as a great bassist, I really like Bill Ward's drumming, and of course, I can't forget about Ozzy Osbourne's impeccable vocals. There's a decent amount of variety on this album. It's mostly heavy, but you also have the song "Changes" which is just a straight up piano ballad. I certainly didn't expect that. There really isn't a bad song on here. I think my favorite may be "Snowblind," which was originally supposed to be a title track before they changed the name of the album. This song is particularly notable to me not just because it may be my favorite of the album, but because it was covered by System of a Down, which is a band that I have gone on record to say that they are my favorite band. Honestly, I don't know which version of the song I like more. This album is great, but I feel like there's probably going to be better on here, so I'll save the 5s for those. High 4/5.
4
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Sun Apr 14 2024
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
Time for Rolling Stones album number 3! It's been a while since I got one of these, about 4 months as a matter of fact. I did not like my first album of theirs, Aftermath, and I thought my second experience of theirs with Sticky Fingers was pretty good. Beggars Banquet was released between these two albums and, fittingly, my enjoyment of this album was between those two as well. I like this album significantly more than Aftermath mainly because it has less offensive writing. I was actually hopeful that I would get to experience an entire Rolling Stones album without an offensive song in it, but then "Stray Cat Blues" comes on and Mick Jagger just has to sing about having sex with a 15 year old! God damn it! Anyways, back to comparing this to their other albums, the sound is kind of in between those two, but it does lean closer to Sticky Fingers as a whole. There are some pretty good songs on here. The album's opener, "Sympathy for the Devil" is one of the band's most accomplished tracks, and for good reason. That song is pretty good. It has an interesting concept that is executed well. I think the album also ends on a good note with "Salt of the Earth," which is another good song. Not every song works, but the ones that do work pretty well. The overall sound is decent. It feels consistent, but not too consistent to the point of monotony. Overall, while this is not my favorite Rolling Stones album, it certainly isn't my least favorite. 3/5.
3
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Bill Evans Trio
I can't believe I actually got this on a Sunday. That is hilarious. I love getting weird little coincidences like that on this journey. Anyways, this is a solid little jazz album. It serves as good background noise and that's basically what my thoughts on this album amount to. The sound is nice. All of the instrument playing is good. The album length is good. It's not too short, but not too long. The live nature of this album really isn't all that noticeable. You kind of forget that this is a live album until a song ends and you hear the audience clapping. That's really the only live element to this, and that's okay. I'm not really a fan of live albums anyway, so I'm happy with this. The compositions are good. Overall, while this album doesn't stand out to me much, it also doesn't do anything wrong. High 3/5.
3
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Hotel California
Eagles
Now this is a great album right here. It's been a while since I got an album with a song I've definitely heard before. I think the last one was British Steel which I listened to about 3 weeks ago. Today, we have one of the best selling albums of all time, Hotel California by Eagles. I find it weird that they're called "Eagles" and not "The Eagles" but whatever. Anyways, this album absolutely deserves all those sales because it's great. I'll start with my one problem that isn't even really a problem. It peaks at the beginning. The title track off of this album might just be one of the greatest songs ever made. None of the other songs capture that perfection to quite the same degree, though they are all good songs. Everything that makes Hotel California a great song does apply to the other songs and the album as a whole, just to a slightly lesser extent. I do like the vocals, but the song and album as a whole stands out with the other aspects even more so than that. The writing is great, the pacing is effective, and the sound is amazing. I really like the guitar work. It lends itself to some great moments, with the highlight easily being the solo at the end of the title track. Overall, this is an amazing album that absolutely deserves the praise and fame it's gotten over the years. 5/5.
5
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
You know, I'm kind of surprised it took this while to get a reggae album. I got a ska album pretty early on, but that's not really the same thing, nor is it what I think of when reggae comes to my mind. If there's one artist that I think of when I hear the word "reggae," it would have to be Bob Marley. Because who else would I possibly think of? He was basically "The Reggae Guy" and for good reason. This album's pretty good. It makes me feel nice. The sound is pleasant to listen to while still having some depth to it. The singing feels very authentic and true to his culture. The lyrics are thoughtful and adds to this album's feel-good nature. Obviously, "No Woman, No Cry" is the best song on this album, though the other ones aren't bad. Overall, this is a solid album that serves as a good representation of a genre that I respect, but don't really feel all too passionate about myself. High 3/5.
3
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Thu Apr 18 2024
Fishscale
Ghostface Killah
You know, I'm kind of surprised it took this long to get an album from a Wu-Tang Clan member given that there are five albums from the Wu-Tang Clan and its members on this list. Oh well, it's time to talk about Fishscale. This is a solid album. I like the variety in the songs. I think a big reason for this is because of how many producers are on here. There's quite a few of them on here, perhaps the most notable of which is MF DOOM. Given that he doesn't have any of his own albums on here, I'm happy to see that he has some representation on this list, even if this album did get removed from later versions of the book. I'm not a fan of skits in hip-hop albums as a whole, but the ones on this album aren't too egregious. Ghostface Killah's rapping is alright. I can definitely hear how he and other East-Coast rappers like Nas are cut from the same cloth. The album is a bit long, but I didn't really feel like it dragged too much. The writing is pretty good for the most part. Overall, while this is not my favorite hip-hop album I've gotten, it's still pretty decent. High 3/5.
3
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Fri Apr 19 2024
The Doors
The Doors
Man this is an amazing album. I've listened to an album from The Doors before. I liked Morrison Hotel and I also really like their self-titled debut. As was the case with that album, the highlight for me is Jim Morrison's singing, which still holds up as being very unique in the best way possible. The instrumental sound in this is very enjoyable. I really like the organ keyboard thing they've got going on. The writing is very interesting. This is perhaps most obvious with the final song, fittingly titled "The End." Not every song hits quite as hard as the best of the best from this album, but the best songs are truly fantastic and the worst songs are still pretty enjoyable. It's crazy to think that this was their debut! It's another debut album that absolutely deserves its inclusion on this list. Light 5/5.
5
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
You know, I wouldn't usually be excited for a 76-minute long album. That is, unless, it's from an artist that I'd want to listen to for 76 minutes at once. Fortunately, I am more than okay with listening to 76 minutes of Elton John, especially since this is some of his best work. This album's amazing! I love the variety in the sound of the album. You've got slower, more emotional songs like "Candle in the Wind" balanced out by fun, energetic songs like "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting". Both styles work very well. I noticed a few themes that show up throughout the album like love and fame. That's pretty cool. Of course, Elton John's singing is top-notch, with the writing on the whole album being just as good. I've got to give props to Bernie Taupin for his work on this thing. Somehow this album doesn't drag on as much as one might expect. Is the album pretty long? Yes, and I think a song or two could've been cut. Regardless of that, this is absolutely an album that's worth listening to. 5/5.
5
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Sun Apr 21 2024
E.V.O.L.
Sonic Youth
Time for another artist that I've heard stuff about but never really listened to! Sonic Youth is a pretty influential band that doesn't really get talked about a ton. This was one of their first albums to hit it big, with it being the first album with their "standard" line-up. I'm not entirely sure what to think about it. It's a fairly avant-garde album, which is something that has been pretty hit-or-miss for me. Some of the more avant-garde or artsy albums I've gotten are pretty good, while others are some of my least favorites of all time. Fortunately, this album leans much closer to the former. If there's any album I've listened to that I've thought "I hope this grows on me," it's this one. There's things to like here. The whole feel is very mysterious and dark. It's noisy, but not in an annoying way. This results in a unique sound that takes a while to click with you. It still hasn't fully clicked with me, but I have a feeling that it will eventually. The writing is interesting, with it taking influences from some unexpected places. I like that there are multiple vocalists with such different vocal styles. Overall, I like this album, but I feel like other Sonic Youth albums may end up being more my style. Still, I respect this album and may (KEYWORD: MAY) even bump up the rating if I revisit it in the future. High 3/5.
3
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Paris 1919
John Cale
Wow. 200 albums. It's kind of hard to believe that I've made it this far. For 200 days now, I have listened to an album nearly every day. Some of those albums are iconic masterpieces that everyone should listen to in their life. Others are the complete opposite of that. Fortunately, most of the albums have leaned closer to the former than the latter. Even more fortunately for today, Paris 1919 by John Cale is one of those albums! I was a bit miffed when I saw that this of all albums was #200 initially. I mean, a solo album from a former member of the Velvet Underground? I was hopeful that the album was good, but I didn't really see much of a reason for this to be on here at first. However, a few things happened that changed my perspective on John Cale's inclusion on this list. For one, I realized just how expansive his career is. He didn't just work with the Velvet Underground. He's also had appearances on some other albums on this list, with one of them being Bryter Layter by Nick Drake. I love that album! I didn't know he was on there. Also, apparently his version of Hallelujah was the one used in Shrek. That's just awesome. Being in a Shrek movie doesn't automatically mean I'll like an album from an artist (see my review of Nighthawks at the Diner by Tom Waits), but it adds some credibility to their name in my eyes. On top of all of that, in addition to some other instruments, John Cale frequently plays the viola. I play the viola! The viola is such an underrated instrument, and I'm always happy to learn of more violists. Finally, there's one more thing that happened that made me understand this album's inclusion on this list. I listened to the album. I know, right? Honestly, this album's really something amazing. The sound immediately hooked me with the piano on the opening track. The variety in each song is very respectable and I like it. The singing is quite good. I think John Cale is a good vocalist who is, dare I say, better than Lou Reed. The writing is quite solid as well. Songs like "Andalucia" and the title track are just great songs in every regard. Overall, this album is a very pleasant surprise that is, in my opinion, better than any of the other 50-album milestones I've gotten yet. High 4/5.
4
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Graceland
Paul Simon
It's kind of crazy that this is my fourth album with Paul Simon involved. Honestly though, I'm fine with it for a few reasons. I mean, two of them are Paul Simon and the other two are Simon and Garfunkel, so they're kind of different things entirely. On top of that, the two Paul Simon albums are pretty different. Hearts and Bones is kind of what you'd expect from "Paul Simon solo album." It's not bad, far from it actually. It's a good album. However, Graceland is just way better. It's so much more unique. The sound is fantastic. The multicultural influence adds to this experience to make it something truly special. The impact that this had regarding South African music was so huge that Nelson Mandela himself invited Paul Simon and his band to play in South Africa once apartheid ended. That's just awesome. I love the bass work on some of the songs. Everything here is just so fun and energetic. Paul Simon's singing is solid. The writing is nice. This album is just one of a kind and is very worthy of this list. 5/5.
5
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
You know, I was really hoping this album would be good. It's one of the lowest rated albums on the website, and despite that I hoped that I would be able to see the value in it that others couldn't. So what if it's an avant-garde post-punk album? I've enjoyed avant-garde albums and I've enjoyed post-punk albums. They're not for everyone, but I was at least hoping that Dub Housing by Pere Ubu is just one of those things that fits that bill as well. But no... Unfortunately, the people on this website were right. This album's terrible. I'll start with the positive. The sound at times is not bad. I think that the instrumentals on the first few tracks gave me hope that this could be somewhat tolerable. The instrumentals for most of the songs have that Talking Heads vibe I was hoping for this album to have. That's it. That's the positive. I don't like anything else. The vocals might just be my least favorite vocals ever. I can't stand them. They're so ear-grating that it's not even funny. At least the vocals on albums like Duck Stab by The Residents were comical in a way. This one just hurts. The writing makes zero sense whatsoever. It's fine to have confusing writing if there's still a goal in mind. I don't think there was a goal in mind. These guys just shat out what they thought was quirky and let it release in stores. Finally, I said that the instrumentals on SOME songs were good. However, there are a few tracks, mainly on the latter half of the album, that are painful to listen to. You'd think that the instrumentals would be good given the lack of the horrendous vocals. And yet somehow, the instrumental "Thriller!" is probably the worst track on this album! I tried justifying in my head a reason for this to get a 2, but I just couldn't. This is awful. 1/5. And I'd still rather re-listen to this than Haunted Dancehall!
1
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Thu Apr 25 2024
The White Album
Beatles
Oh boy. There is a lot to say about this album, mainly because of how much there is in this album. This is my first 90+ minute-long album for this project. I've gotta say, I'm pretty happy this was the first one. If my first one had been something I was unfamiliar with, it may not have been an easy listen. Fortunately, this is my fourth Beatles album, so I'm very familiar with the Beatles at this point. I've also thoroughly enjoyed all of their albums until now, and the White Album is no different. This is a great album, but it's not perfect. First off, let's get the obvious out of the way. This thing is really REALLY long and a lot of the tracks are kind of filler songs. Between that and the cultural impact, this is kind of the One Piece of albums. Now I'd much rather listen to 90 minutes of the Beatles than most other artists, but a 90 minute album is still very long and many tracks could've been cut. Anyways, the musical contents are great as always. You can't really go wrong with a late Beatles album. There are some truly amazing songs on here. From beautiful thought-provoking tracks like "Blackbird" to fun and heavy tracks like "Helter Skelter." There are definitely some weaker tracks though. Fortunately, most of them are short and fairly insignificant like "Wild Honey Pie" and "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" Even then, those songs aren't really confusing or anything, just kind of there. The same can not be said for "Revolution 9." Back in my OK Computer review, I brought up the idea of "weird songs" like that album's "Fitter Happier" or "The Murder Mystery" from The Velvet Underground. "Revolution 9" might just be the most infamous "weird track" of them all. I didn't care for it, but I somewhat respect it in a similar vein to the latter of those two earlier examples. While I'm talking about the "weak tracks," some of you might be wondering, "What about Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?" You know what, I don't get the hate for that song. It's perfectly fine. Anyways, the sound of this album is great, the writing is good, and the best songs are masterpieces. This is a Beatles album. I don't think I need to explain anything else. The White Album is a great, albeit needlessly long and bloated album. High 4/5.
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Electric Music For The Mind And Body
Country Joe & The Fish
Okay. So this album is called "Electric Music For The Mind And Body." That implies that is some sort of electric album, right? However, this album comes from Country Joe and the Fish, which to me implies that this is a country album. Well, as a matter of fact, it's neither! This is instead the millionth psychedelic rock album on this list. You know what that means! It's fine. I'll give this album some credit. I think the sound is pleasant enough. It's a bit trippy, but it's not painful to listen to. The electric guitar (I guess there is something electric about this music after all) is pretty solid. The sound is pretty raw at times, which is okay. I actually like the singing quite a bit. It's not my favorite, but it's pleasantly surprising. The writing could've been a bit better, but it's not egregiously bad or anything. Overall, while this album gets props for being decent, it doesn't really need to be on this list. Light 3/5.
3
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Sat Apr 27 2024
American Idiot
Green Day
You know, my track record for punk albums hasn't been the best so far. I mean, there's a reason why, as of me writing this review, punk is listed in the "worst genres" part of my summary. Until now, there was really only one punk album I'd gotten that I felt passionate about (Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables). On top of that, while it's not necessarily a bad thing, every punk album I've gotten until now, with one exception, was from the 70s or 80s. What about the 21st century punk, huh? Well, if you want a punk album from this century, you'd be hard-pressed to find one better and more important than American Idiot by Green Day. Green Day has always been a band that I've liked, but have never really dived deep into. I've gotta say, American Idiot is a modern masterpiece. The sound in this thing is just amazing. The guitar and bass work is practically perfect, with the riffs for each song standing out in their own unique ways. The drumming is really something special. Tré Cool is just an absolute beast. The singing is great. I think Billie Joe Armstrong is a strong contender for the best singer in punk. The way each song stands out is just amazing. You have of the best energetic songs I've ever heard with songs like the title track balanced out by deeply emotional tracks like "Wake Me Up When September Ends." The addition of the Bohemian Rhapsody-esque multi-part suits with "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" do a lot to aid in this album's story. Speaking of which, let's talk about the story. This is a concept album through and through. The overarching narrative is quite possibly one of the best I've seen in an album. The sharp song transitions represent the rapidly changing mental state of the main character, and the story actually feels complete. Overall, this album's awesome. It might just be one of my favorite albums of the project so far. 5/5.
5
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Arc Of A Diver
Steve Winwood
I feel like this is the album that I've had the least to say about. It doesn't have a ton of cultural significance, but it's not too low to the point of there being no good argument for, at the very least, Steve Winwood himself having an album on here. His career has had some notable points. The album's sound is solid. It's very Steely Dan-esque in both the singing and sound. The writing is okay. Nothing about this album is groundbreaking, but the album is perfectly serviceable to the kinds of people that this kind of music appeals to. High 3/5.
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Out of Step
Minor Threat
Alright, another punk album! Getting two punk albums in three days isn't something that I really wanted to do, but it's something that I'm fine with on account of both of the albums being good. While this isn't my favorite punk album, it's FAR from my least favorite. I quite like this album. The vocals are the make-it-or-break-it thing for me when it comes to punk. Entire albums can be ruined for me if I don't like the vocals. Fortunately, I enjoy Ian MacKaye's vocals. As is often the case, the instrumentals are where this album really stands out. Every song is just so high-energy and fun, and I love that. The guitar riffs and bass playing is amazing. The drums do feel a bit samey for each song, but that's not a big deal. That kind of applies to this album as well. The album is a bit repetitive, but that's not a big issue for two main reasons. Reason 1 is that the album is only 22 minutes long, so the album doesn't really give you enough time to feel burnt out from hearing similar songs for a while. Reason 2 is that even though the songs sound the same, that song that each one sounds like is pretty good, so I don't really care. The writing is very respectable and I appreciate what it has to say. Overall, this is easily one of the better punk albums I've gotten, and a pretty influential one despite Minor Threat only having one album to their name. 4/5.
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
This is a very interesting album to look at. It's a slow, melodic, almost jazzy album released in a time when popular music was dominated by pop, rap, and the occasional alt-rock or nu-metal band. And yet somehow, this album sold over 27 million copies and is one of the best selling albums of all time. What? I never hear people talking about Norah Jones, so I'm not exactly sure what to say. Then again, I wasn't around in 2002, so maybe she was much bigger of a deal back then. Still, the high sales are enough to warrant this album being on this list. As for the quality? It's fine. I like the singing. I think the instrumentals are pretty decent. The album is pretty repetitive though, and the writing didn't really stand out to me that much. Overall, this album isn't really my thing, but I get why it's on here. 3/5.
3
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Wed May 01 2024
Remedy
Basement Jaxx
Well, that was an album. I certainly listened to it. You know, the group who made this album, Basement Jaxx, complained that dance music of the time was "very shiny and so robotic" and that there wasn't much feeling in it. That's how I feel about this album. This is one of those albums that really don't need to be on here, but don't particularly upset me with their inclusions. I mean, this album sold approximately a million copies, so it's not like there isn't an argument for this album to be on the list. It's just not a very compelling argument. This album sounds fine. Some songs are pretty okay, others are kind of annoying. The vocals are varied, I'll give the album that. The writing is uninteresting and repetitive, kind of like this album as a whole. Did this really need to be 57 minutes long? I don't think so. This album's okay. I'm just gonna move on now. 2/5.
2
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Thu May 02 2024
The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
I feel like I've gotten a lot of solo albums from former members of well-known groups lately. Well, okay, maybe it's not "a lot," but with me getting albums like Fishscale, Paris 1919, Graceland, Arc of a Diver, and now this all in the span of two weeks, it's definitely noticeable. Fortunately, none of those other albums were bad, and The Nightfly is not an exception. This is a good album. The sound definitely reminds of Donald Fagen's work with Steely Dan. This is just a feel-good album. I like the singing and the instrumental sound. They're both very pleasant to listen to. This album has a good blend of complexity and simplicity. With only 8 songs, there really isn't a bad one on here. I like the writing. Overall, this is a nice album that I'm happy to have listened to. 4/5.
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Fri May 03 2024
D
White Denim
You know, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this album at first. This is one of those 2010s album picks that feel like they were made as guesses to what would become influential rather than what did become influential, as this band and album are completely new to me. However, I saw praise for this album when I did the research, and the reviews on this website seem mostly positive. Fortunately, I like the album. I wasn't sure of it at first, but it grew on me as I kept listening. The singing is solid. The writing is interesting. The sound is pleasant to listen to. It's got a good blend of modern and classic. I can definitely hear inspiration from groups like The Grateful Dead. Overall, while this inclusion in the book was a bit preemptive and this really doesn't need to be here, I am not upset at all that I listened to this solid album. 3/5.
3
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Sat May 04 2024
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
Here we have The Fat of the Land by The Prodigy. There is a reason for this album to be on the list. It's decently popular. Apparently it's sold over 10 million copies, which is nothing to scoff at. Also, I've heard of this band and one of the songs on this album. Granted, I only know of it because of Epic Rap Battles of History, but that's still me having heard of the artist. Anyways, is this album good enough to balance its popularity? Yeah. I'd say it is. It's not my favorite album. Hell, it's not even my favorite album of 1997. But, it isn't my least favorite of 1997 either, and that's good. This album's pretty fun. The sound is bombastic and I enjoyed each of the songs. The writing isn't particularly meaningful, but does it really have to be? In an album like this? No. No it doesn't, and that's okay. This album succeeds at its goal. Are there problems? Yes. The album is too long, in my opinion. That's basically the one problem that I can describe without having to go into extreme detail about why this album just isn't really my thing personally. So yeah, this is a good album, but not one that personally appeals to me all that much. 3/5.
3
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Sun May 05 2024
Pornography
The Cure
Okay, I highly doubt that this was intentional, but I got this album on the anniversary of the album releasing! That is just insane, assuming that it is a coincidence. It's kind of eerie, just like this album. I've heard great things about The Cure, so I was excited going into this album. Fortunately, unlike other highly praised bands with dark slow sounds (I'll understand you eventually, My Bloody Valentine), I immediately see the appeal of this album. This album has been considered post-punk, but the only thing that reminds me of post-punk at all is the vocals. Even then, Robert Smith's vocals are still different and unique enough to make this album something special. The sound is dark and mysterious, but I like it. I can really feel the atmosphere of what they were going for here. This album is seen as a pioneer of gothic rock, and gothic is definitely a word that describes this whole album. The writing is intriguing as well. There's actually a few common themes that loosely tie into the album's title. Well, okay, the album isn't actually about pornography itself. Rather, there are loose themes of sex and the nature of it sprinkled into a few of the songs. Overall, I like this album. I am very excited to get into this band even more with their 2 other albums on this list. Light 4/5.
4