562
Albums Rated
3.12
Average Rating
52%
Complete
527 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
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Rating Timeline
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Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Balanced
Rater Style
49
5-Star Albums
22
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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Ratings by genre
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Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boy In Da Corner | 5 | 2.57 | +2.43 |
| Merriweather Post Pavilion | 5 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| Kala | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| Hot Shots II | 5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
| Dig Me Out | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
| Rid Of Me | 5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
| Let England Shake | 5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
| Dear Science | 5 | 3.16 | +1.84 |
| american dream | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| Dry | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| (What's The Story) Morning Glory | 1 | 3.84 | -2.84 |
| Bringing It All Back Home | 1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
| After The Gold Rush | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
| Moving Pictures | 1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
| Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere | 1 | 3.55 | -2.55 |
| Rust Never Sleeps | 1 | 3.53 | -2.53 |
| Tusk | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| From Elvis In Memphis | 1 | 3.36 | -2.36 |
| The Yes Album | 1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
| Live At The Star Club, Hamburg | 1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 4 | 4.75 |
| PJ Harvey | 3 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5 |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4.2 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 2 | 1 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 1.67 |
| Yes | 2 | 1.5 |
| XTC | 2 | 1.5 |
| Oasis | 2 | 1.5 |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 2.2 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 2 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Albums | Variance |
|---|---|---|
| Fleetwood Mac | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (49)
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Popular Reviews
John Lennon
2/5
Unfinished. Super self indulgent. If I wanted to listen to John in therapy, I'd prefer to be getting paid vs the other way around.
15 likes
Super Furry Animals
2/5
You'd think that mashing up Flaming Lips with Polyphonic Spree, the dude from Ween as the singer, + some rock opera aspirations would be fun to listen to. You would be wrong.
8 likes
Animal Collective
5/5
You know those early days of meeting someone, where you're a bit scared but a bit giddy, and you're sharing all the things you like - music, food, random internet sites - and you're receptive to all the things this new, cool person is sharing with you, like beers you wouldn't typically drink, science fiction you wouldn't typically read, and weird, experimental bands you first tried to listen to back when all the music blogs were talking them up but you're pretty sure are a bit too avant garde for you.
Only this time around, either through the lens of meeting this amazing person whose opinion you're rapidly finding yourself valuing, or because they ask you to listen to precisely the right gateway song (Summertime Clothes), you realize this weird experimental music is actually fun and exuberant and insanely creative. And maybe perfectly captures what it's like to walk around Capitol Hill on hot, humid nights, a bit giddy and a bit scared, but willing to give the whole love thing another try because how can you not?
3 likes
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Shades of Tribe, De La - and shockingly contemporary sounding for being so early in hip hop's era.
3 likes
1-Star Albums (22)
All Ratings
Radiohead
5/5
Thom Yorke could sing 'It's a Small World After All' and I'd probably like it.
Gorillaz
3/5
Shockingly dated with a couple of gems - 'Rock the House' in particular is still good.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
This was fun, from the first dick punch of 'Welcome to the Jungle' opening the album, to the songs I didn't know but really liked (It's so Easy, Mr Brownstone), to the familiar songs I still know the words to (you know the ones.) A few clunkers but mostly a fun listen.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Yes
1/5
You know that scene in Beetlejuice, where they're in the waiting room for hell? This is the music playing there.
The Strokes
5/5
Hipster sleaze classic.
Frank Ocean
5/5
I want to call him a Prince or Sam Cooke successor but his music is so thoroughly modern & his own, it's too hard to categorize.
Janis Joplin
4/5
The album feels of its time but still super listenable with only a few tracks that dragged. Her voice is simply amazing. Tragic to have lost someone so talented so young - how might her music have evolved if she'd lived?
Roni Size
4/5
Great for running. Feels like it inspired so many other things (Timo Maas? Tricky? Kid A? Morcheeba?) including Russ' movie script treatment.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
First few track are great blues rock. Black Keys definitely owe a debt to...somebody. But the instrumental tracks and extended jams are just not my thing.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
You're dead inside if this music doesn't make you feel things. And he was twenty-six when this was released. Twenty-fucking-six. What am I even doing with my life.
Al Green
3/5
Imagine house plants hanging from macrame hangers. Silk sheets on a waterbed. Now, if only record players had a way to play that one song over and over again without having to get up and shift the needle back...
Sam Cooke
5/5
The energy from the crowd is palpable. You can almost feel like you're there, singing along to the songs you know, waving your handkerchief in the air, and dancing in your seat. I kept trying to think what keeps this album, which I'd never heard before, from being a 5...and I couldn't think of anything.
Jerry Lee Lewis
1/5
Though I'm only familiar with the same song everyone else is familiar with, I knew more of these songs than I thought...because they were sung better by others ('Long Tall Sally' and Little Richard, 'Money' and just about everyone else.) Even if I could get past what I knew of Lewis as a human, this still mostly sounded like someone who couldn't sing very well going to town on a piano.
Madonna
4/5
While it sounds very of its time, still largely enjoyable.
John Lennon
2/5
Unfinished. Super self indulgent. If I wanted to listen to John in therapy, I'd prefer to be getting paid vs the other way around.
Jack White
3/5
I don't blame Jack White for wanting to do things besides Raconteurs & White Stripes. I do blame how long this list is for the fact that this super mediocre album is included.
Ray Charles
4/5
Didn't know any of Ray Charles' back catalog had this kind of music in it. A pleasant surprise.
Björk
3/5
There are artists that change up what they do seemingly with every album, and I can follow where they go and enjoy what they're doing (PJ Harvey, Radiohead). & then there are some artists that get really esoteric as their career progresses, and they lose me along the way. I give Bjork so much credit for her vision and trying different things, while also acknowledging strings and pretty singing and ambient noise don't really do it for me.
Elis Regina
1/5
If this is a seminal album blending two genres for the first time, I think you had to be there to appreciate it.
Funkadelic
3/5
Common
4/5
I like socially conscious hip hop. Even the Kanye-produced stuff. There are some whiffs on this album (Faithful especially) but the great tracks more than balance out the meh ones (The Corner, Testify, They Say, Be, It's Your World).
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Fogerty's voice is like nails on chalkboard in a few songs. "Up Around the Bend" is alright. But "I hoird it through the grapevine" + seven minutes of jamming is not.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
I didn't hate this as much as Yes.
Ryan Adams
3/5
Not sure what changed between now and 23 years ago. Not being surrounded by megafans going on about what a genius Ryan Adams is? Not being subjected to some iteration of his music whenever I was in Bellingham? Whatever the reason, the first half of this album was surpisingly enjoyable. Started to feel a little ballad heavy with the 2nd half, but might benefit from *not* being listened to as an album.
Also, justice for Mandy Moore.
The xx
3/5
Suffers from overexposure. Super hard to listen to with fresh ears, and doesn't feel significant in what it's doing to qualify for this list.
Totally fine for the spa playlist, tho.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Sleater Kinney's lyric should have been, "I wanna be your Kim Gordon." But maybe it doesn't rhyme as well.
3/5
I thought maybe I didn't mind jamming if it's funk music. Then the 3rd, 13 minute song came on and I realized - nope.
The Beta Band
5/5
Maybe this is my NEW FORMS?
Fleetwood Mac
1/5
This was bad. Lindsay Buckingham sounding like a yuppie pretending to be a hillbilly alternates with depressed Stevie and & Christine McVie tracks - which aren't bad, but don't sound like they're even in the same room as Lindsay's hoedowns. I get they were trying to distance themselves from Rumors, but this got so distant it ended up on Uranus.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Working class tragedies that could kick start the labor movement. Poetry.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Fascinating how many gospel singers struggled with going secular - and what a gift they gave soul and R&B music by bringing those gospel inflections over. Of its time but also highly nostalgic courtesy of 'Cry to Me' showing up on 'Dirty Dancing.'
Also, this guy might be the Ghengis Khan of soul. Are you related to him? You might want to check.
Judas Priest
2/5
I could hear the seeds of bands like G&R in here - but it mostly sounds really dated. Like, if this came out today, I'd think it was a parody band.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Other people were doing this better at the time - Joy Division, Bauhaus. And God, John Lydon can't sing.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I can acknowledge Dylan is an amazing writer but I don't think I'll ever get on board with him as a singer. His duet with Johnny Cash on 'Girl From the North Country' is made better for not being sung entirely by him.
I hated this less than I thought I would, but don't think I'll make an effort to listen to this again.
Talking Heads
3/5
Forgive me, Tyler.
5/5
Still feels groundbreaking. Even the songs where I want to tell Paul to give it a break ('When I'm 64') are annoyingly catchy. And 'A Day in the Life' is still so good.
Elvis Presley
1/5
SCHMALTZ. Overwrought, histrionic singing, swelling music that really wants to be a wall of sound but ends up just sounding like a movie soundtrack building to a crescendo...over and over again.
I went into this with near zero expectations. Elvis is the guy who's not dead from the cover of the Enquirers of my childhood. The singer of classic hits like 'Hound Dog,' 'Jailhouse Rock,' and 'Blue Suede Shoes.' I knew late-stage Elvis was a bit of a parody, but I didn't realize the parody kicked in so soon.
The Zombies
3/5
I didn't hate it. Reminiscent of so many things at the time - Beach Boy harmonies, Beatles storytelling, a little organ to remind me of the Doors.
Stephen Stills
3/5
I mean, I guess.
Green Day
3/5
Pop punk songs where everyone's yelling 'hey!' as part of the chorus or the lead singer shouts '1, 2, 3, 4' are always fun.
Pop punk ballads not so much. How does one mosh to 'Wake Me Up When September Comes'?
OutKast
5/5
The Grammy's are bullshit for lots of reasons, but giving Outkast's weakest double LP an award over their outstanding run of back to back albums is definitely up there. ATLiens, Aquemini and then Stankonia - it's an insane, seriously genius run.
This could have been 'Bombs Over Baghdad' on repeat for 57 minutes and I'd still probably have given it 4 stars. You throw in 'Gasoline Dreams,' 'Humble Mumble' 'So Fresh & So Clean' and there's just no argument.
Pretenders
2/5
I like Chrissie Hyndes voice. I like the one or two songs I know by the Pretenders. But this just wasn't doing it for me. A little too monotonous of a sound, without the sound being super compelling.
The Beach Boys
2/5
The weird thing is, I could listen to 'God Only Knows' on repeat. But the sentiment of that song feels wise and poignant compared to the super simple lyrics & storytelling of this album, which mostly seem intent on mimicking a teenage mentality. It very much has a feel of adults trying to use modern slang and just making everyone uncomfortable when they do.
Pretty harmonies can't really make up for that, especially when that feels like the only tool in your toolbox.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
Glad to be reminded this exists.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
1/5
Neil Young was supposedly 34 when this album was recorded but I'd bet two nickels he was actually 85. I can't otherwise understand how he somehow sounds like an old man shaking his fist at clouds in the sky. Seriously - picture Ab Simpson when you listen to his whiney, shakey voice with no range at all. Maybe Neil Young was the voice actor for that character all along.
John Lennon
2/5
Slightly better than Plastic Ono Band but not by much. 'Jealous Guy' might be the song that holds up most. The others make me think of that one guy from college, who never left your small college town, who still has Marley posters on his wall, and won't stop telling you about how you just have to read Marx. Like, his intentions are good but he's not actually doing anything.
Le Tigre
4/5
Still so much fun. A punk wave classic.
The United States Of America
2/5
I get why this is groundbreaking. Some of it sounds like it could have come out yesterday. I even get how this could have influenced everyone from Bjork to Beck to the Butthole Surfers.
But you know how when a kid gets a keyboard that makes rooster and fart and truck horn noises? And they go ham playing those noises over and over again? That's what this was - if sliiiightly better.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Sleater Kinney, Epoxies, Kudu - this wasn't the prototype on which those bands built, it was the O.G. Some of this sounded like it could have come out yesterday, which I was not expecting.
The Stone Roses
2/5
I think you have to be from Manchester to like this.
Iron Maiden
2/5
Might have been able to get into the rollicking metal fun of this, and the crazy story-telling element of the songs (viking invaders? sad prostitutes?) but his voice seems like such a genre parody - shrieking, dramatic, probably suitable for the histrionic nature of the music - but not my thing at all.
Guided By Voices
3/5
How is this album both so short & so long?
The good songs are good. The rest sound like unfinished demos.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
So many good memories of college house parties, Timo Maas at the Showbox, mix CDs of Heller & Farley, Paul Oakenfold in my discman headphones, and being young & feeling cooler than I was.
Alice Cooper
2/5
Does this accompany a movie soundtrack? I have no other explanation for the theatrical instrumental songs (Street Fight, Grand Finale.) Didn't mind Blue Turk but was otherwise not really my thing.
Charles Mingus
3/5
You know how, in electronic music, it's building and building and building until the drop? I had no idea jazz could do that. Or sound like, when you turn down the next street, it'll be filled with opium dens. Fun, evocative music - tho not necessarily anything I'd seek out for future listens.
Various Artists
2/5
I am become Grinch, destroyer of Christmas.
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I think it's possible for music to be groundbreaking AND fun (see 'Blue Monday' by New Order). This was just self-indulgent space noise better suited to a Kubrick soundtrack.
Sugar
2/5
There weren't better early grunge albums to pick from? Even the knock offs of knock offs did this better.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
It's fine.
Dire Straits
4/5
Miles Davis
3/5
Might be a situation where, if I was a musician, I might appreciate this more. I could totally envision listening again (great, chill music for driving, sewing, whatever) but might not explicitly go out of my way to pull this up.
Joan Baez
3/5
Beautiful voice that at times obfuscates the darkness of the folk songs. Can hear the seeds of Joanna Newsom, Marie Sioux, and so many other contemporary artists I enjoy.
New York Dolls
3/5
Punk glam fun. Shades of Rocky Horror before Rocky Horror was a thing.
GZA
4/5
Being familiar with Wu, ODB and Method Man's bigger hits, this felt like hanging out with old friends. Yet, I was too into DMB and Lilith Fair artists to be into this when it came out. My mistake for sure.
David Bowie
3/5
So many other, better Bowie albums. I had to listen to them to be sure I wasn't mis-remembering his insane, genre-breaking talent. This just felt like so much mid-2000s rock.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
While I enjoyed many of the songs I'd never heard before (You Haven't Done Nothin, and even the downer They Won't Go When I Go), it's really hard to know Songs in the Key of Life is out there and rate this higher.
Fairport Convention
3/5
Band name = could be mistaken for life insurance company
Album cover = looks like a slide from your grandparents' vacation
Music = surprisingly good, and way more timeless than I expected
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Wild how Christine McVie's track's were some of the strongest on Tusk, and some of the weakest here. & Tusk might have also made me really hate when Lindsay Buckingham goes into hoedown mode, because 'Second Hand News' is super annoying to me now.
The great songs are still really great, tho. Off to listen to some solo Stevie Nicks.
Massive Attack
3/5
Giving this 3 stars for what Massive Attack would become, and how cutting edge they were for 1991. It's an achievement to sound dated before your time.
ABBA
2/5
Nope.
Duran Duran
5/5
New wave classic. Could listen to the hits on repeat, and even the deep cuts are synth funk ear worms.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
You put a little funk in jazz, and I can appreciate a purely instrumental album a lot more. Doesn't hurt that it feels like I know every song because he's been so heavily sampled. An original for real.
King Crimson
2/5
Slightly better than the musical the gang from 'Always Sunny' put on. But similarly bombastic with lyrics that make me think of a tween who really loves sci fi.
DJ Shadow
5/5
Rises above so many other DJ albums with each song feeling like a complete piece vs a mash-up of disparate parts. Very few came close to how good this is.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Feels like someone tried to wedge Amy's style into a Norah Jones shape and it doesn't work - but you can see hints of how amazing she would be on 'Back to Black.'
Beatles
3/5
Revolver feels like it's caught between when the Beatles were purely putting out poppy, chart-topping singles and when they moved into cohesive, experimental masterpieces (Sgt Pepper's, Abbey Road.) They're trying different things (sitar, music playing backwards), but it doesn't hang together the way you know their music eventually will.
I'm also not sure how much each song is less of a collective effort and the album suffers for it. Paul is schmaltzy as ever ('Here, There & Everywhere' is monumentally bad), and it feels like no one dials back John's angst & cynicism (does anyone like 'Doctor Robert'?).
I had thought I liked this album more so it also might suffer from generally listening to Beatles in greatest hits form, where the mediocrity isn't as obvious.
Gillian Welch
3/5
Took really intentional listening to appreciate a few tracks (April 14th Part 1, Elvis Presley Blues). A little too much sameness to each track overall, but appreciate getting exposed to this.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
This was great music for sipping tea & working, and equally perfect for a post-work walk in the rain. Did not expect to enjoy the majority of this as much as I did.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Classic. Between Cash's always great story telling of his songs, the fun between-song patter and the couldn't-do-that-today ballsiness of playing to a crowd of prisoners, this is hard to beat.
Taylor Swift
3/5
There are undeniably a few 4 star songs on this album, catchy, fun ear worms like 'Blank Space' that send up Swift's own reputation with fun, anthemic charm.
But midway thru the album, the anthemic, sing-along poppiness starts to wear thin. It's obvious she's more than capable of writing great songs, but it's also obvious she's not willing to really bear her heart, get personal, or SAY anything at all really...so it all just kind of blurs into a lyrically simple mish mash of ghosts and wine-stained dresses and tears and glitter. Her music is safe, ensuring she offends no one. But it's also boring.
Bob Dylan
1/5
Subterranean Homesick Blues gets this up to maybe 1.5 stars. Everything else was pretty unlistenable. Reminded again I can only rarely stomach Dylan's music when it's sung by others.
Madness
2/5
80s mediocrity. & the brownface on the album cover, yeesh.
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
That one song that plays during the hockey scene in Letterkenny is great.
Shack
1/5
Watered down Spin Doctors. Might be simply mediocre, but doubly offensive for even being on this list.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Instead of modeling themselves on Tina Turner, it sounds like the other black woman Rolling Stones owe a debt to is Aretha Franklin given her gospel concerts influenced this one. Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy this (standout tracks for me were Sweet Virginia, Loving Cup, and the Ruby Tuesday feel of Let it Loose) - it's loose and rollicking in places, swaggering and fun in others. But it also makes me want to listen to Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Bo Didley, Trixie Smith, Jimmy Reed, and on and on.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
You'd think that mashing up Flaming Lips with Polyphonic Spree, the dude from Ween as the singer, + some rock opera aspirations would be fun to listen to. You would be wrong.
Nirvana
5/5
Knowing 'Nevermind' is out there makes it hard to rate In Utero objectively. But this album is full on amazing on its own with very few misses (especially when you compare it to other 90s knock off dreck on this list like HMS Fable and Copper Blue).
Frances Farmer is a stand out, but added many other tracks I knew less well to my rotation.
PJ Harvey
5/5
Insane this is what she sounded like on her debut. & while some of her later output might be 'easier,' I'm not mad at the righteous, fired up feelings her early work engenders.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Appreciate getting exposed to someone I had zero familiarty with prior to now. Still not sure I'd seek out his music otherwise.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
A pleasant but very much of its time listen. Preferred when the orchestration and vocals were more upbeat ('Don't Forget About Me,' the song everyone knows) as the slower songs definitely feel a bit cheesy from the viewpoint of 2024.
Tim Buckley
2/5
The image that came to mind listening to this was Jeff's dad, noodling on his guitar, staring out over a body of water, singing about life, his lady and his navel. Not the worst but not my thing.
Underworld
4/5
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Surprised by how dated this sounds. & not only in the sense that, this could compete with 'Licensed to Ill' for how juvenile a lot of it sounds (it's like there was a challenge for how many skits & songs could be centered around dicks & balls) - but also in the Parliament-heavy sampling. Not bad, just certainly not timeless. & probably appreciated it more when I was 15 instead of middle-aged.
R.E.M.
4/5
REM was always one of those bands that I generally enjoyed when they made it to the radio & later MTV (Stand, Losing My Religion....tho Shiny Happy People is best forgotten) but somehow never made an effort to, in the era of tapes then CDs, actually own & listen to.
Glad to be exposed to this, baby alternative before alternative was really a thing. Stipe's voice is great, and the songs are that genre blend that came to define most of the 90s & beyond - twangy rocking folky melodic. Very few misses & the gems (Pop Song 89, Orange Crush) really shine.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Some amazing songs (Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove, Behind the Wheel), mixed with some middling efforts (Sacred, I Want You Now) and very few misses (The Things You Said). Feel like they were really the trailblazers for nailing dark, synthy *and* poppy (maybe the Cure were the first two, but not often the last one, and *many* others were poppy & synthy but not often dark.) Makes me want to listen to Violator next.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Solid hits that get your aunties moving when they come on the radio, or get put on the turn tables at a party (Shining Star, That's the Way of the World.) That said, my mom will have to forgive me for not rating this higher since the non-radio singles don't really hit as hard.
The Byrds
1/5
Ugh. Really wasn't enjoying this and then got to their version of 'Hey Joe,' wondering if they could at least equal Hendrix or the Lee Moses version. But no. Seriously no.
Richard Hawley
2/5
The definition of meh. Like, it's fine - could see it playing in a coffee shop & failing to offend anybody. But it's utterly unmemorable - a Frank Sinatra / Elvis/ shades of Leonard Cohen amalgam that doesn't do anything significant on its own.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
People talking about this is 'just covers' need to give singing and delivery some serious credit. There's a reason "I Will Always Love You" and "Nothing Compares 2 U" are famous that have nothing to do with their original writers (no shade to Dolly or Prince.)
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Dated in some places (That Voice Again is really bad), but surprisingly holds up overall (Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Red Rain.)
Pantera
1/5
If you've ever wondered how it would sound if literally every song on an album was screamed instead of sung, you now have the answer. Is it good? Not really.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
I like The Astrud Gilberto album released a year prior to this one, as well as the big hits most folks know done in collaboration with Joao Gilberto) - but this had some real clankers (Parade, You Didn't Have to be so Nice.)
Talking Heads
3/5
Adele
3/5
Definitely prefer when Adele leans into her upbeat, R&B grooves (Send My Love, I Miss You, River Lea) over her straight up ballads, which dip into borderline cloying, schmaltzy territory for me. No denying her talent, tho.
Little Richard
4/5
Anyone who scrapes the pan owes a debt to Little Richard. Was surprised by the variety to the sound - some songs more soulful & bluesy (Baby), others raucous and rocking - and all filled with an insane amount of energy for a studio album.
Faust
3/5
Appreciated the lo fi funkiness of this - reminded me of Pavement in parts - with each song taking different directions (often) than the last. Got a little too noisy, borderline-jam band (for me) in parts, but a shockingly enjoyable listen.
Beatles
4/5
The boy band sound is strong with this early Beatles album, but the tendency to edge into cloying melodies is nicely relieved by some of the more rocking songs (Hard Days Night, Tell Me Why, Can't Buy Me Love) - which are also often the catchiest. Despite some clunkers (If I Fell), an undeniable classic.
Justin Timberlake
4/5
Though Justin's reputation has not held up over the years, it's hard to deny the catchiness of his debut. Appreciate the tracks where the Neptunes and Timberland obviously played a part, vs when he's trying to harken back to Isley Brothers style ballads (Take it from Here, Still on my Brain.)
Fela Kuti
4/5
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Not sure if this is suffering from following Fela, or if it's just another purely instrumental album I struggle to connect with.
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
There's melodic, orchestral 1960s-era music I enjoy. But there's something so self-serious about this album - matched by the intensity of that album cover - that just did not connect with me. It's also super dated ('Feelin' Groovy' for God's sake?) that maybe you had to be there to enjoy.
50 Cent
3/5
Starts strong but overstays its welcome. & someone else should have sung some of the choruses.
2/5
I was bracing myself given other reviews but my first impression wasn't a bad one. Sure, the droplet sound effect on 'River of Orchids' is a little quirky but the strings are alright and the singer gives a good Paul McCartney impression.
Then the Beatles impression turns into borderline copying with 'Easter Theater' giving huge 'She's Leaving Home' vibes, pings huge 'For the Benefit of Mr Kite' with 'Frivolous Tonight', and makes me wish it was an 'Always Sunny' sketch with 'Greenman.'
Someone owes Oasis an apology because no one copied the Beatles harder with less success than this supremely subpar album.
Steely Dan
2/5
Johnny Cash
3/5
I went into this with high expectations after enjoying the live San Quentin album - but the classics here (Cocaine Blues, Jackson, Folsom Prison Blues) don't resonate as much as other versions I've heard. &, oddly enough, the prison theme to the songs starts to wear thin.
But Johnny Cash operating at less than 1000% is still pretty great.
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Remembered this fondly but besides the big hits, not sure this stood the test of time in terms of being groundbreaking or world rocking in any way.
Rush
3/5
Felt like someone took the arena rock of AC/DC or better hair metal bands, and blended it with the falsetto cockiness of Axl Rose. It might help I didn't really catch the Libertarian lyrics?
While the cheese is strong with this one (the Oriental flourish on 'Passage to Bangkok' is especially bad), I think if I'd been exposed to this as an eight year old, I would have been a fan.
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
Punk classic. No skips.
Radiohead
5/5
I'm not thrilled to have the same taste as the lady who wrote Twilight, but what are you gonna do?
Björk
3/5
Realized that I remember this album so fondly partly because of 1) how much 'Human Behavior' is still such a great song, and 2) my general love of Bjork. Otherwise, was shocked to find how thoroughly 90s a lot of this sounds, even with Bjork's always amazing vocals - and doesn't necessarily hold up all that well.
To my ears, Bjork really let go of trends with Post, Homogenic and Vespertine, while staying within the parameters of typical song structure - (before she got really esoteric & jettisoned things like instruments entirely) and those 3 albums are much stronger for it. This one, while good, didn't really stand the test of time.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Glad to be exposed to this. Wish there was more like it, rather than eleventy Neil Young, Beatles, and Nick Cave albums.
Stan Getz
4/5
There was a magical day in my early 20s, when I was lucky enough to live abroad, that I spent with 3 other women paddle boating on the Vltava, cooking delicious dishes it never would have occurred to me to try to make at that time (bruschetta with eggplant?!), and listening to music in the fabulous apartment the host owned.
She was a little older, a little more worldly, she taught yoga as well as English as a 2nd language & she was *married*. She put on this album while we cooked and laughed and hung out & maybe even danced a little bit like we were in some corny movie - and for an afternoon, I felt less like a broke expat who had no idea what they were doing with their life, and more like a sophisticated young woman living a fabulous life.
The Cardigans
4/5
Of course I owned this CD for the single and of course I was disappointed at the time that not every track sounded like 'Lovefool.' In retrospect, I was really really wrong.
Super fun pop rock, light & effervescent with a little edge, like a spiked La Croix.
Pearl Jam
4/5
Surprised by how much even the hits I had thought were overplayed (Jeremy, Evenflow) held up. Given Russ hates Eddie Vedder's voice, it could also be that never getting to listen to a band for 10+ years could make anything sound fresh.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Man, those two openers are such a cock rocking start to this album, with the rock + funk combo of 'Good Times Bad Times' bleeding into the relentless blues + rock of 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You'...and then it just peters out into (admittedly skillful) blues covers and never quite gets back that insane momentum.
I enjoyed this *way* more than I thought I would given I mostly know them as the band that ripped off everyone else and had to be badgered into appropriately crediting artists waaay after the fact. Me = shocked Pikachu face.
King Crimson
2/5
There aren't enough drugs in the world to make me appreciate this.
Slayer
2/5
This might be the first metal album this list has spat out where I didn't mind the music - made me think of At the Drive In, System of a Down, or even Queens of the Stone Age - but the dumb, body horror lyrics were giving serious 12 year old who thinks he's edgy vibes.
Neil Young
2/5
The day the music really died is when Neil Young decided he should sing.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
While Janis' voice is downright chilling in its intensity at times, the loose, live-sounding vibe just wasn't as compelling as her solo work. Besides the always great Piece of My Heart, enjoyed the bluesy Turtle Blues and Summertime cover.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Was surprised by how few of these were ruined by becoming commercial jingles (and it's really only 'One Love,' which is still so catchy it's no wonder it became the vehicle for promoting Jamaica as a place to visit.)
Enjoyed the songs I didn't know as well (Natural Mystic, Exodus), and was surprised to enjoy the familiar ones despite their over exposure in college dorm rooms and on any beach sporting palapas.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
2/5
Was excited to see a hip hop album I didn't recognize, and encouraged by the Public Enemy sound. But the lyrics are simplistic to the point of stupidity. Socio Genetic Experiment was particularly bad - I had deeper thoughts about being mixed when I was 14.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Dreamy fuzzy wall of noise reminiscent of a softer Sonic Youth, a more rocking Stereolab - or even some of the songs from Dave Grohl's first solo album ('Exhausted' in particular comes to mind.)
A little bit of sameness as the album wore on, but largely enjoyed it until they tried to mix it up with the last two industrial garbage songs.
The Temptations
3/5
Who doesn't enjoy 'Papa was a Rollin' Stone'? Surprised to enjoy 'Love Woke Me Up This Morning,' and just straight surprised by the lyrics of 'Run Charlie Run.' The rest was schmaltzy or forgettable or both.
CHIC
4/5
When you become the foundation for a whole other genre (seriously, how many of these songs were familiar as samples from hip hop?), you pretty much transcend the genre you came from. Would have thought 'great disco' was an oxymoron, but Chic makes it true.
Eminem
3/5
Great, evocative storytelling ('Brain Damange' especially) that at times brings to mind rappers like the Streets or even his Dr. Dre protege successor, Kendrick Lamar.
But most of this is spoiled by how dated and deeply juvenile a lot of the songs and pointless skits are,*or* the dated 90s stylings ('If I Had' might have been a poignant lament about poverty but for that warbly lady singing in the background.) & I couldn't even get through '97 Bonnie & Clyde.'
Fela Kuti
4/5
Amy Winehouse
5/5
It's crazy to listen to this album now, remembering how cheeky and surprising it was to hear someone sing about rehab to the tune of Motown-sounding horns -- or kick off a torchy love song with 'What kind of fuckery is this' as if those lyrics are utterly unremarkable. . . before it became clear that was really her - her life, her pain and heartache channeled in this self-effacing way into these amazing songs.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Shades of Tribe, De La - and shockingly contemporary sounding for being so early in hip hop's era.
The Offspring
4/5
Gonna blame this one on nostalgia.
Public Enemy
4/5
Proof you can have a self-serious album cover without it looking like a shitty Ren Faire ad, SIMON & GARFUNKEL.
808 State
3/5
Sounds like the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Just imagine Axel Foley getting putting a banana in a tailpipe as you listen.
Nanci Griffith
2/5
I kind of liked 'Lookin' for the Time (Workin' Girl)' but this was mostly forgettable country that sounds like someone's mom's favorite album.
The Sugarcubes
2/5
Literally about to add a song to a playlist and then some dude starts talking about sideburns. No thank you.
Elliott Smith
4/5
I was bracing myself for bummer town (my favorites of his are Between the Bars & Needle in the Hay) - but was pleasantly surprised by the energy of a lot of many songs - and reminded what a great song writer he was.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Quaint to the point of almost seeming gimmicky - until you remember this is 1) defining music for the era and 2) inspiration for so many other artists of that era. Ultimately not my thing, but can appreciate the importance of this regardless.
John Martyn
2/5
If Neil Young was a heavy smoker who occasionally got into yacht rock grooves that your dad might have liked.
1/5
I think maybe if I was smoking formaldehyde soaked cigarettes and madly charting conspiracy theories about how the postal service is full of lizard people on a white board in a basement, this music would totally work. Maybe.
The Cramps
3/5
Lo fi rockabilly with some monster mash vibes. Not bad, but not really my thing - and just too much of a sameness as the album wore on.
Elliott Smith
4/5
This was the first time getting two albums from an artist in really close proximity and it was hard to judge this one without considering how great Either/Or seemed - especially in the wake of a bunch of mediocre to bad albums. But this is still really great, even though it goes in a different direction than Either/Or.
2/5
I thought I liked Muse but realized I only know the singles. Was surprised by how this is much more prog rock than I realized - which ultimately came across as bloviated arena rock that wasn't really about anything.
Van Halen
4/5
A ballsy, swaggering mix of arena rock anthems with an almost Vegas show tune silliness that - with insane guitar playing - made for a surprisingly fun album.
While I'm not sure I'd regularly go back to listen to this again, can appreciate having fun while also being insanely talented.
Sister Sledge
4/5
Any album with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards is pretty much foundational for *so* much other music. You add in the buttery vocals, and I can tolerate even the tracks that aren't utter dance party starters.
Mike Ladd
3/5
Reminded me of the Avalanches, some of Dan the Automator's work, or Deltron 3000 (speaking of Dan). It wasn't the worst, but wasn't better than either of those later groups--this was more repetitive, the mixing seemed off or done poorly in that the vocals often seemed quieter than the pseudo-futuristic beats, and just not nearly as catchy. Maybe more like a 2.5/2.75, but will round up since I didn't hate it.
Beatles
5/5
Blending genres (the rocking funk of 'Come Together,' the folk softness of 'Here Comes the Sun') in a way that feels oddly seamless - almost as seamless as the medly of songs that make up the 2nd half of the album. They're at the top of their game here, pretty much - even if it broke them apart.
R.E.M.
4/5
This doesn't hit as hard as Green or some of their other later albums, but is still insanely listenable for being their debut - and, too, is utterly unlike anything else you would have heard on the radio at that time. To have the courage of your conviction to blaze this trail is admirable.
Brian Eno
3/5
I was anticipating bleepy bloopy soundscapes and was surprised by the immediate Talking Heads feel of the first song. But most of the rest of the album doesn't come near the opener. 'Backwater' sounds like an upbeat TV theme song about fishermen, the soundscape vibes I expected kick in with 'Energy Fools the Magician', and only 'King's Lead Hat' gives another Talking Heads feel before the bleep bloops kick back in in earnest.
So, I guess...uneven?
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Annalisa was okay but otherwise self-fellating nonsense.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
I once saw Perry Ferrell at Burning Man. It's the right setting for him.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Faux hoe downs that all start to sound the same.
Metallica
3/5
Of the metal albums I've been exposed to, this is the Goldlilocks so far. Not too screamy (Pantera), or with juvenile lyrics (Slayer), or comically falsetto vocals (Iron Maiden.) Ultimately not my genre, but can understand someone being a fan of metal based on this.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Even with how groundbreaking this still sounds, I don't know that it personally rises to the level of listening to anything besides the familiar hits.
Aerosmith
2/5
Thought it was kind of dumb fun at first, but then got too dumb to be fun.
Mudhoney
3/5
Listening to this side by side with contemporaries of that time, the more punk, gritty sound is obvious - and you maybe get why Kurt was so embarrassed of how post-Bleach Nirvana sounded so polished.
But Mudhoney suffers from 1) not having a great lead vocalist, and 2) a lack of hooks that meant they never broke through the way other Seattle bands did. Would love to rate this higher for nostalgia alone, but the music doesn't justify it.
Calexico
4/5
While it doesn't always feel like each song comes from the same album (huge mariachi vibes on some songs, pure instrumental melancholy on others), it's all so good that it's ultimately fine that it might not completely hang together.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Got about 12 cavities from listening to this. So saccharine, it's hard to take seriously - but for the few songs that slip into poingnancy courtesy of the chorus ('God Only Knows' and 'I wanna go home' from 'Sloop John B.')
What a way to find out the only Beach Boys song I like is 'God Only Knows.'
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
The familiar singles are a little trite feeling, but that's literally because of how much they've been used in movies, TV and other media (Our House, Teach Your Children). The harmonies are otherwise lovely (and not used on every goddamn song - looking at you Beach Boys), and the unfamiliar, non-harmony leaning songs (Almost Cut My Hair) are pretty good.
Boomers aren't all bad. But for Neil Young.
Missy Elliott
4/5
I was reminded of the crying baby Timbaland used so memorably in 'Are You That Somebody' - it still seems innovative & surprising to me, 20+ years later. & that same, no-constraints approach to samples & beats is super evident all over this album (the elephant noise on 'Work It' still makes me laugh). Combined with Missy's clever rhymes, numerous big name guests (really loved the Method Man track), and fun throwbacks - this overall feels like folks have *fun* making music.
The Soft Boys
2/5
Another never-heard-of-them British band that vaguely reminds me of the Stranglers. & given that, I wasn't minding the music. But as the 2+ hour album went on, it rapidly wore out what little goodwill I had.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Utter classic.
Beck
3/5
Expected sad and poignant but this mostly felt plodding & sleepy. Besides 'Lost Cause,' very little else stood out. Definitely prefer when Beck is channelling Prince & James Brown over Elliot Smith.
The Darkness
3/5
CHEESE on cheese on top of more cheese. If you're not into very tongue in cheek cheese (or heard the singles on repeat when living abroad) this wears thin over the course of what felt like a looong album. Still enjoyed I Believe in a Thing Called Love & Love is Only a Feeling - but not enough to listen again.
Tom Waits
2/5
My husband did a pretty decent imitation of this album stomping the hardwood floors and banging on the table while unintelligibly shouting like a muppet. It was about as good as actually listening to this album, if slightly less creepy.
'A Little Rain' is okay.
Animal Collective
5/5
You know those early days of meeting someone, where you're a bit scared but a bit giddy, and you're sharing all the things you like - music, food, random internet sites - and you're receptive to all the things this new, cool person is sharing with you, like beers you wouldn't typically drink, science fiction you wouldn't typically read, and weird, experimental bands you first tried to listen to back when all the music blogs were talking them up but you're pretty sure are a bit too avant garde for you.
Only this time around, either through the lens of meeting this amazing person whose opinion you're rapidly finding yourself valuing, or because they ask you to listen to precisely the right gateway song (Summertime Clothes), you realize this weird experimental music is actually fun and exuberant and insanely creative. And maybe perfectly captures what it's like to walk around Capitol Hill on hot, humid nights, a bit giddy and a bit scared, but willing to give the whole love thing another try because how can you not?
B.B. King
4/5
Insanely good - not just the guitar playing, of which BB is an obvious master, but his vocals also carry such feeling, which the crowd so obviously responds to. Just an amazing listen all around.
Nas
4/5
Lightning Bolt
2/5
No thank you.
Morrissey
2/5
Proof the Smiths weren't holding Morrissey back.
Mike Oldfield
2/5
This is supposed to be ground breaking but it just sounds like background music at a Ren Faire mixed with the occasional Flamenco flourish. And bells.
5/5
Such a genius album from front to back. Such a mix of sounds, soulful, rocking, funky - and yet coheres together in a way that very few could make work as well as Bowie did. A total joy to listen to.
Sigur Rós
3/5
I'm more familiar with Takk (and have fond recollection of it) but this hit a little too sound-scapey for me. & when it wasn't distant satellite / deep ocean noises, it sounded vaguely dated, like Icelandic art-types trying to mimic Massive Attack or Morcheeba (Flugufrelsarinn in particular). It didn't help that it mostly felt down tempo (except for maybe Staralfur and Agaetis byrjun.)
Soundscapes I can maybe do if at least they don't sound sad.
The Smiths
3/5
If you can't include compilations/best of albums like Louder than Bombs, than Strangeways is definitely a better album. I still liked the songs I remember liking (Big Mouth, There is a Light That Never Goes Out), but the rest mostly drifted into the angst-y whinining I know the Smiths is know for but come on (I Know It's Over, Never Had No One Ever) or jangly attempts at rockabilly that don't quite land (Vicar in a Tutu).
1/5
I was 15 when Oasis broke onto the scene, and even then I didn't get the hype. Liam's voice struck me as whiney then, and the nonsensical lyrics that give the false impression they *might* mean something are just annoying. You add in the faux Beatles vibes, cocky rivalries with bands that are definitely better than them, and the sheer ego of the Gallagher brothers, and I'm not even slightly inclined to change my mind.
Patti Smith
3/5
The White Stripes
4/5
Shades of blues, metal, folk - and somehow it all hangs together. Plus, that Lego video was rad.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I wish this one hit as hard as Super Fly but it just doesn't.
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
I remember loving 'California Dreamin' as a teen and looking up other music by the Mamas & the Papas & even then being disappointed it was a bunch of upbeat, Monkees sounding pop-folk that didn't come even close to how good that single is. I didn't change my mind today.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
I went on a bit of a Dandy Warhols kick after getting this album & ultimately think 'Welcome to the Dollhouse' and 'Thirteen Tales' are better. This isn't terrible but definitely gives a 'throwing stuff at the wall' vibe (with one commercial-ready single) while the other albums have a more cohesive yet still interesting sound.
The Human League
2/5
I have a soft spot for 80s synth bands, but beyond the 1 single everyone knows, this largely made me grateful we no longer live in an era of spending a ton of money on an album where you only like 1 song.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
SO many hip hop artists are knee capped by success - which maybe shouldn't be surprising given how Black urban culture is essentially baked into the genre. Either gritty authenticity gives way to out-of-touch commercialism (the best song on 'Life After Death' is still crappier than the worst song on 'Ready to Die'), earnest religiosity (there's no contest between 'Coloring Book' and 'Acid Rap,' see also West, Kanye), or the warping factors of fame and power combined with mental instability mean any artistic output takes a backseat to concerning antics (RIP ODB, see West, Kanye part two.)
But Kendrick Lamar not only avoids the pitfalls of power, fame, and success, he has the self-awareness to assess those things and find them wanting - or even burdensome. Whether his lyrics touch on survivor's guilt, imposter syndrome, the fear and reality of being exploited and the through line in American history of how that exploitation is baked into our culture - or, in keeping with the tradition of the genre, how insanely dope and talented he is - his output remains raw and real and also unmitigatedly Black.
In retrospect, To Pimp a Butterfly feels like just the beginning of Kendrick turning his focus to art & truth and giving a middle finger to commercial success. While it maybe isn't as cohesive as Damn or Mr. Morale, it's still an amazing album with so many references (Ralph Ellison, Alex Haley, Wallace Thurman, breaking out of hip hop constraints to bring in jazz instrumentation) that lift up and reflect Black culture – simultaneously proving success doesn’t have to be a barrier to doing so, while also demonstrating just how and why that happens.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
I know that Eddie Murphy shrieking 'Sexual chocolate!' wouldn't exist without the Isley Brothers (and others) to parody, but Christ was it hard to push that image out of my head for some of these songs.
The xx
4/5
This album reminded me why I first (along with everyone else) liked the xx. Funny how failing to hear an album at every spa, restaurant, bar, and boutique means I'm not so sick of it that I can't hear it with fresh ears.
CHVRCHES
4/5
I was into this synth revival when it happened - these guys, Purity Ring, Phantogram (might throw in Sleigh Bells and STRFCKR and POLICA, too [btw, why did all these bands capitalize their names? Was that just a 2012 trend?]).
In any case, if this is the kind of thing you liked when it was your mom's Duran Duran, Berlin, and New Order albums, then you might have liked it when it came back around.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Inoffensive. & I enjoy 'Gotta Get Up' because of 'Russian Doll.'
The Avalanches
4/5
Feels like the connective tissue between albums like Paul's Boutique and DJs like Girl Talk - and mostly in a good way.
MGMT
2/5
I somehow missed this when it first came out. I was either too knee deep into indie & folk at the time (Sufjan, Clap Your Hands, Joanna Newsom) and/or had started to have less time for scraping music blogs and Pitchfork reviews for new music. In any case, I have no nostalgia for this since I didn't become aware of it until years later.
But even if my biggest association is the footage of Leonardo DiCaprio dancing like a kung fu fighting dad at Coachella in 2014, this still doesn't really do it for me--when it really should. It's like a poppier Animal Collective or a less rocking Tame Impala - but even when the music is really catchy, they just make me think of LMFAO based on that album cover, and goofy Leo giving me serious cringe with his dancing.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Amazing songs that tell stories that break your heart.
Cheap Trick
2/5
Not only does this come across as utterly typical 1970s rock, it all sounds like it's being played through a tin can.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
I was one of those people who didn't even understand what bluegrass was until 'O Brother Where Art Thou,' and I was *all* in at the time - and continued to listen intermittently to artists from the genre over the years.
So this was a fun listen. Made me want to start a jug band.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I thought this might be a reminder why 'best of' albums exist. Was pleasantly surprised by 'Jigsaw Puzzle' and "No Expectations' (and couldn't possibly be surprised by the one song everyone knows.)
But most of the rest of the album was forgettable to downright bad ('Dear Doctor' especially.)
Yes
2/5
Like being stuck in a 'Dazed and Confused' scene, but the music sucks.
'Mood for a Day' is okay.
Funkadelic
3/5
A fun listen but less catchy than expected given how many artists have sampled, interpolated, and mimicked Funkadelic's vibe.
XTC
1/5
Utter shite that must only sound good to dildoes who missed the Beatles so much in the 80s that they settled for this garbage and tried to convince other people it was good.
Thundercat
4/5
Groovy - like someone resurrected Curtis Mayfield, then sprinkled him with a bit of Childish Gambino, Beck and your favorite Twitch streamer (gotta love a Mortal Kombat reference).
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Frank Zappa
3/5
Zappa's name is famous enough that I knew of him and had some expectation of experimental noise rock - but this was jazzier and funkier with a TV theme song vibe. Some songs go too jam band towards the end, but didn't mind this.
Queen
2/5
Like the Beatles, Queen suffers from typically being listened to in greatest hits form. Besides Killer Queen, nothing really stood out as above average 1970s rock.
Milton Nascimento
2/5
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Not the worst but also just weird and not great.
Elvis Costello
4/5
Like Leonard Cohen and Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello is one of those artists I've heard about plenty, but somehow never gotten exposed to - or at least, not in a way I remember.
Despite all the comparisons to Dylan, was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Though some of it is a bit too lo fi/sounds like it's being played through a tin can, the songs have great energy, enough variety to the sound (straight rock, a little twangy in places, rockabilly in others) and compelling (though note entirely catchy) lyrics.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
This boasts inarguable classics (Chain of Fools, Ain't No Way), along with deeper cuts that make no bones about soul's gospel roots (People Get Ready) - which also happen to be total bops. & that's not even touching on Aretha's insane vocals that set the standard for multiple genres for decades.
Plus, you know, 'beautiful gowns.' Gotta love the shade.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Was mostly familiar with Peter Gabriel's bigger hits from later in the 80s, & was intrigued by the post-punk, proto-New Wave description of this album. But this ended up sounding super dissonant with overwrought vocals & out of place saxophones. Do not want.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Surprised to find an album where Dylan's singing doesn't make me cringe and want to plug my ears. Not only is 'Like a Rolling Stone' a classic that holds up, but I enjoyed 'Queen Jane Approximately' too.
Ultimately a bit too much harmonica to really dig this, but didn't mind it overall - with 2 stand out tracks.
Culture Club
2/5
Surprised by how much of this gave a George Michael feel - soulful backing singers with peppy 80s vibes. But despite the talent of those backing singers, this mostly feels like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of other things that are much better.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
A few songs feel like filler, but the hits (Cherub Rock, Today) *really* hit. This might be more like a 3.5, but nostalgia might be pushing it up a bit.
R.E.M.
4/5
After two, earlier in their discography albums, this one feels a bit more cinematic & produced - while still being solidly twangy and alternative as you’d expect REM to be.
But for Everybody Hurts, which I heard a bit too much when it first came out, this was an excellent listen with only a few lulls.
Skepta
3/5
I was first exposed to grime when I was living abroad, where British artists were much more pervasive on MTV and in clubs - and I remember it feeling like a revelation: this spin on rap that felt utterly original, backed by beats that sounded like video games crossed with horror movies - but reflecting the same marginalized experiences and bravado-laden machismo that's so specifically hip hop.
I have fonder memories of those early albums (Dizzee Rascal and Wiley specifically) than this output by Skepta. Despite a few listens, only a few songs really hit. There's ultimately too much repetition in sound & choruses, meandering skits that should have been left in the 90s, and mediocre lyricism (rhyming 'tender' with 'contender') to rate this higher.
Boston
2/5
Listening to this makes me fe like I should be speeding down a road in a Camaro, hanging out the window and smoking a doobie.
That is possibly neither good nor bad, but it is certainly not me.
John Prine
4/5
A rare instance of an artist I've never heard of being a great surprise. This has shades of Willie Nelson with equally fun, subversive lyrics - all delivered in a twang that reminds you country doesn't have to stay in one, populist, predictable lane.
Lorde
4/5
While Jack Antonoff's production is increasingly ubiquitous given his work with T. Swift and Lana del Rey, Melodrama still feels fresh and energetic compared to some of his latest output - the horn flourish on 'Sober' is 10x better than most of Tortured Poets Department.
And Lorde is wonderfully Lorde, her sullen delivery giving the impression she's singing these songs against her will. If the lyrics lean too much towards navel gazing self-loathing at times, even the songs that drag are listen-able - and there are enough bangers to raise this far above mediocrity.
Nick Drake
4/5
Yes, I didn't know about Nick Drake until that Volkswagen commercial. It doesn't take away from the fact that this is precisely the kind of folk music I love - dreamy, wistful, acoustic goodness.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
While there's no mistaking the era this album comes from, it's surprisingly listen-able. There's enough variety to the tracks (a mix of upbeat tracks & folky melodies, as well as straight psychedelia and forceful rock) to keep things interesting - not to mention Grace Slick's baller vocals on the two hits.
This might be like a 3.75 but rounding up because when you write a song that still gets associated with trippy experiences 50 years later, you get a pass.
Small Faces
2/5
Thought this was just bog standard 1960s Brit rock (a little bit of a Beatles feel to the song-along sound of Rene).
& then the story time started and I was a bit like - is this a music listening exercise or a spoken word exercise? No thank you.
Arcade Fire
4/5
This would be a five but for the fact that Win Butler is fucking gross.
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
It's funny to remember how *hard* so much mid-90s hip hop sounded, spurred to popularity by NWA and all their off-shoots. The bravado and juvenile humor is still there, but the constant refrain of violence and nihilism is so evident - pretty appropriate for an album titled 'Ready to Die.'
And yet, even if the gangster rap genre as a whole doesn't entirely hold up, B.I.G.'s lyrical talent is undeniable, his wordplay so often matched by compelling, head-bobbing beats and samples.
I might wish Puffy had been shot instead, but this album is still great.
Cream
4/5
Rock gods.
Meat Puppets
4/5
Surprised to really enjoy this given my only exposure was Nirvana covers. Like the Pixies, this feels shockingly modern for having been released in 1984, with a twangy, alt-country feel to some songs that strikes me as way ahead of their time - combined with dissonant singing that reminds me of Isaac Brock. While a few songs lean punk, that's not the overwhelming majority of the album - and with the instrumental tracks, it feels like an early, funkier Calexico or something.
R.E.M.
3/5
I might have REM fatigue but this just felt like REM trying to be a bit more rock than alt-rock (especially Lightnin' Hopkins) and it doesn't work as well as the other albums we've gotten so far. And the horns on 'Fireplace' are epically bad.
That said, even when REM is bad, it's still more mediocre than outright terrible.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Just dissonant fuzz rock that I wasn't really in the mood for. There were maybe 1 or 2 decent enough songs on here, but the rest was barely listen-able.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Did someone say ‘Dominos’?
David Bowie
3/5
I suspect that if I gave this more than 2 listens, it might creep up in my estimation. But while this is unmistakably Bowie, it's definitely a more challenging listen (that first, nearly 10 minute song) with a heavy jazz/horn sound I wasn't expecting.
Perhaps compelling as a deathbed album, but not something I'd feel drawn to venerate and listen to outside of this exercise.
Nina Simone
5/5
Her voice, her heartbreak - just so good. There are very few lulls on this excellent album - 'Why Keep on Breaking My Heart' has a bit of 60s lounge cheesiness to it but every other song has the seeds of every story-teller songwriter to come after her: Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse, and on.
Massive Attack
3/5
I listened to this a few times trying 1) to pay attention and 2) to shake the feeling, when I did, of Neo and Morpheus having intense conversations in the Matrix, or J.Lo in weird costumes in the Cell. That is, this isn't bad, but it does feel dated in a way that doesn't quite hold up for me.
That said, this album precedes either of those movies by 6 years so even if those doesn't quite hold up, it was still very ahead of its time.
The Residents
2/5
Like the soundtrack to a b-movie that thinks it's more clever than it is. Though this at times made me think of the Cramps or the goofiness of They Might be Giants, it wasn't as campy or fun as either of those bands.
Nick Drake
4/5
While this doesn't resonate as much as Pink Moon, even when Nick Drake isn't blowing your hair back, he's still inarguably great.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I wonder if Bruce sat down and was like, ‘If I put my working class storyteller lyrics to more upbeat music with sing-along choruses, I bet people will love the songs *and* really think about how our rural communities and factory towns set people up for failure.’
I mean, that obviously didn’t work and for me personally, the approach doesn’t really land - except for Glory Days, which is an amazing anthem that doesn’t shy away from also being sad.
I guess I ultimately prefer when Bruce is a bit more acoustic and leans into his tragic poet persona more. It also felt a bit too 80s in parts, with horns that wore out their welcome.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
No one can do a "Wee-AAAWWW" like Sly Stone. But this ultimately feels like him and the Family Stone mostly noodling and grooving - like we're listening to a jam session vs structured music (except maybe 'Family Affair' and 'You Caught Me Smilin'). While it's possibly a great example of funk, doesn't ultimately stick in a memorable way.
The Lemonheads
2/5
Under the definition for 'mediocre' in the dictionary is a picture of this band. While this may not assault the ears the way other music might, it's doubly offensive for being so boring.
Peter Frampton
3/5
The dad rock sound wears thin towards the last third, but enjoyed a good chunk of this - almost against my will.
Elton John
4/5
There's only one double album I've heard off this list so far that justifies being a double album: Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. While Elton might be just as skilled a songwriter, this album suffers from some serious bloat. The only thing saving it is just how good the hits really are (Benny & the Jets, Good-bye Yellow Brick Road) that literally stayed in my head all weekend. Only one other song I hadn't heard before caught my ear and beared repeated listening: Sweet Painted Lady. Otherwise, this was a lot of piano prog filler around a couple of genuinely amazing songs. Maybe more like a 3.5 to 3.75 but, I mean....B-B-Benny and the Jets.
Eagles
2/5
Witchy Woman is okay. Everything else is either overplayed dreck or just dreck.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Like if someone was jokingly riffing on being an occasionally maudlin lounge act, with over the top, nonsensical lyrics. I guess it's trying something, but it's not really good.
David Bowie
4/5
While Kooks and Fill Your Heart have that jangly, late-60s Brit rock sound that is unmistakably dated and doesn't hold up all that well, the classic singles (Changes, Life on Mars, Queen Bitch) really elevate this, and some of the tracks I knew less well have that wonderfully alien, timeless Bowie feel (Andy Warhol, Oh! You Pretty Things). So...uneven--but still great.
Understand why Rod Stewart went solo given his tracks are definitely stronger than the other guy (not worth looking up.) Has a similar ripping-off-American-blues sound (Brits copying Chuck Berry *never* gets old) that is saved by Rod's permanently-scraping-the-pan vocals - especially on Stay With Me.
Paul Simon
2/5
Even if I could get past the culture vulture nonsense at the heart of this album, there's something just utterly milquetoast about this - like the people who enjoy this also enjoy the Beach Boys 'Kokomo.'
The Doors
4/5
Shocked I enjoyed this as much as I did. I blame the Boomers for inundating me during *my* childhood with *their* nostalgia. Fucking Oliver Stone.
TV On The Radio
5/5
Insert fawning fangirl babbling here.
Garbage
3/5
The through line of a band or musician breaking into the mainstream, often building on risk-takers who came before, that then result in a dozen market-driven copy-cats is as reliable as the sun coming up every day.
Pixies --> Nirvana --> Silverchair
X-Ray Specs --> Sleater Kinney -->Avril Lavigne
While I'm sure Shirley Manson has loads more autonomy than the average boy-band member, there's still something so slick and market-ready about Garbage. Sure, the music is catchy (if dated) with vaguely subversive lyrics - but I just don't *buy* any of it. Like, when PJ Harvey sings 'you leave me dry,' or Courtney Love screams 'when they get what they want, and they never want it again,' I *believe* it. With Garbage's music, not so much.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I only had to skip one song, 'Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.'
His pronunciation of 'idiot' in 'Idiot Wind' really proves he's speaking his own dialect.
Maybe 2.5 stars if I gave it another listen, but why would I do that?
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I already had a few of these saved to playlists, but mostly enjoyed what I didn't know - from the sad, dreamy alienation of 'Candy Says' to the upbeat folk rock of 'Beginning to See the Light.'
Only the experimental 'Murder Mystery' felt like a swing & a miss. & even then, I can see the through line from it's spoken word sound to bands like King Missile and Cake.
Dire Straits
2/5
This starts off so strong with the wistful 'So Far Away' -- then rapidly goes from mediocre to bad to 'I really want to skip this song' ear poison. Hearing 'Walk of Life' so soon after the world-music aping nonsense of Paul Simon's Graceland did not win me over -- and then the awful 80s horn solo kicks in on 'Your Latest Trick.'
It's like everything good about their debut album got leeched away by the worst trends of the 80s.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
Can only imagine this guy had the chance to make an album because he was the drummer for the Beach Boys. Otherwise, this sounds like it could be any other mid-to-late 70s asshat, throwing spaghetti at the wall (Soulful? Sure. Honky tonk? I guess. Bluesy funk and some balladeering? Why not!) Bonus - it's with a less than stellar voice.
But props to anyone whose wiki mentions having to buy rafts of penicillin for Manson family cult members due to the persistent gonorrhoea. Way to shoot for the moon, I guess.
Carole King
3/5
Earnestness shouldn't be bad on it's face, but damn if half this album hasn't been used to near-comic levels in movies, tv shows, and other pop culture to indicate varying levels of poignant moments (So Far Away, It's Too Late, You've Got a Friend.)
There's no doubt Carole is an amazing song writer but it's really hard to listen to the hits objectively - and the rest of it wasn't all that striking but for a general sense of ...well, earnestness.
Kanye West
3/5
I mean, you can't say it better than him:
No one man should have all that power
The clock’s ticking, I just count the hours
Stop tripping, I'm tripping off the power
(21st-century schizoid man)
I suppose some of Kanye's genius is that he's so self-aware, but he's taken such a nose-dive in his madness (the journey from 'George Bush doesn't care about black people,' which was utterly wild and out of left field at the time but CORRECT -- to MAGA anti-Semite is certainly one for the psychologists to figure out) ...that it's hard to appreciate even the multiple great tracks on this album without remembering what an abusive tool he's become.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
This might have been the first Stevie album I personally 'owned,' besides Motown greatest hits collections my mom had on CD, or the occasional, irresistible single (e.g. I Was Made to Love Her.)
It's still insanely consistent across a spare 44 minutes. The hits (Living for the City, Golden Lady, Don't You Worry About a Thang, ETC) far outnumber the few lulls. While this might not be a sprawling masterpiece like Songs in the Key of Life, it's an insane run of memorable hits that make the whole thing a classic.
Fats Domino
3/5
Like the Buddy Holly album, I recognize that this is seminal, ground-breaking work - but it's hard to hear how innovative it must have been with modern ears. That said, still a fun listen - even if none of it was particularly finger-snapping.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Definitely more like the noise-scape noodlings I expected from Brian Eno. But enough of this was purely orchestral that it was largely pleasant listening--with the occasional distracting bee boop thrown in.
The Cure
5/5
I mean, obviously.
Big Star
1/5
If this is the best unknown band you've never heard of, this is a terrible album to get introduced to them. Even if I could get past the weird, terrible vocals, it just sounds unfinished and half thought out.
Neil Young
2/5
Even if I could get past how horrid it is to listen to Neil Young sing, this is just peak Boomer nonsense. And "A Man Needs a Maid" should get fired into the sun.
Fiona Apple
4/5
Kind of like Amy Winehouse's debut, Apple's first album shows off her amazing talent while also - in light of the direction her later work would go - showing some attempt to fit into less quirky, more straightforward song structures and genres that her later albums throw off entirely. I don't mind Apple aping Nina Simone or other jazz greats, but I definitely love her later albums more - and think of them as being more 'her.'
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Laibach
2/5
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an industrial Slovenian band performing Queen covers in German, but it was not as bad as the global reviews led me to expect. I can see through lines to other militaristic industrial bands (though that might just be the guttural German singing.)
Didn't hate it but not really my thing - and amazing to think that music like this exists that *is* someone's thing.
Primal Scream
2/5
A throwback that wasn't entirely welcome. Couldn't tell if I actually like the opening song -- or if it's just familiar. & much of the rest of the album felt very similar (soaring gospel choirs backing a whiny British vocalist intermixed with trance-y 90s beats) or a little monotonous. Sure, it was maybe ahead of it's time but unlike Massive Attack, is definitely a bit one note.
The Pogues
3/5
Kind of Like the Cramps, this feels like a sub-sub genre I'm not sorry to get exposed to, but is ultimately so thoroughly specific in its focus that unless Celtic punk is your thing, you're probably not going to re-visit.
Like everyone else, I enjoyed Fairytale of New York most (the call and response of 'I could have been someone,' and 'Well, so could anyone,' is really wonderful.) But outside of St. Patrick's day, unlikely to listen again.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
The kind of album where I wish I spoke the language (or could track down translations!) to enjoy these songs even more.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
So I'm a hipster. Fine.
Iron Butterfly
2/5
Bloviated organ noodlings with terrible vocals. The Simpsons did it better.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
I remember liking this more 20 years ago, but it may have been that the bossa nova sound was a bit more novel, or time has done it's thing and it just sounds a bit more dated. Not bad, but a lot of it faded into the background, or wasn't nearly as charming as I remember.
Rush
1/5
My expectations weren't *that* low given I found I didn't mind 2112 so I don't know if it's my mood, the shitty weather, or just that this album truly is that bad.
Just so much instrumental self-fellating (YYZ), the feeling I was supposed to experience the lyrical story-telling as some kind of epic journey, and more drum fills than I think I'll ever need. Yeesh.
Coldplay
3/5
'Clocks' still makes me want to spin around and jump up and down but most of the rest of it blurred into an often whiney quiet-loud-quiet mush.
The Black Keys
4/5
Like Led Zeppelin and the Stones, these dudes are standing on the shoulders of giants. But man, the hits (Everlasting Light, Tighten Up) really hit.
Kacey Musgraves
4/5
A few of these songs were already in rotation on various playlists of mine (High Horse and Slow Burn) but in listening to the whole thing all the way through, I was struck by the sweetness of her voice (almost Dolly Parton-esque) and playfulness of her lyrics. The twee-ness wears a little thin with Wonder Woman, but otherwise really enjoyed a lot of the songs I wasn't as familiar with (Oh What a World, Space Cowboy, Love is a Wild Thing.)
LL Cool J
4/5
Hip hop classic. And brought back the painful memory of having a name too unusual to get mentioned in ‘Around the Way Girl.’
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
While not the masterpiece that Exodus is, when Bob Marley is less than excellent, he's still pretty great. Faves: Natty Dread, Talkin' Blues.
Radiohead
4/5
I was one of those people who didn't listen to The Bends until *after* OK Computer came out, because I'd written off Radiohead as just another grungey one hit wonder (BWAHAHhahahHHAA in retrospect.)
While I still enjoy the album a lot, it's hard to listen to the hits (High & Dry, Fake Plastic Trees) with fresh ears - and the songs I probably return to most feel very much like the direction some of their future work would go in: a bit more ambient, dreamy, alienation-fests (Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was, (Nice Dream)).
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Definitely prefer the party vibes of some songs over others (Real, Gotcha) but Lupe proves he can also be introdspective and tell a story (Daydreamin', Kick Push) - and even if a few songs drift into overly preachy (Just Might be Ok, The Instrumental), this is mostly a solid listen.
Arcade Fire
3/5
My recollection of this album was kinder than my listening experience today. I thought I'd be giving this a 4 (docking a star because Win Butler is fucking gross) but think this is really more of a 3 with two, maaaybe three 4 star songs.
There's something really longing about 'The Suburbs' and 'Ready to Start' is a good segue - but everything else kind of blurs together (despite multiple listens), or is borderline annoying (Empty Room especially.)
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I thought I had a softer spot for Pet Shop Boys than I actually do. Besides 'What Have I Done to Deserve This' and 'It's a Sin,' I didn't recognize anything off Actually (and are those good, or are they just familiar?) Most of it was dated in a way that didn't really hold up, e.g. even if the lyrics of 'Shopping' are actually prescient, the knee-jerk impression is one of sheer 80s shallowness.
I think I owned CD of Behavior as a kid, but re-listening to it was also a painful reminder of how bad late 80s/early 90s music was - like all the funkiness of New Wave got stripped down to bland, tinny samples. Maybe a precursor to what dance and electronica would eventually become, but not good.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Because this album didn't make a splash when it came out (and I was likely more into Ace of Base & Janet Jackson at the time), I - like a lot of other people - learned about Jeff Buckley when a friend gasped at the fact that I'd never heard of him. She proceeded to play 'So Real' and 'Last Good-bye' and those were pretty much the only songs I knew well.
Unsurprised to find the rest of the album is mostly top tier: he acquits himself well with the Nina Simone cover, and the folk-y sadness of Corpus Christi Carol almost makes me think of a more dramatic Sufjan Stevens. Eternal Life might be a bit of it's time, but better to make me think of Soundgarden than Candlebox.
The Who
3/5
A grab bag of different genres that I tended to like most when aping Black blues musicians (Out in the Street, Please Please Please) vs the Monkees harmonies of songs like La La Lies and Kids are Alright. One song even brought Velvet Underground to mind, but couldn't really match their vibe.
So...uneven? & perhaps the prototype for something, but not consistent enough to be sure just what.
Kelela
4/5
One of the first contemporary albums I'd not heard of. Enjoyed it but agree with others that it took intentional listening to keep the songs from blending together. But when songs stood out, they were really great.
Fishbone
2/5
Even as someone who liked the watered down version of ska fronted by Gwen Stefani, I couldn't really get into this - but for maybe the rock version of Freddie's Dead. Nice to get an unexpected take on some Curtis Mayfield.
Talking Heads
2/5
Unfortunately, this exercise has made me realize I'm only a fan of Talking Heads hits. Maybe this would inch up in my estimation with repeated listenings, but felt quirky in a way that wasn't really enjoyable. Except for Psycho Killer.
T. Rex
4/5
I mostly new of T.Rex because of the one song that showed up on the Dogtown and Z Boys soundtrack. I don't know what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised. The whole thing had strong Bowie vibes while also being it's own thing - kind of stoner, mellow, introspective and meandering - and all in a great way.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Kate Bush
4/5
This is one of those albums where I can recognize how utterly ahead of its time it was, and how it's influenced so many artists (Tori Amos, probably Bjork, Austra, Bat for Lashes, Sarah MacLachlan), but it didn't necessarily hook me - despite multiple listens.
Maybe if I'd been old enough to appreciate this in the mid-80s OR heard it when I was a bit more impressionable teen, I'd be completely smitten. As a less impressionable 40 something, this felt more like an interesting curio piece that I'll bump a star for how many artists this influenced.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
It's wild to recognize super dated sounds and effects in genres that are still utterly different from what I grew up with and am familiar with.
& while I'm thrilled to get exposed to soukous and a Congolese artist I'd never heard of before, this ultimately sounded too dated to really enjoy - my general impression was one of cheesiness without understanding a word of the lyrics.
I might give his other music a try, but he also sounds like a hot mess of a person, like the Shia Labeouf of Congolese musicians, beating up people & abusing women left & right.
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
Finds that line between disaffected, grungey angst, and annoying, entitled whininess, and falls into whiny just about every time.
As a bonus, 'Be Sweet' is particularly juvenile, and 'When We Two Parted' makes me glad 'Drain You' by Nirvana and 'Hey' by the Pixies exist. Much better takes on toxic relationships.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Memories of downloading albums off Limewire on wifi stolen from my neighbors. Can't remember if I got hyped for this band from Fluxblog or the early days of Pitchfork - but I know they (mostly) lived up to that hype.
Man, I miss the internet before it turned into an ad-laden, disinformation infested, AI nightmare.
Prince
3/5
I did not expect to dislike this as much as I did. I had some idea Prince's excellence dropped off in the late 80s/early 90s, if only because my mom had none of his albums after Purple Rain, but I didn't know how badly.
I don't know if 1987 was just a bad year for music, but this sounded SO dated, vacillating between tinny beats that seem to be aiming for that 'Let's Go Crazy' vibe but failing to meet that mark, or Isley Bros style soul grooves that can't come near Prince's early output, e.g. 'I Wanna Be Your Lover.'
I did enjoy one song I'd never heard (Ballad of Dorothy Parker), and still enjoyed If I Was Your Girlfriend and U Got the Look - but this mostly made me sad that Prince is now slightly less of a legend in my eyes.
Neil Young
1/5
Imagine a three year old whining that he's hungry, but his voice is super nasally, like he's got permanent allergies. But instead of whining that he's hungry, he's whining about being lonely & setting it to music.
& people try to tell you it's good and he's a legend. No, I'll pass on the nasal whining set to flugelhorns.
Bauhaus
4/5
I don't know what to say except I have a soft spot for this kind of thing - early new wave with hints of punk rock that you can dance to. Joy Division, New Order, Cure, & these guys.
Arcade Fire
2/5
Do you remember being 18? Idealistic and still impressionable, even if you'd like to think you're not. You go to shows all the time because music means everything to you. And at one show, where you see one of your favorite bands, an amazing, earnest cadre of musicians who blow you away with their talent & insight, you happen to get a few great photos because you're so close to the stage. You tag the musicians and are blown away when one of them actually DMs you.
But it quickly goes very very wrong. His messages are flirtatious, provocative. Even though he's married. Even though he's nearly 20 years older than you. You try to figure out how to tell him to stop, but he doesn't. & it just gets worse.
I guess the album is okay. But the earnest, self-tortured stylings come across as a just a *bit* false when you know how fucking gross Win Butler is.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
While I never got tired of Franz Ferdinand's monster hit (which is still a lot of fun to karaoke), the album has a lot of sleeper hits that never got as much airplay (Jacqueline, Dark of the Matinee, and Michael). So I tend to think of them as less of a one hit wonder and more of a one album wonder - but it's a super solid album.
Adele
3/5
Adele is SO uneven. When she hits, she really hits (Rolling in the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain) but when she misses and dials up the Celine-level emotion, it just tips very quickly into cringe-town (Turning Tables and the gag-fest of Don't You Remember.)
Röyksopp
3/5
I have a fair amount of nostalgia for this one (especially 'Remind Me') but found this was less captivating listening all the way through - and feels very much of a Stereolab / Groove Armada / Zero Seven moment that isn't bad, but definitely not timeless.
Junior might be the better album - poppier but also more songs that hook you.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
I'm sure it's the language barrier, but ultimately couldn't really get excited about this - and found the songs started to blend together. A pleasant enough listen that fell into the background, but not anything I'd go back to.
Bee Gees
2/5
The conceit of a concept album is a seriously difficult artistic endeavor to pull off. When it's done well (Sgt Peppers), it's pretty mind-blowing.
When it's not, it's this.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Outside of this exercise, I don't think there's a world where I would have listened to 4 Stevie Wonder albums back to back. Given the oddity of this album-centric approach in a world of streaming precisely what you want to hear when you want to hear it, I think there's a parallel universe where maybe I heard Talking Book *before* Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, and Fulfillingness - and think of it as a 5 star album.
Acknowledging this was the first of Stevie's 'classic period,' it makes sense it's not as strong in relation to those other works. But it's kind of like ranking Simone Biles on a bad day - there's still a lot of genius here. The deep cut 'Maybe Baby' should seriously be in as regular rotation as his other hits, Tuesday Heartbreak is great, 'Big Brother' feels super relevant in this day & age, and there are of course the familiar hits.
The schmaltzy ballads are almost never as appealing as the funkier grooves, but still a seriously solid listen (even if it pales in comparison to those other works.)
Kraftwerk
3/5
Oddly enough, this brought albums like Buddy Holly and Solomon Burke to mind - where I'm aware this was wildly ahead of its time, but struggle to be blown away in 2024 when this kind of music can be found in any futuristic (or, at this point, retro-futuristic) kind of media (kept thinking of Knight Rider listening to 'Metropolis'). Not bad, but nothing I think I'd come back to.
Erykah Badu
4/5
I was lazy about keeping up with Erykah Badu after her debut album, picking up on the occasional excellent single courtesy of Spotify throwing her in the mix.
I always knew she was talented but this album is proof I've been sleeping on her consistency. Added multiple additional songs to playlists (the rocking opener, the fun '...& On' throwback, 'Kiss Me on My Neck' - and I already had 'Bag Lady' in the mix given it's the most popular song from this album.)
Will have to do a deeper dig on her other work.
Michael Jackson
2/5
It's pretty much impossible to separate the person from the music - which were becoming increasingly intertwined even at the time, as evidenced by the existence of 'Leave Me Alone,' which was explicitly focused on all the tabloid noise about Michael's weirdness.
Even if I were to succeed in doing that, like Prince's Sign of the Times, this feels like a retread of better ideas in a lot of ways (Bad & Beat It, Dirty Diana & Billie Jean [tho, admittedly, Diana is much more of a rock song]). The deep cuts are...not good to say the least (Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, Just Good Friends) - and while the album was admittedly huge, it's hard not to remember that NWA's Straight Outta Compton came out a year later making the try-hard affectation of 'Bad' even more cringe-worthy than it kind of already was at the time.
I bobbed my head to a few songs. I admire the influence he had over others (Usher, the Weekend, Alien Ant Farm). But he destroyed lives with his abuse - and pretty much got away with it because even if people side-eyed how weird he was at the time, I guess it's too hard to admit you're enjoying a child molester's music? So it's easier to tell yourself it's not true. Or it didn't matter. Or something.
Blur
3/5
Inconsistent. A reminder of why the album format isn't always great given it felt like a fair amount of this might have been filler.
That said, 'Song 2' is a banger and a handful of tracks were reminders of the fun places Damon Albarn ended up going with the Gorillaz.
Lauryn Hill
5/5
Genre-breaking classic. Ripping out of the gate by telling us precisely what she's about--and maybe signalling why fame and acclaim were never going to work for her:
It's funny how money change a situation
My emancipation don't fit your equation
I was on the humble, you on every station
...then juking every expectation by following up this hip hop track with the lovesick 'Ex-Factor'...before juking again to the gospel-inflected ode to her first born son, 'To Zion.' & that's just the first 3 tracks.
It's weird to almost think of her in the same veing as Amy Winehouse since Amy is gone - but it seems like maybe fame did a similar number on Ms. Hill, making it impossible for her to put anything else on this level out. I guess we should be grateful we got this album at all.
Beatles
4/5
Straddles that line between purely poppy (Drive My Care, I'm Looking Through You) and starting to get a little more introspective (In My Life) with only a few misses (The Word, What Goes On.)
Better than Revolver, but not the sheer genius of some of their later stuff.
SZA
4/5
No one does vulnerability like Sza. SOS might be her best album (yet) but Ctrl is an amazing sophomore effort.
The White Stripes
5/5
Listened to 'Seven Nation Army' maybe 4 times today alone. But there's so much to enjoy besides that relentless single - whether bluesy, straight rock, or some mix of the two.
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
This ultimately suffers under the weight of its own conceit. If it had been, I don't know, even 39 love songs, it would have easily been a 4 or 5. But there's plenty that varies from filler to bad that the great songs (I Think I Need a New Heart, I Don't Want to Get Over You, Papa Was a Rodeo - and so many others) get totally drowned out.
Van Morrison
3/5
Is this what they call blue eyed soul - even if his eyes are brown per the album cover? While I like the first song, and ‘Everyone’ (I blame Wes Anderson), this mostly felt like music for people who think Otis Redding sounds too aggressive.
The Police
3/5
A few hits, some of which hold up (Synchronicity II, Wrapped Around Your Finger) & some of which are terribly overplayed (Every Breath You Take) - but a surprising amount of mediocre filler.
+ one crazy, Portnoy's Complaint themed punk song (Mother), which I might have liked best for being so goddamn weird.
The Fall
3/5
Feels like a precursor to Arctic Monkeys in places, and like the cartoon rock band from 'Home Movies' screaming 'Freaky! Outie!' over and over again, too.
So uneven but not unpleasant.
David Bowie
3/5
Not sure what to make of this one - if there were too many quaaludes and wanking on the floor in the mix, resulting in little more than a few glimmers of the genius Bowie was already known for at the time.
But even sub-par Bowie is still stronger than a lot of the dreck on this list.
Linkin Park
2/5
It's not that I don't like angry music. I could listen to Rage any day of the week. Trying to put my finger on why I enjoy RATM, but kind of feel like just shaking my head at Linkin Park, I think it's that Rage's anger is turned outward. It's protest music explicitly about injustice. Linkin Park is yelling 'shut up,' too - but it sounds like it's directed at their parents, or girlfriends, or maybe their inner demons - but either way, it's just a lot harder to take seriously when you're not a teenage boy.
George Harrison
3/5
Unclear if the albums available on Spotify do this a disservice, or if George really was a bit too far up his own ass to edit the track list to something manageable. In any case, I didn't like *any* of this enough to try to recreate the OG album listing.
While it's better than John's solo stuff, and some songs mixed up the folky sound (Wah Wah in particular felt like a late-Beatles outtake), it mostly started to blend together the longer this (unnecessarily) long album went on.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
1/5
No.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Largely enjoyed this, even with the language barrier. Agreed that his vocals can be reminiscent of a muezzin, and there's some sameness as the album wears on, but mostly a pleasant listen.
The KLF
2/5
Kind of like Massive Attack, I logically get why this was groundbreaking and ahead of its time. But the unfortunate truth of becoming a meme-worthy example of your genre is that it's insanely hard to hear with fresh ears.
I just keep picturing the two 90s douche-bros from the SNL skit bobbing their heads as 'What is love?' blares over the speakers. Or the Always Sunny gang in diapers at a rave. It just all sounds a bit cheesy and on the nose - which I get it *didn't* at the time, but can't really get my head around to enjoy now.
Marty Robbins
3/5
Quaint and not unpleasant to listen to, but not anything I'd go out of my way to go back to.
Fugees
4/5
Did not realize there were multiple lyrical references to poop. And a super solid album nonetheless.
Ray Charles
3/5
More big band + Disney-style strings than I anticipated for a Ray Charles album. A fun listen that might be a 4 if you found me in Times Square on V day, but a bit too dated to really sink my teeth into in 2024.
Pink Floyd
2/5
Too young to have heard Pink Floyd in their heyday, and not exposed through the adults around me as a kid. While I recognized the one famous chorus, and some of 'Comfortably Numb,' this was otherwise largely unfamiliar.
It mostly reminded me of Rush. The singer's voice was really bad on some songs. I kind of got that there was some epic story being told (a la Rush), but that mostly brought to mind that bad Bee Gees album about the fictional sunken ship when the military flourishes kicked in.
Johnny Cash
5/5
There's such a profundity to this entire exercise - a legend in the twilight of his life choosing a catalog of classic and modern songs to cover that gives them such a new & intensely personal spin. 'Hurt' alone would catapult this to legendary status, but there's *so* much to digest here...if not 100% enjoy because I'm not sure I necessarily enjoy music that makes me contemplate my own mortality.
Bobby Womack
2/5
First song kind of made me think of 'Master Balster - Jammin' by Stevie Wonder. 'Stand Up' made me think of Earth Wind & Fire. And like those songs, the Temptations cover was competent, but didn't really bring anything new to the table.
His vocals are great, but lyrically (Kentucky Fried secrets? Really?) and musically this made me mostly wonder how this ended up on the list.
Radiohead
5/5
Will just quote my husband, who said it took him about 4 songs to realize I was listening to the album of the day, vs just listening to as much Radiohead as I usually do.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Kind of felt like I'd wandered into the 1970s version of Salem's Lot, with creepy sound effects and over-the-top music. & it's not that it's not scary, but there's definitely a layer of cheese when watching (or listening) with modern eyes (or ears.)
A bit like the Van Halen album, this was mostly a fun listen - if not anything I'd go out of my way to listen to again. But Black Sabbath has definitely been the most solid metal band I've been exposed to yet from this whole exercise.
The Vines
2/5
The Cars
4/5
Holy cow, those first three songs are serious classics - and most of the album is this fun combo of throwback sounds with an updated feel. Things drop off a bit with 'I'm in Touch with your World' but the new wave/punk 'Moving in Stereo' gets things back on track. Wish that had been the closer instead of the sad boi 'All Mixed Up.'
Def Leppard
2/5
My husband, overhearing the album of the day:
'AC/DC?'
No.
'Motley Cru?'
No.
'Whitesnake? Def Leppard.'
The last one.
'Knew it was some hair metal bullshit.'
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Solid, head bobbing instrumentals that feel about 10 years ahead of the time. Get how this influenced funk and soul for years to come.
Stan Getz
4/5
After starting this plague year with a persistent head cold that was then followed by norovirus so bad, my body tried to eject my stomach into the toilet, HOT DAMN was I in need of what felt like cool beach breezes in musical form.
Queen
3/5
'Excalibur' or 'Lion in Winter' soundtrack rejects.
Jeff Beck
3/5
You know what never gets old? White dudes aping Black musicians. Rod Stewart bemoaning the aches & pains of an overworked riverboat worker on 'Old Man River' is definitely a new ... high? Low? It's something.
Lambchop
2/5
Recognized Kurt Wagner's distinctive voice from 'What New York Couple's Fight About' by Morcheeba (better band and album), and was then horrified how often he seemed to think he should sing in a falsetto instead. What in the ever-loving-nonsense that was all about, I don't even know because it's not like the music gave Prince or Justin Timberlake vibes. So misplaced. & outright bad. Drug this forgettable album from a passable 3 down to a skip-worthy 2.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Pretty perfectly straddles the line between punk and glam rock, with the often frantic energy of people trying not to do copious amounts of drugs. A largely solid listen, from the classics (Lust for Life, The Passenger), to deeper cuts that give a Velvet Underground feel (Neighborhood Threat), to catchy new wave / disco vibes (Tonight.)
& while I'm not sure even Iggy Pop can get away with the dirty old man lyrics of 'Sweet Sixteen,' the only song that really felt like a swing and a total miss was 'Turn Blue.'
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Hayes almost makes the audicity and ambition of a 4 track album, with the 2nd shortest song clocking in at 9 minutes, look easy. Soulful but groovy, taking you to church--but the preaching's about infidelity and love, ahead of its time and timeless. A classic I'm glad to get exposed to through this exercise.
Beastie Boys
4/5
I gotta admit that the nasal style wears thin over the course of 53 min, but there's no denying the catchiness of many songs (Shake Your Rump, Egg Man, Hey Ladies, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, Shadrach), driven by so many fun samples & beats. So while I personally think this could have benefited from some trimming (or listening in smaller doses), can't deny the brilliance here.
Stephen Stills
2/5
Okay, Boomer.
Mj Cole
2/5
The music Bravo licenses to play over b-role of Los Angeles inbetween scenes on Real Housewives, because they refuse to pay for licensing real music.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I can hear how this could be the predecessor of albums like OK Computer.
The vocals are way better than everything on 'The Wall.'
That said, unlike other albums that old white men get really excited about that were surprising to enjoy (Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits), this ultimately didn't blow me away.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
If this album had come up two years ago, I might have been inclined to rate it higher. But there's so much of this type of music on the list - not just Crosby, Stills, Nash and fucking Neil Young and every iteration thereof - but 1960s harmonies (Mamas & Papas, Beach Boys), twangy rock (Creedence), bluesy rock (too many bands to count). I'm just over it. There's more music out there - genres, artists, fuck, I'd take a Muppets movie soundtrack than listen to yet another 1960s bluesy, harmonizing, Boomer masturbation fest.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
2/5
Ultimately didn't mind this too much when it reminded me of Black Keys. But we don't support Confederate glorifiers in this house because look where overlooking traitors to this country hasn't gotten us?
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Glimpses of some of the brilliance on 'So,' but otherwise such a mish mash of sounds (Kermit barbershop quarter on 'Excuse Me,' disco hair rock on 'Slow Burn'), that this sounds more like out takes than an album.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Surprised by the handful of R&B songs that were more cheesy than good. But the classics hold up, and the samples are legend.
Parliament
4/5
Best iteration of Parliament to date. Repeatedly thought to myself that Dre and Snoop owe a fare bigger debt to George Clinton than anyone realizes. Classic.
U2
4/5
Russ hates U2 more than he hates Pearl Jam so haven't listened to them in forever. Enjoyed this more than I expected - the familiar hits (the opening song, New Years Day, Two Hearts Beat as 1), plus punkier deeper cuts (Seconds, Like a Song.) Only Refugee and the meandering '40' felt like lulls/misses.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
This whole exercise is so frustrating because I would swear up & down that I like fuzzy dream pop (Beach House, Bat for Lashes, Washed Out, Warpaint, Mazzy Star, etc.) But between these guys and mbv, I'm feeling totally gaslit.
Like, this is just...not great. Maybe if the choruses were in English? It all just kind of blends together into a droning nothingburger of a sound landscape that NEVER catches your attention. I guess it's good if you're on a fentanyl bender, but not great if you're actually trying to enjoy what you're listening to.
Maybe a low 3 / high 2 kind of scenario - but I'm going with 2 for the fact that this list makes me doubt my own perceptions.
Beck
4/5
Not timeless, and certainly not the best Beck album (that's Odelay) - but still super enjoyable.
De La Soul
5/5
The samples (Hall & Oates!) put this up there with Paul's Boutique, but the through line of repeated lyrics, story telling, and game / children's show skits give it a world-building feel that the Beastie Boys' album doesn't have.
& while this feels like the antecedent to so many other hip hop subgenres, it's still so uniquely its own thing - and has a timeless feeling that very few other albums from this period have.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
I'm going to start writing songs about my sea shanty life off the coast of Nova Scotia, because that's about as authentic as these Berkeley posers pretending to be from the bayou.
Meat Loaf
2/5
Just...a lot.
Manu Chao
3/5
His nasal voice starts to grate over the course of a too-long album but it's mostly unobjectionable.
Machito
4/5
An insane amount of energy for a purely instrumental album, & the kind of fun discovery I'd hoped to have more of in doing this exercise.
Syd Barrett
2/5
Drunk Beatles vibes. Not bad, but not really good either.
Santana
4/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
The Stooges
3/5
While I get hints of all the bands they influenced, this ultimately didn't really knock me sideways - but for the grungy, slower-paced 'Dirt.'
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
Did this 'pioneer' blues-influenced rock the way white settlers 'pioneered' the old west? But with less smallpox?
The Smiths
4/5
How many artists have an albums' worth of hits in them? This exercise has opened my eyes to how the construct of an album really wasn't that great for even top notch artists. Your average band/singer would have 3-5 hits in them, but was forced to put out an album with essentially filler to make up the difference. Queen, Prince, Elton - they've all been a bit mediocre when you hear the whole shebang of some of what are supposed to be their best albums. Others are pure filler around one or two decent songs (Culture Club, Talking Heads, Blur).
The Smiths are no different in that the only album this list has included to date had 2 great songs - mostly familiar from singles/greatest hits albums - while the rest was forgettable. And I'd still argue that Louder Than Bombs or other collections are better than any individual album. That said, a combination of exposure (I think my mom had the CD) plus nostalgia means that even if Strangeways doesn't have any of the monster hits the Smiths are known for - I still think this is their best album. The tongue-in-cheek darkness of 'Girlfriend in a Coma' along with the music industry skewering 'Paint a Vulgar Picture' is wonderful up against the typically depressed and love lorn 'I Won't Share You' and 'Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me.' Break out the Prozac.
Straddling this weird line of competency without fully knocking it out of the park the way 'How Soon Is Now,' 'Bigmouth', 'Panic,' or other singles happen to do on other albums (or greatest hits collections.) A solid listen with no misses ...maaaaybe 'Unhappy Birthday.'
Talking Heads
3/5
It's been a bummer to realize I'm not really a Talking Heads fan. Love their singles, which I think lead me to expect more of them - quirky, trend-transcending awesomeness (Psycho Killer, Burning Down the House, Girlfriend is Better, Once in a Lifetime). Instead, the full albums just leave me totally underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high.
The Smiths
4/5
Portishead
4/5
Even when Portishead is creepy and foreboding, they're still pretty great.
Venom
3/5
Tenacious D vibes. Fun in an over the top kind of way, even if most metal isn't really my thing.
Billie Holiday
4/5
A bit of sameness as the album wears on, but there's no denying her insane talent, the poingnant sadness that comes through in her voice and lyrics. A classic for a reason.
Blondie
5/5
Even if every song isn't a total smash, you're never bored listening to this album as they veer from an almost 50s pop revival (Pretty Baby) to borderline punk (I Know but Don't Know.) The steady new wave thread is present through out, held down by ultimate cool girl Debbie Harry's vocals. Might be more like 4.5 stars, but rounding up because Debbie Harry is a bad bitch.
Michael Jackson
2/5
Certified loverboy, certified pedophile.
Bert Jansch
2/5
If you’ve ever been to an open mic night at a pub or coffee house, you’ve heard something like this: a guy and his guitar playing original music when everyone really wishes he’d just play covers.
It’s fine I guess but ultimately so banal that I’m deducting a star for taking Heart or Neutral Milk Hotel (or any other better music’s) spot.
Eminem
3/5
Man, some of these songs are seriously amazing - catchy, clever, blisteringly honest - and they're utterly taken down by the not funny nor truly sarcastic misogyny and homophobia.
Never heard an album I enjoyed so much yet never want to listen to again.
The Kinks
2/5
This album wasn't a hit at the time, and is completely perplexing for 1) becoming apparently a cult favorite after the fact, and 2) being included on this list. 1 or 2 songs are okay & give a Beatles-outtake feel (Death of a Clown, Two Sisters), but the sea shanty/music hall vibe worked better for 'Yellow Submarine' than anything here. I tried to appreciate the story-telling angle of the lyrics but most of it glossed over me - or maybe I'm just not British enough to understand.
I got the misimpression from Wes Anderson I didn't appreciate the Kinks enough but maybe I appreciate them exactly as much as I should.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Some of these are great (Badlands, Adam Raised a Cain) and some really show off the limitations of Bruce's singing (Something in the Night.)
The storytelling of his lyrics is, as always, really great - but ultimately repeated listens didn't make much of this stick.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Ok, as much as I bitch and moan about the amount of boomer rock this list includes, ArchAndroid made me actually grateful for all the music I wouldn't have otherwise listened to - because it so richly contextualized all the genres Monae is more than capably of trying on here:
- Ray Charles' albums come to mind with the classical/orchestral arrangements on the suite/interludes
- Quincy Jones/MJ vibes with 'Locked Inside'
- horror movie/rockabilly Cramps influence on 'Come Alive'
- folky dreaminess on 'Oh, Maker' and '57821'
- dream pop crossed with 1960s girl groups with 'Sir Greendown'
- glam rock Bowie crossed with psychedelic rock sounds on 'Make the Bus'
- and of course pure pop/R&B grooves with 'Tightrope,' 'Say You'll Go' & 'Wondaland'
I know she doesn't have Lauryn Hill's pipes and maybe doesn't play every instrument like Stevie, but this has serious Miseducation and/or Songs in the Key of Life ambitions. Every effort may not be excellent but holy shit, enough of the attempts fucking land that I have to admire the fact that she went for it in the first place.
Aimee Mann
3/5
Maybe Aimee needs tragic Paul Thomas Anderson characters to be really inspired? This just definitely pales in comparison to everything she wrote for 'Magnolia.' & 'The Forgotten Arm' is also a much stronger album.
The Young Rascals
3/5
A bit showier vocally and a bit poppier than a lot of the other 1960s music on this list, but ultimately doesn't really rise above still being mediocre music your parents like.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Better than Pat Boone, but still mostly a curio relic from a phase of music that really should stay in the past.
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
If only Pacific Science Center had taken out the seats in the laser dome so that when 'March of the Pigs' played during Laserpalooza, all of us teenagers could have thrashed and danced around instead of being stuck in chairs.
I don't think it's just nostalgia that had me thrashing around my kitchen instead. The first 5 songs are absolute monsters. Perfect mix of industrial dance punk. & maybe a year ago the nihlism would have felt a bit much, but feels a lot more appropriate living through the twilight of an empire.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Maybe the least shitty of all the Dylan albums this list includes? Rainy Day Woman, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues, Just Like a Woman (the Richie Havens cover is SOOO much better). His singing isn't unintelligible like on Blood on the Tracks, and the arrangements provide more to chew on than the largely acoustic Freewheelin'.
That said, his singing still wears thin after a while, as does the incessant harmonica. & jesus the whiny voice + some of these lyrics: "I want you, I want you so bad." Trying to imagine Dylan as the player he apparently was, and just struggle. Imagine this guy above you, yeesh.
Leftfield
2/5
Shitty, repetitive techno. If this is groundbreaking, I'm a shoe.
Sabu
4/5
A fun listen. The call and response vocals bring to mind so many other genres, and much of the songs are head-bobbing if not outright danceable. Maybe between a 3 & 4 - some tracks are a bit repetitively drum heavy ... but still miles better than a Rush drum fill so rounding up to a 4.
Favorites: Choferito-Plena, Tribilin Cantore, El Cumbanchero.
Raekwon
4/5
RZA's production is so great - spare but haunting samples and loops that feel as much like its scoring a movie as supporting Wu Tang offshot projects.
Maybe not as strong as GZA's entry on this list, but still added quite a few of these to playlists: Rainy Days, Guillotine, Ice Cream, Wu Gambinos (I mean, Method Man shows up and I'm in.)
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
SO many classics - I Want to Take You Higher, Everyday People, You Can Make it if You Try - and many of the deeper cuts are equally great: Sing a Simple Song, Stand!, Don't Call Me N*gger, Whitey. The melding of soul, funk, rock, gospel feels familiar but also groundbreaking. Absolute classic.
AC/DC
2/5
It's really hard for me to get over shitty vocals and this guy's nuts-caught-in-his-zipper caterwauling made even the classics pretty hard to bear.
But the guitar in 'Back in Black' saves this from being totally skippable.
Orange Juice
2/5
Like Rick Astley knock offs interspersed with Talking Heads knock offs. But bad.
10cc
2/5
I don't need music to be reverential, & think silliness and irreverence can very much have a place in all genres.
But the silliness here was just annoying, like a comic who's trying too hard & then gets made when you don't laugh.
Coldcut
2/5
Might be perfectly fine late 80s/early 90s dance music, but I was just not in the mood.
AC/DC
2/5
The definition of old man rock. At least it was only 40 min long.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
After the shrieking of two AC/DC albums last week, I was dreading this one - but (words my stepdad would be shocked to hear) Led Zeppelin is easily a much better band.
We've only had 1 other album by these guys, and while this is apparently the acoustic, chill version of the band, it still feels like 1) there's some relentless, amazing rock music (Immigrant Song, Out on the Tiles), and 2) bluesy, wailing-on-the-floor songs that aren't really my thing but are still pretty compelling (Since I've been Loving You). Yes, there were some quieter songs (I only really liked 'Tangerine') but this still felt very much like a Led Zeppelin album (distinctive vocals, relentless, compelling guitars, catchy songs.)
Like Van Halen and Guns'n'Roses, I might not really come back to this in the future but I get why they and their music have the reputation they have.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Even if this isn't as baller as their first few releases, this is still a (mostly) fantastic listen from front to back.
PJ Harvey
5/5
The way PJ Harvey can veer from bad bitch rocking out (Dry, Rid of Me) to introspective melancholy (White Chalk) to albums that masterfully do both (Stories from the City, To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire?) is seriously just genius.
The fact that she can also drop an album that's a haunting meditation on war and the through line of colonialism - while also making it eminently listen-able - is just another example of her amazing versatility and talent.
Hole
5/5
Sometimes you don't know how angry you are being a woman in this country until someone perfectly articulates it.
2/5
I guess without the twee, poignant backdrop of a Wes Anderson movie, I just don't really like the Kinks.
David Bowie
4/5
How David Bowie got his groove back.
I'm not usually a fan of blue-eyed soul but Bowie proves an exception in a lot of things, including this. Fun to hear a random Beck sample (used pretty appropriately given Midnite Vultures was also Beck's sexy lounge album) and while most of the songs aren't as strong as 'Young Americans' or 'Fame,' it was a largely enjoyable listen.
Hawkwind
2/5
Like a shittier Doors? Way too long for what it is. The album cover is okay.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Prog jazz? Not terrible but definitely not my thing.
The Yardbirds
3/5
Not bad. Enjoyed the more rollicking rock songs vs when they're aping the blues (Nazz are Blue) or attempting folk (Farewell) - but honestly doubt I'll remember any of it after tomorrow.
The Band
3/5
Starts out strong with amazing vocals on the opening track apparently penned by Dylan. Doesn't really keep that momentum going, though, as bad covers and a bad falsetto kick in. Better than I expected but ultimately uneven.
The Band
2/5
Look, you can claim your mournful song about the fall of the Confederacy is actually an anti-war song generally, but when you choose a specific perspective to privilege over ANY other perspective in telling that story, your choice speaks for itself.
Also, this album went hard on the jug-band vibes. Picture the Muppets' house band playing these songs. It's not hard.
Eagles
2/5
It's amazing how familiar most of this is for how much I dislike it.
Nico
4/5
UB40
4/5
Went in expecting 'Red Red Wine' and came away pleasantly surprised by the catchy AND socially conscious songs. Perhaps my expectations were low and therefore easy to exceed, but definitely expect I'll listen to this again.
Lou Reed
4/5
Wasn't always super keyed into the lyrics, so was surprised by the energy in the music given the depressing subject matter.
But even when I did pick up on the dark material, this was surprisingly enjoyable. Will definitely give this more listens.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
Expected to like this more but, besides 'Take Five', it feels technically proficient but emotionally empty.
Metallica
4/5
Black Sabbath and Metallica remain the only metal bands I can fuck with.
Recognizing for the fans this was when the band went mainstream/sold out, there are undeniable bangers on here (Enter Sandman, Sad but True, the Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters.) I can easily hear the through line/adjacency to bands like Rage and Queens and even At the Drive In.
Kind of hilarious tho that the singer must feel beholden to singing in that growly voice, and only gives it a rest on ballad/sad songs like Nothing Else Matters and The Unforgiven.
The Crusaders
3/5
Glad to be exposed to more (largely) instrumental music in a genre (disco jazz?) I wouldn't typically be exposed to. Ultimately not too memorable tho, but also not a painful listen.
Sex Pistols
3/5
Can hear shades of Dead Kennedy's but it mostly sounds far less punk than I expected - which I guess is evidence of how much rock (and punk) has changed over time.
Barely squeaks into being a 3 since John Lydon's voice just gets annoying, even over 40 minutes of album time.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Supposedly a one hit wonder from when my mom was 7, but didn't recognize any of the music - which largely felt like a grab bag of genres of the time: psych rock, sea shanty Yellow Submarine vibes, and even a medieval-style folk tune.
Nothing stood out as actually good, tho.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
Like Kate Bush, this really should be squarely up my alley. I can hear shades of Ani DiFranco, S, maybe even Cat Power. But it's just dated enough, with lyrics that veer between opaque and simplistic, that it just never connected - despite multiple listens.
Talvin Singh
2/5
Is trance supposed to double as a cure for insomnia? Because this was so boring, it almost put me to sleep.
Gram Parsons
2/5
Earnestness strikes again in the form of occasionally competent country - but is ultimately undermined by just how overly drippingly schmaltzy many of the songs are (Hearts on Fire, Brass Buttons, Love Hurts). I mean, I get where Father John Misty might have gotten inspired, but the irony in a lot of his songs (Mr. Tillman, When You're Smiling & Astride Me) really saves it from being so cloying that you want to plug your ears.
An uncredited Emmy Lou makes a few songs (the opener, the live medly, Oooh Las Vegas) almost enjoyable.
Supergrass
1/5
I wish this goofus Robert Dimery would recognize that just because he really dug an album when he was 19 doesn't mean it justifies inclusion on this list.
Like, I get that I have my own biases - especially from when I was younger and more impressionable and full of hormones - that might lead me to fill a list of music you must hear before you DIE with uber-sincere Lillith Fair candidates like Ani DiFranco & Tori Amos and grunge nostalgia deep cuts like the Toadies and Harvey Danger. But I WOULDN'T claim any of that was music everyone should listen to.
Robert Dimery, tho...he's certain you need ANOTHER random ass Brit alt-rock band barely anyone remembers, who mostly sound like Oasis (who already sound like a shitty, whinier take on the Beatles so we're venturing into photocopy of a photocopy territory here) but somehow more boring and also worse.
Deerhunter
4/5
This band (and album) completely passed me by despite apparently putting out music when I would have still been squarely into the indie scene. That said, the Spotify algorithm put 'Desire Lines' on my radar and I've got several songs from this album on various playlists.
I wish I liked the whole album as much as I like a handful of songs. While a few tracks give a Grizzly Bear feel, his vocals aren't as strong and they veer from dreamy into sleepy (an admittedly fine line) more often than not.
Maybe a high 3, but rounding up since this is a nice relief from the last few weeks of dreck.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Another entry in the, if you only know Marley & the Wailers from their greatest hits played in smokey dorm rooms, you're underestimating them & their talent.
Grateful Dead
2/5
Jam bands are just not my thing and unlike Allman Bros Band, this didn't even feel all that competent - like I needed to be on drugs to enjoy it and they were definitely on too many drugs to actually give a skilled performance.
Crowded House
2/5
Weird how tinny elements of 80s production mixes with an almost 90s alt earnestness in this not very good album.
Dizzee Rascal
5/5
Man, this site is racist.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
It's a bit bemusing how the critics fall over themselves over Lana's late career output. I don't know if it's the vaguely Americana themes, the fact that she's conventially pretty & safely white, or how often her songs intimate weird sugar daddy dynamics. Maybe it's all those things.
I think Lana's talented. Born to Die is an amazing album filled with angsty up and down tempo tracks. At the time it came out, it didn't sound like anything else in the pop landscape. But Lana seems to have taken herself increasingly seriously with each subsequent album, with all of that pop sensibility fading away for more of a chanteuse-who-swears vibe. The songs aren't bad, but they do all start to sound the same. I'd be happier with fewer, better albums than the yearly drop of valium-influenced ballads that sadly seems to have become Lana's norm.
David Bowie
4/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Kind of astonishing how someone so talented can still feel like they're checking the boxes in a formula, resulting in an album that sounds undeniably poppy but not actually all that catchy.
I kind of liked two tracks ('Without You' and the sample on 'Understand' is really great) but the rest ultimately felt like a very standard pop/R&B album that - while polished & perhaps even over-produced - isn't all that memorable.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
Like if the Boogie Nights soundtrack was shitty.
Ice Cube
3/5
While I basically listened to Lethal Injection on repeat, this album was new to me. While some of it was compelling, despite multiple listens nothing really stuck - but for the deep and dated misogyny evident on a couple of tracks. Not really the impression you want to be left with but as Malcolm X said:
The most disrespected person in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman.
Serge Gainsbourg
2/5
The truly gross factoid is that as late as 2011, people I thought I respected were performing a live version of this ode to a fourteen year old. While I can't *really* get my head around the whole, 'it was a different time' excuse, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Victoria Legrand and the dude from Grizzly Bear maybe should have thought twice about participating as recently as 15 years ago. But I guess Gainsbourg has pretentious, artsy-enough vibes that everyone looked past it?
Track 6 with the squealing and giggles is seriously yuck.
N.E.R.D
4/5
Thought this might be dated and was only familiar with the one hit (She Wants to Move) - but added a few others (Breakdown, Drill Sergeant, Jump) to playlists and enjoyed this a lot overall. Have a feeling this'll go into regular rotation.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Randy Newman
3/5
The trouble with satire is the degree to which your audience may be able to interpret the intended message as an anthem versus a thought-provoking lesson (see: Born in the USA, Killing in the Name Of.)
So while I get what Newsman is trying to put down with 'Rednecks,' the message misses the mark for me - especially given the extent to which times have evolved to where white folks just really don't (and shouldn't) use that word anymore.
The album is fine, solid grandpa and/or little kid music (minus the slurs and references to whores) - but nothing I'd go back to. & very much wonder why so many songwriters & bands of this era were *obsessed* with the south.
Q-Tip
4/5
Jesus Christ, Norah Jones really was *everywhere* at one point, wasn't she?
George Michael
4/5
Gosh, those first 3 songs are just monsters, aren't they? Super catchy but spanning totally different vibes (acoustic hip shaking with 'Faith,' obsessive love[?] song with 'Father Figure,' and synthy pop with 'I Want Your Sex.') I also love the heavy gospel feel combined with totally inappropriate topics - pre-dating Madonna doing the same thing two years later with 'Like a Prayer.'
If only the rest of the album was as strong. But can't deny I've had those 3 songs on repeat all weekend, and might add 'Faith' to my karaoke repertoire.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Classic.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Like if you sprinkled some Stooges on Joy Division - with maybe a splash of the Cure and even the Cars. I enjoyed it but feel like I should have liked it more than I did.
Miles Davis
3/5
Maybe too avant garde for me but at least it wasn't long.
Brian Wilson
2/5
It's admirable when someone with mental illness takes their meds and returns to the pursuits that may have once given them joy while also contributing to their stress.
But I don't know that that back story makes me like this any more than other Beach Boys albums. There's some interesting elements but a lot of it ultimately feels fragmented and unfinished - which I guess it largely was.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
While a pleasant listen, it's largely an instrumental score (but for the theme song & Soulsville, which are admittedly amazing.) And like a lot of purely instrumental music, I struggle to connect with it as anything other than neutral background music.
Donald Fagen
2/5
What a misdirect. The cover makes you think, 'Oh, maybe this'll be some Beat revival spoken-word type thing. Or a Leonard Cohen homage? Something like that, right?'
& then every song literally sounds like the backing track to a scene in Moonlighting. WTF.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
All the Led Zeppelin albums we've had to date have been a pleasant surprise - but for this one, which felt like the worst of all the things they get a bad rep for: histrionic blues-aping (Lemon Song), navel gazing self-seriousness (Thank You) combined with guitar & drum solo wankery (Moby Dick, Heartbreaker.)
I still liked a few songs better than I expected (What Is & What Should Never Be, and Ramble On) but don't know I'd re-visit any of this but for those.
The Dictators
2/5
I can hear inklings of Green Day, a bratty, don't-take-yourself-too-seriously grandfather to that type of music that is largely fine - though some of the snottiness doesn't age very well. Might be a low 3/high 2 kind of situation, but since it's nothing I think I'll go back to, grading down for today.
3/5
First song made me think of Bloc Party or TVOTR. ‘We Fenced other Gardens’ almost had Radiohead vibes. ‘They Don’t Want Your Corn’ made me wonder what LCD Sound System would sound like with Wesley Willis as the lead.
Even if some of the purely instrumental tracks or circus punk sounding songs weren’t really my thing, it kept my interest.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Like the other Simon & Garfunkel albums we've had, this is ultimately just so self-serious and also somehow so incredibly twee, that I just can't enjoy it.
I kind of liked the poignancy of 'Old Friends' (I blame being older) but not enough to add to any playlists.
& the Bangles cover is better.
Cornershop
3/5
I only knew the single and my recollection of a singer who couldn't really sing (mainstay of the 90s given Cake and Soul Coughing's success) with some Indian instrumentation held true for surprisingly few other songs. There were far more instrumental tracks than I expected, some hip hop beats, and even Allan Ginsberg spoken word samples. It was also surprisingly cohesive given the genre sampling - perhaps indicative of the overall theme of blurring/blending the lines between things.
That said, I don't know this really rose to the level of being great given the singer who can't really sing, and the solidly dated sound. It could only sound more 90s if it came with a Delia's catalog and pucca shell necklace.
ABBA
2/5
While I can acknowledge these are more than competent musicians and skilled singers, the disco vibes ultimately leave me cold.
Pavement
4/5
Not as strong as Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, or Terror Twilight but I still have a soft spot given my husband included 'Here' on a mix CD for me early in our relationship.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Probably the least cloying of the Beach Boys albums we've had so far, but super weird to hear Beach Boys style harmonies on songs about environmental pollution, depression(?), and ... taking care of your feet?
Some of it veers into near jingle territory (that foot song is seriously odd), but respect to the band for trying to evolve & embrace more serious topics - as uneven as the results are.
Tina Turner
4/5
It's wild to think, given the legend we all knew her to be, that people doubted Tina Turner being any success without Ike - that there was *opposition* to signing her to the label.
Though it's seriously (SERIOUSLY) dated, it's insane to think anyone could know her as a vocalist & doubt her chops. Her singing is amazing on every song - growly, throaty, and unmistakably her. In some instances, you can even forget the dated 80s instrumentation backing her performance.
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Remember when Bollywood music suddenly had a moment with 'Ghost World' came out? Like it was the mark of someone quirky and cool - before it was easy to track down obscure and/or foreign films and music. Life before the internet was so different.
Goldie
3/5
Sometimes this would give DJ Shadow vibes, but it also occasionally sounded solidly 1990s. & Despite a few re-starts, it largely blended into the background. Not bad, but nothing noteworthy.
2/5
Kind of weird getting two 90s electronic albums back to back, but this one was unmistakably shitty compared to Goldie. Didn't fade into the background so much as repeatedly pierce my focus on other things to reinforce how bad it was.
Morrissey
3/5
Better than the other Morrissey solo album we got earlier, but still not as good as the Smiths.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Like Pearl Jam's Ten, I was a little worried this would be a combo of 1) dated, and 2) hard to hear with fresh ears given how much some of the singles were overplayed at the time.
Like Pearl Jam's Ten, I was surprised by how much this held up - despite being unmistakably, solidly 90s in every possible way. & only 'Ironic' was hard to listen to.
The hits still hit, even if Courtney Love was angrier, Liz Phair is more timeless, and Ani Difranco has more indie cred ('Napoleon' might be a better music industry skewering).
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
This exercise has been interesting for illuminating influences in music that's (somewhat) more recent - e.g. Bowie on Janelle Monae, Kate Bush on a lot of contemporary women artists, the Beatles and every British rock band in the 70s.
I knew Velvet Underground had influenced a *lot* of bands, but it was hard to hear Jesus & Mary Chain without constantly thinking of Lou Reed's droning, heroin-spaced-out style (and I mean that in the best way.)
This might have ultimately also been a little too influenced by my bloody valentine as well, because it mostly droned over me. Not unpleasant but despite multiple listens, it's just not really sticking.
Jane Weaver
4/5
What a pleasant surprise, to encounter an artist I've never heard and - gasp - enjoy it.
Can
2/5
All the reviews indicate it drops off after the 4th song but it wasn't really doing anything prior to that for me. Too long, too jammy, mediocre to bad singing (though I did get the shades of Radiohead one on song) - and then way too experimental.
John Cale
2/5
Kind of like that album by The Beach Boys drummer, or all of Morrisey’s solo work - just because you were part of something great doesn’t mean that you are great.
Soft Machine
3/5
Was expecting more prog than jazz, but ended up mostly enjoying this until the mediocre, obviously improvised vocals kicked in on 'Moon in June.'
But otherwise decent music for trimming hedges.
Talk Talk
2/5
I thought this was okay when it started - interesting with the children's voices - and *his* vocals are pretty distinctive (and recognizable from those 2 big 80s hits.)
This album doesn't have those hits, and apparently represents the band's shift away from pop sensibilities. Ultimately, while it started as fine, it felt like a slog by the end.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
It may be an overplayed hipster classic, but it's an overplayed hipster classic for a reason.
Ryan Adams
3/5
Another album where I hear the influences almost more than the artist - the desire to be a latter-day Bob Dylan feels like it's evident on nearly every song; 'Answering Bell' gives serious Van Morrison vibes, and 'La Cienega Just Smiled' made me think of James Taylor. There's probably country influences I'm not aware of given my lack of familiarity with the genre.
Unfortunately, very little of the album comes close to the either lyrical (Dylan) or vocal (everybody else) skills of those influences. It's largely fine but Adams' reedy, often nasal voice grates after a while and the lyrics aren't brilliant enough to overcome that.
Moreover, some of the lyrics land a little grossly given what's known now about Adams' behavior with women, e.g.: 'How'd I end up falling so bad for such a little girl' and 'You're nobody girl' made me seriously grimace - a song I was actually enjoying until that chorus came along.
It's also just too long. 'Sylvia Plath' really should have been left in the coffee-stained, Sharpie scrawled notebook where I imagine Adams keeps his most self-indulgent ideas. With some editing, this might have been a 3.5/4 star album. Between the length, Adams' ultimate mediocrity, plus his unacceptably shitty behavior with women, it's barely a 3.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Like but unlike the Pixies in that this feels like grunge before grunge. Experimental enough to feel timeless, but still traditional enough in structure and format to feel accessible.
Added Schizophrenia and Catholic Block to playlists, laughed at how old school Hot Wire My Heart sounded amidst the more avant garde, angst-y rock, and only occasionally felt like things were too experimental to enjoy.
Tom Tom Club
4/5
So ahead of it's time (hear shades of Le Tigre & Cibo Matto) while also cutely, quirkly early 80s in ways, too.
I know David Byrne thought this was too poppy, but it blows all the Talking Heads albums we've had to date out of the water. Besides Genius of Love (rightfully sampled by everyone under the sun), I added 3 other songs to various playlists. A fun listen you couldn't ignore.
Roxy Music
3/5
Huge David Bowie and T Rex vibes, but feels a bit more scattered and less cohesive - things go experimental in spots, heavy on horns in another, and end with weird music hall vibes.
I did enjoy discovering this is where Ladytron got their name, and that 2HB is the song my British roommate put on a mix tape for me back in the day - but otherwise not strong enough to rise above a 'Hmm, not bad,' rating.
Giant Sand
2/5
Mostly found this exasperating. His voice is aiming for some kind Leonard Cohen folk mumble twang but is mostly sounds tone deaf and incompetent. A bummer given I 1) like Calexico and 2) generally don't mind folk mumble twang.
A few songs weren't entirely unlistenable (doesn't matter which ones.) Barely saved this from being a 1.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I know mainstream media is dead and there isn't really a monoculture anymore, but it's crazy to think there used to be this gamut of programming on network TV that had an entire sector of people devoted to it - actors, writers, craft services -- and obviously music: theme songs, scoring, etc. & it wasn't just the seminal shows everyone's parents watched like MASH & Happy Days. There was mediocre dreck too like One Day at a Time, the White Shadow, and Reno. You wouldn't even know if I made one of those up.
But all of Todd Rungren's music basically sounds like music for those mediocre 70s shows. Aping some form of a real genre but never really nailing it. Cheesy and obvious. Not really enjoyable. But it's there because the Valerie Bertinelli spin-off needed a theme song.
KISS
2/5
Weird to sound so much like a parody so early in the genre.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Art Garfunkel is vaginal dryness in human form.
'Cecilia' is good, tho.
Simply Red
3/5
My mom really liked this album. Didn't precisely hold up, but not an unpleasant listen.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Compared to some of the other psychedelic rock on this list, this wasn't bad. Can understand how this might have seemed groundbreaking once upon a time, but mostly sounds like a quaint throwback now.
Neu!
3/5
Sounds of the ocean and rain and the occasional nonverbal vocalization gives shades of Sigur Ros crossed with a spa soundtrack until punk vibes kick in on the 2nd half.
So felt like 2 totally different albums, but neither of them was bad.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Like his other album, this was largely good background music with distinctive vocals. Wore thin after a while but mostly a nice mix up from the usual.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
I don't have a lot of faith the writer truly picked this album because it was THE stand out representative of throwback pop by a Euro singer within the past 10 years. I mean, Tove Lo, Lykke Li, and Tove Stryke are right there. So Sad So Sexy even came out the same year. Shit, you want a French singer? Try Angele or Charlotte Gainsbourg.
This wasn't bad, it was just mediocre - and there's so much other better throwback pop music out there. But I think the writer was checking a box and so here we are.
Elbow
3/5
I was concerned by the fact that, despite this being released when I squarely would have still been checking out new music, going to shows, and browsing music blogs, I'd never heard of this band or album. I had hopes - it's an indie rock band! Putting out music in the late aughts!
But nope, it's another British also-ran that kind of sounds like better bands here & there (a dash of Black Keys on 'Grounds for Divorce,' heavy Coldplay vibes on their one big hit I'd never heard) - but ultimately nothing special.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
My expectations weren't high given we started with Bruce's masterpiece, Nebraska, eventually got to Born in the USA, and most recently ended up with Darkness on the Edge of Town, the most mediocre of the bunch.
But while this is ultimately too long, and 'Worlds Apart' is undeniably world music-wannabe wankery, the rest of the album is largely strong. Added a few songs to playlists and came away thinking, 'This is what Ryan Adams wishes he was.'
Might be a high 3, low 4 kind of situation, but grading up for today.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Crazy to hear a masterful band at the inception of an entire genre. While it's hard not to think of Beavis & Butthead when 'Iron Man' comes on, 'War Pigs' remains a simply amazing song (no wonder T Pain wanted to cover it.)
& the whole album toys with bluesy, grungy, funky ('Hand of Doom' especially) elements that make me think of so many other bands that came after. & while being at the start of something can also mean experiments that don't stick (were those bongos on 'Planet Caravan'?), even a quiet interval was ultimately interesting in the rest of a harder-hitting mix.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
While familiar with the band name, am not sure I've heard any of their music. To some extent, it was nice to have something a little different (punk with some ska elements) but not sure this is actually good or the best representative of that subgenre. Let's say 2.75.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Sometimes even pedophiles get 4 stars.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Comparing this to Trout Mask Replica puts this at a 3. Comparing it to anything else puts it at a 2. Grading down for today.
Aerosmith
3/5
Unmistakably better than the tongue-in-cheek, 12 year old humor that made up 'Pump,' the only other album by these guys we've had so far on the list. Good funk licks on 'Last Child,' weaker metal vibes on several tracks, and just straight rock on others. It felt like there were pieces of a great album in here, but don't think anything really rose to truly great. At least it was short.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
Not sure I needed to be reminded this subgenre existed - these guys, Sublime, Stereo MCs, and I’m sure others I’ve happily forgotten. Instead of fusing hip hop with metal, we get stoner rock with rap - and making the two genres kiss does not improve either.
The Jam
3/5
Hints of The Clash on a few of the better songs, but mostly felt like a Costello/Kinks mish mash that was largely unremarkable.
Khaled
3/5
Had zero expectations but was still surprised by the pop sensibilities and big horns on many of the songs - mixing with what seems like more traditional elements. A bit cheesy in parts but a nice mix up from the usual.
Oasis
2/5
Whiny vocals with wall of noise guitars that doesn't really vary from song to song. 'Live Forever' is admittedly catchy but otherwise not my thing.
Brian Eno
4/5
Shades of Bowie in somehow being both timeless and ahead of its time. Gave me shades of Radiohead, Pavement, and I'm sure other bands I have no idea about in its mix of electronic noises with more straightforward instrumentation. Enjoyed this and want to give it more listens to really sink my teeth into it. A nice surprise.
The Hives
4/5
Pop punk fun.
Miles Davis
4/5
I want to watch whatever movie this music is the soundtrack for.
Black Flag
4/5
Punk classic.
American Music Club
2/5
Never heard of this band and listening to the album didn't give me the sense that I should have. Maybe mostly mediocre, but deducting a star for 1) taking another better album's spot on this list, and 2) taking up my time.
Depeche Mode
5/5
So perfectly threads that needle between dark & industrial (softer than Nine Inch Nails), and morose (less sad than the Cure), and pop danceability (syntheir than Joy Division.) Not sure they were ever better than this.
The Undertones
2/5
Kind of surf rockabilly punk? Not really anything worth writing home about, tho.
Ice Cube
4/5
Thought this might not hold up but was the perfect mix of catchy, sometimes throwback beats with blistering lyrics - that are sadly still way too relevant.
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
I remain confused as to why my sophomore year roommate listened to this album on repeat.
N.W.A.
4/5
Trail blazing. Even if specific beats and cadences feel familiar, the perspective is so specific and iconoclastic that this feels hard to judge without considering all the artists and groups NWA influenced.
While there are songs that don’t feel that far off of Beastie Boys in terms of samples and rhymes, instead of rapping about girls or parties or Paul Revere, we get Dopeman and Fuck The Police.
Then you add in the songs that have more contemporary flow and energy (Straight Oughta Compton, Gangsta Gangsta, Express Yourself) and (even with the misogynoir and homophobia), it’s hard to rate this the same as Country Joe & the Fish.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
I can remember being fascinated by Siouxsie Sioux in the late 80s when 'Kiss Them For Me' ended up on MTV but have never taken the time to dig in to their back catalog. I'm unsurprised to enjoy this given it feels of a piece with the Joy Division/Bauhaus post-punk sound I like - while also being an obvious antecedent to folks like PJ Harvey and Sleater Kinney. Feels like an accurate inclusion on the list for once.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Feels like the most self-indulgent of the Zeppelin's albums. Too long, too much copying of blues artists (with what also sometimes feels copying nascent metal sounds), and too overplayed (Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot). & being too long is underscored by the real stinkers (The Rover, Boogie with Stu) mixed in with better songs I could tolerate because I didn't hear them 9 million times blasting through the speakers of my stepdad's Dodge Aspen.
Mylo
4/5
Groove Armada/Avalanches vibes, striking a good balance between dance and atmospheric. A nice surprise to discover.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Ultimately a bit too experimental to really enjoy. We’re also hitting the point of encountering too many entries from one band to justify the inclusion of an album that doesn’t feel that remarkable. A 3 but a low 3.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Funny to get this in proximity to a Siouxsie & the Banshees album - it's SO poppy in contrast though Cyndi has a similarly defiantly anti-fashion look that was super transgressive for the time.
I don't hate the hits but do have a hard time not imagining Napoleon Dynamite slow dancing in Idaho to 'Time After Time.' & the rest might just be too over played to enjoy objectively any more.
A great example of 80s pop, and likely a 4 star album if you can hear it with fresh ears.
Scott Walker
2/5
Sounds like the soundtrack to a movie even your Boomer mom doesn't remember because it didn't star anyone famous and is so mediocre and dated that it was never even released on VHS.
Deee-Lite
4/5
I remember liking the opening Deee-Lite Theme as much as the monster smash Groove is in the Heart - and they both more than stood the test of time. I was surprised by the more electronic feel of What is Love? and Build the Bridge - which I'm pretty sure I didn't appreciate back when my mom had the CD.
Maybe nostalgia is fueling this take, but this was a largely fun listen - if a bit dated in places. But dated in a sweet way, like how sincere hippies were about all you need is love.
Otis Redding
4/5
Unmatched vocals. Some of the covers don't rise quite to the level of the originals but it's a quibble since I listened to this at least 3 times today.
1/5
This album is bad in so many ways. Boring and repetitive. Unimaginative lyrics when the lyrics aren't simply copying better songwriters ('Closer' and Nine Inch Nails are so far above Durst & this band that they might as well be on another planet.) Too long. And ultimately a reflection of white dudes who feel put upon when they have to treat women and minorities like people.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
I've been reading the memoir of Viv Albertine, guitarist for The Slits, and was reminded how nonexistent models for women in rock were - that it was totally transgressive for Viv to aspire to be a musician rather than a musician's girlfriend.
Having been a kid for the Bangles and Madonna and Neneh Cherry, and later a young adult for Ani DiFranco and Lil' Kim and No Doubt - I didn't realize what standards and strictures I'd internalized - because even when those women or groups were transgressive, there's so many ways they still conform (good looking or white or sexualized in a way that's still largely appealing to a male gaze.) Gosh even Courtney Love cleaned up and got that nose job.
Karen O's energy, lyrics, singing - it all felt like a fucking revelation at the time. 'As a fuck son, you sucked' - shit, you don't get much farther from the male gaze than that. & yeah, I know that song isn't on this album but it's a distillation of so much of their music and sound. Her yelps and shrieks, her dismissive lyrics, her utter fuck-it coolness. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs showed there's boundaries that still needed pushing - and sounded amazing and catchy besides.
Missy Elliott
4/5
More R&B inflected than I expected, and slower in pace than the later hits she became known for. 'The Rain' remains a monster ear worm, with 'Sock It 2 Me' and 'Pass da Blunt' as solid also-rans. The rest is a mix of decent if sometimes dated R&B (especially that Ginuwine track), and almost great hip hop. I woul dhave added 'I'm Talkin' and 'Getaway to playlists given the great backing beats and verses...but the choruses fell down flat for both tracks.
Overall, probably a high 3, low 4 kind of situation - but grading up because it's Missy Elliott for fuck's sake.
Red Snapper
3/5
Kind of Moby vibes? I didn't mind it - good background music with the occasional sample or loop that was a bit ear catching.
Faith No More
3/5
This felt interesting in places - especially as a prototype for what would (sadly) become nu metal in its mix of rap and metal - but was ultimately more metal than that eclectic mix so well represented by 'Epic.'
I enjoyed 'Epic' and was amused by the lyrics of 'Zombie Eaters,' but mostly came away feeling like the album was too long, his voice got a bit old after a while, and while I can mostly understand others liking this, ultimately don't feel like I'll go back to it.
M.I.A.
5/5
I remember liking this album less than Arular, but this is a rare instance where 15+ years distance might make this a *stronger* listen rather than reinforcing what I already knew.
While the songs I loved still hit (Bamboo Banga, Hussel, 20 Dollar, XR2, Paper Planes), the songs I remember being kind of dissonant and abrasive (Bird Flu, Boyz) or random (Mango Pickle Down River) sound so creative and different STILL.
I mean, it's been years and I still don't think anyone has come close to the eclectic fusion that was early MIA. Having done nearly half of this insane list, I feel like I can hear influences from artists and time periods from everywhere (Khaled, Baaba Maal, that wild Shalimar album) along with funk and hip hop. I might have given this a 4 if I'd listened to it back in 2007, but hindsight makes it a 5 given no one has come close to the truly creative - but still cohesive - mix that is this music.
Portishead
3/5
I think like the XX, I'm out on my own from the rest of the group on this one. It might be that I never listen to music in album form and this one altogether feels especially a bit much - hard to hear with fresh ears, hard to enjoy when I'm already hating the short days and cooler weather and am just not in the mood for music to slit my wrists to.
Tortoise
3/5
'Glass Museum' is definitely the strongest song, but (besides the movie soundtrack score of the opening song) the rest of it mostly sounded a bit more noodly and experimental. For me, it ultimately was not all that compelling altogether.
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Steve Lacy, Childish Gambino, Curtis Harding - so many amazing artists owe a debt to Shuggie's sound.
And that mustache. I can *kiiind* of see why the youth are trying to bring it back.
Living Colour
3/5
It's like someone munged the social consciousness of Grandmaster Flash with Van Halen - and you'd think that would be amazing but very few of the songs really resonate.
There's no denying the catchiness of 'Cult of Personality' but the rest of the album struggles to achieve that same irresistibility. 'Open Letter to a Landlord' got me to double back and listen twice given the plaintive opening and relentless close, but very little else rose to that level.
Listenable but very little sticks with you given the messages they're trying to land.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Prefer NY Dolls for glam rock, not really into metal, and certainly not into hair metal. This wasn’t unlistenable but it also wasn’t great. Wondering if it made the list because Vince Neil killed the drummer.
Billy Joel
3/5
Perfectly fine Boomer music.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
My enjoyment of this was very much tied to which vocalist was singing. Despite being a trail blazer for the alt rock sound, wasn't otherwise catchy (beyond the first song and the Cure cover.)
Big Black
4/5
People go on about how abrasive this is but it just struck me as punk crossed with some dance vibes - like if Trent Reznor went *REALLY* balls to the wall.
I enjoyed 'Passing Complexion' and 'Kerosene' enough to add to playlists. Some of it was too darkly punk for me - but mostly a good listen for an afternoon of deleting shit off SharePoint.
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
I really liked 'Pitche Mi' but 'Taaw' was real repetitive. The rest was fine - so ultimately middle of the road for me.
Van Morrison
3/5
It's like someone sprinkled a little James Brown on Van, but if you don't really *love* the songs to begin with, it can only do so much.
Plus, this is just waaay too long.
Mercury Rev
3/5
Like a not-as-good Flaming Lips. Individual songs would be almost promising, but ultimately fall a little flat for reasons that were hard to put my finger on. A 3 but a low 3.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Wanted to like this more than I do given how much I enjoyed the collab with Ry Cooder. But despite multiple listens, very little of it stuck.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Kind of like Fun Lovin' Criminals, you would think that combining two not unrelated things (stoner rock + rap, or, in this case, bossa nova and Frank Sinatra) would result in a cool, better thing.
Instead, it feels like Frank is trying a bit hard to be cool and eclectic in a way that feels like your dad putting on Doc Marten's, and some of the bossa nova singing sounds twee and silly with Frank's swagger.
Not bad but certainly not improved by meshing together.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Have largely the same impression of Juju as I do of The Scream - this is way ahead of its time and I can hear influences on lots of artists I like, like PJ Harvey, Austra, and Ladytron.
'Spellbound' is the real monster hit here, with everything else paling in comparison - but still a fun listen.
The Cure
4/5
More instrumental than I expected but still a compelling listen - alternating between haunted house vibes and malevolent depression.
Perhaps doesn't have the monster singles of later albums (Play for Today and A Forest were the most recognizable) but still strong overall.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
You know that sound dudes make of snapping their cheek against their teeth in a weird sucking motion, usually brothers or cousins trying to annoy their siblings/family members? That's the opening song, set to music.
The rest doesn't get much better.
Eurythmics
4/5
Like Tina Turner's Private Dancer, this album is admittedly dated - but Annie's vocals repeatedly put it on another level. Besides the monster single everyone knows, added 'Love is a Stranger' and 'I Could Give You A Mirror' to my 80s playlist.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Definitely get how NIN might have spawned out of something like this, but the repeated use of power tools as instruments kept this from being listenable.
Love
4/5
This was a pleasant surprise given this exercise has made me realize I'm not a huge fan of psychedelic rock - but for the big recognizable hits. But this was an oddly compelling listen with the strings, the ability to keep songs to less than 17 minutes long, and story telling lyrics that only occasionally veered into cheesiness.
Might be a high 3, low 4 kind of situation, but grading up for today.
David Bowie
3/5
Very Eno-esque jaunty instrumentals in some parts, but a lot of the instrumentals just faded into the background when not anchored by Bowie's always excellent vocals.
The only song that really stood out (for me and apparently everyone else) was 'Sound & Vision.' But this is definitely a Bowie album only super fans would pay attention to, and it really shouldn't be on this list given the other (better) Bowie albums represented.
Primal Scream
3/5
Kowalski made me think of Tricky (in a good way) and oddly enough is the most popular track. I also didn't mind Stuka. But whenever the main singer opens his mouth, it makes me want to skip the song.
Slipknot
2/5
Didn't know pop metal was a genre. Some songs even gave a bit of a NIN feel - until the guy who insists on singing like someone has put a vice on his nuts and dragged them across a room starts growling at top volume.
The Police
4/5
I have a soft spot for 'Message in a Bottle' and 'Walking on the Moon' from when I was a kid, and they both more than hold up. Some of the rest of the album felt like filler (It's Alright For You) and some flirted with being as good as those two monster singles (the title track, 'Bring on the Night'). Might be a high 3, low 4 type situation, but grading up because nostalgia.
Destiny's Child
3/5
What is up with this album cover? We're looking straight UP Kelly's nose, Michelle looks like she's about to apologize for failing to pray hard enough - for which apparently she was made to awkwardly curl up with a painful push up bra on, one arm hooked bird-like in her lap - while Beyonce sprawls even more awkwardly, her boobs roughly centered in the image.
It's just straight amateur hour, which you wouldn't expect given this was their 3rd album. What's more, the album itself is largely a mix of cringe ('Nasty Girl' and 'Fancy' are oddly anti-woman given the feminist-leaning lyrics of 'Independent Women...and don't get me started on 'Sexy Daddy', which is almost good until the fucked up song title kicks in on the lyrics) and forgettable. And it's just way too long.
The fact that I owned Writings on the Wall but not this album is testament to how mediocre it is. Only 'Bootylicious' pushes this up from being a 2.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Can squint and see where Air or Royksopp came from, but mostly felt like a background soundtrack to a foreign version of Tron.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
The first song gave me shades of Johnny Rotten so I was bracing myself for enjoying only the big single everyone knows from this album.
Instead, I found myself surprised by how many songs I enjoyed (No Tears, It Goes On, She is Mine.) Might be a case of low expectations being so over-exceeded for what I thought was a one-hit-wonder type situation, but shocked to enjoy this as much as I did.
New Order
3/5
Waffled between a 3 and 4 for this one given my love of Joy Division and New Order - but I think there's a reason I haven't really heard anything beyond the big singles for this album. & his vocals are quite weak on a few songs, honestly taking me out of enjoying the new wave synth vibes I usually love. So a 3 it is.
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Like Gillian Welch, who I rated too low, this grows on me with every listen. Smart, heartfelt lyrics, songs that vary from folky to more rocking country vibes, and husky vocals that sometimes stray into creakiness but don't necessarily appeal less for the very human sound.
Kings of Leon
4/5
I somehow missed the high point for these guys (but for 'Sex on Fire,' which was inescapable.) While there's some filler here, I enjoyed more than the familiar singles ('Closer,' 'I Want You.') Might not go into heavy rotation, but would definitely listen again.
Ute Lemper
2/5
I did not like Divine Comedy's maudlin, lounge-singer dialed up to 11 vibe, so I was braced for this. Things started out okay given he's not doing the vocals on every song - and maybe her over-enunciation is a bit theatrical, but it also gives shades of Tori Amos? If you squint?
Except the histrionics just keep dialing up with every song. You combine that with lyrics that can't touch someone like Amos or Kate Bush, and the whole thing starts to fall apart. You add in that one dude's comically bad delivery (I could not finish 'Tango Ballad') and the album drops from a tolerable 3 down to an intolerable 2. Yeuch.
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Bon Jovi
3/5
Impossible not to sing along to 'Wanted Dead or Alive' and 'Living on a Prayer.'
My husband sprang to attention at 'Raise Your Hands' given it's on the Spaceballs soundtrack.
The rest is hair metal arena anthems that don't really hold up.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Not in the mood.
Spacemen 3
2/5
Mostly space-y background music with the occasional dissonant rock track, all ...grounded isn't the right word. Maybe - all tracks inadequately layered with breath-y vocals. Sometimes repetitive. Mostly forgettable.
Public Enemy
4/5
Music brimming with thesis-worthy songs:
- How media perpetuates and limits how black people are portrayed in media (Burn, Hollywood, Burn - and still relevant given Lupita only got that Oscar for playing a sexually abused slave)
- Police profiling and violence (Anti-Nigger Machine - also still relevant)
- Using anti-miscegenation to show how race is purely a construct to perpetuate notions of supremacy (Fear of a Black Planet - maybe less relevant given some of the gross ways mainstream culture has come to fetishize mixed folks)
- An ode to black women in direct opposition to so much of the misogynoir endemic to US culture & media (Revolutionary Generation)
- How health care fails marginalized people and communities (911 is a joke - still relevant; just look up rates of maternal mortality for black vs white women)
...all while layering in more samples than Paul's Boutique, with a vibe that varies from a riot to a party (and sometimes both.)
If I have a quibble, it's that some of the rhymes feel clunky in the way that early hip hop can often be, and it feels like the whole thing could just be tightened up a bit overall - within songs and with the album overall. Minor complaints when the artists are clearly aiming to deliver a meaningful masterpiece.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
Pleasant country twang to start the day. Was a little worried when I got to 'Do Right Woman' given how impossible it is to top Aretha, but it didn't make me cringe. Maybe liked ' Dark End of the Street' best, but not really enough to add to any playlists.
Laura Nyro
2/5
Kind of like a more overwrought Carole King with weirder lyrics. Maybe not entirely bad, but definitely not for me.
The Thrills
2/5
Weird how I can enjoy Wayne Coyne without qualm, but this guy is just utterly annoying. There was just something overly twee about everything these guys did while Flaming Lips is so out there that Coyne's vocals just add to that impression. Unlike the Flaming Lips, this was not enjoyable at all.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Like Aretha, this is another album that demonstrates what talented vocals bring to the table given this is apparently primarily covers. But it's great, with sweet arrangements and gorgeous singing - pretty much a pleasant to fantastic from front to back.
Doves
3/5
Reminds me of lots of other bans - Radiohead in parts, guitars that give Jeff Buckley vibes, maybe the National in places. It's ultimately never better than any of those things, tho, and is definitely too long.
PJ Harvey
5/5
When you’re 21 & reeling from your first break up, this album (plus Sleater Kinney’s Hot Rock) are what help get you through.
Pulp
2/5
What was with aping lounge singers in the late 90s/early 2000s in the UK? Why was Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley & that rando from Divine Comedy obsessed with some kind of Frank Sinatra put on - with Pulp clearly aping the Kinks and hints of the Beatles as well. & what the hell was Nick Hornby smoking that he called Jarvis the unofficial poet laureate, come the fuck on.
The only good things to come from Pulp:
1 - 'Common People' - not on this overrated album
2 - showing up as live action versions of themselves in 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.'
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
You know how some people can't get past an album being in a different language? I don't think I can get past the accents on this one. Even knowing the contents of the lyrics, southern rock just may not be for me.
Van Halen
3/5
Strays too often in to campy to not also be a little cringe.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
There's always 1-3 solid songs (plus 1-2 familiar hits) on the Stones' albums we've had so far - along with what feels like a lot of filler. & the solid songs often feel like they're aping better (Tina Turner back in the day) or lesser known (every blues artist Mick wishes he was) artists.
Here, the songs I was pleasantly surprised by were 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking' until it sprawled into a shitty jam session and 'You Gotta Move' (which definitely owes a debt to the uncredited woman singing on the track along with the originally uncredited writed, Fred McDowell). The filler is pretty much everything that's not 'Brown Sugar' or 'Wild Horses.'
So another typically Stones album where glimmers of brilliance are subsumed by mediocrity + knowing the brilliance was 60% copied.
Method Man
3/5
Was really looking forward to this given 1) my existing love for Method's bigger hits, and 2) how solid the Wu Tang solo efforts have been (esp Liquid Swords).
But I was a bit bummed not to be more blown away. It felt less cohesive than GZA and Raekwon's entries on this list, and some of the samples were downright painful (Release Yo Delf, Mr. Sandman). Plus, if we're going by the original album release, the FAR superior remix of 'All I Need' isn't on this album - reducing the hits to essentially 'Bring the Pain.'
It wasn't all a lot - I did like 'What the Blood Clot' and 'Sub Crazy' but probably not enough to push this beyond a 3.
Maybe that 36 Chambers studio flood really did screw this album up by forcing RZA to throw this together quickly?
TV On The Radio
4/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
1/5
I know bias is wrong, but between the pseudo Rasta name and the trash album cover, I was already cringing before I even tried to give it a listen.
But listening didn't result in any pleasant surprises. It's world-music wanking with vocals that sound like they were written by a 13 year old who thinks they're deep.
I feel like dropping from a 2 to a 1 is usually because listening to it makes me angry...and I'd say this album feel into that spectrum.
Madonna
3/5
After listening to so many straight electronica, the influences here are a lot more obvious than when I heard this 25 years ago. That said, beyond the still-great singles (Music, Don't Tell Me, What it Feels Like for a Girl) it also veers between bad (Nobody's Perfect, Paradise) to dated (all that autotune.)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
Like Psychedelic Furs, I thought of these guys as primarily one hit wonders. But was pleasantly surprised by the Bauhaus/Siouxsie Sioux vibes. Maybe a high 3, low 4 kind of situation, and landing on a 3 because ultimately it wasn't all that memorable.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
Like the Monkees crossed with Bob Dylan. & two shit things do not somehow cancel each other out, in case you were curious.
Prince
5/5
Insane. Besides the hits, the deeper cuts are solid - and hint at future brilliance from Prince ('Automatic' sounds very much like a precursor to 'Erotic City' and not in a bad way.) Perfect blend of funk & soul + syth-y dance that really only Prince could do so effortlessly. Just genius.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I thought I might be tired of Sonic Youth given this might be their 4th entry we've had so far? But this felt grungy and dark in a way that clearly precedes grunge as a genre - and still feels novel and interesting despite how overplayed that genre was in my youth.
Jethro Tull
2/5
Kind of treads this weird in between ground of sensitive folk (Cheap Day Return, Mother Goose, Wond'ring Aloud) and borderline Black Sabbath/Led Zeppelin rock...but with flutes? All topped by weirdly enunciating melodramatic vocals.
If I squint, I can kind of see where the Led Zeppelin lovers might be fans - but it all just landed a bit weird and incoherent for me.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
I thought the 1 star ratings were overblown and then started listening and realized...no, everything about this is bad. Bad vocals. Bad instrumentation. Bad lyrics. Too long.
It sounds so utterly amateur it's just mystifying that these people ever ended up in a recording studio rather than playing around whatever hippie drum circles they came from.
The B-52's
4/5
Makes me think of X Ray Specs for being such a mish mash of different sounds and influences that the end result sounds insanely original. I knew 'Dance This Mess Around' and 'Rock Lobster' and still enjoy them both - but enjoyed most of the rest of the album as well.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Sometimes artists or albums are not my taste, but I can get how they'd hit for someone else. But I have no goddamn idea who this is for. It's such a *weird* mishmash of bible tent revival vibes, tinges of rockabilly, all with a melange of goth theater kid. Maybe perfect for the intro to dark television shows about early 20th century gangsters, but unclear when the hell else it would be fun to listen to this.
Chicago
3/5
A lot of people complained about 'Free Form Guitar' being the point where things take a nose dive, but I'd argue that Peter Cetera's singing tanks this album long before that.
It wasn't all bad. The horns and percussion give shades of super bands like Sly & the Family Stone or Tower of Power ('Listen' and 'I'm a Man' being the best tracks).
A fair amount of songs, however, give straight 70s theme song vibes - like an episode of the Love Boat is about to get really off the hook. You throw in Cetera's vocals, the Hendrix-wanking guitar track, and the whole thing is too uneven to rate higher than mid.
Madonna
4/5
The singles do a lot of work, seriously solid pop songs that are impossible to forget. The rest of the album varies from forgettable to deeply dated to actually interesting (serious Prince vibes courtesy of his involvement I'm guessing on 'Love Song') - but it's never boring. I'd argue she never got better than this but I'm not sure that's true. She certain maybe never got more purely poppy than this, tho.
Scissor Sisters
3/5
Is it possible to be so tongue in cheek that your tongue ends up in another hemisphere?
I vaguely remember 'Take Your Mama' playing on repeat on German MTV but I was never a fan. Listening to the whole album didn't really change my mind. I get the fun, glam, disco vibe they're going for, but it mostly doesn't land for me (but for 'Laura' which I really liked.) Maybe a little too polished. Maybe not catchy enough. Maybe a little too tongue in cheek.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Kind of like how I marvel at the fact that there are whole swaths of people who find Trump compelling and charismatic, it boggles my mind that there's a whole country that apparently find Robbie Williams entertaining. There's no vocal talent there, all of the music sounds super derivative, so it's gotta be charisma right? But charisma that clearly fails him the minute he leaves England.