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.

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.

Shades of Tribe, De La - and shockingly contemporary sounding for being so early in hip hop's era.

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.

Punk classic. No skips.

Thom Yorke could sing 'It's a Small World After All' and I'd probably like it.

Shockingly dated with a couple of gems - 'Rock the House' in particular is still good.

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.

You know that scene in Beetlejuice, where they're in the waiting room for hell? This is the music playing there.

Hipster sleaze classic.

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.

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?

Great for running. Feels like it inspired so many other things (Timo Maas? Tricky? Kid A? Morcheeba?) including Russ' movie script treatment.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

While it sounds very of its time, still largely enjoyable.

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.

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.

Didn't know any of Ray Charles' back catalog had this kind of music in it. A pleasant surprise.

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.

If this is a seminal album blending two genres for the first time, I think you had to be there to appreciate it.

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).

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.

I didn't hate this as much as Yes.

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.

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.

Sleater Kinney's lyric should have been, "I wanna be your Kim Gordon." But maybe it doesn't rhyme as well.

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.

Maybe this is my NEW FORMS?

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.

Working class tragedies that could kick start the labor movement. Poetry.

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.

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.

Other people were doing this better at the time - Joy Division, Bauhaus. And God, John Lydon can't sing.

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.

Forgive me, Tyler.

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.

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.

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.

I mean, I guess.

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'?

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.

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 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.

Glad to be reminded this exists.

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.

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.

Still so much fun. A punk wave classic.

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.

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.

I think you have to be from Manchester to like this.

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.

How is this album both so short & so long? The good songs are good. The rest sound like unfinished demos.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There weren't better early grunge albums to pick from? Even the knock offs of knock offs did this better.

It's fine.

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.

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.

Punk glam fun. Shades of Rocky Horror before Rocky Horror was a thing.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Nope.

New wave classic. Could listen to the hits on repeat, and even the deep cuts are synth funk ear worms.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

80s mediocrity. & the brownface on the album cover, yeesh.

That one song that plays during the hockey scene in Letterkenny is great.

Watered down Spin Doctors. Might be simply mediocre, but doubly offensive for even being on this list.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Appreciate getting exposed to someone I had zero familiarty with prior to now. Still not sure I'd seek out his music otherwise.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Dated in some places (That Voice Again is really bad), but surprisingly holds up overall (Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Red Rain.)

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Not sure if this is suffering from following Fela, or if it's just another purely instrumental album I struggle to connect with.

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.

Starts strong but overstays its welcome. & someone else should have sung some of the choruses.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Punk classic. No skips.

I'm not thrilled to have the same taste as the lady who wrote Twilight, but what are you gonna do?

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.

Glad to be exposed to this. Wish there was more like it, rather than eleventy Neil Young, Beatles, and Nick Cave albums.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There aren't enough drugs in the world to make me appreciate this.

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.

The day the music really died is when Neil Young decided he should sing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

Shades of Tribe, De La - and shockingly contemporary sounding for being so early in hip hop's era.

Gonna blame this one on nostalgia.

Proof you can have a self-serious album cover without it looking like a shitty Ren Faire ad, SIMON & GARFUNKEL.

Sounds like the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Just imagine Axel Foley getting putting a banana in a tailpipe as you listen.

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.

Literally about to add a song to a playlist and then some dude starts talking about sideburns. No thank you.

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.

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.

If Neil Young was a heavy smoker who occasionally got into yacht rock grooves that your dad might have liked.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Annalisa was okay but otherwise self-fellating nonsense.

I once saw Perry Ferrell at Burning Man. It's the right setting for him.

Faux hoe downs that all start to sound the same.

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.

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.

Thought it was kind of dumb fun at first, but then got too dumb to be fun.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

Utter classic.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

No thank you.

Proof the Smiths weren't holding Morrissey back.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Shades of blues, metal, folk - and somehow it all hangs together. Plus, that Lego video was rad.

I wish this one hit as hard as Super Fly but it just doesn't.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Inoffensive. & I enjoy 'Gotta Get Up' because of 'Russian Doll.'

Feels like the connective tissue between albums like Paul's Boutique and DJs like Girl Talk - and mostly in a good way.

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.

Amazing songs that tell stories that break your heart.

Not only does this come across as utterly typical 1970s rock, it all sounds like it's being played through a tin can.

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.

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.)

Like being stuck in a 'Dazed and Confused' scene, but the music sucks. 'Mood for a Day' is okay.

A fun listen but less catchy than expected given how many artists have sampled, interpolated, and mimicked Funkadelic's vibe.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Not the worst but also just weird and not great.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This would be a five but for the fact that Win Butler is fucking gross.

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.

Rock gods.

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.

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.

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.

Did someone say ‘Dominos’?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The dad rock sound wears thin towards the last third, but enjoyed a good chunk of this - almost against my will.

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.

Witchy Woman is okay. Everything else is either overplayed dreck or just dreck.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

Insert fawning fangirl babbling here.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I mean, obviously.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

The kind of album where I wish I spoke the language (or could track down translations!) to enjoy these songs even more.

So I'm a hipster. Fine.

Bloviated organ noodlings with terrible vocals. The Simpsons did it better.

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.

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.

'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.

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.

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.)

Hip hop classic. And brought back the painful memory of having a name too unusual to get mentioned in ‘Around the Way Girl.’

While not the masterpiece that Exodus is, when Bob Marley is less than excellent, he's still pretty great. Faves: Natty Dread, Talkin' Blues.

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)).

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.