I’ve always thought U2 was an overly self serious band who people who don’t really like music say is their favourite band. This album didn’t do anything to disabuse me of that opinion, but I can’t say I hated it. I haven’t totally closed my mind to the possibility that I might like one of U2s albums but it’s not this one. 2.3
AF is too pretentious for me to be a big fan but I do appreciate the effort they put into making whole albums. This isn’t my favourite but it gets better as it goes along and “keep the car running”is a banger
A lot of my favourite albums/movies/tv shows are ones that feel disctintive to a time and place and culture. In addition to being just a flat out awesome rock album, the album transports you to the late 90s/early 00s rural south. I feel like I’m drinking a beer in a field somewhere with a bunch of dudes with Skynard sleeveless shirts. It helps when you have Cooley and Hood writing all the songs too.
Sounded more like a parody of a country album than the pioneering country rock album it was (according Wikipedia) but it sounds like they took a huge career risk to make it so I respect that.
Sounds like the corniest hip hop group of all time really got into Jane’s addiction. Great Tony Hawk Pro Skater music, will probably never listen to the album again. 2.5/5
These guys were more subversive when they wrote songs about jerking off.
Not exactly musically adventurous but enjoyed the super dark lyrics juxtaposed with the cheery delivery. Era adjusted 3/5
Pretty, pretty good. Forgot how hard Johnny Greenwood goes on this album. Hall of famer and no doubter 5 stars in the opinion of this pig, in a cage, on antibiotics.
This sucked a lot less than I expected.
Not really a Metallica guy
They should’ve limited it to 1000 albums
I feel like a traitor to my culture not knowing a damn thing about metal, but I have to say this album was surprisingly enjoyable. Love Jack Black’s vocals, album rips from beginning to end.
Probably could’ve been 5 stars if it was a little shorter. A masterclass in stealing black music, extra points for making me feel like I’m in a Scorsese movie
I don’t read anything about these until I listen to them so maybe this a groundbreaking satire and was incredibly biting in 1966, but it doesn’t hold up for me in 2023.
If it’s going to sound this bad, I would at least expect better lyrics than “Andalucia when can I see ya”. At least it was short
A bit cheesy at times but overall a pretty classic album. Actually feels like a connected album all the way through.
Thought I was going to like this more. Running up to a 3 based on Tennessee and to a lesser extent Mr Wendel
Somehow this album makes New York in 2001 sounds 100x cooler than Billy Joel made 1977 New York sound which is impossible. Went into it planning to give it a 4 but enjoyed my drive to work so much I missed my turn. Extra points for this being Henry’s favourite album when he was 3.
Shocked this made the list! Wore this cd out driving around in David Berry’s turquoise Pontiac Sunfire. 4/5 on merit (One of Them was a skip then and still is) but when you’re 17 and eating a whopper riding shotgun around Sherwood Park with nowhere to go it’s a 13/5 so I’ll average it out to a 5.
She really misses that guy apparently. Her voice really is pretty incredible, wasn’t as slow as I thought it would be.
Only made it halfway through, I feel like if Iistened to it a few times maybe I’d get it but I didn’t have the patience. Default 2
Nothing but 15 twink anthems. I can see why someone would like this album but I am not that person.
I haven’t really listened to these old metal albums before and I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be somewhat cheesy or if it’s just that they’re 30-40 years old but I have trouble taking them seriously. Still pretty fun though, guitars sound great.
This was a big disc man album for me when it came out. Doesn’t totally hold up, but I’ll round it up from a 3.6
Had never heard of it, seemed Ok on the first listen.
A+ production, C- vocals. Kool Keith takes the theme way too seriously and his rap style still sounds like it’s 1988. Couldn’t stop thinking about how much better this album would’ve been if MF Doom did it
Whenever I come back to this album I expect it to sound old or something only 20 year old me would like but it holds up so damn well. Whatever magic Rick Rubin puts into 3 jewish kids screaming absurd lyrics over a drum machine and guitar samples still fucking works somehow. Rounding down from 4.4
Some real 60s shit, I think I needed to be in LSD. The first 5 songs are a complete waste of time, but in-a-Gadda is a classic though so I’ll round to 2 stars.
Any album with a tribute song to an architect is an automatic 4+
Kinda reminds me of Eric B and Rakim/Run DMC era rap, you can hear all the elements of something new, but a primitive and not fully formed version of the genre yet. Ozzy’s vocals sounds awesome too.
Back to back Hemmer Hall of Fame albums.
Very much feels like an album of a specific place and time and it is no longer that time or place.
I’ve never really been a huge Hendrix guy and expected to give it a respectful 3 stars but the further I got into the album the more I appreciated it. Kind of sounds like it was recorded on a tape recorder in Jimi’s apartment though, surprised there isn’t a remastered version where we could hear the guitars a little clearer.
I was into it for the first two songs and then the 13 minute instrumental track lost me completely.
Quite a run of albums without lyrics in English. I suppose this would be OK as background music, don’t get why it’s on the list.
What a first 3 song run to start this album. Drops off a bit after that but still a solid 4 for me.
Every Smiths song kinda sounds the same to me, I feel like if I listened a few more times through I’d hear the lyrics more and maybe bump to a 4 but I found it drifting into background music too much
Not what I expected given the album cover/title! Proud of myself for making it all the way through whatever this is supposed to be. There are parts of it that I liked, but mostly unlistenable. Hard to rate considering it’s not trying to be good in any conventional way. Rounding up to a 2, giving extra credit for making an album filled with breaking bottles and high pitched squealing sounds (bagpipes? recorder?!) making a list like this 50 years after it was made
Jerry Lee is absolutely on fire, probably would’ve been more interesting if they kept more of the set on the album rather than cut it to 22 minutes. I dont think I can give more than 3 stars to essentially a 20 min live cover album but it sure was fun.
Back with another one of those block rockin beats! This album feels like it’s the background music for an hour long fight scene in the Matrix: Reloaded. That’s certainly not a compliment but not totally an indictment either. 2 stars
I’ve tried a couple times but never really gotten into PE. Chuck D has a great voice but is only an OK lyricist and Flavour Flav kind of sucks, but I think it’s mostly the production that I don’t like. NY rap is 2 or 3 years away from golden era Primo/Rza/Pete Rock beats and the bomb squad doesn’t quite measure up. Black Steel in the hour of Chaos was the highlight for me, and of course tons of credit for the influence on conscious rap in the decades to come.
If not the best Dylan album at least in the top 3. Easy 5 star decision despite having to suffer through 7:46 of Idiot Wind.
The French Frank Sinatra I guess? I few too many selections from the HMV “World Music” section for my liking
May have been worth doing a stint at Folsom to witness this. The tension in the room really comes through with the crowd and how he interacts with them. Even the announcements and interruptions add to it. I feel like Johnny could’ve started a riot any time he wanted. Sounds great for recording in a prison in the 60s too.
These guys fucking love Pere Ubu
Was vaguely aware of the bees but hadn’t hear this album. Pretty good.
I don’t think the best Foo Fighters album but they have a really high floor. Impressive that this is all Dave Grohl (plays all instruments). Maybe I’m just older and lamer or maybe it’s because rock music is so different now but FF seemed kinda generic and boring in the mid/late nineties but they sound awesome to me now. High 3 stars
Banger after banger, hadn’t heard this before and didn’t realize how many hits/covers came from this album
Sounds like an unpaid act at a coffee shop. Made it 4 songs in. Rounding up from 1.7
Pretty high degree of difficulty to make a concept album this weird and keep the narrative coherent while somehow also filling it with catchy, radio friendly songs.
Loooong album, more up’s and downs than I remembered. Highs are really good though, there’s a 4.5 star 13 track version of this album but the “Mellowship Slinky in B minor”s bring it down to a 3 for me.
Got bored after a few songs
Sinead must have been fun at parties. Had its moments but was a slog for the most part.
Pretty awesome actually. I had only listened to Melancholy before front to back and kind of thought it was more of a singles album with a lot of filler but this was the opposite, I liked the deeper cuts better than the singles that made the radio.
Not a big Jazz guy but enjoyed this thoroughly
Pulls off the country concept album!
Is this a soundtrack to something? Cannot fathom why it is on this list
Every song is the same but who cares, this album is a hell of a lot of fun. 3.4
The best solo Jack White album still isn’t as good as the worst White Stripes Album.
Cripple Creek is still a banger, the rest is fine. 2.9
Sappy Stevie is not my favourite but Superstition is one of the greatest songs of all time so that alone brings it up by a star.
Was worried this would be a one track album and boy were my concerns validated. I’m it’s better moments it’s a little Prince adjacent (I liked miss me blind) but overall it’s just shitty, sappy, surprisingly political pop.
Definitely a second tier Radiohead album but that’s still a pretty high floor
Probably the 3rd best Roots album, surprised it’s on the list but really enjoyed revisiting it, I listened to it a ton when I got the CD when it came out but hardly at all since then. Thought is incredible and somehow is just as good (maybe better?) today. Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me
First time I’ve ever listened to this one, thought it was great.
Blueberry hill is really all you need to listen to
Sounds like the soundtrack to a Kubrick movie. I’m not sure if this is weird/brilliant or just weird/dumb. I few like if I listened to it 4 or 5 times through I might end up loving it or thinking it sucks so I’ll split the difference for now. 2.4
Probably will not listen to again but a 3 out of respect
The rare successful double album! Maybe not the best stones album but definitely the one that feels the most cohesive. Keith said that their ambition was to be the greatest blues band in the world and this album feels like the best possible version of that. Add that it was recorded in a mansion on a canal (Main Street) in France while dodging tax/drug charges from the British government (exile) adds to the whole experience
Several songs that I thought were on this album are actually on BOTW. I’m not sure I needed a 2 min track of old people talking but it still had its high points (America, Mrs Robinson, Hazy Shade….I even like the zoo song). 3.4
Hadn’t heard of the band before, after the first 30 seconds of the first song I thought we were headed to 1-star territory but it totally redeemed itself the more I listened. Had the stereo turned all the way up, might keep it on rotation in the car for the weekend. 3.0 on the nose.
What a fraud. The best parts are when he’s pretending to be a poor white kid from the country instead of a prep school kid from Boston. The worst parts are when he’s trying to sound like Robert Johnson, it’s musical black face. Fuck you James Taylor
Reminds me of that puppet vampire rock opera in Forgetting Sarah Marshall
At times I was into it, at other times the poor production, amateur musicianship, and Elvis’ singing style was more grating than charming. 2.6
I’d heard/seen bits and pieces of this album before but never listened or watched it all the way through. Lives up to its classic status, Cobain’s talent/charisma/intensity is undeniable. Need to go watch it now.
Listened to about 45 seconds of the first 2 songs and turned it off. Apologies to Holger if it got better and I missed it.
Dr Dre is the most important artist of the last 50 years in my opinion and he’s in his prime on this one. Beats are an 11/10, snoop’s in his bag and the album starts incredibly strong but tails off a bit towards the end and most of the features are mediocre (except the incomparable Nate Dogg of course). Also the height of skits in rap albums which take more off the table than they add. 4.2/5
Steely Dan seems to have developed some sort of cult hipster following in recent years so I thought this might be sneaky good, but it just seems mediocre to me.
I had given up on Wutang adjacent albums by the 2000s so I missed this one. Mistake on my part, not a perfect album but it might be the only successful former wu member to have an album still retain some of the RZA sound but evolve to other producers (helps when you work with Just Blaze, Pete Rock, Dilla, Doom). 3.4
Completely new to me. Dull in parts in my opinion but overall pretty cool
Like a middle aged music critic I found myself nostalgic for guitar driven pop music. All the songs are kind of the same and various degrees of catchiness. Our lips are sealed holds up
Liked this one better than the last Steely Dan album, but I might just not be a Steely Dan guy. 2.4
I know this is a beloved album, but do they really Iove it or are they just trying to look cool? There certainly is a beauty to the distortion/wall of sound feel to it but 50 minutes of it is too much for me. I’d like to understand at least a couple words or on some songs even melody of some kind. Maybe if I was on the right drugs this album would be life changing but sober on the drive to work it’s a concept that doesn’t work for me.
Glad they gave us the weekend for this album as it’s a long one. Tough to follow up Rumours and suffers from what you’d expect, bloated album that sounds disjointed. Sounds more like each band member is taking turns writing songs than a band, which I guess is the interesting part of the album as the band breaks apart. I like Tusk the song a lot better than Tusk the album.
This album and check your head are blended together in my head as a good but not great Beastie period. Prefer the beasties hip hopping more than rocking. 3.4
Certainly not the best Bowie concept album (are they all concept albums?) but I enjoyed it for the most part.
It sounds like a mash up album where they took Cohen’s vocals and laid them over some random synth backing tracks and back up singers. It kinda works sometimes but even when it doesn’t it’s at least kind of funny (Jazz police)
Best Finnish Glam rock album of all time?
Have never been a oilers fan but I have to admit there are a lot of hits on this album
Great voice but it didn’t do much for me.
Forcing Alicia to listen to these on vacation. Her review: “Sounds like music from a coffee shop with a bunch of random noises mixed in”
Maybe a 4, need a relisten.
If not the GOAT pop album, certainly in the conversation. 40 years later and half the album would be hit singles. Some weak spots but it feels weird to give Thriller anything less than 5 stars
1994 was the peak of rap production in my opinion so I’m a sucker for the beats on this album, though I’d much rather hear the Pharcyde rap over them than this girl sing over them.
Is this the worst music the world has ever produced or do I just need to lighten up and have some fun? This was the debate I had with myself while listening to this album. If AC/DC is a cold beer at BPs, Def Leppard is the warm Lucky lager at the bottom of your hockey bag that under the right circumstances might make you say “that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be”
Stones. Beatles. Zeppelin. Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Not necessarily in that order
One of the best albums of the 21st century. Themes of technology induced anxiety have aged incredibly well, everything in its right place is the best RH song in my opinion. Listened to OK computer again right after to compare, not sure which one is best but they have more in common tonally than I think most people think, just OK has more guitars and slightly more traditional song structure. Easy 5 stars
More good Neil on the list. Halfway through the album I was getting a little tired of it all being acoustic, then Neil went electric just when we needed it.
If the ultimate measure of an album is how many whiskey commercials it’s featured in, this would be the GOAT. While obviously the most successful Black Keys album, I’ve never thought it was the best but maybe that’s just me trying to go against the grain. Hit after hit for the first 6 or 7 songs and while it goes a little long it’s pretty solid all the way through.
I was worried I was going to hate this album and offend Mitsy with a bad review, fortunately it’s pretty fucking awesome on the first listen. Hiding all the way the standout track in my opinion
My favourite Stones album and my favourite Beatles album in the same week. My favourite version of the stones is when they’ve got the country blues/southern rock lean to them and there’s a lot of that on this album. Even if all the middle was shit (it’s absolutely not shit) I might give it 5 stars for starting with Gimme Shelter and ending with You can’t always get what you want.
3.7. Can’t go wrong with Billy Bragg
The run of great Friday albums continues. This is the best Beatles album in my opinion. It should feel disjointed given they were basically taking turns writing their own songs but they all work together somehow. I even like Maxwell’s silver hammer.
I waffled between thinking this is saccharine bullshit and the melancholy Brian Wilson songwriting classic it’s supposed to be. I think I need a few more listens to decide whether to bump this to a 4 or down to a 2.
Solid 3
2.4 - certainly preferred to the psychedelic rock that was going on at the time but nothing particularly stood out good or bad for me
AF is too pretentious for me to be a big fan but I do appreciate the effort they put into making whole albums. This isn’t my favourite but it gets better as it goes along and “keep the car running”is a banger
Would be a 3 for me on its own merit (unfunky UFO is the best song I hadn’t heard before) but the fact that most songs are sampled in 90s hip hop songs bumps it up. Is Dr Dre’s career even possible without Parliament?
Inconsistent but it certainly has its moments (clap your hands, gun street girl, union square). At its low points it sounds like the bad guys’ theme in a Tim Burton cartoon, which really isn’t that bad.
I’ve always thought U2 was an overly self serious band who people who don’t really like music say is their favourite band. This album didn’t do anything to disabuse me of that opinion, but I can’t say I hated it. I haven’t totally closed my mind to the possibility that I might like one of U2s albums but it’s not this one. 2.3
Impressive musicianship but doesn’t really do it for me.
Every Zeppelin album is such a good time. I thought this was my least favourite of the first 4 going into it but it may have jumped up the list. The 3 song stretch of Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, and Ramble On is as good as it gets.
A lot of my favourite albums/movies/tv shows are ones that feel disctintive to a time and place and culture. In addition to being just a flat out awesome rock album, the album transports you to the late 90s/early 00s rural south. I feel like I’m drinking a beer in a field somewhere with a bunch of dudes with Skynard sleeveless shirts. It helps when you have Cooley and Hood writing all the songs too.
Seemed fine, wasn’t in the mood for it and lasted 3.5 songs
Less of a one song album than I anticipated but it’s hard for me to get into any all instrumental album 2.8
A lot of my 4 star albums are ones that I really like but they aren’t inventive/influential enough to be true 5 star albums (this is it by the strokes for example). This album is kind of the opposite. I think I like the idea of the Talking Heads more than I actually like the music. I can see why this would be someone’s favourite album but even though I like it, I’m not sure how many times I’d actually put this on to listen to. Highs are still really high though, I’m gonna go 3.6 and round up.
Interesting enough. Found the first half better than the second for the most part. Thought it was at its worst when it was overtly political or sentimental (we get it on Family Snapshot, you miss your Dad). Sonically sometimes the “experimental” stuff worked for me and other times is was too sparse or disjointed. 2.7
I haven’t spent much time listening to Lou Reed in the past, but enjoyed this one on the first listen. Almost feels like beat poetry put to music at times, which sounds terrible but it works with Reed’s voice and lyrics (Reed’s storytelling is excellent) and the spare production. The album sounds like it could’ve been produced by Rick Rubin in a different generation. I feel like an easy marker lately but a 3.8 for me.
Not exactly in my wheelhouse, but Personal Jesus is still a banger.
Much prefer the debut album, classic double album that’s too ambitious in my opinion. 2.6
I know the simplicity of the songs is the point but 50 years later it’s no longer novel or edgy, it’s mostly just monotonous and boring. Obviously hugely influential and I like the one song, just not 14 times in a row. 2.2
Not for me and I only made it a few songs in but I actually appreciated it more than I thought I would.
First time I’d listened to a Taylor Swift album. Not sure if this is considered her best one or not but overall I thought it was a pretty serviceable pop album. I can see where she gets the reputation as being disingenuous, the overall theme of the album seems to be “I’m a relatable hot mess” from the most prolific and successful pop star of her generation. Shake it off had me turn the volume up as always.
The great Tokyo wankfest of ‘72. The songs are fine, band sounds good, and the crowd is clearly into it but it’s 70% mastubatory solos that I mostly fast forwarded through. 1.8
At its best, sounds a lot like D’Angelo’s brown sugar (didn’t change know, my life). Lost me when the songs were more about the vocals or the lyrics than the music. Turned a couple up but then skipped a bunch. 2.2
Most attention (for good reason) was paid to the lyrics when it came out but 40 yrs later it’s the production that stands out. The Dre beats are light years ahead of the simple drum machine production you hear in all the late 80s east coast rap and this album starts him on a path to be the most influential musician of his generation (in my opinion). Also Ice Cube is really the only good rapper in the group and he’s absolutely shot out of a cannon on this album. No doubter 5 stars
Your favourite rapper’s favourite Wutang member. Probably the best of the debut Wu solo efforts (and probably the closest to 36 chambers in tone). A few bangers that are as good as anything from the Wu (duel of the iron mic, 4th chamber, shadow boxin), but on some of the tracks Gia’s subdued (albeit technically brilliant) rapping doesn’t pop like it does when contrasted with the other members of the clan.
Billy Joel but he sucks. 1.7
I was vaguely aware of the band but in my head they had a male lead singer (maybe I was thinking Eric Church?). Decent pop album I guess, no idea what makes this album significant enough to make this list.
Accidentally listened to the live version. Not sure I got it as there’s clearly some kind of narrative but I liked it anyway
The take me to the river cover is a banger. The rest of the album is typical talking heads, I like the vibe but I kind of find myself passively listening or thinking of other stuff
My number 1 draft pick for albums to drink 1000 beers to. Alex Turner is overqualified to write songs about going out, getting drunk, and picking up girls but it’s really his lyrics that make the album special. Turner manages to capture the drunken excitement, anxiety, regret, and more than anything the absurdity of it all on songs that would’ve rocked even with the dumbest lyrics possible.
Starting off with 1999 and little red corvette is pretty strong. Hit and miss for me after that, but the hits are pretty fun
However do you want me? However do you need me? - questions that define a generation. I can’t believe I had to wade through 13 mostly forgettable songs to get to the real Back to Life version which totally holds up. I also like the horns in Jazzies’s groove, sounded like a prime De La beat.
I think this is my favourite AF album. Holds the narrative and sonic structure pretty consistently and Wake Up is the best song they’ve made in my opinion. 4.1
Kind of hilarious that the unity anthem “Everyday People” is on the same album as “Don’t call me nigger, Whitey”. These guys are just the coolest motherfuckers 3.8
Sick public enemy cover band. Perhaps the real “hiphopcracy” is making a painfully earnest social justice album while completely ripping off the originators of conscious hip hop.
Probably the best Stones album and my second favourite album to drink 1000 beers to. Dennis Leary has this bit where he says he wants to open a bar called O’Leary’s that only serves Budweiser and Bushmills and only plays the Stones and that’s what I think of when I listen to this album.
Slower and weirder to get going than I would’ve thought (didn’t see “Mother” coming). Looking at the track list I thought I only knew “every breath you take” but the 4 song run from “synchronicity II” to “wrapped around your finger” is pretty good and all familiar. I probably won’t be playing this all weekend but I enjoyed the first listen.
I feel like I should’ve liked this more than I did. Kinda dull and repetitive, maybe I should’ve been smoking weed. 2.3
I hadn’t heard of Skepta before. While it was a bit repetitive (50%+of the beats had sirens) and the skits were grating at times, I thought it was a pretty decent rap album. 2.6
I’m not going to have to time to listen to a 2hr Jazz album today but the Duke and the band obviously sound great. I like how they left all the MC parts in, it kind of just seemed like any other night at the Newport Jazz festival. I can’t imagine they thought anyone would be listening to the recording 70 years later which I think gives you a better feel for the time and place.
Classic hip hop. Wyclef produces solid beats and is entertaining on the mic, and Pras competently fills the role of Chris Bosh to Clef and Lauryn’s Wade and Lebron but Lauryn Hill is clearly the star. L is like if Whitney Houston could rap like Andre 3000. It’s a shame we only get one more album out of her, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Hip Hop history with more talent.
I almost skipped this one after the last 2 Steely Dan entries in this list but I’m glad I changed my mind halfway to work. Still not exactly my favourite band but I now at least understand the appeal as this album is far superior to the other two in my opinion. The 3 singles are the highlights (if you don’t sing along to Dirty Work you’re a stronger man than I) but the deep tracks were pretty solid too (Midnite cruiser being my favourite). Solid 3.3
Well executed live album but not a huge Who fan
Title track was catchy, otherwise forgettable in my opinion
I can think of worse ways to use a Time Machine than to go back to the Harlem Square club in 1962 to see Sam Cooke
The most 2000 album possible (he dedicates a song to Ben Stiller for fuck sakes). Limp Bizkit obviously sucks but I was trying to figure out why they were so huge. I was in Nashville a few weeks ago and saw a version of a bar band that I’ve seen a few times now. They have a charismatic lead singer who stands on the bar and gets into it with the crowd and who flips back and forth between genres and does medleys of seemingly unrelated songs. It’s a great time in a crowded bar after 9 Coor’s banquets. This should have been Fred Durst’s career. Holding down the 10-12 Saturday slot at Blake Shelton’s bar, closing with Devil Went down to Georgia with Sweet Child of Mine thrown in the middle of it. However, through some fucked up cosmic aligning of stars Limp Bizkit briefly became the biggest band in the world. I think what happened is they happened to catch the tail end of the era where people identified as fans of only one genre of music, but just as the internet was making it a lot easier to discover a much more diverse catalog. Limp Bizkit rips off/samples/interpolates Nine Inch Nails, Rakim, The Eagles, and even the Mission Impossible theme on this album. It (rightly) feels extremely derivative today but it was novel in 2000 and I think appealed to people who liked “life in the fast lane” but didn’t think it was cool to say so. Throw in the generic heavy guitars, even more generic “fuck the man” lyrics, and enough references to sex to make teenagers not want their parents to hear it and all of a sudden they’re selling out arenas. What a time to be alive.
I had always seen Jeff Beck mentioned in the great guitarist conversations but never really spent any time listening to him. Not much I like more than a bluesy guitar and Beck certainly delivers that here. Feels like Led Zeppelin 0 and that’s definitely a compliment.
Got into the car in a bad mood, got out in a good one.
Best off just playing the first 3 songs on a loop, falls off a cliff after that. Money for nothing is a great song though and I can’t think of too many better band names than “Dire Straits”
I always thought Raw Power was supposed to be their classic but I liked this one better, lost me a bit near the end and a couple of the songs probably didn’t need to be 7 mins long but that’s picking nits for an album that’s pretty fucking awesome front to back.
I think I’ve been sleeping on Neil, another awesome album I had never even heard of.
I hope the sledge family made a fortune off of “Big Willie Style”
Didn’t have myself pegged as an Elton fan but had a great time through most of this album (Jamaican jerk off is regrettable). Benny and the Jets is a great song and Saturday Nights alright brings me back to 90s HNIC intros
Morrissey does longing and desperation really well but it becomes pretty dour over a whole album. I like when “everyday is like Sunday” shows up in the right playlist but things would have to be going pretty rough for me to listen to this for an hour again.
My first thought was it’s hilarious to pick the Dexy’s album without Come On Eileen on it but it was somewhat interesting. The album is all over the place, sometimes it felt like they were trying to be a more ska version of the clash other times it’s kind of goofy pop. I’m a sucker for the horns though
Wanted to get into this one but I just don’t think I’m ever going to be a Metallica fan. Enter Sandman is a hall of fame opener to an album though and is worth an extra star.
Sounded more like a parody of a country album than the pioneering country rock album it was (according Wikipedia) but it sounds like they took a huge career risk to make it so I respect that.
1968 must’ve been a hell of a year to go the record store. Tough to argue anyone’s ever had a better voice than Aretha, but I’m not sure if most of these songs take full advantage of it. It’s one of the rare albums that’s too short and some of the songs are under 3 mins and don’t totally feel finished.
Dark side of the moon it aint
Remarkable that this album follows nevermind. Usually the follow up to the breakthrough album gets softer, more commercial, or at least less angry. In Utero goes the other way but with the production and talent of the biggest band in the world. A testament to Cobain’s talent and maybe why there was never going to be a 4th album. I’ve never considered myself a nirvana fan but each time they’ve come up on this list I’ve found myself listening to and thinking about them for days afterward.
Total flop when it was released because it was so different from Licence to ill, but rightly now considered a classic. Appropriately samples from the 2nd half of Abbey Road (one of a million samples that would cost a fortune only a couple years later, but labels hadn’t caught on yet) as the whole album feels like one big medley. I’ve probably listened to the album 100 times but I’m not sure I’ve ever just put on one song, they don’t really work in their own but altogether its a one of a kind 5-mic album
Pretty impressive for an album so late in life. I guess when your style is pretty much spoken word you can sustain it for a lifetime.
This is a Brett Knutson exclusive. This album has aged like milk. Most glaringly (and gratingly) are the Timbo beats but Missy’s rap style too all sound extremely 2002 and I now remember why this is the worst era in rap history. Maybe 20 years ago is just old enough to seem extremely outdated, but not yet old enough to be cool again and in 10 years this will be a 4 star album but I doubt it.
Is La Grange about a whorehouse? If so, pretty cool it’s been on the radio for 50 years. Overall not overly compelling music (though I did turn it up when la grange came on). Clearly can play the he’ll out of their guitars but I found myself thinking about other stuff 90% of the time. 2.3
Don’t give this enough time for a proper review
Liked some of the songs that were more daft punk-esque (l’femme de argent, Kelly watch the stars) did not like the songs with vocals. 2.3
Take out “Indian Song” and this album pretty much rocks front to back. My algorithm has failed me by never suggesting Elastica before. I was vaguely aware of them but I had them pegged as an 80s pop band but they’re a lot closer to Everclear than the Bangles
Warm weather jazz, a nice accompaniment to a sunny drive to work this morning
MJ doesn’t really make albums, just collections of singles that range from greatest pop song of all time to completely irrelevant unlistenable. For me this album has a couple of the former (the way you make me feel, bad) and at least one of the latter (Liberian girl) and a lot in between. When he hits, there’s no one in pop history that hits like Mike but there were more skips than I expected. 3.4
Everytime I listen to something from the 50s I’m struck by how much music changed from the 50s to the 60s
I really didn’t have to listen to that before I died.
After Son of a Preacher Man, I just started to look for covers of that song (as I had assumed Dusty’s wasn’t the original, but it is) and I ended up listening to the Aretha version twice. So my review of Dusty in Memphis is that Aretha Franklin is amazing.
Between the cover art and the title I had no idea what to expect. Enjoyed some moments when they got into a groove, but mostly forgettable.
I really like Killer Queen, but there’s not much else on the album that appeals to me. I think I’d like them more if Brian May didn’t have jerk off his guitar solos every time and Mercury didn’t insist on doing the same with his vocals, but being way over the top operatic is what makes them who they are I guess.
Some of the Smiths/Morrissey albums can feel repetitive and boring once you get a few songs in but I thought this one changes the tone/energy enough to keep it interesting. It also feels like peak Morrissey dark wit songwriting “I was only joking when I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed” “if you’re so clever/entertaining/good looking why are you on your own tonight? Because tonight is just like any other night”. Will definitely come back to this one. 4.1
I was ready to hate this. In my head I had incubus lumped in with Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit but after listening through the album that’s not really the right category for them. The tone is a lot lighter than those guys and something about the way they mix the heavy guitars and the scratching feels less forced than other rap-metal of that vintage. I likely won’t come back to it but I actually thought it was a pretty decent album
As a frequent listener of the National, I’ve had some Silver Jews come across my algorithm but I’ve never paid much attention. While I’m a sucker for the non-sequitur lyrics and unpolished musicianship, I thought the album was pretty inconsistent overall. The highs were high though, I thought “Remember me” was excellent story telling. I listened to it twice back to back which is really rare for me. I haven’t looked at the discography but this sounds like the album that just precedes a really good album.
The best AF album in my opinion. Feels like they got the formula right after the previous 2 concept albums. The narrative, both lyrically and sonically, holds together pretty well. I found my mind drifting in and out in the middle of the album but there’s definitely more good than boring.
Probably would’ve been better off cutting half out side 2 out and making it a single album but pretty damn good nonetheless
I didn’t have the patience to make it more than about 10 mins. The matrix was a cool movie though.
What a fuckin mess this album is. It’s like they took every shitty trend in pop music in the year 2000, randomly mixed them together and puked out 11 songs hoping a couple of them hit. I guess it’s interesting that an aging pop star/sex symbol tried to revive her career in such an obviously contrived and desperate way…and it actually worked. I mean the album is called “music” and had Madonna in a cowboy hat on the cover for fucks sake and ends with a horrible cover of American Pie. Wait, maybe this is satire and I’m just getting it as I write this. If that’s the case it’s a masterpiece, if it’s a genuine attempt to make good music it’s terrible (though I kind of like Don’t tell me).
Maybe the 3rd best white stripes album? To me this is the transition album from bluesy guitar Jack White to more piano driven Jack White. It feels like he’s been bored of playing guitar basically since elephant came out. This is still a good album though, just not as good as earlier White Stripes. 3.4
Pretty fun straightforward guitar driven pop album. Torn between a 3 and a 4. 3.4
Break on through is an all time track 1 of your debut album. Hard to go wrong with an album about drinking, sex, and death. Lost me at times with the extended instrumental sequences but overall you can certainly see why Morrison was such a legendary figure
I think the way the who emphasize the “shiiioonnn” part of the word “generation” inspired Liam Gallagher’s entire singing style. I think I like 60s Who better than 70s who, but I don’t really like either that much
This era of Jack White is on the short list of my favourite guitarists. The tone is perfect and he’s not bored by it and trying too many effects or showy solos yet. Back half not as good as the first half but a great album.
Nothing makes me feel like the old man yells at cloud meme like feeling nostalgic for guitar driven pop music but here we are again. I didn’t think I’d heard of these guys until I recognized “what you do to me”, just classic early 90s 3-chord formulaic pop, but dammit I like it. The album wore increasingly thin for me as it went on but I had a good time for the first 20 mins.
Not totally sure why this is on the list, maybe the mix of rock with the Body Count introduction. Overall this sounds like your average 1991 gangster rap album. Competent enough but there are better lyrics, lyricism, and production on similar albums of that era (Ice Cube comes to mind). I liked the beat on “midnight”. 2.5
Solid all the way through. I’ve come to appreciate Lou Reed more through this list and I found myself wanting more of him and less Nico on the album though the change of pace every few songs is nice. Late 60s NY isn’t quite as appealing to me as 70s NYC but still pretty cool.
This is essentially a hip hop album and a really good one. I wish they would’ve stayed that way instead of morphing into whatever they ended up becoming. At their best when they made this group as kind of a joke and used the defaults on the drum machine to make the beats (the Clint Eastwood beat is literally setting one on the drum machine they had).
I know this album (and blonde) are considered masterpieces by a lot of people, but I’ve given this album a couple chances and while there are interesting pieces ot all doesn’t come together for me. Super Rich kids is a standout and any song with an Andre feature always works. 3.3
Most of this album sounds like that episode of Friends when Ross plays the keyboard. When I saw “Under the Boardwalk” at the end of the track listing I was expecting it would be an awful cover and it was worse than I feared. Not even “love genius” inspiring Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” (certified banger) could push this album to a 2 for me.
So much Bowie on this list. Impressive late in life album, obviously not at top of his catalog but a high 3
I’ve never really listened to NIN before and my first impression is that this is a pretty impressive album. It’s not exactly an easy listen and I’m not sure what is happening 80% of the time but I think if I listened to it a few times over I might appreciate it more. 3 for me, but I could see it higher for a lot of people
This was fine, liked it better than the last Nick Drake album on this list. Got bored halfway through and went back to the NIN album again, which I didn’t think I would do but it’s really an incredible album the more I listen to it. It’s like if Slipknot added Johnny Greenwood to the band and they’d been listening to a lot of INXS while they wrote it. A million different things going on sonically that I won’t pretend I understand, but it’s easily the most interesting album that I’ve ever heard that has this much metal influence. Ruiner is a standout for me (that Skynard-esque solo is awesome) and Hurt. It’s kind of weird that the Johnny Cash cover (which is really good) has almost become bigger than the original because it’s a remarkable song in its own right. Upgrade to 4 stars, probably will never get to 5 for me given how challenging of a listen this is but you never know.
I’ve tried to get into Dinosaur Jr a few times as they seem like a band I would really like but I’m always a little underwhelmed listening through the whole album. I think I like them better as a singles band (freak scene, feel the pain) that pops up on playlists occasionally.
Pretty standard 60s soul album in my opinion 2.5
Slightly embarrassing but I had a dubbed cassette tape with this on one side and “sparkle and fade” by Everclear on the other side in grade 7 so I was interested to see how it holds up. Starts strong (All I really want is a pretty good song I had forgotten about and you oughta know is her best song imo), but after that it couldn’t really keep my interest. I can see why it was popular in its place and time but the song writing is pretty bad a lot of the time.
Didn’t work for me but being a paraplegic drummer must be pretty tough so 2 stars
2 of the best rock songs of the 70s and 8 other fun but mostly forgettable songs (strangered in the night the best of them imo).
Like a darker Lou Reed on the piano. Cave’s lyrics are poetic, complex, and almost always melancholy. A couple more songs like “west country girl” to break up the dour piano ballads would’ve been welcome but overall I can certainly see why this is album is so acclaimed
Sure, the beats are cool but hip hop without rap has a ceiling on it.
Not exactly in my wheelhouse but a good time nonetheless.
Maybe this is why guitar driven pop died? Seems like all the elements for a good record should be there but I just found myself disinterested the whole time. “Hangin’ with Howard Marks” was the best of the mediocre lot imo.
Mostly ambient noise. Didn’t work for me
One thing I’ve learned about myself from this list is that I’m an Iggy Pop fan. You can definitely hear the Bowie influences on this one, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Didn’t like this as much as when he’s with the Stooges (a little too poppy) but still good.
Bargain basement Paul Simon. I was optimistic when I put this on because I really like “wild world”, but those hopes were quickly dashed. You need to be a really talented song writer to make the flowery acoustic guitar songs work and I don’t think “Cat” clears that bar.
My favourite French electronica album of all time
Norwegian electronica > French electronica. Slightly higher 2 star rating
Sounds like a one song album and the one song isn’t very good.
Maybe it was time for the Beatles to break up. This is the kind of album that John definitely wouldn’t have been able to make as a Beatle and it’s pretty remarkable. 4.3
There are definitely a few 45 year olds walking around Tokyo with single Moms and American passports as a result of this tour.
1001 Steely Dan albums to listen to before you die. Maybe the best of the mediocre lot we’ve had on the list? Highlights for me were hearing the original songs that were sampled in rap songs (peg and black cow)
Sounds very much like a debut album, all the pieces are there but not quite put together properly.
Bands that sing and play off key are supposed to at least be interesting or inventive in some way but I found this album both bad and boring.
If AI made an 80s pop album
It’s been fun discovering some old Jazz albums through this list. This was another good one.
I can see why this is considered their best album. High 3, maybe a 4 if I listened a few more times
I want to like this but I just find their sound too grating too often to really enjoy it. I used to crush “Maps” on rock band back in the day though. 2.6
Could use a little more black Cadillac and a little less lost in the supermarket but tough to critique this album much.
Pleasantly surprised, some poor man’s Radiohead vibes.
This probably hit pretty hard on the Lilith Fair tour
Thought plastic ono band was better
No question a disappointing follow up to Kid A. Leans too much into the industrial/outer space beep boops but it has its moments (not coincidentally it’s when they play their instruments)
Beck’s albums are all over the place, but this is a good one. Drops off after the first 5 songs or so
John Prine is underrated as a song writer/influential artist and this is probably his best album (though I can’t claim to have listened to the whole catalog)