434
Albums Rated
3.58
Average Rating
40%
Complete
655 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Funk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
48
5-Star Albums
2
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sex Packets
Digital Underground
|
5 | 2.67 | +2.33 |
|
Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Ingenue
k.d. lang
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
|
More Specials
The Specials
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
|
5 | 3.03 | +1.97 |
|
Something/Anything?
Todd Rundgren
|
5 | 3.03 | +1.97 |
|
Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
|
5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
|
Oxygène
Jean-Michel Jarre
|
5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
|
Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk
|
5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Aja
Steely Dan
|
1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
|
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
|
2 | 3.67 | -1.67 |
|
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
|
2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
|
In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
|
2 | 3.61 | -1.61 |
|
Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
|
2 | 3.57 | -1.57 |
|
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
|
2 | 3.42 | -1.42 |
|
Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
|
1 | 2.41 | -1.41 |
|
American Pie
Don McLean
|
2 | 3.28 | -1.28 |
|
Tonight's The Night
Neil Young
|
2 | 3.23 | -1.23 |
|
Repeater
Fugazi
|
2 | 3.12 | -1.12 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Attack | 2 | 5 |
| The Who | 3 | 4.33 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Miles Davis | 3, 5, 2 |
| Steely Dan | 1, 3, 4 |
5-Star Albums (48)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Marvin Gaye
3/5
"What's Goin' On" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" are great. The entire tone of the album is relaxed and enjoyable. However, I found the lack of transitions between songs and the consistent blurring of each song into the next as distracting and a weird choice. 3.4 stars rounded down.
4 likes
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
"Walk this way" collaboration with Aerosmith and "You be illin'" are standouts.
2 likes
Living Colour
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The singles are great. The rest is a little dated. Solid singles though: Cult of Personality, Memories Can’t Wait, and Glamour Boys.
1 likes
Steely Dan
1/5
I hated all of this. Most of all why is "Asia" spelt "Aja", you cynically ironic blue-eyed white yacht jazz-rocker motherfuckers?
1 likes
The Gun Club
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Psychorockabilly that reminds me of The Cramps with a bit less sleaze. Still fun and like discovering The Cramps tried to be a little less weird.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (2)
All Ratings
Stan Getz
3/5
Chill
David Bowie
3/5
Elbow
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. "One day like this" is great.
Bob Dylan
3/5
The Temptations
4/5
"Papa was a rolling stone" the long play version is great.
The Kinks
5/5
4.5 stars rounded up. I love the concept and almost all the tracks work. My only gripe is that I have to listen all the way through. Everything is solid and coheres. Nothing stands on its own as an isolated track.
Prince
5/5
Masterpiece, always ready to revisit
Elvis Presley
4/5
"Suspicious Minds" and "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" are standouts. "In the Ghetto" is embarrassing and of its time. By turns great and mawkish. 3.5 rounded up all for those first two tracks.
Miles Davis
3/5
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
"Walk this way" collaboration with Aerosmith and "You be illin'" are standouts.
The Avalanches
4/5
"Since I Left You", "A Different Feeling", "Electricity" are beautiful. I was previously familiar with "Frontier Psychiatrist", but not The Avalanches themselves. "Flight Tonight" and "Diners Only" are repetitive to the point of annoying. The back half of this album is surprising the better than the A side. This would be a shoo-in for 5 stars if there weren't a few irritating tracks throughout the album. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Orchestral backed rock music. Nothing stuck with me.
3/5
Good new wave, new romantic album. "The Look of Love" parts 1 and 4 are the standouts and the former is necessarily a big 80s hit. The rest is of its time.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
"Something 4 the Weekend" and "Hometown Unicorn" are stand out tracks. Punky, psychedelic and nonsensical lyrics. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Eels
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. This album reminded me of The Beautiful South and Pulp: cheery melodic rock with angry or acerbic lyrics somewhat ambivalently sung. Happy, catchy songs that with close attention reveal a dark or mean streak only in the lyrical content. I enjoyed it. If you like this, try Pulp’s His n’ Hers or Welcome to The Beautiful South.
Herbie Hancock
5/5
Oh fuck yes!
The Smiths
3/5
"Girlfriend in a coma" is the standout.
Orange Juice
4/5
"Rip it up," "A million pleading faces" and "Flesh of my flesh" are the singles. Quirky early indie rock from Scotland. 3.7 stars rounded up.
Carole King
4/5
Quintessential singer-song writer vaseline-lensed folk music. My mom and some former colleagues love this album.
Digital Underground
5/5
The concept album and the George Clinton samples drag a bit, but I will always love this album and the follow-up "Sons of the P" album for being unabashedly sexy, goofy and funny. 4.5 stars rounded up.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
While I respect the historical milestone of a key alternative rap crew, I prefer the work of De La Soul and Digable Planets. Even then, some of the jazz-infused (i.e., heavy jazz sampling) sounds from all of these groups sound dated and of the early 90s.
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
The entire A-side (i.e., the initial six tracks) are consistently stellar pop songs. The latter four tracks are ok but forgettable. Not a perfect album but five stars based firmly on Side A.
Janelle Monáe
3/5
"Cold War" is the only standout for me. Janelle Monáe is talented and the dedication to craft is top-notch. Nothing else stuck with me though, and I wasn't eager for a relisten.
Soundgarden
3/5
3.4 rounded down. Well-known grunge, pivotal grunge album with equally well-known singles. My favourite album of theirs remains "Badmotorfinger."
X-Ray Spex
3/5
I enjoyed "Germ Free Adolescents" and "Warrior in Woolworths". X-Ray Spex is punk shot through with wry humour rather than raw (and tedious) aggression. Some of tracks approached SKA with its use of back up brass instrumentation. Unfortunately there was not a lot of variation between songs so the entire album sounds rather same-y. 3.2 rounded down.
The War On Drugs
3/5
"Red Eyes" is the single that I had previously heard and the clear standout, though "Under the Pressure" is almost a longer version of it. Both are solid tracks. This quiet album as a whole made me quite sad and lonely, which unsurprisingly was the mood of the frontman, Adam Granduciel, while making the record. The War on Drugs sound reminds me of what little I have heard from Bon Iver and The National. I also think of a comment made by an old classmate: "When did alternative become adult contemporary?" Probably when all the grunge enthusiasts hit their mid-40s.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
"American Girl" and "Breakdown" were the singles that I previously knew. The rest was serviceable and decent Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers tracks that were a bit slow and not memorable.
Bob Dylan
4/5
"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is my favourite long track by Bob Dylan. "Tangled up in blue" and "Simple Twist of the Fate" are the other classic tracks on this album.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
"The Shining", "Everybody's Stalking", "Stone on the Water", and "Once around the block" are all great tracks. A great neo-folk singer-songwriter album with electronica elements. I had totally forgotten about this talented guy. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Neil Young
2/5
I don't like Neil Young's whiny, thin voice. Though, I will admit he generally has strong lyric-writing chops. This album seemed stream of consciousness and off the cuff. "Borrowed Tune" was the track that stood out for me and is emblematic of this album, which I did not like.
Supertramp
3/5
Nice soft art rock.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
"White Winter Hymnal" and "Ragged Wood" are beautiful singles. The whole album is a wonderful mix of folk and traditional singing in rounds. Lovely, relaxing but not sleepy music.
Aerosmith
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. "Last Child" is a new favourite.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Super horny. I knew the singles. Definitely a record to play for getting down with a new partner. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Bill Callahan
4/5
Insular and unique. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Wife likes this guy. Elliot Smith obviously can write songs, but he is so maudlin and self-pitying. All of his albums are in the key of woe is me. Not eager for a re-listen.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
"North American Scum", "Someone Great", and "All My Friends" are the standout tracks. Cheeky alternative rock married to somewhat frenetic dance music.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
The singles "What have I done to deserve this?" and "It is a sin" are the key tracks. "I want to wake up" is also good. I don't think I gained much by listening to the original album, but it was pleasant enough. 3.4 stars rounded down.
The Temptations
3/5
Super Furry Animals
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. "[A] Touch Sensitive" was the best track. Some of the Super Furry Animals' songs are a kaleidoscopic melding of psychedelia, pop, rock and electronica, similar to Primal Scream but more accessible and fun. Some of the tracks sound like vintage Britpop that never made it across the pond, which from my perspective, it is.
Joy Division
3/5
While I intensely love the Peter Saville cover art and "Disorder", Joy Division's reputation rests on 4-6 songs and the fact that the remaining members became New Order. "She's lost control" and "New Dawn Fades" are ok and could be part of those 4-6 songs or not depending on one's subjective judgment of the band. That said, their two albums are dour, robotic and rough. Factory issue indeed.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I enjoyed it, and periodically relisten to Elvis C's albums 1-3. Great sound, but the singles don't stand out to me. 3.4 stars rounded down. I also think I enjoyed the Spanish version of this album, "Spanish Model", more than the original.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Great sound.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Breezy, fun. 3.5 rounded up.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
"Penguin Café Single" is the best track. Enjoyable but a bit staid and self-seriously absurd. 3.2 stars rounded down.
The Doors
5/5
The A-side is the stronger side, but the entire album is compulsively listenable with the Hammond organ and the soulful rocking out. Classic (rightfully).
The Doors
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Korn
2/5
Meh. the rapping is embarrassing over 20 years later, but the metal grinding levels that out a bit, but does not save it.
John Martyn
3/5
Very relaxing and accomplished. Sounds and feels like cool but dated lounge music. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Mercury Rev
4/5
Beautiful sibling band of the Flaming Lips that I hadn't heard about until now. Both bands seem to have a similar trajectory: psychedelic and goofy experimental rock beginnings, then maturing into bittersweet existential indie rock. This album is from their mature stage. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Miles Davis
5/5
Various Artists
4/5
Definitely the Christmas gold standard for these track as far as Hollywood film needle drops go.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
"Abbatoir Blues" is one of my favourite Bad Seeds songs of all time. "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" is great. "The Lyre of Orpheus", "Babe, You Turn Me On" and "O Children" are good tracks. This double album is well done, but also such a somber, spare affair. I enjoy and appreciate the album when I take the time to listen, but I have to square myself up for the emotional drag that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds bring to the proceedings. Bleak stuff and certainly an acquired taste. 3.6 stars rounded up.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Bonnie Raitt
4/5
“Thing called love” was the stand out track. Very pop country. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would have. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Radiohead
3/5
2.5 rounded up. "Weird fishes/Arpeggi" and "House of Cards" are the stand out tracks. This is easy listening Radiohead.
AC/DC
3/5
Title track is the standout. The album sounds like a series of alternate tracks and very same-y. I didn't gain much by hearing the title track in the album context.
Sex Pistols
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. Better as an influence. "Holidays in the Sun", "God Save the Queen", "Anarchy in the UK", and "Pretty Vacant" are best tracks and mostly the singles of the band's only real album.
Simply Red
3/5
"Holding back the years" is the standout and previously known single. This was gentle soft rock. Well done, but I prefer encountering it as I did previously as an unknown-to-me some hits wonder. Also the lead singer seems to be a bit of a narcissist about being a ginger. The band's name and several tracks are "simply" references to him being a redhead. Perhaps he is just a guy and not a narcissist, but the constant references to him and his ginger hair are overdone.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Wildly inventive. Reminded of late era Flaming Lips: solid pop rock mixed with psychedelia. A bit too inventive in that nothing in particular stood out, but I will definitely re-listen.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
Really well done, but always makes me sleepy because I find the album so relaxing.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
Ok I guess as the stoner edgy extension of Grunge. Nothing stuck.
Big Star
3/5
I enjoyed it, and see why it is the Citizen Kane of alternative music, but nothing stood out for me.
CHVRCHES
5/5
Fucking great.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
"The Model" is the standout. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Foundational R&B. The talent is clear even though the subject is invariably "Baby, I won't cheat anymore" ad nauseum. She doth protest waaay too much.
Hole
3/5
The title track is best track. “Live through this” is still the best Hole album.
Nico
3/5
"These days" and "The Fairest of the Seasons" are the standout tracks.
CHIC
3/5
The disco album. Better as an influence than as itself.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Solid entry by the Rolling Stones at the moment when they transitioned from off-brand Beatles who do blues standards to the Rolling Stones as they are now known: brash, snarling, bluesy, tough, vaguely sadomasochistic and certainly darker than the fab four.
Meat Loaf
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Paul McCartney and Wings
2/5
Sophisticated arrangements, but generally not interesting.
Guided By Voices
3/5
"Guided by Pricks" is the standout. So many tracks that Guided by Voices outstays its welcome. 3.2 stars rounded down.
Gang Starr
4/5
The Who
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Snoop and Dr. Dre digests Parliament-Funkadelic samples in layers to enhance gangster rap with a relaxing oddball tone. Not quite as silly as Digital Underground who also based their albums on Parliament-Funkadelic samples. However, Snoop and Dr. Dre more thoroughly mix their influences and these samples to create party tracks that exude calm menace.
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Twelve-year-old me thought these guys, especially Axl, were so badass. Over-forty-year-old me thinks they are talented though theatrically (and actually) trashy, and that Axl Rose, has through the years, remained a petulant manchild. I played this cassette, any singles and GNR Lies on repeat back in the late 80s/early 90s, because I, an actual petulant child, found a kindred soul with dirtbag adult Axl Rose. It is no wonder that Trump's favourite music video is reportedly "November Rain." Guns N' Roses speaks to the petulant dirtbag kid in us all.
Elton John
3/5
“Tiny Dancer” is great. The rest was beautifully arranged but quickly forgotten.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Beautiful. Relentless in its bleakness.
David Bowie
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. The singles are all well known. Bowie does glam, hard rock and lounge music or some mixture of the three for each track. Enjoyable mostly for the singles, but the deep cuts are worth a listen or two.
John Prine
5/5
Bob Dylan's Dylan and Johnny Cash's Cash. The folk-rock-country musicians' musician that is accessible, wry, funny and a great story teller. John Prine should be more well known that he is.
Jean-Michel Jarre
5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
The singles are great aka the first 6 tracks. The rest is the long slide to the mopey, heroin-y RHCP that is known today. Goodbye good time skater pop punks with lots of funky influences. Hello sad boys with lots of personnel changes, heroin, stocktaking, and hopefully some rehab. It is like RCHP's music eventually became a thin gruel version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. 3.3 stars rounded down because after track 6, this album is a slog.
The Pogues
4/5
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Boston
3/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Such a strong A-side, excluding the intro and the skit. All the tracks up to and including "Juicy" are violent, melancholy, and yet also fun and celebratory. Weary criminal undertakings but with fun wordplay in a party song package about finally making it as a wealthy and famous rapper. The B-side is less strong but still consistently solid all the way through. Biggie Smalls was a great rapper who set a tight, multifaceted tone of knowing relief and good times amidst violent chaos. 4.2 rounded down.
DJ Shadow
4/5
"Building Steam with a Grain of Salt", "Stem / Long Stem - Medley" and "Mutual Slump" are the standout tracks.
Green Day
5/5
Merle Haggard
4/5
3.5 rounded up.
Van Morrison
4/5
"And It Stoned Me", "Moondance", "Crazy Love", "These Dreams of You" and "Glad Tidings" are standout tracks. Top-tier soft rock.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Beatles
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. "All my loving" and "Money (That's What I Want)" are the standout tracks.
Spiritualized
3/5
Shimmery and soothing but mostly forgettable. "Sway" is a nice track though.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. “Buffalo Stance” and “Kisses on the Wind” are the stand out tracks.
Steely Dan
1/5
I hated all of this. Most of all why is "Asia" spelt "Aja", you cynically ironic blue-eyed white yacht jazz-rocker motherfuckers?
Ramones
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Great first US punk album.
Dire Straits
3/5
Smoky, sad pub music.
Pavement
4/5
The Darkness
3/5
3.2 rounded down. Funny and engaging, and they clearly love hair metal, though it does feel like one long winking joke.
Supergrass
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. "Caught by the Fuzz" and "Alright" are the stand tracks and singles. The rest is talented and very diffuse. Supergrass were always underrated britpop that achieved only a level of fame in North America by people who already loved the main britpop players (Blur, Oasis, Pulp) and who craved more. Supergrass' obvious talent and diversity probably worked against them becoming more popular outside the UK.
U2
4/5
4.4 stars rounded down. Full of bangers and the closest U2 ever got to punk. Dark and angry but ends on the light and Psalm "40." "Red Light" and "Surrender" are forgettable. Almost every track is worth while.
Thundercat
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. "Them changes" and "Lava lamp" are the stand out tracks.
Iggy Pop
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. "Lust for Life" and "The Passenger" are standouts. "Some Weird Sin" and "Fall in Love With Me" are also solid tracks.
Nick Drake
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Johnny Cash
3/5
Amy Winehouse
5/5
The Crusaders
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Brian Wilson
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight" are beautiful masterpieces. Even second string singles like "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "Zero" are great. It is unfortunate these tracks are embedded in 2 hours of mediocre filler.
Wilco
4/5
“Sunken Treasure” and “The Lonely 1” are brilliant tracks. Sedately pleasant.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
"You can't always get what you want" and "Midnight Rambler" are masterpieces. "Gimme Shelter" and the title track are good. That said, the album is quite uneven. The blues covers/adaptations are mostly bad. 3.3 stars rounded down I suppose.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
"Take Me Out" is the single and stand out track.
Stephen Stills
4/5
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
Dizzee Rascal has his own particular sound, which I enjoyed in the first half, but there are so many tracks that are somewhat chaotic though similar. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Little Richard
2/5
"Tutti Frutti" is a decent song though its subject matter is surprising (look it up; you'll be surprised if you don't already know). The rest is ok, but mostly of its time, including the lyrics which are generally coded language for sex that sounds all the more thirsty and horny for plethora of double entendres. Little Richard sounds histrionic on most tracks. The contrast between his shouty freakouts and the staid, possibly bored rote support by his backup singers made me laugh. 2.4 stars rounded down.
Buck Owens
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The standout tracks are "Let the Sad Times Roll On", "Streets of Laredo", and "Memphis". I heard echoes of influence in "Memphis" that reminded me strongly of Jim Croce's "Operator." I mean there can be two songs about a brokenhearted man babbling sadly to a phone operator a woman whose moved on, but I would not be surprised if Croce hadn't heard Buck Owens. The songs and album are tight, brief and enjoyable.
Sepultura
3/5
The xx
3/5
The Go-Go's
3/5
UB40
4/5
Sabu
3/5
"El Cumbanchero" and "Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso" are the standout tracks. I don't know that much Spanish and even less about Latin Jazz. I suspect Robert Dimery, the author of this original 1001 albums list, is also in the same boat. I feel weird rating what for me is clearly an orphan album from a tradition of music that I know very little about, whose lyrics I don't understand, and the album does not dovetail easily into the rest of the list comprised of influences and progenitors and descendants. I felt the same rating the Lebanese pop star Khaled's "Kenza": Cool music, but also 3.2 stars, because I have only the melody to go on.
Dr. Dre
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The singles, "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", "Let me ride", and "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" are the stand out tracks. Good beats, but full of repetitively cartoonish insults that veer from homophobia to homoerotic. Both this album and Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle" are full of tracks with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg expounding on the many ways they will fuck their enemies first. But the later "Doggystyle" sounds calm and menacing while "The Chronic" sounds angry, worked up and hostile. I prefer the Snoop album where the rage is a bit more sublimated, and the tone a bit sillier.
Adele
5/5
4.5 stars rounded up.
Love
4/5
Good stuff. No standouts, but remarkable psychedelic baroque pop soul. 3.5 stars rounded up.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Decent foundational emo shoegaze album. Their next one, Loveless, is the band's masterpiece. MBV is also a stronger album than this one. Nothing stands out here, but it is an early representative of the shoegaze subgenre.
Common
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
Kanye West
4/5
Stan Getz
3/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Great voice and lyrics laced with black humour.
Frank Ocean
3/5
"Pyramids" and "Pink Matter" are the stand out tracks.
Yes
3/5
Fiona Apple
4/5
"Sleep to Dream", "Shadow Boxer", "Criminal", and "Never is a promise" are the best singles and best tracks. The rest is very good but less memorable.
John Grant
3/5
"Outer Space" is the standout track.
Elvis Costello
3/5
The Dictators
3/5
Judas Priest
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. "Breaking the law", "Living after midnight", and "Steeler" are the standout tracks. Basically the singles are great. The rest is decent metal filler, but filler nonetheless.
Public Enemy
5/5
Massive Attack
5/5
Muddy Waters
5/5
The Electric Prunes
4/5
Rad.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
3.6 stars rounded up. Heroin chic.
Sam Cooke
5/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The first three tracks are the strongest but it is a rather sedate Pet Shop Boys album.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
The title track and "The Boxer" are standouts.
Sade
3/5
Cool, sophisticated but not memorable except for "Smooth Operator." I enjoyed this album but nothing stuck with me. 3.2 stars rounded down.
k.d. lang
5/5
The Style Council
3/5
"Me Ship Came In!" and "My Ever Changing Moods" are the standout tracks. Paul Weller's soul stuff is much better than the jazz tracks. Wildly uneven.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Ray Price
2/5
Steve Earle
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
"Kick, Push", "He Say She Say", and "Daydreamin'" are the standout tracks. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Black Sabbath
4/5
"Changes" and "Laguna Sunrise" are great. The rest is trippy, weird proto-death metal. 3.5 rounded up.
Eminem
4/5
Violent, cartoony. Full bore satire aimed at everyone including himself. Eminem was so edgy back then. I was still thrilled by certain passages on this recent re-listen. But with the passing of time, this album seems more Tex Avery than Texas Chainsaw massacre.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
"Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'" are of course the bangers. The rest of it is surprisingly summery and delightful.
Beck
4/5
This is a good, low-key album to listen to while walking around looking at spring foliage.
Rush
3/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Skate pop punks do funk. It is easier to point out which tracks don't work: the title track is a sweet title but the song is a dud. "Naked in the rain" and "The Greeting Song" are also similarly blah. The rest of the album rocks. 4.3 stars rounded down.
Tears For Fears
4/5
"Shout", "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and "Head Over Heels" are the stand out tracks. The rest is certainly worth a listen, especially "Mothers Talk" which like much of the album is surprisingly experimental and yet also sounding like the most typical mid-80s pop ever. 3.7 stars rounded up.
Radiohead
4/5
Giant Sand
2/5
The Specials
4/5
Throbbing Gristle
2/5
AB/A7 is a nice track. It sounds like the a proto-Boards of Canada or other chill electronica track. The rest is a curio of random machine noise and clips.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
It is a good album, but the guests add nothing to John Lee Hooker's blues.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Duran Duran
4/5
Little Simz
4/5
"Boss", "Venom", "101 FM", "Pressure", and "Therapy" are great tracks. Beautifully odd choice of samples. 4.3 stars rounded down.
Public Enemy
4/5
The standout tracks are "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", "Cold Lamping with Flavor", "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos", and "Prophets of Rage". There's some filler tracks that don't quiet work, and 36 years later, that reedy hysteria sample ("Eeeeeee") is a bit overused as a leitmotiv throughout the album). But this is clearly a classic. 4.3 stars rounded down.
David Bowie
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Singles are the standouts, but there is also plenty of chaff like the songs named after people, which are skippable.
Gary Numan
3/5
"Cars" is a banger. "Metal" and "M.E." are also worth listening to. Numan's work is good but very cold, refined and purposefully desolate. 3.3 stars rounded down.
David Gray
3/5
"Babylon" is the standout track. Good though uniformly sad songs with a touch of electronica.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Traffic
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. Very cool blues prog rock, but the semi-persistent non-Jethro Tull flute work made me laugh.
GZA
3/5
The title track is great. "Cold World" is also worth a listen. The real star, per usual, is RZA's beats and production work. Though the album is a little too heavy on rather long samples from Shogun Assassin (1980). 3.2 stars rounded down.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
3.6 stars rounded up. Classic funk. No standout tracks, but a whole album great playing whose tracks don't necessarily form a thematic whole.
Turbonegro
3/5
Soul II Soul
3/5
"Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" will always be a summer banger. I enjoyed returning to this album more than thirty years after I first heard it. Refined, carefree, synth-driven proto-electronica and R&B. Many people got their start here, namely Nelle Hooper and Massive Attack. However, like with many formative 90s R&B and soul albums, when I listen to them now, they are slower than I remember. This probably says more about my harried glichty experience of time in the present rather than earlier times where people were more thoughtful, reflective, or at least people had the time to process and the chance to be more of those things. A bit slow, but still good times throughout. 3.4 stars rounded down.
Miles Davis
2/5
I listened to the album a few times, and it made no impression on me. "Kind of Blue" is a masterpiece. This one is forgettable.
Jeff Buckley
3/5
The "Hallelujah" cover is the standout and legendary track by Jeff Buckley. "Lilac Wine" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over" are both good songs and worth a listen. This is more mopey and also full of more covers than I remember. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
"The Emperor's New Clothes is my all time favourite Sinead O'Connor track. Other standouts are the Prince-penned "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Boys on Black Mopeds." The other songs are worth listening to for their level of wildly intimate confession. Much of this reminded me of early, but very stripped down Björk.
Khaled
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down.
Pink Floyd
4/5
4.4 stars rounded down.
Frank Black
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Red Snapper
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
2.3 rounded down. "Fuck Shit Up!" and "Firefly Child" were decent, but there is a lot of content that I was rather ambivalent about getting through. Some else describe this album as listening to drunk neighbors rock out late at night. That is spot on and I would add the finer point that these are otherwise clearly talented neighbors who are sloppily smashed and edging more towards belligerent early morning incoherence.
Coldplay
3/5
Don McLean
2/5
The title track is great and rightly a classic and worth 5 stars as a song. The rest of the album is vaguely depressing folk singer-songwriter ballads crooned optimistically with spritely string arrangements. Its as if the Mamas and the Poppas were focused on decay and sadness but still put on an upbeat, summery face. The album is therefore a quixotic curio of its time and not really worth listening to.
Neil Young
4/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
4.4 stars rounded down.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Radiohead
5/5
Hands down the best Radiohead album. The band still rocks hard while also sounding brilliantly melodic and melancholy. "The Bends" doesn't lean too hard into electronica, depressiveness, or the near silence of some later albums. It is the perfect mix of all of Radiohead's strengths. Tracks 1-8 and 12 are great and include all of the singles. The remaining tracks (i.e., 9-11) are good, but not as memorable as the rest.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
The last three tracks are great (i.e., Mrs. Robinson, A Hazy Shade of Winter, and At the Zoo). The rest I found boring. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
4.5 rounded up. Isaac Hayes' version of "Walk On By" is a legendary classic that still sounds fresh and relevant. The other songs are good, very experimental but enjoyable all the way through. Sexy and wildly inventive.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
3.7 stars rounded up. Intelligent, politically angry rap. More ideas and interesting beats than hooks. Definitely a musical descendent of Gil Scott-Heron.
George Michael
3/5
"Freedom 90" is a great song. The rest of this album was like listening to a long washed up chanteur perform dinner theatre. Fine, but also kind of boring and stale. Sadly I don't think solo George Michael ever topped "Faith" in terms of albums, but he did have a few solid singles on the later albums.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
The KLF
3/5
"3am Eternal" is such a great song. All of the album (whether the original or the 2021 Director's cut) sounds like early Mortal Kombat soundtrack music punctuated by chillout moments, which I enjoyed. The KLF is key in the acid house subgenre and clearly of its time. Fun throwback music.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
The title track and "Swimming Pools (Drank)" are great. The entire album concept is cohesive and complex. The tracks are experimental, discordant and yet also quality rap tracks. Great introduction to Kendrick Lamar. 4.2 stars rounded down.
Marty Robbins
3/5
"Big Iron", "They're Hanging Me Tonight", and "Cool Water" are solid tracks. Marty Robbins has an accomplished singing voice, and a dated but still cool western film soundtrack balladeer style. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Dolly Parton
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down
Neil Young
3/5
Jungle Brothers
5/5
Sister Sledge
3/5
"He's the Greatest Dancer," and "We are Family" are the bangers on this Chic produced disco album. 3.3 stars rounded down.
4/5
3.7 stars rounded up.
Nirvana
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Deep Purple
3/5
The Specials
5/5
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Kind of same-y and forgettable with the exception of "Block Rockin' Beats", which sounds like the strongest template for the rest of the album.
Van Halen
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up
The Smiths
4/5
3.6 stars rounded up.
Charles Mingus
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
James Taylor
4/5
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Crowded House
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Iron Maiden
4/5
"Remember Tomorrow", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Charlotte the Harlot" are the standout tracks. 3.5 stars rounded.
Paul Simon
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Al Green
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Beatles
4/5
4/5
"City, Country, City" is the top track.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
4/5
"Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae" and "Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka" are the stand out tracks.
R.E.M.
5/5
Probably their most accomplished album in terms of the strength of each song.
Tortoise
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
The Only Ones
4/5
"Another Girl, Another World" is the top track. The Only Ones remind me of Violent Femmes, the right mix of melancholy but rocking, punk but also sad indie rock. They manage tight songs that sound more melodic and introspective than punk bands but louder than an indie outfit. I enjoyed the entire first seven tracks are great; the rest is worth a listen.
Soft Cell
4/5
Of course the "Tainted Love" cover, but "Sex Dwarf" goes so hard. Great seedy synth pop.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
"What's Goin' On" and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" are great. The entire tone of the album is relaxed and enjoyable. However, I found the lack of transitions between songs and the consistent blurring of each song into the next as distracting and a weird choice. 3.4 stars rounded down.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
"Fuck Up Beats", "Chemical Beats" and "Alive Alone" are the tracks I liked. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
"Solusbury Hill" is a banger. "Moribund The Burgermeister" is silly and fun. "Slowburn" has cool arrangements. Generally tracks 1-6 "Here comes the Flood" are strong. This reminds me of the best of early Genesis (lush, but odd orchestral pop arrangements) progressive rock but with decisive editing, keeping everything to a tight 41 minutes. Beautiful stuff.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
"Rich", "Pin", "Maps" and "Y-Control" are the standout tracks. The rest is decent garage/indie rock. 3.8 stars rounded up.
The Who
5/5
Talking Heads
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up
Metallica
3/5
“One” wails. The rest is serviceable.
4/5
4.4 stars rounded down.
Steely Dan
3/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Le Tigre
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up
Pixies
4/5
The Velvet Underground
2/5
The Cars
5/5
George Michael
3/5
The Clash
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Their version of “Statesboro Blues” is embarrassingly bombastic and silly compared to the beauty of the original track by Blind Willie McTell. I can see why people enjoy The Allman Brothers’ bluesy prog jams; I however, don’t.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
The Prodigy
4/5
“Breathe” and “Firestarter” are the top tracks. The rest is decent 90s techno. The last track is a little weak. Glad to revisit. Reminded me of an English Rammstein: menacing vibe, simplistic lyrics and yet also playfully winking at the ridiculous vamping of it while managing a straight face. 3.5 stars rounded up.
The Pogues
4/5
The Strokes
5/5
The Beta Band
3/5
The Black Keys
3/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
Sheryl Crow
4/5
3.7 stars rounded up
Metallica
4/5
3.7 stars rounded up.
The White Stripes
3/5
3.1 stars rounded down
Kraftwerk
5/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
3/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3.2 stars rounded down. Decent sound but nothing really stands out.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. “Today” and “Cherub Rock” are such bangers. Amazing singles. And “Mayonnaise” is quintessential dreamy emo rock, which out My Blood Valentines My Bloody Valentine and inspired Starflyer 59. The rest is meh. In re-listening to 90s Smashing Pumpkins albums almost 30 years later, each album seems to be 2-4 beautiful songs surrounded by at least a solid hour of unremarkable dross.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
5/5
4.5 stars rounded up
Beatles
4/5
King Crimson
3/5
3.2 stars rounded down
Coldplay
4/5
Lullabies for adults, but (yawn) it works.
Burning Spear
3/5
Happy Mondays
3/5
The Saints
3/5
Joan Armatrading
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down
Steely Dan
4/5
Scritti Politti
3/5
Bobby Womack
4/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Willie Nelson
5/5
Patti Smith
4/5
Nirvana
5/5
Jeff Beck
4/5
The Doors
3/5
3.6 stars rounded up.
Skunk Anansie
3/5
808 State
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. Graham Massey did better work as a producer for Björk and other 90s acts. 808 State is a good outfit but the music reminds me of post-expressionist painters like Jackson Pollack and James Rosenquist. The canvass is large, seems fun, and there is a lot going on, but is it just blips, drips and collections of disparate objects? Good colour and worth a look, though I tend to forget about 808 State (and those painters), and later I am pleased with a brief revisit.
Portishead
4/5
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Holger Czukay
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
If you listened to all of the non-famous Joy Division songs and thought “I want more of the same but for the lyrics to be more unintelligible and the instruments starker and the songs longer and more drone-y” then this is the album for you. Otherwise, feh.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
The Cure
3/5
“A Forest” is the standout track. Otherwise, a very spare, clinical entry from The Cure.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. Early Boss is still a good boss. “Badlands” is a great song. The title track is the other standout. The rest is decent but not that memorable.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Parliament
4/5
Portishead
4/5
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Björk
4/5
Adele
4/5
4.2 stars rounded down. Generally great stuff but 21 is the best.
The xx
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. “Fantasy” and “Shelter” are the standout tracks. The rest is worth a listen.
New Order
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. First theee tracks are the best. The rest has signature New Order sounds without being repetitive.
Lou Reed
3/5
The singles and “Vicious” are the standout tracks. Lou Reed can write lyrics but I find his anhedonic performance kind of blah.
T. Rex
4/5
“Mambo Sun”, “Cosmic Dancer”, “Jeepster” and “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” are the standout tracks. Wonderful glam rock that seems to be trippy and laidback while also rocking. Though some of the slang has aged, the songs still seem vital, trippy and fun.
Suede
3/5
Supergrass
3/5
Grateful Dead
3/5
Pantera
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. Aggressive, raw and engaging but the album and many tracks are too long and west out their welcome.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Talking Heads
2/5
Van Halen
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The singles are technically great but the album also sounds dirt baggy and somewhat date rapey. Very 80s in a bad way.
Green Day
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. The singles and b-sides like Sassafras Roots are great. The rest is serviceable 90s pop punk.
Neu!
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
Björk
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. Warm album about new and growing love. It’s cozy and fuzzy and works as an ensemble album on this theme. No one track stands out and many of the tracks though rather experimental at the time now sound somewhat interchangeable. I still enjoyed this revisit to Björk’s last mainstream album.
The Cramps
5/5
The Young Gods
4/5
Beck
3/5
Overrated Beck. Critics and award givers missed the “Mellow Gold” boat and wanted to reward Beck. “Mellow Gold” is a much better album with a cohesive sound. This is a transition album with lots of experimentation. Not bad, just kind of average and all over the place. I would “Mellow Gold”, “Colors”, “Sea Change” and “Midnite Vultures” on as stronger albums well before a-ok “Odelay.”
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
Black Flag
4/5
"Rise Above", "Six Pack," "TV Party", "Police Story" and "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" are the best tracks. Solid work from California punks. 3.6 stars rounded up.
The Killers
5/5
Doves
3/5
The Police
3/5
Napalm Death
2/5
“Divine Death” is the standout track because it is the only song to feature briefly intelligible vocals. The rest is growling grindcore metal where devotion to speed outweighs intelligibility, rhythm, and musical technique. Drums are hit as loud and as fast as possible, same with the guitars and microphone. Sounds like all the grindcore local bands I grew up with. But those hometown groups were no doubt aping these iconoclasts. Grindcore is a style, that much is certain.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Slayer
4/5
Air
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. “Dead bodies” is the top track. Pastel goth, but yet also chill out, electronica. Consistent tricky tone maintained throughout.
Dead Kennedys
5/5
William Orbit
3/5
Fiona Apple
3/5
Eurythmics
3/5
Deep Purple
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
“Hood Politics” is the standout track.
a-ha
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. “Take on Me”, “The Sun Always Shines on TV”, and the title track are the stand outs.
Method Man
4/5
Jacques Brel
4/5
Slint
3/5
Goldfrapp
4/5
Culture Club
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. "Karma Chameleon" is the standout track. The rest is fun soft rock.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Tom Tom Club
5/5
Grateful Dead
4/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
“And Through the Wire” and “Games without Frontiers” are the top tracks. The rest is serviceable in this transition album by Peter Gabriel, which includes elements of world music, pop and new wave. Gabriel would further develop these elements and specialize in world pop music later. Interestingly, this album was also recorded in parallel in German. “And Through The Wire” sounds more badass in Deutsch; “Games without Frontiers” sounds weaker. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Santana
3/5
Jane Weaver
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Talking Heads
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Arcade Fire
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Manu Chao
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up.
The Libertines
2/5
“What Katie did” is the standout track. Guitar rock with chatty, polite British lads who think they are edgy. Brit pop if it were supermarket Muzak. 2.4 stars rounded down.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Everything But The Girl
3/5
Sophisticated pop. Some it is quite nice, but none of it is as memorable as their later trip-hop incarnation.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Consistently low-fi electronica that manages to be complex and catchy with rambly but wonderful lyrics. The last few tracks are rather indulgent but also decent. 4.1 stars rounded down.
The The
3/5
Consistently acerbic dance pop with more instrumentation than typical dance pop. There is a lot going on in each song and sometimes it works. The The doesn’t make dance music even though at first listen, it sounds like dance music. “Infected” reminds me of Pulp or The Beautiful South: well arranged, seemingly upbeat pop songs that have dark or sarcastic lyrics. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Eagles
3/5
“Take it Easy” and “Earlybird” were the standout tracks. Sunny California 70s hangout music. Relaxing but also cynical and self-centred.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
Deee-Lite
4/5
Fugazi
2/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
At first, I thought I was listening to an early Ska record. However, upon further listening, this is new wave rock with horns. All of it is serviceable and decent, but nothing stood out, even the hit single, "Geno." Without any anchoring nostalgia, this is an a-ok record.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
4.3 rounded down. Fun!
Laibach
4/5
3.7 stars rounded up. This is the band that inspired Rammstein. Rammstein took their totalitarian chic and smoothed off the rough edges and made it radio friendly. Laibach’s “Volk” album is also worth a listen.
The Thrills
3/5
3.2 rounded down. Ersatz but relaxing 70s Californian soft rock from a 2000s Irish band. The Thrills are the inverse of a Bostonian loudly proclaiming they are somehow Irish. These Irish guys softly rock on about sunny summers in the cities of California. Sweet, chill and a little odd.
Antony and the Johnsons
3/5
Sad but hopeful drag queen chansons. “My Lady Story” is the stand out track and single. “For Today I am a Boy” and “Bird Guhl” as a closer are both good tracks. The rest tries to meet these high marks. 3.4 stars rounded down.
Os Mutantes
3/5
“Ave Genghis Khan” is a psychedelic banger from 60s-70s Brazilian rockers. Os Mutantes should have used prominent organs on every track. “Bat Macumba” is a decent track. The rest is so-so Brazilian psychedelia in Portuguese. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Slipknot
3/5
Of all the nü-metal, Slipknot’s kitchen sink approach works best. Only a few tracks by System of a Down come close to this high water mark for this sub genre. 3.4 stars rounded down.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Great, if you haven’t heard classic blues in a while; embarrassing, if you have. For a goofy make out session, I recommend “King Bee.” Make that honey the world has never seen, baybee!
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down
Metallica
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Title track is the stand out. Consistently metal but somewhat dated.
Heaven 17
2/5
David Bowie
4/5
Beach House
4/5
Very slick shoegaze, like the poppest most well produced shoegaze. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Adam & The Ants
3/5
“Ant music” is a banger. The rest has a consistent campy, edgy tone. 3.1 stars rounded down.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. “Come on Eileen” is great. The rest is consistent and a good time, but the album is overlong.
Blondie
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
4.3 stars rounded down.
Prince
4/5
The title track, "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", "U Got the Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend," "Strange Relationship", and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" are the best tracks on Prince's 9th album. The rest are serviceable and less memorable. 3.7 stars rounded up.
Kraftwerk
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. Sounds relaxing but not as great as later Kraftwerk albums.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
The first three tracks, the title track and Fotzepolitic (Cuntpolitics) all work well. The Cocteau Twins make dreamy pop that somehow skirts the edges of twee, goth, electronica and shoegaze without committing any of the sins and without seemingly being much like any of those subgenres. Weird, insular, iconoclastic and fun.
Todd Rundgren
5/5
Messy and fun.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
The Kinks
4/5
Machito
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down.
Ash
2/5
“Girl from Mars” is a decent if forgettable single. The rest of the album is undifferentiated, but very fuzzy, hard rock. It is no wonder this Britpop outfit stayed local.
Cream
3/5
"Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love" are bangers, but fuck this boomer-ass music. The rest of it has been hagiography-ed to death.
Koffi Olomide
4/5
Caetano Veloso
4/5
Ravi Shankar
4/5
Massive Attack
5/5
Absolutely great album by Massive Attack. Still their 3rd best after Blue Lines and Mezzanine. Hear Tracey Throne at her best in Protection and Better Things. The only weak track is Heat Miser. The Euro Zero Zero track from the Singles collection is a much better version of this album’s Euro Child, but Euro Child is still good though it sounds a tad dated. Euro Zero Zero is a better, darker update if you enjoy this album and Mezzanine.
Lauryn Hill
2/5
Goldie
3/5
Sugar
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down.
The Hives
4/5
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
The Who
4/5
Björk
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down. A sibling to Björk’s Homogenic album only this is a break up album. “Notget” is the standout track. Arcs does great production work here.
The The
3/5
Tori Amos
5/5
k.d. lang
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down
JAY Z
4/5
Great beats, easy and assured flow.
3/5
SZA
4/5
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Laura Nyro
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. This is like discovering Tori Amos 50+ years later. Laura Nyro was too much of an oddball in her own time to fit into the Carole King folk singer-songwriter mould that was most adjacent. She would have been at home at Lilith Fair in the 90s. Too bad she only found success being covered and lauded by others like Streisand and Blood, Sweat and Tears.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Jane's Addiction
4/5
John Coltrane
4/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
4.3 stars rounded down.
Tricky
4/5
3.75 stars rounded up. Best place to start and best overall Tricky album. Great Side A, though the LP steadily loses steam after “Brand New You’re Retro.”
Living Colour
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. The singles are great. The rest is a little dated. Solid singles though: Cult of Personality, Memories Can’t Wait, and Glamour Boys.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Violent Femmes
5/5
Big Star
3/5
De La Soul
4/5
3.6 stars rounded up.
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down
Minor Threat
3/5
3.1 stars rounded down.
Pixies
5/5
Basement Jaxx
4/5
Pearl Jam
5/5
4.5 stars rounded up
The Gun Club
4/5
3.5 stars rounded up. Psychorockabilly that reminds me of The Cramps with a bit less sleaze. Still fun and like discovering The Cramps tried to be a little less weird.
Bad Brains
3/5
3.3 stars rounded down. Punk meets early hair metal.
Kings of Leon
4/5
Perfectly pitched between Creedence Clearwater Revival’s good ole boy Southern rock and greasy garage rock, Kings of Leon’s debut album is assured and fun despite its general themes of heartbreak, the uselessness of love, and being sad and slutty. 3.5 stars rounded up.
The Damned
3/5
Killing Joke
3/5
3.1 stars rounded down.
The Cult
3/5
3.4 stars rounded down