1001 Albums Summary

Listening statistics & highlights

542
Albums Rated
3.02
Average Rating
50%
Complete
547 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1950
Favorite Decade
Punk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
37
5-Star Albums
43
1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

Top Styles

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

AlbumYouGlobalDiff
Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
5 2.74 +2.26
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
4 1.94 +2.06
Real Life
Magazine
5 3.07 +1.93
Junkyard
The Birthday Party
4 2.15 +1.85
Closer
Joy Division
5 3.23 +1.77
The Stooges
The Stooges
5 3.26 +1.74
Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5 3.29 +1.71
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
5 3.35 +1.65
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
5 3.35 +1.65
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
5 3.39 +1.61

You Love Less Than Most

AlbumYouGlobalDiff
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
1 3.75 -2.75
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
1 3.66 -2.66
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
1 3.63 -2.63
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
1 3.6 -2.6
Blonde On Blonde
Bob Dylan
1 3.48 -2.48
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
1 3.4 -2.4
Live And Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
1 3.33 -2.33
The College Dropout
Kanye West
1 3.31 -2.31
Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
1 3.29 -2.29
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
1 3.26 -2.26

Artists

Favorites

ArtistAlbumsAverage
Radiohead 4 4.5
Led Zeppelin 4 4.5
Pink Floyd 3 4.67
Nirvana 2 5
Aretha Franklin 2 5
The Clash 2 5
Miles Davis 3 4.33

Least Favorites

ArtistAlbumsAverage
Bob Dylan 6 1.17
Kanye West 2 1
Taylor Swift 2 1.5
The Byrds 2 1.5
Bee Gees 2 1.5

Controversial

ArtistRatings
Amy Winehouse 2, 5

5-Star Albums (37)

View Album Wall

Popular Reviews

Can’t wait until the last of the boomers are gone and we can stop pretending every wet fart from the 60s was groundbreaking.

Smile by Brian Wilson

This would be considered too clownish to be a soundtrack to a toddler’s cartoon. If this is a masterpiece, then a toilet spewing the contents of a backed up septic is evidence of divine design of the universe. Nothing on this album is fun, listenable, or anything short of droning and irritating. Good Vibrations is on this for some reason, possibly to remind you what a weak song it is, despite its popularity. I suppose if you like the sound “ooooooh” a lot and really wish there was a more modern take on the barbershop quartet, this is probably for you. Otherwise, I highly recommend keeping functioning ears far away from this album which goes on so long, I’m fairly certain it exists to make sure it doesn’t end before you’ve forever lost the ability to smile. Wheeee, zzzzzip, pop pop pop, wheeeeeeeeeeee.

Mott by Mott The Hoople

It’s fine. Nothing really impressive, but it never sucks and if you end with the original album track list then it doesn’t overstay its welcome either. I’m choosing to believe Wish I Was Your Mother is meant to make fun of Bob Dylan with its similar drunken clown vocal cadence, stupid and contradictory lyrics, and superfluous harmonica.

Tommy by The Who

As a child, my boomer parents excitedly told me “Pinball Wizard” was from a rock opera one time when it came on the radio. I don’t recall them having much else to say, and having once again tried to glean what’s great about this album, I’d be at a loss to praise it further. The story is boring. The thematic refrains aren’t interesting enough to warrant sitting through. This is literally the soundtrack to a movie no one gives a fuck about.

Woodface by Crowded House

No one needs to listen to this unless they have a real hankering for something unremarkable.

1-Star Albums (43)

All Ratings (542)

Oct 16 2023

I understand its significance, but it just doesn’t really hit me as a perfect album. It’s difficult to connect with at times because of the combination of jaunty music with fairly unserious lyrics. It sounds like the soundtrack to a television show that no one watches reruns of anymore. The Beatles always sound to me like they recorded inside a fucking tin can.

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
Oct 17 2023

Really enjoyable album from top to bottom. Hits the nostalgia factor as I heard a bunch of these songs often while growing up.

Aftermath by The Rolling Stones
Oct 19 2023
Hard Again by Muddy Waters
Oct 20 2023

I understand how this leads to a lot of the music I enjoy, but I don’t see myself choosing to listen to the blues very often. I hate harmonicas and the southern fried aesthetics aren’t my cup of tea.

Live At The Regal by B.B. King
Oct 21 2023

This is much more the kind of blues I can enjoy. The backing band, especially the horns, sounded great while still allowing King’s guitar and voice to be the stars.

It's Too Late to Stop Now by Van Morrison
Oct 22 2023

Fuck this so much. Every song sounds the same and like the soundtrack to a dentist’s waiting room. His forced “soulful” affectations are cringeworthy. Backing band was tight but I couldn’t stand this.

The Stooges by The Stooges
Oct 23 2023

Some of the longer songs dial back the aggressive mood, but solid all around.

Green Onions by Booker T. & The MG's
Oct 27 2023

Heard some of these versions my whole life without knowing who it was. Pretty cool.

Histoire De Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg
Nov 01 2023

Stop breathing in my ear dude. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about this except how quintessentially French it is. Also, this story about pedophilia was especially revolting as I listened to this while taking care of my three year old daughter.

Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis
Nov 03 2023

Feels harsh to rate this a three, but compared to his later work I can’t rate it higher even if it is the foundation of all that.

Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
Nov 04 2023

Grew up on this. Solid album even though some of the vocals are a bit hammy.

In Our Heads by Hot Chip
Nov 05 2023

There is a non-zero amount of broken glass I would rather eat than ever listen to this album again. They’ve effectively combined the worst aspect of 80s synth driven music, disco, and middling vocals to make something less interesting than an old school elevator selection.

Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
Nov 06 2023

He’s good at his sound, but it’s never felt like anything special. Just a retro sound with middling lyrics.

Tapestry by Carole King
Nov 07 2023

A lot of famous songs on this. It sounds so quintessentially 70s, but upon learning this released in ‘71, I’m assuming this was super influential on the sound of that decade. It’s not really my cup of tea, but it’s listenable and I can respect its impact.

KE*A*H** (Psalm 69) by Ministry
Nov 08 2023

This isn’t for me. It’s boring as far as industrial goes. It’s tame for metal. Feels like an experimental art installation you see in a modern art museum and go, “Hm. Interesting, but not worth pondering for long” and then think about where you’re going to get lunch.

Nov 11 2023

They’re trying something here that just doesn’t hit right for me. There’s some parts of this album that I find myself nodding along to, but there’s also a lot of discordance for the sake of being discordant. It’s not a tedious listen, but I really wanted this album to be 20-25 minutes shorter.

Live And Dangerous by Thin Lizzy
Nov 13 2023

This sounds like it was recorded on a potato using two turnips connected by yarn. I generally like thin lizzy but live albums are rarely worth the listen to me.

Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
Nov 14 2023

This album holds up so well and is always a fun listen.

Smile by Brian Wilson
Nov 17 2023

This would be considered too clownish to be a soundtrack to a toddler’s cartoon. If this is a masterpiece, then a toilet spewing the contents of a backed up septic is evidence of divine design of the universe. Nothing on this album is fun, listenable, or anything short of droning and irritating. Good Vibrations is on this for some reason, possibly to remind you what a weak song it is, despite its popularity. I suppose if you like the sound “ooooooh” a lot and really wish there was a more modern take on the barbershop quartet, this is probably for you. Otherwise, I highly recommend keeping functioning ears far away from this album which goes on so long, I’m fairly certain it exists to make sure it doesn’t end before you’ve forever lost the ability to smile. Wheeee, zzzzzip, pop pop pop, wheeeeeeeeeeee.

Don't Stand Me Down by Dexys Midnight Runners
Nov 19 2023

Loooooooooooooonnnnnnnnngggggggg soooooooooooooooonnnnnnnggggggssssssss because whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Ill Communication by Beastie Boys
Nov 20 2023

A fun album that kind of drags in the back half due to an almost total vibe change. I dig those tracks when I’m in the mood for them, but they’re definitely not on the same level as the first half of the album.

Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Nov 21 2023

A song off this album is in almost every movie about the 70s it feels like. Some just go on and on doing the same thing. I’m not much of a “jam” type so that’s a bit irritating to me.

The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers
Nov 22 2023

A name I’ve known for a long time, but never listened to. There’s some really good stuff here. You can hear where this influences bands that came later. However for an hour long album the stuff that grabs you is a bit few and far between.

So by Peter Gabriel
Nov 23 2023

So dated. Outside of the nostalgia factor on the hits you already know, this is not a good time.

The Undertones by The Undertones
Nov 24 2023

This is what I was hoping for when I started this project—someone I’d absolutely never heard of that’s just a good listen, start to finish.

Sunday At The Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
Nov 25 2023

I really enjoyed this aside from the bass solos. I know they’re technically impressive, but they just sound grating.

Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
Nov 26 2023

This was interesting. Started off feeling like the score from “Halloween,” then went just about everywhere else. Will never be a go-to listen, but was well worth the experience.

Joan Baez by Joan Baez
Nov 27 2023

A name I’ve heard for a long time, but never listened to. Not into the warbly voice. Not into the deep cut songs from history. The guitar was good, but this felt like a really dry documentary.

BEYONCÉ by Beyoncé
Nov 29 2023

This is either completely shit or it’s just not for me. I can usually see the appeal in pop music even if it’s not what I’m into, but this feels like it’s lacking. The beats are nothing special. The lyrics say almost nothing. She’s never been a particularly interesting vocalist and some of her choices on this album are nothing short of irritating— “No Angel” comes to mind. It leaves one desperately asking, “What was the fucking point of this last hour of my life because there was certainly no point to that album’s existence.”

American Beauty by Grateful Dead
Nov 30 2023

You either love this stuff or you don’t. I don’t. Jerry Garcia’s voice is lame and clownish. The music is nothing special. I don’t care how much their fans say it’s so different live—a tune I’m not into it is a tune I’m not into.

Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Dec 01 2023
Frank by Amy Winehouse
Dec 02 2023

She has a unique voice, but this album is dull as dishwater. An hour of mid-90s “smooth jazz” level beige music, her lyrics are largely unintelligible on a first listen because her voice just drones on and on and on without a single hook worth a damn on the whole album, and overall it sounds like something you would hear playing in a Starbucks in the oughts and never wonder to yourself “how can I hear much more of this?”

Dec 04 2023

Sounds like the music that would be part of the soundtrack for the types of movies my grandmother liked in the 80s. To use less words, everything about this infinitely sucks. And there’s somehow so much of this album… I was wishing for an aneurysm halfway through the second song. The better songs sounds like c-tier James Taylor, and I am not a James Taylor fan. Most of these songs feature the lyrical prowess one would expect from a very repetitive mushroom of below average intelligence. Layer that on top of music best described as “existing to be a cheap facsimile of other popular artists within the last 20 years of when this was made” and you have something that is just so bland, it is actually exceptional in its own excruciating way.

Heroes by David Bowie
Dec 05 2023

An album of mostly strange noises, but not in an offensive way. “Heroes” is a near perfect song.

The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies
Dec 07 2023

All cowboy, no junkie. Whoever made this list loves them some slow country/folk. I guess this is good at what it’s going for but I feel like I just listened to this lady hold a note for an hour with the occasional harmonica interjection. Snore.

The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
Dec 08 2023

I enjoyed this! Felt like something that would’ve sounded contemporary 25 years after it was released, aside from a few of the more discordant for discordance’s sake tracks.

Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
Dec 10 2023

Man the music is pretty, but just feels so “everything from this era.” Her voice is warbly and weak sounding. A tough listen.

Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
Dec 13 2023

A fine album with some well-known songs and some pretty mediocre ones.

Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain
Dec 17 2023

A band named as a major influence for a ton of bands I really like, yet I never got into them. This sounds like something that would grow on me. I’ll need to give it a better listen as my preferred streamer didn’t have it available and the youtube video’s sound quality was questionable.

Ten by Pearl Jam
Dec 19 2023

Grunge was in its death throes as I was really getting into music, but nearly all of this album was still being beaten to absolute death by “alternative” radio. As such, I grew sick of most of this album having never listened to the whole thing. It is a pretty damn good album, but I have accepted that I will never outlive my Pearl Jam fatigue, which is only expounded by how many bands did their best Eddie Vedder impressions while making some supremely beige music. It sucks that I can never hear them on their own merits, but that’s my subjective reality.

Cupid & Psyche 85 by Scritti Politti
Dec 20 2023

This is some shitty, empty, soulless horseshit. Absolutely nothing redeeming about this generic, saccharine album. I wish I could go back to my life before I knew this 40 minutes of grating, whiny whispering existed.

OK by Talvin Singh
Dec 21 2023

It’s fine for what it is. Could’ve died without hearing it and felt no regret. “World music” mixed into electronica is such a painfully late 90s cliche. Someone really loved listening to this while wearing a floppy bucket hat.

Dec 22 2023

Not really my favorite type of music. Has some high points. The singles are pretty undeniable in their appeal. This album feels 30-45 minutes too long for largely having the same feel all throughout.

Space Ritual by Hawkwind
Dec 25 2023

“I feel like I’m really there!” said an honest person listening to a live album never. Wayyy too jammy for my taste. The 2 hour plus listening time feels daunting and I really want to just quit after 4.5 tracks.

Dec 27 2023

I like a lot of synth driven music and have heard enough hype about this band to give them a listen a few times prior and it just never grabs me. Singer probably could’ve had a mediocre mallpop career in the 80s. I liked her voice more on Science/Visions more where she’s putting some punch behind it, but otherwise it just doesn’t grab me.

Penthouse And Pavement by Heaven 17
Dec 28 2023

Some of this is pretty good, but a lot of it is too similar to the rest and you really start to feel that to appreciate this you need at least some of the cocaine that was required to make it.

Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
Dec 31 2023

This album was in its heyday when I was in early elementary school. A lot of it sounds dated, in my opinion mainly due to the drums, but there’s no question of the impact this album had on pop music at the time.

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
Jan 01 2024

Nothing on this album justifies listening to the 10 minute wah pedal demonstration it opens with.

Urban Hymns by The Verve
Jan 02 2024

Bittersweet symphony is a good song, but suffers like the rest of the album from just going on and on and on and on. All of these songs should be 3/3.5 minutes tops. Dudes love to drone…

Teen Dream by Beach House
Jan 04 2024

I gave this a few spins back when it came out and my opinion hasn’t really changed. This is just dull.

Suzanne Vega by Suzanne Vega
Jan 05 2024

I’ve known the name for awhile, but never listened. Like a lot of folky music, if the lyrics don’t speak to you there’s not much else super interesting. Good at times, but largely nondescript.

Moon Safari by Air
Jan 06 2024

Chill. Decent. A bit boring at times.

Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder
Jan 07 2024

Was def dreading a nearly 2 hour listen, but there’s so much good packed into this. The songs I’ve heard a million times it turns out they’re pretty damn good if you haven’t heard them in awhile.

Jan 08 2024

Started out really enjoying this. Hit a nostalgia nerve the right way and still sounded good. Then I realized 9 years had passed, I’d heard the same 2 phrases 840,000 times and track 2 still had another minute left on it. It was then I remembered why I never bought this album back in the day. Would prob add 2 stars if I had a bunch of ecstasy.

Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
Jan 09 2024

A great guitar album, but doesn’t really hit my taste.

Queens of the Stone Age by Queens Of The Stone Age
Jan 10 2024

I’d listened to most of their catalog previously, but somehow never this album. Solid stuff and you can hear the foundations for their future near perfect work (songs for the deaf).

Cafe Bleu by The Style Council
Jan 12 2024

Impressive they can cross so many genres, but this is so dated.

Woodface by Crowded House
Jan 14 2024

No one needs to listen to this unless they have a real hankering for something unremarkable.

Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash
Jan 15 2024

It’s great if this is what you’re into. It won’t blow away any neutrals though.

Brutal Youth by Elvis Costello
Jan 17 2024

It’s fine. I don’t know why but Elvis Costello has never done it for me. It’s not aggrieving in any way, just doesn’t spark anything.

White Light by Gene Clark
Jan 18 2024

Brutally dull. 70s singer/songwriter cliche.

I Am a Bird Now by Antony and the Johnsons
Jan 19 2024

God this voice is annoying. No thanks.

Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
Jan 22 2024

High energy and fun. Songs go on a bit long and circus-y feeling at times.

Hot Rats by Frank Zappa
Jan 23 2024

Frank was weird and not always my cup of tea, but always brilliant. This was a good listen after many years since my last listen.

Moby Grape by Moby Grape
Jan 24 2024

Absolutely nothing special. Inoffensive.

Moss Side Story by Barry Adamson
Jan 25 2024

Interesting listen. Don’t think I’ll listen to it again, but it wasn’t a chore to listen to at all.

Tragic Songs of Life by The Louvin Brothers
Jan 26 2024

It is beyond me how anyone likes that whiny, twangy, voice crack thing. There are songs (not on this album) that are so good, I can enjoy them in spite of it, but it’s genuinely confounding how that’s such a pervasive aesthetic in an American music. I’m really not quite sure what’s so special about this album. It did give me a greater appreciation for Nirvana’s version of “in the pines.”

Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens
Jan 27 2024

Kind of all just blends together aside from the songs you already know.

Blackstar by David Bowie
Jan 29 2024

Pretty enjoyable. Some of it felt directionless.

Rage Against The Machine by Rage Against The Machine
Jan 30 2024

Massive album that only grows in stature and, sadly, relevance.

Time Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan
Feb 01 2024

Boring. Shit voice. It’s a Dylan album. For all of his renown, most songs offer nothing particularly interesting lyrically, so even the one thing all the Dylan-worshippers beat you over the head with is absent here. More of the boring version of the blues that white men of a certain age love to flog to death. You can hear this album at any local blues open mic, and probably with better vocals. Listened to three minutes of this sixteen and a half minute final track before scanning forward to see if it was ever going to do anything else. It doesn’t. Fuck you, Bob.

Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
Feb 02 2024

None of their best songs are on this album, but it’s still a great listen. Never get tired of Johnny Marr.

Made In Japan by Deep Purple
Feb 04 2024

Life is way too short to listen to jam bands. Unfortunately, it seems the band’s approach to their live show was to take otherwise decent music and stretch it into jammy nonsense. Maybe if I had nothing better to do than psychedelics all day I’d feel better about a 20 minute version of Space Truckin, but as it stands I’m rather fucking agitated. So boring and self-indulgent. Maybe they could’ve done some more gibberish wailing and stretched these ten songs into a four hour concert.

Disraeli Gears by Cream
Feb 06 2024

Some good songs, but like a lot of psychedelia prone to a lot of meh. The drugs really are needed to fill in the boredom, apparently.

Face to Face by The Kinks
Feb 07 2024

Just st enjoyable, well-made pop rock.

Remain In Light by Talking Heads
Feb 08 2024

Particularly enjoyed listening wind. Enjoyed this start to finish.

Technique by New Order
Feb 09 2024

Just feels kind of pointless. Like it’s fine if you want to dance to it, but it’s not great to just listen to. Lyrics don’t grab me. I sometimes wonder if I’m harsh on New Order for not being more Joy Division, but I keep trying and nothing but the occasional song grabs me.

Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Feb 10 2024

Some really good stuff here, but I lost interest by the end.

Ctrl by SZA
Feb 11 2024

I generally am never grabbed by any r&b, so take my opinion with a million pinches of salt on any album in that genre. 1. Fuck autotune. 2. I understand cultural differences, but feels like a letdown when she uses her slurred, heavily accented delivery because when she just fucking sings, she really can and doesn’t need all the over-processing. 3. Repetition is annoying. I don’t care if you’re saying the weekend, pussy, or whatever. If it’s in every line, I’m annoyed. 4. Too much of the same sound at the same tempo. Snorrrreeee.

Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear
Feb 12 2024

I’m not sure I could tell the difference between good and bad reggae. It’s all kind of the same thing. The flute adds a nice touch, but mostly I find it hard to listen to the same exact thing with almost no variation for 3-4 minutes. Some of the lyrics seemed poignant, but I largely struggled to make out what was being said.

The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
Feb 13 2024

Kinda just goes on and on like listening to a really bored person pretending they’re having feelings about something. I’ve long heard this band lauded, but every time I give them a shot it just doesn’t land for me. Feels like something that maybe you had to be part of the zeitgeist to appreciate.

Traffic by Traffic
Feb 14 2024

Doesn’t really stand out much from anything else you already know from this era. I’m really getting burnt on all the late 60s/early 70s this list is feeding me.

Feb 15 2024

The Getz/Gilberto version of “Girl from Ipanima” will always define the song for me, but nothing was bad about this one. Never been the biggest Sinatra fan (he gets wayyy overplayed when you grow up in New Jersey), but thought it was really cool listening to the studio sessions track where he goes through the song three straight times. Hearing him trying out different expressions of the same lyrics was interesting insight into the process where I’ve mostly only heard what feels like a very (somewhat over) polished final product.

GI by Germs
Feb 16 2024

Solid early west coast punk. Bummer they didn’t get to do more.

Feb 17 2024

Nowhere near as good as his early albums. Most of this is pretty dull and too reliant on vocal after effects as opposed to good lines delivered well. Whatever I would’ve rated this, it gets a 1 because I refuse to separate this art from the scumbag the artist has become. Take your meds, Kanye.

Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
Feb 19 2024

Amy’s voice already sounded like it belonged in a smoke filled, old school jazz club where everyone in attendance was the type of person to have 24/7 alcohol sweats. Adding a retro doo-wop influence into the music along with lyrics that would suit the aforementioned type of imagined audience was just the perfect confluence of apropos.

The College Dropout by Kanye West
Feb 20 2024

I’d probably have rated this a 3 or 4, but it gets a 1 because of who Kanye has shown himself to be. Bad enough I got him some more royalties by playing this.

It’s fine. I like the kinks, but I am really so tired of this list feeding me 60s rock. It all starts sounding the same, and it’s getting hard to take individual albums on their own merit. This is easily the third kinks album I’ve had already out of like 130 albums. On top of that moby grape, cream, deep purple x 3, traffic, etc. It’s too damn much.

Celebrity Skin by Hole
Feb 22 2024

Can’t for the life of me figure out what’s so special about this. Has some decent enough songs-the singles in particular are the standouts. The rest is just late 90s “we don’t want to be grunge anymore, but we don’t really have a better idea, so here’s…this.”

Country is not my thing, but this is completely tolerable. She doesn’t twang her voice to hell. The lyrics are simple, but not stupid or Jesus-ed to oblivion. The music is on point, and the songs get to their point and then end. The 28 minute run time is absolutely no chore whatsoever which is about the best compliment I’ve ever given a country album.

Night Life by Ray Price
Feb 25 2024

Turns out if you take the twangy voice out of it, I don’t really mind older country music. It’ll never be a go to, but it was fine as Monday morning coffee background music.

Feb 26 2024

Sounds like an awesome set, and I do enjoy Motorhead. However, this sucks in the same way as every other fucking live album ever has. It doesn’t really capture how it would’ve sounded if you were there, and instead leaves you feeling like you’re listening to music with cotton balls in your ears.

Feb 27 2024

I’d never listened to an Aretha album despite being familiar with her hits. This isn’t my favorite type of music, but this was good! Everything about this album felt on point.

1977 by Ash
Feb 28 2024

I undoubtedly would have loved this album if I’d heard it when it came out. Kind of death knell 90s alt-rock, kind of pop-punk… but nearly 30 years later I’ve heard a million things like it and at least half of them did some of it better. It’s fine.

Highly Evolved by The Vines
Feb 29 2024

I definitely go into this with preconceived notions. I worked in a major record store chain when this album released and undoubtedly listened to it dozens, if not a hundred, times at work. The fact I have no memory of the album, aside from disapproval and hating the single, doesn’t bode well. Of the early aughts garage revival with “the” bands, The Vines were easily my least favorite. Get Free annoyed the hell out of me. I vastly preferred The Hives and even The Strokes. Let’s see if 20 some odd years changes my mind… Most of this still listens like a dollar store version of Oasis. Get Free is the only track with any energy and it’s still annoyingly repetitive. Think I’d rather have dental surgery than ever listen to the droning Country Yard ever again. This album feels really directionless and shallow. These dudes were probably the best around in a weak local scene so they thought they could get by with songs that just poorly (yet in a painfully obvious manner) aped their influences while adding absolutely nothing interesting or novel. How a record exec bought the hype and splurged on the marketing to make them a one hit wonder is beyond comprehension. I really look forward to when this album ends. Too bad 1969 wants to do the same thing over and over again for 3 hours. Can’t always say my opinions as an 18 year old were valid, but I still agree with me on this album. You can miss this and die without regret.

Autobahn by Kraftwerk
Mar 01 2024

I’ve always heard of them being influential to some artists I like, but never listened to them. It was okay as background music, but I think this just doesn’t stand up since electronic music has come so far since this time.

Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
Mar 02 2024

Not a lot here aside from his voice. Makes this a tough listen for a non-country fan.

Freak Out! by The Mothers Of Invention
Mar 03 2024

This sucked. I’m already tired of how often this list feeds me 60s rock. There’s nothing special about this flavor of psychedelia unless you find these dudes sarcastic “wit” more amusing than I did. Highlight of this album was their facetious doo wop song, merely for the fact that it didn’t sound like everything else on the album or have any irritating Alvin and the Chipmunks vocal effects. Frustrating listen.

American Idiot by Green Day
Mar 04 2024

I listened to this album a ton when it came out. I liked a handful of songs and others grew on me with repeated listens. Having listened to it for the first time in at least 15 years, I’m back to my original feelings toward it. Largely the radio singles and a couple other tunes are really solid songs. The rest is just way too broadway feeling for me. Considering that’s exactly what they did with this, it seems mission accomplished from their perspective. This was the first time I’ve heard the bonus tracks on the deluxe version. None stood out and they don’t immediately seem to fit the somewhat cohesive story of the original album.

War by U2
Mar 05 2024

A much more listenable version of U2 than what they became in the last 25 years or so.

Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service
Mar 06 2024

They’re good at what they do, but they only do that one thing for nearly an hour. It’s a good groove at first, then you let it fade to being background music, and when it inevitably hits your conscious thoughts again you wonder very strongly, “How the fuck am I still listening to this same song??” Then you realize it’s track 7 and you were roused from ignoring the music because the six track thematic opening ended. That seems like good news, but it really is somehow still the same song, just called something else. This list is way too 60s heavy. Not every band making 14 minute improvised songs needs to be heard. I would argue most of them absolutely don’t need to be. Like it has its interesting moments, but they’re interspersed with such long periods of absolute dross that the payoff isn’t worth it. Makes for good samples. Makes for decent music in a movie scene. As a whole listen, though? Only if you have the required narcotics.

Play by Moby
Mar 07 2024

Despite being into almost nothing aside from punk when this came out, I bought this album off the strength of a few of the singles. I didn’t love the whole album, but appreciated a lot of it. Having not listened to this in probably 20 years, we can consider this a fresh listen. I was nervous going in because the Fatboy Slim album the list previously gave me was so painfully repetitive. I was blown away by this album top to bottom though. It’s so well made and nothing repeats to the point of aggravation. This is masterful work. Probably the best compliment I can pay this album is that I’m voluntarily going to listen to the version that includes all the b-sides and adds an hour to the runtime.

Let's Get Killed by David Holmes
Mar 08 2024

Sooooo boring. If you want some typical late 90s electronica layered with messages from this dude’s microcassette using answering machine, have at it.

It's Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Mar 09 2024

Some really great songs and a bunch of so-so.

Soul Mining by The The
Mar 10 2024

I will always love “This Is The Day.” The rest of the album has never really spoken to me as much. Long and fairly repetitive songs just aren’t my thing. I understand this was pretty early in things moving toward synth music in the 80s, so in some ways it was setting the tone but it just sounds so dated now. Electronic drum sounds just suck 99% of the time.

Drunk by Thundercat
Mar 11 2024

What the actual fuck is this album and why do I love it so much??

Licensed To Ill by Beastie Boys
Mar 12 2024

This isn’t really meant to be thought hard about, or maybe you can think hard about it after half a case of piss flavored light beer. It’s stupid and fun and stupid fun. We were all young, sweaty, and cringeworthy as hell at some point.

The Idiot by Iggy Pop
Mar 13 2024

Not at all what I was expecting from an Iggy Pop album. Solid post-punk that gets extra consideration for being pretty early to the genre.

Mar 14 2024

I’ve always liked this album but I forgot how good it is as a whole. For me, this was the best of the early 00s garage revival.

Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
Mar 16 2024

Some iconic songs. A lot of meh, including a “my big dick” joke that goes on way too long. Steven Tyler is a shitbird, but I’m not going to kill the whole review for that.

Berlin by Lou Reed
Mar 18 2024

Felt like the back half of this album had a lot more to it.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips
Mar 19 2024

I don’t love Coyne’s vocals, but every single song on this album is mood inducing to the point that you stop noticing these dudes are really fucking weird.

Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon
Mar 20 2024

This could be better if dude wasn’t completely unintelligible.

Mar 22 2024

The audio equivalent of sitting in a mechanic’s smelly, dirty, and uncomfortable waiting room while they fix your alignment. You know you’re doing this for a reason, but you also know the only real payoff is you eventually get to leave. The producer on this really made it so much worse than it had to be, although rescuing 11 dirges sung in the key of bored as fuck is nigh impossible.

Mar 24 2024

Back in the day, I preferred the love below. I now emphatically think it sucks. Dragged this down from a 3-4 rating.

Nowhere by Ride
Mar 25 2024

Nothing grabbed me. Nothing stabbed me. It existed and so did I, together probably only this once somehow completely unaware of each other’s presence.

Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson
Mar 26 2024

Been years since I listened to this. Kinda fizzles out for the last few tracks, but otherwise really enjoyed it.

1989 by Taylor Swift
Mar 27 2024

Guess it’s a fine pop album, but it feels pretty vapid. Not sure why I needed to hear this before I die.

Red Dirt Girl by Emmylou Harris
Mar 28 2024

This sucks. It sounds like every other album from every other artist 20-30 years past their heyday was putting out at this time. All the boredom of easy listening, plus all the unrelatability of most country/folk, and topped of with a big pile of who gives a flying fuck about this simple guitar that you need to extend every song by 60-120 seconds so I can hear more of it.

Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
Mar 29 2024

His voice is grating. The music is like looking into a kaleidoscope: it’s colorful and the patterns are interesting, then after 7 seconds you never need to look at a kaleidoscope again…but there’s an hour and fifteen minutes of this.

Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
Mar 30 2024

Obviously the singles were all really strong songs. The rest of the album has some high points, but largely without the benefit of nostalgia helping this sound is just super dated.

New Wave by The Auteurs
Mar 31 2024

Started out sounding like something I’d really be into, but it didn’t hold up. The singer’s John Lennon impression gets pretty tired after awhile and there’s nothing really special about any of it.

Kollaps by Einstürzende Neubauten
Apr 02 2024

Don’t think this deserves the absolute hate it gets. It’s for sure a challenging listen, but it’s at least something different and provokes a reaction. Do much of this list has already been of the “oh god, more of this?” type that something genuinely different really stands out.

The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
Apr 03 2024

Don’t really see how this is any better than a lot of Steely Dan. It’s okay.

Metallica by Metallica
Apr 04 2024

Some absolutely legendary songs on this album. Loses a star for sounding too clean and a bit over-produced at times.

The Gershwin Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald
Apr 05 2024

I listened to a third of this. Over three hours is an excessive ask for music that all sounds very samey. She’s a hell of a singer. The composition is era defining. I don’t need to hear it all in a row. Any song in particular is a four star song, but I’m giving this two stars because unless you love tgis exact sound, this is a shit listen.

2112 by Rush
Apr 06 2024

I enjoyed the music. Really don’t care for Geddy’s voice and never have.

The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
Apr 07 2024

Really solid, although I’m always more partial to Midnight Marauders.

Your Arsenal by Morrissey
Apr 08 2024

It’s ok. Morrissey outside of the smiths never does much for me.

I Should Coco by Supergrass
Apr 09 2024

Some really fun stuff here and a lot that sort of just is. I’m also tired of this vocal type. Feels like every third or fourth British band I listen to has this exact vocal style.

Achtung Baby by U2
Apr 10 2024

This is exactly where U2 became boring beyond all compare. Bono is not insufferable, only because I managed to suffer this.

Murder Ballads by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Apr 16 2024

Feels like something my appreciation for might grow with repeated listens, but for a first listen it’s just not grabbing me.

Southern Rock Opera by Drive-By Truckers
Apr 17 2024

I really tried to get through this. It’s so boring and just as awful as it is long.

The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy
Apr 18 2024

This was a refreshingly strong wind after days stuck in the doldrums of a horribly dull and long Drive By Truckers album. I heard the radio singles off this album a ton as I entered my teenage years, but had never listened to the whole album. I enjoyed it, but felt every song went on at least a minute too long. The repetitive nature of this type of electronic music is what tends to turn me off from it. I like cool sounds, but I don’t need to hear them so many times in a row.

Superfly by Curtis Mayfield
Apr 19 2024
Apr 21 2024

Can’t wait until the last of the boomers are gone and we can stop pretending every wet fart from the 60s was groundbreaking.

Back to Basics by Christina Aguilera
Apr 22 2024

Jesus fucking christ. This album is so fucking long for no reason. A self-indulgent five minute track of fan voicemails? Check. A pop singer who lost popularity claiming a return to their roots throwing in some gospel influenced tracks? Check. She can definitely sing, but they overproduce her voice on every single track. This is nothing special.

Fragile by Yes
Apr 23 2024

Really fun in places and pretty meh in others.

Power In Numbers by Jurassic 5
Apr 24 2024

First heard this group from a demo cassette handed out at warped tour back in 2000. Bought this when it released and it still holds up really well.

Apr 25 2024

I’m not sure what others are hearing here that sounds so unique compared to other late 80s/early 90s hip hop. Sounds like dude has a good flow, but without knowing what he’s saying, a lot of what I find to appreciate in a skilled rapper isn’t available. Like if you’re rhyming your grocery list it’s not as impressive as telling a story or making a political statement. Actually, I can’t even tell if this rhymes half the time.

Slayed? by Slade
Apr 26 2024

Ugh. It’s fine for what it is. They’re a solid product of their time, while innovating nothing. Not as good as the Beatles, the Stones, or Zeppelin who they clearly bite from. If I wanted more of that sound, this would be great but really I’m tired of this kind of music both from this playlist and from it being used in commercials to sell all kinds of crap my whole life, and from being bombarded with “classic rock” radio all of the place for decades. Nothing essential to a complete life to be found on this album.

Apr 27 2024

It has its moments, but a little of most of these songs go a long way and they unfortunately haven’t heard of the essence of wit.

Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
Apr 28 2024

This is the best of what the hair metal era had to offer and I still can’t give it a five. For all the strength of the hits, a few of the tracks are just absolutely nothing.

Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg
Apr 29 2024

Snoop has a great delivery and the beats are fun and cool, but the lyrics are predictable at best and ignorant at worst.

The Man Machine by Kraftwerk
Apr 30 2024

Really enjoyed this. Crazy how well this holds up.

Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
May 01 2024

This album starts off with a dollar store Don Henley and ends with dollar store Arcade Fire. I’ll give them an additional star for proving they can actually change the drums since they were exactly the same for the bulk of this album.

May 02 2024

If you can’t bring yourself to believe this is satire, you’re gonna hate this. Or you should, anyway. I’m only giving this a four because the intent is veiled enough that this really reinforced some negative beliefs for some imperceptive people.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
May 03 2024

Is this the quintessential non-grunge early 90s alt rock album? It’s hard to say if this sounds like it to me because this was the sound at the time or if this album defined that time. It’s really good and yet I still always can’t stand something about RHCP.

Odessey And Oracle by The Zombies
May 04 2024

It’s good psychedelia, even if at times it just feels like an attempt to modernize the barbershop quartet or even chamber music. In the end, nothing is worth remembering aside from time of the season.

Ragged Glory by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
May 08 2024

Neil Young’s voice is grating.

Abraxas by Santana
May 09 2024

My favorite thing about this album was the runtime being under an hour, unlike the last 8 albums this list gave me. The guitar is also awesome.

Trafalgar by Bee Gees
May 10 2024

I had no idea the BeeGees started their career as the Wannabeatles. Thanks for the cursed knowledge and the nap.

Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi
May 11 2024

On behalf of the sane people from the Garden State, you suck Jon.

May 13 2024

Overrated tripe. We all disliked JaRule, but this was vapid crap too.

Rubber Soul by Beatles
May 14 2024

There’s some beautiful stuff here written by a complete dirtbag.

Henry's Dream by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
May 16 2024

I just don’t get the appeal.

No Other by Gene Clark
May 17 2024

Boring when it’s not country, and aggravating when it is.

Who's Next by The Who
May 18 2024

The singles are long dead and have only stopped bleeding because the last of their blood was drained by classic rock radio sometime around 2001. The rest of the album is nothing remarkable, even sounding like rehashes of other songs on the album at times.

Sunshine Hit Me by The Bees
May 19 2024

Mellow and enjoyable, though thoroughly unremarkable. I’ve begun to suspect the curator of this list is either very easily impressed or more concerned with the narrative around the work than the actuality of what hits your ears.

Pink Moon by Nick Drake
May 20 2024

Extra star for realizing more than half an hour of solo acoustic music with a soothing, somewhat dull voice would be just too much.

Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
May 30 2024

I didn’t hate it so it’s better than most country/pop albums in my book. It doesn’t feel like anything special outside of that metric though.

The Wall by Pink Floyd
May 31 2024

A whole that’s much less than some of its parts. Still quite good, but there’s too much of this that’s just there or exists only to set up something else.

Jun 01 2024

Wasn’t in the mood for this and never understood the obsession with cowboys. That said, it wasn’t grating or hard to just let it be background noise.

You Are The Quarry by Morrissey
Jun 02 2024

Irish Blood, English Heart and First of the Gang to Die are good songs. The rest? No.

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
Jun 03 2024

45 minutes of being whined, whispered, and wailed at by a man who either has or, even worse, is pretending to have a speech impediment.

She's So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper
Jun 04 2024

On the one hand, this album couldn’t be more dated if it was called Lots of 80s Synth! On the other hand, it works pretty damn well without being as stale as most of the reprocessed mall-pop that imitated it and made us sick of that sound.

Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams
Jun 05 2024

Ugh. More alt-country I’ve been recommended a ton of times and never enjoyed. To Be Young is an okay song, but the rest of this kinda just keeps happening without much of a point to its existence. I truly loathe this where it goes more country and merely tolerate it where it’s fairly generic rock. There’s nothing remarkable about the lyrics and the pacing on many of the songs is nothing short of tedious. There’s a group of people who love Ryan Adams, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, etc. that I tend to have a lot of shared musical taste with, but this stuff just never does it for me.

american dream by LCD Soundsystem
Jun 06 2024

I think I’d need to listen to this a few more times to really rate it fairly. I enjoyed it, but not to the level of prior albums. Still good, though.

L'Eau Rouge by The Young Gods
Jun 07 2024

Tom Waits sings in French over B-tier early Nine Inch Nails. Unfortunately, this isn’t that good. Maybe if I understood French, there’s something amazing happening lyrically here, but as it stands it felt like 80% of this album was a dude growling at me over a shitty, thin sounding, and uninspired snare drum. Another 10% was the first five minutes of the album, comprised of nothing but repetitive, purposely off-key carnival music and growly man attempting to actually sing and then sing like a creepy circus ringmaster. That’s 90% of the album that feels, at best, like a moderately interesting experiment.

The Cars by The Cars
Jun 08 2024

Not every song on the album is a winner, but it’s damn close. I’ve always had a soft spot for Just What I Needed.

Is This It by The Strokes
Jun 09 2024

This album came out my senior year of high school when I was also working in a major chain record store, so I heard a ton of it and it really takes me to a specific time and place. The album holds up pretty well, aside from the decision to put the same distortion on the vocals on every single track. It serves a purpose on some songs, but on others it just has the effect of making the entire album very same sounding.

Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson
Jun 10 2024

I never liked this when it came out, didn’t care for anything he did later, and absolutely despise abusers and rapists. Won’t listen now and get him any royalties. I remember this as being really cheesy and over the top edgelord crap anyway.

Cloud Nine by The Temptations
Jun 11 2024

Not bad for expanding outside their Motown comfort zone.

Opus Dei by Laibach
Jun 12 2024

I don’t understand the aesthetic of just looping something 90 times a minute with a tinny sounding snare and Sousa march sounding bass drums, so I didn’t particularly enjoy this album that either is the source of the stereotype of German 80s music or is just the stereotype distilled into its quintessence.

Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf
Jun 13 2024

It’s just not my favored aesthetic at all. If you’re into maximum unsubtle, good for you.

Homework by Daft Punk
Jun 15 2024

Definitely pretty incredible how they can make relatively long and repetitive songs not get boring or agitating.

Jun 17 2024

Not even a remotely important album, but it was an ok listen for a long drive running errands.

Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
Jun 18 2024

You probably have heard all of these songs without actually listening to this album, which is both testament to the strength of the album and emblematic of the Stones’ oversaturation which results in a type of fatigue at hearing their music, in my opinion. My first instinct is to give this a four, but I have no good reason to take away a star.

Timeless by Goldie
Jun 19 2024

Brutally long. Not for me or anyone else who doesn’t like hearing the same thing over and over again for an average of seven minutes and an at worst of 21 minutes.

Jun 20 2024

While I’m quite tired of all the 60s stuff on this list, this was a good listen and didn’t feel like a re-tread or beaten to death.

Junkyard by The Birthday Party
Jun 21 2024

I’m really glad I made it past the first few tracks. She’s Hit is a long, boring slog that felt like if The Misfits had all the codeine before going into record. The album really picks up after the first version of Dead Joe though. I respect Nick Cave, but generally don’t enjoy his music. This rawer, less “ooh I’m making some sort of spooky murder mystery dinner theater” shtick version works for me.

Nevermind by Nirvana
Jun 22 2024

This came out a solid 4 or 5 years before I was an angsty teenager, so I don’t think it’s just era nostalgia that makes me love this album. Smells Like Teen Spirit has taken every kind of attempt to beat it to death and still holds up despite not even being in the top half of my favorite songs on this album.

Bongo Rock by Incredible Bongo Band
Jul 17 2024

There’s some really fun stuff here but I really didn’t need over an hour of it.

Parklife by Blur
Jul 20 2024

Honestly, I really like some Blur, but this is just too damn much Blur.

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
Jul 21 2024

More Dylan. Supposedly prime Dylan. It still sucks. Fuck you, Bob.

Songs Of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen
Aug 02 2024

If you tell a good story in the most boring way possible, is it a good story? This isn’t my thing.

With The Beatles by Beatles
Aug 03 2024

It’s quality for being what it is. Still really heavily blues influenced and nothing particularly innovative happening yet here, but it’s kind of nice to listen to a beatles album that doesn’t have 6 or 7 songs the radio has milked dry.

Synchronicity by The Police
Aug 04 2024

I listened to this whole album and can’t figure out what it’s good at. Mediocre culture theft?

The Yes Album by Yes
Aug 05 2024

Some of this is pretty fun, but there’s a lot of this.

On influence alone, this should probably be a five, but there are a few stretches on this album that get kinda dull which says a lot on a punk album with relatively short songs.

Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
Aug 08 2024

Not my thing most days, but there really isn’t a bad song on here.

Aug 09 2024

Parts of this are so off-putting that it’s 100% the jazz ppl think of when they say they don’t like jazz despite never having listened to jazz. A bunch of this just sounds like the worst kind of all night bender feels.

School's Out by Alice Cooper
Aug 16 2024

This felt really theatrical at times, and it was a pleasant surprise that it wasn’t just the title track rehashed 12 slightly different ways. Solid classic rock, but strays enough from that sound to prevent fatigue.

Siembra by Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
Aug 19 2024

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about this type of music. It sounds really clean and well executed, but also at times sounds like very run of the mill 70s music with a latin flair.

Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Aug 20 2024

Literally every time I listen to this album, there’s at least two or three moments I wonder if I’ll ever contrive something even remotely as perfect as a particular lyric or guitar line. These guys made a whole album that perfect.

Zombie by Fela Kuti
Aug 21 2024

Really enjoyed this despite it not being what I’m really into and the songs being pretty long.

Scum by Napalm Death
Aug 23 2024

I didn’t understand a single lyric. I can’t remember a melody that grabbed me. I’ll never voluntarily listen to this again. Yet, I get it in the context that it’s something really different from a lot of what’s on this list.

Hail To the Thief by Radiohead
Aug 24 2024

Not their best album, but still full of really impressive stuff.

Dirt by Alice In Chains
Aug 25 2024

I appreciate everything about this album. I even like some of the songs, but Alice in Chains has never fully won me over in 30+ years of trying. Don’t know why, but art’s subjective so minus a star.

The Chronic by Dr. Dre
Aug 26 2024

Yeah enough other people have already said it. Important album that talks way too much about dick.

Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Aug 29 2024

Really enjoyed this. I’ve heard tracks here and there but never listened to a whole album of theirs. Guess I’ve been missing out.

Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub
Aug 30 2024

Super mellow for the most part but I liked this a lot.

Rock 'N Soul by Solomon Burke
Sep 01 2024

Never heard of this guy and so pleasantly surprised.

Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney
Sep 02 2024

Love the energy. Love love love the guitars. Sometimes okay with the vocals.

You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
Sep 03 2024

This is just so dull. If there’s something amazing in these lyrics, I’m missing it. Sounds like the kind of poetry you get in creative writing 101. Traveling Light threatens to be interesting at times.

Low-Life by New Order
Sep 04 2024

I have never found an appreciation for New Order anywhere near what I have for Joy Division, but this album really surprised me. Think I need to give it a few more listens.

Call of the Valley by Shivkumar Sharma
Sep 06 2024

I appreciate the musicianship here but the ample notebending/vibrato and shrill flute sounds are just never aesthetically pleasing to me. The rhythm stuff here is awesome, but I won’t ever listen to this again.

Darkdancer by Les Rythmes Digitales
Sep 08 2024

The first track sounded like something from the soundtrack to sonic the hedgehog 2. Not the movie. The video game that preceded this album by 9 years. It didn’t get better from there. Disco to disco to disco to just fucking end me.

Maverick A Strike by Finley Quaye
Sep 09 2024

Shallow crap. It’s like an entire album conceived to be the background music for tampon and glucose monitor commercials.

Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan
Sep 10 2024

Not my favorite by them by a long mile, but solid enough.

Songs From A Room by Leonard Cohen
Sep 11 2024

I’ve been bored and I’ve been sad, bit I don’t think I’ve ever been bored and/or sad enough for this.

Hysteria by Def Leppard
Sep 12 2024

Literally no band outside of the hair metal genre has cited Def Leppard as a massive influence in the nearly 40 years this album had existed. Yes, it had radio singles. Yes, their drummer lost an arm. Yes, this sucks as big and loud as it could legally suck.

Natty Dread by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Sep 14 2024

I didn’t hate this, but it also does nothing for me. I’ve never been moved by reggae in any way. Just feels very simplistic and moves at a speed that my life does not, and I wouldn’t want it to.

Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
Sep 15 2024

Blue Orchid is a fun song, but 90% of this album is some kind of forgettable background dross that only stays at the front of your brain bc Jack White’s screechy voice keeps stabbing your eardrums.

John Prine by John Prine
Sep 16 2024

I don’t care how “not country” this is. It’s country, and I don’t like it.

From Elvis In Memphis by Elvis Presley
Sep 17 2024

The man can sing and steal culture for sure. This is pretty boring and for all the emotion he tries to convey, you know none of this is his work at all. The man was just a meaty speaker spurting sounds he hoped you’d pay him for.

Music by Madonna
Sep 18 2024

Boring, typical pop. Nothing that has to be heard here.

Jack Takes the Floor by Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Sep 19 2024

I like his voice, and the album was short enough, but man old folk tunes just suck.

Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis
Sep 22 2024

An overcast autumn day was the perfect backdrop for listening to this.

Gasoline Alley by Rod Stewart
Sep 23 2024

This album sucks on so many levels. Firstly, a few of the songs are mixed in such a way that the vocals are absolutely buried, so you feel like you’re both listening to someone mumbling in a crowded room, but somehow how they’re also raspily shouting at you. The more “rocking” songs have no punch. The more folky/country/blues songs have no soul. Every single song is repetitive as all get out. Die happy having never listened to this.

Eternally Yours by The Saints
Sep 25 2024

Nothing special, but enjoyable.

Clandestino by Manu Chao
Sep 26 2024

I found his “South American” accent super annoying. Otherwise this is fairly bland and inoffensive music, but nothing that connects with me.

Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Sep 28 2024

Not for me.

Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3
Sep 29 2024

I would call this interminably dull, but mercifully it does actually have an ending.

Low by David Bowie
Oct 01 2024
evermore by Taylor Swift
Oct 04 2024

God this is dull. While I’m a fan of cohesive albums, this is like a gradient of all the most inoffensive beiges—everything sounds like everything else and everything sounds fucking boring.

Live! by Fela Kuti
Oct 05 2024

Really enjoyed this.

At Newport 1960 by Muddy Waters
Oct 07 2024

Minus a star because this songs aren’t interesting enough to listen to four of them twice on the same 45 minute album.

Catch A Fire by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Oct 08 2024

Third Bob Marley album in as many weeks. It’s not bad, it just does nothing for me. I nod my head along every now and then, but mostly I wait for it to end.

Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
Oct 09 2024

Honestly really enjoyable aside from the super saccharine “She’s Out of My Life” that just dated this way harder than any of the disco influenced stuff.

Rid Of Me by PJ Harvey
Oct 10 2024

Thought I was going to end up really liking this, but it just never seemed to get there for me. Not that it necessarily sounds dated, but the way this is a cornucopia of off kilter things rather than just a particular type of odd is probably the most early 90s thing this could be.

Bone Machine by Tom Waits
Oct 11 2024

Not my favorite album from him, but has its moments.

Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Oct 13 2024

This is really nothing special for a late 70s rock album, and Neil Young still has an irritating voice.

Orbital 2 by Orbital
Oct 14 2024

This was irritating at worst and just too long at its best. I’m not the greatest aficionado of electronic music, but I’ve heard enough to know it doesn’t have to be shitty neverending loops of vocal samples and odd sounds for 6 or 7 minutes at a time.

Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock
Oct 15 2024

Never knew this guy as anything except the dude who bit Huey Lewis’ sound for the Ghostbusters theme. This was pretty enjoyable and not too long.

Oct 17 2024

I officially do not enjoy this type of music unless I’m playing Mariokart. All of these songs are 3-5 minutes too long. Seems like dude’s a prick to boot.

Oct 20 2024

I enjoyed a lot of this, but some of it falls pretty flat some 30 odd years later.

Hot Fuss by The Killers
Oct 22 2024

Meh. Never cared for this and still don’t. I’ll give it a three for Mr. Brightside and some of the music, but much of the lyrics on this mean absolutely nothing at best and are total idiocy at worst (Somebody Told Me).

Forever Changes by Love
Oct 23 2024

I’m pretty tired of all the psychedelia on this list by now, but this one was pretty good. Well-executed with enough outside influences shining through that this didn’t feel like a rehash of everything else from the genre.

Oct 26 2024

This was better listen than I was expecting. It really doesn’t sound very country or western at all. However, all the songs start sounding like every other orchestra backed 40s/50s song and the run time is way too long.

The Contino Sessions by Death In Vegas
Oct 28 2024

I found myself nodding along to a lot of this. Unfortunately, some of these songs just really don’t need to be 5-7 minutes long.

Sea Change by Beck
Oct 29 2024

I never really enjoy Beck’s downtempo stuff as much. This has some great songs for when you’re just in that kind of mood, but there’s a ton of filler that all sounds like each other. Cut the run time by a third, and gain a star.

Arular by M.I.A.
Oct 30 2024

It’s fine. Easy to ignore until it’s over. Sometimes interesting.

Our Aim Is To Satisfy by Red Snapper
Nov 03 2024

Repetitive and boring. Don’t understand what is special about this compared to every other electronica album circa 1996-2000.

Axis: Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix
Nov 04 2024

I appreciate the historical significance, but there’s honestly not very much here that’s super impressive to people with the subsequent ~60 years of music history available to them.

Nov 05 2024

The high points on this album are undeniable. Freddy Mercury’s voice and the production are incredible. That said, I don’t dig the theatre for a reason and this album is full of it. I don’t find playful whimsy and sounds for the sake of making sounds particularly fun.

Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt
Nov 11 2024

Just a lot of noises.

Guero by Beck
Nov 12 2024
Oar by Alexander 'Skip' Spence
Nov 13 2024

Some decent stuff. A lot of forgettable droning.

Bug by Dinosaur Jr.
Nov 14 2024
Brown Sugar by D'Angelo
Nov 15 2024

Every song is 4-6 minutes of the same two lyrics until you jam a screwdriver in your ear and scream about how you’ve done nothing to deserve this torture.

Dusty In Memphis by Dusty Springfield
Nov 16 2024

Not my cup of tea, but she’s got a great voice. Always fun hearing Brits over accent the hard a sounds in words like man, can, etc.

16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens
Nov 18 2024

This was a welcome change from another stretch of 60s/70s music, but I’m not getting what’s so important about it.

Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
Nov 20 2024

I never wondered to myself what it would sound like if someone decided to bite from the smiths, billy idol, and wham all on one album while throwing in a lounge tune bc fuck it, why not? But now I have the answer. After the first two smiths-light sounding tracks, I thought I might be in for a pleasant surprise but by the end, I wanted to punch this singer in the face as often as he repeated the same three unclever lines in “Desire As.”

Electric by The Cult
Nov 21 2024

Less talented and less energetic guns and roses.

Nov 22 2024

Sounds like so much else from the late 60s and early 70s. Showcases the neutered energy that would make Steve Winwood the darling of easy listening and soft rock radio stations played in waiting rooms for the next forty years.

Hunky Dory by David Bowie
Nov 24 2024

Kinda like most Bowie albums. Some killer songs and a lot that’s forgettable.

Only By The Night by Kings of Leon
Nov 25 2024

Undoubtedly better than their first album with some really enjoyable songs, but still a ton of droning, forgettable, same-sounding dreck.

My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello
Nov 26 2024

I never really enjoyed any of the Elvis Costello I listened to in the past. Apparently, I needed to go further back in his catalogue bc I enjoyed this.

Imperial Bedroom by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Nov 27 2024

My Aim Is True pleasantly surprised me. This did not. Why does every critically acclaimed songwriter have to morph into these clown that make “rich tapestries of kaleidoscopic music?” It sounds like a boring circus no one wants to be at.

Duck Rock by Malcolm McLaren
Nov 28 2024

I get the importance, but screw this dude for taking all the credit.

Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
Nov 30 2024

I am from New Jersey and grew up on this. My review should mean nothing to you.

Dookie by Green Day
Dec 03 2024

If it was just about what’s on the album, I’d give it a 5, but this album is the starting point that ended up with me hearing pop punk type sounds in modern country pop and that just makes me fucking sad.

Exit Planet Dust by The Chemical Brothers
Dec 04 2024

Inoffensive, but endless repetition just isn’t my thing.

Tago Mago by Can
Dec 05 2024

Started out pretty cool. Could’ve been current 30-40 years after its release date. Then they got real fuckin weird with it. I decidedly do not like nearly 20 minute songs with assorted irritating sounds.

Tres Hombres by ZZ Top
Dec 10 2024

Well executed early 70s bluesy rock. Exactly what you’d expect and nothing special.

Truth by Jeff Beck
Dec 12 2024

I was wondering how I never knew that Jeff Beck sounded so much like Rod Stewart… Anyway, another blues heavy album by a bunch of English white dudes in the late 60s. Nothing remotely interesting here unless you’re really impressed by blues after the invention of a wah pedal.

Connected by Stereo MC's
Dec 13 2024

Inoffensive most of the time. Lame raps. Not my thing.

Rapture by Anita Baker
Dec 18 2024
Hypnotised by The Undertones
Dec 20 2024

This is a fine punkish album, but the fact I’ve already heard two albums by these guys and none by Descendants has me curious.

Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
Dec 21 2024

No. Fuck you, Bob. So sick of this bland music full of superfluous harmonica and clown vocals.

Kenya by Machito
Dec 23 2024
On The Beach by Neil Young
Dec 26 2024

The song “On the Beach” was good in spite of Neil’s vocals. The rest of the album isn’t interesting enough to get past that whiny warble.

90 by 808 State
Dec 27 2024

Not the worst electronic music I’ve ever listened to, but suffers from being too long and too repetitive as most EDM does.

Dec 28 2024

This album is tough to consider without its context, which tends to increase its stature in my mind. In the end, it’s an album of covers in which “Hurt” is really the only one which approaches/exceeds the original, although I do also like Cash’s “Personal Jesus.”

Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton
Dec 29 2024

As live recordings go, this is pretty great sound quality. That being said, Frampton isn’t interesting enough to warrant over an hour of listening.

Smokers Delight by Nightmares On Wax
Jan 03 2025

Extremely chill, but never really interesting.

Rio by Duran Duran
Jan 04 2025

All style, no substance. Quintessential 80s.

Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto
Jan 05 2025

Very smooth and a nice listen, but I don’t think there’s enough novelty about this that it should outrank albums from the heyday of this sound.

Wonderful Rainbow by Lightning Bolt
Jan 06 2025

I enjoyed this at times. Other times felt songs went on too long.

Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & The Holding Company
Jan 09 2025

Fake love album. A bunch of songs not much more than just fairly executed blues. More overrated 60s.

Good Old Boys by Randy Newman
Jan 10 2025

Honestly didn’t have Randy Newman dropping the n-word on my bingo card. Unfortunately, there’s little else for me to comment on this album.

Tommy by The Who
Jan 11 2025

As a child, my boomer parents excitedly told me “Pinball Wizard” was from a rock opera one time when it came on the radio. I don’t recall them having much else to say, and having once again tried to glean what’s great about this album, I’d be at a loss to praise it further. The story is boring. The thematic refrains aren’t interesting enough to warrant sitting through. This is literally the soundtrack to a movie no one gives a fuck about.

Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Jan 12 2025

There’s so much crap here, but it has moments where it starts to coalesce into something worth listening to before degrading back to utter nonsense.

Sign 'O' The Times by Prince
Jan 13 2025

Found myself pretty bored through the first five or six songs, but then a few leaned in a different direction like I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man and I enjoyed those.

Chirping Crickets by Buddy Holly & The Crickets
Jan 14 2025

Never actually listened to a Buddy Holly album before. This was better than I expected.

Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper
Jan 15 2025

An enjoyable listen with not much that stands out. No More Mr. Nice Guy is, of course, a classic for a reason.

Kimono My House by Sparks
Jan 16 2025

This caught me off guard. Never heard this band before and was pleasantly surprised, aside from Equator which went on too long and got super annoying.

En-Tact by The Shamen
Jan 17 2025

Never got too repetitive. Nice in the background and found myself nodding along a lot.

Different Class by Pulp
Jan 18 2025

It has moments that are pretty good, but overall just doesn’t really land.

Jan 19 2025

Nowhere near as insufferable as Sweetheart of the Rodeo, but also generally pretty bland. Congrats on using a phase effect, I suppose? I don’t know. Think I just don’t identify with the 60s mentality at all.

Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Jan 20 2025

More historically significant than sonically interesting at this point, but not a bad listen at all. Just a bit samey.

Fred Neil by Fred Neil
Jan 21 2025

Like eating plain oatmeal and drinking dishwater.

Wild Wood by Paul Weller
Jan 22 2025

Someone reviewed this and said it sounds timeless bc it could’ve been made in the 70s. No…it sounds like the 70s, but 20 years later for some reason. Soulless tripe.

The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
Jan 23 2025

I don’t really like the way a lot of this album makes me feel, but that’s kind of the point of it, isn’t it? It’s fucking brilliant. It’s disgusting. It’s wistful. It’s violent. It’s lonely. It’s claustrophobic. It’s the thoughts that never fully reach the front of your brain no matter how hard you focus on them and the feelings that come on too strong and/or too fleeting for you to ever make sense of. Fuck this album. I love it.

The Pleasure Principle by Gary Numan
Jan 24 2025

I did not expect to enjoy an entire album of sci-fi sounding music as much as I enjoyed this. Cars is the catchiest tune, but also arguably the least interesting. The impact this album had on new wave, electronic music, and later eras of rock is constantly evident.

Peter Gabriel 3 by Peter Gabriel
Jan 25 2025

It’s not terrible, but most of this feels like he’s more interested in incorporating “new” sounds rather than making a song with any kind of feeling or fun.

The Doors by The Doors
Jan 26 2025

Would rate this higher if a quarter of the album wasn’t the last track.

Next by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Jan 27 2025

I don’t get what’s sensational here. Glad it was short.

Parallel Lines by Blondie
Jan 28 2025

Never listened to the whole album despite knowing and enjoying a bunch of the songs. So much of this can be heard as influencing what would come for the next 4 decades.

Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby by Girls Against Boys
Jan 29 2025

Aggressively monotonous. Like Sonic Youth or Pixies with all the interesting parts amputated. This could’ve easily been replaced by a better album from one of those bands. These songs are so fucking dull to have 5-6 minute runtimes.

Jan 30 2025

There’s some catchy stuff here, but a lot of it is really nothing special and the 12 minute thank you track is horribly boring. Took away a star for that.

At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash
Jan 31 2025

The sound quality is surprisingly good for a live album in a prison, but you can still hear where the mics can’t keep up at times. About as good a live album as I’ve heard.

Feb 01 2025

So fucking dull. Songs go on and on. Dude really loves the sound of his own voice.

Dry by PJ Harvey
Feb 02 2025

Solid rock album. I like her voice, but there’s not much here that grabs me.

Behaviour by Pet Shop Boys
Feb 03 2025

The singer’s voice only seems capable of being either saccharine or insipid. The music is completely dated and sounds at best like neutered Depeche Mode. The album starts with a very long, very boring song about not being boring and gets worse from there. If you told me this was the soundtrack to Early 90s: The Musical, you’d be believed. So lame.

Arc Of A Diver by Steve Winwood
Feb 04 2025

The soundtrack to the dentist’s waiting room. Dated and boring.

Solid Air by John Martyn
Feb 05 2025

Dull music. Uninspired sentiment. Had moments when it threatened to be interesting with something funky or jazzy, but the terrible singing and bog standard acoustic guitar kept it all well within the parameters of a typical boring folk slog.

Feb 06 2025

So much better than the other Fatboy Slim album I had to listen to. Much less of the same two lyrics repeated a thousand times in every song. An enjoyable listen.

Triangle by The Beau Brummels
Feb 07 2025

Well now I know what it would sound like if Bob Dylan could sing, but still put that stupid affect on his pronunciation.

Rejoicing In The Hands by Devendra Banhart
Feb 08 2025

I just don’t know who likes this much folk music or what’s so special about this particular album.

Cross by Justice
Feb 09 2025

Most of this album is just a plain good time. D.A.N.C.E. is super catchy. Nothing goes on repetitively for 8 or 9 minutes. Solid.

Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Feb 11 2025

Had to listen to David Crosby solo yesterday and now this… There is way too much country/folk/psychedelia on this list. I’m so damn tired of it. This has the songs you know and is mercifully short. Still hate Neil Young’s voice.

Ace of Spades by Motörhead
Feb 12 2025

Ace of Spades is an amazing song, unfortunately the rest of the album sounds similar but never manages to match its energy so you end up feeling a bit let down by the rest. Jailbait is a pretty gross song where in not so many words they just can’t wait to fuck a child. I’m glad this type of “rock and roll bad boy” shit is no longer acceptable.

Closer by Joy Division
Feb 13 2025

What could I possibly add?

Giant Steps by The Boo Radleys
Feb 14 2025

Its best moments are like second tier Pixies tracks. This album is easily 30 minutes too long. All the meandering, “let’s put all the styles together” tracks just blend into one long, second half slog where you really struggle to differentiate anything. I found myself occasionally checking in to make sure it didn’t sneakily end on me and I was now listening to some other band going on and on and on, but that wasn’t the case. What a chore to listen to.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly
Feb 15 2025

More freakin psychedelia. Great. The title track is all you need to listen to, and not even this self-indulgent 17 minute version of it. One song does not an album make, even if it is nearly half of the album’s total runtime. Lame.

A Short Album About Love by The Divine Comedy
Feb 16 2025

Not funny enough to be satire. Not good enough to be this far up its own ass. Whole thing feels like a theater geek’s wet dream of the album that will finally make regular people appreciate musicals. Worthless.

Public Image: First Issue by Public Image Ltd.
Feb 17 2025

Theme is too long. Religion I isn’t strong enough to justify its inclusion given the presence of Religion II. The middle of the album is pretty good, although there is always the backdrop of Lydon’s “I’m being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole, but that’s my art” shtick, which like most pre-teen proclivities is occasionally clever, frequently cringeworthy, and nearly always tiresome.

Electric Prunes by The Electric Prunes
Feb 18 2025

I’m generally burnt out on all the late 60s psychedelia this list churns out, but this was a bit of a pleasant surprise. It’s a bit more uptempo and has a darker/hard rock feel to it at times with less of the weird, baroque interjections common to the era.

First Band On The Moon by The Cardigans
Feb 20 2025

There was some good stuff here. The cover of Iron Man was interesting. A lot was pretty forgettable. Lovefool is a great song.

25 by Adele
Feb 21 2025

Her ability to sing is undeniable. Her acting, less so. This is so polished and when you combine that with her feigned emotion you get an oddly inhuman album that is dripping with cloying sentiment. Also, I can’t figure out if her target audience is teenagers or geriatrics.

Destroyer by KISS
Feb 22 2025

So boring. Kiss has to be the most overrated band ever.

Yank Crime by Drive Like Jehu
Feb 23 2025

Noise, aggression, and fun. Yes.

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Feb 24 2025

Tracks 2-4 are undeniably good songs. Unfortunately the other 12 songs are a Red Hot Chili Peppers album.

Feb 25 2025

I don’t know. Some of this is so fucking trite (Love) and then the next track (Well Well Well) offers nothing lyrically, but hints at something else with the screamed vocals and intense music. It’s fine, at worst. John Lennon was a dick and self-important, but definitely had some talent.

Jazz Samba by Stan Getz
Feb 26 2025

I always think I need to be in the mood for a Stan Getz album. I’m an idiot. This is smooth, fun, tap along if you want to music and I love it.

Feb 27 2025

The highs of this album are excellent. Unfortunately, they only comprise about a third of the album. The rest is serviceable, but unremarkable.

Actually by Pet Shop Boys
Feb 28 2025

This is dated trash with the least insightful lyrics I’ve ever heard. It’s like listening to a nine year old describe emotions and also what is literally happening in the room in front of them. Yet, it’s somehow better than Behaviour which Makes rated a two.

Crime Of The Century by Supertramp
Mar 01 2025

This is so 70s. Every song is bigger than it needs to be. There’s nothing outstanding except for the tracks where they chose to sing like a Monty Python character for no reason. No thanks.

Mar 02 2025

This should really be in my wheelhouse, but it just kinda sucks? I’ve long heard of this band and never gotten around to them and this was frankly disappointing. It sounds like I should give earlier albums a shot, but I am concerned their songwriting approach of sing the titular lyric 85,000 times as a chorus is an annoying running theme. This album is for people who want a more energetic REM who either has nothing to say or whatever they have to say is so washed out in the mix you’ll never figure it out. Descendents did better pop punk and Pixies did better alternative. Not sure why neither of those didn’t displace this album. I have no idea who is hearing Barenaked Ladies in this, but considering it was mentioned as a positive in that review I’m assuming that person was born deaf with terminally shit taste anyway.

Larks' Tongues In Aspic by King Crimson
Mar 03 2025

Opening track starts with an entirely superfluous three and a half minute intro before continuing on for another nine minutes of which only a few are interesting. Track three and we’re doing the long nothing intro again. Track four starts with nonsense words and then is interspersed with random cartoon sounds and voices. Track five—another long intro to a long song. Great, some trumpet that sounds like a sizable gnat flying past your ear and some violin that sounds like a mosquito. After four minutes, this turns into a decent, yet off kilter jam before the stupid trumpet comes back. Hey! We’re right into it on track six, but we’ve got another seven minutes to get through. Another song that isn’t interesting enough to justify its runtime. Albums like this make me wonder if I’m just not smart enough to get it, or if the album’s existence as a recording is miraculous because the band should’ve never made it back from how far they disappeared up their own asses during the writing process.

Mar 04 2025

This is another album I feel is included more for the interesting narrative around the artist, rather than its actual sonic merits. There’s some adequate hip hop and lo-fi stuff happening here, but there’s a lot that barely even tries to get your attention.

Horses by Patti Smith
Mar 05 2025

There were many precursors to punk, and this is certainly not the most important of them. Half these songs feel like Bob Dylan blues hell holes and the other half are grandiose leviathans of uncertain vision. Almost every song is way too long. Nothing is terrible here, but there’s also not a damn thing my life will suffer for to never hear again. Yes, yes, the first line is great and then you either can’t understand or don’t care to try for the next 40 or so minutes. A good line every now and then isn’t enough to make an album matter. Intent and cultural influence aren’t enough to make an album worth listening to.

All Hail the Queen by Queen Latifah
Mar 06 2025

I can’t remember her name for the life of me. If only several songs repeated it… I’m not the greatest connoisseur of hip hop, but this felt particularly boring. The beats and her delivery are both so rudimentary that this ends up feeling like the listening equivalent of viewing a “paint by numbers” artwork.

Moving Pictures by Rush
Mar 07 2025

Geddy’s voice is a net negative, but it’s not unlistenable. The album is pretty entertaining.

Sulk by The Associates
Mar 08 2025

Literally not a single song here is completely good. The stuff I enjoyed musically is ruined by overly melodramatic, spooky, Bowie-wannabe vocals. The rest is janky and boring 80s schlock.

Dirty by Sonic Youth
Mar 09 2025

Think I need to listen to it a few more times.

Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
Mar 14 2025

An indie record, as imagined by a top 40 listener. Hollow horseshit for those who could drown in a puddle while screaming about the unfathomable depth in which they are mired. Neutral Milk Hotel and The Decemberists both did this old-timey sound better and with a greater variety in the tunes.

Inspiration Information by Shuggie Otis
Mar 16 2025

Don’t know that I will ever listen to the rerelease version that doubles the runtime, but I really enjoyed this. Mellow at times, funky at others. A good listen.

Joan Armatrading by Joan Armatrading
Mar 17 2025

Not sure any bluesy singer songwriter stuff is ever going to reinvent the wheel, but it’s better than the 87 Bob Dylan albums on this list.

Murmur by R.E.M.
Mar 18 2025

Listening to REM is like being offered a piece of cake as a little kid, except it turns out it’s carrot cake instead of the sweet chocolate or vanilla you imagined. It’s not terrible, maybe it’s even good, but all the adults keep going on about how delicious it is and you wonder if maybe you don’t taste the same things everyone else does.

Bad by Michael Jackson
Mar 19 2025

There’s absolutely nothing musically important here. This is the point where his cultural impact began to outshine and outweigh his musical talent. I liked Man In the Mirror when I was a four year old, but it sucks now and goes on way too long.

Mar 20 2025

I feel truly sorry for anyone who thinks this man is a poet of any renown. This is the best of the 7 or so Dylan albums I’ve suffered so far. It’s still awful. Fuck you, Bob.

Kenza by Khaled
Mar 21 2025

The first track set the standard so high, then this went on sounding like early 90s “adult contemporary” pop and never recovered.

Porcupine by Echo And The Bunnymen
Mar 22 2025
My Generation by The Who
Mar 24 2025

The Who had some good songs. I’ve yet to see evidence of a good album.

Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Mar 25 2025

This album came out right as I was about to turn 20. I loved it then, and I think it holds up well. I’ve gone and listened to Gang of Four as numerous reviews suggested, and yeah there’s a clear through line to this album, but it’s a bit reductive to say FF didn’t put their own spin and polish on it. To my ear, there’s a lot more variety to the songs on this album than on GoF’s “Entertainment!” and the whole notion of a later album being useless because someone kind of did the same thing 25 years earlier is silly. By that logic, we’d all be wasting our time but to listen to only the oldest known recorded music because everything after is derivative.

461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton
Mar 27 2025

Mostly pretty standard blues. Nothing too interesting or too boring.

Beach Samba by Astrud Gilberto
Mar 28 2025

I’m typically not into relaxing music, but this stuff just hits me right.

Too Rye Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners
Mar 29 2025

It has decent moments, even times where you can hear where this was ahead of its time for a few genres. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of stuff that drags and in the case of Until I Believe in My Soul it drags for 7 freaking minutes.

Chris by Christine and the Queens
Mar 30 2025

No idea what was remotely important to hear. Bog standard pop that doesn’t even have the good sense to be catchy. I keep waiting for a hook or something fun, but it’s just pop with all the stupid fun parts, that supposedly make pop worth listening to, sucked out of it.

Remedy by Basement Jaxx
Mar 31 2025
Pearl by Janis Joplin
Apr 02 2025

Everyone sure did love some rollicking piano/organ during this time.

Odessa by Bee Gees
Apr 03 2025

This is astonishingly awful. So much of it is shameless Beatles rip-offs, then some folky stuff that sounds like it’s from a Christian-safe version of a Puff the Magic Dragon movie, and then some symphonic shit hits like a glass of cool water on a hot day—but you can’t be sure if it’s actually good or you’re just so fucking glad they’re not singing.

Nixon by Lambchop
Apr 04 2025

Utterly tedious.

Real Life by Magazine
Apr 05 2025

Yes! Never heard of this band before and I loved this!

The Slim Shady LP by Eminem
Apr 06 2025

Even knowing it’s meant to be satirical, this feels super juvenile. I thought the same when it first came out, and I was only 14 then. The skill is there, and some hints at the stronger work to come, but this is just an okay album.

The Visitors by ABBA
Apr 09 2025

I don’t get why this is important.

The Sounds Of India by Ravi Shankar
Apr 11 2025

I really appreciated the explainer at the beginning. I enjoyed this more than the other indian music on the list so far. The improvisational nature unfortunately results in a lot of moments of songs where I was really getting into what they were doing, then it all would completely change.

Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch
Apr 12 2025

I had two thoughts while listening to this: 1. Lullabies for the country fried. 2. Music for cousin fuckers that want to feel like there’s something artful about it.

Hot Shots II by The Beta Band
Apr 13 2025

Incredibly dull.

Skylarking by XTC
Apr 14 2025

This album feels like a joke I’m just not getting. Music is well-executed. Vocals are the 80s-est 80s that ever 80s-ed.

American Gothic by David Ackles
Apr 23 2025

Knockoff Sinatra sings sarcastically about Vietnam-era USA.

Vivid by Living Colour
Apr 25 2025

Man, cult of personality is a tough listen in the US in 2025.

Suede by Suede
Apr 26 2025

This was an album. What it did, I can’t really say because it’s run of the mill, droning britpop.

S&M by Metallica
Apr 27 2025

The orchestra doesn’t fix what’s shit about Metallica. James is a terrible singer and he’s not improved by a live recording. This experiment is way more interesting in theory than reality and two hours of it is just too damn much.

Back In Black by AC/DC
Apr 28 2025

It’s an AC/DC record. There’s some awesome songs, but even though almost all the songs sound the same, most of them are less interesting. The vocals grate after a whole album, as well.

All Mod Cons by The Jam
Apr 29 2025

I finally get why people like The Jam.

Parachutes by Coldplay
Apr 30 2025

I know this album gets criticized for being bland, inoffensive music, but it’s honestly so well executed there’s really no denying that it’s an excellent album.

Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel
May 01 2025

So many of the songs you know are on this album. The opening song was an pleasant surprise.

Sail Away by Randy Newman
May 03 2025

How in the fuck are there two Randy Newman albums on this list? Nothing like listening to a dude who sounds drunk and thinks he’s witty play safe, old timey music.

So Much For The City by The Thrills
May 04 2025

No. No fucking way. This guy’s voice is absolutely neutered and the cutesy music doesn’t help. Transatlanticism came out the same year as this if you need an indie record with little boy vocals that doesn’t suck the beach boys dick so hard.

The Scream by Siouxsie And The Banshees
May 05 2025

Accidentally listened to this on shuffle, but I don’t think it affects my opinion of the album too much. I like this sound, but the whole album is too alike. There’s minimal changes in pace and tone, and I’m just not sure there’s enough happening here to call it a great album. It’s good, but not as a whole.

Suicide by Suicide
May 06 2025

I get how forward looking this was for its time, but it doesn’t really change the fact that it’s a pretty shit listen.

The Rise & Fall by Madness
May 07 2025

It’s a fairly decent ska album. The back half dropped off a bit.

Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
May 09 2025

I don’t get it. Who likes all this boring stuff that can’t even be bothered to try doing anything more than navel gazing? The mid-00s were full of this kind of stuff whether it be Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, or this. It all drones on and on without ever arriving at a point. Maybe pointlessness is the point, but that just adds to the feeling that this is some self-important, pretentious bullshit.

Wild Is The Wind by Nina Simone
May 10 2025

I honestly don’t like her voice most of the time. Sorry for the apparent sacrilege. This is the first I’ve listened to her and found myself often wondering if this material wasn’t written for her and therefore not doing her any favors. I dunno. I don’t like Billie Holliday much either. Maybe I’m just not into warbly jazz crooners. Otherwise, the music is ok, if fairly standard for this era and about 75% of the album kept me engaged, so I definitely can understand its inclusion here, at least.

May 12 2025

Innuendo a 12 year old would find clever for 45 minutes, Mama Said Knock You Out, and the only pleasant surprise Cheesy Rat Blues where he drops the “I’m the shit” shtick to seem like an interesting artist with some depth for just a few minutes. Mr. Goodbar and Milky Cereal are the corniest songs I’ve ever listened to.

Mott by Mott The Hoople
May 13 2025

It’s fine. Nothing really impressive, but it never sucks and if you end with the original album track list then it doesn’t overstay its welcome either. I’m choosing to believe Wish I Was Your Mother is meant to make fun of Bob Dylan with its similar drunken clown vocal cadence, stupid and contradictory lyrics, and superfluous harmonica.

The Bends by Radiohead
May 15 2025

The only track that loses me a bit is Bulletproof…I Wish I Was. An absolute monument to the existential dread lurking within all the progress and convenience of modern society. It’s an album to feel absolutely awful to.

May 16 2025

The best thing I can say about this album as it wasn’t actually the four hours I thought it was when I first opened it in Apple Music.

What's That Noise? by Coldcut
May 17 2025

Music for people who never grew out of the childhood phase where you walk around making random noises until the adults can no longer take it. I get how these techniques are applied to back a hip hop track, where typically the vocals are the meat and potatoes of the music, but when you use them just to back corny vocals that say nothing of value on songs like My Telephone they really are just a bunch of repetitive noises.

Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
May 18 2025

The vocals on this are infuriating 95% of the time, vacillating between a shit falsetto and a forced soft voice that reaches an absolutely enraging nadir on Hjartad Hamast where it sounds like this motherfucker is insipidly whining in your ear and you don’t know what it’s about or how a grown person can sound so pathetically infantile. There is some beautiful music here, but every track lasting seven minutes means it’s interspersed with a lot that isn’t great to hear. The best stuff on this album sounds like it could be the music in a documentary about space exploration or technological progress, and I don’t really feel like I mean that in a complimentary manner despite it being the nicest thing I have to say about this album.

Repeater by Fugazi
May 20 2025

A band I always mean to give more time to.

May 22 2025

Man, I hate to rate this so low because much of what’s she’s saying is very important and way ahead of its time, but so much of this album is just an absolute slog unless you’re reeeeeally into slow ballads.

Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
May 24 2025

They felt like a label-assembled, cheap knock off when this album came out, and having listened to this for the first time in many years, my opinion hasn’t changed. My god, this is all so angsty, yet all the lyrics are incredibly vague—almost like what you’d get after focus group testing to catch the widest possible swath of disaffected, sweaty youth. The “raps” are completely devoid of flow or flavor to make sure every suburban, cargo-shorted, upside down visor wearing male between the ages of 8 and 24 can safely digest “urban” culture. It might be a great album when you have more hormones than sense, but I’m middle aged and my ears work so fuck this shit.

The Slider by T. Rex
May 26 2025

Not a very good active listen as most songs have one riff repeating start to finish, but there’s nothing super awful here. The whispery vocals get annoying at times.

Out Of The Blue by Electric Light Orchestra
May 28 2025

Sometimes super fun and sometimes just too damn cheesy.

Signing Off by UB40
May 29 2025

They’re good at what they do, but everything is so similar and goes on and on and on. I could probably listen to this whole album and enjoy it as background music is I was stoned and playing a chill video game or something, but this is an active listening chore.

Jun 05 2025

There’s nothing bad about this, but it has no ambition at all so that’s not really impressive.

The White Room by The KLF
Jun 07 2025

This album was in 3 star territory until No More Tears. A 9 minute heavily reggae/ska influenced EDM song with a 2 line chorus repeated way too often in between a dude scatting/falsetto scatting? Some might call that hell.

Dire Straits by Dire Straits
Jun 10 2025

Such clean guitar. Even if some of the songs are longer than I’d prefer, it’s never really boring.

I See A Darkness by Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Jun 11 2025

The most boring person you know is feeling sad and made an album.

Surf's Up by The Beach Boys
Jun 17 2025

I actually liked this better than any other Beach Boys album I’ve previously listened to. Getting out of their cornball wheelhouse did them a real favor.

Blur by Blur
Jun 18 2025

I honestly really like some Blur songs, but I don’t like most Blur songs. None of their albums are worth a listen as a whole, in my opinion.

xx by The xx
Jun 23 2025

Wordsmith

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