772
Albums Rated
2.98
Average Rating
71%
Complete
317 albums remaining
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When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Rock-and-roll
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
63
5-Star Albums
26
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| School's Out | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| Something Else By The Kinks | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| Crooked Rain Crooked Rain | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| Sound Affects | 5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
| 1989 | 5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
| Face to Face | 5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
| Chirping Crickets | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| Celebrity Skin | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| Achtung Baby | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| Blur | 5 | 3.33 | +1.67 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady | 1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
| The Colour Of Spring | 1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
| Ambient 1/Music For Airports | 1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
| The Nightfly | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| The Coral | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Larks' Tongues In Aspic | 1 | 2.99 | -1.99 |
| Ghosteen | 1 | 2.97 | -1.97 |
| Electric Ladyland | 2 | 3.95 | -1.95 |
| Very | 1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
| I Against I | 1 | 2.93 | -1.93 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.43 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.6 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 5 |
| The Kinks | 3 | 5 |
| Metallica | 3 | 4.67 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 2 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 |
| Queen | 3 | 4.33 |
| Blur | 3 | 4.33 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Who | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Orbital | 2 | 1 |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 2 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 2 |
| Pet Shop Boys | 3 | 2 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Velvet Underground | 5, 2 |
| Lou Reed | 5, 2 |
| David Bowie | 3, 2, 5, 5, 2, 3 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3, 2, 5 |
| Prince | 3, 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (63)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Queen
5/5
I lost my virginity to my best friend Puma while listening to this album. Sex was one star. Album is a 5.
27 likes
Arcade Fire
2/5
Never understood the acclaim for this album. It's really quite boring. Sprawl II is the only redeeming factor.
7 likes
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
Odd turns of phrase. Too many words crammed into too little space. Music sounds like it could fall apart into a mess at any moment. I love it.
7 likes
1-Star Albums (26)
All Ratings
Paul Simon
4/5
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Nirvana
2/5
Adele
3/5
2/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
David Bowie
3/5
Pearl Jam
5/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
Kanye West
3/5
Metallica
4/5
Miles Davis
3/5
Dr. Octagon
4/5
PJ Harvey
3/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
There's a 5 star album hiding in there.
ZZ Top
2/5
Bunches of classic songs that I'm fine with never hearing again.
Queen
4/5
Arcade Fire
2/5
Never understood the acclaim for this album. It's really quite boring. Sprawl II is the only redeeming factor.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Faith No More
2/5
The cover of War Pigs is so faithful, there's no reason not to just listen to the original.
Epic is still a banger, but like much of the rest of the album, is peppered with some corny lyrics and vocal delivery.
Sorry Geof, just not my cup of tea.
Korn
3/5
My friend Spizzy makes a tasty drink called a Tough Guy Coffee.
1 cup of coffee.
3 shots of Ezra Brooks bourbon cream.
Whip cream as desired.
Mitchels sprinkles for the W.
The coffee is a stimulant, gets the heart pumping.
The Bourbon is a depressant, slows down messages from brain to body.
That's two different drugs. This is dangerous! It's even called "Tough Guy."
But it doesn't take itself seriously. It's got whipped cream. That's playful!
And sprinkles? OK, is this for kids? But it's boozy/buzzy, so it can't be.
Is it really for Tough Guys? If so it probably wouldn't be called Tough Guy. It'd be called Slayer or something.
And some people hate coffee, so no amount of whipped cream is going to make it palatable.
Some people like all the ingredients of a Tough Guy Coffee and will enjoy one every now and again, but would never drink 2 in a row. It's a once in a while type thing.
Meat Loaf
2/5
Catching up on some albums I passed on previously. Ended up listening to this the same day as The Germs GI.
As much as I dislike listening hardcore punk, this album is why we need punks to smack the mouths of over produced schmaltzy musicians every once in a while.
2 out of 5 ain't bad.
Napalm Death
1/5
The review for "Shark Sandwich" was merely a two word review which simply read "Shit Sandwich".
k.d. lang
2/5
Amy Winehouse
3/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Reminds me of the summer I spent face down in a gutter in New York City.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Simply Red
2/5
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
Surprised that I liked this as much as I did.
Alice Cooper
5/5
This is the first album on here that I haven't listened to before to earn a five. I enjoyed everything about it!
Arcade Fire
3/5
Pixies
4/5
Screaming Trees
2/5
JAY Z
3/5
Really good beats, but I need more melody.
Turbonegro
3/5
Loved the glam rock much more than the punk.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
The Young Gods
2/5
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
I remembered this album being a 5, but as I listened yesterday I realized that I don't like it as much as I thought I did.
It was the right album at the right time, but that time has passed.
3/5
The Doors
4/5
Big Black
2/5
Pretty good stuff, but each song seemed to be a bit over-long and repetitive.
Beatles
5/5
What's not to love? 30 minutes of perfectly crafted pop songs.
Minutemen
3/5
Good, but too long.
Bee Gees
2/5
Not bad background music, but nothing stands out. Completely forgettable, but pretty.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
R.E.M.
3/5
I'm one of those sickos who likes REM's 90s stuff more than their early stuff.
Finley Quaye
2/5
I didn't hate it, but I can't imagine anyone saying that it's "essential." it's just fine.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
Duran Duran
3/5
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
Half of the songs are great. The whole thing suffers a bit from edge lord lyrics.
John Cale
2/5
The title track came up on my Discovery Weekly a long time ago, and I've loved it ever since. I've tried to get into this album a few times since, and I just can't do it.
Paul Simon
3/5
Not my favorite of Paul Simon's work by a long shot.
Supergrass
3/5
Moments on the verge of being very good, but ultimately just OK
Blur
5/5
Touches of Beatles, The Fall, Bowie, and even Pulp. And you can hear the beginning of Gorrilaz. The MOR riff, the You're so Great vocal melody, and "Good Morning Lethargy" have been bouncing through my head for almost 30 years.
David Holmes
2/5
Too long. Too repetitive. Too boring.
Stevie Wonder
2/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
Pulp
4/5
Not as good as Different Class or His n Hers, but a fine outing.
Various Artists
3/5
I don't really like Christmas music, but I love The Wall of Sound. Tough call, but I'll settle on a 3.
Sade
2/5
Not my thing. Fine background music, but nothing that makes me want to revisit it.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
I put this in the category of music that is more fun to make than to listen to.
Queen
5/5
I lost my virginity to my best friend Puma while listening to this album. Sex was one star. Album is a 5.
The Band
4/5
There's a 4 song run from The Weight through Chest Fever that is perfection.
2/5
Double albums and live albums get docked a star almost automatically.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
John Lee Hooker
2/5
Not my thing at all
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
I actually quite like this garbage. No need for any of the songs to be longer than 3 minutes though. And definitely no reason for this to be an hour long album. Scaled WAY down this would be a fun post-punk party. If the whole thing was 30 minutes long, it'd be a 5.
Otis Redding
5/5
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
I was excited when this popped up, thinking it would be a 4 or 5. But after listening to it, it turns out I only enjoy the radio hits and the rest is... Meh
Paul Simon
4/5
Bob Dylan
2/5
I like a lot of Dylan. Just nothing on this album really.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Love it. I don't care for songs longer than 3 or 4 minutes usually, so I'm docking a star.
William Orbit
2/5
Not my jam.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Dark poppy synth. The Cutter is great, as are a couple other songs.
Buena Vista Social Club
2/5
When I was a kid, the family who lived in the house behind me would often have late night parties and I wouldn't be able to sleep because this type of music would be playing loudly.
Keith Jarrett
3/5
Live album: minus one point
Super long songs: minus one point
Enjoyable background music.
Gene Clark
3/5
Giant Sand
2/5
Some songs came close to being good, but none quite got there.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Very good. Not a genre I gravitate to, so on my scale it gets a 3.
Patti Smith
3/5
The Smiths
4/5
Marty Robbins
3/5
I was afraid each song was going to sound exactly the same, but that's definitely not the case. Fun listen!
U2
3/5
I'd pick The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby over this any day.
Tom Waits
2/5
Hot take: Tom Waits' voice is unpleasant to listen to.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
John Lennon
3/5
Harry Nilsson
5/5
This album is amazing. There's a couple of forgettable tunes, but they're canceled out by the bangers. Probably a 4.5, but gets elevated by the fact that I had John Lennon's Imagine yesterday. It's crazy how much better this album is than Imagine.
Santana
3/5
Needs more guitar solos.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
Elton John
4/5
Way less filler than there usually is on a double album, so I won't give it my normal one star deduction for over indulgence. Also, it could be a quintuple album and still get a four based solely on the inclusion of Benny and the Jets.
Khaled
2/5
I'll most likely never listen to it again, but it does the job it set out to do. I don't like his singing style, but that's a cultural difference. I liked the guest vocalists more. The strings are great throughout. Probably 100 options for a Britney Spears Toxic style bop for Max Martin to pick from.
Buzzcocks
3/5
Buzzcocks always makes me wish I was listening to the Ramones instead.
Van Halen
5/5
Van Halen with Dave is the best Van Halen.
Van Halen By Van Halen is the best Van Halen.
Pixies
4/5
Imagine an entire album of Kim Deal teaching you how to spell things the way she does on Velouria. That album would get 6 stars.
Kate Bush
2/5
Maybe I wasn't in the proper mood for this, but I did not enjoy anything about it. Possibly multiple listens would change my opinion, but I struggled to get through it once.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Scott Walker
2/5
His voice is great. I like the orchestration. Overall I wanted to like this. Listened to it twice and nothing stuck. His group The Walker Brothers had some cool stuff though.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
A good start. And if you start them up, they'll never stop, never stop, never stop, never stop.
Then you'll see a grown man cry.
Guns N' Roses
5/5
I was 9 when this came out. You'd think I'd be more into metal than I am with the number of hours I've spent listening to GnFnR.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
This is a fun record. I used to love the "make fun of everything" attitude, but now I find it exhausting. Was anyone or anything genuine enough to escape Frank's ire? At some point - kinda like South Park - pointing out how lame everyone else is loses some appeal. Still going to rate it high though because I don't want to be labeled lame.
Donovan
3/5
Donovan is definitely a "greatest hits" artist for me. He's got a bunch of great songs, but the non hits are pretty much all misses.
Miles Davis
2/5
I have too much anxiety to be able to enjoy this.
Arcade Fire
3/5
I really like 4 songs on this album (Neighborhood 1 & 3, Wake Up, and Rebellion). The rest is boring and points to the boring direction they went in after.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
I don't really like Zappa, but this one holds a special place for me. Listened to it a lot in college. Tried to make oddball music with friends and the goofier stuff on here was a big inspiration. The not so goofy stuff is just pretty solid pop music. Docked a point for being a double album.
Paul Simon
3/5
Beatles
4/5
3.5
David Ackles
1/5
Probably a 1.5 because of a few interesting moments, but I thought this was pretty annoying.
T. Rex
4/5
Gotta love Bolan
Christina Aguilera
3/5
One hour and 17 minutes! C'mon Christina, EDIT. Some bangers, for sure, and her voice is obviously great. 30 minute album would probably be 5 stars, but lots of these songs started sounding the same and could have been dropped.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Very close to a 5, but early rap doesn't switch up the rhyming patterns enough.
The Style Council
2/5
Fine as background music, I guess. The Tracey Thorn feature is the highlight, canceled out by the absolute garbage of a rap song that comes later. Stick with The Jam.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Loses a star for being a double album, per my usual.
The Stevie Nick's songs sound like Stevie Nick's, but the rest is pretty great!
Prince
3/5
A real mixed bag.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Good fun! Raggae is a side course rather than a main dish, but this is a delicious one.
The Darkness
2/5
Scissor Sisters
4/5
To no one's surprise, Doug rates this album highly. 4.5 for a few tracks that miss the mark.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Clever wordplay. Catchy vocal melodies, many of which have been rolling around in my head for years.
The Triffids
2/5
Boring and generic. I already don't remember anything about it.
SZA
2/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
3.5
There was a time when this would have been a 5 for me, but for some reason I've enjoyed it less as time goes on.
Steely Dan
2/5
I just don't care for lots of 70s style male harmonizing. There were a couple songs that I enjoyed, and I appreciated the short run time. Torn between a 2 and a 3, because it is technically good, just not my thing.
Roxy Music
2/5
I enjoy weirdo art rock like this. This is a good album, but it's not like I'm going to seek it out again.
Manu Chao
2/5
Background music for a barbecue.
Iron Maiden
5/5
Played it backwards, killed a goat.
Elton John
3/5
Elton is great, but this album is just OK.
Pet Shop Boys
1/5
I was surprised how much I disliked this album. On paper it seems like it would be my kind of thing, but in reality I thought it was soooo annoying. I remember seeing this in the record store all the time, and being intrigued by its packaging. Turns out the lego case is the only interesting thing about it.
Michael Jackson
4/5
7 great songs. 4 forgettable songs.
Primal Scream
1/5
Seems like they had no ideas of their own here. Motorhead, trainspotting, vanishing point. And a Scottish band singing about Rosa Parks, MLK, and Malcolm X- saying every brother is a star... Seems worse than anything Bono could come up with.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I like this band a lot, but like a lot of electronic dance music it gets a bit repetitive. Say what you need to say in 3 minutes and move on.
The Undertones
2/5
I really liked True Confessions. Nothing else really stood out.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Foo Fighters
2/5
There's nothing special here. I'll Stick Around is pretty much the only Foo Fighters song I've ever liked, and even that isn't special. Can't give it a One because it isn't annoying or offensive. Just boring. It's fun to say "foo FIGHTers the way Christopher Walken did though.
Elastica
2/5
Not good. Not essential.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
Mostly perfect. 4.5 stars.
The Doors
4/5
When I was in middle school this kid Nick, who I was friends with since kindergarten, decided he didn't want to be my friend anymore - for middle school reasons. One day he was talking to another kid about The Doors and he says to me "I bet you don't even know The Doors." I pretended that I did and he asked what my favorite song was. I said I needed to think about it.
So he continues talking about The Doors with whoever and I'm literally sitting right next to him. So I made mental notes of any song titles he mentioned. About 5 minutes later he circles back to questioning me, so I rattle of the songs I just heard him say. This seemed to satisfy him because he's an idiot, so he backed off.
That weekend I made it my mission to get some Doors music because it seemed important to know what I was thinking about if I was questioned again - for middle school reasons.
Anyhow, I got The Doors greatest hits on cassette. Studied it. Listened to it non stop until I liked it.
Never talked to Nick again about The Doors, or probably about anything else either. Still like the Doors though.
Cornershop
3/5
This album is really fun! A few too many fillers, but the actual songs are all pretty great.
Lorde
3/5
Probably would have been a 5 immediately after the first time I heard it. For some reason this album lost its luster really quick. I think that's sort of a Antinoff specialty. Hits you with (Melo) dramatic sounds that don't hold up after closer inspection. Still good songs, but something just ain't right.
Blondie
5/5
Wonderful album! On the fence between 4 and 5 stars, but Debbie's amazing voice earnes that extra star all by itself.
Joan Baez
2/5
2.5 stars. Rounded down because sometimes her voice is unbearable.
Portishead
2/5
This album has never clicked with me. It's not bad, there's just nothing that makes me want to come back for more.
Röyksopp
2/5
Remind Me is a good song, but nothing else grabbed me.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
This is a 3.5, but I went with 4 because of the strength of the last four songs.
Prince
5/5
The Beautiful Ones and Computer Blue are weak spots, but everything else is perfection.
Destiny's Child
2/5
All the reviews on here are spot on. Starts with 3 bangers, then goes nowhere.
The xx
2/5
Intro is such a good song, but nothing else even comes close
David Bowie
2/5
This album reminds me my friend's assessment of post Kid A Radiohead: I liked them more when they made songs.
Ended up enjoying it more than I did when it first came out, but I don't love it. 2.5
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Morrissey
4/5
I hate how much I love Morrissey.
The Birthday Party
1/5
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Good, but ultimately pretty boring.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Beatles
4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
KISS
4/5
This is idiot music for idiots, and I love it. My dad had this on 8 track, and I listened to it all the time just because it was fun to play with the 8 track player. Sentimentality wins this time!
Talk Talk
1/5
I didn't enjoy a single note of this.
PJ Harvey
2/5
Beatles
3/5
Jack White
3/5
The Temptations
3/5
4/5
Nearly perfect. The lyrics are just stupid enough to dock a point.
The Waterboys
2/5
The Prodigy
3/5
Steely Dan
2/5
I don't care for the music or the vocals from Steely Dan. Other than that, they're OK.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
The Thrills
2/5
Not offensively bad, just boring
Dizzee Rascal
1/5
I sometimes get Dizee Rascal confused with Rascal Flatts.
Van Morrison
2/5
This is the kind of album that's very hard to rate. It's not bad, I just don't like it.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
It's 4AM. You're drunk. All your friends went home. You stare into the nearly extinguished bonfire. You should have gone to bed hours ago. Your every thought seems brilliant, yet fleeting.
This music makes sense in this moment.
The Prodigy
2/5
I don't do the right kind of drugs for this.
Ravi Shankar
2/5
I liked the talk about microtones and the counting to like 15 or whatever, but to my western ears it all sounds the same.
Public Enemy
4/5
Brian Eno
3/5
The songs are really good. The experiments are not as listenable, but are short enough to keep it interesting.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Creedence has a distinct sound that's all them. Some songs start to sound the same because of it, but it's all still good.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Loses a star for being a double album. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Duke Ellington
4/5
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
The Associates
2/5
Some potential here, but I don't think I'd ever choose to listen to this again.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Some parts border on the anxiety inducing type of jazz that I can't get into. Overall, the good outweighs the bad.
The War On Drugs
2/5
Waste of a great band name.
a-ha
2/5
I've listened to this a couple times over the years when I see it mentioned as being great beyond Take On Me. I still don't think it's that good beyond the obviously great single.
The Police
2/5
The Police are most definitely a Greatest Hits band. And the hits are just OK.
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
A little Hammond goes a long way. A unique sound that starts to feel like novelty music after a while. Edges close to being carousel music or a soap opera theme.
I like Green Onions a lot, obviously, and their Christmas album is great.
Fever Ray
2/5
Fine as quiet background music at a dimly lit hipster bar. Nothing memorable here though.
Throwing Muses
3/5
Impressive that this was 1986. So many 90s bands copied this sound.
Adele
2/5
Someone Like You is a great song. The rest of the radio hits are meh, and the deep cuts are mostly boring.
Violent Femmes
5/5
Every song is great.
LTJ Bukem
1/5
Bored
Beck
3/5
This album sounds like an attempt to recreate Odelay, but not quite hitting the mark. 2.5 stars
ABBA
4/5
If you don't think I like ABBA you don't know me at all.
Kraftwerk
2/5
Bonus for being ahead of their time. Bonus for some interesting sounds and artwork.
The problem is that I would never purposely listen to Kraftwerk, and I don't really care for the repetitive electronic music they influenced.
Daft Punk
2/5
Each song stays exactly as long as it needs to stay... And then sticks around for 5 more minutes.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Some of the songs are just too long, but this is a really good album.
XTC
2/5
Massive Attack
3/5
Massive Attack with female vocalists is the best Massive Attack.
Sex Pistols
3/5
Probably a 2, but I'm feeling generous.
Alice Cooper
4/5
Not as good as Schools Out, but still really good. There's a couple cornball songs, but the good outweighs the bad. 3.5 stars. Bumped up to 4 because a few songs sound like demented Paul McCartney & Wings songs.
Gang Starr
3/5
New Order
3/5
Some good songs, but a little bit too long. Some of the vocals sound weak and possibly flat.
Carole King
5/5
This album is amazing from start to finish. I saw someone complain about there being too many covers, but Carole King wrote all these songs. Her versions are not the covers!
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Enjoyably dark and 80s
Dr. John
2/5
Oddball music.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Sympathy and Street Fight are all time greats. I liked a few others that I wasn't familiar with.
Steely Dan
2/5
Ozomatli
1/5
No me gusta
Soundgarden
3/5
I never got into Soungarden, even when I was big into PJ, Nirvana, etc...
But I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. There's some good stuff on here, but it could be trimmed in bit. 70 minutes is a lot.
High 3, low 4.
Neil Young
3/5
Love me some Neil Young, but he's definitely a Greatest Hits musician.
Fugazi
3/5
As someone who gravitates towards vocal melody, this isn't really my bag. But the music is good and I like the attitude.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Shine On could be trimmed. Welcome to the Machine kind of irritates me. But overall, I love this album!
Frank Ocean
2/5
The vocals and the music sound like they are from 2 different songs. Never been able to get into this album.
Van Halen
4/5
The Hives
2/5
Nothing memorable here at all.
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
I liked this more than I thought I would.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Madonna
2/5
Nothing on here that I want to revisit, but not bad.
Roxy Music
3/5
Some good stuff, but plenty of misses
Blur
4/5
Not my favorite Blur album, but pretty good
Mike Oldfield
2/5
There's some really great moments on this, but I'm not about to listen to 25 minutes to hear the 3 minute section I liked.
This quote on Wikipedia sums it up:
After the album was released, Newman said he preferred the demo versions: "They were complete melodies in themselves – with intros and fade-outs or ends. I liked them very much and was a little nonplussed when Mike strung them all together."
Judas Priest
4/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
I do not like this band.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Not my favorite Bruce album. This one is just OK to me. Maybe it's too much keyboards?
Wire
3/5
This is really good stuff. Their 1978 album Chairs Missing is probably a 5 star. This one is a high 3, low 4.
The Cure
3/5
This one is a mood more than a collection of songs. I like The Cure a lot more when they play songs.
Kanye West
4/5
This album is amazing. The beats are great, the lyrics are clever.
I understand not wanting to listen to Kanye because of things he's said and done, but I think he's having severe mental health problems. He's not dealing with his issues, and he doesn't deserve a platform NOW. But this album was obviously recorded by a different person.
Herbie Hancock
2/5
I've tried to get into this album before, but I just can't. I always end up listening to Fat Albert Rotunda instead.
808 State
2/5
808080808 caught my attention.
This is just electronic dance music though - not my bag, baby, even if it was influential and before it's time.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
I like the songs where the vocals are mixed to the front. Even when you can't tell what he's saying, it's nice to have a vocal melody to offset the manic guitars.
Michael Jackson
3/5
The Fall
3/5
I love The Fall. I love how every song feels like it's about to come apart at the seams. I live the "singing" style.
All that said, I have a hard time listening to a full album by them. In small doses it's wonderful.
The Modern Lovers
3/5
If the songs were all less than 3 minutes I'd give it a five. There's a lot to like about this album, but the songs get repetitive and repetitive.
Elvis Presley
4/5
Massive Attack
3/5
Neil Young
2/5
Kept going between 2 and 3 as I listened. Settled on a 2 because there's nothing here I really want to revisit.
The Smiths
4/5
Couple misses, but the hits make up for them.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Really cool sounds, but repetition and super long songs are not my thing.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Definitely not essential listening, but pretty good
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Kanye West
2/5
Not as charming as College Dropout, not as weird as Yeezus. Never liked this album.
David Bowie
5/5
Supertramp
3/5
2.5
Bumped to a 3 for sentimental reasons, but I'm fine never hearing this again.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
I feel bad not giving this a 5 because Buddy Holly is great. OK, I just talked myself into giving it a 5.
Björk
3/5
Human Behavior is such a good song. I listened to it on repeat after I finished the album.
Bjork's voice is amazing, but unfortunately the stars rarely all align like they do on that song. Lots of meandering with little structure to the rest of the album.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Suede
2/5
You'd think I would love the band that "kicked off Britpop" but I do not enjoy Suede. Annoying vocals. The music borders on interesting, but never quite gets there.
Jurassic 5
3/5
Really good, just a bit too long.
N.E.R.D
2/5
The songs with Kravitz are the best of the bunch, but even those are just OK.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Should probably be docked down to a one for this line alone:
"Everybody do like a monkey
If you want to go on and be funky"
Black Sabbath
4/5
Neu!
3/5
I actually really like this band. The songs are all a bit too long, constantly my criticism of electronic music.
Sparks
3/5
I really like a lot of Sparks songs, but in album form it's a bit much.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Common
2/5
I liked the music, but the vocals never quite seemed to match.
The Charlatans
3/5
This album gets better after multiple listens, but it's not an essential listen.
The White Stripes
4/5
Girls Against Boys
2/5
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Gets a bit too repetitive. Far from my favorite talking heads album. 🤷
The Stranglers
2/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
I tried to get into this back in the 90s when Eddie Vedder was dueting with him. I soon realized that I only enjoy western music. And that's fine.
Iron Butterfly
2/5
I don't even really like the one song this is famous for.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Jeff Buckley
3/5
Overly dramatic and sappy. Still good though, but... It's... A... Lot
Culture Club
3/5
Better than I thought it was going to be. I bet if I give this another listen I'll like it more. I started off not caring for each song, and liking it by the end.
Johnny Cash
3/5
Suzanne Vega
2/5
I love her voice, but this collection is really boring.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
It's good electronic music, but it's still electronic music. plus their second album is way better.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Interesting concept, but soundtracks usually are good because they remind me of the movie. Mark Mothersbaugh's Wes Anderson soundtracks are a good example. Who cares about this?
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Dirty Projectors
1/5
I hated everything about this.
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
This doesn't seem very different from any number of singer-songwriters. Good, but nothing special.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
2.5 moved up because of the brevity of most songs and American Girl is great.
Funkadelic
4/5
Fleet Foxes
2/5
Started off OK, but after 3 songs I was ready for it to end.
Nirvana
4/5
I listened to this a few months ago after not hearing it since the 90s. I hated it.
Now I listened to it again and I've warmed up to it quite a bit. Strange how multiple listens change opinions.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
The storytelling is just so good on this album. I don't like some of the character's voices and a few songs are too long, but the lyrics overcome.
Germs
2/5
Magazine
3/5
Musically a 5. Vocals drop it down quite a bit.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Not nearly as good as Good Kid
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Nina Simone
3/5
5/5
Prince
2/5
Way too long! Way too much synthesiser! 2.5 stars. Sorry.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
David Gray
2/5
The 2 songs that border on interesting are right at the beginning. Then nothing else even comes close.
Neil Young
3/5
There's a good run of songs starting with Only Love Can Break Your Heart through Don't Let it Bring You Down - Southern Man being the standout - but Neil Young is definitely a Greatest Hits artist.
Wild Beasts
3/5
I didn't hate the vocals much as most reviewers seem to. It's interesting. Not sure if I like it or not. Giving it a 3. On a different day I could see myself giving it a 1.
Waylon Jennings
4/5
Rush
2/5
20 minute medley? No thanks.
The White Stripes
5/5
Tears For Fears
3/5
I hoped I would like this more than I did.
Beach House
2/5
Background music
Air
3/5
3.5
I love their sound, but knock it down to a 3 for being repetitive electronic music.
Caetano Veloso
2/5
Seems like the vocal melodies have no relation to the music.
Kraftwerk
2/5
I know it probably took forever to program the patterns into the primitive synthesisers. I don't need to hear it for 6 minutes straight though.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Calexico
3/5
Stereolab
3/5
I like some stereolab songs, but I've never been able to get into this album. It's not bad, but nothing really sticks. Also I hate the album cover and title.
Fairport Convention
3/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Underworld
1/5
75 minutes / 8 songs = 1 star
The Stone Roses
5/5
This is the one and I am the resurrection are good enough on their own to earn this one a 5. But there's at least 5 more bangers on the album. One of my favorite albums ever.
Stephen Stills
2/5
I would love this album if I was an even bigger fork than I am.
Beck
4/5
Just enough irritating moments to prevent me from giving a 5.
Pink Floyd
3/5
One drugs, please.
Coldplay
2/5
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Boston
2/5
Technically good, but not enough variety.
Bill Callahan
2/5
Not enough variety in the music, and not enough vocal melody to contrast the distinctive voice.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Radiohead
2/5
The Bends and OK Computer are 2 of my favorite albums ever.
Metallica
5/5
4.5, but feeling generous.
Eagles
2/5
Hotel California and The Last Resort are great songs. Sandwiched between them is everything I hate about 70s rock.
Fishbone
2/5
Can't go more than 30 seconds without either a corny lyric or a corny vocal delivery or a corny synth. The good parts are great, but overall I can't get into it.
Dire Straits
2/5
It all sounds the same
Super Furry Animals
3/5
I never could get into this band. Seems like the sort of thing I'd like, but nothing ever quite sticks.
Deep Purple
3/5
Pretty good early metal. 3.5
Pavement
4/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
This album is all about the production. The rapping and lyrics are not as important as the beats and samples.
Billy Bragg
2/5
The Police
3/5
From Synchronicity II through Wrapped Around is a great run of songs. The rest I can do without.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Not a bad showing, but not his best.
The Saints
3/5
There's some fun songs, especially Know Your Product, but lots of songs are indistinguishable from each other.
10cc
4/5
What a strange discovery! I only knew I'm Not in Love from 10cc. I thought they were like a yacht rock band or something.
This is like Sparks and Queen. It also really reminded me of the album Congratulations by MGMT in that the songs are constantly shifting and not taking themselves too seriously.
I feel like I need to listen to this a few more times to really get it. I'm thinking a 3.5. I'm going with a 4 because of how much it surprised me. I may end up reevaluating it lower.
The Young Rascals
3/5
This is what oldies radio sounded like in the 99s
Sister Sledge
3/5
A funky good time.
Morrissey
3/5
Every Morrissey album has one or two amazing songs. This one has Everyday is Like Sunday, and Suedehead. Two of the best songs ever.
There's a couple other tracks that are fine, and the rest is mopey ballads that don't go anywhere.
The Clash
5/5
Docked a point for being a double album.
*edited to return the star. Perfect album and my automatic double album star docking has not aged well.
Rush
4/5
I have a soft spot for Rush. What else can I say.
The La's
3/5
I've tried to get into this album before because it seems like it would be the kind of thing I like. It doesn't do anything for me though. Not bad though, just uninteresting.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
2/5
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
This was quite a fun listen. I might go learn Portuguese.
Supergrass
4/5
Impressive debut!
Don McLean
2/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Love the short little ditties on this album. The 2 instrumentals break it up nicely.
The Zombies
3/5
Never thought this was as good as I was told it was. The harmonies are good, but all the songs blur together except for the hits that bookend it.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
I have to give the -1 double album penalty here. Musically it's a 3, but the limitations of the rating system means that this ends up rated lower than the Korn album.
Maybe I need to reevaluate my rating system. And my life.
Ice T
3/5
John Grant
2/5
Not essential.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Days after I gave a shockingly low 2 star rating to Electric Ladyland, this album shows up to set the record straight. This one is a genuine 5 star effort.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
The Smiths
4/5
The Undertones
3/5
Wednesday Week was the only song I was already familiar with, and it's the clear standout here. The rest is pretty fun. I liked Hard Luck a lot. Sometimes the vibrato was annoying. Overall, a solid effort.
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
Odd turns of phrase. Too many words crammed into too little space. Music sounds like it could fall apart into a mess at any moment. I love it.
Taylor Swift
5/5
When Shake it Off came out one of my friends was complaining that it was horrible. I said, "but it's so catchy" to which he replied "like that's what makes music good."
Sometimes, yes, that what makes music good.
The Stooges
3/5
I like the first 2 albums a lot more than this one. Still not bad though.
Alice In Chains
3/5
I'd rate it higher if it was shorter. An hour of doom and gloom and monster riffs is a bit much.
Peter Tosh
2/5
Just makes me want to hear Bob Marley.
Yes
3/5
3.5
I actually liked this more than I thought I would.
Mudhoney
3/5
Totally grungified!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I'm tempted to take a point off just because this is Young's 7th appearance so far. But it's still not bad.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Donald Fagen
1/5
I hate this shit so much!
The Beau Brummels
2/5
I forgot what this sounded like immediately after it ended.
Eminem
3/5
King Crimson
1/5
My usual prog rock complaint is that you have to listen to too much nonsense in between interesting parts. This one didn't really have interesting parts.
Charles Mingus
1/5
I like a lot of Mingus, especially the song Moanin, and the album Mingus ah um.
This one is just too "experimental" for me. I found the whole thing irritating.
Adele
3/5
Send My Love is my favorite Adele song. Water under the bridge is OK. Everything else is blah.
Muddy Waters
3/5
A very fine version of the blues.
Lou Reed
5/5
This one is nostalgic because my college roommate and I listened to it a ton back in the day. It's a little weak towards the end, but the first 8 songs are great. Can't give it anything less than a 5.
Doves
2/5
I could not get interested in this at all.
Pretenders
5/5
I love Chrissie Hynde's singing style. Sometimes the music isn't as interesting as her voice. 4.5, bumped up because of the Cleveland references in Precious.
Steve Winwood
3/5
I can't believe I don't hate this. It's just so pleasant and inoffensive. Parts are reminiscent of Steely Dan, which should be a deal breaker for me, but never reached those irritating heights.
Sinead O'Connor
3/5
Great voice, but the songs just don't go anywhere.
Mudhoney
2/5
One Mudhoney album on this list is enough, and the other one is better.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
Sabu
1/5
A group of people playing instruments and chanting with no regard for what the others are chanting and playing. If that's what poly rhythmic means, I'll stick with just the one rhythm, thank you.
Ian Dury
2/5
Ian Dury definitely has some fun songs. Clever Trevor or Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll are OK to hear every once in a while, but an intire album of his shtick gets tiresome. 2.5 stars
Radiohead
5/5
This and OK Computer are the only two Radiohead albums I truly love.
The little flute sound towards the end of the song The Bends is one of my favorite pieces of music ever.
White Denim
3/5
Nothing special. Don't care for the vocalist, but the music is OK.
Small Faces
3/5
Probably a 2, but I'm feeling generous
DJ Shadow
2/5
At its most interesting moments this sounds like DVD menu music.
Norah Jones
2/5
She's got a nice voice, but I don't understand how this is one of the best selling albums of all time.
Jacques Brel
2/5
Minus one for being a live album. Plus one for being short, so that cancels out.
2 stars because every song sounds the same. Fine for background music at a fancy restaurant, I guess.
Chicago
3/5
My friend, half asleep, took a phone call and agreed to help out with what he thought was a video shoot in Chicago. Turns out he accidentally agreed to go on tour with the band Chicago for like 8 months helping with the video projectors for their stage show. He hates the band.
This will never not be funny to me.
5/5
Maybe his best.
Cream
4/5
Lots of bangers. Drums are great. Starts to falter towards the end, but then it's over.
George Michael
4/5
Richard Thompson
3/5
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Tracy Chapman
3/5
I like her voice and lyrics, but musically it's just not my thing.
The Band
3/5
Tom Waits
2/5
I actually liked this one a lot more than Heartattack and Vine. But it's just too much. The same thing for over an hour. No thanks.
3/5
Almost every song has the same guitar tone and lack of vocal melody. Good Fortune and This Mess We're In stand out from the crowd.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
This is a really fun album. Can be a bit corny at times, but you'll have that when horns are involved.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
The Auteurs
3/5
David Bowie
2/5
Golden years is great. The rest is....not. TVC15 is OK, but this album doesn't do anything for me.
AC/DC
4/5
Once you realize that the bugs are actually features, AC/DC clicks.
Morrissey
4/5
Like all Morrissey albums there's 4 or 5 tracks that I absolutely love. The slower mopey stuff I can do without, but The More You Ignore Me and Speedway and a few others elevate this to greatness.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Bad Brains
1/5
Thus is so far removed from what I like about music, I don't know what to say.
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
I've always thought this band was just OK. Probably would be cool to hear in a small venue, listening at home, it gets very samey-samey.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
2/5
The title song is good, but I like the upbeat version of it a lot more.
This is a downer of an album, and nothing really stands out from the rest. Needs more variety!
Sigur Rós
3/5
Very pretty. Hearing Staralfur when they find the shark in The Life Aquatic on the big screen was amazing.
Deep Purple
2/5
Double album. Minus one point.
Live album. Minus one point.
If this had been cut down by 90 munutes I could overlook the fact that it's a live album.
Joy Division
3/5
The problem with unique sounding bands is all the songs can end up sounding the same. I really like a few JD songs, but none of them are on this album.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
I've heard them all a million times. Don't really need to hear most of this ever again, but it's still really good.
Red Snapper
1/5
Not satisfied
Cee Lo Green
2/5
I felt like there was too much going on production wise.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
The last 3 songs are all bangers, bumping this up to a 4.
Can
3/5
I actually really like Can, even though the songs are long and repetitive.
LL Cool J
3/5
This was surprisingly good. I've only heard the title track, but the whole thing holds up.
The Who
5/5
There's some corniness for sure, but I love The Who and I have a thing for rock operas.
I'm not deducting my one point penalty for double albums because I make the rules. Not gonna do it for The Wall when that comes up either.
The Fall
4/5
The fact that this is their 15th album says a lot about The Fall. I think they could have benefitted from some editing. Cut some songs down, cut some completely.
But I like The Fall a lot. This is a 3.5 rounded up to combat some of the unnecessarily negative reviews.
Pere Ubu
3/5
A challenging, but ultimately rewarding listen.
Billy Joel
4/5
3 seems too low. 4 seems too high. I'm going to round up cuz the title track and Movin Out are bangers.
Moby Grape
3/5
Pretty good late 60s SF sound. Nothing amazing.
Sugar
3/5
I've not heard this one and I never really cared for Husker Du, so I wasn't sure what I was in for.
Some reviews here say it's generic 90s alt, but looking at the year it came out, it seems like it defined the sound, not imitated it.
3.5 stars. Influential, but I don't like a lot of the bands they inspired.
The Who
4/5
The ads are fun, but the songs are just OK outside of Miles and Miles.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2/5
2.5
This was a weird trip! There was definitely some good basslines, but mostly it's just generic pop. The covers are not great and there's I think three of them, so I'm rounding down.
OutKast
4/5
Gasoline, Fresh & Clean, and Ms Jackson are all amazing songs. Bombs Over Baghdad is probably one of the best songs ever recorded.
Can't give it a five because of all the filler though.
Frank Black
3/5
It's good but not great. Too many songs are too similar to each other.
Joan Armatrading
4/5
This is my favorite discovery of this project so far. Lovely stuff!
The Byrds
3/5
I like the music more than the vocals.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
All the hallmarks of 90s pop punk. Not my thing, but it's well done, I guess.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
This is not their best work, but it's a good enough representation of their sound.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
I'm a sucker for this brand of wimpy indie music. Could definitely benefit from some editing. 20 minutes less would do a lot.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
The Cardigans
3/5
You'd think I would love this album, but it doesn't really do much for me. Lovefool does most of the work towards this album scoring a 3.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
I did not really enjoy this at all.
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
I think this would be more well regarded if it was presented as a band as opposed to a solo album. If everyone who contributed was credited, most of the negative reviews would go away.
Pentangle
2/5
Part Renaissance Faire, part church service. No thanks.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
I don't think I could be convinced that this isn't one hour long song.
Elis Regina
3/5
I want to listen to this again. I feel like I might love it after a few more spins.
Ministry
3/5
I was terrified of the kids who wore Ministry t-shirts in high school.
5/5
This was an instant 5 for me.
2/5
I had this one way back in the day when I was doing this project solo. I rated it a 2 then, but didn't leave a review.
Spiritualized
3/5
I've never been able to get into this album. It seems overly dense and doesn't really go anywhere. It's good, but kind of exhausting.
3/5
I like the songs with Exene at the forefront.
Frank Zappa
3/5
I really liked some of this. Not enough to rate it higher than a 3. Parts are actually annoying, but the good parts make up for it.
Madonna
2/5
I'll leave a full review if this album ever ends.
U2
5/5
There may be no album that I've listened to more than this one, and almost all those listens came when I was 13 to 15 years old.
I never listen to this anymore. Probably haven't in 25 to 30 years and I still know every note. How do you judge nostalgia?
2/5
Some parts were catchy. I bet if I had heard this when I was a kid in the 80s, I would like it now. 2.5 stars.
The White Stripes
3/5
I was excited about this when it came out, but it never really held my attention. Nothing bad, really. Just kind of meh. 2.5 stars.
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
I was not looking forward to hearing more Neil Young, but this was a pleasant surprise, and his songs were the best ones here. Overall this sounds like a compilation album and I would believe it if I was told there was 3 different bands on here. 3.5 stars.
James Taylor
3/5
The downside of the 5 star rating system. This album is fine. Not as good as some of the other 3 star albums I've rated, but 2 stars seems way too low. 🤷
Alanis Morissette
5/5
The sheer number of hits on this album make it nearly a five. The non-hits make it lose just a little. I'm torn between a 4 and a 5. I'm going to round up because women are underrepresented on this list.
The Teardrop Explodes
2/5
Nothing really stands out here.
George Michael
3/5
George obviously has an amazing voice, but there's far too many ballads on here. 3 stars mostly from Freedom.
OutKast
3/5
This would easily be a 5 star album if all the filler and half of Andre's experiments were cut. As it's presented, I can't go higher than a 3.
The Coral
1/5
There's a few moments that are OK, but overall I hated this. Super corny and annoying. Probably could be a 2, but I'm docking a star because this most definitely doesn't belong on the list.
Gary Numan
3/5
Gotta love it for how unique it is. It does get a little tiresome after a while - the coldness of it all. The live tracks at the end of it, though I don't think they're part of the original release, show that a little bit of live instrumentation makes the songs feel more alive.
The Beta Band
3/5
This band is pretty formulaic. Can't tell one song from another. Low 3,high 2.
The Beta Band
3/5
The perfected the formula on Dry The Rain. Every other Beta Band song tries to be that, but falls short. This album is better than the other Beta Band album on here, but but still just a 3.
Boards of Canada
2/5
Not a fan of this style of music. Most of the instruments want to be in meditation music to be played at a spa, but the drums and bass want to be bopping at the club.
In what setting is this enjoyable?
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Enjoyable, but not amazing in any way.
Holger Czukay
2/5
Experimental music is hard to rate. There were portions that I really liked, but more that I didn't. Seems like it would have taken a lot of time and effort to make this in the 1970s, so props to him for that.
Aphex Twin
2/5
I do like it few Aphex Twin songs, but none of these.
3/5
She's got a great voice, but the twang starts to grind, and I just don't love country music.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
4/5
I love The Penguin Cafe Orchestra! Parts of this album are beautiful. They pepper in just enough "weirdness for the sake of weirdness" to keep me away from a perfect rating. Not sure if any of this has been in a Wes Anderson movie, but it very easily could be!
Elvis Presley
3/5
This was just OK. There was much more interesting music being made in the 50s. Elvis could sure sing, but this batch of songs is pretty weak.
Simple Minds
2/5
Not necessarily bad, just boring.
Torn between a 3 and a 4. Rod Stewart has a great rock and roll voice. Stay With Me is probably the only song I'd purposefully listen to again, but everything else is good enough that I wouldn't be mad if it played. Short run time gives it the final boost up to 4.
50 Cent
3/5
In Da Club does most of the heavy lifting on this. 2.5 stars.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
When she sings at a lower pitch, it's amazing. There's just too many high notes that peirce right into my brain.
Motörhead
2/5
Motorhead Is just fine. Live albums are not. Double albums are not. Sorry.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Juvenile.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Cat Stevens is head and shoulders above the other singer/songwriters of the era.
Ash
3/5
Dude can't really sing. Some of the songs are OK. 2.5 stars.
B.B. King
3/5
A really good example of the blues. It's still Blues though. Too formulaic, very little vocal melody. It's tough to rate because his voice is amazing and the band is great, but... Blues, man.
T. Rex
3/5
T Rex is great, but the songs don't really go anywhere. Mostly nonsense rhyming repeated too many times. I still love the sound, but I wish there was more meat on the bones.
The Byrds
2/5
2.5
Tortoise
2/5
I remember reading glowing reviews for this and listening to it in the bookstore. I realized then that I don't always agree with the reviews. 1.5 stars.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Never really got into the Dead. I like Truckin and a couple other tracks here.
The Libertines
3/5
Just makes me want to hear Arctic Monkeys.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Mostly just fine, but there's some truly unlistenable stuff on here. Plus, I think this is the 3rd Leonard Cohen album on here. One is representative enough.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Solid batch of songs. I don't go out of the way to listen to ELO, but I enjoy it when I hear it.
Killing Joke
2/5
This could have been great if the the songs were kept to about 2 minutes. The same riff over and over, with the lack of any real vocal melody begins to tire. 2.5 stars.
Tina Turner
2/5
I was hoping to really like this, but as I was listening I kept realizing that I'd have to rate it low. And I felt bad about it, cuz she's an icon. But the 80s production is too bad to overcome. When I got to the Help cover I didn't feel bad anymore. That was hot garbage!
The Adverts
4/5
Never heard this before, and I liked it a lot. Reminds me maybe a bit of early Pretenders. I don't know. I just liked it.
Minor Threat
3/5
Could probably copy and paste my Fugazi review. Not my thing, but I like the ideas.
Travis
2/5
Utterly insignificant and kind of a slog.
Mekons
3/5
Early Pulp reminds me of this. Speak singing. Violins. Oddball stuff, and I love it.
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Costello is a bit of a Greatest Hits guy for me, but this is a solid batch of songs.
Funkadelic
3/5
Scritti Politti
2/5
I didn't hate this. I can see why people would hate it. I fact, I can't believe I don't hate it. 2.5
Missy Elliott
3/5
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Great album, and the title track is such a gem.
In my head I always confuse X-Ray Spex with Poly Styrene and X with Exene Cervenka but that's not their fault.
ABBA
4/5
Sugar is good in small quantities. A whole album of it can be a bit much. But Fernando is such a banger I'm rounding this up to a 4.
Crowded House
2/5
This was fine.
The Cure
3/5
I love The Cure, but I like the poppier version of The Cure more.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Meh. And if Im not misinterpreting, there's a song about getting with a 17 year old.
Slint
4/5
I couldn't stop listening to this. There's something captivating about it.
TV On The Radio
2/5
They seem to throw everything at every song, and still something is missing. Can't explain why, but this band does nothing for me.
Anita Baker
2/5
Only 4 songs on Spotify, but that's enough to know this bored me.
The KLF
3/5
3am Eternal has been bouncing around in my head for over 30 years!
Gillian Welch
2/5
Just not my thing
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
I like Dinosaur Jr more than Sonic Youth or Husker Du, bands I feel have a similar sound.
The Byrds
3/5
Short songs, and they didn't all sound the same. That's enough for 3 stars.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
3 or 4 really good songs, but the rest all sort of blend together. 2.5 stars.
Hole
5/5
This is peak late-90s music right here. Nearly every song could have been a radio hit.
The Streets
3/5
A couple tracks in I was ready to give this a one star. By the end I was totally invested. Then I listened to it again immediately after. What is this sorcery?
I do wonder if a "rap" album was the best choice for this story to be told. He's got a way with words for sure, but could that translate to a short film or novella?
Beatles
5/5
I always dock a star for double albums. Unless it's this or The Wall.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Flipside was good, but probably just because it sounded a little different than everything else on here. It all just blends together.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
I have a soft spot for mid 60s pop songs. Probably from all the "oldies radio" I listened to as a kid. This is nothing groundbreaking, but catchy 3 minute ditties will always get a good review from me.
Deerhunter
2/5
I've heard this before and actually like a few of the songs. But it's nothing special. There's tons of indie bands that sound just like this.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
First thing in the morning, pre-coffee, this was about the worst thing I'd ever heard. Listened to it again later in the day and it improved slightly.
Eurythmics
4/5
I loved this album so much. Female led synth pop is right in my wheelhouse. Love is a Stranger and Jennifer are the standouts.
Blue Cheer
3/5
I hear more Zeppelin than Sabbath. Not bad.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
I'm having a hard time rating this on its merits alone. Probably the best of the three Dexy albums on the list, but I'm going to punish it for being the third.
Wish this would have come up before the other 2, but it didn't.
The Shamen
2/5
Better than most of the electronic music that has come up on this list. 2.5 stars.
Circle Jerks
3/5
Man, that was fun. 3.5 stars.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Kind of boring, and I immediately forgot what any of it sounded like.
Wilco
4/5
Wilco is like a cozy blanket that wraps you up to comfort you from the profound sadness that they themselves caused.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
I didn't hate this. In fact, it's much better than most of the edm we've had on this list. But it's still edm. There's almost no reason I'd ever listen to it again.
Carpenters
3/5
Love Karen's voice. I wish there were less ballads and more pep in the tracks.
Janis Joplin
4/5
Wall to wall bangers.
Aimee Mann
3/5
I love her voice, but this sounds a bit dated.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Elvis Costello is definitely a greatest hits artest for me. The good stuff is so amazing, but most songs are just fine. Pump it Up does most of the heavy lifting here.
John Coltrane
2/5
All I know about jazz is that there are songs I absolutely love, and songs I don't get. Unfortunately, this is in the latter. Love the drumming though.
Soul II Soul
3/5
The title sounds like a compilation album, and the music sounds like a compilation too. Some great, some good, some terrible.
Nick Drake
3/5
He has some great songs, but a whole album of it can be a bit much.
The Black Crowes
3/5
This is good rock music, but I would never seek it out. Not mad when I hear it.
John Lennon
2/5
This is a high 2, low 3. Gonna round down cuz he was a big old meanie.
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/5
Slayer
2/5
Added point for being short. The speed is impressive, but I just don't care.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
She is so popular
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Pretty good debut. They really locked it in over the next few albums. Don't love Plant's voice, but Bonham's drumming more than makes up for it.
CHIC
3/5
Very well done, funky stuff. Fun.
Throbbing Gristle
2/5
Every few years I dig into noise music. It's an interesting concept: what defines music?
I don't enjoy it, but I like to be reminded that it exists.
Animal Collective
2/5
You know they could write some beautiful music if they removed their heads from their asses.
Dr. Dre
4/5
I had so many friends who listened to this constantly, it became part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. This and Eazy E. Was never really my thing, but Dre is a damn good musician.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Merry Clayton on Gimme Shelter alone is worth 5 stars.
The album does dip a bit in the middle, but the finale lifts it right back up.
Sepultura
2/5
A couple of tracks in I was thinking this would be a 3. The music was good and the screaming had a bit of melody to it. Surprisingly I didn't hate it.
But then it just kept going. And screaming. And the vocal melodies started all sounding the same.
Nope.
The Youngbloods
2/5
Didn't really like the vocals, and the music veered into Steely Dan territory at times.
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
This was better than I expected it to be. Seemed to drag a bit.
Burning Spear
2/5
3 minutes of raggae is fun. 30 minutes of it is rough.
Fugees
3/5
I've never listened to this whole album before, and I was hoping to really like it. I felt a little let down. It's just fine. The 2 best songs are covers.
The Clash
4/5
Torn between a 4 and a 5. Love the lyrics. Musically, they got better after this album.
Talking Heads
5/5
I love this album so much! Love Byrne's lyrics and his vocal ticks. They had a very unique sound that indie bands have been trying to replicate ever since, but no one does it better than the originals.
Brian Eno
1/5
I've tried to listen to this before, so I knew there was no point. Listened to yesterday's album Talking Heads 77 again instead.
Talking Heads
4/5
Jeff Beck
3/5
Anthrax
3/5
Super fast drums. Cool riffs. Vocals you can understand. Good enough for a 3 from me.
Deep Purple
4/5
Not the best Spinal Tap album, but pretty good!
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
I've always liked this band more than I probably should.
Heaven 17
2/5
Didn't hate it. Probably a 2.5. Rounded down because it doesn't really belong on this list.
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
Did I hate this because I was in a bad mood, or was I in a bad mood because I hated this?
Mariah Carey
3/5
It's fine, I guess. 2.5 stars.
Brian Wilson
3/5
Sort of a jumbled mess. It's like he needed a couple Beach Boys around to tell him every dooo weee ooo and slide whistle didn't need to be included. 2.5.
Genesis
2/5
This album does absolutely nothing for me. Probably 2 songs on it ar OK.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
2 great songs. No garbage.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Never mad about hearing a Sheryl Crow song, but also never seek one out.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
The shtick grows old pretty quick.
3/5
I listened to it yesterday. It was fine. I don't remember it already.
Beck
4/5
This one definitely gets better with multiple listens. I wish there was a little more variety, but I appreciate Beck writing actual lyrics and avoiding the weirdness for weirdness sake that can make his music a tough listen.
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Dude had charisma enough to make all the gangsta rap tropes palatable.
Soft Cell
2/5
When my brother in law was like 10 the term "Midget Porn" was found in his internet search history.
The Incredible String Band
3/5
I wouldn't say that I liked this, but I'm happy it exists. They sound like they were having so much fun making it.
It reminds me of sitting in friend's basements and jamming on acoustic guitars. Just making up lyrics as we went, often veering into fairy tales and monsters. What we created is mostly unlistenable but it was so fun!
The Velvet Underground
2/5
I love Lou Reed. He went all in on everything he did. He took big swings, but unfortunately had some big misses. This album is mostly a miss. Title track is great though.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
3 Little Birds is worth 3 little stars on its own.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
One of those albums that I forgot immediately after listening to it
Sepultura
2/5
I was tempted to write a one word review "Arse."
But, I want to add that this would be good with actual vocals. Every vocal melody is exactly the same.
Morrissey
4/5
Sorry again for liking Morrissey.
The Pharcyde
4/5
This project has made me realize that I like hip hop more than I thought I did. Not that I didn't like it, but I'm consistently rating it higher than I thought I would.
Dire Straits
3/5
If you charted my enjoyment level while listening to this album, the line would look like the number 7.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I think I finally figured out how to enjoy Sonic Youth and the answer rhymes with my username.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Pretty good glam-adjacent 70s rock. 3.5 stars.
MC Solaar
3/5
Got a little close to Snow's Informer at times, but pretty solid overall.
Janet Jackson
4/5
There's some garbage on here, but the hits are undeniably great.
4/5
Just enough bangers to tip this into 4 star territory. Barely.
The Kinks
5/5
Not my favorite Kinks album, but no complaints. They just kept getting better after this.
The Temptations
3/5
It weird to read about songs being included at the label's request, and seeing that The Temptations were the vocalists, surrounded by studio musicians. Obviously they're not alone in this, but it may be fair to draw a line from this to Backstreet and NSYNC.
Obviously this is better, but I think the marketing forces are the same.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
3.5 stars.
Rounded down because it's pretty much The Pretenders or The Runaways.
Rounded back up to a 4 because I just love Karen O's voice.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
Another on my list of albums that I don't enjoy, but am glad exist. You can tell how much fun they had making this. I'll always have a soft spot for oddball noise music.
Never going to listen to it again!
Orange Juice
3/5
Edwyn Collins has such a cool voice. I wish there was slightly better songs on this though.
Joy Division
4/5
3.5 stars. Love the sound, but some songs are indistinguishable from others.
Traffic
3/5
I'm going to copy part of my Steve Winwood review here.
"I can't believe I don't hate this. It's just so pleasant and inoffensive"
Oasis
4/5
They're just so good. Really dumb, but damn do I enjoy the stupidity.
Elbow
3/5
I like Elbow the most when they layer multiple melodies on top of each other and lean into the orchestration and over-the-topness. Unfortunately they only seem to do that once or twice per album.
Portishead
3/5
I like moments of Portishead, but I can't get into them. I've tried.
TLC
3/5
Pretty good. 2 bangers and some generics, but good enough for a 3.
Green Day
5/5
Catchy songs. Under 40 minutes. I don't care for later green day, but early stuff is perfect.
The The
2/5
I wanted to like this album. I really like their song This is the Day, but that's all I knew about them.
This album sounds like 80s soundtrack music. And not in a good way.
Ramones
5/5
2 minute songs about stupid stuff? Yes, please!
The Doors
4/5
Always will have a soft spot for The Doors, even if I never really listen to them anymore. I did enough in middle and high school for a lifetime.
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I don't want to anger the Germans, but I did not care for this.
Tom Waits
3/5
I put off listening to this for a few days because I hated his other stuff on this list. To my surprise, I didn't hate this one as much!
2/5
System Of A Down
3/5
Toxicity is a better album.
Little Richard
4/5
Punk rock!
The Kinks
5/5
I cannot get over how good this band was for such a long time. They deserve to be in the same discussion as the Beatles and Stones.
Parliament
3/5
None of these songs should be more than 3 minutes long.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Not bad, just boring.
Black Sabbath
5/5
This was an immediate 5! One of my favorite albums ever.
Def Leppard
3/5
]
Sebadoh
3/5
Like all Sebadoh albums, the Barlow tracks stand out while everything else is anywhere from fine to garbage.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Radiohead
4/5
This is really good, but nowhere near as good as The Bends or OK Computer. A very high 4.like a 4.75.
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
Nick Drake
3/5
Digital Underground
2/5
There's no need for so many of these songs to be over 5 minutes long.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Not essential listening for anyone.
The National
4/5
I also was carried to Ohio by a swarm of bees.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
David Bowie
3/5
Gram Parsons
3/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
Queen Latifah
3/5
The Cramps
4/5
Spacemen 3
2/5
Kraftwerk
3/5
Ryan Adams
2/5
King Crimson
3/5
This would be a 4 if they cut out the non-song portions. The actual songs are great.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
Bobby Womack
3/5
Nitin Sawhney
2/5
Yes
3/5
Your Move is a 5. Everything else is just OK.
Nanci Griffith
3/5
New Order
3/5
Shack
2/5
De La Soul
4/5
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
The songs are great, but quite a few are indistinguishable from each other on one listen.
But I'm not about to spend the time to go through the whole thing again n
Björk
2/5
I have a few Bjork songs that I absolutely cannot get enough of. Others I can't stand. This album doesn't do it for me.
Television
4/5
The Cult
3/5
Jamiroquai
2/5
Method Man
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
4.5
Stereo MC's
2/5
2.5
Neil Young
3/5
Actually been a while since we've had a Neil Young album and this one started off great. I was thinking it was going to be my favorite from him. It actually seemed a little poppy, which I liked.
Then it morphed into just another Neil Young album like the other 25 of them on the list.
Paul Weller
2/5
Saint Etienne
4/5
Leftfield
3/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Frank has a nice voice, but he does absolutely nothing interesting with it.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
I feel bad not giving a 5,but it's just not as good as some of their other albums.
The Residents
2/5
In the category of More Fun to Create Than to Listen To.
You know it's fun to create based on the number of 90s bands that hid songs just like this as secret tracks on their CDs.
Ice Cube
4/5
Sam Cooke
4/5
AC/DC
5/5
Al Green
3/5
Japan
3/5
The Mars Volta
2/5
Queen
4/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Megadeth
4/5
Eagles
3/5
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
The Who
4/5
The Jam
5/5
The Sonics
4/5
The Sugarcubes
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I'm hot and cold on Nick Cave. I actually like this one as much as I hate some of his other stuff. 3.5.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Basement Jaxx
3/5
American Music Club
3/5
I definitely hear the markings of many 1990s sounds in here!
Joni Mitchell
2/5
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
Little Simz
4/5
Bee Gees
2/5
Sleater-Kinney
3/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
The Yardbirds
3/5
Cheap Trick
2/5
The Only Ones
4/5
Madness
2/5
2.5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Probably a 3,but Killing Moon bumps it up
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Heaps of Sheeps is fun. Everything else sucks.
Tori Amos
3/5
Slipknot
2/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
I don't hate it, but it does sound like it should be a cartoon soundtrack.
Lou Reed
2/5
I love Transformer so much. This album though...
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
If I first heard this now I'd probably roll my eyes and give it a 3.
But I'm going to rate it based on how much it meant to teenage me and the number of hours I spent listening to it with headphones on.
Talking Heads
3/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Big Star
3/5
3.5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
2.5 rounded down because it's not essential.
Orbital
1/5
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Why are the songs so long?
The Soft Boys
4/5
I loved this! Power pop with a punish edge. Clever lyrics.
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Motörhead
3/5
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Definitely don't need 2 Super Furry Animals albums on this list. Pretty good though.
Ananda Shankar
3/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
The Fall
2/5
I love some songs by The Fall, just not really any of these ones.
Talvin Singh
3/5
Christine and the Queens
3/5
3.5
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
Just about 25% of the songs are bangers. That leaves 75% that are OK at best. Some are downright terrible.
There's definitely a 5 star album hidden in the 3 hour slog.
3/5
The B-52's
3/5
Ray Charles
3/5
Faust
3/5
Goldfrapp
2/5
Goldfrapp has some good tracks on other albums.
Spiritualized
3/5
I always want to like Spiritualized more than I do.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Better than the other Pet Shop Boys we've had on here.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Sounds good, but pretty much every song is indistinguishable from the last one.
Metallica
5/5
Baaba Maal
2/5
I liked most of the music, but not so much the vocals. And it dragged on.
Roxy Music
4/5
The first half of this album is perfect. It slumps a bit in the second half dropping it down a star.
UB40
2/5
2.5
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Lucinda Williams
3/5
Le Tigre
4/5
3.5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Randy Newman
2/5
I don't care for his voice or the style of music, but I thought the lyrics would be enough to bump it up to a 3. But the. I went through and read all the lyrics and wasn't overly impressed.
Love
2/5
It's nowhere near as good as Forever Changes.
The Pogues
2/5
I met a guy in a Pogues cover band. Props for being so into them! It's just not for me though.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Thundercat
3/5
Primal Scream
3/5
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Beatles
5/5
Laibach
2/5
I wasn't sure what a Yugoslav avant garde album with that cover would sound like, but after listening, this is exactly what a Yugoslav avant garde album with that cover would sound like.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
The highest 4 you can get without being a 5. There's just a bit too much filler. The killers really do kill though.
Kate Bush
2/5
2.5
R.E.M.
5/5
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Seems like the last 4 tracks are bonus tracks that weren't on the original album
This would be a 2 if not for Strawberry Letter.
Mike Ladd
3/5
Surprisingly good. Not great.
Richard Hawley
2/5
Pretty boring and certainly not essential.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Music is a 5.
Vocals are a 3.
M.I.A.
3/5
I like parts of this album, but it's all just a little too frenetic for my taste.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
3.5
Death In Vegas
3/5
Billie Holiday
2/5
Aerosmith
3/5
I liked this more than I thought I would. Probably a 3.5, but I'm rounding down because of Steven Tyler's skeeviness.
Cypress Hill
3/5
Kate Bush
3/5
Hot Chip
3/5
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
Pavement
5/5
I love this album so much!
Devendra Banhart
2/5
Madonna
4/5
1/5
I couldn't get through it.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
For a video game or movie soundtrack this would be fine.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
Dentist office music
Orbital
1/5
Brian Eno
4/5
3.5
Erykah Badu
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
3.5
k.d. lang
3/5
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Air
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
Maxwell
2/5
This is not for me. Not bad, I just can't care about it.
Tim Buckley
2/5
fIREHOSE
3/5
The music is great, but I don't care for the vocals. You can tell they were having fun!
Raekwon
2/5
I'm just not a fan of Wu Tang style rap.
Eels
4/5
Makes me want to listen to Wilco
Jane's Addiction
4/5
N.W.A.
4/5
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Tito Puente
3/5
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
Solange
3/5
Justin Timberlake
4/5
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
3/5
Mj Cole
2/5
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Liz Phair
4/5