Journey in Progress
Discovering music one album at a time
766
Albums Rated
2.67
Avg Rating
57
5-Star Albums
70%
Complete
323 albums remaining
Rating Speed
7
Per Week
765
Days Active
Reviews
764
Written
100%
Review Rate
vs Global
-0.54
Avg Diff
2.67
Avg Rating
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Which era do you prefer?
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Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Samba
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Harsh
Rater Style
111
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Grand Tour | 5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
| Sweetheart Of The Rodeo | 5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
| Imperial Bedroom | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Seventh Tree | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
| Roger the Engineer | 5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
| Hejira | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert) | 5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
| Chicago Transit Authority | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| Dance Mania | 5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
| Feast of Wire | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brothers In Arms | 1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
| The Score | 1 | 3.68 | -2.68 |
| To Pimp A Butterfly | 1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
| good kid, m.A.A.d city | 1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
| The Number Of The Beast | 1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
| Stankonia | 1 | 3.55 | -2.55 |
| Straight Outta Compton | 1 | 3.51 | -2.51 |
| The Marshall Mathers LP | 1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
| ...And Justice For All | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
| Hybrid Theory | 1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums and high weighted score
| Artist | Albums | Avg | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.86 | 4.3 |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 5 | 4.25 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 4.67 | 3.83 |
| Johnny Cash | 2 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 2 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 | 3.71 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.33 | 3.67 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums and low weighted score
| Artist | Albums | Avg | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard Cohen | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Scott Walker | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Ice Cube | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Public Enemy | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Orbital | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Motörhead | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Metallica | 2 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Tom Waits | 3 | 1.67 | 2.33 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 1.67 | 2.33 |
| k.d. lang | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| LCD Soundsystem | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Tim Buckley | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Public Image Ltd. | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Baaba Maal | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 1.5 | 2.4 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 5 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 2 | 2.5 |
5-Star Albums (57)
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Popular Reviews
Joan Baez
1/5
It was painful attempting to listen to this. The songs were so boring and her excessive warbling vibrato drives me nuts.
3 likes
Steve Earle
2/5
I like country music but modern country just isn't my thing. This was basic, bland. boring and there's nothing here I'd want to hear again.
3 likes
Baaba Maal
2/5
I was kind of vibing with the music but it got a bit repetitive and I couldn't get past the vocals which were kind of annoying. It was OK. 2.5/5
3 likes
Mj Cole
1/5
Wow, I pretty much hated this from the very start. After listening to the entire first song I had to check to see the running time for this album and it was over an hour! There's no way I was going to put myself through that! To be more than fair going forward I would listen to at least 1-1/2 minutes of each song or longer if I liked it. Without fail I found myself looking forward to moving on to the next song even BEFORE the 1-1/2 minutes expired. That sonically empty electronic drum was grating with that electronic snare beat boring into my brain like a Chinese water torture. This album held zero appeal for me and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
3 likes
Brian Wilson
2/5
I always thought that the Beach Boys were a one-trick pony and other than a handful of songs, I wasn't really a fan. Despite all of the accolades this album seems to receive and even though no one else in the band was involved, it sounds like a boring, B-sides Beach Boys album with some real turds on it. It didn't make me smile.
2 likes
1-Star Albums (111)
All Ratings
Sigur Rós
4/5
This album was exactly what this type of exercise was meant for. It was something I never would have discovered on my own. At first I didn't really care for it but as the album progressed it grew on me and I ended up enjoying it and has me curious to explore more music from this group.
Pixies
2/5
I would have been perfectly fine not enduring this album before stepping into eternity. It wasn't grating enough to make me want to leave the room but I'll never want to listen to this again.
Eels
3/5
Not particularly a standout but an enjoyable listen. It might not be something I would actively seek out but if it were to pop up again somewhere I'd be happy and fine with listening to it again. A decent recording representative of 90's era music though it has horrible and kind of unsettling cover art.
Hole
2/5
This kind of thing is not my jam. I'm not into that whole apathy/anger/angst/disassociated/progressive grunge type of music. I didn't hate it but didn't enjoy it either. A one and done-r.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
This is definitely of a sound that helped define the 70's. For the most part I'm not a fan of soundtracks. They have a different flow and vibe. I never saw Superfly so I have no visuals or context to frame what this music was trying to achieve though I can surmise and I get it. On the basis of whether I liked it vs musical achievement this was OK but it's a one and done for me.
Beach House
1/5
After reading that this would be good music to "bone" to among the reviews has me questioning whether I ever want to read a review on an unfamiliar album again. It's all I could think of while listening to it. I don't know whether I should feel more sorry for the guy, the guy's wife or the both of them if this is the kind of music that they "bone" to. The feeling I was getting was to skip the fun and go directly to sleep. This album was bland, boring, dull and had an expressive and sonic dynamic range spanning from A to C. There wasn't a single track that made me want to listen to it past the half way point. Different strokes for different folks but this album did nothing for me.
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
I get the appeal, this is music I could listen to but the vocals were so annoying! The vibrato was at an 11 and I would be looking for something in the 0-3 range. The guest vocals only magnified this point of view and had me thinking that this would be a nice album if only it were sung by a different artist or artists.
Mekons
2/5
If I could give half-stars I'd give this 2-1/2 stars. At times this was a 3 for me and at other times a 2. Reading the description that this was a cross between punk and country or an early example of alt-country, had me looking forward to this one. I was hoping for a bit more country leaning as I'm not much of a punk fan but this was an OK listen.
Sister Sledge
3/5
In the disco/R&B/pop world this album would rank pretty high, especially the title track and deservedly so but is it something I would reach for when I felt like listening to something? Probably not. I wouldn't knock it but it's not my kind of thing.
Charles Mingus
5/5
I'm not really a fan of avant-garde jazz but this really works for me. It sounds noir-ish, urban, and bold. The Spanish influences surprised me. It's not a very casual listen and I could understand how this might not be for everyone, it's definitely challenging. An interesting vision and an accomplishment to make it happen.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
(Techno) Dance music is meant to be danced to and isn't something I'd ever reach for for a listening experience. It gets so repetitive and tedious and I get kind of annoyed waiting for it to change or resolve and it never comes. The first song sounded like it sampled Chicago's "I'm A Man" and I kept waiting for that song to start and play out. There's also something cold and soulless about music made without any musicians or instruments so I find it difficult to get on board with that. I aged out of this type of music before it even existed but I'll give it two stars as an appreciation for some of the grooves.
Coldplay
3/5
I knew of Coldplay and had heard some of their work but they have never been on my radar. I hadn't heard enough of them to form any kind of opinion so I was going into this pretty fresh. I found this to be a very solid debut album and an enjoyable listen. The overall tone of the album has a same-y vibe to it, not a lot of dynamic change but I was fine with that. I'd welcome another listen. This wasn't quite a 4 for me but it's better than a 3. I'd give it a 3.5.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I haven't listened to this album in a long time and it was an enjoyable re-visit. As far as influence and impact go this album is a classic and rates a pretty easy 5/5 but what this project for me is - would I enjoy this album now and would I still reach for it and give it a listen today? When this came out it was the hardest rock you could listen to. I don't listen to much hard rock these days but on the rare occasion that I do get that itch, this album would definitely scratch it. 4/5
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
While listening to this I kept thinking that it sounded like a collection of Prince songs that weren't good enough to be included on his album releases. Not unlistenable and not all bad but understandably not good enough to be included on an album. I was also hearing some Beatles pastiches and what sounded like some post-Beatles John Lennon. This album didn't do much for me and I found myself fast-forwarding through most of it. I don't have any interest in hearing it again.
Mercury Rev
3/5
If someone were to ask me I don't even know how I would describe this music or what I would call it. After one listen I can't say that I loved it but I didn't dislike it by any means either. Overall I enjoyed it and thought it to be an interesting listen. This album gives me a vibe that if I were to give it a few more listens that it would probably grow on me so I'd give it a solid 3 or 3.5.
k.d. lang
2/5
At just over half an hour I thought this would be a pretty quick listen but it sure seemed like a slog. K. D. Lang is one of those artists where I can recognize that they have an undeniable talent but I have no interest in listening to them. I think a part of that is it seems like she is more interested in showcasing her voice than she is in serving a song so she over-sings the song. She also gives me the impression that she's someone who sings country but hasn't lived country. I didn't like the lounge-y stuff and hated the collaborative final song. Definitely a one and done for me and just squeaking past a one star rating.
Muddy Waters
3/5
I have a difficult time listening to blues albums. Blues songs are so formulaic that they quickly get too repetitive and start sounding the same from song to song. I start getting bored and it just gets too plodding and heavy. I liked almost every song on this album but listening to them back to back is too much of a good thing. (That trilling harmonica wears out its welcome pretty quickly after one song). I like the blues but I prefer them mixed in with other music to shake up the pace.
Can
2/5
This album had me on board until a bit over the half hour mark when I hit Aumgn and Peking O. Aumgn was pretty much just a collection of sounds and lacked any structure long enough to hold my interest. Peking O was way too experimental and avant-garde, pretty much unlistenable. These two songs alone take up more than 29 minutes of the album! My song ratings on this one range from 1 to 5 stars so the average should be a 3 but the two songs noted above seriously drag this album down so I can't give it more than a 2. Normally I wouldn't ever listen to a 2-star album again but I wouldn't mind revisiting the first half of the album.
The Cramps
4/5
I liked this album a lot more than I expected having gone into it with some trepidation. The only thing I knew going in was that it fell into the punk category, not a genre that I would typically seek out or particularly enjoy. Their raw take on rockabilly quickly won me over with their fun energy and humor. A surprising, fun discovery that deserves more listens.
Talking Heads
3/5
The Talking Heads - I've never loved them, I've never hated them. I'll listen to them (or not) but it will probably be by someone else's choice or by circumstance. This album was OK, it didn't really make any strong impressions on me either way.
Carpenters
2/5
In the spectrum of music I enjoyed hearing while growing up the Carpenters definitely had a place and it wouldn't have been the same without them. Karen Carpenter had such a wonderful voice! The Carpenters were a group that I always heard via radio play and greatest hits so actually sitting down to listen to this album was a new listening experience. This is a good example of an album where you endure the filler songs while waiting for the hits. Their cover of "Help" was terrible and reminded me of the type of thing you'd hear on The Lawrence Welk show when they tried to be hip and relevant by singing something on the current charts. Nothing outside of the hits held any interest for me, it's all a bit too lush, rich and saccharine.
The Yardbirds
5/5
I can't say that this is a masterpiece, it isn't, but I sure enjoyed it and that's what counts. It's a forward-moving product of its time and that's a good thing. This is a solid 4.5 in my book and the only album so far that I've wanted to listen to twice before deciding where to land with it. This one just squeaked into a 5 spot since I can't give it a half-star and it's better than a 4.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Sledgehammer is a bit played out but I enjoyed the rest of this album and was surprised that I had heard most of the tracks. I suppose that's a testament to the quality of the album when so many tracks got radio play. This isn't the type of thing I'd actively seek out on my own to listen to but I'd be pleased to hear it under almost any circumstance. Favorite song - In Your Eyes.
Tears For Fears
2/5
"Shout, shout, let it all out" sounds like my last trip to the bathroom. I never liked that song. The Working Hour felt like it took an hour to get going and another hour to end. Everybody Rules The World is decent but it is played out because it's been so overplayed. (Head Over Heels, the same) Mother's Talk goes in one ear and out the other. I Believe just sounded whiney and I quickly didn't care what they believed. You're getting the drift. This is more like "Songs From The Porcelain Chair". Definitely a dated sound that screams 80's and much too self-indulgent and self-serious in places. There's not much here that I'd ever want to hear again. This album is a high 1 but I'm feeling generous today and awarding it a low 2.
Johnny Cash
5/5
This was pretty much a perfect pairing, the outlaw of country music performing for imprisoned outlaws in real life. Cash knew his strengths and he used them. He knew his audience and he played them like a guitar. This album is a classic and enjoyable from front to back.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I bought this album when it first came out and I remember being disappointed and probably didn't listen to it more than a few times. Upon relistening I find that time and age had softened my original opinion. I can appreciate it more and can better see where he was coming from. At the same time while listening I could hear and imagine where the E Street Band would have filled out and expanded on the demos of several of the songs and I'm left wishing I could have heard what those versions might have been. My initial impression would have earned 1 star but I'm moving it up to 3 stars. It's OK.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Oooooo.... Velvet Underground with Andy Warhol cover art! I'm already feeling the transforming waves of cool and hipness just at the prospect of listening to it. This critical darling didn't exactly win me over but I didn't dislike it either. I liked it more than I thought I would but I found it to be pretty uneven. At times I was digging it and at other times it was grating noise. Nico's off-tone singing didn't do much for me but I can kind of understand the appeal in this specific context. The highs and lows average out to a solid 3 for me.
Scott Walker
1/5
What is this? The music sounds like something you'd hear played over the opening credits to a cheesy 60's movie. Yes he can sing and has a pleasant voice but I would never seek this out and wouldn't willfully listen to it for any length of time if I had any choice in the matter. It surprises me that this made the list, it wasn't my thing.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
Hip hop is not my thing and this album did nothing to change that. I don't understand the reference stating that this album bridges the gap between jazz and hip-hop. I'm a jazz fan and wasn't feeling jazz at all while listening. I thought it may have been due to the use of a stand up bass for a few numbers which did make those specific numbers somewhat more interesting but not particularly jazzy. It just sounds like hype in an attempt to make something we've already heard sound like something new, different and ground-breaking. I couldn't believe it when I read, "The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time..." in the Wikipedia reference. One of the greatest albums of ALL TIME?! No way! It sounds like another product of the hype machine. Maybe it's one of the greatest in the RAP world but across all genres it isn't even remotely so. For me, rap/hip-hop is something to be tolerated in very small doses but a whole album very quickly becomes so boring, repetitive and sounding the same. I'm not in the target audience for this album so my expectations were pretty low and my expectations met my enjoyment level - pretty low.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Raw, jangly and good energy though kind of dark. I dig how the bass is forward in the mix. This isn't really my kind of thing but I liked it more than I thought I would and get the feeling that this would grow on me with a few more listens.
Paul Simon
4/5
This must have been a liberating album for Simon, writing and performing whatever he wanted and just for himself, expanding on the sounds we knew from Simon and Garfunkel. Simon was bound for success no matter what context he was in as he was such an excellent performer and song writer. Most of this album was new to me as I've only listened to Simon's greatest hits and it was an enjoyable listen. If I knew nothing of his work and was hearing this for the first time I would want to hear more.
Raekwon
1/5
This was cRAP. I didn't enjoy a single minute of it. I'm definitely not their target audience and don't need this kind of hate, anger and attitude in my life. If zero stars was an option this would have earned it.
Mike Oldfield
2/5
Had "The Exorcist" not used this in their soundtrack I'd guess that this album would have languished in relative obscurity. Stripped of the visual context (the movie) or lyrics, I found this to be kind of a tedious listen. It seemed so self-indulgent, especially the bits where he growled throughout the song and where he would announce the various instruments as they were added. I hated the ending. After the spacey sound journey he suddenly dives into this jarring, square-dance, Popeye themed hootnanny which was so disconnected from everything that came before it. It totally took me out of the listening experience. Another one and done listen.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
I couldn't understand a word that they were singing but it didn't matter, it was an enjoyable listen and a fun discovery.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Some good folk music here and an enjoyable listen. I'd listen to more!
Mj Cole
1/5
Wow, I pretty much hated this from the very start. After listening to the entire first song I had to check to see the running time for this album and it was over an hour! There's no way I was going to put myself through that! To be more than fair going forward I would listen to at least 1-1/2 minutes of each song or longer if I liked it. Without fail I found myself looking forward to moving on to the next song even BEFORE the 1-1/2 minutes expired. That sonically empty electronic drum was grating with that electronic snare beat boring into my brain like a Chinese water torture. This album held zero appeal for me and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Ray Price
4/5
This is the type of country music that would have been playing on TV/radio as I grew up so it's kind of a part of my musical DNA and feels kind of like a comfortable and cozy blanket. The 60s may have been the last great decade for country music. There's still a lot to love from the 70s but country music was changing and mostly not for the better. Ray Price was one of the good ones and I could easily listen to this again and again.
The Strokes
5/5
I went into this one totally cold having only ever heard of the band name but not knowing the music. At just over 35 minutes this album was consistently strong throughout and didn't have an ounce of padding on it. For a debut album this was surprisingly good and I enjoyed it from front to back.
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
This album had its intended effect - it challenged me to let down my guard and open myself up to something different and it surprised me. I can't really say that I ENJOYED it but I didn't hate or dislike it either. It kind of grew on me and I never felt like I wanted to fast forward to the next number hoping for something better. It wasn't really music as I would define it but rather artistically fashioned sounds with musical elements. At times the "soundscapes" were jarring or discordant but it wasn't just random noise, it was manipulated in such a way as to make it interesting. I don't know if this makes any sense but this album isn't really something you listen to, it's more like something you experience. I wouldn't actively choose to listen to this but I was intrigued by it and I don't think I'm any worse off for having heard it.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Simon and Garfunkel were a musical match made in heaven so their vocals would be an easy 5. Not all of the material here has aged well so the songs are a pretty mixed bag ranging from 1 to 5. I don't know if this was more a thing of the past but it has a pretty scant play time at less than 30 minutes. This one ran pretty hot and cold for me but that pretty much sums up what S&G are to me. Their greatest hits were great but once you got much deeper than that I lose interest pretty quickly. Outside of the hits there's not much else here that grabs my attention.
The Stone Roses
3/5
If I were a teen/coming of age when this came out I probably would have thought that it was a jam. It definitely sounds like a product of the 80's which is when I started losing interest in pop music. Good drumming! This album didn't move me strongly either way. Good debut album. Probably a pretty solid 3.5 but I can't quite move it to a 4.
Taylor Swift
3/5
I've never listened to a Taylor Swift album before and I'm getting the vibe that this particular album wouldn't be where one would want to start with her catalog but rather something one would want to listen to as a fan who wants to go deeper. And that's not a bad thing. Taylor Swift is a talent. She's tapped into something that resonates with the psyche of her fandom and I think she fully deserves and has earned everything that she has accomplished. This album isn't really aimed at me and not the type of music I seek out but I enjoyed it. Two standouts for me were No Body, No Crime and Marjorie, a touching homage to her grandmother. This album didn't make me a Swiftie but it earned my respect and opened me to a willingness to hear more of her work.
Hawkwind
1/5
How many drugs does someone need to consume to enjoy this?! And where was this recorded live? Turdfest '73? And speaking of turds, Hawkwind has to be one of the most turd band names I've ever heard. It sounds like the name of a crappy, unimaginative high school garage band that will play anywhere for free because they couldn't even summon up a pity pay gig from their own family members. In keeping with the theme of this review I'd call this release a post-buffet two-flusher because it's one of the longest turds I've had to endure. It's unpleasant while it's happening and it really stinks but you feel so much better and relieved when it's finally over.
Röyksopp
2/5
This album inspired a haiku.
Beep-boop, endless loops
Soulless drums that sound like poop
Electronica
Electronica is just not my thing. It's too empty, too repetitive, too sterile, soulless. Music needs more feel and a human element electronica can't deliver. Some of this album had listenable moments which saved it from a 1 star rating. My life would not have been a single degree less for not having heard this album.
Pink Floyd
5/5
This is widely considered to be one of the best concept albums of all time and deservedly so. The vision, the realization and execution are remarkable and it's an extraordinary piece of work. It's a classic and definitely belongs on this list.
George Michael
3/5
This album is a bit uneven and seems to work best on the pop/hit type material and less so on the numbers that seemed more designed to show off and stretch his vocal talents. It's got some bops and it's a decent listen.
Joy Division
4/5
Listening to this album made me want to dye my hair black, put on a spiked dog collar, goth makeup, black clothes and then retreat alone to my darkened bedroom to stew in a nihilistic funk. This album pulls me in two directions. It's dark and depressing which doesn't really reflect my attitude or a demeanor that I would want to dwell on but at the same time I like the music itself (Dig the forward bass!) and the mood/atmosphere that it sets. I can't give it a 5 and it's more interesting than a 3 so it's a pretty solid 4.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
The best of their best are here and their distinctive harmonies made you know right away you were listening to the Mama's and the Papa's. I always thought that flute solo in California Dreaming was iconic. It really set the mood and tone for a great song. They definitely made their mark in their time and this was an enjoyable listen.
3/5
I once owned this album back in the 70's when it first came out but I must not have listened to it very much. Listening to it now, I barely remember any of it. At times I thought I could have been listening to David Byrne/Talking Heads. I walked away from this one thinking that it's probably something I would rarely reach for but it was a fun and interesting listen.
The Who
3/5
I've always considered The Who to be a greatest hits kind of band for me not knowing their work well or really caring to go beyond the hits but this album may cause me to reconsider. Sure, the songs and sound are dated but listening to this album taking that into perspective, it was a decent listen.
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Good bluegrass/country and mandolin with great harmony and vocals.
Kanye West
2/5
I'm not a rap fan and I'm definitely not a fan of Kanye the man so it was hard to get past that to be fair and give the music a chance. For fans of the genre I get the appeal. The R&B/soul aspect made this album more musical and interesting than many rap offerings but it still wasn't my thing.
The Adverts
2/5
Meh...... It sounds like this band had 2-3 songs and and just re-did them multiple times to stretch the album into 11 songs. Everything here pretty much sounded the same and not all that interesting.
Aerosmith
3/5
Not really an Aerosmith fan but I get it. This album starts strong but I found myself getting kind of bored after the first two or three songs. Still an OK listen.
Keith Jarrett
3/5
I love ECM recordings for their quiet, still, atmospheric sound and this album fits in that vein. I don't hold this in as high acclaim as its reputation but it was an enjoyable listen and would make for nice relaxing background music. 3.5/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
Recording a show for prisoners was a great idea and this was a great pairing. Johnny Cash was never in prison but he had been in jail multiple times. He was a man who had struggled in his life, had been a broken man who had reached the bottom of the barrel and had come back from a drug addiction. He was a man the prisoners could relate to, he sang songs that the prisoners could relate to and Cash tailored his set accordingly. While I never wanted to spend a single night behind prison walls I'm very happy to have been able to hear this concert, it's a classic.
Beck
4/5
An excellent album which invites me to want to hear more. Even the lesser songs are at least interesting despite not being favorites. A solid album that deserves future listens.
MGMT
3/5
Not bad, not great. I kind of got bored with it and overall wasn't really moved negatively or positively. I keep thinking something on this album is something I heard in a commercial somewhere.
Miles Davis
5/5
I'm more a fan of a smaller combos (trios, quartets, quintets) but this nonet was an assembly of outstanding talent with outstanding results. Davis was a stand-out as might be expected but I also really liked Gerry Mulligan on baritone and Lee Konitz on alto sax. I've listened to a lot of Miles Davis in the past but always skipped over this one because of the bigger band sound. I was only cheating myself, this is some excellent jazz.
Small Faces
2/5
What does this album want to be? Cute and comic? Psychedelic rock? It seems like it wanted to be both and it doesn't really work together. There's nothing here that made me want to listen beyond the first 1/2 to 1 minute of a song, I quickly grew bored with it and most of it was not that good. I don't usually listen too carefully to the lyrics on a first listen but some of the lyrics here were pretty hack-y. Pass.
Rahul Dev Burman
2/5
This album had some interesting elements to it but it wasn't really my thing and I'm not much of a fan of soundtracks. There's got to be better Indian music out there.
Various Artists
4/5
An interesting mix with some real contemporary classics mixed in. It's a fun listen when you're in the mood for something a little different.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Solve the puzzle!
Hanoi + (Rocks - R - O + S + U) = ?
I quit listening to a song when I lost interest and didn't make it to the end of a single one! Pass.
Everything But The Girl
4/5
When I read that this was an electronica/new wave/pop album I didn't think I was going to like it. As it turns out, I love Tracey Thorn's vocals, they're the draw for this duo. I also like the chill vibe, it reminded me of Sade or Dido. I still hate electronic drums but they were less obnoxious than what I've heard on other electronica albums offered up here. A solid 3.5/5 but I'll round up because they surprised me and won me over.
The Police
3/5
Stewart Copeland's drumming is outstanding! While I couldn't connect with all of the songs they were at least all musically interesting and well executed but there are better Police albums. A solid 3/5.
The Cars
5/5
This album is practically wall to wall bangers, what an awesome debut! I can't think of a single reason to knock off any stars, even the 1 or 2 lesser songs are still worth the listen. Loved it then and loved listening to it again.
Kelela
2/5
ANOTHER electronica album? WTH! The author of this book is determined to make electronica happen in my life. : (
This was just more of the same with a different flavor, this time soul/R&B. It was a musically bland, empty, overly long, BORING slog where everything sounded the same. No thank you to this album or any more electronica.
Nirvana
2/5
Dare to go against the flow of popular opinion! This album was neither nirvana or an enjoyable listen for me. I'll continue to pay it nevermind.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Dave Brubeck is the leader of the quartet and the featured name on the album but it's Paul Desmond who shines the most for me. The first time I ever heard this recording I immediately fell in love with his cool, airy sound and his composition "Take Five". This is one of the most popular jazz recordings of all time and rightfully so. It definitely belongs in anyone's jazz collection. It's a cool jazz classic!
Roxy Music
4/5
The only thing I knew about this band and album was that I had seen the album cover before. While listening I kept asking myself, "What is this music?" It was different. It was unusual. It was quirky but it was interesting and it was kind of clicking with me. I'd listen to more of this.
k.d. lang
1/5
Ugh, I'm only 70 albums in and I have to listen to ANOTHER k.d. lang album?! I didn't even want to listen the first one! There's nothing on this album that I needed to hear and I didn't make it through a single song before feeling compelled to fast forward to the next. There's very little here that would distinguish one song from another anyway so it didn't really matter. Hard pass.
The Only Ones
2/5
What is up with the lead singer? Did the band begrudgingly let him sing lead because he owned a van and was the only one who could get them and their gear to their gigs? He sucks and I'm at a loss to think of a lead singer who sings worse than this guy. The album was pretty crappy from the start but it managed to work its way up to an unenthusiastic "OK" despite the singer.
The Police
4/5
The Police are an odd group for me. I think they are better than what enjoyment I get from listening to them if that makes any sense. The songs on their albums tend to run hot or cold. This is probably their best album which I think deserves a 4 for content and execution but my overall enjoyment is more like a 3-3.5.
Blur
3/5
The first third of this album was a bop with great energy and was a lot of fun. After that it drops off and becomes more uneven. At 16 songs it's a bit bloated and would have been a better album with a 4-6 song trim. Overall I enjoyed it and would listen to more Blur. 3.5/5
Snoop Dogg
1/5
A good representation of everything I hate about rap unredeemed by anything that might have been appealing musically.
Jefferson Airplane
2/5
Meh, OK at best. There's really not much here beyond two of their biggest hits and I'm not all that interested in those either.
David Holmes
1/5
Horribly boring, painfully repetitive dreck whose songs go nowhere. This belongs on a list of 1001 albums that didn't deserve to be made.
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
Whore = ho = heaux. Is that supposed to pass as clever? I hated EVERYTHING about this album, especially the irritating title. One star is as low as I can go and that's still too generous.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
This one kind of had me on board with the first song but then listening fatigue quickly set in with each song that followed. Not a fan of the style of the lead vocals and why are they buried so deep in the mix?
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
The soul-falsetto vocals almost seemed to be a parody of the genre. This album was unremarkable and a big "meh" for me. There's nothing here I'd want to hear again.
Radiohead
4/5
I knew nothing about Radiohead other than having heard "Creep". For some reason I thought they were heavy metal and I was very happy to discover that they weren't! I enjoyed this album and would welcome more.
The Replacements
3/5
As a Minnesotan I kinda feel like I should already know this band but this is the first time I've ever listened to them. I like their energy and I enjoyed this album overall. 3.5/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
This was a decent listen and I'd bet this is one of his best albums but Stevie Wonder never really did much for me. I wouldn't dislike hearing this again but it's not something I would seek out either.
Janet Jackson
2/5
This is just not my thing. At over an hour long this was a slog. WAY overproduced. I found myself trying to figure out if there were any actual instruments played on this album. Everything sounded like it was done on a synthesizer or so overprocessed that it didn't sound like the instrument that was supposedly being played. Electronic drums are one of my pet peeves and they made too many of the songs sound the same. There's nothing here that I'd want to revisit.
Brian Eno
2/5
When reaching for music to enjoy this wouldn't be it. They seem to want to be more artistic than musical and it's kind of tedious.
Grateful Dead
2/5
I "kind" of get it. There were times when I was digging the flow and vibe of what they were putting out so I could see how people could possibly love this stuff but there were other times when I could totally understand why some people think the Grateful Dead suck. This might be one of those albums that grow on you with repeated listens but I'm not interested in sticking with this long enough to see if it happens.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
How can this be so popular? I don't get it. Where's the appeal in someone rasping and croaking their way through spoken-word songs? If the redemption is in the lyrics they must be miraculous but I couldn't bear listening to this.
Os Mutantes
2/5
Different, fun, playful. It's interesting to hear something from a different country other than Britain. I enjoyed the listening experience more than I didn't but would I want to hear it again? Probably not.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
A little soul, a little R&B, a little jazz, this was a nice listen though I'm not especially drawn to the socio-political stuff. Favorite track - Back Home
Coldplay
4/5
Apparently it isn't cool to like Coldplay so maybe that says something about me? I enjoyed this album. Seems closer to a 4 than a 3 to me so I'll round up on this one.
Cream
3/5
Some 60's classics, some OK stuff and some dreck. I've never been much of a Clapton fan. I'm feeling a 2.5 but I'll be generous and round up for those classics.
Talking Heads
4/5
I think this would be totally different music without David Byrne's distinctive vocals, a different singer wouldn't have worked nearly as well. Fun, interesting and I enjoyed this one, a pretty easy 4.
Marvin Gaye
2/5
A self-indulgent Marvin Gaye working out his feelings on a musical divorce journey that I didn't want to go on. This is a career's worth of topical songs concentrated on one release and it's a lot. Not all of it was horrible but one listen is enough.
Kendrick Lamar
1/5
There's not a single rap album on this planet that needs to be 80 minutes long. I didn't like anything about this one.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
She's got a great and powerful vocal talent but the throaty delivery with the growls, runs, and vocal improv fills wear on the ear pretty quickly. Unremarkable songs overall, way too long and just not my thing.
The Coral
1/5
This album had its better than one star moments but the band kept sabotaging themselves in multiple ways and couldn't hold onto any one of those moments for a complete song. This one's teetering on a 2 but there's too many bad lyrics and bad choices dragging it down.
Steely Dan
5/5
This was an easy listen, I love Steely Dan! This album has eleven songs packed into 34 minutes and there is nothing here that is padding or filler. It was over before I knew it and I was left wanting more.
Q-Tip
2/5
I didn't like it but I didn't hate it which is an accomplishment for a rap album.
The Kinks
3/5
I think I had only heard two of the songs on this album so most of it was new to me. There were a couple of songs on here I really dug and overall it was an enjoyable listen.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
I was hoping for something better for my 100th album. This isn't my thing but some of it was listenable.
ZZ Top
2/5
I might have liked this better if I was a lyrically undemanding, horny, single, unsuccessfully on the prowl, beer-addled young male ready to party.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
This had a lot of ensemble playing which is fine but I prefer something with more soloing which makes things a bit more adventurous. This was a chill and enjoyable listen.
Moby Grape
3/5
Definitely a 60's sound representing what was happening in music at the time and a decent listen.
AC/DC
3/5
This one scratches a certain itch every now and then.
Devendra Banhart
3/5
I rather enjoyed this. It's different and kind of chill. The singer's vibrato was kind of weird but it wasn't excessive and didn't pull me out of the performance.
Janelle Monáe
2/5
Too long! If you're going to give me more than an hour of music there better be multiple bangers in there. Nothing really stood out or was particularly enjoyable. Not my thing.
System Of A Down
1/5
I can't think of a single human feeling or emotion that would put me in the mood to listen to this crap. A very hard no.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I wouldn't listen to this kind of thing regularly but I didn't dislike it.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
This was an OK listen as was the other EBTG album that came up for me earlier but I don't see that there needed to be more than one of their albums on this list. I like the lead singer's voice, it's calming.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was OK.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Meh... but better than a 2.
The Streets
1/5
There was absolutely nothing here for me, I hated it.
The Young Gods
1/5
How do you say, "This album sucked!" in French? Understanding the lyrics wouldn't have made this any better.
Sugar
2/5
I liked some of this and other parts not so much. This isn't the type of stuff I'd generally seek out and couldn't quite give it a 3 but I get the appeal.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
This isn't meant to be a dig or a dis but this sounded like something I could have heard in the 80's. I enjoyed it and would listen again.
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
I didn't hate this album but it really tried my patience. The songs were so long! Before I made it to about the half-way point of each song I was growing bored and I got everything I was going to get out of the song.
Elvis Presley
2/5
At this stage of the game ('69), this is a career-defining album for Elvis. Cheesy songs, cheesy arrangements, cheesy background vocals and cheesy over-production. There's some truly awful stuff on here and there's not enough good stuff to save this album.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
It didn't exactly tickle my pickle but I still enjoyed listening to this.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
I'm feeling a 2.5. I think if I cared enough to listen to this more, I might grow to kind of vibe with it.
Pink Floyd
5/5
This is probably my second favorite Pink Floyd album. I can hear bits of songs that could have been on Dark Side of the Moon and hints of what was to come with The Wall. There's some pretty tasty David Gilmour guitar and I love how they put this one together. Great stuff!
Billy Joel
3/5
There's a lot of good stuff on here but I think I might like this more for the nostalgia and a reminder of a certain period of my life than I do the album itself.
Lou Reed
2/5
Lou Reed is not a good singer but he has this atonal, stylistic quality that is kind of interesting. I wanted to give this album a 3 but multiple factors worked against it. Some of the song lyrics were stupid and pretty bad. Strings were a bad choice on one of the songs and they took me out of that listening experience. The jury's still out on the numbers using the tuba and the other horn, I don't know if they really fit the vibe of this album.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
For the sake of this review let's forget that Rumours happened because anything else is going to pale in comparison. I walk away from this one impressed, it's better than I thought it would be but I still get the feeling that it would have been better to make a very strong single album by cutting out all the padding that made this into a double album. (I'm looking mainly at you Lindsey Buckingham, I think the women fared much better in the song writing.) It was an enjoyable listen.
Television
3/5
I'd never heard of this band before which usually doesn't fare well for stuff I've heard on this site but I actually enjoyed this album despite(?) the vocals.
Jurassic 5
2/5
Excellent rhythm and flow makes this one a lot more interesting and tolerable than most rap albums I've heard so far but it's still not a genre for me. A 2.5/5 from me for this kind of thing is practically a glowing recommendation. It's too long and gets same-y but I didn't dislike it. If I HAD to listen to rap I'd want it to be something like this.
Bonnie Raitt
1/5
Nope. Never liked her music, never will. Over-raitted.
Doves
3/5
Nothing too remarkable, it was an OK listen.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
The Allman Brothers Band is one of those groups that never really compelled me to want to listen to anything beyond their greatest hits if anything at all. Overall this album was OK to good but didn't change my mind about them.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Respect that she wrote all of the songs and released this when she was still a teenager. This isn't something that I would seek out but I like her voice and get how this would appeal to others.
Marilyn Manson
1/5
This was an appropriately titled album as it was a hellish experience trying to listen to it.
New York Dolls
3/5
Going in I had my doubts about this album but the Dolls quickly won me over with their raw/gritty sound and energy. I dug it and I'd definitely listen to this again. 3.5/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
I gave this one a lot of play time in the early to mid-80's, particularly side one. Younger me would have given this a 4 but older me, while I enjoyed the revisit, feels like it's a bit played out and will give it a 3.
Syd Barrett
2/5
Nothing very remarkable or of interest to me.
Morrissey
3/5
I comfortably sat through this one and enjoyed it for the most part but occasionally the lyrics gave me pause. If I were to listen more carefully engaged in the lyrics I have the feeling that I may not have liked it as much.
Buck Owens
4/5
Buck Owens and band mate Don Rich were the real deal and this is some fine country music. I love the Bakersfield sound!
Black Sabbath
2/5
It had some moments but overall it was kind of boring with stupid song lyrics, tedious over-riffing and I'm not into all that Satan/Prince of Darkness image crap.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
1967! I'm just trying to imagine what it must have been like to the world's music psyche when this DEBUT album first dropped. A Jimi Hendrix experience indeed! I dig the simple trio format, it's easier to hear and appreciate what everyone is doing. Red House is my favorite cut. This one is a classic!
Stan Getz
5/5
Warm night, cool breeze, candle light and cocktails. Smoooooth, mellow and a relaxing listen. Classic!
Songhoy Blues
3/5
I couldn't understand a single word of the lyrics but I enjoyed it musically and it was refreshing to get something different than the usual fare. 3.5/5
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
I'm not a big fan of vocal albums with strings or with that jazzy lounge vibe but this was a smooth and easy listen. I didn't dislike it but there's nothing here that I need to hear again.
David Bowie
3/5
David Bowie has never really been my thing. I've always kind of considered him more style and flash over substance and this album didn't change that opinion. When trying to decide what to rate it I asked myself if I would have wanted to listen to this music if it weren't David Bowie and I was leaning toward a no. His reputation and cred in the music world pushed this one to three stars but just barely. It was interesting enough to listen to the whole thing without fast forwards but I don't think I would listen to this again.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
Right off the bat I didn't like the lead singer's voice and that's kind of a problem. I agree with one reviewer's apt description that he sounded like Cartman from South Park trying to sing. Then I got annoyed when I discovered that this album was over 2 hours long! If I enjoyed the music that would have been a good thing but I just couldn't get into this.
The Band
4/5
The Band is one of those groups that seem to kind of fly under the radar. I know their work to a certain degree so there should be no surprises but I still enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I like their whole vibe with the vocals, harmonization, interesting blend of instrumentation and the rural/old Americana kind of feel in performance and song writing. Good stuff and an enjoyable listen.
Scott Walker
1/5
Scott number 2 is about right, this album was sh*t.
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
Not horrible but never rose above unremarkable. I found her vocal style/affectations annoying/grating.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
I'm still fresh from not really liking another Smashing Pumpkins album just three or four days ago so hopefully after two I'm done with them. I still don't like the singer's voice and I'm just not a grunge fan.
Van Morrison
3/5
This album was just OK. It took me a while to warm up to it. I enjoy a little Van Morrison but I'd pass this one up for Moondance any day.
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Fun and playful music but it doesn't take too long before the fatigue from the overly dominant electric organ sets in and things get kind of same-y, tedious and boring.
Hole
2/5
Did I really need to hear a second Hole album before I die? I think I would have been OK hearing none. At a different time in my life this might have made it to 3 stars. I didn't hate it, I could listen to it not wishing for my early demise but this is still not my thing. 2.5/5
The White Stripes
4/5
You wouldn't think that just a duo would work but the White Stripes put any doubts to rest. Garage band music, raw and spare at its finest.
Jethro Tull
3/5
This album gives me a rock renaissance fair, pretentious Spinal Tap Stonehenge vibe. The flute thing works for me. My enjoyment level runs between a 1.5 and a 3.5 depending on the song. I also got the feeling that this one might grow on me if I cared enough to give it more listens. Given that I'll round up the mathematical average of 2.5 to a 3.
The Prodigy
1/5
There might be some electronica out there that doesn't suck but this wasn't it.
The Beach Boys
3/5
I never really understood why this album is held in such high regard. It probably has more to do with the compositions, arrangements and the studio recording techniques used given the times than it did as an overall listening experience. "God Only Knows" is a masterpiece and easily my favorite Beach Boys song. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is also a great single but the rest of the album is just average to "meh" at best. ("Sloop John B" was another big hit but I always thought it was annoying schlock.) But for the two songs mentioned above this was a 2-star album all day, every day. For those two songs alone I'll add an additional star.
Tim Buckley
1/5
Sounds a bit too earnest and oversentimental to me. A couple of the vocals made me think of Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees. There's nothing here of interest to me and I couldn't bring myself to sit through the entirety of a single song but I kind of liked one of them. 1.5/5
Solomon Burke
3/5
A little rock, soul, gospel and country, this guy has a style/vibe that makes me think of Sam Cooke. I'm also getting a little Tony Orlando. I enjoyed this. It's refreshing to get an album from an unknown artist that I'm able to listen to from beginning to end without feeling the need to fast-forward through it like a lot of the garbage that is served up here.
Ananda Shankar
2/5
This album's initial appeal was the curiosity factor but it wore out it's welcome before I reached the half way point. One and done for me.
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
ELO had a very distinct sound with their use of strings, harmonies and background vocals. This distinction set them apart from other groups with an easily recognizable sound but it was also their bane as all their songs start sounding the same. I think it's a rut Jeff Lynne never grew out of. ELO is one of those bands I have little interest in outside of their greatest hits. There's a few good songs here but they are far outweighed by a LOT of forgettable bloat.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I liked the performances but the mood was a lot. Better than a 2 but not a 4.
Ice Cube
1/5
I knew that I wasn't going to like this album so I decided to have fun with it. I stopped listening to a song when a profanity, the "N" word or any word that degraded women appeared in the lyrics and/or title. That album went by REALLY fast!
Frank Zappa
2/5
I don't know.... I'm kind of impressed that this came out in 1969, it seemed ahead of it's time. I find the title kind of annoying because it seems to be trying too hard to be odd for the sake of being odd which seems to be a Frank Zappa thing. At times the music was too "out" or avant garde for me
and in some songs the noodling and jams went on for way too long. I'm not a big fan of this type of rock/ jazz fusion if that's what you want to call it but there were times I was feeling it. As an overall listening experience it was better than a 1 but didn't really earn a 3.
Van Halen
3/5
This album has some good songs on it so I guess it was OK even though Van Halen or other bands of this era/ilk aren't really my thing. Everyone seems to revere Eddie's guitar playing but all that shredding and tapping crap is more showing off than it is playing and it does nothing for me. Diamond Dave and the massive ego which made him such an attention-drawing showman was probably the most interesting part of this group and I don't think they would have become what they did without him. This is closer to a 2 than it is a 4 for me. 3/5
Arrested Development
1/5
At the end of each day I look forward to seeing what my new album is going to be and I'm always disappointed when crap like this comes up. No matter how many hip hop albums this project tries to throw at me I'm 99% sure I'm not going to enjoy it and I'm not going to want to listen to it. This wasn't an exception. I guess there's always tomorrow...........
Nick Drake
5/5
This is the type of thing that I hoped to discover more of when signing up for this project, an under-the-radar artist who should be better known and who is worth listening to. I like the chill vibe, his voice, his guitar playing and the spare production of just a voice and guitar. I'm surprised this was released in 1972, it sounds like something more recent. I enjoyed this album and would welcome more listens. I'm thinking 4.5/5 but I'll round up because I enjoyed it so much more than the majority of what's served up here.
Eminem
1/5
This album lost me with the opening Public Service Announcement track.
Don McLean
3/5
I remember this album being a big deal back in the day and seem to remember discussing the song American Pie in music class. I've heard the two hits innumerable times but surprisingly never heard the rest of the album until now. McLean's voice and playing made for a pleasant listen and I enjoyed it. A solid 3/5.
The Style Council
2/5
The Style Council should have spent more time in their committee meetings because it's apparent that they couldn't decide on what style of music to stick with, they were all over the place. We were friends for the first half of the album but after the second half I removed them from my Christmas card list.
Otis Redding
3/5
Otis Redding had the perfect voice for this type of music and he puts it to good use here. Didn't love some of the covers but this was an enjoyable listen.
Spacemen 3
2/5
Way too long. It had it's 3 star moments and it had it's 0-1 star moments. I didn't hate hearing this but I wouldn't listen to it again.
Les Rythmes Digitales
1/5
Overly repetitive, tedious, annoying crap suitable for breaking down and cracking prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
B.B. King
3/5
I think the first BB King album I heard was Live In Cook County Jail which I would rate a solid 4 stars. This one was nice but I liked the energy, vibe and the performances in Cook County better. 3.5/5
Louis Prima
4/5
I love Louis Prima's voice! It's got a very unique quality and paired with his style he brings so much character to whatever song he's singing. This album really swings and Sam Butera is fantastic on the saxophone. This one was a lot of fun and an enjoyable listen.
The Shamen
1/5
Another f-ing electronica album?!! No one needs to hear this going nowhere, heard-one, heard 'em all crap!
The B-52's
4/5
This album is quirky and weird but in a good way that really works with their sound. It's funny and fun listening but delivered with such earnest commitment that you can take the band seriously but not too seriously at the same time. Great energy and an enjoyable listen!
George Harrison
4/5
This is George Harrison taking a huge musical dump while extending two emphatic middle fingers directly at John Lennon and Paul McCartney when he released a TRIPLE album less than a year after the Beatles broke up. (And included Ringo to boot!) There's a lot of great stuff here and some not so great stuff which probably could have been left off to make for a shorter and stronger release. Overall I'm feeling a 3.5/5 but I'll round up because I really like the tone and vibe and because the good songs are really good.
Beatles
5/5
If I can't give the Beatles 5 stars considering the rubbish I get more than half the time then who can I give them to? Those stars are well deserved, this is a great album! The Beatles are stretching out and serving up a nice variety of music styles and we get to see a bit more of George Harrison than usual. Good stuff from top to bottom.
Bob Dylan
5/5
This could very well be his best album and if not, it's certainly among his top five. It's a classic!
Screaming Trees
4/5
I hadn't heard of Screaming Trees and after the first listen, I didn't know what to think. This isn't normally my kind of thing but there is something about this album that intrigues me. The drummer hooked me right away, I loved the drumming. I ended up listening to this a second and third time and it's really growing on me. The vocals and guitars are just right and I like their use of eastern instruments, strings and woodwinds which added an interesting dimension to those songs. (Beatles influence?) I was getting more drawn in with each listen. I was initially thinking this was a 3 - 3.5 star album but after repeated listens I can comfortably give this one a 4.
Sam Cooke
3/5
Fun, great voice and great raw energy.
Deep Purple
2/5
All I could think of while listening to this was Spinal Tap. I think teen me would have liked this more than adult me does. 2.5/5
The xx
2/5
So boring that even the vocalists sounded bored.
Steely Dan
5/5
Multiple top-tier bangers on this one. This was Steely Dan when they were an actual band vs. a duo+. This album is 5 stars all day, every day.
Gillian Welch
3/5
Very chill and relaxing album. I like Gillian Welch and prefer some of her other albums over this one but this was still a nice listen.
Fleet Foxes
2/5
What is this? I don't really get it. I can't think of a time or a reason I would want to hear this again but I like the cover.
Love
1/5
Lyrics so awful and stupid they sound like satire. A crappy band and a one star album showing glimpses of promise but ultimately falling short of two stars. Even nostalgia doesn't make this worth listening to.
The Kinks
3/5
No bangers but this was a nice, casual listen. I liked it.
Megadeth
1/5
Mega-nope.
Norah Jones
3/5
I bought this back in the day when the album was really exploding. It was great for chilling/relaxing/background music but I liked it more then than I do now. This type of thing isn't really on my radar anymore though it was a nice re-visit. Overall it's kind of like sonic wallpaper. You could have it on in the background and be aware that music is playing but shortly after it's over not really remember anything that you just heard. Still, it's a very capable, easy and relaxing listen. 3.5/5
The Smiths
3/5
I liked the guitar work and I like meat so the anti-meat preachiness is kind of annoying. This isn't something I would seek out but it was OK.
Green Day
3/5
This isn't really my kind of thing and it started losing me by the end but it was OK.
Genesis
2/5
This was a huge, self-indulgent turd. I couldn't finish listening to this mess. (Some good drumming though.)
Joan Baez
1/5
It was painful attempting to listen to this. The songs were so boring and her excessive warbling vibrato drives me nuts.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
My second Cohen album and I'm still unimpressed. At least he sings on this one but I still don't get the appeal. This must be for people who are into poetry and/or lyrics because musically this is a boring, repetitive downer. Please, no more....
Faith No More
2/5
For me, this would be "listen no more". I don't think I'm a fan of the genre-mash and the singer's voice is kind of annoying. Still, I kind of get the appeal which saved this from being a 1 star album.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Out of all the Emmylou Harris albums they choose this one? The whole time I'm listening to this I'm thinking that it's drum heavy and over-produced. I think that she shines in more of an acoustic/organic/country-oriented setting. This one is forgettable and doesn't inspire a repeat listen. 2.5/5
Depeche Mode
3/5
Synth-pop isn't really my thing but this had some good stuff on it and was OK overall.
Ghostface Killah
1/5
Nothing here for me other than one more entry in the over-representation of rap on this list.
DJ Shadow
1/5
Ugh, hip hop and electronica, two of my least favorite genres. It seemed to take forever for a song to get going and once it did, it didn't go anywhere. Most relatable song, "Why hip hop sucks in 96" except I would remove "in 96" to make it more accurate.
Traffic
2/5
There's nothing here that would make me want to listen to this again. There are a few moments but it's very forgettable overall.
Willie Nelson
4/5
Willie has such an earnest, weathered-knowingness quality to his voice that you can easily believe whatever he is singing. He's feeling it if it's not something that he's experienced. I loved the spare production, the flow of the songs and the relaxed vibe. It's a Willie classic!
3/5
Why do I feel like I'm supposed to like David Bowie? He's never really piqued my interest. This album was alright but it didn't win me over. I wouldn't seek this out but I'd listen to it again. 3.5/5
Blondie
3/5
I wasn't sure what to expect with this album because all I ever knew of Blondie were the hits played on MTV and I never liked "Heart of Glass". This album was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and it was a good reflection of what was happening with music at the time. The good outweighed the bad and I enjoyed it.
R.E.M.
3/5
R.E.M. definitely belongs on this list but they have better albums than this one. This is a fine debut showing a lot of promise for what was yet to come.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
But for "The Jungle Line" and "Shadows and Light" this would be an easy 5 from me. This is the type of thing I would want to throw on to appreciate and enjoy the experience of a whole album rather than just wanting some background noise where the 1 or 2 songs worth hearing are buried amongst a bunch of filler. Joni surrounds herself with a lot of heavy hitters that I admire - Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, Jeff Baxter, James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Wilton Felder and Bud Shank among others. I really liked the tasty bass in several songs, especially on "In France..." This was a solid entry and I love this jazzy era of Joni's music.
Billy Bragg
3/5
An enjoyable listen which I could listen to again.
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
More like American nightmare. A hard nope.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
I love some good soul-jazz and this certainly fits the bill. Cool vibe and it's great for both background music and active listening. Very enjoyable from front to back. 4-4.5/5
Laibach
1/5
The author deserves to be punished in some way for putting this Cookie Monster-sung piece of garbage on the list.
Alice In Chains
2/5
Nope, not my thing.
Beatles
5/5
The Beatles final album (recorded) where George Harrison is allowed to shine with two of the best songs which also happen to be among the best of the entire Beatles catalog. Side 2's medley is brilliant. Easily a classic.
Slipknot
1/5
All hope is gone indeed. I think I'd be slippin' a knot around my neck if I had to listen to much of this.
Beck
4/5
Can't say that there are any real bangers on here but the music is interesting and I enjoyed it.
Gene Clark
3/5
I get a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young or their subsequent solo work vibe from this. I guess Gene Clark was a member of the Byrds so I'm kind of surprised I didn't make that association while listening. There's a lot to like here overall and I found it to be a pleasant listen.
The Offspring
2/5
Not my thing but I didn't hate it.
Solange
1/5
Boring, uninspiring, forgettable, there's nothing about this that I found enjoyable. Horrible album cover.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
I can get on board with this, she's got a very nice voice. It's good, relaxing background music.
Al Green
2/5
Meh.... I guess it was OK. I really couldn't care less whether I ever hear this again or not. Let's Stay Together, the best song, is so overplayed that it's worn out it's welcome. 2.5/5
GZA
1/5
No thanks, zero interest.
The Who
3/5
While listening to this I began to wonder if Tommy was the name of the rock opera or a description of Keith Moon's busy drumming. I get that this is a flowing story narrative but man is it a bloated, indulgent slog! Does the good outweigh the drag? I'm not so sure. I'm thinking a 2.5/5 but I'll round up for the overall ambition and execution.
Jean-Michel Jarre
1/5
The song titled "Oxygene" sucked. Oh wait, all the songs are titled "Oxygene".
2/5
Sounds like something I'd imagine would play well in Europe. It didn't take long for bombast fatigue to set in and I found myself feeling kind of irritated and annoyed trying to listen to this. I'm unaMused.
Roxy Music
2/5
This is the first and last time I'd ever care to hear this. Rad cover though.
Suede
2/5
Not my thing nor is it anything I would choose to listen to.
Pixies
2/5
This is one of those albums where if it were playing I wouldn't feel like I wanted to flee the room but I would never choose to listen to this on my own.
The Young Rascals
3/5
I grew up in the era when this type of music was popular so I could get on board with this. Some pretty good songs, some filler but overall enjoyable.
The Waterboys
2/5
Meh. The ubiquitous violin gets tedious pretty quickly and as the album droned on I became more impatient for it to be over.
Mudhoney
2/5
I can't imagine why I would ever want to listen to this when there are infinitely better options and genres available.
The Stooges
3/5
I like the raw energy and enjoyed this more than I thought I would. 3.5/5
The Byrds
4/5
The Byrds trademark sound of vocal harmonies and jangly guitars hit the ears right. This one's a bit uneven so I'm thinking a 3.5/5 but I'll round up because I enjoyed it overall.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
1/5
Did I NEED to hear one SATB album? Probably not. Did I need to hear a second SATB album? DEFINITELY not.
Beatles
5/5
The Beatles were coming into their own with the first album of all Lennon/McCartney songs. It would seem that this was still John's band at this point as he takes the lead vocal on the vast majority of songs. This album flies by at barely over 30 minutes. There's really nothing bad here, just a few songs that are less familiar. Enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
This one was a nice surprise and I really wish this project had more albums like this to discover and enjoy. As a double album this was a lot to take in all at once but there was a nice variety of music here and it was very enjoyable when listened to in smaller chunks.
Malcolm McLaren
1/5
Enjoyment level = zero. Desire to ever hear this again = zero.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
Why does knowing that this group is Icelandic make me more amenable to liking them than if I heard the same music coming from an American or British band? I had never heard of The Sugar Cubes and I had heard of Bjork but was unfamiliar with her work. This album surprised me and I liked it much more than I thought I would. It often reminded me of the B-52s but with more grit and gravity. I'd welcome listening to this one again.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Joni Mitchell was an artist that I knew of, knew she was considered one of the best song writers of all time and I maybe knew 3-4 of her songs but that was about it. I don't recall what inspired it but one day I sat down and actually listened to one of her albums. (I believe it was Court and Spark) After hearing that album I wanted to hear more. Soon thereafter I had listened to all of her albums from 1968 to 1976. Somewhere along the way I "got" her. One major draw is that her songs are so intimate and that she reveals so much of herself in her music. Blue is impressive from beginning to end and yet it's just one of several brilliant albums in her discography. I've got nothing negative to say about this one, it was wonderful. I wish I could discover more albums that are on this level.
Brian Eno
3/5
I liked this more than I thought I would. While I don't know that I'd want to listen to this again, I enjoyed the run through of this album and actually listened to all of it.
1/5
HARD pass.
Jack White
4/5
I think what you get with Jack White is always going to be something that is at least going to be interesting. This was a solid outing and I really enjoyed it.
Slayer
1/5
When this album popped up I was pretty sure that I was going to hate it. I was right.
Minutemen
3/5
Forty three songs and an hour+ of play time seemed a bit daunting at first but it wasn't too bad when split into two listening sessions. This might have been better as two albums instead of one. As is, this probably would have benefitted from some trimming but where to start? No songs really stood out as better than the others. None were great and none were bad, they all just kind of happened in that minute and a half to two minute time spans. Overall I liked the energy and the vibe and thought it was an enjoyable listen.
10cc
2/5
There's some truly awful stuff on this album and I couldn't make it through a complete song. I also really regret having Googled what 10cc means. Giving this a 2/5 is pretty darn generous.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Monk's sense of time and choppy style are a bit jarring and takes some getting used to, his music often sounds a bit off. I enjoy some Monk every now and then when the mood hits me but this wouldn't be my top choice. I enjoyed this overall especially when compared to a lot of the other dreck I've been getting lately. More jazz please!
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
The singing and playing weren't all that great and this sounds more like a demo than an album but it sort of worked for me and I kind of enjoyed it.
White Denim
3/5
This group and their work were totally unknown to me and now that I listened to this album, I don't know that I could identify what kind of music it is. It's unusual and would be difficult to pigeon-hole into a specific genre. I wasn't bored but it didn't really grab me either. Maybe this is one of those albums that would grow on you with repeated listens.
Funkadelic
2/5
Funk lite? I didn't really find this album to be all that funky or interesting. There's nothing here that grabbed me enough to want to listen to a complete track. I had higher expectations and was disappointed.
Supergrass
3/5
I don't know how memorable this album was and I don't think any song will stick with me but I enjoyed listening my way through this. 3.5/5
The Kinks
3/5
This is my third Kinks album. I think the Kinks belong on this list but THREE of their albums with possibly more to come?! I think the author's English point of view and bias are showing. (yet again) This wasn't great and it wasn't bad. It hits a nice spot and was a fun and enjoyable listen.
The Cure
3/5
This isn't something I'd seek out. It's a bit dark and not especially my kind of thing but this was alright. I'm thinking a 2.5/5 but I'll round up to a 3.
Supergrass
3/5
I had never heard of Supergrass and now I've been given two of their albums in only four days time. Either this is a better album or they're growing on me but I enjoyed this, it was a nice debut.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
Meh, kind of boring. This didn't do much for me and I've never been much of a Beach Boys fan so I'm not looking at this through those rose colored glasses. 2.5/5
3/5
Loretta Lynn was country with a capital "C" and this is the type of classic country that I would have heard growing up. Short and sweet, this was an easy listen and as much as I enjoyed the album, I don't think it reached 4 stars. 3.5/5
Elton John
5/5
Wow, it's hard to believe that this album is 50+ years old! Elton John is at the top of his game and this release contains some of his biggest hits which are also among some of the best songs of the 70's. This album factored heavily in my younger days and it was a great re-visit and still pretty fresh. (Except maybe the way overplayed Candle In The Wind, I had to skip it.)
David Bowie
3/5
This was OK. I can listen to Bowie without suffering but I don't think I would ever actively choose to listen or seek out his music. He's like a TV show you watch because it's on. It's OK but you don't especially like it but you don't dislike it enough that you turn off the TV.
Oasis
4/5
I'm looking past all of the band's background drama, bad attitudes and blatant song rip-offs (I detected T-Rex and classic Coke commercial rip-offs on this one) and I'm just going on the music alone. I can easily roll with this, it was good album. I'd definitely listen to this again.
James Taylor
3/5
Three of his big hits surrounded by pleasant enough songs. I don't know if the blues numbers really work for me, they sound a bit too sweet and refined. A solid 3/5
De La Soul
2/5
I get the appeal but this genre of music is not for me at all.
Tracy Chapman
3/5
I'm not really a fan of her voice and the subject matter of many of her songs is a drag and not why I listen to music. My enjoyment level was at a 2-2.5 but somehow it seems better than my enjoyment level so on it's merits for what it is I'll be generous and give it a 3.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
This sounds like the type of repetitive, same-sounding music that would be played over the PA system of a warm weather resort's lounge and gift shop for tourists.
U2
3/5
I think that U2 is a good band and they've got some good songs but for whatever reason this band never really clicked with me. I can't give this album anything less than a 3 but my enjoyment level doesn't warrant a 4. It's an OK album but I wouldn't seek it out again.
The Byrds
5/5
The Byrds with the addition of Gram Parsons was the perfect alchemy for this country rock classic. Parsons was one of the pioneers of country rock and sadly, through mis-adventure, left us way too soon. I love everything about this album and though Parsons had parted ways with the Byrds by the time this album was released I'm so thankful to have discovered him through this recording so I could explore his music even further. This is more a Gram Parsons album than it is the Byrds but nonetheless it's an important album and well deserves to be on this list.
The Zombies
3/5
Looking at this through 1968 lenses, this is a pretty solid album. It surprised me because I only knew this band through their hit "Time Of The Season" which was the last track. Every song that preceded it had a totally different vibe and sounded like a different band. It was all good and I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
This album is like a McDonald's of country music. You keep going back because you like it. It's not especially great but by no means is it bad. It's comfortable, pleasant and satisfying. I like Dwight Yoakam and I'm a sucker for the Bakersfield sound so I enjoyed this.
The Doors
4/5
I liked this one, it's a different vibe from what I recall of other Doors albums. It's more bluesy rock, simple and straightforward. I would like to have heard more in this vein.
Fishbone
2/5
It was sort of fun but this wasn't my jam. I got bored with it and impatient for it to move along. It's not something I'd ever revisit. 2.5/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
Outstanding debut and fantastic vocal harmonies! Great stuff!
N.W.A.
1/5
I can't...
Le Tigre
3/5
This album was kind of fun. I liked the energy and the raw sound. On the minus side the vocals were annoying at times and sometimes when they put down a groove they would ride it hard until they beat it into the ground but overall it kind of won me over. I'm still going to remember this sound in the coming days, weeks, months and I'd listen to it again. For that I'll round up my initial rating of 2.5 to a 3.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I think the hype behind Led Zeppelin has always exceeded my enjoyment of them. This album was bloated so it was a bit of a drag to get through it but there are a couple of classics here.
Aerosmith
3/5
Aerosmith was one of my brother's favored groups so I got to know this album through him. I've always been kind of neutral on Aerosmith and while this album was decent, it doesn't rise to a 4 for me. Sweet Emotion is a banger though.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
She's got a great, soulful voice and did a great job executing so many popular covers making them her own. I'm more impressed than I thought I would be even though this type of thing isn't really my jam. Nice, but probably not a repeat listen.
UB40
3/5
Pleasant enough background music. Once you heard one or two songs you've pretty much heard them all, reggae lends itself to sameness.
Big Black
1/5
I can't think of any situation where I'd ever want to listen to this loud, abrasive noise.
The Clash
3/5
This was much more "friendly" and mainstream music than I remembered. I was expecting something more angry, loud and harsh. I liked it and I'd listen again. 3.5/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
I think there was an error on the cover. It should have read "beef fart", an odious warning signal preceding the massive plop that was about to escape from just below a raised tail. I tried to find something to like during this unpleasant auditory assault and I was left wanting. The music was as off-putting as the cover.
Soft Machine
2/5
About half of this album was decent and kind of interesting and half, not so much. Therefore, 2.5/5.
The Hives
2/5
This band has one speed and that's full-on balls to the wall. I was on board at first but song after song the relentless pace becomes exhausting and everything starts sounding the same. Change it up a bit boys!
R.E.M.
3/5
There are some great songs here but also a considerable amount of meh. There are better R.E.M. albums.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Stevie Wonder and this type of music have never really been my thing but I can easily recognize that this album was an accomplishment and while it's a bit too long, it's an enjoyable listen. I'd be remiss to give this anything less than a 4 even though it's not something I'd seek out.
The Cardigans
3/5
I knew nothing about this band or it's music but had unknowingly heard one of the songs before. The vocalist sounded soft and girly throughout and reminded me of another singer or two that I can't recall just now. It was different and a pleasant listen that I'd probably neither seek out or reject in any way.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
I've always liked Elvis Costello. His music covers a spectrum of genres - rock, pop, punk, new wave, country, etc. I like his songwriting, his distinctive voice and his delivery always adds another interesting element to the music. This album is among his best if not THE best. It makes me want to dig out his CDs.
CHIC
2/5
There are some nice grooves but this is a very uneven listen. Most of the songs get rolling and then don't go anywhere. I remember even being disappointed with this release back in the day. More a dance album than a listening album.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
This is the only Stevie Wonder release I ever purchased. (cassette!) I lent it to a "friend" and never got it back. Good album and an enjoyable listen.
Miles Davis
1/5
I love jazz and I love Miles Davis but I didn't love this. I'd be perfectly happy skipping this phase of Davis' career.
Portishead
3/5
I dig the overall vibe but this album has almost zero range. All of the songs sound the same! This group would work better for me in a mix with other songs and artists.
Radiohead
2/5
Underwhelming. I'm not feeling the overall tone and vibe of this album. There are some moments but nothing that would make me want to listen again.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
What?! There's such a thing as rap without excessive profanity, misogyny, violent themes and anger?! This album is a lot of fun but it starts to sound same-y and repetitive pretty quickly.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Rap is just not my thing but this album was better than most of the rap I've heard here so far. I'm thinking 2.5/5 but I'll round up because I liked this more than I thought I would. {But wouldn't choose to listen to this on my own.}
Rod Stewart
3/5
Not bad, definitely not great. Rod brings me back to the 70's and that's not a bad time to visit.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
She's got a great voice and is known as the Queen of Soul. This album doesn't do anything to make me think differently.
LL Cool J
3/5
I like his flow. This was one of the better entries amongst the over-represented genre of rap/hip-hop on this list. I don't really like rap but I could listen to this.
Prince
3/5
As a Minnesotan who wasn't aged out of Prince's music when it came out I feel like I'm kind of obligated to be a Prince fan but I've never been more than ambivalent about him. (I don't own a single one of his recordings.) I recognize that he was a great talent but there were a lot of times I found it difficult to take him seriously. This album was hot and not so hot but it was OK overall.
Ryan Adams
3/5
Ryan Adams was totally new to me and after hearing the first song (following the studio chatter) I was thinking all right... I can get on board with this. Then what followed was a glut of quiet, low-key songs that were so similar in tone and vibe that they were pretty much indistinguishable from one another. There were only 2 upbeat songs out of 15 and I think this album needed more for a better balance and to make it more interesting. Even so, none of the songs were really bad in and of themselves and this was a pleasant though unmemorable listen.
Machito
3/5
I'm a big jazz fan but I'm generally not a fan of large ensemble/orchestra recordings. The soloists were the most interesting part for me but their time was very short. This was OK but not a flavor of jazz I would return to very often if at all.
David Bowie
2/5
I wasn't connecting with this and what's with all the instrumentals? This album gives me a forgettable soundtrack vibe.
Death In Vegas
2/5
A bunch of songs in need of a singer and lyrics. "Aladdin's Story", for one, isn't telling much of a story without any words now is it? Something about the sound made me want to like this but it didn't quite make it.
Steve Earle
2/5
I like country music but modern country just isn't my thing. This was basic, bland. boring and there's nothing here I'd want to hear again.
Steve Winwood
2/5
The awesome cover art deserved a better album. This was pretty cheesy and definitely an 80's sound. "Spanish Dancer" and "While You See A Chance" were pretty good but they weren't enough to save this one. 2.5/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
I love the imagery, the word play and the story telling in his lyrics. While Ballad of a Thin Man wasn't a favorite, I like that I could put this on and enjoy the whole album. I love classic Dylan and this is just one of many.
The front of this album is stronger than the back but overall this was OK.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Multiple decade-defining hits which just scream the 80's. This album was upbeat and fun. 3.5/5 I'll round up for Cyndi's spirit and energy and because this was such a strong debut album.
Parliament
3/5
I doubt I'd ever come back to this but it was a FUN-ky listen.
Cheap Trick
4/5
The sound quality wasn't all that great but Cheap Trick rocked! This album surprised me, I wasn't much of a Cheap Trick fan but I ended up liking this a lot better than I thought I would! I'd definitely listen to this again.
ABBA
2/5
I was vibing on the title track but the album lost me after that - nothing else really captured my interest.
Cowboy Junkies
2/5
This album is kind of like an aural coma. I can understand wanting to create a cohesive feel for an album but man, the consistent atmospheric, melancholy, low-key vibe for EVERY SINGLE SONG becomes a real drag and is really boring after a while. I hated the Hank Williams and Patsy Cline covers. Sweet Jane is easily the best song on the album. The mellow vibe and the singer's voice suited the song very well. It wasn't horrible overall and it was well executed for what it is but I have no desire to hear it again.
ZZ Top
3/5
There are some decent tunes on here which seem to demand that this album is better than a 2 but overall I think it's barely a 3.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
The girl has soul and she can definitely sing but her throaty growls and other vocal gymnastics rub me the wrong way. This album is way too long and it's just not my thing. Some of the songs are OK but there's nothing here that would make me want to come back. I can't hear "Beautiful" without thinking of Damian in "Mean Girls". : D
Tim Buckley
2/5
Buckley's performances were so overly sincere and earnest that they almost seemed like satire. It had the unintended effect of me not being able to take him too seriously because I obviously wasn't feeling what he was feeling. Every now and then I'd catch a spark of something that was kind of interesting but for the most part this was a drag to listen to.
Supertramp
3/5
I could easily get on board with some of this stuff and not so much with other parts. Overall it was OK+.
Pere Ubu
1/5
I kept looking for a reason to give this album a score higher than a 1 but I couldn't find one.
Eagles
4/5
I never owned this album but remember it being really popular back in the day. Though I am very familiar with several of the songs, this is actually the first time I ever sat down and listened to this album from front to back. Side 1 bangs and side 2 is just OK/OK+ which pretty much sums up how I feel about the Eagles.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
I didn't hate it but it's definitely not my thing. I would never choose to listen to this.
Miles Davis
4/5
I'm not really a jazz fusion fan but this worked for me. It toes the line where I could still listen to it and enjoy it whereas something like Bitches Brew goes way over the edge and to me, is unlistenable despite multiple tries. I could see revisiting this but I would reach for several other Miles recordings before this one.
Kacey Musgraves
4/5
Most, if not all of the songs on this album are of the same tone but they were pleasant, easy to listen to and I like her voice.
Butthole Surfers
1/5
What does the album name or cover art have to do with each other or with anything contained therein? It would seem to me that this album was less about a genuine or meaningful musical expression and more about an intentional effort at being non-conventional and at forcing a reaction of some kind from the audience. My reaction was negative.
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
This album lost me with the misogyny and the threat of violence against women in the very first track. I didn't need to listen to any more, I knew what was in store for me. No thanks.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
It's angry, it's interesting and it ROCKS! Banger grooves!
Giant Sand
2/5
I didn't dislike this but at the same time, I didn't find it very interesting and wouldn't look for a repeat listen. I couldn't help but think throughout that the lead singer was a Lou Reed wannabe. 2.5/5
Leftfield
1/5
I might like this if I was a young club-kid high on X. The music is so
mind-numbingly repetitive and predictable that it quickly gets annoying and ultimately, boring. This is music to dance to, not listen to. 1.5/5
Steely Dan
5/5
Aja is nothing short of masterful! Along with Fagen and Becker, it was performed with some of the top session musicians in the business which resulted in this widely-respected classic. One of my all time favorites!
TV On The Radio
3/5
This group was totally new to me. The album was consistently interesting, kind of different and I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
The Verve
3/5
I knew of The Verve but didn't know what to expect on this album. I liked the drumming and the fuzzy, distorted guitar work. Cutting out 2-3 songs would have made this a stronger album but I enjoyed it.
Elton John
3/5
There are artists who play a big part in the soundtrack to one's teen years and Elton John was one of mine. This album has two huge hits but there are still better Elton albums out there. 3.5/5
Eagles
3/5
This album runs either hot or cold. There are the three big hits we all know from the ubiquitous radio play and then there's the rest. There is such a disparity in the quality of the hits vs. the rest of the songs that it almost seems like two different bands or songs recorded at widely different points in the band's career. In the balance, this was just OK. If I ever feel like some Eagles I'll stick with their greatest hits. They're not a deep cuts band for me.
Kendrick Lamar
1/5
Skipped the first song 30 seconds in. Subtracted a star for every time I heard "bitch" in the second song and quickly ran out of stars. I couldn't listen to the rest.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
My initial impression was that this album sounded dated, non-American and that this was a B-tier band but I kind of liked it. It was a fun listen and I could imagine myself in a mood to hear it again.
T. Rex
3/5
I knew Bang A Gong but nothing else of T. Rex. I really liked Lean Woman Blues. The Motivator was so close to Bang A Gong that it would justifiably result in a copyright suit if it were written/recorded by someone else. Speaking of rip off, Rip Off should have been left off the album. It was an ill fit and not very good. Overall I liked his guitar sound. My expectations weren't high but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. 3.5/5
The Libertines
3/5
Enjoyed it. A pretty solid 3.
Santana
4/5
Great guitar/organ/percussion sound and I was into the vibe. This would have been awesome to see/hear performed live.
Adele
3/5
Adele is definitely a gifted singer. I love her lower register. I didn't have a problem sitting through this album but it was kind of boring and it's not my kind of thing. This isn't anything I would seek out on my own.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
This is among my favorite albums of all time and is definitely one of Costello's best. Interesting writing/lyrics, interesting singing, interesting songs, interesting variety, interesting cover art. It's a classic!
Beatles
5/5
Considering the wealth of dreck and mediocrity served up here, giving Rubber Soul five stars was a no-brainer and justifiably so. It belongs on this list and it's among the Beatles best.
Bert Jansch
4/5
Very nice guitar playing. I liked the simplicity of just voice and guitar, it was chill and relaxing. 3.75/5
The Doors
3/5
I always found Jim Morrison's troubled persona to be more interesting than the band itself. The Doors had some great songs but their big picture didn't move me to become a big fan. This was just OK.
Lana Del Rey
2/5
Meh... kind of dull and boring. Not a whole lot of range here, everything was sonically the same. 2.5/5
David Bowie
3/5
This is my FIFTH David Bowie album! How many more are they going to throw at me? There's no doubt that he should appear somewhere among the 1001 albums but FIVE albums worth?! I'm not so sure... This was definitely better than a 2 but wasn't consistently interesting enough to give it a 4.
3.5/5 An enjoyable listen.
Sex Pistols
4/5
When I first started listening I thought I might be listening to Green Day so I could definitely hear the Pistols influence on that band. I went into this thinking I wasn't going to like it at all but I was wrong. This album rocks! I enjoyed it so much I had to listen to it twice!
The Pharcyde
2/5
The only thing that saved this from being a one star album is that I liked the rap/flow skill, I just didn't like what they did with it. The lyrics were off-putting from the start and there was nothing else there for me. 1.75/5
Genesis
3/5
I'm not especially a fan of concept albums. This one made for a pleasant enough listen but not so pleasant that it made much of an impression on me or would inspire me to want to seek it out again.
Wilco
3/5
Overall I like Wilco's sound and their vibe. I wasn't really feeling it the first time around but it fared better on the second listen. There's a couple of Wil-no's in there. Good enough to make me want to hear more from them. 3.5/5
Stan Getz
5/5
Very chill and relaxing. I've always liked Stan Getz, a tenor sax player heavily influenced by a favorite, Lester Young. Astrid Gilberto's vocals couldn't be more charming. Joao's vocals and guitar playing are very effective as well. I feel like I should be drinking a cocktail while listening to this. A classic.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I knew the song Cinnamon Girl but the rest of this album was new to me. I enjoyed it. I got lost (in a good way) in Down By The River. Awesome vibe. I think this album would grow on you the more you listened to it. 3.75/5
Nick Drake
5/5
I don't know that I could listen to this frequently but when I did, I would enjoy it. Drake's voice is very soothing and his music is relaxing and mellow. His music sounds great when produced with strings or other instruments but it would sound just as good if not better if it were just Drake singing accompanied by his guitar. 4.5/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I listened to this on my morning walk and was shocked when my walking app announced that I had walked 2 miles. I thought I had another lap around the pond to hit that mark. I was so caught up in the music that it made me forget walking about half a mile! That's saying something. This album is a bit uneven and maybe a bit bloated but Hendrix's undeniable talent is on full display and I like blues based rock so I enjoyed it. I'm feeling a 4.5 and more inclined to round up than down.
Haircut 100
3/5
This band had some playing chops. I like that they had brass and I was digging the bass. The music is bright and fun but not especially my thing. A lot was same-sounding. All I could think of while listening was '80's MTV.
Talking Heads
3/5
This one didn't really win me over but it was OK.
Kraftwerk
1/5
I was ready to exit off of this Autobahn after the first two minutes. Unfortunately I had to endure 8 more minutes for the track 1 journey to be over only to find that track 2 was 10 more minutes of the Autobahn that Kraftwerk apparently wasn't able to wrap up in the prior 10 minutes. I guess you can't hear "Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn" too many times. I'd like to think that Germany has better to offer than this but the author of this project didn't find it in this album.
Beastie Boys
3/5
In the world of rap it's so refreshing to hear something that's not all profanities, anger, violence and misogyny. Rap is not my thing but I still enjoyed this album despite it starting to sound the same after a while. 3.5/5
Prince
3/5
I'll never deny that Prince was a huge talent but I've never been more than ambivalent about him. My impression of this album was that it was self-indulgent, bloated and for the most part, meh. OK at best.
CHVRCHES
2/5
Why are there so many electronica albums on this list? No one NEEDS to hear this much electronica, if any at all. A 2-star album by virtue of me not liking it vs. absolutely hating it.
Michael Jackson
3/5
How do I rate this? In the pop world this album was a huge phenomenon with multiple bangers so it deserves 5 stars and to be on a list of albums you should hear but do I WANT to listen to it? Not really. It was an OK listen and I don't mind hearing anything from this album inadvertently (except maybe the improbable and mawkish, "The Girl Is Mine") but I would never choose to listen to this on my own.
Björk
3/5
I like Bjork's voice and I thought this was nice overall but there wasn't much there that would differentiate one song from another. While listening I couldn't help but think that it sounded like something a dance company would do interpretive dance to.
David Bowie
3/5
The author definitely has a thing for David Bowie, this is my SIXTH Bowie album. "Heroes" is iconic and my favorite Bowie tune and it's easily the best song on here. The first half of the album wasn't bad but the second half lost me. Did they run out of songs so they decided to pad the album with forgettable instrumentals? 2.5/5 with Heroes pulling it up to a 3.
Hot Chip
3/5
The fact that this is an electronica album and I didn't hate it is no small achievement. It was an OK listen but there's nothing here that would compel me to want to listen to it again.
Dire Straits
1/5
I never liked Dire Straits and by never liked I mean something that approaches hate. Almost everything about them was annoying. I didn't like the 80's sound - the guitar sound, the organ/synthesizer sound, Knopfler's voice, the band's looks and moves in their videos, Knopfler's stupid headband. I HATED Money For Nothing and hated the video even more. I didn't like any of their hits which only got worse the more they were played. Hard pass, change the station, I don't want to hear them.
Miriam Makeba
2/5
A lovely talent but this was not my jam and I wouldn't seek this out again.
Brian Wilson
2/5
I always thought that the Beach Boys were a one-trick pony and other than a handful of songs, I wasn't really a fan. Despite all of the accolades this album seems to receive and even though no one else in the band was involved, it sounds like a boring, B-sides Beach Boys album with some real turds on it. It didn't make me smile.
Foo Fighters
4/5
This is the first time I've ever listened to the Foo Fighters though I've known of them. I could get on board with this, I enjoyed it. I'm probably closer to a 3.5 but I'll round up to 4.
Yes
3/5
Meh. Didn't hate it, didn't love it.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
In my book, this is one of their top 3 albums when the Stones were hitting their peak in the late 60's and early 70's. (The others being Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed) It's a bit long but still surprisingly solid, consistent and enjoyable.
Common
2/5
I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. Rap is just not my thing. I got bored with this very quickly.
Neil Young
4/5
Enjoyed it, would listen again.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
Generic, bland, 80's-style electronic pop. (Two or three albums worth!) The songs were too routinely unremarkable to warrant such a long album. It's not my thing but it's innocuous enough to save it from being a 1.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
A nice surprise, I liked this more than I thought I would. I think the vocals needed to be more prominent in the mix. At times the jam/groove got a bit long, repetitive and kind of self indulgent which prevents me from rounding up. 3.5/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
This is the Elvis that the Beatles would have listened to and wanted to emulate when they were still trying to make a name for themselves. Elvis was OK as was this album but I've never been much of a fan.
3/5
Why haven't I heard of this band before? I guess it's because this stuff isn't really hit material. It's a bit uneven, there's nothing too deep and the sound quality is pretty bad but I kind of enjoyed it and would give it another listen.
2.75/5
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
I was disappointed right off the bat to discover that this wasn't a blues rock album. There were a few things here and there that weren't devoid of merit but as a whole, I didn't like this and wouldn't want to hear it again.
Miles Davis
5/5
Jazz perfection. Impeccable vibe. There's nothing one could add to or take away from the performances on this album without diminishing them. It's lightning caught in a bottle and a monumental recording by legendary musicians. I'm 365 albums into this project and this was the easiest 5-star rating I've given. One of my all-time favorite albums amongst all genres.
The War On Drugs
4/5
I had never heard of the band or the album so I had no idea what to expect. I ended up enjoying it so I listened to it a second time. It's not particularly memorable music but it's hitting me right. I like the dreamy, gaze off into the distance quality of it and the distinct 80's vibe. Enjoyable background music that I'd listen to again. 3.75/5
Dinosaur Jr.
2/5
The lead singer kind of sucks and the band is kind of rough but that's maybe what they are going for. They're not not my thing but I wouldn't ever see myself seeking this out. 2.5/5
John Martyn
4/5
I enjoyed this. At times his enunciation was mushy and slurred and like most artists, there were one or two songs that weren't my favorites but I liked this and thought it had nice variety and cohesiveness. I'd happily listen to this again.
Michael Jackson
3/5
This is the only Michael Jackson album I ever owned. It was huge back in the day but it's definitely a product of it's time and nothing that I'm interested in any longer. The most impactful song -She's Out Of My Life.
The Soft Boys
3/5
I liked and enjoyed it but it didn't rise to the level of something I would seek out. If I were present and someone threw it on I'd be content to listen again. Very OK.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
It's always disappointing when stuff like this comes up. I didn't like it but I allowed 2 stars because I didn't absolutely hate it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Great bass and great drumming! This was a bit too long for me but I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
I think I would have been more appreciative of this back when it came out but it lacks whatever quality that would make me want to seek any of this out today. Still, it was an enjoyable listen and a pretty solid 3.
Deep Purple
2/5
Like I said with the previous Deep Purple album, I think the teen me would have liked this album more than the current me. I'm getting the vibe that this band's concerts were most likely sausage fests with a lot of attendees smoking weed and driving vans with a mattress in the back. 2.5/5
Prince
4/5
While I greatly admire his talent, Prince's music never really captured my fancy. If he were singing the title track most people would be getting into it, swaying and holding up their lighters but I'd be standing there going, "WTF is purple rain?". Still, this is a good one and it's even better when viewed in context with the movie. It's not especially my jam but I can't deny that there's some great bangers on this album and it's probably Prince's best.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Nearly 70 years old! Simple, basic rock and roll and an enjoyable listen.
TLC
2/5
"Sexy"-Interlude? WTF?! This kind of music holds no interest for me and I would never seek this out. I didn't hate it and it wasn't horrible but doesn't reach a 3 for me. 2.5/5
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
I like country and bluegrass so I enjoyed this. It was a cool concept which resulted in a wonderful recording documenting important artists in the genre. It was a lot to take in for one sitting so I had to break this one up a bit.
Blue Cheer
2/5
While listening to this all I could think of was that this sounds like some crappy local band who had just enough juice to be popular on the local bar/bowling alley circuit and who peaked when they went on a tour of more bars and bowling alleys four or five towns over.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
This one was interesting because I've never listened to Winehouse before and have maybe only ever heard one or two of her songs. She's definitely got a sense of soul and jazziness to her singing approach. She would have done justice to an album of traditional standards. This album was a different animal with many signals of the dark path that lie ahead of her. I don't know that I would seek this out but it was an enjoyable listen and I wouldn't object to hearing it again.
Thundercat
1/5
I kept searching for something that I enjoyed on this album but I couldn't find it. The songs were pretty underwhelming, bland and they sounded too much alike.
John Martyn
2/5
I didn't dislike it but I didn't especially like it either. His sludgy enunciation is distracting. I would be more interested in something more acoustic and less pop-leaning. 2.5/5
Common
2/5
I'm not a rap fan but as far as rap albums go, this was actually tolerable. For me to give a rap album a 2.5/5 would be like giving a different kind of album a 4.
The 13th Floor Elevators
2/5
The electric jug may be one of the most notable things about this album but it was distracting and super annoying. It wears out it's welcome very quickly making this short 34 minute album seem much longer. The psychedelic vibe was nostalgic for me which saved this one from being a 1.
Paul Weller
3/5
I had never heard of Paul Weller so I went into this open with no preconceptions. I found it to be a solid effort, an easy listen and I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
Peter Gabriel
2/5
I love the guitar work on Solsbury Hill which is really the only notable track on this whole album. The songs are all over the place. There's no sense of direction or cohesion and more than once, the songs left me puzzled. I was surprised at how much Gabriel and Phil Collins sound alike. A one and done for me but I'll listen to that hit single again. 2.5/5
Duke Ellington
3/5
Big band isn't my favorite flavor of jazz but this had some tasty moments on it and the musicians were impeccable. Paul Gonsalves was an obvious standout for his lengthy solo on the final song. It's too bad that the recording quality was so rough, it took me out of the performances. I guess for a live outdoor recording 68 years ago it's understandable. 3.5/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
Outside of the portions of songs that were just noise, I enjoyed this and liked their energy. 3.25/5
Sheryl Crow
3/5
I don't dislike Sheryl Crow but this album isn't something that I would ever seek out. There's something about her voice that pushes me a bit more than it pulls me and the hit single was overplayed/played out. 2.75/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
CCR has always run hot and cold for me and this album was no exception. "Penthouse Pauper" was a pleasant surprise and was my favorite song on the album. After hearing "Proud Mary" umpteen times over the course of my life I wouldn't care if I never heard it again. Averaging out the highs and lows this is a 3/5.
William Orbit
2/5
There were a couple of cool beat drops but this is not my thing and it would never be more than background music which wasn't all that interesting.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
There's a tiny part of me that wanted to give this a 3 but the album was just too long and there was nothing here that interested me enough to listen past the two minute mark of any song and at times, it was even difficult to listen for that long. This was just OK at best. 2.5/5
Boston
5/5
Growing up in the album era where funds were hard to come by, buying an album was a bit of a gamble. You bought it for the hit(s) and then hoped that you liked more of what was left than you didn't. This album hit me in the right place at the right time. It wasn't the first album I owned but it was the first album I owned that left me awestruck and it left an indelible impression. The whole thing was solid bangers! Back in the day I played this album so often that I had it memorized. In the years following its release, radio overplay put a tarnish on it but I haven't heard this from front to back in decades and I loved every second of it! This is definitely one of my life's audio milestones. (And the album cover art concept is awesome!)
The Temptations
2/5
Pretty unremarkable and ultimately disappointing. I didn't like their version of Heard It Through The Grapevine at all. I wouldn't want to listen to this again so a 3 would be too generous. There's got to be a better Temptations album out there. 2.5/5
Super Furry Animals
2/5
I was closer to not liking this than liking it and there's nothing here that would make me want to listen again. Does it belong on this list? I don't think so. 2.5/5
Roni Size
1/5
Boring, repetitive and same-sounding. (And I only sampled the first 5 songs.) Seriously, who is going to sit and listen to 2-1/2 hours of this?! I didn't enjoy anything about it.
Kanye West
2/5
I don't like the man, only sampled the first couple of songs, and rap is not my thing but I can see how this album would be appealing to those who do like it. This would be on the higher end of the over-abundance of rap albums offered up here. 2.5/5
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I wasn't feeling this and the distorted guitar work was tedious and kind of annoying. There's nothing here of interest to me.
The Go-Betweens
3/5
This band was totally new to me and I found this album to be an easy and enjoyable listen. I liked this more than a lot of music I heard in the 80's. I'd listen again.
Traffic
2/5
Unremarkable. There's nothing here that would bring me back again. 2.5/5
Morrissey
3/5
Morrissey's singing style lends a sameness in sound from song to song but I enjoyed the listen.
Holger Czukay
3/5
This was different in a good way and it was interesting enough for me to listen to it all the way through. I liked it and wouldn't object to hearing it again though I probably wouldn't actively seek it out.
Kings of Leon
3/5
All I knew about Kings of Leon was that I had heard the band's name before. This wasn't bad. It wasn't something that would make me want to seek out more of their work but this was enjoyable and I would listen to it again. 3.25/5
Nico
1/5
I don't understand the appeal of Nico's consistently flat delivery. I also thought that this album was poorly mixed. I would get drawn in by the guitar only to struggle to hear it buried underneath the loud string section and woodwinds. I don't think a better balance would have helped much. I didn't need to hear this and wouldn't want to hear it again.
Skunk Anansie
2/5
This metal-lite/rock wasn't really my thing but I didn't hate it. I like the vocalist, her voice was well-suited for this type of music. 2.25/5
Scritti Politti
1/5
Synth-pop twaddle. This album embodied everything I hated about 80's music.
Public Enemy
1/5
More like an enemy to my ears and musical enjoyment.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
If this isn't classic rock then I don't know what is! The album's iconic, banger riffs are legendary. I hadn't listened to this in a long time so it was nice to be reminded how good it was. The self-indulgent drum solo on Moby Dick is the weak point and loses me but the rest scratches that itch when I'm in the mood to get my rock on.
The Icarus Line
1/5
I didn't enjoy this, couldn't finish it and fail to see how this would even remotely be considered essential listening for anyone before they die. There were some glimpses of listenable music here and there so 1.5/5.
Judas Priest
3/5
I'm not a metal fan but this was surprisingly listenable. (But what's up with "United"? It doesn't seem to belong here.) This album doesn't reach an outright 3 in my books but I recognize that it's probably excellent for it's genre. 2.75/5
Barry Adamson
3/5
I was on board with the concept and the overall vibe of this album. It started losing me in the early middle but it came back for the most part. It was artsy, different and an interesting listen. I didn't have high expectations but I enjoyed it.
The Youngbloods
3/5
This was an interesting stew of genres. Some psychedelia, country rock, folk rock and even a samba beat on the last song. There's nothing here that really stands out or that is memorable but it was an enjoyable listen.
Randy Newman
3/5
Randy Newman isn't a conventionally good singer but there is a quality to his voice that lends it character and makes it interesting. I don't know much of his work but from what I've heard, I like his song writing. (Short People is probably an exception.) There's nothing that really stands out here but it was an enjoyable listen.
Grizzly Bear
3/5
This is the type of thing I could throw on as background music while I was doing something else. It was different and I kind of enjoyed it and get the feeling that this might grow on me a bit if I were to listen to it more.
Beyoncé
2/5
Beyonce' is more of a product than a person. The music seems so self-indulgent, more a vehicle to serve the Beyonce' image and machine than anything else. It's not my thing and not enough to make me want to listen.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I was very excited to finally see another jazz album pop up but then was immediately disappointed. Why did it have to be this one? I love jazz and I like Herbie Hancock but jazz fusion is another thing. I'm not much of a fan of electronic jazz and would choose acoustic jazz over it every time. At times this was a groove and an interesting listen and at other times it was tedious and meh. Look to his earlier works, Takin' Off, My Point of View, Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage or Speak Like A Child. 2.5/5
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
The Mothers of Pretention. The vibe I get from Frank Zappa is that he dares you to like his music. It's like he intentionally tries to be conventionally odd and/or contrary to norms for the sake of being odd/contrary and then passes it off as some kind of "genius" or being on some kind of level that many people don't understand and in turn those people who do like this music can congratulate and feel good about themselves for recognizing such "genius" as if it was some kind of virtue. I don't get the appeal, I didn't enjoy this and don't want to try to like it. It was simply an unenjoyable experience. 1.5/5
Jane's Addiction
2/5
There may have been a time frame in my life where I could have enjoyed this but if so, it's in my rear view mirror. I was getting into some of the bass playing. It's not bad but it's nothing that I would ever seek out. 2.25/5
Isaac Hayes
2/5
How is this essential listening? It must be considered so based on it's merits for capturing what was going on in a certain period of time but today it sounds pretty dated and cheesy. Stripped of whatever context these numbers played in the movie, there's very little here of interest, just overly long, boring instrumentals.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Dolly seems to be one of the sweetest, most likeable people on the planet but her voice and flavor of country has never really been my kind of thing. I can't really fault anything on this album, it was a pleasant but unremarkable listen.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
This sounds like the type of stuff you'd hear in a party or club scene for a 60's B-movie. There was some fun stuff but there was also a good amount of what you'd get if you were to eat some electric prunes. Even looking through 60's rose colored glasses this was mediocre at best. 2.5/5
Cat Stevens
4/5
This album holds up. I enjoyed it enough to already own it.
The Lemonheads
3/5
A pretty solid 90's sound. Mrs. Robinson was fun. Nothing really stands out but I enjoyed this.
Bauhaus
2/5
Two stars only by virtue of it not being horrible enough for me to hate it or for it to make me angry.
4/5
Strong album and a great place to start with Oasis. I enjoyed it.
The Human League
2/5
80's synth-pop cheese and representative of an era of music that did little to nothing for me.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I liked the classical stuff on side A but where they departed from that, not so much. Side B seemed even more self indulgent and less likeable. 1.6/5 rounded up to a very generous 2.
Cornershop
3/5
The songs on this album ran the gamut from pretty bad to some fun and interesting bops. I liked the Indian spice. This would have been a better and stronger album if they had sacrificed some of the chaff for a shorter run time.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I'm trying not to knock this album too badly just because MTV and radio overplayed so much of it that I grew really sick of hearing it. I consider this to be pop-bandwagon Bruce, a turning point that made me want to listen to his older stuff instead. This album isn't necessarily bad but in my opinion, there's a LOT better Springsteen out there. 2.5/5 with a grudging round up to 3 stars.
Madness
2/5
"Our House" is clearly the standout track on this album. The rest of the tracks are almost aggressively bland and unremarkable.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Hey, a popular 80's album I actually enjoyed! I was expecting something insipid and empty like a lot of what made up the 80's sound but it was more substantial than I thought it would be. I'm rounding this one up because I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. 3.5/5
Chicago
5/5
That a band would have the balls to make their debut a double-album and that the record company would allow it says a lot before you even hear a single song. The musicianship is stellar. Three lead vocalists! The horn section is tight and killer. Peter Cetera crushes it on the bass and deserves to be more recognized as a great bassist. Terry Kath is outstanding on guitar. Robert Lamm was the chief songwriter and wrote the multiple hits. Danny Seraphine is a formidable and superlative drummer. That all adds up to an awesome debut worthy of a double-album! I can't say that I liked or appreciated "Free Form Guitar" and I don't think that it belonged on the album. It was way too self-indulgent and seemed more like a noodling exercise catering to guitar geeks. That song aside, I love early Chicago (CTA-III, V-VI) and I loved this album! 4.5/5
Tina Turner
1/5
This album has a very cheesy, dated sound and it exemplifies what I hated about 80's music. I didn't even like the hits when they came out and the covers were meh to awful. I would never choose to listen to this.
Van Halen
3/5
I'm not a big fan of arena rock or guitar shredding but this album rocked and I enjoyed it. It wasn't until this listen that I made the connection between "Jamie's Crying" and Tone Loc's "Wild Thing".
The Isley Brothers
2/5
Started strong with "Who's That Lady?" then lost momentum quickly with forgettable songs and sub-par covers. 2.5/5
James Brown
2/5
I wasn't really feeling the heat. It was an OK listen but even as short as it was, I was ready for it to be over. 2.5/5
Orbital
1/5
What is this author's obsession with electronica? I've listened to more electronica 400+ albums into this project than I have in my lifetime previous. This is repetitive, soulless and nothing I would ever choose to listen to.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Pretty unexceptional and nothing very memorable but it was an OK listen. Leans closer to a 3 than a 2. 2.5/5
The Everly Brothers
3/5
Definitely dated but not in a bad way. Safe, clean-cut white boy rock/pop that would make your visit to the malt shop a more pleasant experience. This album wouldn't get the parents wound up and it would make them think that maybe there was something to this "rock and roll" music. Flawless harmonies!
Baaba Maal
2/5
I was kind of vibing with the music but it got a bit repetitive and I couldn't get past the vocals which were kind of annoying. It was OK. 2.5/5
The Byrds
2/5
Two hits, one a Dylan cover and the other was just OK at best. The rest of the songs were pretty much awful to forgettable tyrds.
The Killers
3/5
There's some good tunes on here but overall it's mid for me.
PJ Harvey
3/5
First time consciously hearing P J Harvey so I had no idea what to expect. This is more grunge-y than what I'd typically choose to listen to but I liked the raw energy and enjoyed it. This isn't a four for me but it seemed better than a three. 3.5/5
Super Furry Animals
2/5
There were a couple of decent songs on here but I'm not going to remember a single one by tomorrow. There was nothing here that would compel me to listen again.
American Music Club
3/5
There's room on my mood palate for low-key, kind of melancholy stuff like this. At first I was thinking it was kind of bland but I get the vibe that this would grow on me with subsequent listens.
The Zutons
4/5
A pleasant surprise from a band I never heard of. This was fun and I enjoyed it. 3.75/5
ABBA
3/5
This album runs hot and cold. The hits are great and I contend that Dancing Queen is one of the best pop songs ever recorded. The non-hit songs do very little to nothing for me sounding like something that would struggle to even make a mark on Eurovision. The ladies voices sound great together but their singing melody in unison is a signature sound that starts to make all the songs sound the same and pretty quickly grows fatiguing. ABBA is probably best consumed in smaller doses. The highs are high and the lows are low averaging out to a 3 for me.
AC/DC
5/5
There was only one hit here but who cares, this album ROCKS! AC/DC has a hard-driving formula that works and I was headbanging in approval! I enjoyed this album from front to back. 4.5/5
Elbow
3/5
I like the vibe and the music but by the end I was well ready for it to be over. I would listen to this again but probably only half of the album at a time.
Aimee Mann
4/5
I'd heard the name Aimee Mann but I didn't know her work. After hearing a few songs the voice sounded familiar and then I learned that she sang in 'Til Tuesday and I recognized the voice from "Voices Carry". This isn't typically the type of thing that I would listen to but I like her voice and found this to be a solid and enjoyable album. I'd welcome hearing this again.
Dr. John
1/5
Only 3 of the songs were listenable and none of them were enjoyable. Enduring this was annoying and a chore even though it's only 33 minutes long.
The Undertones
2/5
This was kind of fun but it was unexceptional punk/pop at best. There's a lot of same-y songs and by the half way point I was getting bored with it. I also found the lead singer's vibrato to be pretty annoying.
The Smiths
3/5
Morrissey has kind of an atonal quality to his singing where he often sounds flat. In an odd way it works for him as well as against him. I didn't love this and didn't hate it but I doubt I'd seek this out again on my own.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This album was just OK. There are better Stones albums out there but this one might scrape it's way into the top 5. For me, most Stones albums are 1 or 2 good/great songs surrounded by a bunch of filler of widely varying degrees of quality and this one is no exception.
Aphex Twin
2/5
(Sigh) Yet ANOTHER electronica album. When that soulless, fake drum beat drops you'd better like it because it's going to bore its way into your brain like some kind of sonic Chinese water torture. The repetition is grating. This one barely earns a 2 by virtue of me not hating it so much that it made me angry.
Lupe Fiasco
1/5
I have zero interest in listening to hip hop and sampling this did nothing to change my mind.
Gene Clark
3/5
I don't know that this should be in the top 1001 albums one should hear before they die but this was a pleasant and enjoyable listen.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
What is this? It's got a baroque, renaissance vibe and sounds like it could be a soundtrack to something. The singer's voice is teetering on the edge of annoying and it's a bit hard to get past. This album is very unique and kind of weird. Part of me finds it kind of interesting from a sense of curiosity but it's not something that I enjoyed or would ever want to hear again.
Calexico
5/5
THIS is the type of thing that I thought there would be so much more of in this project, a very good and worthy band/album that I had never heard of. Unfortunately selections like this one are few and far between. My hopes weren't high looking at the HORRIBLE cover art which has nothing at all to do with the music contained therein. I loved the Latin flavors, the instrumentation, the stylistic variety, the cohesive vibe and the songs were interesting throughout. "Black Heart" sounds like it could easily have been a James Bond theme. This was a surprising and very enjoyable listen.
Grateful Dead
2/5
Take away the confluence of drugs and the zeitgeist of the times during which this band came up and they'd probably be a pretty minor footnote in rock history. I like country tinged rock but the off-key singing and harmonies, not so much. Their legendary appeal and following are lost on me but I could get on board with 1 or 2 songs on this album.
Lightning Bolt
1/5
This album was an unequivocal, hard no.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Motörhead
1/5
They started out with their strongest song and then it went downhill from there. This whole album sounded like 1-2 songs performed slightly differently. Not my thing.
Marty Robbins
5/5
I'm of two minds on this one. Is it as good to me as the other 5 star albums on my list? No it isn't so I feel like I should rank it lower. On the other hand, I can't really find fault with it, I liked every song. For what it is, gunfighter ballads and trail songs, it is stellar. Great stories, great songs and Marty Robbins soothing voice.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
The cover art is more interesting to me than the album. (I love R. Crumb's work!) It's not a good sign when I was already bored half way through the first song. The raw passion and energy are definitely there in Janis Joplin's vocals but I've always found them to be grating and unpleasant to listen to. The album isn't without merit outside of her vocals but I can't get past that voice.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
I don't know.... As an active listen this is probably a no. Each song is a groove thing that gets very repetitive very quickly. As a passive background listen it's kind of relaxing and chill though I could be listening to a later track and still think it's an earlier track, there's a lot of sameyness. 2.75/5
Big Star
2/5
"After two commercially unsuccessful albums, Third documents the band's deterioration... "
A deterioration from the efforts that resulted in two commercially unsuccessful albums pretty much sums up this album perfectly. It's boring, aggressively unmemorable, it has an apathetic/unimaginative title and pretty crappy vocals. There's also some truly awful songs. This could easily be a 1 star album but it wasn't quite bad enough to stir up hate.
The The
2/5
At first I was thinking this was just "meh" but by the end I was really bored and thinking that the album kind of sucked. Pass.
Django Django
2/5
Kind of bland but not bad. Nothing here grabbed me enough to want to hear it again. Better than a 2 but not a 3. 2.5/5
Cocteau Twins
2/5
I didn't dislike this album but I didn't really like it either. It's not something I would choose to listen to. 2.5/5
Fever Ray
3/5
Much to its credit, this wasn't mind-numbingly torturous to listen to like almost every other electronica album I've heard here. Maybe it's the atmospheric, moody vibe but this actually kind of worked for me. It is quite a bit same-y. I thought I had only listened to 2 long songs but when I checked on the progress of the player, I had actually listened to 5 songs. This one surprised me, I didn't think I'd like it at all. 2.75/5
The Undertones
2/5
This is my second Undertones album. I'm questioning whether they belong on this list at all but I'm certain that they don't deserve two albums on the list when everything they play pretty much sounds the same. This album is fun and I liked it for the most part but the excessive vibrato used by the lead singer is annoying and pulls me out of what would probably be a more pleasurable listening experience if they only had a different singer.
Lou Reed
2/5
With a different singer this may have been an enjoyable album but alas......
Alanis Morissette
4/5
This comes from an era of music that I didn't actively engage in listening to so I hadn't formed an opinion of her only having heard a couple of her hits. She has a strong voice lyrically and vocally. I dig her energy, passion and conviction but her vocal affectations are kind of annoying and something I wish I could do without. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this and can understand why this was such a huge hit.
Dirty Projectors
2/5
I'm guessing that this band's opinion of itself is much higher than my opinion of them. Maybe I'm not hip because I didn't find this oddity enjoyable. With such a rich world of music to choose from where does the author find this crap? This album does not belong on the list.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
This group was totally unknown to me and what a pleasant surprise! This was chill and an enjoyable listen. I'd welcome hearing it again. The cover features a topless woman breastfeeding a stuffed tiger but oddly the question that popped up in my mind was, "Why is she sitting in a bathtub?" Lol
The Clash
3/5
After a while everything here starts sounding the same as they chew their way through the songs in their angry, choppy style. This isn't really my thing but it was OK.
Justin Timberlake
2/5
This type of R&B/pop is not my thing at all. The voice talent is there but nothing here grabbed me, I found it to be kind of flat and boring.
Cypress Hill
2/5
The repetition is exhausting. The samey-ness quickly made me lose interest in even trying to make it through a complete song. I've heard worse rap albums but I did not enjoy this.
Nine Inch Nails
1/5
Nope. Can't. Didn't.
Goldfrapp
5/5
I had no idea what to expect with this one.
Track one - I'm initially skeptical. "What am I listening to?" (but I'm not skipping ahead).
Track two - OK, I'm softening and still listening
Track three - this is kind of a bop and has a really fun video
Track four on - this album is really growing on me!
I loved the vocals, especially when she would move into her upper register. The background vocals (her too?) were a perfect blend. I loved the strings and the orchestrations and I loved the overall vibe. This album was a grower for me, the more I listened the more it grew on me. More often than not I can't wait for most of the albums in this project to be over. For this one I was disappointed that it was over. A very pleasant surprise!
Scissor Sisters
2/5
The start of the first song made me think I was about to hear Dolly Parton sing "9 to 5". The second song made me think I was listening to George Michaels's "Freedom". The third song is a tragic version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", I hated it. This one isn't starting out well. There are some moments in this album but nothing I'd ever want to hear again.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
I liked the funk and the jazziness. This was a pleasant and easy listen.
Klaxons
2/5
Meh, this was middling at best. If I weren't cleaning the kitchen while listening I would have been fast forwarding through a lot of it.
The Sabres Of Paradise
1/5
Using a term Robert Dimery and this band would better understand, this album is "shite". It's probably one of Yoko Ono's favorite albums to yowl to.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
Over half of the songs on this album still hit when they're not hitting hard and the harmonies are outstanding. An excellent album!
Lorde
3/5
Not really my thing but it was OK.
There's some solid bluesy rock here and I enjoyed it. Rod's unique voice is well suited for what they were doing and it's easy to understand how Ronnie Wood eventually fit in so well with the Rolling Stones.
Pavement
4/5
I had no idea what to expect but I enjoyed this. At times they reminded me of Wilco. 3.5/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
I like Bob Dylan so it would be hard to fault this album. It's near the top of his oeuvre and I liked it.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
5/5
Despite hearing his music from the time he started, I didn't become a Tom Petty fan until decades after his debut. I was missing out because I think that he and the Heartbreakers are one of the greatest American bands of all time! This was an excellent debut with multiple great songs right off the bat. They were strong signs of the greatness yet to come. 4.5/5
Liz Phair
4/5
She's not a very good singer but her vocals seem to work in this context. I enjoyed this album and liked the vibe. 3.5/5
Fred Neil
3/5
I was surprised that I liked this as much as I did. I think it has more to do with the nostalgia factor as it very much reflects the changing winds that were blowing at that time and it reminds me of the type of thing I might have heard as a pre-teen. Neil has a great voice which at times reminded me of Merle Haggard. The final instrumental sounded like something the Doors could have done.
Throwing Muses
2/5
This wasn't horrible but it didn't do anything for me.
Dead Kennedys
1/5
I don't need this kind of thing in my life and the lead singer's voice is annoying.
5/5
Not every song on here is a 5 but I can't think of a time when the album as a whole wasn't a 5 for me. Very few people mention Harrison's "Within You Without You" when talking about this album but it's one of my favorites. "A Day In The Life" is a masterpiece!
Pulp
2/5
Meh, this was average at best. Better than a 2 but closer to a 2 than 3.
2.5/5
Metallica
1/5
Combining an orchestra with Metallica is like putting perfume on a turd and telling me it's a candy bar. There's no way I was going to try and endure this album.
Primal Scream
3/5
I didn't know this album or the band but as I was listening I kept wondering why several of the songs sounded so familiar. After a while I finally realized that those songs were used in a Cindy Crawford exercise video from the early 90's! This isn't something I would normally listen to but it's not bad.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
There's some bangers on here that must have been awesome to hear/see live back in the day.
FKA twigs
1/5
Whatever she was going for it was nowhere near anything I'd ever want to listen to. I didn't make it through a single song.
Tortoise
2/5
I wasn't under the influence of whatever it would have taken to make this album interesting, I was bored.
Hookworms
2/5
Who thought it was a good idea to name their band after a parasitic intestinal worm? And they misspelled Microsh*t.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
There's a quality to his voice that just doesn't sit well on my ears and gets kind of annoying so I didn't really enjoy this.
Black Flag
1/5
I'm RED flagging this album as something I never want to hear again.
Deee-Lite
3/5
Thirty five years old and "Groove Is In The Heart" is still a killer track! This was a fun album and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
The Black Crowes
3/5
I'm of a split mind on this one. If I were in a bar and this band was playing this stuff I'd probably enjoy it because my expectations would be low. Listening to this as an album for this project my expectations are higher so I'm thinking that it's OK overall at best but that the band is just an above average bar band.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Cool band name. I didn't love it but I did enjoy it and would listen again. 3.25/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Did I dislike it? No. Did I like it? Not especially. It was OK but pretty much unremarkable and not deserving of a spot on this list. Would I want to listen to it again? Not really. 2.5/5
Jane's Addiction
2/5
This may be Jane's Addiction but it's not mine. I found the cover art more interesting than the music.
Billie Holiday
3/5
I was excited to listen to some Billie Holiday but why this album? Any of her earlier jazz works are better and much more interesting. (I love her stuff featuring Lester Young). I suppose this lush, easy-listening orchestral music was popular in the 50's and a lot of jazz artists recorded this type of album "with strings" but I was never fond of this type of music. (One exception, Art Pepper's Winter Moon) Billie makes it work but at the same time it kind of doesn't. Her voice and style of singing are much better suited elsewhere.
Elliott Smith
3/5
This guy picked a vocal tone/flavor and stuck with it for the entire album. The way the vocals were filtered/processed made them all sound the same. Pretty mid, neither good or bad.
Beatles
4/5
The Beatles were a good cover band and I would be perfectly happy listening to their covers. (Exception, "Till There Was You" which was about a schmaltzy as you can get.) The covers are a taste of the type of thing we would have heard in the Cavern Club or during their residence in Hamburg when they were still a struggling working band. Their self-written songs were just a hint of the greatness that was to come. I don't put this on par with their later outings but it's still a very good album.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Most of this music sounds like it should be playing in the background for an action movie chase scene. There are some cool grooves here but it gets so repetitive and tedious very quickly. This is dancing music, not listening music. I'm not an artificially amped up club kid so I won't be dancing or listening to this one.
The Auteurs
2/5
Totally beige and forgettable.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Overall this was an enjoyable listen but it is fairly uneven and sometimes oddly and disparately so. Mr. Soul has a definite Rolling Stones-like riff. I liked the psychedelic elements which seemed to have some substance to them rather than coming off as a gimmick or a forced affectation. If Young or Stills weren't singing lead, the song could have probably been left off the album.
3/5
My appreciation for the music of the day fell pretty drastically in the 80's. I would always wonder why I would want to listen to this sh.., stuff after all of the great music from the 60's and 70's. This isn't my thing but I understand the appeal. Pitting this against other 80's music, this would be on the upper half of the list. 2.75/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
This was a pretty heavy slog. There are a couple of songs that would be fine if listened to on their own but as a whole, this album was a chore and I didn't enjoy it.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
While I'd choose musicians that played actual instruments over computers all day every day, I was surprised that this was actually listenable. (What is it with this author's obsession with electronica?) I wouldn't ever seek this out but I wouldn't cringe at having to listen to it either. 2.75/5
1/5
I'm a jazz fan but I never liked Ornette Coleman's music so I'm not going to like it any better if John Zorn is playing it. This is anti-music, unbearable and unlistenable. Aimless, self-indulgent crap is still crap no matter who is playing it. Truly horrible.
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
Bland, unexceptional, unmemorable. Meh at best.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
This was OK though I doubt I'd ever want to revisit it.
5/5
The times they were a changin' as was Dylan's approach to his music. Much to the chagrin of his purist folkie acolytes, he was pushing his music into the electric and rock realm. I came into his music after that fact so I accepted and enjoyed all of his music. There's lots to love from both worlds. 4.5/5
Orange Juice
2/5
These guys often sounded like a B-squad Talking Heads or a Talking Heads tribute band playing non-hit deep tracks or songs rejected by the actual band. It wasn't terrible but it was forgettable, I didn't really enjoy it and I wouldn't want to hear it again.
Black Sabbath
2/5
Metal is not my thing and I'm not a fan of Black Sabbath, the image they cultivated or of Ozzy's over-processed vocals. That aside, I can understand how this might be appealing to some but it's nothing I would pursue or want to listen to again.
The Dictators
2/5
Another entry under the category, "Why is this album on the list?!". If the album cover didn't signal a crappy album then listening to it certainly does. It was so amateurish that it had me wondering if it was satire. It is marginally fun which barely saves this from being a 1-star review.
Anthrax
1/5
Much like the plague, Anthrax is something that should be avoided.
Billy Bragg
4/5
I had somewhat of an idea what to expect having heard Billy Bragg with Wilco on "Mermaid Avenue" which I really enjoyed. I enjoyed this album as well. I liked the spareness and simplicity of it. It didn't require a full band to effectively put the songs across.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
2/5
I'm not a hip hop fan nor am I a fan of being lectured on the woes of the world. The guy has good flow but he needs to lighten up. If all you look at is the crap then that's all you're gonna see.
Black Sabbath
2/5
WTH! This is my second Black Sabbath in less than a week and third overall! Metal is just not my thing but I did actually like the song Planet Caravan. It's probably the least metal song on the album and kind of jazzy. No more of this crap please!
2/5
I'm not enough of a Kinks fan to willfully endure this album and enjoy it. There were a few decent songs but the vast majority had me fast forwarding to the next song before the song that was playing was over. 2.5/5
The Thrills
2/5
I didn't find any thrills in this album. The music was like wall paper. You know it's there because you can see it on the wall but once you leave the room, you immediately forget about it and would be hard pressed to be able to describe it beyond something like, "Uh...... it was beige." The breathy lead vocals were kind of annoying at times. "Unremarkable" would be a good descriptor for this album. 2.5/5
Soft Cell
1/5
I was looking for a reason to give this a 2 but I wasn't finding it. This is a good example of why I disliked most of the music coming out in the 80's. I didn't make it completely through a single song.
Bob Dylan
5/5
On this album we see Dylan's songwriting craft blooming. Great stuff and a huge milestone in both his career and in music history.
U2
5/5
I'm totally putting aside any notions I have about certain band members and am rating this solely on the music itself. I knew of this album and heard a couple of songs but I've never heard the whole album. I was quite surprised, I really enjoyed this album and didn't think I would. There really weren't any bad songs and there were some great songs. I love Larry Mullen Jr's drumming!
David Ackles
2/5
How is this album classified as country/singer songwriter? This sounds like the score to a play I would have been bored with and abandoned during intermission. It wasn't quite bad enough to inspire anger or hate so this gets a generous 2.
Spiritualized
2/5
I was able to sit through it but didn't find it interesting and I wouldn't want to hear it again.
Brian Eno
4/5
I rather liked this for what it was, nice ambient music for relaxation, meditation or as a calming background music. I would happily listen again.
PJ Harvey
3/5
A fine debut album which made me curious to want to hear more from her. I like the raw energy. 3.5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
There were some decent moments but this is not my thing and overall, I did not enjoy it and wouldn't listen to this again.
Willie Nelson
3/5
It doesn't seem like crossing Willie with standards would be a good match but Willie makes it work. I loved some of the song renditions but others came off as very corny and cheesy. A pleasant listen overall and I'd listen to it again but not anytime soon.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Never heard of the band but I liked this, it was an enjoyable listen. 3.5/5 but I'll round up on this one.
The The
2/5
Meh, listenable but forgettable.
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
This sounds like the type of thing that would be playing at a restaurant that served some kind of weird exotic food that I never tried before and in the end it would have served as an interesting experience but it wasn't something that I enjoyed very much and wouldn't try again. The same goes for this music.
M.I.A.
2/5
Kind of annoying with a bunch of repetitive songs that don't go anywhere.
The Cure
3/5
Better than I anticipated for something that really isn't my kind of thing. Robert Smith's vocal style gets pretty same-y from song to song.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
This was rather nice and the type of thing I hoped I would discover much more of in this project. I enjoyed it.
Tito Puente
5/5
I started out thinking that I wasn't really in the mood to listen to this kind of music but then the music changed my mind. Great energy and a lot of fun, this band must have been killer live! I'm feeling a 4.5/5 but it was too good to round down.
Donald Fagen
3/5
Lesser Steely Dan? This was OK but it seems a bit too slick, over-produced and it also has a slight taint of an 80's vibe. Too synth-y and electric.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
I was already annoyed by the first song and that annoyance was refreshed with each song that followed. This was nothing more than self-absorbed noise masturbation. I believe the album title. They certainly weren't in it for the music.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
This was OK. Not especially memorable in any way but not unpleasant to listen to.
Travis
4/5
Nothing earth shattering here but I enjoyed it. I'm feeling a 3.5/5 but I'll round up because I enjoyed it more than most of the dreck that has been recommended here.
Tom Waits
2/5
I fall into the camp that does not understand the appeal of Tom Waits. I find his growly, mumbling, booze-soaked sounding voice to be very annoying. His hipster patois as well. I don't find his sing-song, spoken patter/poetry(?)/stories to be humorous or appealing either. I couldn't finish this one. The only thing that is saving it from a one-star rating is that I like the jazziness and might actually see something pleasant in this if it were done by someone else.
Roxy Music
3/5
I had no idea what to expect so I was going into this cold. I liked the glam vibe and enjoyed it overall.
Living Colour
3/5
I remember liking this stuff when it came up and I think it still holds up.
The Band
3/5
This was OK. It didn't bowl me over and I didn't dislike it.
Jamiroquai
3/5
This band has the groove and singer Jay Kay has a lot of soul. I like the jazzy aspects. An upbeat and enjoyable listen. 3.5/5
Elliott Smith
3/5
I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
Bee Gees
1/5
The one or two songs (at most!) I liked nearly saved this from being a one star review but then I remembered how much I disliked the rest of this album. I would never choose to listen to this again, the bulk of it is truly awful! That the author of this project thought I needed to hear this before I died cemented the one star rating. This was punishing.
PJ Harvey
3/5
From what I remember about the two prior PJ Harvey albums, this one seems more girly in comparison. (Not in any bad way.) I enjoyed this and would listen again. 3.25/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
There's some cool bass playing here. I found this interesting with a variety of musical influences. I think this one could grow on me.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
It's not really my thing but I get it. A pretty solid 3-stars.
George Michael
3/5
George Michael successfully stepping out as a solo artist. If you have to listen to something from the 80's I guess this would be somewhere in the top half of the list. It was OK.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
According to the Wikipedia article, the band says that this is not a concept album but it sure sounds like one. I had no real notions about this one going in but it surprised me and I really enjoyed this.
The Modern Lovers
4/5
This band definitely has a Velvet Underground sound. While some might be disenchanted with the singers style and voice, I liked it. It lent itself to what they were doing with the music. My expectations weren't high thinking that this should be a top tier band so I liked what they were doing and I liked their energy and vibe. 3.75/5
Morrissey
2/5
Morrissey has a style of singing that kind of makes all of his songs sound the same. This was OK. I didn't dislike it but I didn't especially like it either. 2.5/5
Baaba Maal
1/5
This did not work for me. I didn't make it all the way through a single song. I want to enjoy music, not be irritated by it.
Orbital
1/5
Does this guy get paid something every time he recommends an electronica album? How many more of these shi**y albums must we try to endure?
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
My favorite era of Springsteen is from his debut through "The River". This is my third Springsteen album and nothing from that era has shown up yet which is regrettable since three albums from that era are widely considered to be among his all-time classics. (Yet further evidence that the author's musical taste and judgement often suck.) This album was pretty decent. I enjoyed listening to it and it was worth while but I doubt I'll revisit it.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Ella Fitzgerald's singing is easily worth 5-stars, she's fantastic here. With songs by the Gershwins, arrangements by Nelson Riddle and produced by Norman Granz, you couldn't get heavier hitters in this world of music. A four disc box set representing the works of 5 albums is a lot to digest. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would and were I to listen to the five separate albums over the course of multiple weeks it would be so much better because the listening fatigue wouldn't set in. The music is great but it's better in smaller doses.
Ryan Adams
4/5
This is what it would sound like if Van Morrison and the Black Crowes had a musical baby. I heard bits and pieces of several other musical influences in there as well. I only knew "Answering Bell" having heard it used in the soundtrack to "Bridesmaids". Also hearing "Ryan Adams" made me think "Bryan Adams" but musically they don't sound the same. I actually listened through every song in its entirety and I enjoyed it all the way through. I'd happily listen to this again.
Janis Joplin
2/5
The power and passion are certainly evident in her vocals but it is pleasant to listen to? Not for me. Her voice is kind of annoying and seems to reflect the hard living that caused her to die while she was still in her 20's. Considered a great by many, she's just not my thing.
George Jones
5/5
Wow that album went by quickly! It left me wanting much more. This is pedal steel, love and heartbreak old school country heaven! No one could put feeling and emotion into a country song quite like George Jones and what a voice! He would be on my Mt. Rushmore of country greats. I loved this from start to finish.
The Cult
3/5
This one surprised me. I'm not really into this genre but I kind of liked it. I wouldn't seek it out but I wouldn't object to hearing it again.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
There was nothing here for me and I didn't make it completely through a single song. I'll give it 1.25/5 stars because it barely escaped inspiring anger at being included on this list.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I guess reggae is OK but it sure gets repetitive quickly and kind of tedious after a while. Bob Marley is no exception.
Soundgarden
2/5
Grunge just isn't my thing so even one of the best representations of the genre doesn't really do anything for me. For me this was something to be endured and was not enjoyable.
Beatles
5/5
When the world started transitioning from LP's to CD's, this was the first CD I ever purchased. I recall balking at the price of CD's at the time so this was a safe buy since I already knew that I loved it. This could very well be my favorite Beatles album and if not that, it's definitely in my top 2 or 3. Maybe it's because it reflects more of who the Beatles were as individuals more so than as a collaborative unit even though the songs were performed as a band. This album has one of my favorite song transitions of all time, the transition from Bungalow Bill to While My Guitar Gently Weeps. This is a great album and an easy 5.
Neneh Cherry
1/5
Hip hop - strike one. Electronica - strike two. Highly representative of 80's music - strike 3.
Def Leppard
3/5
I'll always associate this band with MTV's heyday. This album seemed a lot longer than 62 minutes and I was glad for it to be over. I can take Def Leppard in smaller doses but this album was a lot. This was pretty mid for me overall but since I can't give 2.5 stars I'll round up - 3/5.
Iron Maiden
2/5
Metal with a bit of proggyness mixed in. Not my thing.
Simple Minds
2/5
Meh.... this was about as a defining and generic 80's sound as you could possibly get. This could have been any one of a dozen bands from that era that all sounded the same. It's music like this which gives me a much greater appreciation for the music from the prior two decades.
Skepta
1/5
Yet another regrettable entry in the undeserving, WAY over-represented rap/hip hop genre.
Burning Spear
2/5
Reggae is not really a favorite genre of mine. By the time the third song comes around I'm ready to move on. It is too repetitive and the songs all start sounding the same. I guess this was OK. 2.5/5
John Coltrane
5/5
I was disappointed that it ended so quickly. I enjoyed it so much that I had to listen to it a second time! I like that this recording is angular but doesn't go too far out like some of his later recordings. A true jazz classic.
Pink Floyd
5/5
This is more than just music, it's an experience. I can casually enjoy a lot of music but this album takes the next step and actually effects me. It is memorable and an all time favorite. A masterpiece.
Ramones
3/5
Not especially versatile are they? The songs pretty much all sounded the same and the lyrics were pretty repetitive. None the less, I didn't go into this expecting anything more than what I got so this was OK.
Killing Joke
2/5
Unremarkable. There's nothing here that made me want more or have any desire to come back to it.
Michael Jackson
2/5
I was always amused at Michael Jackson trying to assert that he was bad. (Really, really bad according to the high pitched background vocals.) If push ever came to shove, he would most likely get his ass kicked up, down and sideways. Jackson is undoubtedly a talent but not one that I enjoy listening to. His shouts, hiccups, shamone's, hee hee's and other vocal effects wear thin very quickly and this genre of music does nothing for me. I would never seek this music out.
Circle Jerks
1/5
I've listened to single jazz songs (performed by actual musicians) that were longer than this album. It's only 15 minutes long but I still couldn't listen to all of it. I don't think I've ever felt so angry and disaffected that this type of music would ever appeal to me.
3/5
Very British with the thick accents. I didn't know Blur or what to expect. It was a bit long but I enjoyed it. A pretty solid 3.
Gang Of Four
3/5
This is more college me than current me but it was kind of fun and I thought it was alright.
Tom Waits
2/5
I might have liked this if it were another singer but I can't get past that horrible voice. I don't get the appeal.
Wire
4/5
This isn't typically my kind of thing but it won me over; I enjoyed this.
Manu Chao
2/5
This wasn't my thing and nothing here was good enough to make me want to listen to a whole song. Pass.
The Beach Boys
3/5
I'm not much of a Beach Boys fan. Everything I would ever care to hear from them could probably be heard in less than an hour. It's probably saying something when the songs I liked the most on this album were those that sounded less like the Beach Boys. This was OK at best but I doubt I'd ever revisit it.
The Beach Boys
3/5
The Beach Boys harmonies are great and certainly a signature sound but after a handful of songs, harmony fatigue starts to set in. There are a lot of doo-wop sounds here. Overall this was OK.
The White Stripes
3/5
Every White Stripes album I've listened to has been interesting and worth listening to but this wasn't one of my favorites.
Pink Floyd
2/5
I like Pink Floyd but this, not so much.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
The Rolling Stones are pretty much a greatest hits kind of band for me. Throughout their career they've been consistently inconsistent. They'll get you worked up with a red-hot, smokin' banger only to follow it up with a bunch of mediocrity or disappointment. It's like a roller coaster with all the highs and lows. The Stones were at their peak from about 1969 to the early '70's so this is one of their best. This is a soft 4 for me.
David Gray
3/5
This was OK I guess but unremarkable, rather forgettable and kind of boring. 2.5/5
Prefab Sprout
2/5
I liked the first song which gave me hope that this was going to be an interesting album but the rest was pretty disappointing. Quintessential bland 80's sound, cheesy synth block chords and forgettable empty pop, this isn't anything I'd ever want to hear again.
Peter Frampton
3/5
I once owned this album. This came out while I was in high school and it was huge at the time. Other than the three hits that got a lot of radio play, listening to this was almost like hearing it for the first time as I didn't really remember the other songs. That probably says something and I probably didn't spend much time listening to this outside of the hits. Despite the crappy cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" this was an enjoyable listen overall though a bit long.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
Theatrical and whimsical, this often sounded like a soundtrack to a musical play. It's unlikely that I'd listen to this again but to its credit, at least it was interesting and well executed.
Queens of the Stone Age
2/5
I guess I can understand the appeal to someone who liked this sort of thing but this was not for me.
David Bowie
2/5
Bowie is way over represented on this list. To me he’s always been more flash than substance with his various eras/personas. I can get on board with “Fame” but the rest leaves me cold. “Across The Universe” was horrible.
2/5
Without even listening to a note I find the album’s title annoying. It reeks with the stench of attempting to be cute and trying way too hard. The music is much too angry and full of profanities and is not my thing but it’s better than 1 star.
Kate Bush
1/5
It’s always pleasing when I find an album here that I like more than I thought I would. This isn’t one of them. This album was often irritating and I don’t need that in my life.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I rather liked this; it's better than The Velvet Underground & Nico I had earlier in the project. I would happily listen to this again.
Slade
2/5
This sounds like the kind of thing that my little brother would listen to in high school and I would tolerate it as I didn’t totally hate it but it wasn’t anything I would ever seek out on my own. 2.5/5
The xx
2/5
Bland and as interesting as a sack of flour. It won’t be difficult to x this album from my memory.
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
She has a lovely voice for what she wants to sing but I found this to be too slow, low key and boring.
The Bees
3/5
Not all of this was the bee's knees but it would have been intriguing enough to make me curious about hearing more from the Bees if this was my first time hearing them. It lost me a couple of times but overall it was an interesting and enjoyable listen. Their "Free the Bees" is a better album.
Culture Club
2/5
By the 80's, I had pretty much checked out on pop music as it was becoming pretty awful. I think Culture Club was more interesting as a cultural phenomena than they were musically.
50 Cent
1/5
I couldn’t make it through a single song.
Paul Simon
3/5
I remember owning and enjoying this album back when it was released. It was something different and interesting from a well known artist. I haven't listened to this in decades and with this listening, it ran a bit hot and cold. Still, a pretty solid 3/5.
Iron Maiden
1/5
This probably gets a lot of play on hell's jukebox.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I couldn’t connect with this and wouldn’t want to hear it again.
Bad Company
4/5
Growing up in the 70’s, this was meat and potatoes rock. (In a very good way!) This was a great debut with some rock-solid bangers that still hold up today. An easy and enjoyable listen.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Elvis could most certainly sing but I've never been much of a fan. He had already peaked before I was born and by the time I became interested in music, the music world had pretty much passed him by. Outside of "Fever" which was pretty bad, this was kind of fun nostalgia of a bygone era of popular music and the short run time wasn't long enough for this to wear out its welcome.
Japan
2/5
There's nothing here that interested me and I have no interest in hearing it again let alone at all.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
This sounds like cheesy soundtrack music to a cheesy 70's movie. It's not really my thing but I didn't dislike it. Some of the covers were kind of fun. This would be better in smaller doses, it's a lot for one sitting. 2.5/5
Tori Amos
2/5
I didn’t hate this but I found it to be pretty boring. There was nothing here that was interesting enough for me to want to sit through an entire song.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Dexy's Midnight Runners?! Really? I'd question their inclusion on this list at all let alone the three times I've read that they are noted here. I've always considered them to be a one hit wonder, low B or C tier group at best. "One of Those Things" is a direct rip-off of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London. The lead singer's voice is kind of annoying when he's singing and not just talking through the lyrics. It's not unlistenable but I didn't enjoy it and won't listen to it again.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Great bass on this one and I love the jazzy vibe and the sound of the guitars. This was my favorite era of Joni's music from '71 to '76. Excellent stuff.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
The 70's were my favorite era of Springsteen and this was one of his best alongside Darkness on the Edge of Town. His neck was on the line with his label and he needed to deliver on this album and deliver he did! This album has such a huge sound and so many great moments with Clarence Clemons' Jungleland solo being one of my favorites. It's a legendary album and an easy 5-star rating.
The Gun Club
3/5
This kind of grew on me but needed to be digested in smaller doses as the songs start sounding the same. I wouldn't object if someone else threw it on but I won't return to this on my own. 2.5/5
Massive Attack
3/5
I'm not a fan of electronica but this had a little soul and kind of worked for me. It was enjoyable enough for a review listen but I won't return to this. 2.5/5
Kate Bush
2/5
I know nothing about Kate Bush and almost nothing about her music. After listening to this, the vibe I get from her is that she was that quirky, odd, theater arts type girl from your high school class who was kind of a loner and passionate about music but somehow heard and experienced music differently than most people. She ended up following her passion and made it a career. It's not music that I enjoy but good for her.
Ice Cube
1/5
I get how this is well regarded in the rap world, I kind of like the cadence/flow of the rap but I don't need this kind of anger, misogyny, hate and racism in my life.
Gang Starr
2/5
What percentage of the 1001 albums are hip-hop/rap? Whatever that number is, the genre is WAY over represented. This wasn't unlistenable but there was nothing here to distinguish it from other rap albums. I'm feeling generous today. 2/5
Incubus
2/5
I could tolerate this in small doses but that’s about it . I’d never choose to listen to this on my own.
Queen
2/5
Queen is nothing more than a greatest hits band to me and the hits are so overplayed that Queen is never on my listening radar. This is a one song album and the rest are mostly tedious to mediocre at best.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
My first Sinatra album and hopefully not my last! This is good but there are even better Sinatra albums out there. Songs For Swingin' Lovers and Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim are just two that come to mind. Still it's hard to go too wrong with any of Sinatra's Capitol recordings.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Ugh, more synth-pop. This is so 80's that it's almost cliche. S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G? Are you kidding me? I didn't make it all the way through a single song.
Deerhunter
2/5
Meh. This wasn't horrible but it was pretty unremarkable. There was nothing here that was good enough to distract me from reading the paper while I listened.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Not really my thing but at least it was interesting enough to listen to the whole way through. 2.75/5
X-Ray Spex
2/5
I like the energy and the sax was a pleasant surprise. The shout-y vocals and general vocal style are quickly fatiguing if not outright annoying. It doesn't take very long before the songs start sounding the same. Maybe OK in very small doses.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Why am I having to listen to this instead of Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main Street? This seems to follow the pattern of most of their albums. One or two decent songs surrounded by glaring mediocrity. When they're hot they're hot but here they are not.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Tolerable but I would never choose to listen to this.
Van Morrison
5/5
I love this albums soulful, R&B / jazzy sensibilities. Van Morrison's vocals have such great swing and vibe. Side one is killer and there isn't a skip-worthy song on the whole album. Great stuff!
SAULT
1/5
This album seems more intent on delivering a message than providing a pleasurable musical experience. I came for the music and was left wanting. Message or not, this type of thing is not my jam.
Rod Stewart
4/5
Lots of covers and even a surprising hymn! I had heard 3-4 songs from this album but hadn't listened to the whole album before. I enjoyed it and would listen again. Classic Rod!
Gram Parsons
4/5
I'm a country rock and GP fan so this was an enjoyable listen. Gram isn't particularly a strong singer so at times I found Harris' harmonies to be a bit intrusive and overpowering. Still, it was a good listen and sadly we didn't have Parsons around long enough to hear more from him.
Fats Domino
3/5
This isn't especially my kind of jam, it's something I don't mind in smaller doses but this was alright.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
I'm a fan of the jazz trio format but I'm of the opinion that bass and drums should be heard but not solo. and if they do solo, it should be short and infrequent. This album was a bit much bass-wise but I love Bill Evans and this was still an enjoyable listen.
Björk
2/5
Bjork's talking, sing-songy, swelling to near shouting style/approach to singing gets to sounding the same after a while. I'm more of a melodic music listener so this kind of free style/out music doesn't really work for me but I kind of get it.
Pere Ubu
1/5
This album seemed to be a concerted effort to sound like a crappy Talking Heads. This was rough to get through and I wasn't able to make it through a single song.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
One of their best. The second half of this album lagged a bit but it was still an enjoyable listen.
Motörhead
1/5
I don’t have the energy to describe how much I didn’t enjoy listening to this album.
Radiohead
3/5
I don't think I'll ever revisit this, it isn't really my thing but it was an OK listen.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
This was different and the eastern rhythms were interesting but once you've heard one song, you've pretty much heard them all. The call and response got to be repetitive quite quickly so something like this might be better in smaller doses.
Fugees
1/5
This music did nothing for me and they gave me a whole hour of it.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
I'm more of an old-school country fan so this wasn't really my flavor and I've never been much of a Waylon fan. This was OK.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
I think that there's a difference between having lived in the time and listening to this when it was new and playing on the radio and listening to this same music now. I'm looking at this through the lens of when this used to be the vibe of the day but it plays well both then and now. I liked how the songs blended into one another though there was a span where I was thinking that it was a very long song but 2-3 songs had actually passed. Overall, excellent stuff!
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Man, this was a long 58 minutes! This isn't really my thing but I guess it was OK.
The Saints
3/5
This one surprised me. I usually blow through the punk/rock albums offered up here but I actually listened to this album all the way through. I liked the energy and the songs with horns. There was enough variety in the songs that it didn't get to sound too same-y. I ended up rather liking this one. 3.5/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Great grooves and bass lines. I wasn't groovin' with "Groovin'" at first but she won me over by the end of the song. One of the great singers of our time and it doesn't get much better than "Chain of Fools".
Pantera
1/5
This is the type of music serial killers listen to when they're psyching themselves up for their next kill.
Minor Threat
1/5
Even with the short running time of 21 minutes this album was still too long.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
At times the vocals had a Freddie Mercury quality to them. I liked this and could listen again but I can't give it a 4. 3.5/5
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
This band aspired to achieve boring mediocrity and they managed to succeed... on some of the songs. The rest weren't worth listening to. 1.5/5
Frank Black
3/5
This was OK, not bad, not great. I think this album would have benefited from being shorter and culling some of the chaff. I'm feeling 2.5/5 but I'll round up.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
For me to give a hip-hop album a 3 is to practically award it a Grammy. This was kind of fun and actually interesting with the variety of styles in the songs. I actually listened to the entire thing!
Happy Mondays
3/5
Upbeat, fun, dance-able. This was alright.
Van Morrison
4/5
I generally don't care for live albums but this one worked for me. Van's work translated well and he and the band sounded great. It's a bit long but this was an enjoyable listen.
Ministry
1/5
No.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
17 songs and only 2 hits. At 76 minutes, this had the potential of being a real drag. There were a couple of pretty bad songs but these guys could rock even when they weren't playing the hits. If I were to have seen this show live I would have been entertained.
Bobby Womack
2/5
Apparently my general disdain for 80's music extends to soul as well. This sounded kind of cheesy, dated and bland. So was this was the best of 13 albums he released by this point? I hope not.
Talking Heads
3/5
This wasn't really my kind of thing but I didn't dislike it. They kept things interesting throughout the album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Is this guy a big deal in England or something? This album was a drag and I've had my fill of Nick Cave on this list.
Public Enemy
1/5
I'll say the same thing as I did about their last album here - it was an enemy to my musical enjoyment.
The Slits
1/5
Hmm... an all-girl band named "The Slits". Is that feminist? Anti-feminist? Is it the whole point to ask those questions? Is the boobs out thing supposed to be punk or just a device to shame you for looking and then accusing you of sexualizing them? It doesn't really matter, the music and the band sucked and even the cover isn't worth revisiting.
Saint Etienne
1/5
I was pretty much either bored or annoyed with this album. I hated the cover of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". The electronica elements and the uninspired beats layered over spoken samples didn't do this album any favors. One or two half way decent songs couldn't save this one.
Happy Mondays
1/5
I'm bummed that this will be my fourth 1-star rating in a row. The mix on this album is horrible. Just when I'd hear a song that was somewhat tolerable, the terrible lyrics dragged it down. I'm flushing this turd.
Tom Waits
1/5
I'll dare to say it, "The emperor has no clothes!" I wasn't able to sit through this.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
This one ran hot to OK but it was enjoyable overall.
Joe Ely
4/5
This album made me think of Gram Parsons. I'm kind of a sucker for good steel pedal guitar country. I enjoyed this so much I listened to it again right after the first listen!
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
The singer's voice is kind of annoying. Every song is sung with the same tone and eveness so everything sounds the same. I hate electronic drums and this 80's club vibe. I could sit in a room where this was playing and not feel compelled to flee but I wouldn't enjoy it. This certainly isn't something I needed to hear.
TV On The Radio
2/5
True friends would warn their friends that this album sucked.
Kate Bush
2/5
Does the author of this project get a commission every time he recommends a Kate Bush album?! Hopefully this is the last. Recommending 3 of her albums (so far) is ridiculous.
The Smiths
3/5
Man, I don't know about some of the lyrics on these songs, they kind of pulled me out of the experience. It's like the songs sound better if you don't scrutinize them too closely. Morrissey's singing style makes the songs sound the same. This was OK.
Gotan Project
2/5
I get it - start a relentless rhythm/beat and then improvise over it. Any one of these songs on its own wouldn't be too bad but they became pretty tedious very quickly as a whole on the album. Those songs with vocals were welcomed. 2.5/5
Slipknot
1/5
Unlistenable. This is a sub 1-star album.
Ray Charles
4/5
This may sound dated to today's ears but having lived through the era when this type of music was popular, this was an excellent album and I enjoyed it. Ray was a great performer and I welcome listening to his music.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
My review is free of any bias on whether Eric Clapton is a dick (evidence seems to point to "he is") or the "white man blues" disparagement which I don't really understand so I'm not going to wade into that. I wasn't expecting pure blues or pure rock so the album can't be knocked on either count. Other than "What'd I Say" which fell flat on multiple levels, I really enjoyed this album. I remember enjoying this album on listening to it the first time before hearing all the background noise people wanted to bring up. I wonder how many scores would change if listeners were to go into this selection totally blind.
4/5
It's hard for me to put a handle on U2. I like them but also find them annoying. "Bono"? "The Edge"? Really? Why the stupid names? Ego? The Edge has a signature sound which kind of gets annoying after listening to it for a while. Overall, I like their music. Once I've heard it I'm good for a long time and don't want to hear it again anytime soon. The three opening hits are so played out that I'm still pretty much burnt out on them though I love the opening to "Where The Streets Have No Name". The album seems better than a 3 but isn't a 4 for me so I'd give it a 3.5 and round up to a generous 4.
Ride
2/5
The vocals and harmonization are virtually interchangeable from song to song. The sameness is numbing. This wasn't painful but I wouldn't revisit this. 2.5/5
Buzzcocks
3/5
I'm not a big punk fan, the drive in the music was a bit relentless but I didn't dislike it.
Faust
3/5
I had a negative reaction to Krautrock but there was some other interesting things on here. I probably wouldn't have chosen to listen to this but I didn't hate it.
Taylor Swift
4/5
This was an easy, fun and enjoyable listen. This isn't really my kind of thing but it is still a strong 4 for me. If you wanted to make the case that this is a 5 you wouldn't get an argument from me, it's a very good album.
Spiritualized
2/5
Oy, this was a slog. More than once I thought that the music was finally picking up only to discover that it was the music to the ads YouTube placed between the songs. Nothing here grabbed me and I found it too long and boring.
Metallica
1/5
What is up with all the long, extended intros? Just get on with it already! It didn't really matter anyway, I couldn't sit through this injustice to my eardrums.
The Verve
3/5
I was introduced to "Bittersweet Symphony" on the Las Vegas strip when some barely dressed dancers performed a dance number to the song at a show I attended. I was quite taken by both the dancers and the song and initially thought it was Bono and/or U2. I later learned that it was The Verve, a band I had never heard of prior to that. Bittersweet Symphony was a great start to the album (love the strings) but what followed was pretty forgettable and disappointing. Since I can't give this a 2.5 I'll award it a very generous 3.
The Blue Nile
3/5
I was prepared to hate this but it was better than I anticipated. The singer sounds David Byrne-ish at times. I doubt I'd ever revisit this but it wasn't bad.
Jane Weaver
3/5
This album didn't grab me right away but it grew on me. A pleasant listen.
Julian Cope
2/5
I certainly didn't need 75 minutes of this. The opening song "Pristeen" asks, "How much can you take?" It turns out, not as much as Cope was dealing out. I fast forwarded through 3/4ths of the songs before bailing out from disinterest and boredom.
OutKast
1/5
I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like this. I was right! This album stank.
Simply Red
2/5
Too 80's and disco type pop for my taste. Hucknall's voice is unique which can be both good and bad. I liked "Holding Back The Years". Even with that song I'd only want to hear it sparingly.
Maxwell
2/5
Maybe this is a good album for it's genre? This isn't my thing. I'm not a fan of smooth, slick, highly produced soul music.
Doves
3/5
This is definitely among the better selections from British groups offered up here. I wasn’t knocked out but I could get on board with this, it was an enjoyable listen.
The Fall
2/5
The band wasn't bad but the singer was. One example that comes to mind was a song where he actually tried to sing rather than talk through the lyrics and it made my ears bleed. In no world was this a must hear album.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
I didn't hate this but it's nothing I would have chosen on my own and I wouldn't choose to listen to it again. The lead singer's tone and excessive vibrato are irritating.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
This has some tasty stuff on it but it's not on the same level as "Electric Ladyland" or "Are You Experienced?". Still an enjoyable listen.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
I was shocked to see that this album was recorded in the late 90's. It sounded like show tunes from the 60's/70's. I think that a generous portion of wine might have made this cheese more enjoyable. This was an album Greg Brady would have wanted to record.
Afrika Bambaataa
1/5
I was searching for a reason to give this a 2 but I couldn't find one.
Big Star
3/5
This was just aggressively OK. I won't remember a single song after hearing this the one and only time I'll ever listen to it.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Everything on here sounds so similar and the production seems so sparse, minimal and kind of flat like an album of foundations that needed more to be added to them. I was bored.
3/5
Definitely dated but I'll judge this through a 70's lens. This wasn't particularly memorable but I enjoyed it's vibe.
Red Snapper
1/5
What is up with this author's obsession with electronica? The genre is WAY over-represented on this list. This is just more mind-numbing, repetitive, soulless electronic drum beats driving a bunch of go nowhere songs. The only satisfaction I got from this album was not listening to it any more.
The Magnetic Fields
2/5
There's probably a pretty decent album buried in there somewhere but I wasn't going to listen to 5-6 albums worth of material to try and find it.
Daft Punk
1/5
Mind numbingly repetitive and quickly irritating.
Dr. Dre
1/5
Yet another entry in the electronica and hip hop music hellscape that is chronically over-represented on this list. No thank you 365/24/7.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Awful. It's stuff like this that makes me think that the author wants me to quit this project.
The Pretty Things
3/5
Dated but in a groovy way. I liked this.
Lauryn Hill
2/5
Perhaps this is a good album for it's genre but I would never intentionally seek this out or listen to it. This is admittedly not my kind of thing and I skipped through every song.
Mariah Carey
2/5
She can definitely sing but I don’t care much for her as a person and her music isn’t anything I would ever choose to listen to so here we are.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
Meh, inspired more boredom than it did any interest. Forgettable.
Linkin Park
1/5
Nope. Just sampling the songs was painful.
Neil Young
4/5
Pretty solid album with two of his greatest hits but the orchestral numbers kind of took me out of the listening experience. Neil Young with an orchestra was a weird marriage and I think a more spare production is much more suitable for what he does.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
The song “Praise You” is the only thing that saved this from being a 1.
N.E.R.D
2/5
This was kind of interesting but at the same time, a little off. There are glimpses of something but they're not quite there yet.
Air
3/5
I enjoyed the moody ambiance of this album, particularly "Playground Love" and its sultry saxophone. I'd listen to this again.
The Crusaders
2/5
I'm actually surprised and pleased that the Crusaders would make this list. I'm not surprised or pleased that the author would choose this album. To me, the Crusaders ceased to be the Crusaders when original member Wayne Henderson left the group in 1975. At this point in their career this album may have been the peak of their commercial popularity according to Wikipedia but in my book they had sold out and were a mere shadow of what they used to be. This album was little more than a smooth commodity. Do yourself a favor and listen to any of their work as the Jazz Crusaders or the Crusaders prior to 1975 and their live albums from that same period. I love the (Jazz) Crusaders and it pains me to do it but I can't give them anything higher than a 2 for this overly slick and cheesy album when I know their earlier stuff is so much better.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2/5
I'm probably like most others, I only know of this group because they were featured on Paul Simon's Graceland. I suppose this kind of thing scratches an itch but am I ever going to have that itch? I was skipping through the songs and I couldn't tell the difference.The next song always sounded like it was part of the song I just skipped. I skipped through 5-6 songs thinking it could have been the same song.
The Boo Radleys
2/5
I disliked more than I liked and wouldn't revisit this.
3/5
I enjoyed this album and on another day might have ranked it a 4.
3.5/5
Khaled
2/5
Way too long. It was OK but I'll never listen to it again. 2.5/5
David Crosby
3/5
If only I could remember a single song from this album.... Yes, this is a forgettable album but I enjoyed it anyway and could get on board with listening to it again. I like the laid back vibe. 3.5/5
King Crimson
2/5
To me, this sounds like aural conceit and self indulgence. I don't know if I dislike prog-rock as a genre but I know I didn't like this.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I think if I were to listen to all of Nick Cave's albums I may be able to summon a CDs worth of material I would want to listen to. As a whole, I did not enjoy this album.
Aerosmith
3/5
I don't think Aerosmith aspired to anything higher than horny rock so my expectations rose no higher than that. I'm not really an Aerosmith fan but I thought this album was fun and I enjoyed it. 3.5/5
The Beta Band
2/5
Was this painful to listen to? No, so it rises above a 1. Would I ever want to hear it again? No, so it rises no higher than a 2. I found this to be dull, bland and forgettable.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Definitely better than Trout Head Replica but by the 2nd or 3rd song I was already skipping ahead to the next song after hearing the beginning of each successive song. 2.5/5
Björk
2/5
There's a quality to her voice that appeals to me but I can't quite put my finger on it. On the other hand, I find her sing-shouting kind of off-putting and her singing style starts to sound the same from song to song. This isn't anything I could listen to for enjoyment and I will not ever revisit this.
KISS
3/5
This album had their best cover art but a better choice for a "must hear" Kiss album would have been "Alive!". When Kiss broke I was at the right age to be their target audience. I loved the whole gimmick of the band and a lot of their songs rocked. I liked this a lot more as a teen than I do now but it was kind of a fun re-visit.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Hey, an album where I could actually listen to the whole thing! It's an increasing rarity with the albums on this list. I liked the raw quality of the band's sound. The vocals take some getting used to and didn't win me over on every song. Still, I enjoyed this listen.
Depeche Mode
3/5
I'm not much of an 80's music fan but this was pretty enjoyable.
Underworld
2/5
Mind numbingly repetitive but I'm feeling generous.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
OK. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
The Darkness
2/5
I might have liked this album better with a different singer. When he moved into his upper register/falsetto it made me cringe.
Britney Spears
2/5
I'm getting a Greg Brady/Johnny Bravo vibe from this album. It's got a whiff of being a pre-packaged product that needed the right body to sell it and Britney won the honor over any number of other girls who could have served in the same role. She's got talent but I'm not a fan of her affected way of singing. I'm definitely not in the target audience for this album and I have no desire to ever hear it again.
Sabu
2/5
I don't like congas enough to enjoy this. I liked the guitar work more than I did the congas. Pass.
Queen
3/5
The feeling I have coming off this listen is "Meh". I won't ever seek this out again. 2.5/3 but I'll generously round up.
T. Rex
3/5
Exceptionally mid. There's nothing here that would compel me to listen to this again.
Frank Sinatra
5/5
Sinatra was the epitome of cool in the 50's and this album could be the soundtrack to that ethos of the time. The arrangements by Nelson Riddle were impeccable and the perfect foundation for Sinatra's great voice and phrasing. A classic!
Pavement
3/5
Some songs had me and others not so much. A pretty decent listen I probably wouldn't seek out but I wouldn't object to hearing it again.
Stephen Stills
3/5
Love The One You're With is a banger and until just now, I thought it was a CSN song. I enjoyed this though I was not a fan of the songs with strings/big band.
Sleater-Kinney
1/5
This was not my thing at all and the lead vocalist's voice was really annoying.
Green Day
4/5
I liked the energy. Even though there were a lot of songs, they were were short and punchy so they didn't wear out their welcome. This really isn't typically my kind of thing but it won me over and I enjoyed it. It was fun and a pretty solid album.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
This was OK. She's the type of artist where I could listen to her 1 or 2 times (tops) in a year's time because I kind of like the soul vibe. If I heard her any more frequently than that I'd probably get annoyed with her vocal affectations.
Ray Charles
5/5
I enjoyed this from front to back. Ray Charles was a treasure!
The Birthday Party
1/5
I couldn't bear listening to this stress-inducing cacophony.
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
This album summoned idyllic images of sitting at a shaded table in a charming town square sipping a refreshing alcoholic beverage as I listened to this band while watching couples dance. Great stuff and a lovely, enjoyable listen.
Iggy Pop
2/5
I didn't enjoy this. I didn't hear anything compelling enough to ever want to hear it again.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Listening to this I didn't pick up that it was a concept album. "Voices Of Old People" serves that concept I guess but I didn't think that it should have been included. Maybe they relented so Artie could have a win. These two were meant to be together vocally and this is a pretty solid album. 3.5/5
The Stranglers
3/5
Nothing earth shattering or sophisticated here but who really cares? I liked it enough to listen to everything all the way through and I'd listen again.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
I do not understand the appeal of this guy at all. This was awful.
The Byrds
3/5
The instrumentals were truly awful but the rest was listenable. I preferred their country rock to this psychedelic flavored offering. This was uneven for me but I'll generously round up. 2.5/5
Dusty Springfield
3/5
This is the type of stuff I would have been exposed to as a child growing up before I was old enough to seek out and make music choices of my own so there's a stylistic general familiarity and comfort factor working here. The only song here I've heard before is Son of a Preacher Man. I like her voice. The best way to describe how I felt about this album is that I'm positively neutral.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
I didn't hate it but more often than not this wouldn't appear on my vibe spectrum.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Christmas came early for me this year, this is the last Nick Cave album I'll be forced to endure! How is it that f-ing Nick Cave gets 5 albums listed in this book and in comparison, legendary artists like Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Joni Mitchell get only 4 mentions? Mega-legendary Bob Dylan and the Beatles merited 7 mentions and Nick Cave still gets 5?!! Where is the perspective? It seems to me he got 4-5 too many mentions. It just goes to show you the crappy choices the author consistently made for the book. This album was a drag and depressing to listen to. Good riddance to Nick Cave.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
The popularity of Rumours wasn't because it was just a passing fad or a product of its time. Its popularity was earned from being such a strong collection of outstanding songs. This was and is an all-time classic.
808 State
1/5
This is dance music, not listening music. I had to fast forward through the whole thing.
Ash
3/5