Just fine. Not bad, but not really my cup of tea. Lots of repetitive synth which isn’t always my thing. Heads Will Roll was a familiar song for me - one of those songs you know but wouldn’t have been able to name. I did enjoy Dragon Queen at the end of the album, just had a great beat. Otherwise, nothing stuck out to me and I’d say it was just alright.
Lots to like in terms of instrumentation and music regardless of how you feel about the lyrics and overall concept.
In terms of the concept, I was skeptical at first because an album about a state doesn’t sound like a good concept. That being said, I think it was executed well and the more I dove into the concept and the history the more intrigued I was by it all.
This being my first introduction to Sufjan Stevens, I get the impression that he does whatever he wants with his music and doesn’t give a donk what the mainstream tendencies might be. I like that.
Solid album overall and worth a revisit.
I understand this is an important album in the history of punk rock but it just wasn’t my thing. Maybe I just don’t like punk rock enough to appreciate it, but aside from the occasional decent guitar part, there wasn’t much for me to love here.
If this isn’t a 5/5 album I don’t know what is. With that classic hard-rock bluesy guitar sound and fantastic vocals, there’s a lot to love. It’s a consistent album in terms of quality and style which can be surprisingly hard to find so it’s very much appreciated when I do.
I tend to dunk on the 80s a bit when I talk about music. That being said, this album is an easy 5/5 for me, which took me a little by surprise due to my general attitude towards the decade. I loved the mostly instrumental track - Broken. That was one I hadn’t heard before. I also took an instant liking to The Working Hour as soon as I heard the saxophone intro. Of course, I already knew the big hits and was happy to be listening to them again - felt like I stepped into an 80s movie.
Easy listening right here. It’s hard not to love it!
Nothing offensive about this musically but I guess it’s just not really my taste. Nothing really excited me or stood out
Really solid jazz music - just not my kind of jazz.
There is some impressive musicianship happening on these live tracks. I think the instrumentation is neat considering all 3 of the instruments used are considered “rhythm section” instruments in most forms of jazz, but each act in many roles, including soloist, in this trio.
All that being said, it’s just not where my heart lies when it comes to jazz style which is why I gotta give it a 3.
I went back and forth on this one for a while. After the first few tracks I thought I was about to give my first 1 star rating, but it got a little bit better in the second half of the album.
There were a few redeemable moments, but nothing super impressive. I don’t see myself revisiting this album.
Solid rock album but nothing special.
This album was a pleasant surprise for me. Good songs across the board, all of which showcased a solid guitar solo - I’m in.
I started this album feeling skeptical. Going into it, I wasn’t familiar with shoegaze and after the first 2 tracks I was kind of at a loss. I was reading through some other reviews and read one that said shoegaze is best enjoyed loudly and through good quality headphones - so I listened to the next few tracks just like that and I had a total “oh I get it” moment.
Theres something about the distortion and constant fuzz that my brain just likes when it’s being input directly into my ears with no outside disruption.
My parents are big Sting fans, so I was ready for an album by The Police. The big hits were ones I already knew and grew up listening to and just for nostalgia’s sake those are still my favorites from the album.
I appreciate what they were going for on the album with the combination of new wave and reggae and I think they succeeded in blending the sounds together, but I’m not a huge fan of either genre.
Oh boy. Well, when you go into an album called Oedipus Schmoedipus I guess you gotta be prepared for strange.
This album was weird to say the least. Not necessarily weird bad though, you can tell everything on this album is very intentional - I just don’t think I really understand it. I also don’t feel inclined to want to understand it though.
I was ready for some good hip-hop when I got this album. It’s not my usual genre of choice but Missy Elliot is a name everyone knows so I was fairly confident this was gonna be a good one.
Oh boy was I wrong. This album just fell flat and there honestly wasn’t a track on here that I enjoyed. For a genre that is rooted in lyricism it’s really disappointing when the lyrical content comes across so cringey because it’s way too obvious and direct. Lyricism aside, I thought maybe there would be some good beats. Nope. It was all so predictable and uninteresting. Super disappointing album overall.
This album was just alright. Nothing to write home about, but I did enjoy some of the instrumentation and there were moments on a few tracks that sounded very “circus.”
Gotta say I appreciate the little moments outside of the normal expectations.
Completely new album/band for me and I gotta say I was very pleased with it! I’m a big fan of that bluesy rock sound. Every track hit the mark for me and I think I’ve found a few new tracks to put into my regular rotation!!
I could see how some of these songs might be considered catchy and likable - if they weren’t all on an album together. It’s just repetitive track after repetitive track, and I was over it about a quarter of the way into the album.
Pink Floyd just does weird and unexpected so well - and I love it.
I’ve always found prog rock and psychedelic music interesting, so an album like this hits the mark for me. I’d never heard Pink Floyd’s debut album before and I’m not sure I would have if it weren’t for this project!!
This album brought me some joy this morning for sure - I enjoyed its unique sound and experimentation. Plus it was cool to hear how such an iconic and influential band started out.
If you know me you know I love a good lil funky groove. This album was such a great way to start my Friday morning.
It’s the perfect balance between being repetitive enough to be catchy and interesting enough to keep you engaged.
Music like this just makes ya feel good! Clearly, I need more funk and disco in my life.
This album was solid in the fact that it felt pretty cohesive despite the variety in style on some of the tracks.
There wasn’t anything majorly amazing that stood out to me on this one but I could see myself enjoying a few of the songs individually.
It’s giving Beatles, but make it 80s.
I think I’d have to look into the concept a bit more to really appreciate the album, but it really wasn’t bad.
Really solid album overall. I found myself enjoying the more upbeat tracks more than the slow ones, but none were bad!
Big hit or miss energy on this one.
One song I’d be really uninterested and the next I would be thinking “oh now this one is potentially good.”
What’s truly interesting is that for such a wishy-washy album, somehow all the tracks still managed to sound the same - honestly it’s impressive 🤔
Great album. Shoegaze but make it shimmer.
If you’re stuck on the fact that you can’t understand the lyrics you’re focused on the wrong thing. Allow yourself to accept the vocals as another part of the musical track and embrace what they add to the album.
You don’t need words to feel something.
20ish albums deep in the project, this was the best one so far.
Every single track was an absolute banger.
I’d say I’m a fan of Indie rock so I was excited to get an indie rock album but I gotta say there was nothing memorable about this one.
The first half of the album just dragged, and the way they used the organ as a continuous drone in at least half of the tracks really killed even the songs that otherwise wouldn’t have been so bad.
Disappointing album.
Solid album. I don’t have a ton to compare it to within its own genre but I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This album was alright. I’d say that the singer’s voice is a bit of an acquired taste but the general sound of the band is good. Good, but not memorable.
I will say I got a kick out of 5-4=Unity which I interpreted as a take on Brubeck’s Take 5.
Nina Simone has such a unique and impressive voice, so she gets automatic points for that. This is a good album, with a couple of iconic singles, which I enjoyed.
This album is considered a jazz standard for a reason.
Banger after banger after banger.
I have beef with Korn.
Listening to this album justified it.
This album was kind of a wild ride. The second track, for free?, came on and I swear I started buffering - am I listening to jazz rap? Is that a thing? This is….interesting?
I really appreciate all the jazz influences Kendrick Lamar brought in throughout the album, and it is definitely an interesting album because of what he did musically that was outside the box for typical hip-hop. That being said, as much as I’m glad to have heard the album, I probably wouldn’t revisit it.
Also, the last track really only needed to be the last 2 minutes on the album with the spoken word poem about the caterpillar and the butterfly. I’m into long tracks - as long as they are interesting. 12 minutes of the same flow with very little going on musically is not going to be a strong finish to an album.
At first I thought it wasn’t good but it also wasn’t bad. Then, about half way through the album I started getting pretty annoyed that I was still listening to it. It’s just the same stuff over and over. There’s no substance.
Solid 60s rock. Gotta say though, the guitarist is putting in most of the work to keep the tracks interesting.
New album and artist for me in a genre that I hadn’t gotten anything from so far in the project!
This album was like a breath of fresh air. Her voice is fantastic and it’s that old school country sound that is just so easy to love.
Love Christmas classics and the listening enjoyment was certainly enhanced by the fact that it was actually Christmas Day.
I think a Christmas album is an odd choice for this list though and would have been less positively received any other day of the year.
Not bad, but I don’t think it’s Sinatra’s best work. Just not as memorable as some of his other stuff.
There wasn’t a bad track on this album. Just banger after banger after banger.
This was another pleasant surprise. I was not super familiar with Janelle Monáe’s discography going into this album and was under the assumption that she just did hip hop.
This album was all over the place stylistically but was also super cohesive. Despite all the different genre influences on this album the songs transitioned into each other pretty seamlessly- so much so that I didn’t always know when a new song had started.
This album definitely explores a wide range of options and influences which is super cool and much appreciated.
Good but not great. I think I had high hopes since Bowie gets so hyped up and it didn’t quite live up to the hype.
About what I expected from a Coldplay album. Not bad, but it’s just a “one-note” album.
I think the lyricism is the standout material of this album, which is great since that’s such a pillar of hip hop/rap. That being said, there wasn’t a ton that stuck with me after a day. So I’d say it’s good, but not great.
This album was strange and hard to access - and I loved it!
I quite enjoyed this. There were some really wicked guitar solos.
If you actually like rock, you won’t like this.
The title track was definitely the stand out of this album and I think it helped elevate this album a lot but it was all good.
I’m not always a fan of punk so I was prepared for a bad album - but I was pleasantly surprised! This sounded very experimental which I always enjoy. There wasn’t a single bad track on this album.
Kate Bush didn’t have to go this hard but I’m glad she did. This album definitely has that 80s feel but it is so refreshingly different from most of the other new wave stuff from the decade. The first half of the album is full of the well known hits and the second half of the album is so unique and interesting. Best of both worlds!
The music here was alright, not bad. Biggest problem here is that the production is way to clean for my personal taste.
Good stuff. Arena rock isn’t my favorite style of rock but there is no denying that most of these tunes are classic bangers.
Great album! I loved the musical interludes and having them as separate tracks makes them easier to find. I’m also not usually big in listening to live performances but it just felt right on this album. A lot of the audience interaction added to the music, in my opinion. Good stuff.
Great album. Aretha Franklin is one of the most iconic voices of recent times. Each track held its own and the ones that were more on the simple side were aided by Aretha’s impressive vocals.
Absolutely iconic. Dancing in the kitchen kind of music.
Had no idea what to expect going into this besides the fact that it wasn’t gonna be the typical surf rock that The Beach Boys are typically associated with. Each track was uniquely strange and that made it an interesting album to listen to, but it also made it feel like it wasn’t a cohesive album. Glad I’ve heard it once, but don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to it again.
Not a remarkable album, but I don’t think it’s bad! There are some really nice moments in the guitar parts and the album has a cohesive sound to it.
I’m not in love with it, but it’s certainly not as bad as some of the reviews I read made it seem!
This is the kind of album that makes me glad I started this project. This is clearly a significant album, but one that I might not have heard if it weren’t for this generator!
I loved the way the audience interactions played into the live recordings and Johnny Cash is such a talented musician - makes me realize that I need to listen to more of these old school country artists.
You don’t gotta twist my arm to get me to listen to Steely Dan.
I can appreciate what Sonic Youth was doing here, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to this again.
I wasn’t sure about this one in the first half. It was the instrumental tracks at the end that saved it for me.
Ella is fantastic. Gershwin is fantastic. Ella doing the Gershwin songbook - double fantastic.
I get that there’s a 3 hour version, if that’s not your thing listen to the best of the best album that the site links you to. It’s 40 minutes of great music.
Of course I’d heard OF the Grateful Dead but oddly enough I’d never actually heard any of their music until now. Not what I was expecting, but right up my alley. I will certainly be listening to more of their stuff going forward.
A pleasant new album/band for me. I’ve been in love with the American folk/folk rock scene but hadn’t even considered looking past that to find British folk rock. Lots of these songs brought an instant smile to my face as they came on out of sheer appreciation for the style and instrumentation. Very much enjoyed this album.
It was like 30 something minutes of the same thing over and over again. Hard to enjoy it.
Singer? Sure. Songwriter? Please no.
Even though Suzanne Vega has a nice enough voice, every track here sounds the same - and it’s not even that good.
I KNOW that Bob Dylan is a fantastic and important musical figure and he laid a lot of groundwork for one of my favorite genres of music, but I gotta admit I wasn’t sold in the first half of the album. It really picked up in the back half though, which saved the album in my opinion.
As I listened through this album I found my self instantly loving some songs, and the rest neither made me excited or angry, so I could listen again and I’d be fine but I’d just as soon play something different. Solid middle ground.
The only redeemable track on this album is the one without vocals. I’m not even a person whose first focus is lyrics but the vocalists talk-singing and cheesy lyrics completely ruin anything good the band may be doing.
Some nice moments here and there, but that’s it.
Never realized just how unhinged Sting was. Between Mother, Every Breath You Take, and Murder by Numbers, you can really paint an interesting picture…
Surprised by this one. Not my usual style but found myself really enjoying some of it. Probably every other song. Not consistent at all but I was more invested than I thought I’d be for sure!
There was so much going on and yet nothing of any substance.
Not as bad as I was prepared for it to be, but ultimately it’s just nice background music. With that in mind, I have a hard time justifying it’s relevance on this list.
You know, I’d mostly written The White Stripes off - and this didn’t change my mind on that front at all HOWEVER it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. There is a certain charm to the rawness of their music. That being said, it gets boring quick.
Can’t go wrong with Stevie Wonder
The only thing I liked here was the timbre of the guitar, so that’s better than nothing.
I mean, it wasn’t “make me angry” bad - but I can’t say I’d ever listen to it again.
Iconic part of music history and the grunge movement for a reason. Not my usual style but a solid album nonetheless.
I’m sure I just don’t get it.
This was probably one of the better rap albums I’ve listened to recently, but I still have the same problem I normally do which is just that the lyrics simply don’t resonate with me - that being said I did still find them interesting and compelling enough for me to find some enjoyment in the album.
Electronic music never hits the spot for me, and this was no exception.
I'll tell you want I did like...the use of an organ on a song titled "organ donor"
Not my style but I loved the samples and references within the music. I’m honestly just impressed that he was able to bring in Holst, Gloria Gaynor, and School House Rock all on one album and yet as abstract and all over the place as that sounds the album was incredibly cohesive.
Didn’t live up to the hype
I hated it, but also - I respect it.
This just kept getting worse and worse - the album was just all over the place and there wasn’t enough talent to back up the range of style.
I don’t get the hate. I plan to revisit this one. I’m a fan a Steely Dan though so I guess it would make sense that I liked this too.
This is like peak early 2000s hip hop/R&B. Can’t believe I had never heard of it before.
Is he stalking this girl or does he just really love horses? The world may never know.
Really cool story and interesting improv. I'm not usual a huge listener of solo piano but I could see myself coming back to this.
Liked this more than I thought I would honestly.
Definitely a unique album but incredibly well composed and cohesive. A happy find for me.
Best listened to on vinyl - laying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. Obviously this is an iconic album. It really does an amazing job of capturing a shared human experience and is a wonderfully constructed piece of art.
This list continues to convince me that I don’t like punk music ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Not really an album I’d come back to, but I was intrigued by some of the choices regarding instrumentation and production.
I found myself really enjoying a large potion of this album. There are some really tasty bass licks and the tracks have a lot of energy and movement.
Hell yeah. I only wish the whole album was available on Spotify so I could add it to my collection.
It’s nostalgic, but more than that it’s exactly what you expect and want from it. I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it’s good.
I think Annie Lenox is an amazing talent but this album was just fine.
This late-stage 70s blues rock is my bread and butter.
Good and this style is what I tend to lean towards, but I'm not so sure it's even the best thing I've heard from The Byrds.
As someone who is usually indifferent to both electronica and pop - I fuck with this
Very eh - just okay. Wouldn't revisit.
So much soul and feeling - a live album is the only way to capture B.B. King’s talent and emotion.
You had me at vibraphone.
Iconic girl group. Top tier.
This is so dated, and I’m sure it slapped in 1989, but it’s not the best hip hop I’ve heard. It’s not been the best old school hip hop I’ve heard.
Man is shredding so hard he’s gotta explain it to you so you can try to appreciate it.
I was most looking forward to this album being over
