I made it. Album numero one hundredo. One hundred albums that I have successfully listened to before I have died. The dev of this website sells the process of listening to all of these albums as a journey, and I'd certainly agree. From the familiar peaks of some of my all-time favourite albums to the comfortable "reprieve" albums to the shocking swings and misses, I feel like I've already been through a lot despite only clearing a tenth of the list. While I don't exactly have the most positive rating average, I can say with certainty that I've loved every second of it. I've developed somewhat of a fascination with checking user profiles over the course of working my way through this list. I've noticed that the majority of users either peter out after 20 - 40 albums (as did I, initially), power their way through this list or find ways to slowly keep clawing ahead. There's a sombre, meditative quality to slowburning my way through this 3-year project. So many lives and people that I will never know beyond the faceless blocks of text that populate these pages. At the same time, I can't help but look at how much time this process demands. Will I be a changed "music appreciator" come the end of this list? Will I be happier and more fulfilled than I am now? I hope so. In the time since I initially gave up on this project in January of 2024 and picked it up again in October of the same year, my appreciation for music has changed dramatically. What once was another hobby of mine has grown into becoming one of my few current interests. As a way of counterbalancing the albums on this list that I don't care for, I've started listening to music that personally interests me on the side, which results in a metric shitton of my time being dedicated to music listening. Out of the hundred albums that I've listened to thus far, there are two new albums that have entered my rotation (A Wizard / A True Star and The Stone Roses) - none of which I've had the foresight to rate above a 3. If I end up with 12 new albums that I really like by the end of this list, I'll consider that a win. Anyways, moke sweed erryday ganja 420 I love injecting crackarooski crack rocks into my system that's some mighty darn fine KUSH!!!! I LOVE WEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never heard of these guys before. I'm not sure what the minimum runtime for an album should be in order to make the list, but these guys are definitely pushing it on this one. I wonder how long the shortest album on this list will be. It's just more 60s rock, which is a make of album that I fully expect to be numbered into the mid-hundreds by the end of this list. It's pleasing enough and pretty easy to listen to, though there isn't anything on here that makes me want to return. Creedence Clearwater Revival are surprisingly really popular for a band that I've heard absolutely nothing about. I can't complain about them being on this list for no reason.

Pretty bumpy listen. I was excited to be given something more contemporary to listen to and thought the package design of album was pretty neat, but I became quickly dismayed with the album when I hit play and got confronted with just how ass the first track was. The remaining tracks managed to reel me back in a bit with some alright instrumentation, but I continued to get smacked over the head with some incredibly baffling choices in instruments. At the very least, I'm grateful for the experience.

She just can't hit those high notes

Third strongest mole? Second strongest infant? Are embryos gonna start ranking each other by strength next? No clue where or how this album is breaking new ground, but I thought it was pretty cool and is definitely in the key of music that I enjoy. My only real gripe is the overambition. You have to be pretty confident in your material to go for songs that are over seven minutes in length, and I didn't feel like any of the ones on this album had enough substance to justify their long runtimes. The sterile and stagnant nature of this music is a double-edged sword, however, as I can see myself putting this on when I want to relax or get into a flow state. I'll have to see where the cards fall in the future.

I quite like the heavy production - it's certainly a far harsher sound than I was expecting from this genre, though something about it fails to land with me. All the tracks blend together and the crooning vocals keep this from being something I'd want to come back to.

Listening to this while waiting for the train after a Christmas shift is something that I'm sure will become a nice memory somewhere in the not-too-distant future. To my non-American musical sensibilities, however, I must admit that I find the songs on here to be about as unsynonymous with the holiday season as humanly possible. What really offends is how indistinguishable the vocals and instrumentals are between songs, save for some of the hookier parts of the choruses. This album screams 'produced' to me more than any other album I've heard, with how little of a vision there is and how corporate the nature of it's existence is. Can't say I agree with the decision to lump this in with many of the greatest albums ever made sheerly for the modicum of cultural relevance that it has.

Never been able to get into metal, likely because the hardcore image that I have in my head is betrayed by all the repetitious, indistinguishable crunchy guitar riffs and tepid vocals. This album is no exception

First blues album, and one of the very few live albums I've ever bothered to listen to. I imagine this is more gratifying for those familiar with the discography of B.B. King, as sonically it does nothing to break the blues mould and has an appeal entirely reliant on the charisma of B.B. King and the chemistry of the audience. It's not half bad, just painfully samey.

It took 4 years and an entire website to get me to listen to the Baba O'Riley album, but I'm somewhat appreciative for finally getting around to it. The main draw is lightning in a bottle, but what lightning they were able to catch!

I can kinda get into the songwriting and instrumentals, though Little Richard's voice is far too abrasive for me.

She just can't hit those high notes

Some pretty great instrumentals in here despite the majority of their short runtimes, and it fulfils the purpose of a live album pretty well, with lively and significant the occasion feels. Vocally and lyrically, however, I must admit I'm not at all moved by this

Surprised to see such a recent album on this website. Did this actually make it into any of the books? I enjoy these midsummery, daydreamy kinds of albums, though none of the genres featured on this one resonate with me all that much. The experience of listening to this was much snoozier than I would have preferred, though it may be possible for me to come around to it on my mandatory relisten

Some pretty interesting genres on this one. The admittedly listenable first half of the album becomes increasingly indistinguishable as it goes on. It's possible that there are some interesting lyrics on here, though as someone ambivalent to the grassroots flair of singer-songwriters, I didn't care too much about listening keenly

Finally. An album I like.

The White Stripes are kind of an anomaly to me. Apparently they're an acclaimed act and apparently this is one of the best albums of the 2000s, yet I never run into anyone who claims to be a huge fan of the band, and I've never been recommended any of their music. I'll chalk it up to them simply being outside my sphere of interest. Pretty unremarkable stuff all around, but it's at the very least listenable. The gimmicky nature of the band makes for some pretty banging music videos, at the very least. Update: I somehow appreciate this much less on my second listen than I did on my first lol

Iconic ass cover. Glad I could finally get around to listening to the album that it hails from. At the expense of giving anyone reading this complete whiplash, I don't think the 80s and I will ever get along, especially when it comes to new wave. All of the music is pretty indistinguishable and bog-standard to me, and the vocals are just horrific.

This site really wants me to get my fill on live albums. Can't say I complain. Like all of the other live albums I've listened to, I think it's pretty hard to get a feel for these songs when I have no prior experience with the studio versions. To a non Thin Lizzer, and with zero audience interaction or any transformation of these songs that I can gleam, this album was excruciatingly long and boring for me. On the bright side, I had no idea that "The Boys Are Back In Town" was an Irish export. That's pretty cool

I'm of the persuasion that there are no good songs under two minutes in length (with the notable exception of You Gave Your Love To Me Softly), so this was more than a little challenging for me, to say the least. On the bright side, this did resonate with me more than the other albums I've listened to on this website. I may appreciate it more on a second listen

Knew it wouldn't be long before I encountered my unofficial official favourite band of all time on here (I'm in a permanent love affair with Modest Mouse - it's complicated). Gotta be honest, I've never really been much of an In Rainbows guy. It's a damn good album, but I find it to be more than a little sterile coming off the back of HTTT and all massively conceptual albums that precede it. There are definitely some good cuts on here, though. I can't deny that.

>Badass mushroom cloud album art >Look inside >Boring jazz music

It's nuts hearing this after listening to the milquetoast Songs of Leonard Cohen. 80s synth music is shockingly bad. Sorry not sorry!!

I've only recently become privy to how overproduced modern country is becoming. One would think that autotune and all of the other modern pop sensibilities would run contrary to what the genre represents. Still, as an enjoyer of musical junk food, unplugging my mind to this one wasn't all that bad. Whatever slot that this album occupies could have very easily gone to Emergency & I. No, I'm not being a petty asshole because one of my favourite album didn't make the list

Another band that I just don't get. Live Forever is palatable, but the remaining songs are a sludge of washed out instrumentals and horrible vocals.

Oh my God, it's September band!!!!!! I'm a huge fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's alright, though I can't see what differentiates this album from the other funk albums of the time, or the other albums in Earth, Wind & Fire's discography. Still, pretty alright. That 6-minute ballad from midway through the album do be suckin, doe

Brits trying to be yanks... How sordid

The camp factor is off the charts with this one, which I enjoy. I'm just not that much of a soul/funk guy.

I'm a big enough man to admit that me and Joni got off on the wrong foot. This is pretty alright now that she's dropped the screeching harpy act from Blue. Very pleasant lyrics and instrumentals.

Pleasant enough. Fast car is the the obvious highlight, and the remaining songs are listenable, albeit derivative.

Another darn done diddily live album. I'll probably drop to the ground from oxygen deprivation as a consequence of saying the same things over and over again before I get through all of these. LIGHTING ROUND, BAYBEEE!!!! It's pleasant enough. I'd enjoy any live performance in-person, but think the experience is stripped back when listening to it on a record. I find it hard to appreciate live albums when I have no familiarity with the artist's main discography.

Spaced out a lot during this one, but it's still listenable. I kinda enjoyed the guitars. Maybe funk isn't for me, doe

S'alright, which is a more than glowing endorsement when it comes to hip hop for me. I quite enjoyed the instrumentals on these tracks, and I found myself warming to some of the vocal performances and lyrics. The Kanye track was my favourite, which surprised me as I have next to no familiarity with his discography. I may give some of his albums a listen when I clear my current backlog

These tags should work for me, but they don't. The songwriting is really weak, the vocals are tepid and uninspiring and the instrumentals put me to sleep. Still, glad to be more cultured on my favourite genre of music by listening to this (alternative rock)

The only thing I know about these guys is that they gave me an album that was impossible to remove during my brief stint as an iPhone owner. I tried every trick in the book to delete the thing and it would be back in my library flashing it's smarmy, homoerotic cover at me the following week. Oh, yeah. This isn't that. It's vaguely within the key of music I'd enjoy, but it reeks too much of the decades that precede it. Can't say I'm a fan.

Really didn't like this one. There's something uniquely insulting about how boring it is.

I think I finally understand why so many people became fed up with disco in the 80s. All of these tracks are perfectly serviceable as lone experiences, but become a bit of a drag on one another when paired together. I was quite surprised to discover that We Are Family contains the We Are Family song. It never struck me as being a disco track in my vague recollections of the song

Appreciate the opportunity to listen to something which is far outside my comfort zone and comes from a country that I have no interest in exploring the musical history of. Aside from that, this music is pretty tepid, uninspired and drawn out

Quite possibly the worst album I've listened to thus far. It's derivative, indistinct and inauthentic, yet somehow manages to offend me in ways that it's thankfully short runtime can't atone for.

Pretty bumpy listen. I was excited to be given something more contemporary to listen to and thought the package design of album was pretty neat, but I became quickly dismayed with the album when I hit play and got confronted with just how ass the first track was. The remaining tracks managed to reel me back in a bit with some alright instrumentation, but I continued to get smacked over the head with some incredibly baffling choices in instruments. At the very least, I'm grateful for the experience.

Pretty cool - I'll have to give this one another listen sometime in the future. While a lot of the songs are too long for their own good, the strong instrumental and vocal performances more than compensate for the lack of brevity

Unlike most of the other albums I've listened to on this website, I can see clear as day where this album innovates as well as the impact that it has on popular music. I just don't think that the genre it belongs to is all that good. Most of the praise I've heard about Amy Winehouse is linked to how personal and sassy/funny her music is. Maybe I got off on the wrong foot by starting out with this album instead of Back to Black, but these lyrics are all incredibly boring to me.

How exactly this albums breaks into "greatest of all time" territory beats me, though I'm not complaining. It's very nice lyrically, instrumentally and vocally. Thank you, one thousand and one albums generator dot com.

My unofficial, official favourite album of all time, and I don't really know what to say about it. The hidden booklet was pretty cool. The Kid A blips and all of the other associated artworks are some of my all-time favourite pieces of visual art. Cuttooth, one of the early songs from the Kid A sessions, is the best song I've ever heard. Okay, okay. It's the most subversive, most textured album I've ever listened to. There's always a new melody or instrument that I'm able to isolate and pick apart whenever I put on this album. Listening along to the lyrics is one of the most unique experiences I've had with an album, where the words only really carry meaning and emotion when looked at in isolation. The title track is my favourite song off this album, which is a somewhat controversial one if I recall correctly. The muffled vocals are one of Thom's most unique vocal performances, it's one of the more stylistically diverse offerings from the album and the lyrics are beautiful and tragic in an abstract and nondescript way, which serves as perfect summation of the album as a whole. As far as truly ambiguous and interpretive lyrics go, you can't beat How to Disappear Completely. I've always looked at the song more positively than most, where the desire for Thom to disassociate is curtailed by the instrumental becoming more burdened and intense as it goes along, beautifully illustrating that no one is truly alone or beyond help.

I like weird shit. Can you blame me?

Deathly, deathly boring. There's not a single good tune in this album's jewel case

This website has been busting out the heaters lately. The second half lacks what the first gets right and has songs that are stretched a little too thin for my liking, but on the whole this is quite good. One of the few albums that I'm likely to return to once this entire list is behind me.

Pretty good. If there's one thing I've learned from my passing familiarity with psychedelic music, it's that I need to buckle down and listen to more of it. I'm grateful for the opportunity that this website has offered me. I really enjoy the instrumentation and texture that these songs have. I can't speak with certainty as a newcomer to the genre, but I find it hard to imagine that there are other artists with a sound quite like this one. My only real quibble with the music is that I find it hard to engage with the songs that are under three minutes in length. On an aside, the album cover is hideously kitsch and ugly. If I ever wind up downloading this album I'll probably end up setting a different image as the cover.

Probably the best new wave album I'll ever hear, though that's not saying much.

Just when I thought the sub-3 star albums was where the good stuff was, I got hit with this one. I could feel the seconds of my life leaving my body as this album went along. Incredibly bone-dry instrumentals complemented by equally tepid vocals and lyrics. In all fairness it's not the worst thing I've heard, but it's pretty far from what I'd consider good.

I've heard about this one before. I was quite surprised to discover that such a relaxed sound belongs to one of the coolest dang album covers I've seen in my life - I was half expecting this album to be grunge or sludge metal going in. The first half is quite good, but those remaining tracks pump the brakes and blend together a little too much for my liking. I've listened to this one twice now, and I'm inclined to give it more listens down the road. It was a good time all around.

It's crazy how every new wave song sounds the exact same regardless of nationality, singer or year of release. It's hard work sitting on my ass listening to the creative endeavours of others five days a week. I think I'm gonna kick my feet back, give the rest of this album a spin and see if the power of rock music is ᵃᵇˡᵉ ᵗᵒ ˢᵃᵛᵉ ᵐʸ ʷᵃⁿᶦⁿᵍ ᶦⁿᵗᵉʳᵉˢᵗ 😴😴😴😴😴😴 ˢᵉᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵘʸˢ ᵗᵒᵐᵒʳʳᵒʷ 😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴

My mum is a fan of ABBA's earlier music. Feels good to have an extra topic of conversation that I can kinda sorta talk about with her now. The first half didn't really do much for me, though I'm interested in seeing how this album aligns with the rest of ABBA's music. I wasn't expecting my first exposure to this band to be as dour and ominous as this album wound up being.

Third strongest mole? Second strongest infant? Are embryos gonna start ranking each other by strength next? No clue where or how this album is breaking new ground, but I thought it was pretty cool and is definitely in the key of music that I enjoy. My only real gripe is the overambition. You have to be pretty confident in your material to go for songs that are over seven minutes in length, and I didn't feel like any of the ones on this album had enough substance to justify their long runtimes. The sterile and stagnant nature of this music is a double-edged sword, however, as I can see myself putting this on when I want to relax or get into a flow state. I'll have to see where the cards fall in the future.

I've come to accept that I will never fully appreciate or understand hip hop, though I do have a respect for the stuff from the 90s. It's the only time where the genre was innovating with creative sampling and deliberate songwriting, and this album only adds to my case.

Oh no.... The first jazz album has dawned upon my list......... What terrors could possibly be entombed within this record..................... It's pretty nice. I wasn't expecting the more uniform jazz albums to be getting a spot in the book, so I was pleasantly surprised when I put this one on and was able to quickly fall into it's relaxing atmosphere. Despite my raging hate boner for avant-garde jazz being quite sizeable and desirable to the ladies, I don't actually want to be a hater of the genre. Maybe these two artists will end up being my gateway to jazz music. I definitely feel compelled to check out more of their stuff.

Expected this one to be more hardcore than it wound up being. All of the songs blend together and lack the kick that I was expecting them to have. There's no irony lost on me that the anti-establishment, countercultural band would end up being both part of the establishment and part of the culture

I've always been fond of "nocturnal" music but have only found Self-titled by Gorillaz and Machine Says Yes by FC/Kahuna truly fit that bill. Glad to have another album to add to the pile, and for the new addition to potentially be better than the ones I already know. As someone who is generally antagonistic towards hip-hop, this album feels like it was made for me. Trip hop is the only hop-adjacent genre that I'm partial towards, I've always had a thing for plunderphonics and the muffled lo-fi sound is the cherry on top. I'm impressed by how cohesive and immersive the listening experience is with how off the wall it can be at times. I'll need to give this one another listen - preferably while cruising down a highway in the middle of the night.

Tried to like this one, but it just didn't go far enough for me. The vocals are generally off-putting and the overall direction is a bit too abstract for my liking. I enjoyed some of the lyrics, but wasn't invested in listening too closely

Pretty cool album cover - can't really say the same about the music. I can't differentiate or name any of the instrumentals on this album for the life of me, and the vocal performances are all pretty unpalatable. The lyrics seemed alright, though I didn't care about listening too closely

I'm incredibly sad to admit that I've come off of this album in the years since I first listened to it. It's no doubt one of the best, most revolutionary and subversive rock albums of all time, but I just don't feel it the way I used to. I wouldn't say my music taste has "evolved" per se - I've just come to value different things in music. I'm giving this album four stars because of the historical significance it has had it converting me into a fan of music. The music from Jet Set Radio piqued my interest, the soundtrack to FLCL sustained that interest and OK Computer was the one tipped me over. I can't imagine there being an album to do that job better than this one. All that being said, I've been slowburning my way through the OK Computer minidiscs over the past couple of months and have come away with a newfound appreciation for what this album does. There may be a second wave of enjoyment for me sometime in the future.

I sharpened me boots an' bludgeoned me eye for these tales of nautical nonsense. The voyage to the corner of the globe was a real trip, but I wouldn't say it was worth going without one kiss of your lily white lips, or that it compares to the words of the golden eel or the tale of the whale with the polka dot tail. If this album were my captain, I'd be his Jonny on the spot but wouldn't fill up his glass to the rim - I'm sure he'd be fine accepting only fresh brine. If I found this album in the sandy ground emulating the ocean's sound, it wouldn't speaketh of the trinity, gaze at the sun with it's wandering eye or summon the queen that turns fire to steam. Yarr... This pink eye (on my leg) is making me wave my dick in the wind once again. When the mist lets the sun through, I think this album did alright by me and you. I'll try and keep that in mind when I'm dancing in the show tonight.

I mean, it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. Come on, bro.

Very interesting. I'm somewhat familiar with post-hardcore music due to being a huge fan of the Dismemberment Plan a few years ago. I've always pinned the genre as walking a delicate line between unbearably annoying and thoughtful/considered songwriting, and this album consolidates my interest in the genre with how all over the place it is tonally. I enjoyed having the time to kick my feet back on this album, even if I don't think the songs earn their long runtimes. I'm interested in giving this one a closer listen sometime in the future. The lyrics seemed pretty interesting, though I'm not interested in blowing my ears out with the loudest guitars and drums known to man just yet.

The best of the \"reprieve\" albums that I've listened to thus far. This definitely only made the list because of Madonna's immense popularity, though I can't deny an album this pleasing. Downtempo trip-hoppy pop music from the 90s is one of the more sugary sweet guilty pleasures that I have.

I'm less than a tenth of the way through this list, but I feel as though I can pretty confidently call this the biggest swing and a miss that I will ever encounter on this website. I think I've consolidated what I don't like about this in my other reviews, so I'm gonna lay it out real quick in bruhllet point form 🗿https://youtu.be/Oc7Cin_87H4🗿 Live albums are near-impossible to appreciate from the perspective of a non-fan and do not belong on this list. They aren't popular, don't showcase a pivotal point in music history and don't capture the experience of listening to music live. 🗿https://youtu.be/Oc7Cin_87H4🗿 Long songs are for the artistically suicidal. Unless we're talking about one of the greatest anthems of all time - a song that will reverberate in the eardrums of millions for centuries to come, trim it down. 🗿https://youtu.be/Oc7Cin_87H4🗿 Jazz is shite, especially the freeform stuff Please load up your digital audio workstation of choice and play three vine boom sound effects together in my honor

Very mixed bag. In some areas this album is really unique and off-the-wall, but in others it plays things way too safely. I generally enjoyed the instrumentals, but Costello's vocal performances are too far on the tepid side for me. Same goes for the lyrics.

Yeah, this is a million, billion trillion percent not for me. It's hard to want to listen to this when that one frequency is constantly piercing through my eardrums and violating the innermost depths of my soul. Rather than bitching and moaning, I think I'll make this review as pasty as possible. It's hard to say with certainty since the game's from Japan, but I'm dead sure that "Imprinting" from The World Ends With You (https://youtu.be/sYHtqyJirgU&t=58) borrows the chorus from A Nigga Witta Gun but alters the lyrics to be less vulgar. Funny that they would choose this album of all things. I wouldn't say that this tidbit of trivia justifies the listen, but it's definitely a silver lining to know more about one of my favourite works of fiction.

I can't remember a single thing about this album, and I listened to it twice! I'd normally say that I'm grateful for the experience of listening to new music, but it's hard to when I never even had an experience to begin with.

Pretty interesting as far as genre-blending albums go. This is one of the few albums to truly fall into that middle ground between two, three or however many music genres that this band intended to mesh together. I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll never hear another album quite like this one. However, did it stick the landing? Uhhhh...

I'm really not a fan of the era and genre of popular music that this album belongs to - it's the most manufactured and commercial that a countercultural movement has ever been. All of the kinks that would be on an album like this have been completely smoothed out, and everything else is shined to the point of having nothing to latch onto. It's admittedly pleasing, though only superficially. On a positive, this album definitely belongs on the list. I can't think of a more popular album that I've skimped out on listening to.

Previously on me reviewing music or something idk what to call this. "...On a positive, this album definitely belongs on the list. I can't think of a more popular album that I've skimped out on listening to." Wasn't expecting to come full circle so soon. When I first started out with listening to music I didn't have any bands that I was definitively into, but really wanted to be able to talk about music. The result was me briefly latching onto this band and album as a way of proving that I knew my stuff. The thing is, I had only listened to a snippet of Smells Like Teen Spirit and knew next to nothing about Nirvana, which resulted in some of the most embarrassing conversations that I've ever had in my life. To this day I've refused to touch this band and album out of shame. So... Now that I'm finally listening to it... I can say with confidence... That it's alright. The big hits are pretty good, but everything else drags super hard, especially during the second half. While I've criticised some of the other "hardcore" albums I've encountered on this list for not being nearly tough enough, I thought the restrained and pensive sound of this album was quite neat. I'm interested to know more about what the lyrics are getting at in the future - I couldn't make out what Kurt was saying half of the time.

Simultaneously too much and too little. The long tracks go on for days and a lot of the shorter ones finished without grabbing my attention. There are some good points to this album. I enjoy how weird and experimental the sound can be - particularly on "Chance Meeting". Would, by the way. For your information. In case you might like to know. For your perusal. As a matter of fact. Truth be told.

Of all the things I thought this album cover would be, I never could have guessed that it was a flower. This album is more than competent from a musical perspective, but the vocals and lyrics don't do much for me. I'm surprised by how recent this album is, even if it does bare a few musical tropes that were popular at the time of release. Hope this album means I'll be getting more stuff from the noughties - I've been drowning in 90s music for the past couple of albums. I enjoyed this more on my second listen. The vocals are pretty alright once you get used to them.

It's alright. Definitely listenable, but I didn't really feel as though I got anything from listening to this one outside of a few songs that I've heard in passing. The spread of genres is pretty interesting. If the R&B/funk roots were trimmed I could see myself liking this one.

The Rolling Stones are kind of anomalous to me. I know that they're one of the most popular music artists of all time, but I've heard absolutely nothing about them. I've crossed paths with all of the other artists that Wikipedia considers to be the most commercially successful, but still haven't heard a positive word about the Stones despite their music vaguely being within my sphere of interest. Let It Bleed was insultingly bad to me with how inauthentic the pseudo-American vocals were. This albums is a massive step up simply due to not being that, but I'm still not sold on this band. All of the songs blend together, and the vocals are pretty subpar across the board.

A loveable mess. I will forever die on the Hail To the Thief hill as being the last truly great album from Radiohead, and their high point in a few respects. Having initially listened to their discography in a mostly-chronological order, I can't express how gratifying it was to hear Radiohead go full menace and paranoia, being a sound that I had been teased oh-so-graciously by with songs such as Street Spirit, Climbing up the Walls, The National Anthem and all of Amnesiac. From a lyrical perspective, this is easily the highlight of Radiohead's discography, even if some parts are rightfully infamous. The themes of docility, terror and subversion are about as relevant to today's age as they were when this album released, and there's an artfulness to the symbolism and metaphor that I really dig - it's perfectly suited to Thom's wistful and intense singing voice. From a musical perspective, this is quite possibly their most ambitious album in an ocean full of heavy hitters. It lacks the fidelity and ambition of the albums I consider to be greater than this one, but it mangles, stomps and blends their sounds together into a gloriously diverse and robust package (with a generous helping of kraut rock, to boot). As an aside, I would like to say that I quite enjoy the B-Side material from this era of the band. Paperbag Writer became an instant favourite of mine with it's gloriously skittish and ungratifying sound. I am Citizen Insane and Where Bluebirds Fly are interesting curios of a post-Kid Amnesiac Radiohead and the remaining songs are all really pleasant and nice. A great break from how full-on the rest of the album's material is. It's way too long and there may be a few songs that are potentially, quite possibly, bad, but nothing can break my love for this album. It doesn't deserve to be the lowest rated post-Pablo Honey King of Limbs non-inclusive album on every music cataloging site.

Wasn't expecting an old country banger to have this generous a helping of man ass on the cover. I thought the hat in his back pocket was either a hot water bottle or whoopee cushion until I put it under closer inspection (not because I was scrutinising his ass I am straight I am not a homosexual) It's pretty good, even if it's appeal is a little fleeting. I used to think the mixture of singer-songwriter with pop songwriting was a more contemporary thing, but I guess there's always been music like this. Cool to know that there's meat on the bones of these lyrics, though I was never compelled to give em a close listen.

Out of all the new albums I've listened to thus far, this is the one that I've tried to like the most. There's an elegance to the instrumentals on this album that separate it from virtually every other prog/hard rock album that I've listened to, and the lyrics are pretty great on the whole. Not to mention the fantastic album cover - it really is a complete package. This album just doesn't click or resonate with me as much as I would like it to. I'll keep this one on my radar. I've listened to this two and a half times already, so I'm partial to giving it more listens down the road.

Really caught in the middle on this one. I vowed to rate all of the albums I like in some capacity a four out of five to counterbalance the growing number of one stars on my list, but also to avoid another A Wizard/A True Star debacle (seriously, what the hell was I thinking giving that album only a THREE out of five???). However, was this really an album I liked? It's pretty good instrumentally - way above the standard for new wave, but the lyrics and vocals are incredibly shit. I'll take the gamble. It's good, but not nearly good enough. I think the parts I dislike about this album will permanently gatekeep me from ever liking it, and it isn't nearly as conceptual as all of the other albums that I've lowballed in the past. That being said, this is quite possibly the only new wave album I'll ever like. Uhhhhh. Okay, I'll heads or tails it. Heads is a 3 and tails is a 4

Oh no... The second jazz album has hit the list, and the first Miles Davis in what I assume to be a millionty billion forthcoming avant-garde jazz albums. It's going to be a bloodbath. My list of one stars will be so lengthy that I'll be left wondering what the point of even sending these albums is. What sordid, unimaginable horrors could possibly be entombed within this record... Okay, upon further research and after actually listening to this album I've discovered that it is not Miles Davis that I have a problem with, but Charles Mingus. And that Mingus only has one album in the book. And that this isn't even avant-garde jazz. And that I enjoyed this. This review is a disaster. I'm incredibly snobby when it comes to longform music, and it is for this reason that I've had a storied history of absolutely hating the shit out of jazz. It throws a complete curveball to the way that I traditionally assess music, which is to average out a score based on how long a song holds my attention, the emotions that it draws from me and the components of it that I admire or view as exceptional. I have no problem with rating ambient music on the pretense of it being something that isn't meant to hold my attention, but I can't bring myself to engage with jazz in the same way. I've always got an air of cerebral and distinguished songwriting from the way that people discuss jazz, which is completely invisible to me whenever I put on a jazz album. It all blends together, and in the case of the more experimental stuff, becomes a completely insulting cacophony of noise. It's because of this experience that I have a natural skepticism towards non-musicians that claim to fans of jazz. I can't understand how people can point to a specific song or moment on these albums that is exceptional or groundbreaking if they don't understand music theory or the way that these albums go against the proven formula. Anyways, to get back on track and to make up for the fact that I can't say anything specific about this album: Do I remember a specific moment of this album? Fuck no, but I can't remember any part of this that I explicitly disliked, either. Did I feel anything while listening to this album? Is there anything I admire about it? No, and no. Have I gone above and beyond in writing my longest review at two o'clock in the morning? I think it might be time to turn a new leaf with jazz - I feel more open to it now than I ever have previously. I'll just have to separate myself from all of the discourse.

I wanted to like this album. I thought the album cover was pretty cool, so I definitely had a favourable impression of this music going in. However, whatever merit these songs have on an individual level is destroyed by how excruciating the album's length is and how much the songs blend together. Really didn't feel this one.

I was keen to give this a listen after being given Steely Dan's debut album a little over a month ago. I haven't listened to anything from these guys in the time since then, but they have been firmly lodged in the back of my mind as an artist I should give a good, fair shake to once this list is behind me. I was dismayed to discover that I like this album way less than the preceding one. I wish I could give Can't Buy a Thrill another listen to compare the things that I prefer from that album over this one, but I just don't have the time. I remember their previous album having much stronger vocal harmonies and a more vibrant sound, which I preferred, despite having instrumentals that came real close to blending together. I appreciate the effort in making songs that stand out more on this album, but I think a lot of the material on here is stretched pretty thin. I'm not one for decimal points, but if I were to delve into half-digits like I am now I'd give this album a 4.5/10. Yet, despite being the closer score, I can't bring myself to give this a 2/5. This band is undeniably pleasing, even if the approach they took on this album doesn't appeal to the more critical side of me.

I have a massive, pulsating, throbbing hate boner for many of the live albums on this list, but this one actually has merit for being a little bit of a musical curio. Never in all of music history did I think that there would be a live album that outsells the main discography of the artist that it belongs to, has singles released, is inducted into the library of congress and launches the career of the band in multiple countries. It's also performed in wholesome and based Nihongoland or something I don't know. Usual criticisms of live albums apply here. It's tough to appreciate this album without being a fan of the artist's discography. It isn't influencing the future of popular music or advancing music as an artform and it doesn't really capture the experience of listening to music live. However, it is popular. It's also pretty funny hearing a bunch of Japanese girls going absolutely batshit over this random ass yankee hard rock band, so I guess that's a plus, too. This album has the weird and rare phenomenon of being super backloaded - I'll assume that it has to do with these songs being ordered chronologically. Just when I'd completely checked out I was struck by the electric atmosphere of "I Want You to Want Me" and the appeal of the album kinda just clicked with me from then on. Never review these albums when you're actively listening to them, I guess. Gave this album a relisten and the whole thing is pretty alright. The second half remains much, much better. I'll retrieve this album from the designated "live album" pit that I threw it into earlier, where it is currently waiting to be incinerated. These fellas are rocking with "At Folsom Prison" now.

I didn't know that women became menopausal at 24. My thoughts and prayers go out to Kate Bush ❤️❤️❤️ Okay, in all fairness she definitely deserves a place on this list and more credit than I am presently giving her. I've always thought that Kate Bush existed as a sex symbol with how many times I've heard her described as an icon of traditional femininity, which is why it's nice to know that there is a craft and meaning to these songs. It's just a shame that she forgot to make them sound good. I do respect this album for daring to be whatever the hell it's trying to be, which is why I am graciously saving it from the one-star slot. I can't imagine there being a worse place for me to start out in her discography, which is why I'm gonna keep an open mind with her other albums in the future. I gave this one a relisten and I appreciate it more on the second go. The "heavy" production on these songs is pretty good for the most part, and her vocals are at most tolerable. I have no clue how to precisely articulate my thoughts on a vocal performance, but that fluttery, rolling thing she does with her voice is just terrible. Same goes for all the random screech-shouting. On an unrelated note, I'm going to my first-ever live concert on Sunday and I don't have weekend albums enabled. One of my all-time favourite bands is playing one of my all-time favourite albums, which just so happens to be included on this list. I'm going to cast all of the psychic and cosmic energy within me out into the universe so that it can force this website to recommend Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots as tomorrow's album. I have about a thousandth of a chance of this coming to fruition, but I'm confident in my luck. Please shield yourself from the incoming wall of unicode. This is powerful sorcery. ━━━━━★⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅. *･｡ﾟ✧⁺⋆˚⊹ ⟡ ݁₊ . .݁ ₊ ݁⟡ ⊹˚⋆⋆｡༄⋆˚⊹✧ ˙✧⋆⭒˚｡⋆⊹ ۪ ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ⊹ ۪ ﾟ｡⋆☾ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ｡⊹ ۪ ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ༄.ೃ࿔࿐໋✧˖°.˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧˚.˚ ༘`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁♡.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.・.ೃ࿔:･♡⋆⭒˚｡⋆°‧⋆.｡.∗⁕☆*:✧★✧:*☆⁕∗ Σ(O口O ) The algorithm getting btfo'd by my epic magic ⬆

Previously on me writing about albums: "On an unrelated note, I'm going to my first-ever live concert on Sunday and I don't have weekend albums enabled ... I'm going to cast all of the psychic and cosmic energy within me out into the universe so that it can force this website to recommend Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots as tomorrow's album." My magic isn't as powerful as I had hoped, but I've heard good news from the people who taught me. Sometime within the next 992 days, Yoshimi WILL be recommended to me. A truly amazing display of power, if I say so myself. Anyways, I'm not really digging this one. It's superficially pleasing, but doesn't really have much else going for it - a trend that I am slowly beginning to view as synonymous with funk and soul. There's some good moments. I like the piano ballads, but none of these songs really squeeze as much as they can from their better parts.

It's been forever since I was last recommended a true oldie. Glad to finally be given another one. I was pretty surprised to discover that a girl who goes by the name of Dusty Springfield was British rather than American. I'm guessing the stage name and appearance was meant to broaden her appeal to the American market, though it didn't really seem to pay off. Albums like these make me wish I had the book on hand as I have no idea what makes this album exceptional aside from being the debut work of an iconic musician. This beckons the question as to why this album is on here over the Beatles' debut. I'm not a diehard Please Please Me fan, but it's just curious to me that this is included over that album when they're so similar in content, yet so different in popularity and influence. I think I'm beginning to understand why Americans complain about the book having a strong English bias.

Pretty alright. I recognised two of the songs on this list despite 80s music being pretty far outside the music that interests me. It's from the 70s? That's nuts. Definitely ahead of the curve and deserving of the place on this list. While I'm not crazy about this album, I respect it.

I made it. Album numero one hundredo. One hundred albums that I have successfully listened to before I have died. The dev of this website sells the process of listening to all of these albums as a journey, and I'd certainly agree. From the familiar peaks of some of my all-time favourite albums to the comfortable "reprieve" albums to the shocking swings and misses, I feel like I've already been through a lot despite only clearing a tenth of the list. While I don't exactly have the most positive rating average, I can say with certainty that I've loved every second of it. I've developed somewhat of a fascination with checking user profiles over the course of working my way through this list. I've noticed that the majority of users either peter out after 20 - 40 albums (as did I, initially), power their way through this list or find ways to slowly keep clawing ahead. There's a sombre, meditative quality to slowburning my way through this 3-year project. So many lives and people that I will never know beyond the faceless blocks of text that populate these pages. At the same time, I can't help but look at how much time this process demands. Will I be a changed "music appreciator" come the end of this list? Will I be happier and more fulfilled than I am now? I hope so. In the time since I initially gave up on this project in January of 2024 and picked it up again in October of the same year, my appreciation for music has changed dramatically. What once was another hobby of mine has grown into becoming one of my few current interests. As a way of counterbalancing the albums on this list that I don't care for, I've started listening to music that personally interests me on the side, which results in a metric shitton of my time being dedicated to music listening. Out of the hundred albums that I've listened to thus far, there are two new albums that have entered my rotation (A Wizard / A True Star and The Stone Roses) - none of which I've had the foresight to rate above a 3. If I end up with 12 new albums that I really like by the end of this list, I'll consider that a win. Anyways, moke sweed erryday ganja 420 I love injecting crackarooski crack rocks into my system that's some mighty darn fine KUSH!!!! I LOVE WEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another reprieve album. I like having the time to reflect and collect my thoughts before facing whatever big album lies in wait for me around the corner. I also enjoy likening these kinds of albums to emotions or experiences - it makes the process of listening to all of these randomly-generated albums feel meaningful and part of a greater narrative. This album is like trucking through a dark, single-lane country road in the middle of the night, waiting for a radio transmission to pierce through the dark, lonely veil that hangs over me. I also liken it to sitting alone in a motel bar alone with a smoke and a glass of gin while drifting in and out of consciousness - too tired to remain awake, but too pensive to fall asleep. I really came around to this album during the second half, which is usually indicative of me not paying enough attention to the first few tracks. I'm going to give this one a relisten tomorrow, as I do with all of the albums on this list (God help me).

Another one of these. I've been pretty bummed out by the selection of 2000s albums so far, and among my least favourite trends to come from the noughties was the popularisation of indie music. I admit that it's partly because I like belonging in a smaller pool of music listeners, but also because it brought a whole ton of wank bands that are indie in name but not in spirit. This album is the kind of music you'd bring up when talking with a work colleague. It carries an air of respect with it's cool, suave sound and flashy German name, but peek underneath the exterior and there's absolutely nothing going on. On a positive, I think Take Me Out is pretty good. I have a bad habit of thinking that the first 50 seconds of the song and the remaining ~3 minutes of music are two separate tracks, which is a contrast that I enjoy.

I'm interested in giving this one a listen. Ever since I sat through the Fugee's second album I've seen this album everywhere and have heard about how great and influential Lauryn Hill is despite only having three albums to her name. Listened to it and yeah, not a fan. I can understand where this album innovated if Lauryn Hill was one of the first people to popularise the "being shaken" style of singing, but that kind of vocal performance sounds like utter shit to me. It's an impressive display of vocal range and prowess, but I firmly believe that it belongs to the "for record producers only" category. Every song being sung in this style combined with the minimal instrumentals, lack of breathing room and hour seventeen runtime made this album a profoundly miserable listening experience for me. I wasn't compelled to listen to the lyrics too closely, but they all came across as pretty insipid and self-aggrandising to me. Which beckons the question. Why this is considered a concept album? There isn't really an arc to any of the discussed themes, and what is discussed falls vaguely within the realm of self-love or something. The entire experience is fruitless to me.

Let me just say that I feel like I dodged a bullet by listening to this one without headphones. It's an incredibly, incredibly ballsy move to start your album out with the infernal screeches of the guitars of the damned. I can see why it turned a lot of the people here away, but it succeeded at hooking me in. For better or worse, it's attention grabbing. I quite like the industrial aesthetic that this album has going on. I have no clue how some of the sounds on this album were made, which makes the way in which they were utilised doubly as impressive to me. I had absolutely no clue what any of the vocalists were saying, but in all fairness who can understand a britbonger-they're American???? I listened to this one twice and I don't really have any opinion on it other than that I liked the opening track and thought that Sentimental Journey was funny. There just isn't nearly enough meat on the bones of these songs to justify their long runtimes, and the entire thing feels like it drags it's feet as a result. This is yet another album where I wish I had the documentation on why it made the list.

Another contemporary one. The 2010s really aren't my decade at all, but it's comforting to return to the kinda-current year every now and then. I've heard about LCD Soundsystem in passing. Nothing of note, mind you. I've just heard their name. I'm expecting this one to be an electronic album, which is usually within my music-appreciating wheelhouse. Lookin' forward to giving this one a go. This was simultaneously exactly what I was expecting, yet also nothing like what I was expecting. Very minimal, but with a little bit of a groove going on. The lyrics and vocal performances are generally pretty insipid and all of the songs are scandalously long, but once I tuned all of that out this album became tolerable enough to me.

Brian Eno!!! I know of him because of the um err um MGMT song (I'm not a plebian, I swear). I've seen this album around before, though what I've heard about it doesn't really come to mind. It's a pretty good album cover. Definitely an iconic one. Gotta be honest - the minimal, ambient approach doesn't really do much for me. There are some good moments when the piano is the center focus, but the songs based around percussion and guitars are all pretty thoroughly unmoving. I have no clue how to describe those electronic tones that appear on some of the songs (particularly St. Elmo's Fire), but I quite enjoyed them and haven't heard a similar sound elsewhere. They definitely give the album a reason for belonging on this list

This was a surprisingly tough album for me to get through. The strangest part being that this album is pretty standard when it comes to runtimes and was competent on the whole. However, for some inexplicable reason, I'd tap out almost immediately whenever I'd try to put this on. Led Zeppelin are one of the bands I've had in the deepest reaches of my backlog and this isn't a very promising start, I must admit. On the bright side, these guys singlehandedly invented my favourite make of song: the 5+ minute-long rock epic, so I'm still open to giving these guys a go. I definitely have to as far as this list is concerned. Immigrant Song is a track that I've become pretty familiar with in passing, though I was expecting the song to be a lot more substantial than it wound up being. Maybe throw in a sick minute-long guitar solo and an epilogue as the invaders move towards new pastures and we'd be talking, but I was pretty shocked to discover that it ends abruptly after 2 1/2 minutes. Regardless, it still stands as the best song on the album by a wide margin. The rest of the album is comprised of tolerable acoustic tunes that all blend together, which was a twist I was not expecting.

Hey! I've listened to these guys - a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence for anything released prior to the 90s. Ghost Town is one of those songs that I really like but have never listened to enough of. How tragic that I will never be able to sing my praises about that song on this list given it's status as a non-album single. I'm favourable to ska when it's intersected with other genres, but I don't think I'll ever sit through a ska-centric album that I've come away from feeling anything more than ambivalence towards. It's a very restrictive genre to work with, and while there are little musical nuances and some competent vocal performances throughout, I can very confidently say that I'll never return to this. The most entertaining part of this album is that it was produced by Elvis Costello. I don't think I'll be escaping him if the sordid tales that I've heard through this site are anything to go by.

I was ready to bestow the much-appreciated "rest album" moniker on to this album, though I'm not so sure whether it qualifies. It lacks both a relaxed and emotional component for me to truly feel rested after listening to it. I thought it was pretty alright, though this kind of dance music is very tough for me to engage with. It's flat and sterile, but not in the cool, aesthetic, minimalist way that I usually get down with. It's very mild and my opinion of it is worsened by how lengthy it is. I think this is the longest album that I have listened to so far. It may very well be the longest album on the list outside of The Beatles' White Album. Getting to the title track and hearing a few artist names that I've listened to as a result of this list was pretty cool. I kind of wish I got recommended this one later into the list so that I could see how how big that figure would be. Out of the 58 artists mentioned in the song, I've listened to 8 as a result of this list and 10 in total. I am 13.8% more cultured on music as a result of going through this list, a figure that means absolutely nothing outisde of this one random ass song. Y'know what? Fuck it. I've got time to kill while I wait out the rest of this album. If this were the last album I was recommended on this website, I would be able to say that I have listened to 27 of the artists on this list, or 46.6% of the total list... That's... a much weaker figure than I was expecting. Better to knock this one out of the way sooner rather than later, I guess.

I know "Perfect Day" because of the Puhskinti Day 2019 song and I first heard "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" through a health insurance commercial. I have been introduced to this album in the worst possible way twice without knowing it. There's a good reason why I, the perpetually blind to any music released before the 90s know these songs and it's because they're pretty good on all fronts - they're pleasing and unique in both a clever and understated way. There's a major drop off for me in the other songs, though. They're equally weak on an instrumental, lyrical and vocal level, and the entire album felt like it dragged it's heels despite their being some better-than-average songs on it.

From listening to Who's Next and now My Generation through this site, I've discovered that I like the image of the Who as a classic rock band more than their actual music, which I suppose is true for a lot of the bands from this time period. There are two songs on this album that feature a very noticeable Beatles influence, and I wouldn't be surprised if the remaining tracks wear their influences on their sleeves, either. So, why the one-star? There's something off-putting about this album that I have a hard time explaining. It's by all means listenable, though I felt a great reluctance to sit through this one and didn't want to give it a relisten. The only part that I remembered was the "talking about my generation" bit, and that's like five seconds in a full thirty five minutes of music. It's interesting that psychedelic rock is listed as a genre on this album when I didn't notice any psychedelic influence whatsoever. Maybe it's an error.

Never heard of these guys before. I'm not sure what the minimum runtime for an album should be in order to make the list, but these guys are definitely pushing it on this one. I wonder how long the shortest album on this list will be. It's just more 60s rock, which is a make of album that I fully expect to be numbered into the mid-hundreds by the end of this list. It's pleasing enough and pretty easy to listen to, though there isn't anything on here that makes me want to return. Creedence Clearwater Revival are surprisingly really popular for a band that I've heard absolutely nothing about. I can't complain about them being on this list for no reason.

I'm always surprised whenever I find a soundtrack album on this site - I forget that there are soundtracks that have actually managed to be critically and commercially successful. I'm doubly as surprised to discover that this album is so similar in style and context to Shaft by Isaac Hayes, though I can't complain - Superfly is a fraction of the length Shaft is and about twice as good. It's very pleasing on the whole with an impressive level of audio fidelity and nuance in the instrumental department. My only real gripe is that the songs create a strong first impression, but fail to sustain my interest. I chalk it up to two things. Soundtracks are easier for me to engage with than band music, but it generally helps when I have a familiarity with the source material, as the memories I have of a media property are the main seller in my enjoyment of soundtracks. I also don't think that a lot of these songs go anywhere.

Pretty good. It's been forever since I was last recommended an album that wasn't from the UK or the United States, so I'm grateful to finally be given another. A lot of this music feels vaguely familiar, especially Eple. This band is surprisingly quite popular, so I must have heard them at some point or another. "Sparks" is very reminiscent of the Lo-Fi hip hop genre with it's sampling and subdued, muffled sound, which is one of the few hop-adjacent genres that I enjoy. "She's So" is my favourite song on the album, blending a spacy, atmospheric sound with a fantastic, ethereal sax. I've noticed that I've become quite favourable to "cosmic" music of late, and I think that this album captures that aesthetic very well. It's relaxed while also maintaining a deliberate, considered approach to the songwriting I'm conflicted on busting out a 3 or a 4 for this album. It doesn't carry an impactful, genre-defining kick to the music industry and I'm partial to this music without being crazy over it. It is, however, very watertight. There aren't many loose ends on here and I'm interested in listening to more Röyksopp as a consequence of hearing this album. In my heart of hearts I think I already know the answer, though I'm gonna bust out the coin of indecision to do the heavy lifting. Heads is me giving this a 4 Heads. In to the favourites list you go, lil buddy. I am downloading more Röyksopp as I am writing these words. I am officially a member of the ksopperhead army ksopperhead nation.

It's been about twenty albums since I was given a landmark, challenging one. Glad to finally have another. I actually listened to half of Closer ~5 years ago, though I don't remember a lick of it. I've somewhat avoided it in the time since then. I find it pretty offputting how a lot of people in the music community romanticise and obsess over death. I want to try and "get" this album, but after listening to it twice I'm not sure whether I do. I like the heavy production, but those vocal performances push me away - they're all thoroughly unmoving. It was very difficult to make out the lyrics on the album, though I didn't care much for what I was able to discern. "The Eternal" is my favourite song on here. I thought it was pretty alright on the whole. However, the song that succeeds it, "Decades", is awful. I was hoping that there would be grand climax to this album that made the listening experience worth it, but I came away with pretty sour feelings overall. Hello! Me after two *complete* listens here. It's good! I thought the first half in particular was strong, which managed to be gothic and macabre in some pretty unique ways. The synth is an unusual addition to an album of this tone and nature, but I thought it was used to great effect, especially on "Isolation". The sudden epiphany I'm having is not enough to save this album from the three-star slot after having one-and-a-half listens of not getting it, but I am more than open to giving this one another go in the future. I'm glad I could have this breakthrough. Just as an aside, I've always liked how ominous the title for this album is. "Closer" as in the final part of Joy Division's discography, but "closer" as in something getting nearer. The album cover is great too. Definitely iconic and I like how the lighting of the photograph elevates the dramatic tension of an otherwise barebones cover.

A pretty interesting mix of genres. The intersection of trip hop with 90s dance music is something I can confidently say I've never heard before. I've always been favourable to trip hop, but I think it's a genre that's very difficult to get wrong but also really hard to get right. 90s dance music is a different story. I can appreciate this kind of music when it's purely an electronic affair, but I think it gets pretty bad when more traditional instruments are thrown into the mix. That piano/keyboard sound which is present throughout this album and common in UK music at the time sounds horrific to me. Talking more broadly about the music itself, the album starts out solid enough, but gets substantially weaker as it piles on 5+ minute song after 5+ minute song. There are a few moments on the album that showcase a creative and effective use of electronic sounds, but these moments are few and far between. Foxbase Alpha was substantially more draining than it needed to be. I listened to this album twice - once with the US bonus tracks and once without. I can't say that the experience was much different other than that I was glad it ended sooner.

I was unsure going into this one. Britpop is one of those genres that I'm confident I'll never be able to "get", though I'll always be the first to defend it as a genre of music. Washed out instrumentals, strained vocal performances and heavy guitar distortion are a pretty unorthodox creative choice for a genre of music that is meant to be patriotic. I also quite like the air of distance that britpop has. It adds a pensive quality to the music when looked at in retrospect. The England of today is completely different to what I imagine it was like 20 years ago. "Bittersweet Symphony" is the highlight. Those string sections are very good, though I admittedly think that they pad out the song to being much longer than it needed to be. "Lucky Man" manages to be quite good as well in spite of the animosity I have towards the second half of this album. String instruments are among the most "feels-inducing" you can have in a song, and I can't complain about feeling every once in a while. The remainder of the album was quite different to what my experience with Britpop has been (all of two Oasis albums). The cleaner-sounding acoustic approach managed to produce some songs that I didn't mind listening to. Same goes for some of the more subdued tracks, which I think work well on an album released near the end of the millenium. It really does feel like the end of an era and the dawn of a brave new frontier in some respects. Despite having some merit, this album has a huge length problem, which is one of the most damning faults you can have in my eyes. I had to do a double take when I saw the hour fifteen runtime on this baby - I thought I had stumbled on to the deluxe version by mistake. I had already gotten my fill of the album by the time I made it to "Weeping Willow". so toughing out the remaining tracks (especially the fifteen-minute fuuuuuuucking closer) really hurt the experience of listening to this album.

I didn't like this album at all on my first listen, but I came around to it much more on my second go. The vocal performances and dated instrumentals were initially a big point of contention, but this became a non-issue for me on the second go. No clue what lead to such a dramatic change of heart, but I'm glad that I now "get" Abba in some capacity. I think my enjoyment of this album is due to the high number of piano refrains. You can never have enough of those, especially in pop music. It's amusing to me that this album was recommended immediately after "Urban Hymns" by The Verve as I distinctly remember listening to one of the guitar sections on that album and thinking that it sounded like "Dancing Queen". On the subject of that song, it's very good. It's not entirely up my cup of tea, but I can confidently say that it's one of those songs where all of the musical choices come together and work with one another perfectly. "Why Did It Have to Be Me?" and "Tiger" felt like they went on for way longer than they were in reality. I got proper whiplash when I checked the track listing and realised they were only three minutes in length. I think a lot of this album's appeal is hedged on the melody, as the music itself is very repetitive. Those two songs moving at a much quicker tempo definitely hurt them in my eyes. I'm favourable to the idea of giving this album another listen sometime in the future. I'll see where the cards fall.

Great album cover. I've heard good things about The Smiths, though I've never found the time to listen to their music. Glad to finally be given the opportunity. I have no idea what I was expecting going into this album, but I was prepared for it to be vaguely within this style of music. There are some pretty good guitar performances on here and the rockabilly influence is fun. There's a respectable level of variety as well. I like how the atmospheric "Well I Wonder" shifts the direction of the album in a more intricate direction. "Barbarism Begins at Home" was my favourite song on Meat Is Murder. It's less lyric-focused than some of the other songs on the album, but is carried by a great central guitar riff that somehow manages to justify the song's 7-minute runtime. The only real gripe I have with this album concerns the vocals. They're pretty weak and made me pay less attention to the lyrics than I perhaps should have. I'm open to the idea of them being an acquired taste, much like with some of the other bands that I now herald as favourites. There's a good chance that this album will grow on me with additional listens, which is something I have said about a few other albums in recent memory. I think I can confidently say that my appreciation of music is growing. For the longest time I have looked at 80s music with complete disdain, though there are now two albums from the decade that appreciate (the other being "The Stone Roses"). Coin of indecision time again as I'm unsure of whether this one will grow into a favourite. Heads. Into the 4-star category you go, lil buddy. I've heard that "The Queen Is Dead" is the best Smiths album, so I'm glad that I haven't even reached the apex of this band yet.

Another metal album. This one is much closer to what I'm after - some thumping percussion and and a ready supply of mile-a-minute guitar performances. There's a simple pleasure to this kind of music, though I think the musical stylings of metal make the genre very deeply restrictive. From the plebian ears of a non-metal enthusiast every song on here sounds exactly the same to me. Still, I can hardly complain about an album that is 29 minutes in length. The vocal performances on this album are very hard for me to follow at points - especially during the second half. Kinda disappointing as I appreciate the campy, gothic, medieval themes of metal.