463
Albums Rated
3.17
Average Rating
43%
Complete
626 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Singer-songwriter
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Perfectionist
Rater Style ?
18
5-Star Albums
4
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Moss Side Story
Barry Adamson
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Bone Machine
Tom Waits
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
Swordfishtrombones
Tom Waits
|
5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
|
Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
This Is Hardcore
Pulp
|
5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
|
Rain Dogs
Tom Waits
|
5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
|
Lady In Satin
Billie Holiday
|
5 | 3.23 | +1.77 |
|
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
|
4 | 2.32 | +1.68 |
|
My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
|
5 | 3.35 | +1.65 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
|
1 | 4 | -3 |
|
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
|
1 | 3.56 | -2.56 |
|
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
|
2 | 3.93 | -1.93 |
|
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
|
2 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
|
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Dr. Octagon
|
1 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
|
The Score
Fugees
|
2 | 3.69 | -1.69 |
|
Slipknot
Slipknot
|
1 | 2.67 | -1.67 |
|
With The Beatles
Beatles
|
2 | 3.66 | -1.66 |
|
Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
|
2 | 3.65 | -1.65 |
|
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
|
2 | 3.61 | -1.61 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 4 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 4 | 4.5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Beatles | 5, 2, 2, 5, 4 |
5-Star Albums (18)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Tom Waits
5/5
Love me some Tom Waits! This is mostly his goofier side. "Nighthawk Postcards" is probably the standout track here.
2 likes
OutKast
3/5
Really fricking long album. Some good stuff, some less-good, some funny skits.
1 likes
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
The lyrics are okay, and yeah, he's got good rocky energy.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (4)
All Ratings
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
Not bad for a live album, but it has all that chitchat and whatnot that attempts to capture the feeling of being there in person, and only serves to reinforce that you're not there in person. "Thou Swell" is a nice track, though, in its mixing of elevated vocabulary with playfully childish syntax. Otherwise, this is perfectly fine, but unexceptional.
Judas Priest
3/5
I'm sure it's a good album if you like metal. It all just kind of went in one ear and out the other for me.
Common
3/5
Usually melodically catchy, often nice rhyme schemes and such. Substantively, I could take it or leave it, probably thinks it's more meaningful than it is. And even musically, there are some duds. Though all of that speaks to it being a pretty varied album.
Queen
4/5
I mean it's Queen, their sound is always fun, if often nonsense. "Killer Queen" is particularly fun nonsense, lyrically, almost patter-song-y. "Flick of the Wrist" is another good one. And at least the album is pretty varied, so even if it blends into the background, you notice the start of each new song.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
A lot of this is just easy-listening soothing sound to put on in the background. A lot of it feels like Beatles outtakes. "Mrs. Vandebilt" is a fun bouncy tune though.
R.E.M.
3/5
Another one that's fine, but not as deep as it thinks it is. "Strange" has a fun Mountain Goats vibe to the vocals, but lyrically is the same kinda meh as the rest. "It's the End of the World as we Know It and I Feel Fine" is the standout, very patter-song. And "Fireplace" is oddly compelling.
Tori Amos
3/5
Kind of fades into the background, though it's a nice texture. I like the jazzy vibe of "Leather," especially the piano. But do we really need a sultry piano-and-vocal cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Kinda gimmicky.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Welp, I don't speak the language, so I can't evaluate the lyrics (except for the final track, "Hamady Bogle," which is so-so and kind of silly). But musically, it's not bad. Another album that just fades into the background.
Boston
3/5
Perfectly okay. Lightly epic 70s rock, easy to listen to, energizing. "Foreplay / Long Time" has nice instrumental stuff at the beginning (I guess that's the foreplay). "Hitch a Ride" also starts strong, but becomes more samey as it goes. But then it ends with something as vapid as "Let Me Take You Home Tonight"...
Sigur Rós
4/5
Like this one a lot. Can't even tell if the lyrics are in a language I know. But the ambience of it is great.
Kate Bush
4/5
Aggressively weird, almost to Oingo Boingo levels. Decided to be generous and rate this 4 instead of 3 stars. It does get a little repetitive, but it's so much itself that even that repetition of itself deserves some recognition.
The War On Drugs
3/5
You know? It's fine. I like the sound better than the older stuff, but it's mostly just a different flavor of fades-into-the-background.
Linkin Park
3/5
I recently got "My December" and it was perfect for the playlist I wanted it for (though apparently that's not on this album? At least not the version I found on YouTube). But their sound is silly, with that over-the-top emoting and the squeaky turntable sound effects and whatnot. Yet another one that blends into itself.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Musically nice enough. Vocally, generally annoyingly vocal. Lyrically, hard to make out. Kind of fun in their over-the-top-ness. "Stumbleine" is a nice track, though.
Brian Eno
4/5
A good album! That Brian Eno period where he actually had lyrics. Works both as background music and something to really listen to.
The Stone Roses
3/5
Nice sound, some nice lyrics that jumped out, solid enough.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
Kinda blah all around, musically and lyrically. "Grey/Afro" has a nice sound, at least. "Keep Everything Under Your Hat," I think -- one of those around there -- has some silly-sex energy.
White Denim
3/5
Perfectly okay rocky vibe, but nothing stands out.
T. Rex
3/5
Nice vibe here. "Cosmic Dancer" is lyrically fun. And it has that Lou Reed 50s-but-make-it-punk energy.
Slade
2/5
Perfectly okay, though feels especially generic. Everything -- music, vocal style lyrical content -- is kinda meh. The cutesy funetik song titles really helped push this into my first 2-star rating.
Rage Against The Machine
1/5
Too much yelling. Just a lot of angry self-righteousness and simplistic political commentary. Like a lazy combination of rap and punk. That one crescendo part at the end of "Bullet in the Head" is cool, at least, but there isn't just enough anywhere else to make this worth it.
Tom Waits
5/5
Lyrically delightful. Not quite the Tom Waits sound I know from "Blood Money" and other later stuff, but good enough that I'll give it 5 stars. He's done stuff that I like even better, but on the scale of this listening project? Definitely one of the best.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Fun energy, and lyrically inventive. And probably the most melodically interesting stuff I've encountered in this project so far.
X-Ray Spex
3/5
Fun, upbeat, punky energy. Not super inventive, but nice to have in the background.
Underworld
3/5
Perfectly fine. Nice electronic background sounds. The tracks are almost all too long. "Stagger" is nice.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Good stuff. Perfectly serviceable musically; lyrics range from "perfectly okay" to "hey, that's pretty good"; but goddamn can that woman sing.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Lyrically inventive, when I'm able to focus on the words. "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head" and "I Want You" particularly caught my attention. But musically so-so, and his voice really makes me tune out.
Coldplay
3/5
Nice enough. "Spies" is a good track. Ditto "We Never Change." It is kind of samey in general, another one that blends into the background. "Everything's Not Lost" is a nice bit of variety, especially the earlier piano-and-vocal parts.
Suicide
4/5
Heck yeah, it has "Ghost Rider" from my Halloween playlists! And "Girl" is pretty good. Wins 4 stars because I'm in a generous mood; if I gave 4 to Kate Bush for being emphatically herself, even if all the tracks sounded pretty similar, I can do that here.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
This was fine.
Iron Maiden
4/5
You know, these are actually pretty catchy. The general metal-narrative-song thing is a bit of a cliche now, but these still feel relatively fresh, not a parody of themselves. But to be honest, I'm mostly rating it 4 instead of 3 because "The Prisoner" has the opening narration from the show.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
I don't understand the lyrics, and musically, it just ain't my bag. Perfectly okay, but a bit bland.
Talk Talk
3/5
Another perfectly okay one that blends into the background.
Kanye West
3/5
Musically nice enough. Lyrics often pretty clever. Some lines are probably unintentionally funny. What with everything Kanye West has done since, one worries that he actually may mean some of the silly things unironically.
Metallica
3/5
Ah, so that's the Metallica song that Brooklyn Duo combined with the Moonlight Sonata in "Beethoven Goes Metal"! Other than that insight, this was just a perfectly okay album. Very backgroundy.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Nice punky vibe.
Maxwell
3/5
This one really melted into the background. Aside from one lyric that I heard as far more explicit than it actually was, nothing interesting about this one.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
You know, it's fine. I'm not a big Marley person. It all just sounds samey.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Another one that thinks it's saying deep and insightful things about politics and society. Would've rated it lower, but some interesting stuff with the musicality of it all was enough to bring it back up to average.
Laura Nyro
3/5
"Lonely Women" is good, but otherwise this ranges from "nice enough" to "meh."
Goldfrapp
4/5
Love the musicality of this. Very James-Bond-theme. Can't really understand the lyrics in many of the songs. But those I could, I liked.
Stan Getz
3/5
Yeah, sure, perfectly fine.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
This was fine.
David Ackles
4/5
Nick Cave and Bertolt Brecht do this shtick better. But some of these are fun. The lyrics are often fun, and it's nice to have this vibe in an fairly straightforward vocal style with an acoustic band instead of overpowering electronic atmosphere. Honestly, it grew on me as it went. A Sondheim feel to it, as well.
Coldplay
3/5
Perfectly okay. The title track is particularly nice.
Fairport Convention
2/5
This just feels like 70s renditions of English folk songs. Overly earnest and generally uninteresting.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Nice enough blues stuff.
3/5
Some of these are wonderfully moody, others just background rhythms.
The Clash
4/5
Good stuff. Classic feel. Just pleasant to listen to.
Hole
3/5
This was a nice one, but not outstanding.
Basement Jaxx
2/5
Great cover, mediocre album.
The Smiths
3/5
A classic. Self-conscious melodrama; fundamentally silly, bouncy, fun.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
Musically so much fun. Lyrically, hit-or-miss. The first time the lyrics kick in, on the title track, it's unpleasantly jarring; later in the same track, though, they're entertainingly weird.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Not bad, but it all blended together after a bit, like so many of these albums. Good background vibe. I'd probably like the songs more if I heard them individually on playlists with other, more contrasting songs.
Traffic
3/5
Some of this is nice and jazzy; other bits kind of rote English-folky.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Nice enough. "Old Friends" is the kind of sentimentality that I can get behind (and is part of a nice segment of songs blending one into the other). "Hazy Shade of Winter" is nicely energetic, even if the lyrics are silly. "At the Zoo" is Beatles-level silliness. And even the more run-of-the-mill tracks have a certain amount of lyrical inventiveness.
Pulp
5/5
I like this energy and these lyrics. "The Fear" is a strong start to this album. "Dishes" follows up by somehow being both silly and serious. Love the title track too! Surprised by how much I liked this album.
N.W.A.
3/5
Just another perfectly okay album. A lot of probably unintentional humor in the young macho puffery, and a lot of political commentary that induces little but eye-rolls. Rhythmically kind of simplistic, but some good rhymes once in a while.
Nick Drake
3/5
You know what? Another nice album that receded into the background as I listened. When I happened to pay attention to the lyrics, though, I generally liked them.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Not my favorite Nick Cave. "Abbatoir Blues" is little too classic-rock, not the murder-ballad darkness I know and love. But the lyrics are fun and inventive. "The Lyre of Orpheus" is a bit tooo much the Nick Cave I know, but is a lot of fun. So altogether it gets 4 stars.
Sepultura
3/5
Mostly just blah metal noise. That one track had a fun stop-motion music video. And "Jasco" is actually some nice intense rhythmic acoustic stuff, so that was a good discovery. Really, the three or so acoustic tracks here are good, the rest is just blah.
Prince
3/5
It's fine, it's very good at being Prince; I'm just not a big Prince fan. Though "Darling Nikki" is surprisingly filthy. Didn't know that side of him.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Perfectly okay. Some of these are fun. But it's mostly just a bunch of American folk singing and blues. Not my jam.
Alice Cooper
3/5
Perfectly good. Honestly hadn't actually listened to much any Alice Cooper before. More of a classic-rock vibe than I'd expected.
ZZ Top
3/5
Perfectly okay.
Snoop Dogg
2/5
Childish.
Missy Elliott
3/5
Yeah it was fine.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
Yeah, it's okay.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Not bad. Not spectacular, but not bad.
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Easy-listening country. The music video for "Oh What a World" is great until it's a mutant Lisa Frank terrifying uncanny valley. The one for "Rainbow" is very nice though.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Okay. I like her voice, but mostly this is just rocky/punky noise.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
"SS 396" is fun 50s car-head silliness. Some of the other stuff is just too earnest. This is a style of music that really can only be silly.
Bauhaus
4/5
You know what? This one is fun. Just got a fun feel to it. "Dancing" is goofy. The vibe is silly and enjoyable pretend-darkness.
TLC
3/5
Yeah, it's fine.
Taylor Swift
3/5
Look, she's a good singer. The songs are catchy. One or two struck a chord, maybe. But it's overall not my style.
Van Halen
3/5
It might be hard to listen to this earnestly, since this kind of silly rock has been parodied so much. Like most of these albums, it's... perfectly okay.
Yes
2/5
Somehow underwhelming.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Yeah, it's fine.
The Cardigans
3/5
Nice enough, good background music. The lyrics occasionally caught my attention. I thought this would stand out, from the intro to the first track, but ultimately it just didn't.
Lorde
4/5
Yeah, you know what? This is a pretty good album. But I'm not listening to it again for this project, because it has unfortunate personal connotations.
The Pharcyde
2/5
Oh god, they think this is clever, don't they? I mean, in terms of lyrical wordplay, it's not bad. But substantively, it's just so juvenile.
Bob Dylan
3/5
It's fine. I mean look, I'm just not a big Dylan fan. He was very much of a time.
Steve Winwood
2/5
Just blends into the background. Forgettable.
Britney Spears
3/5
Yeah it's perfectly fine. I was familiar with one or two of these, just through pop-cultural osmosis. The rest are novel to me, but still just, you know, okay. "E-Mail My Heart" is hilariously dated, at least.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
A lot of fun. Bouncy jazz. What's not to love?
AC/DC
3/5
Same old familiar stuff. The opening title track is so familiar, overexposed. "Night Prowler" is a decent creepy song.
The Yardbirds
3/5
I do appreciate the rather broad range of tones. The feel changes quite a bit from track to track.
Tom Waits
5/5
What can I say? I like Tom Waits. The title track is particularly delightful.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
Yeah, this was pretty good.
The Young Gods
4/5
Yeah, it's pretty good.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
Honestly, this one blended into the background even more than most.
Green Day
4/5
Nothing deep, but I am a sucker for a fun pop-punk sound. Oh, and "Shoplifter" is a silly parody of a crime ballad.
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
Kinda fun rhythmic instrumental stuff. More offbeat than a lot of the albums on here. But at the end of the day, still just a silly little thing to put on in the background. The title track is a delight, though.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Gotta love Siouxsie!
Big Star
4/5
Nice vibe.
Eminem
3/5
Juvenile but amusing. Oh hey, that's the song that the term "Stan" comes from.
Julian Cope
2/5
Kinda silly and meandering. Not bad, but really not great.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
Kind of a fun vibe. A little more interesting than most.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
A little cheesy, but basically perfectly nice.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Most of these things, I've heard, even if I didn't know they were his. Honestly, most interesting part was seeing this with music videos on YouTube; seeing when Jackson still had that youthful charisma.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Perfectly okay, but very much a put-it-on-in-the-background thing.
Pentangle
2/5
This is just kind of drab folky nonsense. It's pretty nice until the lyrics kick in.
Frank Zappa
4/5
You know what? Some of this is pretty nice. I like "Little Umbrellas," which seems to echo Chopin's funeral march.
Sugar
3/5
You know? It's fine. Feels a little punky-grungey, nothing earth-shattering, but a nice feel to have on in the background.
Radiohead
3/5
Another one that's a perfectly nice vibe and not much else.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Nice vibe, some fun lyrics (I'm looking at you, "Into White"), and a delightfully whimsical cover image. What's not to love?
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Not bad, but uneven. It really feels like she decided to write a dozen love songs that could match whatever relationship and mood you happen to be in.
Sade
3/5
Overall a bit unmemorable. But "Sally" stood out. Old-school dramatic jazzy thing, very noir vibe.
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
This gets points for variety, but overall it's just kind of a silly unfocused mess of styles with very little substance.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Whatever, it's fine.
The Byrds
3/5
Just kinda sixties folky vibe. Not bad, but nothing special.
Joan Baez
3/5
Yeah, it's Joan Baez. Perfectly okay.
Duran Duran
3/5
Not bad.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Perfectly fine.
The Triffids
4/5
Nice vibe. Often obsessive and a little creepy. "Unmade Love" is particularly good. "Blinder by the Hour" for the creepy imagery too. "Jerdacuttup Man" is good fun too, as is the mellow and melancholy title track.
The Doors
4/5
I was doing other stuff while listening to this, and yet, my ears kept tuning in and realizing I liked what I was hearing.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
The usual kind of over-the-top bravado. Amusing but nothing special.
Miles Davis
5/5
A classic for good reason.
The Darkness
3/5
I mean, on principle, I want to like any album with a track title "Black Shuck." But this is, you know, just okay.
5/5
Bowieeeeee! My favorite Bowie? Not quite. I'm not super into concept albums. But it's a very good one. And the title track is hard to beat.
Ozomatli
4/5
Not much substance, but I love the mix of styles.
Billie Holiday
5/5
I mean ya gotta love Billie
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Mostly just fine. "Sometimes" is a catchy track. But overall a bit generic.
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Hey, this is pretty good!
The Fall
2/5
A little more blah than most.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Nice vibe.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
Ugh whatever it was okay.
Tears For Fears
3/5
Another one where I like the instrumental part of it, but the lyrics and vocals just take it down a bit. But, hey, never realized this is where "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" came from.
Aerosmith
2/5
Aerosmith always sounds kinda like a parody of itself.
The Only Ones
3/5
Pretty good, a little offbeat.
3/5
Perfectly okay.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Kinda quirky, kinda fun.
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Some pretty good, some just okay.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
"White Rabbit" is deservedly a classic. The rest is fine.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Some easy listening with a pretty fun vibe.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Very earnest but goes down easy.
The Stranglers
3/5
This was a fun discovery. A good feel to it, even if the quality is a little uneven.
Gene Clark
3/5
Hey, it's some pretty good country-type stuff.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This is a great album cover. The songs are perfectly okay. "Poledo" stands out, I suppose, at least the beginning. Good discordant acoustic vibe, good lyrics. But the whole thing just involves a little too much gimmicky playing with radio-tuning interference sound effects and whatnot.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
Yeah, ya know? It's fine. Like most of these albums. It's perfectly good.
The Replacements
3/5
Some of these are a a little too earnest ("Androgynous"), some are downright juvenile ("Gary's Got a Boner"). Altogether a kind of amusing mix, but nothing exceptional
The Sugarcubes
2/5
What's this Bjork-sounding nonsense? Oh, it's early Bjork.
Radiohead
4/5
Gotta love their sound. Washes over you. Sad, anxious, soothing, all at once.
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Yeah whatever it's fine but kinda meh.
Barry Adamson
5/5
Utterly delightful, very noiry.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Yeah whatever it's fine.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Some good stuff here. "Lilac Wine" is fun-sad.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Not bad but nothing spectacular.
The The
4/5
Ooh this is fun.
Alice In Chains
3/5
Sure whatever
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Blended into the background and was over quick. Perfectly nice sound though.
Madonna
3/5
Perfectly good.
Stephen Stills
3/5
This is nice, but I'd like it a lot better if there were no lyrics.
Beastie Boys
1/5
This was so hard to get through that I just stopped listening to these albums for several days. It's like a parody of itself. This is so dumb.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Very good, but not her best. Feels kinda country-rock-fusion.
The Undertones
3/5
Nice fun punky sound.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Don't think I've really listened to much Iggy Pop before. This is actually pretty good.
Lambchop
4/5
Hey, I like this.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Nice sound. Kinda epic and crunchy. And the lyrics are pretty good too.
Wilco
4/5
Lil angsty at times, but in a good way.
Van Morrison
3/5
Fleet Foxes
3/5
So that's where that irritating "White Winter Hymnal" comes from. Overall this is okay, but it's also the kind of pseudo-folk that the Oh Hellos do so much better.
Jungle Brothers
2/5
Whatever, it's fine. I mean, some of the lyrics are really cringey. But overall it's okay.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Perfectly good. Some nice tunes, though not my cup of tea.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
Ooh this is nice. I kinda wish I could just have the slow, opening solo bits of a lot of these tracks. Like the piano solo that begins "Inner Crisis." Definitely gets better as it goes along.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
A little quirky but altogether backgroundable.
Tito Puente
4/5
A lot of fun! Particularly liked "Hong Kong Mambo."
Johnny Cash
5/5
A classic by the Man in Black.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Okay, this thing of tossing the line back-and-forth between multiple rappers is fun. Excellent timing and discipline. And hey, a music video with Penn and Teller?
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Consists mostly of rambling nonsense. Didn't expect the music video to "Relax" to have such a late-20th-century gay vibe; that almost made that bland, overplayed song interesting, at least for one listen. I like how eclectic it is within the constraints of its overall vibe, but that vibe remains kinda meh. Giving it a 4 is generous, but that eclectic approach earns it a liiitle bit above average.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Better than I expected. A concept album with a consistent atmosphere, for better and for worse. A lot of long tracks that feel very similar. Definitely some good lyrics here and there.
David Bowie
4/5
It's Bowie, of course it's good, but it's not my favorite. I know I listened to it before this, and I couldn't remember a single thing from it.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Yeah it's fine.
Steely Dan
3/5
Can't listen to Steely Dan without thinking of "Oh Hello."
Minor Threat
2/5
Just background sound.
DJ Shadow
3/5
Yeah sure it was fine.
Gillian Welch
4/5
I'd heard her name but never really knew her music. It's pretty good!
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Perfectly nice, but honestly I slept through a lot of it.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
Pretty good.
OutKast
3/5
Really fricking long album. Some good stuff, some less-good, some funny skits.
Gene Clark
3/5
Never heard of this guy, but he's got a nice enough rocky/country vibe.
Erykah Badu
3/5
Nice enough, but feels pretty dated.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
The lyrics are okay, and yeah, he's got good rocky energy.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Sure, it's fine.
Love
3/5
Yeah it was fine.
Deep Purple
3/5
Is this where "Smoke on the Water" comes from? At any rate, this one kinda faded into the background like so many of them.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Nice stuff. The title tracks are a fun concept-album kind of thing. "Do You Realize?" is a classic too.
The Young Rascals
2/5
This is just a lot of 60's-style vaguely folky rock, with clumsy use of stereo. At least one track where I thought, "Oh, hey, that's where this is from." But overall kinda meh.
David Bowie
4/5
Huh. I didn't expect to like this Bowie as much as the Bowie stuff I've known since I was a kid.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
This one was fine but kind of annoying.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Good stuff. Not his best, but very good. Love the strings in "Steer Your Way" and the final track.
Thin Lizzy
2/5
I mean it's okay, but it ain't great.
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
Okay, a little better than average. I like the more personal tracks. A high 3, but not quite a 4?
3/5
Good stuff in here, but also some bland.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
It's Sinatra. He's never not good. Not always my jam, but very good at being Sinatra-y.
Pink Floyd
3/5
Fun silly trippy mystical stuff.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
That good old Elvis Costello sound. I'm not his biggest fan, but I have to acknowledge, he's pretty good. And very distinctive.
5/5
Hey, it's a classic for a reason. Silly fun boppy bouncy music,
4/5
His lyrics are often good, but the style is a silly kind of 60s folkiness, and his voice is irritating. Give me something like "Desolation Row" sung by someone like Tom Waits, and I'd be all in for that. But why is something like "Mr. Tambourine Man" so long? Come on.
Bee Gees
4/5
I'm a sucker for a Slavic sound, however corny, so if the whole album had followed in the tone of the first track, I might be rating this a 5. But then it's got some so-so rocky and country stuff. Then again, "Seven Seas Symphony" and "With All Nations" and "The British Opera" -- basically the neoclassical instrumental ones -- are fun, and the variety of styles has its own appeal.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Hey, their sound is actually pretty catchy. "Suburban War" has a nice teenage-angst epic quality.
The B-52's
4/5
You know, they're actually pretty good. I don't think I'd heard anything but "Rock Lobster" by them. This is all a good assortment of vibes, very silly, little crunchy, good stuff.
OutKast
2/5
Ugh, it's fine. It does that hip-hop thing of interspersing corny skits and self-important tracks that think they're saying something deep. But it's got some catchy beats. Too many tracks, though at least most of them are pretty short.
Justice
3/5
Kinda weird and fun. Don't think I've even heard of these people before. The moodier, darker, instrumental stuff is nice.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
Do I... like this? I think I've heard "Gotta Get Up" before. Maybe it's just that I'm in my mid-30s and the lyrics strike a chord, even if the musicality is very late-60s Beatles-knockoff... That being said, there's good variety in these tracks.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Perfectly okay. In one ear and out the other.
Spiritualized
3/5
Nice enough vibes, but really a background listen. I do really like the hypnotic rhythm of the last track.
Norah Jones
4/5
Oh wow, I'm a sucker for a beautiful female voice and jazzy melodies, aren't I?
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Some pretty good country stuff.
Sabu
3/5
All right, not bad.
Ute Lemper
3/5
I like these songs musically. The lyrics are often overwrought and seem as if they've been translated into English; and the subject-matter is melodramatic but seems to take itself seriously, not playful or campy. I'd rate this at least 4 stars if it were instrumental.
Derek & The Dominos
2/5
It's fine, I guess. The songs are generally too long, though, and they're just kind of... so-so.
The Pogues
4/5
Always a nice jaunty beat, and the Pogues' bitter enthusiasm is generally delightful. "Fairytale of New York" is, of course, a classic. "Metropolis" has a great, instrumental energy; ditto "Sketches of Spain."
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Meh, whatever. Generically percussive and shouty. Some of it is okay, and I like the silliness of "Futuristischer Dub," but overall... not great.
Neil Young
3/5
Huh, this is Neil Young? It's all... perfectly okay.
Al Green
3/5
Huh, this is Neil Young? It's all... perfectly okay.
Elvis Presley
4/5
He's a very good singer. The songs are good enough, musically (and short). The lyrics are merely adequate.
Os Mutantes
3/5
Uneven, but some good stuff. I like "Le premier bonheur du jour," not just because it's actually in a language I can understand, but for the almost Renaissance harmonies and melodies of it. "Tempo no Tempo" has a fun patter-song quality to it, too. Maybe I just like their covers?
Metallica
3/5
This was pretty good. Not really my jam, but good for what it is.
The Youngbloods
3/5
This one went down smooth, and almost entirely in the background of my brain. Also: kinda funny that the cover art of this 1969 album looks so much like the low-res pixel art of computer games that would come out decades later.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I like the vibe, musically. The lyrics are nice in a "series of striking words/images" kind of way; not sure they make sense in a more coherent way, but that's not essential.
The Police
3/5
Good enough, but it mostly ain't my vibe. 100% I first heard "Walking in Your Footsteps" as "Walking in Your Food Stamps." "Every Breath You Take" is, of course, a fun creepy classic.
Dolly Parton
3/5
I mean, it's Dolly. She's very good at what she does. Just not really my jam.
The La's
3/5
Some good stuff but basically background sound.
Stereo MC's
2/5
This is perfectly okay, musically. I'm docking a point because it seems to think it's saying something important.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Gotta love Aretha.
Ray Price
3/5
That kind of classic country that I probably wouldn't have listened to on my own. Very good for what it is, but not quite my thing.
Tom Waits
5/5
Love me some Tom Waits! This is mostly his goofier side. "Nighthawk Postcards" is probably the standout track here.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Yeah, okay, it's nice enough.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
They're okay, but too sixties.
2/5
Too loud, too self-important. It's like a bunch of hippies got high and thought that they knew how to save the world.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
Nice vibe and some good tracks.
The Cure
4/5
Some good stuff in here. "Lullaby" is particularly nice, musically and lyrically.
Ray Charles
3/5
All right, well, it feels like cheating to include a two-volume set on this list? I like the upbeat songs, even when not particularly cheery in substance ("Don't Tell Me Your Troubles," for example).
George Harrison
3/5
It's not bad, but it does fade into the background a lot. "Art of Dying" is a nice jam, at least, vaguely stoic, and with some Beatles-style vocal harmonies. "Johnny's Birthday" is delightfully manic and unhinged in its musicality.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
The vibe is pretty good, but the words are generally kind of hit-or-miss. "You Would Know" is amusingly creepy. There are long and rambling instrumental tracks, too, which aren't bad, but don't really do anything.
Beth Orton
3/5
Nice voice, nice vibe. "Devil Song" might go into one of the Halloween playlists.
Prince
3/5
It's all right. Yet another that kind of fades into the background. It feels jarring for Prince -- so stylized and affected, with his elaborate costumes and precise choreography -- to sing of blatantly crude and sexual things, as he does occasionally in these songs. Otherwise... yeah, it's fine.
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Nice enough, at times a Queen kind of vibe. One of the many albums here that just kinda fades into background music, in a not unpleasant way.
Jethro Tull
3/5
It's perfectly okay. I like parts of Jethro Tull's sound, but there's usually too much going on, and the lyrics are usually kinda middle-of-the-road.
Moby
3/5
Nice enough, eclectic.
Paul Simon
4/5
Surprisingly enjoyable. Folky but not in a bad way.
Moby Grape
3/5
Yeah, nice enough.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
To my ear, feels very Bowie. But then I guess I just don't have much other experience with this brand of glam-y punk stuff.
Prefab Sprout
4/5
Pretty good! The last track especially. Let's be generous and rate it above average.
Eagles
3/5
Some pretty good stuff on here; some that kinda just fades into the background.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Stone-cold classic for a reason! No notes.
The Smiths
3/5
I'm not a real Smiths person, but they are pretty good. The title track is amusingly self-important, though, and takes this down from a 4 to a 3.
Elvis Presley
4/5
The King! Pretty good.
Pere Ubu
2/5
Kind of interesting.
Hawkwind
2/5
Honestly this is just too long and not particularly interesting.
Charles Mingus
4/5
Gotta love some nice, moody jazz.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie! Not my favorite Bowie, but it's still damn good.
Robbie Williams
3/5
Perfectly good energetic pop.
Pixies
3/5
Um, whatever? It's fine, I guess.
Bon Jovi
3/5
Admittedly, this does has a lot of classic hits. But they're all just, you know, pretty good.
Kid Rock
2/5
Ugh, this is as if someone mashed together the silliest kind of braggy hip-hop with the most annoying kind of country and generic rock.
Black Flag
3/5
Y'know? It's fine. Standard punky fun. "TV Party" is endearingly goofy.
Bob Dylan
3/5
I mean, I've never liked Dylan's voice too much. But these are perfectly nice. I like the slice-of-life stuff.
Nirvana
3/5
Nirvana. Nice sound. Sometimes a little silly. Good background listening, since the lyrics are often borderline unintelligible.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Yeah, okay, perfectly nice but nothing exceptional.
B.B. King
4/5
Say, this guy's pretty good! "How Blue Can You Get?" is a lot of fun. And it's all good listening.
Django Django
3/5
I like this musically; lyrically, I could largely take it or leave it.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
This is just... not my jam. A warbly Bjork type voice, and the lyrics are kinda meh and drag on and on.
The Byrds
3/5
Kinda fun and silly. Once we get into the goofy alien baby voices in "CTA," you know you're in for silliness. Not much real substance, but it's amusing.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Yeah whatever, perfectly okay but not my thing.
Pantera
3/5
It's loud and shouty, but at least not incomprehensibly so, so I guess there's that. Some good vibes (the driving rhythm at the end of "No Good," in particular).
Simple Minds
3/5
Not bad. Never heard of this group before.
Fugees
2/5
Not a fan. It's that level of talky rap stuff that isn't interesting, but also doesn't have the decency to fade into the background. The title track is, at least, musically strong.
Madonna
3/5
Pretty good. Easy pop listening. Not the irritating gay-icon Madonna that is my default (uncharitable) impression of her. If I'd heard this album as a kid, I definitely could imagine it would inspire nostalgic vibes. "Swim" especially. I also like what she does with lyrics in "Candy Perfume Girl."
UB40
2/5
Perfectly okay musically, if rather repetitive; but it's the kind of music that seems to think it's Making A Point, and you know how I feel about that...
Primal Scream
3/5
This is fine, though there's nothing primal or screamy about it. A lot of silly sounds in a disco-ish dance-music kind of format. Perfectly okay to have on in the background.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I like the lyrical inventiveness, but a lot of this has a weird, classic-rock kind of energy, sometimes a bit country, not sure it really works with Joni.
Talking Heads
4/5
Good, solid album.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Musically nice enough, propulsive. The lyrics aren't much to write home about, except "We Do What We're Told" (the Milgram one) and "This Is the Picture" (which has a somewhat Laurie Anderson vibe in the beginning... oh hey, apparently it was her!).
Elvis Costello
5/5
It's Elvis Costello. He's always gonna be pretty good. Some classics on here.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
I mean, whatever, it's fine. Nothing exceptional, but not bad.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
I mean it's fine.
The Human League
4/5
Fun vibe, 80s or whatever. Not sure that the musical style and the lyrics really go together? "I Am the Law" is nicely menacing.
Dire Straits
3/5
Perfectly fine
Elton John
3/5
Some perfectly good stuff; some bizarre things like "Rotten Peaches."
The Who
4/5
Very silly. "Silas Stingy" is weirdly compelling.
Bobby Womack
3/5
Perfectly fine background listening.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Overall not bad, musically, but way too earnest.
The Go-Go's
3/5
Very 80s, but not necessarily in a bad way. "This Town" has a fun vibe. Ditto "You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)."
R.E.M.
3/5
I mean it's fine, but all kinda blurs a bit together. The voice and tone triggers nostalgia in me, but only because of Wim Wenders' "Until the End of the World."
2/5
Rather juvenile, and proud of themselves for it.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Yeah, it's perfectly fine, whatever.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Another one that's, you know, fine.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Fun vibe, though I don't know if there's much there there.
Pretenders
3/5
Not sure there's much substance there, but I like the vibe.
The Style Council
3/5
I love the bouncy, jazzy fun of the faster instrumental tracks. Less interesting when we get into lyrics. And "A Gospel" is just the usual kind of self-righteous rap. I'd be rating this higher if they'd just cut the less interesting songs and left a slimmer, stronger album.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Appealingly weird lyrics, and the style varies between "decent background listening" and "exactly the kind of thing I like."
3/5
Nice vibe. Amusingly weird. There was one track in a propulsive 5/4, which I enjoyed.
The Police
3/5
It's the Police. They're fine. Sometimes veering into silly reggae stuff. But mostly just an easy background rhythm. I do appreciate how each track has a pretty different vibe.
Sebadoh
3/5
Nice punky vibe, some of the songs I actually noticed as I was listening, but mostly another bakcground album.
New Order
3/5
Yet another "nice enough background listening" one.
Gorillaz
4/5
I don't know if I've ever really listened to them before? They're pretty good. I like the vibe.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Nice, offbeat.
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
Yeah whatever it's fine but not great.
Tim Buckley
3/5
The tracks are almost all a bit too long. Another one with a fund instrumental feel, and lyrics I barely noticed. Though to be fair, this was also one that I just put on while dozing.
Radiohead
4/5
I do like the Radiohead feel.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Not bad, typical Marley.
Blondie
3/5
Classic Blondie. I like the vibe.
Mj Cole
2/5
I mean it's fine. Very background-music, and not really my type of thing. I kept forgetting this was something I'd intentionally put on.
The Smiths
3/5
Morrissey's silly voice, and some amusingly silly lyrics, but altogether... just fine.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Decent vibe, and engaging lyrics. Like, "Pocahontas" is just great imagery, you know?
Foo Fighters
3/5
Not bad.
The Hives
3/5
Fun frantic punk energy.
Elvis Presley
4/5
The King. Not entirely my thing, but so very good at what he did.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Mostly a fun vibe, but uneven (seriously, who needs the burpy electronic rhythm of "Abernathy" butting into this album?).
The Verve
3/5
Not bad, but honestly it was one of those that became mostly background sound. I do like "The Drugs Don't Work."
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Some fun, weird tracks. But so many that are self-righteously confident that they're Saying Something Important, and you know how I feel about that.
R.E.M.
4/5
I may have dozed while listening to this one... But what I really did hear, I liked.
Public Enemy
2/5
What do you know, another group that thinks it's saying Something Important.
Guns N' Roses
3/5
Kinda standard-issue rock energy, not that I'm complaining. Some classics. I sometimes made the mistake of looking at the music videos of these tracks on YouTube, which are very silly.
Jamiroquai
3/5
It's... fine. Not particularly memorable. Not even 100% sure that I listened all the way through.
Kelela
3/5
Perfectly all right solid pop.
Depeche Mode
4/5
I do like their vibe.
Spacemen 3
3/5
Another perfectly okay fades-into-the-background album.
Pixies
4/5
Oh hey, these guys are pretty good. Sometimes a little spooky. Little punky. Good vibes.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Another one with a vibe I like, though the lyrics are neither here nor there.
Slipknot
3/5
Blah metal noise. At least the later tracks become less noisy and just endearing melodramatic rumination.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Nice sound.
Beatles
2/5
There are a lot of really good Beatles albums. This isn't one of them. A couple good songs, but otherwise, just mediocre love songs. Usually, their music will save a song even when the lyrics are middling. Sadly, that isn't the case for most of these tracks. Give me Rubber Soul or Revolver!
Paul Simon
3/5
"Cars Are Cars" is delightfully silly. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" is nicely atmospheric. Other than that, this album mostly blurs into the background.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Perfectly fine. It does have their iconic "Silent Night," at least.
Orange Juice
3/5
What's there to say? Another "perfectly acceptable background listening" one."
Carole King
3/5
Another one that's, you know, pretty good.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Often pretentious but at least it goes down smooth. "Another Star" is a lot of fun musically, but the lyrics are a bit meh.
The Who
3/5
A lot of classic tracks here. It's a perfectly good album. But I guess I'm just not that into the Who.
Saint Etienne
3/5
Not bad. Another background one. But I appreciate its more minimalist, repetitive tendencies.
The Everly Brothers
2/5
Look, it's good at what it is, but it really ain't my thing. Musically fun, but the lyrics are so incessantly inane.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
It's the Stones. They're good. This just ain't exactly my favorite album of theirs.
Morrissey
2/5
The problem with Morrissey is that every Morrissey song sounds like every other Morrissey song. It's perfectly fine, but listening to more than two is simply redundant.
Oasis
4/5
Oh hey, this is a pretty fun vibe. Nice and rocky musicality, and the lyrics are pretty fun and inventive.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Look, it's perfectly good. It's Hendrix. Distinct, but with variety. Just not super my jam. I'm giving it a 4th star for "All Along the Watchtower."
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
It's okay, but not my bag.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
Huh?
The Beach Boys
2/5
This almost sounds like... the Beach Boys trying to be serious? But they're missing the hypnotic close harmonies that make them endlessly listenable.
Public Enemy
2/5
Whatever. Hip-hop's not my thing. Some of these tracks are pretentious and self-important, some sound okay.
Richard Hawley
2/5
The vibe is generally nice. But musically and lyrically, just stops short. Repetitive and not particularly inventive.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Solid Beach Boys musicality. The lyrics, as usual, are fluff. But the sound is good.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Huh, Bruce Springsteen used to be young?
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
The draft-dodging ditty "My Uncle" is a fun historical artifact, and the vibe is generally fun folky-country. But overall unexceptional.
The Saints
3/5
Whatever, generic punky energy, blends into the background.
The KLF
3/5
Okay, the disco-beat vibe is fun. Little rappy at times. Perfectly okay.
The Killers
4/5
I do like the Killers! A classic or two on here.
Bad Company
3/5
Yeah whatever perfectly okay
Billy Joel
4/5
Lyrically a lot of fun. I like the title track especially. And musically, also pretty good. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," on the other hand, is just as silly as it's always been. So, an uneven album, but altogether above average.
Talking Heads
4/5
What's there to say? I like me some Talking Heads.
3/5
Perfectly good.
The Byrds
3/5
Interesting, I guess, but not very interesting.
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Not bad for that kind of hippy-folky whatnot.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Another one that's perfectly okay.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
Nice kinda dark, rocky, sometimes epic vibe to it.
The Waterboys
3/5
Fun!
The Cure
4/5
Another one that has a nice vibe to it. Not sure if there's much substance, but pleasant to listen to.
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Not bad, but kinda plinky-folky.
The Offspring
3/5
A little generic punky, but overall not bad.
Frank Ocean
4/5
You know what? This is pretty good. Better than I expected such a famous pop name to be.
Bad Brains
2/5
Not very interesting.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
What's there to say? Velvet Underground. Top marks. Vignt sur vignt.
New Order
3/5
Not bad. Some good lyrics, and overall nice feel.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
This stuff is... mostly kinda silly.
King Crimson
3/5
Nice kinda mystical instrumentals. The lyrics, though, are meh.
Television
3/5
It's fine. Got some classics on here.
John Prine
4/5
"Quiet Man" has good absurdist lyrics. Overall, though, this is pretty standard-issue.
Soul II Soul
3/5
"Holding On" is surprisingly fun, in its unabashedly epic earnestness and sweeping instrumentals. Otherwise, this is at best a "blurs into the background" album for me.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
So this is where "Heads Will Roll" comes from.
Faith No More
3/5
Just a lot of noise in the early tracks. Grew on me a bit in the later ones. "Woodpecker From Mars" is fun.
3/5
Not bad. I generally like Blur's sound, though I don't find it exceptional. "Chemical World" is the standout, silly and weird and instrumental. "Resigned" is another fun little instrumental one.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Perfectly okay. Nice rocky energy, a little punky, not annoying, but mostly a background-listening thing.
U2
4/5
Nostalgia trip, Mom listened to this a lot.
Massive Attack
2/5
Yeah fine whatever.
Donald Fagen
3/5
Another perfectly all-right background-listening one.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Very nice! Fun, playful, interesting, instrumental piano stuff. I'd give it five stars if it didn't have the annoying cheering and stuff in the background. I DO NOT like a live album for this very reason.
Van Morrison
3/5
I mean it's just pretty generic, isn't it?
Massive Attack
2/5
Uninteresting.
(admittedly, I listened to this while operating a paper shredder.)
Eagles
4/5
Pretty good.
fIREHOSE
3/5
Yeah, fine.
Le Tigre
2/5
Yeah whatever. Not really my vibe.
Mike Ladd
3/5
Some of this is perfectly okay in terms of beats and melodies, but the lyrics are just blah.
The Band
3/5
A little generic, but basically fine. What's their obsession with the South, though? It's like they think the South's cool.
The Temptations
3/5
Perfectly good stuff. "Run Charlie Run" is a Song With A Message, but at least it presents that message with humor, so it's actually not annoying.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Um fine whatever
Nick Drake
4/5
I like this a lot musically, but the vocals and lyrics aren't quite great. And sometimes the instrumentation is lacking. Better when it's just guitar, piano, drums.
Randy Newman
3/5
Honestly feels weird to hear him sing something that isn't Disney. Offbeat but not super interesting.
The Mars Volta
3/5
Nice enough vibe, but the lyrics are just so-so. Energetic background music for writing or such.
Brian Wilson
3/5
What's there to say? Very Beach Boys. Good harmonies, sometimes undermined by instrumentation, and usually silly lyrics (often involving a cappella / scatting style nonsense). I get that the siliness is mostly intentional, but come on. And melodies are recycled from song to song here, it just feels like someone doodling around the same ideas over and over. I feel bad picking on this album so soon after Brian Wilson's death, but it just ain't my jam. "Good Vibrations" is what saves this from a 2-star rating.
Beatles
2/5
All righty, well, not one of their best albums.
Giant Sand
3/5
Interesting, though probably not something I'd re-listen to. The album is too long! His voice has shades of Lou Reed to it.
The Blue Nile
3/5
Nice enough vibe, for sure. Another largely background one, but I ain't complaining.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
All right, I'm liking the emo feel here. Still a background-listening one, but a nice variation.
Fugazi
3/5
Not bad, not spectacular.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Not entirely my thing, but y'know, the guy can sing.
Billy Bragg
2/5
Ugh, he thinks he's saying Something Important.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Nice enough. Another one where the instrumental tracks (and instrumentals in general) are more fun than the lyrics.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
All right, this was actually a very fun vibe. Some kind of spooky stuff, some just nice dark background listening.
The Stooges
4/5
Lotta fun. A little dark, a little weird, very 60s.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I mean look, I don't really care for Dylan. I think I've said it before: he sounds like a parody of himself.
Slipknot
1/5
Juvenile.
Deee-Lite
3/5
Vaguely interesting, but overall not that much to it.
Blur
4/5
They actually have a pretty nice sound. And some of the music videos are fun.
Daft Punk
3/5
Yeah whatever it's fine. The version on YouTube, at least, is mostly music videos that are mostly annoying skits set to music.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Well, "Stairway to Heaven" is definitely a good song. But overall, Zeppelin ain't my cup of tea.
Digital Underground
3/5
This is very silly.
The Cure
4/5
A nice, moody, dark feel. I don't know that I paid much attention to the lyrics, but the musicality is enjoyable.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
Sounds real nice, kinda melancholy, and the lyrics are often quite inventive and weird. This isn't quite a five out of five, but it's a high four for sure.
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
Fine. Kinda generic country.
Tom Waits
5/5
I mean you know how I feel about Tom Waits. And this has the Cemetery Polka!
Beatles
5/5
There we go! This is the good Beatles shit.
The Prodigy
2/5
Oh wow this is just kind of a generic background blur.
Napalm Death
2/5
Seriously what is this nonsense noise.
Paul Weller
3/5
I feel like I've listened to this one before? Not bad, just generic.
Steely Dan
3/5
Yeah, whatever, not bad.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Listened to this just a few days after Ozzy Osbourne died. Look, it's good at being what it is. That's just not my cup of tea.
Aimee Mann
3/5
Some of these are lyrically nice ("4th of July," for example). Her voice is good. The overall vibe is a little run-of-the-mill, though. Lost love and moping about and whatnot.
Nico
4/5
Don't know if I've ever listened to this one before. Nice stuff.
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
Too earnest, to the point that she contorts scansion and rhyme to fit her blunt declarations. BUT: musically, very good.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
The vibe is pretty good, which I don't often say for funky kind of thing like this. But he does it well.
ABBA
4/5
You know? ABBA is silly pop, but it's dang fun.
Van Halen
4/5
Another one that's just very good at being what it is. Silly energetic fun.
William Orbit
3/5
Not bad, but not my bag of tea.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Kinda fun mopey stuff, but for me, it's just background listening. A nice vibe to put on once in a while, maybe, while doing other stuff.
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Fun in a general punky way.
Grateful Dead
3/5
You know, whatever. It's fine.
Roni Size
2/5
The instrumental parts are nice, comfortable, jazzy-electro background listening. The kind of thing that can get you into a flow. The lyrics interrupt this and are annoying. And the whole thing is too long.
Beastie Boys
2/5
Noisy noise
GZA
3/5
Nothing special one way or another. The East-Asian martial arts movie stuff that recurs is kind of an interesting texture but not enough to make this really stand out.
Elvis Costello
4/5
A good enough album that I listened to it even though I know I've listened to it before. Costello is good at what he does. But what he doesn't isn't quite my cup of tea.
Merle Haggard
4/5
Good old country fun.
Rod Stewart
3/5
...is this what Rod Stewart sounds like? Huh.
Nirvana
4/5
Oh yeah, they're pretty good. Not 100% my thing but when they have a good song, it's quite good. Especially adept at the creepy/weird stuff. "Lake of Fire" is on my Halloween playlist for a reason!
The Lemonheads
4/5
Nice punky kinda feel. Sure, why not.
The xx
3/5
One of those that I like better musically and melodically than lyrically.
Supergrass
4/5
Uneven, but a fun sound. "Sometimes I Make You Sad" is a very fun sound.
Stan Getz
3/5
All right, good stuff, easy listening.
D'Angelo
3/5
Yeah okay fine.
The Libertines
3/5
Some of these tracks think a bit too much that they're Saying Something. But in general it's a punky kinda vibe that you can just relax and listen to in the background. I like "Road to Ruin." The good parts outweigh my annoyance at the attempted importance.
Santana
3/5
Fun but still just background stuff.
Björk
3/5
Look, this is just very Björk. Nothing against Björk. But Björk sounds likes Björk. Which makes sense, given that Björk is Björk. Just all kinda sounds the same to me.
The Residents
2/5
This is just silly nonsense trying too hard to be silly. A bit childish. Not playful, annoying. At least the three tracks starting with "Laughing Song" are the fun kind of nonsense. But the balance is irritation incarnate.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Okay, nice instrumental vibes.
Wilco
4/5
Hey, this band is actually a lot of fun!
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Okay so this is the juvenile kind of rap. To be honest, I couldn't make it through more than three tracks. Childish and irritating.
The Soft Boys
4/5
A lot of fun! Silly goofy punky stuff, but not in the "just trying to make noise" kind of way.
Otis Redding
3/5
Solid blues stuff. Some classics on here. Not quite my jam.
Beatles
4/5
Very much that Beatles thing where the melodies and harmonies and arrangements and all that are great, but the lyrics are often banal or sheer nonsense.
Gang Starr
3/5
It's fine. Some of the rhymes are pretty good, others are clunky.
The Magnetic Fields
5/5
A classic. And I'm stoked that the Magnetic Fields made this list. I don't think any of these are really among my favorite songs of his/theirs, but the album as a whole is a great listen. Best tracks: "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits," "A Pretty Girl Is Like," "Time Enough for Rocking When We're Old," "Underwear," "Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin," "Blue You," "The Night You Can't Forget" (for a purely comedic example), and "Zebra" (ditto).
Big Star
3/5
Not bad, worth a listen.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
A classic take on a classic. Would be 5 stars if it were all instrumental, but they went and put silly lyrics on it.
Roxy Music
4/5
Fun and eclectic. Must confess I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics. But the music was enjoyable.
Air
4/5
Nice vibes! I'm hovering between 3 and 4 stars...
4/5
Hm. Not really my thing. Perfectly okay, but I prefer the kind of stuff that's downstream of this music. That I assume is, at least in part, inspired by it. Though I appreciate the eclectic nature of the album, and "Your Dictionary" is fun. All of that takes it just over the edge into 4 stars.
a-ha
3/5
Yeah, it's got "Take On Me" and a bunch of other stuff.
Björk
3/5
No offense to Björk, but do we really need multiple Björk albums on here? All her stuff kind of sounds the same.
Heaven 17
3/5
Meh, whatever. The first track really seems to think it's making an Important Political Statement, so of course the album gets docked points for that. But "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" is fun.
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
Meh, whatever. The first track really seems to think it's making an Important Political Statement, so of course the album gets docked points for that. But "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" is fun.
The Sonics
3/5
The Sonics are always fun. And of course "The Witch" has been on one of my Halloween playlists for ages.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Weird but not like in a fun way. I appreciate how eclectic it is, but aside from one or two bits of one or two songs (I recall a fun sequence of free-associated sort of words, and something about God not being allowed to play with dolls as as child), not really my thing. A lot of it is like a knockoff Tom Waits.
The Fall
3/5
Y'know? It's interesting, and got a kinda fun energy.