Starts off with two undeniable bangers before settling into middling territory. All of the singles are good to great, but the rest of the album features a lot of mid-tempo ballads that didn't connect for me. "Not the Doctor" was the underrated gem.
Lots of great ideas but they are mostly too long, too unfocused, and marred by gross production to really shine. There is also an excessive amount of filler even if you ignore the disc of bonus jams. With some tight editing and better production it could have been a masterpiece.
Parklife just doesn't really hit for me. It's at it's best when it sounds like proto-Gorillaz, but most of the time it just sounds like less edgy Oasis. There are songs on the back half of the album that are legitimately irritating and nothing really stands out.
Nice vibey jazz album with driving afrobeat rhythms and the occasional burst of bombastic horns. I put it on while distracted with other tasks and found myself getting lost in the songs more than once.
Ray Charles' genius is undeniable, but the songs failed to leave an impression on me. Personally, I enjoyed the ballad half of the album more than the big band half, which was just a bit too much. The last three songs are an especially big mood.
Exquisitely crafted pop songs. I tend to gravitate to the songs with more fleshed out production, as the sparsely arranged ones seem more like sketches or ideas. But I can't find much to complain about; there isn't a single weak song on the album.
Just a charming, sleepy little jazz record. Nothing crazy.
A psychedelic pop album something like the Brazilian version of The Zombies' Odessey & Oracle. I thoroughly enjoyed it; however, with 21 songs and a runtime exceeding an hour, I think it will take many more listens to fully appreciate its depth.
Definitely good, nothing really grabbed me though.
It's compelling as an example of proto-punk. It's fascinating to see genre staples like cringeworthy humor and cheeky covers of pop songs were there from the jump. Beyond that, it's not super listenable or memorable, but I love the idea of a band just having a guy dressed like a pro wrestler who's whole job in the band is just to shout LET'S GO and I DRINK COCA-COLA FOR BREAKFAST.
My favorite Elliott Smith album and one of my favorite albums of all time. Beautiful, heartbreaking, masterpiece of chamber pop.
Held up mostly by the strength of "Passin Me By," which is an unqualified banger, but also has 160 million more streams on Spotify than the next most listened to song on this album for good reason. The average track length not including skits and interludes (the less said about the skits, the better) is 4:38. Most of these songs are just way too long, too repetitive and have no memorable lines or hooks. I can see how people would be into the fun, loose vibe, but it didn't really click for me.
I don't really have anything insightful to say about OK Computer. It's Ok Computer and it's really good.
I've really given it my best shot, but it's just not for me.
Every time I started to enjoy it, something else would make me hate it.
I don't have anything positive to say about hair metal. Some of this was tolerable.
Annalisa, Public Image, and Low Life are interesting semi-listenable examples of early post-punk. The rest is overindulgent, irritating and cringe.
Not their masterpiece, but the songwriting is so good and so catchy that I can't imagine rating it any lower.
Boring, noodley grandpa jams.
Significant yet over played, but it still has it's moments that bang quite hard. Predictably, the less worn-out deep cuts hold up better. I still love Drain You and Stay Away as much as I did when I was a kid and I never get tired of the way Dave Grohl beats the hell out of those drums.
I'm hit or miss on REM, I like some songs and I don't like others. This album, on the whole, is just so so dull. I liked "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite," "Monty Got A Raw Deal," and "Ignoreland." The rest can go straight into boring jail.
It felt like generic 80s new wave/post-punk, very repetitive. It has its moments, but they are few and far between.
sssssssspaaaaaaaaccccccee laaaaaaab
I have to admit, I don't think I get The Streets. You would think that if you are adopting this arrhythmic, monotonous flow, you would compensate with witty lyrics or intelligent writing.
Very dramatic, very theatrical. It's almost admirable how extremely cheesy it is. Almost.
Didn't expect to like this so much, but it was really good. KD has an amazing voice and the harmonies are so lush. I liked the more upbeat tracks like "Miss Chatelaine" and, of course, "Constant Craving," but even the more low-key stretches are a pretty nice vibe.
Surprisingly kind of proggy, kind of interesting, but the awful production, over simplistic drums and posturing macho man vocals ruin it for me.
70s Aerosmith isn't bad. It's goofy, but they aren't in their full-blown annoying era. Totally listenable. "Nobody's Fault" is surprisingly good.
Mostly blissed-out rhodes piano, occasional accompaniment and Gil-Scott Heron's distinctive vocals. It's very soulful, very intimate, gets pretty fonky at times, but I would say it's mostly just great background music. "H2O Gate Blues" is the clear standout.
It's possibly my favorite thing in music when an artist covers a song in a new genre that is so well done, you feel like it was meant to sound that way all along. This double album does that magic trick 24 times in a row without breaking a sweat. As always, I like his ballads a little bit more, but there's not a bad song on this one. Masterpiece.
"Boxcars" is actually kind of interesting. You could tell me it was written by a mid 2000s folk rock band like The Decemberists or Murder By Death and I would totally believe you. "I'll Be Your Fool" is kind of fun. "Fingernails" is dumb, but also a low-key banger. There's even some interesting use of Moog synths on this album which is not usually something I associate with this kind of glossed up, modern country. That's it. That's everything nice I have to say about it.
My favorite Pink Floyd album, probably in my top ten works of art across all media. Just perfect.
Sigur Ros is almost always beautiful, but I wouldn't say it is always super listenable. Good mood music for sure, but not something you always feel like putting on in your car. This album succeeds at being the most listenable, I think, of all their stuff. It may drag a bit in the middle because of the song lengths, but it begins and ends with some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Staralfur, I don't know what it means, but it makes me cry every single time I listen to the song. Brilliant stuff. Impossible to rate it any lower.
An unrelenting, unstoppable collection of mega-bangers. You could cut a few songs and a few skits and it would be even better, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Belle & Sebastian is like chill Spring afternoon, put it on headphones while you ride your bike and pretend you're in a Wes Anderson movie type music. They also have the ability to craft these super catchy and memorable pop songs and they will bust that out a few times per album. Stars of Track and Field and Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying will be stuck in my head for a few days. All of their albums have these cool, iconic, monochrome covers. No complaints.
I wanted to like this more. There's a lot I like about it. I just think the songs drag on a little too long and I'm not crazy about the vocals all the time. I can see how it influenced a ton of artists I love. I'm going to rate it a little higher than my gut reaction because I will probably keep listening to see if it grows on me over time.
Unfortunately, this kind of improv jazz is really not my thing. 20 minutes of a song that always sounds like it's just about to start.
I was sort of impressed/bewildered by the assortment of genres on this album. It goes from blues rock to funk to a jazz ballad, but all of it with a tinge of pop-country. None of it quite reaches the caliber of the standout single "All I Wanna Do," though. The songwriting is just generally unexciting and Sheryl's vocals fail to deliver the dynamic or powerful edge needed to make it truly engaging.
One of the most punk rock albums in existence.
Some of these songs have their moments, but I don't think LCD Soundsystem will ever really connect with me. It's a little too meandering, monotonous and overly obsessed with being cool. Did catch myself nodding my head and tapping my foot a lot, though.
I love the Beasties and this album is a classic, but I prefer the boys a little older and wiser. Starts really strong but begins to drag long before the 12 minute suite of leftovers that close the album.
This album comes off as a disjointed mess. While Solsbury Hill is a classic, the only other song I'd willingly listen to again is Slowburn. However, both of these tracks drag on longer than they should. Excuse Me, Humdrum, and Down the Dolce Vita were irritating at times. It's such a confusing listen, to make sense of it I had to rate each song individually and average their scores together. I came up with 2.27 and I feel like that's pretty accurate. Rounding down, as it can't be understated how haphazardly assorted these songs are.
Fourteen songs in 35 minutes, and each one is a banger. There's so much to love about this album: the guitar tone, the clever wordplay on "Here, There and Everywhere," the revelation that "She Said She Said" is about John trying acid while "Got To Get You Into My Life" is about Paul trying weed. "Eleanor Rigby" stands out as one of the greatest songs ever written. This album holds a special place in my heart; it was one of the first vinyl records I ever owned, "borrowed" from an ex-girlfriend's dad. I could easily continue singing its praises. While I'm probably going to give every Beatles album on this list a 5-star rating, this one, in particular, holds a spot among my favorites.
I really liked the funk and jazz instrumentals more than I thought I would. I even enjoyed the punk songs. It's eclecticism really works in it's favor because it helps to break up the monotony of the Beastie's sound.
Messy, monotonous, atonal, and mixed as if to sound like it's playing on a cheap laptop in another room.
Solid flows, laid-back beats, but nothing truly stands out for me. The songs tend to be excessively long and a bit too repetitive. Nevertheless, it's a classic and clearly influential on much of my favorite hip-hop.
The first half of the album works really well. A good catchy Tom Petty song always hits for me. The second half loses a little momentum with longer and more shapeless tracks before finally ending on a high note with American Girl. Overall, good stuff!
It pains me to give this a middling rating, considering how much I love the second Gorillaz album, Demon Days—one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately, Demon Days isn't on this list; instead, we have their first self-titled album, which, to be honest, is just okay. There are about four good songs (with "5/4" being my favorite), and the rest feels like a warm-up for the better things that would come later.
Very unoffensive, middle of the road, adult contemporary dance music.
It's a little tricky for me to parse exactly how I feel about this one. When it came out, I was squarely in the perfect demographic to be blown away by it, but I also grew out of it pretty quick. I don't think I've listened to it in over twenty years. These days it does stir a small sense of nostalgia in me and I'm still capable of enjoying his technical ability as a rapper. Yet, the content feels like empty provocation for its own sake, managing to be both dull and cringe. It doesn't even push boundaries in an interesting way—more like a baby's first album of edgelord bullshit. In the end, it's a big shrug from me—no thanks.
It's hard to review because Creedence is just part of my DNA at this point. Always a good vibe.
You know, I pretty much liked it. Definitely a weird vibe, but I just love the combination of droning sounds and spacey effects. It would be great to use as the score of a horror movie. I probably would've rated it higher except a third of the runtime is taken up by the song "Frankie Teardrop" which goes a little too far and tips into halloween sound effects record territory.
Frustratingly, relentlessly mid.
I liked some of the beats, but it was mostly very slow and boring and I really didn't care for any of the vocals.
It's been a long time since I listened to this album. While I've previously brushed it off as goofy and somewhat cringe, I've now reached a point where I find its heart-on-its-sleeve earnestness charming. Admittedly, nostalgia is working in its favor, but the songs remain catchy, the breakdowns still make me nod my head, and I can still recall most of the lyrics two decades later.
Even though every song is way too long and more than a little corny, the album is still a fun time. Except for "Dreamin" and "You Are" which are perpetual skips.
I gave up on this around track 9. It has it's moments. It's not bad background music if you want to feel like a 90s hacker, but I listened to enough of it to know that it's not for me.
I'm still not overly impressed by LCD Soundsystem, but I thought this one was okay. It's not my favorite, but it's not bad either. "Watch the Tapes" stands out as my favorite because it's the closest to sounding like an actual song.
This is extremely my shit. Punchy and catchy as hell. Great jangly guitars!
If this were a real score for a real movie, I'm sure it would be pretty good. It has great ominous neo-noir vibes. It is not a real movie, however, and I'm not the kind of person who listens to film scores for fun.
I think I like the songs. I can get over the muddy production, breakneck transitions that don't feel natural, and endless soloing, but I really can't stand the vocals. They completely ruin it for me.
Very good, very moody. I feel like all of modern synthwave is trying to recapture the magic of this album. So many catchy, atmospheric songs you can just get lost in. The big singles Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence are masterpiece-tier pop songs. The biggest surprise for me was Waiting for the Night. That song has vibes for days.
I've tried a couple of times with this album and I just can't make it all the way through. I can tell there are some decent melodies buried in these songs somewhere but it sounds like garbage. The production is so weak and airy, there's no punch to anything and the caterwauling vocals really grate on me after a few songs. I think the Bowie comparisons are honestly insulting to Bowie. Not my kind of thing at all.
I could see this growing on me and going up a star, there's a lot to digest. It's very pretty, very cinematic, kind of gloomy. I do think most of the songs are a little meandering and Callahan's vocals don't exactly do it for me.
Incredibly tense, dark and aggressive, but undeniably hooky. It's an impressive tightrope act and it's easy to see how it's innovative blend of industrial, rock, pop, and avant-garde noise established Trent Reznor as an icon. It might drag a little in the middle, but it's never boring.
At first, I thought it was a passable early 2000s garage rock album with a noisy punk rock edge, but the vocals aren't great, and the songs aren't very memorable. However, what made me truly dislike this album was the awful production. Every track is cranked up and drenched in distortion so thick that every element of every song fights for dominance in the mix. I gave up halfway through because it was giving me a headache; it was simply unlistenable.
Chill minimalist production and Tracy has a beautiful voice. Feels like this was mega influential on the early 90s wave of singer-songwritery pop music.
Drifts through post-rock, minimalism, freeform jazz, ambient, and math rock while always maintaining impeccable vibes. Fantastic background music.
I liked the parts that were more psych and soul influenced, but 90% of this album is generic country rock. Too much jesus talk. Cringe band name.
Weedly deedly deedly woooo, deedly dee dee da da daaaaah, wooo woooo wooooow, dee dee dee dee dee doooooow, wah wah weeeee wah, diddly deedly dee, weeeee weee weeeee woooo, da da da da deeeeeeee, woo woo wooooow, deedly deedly dee da daaaaaah, woooo weeeee waaaaa, weedly weedly woo, deedly dee dee, dee dee deedly deedly dee dee dooooo, wah wah wah waaaaaah, weee weee wooo, dee dee dee da da daaaaah, deedly deedly dee, wooo woooow, weeeeee woooooo waaaaaaah, deedly deedly deedly da, wooooo woooooo wooooow, dee dee dee da da da, wah wah weeeee waaaaaaah, diddly diddly deedly dee, woooooo wooooooow, weeeee weeeee woooo waaaaaah, dee dee dee dee dee dooooow, wah wah wah wah waaaaaaah, weeeeedly deedly woooo, weeeee weeeee woooooo waaaaaah, dee dee dee dee da da daaaaaaah, deedly deedly dee, weee weee wooo waaaaaa, woooooo wooooooow, dee dee dee deedly deedly wooooo, wah wah weeeee wah, weeeee weeeee weeeee woooo, dee dee dee da da daaaaah, deedly deedly deedly dee dee doooooow, wah wah waaaaaaah, wooo woooooo wooooooow, dee dee dee da da daaaaah, weeeeedly deedly woooo, deedly deedly deedly waaaaaah, weeeee weeeee wooooo waaaaaah, dee dee dee dee da da daaaaaaah, deedly deedly dee, woooo woooooo waaaaaaah, wooooo wooooooo woooooow.
Really good but nothing else on the album goes as hard after Victoria which was a bit of a letdown.
I have a strong aversion to The Lips in general, but of all their highly acclaimed 'classic' albums, I've always thought this one was the worst and never understood the hype.
It's the Stones. There are some fine ideas, a couple of good singles, but overall lackluster execution.
I feel like the first half of this album is some of the greatest indie folk ever produced. I love the interesting song structures and the lush harmonies. "Ragged Wood" especially is just a hell of a perfect song. Then I feel like the back half of the album always struggles to leave an impression.
These proto-punk albums are fun enough. It's clear why this one has the reputation it does. It's impressively loud and aggressive for 1969.
It has its fun moments, but there are also plenty of times when you think, 'OK, get on with it.'
More britpop. Didn't leave much of an impression.
A lot of fun. I loved how adventurous they were with the sampling.
This list has been giving me a lot of late '60s/early '70s bluesy psychedelic rock lately. It's not a genre I dislike, but I don't listen to it all that much. It can get grating after a while. That said, I think Jimi was probably the pinnacle of bluesy psychedelic rock. This isn't my favorite record of his, but it doesn't get much better.
Kind of spacey, very loungey. Bebel has a beautiful voice. It's hard to be in a bad mood when you're listening to something like this.
Bombastic synth-pop. Not exactly my thing. I found it a bit overproduced and busy, but it provided fun vibes for an afternoon walk.
One of the greatest plunderphonics/instrumental hip-hop albums ever made. Hugely influential on basically all music around the turn of the millennium. So glad to have an excuse to revisit it.
