733
Albums Rated
3.14
Average Rating
67%
Complete
356 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
130
5-Star Albums
101
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Among The Living
Anthrax
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Tortoise
|
5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
|
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
|
4 | 1.91 | +2.09 |
|
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
The Dreaming
Kate Bush
|
5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
|
Spiderland
Slint
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
I See You
The xx
|
5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
|
Microshift
Hookworms
|
5 | 3.03 | +1.97 |
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
4 | 2.03 | +1.97 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Back In Black
AC/DC
|
1 | 3.85 | -2.85 |
|
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
|
1 | 3.84 | -2.84 |
|
Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
|
1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
|
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
|
1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
|
Van Halen
Van Halen
|
1 | 3.63 | -2.63 |
|
Mothership Connection
Parliament
|
1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
|
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
|
1 | 3.55 | -2.55 |
|
1984
Van Halen
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
|
1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 6 | 4.5 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.6 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 5 |
| Beatles | 6 | 4.33 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.5 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 4.67 |
| Miles Davis | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.67 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 4.67 |
| Joy Division | 2 | 5 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 |
| Michael Jackson | 2 | 5 |
| Elliott Smith | 2 | 5 |
| Leonard Cohen | 2 | 5 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 4.33 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 4.33 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.33 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 1.33 |
| Primal Scream | 2 | 1 |
| Fatboy Slim | 2 | 1 |
| Van Halen | 2 | 1 |
| CHIC | 2 | 1 |
| Todd Rundgren | 2 | 1 |
| Tim Buckley | 3 | 1.67 |
| The Fall | 2 | 1.5 |
| Oasis | 2 | 1.5 |
| Rod Stewart | 2 | 1.5 |
| Public Image Ltd. | 2 | 1.5 |
| Aerosmith | 2 | 1.5 |
| Traffic | 2 | 1.5 |
| Tom Waits | 4 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 3, 1, 4, 5, 5 |
| Fleetwood Mac | 2, 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 2, 5 |
| Robert Wyatt | 1, 4 |
| Brian Eno | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (130)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Sigur Rós
5/5
I have absolutely no idea what this is, and I love it. Whenever I see an album from the late 90s pop up that I've never heard of before, I can't help for my initial reaction to be dread. I have received so much shit from that era from really underground bands and artists to the point where I just assume that I've discovered all the good music from the late 90s, and everything else sucks. But this album has proved me wrong. Every song rewards you for listening to the whole thing, and slowly builds until it reaches an epic climax. Even though I don't speak a word of Icelandic, the intensely passionate delivery of the vocals makes me love them.
I initially found it daunting that this album was 10 songs and 71 minutes long, that means that each song averages at about 7 minutes. But you know what, if anything that's the best part of it. Being able to really explore every sound in every song to such depth, and slowly add layers that build perfectly throughout the songs.
I never would have thought that I would have fallen in love with this album as much as I have, but I do love occasionally getting a reminder that there is still music out there that I have never heard of that is still this amazing. It's so easy to get caught up in always listening to the same things and not realising how much music there actually is in the world that's still really good. But hey, I suppose that's the reason we are all doing this album list at the end of the day.
5 likes
Amy Winehouse
4/5
While I do slightly prefer Back To Black, Amy Winehouse's debut is still a really solid effort. There is still so much emotion and passion here. Easily one of the greatest voices of her time, taken from us too soon.
5 likes
1/5
If I have to listen to one more fucking psychadelic rock album I'm going to explode.
3 likes
Pere Ubu
4/5
I always like being pleasantly surprised by albums with a super low rating. How this ended up in the top 20 worst albums is beyond me, it's fun and punchy as hell. It doesn't take itself too seriously nor does it overstay its welcome, what's not to love?
3 likes
Hookworms
5/5
Something I have come to learn about the general demographic of the userbase here is:
1. They (usually) don't like albums by British artists
2. They (usually) don't like post 2000 albums
Why this is the case is just beyond me, because both have so much amazing music to offer. And this album, despite having never heard it before today, has become an instant favourite of mine. The blend of art rock with electronic and progressive soundscapes is just brilliant, and the album remains perfectly unpredictable and really keeps you guessing as to the direction it's going in next, and always pulling through with something you didn't expect, but that still sounds great.
3 likes
4-Star Albums (186)
1-Star Albums (101)
All Ratings
Carole King
4/5
I really liked this album. Lots of really catchy songs with great piano riffs and some really good vocal performances. A great album to have on in the background while doing other things. It did feel a bit same-y at times, but on the whole it was a really chill enjoyable album that I likely never would have discovered otherwise.
Beck
5/5
I have absolutely fallen in love with this album. It's so dreamy and easy to get lost in all the diverse sounds, as well as the incredible mellow vocal performances from Beck himself. Definitely one I will be keeping in consistent rotation from now on.
The Kinks
3/5
A decent album, but very of its time. The primitive production and tinny sounding instruments date this album a lot, and sonically has not aged as well as some other 60s albums.
That being said, there is very little to actively dislike on this album, it still has some fun grooves that were rather enjoyable to hear.
Ray Charles
4/5
Really solid stuff. This is the exact kind of thing that comes to mind when I want to listen to jazz. I love how energetic the first half is, and how it mellows towards the second half, keeping you on your toes while listening to it and offering a great diverse selection of sounds
Kraftwerk
4/5
I don't really have much to say about this one, just a fun, groovy album with lots of cool electronic and robotic themes. And it's always cool to listen to things in German since I am currently learning the language
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
This album is very front loaded. I loved the first half, banger after banger, timeless classic after timeless classic. However, this album fails to keep my attention for much longer than half of it, with the second half being very bloated and full of songs that are either boring, or even a few that I found annoying to hear. There were a handful of standout tracks in the second half, most notably beautiful child, and the titles track. But on the whole this album burns itself out very quickly
James Brown
4/5
Not usually one to listen to live albums, but I did really like this one. It was fun, dynamic, and energetic. The crowd screaming was a bit annoying at times, but some moments where he interacts with the crowd are pretty cool
5/5
Wow, what a masterpiece. An obvious pick for a classic sure, but absolutely with good reason. Start to finish every song on this album is perfect, giving some of the most passionate vocal performances of the decade. The opening track "Five Years" is without a doubt one of the greatest opening tracks of all time, and this album continues to blown me away even after setting the bar so high with the first song.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
This album had a very epic grand type feel to it, which I did like but sometimes it felt like it was trying too hard to be theatrical. Still pretty good though, it definitely does succeed in feeling very epic at moments, particularly in the first half. Although it definitely takes a dip in quality towards the end of the album, and I start to lose interest a bit. But the closing track is really good so at least it ends on a high
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Hip hop is not normally my thing, but wow, I loved this album. Really great politically charged lyrics, amazing flow, and amazing production. It uses the occasional hip hop cliche that makes it a less favourable genre for me, but other than that, I have nothing bad to say about this album.
The Fall
1/5
I am so happy I now never have to hear this album again. The vocals are so annoying, instrumentals are such low quality and I have no idea what they were thinking putting that constant synth tone in the background.
Not to mention how goddamn long this album is, it just goes on and on and on and feels like it's never going to end.
All this album is to me is a worse version on Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, which is an album I love dearly. This album is honestly an insult to masterpieces like that.
I truly have nothing positive to say about this one.
Billy Bragg
3/5
Just a nice standard 80s singer songwriter pop album, nothing really that special, but it's good at what it does and is perfectly enjoyable
The Libertines
3/5
Pretty standard indie rock album, very of it's time. It's pretty good, although it is very rough around the edges at moments. Still a fun listen, definitely one I can see growing on me
Coldplay
5/5
Absolutely phenomenal, one of if not Coldplay's best. Chris Martin's voice is so angelic and emotive on every song, sometimes even almost enough to bring you to tears.
The pianos on every song are absolutely gorgeous, particularly the songs "The Scientist" and "Clocks" with having such iconic opening piano riffs.
Honestly, fuck the Coldplay haters. This band is truly something special and if you can still convince yourself you don't like them, I urge you to listen to this album with an open mind. If you're in the right mood it will blow you away
Morrissey
1/5
Separating the art from the artist is normally something I'm pretty good at, particularly with things like Harry Potter. But not with this album. When this scumbag brings his politics and his opinions into his music, it immediately makes it less enjoyable for me.
And it's not even like the album is saved by having good music. On top of his self righteous, narcissistic, borderline bigoted lyrics, the actual music is very generic, so I can't even really enjoy the album on that level.
Beatles
3/5
Pretty solid, the music itself was nothing that special, they definitely got better on their later albums. Lyrics were pretty generic too, but there is nothing to actively dislike on this album, still enjoyed it overall. Just a fun early 60s album that makes for some easy listening.
I'm glad this is only the first Beatles album I've got so far, I know it's all uphill from here.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Wow this album has a lot of energy. Really punchy, catchy, and love the politically charged lyrics. But I have to say, listening to this album make me physically tired. And I like to listen to punk and metal all day sometimes, but wow this album manages to beat that.
Anyway, I'm now going to listen to Beach House and The xx for the rest of the week....
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
Definitely not my thing at all. I found this album really boring, just dragging on and on. Not to mention how whiny his voice can be at times. And also what's with so many albums ending on a song that's so long? Just when you think you're nearly done, you now have to listen through a 9 minute album closer.
Though I will say, I liked a lot of the lyrics on this album. Dude definitely has a lot to say about the world.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
Listening to a soundtrack from a film you've never seen definitely takes away about 90% of the experience. Does that mean I'm going to go and watch the film just to make a less biased review? Absolutely not. I'm doing this challenge to listen to music, not to watch films. That's the fault of the list's creator for putting an album on the list that requires more than just the music to fully experience. Every review from everyone here is biased to a degree so I'm going to review this album, as an album, as someone who has never seen this film.
This album really drags on, it never feels like it really goes anywhere and just keeps doing the same thing all the way through. The fact that almost all the songs are instrumental definitely doesn't help, it just makes it so much more boring than it already is. It has its moments, it can be enjoyable at times. It's the kind of thing you need to listen to while doing something else, I couldn't even imagine how tedious it would be to get through this entire album if you just sat down and listened to it.
Overall, definitely not the worst thing I have ever heard, but I really have no desire to come back and listen to this album likely ever again.
The Roots
4/5
Really really liked this one. I'm actually really starting to warm up to hip hop as a genre, and this album has helped that happen even more. Lots of really great lyrics about important issues of racism, and great flow and vocals. It does drag on just a bit, I don't think the album needs to be over an hour, but at least it's good all the way through so at least I'm not stuck listening to over an hour of garbage.
Radiohead
5/5
So I've been a big Radiohead fan for about 2 years now, and I swear this album gets just a little bit better every single time I listen to it. This alvum perfectly represents what a typical Radiohead album sounds like, and I love everything about that. The 2 opening tracks "15 Step" and "Bodysnatchers" have such a sense of urgency, before "Nude" comes on and changes the pace completely.
I love the way they seemlessly blend pianos woth guitars, making for that signature Radiohead sound. I get that some people might find Thom's voice a bit whiny, but for some reason I love it. He has such a versatile voice that can sound annoying when he wants it to, but can also be used to deliver such emotive performances.
Beastie Boys
1/5
Only 2 albums ago, I received "Phrenology" by The Roots. That was an album that made me fall even more in love with rap and hip hop. That is the complete opposite of what this album has done. Like, what the fuck is this? These guys sound like they're 13 all the while they are shouting at me in their whiny voices. And while all of this is going on, the ear grating instruments are doing whatever the fuck they are doing in the background. This is by far one of the most annoying albums I have ever listened to. Never again.
Joy Division
5/5
Where to even begin with this masterpiece. This is one of the most emotional albums I have ever heard in my life, which is only amplified by the fact that I recently watched the film "Control" which tells the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. Knowing the story in that much detail makes you listen to this band in a whole new light, and you realise how tragic Ian Curtis' life truly was. I forget exactly who said it, but I have always loved the saying "a tortured artist makes better art", which as sad as that is, it's so true and this album is clear evidence of that.
Start to finish this album is perfect. Every instrument does what it does amazingly, and of course Ian's voice is amazing. The way synths are used in very subtle way adds so much to this album, especially considering how well they were used for the time period. Songs like "Isolation" and "Heart and Soul" show this off especially well. "Decades" features what might be Ian's best vocals of his career, in terms of just how well he performs that song and how he sings with enough emotion to bring me to tears sometimes.
This is truly one of the greatest albums of all time, and without a doubt my favourite album of the 1980s. I feel like a 5/5 is almost meaningless because this album deserves so much more, but unfortunately that's the most I can give it.
Black Sabbath
4/5
A bit of a stretch to call this metal in my opinion. While it's really good, I just don't think this sound really holds up to the standards of how metal is defined as a genre in its modern form.
Anyway, side rant over. This is a really good album. Catchy riffs, great vocals, and lots of diversity in the sounds which makes for a very dynamic album.
And while I would call this rock, I of course have to at least appreciate how Black Sabbath are the pioneering band of metal as a genre, and this along with a lot of their other earlier work was extremely influential for other later metal bands.
The Specials
3/5
A lot of this album is mostly the same all the way through, but it's definitely still worth it for the small moments when it does feel very unique. Ska isn't a genre I am really that familiar with at all, so this was a nice gentle way in. Definitely nothing mind blowing, a lot of it is very safe. But a fun listen.
Richard Hawley
1/5
Oh my God this is one of the most fucking boring albums I have ever listened to. I listened to this while quite hungover so as soon as I pressed play on the first song I thought "perfect, exactly what I need right now". But little did I know that's all this album would be, all the way through. There are plenty of amazing chill albums to listen to while hungover, but what they all have in common is that while still remaining super calm, they keep the music interesting. This album fails so hard at remaining interesting that it's almost funny.
Normally, albums that are boring but inoffensive would receive a 2/5, but this album stretches the meaning of the word "boring" to realms I thought were never possible. And for that it gets a 1/5 from me.
The Only Ones
4/5
Really big fan of this. I love how this is one of those albums that's really hard to pin down in terms of genre, there is something here for pretty much everyone. The way that pop, rock, and even punk are seemlessly blended is great. So much diversity, so much light and shade, just all around a really fun and unique album, especially considering how old it is at this point.
The production could do with a bit more work, it does date the album a fair bit. But other than that there is nothing not to love about this album.
King Crimson
4/5
While I can't help but love Pink Floyd's material in the next few years after the release of this album, there I definitely a certain level of appreciation I can't help but have for the first ever prog rock album. The guitars are absolutely phenominal with how loud yet simultaneously dreamy they are, and the incredible vocals also can't be overlooked. There were definitely a few moments that dragged on a bit and didn't really feel like they added anything, but on the whole this is an amazing album to create a new genre with.
The Who
4/5
I'm not sure what I expected going into this album, but it certainly wasn't this. And I love it. Amazing riffs, vocals, everything really. Even the longer instumental moments managed to keep my attention and remain interesting. I love the concept too, albums that tell the story of someone's life are always my thing, and this being one of if not the earliest rock operas is really cool. I get that the interludes are important to the story, but they definitely felt like they interrupted the album sometimes, just as I was getting into the flow of it. But those aside, loved this album.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
I didn't hate this, but I can't help but see this as nothing more than boring restaurant jazz. All the songs being instrumental definitely doesn't help, especially with how repetitive some parts can be. I liked the last song though, it's a shame the rest of the album couldn't have been more like that since I actually found that one to be really dynamic and interesting.
Sister Sledge
2/5
No disrespect to this album specifically, I just really don't like disco, especially from the 70s/80s era. I can appreciate that as far as disco goes, this is actually a really good album but it just isn't to my taste at all.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I mean, what can I say about this album that hasn't already been said 1000 times. It's literally perfect. This album is pretty much the absolute pinnacle of psychedelic rock, and I don't even think this is Pink Floyd's best album (my favourite is The Wall if you're curious). This album features some of the best guitars I have ever heard, they are so majestic and airy, yet also so heavy at the same time, truly and amazing sound I have never heard from any other band. Not to mention the absolutely fucking insane vocals, again with so much passion where it's almost aggressive, yet simultaneously dreamy.
Until today it's been a while since I have heard this album, so I would love to be able to review it in more detail, but unfortunately I don't want to listen to it too many times in a day. The bottom line is, I fucking love this album.
Holger Czukay
4/5
So this is the lowest rated album I have received so far, and you know what? I fucking love it. I had never heard of this guy until today, and I love how much he just doesn't care and makes the music he wants, because he's damn good at it. The opening track is a great way in, it's fun, it's goofy, there's honestly everything to love about it. I think the song "Persian Love" drags on a bit more than it needs to, it does feel very repetitive at times. But everything else is to love. This is a lot like Pink Floyd but just weirder, and I'm definitely here for it.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
I liked the first track, and Hung Upside Down, and while the rest of the album wasn't awful, I did find it quite boring.
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
How have I never heard of this guy before? This is genuinely one of the best albums I have ever listened to in my life. It's so calm and soothing, yet the lyrics have just enough politically charged anger to get me excited. Not to mention the diversity in this album. Defining its genre is pretty much impossible because of all the influences it takes and the wide range of instruments used.
Primal Scream
1/5
This is one of those albums where you listen to the first 2 or 3 songs, and you think to yourself "it's certainly not the best thing I've ever heard, but it's decent. Probably gonna give it 3 stars", but by the time you reach the end you get so fed up with how annoying and repetitive it is that you just decide "fuck it, 1 star".
What makes this album particularly frustrating is that most of the songs start really promising, whether it's a cool guitar riff, or whatever other interesting sounds. But then it just becomes extremely repetitive and other layers get added throughout the song that are absolutely insufferable. And not to mention the fucking length, I feel like that's been a recurring theme among almost all the albums I've rated 1 or 2 stars, is that they are just so long and that length is only made to feel longer but how much I hated listening to the album.
Judas Priest
4/5
I normally am not a huge fan of classic metal, but this album surprised me. I usually associate that scene with bands like Motley Crüe and Aerosmith, which to be honest I can't stand. But this album definitely felt ahead of its time for the early 80s. The riffs are really good, and the vocals especially were the part I was pleasantly surprised with the most.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Arcade Fire are one of those bands that I've been meaning to get into for ages, but just never got round to them. And wow am I glad that I have finally had a reason to listen to them, because this album really goes hard. The vocals are just emotive enought to make me emotional, but not so much that they feel cringey. I love the diversity in instruments here too. Nothing ever feels like it's too much, and all sorts of instruments are used in ways that feel so natural and blend seemlessly into the album.
I really want to give this album a 5/5, but looking through the other albums I have rated a 5, I just feel like it doesn't quite fit. I can't find any specific things to criticize, but I know that there are maybe just a few corners to polish off for this album to be a 5 for me.
Liz Phair
2/5
I must say, this album really underwhelmed me. It honestly just feels like the same song 18 times. I genuinely have nothing to say about this album, it was so forgettable to the point where I feel like I can't even review it because I can't remember a single thing about it. There was nothing overtly bad about this album, but it was just so generic. While there's nothing to actively dislike here, there is nothing this album does that any other album does in a more interesting way.
Solomon Burke
3/5
I'm in 2 minds about this album, on the one hand:
Fun 60s album, good chill background music that represents the sound of the early years of the decade very well. Has sweet lyrics about love that most people will be able to relate to in some way.
But on the other hand:
Can be boring at times, and sounds mostly the same all the way through. Very generic and annoying lyrics about an overdone topic, there are plenty of other 60s albums that do everything that this album does just better.
Overall I'll give this album the benefit of the doubt as I did find myself enjoying more than I wasn't, and in the context of it being the early 60s the lyrics are very typical of that era.
Ash
2/5
This album is like if an AI were to analyse my music taste and create an album that is a textbook example of what I would listen to. And I must say, I don't like it. Like I said it is very typical of the sound I usually go out of my way to listen to, but it's just a very generic watered down version of that. There is very little that makes this album even remotely interesting. Just generic 90s rock that sounds good in the moment due to it being very typical of that sound, but when you analyse the music in this album to even the smallest level of depth, you start to realise how uninteresting it actually is.
Bob Dylan
2/5
Before listening to this, Bob Dylan was an artist I had just never got around to listening to before, so this was my first time listening to an album of his. And maybe I'm missing something, but I must say I'm not a fan. I am obviously aware of how famous and influential Bob Dylan is, so I really wanted to like this, but I just don't. I have always known that he was notorious for being a bad singer, and people say he makes up for it by having really good instrumentals and great politically charged lyrics. But not only did I not find myself being entertained by the music itself, but while listening to the lyrics I didn't manage to find any captivating political themes. Do I just need to listen to the lyrics more carefully and do a better job at decoding them or something? The only song I feel I truly enjoyed on this album was Ballad of a Thin Man, that had some interesting things happening on it. And I suppose Desolation Row had a few cool things to offer too, but I definitely don'y think it needs to be 11 minutes long. Not to mention the use of harmonicas in that song, and also Queen Jane Approximately are so ear grating and annoying.
I'm going to keep this album in consistent rotation over the next few weeks because like I said, I do really want to like this, so I'm hoping that it can grow on me, and I might check out more of Bob Dylan's stuff too in the hopes that it's only this album that I don't like. But going purely off first impressions, I really did not like this.
Bauhaus
4/5
Wow, who knew that the post punk era had such a weird experimental side to it, I never knew this existed but I am so glad I discovered it. With a bit more polish and production this could easily have been a 5/5 for me. I always associate the post punk era of the late 70s and early 80s with bands like Joy Division who are notorious for their sad music, and while this album is absolutely not super happy-clappy, it manages to sound so fresh and sad in a way I feel like I've never heard before. I honestly have no idea why this has such a low average rating, other than the rough production (which even that has its charm at times), there really is everything to love about this. And if nothing else I know how to make fish cakes now too.
Sebadoh
3/5
I get that this isn't a masterpiece, but why such a low rating? This album is still pretty solid. It has great energy, is very diverse, and had decent enough performances from every instrument. It's certainly nothing that special, but there is nothing to actively dislike here.
Parliament
1/5
Did you know this is a funk album? Just thought I'd mention that just in case you didn't pick up on it from the lyrics where it feels like every other work is "funk", seriously can they talk about fucking anything else other than goddamn funk? Oh yes, they can. The last song is just a bunch of grown men constantly repeating "gagagooga". Who knew babies could have such deep voices.
Anyway, insufferable lyrics aside, let's talk about the actual music. This is where I am very conflicted. I know that it's not *bad*, it's just that I've never been a fan of this genre, so an entire album of pure funk with very little diversity is not something I at all enjoyed listening to.
Outside of a disco in the 70s, I really don't see myself enjoying this album in any other context, which just makes me so glad that this type of music died decades ago.
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
Going into this album after reading a few reviews, I really didn't expect to like it that much. But I was pleasantly surprised. The music was very calming, along with a lovely soft voice, and of course we all know how elegant French can sound when spoken in that way. Being fluent in French and understanding everything was definitely a bonus too, since I knew what was being said I was able to follow along with the story pretty well, as weird as it was at times.
I think the main thing that this album lacks is diversity, as calm and soothing as it is, it is a bit repetitive, and the spoken word as opposed to singing definitely doesn't help with that. A bit more actual singing and something to keep the music a bit more interesting would have done this album wonders, all it really needs is to be more diverse and dynamic.
Sonic Youth
2/5
This album really had potential, and oh boy they didn't use it well. The vocals are really good, and the songwriting is really good. That's honestly all I can say. Everything else was awful. Each song is so messy and incoherent, and the production and mixing is next to none. These are clearly talented artists who know what they are doing, but this album just isn't it.
The Sonics
3/5
I think you would have to be insane to believe this album has aged well. The production is extremely primitive which dates it a lot, along with very little diversity. And not to mention the constant screaming "WOOOWWWW", after about 3 of those I was already getting sick of them.
But despite all this, this album has undeniable charm, and I can't help but like it. It still has amazing 60s energy all the way through, and even the production, as low quality as it is, can sound good at times. And I absolutely loved the last 2 songs, there was something about them that really felt different compared to the rest of the album that was really good. It's almost like they made a 10 song album and thought "damn, this album sounds pretty much exactly the same all the way through. Let's record 2 more songs, but use a piano this time too and just stick those on the end of the album". I get that they were trying to be more diverse, but those songs needed to be actually *in* the album, not just shoved on the end.
At the end of the day, I can't bring myself to give this album any higher than a 3 because of how poorly it's aged. But there is definitely something great about this album, and overall is still absolutely worth a listen in my opinion.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I'm so glad I discovered this, absolutely gutted that it's not on Spotify. I love how simple and stripped back the instruments are, it leaves so much room to really appreciate Joni's angelic voice on every song. Even with such simple music, it still feels like there is so much going on, especially on the latter half of the album where more instruments outside of a piano or an acoustic guitar are introduced.
As much as I did love her voice, and as much as you get to hear it on this album, it does almost feel a bit monotonous at times, I think a bit more showing off her vocal range could have improved this album a lot, but as it is it's still amazing, only a very minor complaint.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
I really could have died without listening to this album and been fine. It's really boring. Mostly the same all the way through and never goes anywhere or does anything remotely interesting. Country is already one of if not my least favourite genre, so this album was already on thin ice the second I saw it. I still went in with as much of an open mind as I could, but I was immensely underwhelmed.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
There is no way this album needs to be almost an hour long, I had had enough after about 1 song. All the way through it's just Nick's annoying, monotonous, overly dramatic voice never doing anything remotely interesting, all the while everything about this album is just so repetitive. The song "O'Malley's Bar" was absolutely insufferable, 14 minutes of pointless annoying music that I just couldn't wait to be over.
This is the second Nick Cave album I have received, the first one I got was actually pretty decent, but I have no idea what happened in the 4 years between these two albums, because the drop in quality is shocking.
Miles Davis
5/5
Going into this album preemptively knowing everything I did about Miles Davis, this album was pretty much exactly what I expected. There was only 1 thing about this that subverted my expectations; I loved it. The idea of listening to two 20 minute long instrumental experimental jazz songs was daunting, but wow it was great. Somehow it manages to remain interesting all the way through and keep my attention without being annoying or repetitive.
I also love how immersive this album feels, there are very few albums out there where I can just sit down and listen to them, I almost always have to be doing something, even if it's small. But with this, the music is so immersive that I can literally just sit down and listen to it and not feel the need to distract myself with anything. Which is especially impressive considering that this is also in instrumental album.
Eels
3/5
Well would you look at that, another generic sounding nothing special album from the 90s. The sad thing is, is that this is actually one of the best albums I've got so far from this decade. Which is really annoying because it reinforces this idea that my dad and people of his generation have that the 90s is the decade that music stopped being good, and after the year 1989 it was all downhill. Which I know is obviously not the case, but the selection of 90s albums I have received so far isn't helping me prove that point.
I definitely can't point to anything specific to call bad in this album, but it is very generic. As far as 90s indie pop rock goes, this is actually a decent album, and even though I accuse it of being generic, it still has a charm to it that makes me like it more than I feel like I should. I can't give this album more than a 3 because it's so generic, but it's a generic 90s album in the same way that In Rainbows is a generic Radiohead album. Very typical of that sound and style, but it's a good sound and style to begin with, so generic is still pretty good.
Pulp
4/5
Definitely not Pulp's best album, but there is still a lot to love here. It still has a lot of the same energy as Different Class, but definitely in a slightly more watered down way. The vocals are as good as they always are, and the majority of the songs are classic sounding Pulp. A handful of moments definitely drag on, but nothing that is too detrimental to the album as a whole.
Queen
5/5
I have always considered myself to be a very casual Queen fan. I am very familiar with and really like most of their most famous singles. However, until today I have actually never listening to a full album of theirs from start to finish. And oh my God why didn't I listen to this sooner.
This band is more diverse than I have always given them credit for. Based on the singles I already knew, I just assumed that they were just a one trick pony that were really good at glam rock and nothing else. But there is so much interesting usage of intruments and genre blending here that they are also amazing at. All of this really gives this album an amazing dynamic feel to it, and even though it's definitely still a glam rock album, there is so much other stuff going on that makes it such an interesting listen.
Fatboy Slim
1/5
This is one of the most annoying, repetitive albums I have ever heard. It's so bloated, with so many songs easily exceeding 5 or 6 minutes, that only makes their repetitive nature even more insufferable. Not to mention those weird radio interlude things that are just there for Fatboy Slim to go on about how great his music is within his own album. This entire thing just feels like a shitty remix of an already awful album, that was then just made even worse.
Le Tigre
5/5
Wow, this is absolute peak 90s indie rock. Very clearly inspired by bands like Sleater Kinney, whom I absolutely love. This album thrives off its simplicity, it's very gritty and underproduced, and they make that sound the whole point of the album, and it sounds great. And of course the strong feminism in the lyrics is always something great to hear.
Carpenters
3/5
I feel like this album is THE perfect example of "nothing special but innofensive". Like, I really have absolutely nothing interesting to say about this album, positive or negative. It was perfectly fine, easy to listen to. But nothing really grabbed me or stood out to me as being particularly good. Music doesn't get more average than this.
Funkadelic
5/5
I have never really liked funk. But for some reason, I always had a gut feeling that I would like this album. And I was wrong. I absolutely LOVED this album. This is just the right amount of funk without being annoying, but enough to still be funky as hell. The opening track was a huge surprise, I never expected a 10 minute long Pink Floyd type song on an album I always thought was pure funk. The rest of the album is dynamic, diverse, and remains interesting and keeps my attention all the way through. Absolutely phenomenal stuff, I'm so glad I finally got round to discovering this.
Supergrass
4/5
Do you ever get those albums where you're half way through your first listen, absolutely loving it, and really hoping it will hold up until the end so you can give it a 5? Well this is one of those albums, and it only *barely* fell short at the end.
I REALLY wanted to give this album a 5, I even listened to it twice to see whether it would be better on a second listen. And don't get me wrong, I still love this album, obviously. I am a big fan of britpop, and this is a band I had actually never listened to before. I was already familiar with the song "Alright", but other than that, I heard the whole album with fresh ears. There is such an amazing energy this album has, as is the case with most britpop. Vocals are great, lyrics are really fun, and the guitar riffs are incredible. What deducts a point for me with this, is that the songs "Time" and "Sofa (Of My Lethargy)", while perfectly inoffensive, do drag on a bit. Other than those 2 songs (which are still pretty decent), I loved absolutely everything about this album.
Mekons
2/5
Post punk is a weird genre. On the more underground, low production side of this era there are two types of bands; sloppy production, but has charm and owns the sound and they are actually really good, or experiment in ways that nobody asked for and end up making something really weird, and not in a good way.
This album is definitely the latter. It's annoying, and the low production quality has absolutely zero charm to it. It almost sounds like they weren't even self aware that it sounds awful, and they took this album too seriously. The idea is definitely there, but I don't think the violins sound good at all, they just make this album sound even more messy and chaotic than it already is.
The Coral
2/5
This album is messy, chaotic, and forgettable. The vocals are really not great and there is next to no coherence between songs. It definitely isn't unlistenable, but I really did not enjoy this.
Curtis Mayfield
1/5
Oh my God that was so boring. Literally every song sounds exactly the same and never does anything remotely interesting. Just using the same cliche funk sounds over and over again and never trying to do anything different. And I can't be the only one that really doesn't like his voice, he sounds almost whiny but in a way I can't quite describe.
Nick Drake
5/5
Nick Drake is without a doubt one of the greatest tragedies in music history, seconded only by Ian Curtis in my opinion. The fact that he had an abolutely legendary 3 album run from 1969 to 1972, and almost nobody had heard of him until after his death in 1974.
I want to call this my favourite album of his, but honestly he was so damn consistent that my favourite is just whichever I most recently listened to. I love how upbeat this is compared to his debut, but still keeping his iconic folk sound. And the lyrics are still very much about his own mental health struggles, but he presents them in a way that is so much more accessible than a lot of other artists by not making it too depressing.
There are very few albums out there that use strings as tastefully as this one does. Blended perfectly with Nick's acoustic guitar, the use of other instruments like violins are absolutely beautiful, adding so many layers and so much depth to the actual music itself. And I feel like it should be a crime to write a review of a Nick Drake album without mentioning his gorgeous soothing voice. That was the main thing that I have always loved about his music, even before I really got into it properly.
Nick Drake is an artist I grew up listening to just because my mum really liked his music and had him playing a lot. At the time I was too young to really care about music that much, but I definitely always had a soft spot for this, even only at age 6 or 7. To come back and familiarise myself with his full discography now at age 20 is an amazing combination of nostalgia, but also learning more about him and his music on a deeper level, and realising why he stuck out to me when I was just a child.
Slipknot
4/5
I do understand why this album has such a low average rating, this definitely isn't the most accessible music in the world. I am unapologetically a huge Slipknot fan. You can't deny that everyone has demons and struggles they suffer with, and this kind of music is cathartic. It's tiring to always be angry at all the awful shit in the world, so listening to music like this feels like I'm having Corey Taylor be angry on my behalf when I don't have the energy.
Frank Zappa
3/5
To be honest I'm not sure what I expected this album to be, but it certainly wasn't that. It's so chaotic, but in a way that I can't decide whether I like it or not. Some moments definitely feel a bit too experimental for my liking, most notably "The Gumbo Variations". On the whole though, this album is funky, dynamic, and really, REALLY weird. And if in the right mood, I can see myself quite enjoying it.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
You know, I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. Not that the bar was set very high, I have never liked this type of old school rap. And I still don't, I just expected this to be insufferable garbage, and while I still really don't like it, it's listenable without making me want to vomit.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
What in the ever living fuck is this. This might just be the worst I album I have been given yet. Every song is completely incoherent, it feels like each instrument was recorded for a different song, and they just took a random one of each and just overlayed them onto a song. And that fucking synthesiser in the back ground, constantly just there playing an annoying riff and never going away. Also this guy cannot sing.
I really don't like his voice, it's so unsettling in a way that I can't quite describe. I get that this is experimental, but there is a fine line between being innovative, and being insufferable and annoying. There is not even a moment on this album that I have anything positive to say about. This album truly is music at its rock bottom.
Gillian Welch
2/5
Painfully boring and forgettable. She's lucky she has such a lovely voice, I *really* want to give this album a 1 and that's the only thing stopping me.
4/5
Really really like this, solid 60s energy that has aged amazingly and still sounds great today. It's diverse, dynamic, and interesting all the way through. I found the song "Australia" to drag on a bit, nothing too major but the second half of that song does feel a bit unnecessary. Other than that, there is absolutely everything to love about this album.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
Honestly the only criticism I have of this is the length. He has a lovely voice, good lyricist, and great music. The flow between tracks is great, I love how hard it is to tell one song from another at times, definitely makes this feel like a more coherent immersive concept album. But seriously, this album could benefit a lot from being about half its current length. I have never listened to an album that drags on like this one does.
Electric Light Orchestra
1/5
This album is so happy that it makes it annoying and oversaturated, and it never changes the pace for its runtime of over an hour. Also if I ever hear Mr Blue Sky again I am going to rip my ears off. Seriously, how is the world not sick to death of that song already.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
This album is nothing more than an hour and a quarter long guitar solo. What is the point of it being on this list? The list is literally called albums you need to listen to *before you die*. This is one of the most pointless, empty albums I have ever heard. Boring.
The Stooges
4/5
My review is going to beat around the bush about as much as this album does. It's punchy, energetic, and I really like it.
Johnny Cash
5/5
Oh wow, this is amazing. His vocals are so passionate, nothing like anything I have ever heard from Johnny Cash before. Even with such stripped back instruments, this album is still so dark and emotive, I never thought country music could be so emotional. And this album is only made even more haunting by the fact that he died less than a year later. Also that cover of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode is fucking awesome.
Alanis Morissette
3/5
A bit rough around the edges, but this is still a solid listen. Very passionate vocals and great lyrics, a lot of the sounds are quite underproduced, but it still can have its charm. As much as I did enjoy her as a vocalist, there are a few moments where she is a bit too whiny for my liking, but it's never *that* bad. It reminds me a lot of Fionna Apple, although I think that Fionna's music is far superior to this.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
There is the odd song here and there that feels like it didn't need to be here, but when this album goes hard, it goes fucking HARD. The production is fantastic, and this album blends genres that really shouldn't work on paper, but it still sounds incredible. Pile that on top of passionate and diverse vocals, and you have a truly amazing album.
Beck
4/5
You know, Beck is more diverse than I initially gave him credit for. Sea Change was the second album I ever recieved from this list, and the first I rated a 5/5. It's super chill and dreamy, and since it was the only Beck album I was familiar with until today, I thought that's all he did. But wow, this really changes the pace and I love it. There are some moments that are bordering on metal and hip hop, and even blended with the overall folk rock sound of this album, it still sounds amazing.
Little Simz
3/5
This album does not start well. The first 2 songs are not enjoyable, screechy vocals, weird sound effects, I thought I would be in for a rough ride. But you know what, it really picks up after that. The latter 8 songs are all great, they are melodic, have amazing flow, and the lyrics touch on a lot of important issues. I really want to give this a 4, but unfortunately those first 2 songs really do drag it down to a 3 for me.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
After the first few songs, I was ready to give this album a 5 if it kept up the pace all the way through. And while you *could* say that it did, towards the second half of the album all the songs start to blend together, and there is very litte that makes each song unique. That's not to say that any of the songs are bad though, Ella's voice in undeniably one of the greatest of all time, and she really showcases that on every song. The strings sound great, and every instrument feels like it makes a worthy contribution. And I have to add, some of the lyrics on "Embraceable You" certainly are questionable, at least by today's standards. I wasn't alive in 1959 so maybe back then that was completely normal, I don't know.
Eminem
1/5
You know, I've managed to go the last 7 days without rating a single album less than a 3/5. But unfortunately, that streak ends with this album. I found very little, if anything to like about this album. I can appreciate that Eminem is a talented rapper, but his delivery, on top of his awful lyrics, just make me cringe. Seriously, let's talk about the lyrics on this album. Well over half the songs are violently misogynistic and homophobic. The average 14 year old Eminem superfan is going to hear shit like that, calling women "sluts" and portraying gay people as gross, and then of course follow his lead on forming opinions on oppressed groups like that.
After having listened through the majority of this ungodly long album, I was then treated with an interlude containing a blowjob in excruciating audible detail, and then a song where Eminem attempts (and fails miserably) at playing the role of a women being verbally abused. I really don't understand how any sane person can belive that this album has any merit what so ever.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Wow, this goes harder than I expected. For 80s pop this is really ahead of its time, it's nowhere near as cheesy and annoying as a lot of the other pop music from this era. Her lyrics are inventive, break gender stereotypes, and all sorts of less conventional instruments make really tasteful appearences at some points. Some moments are still a bit too bubblegum pop for my liking, but they are few and far between, and barely take away from the listening experience.
Pink Floyd
5/5
You know what's funny, I just listened to this album yesterday. I keep it in rotation anyway because it's fucking phenomenal. But hey, any excuse to listen to it again and I'm there!
There is a reason this is the third highest rated album on the list, and the most iconic and instantly recognisable album cover of all time. I'm 83 albums deep into this list and I'm already running out of interesting things to say about each album, but for this one I don't need to. We all know this is one of the greatest albums of all time, I don't need to write another review explaining that, God knows there are enough of those already. If you disagree, you're just wrong. What more can I say?
David Bowie
4/5
Oh man what a winning streak, yesterday I get The Dark Side Of The Moon, and today I get Bowie. There's very little that makes this album stand out from this era of his music, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This album is just classic Bowie, through and through.
The Teardrop Explodes
2/5
I feel like if I received this album earlier in the list, I would have given it a higher score. But at this point I've had to sit through so many generic early 80s post punk albums that I'm starting to get a bit sick of them. This is by no means awful, but there is nothing even remotely interesting about compared to 90% of the other post punk albums I have listened to. "Thief Of Baghdad" was a cool song, but everything else was so generic and indistinguishable.
Wilco
3/5
I've had a few albums that suffer from the same this as this one does. The musicianship is great, I love the vocalist, and the songwriting is amazing. But it's just so long. If it were about half the length I could see myself giving this a 4, maybe even a 5. But it simply overstays its welcome far too much for a score that high.
Oasis
2/5
I love britpop, and I have always wanted to love Oasis because of that. But I have always been a Blur gal all the way. I have always thought that Oasis are inferior to Blur in every way imaginable. Their music just feels so safe and watered down, like they never try anything interesting or or experimental in their music, and the gain on the guitars sounds so weird like some weird uncanny valley between acoustic and electric. Liam's voice is just whiny and annoying, and each song just drags on for so long which only makes the whiny nature of his voice all the more promenant. At the end of the day, britpop is one of the reasons the 90s is my favourite decade for music, and I get that Oasis are the main band of that scene. But I can't help but feel that they are one of the most overrated bands of all time.
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
Man, this guy really loves love. One could argue maybe even a bit too much. In fact, he loves love so much that it's all he can ever talk about in his lyrics to the point that it's annoying, and it's not even like he presents it in an interesting or original way. Every song here is boring and generic, and offers nothing unique or different. And as mentioned, the lyrics are painfully repetitive.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
If every song were like "The Wolf Of Velvet Fortune", this would be a fantastic album. Unfortunately though, that was the only song I enjoyed. The rest was boring forgettable filler.
Hawkwind
1/5
Fucking hell this is even longer and even more pointless than that Allman Brothers live album I got a few weeks ago. I would give it 2 stars because some moments remind me of Queens Of The Stone Age which is cool, but that doesn't make up for the 2 hours of my life I wasted listening to this that I'll never get back.
Elton John
4/5
This does drag on a bit, but there is no denying that on the whole, this is a fantastic album. Elton John is undeniably one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and oh boy does that man know how to play the piano. The vocals are amazing, such passionate delivery, and the music in just about every song is so perfectly crafted.
While Elton John (in my opinion at least) wasn't as groundbreaking or ahead of his time as some of his contemporaries (*cough* Bowie *cough*), he is still amazing at what he does, and has made some incredible albums.
Primal Scream
1/5
Second (and hopefully last) album by this band, and it's exactly the same as the first one I got. The first song is pleasant, but by no means amazing. After that, the first few seconds of every single song try to entice you with a nice guitar riff or something, and slowly devolves into annoying, repetitive, meaningless shit.
Eagles
3/5
This album is very safe, and takes hardly any risks. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it can feel a bit boring. It's pleasant, and makes for good background music, but nothing here is mind blowing.
Sigur Rós
5/5
I have absolutely no idea what this is, and I love it. Whenever I see an album from the late 90s pop up that I've never heard of before, I can't help for my initial reaction to be dread. I have received so much shit from that era from really underground bands and artists to the point where I just assume that I've discovered all the good music from the late 90s, and everything else sucks. But this album has proved me wrong. Every song rewards you for listening to the whole thing, and slowly builds until it reaches an epic climax. Even though I don't speak a word of Icelandic, the intensely passionate delivery of the vocals makes me love them.
I initially found it daunting that this album was 10 songs and 71 minutes long, that means that each song averages at about 7 minutes. But you know what, if anything that's the best part of it. Being able to really explore every sound in every song to such depth, and slowly add layers that build perfectly throughout the songs.
I never would have thought that I would have fallen in love with this album as much as I have, but I do love occasionally getting a reminder that there is still music out there that I have never heard of that is still this amazing. It's so easy to get caught up in always listening to the same things and not realising how much music there actually is in the world that's still really good. But hey, I suppose that's the reason we are all doing this album list at the end of the day.
Neil Young
3/5
Well that was perfect timing, Neil Young's discography was only put back on Spotify within the last few weeks, and today I get my first album of his. This is just a soft, pleasant, enjoyable album. I don't really have much to say about it, since I didn't find it to be that special at all. But it's a solid listen.
Solange
1/5
Wow this is boring. Just the same all the way through, never does anything interesting, or takes any risks. Her voice is so monotonous, which is a shame because I think it had potential. Every song sounds exactly the same, and there is nothing that makes each one unique. And this album has an absolutely ungodly number of interludes. As if it weren't already boring and pointless enough, I now have all of those to sit through too.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I honestly have no idea what I can say about this album. It's just....weird. Like really weird. But also somehow manages to sound kinda normal? But the fact that it sounds so weird and normal at the same time makes it even weirder. Either way, I know that I didn't like it that much. And that's all that really matters for deciding how many stars I'll give it.
The Verve
4/5
This is definitely one of the most ambitious britpop albums, and as much of an unpopular opinion as this may be, I think they kinda pulled it off. It's long, it's grand, it's epic, but it rarely feels boring or annoying. Admittedly, there were a few moments that were very repetitive, so much so to the point where I had to check to make sure my phone wasn't glitching out and just playing the same 2 seconds of the song over and over, but those moments are few and far between so hardly take away from the experience of listening to this album.
Joan Baez
5/5
Oh wow, I didn't think I would love this as much as I do. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous, and the simplistic instruments are not only beautiful and atmospheric, but give her voice so much more of a presence. And her storytelling is just amazing, the lyrics are so captivating and really make me want to keep listening.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
1/5
I love to imagine what was happening in the studio during the making of this album.
"Guys, I have a great idea. What if we make an album, with super airy vocals that are completely incoherent, and a bunch of really tinny empty sounding guitars."
"You're definitely on to something, but I feel like there's just something missing from it."
"I've got it! What if there's just constant white noise in the background, that way the airyness and tinnyness of the album is exaggerated even more!"
"How did we not think of that? You're a musical genius man!"
This album is truly hot garbage. If you think that there is anything even remotely worth admiring about this, I will never be able to take any of your music opinions seriously. This makes My Bloody Valentine's debut sound like the greatest album of all time.
Duran Duran
4/5
80s synth pop is an era of music that I have never got on with at all, but this album is an exception. It's not cheesy, or overpruduced, or oversaturated, it's just great music all the way through.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1/5
This list has helped me be more open to genres I have been very closed to in the past, country is most definitely one of those genres. I have had a few country albums I found tolerable, even one or two that I enjoyed. This is not one of those albums. This is exactly an example of why I hated country for so many years. And for some fucking reason it's two whole hours long. If you are ever torturing me for information, play this album and I'll talk pretty damn quickly.
Steely Dan
4/5
I get that this isn't going to be exactly everyone's thing, but how can you hate this? It's just so....pleasant. Nothing about this blew me away, but I really like it.
Sugar
2/5
Just more generic, non-distinct 90s rock. This album isn't bad, but there is absolutely nothing even remotely interesting about it, which one could argue is even worse than being bad, because at least most bad albums are still interesting, even if it's in a bad way. This is just like an AI generated 90s album to make the most typical album of that decade as possible.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Beat It is quite possibly the greatest guitar riff ever written, that song makes this album a 5 by default. But the rest of the album still slaps on top of that, so it's like a super ultra mega 5.
Butthole Surfers
1/5
For the love of god DO NOT look up all the band names these guys almost went with before they settled on Butthole Surfers, I can assure you that you will regret it.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
I bit long, but it continues to evolve and remain interesting all the way through. Vocals are good, instruments are really great and definitely some of the most diverse I have had so far. Nothing absolutely mind blowing, but I'm definitely very glad that I discovered this.
U2
4/5
This is not at all what I expected, but I really like it. I'm not sure where I got this impression from, but for some reason I always thought that U2 were like the Coldplay of the 80s (not that there's anything wrong with that, I love Coldplay!). But this is definitely a lot more punchy and politically charged than I was expecting, and I am absolutely here for it.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
This was absolutely an amazing album, but I must admit it didn't blow me away as much as I was expecting. Of course, it can't be understated how influential and groundbreaking this album was, but it just didn't impress me as much as an almost 21 year old in 2024 as it did to people in 1967. But that's not to say I didn't like it, the guitar riffs were absolutely amazing, and I have always underestimated how great of a vocalist Jimi is. But it is very long, and while these moments are few and far between, it does at times drag on just a little bit. But on the whole, still a fantastic album, and an all time classic that I am glad to have finally heard.
Steely Dan
5/5
Oh my god I absolutely love this. It just makes me want to get up and dance my ass off. It's so energetic and funky in the best way possible, and I adore the hint of Latin influences in some of the songs, absolutely incredible stuff.
Miles Davis
4/5
This feels like some dinner jazz I should find really boring, but you know what? It's actually really good. It still remains interesting and doesn't drag on or do the same thing all the way through constantly.
Linkin Park
5/5
Holy shit this album goes fucking HARD. Maybe I was too harsh on the rap metal genre fusion, it's hard to pull off, but boy when it works, it really works. Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock can piss off, THIS is the rap metal I want to be hearing.
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Man, this album sure is inconsistent. Some moments are amazing, they are original, captivating, and she really shows the power and versatility that her voice has. But there are equally as many songs that feel boring, repetitive, and generic. On the whole, it's a solid listen. But definitely not one that blew me away. I really wish I could give this a higher rating for the moments that are genuinely great, but unfortunately it's just too inconsistent. I would give it a 3.5 if I could.
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
Never been huge into gothic stuff, but this is much better than I would have expected.
2/5
There's nothing offensive about this album, it just kinda does its thing never really goes anywhere interesting and drags on for too long. 70s funk is really hit and miss, and this one is a hard miss for me.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Jesus Christ man, keep it in your pants.
Violent Femmes
3/5
You know, folk punk works way better than I would have imagined. There is still lots of room for improvement here, the vocals are really whiny, and there are very few layers musically. But I can absolutely here what they were going for here and there is a lot of potential.
Paul McCartney
3/5
This album really goes to show how well The Beatles work as a team. Paul is often thought of as THE Beatle, the mastermind behind the majority of their music. But even with that, when he makes an album away from the other 3, it's just kinda meh. This is perfectly listenable, but it's nothing compared to some of the best albums in The Beatles' discography. But it's one that I can definitely see growing on me.
1/5
I have tried time and time again to get into Oasis, and I just can't. I have listened to this album in the past multiple times, and obviously again today. And I just like it less every single time. There are a handful of good songs here and there, but on the whole this album is just whiny vocals, boring guitars, and generic lyrics. I just don't see the appeal of this band. I get that this is considered to be one of the greatest britpop albums of all time, but I'll take Blur over this any day.
Even though this album is no better or worse than Definitely Maybe, which I gave a 2, I'm giving it a 1 out of spite just for being the most overrated album of all time.
Radiohead
5/5
This is without a doubt Radiohead's most underrated album. It was the last one I got round to listening to when I was first getting into them, and I'll never forget it. I'd heard that it wasn't one of their best, so I left it until last. And I was blown away, and it still holds up now to me to this day as a very well established Radiohead fan.
2 + 2 = 5 rivals Bowie's Five Years for the greatest opening track on an album of all time, and Sail To The Moon is one of the most musically complex songs ever written. And the back half of the album still continues to impress, with songs like A Punch Up At A Wedding, Wolf At The Door, and Myxomatosis being some of the best on the album. Thom's voice is showcased beautifully on just about every song, and really shows how he is one of the best vocalists of his time.
Arcade Fire
5/5
Damn this is one emotional album. I'm not even really paying attention to the lyrics, but the delivery of the vocals alone is passionate enough to make me feel things that most music can't.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
Ordinarily I probably would give this a lower rating, but I listened to it in the most perfect setting, and it enhanced the experience by so much. I listened to the majority of this album while on the train, and having this album as the soundtrack to the city turn into suburbs turn into fields turn into forest was magical. I have found my new favourite commuting album.
The Modern Lovers
2/5
I'm really starting to run out of things to say about all these forgettable albums. I listened to it, didn't enjoy it that much, (although it didn't repulse me) and immediately forgot about it because there was nothing remotely interesting about it.
Ian Dury
3/5
I know exactly what you're thinking, "I've always wanted to know what it would sound like, if Bowie made punk music". Actually you know what, you're right. To be honest I wasn't thinking that either. This album isn't mind blowingly fantastic, but it's definitely better than most of the reviews will have you think. If you can learn to look past the god awful lyrics that is, I must admit that does make this album a lot harder to appreciate.
Randy Newman
2/5
Nicknames are for friends, and Randall Stuart Newman does not have a friend in me. Boring music, self indulgent lyrics about the struggle of being famous, and fantasies about living in rural early 1900s America are enough to put me off. I can't believe that this is the guy who did the soundstracks for multiple Pixar films, films I loved as a child and still do to this day. Childhood ruined.
Elvis Presley
3/5
It's hard to go wrong with Elvis, but I can't say that this album blew me away. It starts really strong, but fails to change things or remain interesting after the first few songs. Every song on it was at least decent, but this is the kind of thing that's best heard just one song at a time, listening to the full album all in one go just isn't a hugely fulfilling experience.
Kate Bush
5/5
The 80s was a dark period in pop music, especially the latter half of the decade. Things were so commercialised and overproduced, and everything just sounded the same and was painfully cheesy. For my whole life I have only ever been able to describe it as this "annoying 80s sound", without knowing what it actually was. But anyway, you get the point. I'm just going off on a tangent now.
Kate Bush was a beacon of hope in the 80s. In such a commercial era of pop music, her progressive lyrics and forward thinking approach to art pop is so refreshing, and has aged absolutely beautifully. She did what she wanted and never sold out and became just another 80s pop star that faded into irrelevance in the early 90s. She kept making genuinely good music and I couldn't be more thankful for it, as fantastic albums like this show how there still was great pop music in the late 80s.
Devendra Banhart
1/5
This is definitely one of the most interesting albums I have listened to so far, and it's a really hard one to make an opinion on. Like, I feel like I should like this, but there's something so unsettling about it. It's really hard to describe, so maybe it's pointless to try and review it with a reason for why I don't like it. There's just something so off putting about this that I have no idea how to describe. His voice is almost creepy, and the lone acoustic guitar gives this album such an isolating sound. The further I went through this album, the less I liked it. By the time I got to the last few songs, I just couldn't wait for it to be over.
De La Soul
5/5
What a key album in hip hop that layed the groundwork for the genre to really blow up and diversify in the 90s. There is so much great stuff going on here, great flows from 3 amazing rappers, and the tongue and cheek interludes and skits really feel like a part of the album, and don't at all interrupt the flow.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
As someone who grew up with streaming, and has pretty much only listened to music like that, something I find really interesting is to listen to an older album from before streaming or even CDs, and figure out where the split between side A and side B is. One of the things I love about this album, is how it almost feels like 2 smaller albums, but still sounds really good as one coherent piece. Side A is just classic Zepplin, and their iconic blues rock sound. And the way they change things so drastically but naturally on side B is amazing, taking a more acoustic borderline folky approach to their music but still remaining true to their signature sound.
Pavement
1/5
I do not "need" to hear this before I die. It sounds exactly the same as every 90s rock album, except this time the only difference is that they try to incorporate shoegaze into their sound, and they didn't even pull it off. I'm here to try and find albums that make me think, and that change me as a person. I and my music taste are exactly the same before and after having listened to this. When the songs aren't being super repetitive they are just incoherent noise, and when they aren't incoherent noise the vocals are just annoying.
White Denim
4/5
This is very typical 2010 rock, but it manages to not be generic. It's very pleasant, but certainly not mind blowing. Although I can definitely see this album growing on me, so I will likely be revisiting it a few times in the near future.
John Coltrane
4/5
While really good, I must admit this jazz didn't feel quite as interesting or experimental comapared to other things I have listened to. Maybe I just need to listen to it in a different setting or something. But I still really enjoyed it on the whole.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Hear me out, I may actually like this more than Thriller.
Madonna
1/5
I really expected better from such a renowned pop icon. I get that she needs to evolve and change her sound, but Jesus fucking Christ. Half of this album is just boring and repetitive, and when it's not being boring it's just weird experimentation, and not in a good way. And I feel like that album title is trying to compensate for something, because half the songs on this album don't even feel like music. They are just a random assortment of sounds that nobody asked for.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
What an album. There is not a single second wasted on this thing, every moment, every song, everything. It all goes hard. The band work so well together, and their chemistry is so clear on just about every song. Not to mention how ahead of its time this album was. Music this heavy wasn't even dreamt of in the 60s, and on their first attempt, Zepplin had it in the bag and created what is STILL in 2024 one of the greatest albums of all time.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I think a lot of people feel like they need to like this just because it's old. And don't get me wrong, it is definitely important to have at least a little bit of appreciation for classic music, even if it isn't to ones taste, but old music definitely doesn't equate good music. And I must admit, I didn't really enjoy this album that much. It didn't initially repulse me, but it was certainly nothing special. There is very little that makes each song unique, and by the time I was half way through, I just wanted it to be over, since there just wasn't anything about it that I found interesting anymore.
The United States Of America
3/5
After the first couple of tracks, I thought I was in for a rough ride. And while I didn't love it, it was definitely better than the opening few songs would have you think. It has moments that are just weird and annoying, but equally many that are playfully experimental, and even a few songs that are really melodic and have some great vocal performances. On the whole, it's very inconsistent, but there is definitely something about this that makes it unique.
Kraftwerk
4/5
Can we PLEASE collectively agree to stop underrating Kraftwerk. They are without a doubt the most important and influential band in the world of electronic music, yet somehow all of their albums have really mediocre average ratings. Some people might find this album "boring" or "weird", but if you stop being closed minded and stop expecting everything you hear to be a formulaic 3 minute pop song then you can start to appreciate how amazing Kraftwerk are. Songs that exceed 10 minutes are something I have always had an appreciation for, because I love getting immersed in the music and really taking the time to admire everything that is going on in the music, and this is basically just a full album of that.
Prince
3/5
Far from Prince's best, and I must say this really doesn't feel like it needs to be a double album, it makes it way more bloated than it should be. But I do admire a lot of the experimentation on this album.
Germs
4/5
This is so unhinged and I love it. Just some of the rawest, heaviest, no bollocks punk I have ever heard.
The Go-Go's
5/5
Holy shit I love this. Who knew how mature bubblegum pop could be. There's great diversity, and keeps things simultaneously interesting and light hearted without ever feeling cheesy or annoying.
Radiohead
5/5
There was actually once a time that I was on board with the "Kid A > OK Computer" trend, and while I've snapped out of following that chronically online music trend that makes people feel unique, I still consider this to be a close second favourite Radiohead album. I think it lacks the theatrics that OK Computer has, but this is still definitely their moodiest, most atmospheric album by far.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Given how much I have fallen in love with The Stooges because of this list, I really expected more from this. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly listenable, but it just feel really inconsistent and some moments drag on much longer than they really should. I still like to see Iggy evolving his sounds though, the ideas are definitely there, but the execution could have been done a bit better.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
This album is just beautiful, that's the best way that I can describe it. It's so soft and mellow, and honestly really comforting almost. The vocals are simply gorgeous and so passionate yet so soft. It breaks my heart that this album not only isn't on Spotify, but also has such a low average rating. (As of May 2024), 2.96!?!? Are you guys for real? Appalling.
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
The raw energy of this album is simply unmatched by anything. It's so fun and playful, but also has so much genuinely great social commentary on life in Sheffield and all the affairs that go on in that kind of setting. I have never quite heard anything that manages to be so fun yet with such great commentary all at the same time. The pacing is nothing short of amazing, I love the way that Riot Van changes the tone to something more slow and soft just as you start to think that this all sounds the same.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
This is just a solid as hell album, what more can I say. Great vocals, great lyrics, and groundbreaking genre blending. Amy truly was a huge loss from the world, she deserved better and we all deserved more from her.
Small Faces
2/5
This isn't complete garbage, but man I'm really getting tired of all this late 60s psychedelic rock. At least this album spices it up a bit with the spoken word interludes, as much as I didn't enjoy them at least it was something different.
Moby Grape
1/5
This album (or at least what was of it on Spotify) is under 30 minutes, snd it still felt like a chore to get through. Just weird, annoying, generic late 60s rock. I really am in disbelief as to how much uninteresting music has actually managed to earn a place on this list.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Considering how old this is, it has actually aged better than I would have thought. It's well produced, and the lyrics still hold up surprisingly well. I still found it to be pretty dull, but I can't imagine that's an issue of this album being old.
The Beta Band
2/5
This album was about as interesting as the 11th of April 1954. Shame as well, the album cover had me super hyped.
Common
5/5
Wow this is fantastic, one of if not the best hip hop album I've got so far. It just has such a warm feel to it, like I'm listening to it and I just feel so calm and immersed in the music. Not a lot of albums can give that feeling.
Simply Red
3/5
This album did have a handful of great moments, but on the whole it just drags on a bit too much for my liking.
Frank Ocean
5/5
The further I got into this album the more I loved it. It has such a smooth feeling to it, and just has such polish but without feeling overproduced.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
Oh my god this album has aged horrifically. Literal fuckboy music.
Arcade Fire
4/5
It's hard to go wrong with Arcade Fire's first few albums. This one doesn't blow me away like Funeral does, but there's very little here that I have to complain about.
Fugees
4/5
What a solid album. 3 amazing rappers showcasing their skill, and the production is great too. Honestly it's a shame they broke up so soon after this, but hey it gave us The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill so I won't complain too much.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
This album definitely suffers from the same thing as a lot of albums on this list do, which is being "just another generic late 60s psychedelic rock album". I am definitely biased to give it a lower rating because I've been having a lot of these recently, but I will say this one did stick out to me a bit more than the rest.
Peter Tosh
2/5
I appreciate the sentiment behind this album, but it just becomes so boring and repetitive very quickly.
Don McLean
3/5
Can't say that I was blown away by this, but it was just a nice folk album that's easy to listen to in the background.
The Doors
5/5
Ok wow, The Doors were more ahead of their time than I previously have given them credit for. I always thought that they were just another generic rock band from the 60s and 70s, but this is simply fantastic.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
Jesus Christ Damon this is an embarrassment. You're telling me that the guy responsible for bands I love like Blur and Gorillaz also was the driving force of this mess? Really disappointed by this.
The Temptations
3/5
I mean yeah, that was kinda fun I guess.
Thin Lizzy
2/5
Eh, just drags on and doesn't really do anything interesting. Kinda glad I wasn't at this concert.
Sam Cooke
2/5
I must admit, I was mildly disappointed by this. It was decent, but compared to other 60s soul there is way better out there. After a while I started to find his voice quite grating, and this is definitely biased by the fact that I got a live album yesterday too, but the low production value also made this album quite hard to get through.
Bert Jansch
2/5
I feel like I'm at the point now where I'm really starting to realise how much I underestimated the size of this list. I feel like I've already heard this one about 100 times because there is nothing about it that makes it even remotely interesting or memorable.
The Cure
5/5
Fuck yes, finally something good. The Cure are simply fantastic and this is easily one of their best. It's so dark and moody, yet also has such a sense of intensity and urgency, while still being super sad and emotional, like much of The Cure's music is.
The Pogues
2/5
Folk punk is already a really interesting genre fusion, but *Irish* folk punk is even more interesting. Which is a real shame because there is so much potential here, but after a few songs this whole album sounds exactly the same and starts to feel really boring, and I feel like the low production really holds it back too.
Patti Smith
4/5
Hell yeah dude, this goes hard. It's so raw and punchy yet also feels like there is so much musical depth to it, I love when punk music does that.
Giant Sand
2/5
This album could really benifit from being about half the length it already is. I don't *hate* it, it's just too long sounds exactly the same all the way through.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I don't need to write a review about why this is one of the greatest albums of all time, we all already know that it is.
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
I get why this has such a low rating, IDM is definitely not the most accessible genre. But I really like this. Definitely the kind of thing you need on in the background while doing other things, otherwise the repetitive nature of this album will start to get annoying. But when you listen to this in the right mood, it's really cool and experimental, psychedelic almost.
Hüsker Dü
1/5
One of the most boring, generic, and souless rock albums I have ever heard. I have a rule I call the "generic rule", where if an album is not actively awful, but is super generic and uninteresting I give it a 2. But this album gets a 1 for not only being generic, but also for being over an hour, and having some of the shittest production I have ever heard in my life.
Ghostface Killah
4/5
This is the kind of hip hop that I have always dismissed. The name "Ghostface Killah" just sounds silly like he's trying too hard to be cool, and the best way I can describe the album cover is that it has a very "shiny" feel to it, which a lot of commercialised hip hop of this era has. But you know what, it's a tad rough around the edges but this goes way harder than I expected. Great flow, great rhyming, and really good social commentary and political messaging that's more than just blindly hating the police.
Beatles
5/5
Hell yes, my second favourite Beatles album. This really was a huge turning point in their career, after this they stopped being just another generic 60s pop rock band, and became one of if not the most important band in music history. And to this day it still holds up as one of the best albums the decade has to offer.
Drive Like Jehu
5/5
I swear the people here will just hate anything that isn't Bowie or The Beatles. I get that this brand of hardcore punk can't be everyone's thing, but come on people at least give it a fair chance! I love this. The passion, the rawness, the emotion. All the way through it's nothing other than amazing.
Peter Frampton
2/5
I can't say that I actively disliked this, but I just don't understand why this live album needed to exist. It just sounds like any other ordinary concert from the 70s. Live albums should be for performances that are particularly amazing, or really showcase something special that can't be done at any old concert or in the studio. But this album doesn't have that, just a standard rock concert that happened to become a live album. I would give this a 3 for still being a solid enough listen, but I'll deduct one point for it being completely unnecessary for this to be a live album.
The Police
4/5
Just a really solid pop/rock/new wave album. What more is there to say?
Fairport Convention
3/5
Sort of a cool fun album, but didn't stand out to me as being particularly special.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I'm ashamed to admit that until today, I have actually never listened to a full album by The Stones, and based on this, I really like it. Raw, punchy, and to be honest, for the standards of the 60s, the lyrics on this thing are outrageous. It's definitely clear how album like this really did go on to influence the more political and open minded eras of music, most notably punk rock in the 1970s. I will now absolutely be listening to more Rolling Stones in the coming weeks, having had an excuse to finally get round to them, I now want to listen to more.
Metallica
5/5
Simply a classic, one of if not the best thrash metal album of all time. There is not a second on this album that you can't headbang to. This thing is just going hard for the entire runtime but never feels annoying or repetitive.
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
This album is kinda fun, on the whole I did enjoy it, and to be honest I can't find a lot to criticise about it. It's just sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg.
The Monkees
2/5
This album is just unbelievably 60s, and not in a good way. I can't fault most of it, but it's all just so safe and really uninteresting. If this were an early 60s album I think it would be a lot more forgivable, but given that at this point in music history, The Beatles, The Stones, and Bob Dylan had already taken music far beyond what it ever was in the past, this album is very much behind its time.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Solid as hell indie folk rock. Incredible passion, and great musicianship.
Dusty Springfield
2/5
I wasn't around in the 60s, so it's possible that I'm completely wrong about this, but this just feels like the 60s equivalent of what someone like Ed Sheeran is today. Super famous and popular, but actually really boring when it comes down to it. It feels like this music was made not out of artistic passion, but out of the want to be rich and famous.
Underworld
2/5
Just keeps on going and never ends, far too long and repetitive for my liking.
Van Morrison
3/5
While listening to this I feel like he looks on the album cover. This music is simply not nearly enough to trigger any meaningful emotional response from me, but it's perfectly pleasant to listen to.
Alice In Chains
5/5
Nobody bridges the gap between metal and grunge like Alice In Chains do. Their genre fusion is like no other, and it gives them such an iconic and unique sound.
Stan Getz
2/5
Felt like a 33 minute long elevator ride.
M.I.A.
4/5
This album goes hard as hell, you guys just aren't ready for the world of abstract and experimental hip hop.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Definitely quite inconsistent, but on the whole this album is interesting and pretty groovy, with some very high highs, but also some equally low lows.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
I hate how much I like this. I always thought that's Snoop Dogg's music was just silly meme music, I mean just look at that stupid album cover! Not to mention that this album is literally called "Doggystyle" how can anyone ever take that seriously? This guy has been a meme for pretty much as long as he has been a relevant public figure, so I thought that this would be much like listening to The Lonely Island or something like that, but this album goes harddddd. The flows, the beats, the rapping, it's all some solid as hell stuff man.
Cheap Trick
1/5
This is just as annoying and pointless as every other 70s live album I've received so far. But on top of that, these guys have the most fucking annoying crowd I have ever heard in a live album. Were these guys like the One Direction of the 70s or something? Their fans sound like 10 year old girls. I would give this 2 stars, but I'm applying the "pointless live album rule" where if a completely normal concert gets turned into a live album I deduct one star for it being completely pointless and a waste of everyone's time to listen to.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I get that this is a clsssic, and that it's the oldest album on the list. But I have to be honest, I found this incredibly boring. I don't know exactly how one was meant to listen to this back in 1955, but I do not think that this has stood the test of time.
Dead Kennedys
3/5
It's so frustrating how this album is so held back by such shitty production. There is not a single song on here that doesn't go insanely hard, but most of them just sound terrible. 3 stars for an album with amazing potential.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
While I do slightly prefer Back To Black, Amy Winehouse's debut is still a really solid effort. There is still so much emotion and passion here. Easily one of the greatest voices of her time, taken from us too soon.
The Style Council
4/5
Punchy, fun, dynamic, just a solid as hell album.
Mott The Hoople
1/5
I can live very well without super generic dad rock thank you 👍
Kanye West
5/5
I've been dreading the day that I get a Kanye album, I've been going back and forth as to whether I'm actually going to listen to it for moral reasons. My initial line of thinking was that I don't want this homophonic, misogynistic nazi to recieve any royalties from my streaming his music, but you know what? I'm here to judge the music, not the person. Now that the day has come for real that I get an album from this guy, it only feels right that I still give it a fair shot. Let's listen and see what happens....
Fuckkkkk why is this actually so goooood. I hate that the worst people are always the best musicians.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Peace and love, man.
Iron Maiden
5/5
As much as I can endlessly complain about all the questionable album picks on this list, I find that metal, particularly from the 70s and 80s, is an extremely well represented genre. And this album is no exception. Reminds me a lot of Judas Priest and in the best way possible. I feel like there's nothing on this album that I can't headbang to.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
This was a perfectly good album, but there are definitely Joni Mitchell projects out there that I think are better than this. Her iconic folk sound is really hard to go wrong with, but this is definitely one of the most inconsistent albums I have heard of hers.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
I do love Simon & Garfunkel, but I must admit I do think that this is their weakest album. It still has their signature soothing sound, but on the whole just feels like all their other albums are much more interesting and dynamic, while still remaining super calm. This album while still perfectly good, just feels like it lacks the passion that their other albums do. But I still like it overall, it's hard to go wrong with these guys.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I swear every song here sounds exactly the same. Not a single thing that makes any of them particularly unique or distinctive. All just super patriotic sounding stuff your racist uncle listens to.
Talking Heads
5/5
I really don't know how Talking Heads manage this, but this album feels like it should be super generic pop rock, but somehow they created something that is immensely creative but super safe and accessible at the same time. Only Talking Heads could bend the rules of music like that.
David Bowie
4/5
So, this is it, Bowie's last album. The album that ended off his legendary career. I've heard some people claim that it's his best, which I find to be extremely far fetched, and feels like people find this release to be more tragic and impactful than it actually was because it came out only 2 days before his death. But with that being said, this is still a fantastic album. I'm not so familiar with his later works, so I can only really compare this to his 70s/80s material. And it sounds surprisingly good even compared to some of his absolute best. But this fusion of experimental art rock and jazz sounds about as good as it can, and this is a great way to end a discography as legendary as Bowie's.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
Hell yes dude, this is what dance punk is all about. But this is more like progressive dance punk, it just transcends genre labels. Fucking love this album.
Beastie Boys
2/5
White people ass hip hop.
Hugh Masekela
1/5
Too long and boring, I was rather pleased when it was done. It was completely innofensive, but it still gets a 1 for being over an hour.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Arcade Fire but it's psychedelic folk? I'm absolutely here for it.
Faith No More
3/5
Red Hot Metal Peppers.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Something that this list has really helped me with, is making me aware of other fantastic britpop bands other than just Blur, Pulp, and Oasis. And Manic Street Preachers are no exception. This fantastic powerhouse of an album delivers some of the most fun, energetic, and diverse britpop I have heard in a while.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
The early 90s really was a great era of hip hop. The genre was really starting to become itself, and was now no longer just a subgenre of soul. And this album represents the evolution of the genre during this time perfectly. It doesn't take itself too seriously, having lots of very fun and tongue and cheek lyrics, but still keeps interesting and creates a brilliant atmosphere.
Tom Waits
1/5
This is the worst kind of experimental music.
Paul Simon
3/5
I feel like Simon & Garfunkel had a pretty consistent output, so after a band breakup like that, the solo material might take a few albums to really be something good, as the members adjust to making music on their own. And this album I think is a perfect example of than. It was okay, but definitely nothing special. I imagine that some of Paul Simon's later stuff is much more interesting.
Slint
5/5
If only Slint never broke up, they could have become one of the greatest post rock bands of all time. This is a brilliant album and shows such potential for this band. The atmosphere that is created and the moody spoken word vocals are fantastic, giving this album an almost creepy unsettling feel to it, but in the best way possible. The repetitive guitar riffs are so moody and get stuck in your head so easily, all while the vocals creep in from the background and deliver some amazing storytelling.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
What am I missing here? I think that this is a perfectly enjoyable album, but I don't think it's anything too special, just feels like a pretty standard 70s dad rock album to me.
Black Sabbath
5/5
I mean, obviously one of the greatest metal albums ever made. The fact that Black Sabbath were the first metal band pretty much ever, and even their early works hold up this well truly demonstrates how timeless their music really is. Bravo Ozzy.
Heaven 17
1/5
Talking Heads if they fucking sucked.
Metallica
4/5
I don't know why, but I've been craving so much thrash metal recently. And while this album doesn't scratch that ich quite as well as others of this era, it's hard to go wrong with 80s thrash metal. Still a really damn solid album.
Flamin' Groovies
1/5
In what universe is this album a must listen? I'm really starting to think that most of the really obvious classic albums were put on this list (which even then, there are loads of albums missing that really should have made the final cut, as I'm sure we are all aware), and then after that it was just scraping the bottom of the barrel to get it up to 1001. This album is annoying, souless, and super generic. I'm just happy that it's so short.
Mudhoney
3/5
It's hard for me to rate something as short as this, I feel like I just didn't get the chance to really see what this band was capable of. This reminds me a lot of Nirvana's debut album (which is sadly absent from this list), both being of the late 80s proto grunge era before it really got started in the early 90s. It's a solid listen, I just really wish that it were longer.
Eurythmics
4/5
I must admit I was more impressed by this one than I initially expected. I have never listened to this album before, nor did I even know it existed. But I was already familiar with one song (you all know which one), so when I saw the album title I was filled with dread. I don't *hate* that song, but my God is it overplayed. And I fully expected this to be just that for 40 minutes straight, just typical oversaturated 80s pop. But you know what, this is a surprisingly diverse album. It really represents this era of 80s pop really well, and even the title track doesn't feel out of place or stick out like a sore thumb.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
I thought that this was going to be a really boring and forgettable generic sounding 60s album, but turns out it's actually a really fun and enjoyable generic sounding 60s album.
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
This album was really annoying, I really with that they would stop talk talk talking.
Big Star
2/5
Eh, kinda boring and generic. I really liked "Holocaust" (for the love of God please do not take that out of context), that was a beautifully haunting song, but other than that this was really uninteresting.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Third album I've got by these guys, and I just don't get it. Nothing more than super standard rock music of its time. I really don't understand why all their stuff has such high ratings.
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
This album just doesn't really do anything, it's hard to hate it but it's completely devoid of any personality.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Nothing too special about this one, just a pretty run of the mill post punk album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Oh my God this album is beautiful. Nick Cave, I'm sorry for the awful ratings I have given you in the past. This album has made me see your music in a new light, I promise I'll be open to the rest of your stuff from now on.
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Perfectly enjoyable background music, but nothing to get too excited about.
D'Angelo
2/5
This is like the background music album of all time.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Sonic Youth are really growing on me, I got Sister a while ago, and didn't really like it. I have revisited that album a few times and I do actually really like it now. It was cool to listen to another album of theirs knowing that I should like it this time, and hell yeah dude this is a great album.
Elvis Presley
3/5
I feel like a lot of people feel like they have to like Elvis, just because he was so famous and influential, but to be honest I don't think that his legacy will be quite as well known in the coming decades as people seem to think. For what it's worth, I do think that this album has aged better than about 90% of music from the 50s, but that isn't saying a lot. It's a perfectly enjoyable album, but just doesn't feel that interesting or unique. I get that at the time, this was about as interesting and unique as music got, but compared the bands like The Beatles (different decade I know, but still a fair comparison in my opinion), this just doesn't hold up to today's standards nearly as well.
R.E.M.
2/5
For some reason, I always thought that R.E.M. were a 70s band, so I was surprised to see that this album came out in 1992 after it popped up. But after having listened to it, I now fully understand why I was under the impression that R.E.M. were a 70s band. This album sounds dated as hell, completely behind its time. I can't find anything to hate about it, but it just feels like a super generic 70s album, except it came out 2 decades too late.
John Lennon
3/5
Quite possibly the most inconsistent album I have received yet. Some moments are classic sounding Beatles, translated amazingly into John's solo career, and some moments are the most annoying and pretentious type of experimental music, with lyrics that try and fail to be shocking. The good moments definitely make the album worth it overall, it's just really annoying to have to hear all the shit stuff all in the same album.
The National
5/5
Oh wow that was simply fantastic. So emotional in the best way possible and with such passion. This reminds me so much of Arcade Fire, so absolutely count me in.
Beastie Boys
1/5
Would it kill these idiots to not shout at me for about 5 minutes.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Of course, an absolute classic. A bit too short? Maybe. A bit rough around the edges? I can see that argument. But otherwise, this is an absolutely fantastic album from start to finish.
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
Kinda reminds me of Elliott Smith which is cool, but that doesn't even come close to making up for how long and boring this album is.
Deep Purple
1/5
Pointlessly long, boring, repetitive, and way too many solos that don't need to be as long as they are.
Moby
3/5
It started really good, but I did start to lose interest a little bit by the end. None of it was straight up terrible, but this album could do with just being a bit shorter.
The The
3/5
The.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Solid jazz.
ABBA
4/5
I have had a weird relationship with ABBA over the last decade or so. I was put onto their music when I was really young, because my mum grew up listening to them, so she introduced me to their music too. And at the time, That was pretty much all the music I ever listened to, because you know, I was 7 and didn't know anything else. But over the years as my tastes changed, I started to discover music more independently, and ABBA just faded into obscurity in my mind, despite the huge part they played in my childhood. As a teenager, I had decided that I hated ABBA, that they were annoying oversaturated disco and bubblegum pop, and that I was embarassed to have had them as my favourite band when I was younger. But now, I'm glad to be open to thier music again. Due to how overplayed it is, I still can't stand to listen to Dancing Queen (just typical that it's on this album), but outside of that, I actually really liked this. This was my first time listening to a full ABBA album from front to back in probably nearly 15 years, and I'm surprised at how well it actually holds up. 7 year old me was definitely onto something.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie's best if you ask me, it has that perfect blend of classic sounding 70s rock on side A, only to have one of the biggest changes of pace ever on side B with beautiful ambient music. Moss Garden and Neuköln could have just been the whole album and I would still have given it a 5.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
I can tell that I like this, but I have never listened to salsa before so I don't really know what to make of it or what to rate it.
Rage Against The Machine
3/5
One of the most influential metal albums of all time or whatever, I get it. Maybe this helps get the album's point across, but better production and being less repetitive would make this album 100 times better.
fIREHOSE
3/5
A bit messy and rough around the edges, but definitely a fun album that's hard to criticise.
Björk
5/5
I'm going to take this opportunity to educate some people: it's pronounced "Byerk", if I hear one more person say "Byawk" I may just have to end the human race.
4/5
Are Muse the kind of band that really need to be represented on this list? Not really. But, if you're going to put any Muse album on the list, then this is absolutely the one. Easily their best in my opinion, real shame how hard they fell off after this album.
Green Day
5/5
This is one versatile album. Want something light hearted to listen to in the background? This album is perfect. Silly lyrics and fun guitar riffs, and just a very fun feel to it, I mean come on, it's literally called "Dookie". But this album is surprisingly deep, both musically and lyrically. It's easy to see this album as just three guys getting together after school and making some fun punk music in one of their parents' garages, but it's surprisingly complex. And the lyrics can also be quite profound and thought provoking. Not on every song though of course, "All By Myself" is pretty self explanatory, but others such as "Coming Clean" and "Burnout" have more to them than just what's on the surface.
Madonna
4/5
Definitely liked this more than I thought I would. I don't like a lot of what I've heard of Madonna's mid career, but this stands out as an exception. It has a great blend of alt pop with just the right amount of experimentation.
The Smiths
5/5
The Smiths make such straight forward indie pop rock that it feels like their music shouldn't be able to be as good as it is. But somehow despite their seemingly generic genre label, all 4 albums their discography are nothing short of amazing, and this is definitely one of the best ones.
Portishead
5/5
Perfectly dark and moody, what could anyone not love about this album.
Ramones
4/5
Greatest punk album of all time? Absolutely fucking not. Look, I really like this album. It's fun, fast, energetic, and the fact that it's only about half an hour is great, they clearly show self awareness that music like this can't be listened to for much longer than that. But this album simply isn't that adventurous. There is absolutely nothing actively bad about this album, every song on it is great. But they all just sound exactly the same.
Koffi Olomide
1/5
I've never listened to anything like this, so I have no idea how to even review it. All I can tell you is that I really didn't like it.
XTC
3/5
Nothing really that special, but a solid album nonetheless.
Elton John
5/5
This is amazing. Definitely the best Elton John album I've got yet. The passion in the vocals as well as the music is incredible.
David Bowie
5/5
Man, I'm only a quarter of the way through this list and I've already got half of the Bowie albums on here. Well, for now I have nothing to complain about. I absolutely love this album. The blend of 60s and 70s pop rock for this super unique and forward thinking album is great.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
There are definitely some good ideas on this album, but my god 90% of this is just painfully boring. There are just a handful of tracks that really did stand out to me, and I must say I loved her voice. But unfortunately that doesn't save this album from a low rating.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Definitely some of the jazziest jazz to have ever jazzed.
The Avalanches
3/5
Solid enough album, definitely one I can see growing on me. It's one of those weird ones where even after just one listen, I thought it was nothing more than decent, but for some reason I feel like I can predict the future here and I just *know* that it will grow on me. But it isn't the future yet, so I'm going to have to say that it was just ok.
Tim Buckley
1/5
The good news is, only about half of this album is painfully boring. The bad news is, when it isn't boring, it's annoying. And that's arguably worse.
MGMT
4/5
This blend of rock with synthpop is amazing. Really fun album.
R.E.M.
2/5
I really don't get the hype around R.E.M. Their music is completely inoffensive, but there's nothing remotely interesting about it.
New Order
4/5
I'm so glad that New Order decided to rebrand themselves after Ian Curtis died, they wouldn't have lasted long continuing as Joy Division. It really gave them the creative freedom to experiment more with synthpop and new wave, as opposed to pure post-punk. And with that, we have amazing albums like this. Ian Curtis' death was obviously a tragedy, but New Order are an amazing silver lining.
Rod Stewart
2/5
It's great to see that so many young people (me included) still listen to and admire the artistic value of so much older music from the 60s and 70s, and sometimes even further back than that. Rod Stewart is one of those artists that I've hear of, I'm very familiar with his name, but only from being talked about by older people who grew up listening to his music when it was new. And having listened to this, I understand why that is. This guy is nowhere near in the same league as The Beatles, Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, etc. There is a good reason that he is slowly fading into obscurity.
The Beach Boys
4/5
An all time classic, of course. I think that it does suffer slightly from having a few stand out singles and the rest of the album not really being all that memorable. But the singles are so good, and even the rest of the album is solid as hell, so it's really easy to forgive.
Chicago
1/5
I don't think that this album is quite long and annoying enough. 1 star for a half assed job at a completely dogshit album, and instead only having a pretty shit album.
Orbital
2/5
This album does have some cool moments, but then those moments go on for too long and stop being cool.
The Stooges
4/5
Punk in the 60s is insane. This is arguably more ahead of its time than any other album ever made.
The Doors
4/5
The Doors are one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock in the late 60s. But at the same time, for an era that's so old, this album can feel quite generic at times. I'll just say that my 2 perspectives on this album cancel out and it's just a really solid 60s psychedelic rock album.
3/5
I can't see myself returning to this album any time soon, if ever again. But as unmemorable as it was, it was perfectly fine to listen to.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Really solid folk album with lots of great songs and clear emotions. Although I would love to have a word with who decided on the genres for this one. In what world is this psychedelic rock, but not folk? Utterly insane.
Fela Kuti
2/5
Eh, just keeps going and doesn't do anything to even remotely hold my interest.
Elvis Presley
2/5
Elvis is just one of those artists who was so popular back in the day, that his popularity can still be seen in the modern age. But wow this is painfully mediocre and has not at all stood the test of time.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I don't need to explain why this is one of the greatest albums of all time. Just get off your ass and go listen to it if you haven't already.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
It's really hard to go wrong with Stevie Wonder, his music is just so soothing and comforting.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Absolutely beautiful album. Joni Mitchell continues to impress, as expected of course.
Maxwell
1/5
For soul music this is pretty soulless.
Roxy Music
3/5
Well this band name certainly doesn't lie, that definitely was music.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Must have been insane to hear this back in the 60s, this was the heaviest music in existence until Black Sabbath came along.
Calexico
3/5
The country-rock fusion is quite a hard one to pull off, but this is a really solid attempt at it. Some of these songs have such amazing riffs with genuinely passionate and emotional vocals, while some can really drag on a bit. If you take out some of the less interesting filler tracks, this could be an all time classic.
Britney Spears
1/5
Some of the most annoying and solluess pop music I have ever heard.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Despite the popular opinion, I definitely think that Kings of Leon got a lot better with time. This album is so boring and generic, but once they reached Only By the Night, that album is a soft rock masterpiece.
Jethro Tull
3/5
Led Zeppelin except slightly less interesting.
Abdullah Ibrahim
2/5
There are so many amazing and interesting jazz albums in the world. This is not one of them.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Iggy pop is one of those artists that I appreciate, but have never really been able to properly get into. I just much prefer the rawness and aggression of The Stooges.
Blondie
5/5
This is the kind of album that 2 years ago I would have absolutely hated. I would have thought it was cheesy and annoying, and almost has a bit of a Stock, Aitken, and Waterman type quality to it. But I feel like since then I have really learned to appreciate new wave for what it is, and I can absolutely say that I now love this album.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
Alex Turner solo project goes surprisingly hard.
John Prine
1/5
Far too much rootin' tootin' yee haw for my liking.
The Pharcyde
4/5
What this album lacks in quality, it makes up for in comedy.
John Lennon
2/5
Even using my imagination won't help me like this album.
Beatles
3/5
How The Beatles were already this huge at this point in their career is beyond me. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with their first few albums, this music is so basic, even for the standards at the time.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
One of the most beautiful albums ever made. Buckley showcases his amazing voice on every damn song with such incredible passion. And that cover of Hallelujah is one of the greatest songs to ever grace my ears (Pun DEFINITELY intended). Jeff Buckley was taken from us too soon, I would love to have seen what he would have gone on to make after this.
Fats Domino
3/5
Most of this is greyed out on Spotify, so I'll just have to review what I did listen to. Definitely liked this more than I expected, I fully thought that this was just going to be another really boring 50s album that hasn't stood the test of time. And it sort of is that, but in a way a lot of of competes surprisingly well with the standards of today.
Os Mutantes
1/5
This list really needs more psychedelic rock from the late 60s, there just isn't quite enough.
Culture Club
4/5
I actually really like this more stripped back approach to new wave, it's quite an original sound and I've never heard anything quite like it. Definitely one I can see myself getting into even more in the future.
New Order
5/5
I see the argument that this album can feel a bit rough around the edges, but in my opinion that actually works to the album's strengths, having it not feel overproduced, or "glossy". The mix of guitars and synths is almost unmatched by how well New Order manage it, and the wide range of influences that they take really makes this my favourite album of theirs.
Pearl Jam
4/5
Definitely not grunge at its absolute best, but there's no denying that this is still a great album. It keeps everything that's already great about this era of music and adds a touch of theatrics into the mix to make for a really interesting and unique take on grunge.
Queen
3/5
I appreciate Queen, I really do. But for some reason this album just really didn't do it for me. I can tell that it's good, so I'll still give it the benefit of the doubt, but it's far too grand and theatrical for me.
The Stone Roses
5/5
This album singlehandedly layed the entire groundworks for britpop, and for that I will always be grateful to it.
The Cure
4/5
A bit rough around the edges sure, but with this album The Cure started to show their real potential. Sticking to their post punk roots while still expanding their sound to make one of the most unique albums of the early 80s. The passion is definitely there in the vocals in a way that Three Imaginary Boys just didn't have, and the guitar work is nothing short of fantastic, most notably in The Forest, one of my personal favourite guitar riffs in their entire discography.
Soul II Soul
2/5
The odd cool moment, and it takes influences from a great diverse selection of genres and backgrounds. But on the whole, I did find this quite boring. Maybe this album would have sounded better if I listened to it in a night club instead of while doing my laundry.
David Ackles
1/5
An "American" album is the last thing I needed today. And on top of that it's not even that good.
The Birthday Party
1/5
When I began this journey, I feel like I was a bit harsh on Nick. But after having recieved a few of his albums, they were starting to grow on me. But now I feel like I'm back at square one with him. What the actual fuck is this. Before I mention anything else, this is some of the worst production I have ever heard in my life. And oh my God the vocals, it sounds like a really shitty attempt and imitating The Stooges, but forgetting the part where they are actually a good band.
Steely Dan
4/5
Steely Dan's ability to seamlessly blend rock with jazz and funk is unrivaled. Their music somehow manages to sound so 70s, yet so timeless at the same time.
Yes
4/5
This list is so jam packed full of really shitty psychedelic rock albums of this era that sometimes I almost forget that there are some good ones. And boy is this one great, just a bagner album from start to finish.
Beatles
5/5
I have a brain, so 5 stars.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
I had no idea what to expect from this, but I love it. The mix of rock and electronic is fantastic, and I love the raw and punchy vocals. Definitely a band I'll be checking out more now.
Mariah Carey
1/5
I really did try to go into this with an open mind, and seperate Mariah from the one song we all know and hate her for. But my God I still couldn't stand every minute of this. One of the most pointlessly long and boring albums I have ever listened to.
GZA
5/5
I've been meaning to listen to more of the Wu-Tang solo albums, and my God after hearing this one I need to check out more. Such amazing vocals and phenomenal production all around.
Beatles
5/5
Duh.
Nirvana
5/5
I completely reject the idea that Nirvana are only to revered today because Kurt Cobain died early, and this album is the reason why. Nirvana were a part of the grunge scene in the early to mid 90s, and like many "scene" genres, grunge was destined not to last. If you look at another grunge band like Pearl Jam for example, they are still going to this day and they have been stuck making the same album from a dead genre for 20 years because they never evolved their sound. But Nirvana were never going to fall into that cycle. Even though they had such a short run, they evolved their sound with every album. And with In Utero, they start to take influence from noise rock (a slightly more timeless genre), and mixed with their grunge roots it sounds amazing. It's a real shame that Kurt died so early, I would love to have seen what Nirvana managed to achieve after this.
Tricky
2/5
This reminds me a lot of Portishead, and theoretically that would be a good thing because I love Portishead. However, this just feels like a really cheap copy of them and this album is far too long and repetitive.
The Kinks
2/5
I feel like the more albums I get by The Kinks, the less I like them. This is just your average B-list 60s band, and there's nothing wrong with them, I just think that their music is far overrepresented on this list.
Nas
5/5
Absolutely no contest, this is the best hip hop album of the 90s. The rapping is absolutely top notch, and the beats and instrumentals are just as fantastic. The hip hop scene in New York was bursting in the 90s, and this album is the absolute best thing that era of music has to show for it.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Nothing especially groovy, but there's still a fun energy to this one.
The Cramps
4/5
I was expecting more of a horrorcore type style, but I still really liked this. This take on punk is a really interesting one, and definitely one I want to explore more.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
A great opening track, and a great closing track (even though it's just a reprise of the opening track). But everything in the middle is boring as hell.
Pretenders
3/5
Pretty standard run of the mill new wave album, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
Beyoncé
2/5
I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this one. Obviously it's clear how insanely talented Beyoncé is, but this is just so generic and commercialised.
Gary Numan
2/5
This album just takes everything that's amazing about Kraftwerk's music, and just makes it really annoying. You can really tell that synths were this really new thing, and that electronic music was in its infancy just by how overused synths are in this album. It's all good and well for a song or two, but they all just sound exactly the same.
Public Enemy
4/5
Fun as hell hip hop album. I feel like a lot of 80s hip hop hasn't aged the best, but this one definitely still holds up.
Gang Of Four
2/5
This album is about as close to punk as post punk can get, while still getting away with being called post punk. And I feel like that's honestly this album's biggest weakness. The whole idea of post punk is to take punk's raw aggression, and channel that anger into something more melodic and emotional. But this album blurs the lines between the 2 genres so much, and you're left with something that doesn't have the rawness and grit of punk, but also lacks the more melodic beauty of post punk.
Ravi Shankar
1/5
I really appreciate what this guy was trying to do with this album, but this is quite possibly the worst possible way that it could have been executed. Trying to get westernised people to be open to Indian music is a great thing, but this isn't how it should be done. The best thing is honestly to just have people listen to this type of music without thinking about it too much. He goes too much out of his way to try and get people to like this music, and in my opinion this doesn't work. He also goes in to far too much detail about music theory and explains all the technicalities of scales and what all the instruments do. I can't speak for everyone, but all that stuff just goes completely over my head. Music is about feeling and emotion, and having a connection to it. Not about maths or theory. In fact, people placing too much importance on letting music theory decide whether they like a piece of music is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I was fully expecting not to like this one, but it was surprisingly good. Really great and melodic, and a good amount of diversity. All things that the other albums lacked that I have heard by these guys.
Neil Young
4/5
Definitely one of my favourites from Neil Young so far. I definitely think he showcases how great of a vocalist he is on this album more than any of the others I have heard, as well and having some of his most interesting and diverse instrumentals.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
So many double albums feel bloated, but not this one. Led Zeppelin waste absolutely no time on this album for its entire runtime of 82 minutes. Every song brings something interesting to the table, and still flows seamlessly.
1/5
I appreciate the attempt to experiment. But seriously, who the fuck is this music for.
Duke Ellington
4/5
Not the most interesting or wild jazz album I have ever heard, but this definitely made getting up super early in the morning a lot more bearable.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Ah yes, the first ever metal album. Even 50 years later this is a timeless masterpiece. It's amazing to see how well this holds up in comparison to the even heavier death metal that exists now, that truly is telling of how ahead of its time this album was.
The xx
4/5
My love for this album is about 95% nostalgia bias, but I don't care. I remember hearing this for the first time about 3 years ago, it was late in the evening and I had heard of this band called The xx and had no idea what to expect. I wanted something new to listen to, so I thought why not. And as soon as I pressed play, the Intro song was one I was unknowingly familiar with, and it felt so comforting. The rest of the album was exactly what I was in the mood for in that moment, and now whenever I hear it I always think of that night.
Queen
4/5
This album really feels unhateable. It's full of epic riffs and fantastic vocal performances, and of course is just so amazingly theatrical.
David Bowie
4/5
Piano playing on this album is absolutely top notch.
Doves
2/5
This is what Coldplay sound like to people who don't like them.
The Thrills
3/5
Deckchairs and Cigarettes was an absolutely beautiful song, but it definitely stuck out as the best song, all the while the rest of the album isn't as amazing. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but it just lacks coherence and can often be quite boring.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Funny how this used to be my favourite Pink Floyd album. I still love it of course, but definitely a bit less than a couple years ago. I think it is just little bit bloated, with a few moments going on for longer than they need to while not really going anywhere. But it is undeniably worth it for the epic moments here. This album is still fantastically theatrical and a beautiful concept album.
Kate Bush
5/5
Easily one of the most creative and interesting pop album ever made. Kate Bush was never afraid to push boundaries and always challenge what popular music should sound like, and this right her is her masterpiece. Side A while still fantastic definitely is the more "radio friendly" half of the album, and side B is full of uniqueness and innovation.
Prefab Sprout
2/5
This sure is an 80s album alright
The Hives
2/5
You know what, this was a pretty solid album, however these guys are definitely not my new favourite band. Wouldn't even crack the top 10. I liked this, however I'm deducting 1 point because compilations do not belong on this list.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
This album is undeniably a massive step up from Gish. As great as their debut is, at the time it felt like they were going to be just another grunge band, but this album is so interesting and unique. Some moments almost feel elegant, and explores a more beautiful side of the genre that even Nirvana weren't able to achieve. I feel like maybe there are a handful of tracks in the tracklist that didn't *need* to make the cut, but despite its lesser moments, this is still a brilliant album.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This is definitely one my my favourites from Joni Mitchell so far. I have yet to really properly get to know any of her albums, but I can just tell that this is one of her best. I really like albums that contain fewer songs, but each song is much longer. It makes for a far more memorable album and that can really be felt here.
Mylo
3/5
This album sure is inconsistent, but damn when it gets going it like really gets going. There are many moments that are annoying and long, but they are mostly made up for by other moments that sound absolutely fantastic.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This was a great album. But the experience of actually having sticky fingers? Horrible. I feel like I can't touch anything until I wash my hands. 0/5 experience, wouldn't recommend.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Man, this generator really wants me to listen to The Rolling Stones, 2nd album in a row! Having listened to Sticky Fingers only yesterday, I can't help but compare these 2 albums. And this one really just doesn't live up to Sticky Fingers. It's ok, and features some really solid songs. But the very straight forward blues rock lacks diversity and feels very repetitive for the whole album.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
1/5
This album was so bland. And when it wasn't bland it was annoying.
Norah Jones
3/5
This album was super pleasant, definitely a more interesting genre fusion than I expected.
2/5
I was expecting more from this one, especially given how much I enjoyed War. Most of these songs are just really boring and feel like they are trying too hard to be theatrical.
Joy Division
5/5
Without a doubt one of the most beautiful yet devastating albums ever made.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
I used to hate this kind of music. I used to think all jazz was boring and pretentious, until I recently started to get more into it. I started with getting into more avant-garde jazz, as I found it to be more interesting and instantly likeable. But even now this more soft easy listening evening dinner jazz is starting to appeal a lot more to me now. It's great to finally start to be more open to music I used to think sucked. Either that or I have become boring and pretentious myself, who knows.
Little Richard
3/5
This is actually quite a fun album. Definitely very dated, and definitely lacks diversity. But it still has its place in music history as one of the most influential albums ever made. But being influential doesn't automatically mean it's going to hold up to today's standards. I'm definitely glad I've heard it though.
Love
2/5
The first half was pleasant, although nothing special. But by the second half if got boring quite quickly and I was starting to lose interest. This one could grow on me in the future though.
Various Artists
1/5
I feel like if I hadn't been subjected to constant Christmas music against my will over the last 2 months, this probably would have been bearable. 1/5 for getting this on Christmas day, feels like 1 last fuck you after already having had to suffer through all these songs for 2 months. The world needs more sympathy for us retail workers around Christmas.
10cc
4/5
Absolutely no complaints about this one. Just a very straight forward rock album that's great at what it does.
Fela Kuti
3/5
This was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting. Maybe does drag on just a bit though.
Madonna
4/5
As far as bubblegum pop goes, this is fantastic. I've been underrating Madonna for long enough, but this list is slowly making me realise that she is much better and more original than I initially thought.
SAULT
3/5
I really appreciate the themes and messages in this album, I just feel like the music surrounding it could be a lot more interesting. It does have a few cool moments, but also spends a lot of time just not really doing a whole lot.
Charles Mingus
5/5
Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest albums ever made. This album is so accessible to those less experienced with jazz can still appreciate it, but at the same time breaks so much ground and is immensely creative. The introduction of an acoustic guitar half way through the album is amazing, giving it a more latin feel in its latter half, and having an instrumenta a lot less common within the genre.
Paul Weller
3/5
Can't say that this one was hugely memorable, but I did enjoy it overall.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
As soon as I pressed play, I couldn't help but notice how much like Joy Division this sounds, and I LOVE Joy Division. But then, John Lydon starts screaming and rambling completely incoherently.
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Perfectly good for background music, but I really don't see what else this album really has to offer.
Van Halen
1/5
Being forced to listen to hair metal against my will? Literally 1984.
Air
4/5
This is the only Air album I've never heard before, I suppose I had always been discouraged since it's a soundstrack as opposed to a normal studio album. But you know what, this album definitely delivers. They are still amazing at creating their dreamy ethereal sound, except this time it's packaged as effectively a concept album.
Khaled
2/5
I can definitely appreciate this kind of music in small doses, but a full album of this is too much for me.
Talking Heads
5/5
This one has grown on me so much recently. For some reason it always used to be one of my least favourite Talking Heads albums, but now I would say that it's almost as good as Remain In Light.
Japan
1/5
This album is ahead of its time in the worst way possible. It came out in 1979, and yet it sounds like the most annoying and cheesy 80s album you've ever heard.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
I liked this more than I thought, lots of really fun grooves and great moments. Does go on maybe just a bit too long though.
Tom Waits
2/5
I hated this one slightly less than the previous Tom Waits album.
The White Stripes
5/5
The White Stripes are easily one of the best and most consistent rock bands of their time. They thrive off simplicity and have made their unpolished sound so iconic. With that they have managed to create some of the most explosive and energetic rock music ever, all packaged perfectly in this album.
Alice Cooper
2/5
This album does have an audience, it's just that audience no longer exists. This album was made for teenagers, more specifically teenagers in 1972. Obviously, many people who were teenagers in 1972 are still around today, but they aren't teenagers anymore. They grew out of listening to this kind of thing, and it wasn't accessible to the younger generations, leaving it with no audience. This album is kinda fun I guess, but it has aged like milk in my opinion.
Ride
3/5
Didn't love this but it's not the worst thing I've ever heard. Guitars were nice.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
This is beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most gripping concept albums of all time. I find myself invested in the story of every single song, and I'm really rooting for Kendrick in every situation he describes. This album really puts into perspective how rough and violent life can be as a black teen in Compton, and having his whole life story presented all in one album is so impressive considering how densely packed all the lyrics and stories are. Kendrick Lamar is a better musician, rapper, lyricist, and storyteller than any of us could ever dream of being.
Lucinda Williams
2/5
I feel like I don't love America enough to enjoy this album properly.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I really like the direction that S&G went after their first few albums. Their sound jusr became so much more interesting as they started to really explore more folk rock.
The Young Rascals
1/5
Just more generic 60s pop rock. When will it end....
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Just very straightforward folk rock, I like it. But I can't say anything stood out to me as being particularly amazing.
Bon Jovi
1/5
The Devil himself is responsible for any hair metal ending up on this list.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
This is definitely Peter Gabriel's most underrated album. It features some of the most passionate vocals in his discography, and some of the most beautiful and consistent guitar work I have ever heard. I still think that So is his best album, but this is easily a close second.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
I think if any album is going to manage to get me into Latin music, it will probably be this one. It had a lot of really fun, interesting, and groovy moments. I still think some parts were a bit too long and felt quite pointless, but I can definitely see this one and the genre as a whole growing on me.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Far too long for an album that isn't all that interesting. This could have been a perfectly inoffensive pop album, but unfortunately its length drags it down a lot.
Wire
4/5
For a punk album filled with mostly 1 to 2 minute songs, there is a surprising amount of depth both in the music and thr lyrics. Really great stuff.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
The Velvet Underground are one of those bands whose discography will always be overshadowed by their debut. But when you listen to the rest of their music, you realise how amazing it actually is. And that's exactly what it's like listening to this album.
B.B. King
4/5
I'm always pleasantly surprised by a lot of these soul/blues live albums from the 60s. I always go into them feeling daunted by this old people music, but always come out of them having really enjoyed it. You would think that I will eventually learn.
Dire Straits
1/5
I'll never forget the first time I was ever made aware of Dire Straits' existence. It was back in school when my friends and I decided to do one of those "What is your mental age" BuzzFeed quizes (because you know, gotta prove how mature we all truly are). The particular quiz that we chose had a question that simply said "What do you think of Dire Straits?" And at the time, I had never heard of them and just assumed they were some boring rock band from way back when that I will never care about. But I never forgot the name of the band, and I often contemplated checking them out just for a laugh. But here we are, having to listen to them for the sake of this challenge. And yeah they are boring as fuck.
The Beach Boys
3/5
The Beach Boys are a really solid band, but I think they have far more staying power than they should. This album is undeniably fun, groovy, and very uplifting. But let's be honest with ourselves here, is it really that amazing? Would you ever choose to listen to this over The Beatles?
Taylor Swift
2/5
Taylor Swift is definitely one of the most hateable figures in modern pop music, both her music and her personality. But as much as it's cool and trendy to hate on her music, I stand by that while inconsistent, her discography does have some genuinely great stuff. However, this album is not that. This is the side of her that while inoffensive, is super generic and the lyrics are often really cringy.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Honestly just a nice little country album. Doesn't overstay its welcome, nor does it cheesy or overly patriotic like a lot of country does. Nothing mind blowing, but it's very solid.
Paul Simon
5/5
Ok wow, that was unexpected, I absolutely love this. Really interesting riffs and instrumental arrangements on almost every song, as well as fantastic lyrics and great vocals.
1/5
This is the worst Talking Heads rip off I've ever heard.
Boston
5/5
As soon as I see something labled as "AOR", I can't help but hesitate just a little bit. It's often the more polite way of calling something hair metal, which is a genre I can't stand. But this album represents the good side of AOR. Filled to the brim with catchy riffs and fantastic vocals, the powerhouse of an album keeps my attention for its entire runtime. It's just theatrical enough to feel epic, but still remains very down to earth and accessible. Definitely one I will be keeping in consistent rotation for the foreseeable future.
The Triffids
2/5
This album definitely has some good ideas, and I do love the vocals. However the sloppy production and uninteresting instrumentation drag it down a lot.
Bee Gees
1/5
Well it's good to know the Bee Gees sucked even before they were doing disco.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
2+ hour long albums are extremely hard to pull off, but this one does it perfectly. Keeping their signature brand of grunge consistent throughout the whole album, but still switching things up and exploring other genres, this album really is The Smashing Pumpkins' magnum opus.
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
Kinda fun album I guess, just goes on for way too long and never changes or does anything interesting.
Dolly Parton
2/5
I really thought I was warming up to country music, but this album just uses too many clichés of the genre, and it really represents a lot of what puts me off it.
Elliott Smith
5/5
Elliott Smith is genuinely some of the most devastating folk music I've ever heard. And this is definitely one of his best albums in my opinion.
Adele
2/5
How can someone be so talented yet so boring....
Radiohead
5/5
It's always impressed me how quickly Radiohead improved after their rubbish debut, Pablo Honey. The Bends takes a far more introspective approach, and with songs that actually feel like they come from a genuine place.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Definitely a lot of funky beats on this one, but it pretty much does sound all the same. Absolutely nothing wrong with it though for sure.
Nico
4/5
You know what, this album was beautiful. It really feels like she just took her best moments from her collab album with The Velvet Underground, and just turned it into an album of her own.
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
I think it's hard to argue that this isn't the greatest riot grrrl album of all time. The energy and the passion displayed on this project are just unbeatable.
a-ha
4/5
Genuinely a great album. This really represents the best side of the 80s synthpop era, and perfectly manages to avoid that annoying cheesy sound. I think Take On Me sounds a bit out of place, especially being the opening track, but maybe that's only because it's the song I've heard the most.
Jean-Michel Jarre
4/5
Of course, one of the most important albums in the history of electronic music. Absolutely gorgeous soundscapes, and top notch production. It's obvious by the lack of diversity in sounds that electronic music was still in its infancy, but on the whole this still sounds amazing, and of course was super influential.
Joanna Newsom
3/5
I can definitely see this one growing on me in the future, but until that day comes I think it's just ok. Her voice will definitely take some getting used to, but on the whole it still showed off some cool ideas.
Eric Clapton
1/5
Awful person, and awful music. A much better combo than awful person and amazing music, because that then leaves you with the moral dilemma of whether to listen to it or not. At least here I can tell both eric clapton and his music to fuck off.
Happy Mondays
1/5
I'm pretty bummed about having to listen to this today.
Metallica
2/5
Look, I love Metallica. But this just ain't it man. A couple of songs in and I was loving this. Thrash metal with orchestral arrangements too? Hell yeah. However, already by virtue of the fact that it's metal, it's not something I want to listen to for 2 straight hours. And as cool as the orchestral aspect sounds at first, it quickly becomes very annoying and overly theatrical while not actually being all that interesting after just a handful of songs. There was potential here, but the combination of the insane length, lack of light and shade, and the orchestral arrangements quickly becoming annoying really hold this album back a lot.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
As much as I love The Velvet Underground, I've never got the hype around this album. It's perfectly good, but has moments of being very repetitive and far too long, and doesn't really do anything better than the album before or after it. It's solid enough if you want an idea what this band is all about, but there really never is any reason to listen to this over their other 2 albums in this era.
Anthrax
5/5
This definitely scratches an itch. For whatever reason, I've recently been craving a lot of metal, particularly thrash metal. And this is exactly the kind of thing I want to hear.
Motörhead
4/5
This is just about on the good side of 80s metal, which is an era of this genre that is notoriously hit and miss. Beyond a few weird lyrics and somewhat cheesy songs, this album still slaps and is definitely an essential listen for any metal fan.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
I am absolutely flabbergasted that this album is labled as metal. Like, did the person deciding on the genres even listen to this? This album is more closely related to britpop than it is to metal, which says a lot considering Jane's Addiction aren't even a British band. But besides the horrific genre labeling, it's a pretty solid album. Definitely a bit messy, but still all around a solid listen.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Far from the worst thing I've ever heard (especially considering I know what's coming with another Captain Beefheart album on this list), but overall still a really sloppy and boring album.
Buck Owens
2/5
Boring ass country album. I see no point in having to listen to this.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Damn this was good. This album just felt so good to listen to, it's so uplifting and feel good on the surface, but if you dig a little deeper you then find so much amazing social commentary too.
Talking Heads
5/5
Do I even need to explain why this is one of the greatest albums of all time? No. But I'm going to anyway because I love admiring this album.
The blend of post punk with afro beats is such an interesting idea that was pulled off absolutely flawlessly. Not to mention that every single song is so beautifully unique and does something that none of the others do, while still coming together as a collective to make the album flow perfectly.
The Icarus Line
2/5
I think there were some cool ideas here, I just got sick of this album very quickly. All the noise and dissonance is very overpowering and just gives you absolutely no room to breathe at all.
The Jam
3/5
Really fun album. Definitely a bit rough around the edges, and has somewhat generic moments. But overall it was a really solid listen, definitely one I can see growing on me.
Shack
2/5
Pretty uninteresting britpop album. I love this era of music, but this just doesn't represent it well at all. Nothing awful about this album, but it just has nothing on the likes of Blur and Supergrass.
Hookworms
5/5
Something I have come to learn about the general demographic of the userbase here is:
1. They (usually) don't like albums by British artists
2. They (usually) don't like post 2000 albums
Why this is the case is just beyond me, because both have so much amazing music to offer. And this album, despite having never heard it before today, has become an instant favourite of mine. The blend of art rock with electronic and progressive soundscapes is just brilliant, and the album remains perfectly unpredictable and really keeps you guessing as to the direction it's going in next, and always pulling through with something you didn't expect, but that still sounds great.
Foo Fighters
3/5
The Foo Fighters have come a long way since this album, and the decision to include this but not The Color And The Shape is yet another example of how sloppy this list actually is.
This album is very rough around the edges, which makes sense. It was all recorded in only a few days all by Dave Grohl himself. But it's still really solid, showing a lot of potential that would soon be met in future albums.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Honestly this was a really fun album. Far from perfect, but it was just so playful and uplifting. Definitely one I will be returning to at some point.
David Gray
2/5
There was so much potential here, with hiw talented this guy clearly is, and his voice has so much passion end emotion in it, as well as the fact that he is clearly a fantastic songwriter. But the absolutely awful and sloppy production for pretty much the entire album drags it down so much. It sounds like it was all recorded and mixed in a day with technology from the 1700s.
Eagles
3/5
Eagles' music is so standard and inoffensive, that I feel like I should hate it for being boring. But there's still something about it, almost like their music is SO run of the mill that it did a full 180 and became interesting again. Truly a weird one.
Scott Walker
2/5
Super bland and forgettable. In fact this album is so forgettable, that I literally have nothing else to say about it, because it was that uninteresting.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
I once heard Rumours described as "the most accessible album of all time", and I have to say that I couldn't agree more with that judgement. Like I just can't see how anyone of literally any demographic can dislike this. Plus the bass part in The Chain is so good that it completely trumps any flaws that this album has anyway, I say as if this album even has any flaws to begin with.
The Adverts
2/5
Pretty run of the mill punk rock album, I would much rather listen to The Clash.
The Charlatans
3/5
All of the comparisons to Oasis were having me believe that I would hate this (I REALLY don't like Oasis), but I actually don't mind this. As far as britpop goes I would still much rather listen to Blur or Supergrass, but even though this album does have a lot of Oasis in its sound, there's just enough of a difference that it's actually decent.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
1/5
Ughhhhh late 60s psychadelic rock ughhhhhhh more late 60s psychadelic rock AHHHHHHH I'M SO SICK OF LATE 60S PSYCHADELIC ROCK AHHHHHHHHH
Django Django
4/5
Definitely one of the more unique albums on this list, something it could really do with a lot more of. In a way this reminds me a lot of The Beach Boys, but just ever so slightly more experimental. On the whole, really great stuff.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Holy shitttttt this goes so hard. I know that only 2 albums ago I went on about how much I hate late 60s psychadelic rock, but this one is definitely an exception. To be fair, there are actually a lot of exceptions, many of which are on this list. It's just that they are diluted in so much shit that I almost forget they exist sometimes.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Damn this album is fine as hell. Maybe a tad too much harmonica in some moments, but the musicianship on the whole is amazing, along with the fantastic vocals and all around just the passion.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Somehow this album manages to create some genuinely amazing stories that really keep me captivated. There's even a lot of emotion in the vocals in some moments which was really unexpected. Overall definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than I anticipated.
Marilyn Manson
1/5
Pointlessly long and aggressive, and tries way too hard to be edgy. This is exactly what metal sounds like to people who don't like metal, it takes away all of the many things that make it such a great genre, and leaves you with this empty husk of metal that's just loud, fast, and aggressive, but not actually meaningful in any way.
LTJ Bukem
1/5
Album number 436 and this is the first and hopefully last time that I say this, but I am not listening to this shit. For two reasons:
1. I'm busy today and don't have the time to listen to an album of such an ungodly length
2. It's a compilation so it was probably gonna get a 1 anyway
Aerosmith
2/5
We get it man, you can screech. Couldn't you think of anything else to do with your life?
Brian Eno
5/5
I've never listened to a Brian Eno album before today, but I'm already reasonably familiar with his style, given that he's produced so much music I do know, most notably quite a few Bowie albums. But listening to a pure Brian Eno album is a whole different experience, and I mean that in the best way possible. The diversity and contrast on this album sounds fantastic, and coupled with Eno's beautiful slick production, there really is nothing to dislike about this album.
Big Star
2/5
I really don't see the appeal of this band. Maybe I just don't like glam rock, but this album is on the whole just boring, and kinda annoying.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
I like the idea of this album, and it still has parts that I do like. There are moments that sound like Lauryn Hill, moments that sound like Kate Bush, both of which are artists I love. But on the whole it still does meander quite a bit.
Van Halen
1/5
This album (like every Van Halen album) has absolutely no substance, other than just screeching and over the top guitar riffs.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Just a pretty standard pop album, don't really have a whole lot to say about this one.
Garbage
4/5
This album really feels like it has such a coolness to it. The mysterious sounding vocals along with the somewhat shoegaze leaning sound really give it a unique vibe that's quite hard to describe.
Spiritualized
3/5
Drags on a bit, but still overall has a really nice atmosphere. I think I definitely did well to listen to this album late at night, that's definitely when it sounds the best.
The Who
4/5
The Who are definitely one of the best bands to come out of the psych/prog rock scene in the late 60s and early 70s. And this is definitely one of their best albums, just all around doing everything right and having so many great and consistent moments.
Dusty Springfield
2/5
Coming from a white person: white people suck at making soul music.
Elliott Smith
5/5
Elliott Smith is perfect at making music that's sad, bordering on depressing, but without being pretentious. The genuine raw emotion in this album is like nothing I've ever heard and yet still feels so real and relatable.
Lorde
5/5
Lorde's Melodrama is the best pop album of the 2010s, and quite possibly the greatest pop album of all time. Her ability to present teen drama through such a mature lens is absolutely unparalleled, and makes you realise that she is way ahead of her time in terms of age and maturity. The absolute raw emotion every damn song in both the lyrics, and the beautiful vocals is enough to bring anyone to tears if you listen to this in the right headspace. She offers a genuinely refreshing perspective on many profound topics including loneliness, hearbreak, and social isolation. And I haven't even talked about the actual music yet. From start to finish this album has some of the best and smoothest production I have ever heard, as well as the soft and beautiful nature of each and every song, making this 41 straight minutes of pure bliss for your ears, your brain, and your heart.
Scissor Sisters
2/5
Kind of a fun album, but it's really messy overall, and the flamboyance feels a bit too over the top sometimes which I think really dates this album a lot. Just with how much the LGBTQ community has evolved in the last 20 years, this hasn't really aged all that well.
Janis Joplin
4/5
I feel like I actually haven't had so much fun listening to a psychadelic rock album. It's just so playful and I love that about it, especially compared to how there's so much psych rock out there that just takes itself so seriously, this is nice amd refreshing.
The Smiths
4/5
This is one of those albums that for some reason I always forget how good it actually is. I saw it pop up this morning and my immediate thought was "great, my least favourite Smiths album", but after giving it another listen I actually would say this might be one of their best.
The Offspring
3/5
I think there's a good reason that punk album generally stay to around 30 minutes, it's simply too intense. There is a lot of great stuff here but for a genre that's so dense and energentic, by the second half I just wanted it to be over.
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
You know what, I didn't realise that The Pet Shop Boys were actually really good. I always just assumed they were another cheesy 80s synthpop band, but this is actually really unique and creative.
The Prodigy
4/5
I feel like I couldn't have got this album at a better time. The new Clipping album just came out a few weeks ago, which sees them still going for their signature brand of industrial hip hop, but this time with a very breakbeat influenced sound. That's where this album comes in. The influence that this album has had on the new Clipping album is almost uncanny, and falling in love with that album and then hearing this one so soon after has really made me appreciate it so much more than I likely would have done otherwise.
CHIC
1/5
Sometimes I forget how much I really don't like 70s disco, I just find this music so cheesy and annoying. This is just another one of those where I can tell that if you're into this kind of thing it is actually a really good album, but this simply couldn't be further from my thing.
The Fall
2/5
Ok well I hate this a little bit less than Live at the Witch Trials. It still has that awful underproduced and unpolished sound, and it's still messy as hell. At least this one has the odd moment here or there that's actually kinda cool.
The Boo Radleys
1/5
I really appreciate the attempt at making an album here, and it pains me to give this such a low rating, with there being so much potential here with the amazing range of influences and good musicianship. But the extremely sloppy production as well as the complete lack of structure and pacing just make this album completely unlistenable.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Just generic post-boyband slop. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for having some moments that are fun and somewhat enjoyable, but in terms of originality and interest, this album is nothing.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Beautiful, haunting, and almost devastating, all in one album. The lonely atmosphere and stripped back isolated instruments give this album a vibe that's not quite like anything I've heard before, but still just pierces your soul in a way that nothing else really can.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
Well good to know that this album is nowhere near as depressing as the cover will have you believe, it's just more annoying that anything. Although almost fun in a weird way.
The Cure
5/5
Simply put, this is one of the best albums ever made. The length makes it seem daunting at first, but each song goes on for exactly how long it should. Every instrument makes an amazing contribution and they are all at the top of their game for pretty much the entire runtime of the album.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Definitely other stuff from this era that had aged a lot better, but considering this is the late 80s we are talking about, it could be SO much worse. Still a fun listen overall.
Common
4/5
Perfect album for a spring afternoon. The vibes, production, and amazing rapping all just make this an amazing experience to listen to. I will admit it is a bit long, and the production definitely isn't as good as Be, but this album's flaws are easy to look past with how great everything else is.
Björk
4/5
I've always thought of this as one of my least favourite Björk albums, but having listened to it again, it's beautiful. It's still so grand and emotional with the synths and strings blended seamlessly.
Todd Rundgren
1/5
This could have been a solid little pop rock album, nothing special but just a good enough album to listen to. But no, it could never be that easy. It just *had* to be an hour and a half didn't it? The sad thing is that the actual music is perfectly ok, it just doesn't need to be so damn long.
Pixies
5/5
If you want an album where every single instrument pulls it's weight, and then some, then this right here is the answer. For an album that is as raw and unhinged as this, with almost punk leaning tendencies in some moments, it sure is beautiful too.
Radiohead
3/5
Definitely Radiohead's most inconsistent album, but the best moments still make it worth your time overall. This has some of their weirdest and most out there moments, and I think that's what overall makes it one of their lesser albums, with those moments not really fitting in all that well, and some even being a bit too experimental and sounding weird alongside the much more tame songs. But at the end of the day it's still a Radiohead album, it still has Thom Yorke's amazing voice, and it still has Pyramid Song which is easily an all time favourite Radiohead song for me.
The Lemonheads
3/5
Nothing all that special, but it's hard to complain about a quick and simple 90s indie rock album. It's still pretty punchy and had a fun energy.
Pere Ubu
4/5
I always like being pleasantly surprised by albums with a super low rating. How this ended up in the top 20 worst albums is beyond me, it's fun and punchy as hell. It doesn't take itself too seriously nor does it overstay its welcome, what's not to love?
T. Rex
2/5
Feels like a pretty generic glam rock album to me, just trying too hard to be like Bowie and not even coming close.
The Saints
3/5
Definitely one of the slightly better punk rock albums on this list. I think what it lacks in originality it makes up for in energy.
Orbital
3/5
You know, this kind of very long and experimental electronic music is actually kinda growing on me. I think this specific album still has a lot of moments that sound out of place and go on for too long, but overall I think it's still worth it for some of the best moments.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
1/5
When I saw this album was from the late 60s, was by a band called "The Flying Burrito Brothers" and has the super tacky font on the cover, I could only imagine what awaited me. I am so sick to death of all the psychadelic rock albums from the late 60s by bands with stupid names that use that exact font. So you can't even imagine my relief when I started listening to it and it wasn't that. However, that feeling of relief only lasted all of a few seconds, as it didn't take long for me to realise that what this album is, isn't much better. It's still annoying, and pointlessly weird, only difference is that it's country as opposed to psych rock. I appreciate that it's different, but that doesn't distract me from the fact that it still fucking sucks.
Public Enemy
4/5
I absolutely love Public Enemy for their ability to make an album with such amazing and important social commentary and criticisms of society, and yet at the same time this album is fun as hell and can also be enjoyed in a much more light hearted way.
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
I think it says a lot that while writing this review I remember literally nothing about this album.
Tears For Fears
5/5
Absolutely beautiful, this is one of my favourite albums of all time for a reason. The consistently smooth and slick production along with the gorgeous vocals and choruses that are so easy to just belt out all come together so well to create this absolute masterpiece.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
1/5
Well, that sucked.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Marvin Gaye really is one of those artists you can't go wrong with. His style is so accessible and with his beautiful soft voice, he is practically incapable of making a bad album. I get why this one is slightly lower rated, I agree that it's reaaaalllllyyyyyy long. But at the end of the day, it's still a Marvin Gaye album.
The White Stripes
5/5
One of the most powerful and epic albums ever made. I have always loved The White Stripes for their ability to do so much with so little, and despite the extreme simplicity of their music, somehow they still managed to come through with such an interesting and diverse masterpiece. When it's loud and in your face, it really lets you know about it, but always gives you moments to breathe with something quiter when you need it.
The Electric Prunes
1/5
Oh my favourite, more pointless shit that is far from an essential listen for anyone.
Kacey Musgraves
5/5
Ok wow, I loved this wayyyy more than I expected. Despite having never listened to her music before, I have still always appreciated Kacey Musgraves for being a modern country artist who isn't super right wing, which is worryingly rare. And on top of that, these songs are genuinely so beautiful and heartfelt, paired with the mindblowingly good production and you have yourself a brilliant album.
The Associates
3/5
This is another one of those that I just can't see how it ended up as one of the top 20 lowest rated albums on the list. Like don't get me wrong it's far from perfect, but it still has a lot of cool moments and ideas. It's fun, it's catchy, and to be honest there's very little that's actually awful about it. The production is pretty bad, I'll give you that. But other than that I really don't understand the hate for this one.
1/5
If I have to listen to one more fucking psychadelic rock album I'm going to explode.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
NPC country album. Actually good instrumental, but still completely generic. Vocals are annoying and just feel like they are trying way too hard to sound southern American.
The Soft Boys
3/5
I feel like I've had enough new wave albums that I don't really have any interesting insights into this one that I haven't talked about already. But a fun groovy new wave album is still a fun groovy new wave album, so I can't really complain.
Meat Loaf
3/5
I really had no idea what to expect from this one. On the one hand, the album cover is badass as fuck. But on the other hand, the band is literally called "Meat Loaf." And somehow the music actually manages to fit both. A bit theatrical and grandiose for my liking, but there's still something pretty fun about this.
Earth, Wind & Fire
2/5
It's smooth, it's groovy, but it's very of its time. I mean just look at that album cover, that's the most 70s thing I've ever seen! I get why people like this, but me personally, I just can't get past how dated it is. Compared to other 70s soul like Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder this just really can't compete.
Wild Beasts
2/5
This one is really frustrating because there are clearly the groundworks of a good album, but it's still so far from its potential. I'll start with the vocals, my God they are annoying, definitely the consistently worst thing about this album. But I have to give it to the musicianship, these are clearly talented people who can write an amazing song and play their instruments incredibly well. You can tell that so much passion and emotion put into these songs, but most of them feel like they end a bit too soon before they really got the chance to show how far they could have gone.
The Monks
2/5
Felt very uninspired by this, just about as generic and standard as 60s rock gets.
Cat Stevens
3/5
Decent enough folk pop, definitely one that could grow on me. But for first impressions, it didn't feel particularly memorable.
American Music Club
3/5
I can definitely see the vision here, there are lots of great ideas by clearly very talented people. I just think it's quite held back by very dated production and overall as a product feels very of its time.
Aimee Mann
1/5
I can't even fathom why this album exists. What was the motivation for making it? It's totally soulless and completely devoid of all creative passion. But what's even worse than this generic pile of garbage simply existing? The fact that someone who thought they knew a lot about music then decided it belongs on a list that's meant to represent the greatest albums of all time.
T. Rex
4/5
Having just had The Slider a couple weeks ago I can safely say that this album is much better. On the whole it just feels so much more unique and interesting, and sounds less like it's failing at copying Bowie, and rather sounds like it's using its Bowie influence incredibly well.
Killing Joke
3/5
I think what this album does best is bridging the gap between punk, post punk, and post hardcore, with it tastefully blends elements of all 3 without being too messy. It doesn't blow my mind, and the production is also not the best, but I still think it represents a lot of great genres reasonably well.
The Killers
5/5
This album has been an all time favourite for as long as I can remember. It's incredibly consistent and still diverse, and even the huge singles like Mr Brightside manage to bland in seamlessly, which is something many album have a hard time doing with the most iconic tracks. Never have I ever listened to an album that is so anthemic and yet so intimate, and I don't think that any other band but The Killers could pull that off.
Sheryl Crow
2/5
Uninteresting soulless pop music. I really have nothing to say, it was that boring and forgettable.
M.I.A.
4/5
Completely ahead of its time. The current face of experimental hip hop as it takes a more electronic direction, including artists like Jane Remover and JPEFMAFIA wouldn't exist without this album. It completely pioneered a whole new way of looking at the genre of hip hop, and the effects of it are still being felt today.
The Band
2/5
The missed opportunity to call this "The Album" is something I will never forgive The Band for.
Mike Ladd
2/5
I really see what this album was going for, and there's a great dynamic mix of genres and styles present, but it's jut held back by really bad production and as great as the diversity is, it's messy as hell and genuinely has awful pacing.
George Michael
2/5
Well, this is it. My 500th album. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm mildly disappointed by how underwhelming I found this. I am aware of how prolific George Michael is considered to be, so for this to be just standard ol' pop music with very little substance was quite the surprise.
Wilco
3/5
Not one that absolutely blew my mind, but definitely one I can see growing on me in future listens, it does feel like one of those albums. I see why people call it boring, but I think that's the nature of this kind of music that you really need to know it well and listen to it a lot to really understand the complexity of everything going on.
Kelela
4/5
Just a solid listen from front to back, it's smooth as hell and has consistently great production. Nothing groundbreaking or completely revolutionary, but there really is nothing here to dislike.
David Holmes
1/5
This entire album is literally just an endless cycle of introducing a cool idea, but then repeating it in the same way over and over again, then moving on to the next idea before the previous idea even had the chance to become anything worth listening to.
Hole
4/5
You know, I've been a Nirvana fan for as long as I can remember, but I'm embarrassed to admit that until today I have never actually listened to a Hole album. And you know what, I don't know why because this is really great stuff. It's just everything you could want out of a grunge album still with lots of sounds and influences from various other subgenres of rock.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Definitely one of the more interesting and dynamic pop albums from the 60s, and I do really like the prominent jazz influence. It's pretty much always the same and has very little else to offer, but at least it's good at what it does.
Sonic Youth
5/5
This is the third installment in what is quite possibly the greatest 3 album run of all time. It's absolutely jam packed with amazing riffs, unbeatable energy, and even some more heartfelt moments including an ode to Karen Carpenter. The versatility of this album is truly on another level, as well as the fantastic writing and production, that just matched the bands style and vision absolutely perfectly.
Rod Stewart
1/5
You know something I love about Bob Dylan? The fact that being a bad singer never held him back, because he's fantastic at literally every other aspect of music. And listening to Rod Stewart is kinda like listening to Bob Dylan, except he's a mediocre songwriter, lyricist, and musician, and his voice is just as bad if not worse than Bob's.
The Kinks
3/5
I find The Kinks to be pretty hit and miss, and this one is pretty middle of the road. Just your average 60s pop rock, but somehow there's still something about it that makes it at least a little bit better than the rest of the slop that was being made at the time.
Goldie
2/5
I see the appeal but it's just too damn long. Shame though, lots of cool moments and ideas but there's just so much pointless meandering.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Sometimes there's just something really nice about 10 simple folk pop songs that are just great at what they do. And that's exactly what this album is and I love it for that.
ABBA
4/5
I really like how much they matured on this album, with this one genuinely being one of their best. There are many elements that are much darker and really show off what else they are capable of outside of just bubblegum europop.
Erykah Badu
3/5
If it weren't for this album's length it really would be that much better, and I get that an hour and 10 minutes isn't *that* long, but for this kind of music, especially with how many moments on this album are so long and monotonous, you really do feel the length. It's still super smooth and funky, and showcases loads of really cool ideas. But the whole album as a finished product really could have had it's runtime cut down by a lot.
The Afghan Whigs
1/5
One of the lamest grunge albums I have ever heard. Compltely ripping off all the bands that do it 100 times better, and the attempts at sounding theatrical just end up coming across as annoying more than anything.
Soft Cell
1/5
Jesus this sucks, the absolute pinnacle of annoying and overproduced music. It's like they are just using electronic instruments because they can, not because it actually sounds good and the end result is just so soulless and annoying.
Bob Dylan
5/5
What I think really proves that an artist is truly talented, is when they make a fantastic comeback album after a run of duds. And not only did Bob Dylan release one of the best album in his career with Blood on the Tracks, but just to rub it in, just to make sure that everyone knows how talented he is, he then proceeds to go on an entire run of albums just to prove that he's still got it.
Hot Chip
3/5
While there's very little that makes this unique from the 100s of other indie electro/synthpop albums of this era, I can't help but have a soft spot for Hot Chip since my parents listened to them a lot when I was younger, so I passively heard a lot of their music which later in life has made me feel like it's genuinely a lot better than I otherwise would have thought.
Dion
1/5
Get this boring whiny shit out of here.
Tortoise
5/5
Kid: Mum, can we have Godspeed You! Black Emperor?
Mum: no, we have Godspeed You! Black Emperor at home.
Kid: that's ok, Godspeed You! Black Emperor are such an amazing band, that even a slightly worse version of them is still some of the most amazing music I have ever heard.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
Rap rock projects are always ambitious, simply because of how difficult of a genre fusion it is to pull off. This album does not pull it off.
Ministry
3/5
I really do see the ideas and the vision here, and in a way even manages to somewhat own the fact that the procution is absolutely god awful, but I think it is overall held back by the lack of focus and direction. But the ideas are still there, and the sheer brutality of some moments really do make it feel like a high quality metal album.
The The
3/5
Far from the best post punk out there, but The The still have such a unique style that really makes this a very memorable album compared to the other ungodly number of post punk albums on the list.
Mj Cole
2/5
I'm always interested every time I get an album from the bottom 20, because most of them are really not that bad. This one is definitely far from the worst of the lot, but it's not great. A lot of it is pointless and repetitive meandering, which does get annying quickly. But there are still a handful of tracks on it that I thought were actually quite good, with a lot of the featured artists being mostly what keep it from being complete garbage.
Ozomatli
2/5
This was cool for a few songs, but got boring very quickly.
The Beach Boys
4/5
I think that it took Brian Wilson's death for me to really be able to properly get into The Beach Boys, and after having revisited a few of their albums today, I'm really starting to hear their music differently. Surf's Up is absolutely beautiful, being so short but managing to cover a lot of ground in that time. The classic sunshine pop that they are known for is of course still very present, but the slightly darker side of this album isn't afraid to show itself in moments that it fits in super well.
Fatboy Slim
1/5
This album particularly frustrates me, because almost every song starts with some epic breakbeat that gets me excited, but then quickly becomes annoying, repetitive, and completely devoid of anything remotely interesting or creative.
The Jam
4/5
Wow, so that's where 90% of indie bands from the 2000s got their inspiration from. The amount of influence that this album has clearly had on indie rock music is insane, with there being so many bands I could list off that sound like moments on this project. The album itself while still fantastic, doesn't absolutely blow my mind, definitely one of those where the influence is more so why it's considered so prolific.
Klaxons
3/5
This approach to dance punk is actually really unique, not a style you hear very often. Still could do with a lot of refining and improvements in the pacing department, but the ideas are definitely there.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
This is what an AI generated Smiths album would sound like.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
For the most part this is just really solid well produced pop, but this album's length I think it definitely its biggest weakness. I can't point to any particular song or moment that's actually bad, I think they are all at least solid. But going on for as long as it does and never really going through any major sound changes does hold it back quite a bit.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
It's insane how some people seem to make an album and just know that they will die so soon after. Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, and Johnny Cash just to name a few all released absolutely haunting albums all so soon before their deaths. And this one might just be the best of the bunch. The rawness is unmatched and it really does feel like he's trying to use the music to tell you he's dying.
Pulp
5/5
Best britpop albums of all time, you can't convince me otherwise.
Metallica
4/5
As much as I do enjoy this album, it does mark the beginning of the end for Metallica to me. It's still jam packed with amazing riffs and all around solid metal tracks, but the departure from the iconic thrash sound that they became so associated with in the 80s is what ultimately became their downfall to making decades worth of mediocre and sometimes even downright awful music. But hey, at least this is still a great album on its own, even if it was their last great album.
AC/DC
1/5
AC/DC frustrate me endlessly. They have absolutely killer riffs and genuinely well written songs. But the vocals are just so fucking annoying that it completely ruins everything they touch.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I feel like this is one of those albums that exists and is perfectly good, but I'm really scrambling for ideas for what I can even talk about in a review.
Beth Orton
2/5
This album definitely does exist, that's for sure.
Gram Parsons
1/5
I've already had to put up with The Flying Burrito Brothers' bullshit, I really didn't need this one too.
Caetano Veloso
2/5
There were some cool and funky moments, but for whatever reason I still found it quite hard to get that much into this one. Probably just my lack of experience with Brazilian music, which just makes it a sound I am a lot less used to. But I'm definitely open to this one growing on me in the future.
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
As inconsistent as I find this album to be, the moments that are super fun and groovy still manage to make it worth listening to overall.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
1/5
Boring ass country folk.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
The thing with punk is that you need to be careful with it, it's a difficult genre to pull off because you don't want to end up just making the same 2 minute song 12 times and calling it an album, which is deceptively hard not to do. And this album does just about manage that, with most songs being much longer for usual punk standards, and while it can be very repetitive at times, there is still just about enough going on to keep it interesting.
Suede
4/5
One of the very few britpop bands I've never actually listened to before. And it really is just a solid album, nothing mind blowing, but definitely one that I want to get to know better as it's clearly quality stuff.
k.d. lang
3/5
Pleasant enough album, hard to fault it for just being soft and easy to listen to. Far from interesting or memorable but I can't complain about an album this chill and easy to listen to.
Air
5/5
Such a nostalgic album for me, I was definitely onto something as a kid. And even years later it still 100% holds up. The lush lofi production is truly like nothing else and the handful of features also enhance the whole experience so much. Despite this album being mostly electronic, there is still such an incredible pallet of instruments and sounds on show, and they really do make it look easy to pull off such an insane range of styles, but still keep the vibe of the album so consistent.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
Exactly the kind of pretentious shit I love. His ability to take you on such an insane journey with only one instrument and no vocals is like nothing I have ever heard before. I love the incredible range of vibes and styles shown off, seamlessly blending moments that are suspensful, anxious, and epic all managed with nothing more than one simple piano. Absolute unsuspecting gem, so glad I've been exposed to this.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
I would like to take this as an opportunity to apologise to Robert Wyatt, about a year ago I completely shat all over "Rock Bottom" after giving it one listen and not understanding it at all. I was very inexperienced with experimental and avant garde music at the time, so it's no wonder I didn't get it. But now just over a year later, I finally see what makes his music so great. It's passionate, expressive, and isn't afraid to experiment with sounds and ideas that most people wouldn't even dare try. Enjoying this album as much as I did has given me the urge to give Rock Bottom a second chance, and I imagine that both albums will only grow on me even more with time.
Nick Drake
5/5
Nick Drake's ability to make music that is sad without being depressing is always something I have admired him for. The beauty and the rawness of this album come through on just about every aspect, and is easily one of the most beautiful and passionate folk projects ever made. It really is one of the ultimate "a man and his guitar" albums.
Lou Reed
5/5
Just another album I can't believe I've never got round to. I've been a Velvet Underground fan for a while now, and this is just as good as some of their best albums. Lou Reed truly is one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.
Steve Earle
1/5
Yes well done you proved your point, you can play guitar.
The xx
5/5
Listening to The xx is such a dreamlike experience, it's really hard to describe. Their sound is so lush and sensual, and just manages to transport you to a completely different world while you can just fall asleep to some of the best and softest vocals out there.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Not sure what I was expecting from this one, but it definitely wasn't that. This kind of instrumental avant garde folk is not the sort of thing I have a whole lot of experience listening to, but I can't deny how much of an artistic vision there is here even if it isn't completely to my taste. As much as it does meander and go on and on, the writing and the performances are still just enough to keep me captivated at least consistently enough.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
To be honest I expected more from a Neil Young album given how much I have enjoyed a lot of his other albums, but to give credit where credit is due, expanding into a grunge leaning sound from what he has done in the past isn't something that many people would be able to pull off.
Gotan Project
4/5
Wow this is really impressive stuff. I love it when bands do this, blending completely random genres that feel like they shouldn't work, but then pull it off anyway. This album is so hard to pin down making it beautifully unpredictable and easily one of the most unique projects I have heard so far.
Ray Charles
3/5
Just a great mix of blues, jazz, and soul. I can't help but see this as just a bit dated, but considering the time period it's from, it overall holds up better than a lot of other stuff.
Stephen Stills
2/5
If I wanted to listen to the same song on repeat for over an hour I would go and listen to- wait, actually I would never want to do that.
Sade
5/5
This album is so smooth that I had to hold my headphones to keep them from sliding off my head.
Gorillaz
4/5
Gorillaz' debut is such a fun and unique project that while not taking itself too seriously, still lays the groundworks for one of the most interesting musical projects out there with completely made up band members and an insane amount of lore that I won't even pretend to understand.
William Orbit
2/5
Pointlessly long and boring electronic music, my favourite of course.
The Yardbirds
3/5
I always hesitate slightly when I get more psychadelic rock, but luckily this one is actually okay. It's certainly no Hendrix, but at least it's not pointless annoying bullshit, which is what 99% of late 60s psych rock feels like at this point.
Donald Fagen
4/5
I don't think that this is any better than any of my favourite Steely Dan albums, but it still has the funk and groove that I would expect from a Donald Fagen project, as well as super smooth and polished production.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
As far as soul goes, this is just about as theatrical as it gets, which normally would be a bad thing but I think that this album pulls it off really well. Mixing influences like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, it all comes together for a very solid and consistent soul album that still has just enough going on to still make it out of the more unique ones out there.
The Louvin Brothers
1/5
Yayyy more 50s country folk.
Johnny Cash
4/5
I might go and commit a crime if it means I get to see shows like this.
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
After recommendation from many of the reviews on this one, I avoided the version on Spotify like the plague and listened to the version on YouTube instead. And to be honest, I really don't see what all the hype is about. Like it's not god awful, but I just don't hear the beautiful atmosphere and complex writing that everyone is talking about. Maybe it will require more listens, but on the whole it really feels like nothing special to me.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
With some albums, you can really dive into all the details and nuances that make them great, and analyse them in excruciating detail to see everything going on under the surface that makes it amazing. But in the case of this album, it's plain and simple, just a solid record. There isn't really a lot to do a deep dive into, it's just good, well perfomed music.
FKA twigs
2/5
FKA Twigs definitely got a lot better with time, I really don't see what all the hype is around this album. Her breathy vocals are just too much, and there are simply too many moments that are boring filler, which among all the more out there and experimental moments (which are the only actual good parts) just make this whole project feel so messy and disjointed. I love both her albums after this one, but it's safe to say that I think her debut is easily her worst.
CHIC
1/5
I've said it before about CHIC and Sister Sledge, and I'll say it again. Objectively yes, this is a good album. A great album in fact. But for some goddamn reason, I just can't stand disco from the 70s. I have tried, I really have, and no matter what this kind of music just annoys me so much.
John Grant
4/5
What an amazing exploration of gender, sexuality, and complete rejection of toxic masculinity, and traditional masculinity in general. I love how he presents these themes in such crude and blunt ways, which only makes it all that much more impactful that he's saying what everyone is thinking but too afraid to say out loud. There's a really good balance of being funny, but also profound and serious when he needs to be. I think that the actual music is nothing all that special, but the lyrics alone are still enough to make this a brilliant album.
Fugazi
3/5
You know, I used to be an absolute sucker for this type of standard 90s indie rock. And in a way I still am, I gues it's just that as I discover more music, my standards get higher. And so while this is nowhere near as amazing as Radiohead or anything like that, it's still a hell of a lot better than all the other generic shit that I can't be bothered to remember the name of.
Kraftwerk
5/5
Without a doubt one of the best and most immersive albums in the history of electronic music. Not only extremely groundbreaking, but still holds up 100% even to this day. The flow from song to song is just like nothing else, and it really is amazing how many different ideas they can explore with such a limited instrumental pallet, and despite the album's length being pretty average, they still manage to make the whole thing come together perfectly as one complete project.
Roni Size
1/5
I just don't get it, who the fuck is this even for? It's just two straight hours of drumb and bass. Like why would anyone ever listen to this, or in what setting? One or two songs at a time while you're at a rave sure, but an entire two fucking hour album is just the most pointless and meaningless thing ever.
Gene Clark
3/5
This started off just being another boring 70s folk rock album, but the further I got into it the more I started to appreciate a lot of the nuances. While still very much a part of an era of music I feel is far overrepresented on this list with so much generic slop, this one manages to stand just a bit above all of that and still has moments in there that show more of an attempt to make something more original and unique. One I think will grow on me the more I hear it.
Neil Young
4/5
Just another fantastic Neil Young album, it has all the same virtues you would expect from his super unique and versatile voice, and of course absolutely amazing guitar playing.
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
What the actual fuck. I mean that in a good way.... sort of.
The Pogues
3/5
Good at what it does I suppose, just not really my kind of thing. I still think it had a lot of pretty cool and fun moments though.
Orange Juice
4/5
"Erm aktchually 🤓☝️ this is terrible because it's so annoyingly British" oh my god shut the fuck up. Yes there is a lot of generic 80s post-punk from the UK on the list, but the reason you don't like it isn't because it's British, it's for two reasons: 1) a lot of it is pretty generic (although this album is not one of those), but more importantly 2) because you've never heard of it. Why don't you actually give this more than five seconds of your attention instead of just looking at it and immediately going "BRITISH MUSIC ONE STAR" all the while being perfectly happy to openly express how much you love The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, David Bowie, Black Sabbath The Kinks, Radiohead, The Cure, Led Zeppelin, and countless more. Fucking closed minded hypocrites.
Ute Lemper
1/5
I think she was trying to make this album boring, because there's absolutely no way anyone would make this thinking there is anything of merit. In which case, 10/10 for execution.
The Slits
3/5
For a punk album, this is weirdly tame. Like it still undeniably has that punk energy that you would expect, but for whatever reason it really doesn't get me all that hyped up and angry at the government like listening to The Clash or The Sex Pistols would. Still an interesting listen though, with there being a lot of influence from typically less conventional genres when making punk music.
Circle Jerks
4/5
Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for a good 30 minute post rock song. But sometimes there's something cool about just getting to the point. And this album gets to the point more efficiently than probably any music out there, with each song flowing seamlessly from one to the next, and making it's point just about as quickly as it can.
Justice
5/5
An absolute masterpiece of electronic music. Absolutely mind blowing production and arrangements across 12 tracks that you can just dance to for every moment they are playing. This album never holds back or is ever afraid to commit to a risky idea, and it pays off every time, being full of some of the most unique and original moments of any dance album in the last 20 years.
Tom Waits
2/5
I'm slowly starting to realise the appeal of Tom Waits, his gravelly voice is becoming more and more tolerable the more of his stuff I hear. Which is a shame, because his overall style is growing on me, but this album specifically I think has its own flaws outside of that. I just find his way of talking to the audience to be so unoriginal, and the very simple dinner jazz playing in the background is far too repetitive and same-y for an album that's over an hour long.
Mercury Rev
4/5
Huh, so its like Vampire Weekend, Pavement, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor all in one. I can definitely get behind that.
Goldfrapp
2/5
I feel like on paper this album should be really good, and in a way it still is really unique. But somehow at the same time it's so bland and completely lacks substance.
Pere Ubu
4/5
I do not understand the hate for this band at all. It's just fun post-punk that doesn't take itself too seriously. Like ok, it's maybe just a tiny little bit more experimental and avant garde than most of the other bands on the scene at the time, but if you can't even handle music that thinks outside the box in such a small and minor way as this does, then I think it's time to revaluate how you perceive music.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Not exactly the most mind blowing thing I've ever heard, but still just a good enough album that's easy to listen to in the background.
The Stooges
4/5
This is about as punk as punk gets, and it came out before punk was even punk.
The Police
4/5
I find it quite sad how The Police seem to be one of those bands who are slowly being forgotton. There are artists out there who will likely be remembered forever, ie The Beatles etc. But The Police's contributions to rock music often do unacknowledged, which is a shame because not only were they super influential, but it's also just plain and simply really good music.
Genesis
3/5
I don't like having to criticise an album in this way, since I think it's an extremely overused complaint, but I do find this one to be very bloated and too long for its own good. So many genuinely great moment on this project, but there's just so much meandering in between that, which really makes it feel like a drag to get through at times. Especially for a prog rock album, the moments that are less in your face don't really feel like they are providing a whole lot in the way of tenstion or atmosphere. Ovearll, I still think that this album is worth it just for the parts that are amazing, but there is just a lot of filler in there too.
UB40
2/5
I liked a lot of this, but did it really need to be over an hour?
Blur
4/5
Blur moving away from traditional britpop and going for a more original sound worked out surprisingly well for them, being one of maybe like two britpop bands who didn't just die with the genre.
SZA
4/5
I've always wanted to believe that this is just one of those albums that's impossible to hate, and yet you lot still manage to prove me otherwise. Like it's literally just a super chill RnB album to stick on in the background, obviously nothing mind blowing but it's just so easy to listen to.
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
Just an amazing, consistent, and super well produced hip hop album. Minus one point for that absolutely ridiculous outro.
Magazine
3/5
I see the vision on this one, and to be fair they nearly pulled it off. I just think that a but more polish would have done this album wonders.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
I find it quite easy to forget how much I love this album. It's just banger after banger, with each song still being completely unique from all the others around it. The guitar riffs are absolutely killer, and of course I can't go without mentioning how legendary of a bassist Flea is. While I ultimately prefer By The Way, this album is still one that has a lot of memories attached to it just from being obsessed with it when I was younger, and I love being able to revisit it like this and still think it's amazing.
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
I actually find this insulting. The selection of music from the 2020s on this list is already extremely limited, and *this* was chosen to be one of only two albums to represent the year 2021? Couldn't have instead picked an album by Little Simz, JPEGMAFIA, Wolf Alice, Injury Reserve, Parannoul, Billie Eilish, Black Midi, Shame, Japanese Breakfast, Magdelena Bay, Tyler, The Creator, I could go on. All of the artists I mentioned as well as many others, all released an album in 2021 that was better, and more impactful than this. This is genuinely one of the most bland and generic hip hop records I have hear in a while, and it technically isn't even an album, it's actually in EP. As if there needed to be even more reasons it doesn't belong on this list over all the others I mentioned.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
There are definitely still some great moments in here, but it's nowhere near as consistent as Yoshimi. For starters, having remixed versions of some of the songs be on the actual official tracklist is a weird choice, and makes is feel quite messy. And just in general, the whole project feels quite disjointed. But I suppose it still works as a collection of songs, and could definitely do with losing the remixes, nobody asked for those.
Deep Purple
4/5
I feel like the term "dad rock" should be reserved for music that has aged poorly and is only still listened to by old people. But this, this is something great. Considering my expectations going into this one, it holds up insanely well even over 50 years later. The riffs are absolutely insane for their time, and it just doesn't stop going hard for pretty much the whole way through.
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
Jesus Christ, Trent Reznor is one fucked up dude.
The Temptations
2/5
I feel like a lot of The Temptations' material hasn't aged as well as many people would have you believe. That's not to say that it's necessarily bad, just that over time it has lost its relevance just out of not holding up all that well to modern standards. Like listening to this, it's fine, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, there are just so many other soul albums from the 70s that hold up so much better than this one that I'm just thinking to myself that I would much rather be listening to any one of Marvin Gaye's or Stevie Wonder's fantastic albums.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
I love how I started this project hating Nick Cave, but after having had a few albums of his, I can now confidently say how much I love this. It's so dark in a really beautiful voice, and Jesus Christ what a voice that's on show. If anything this being a double album isn't enough, every moment was so good that I just wanted it to keep going.
Sparks
5/5
I feel you man, thank God it's not Christmas.
Tom Tom Club
4/5
I mean everything about this is just a normal Talking Heads album, except it isn't David Byrne singing, so can't complain.
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Absolutely insane album, really wish we could have got more from Biggie. The potential he displayed here really is quite like nothing else, just his rapping, his wit, and everything else going on make this one of the most amazing debut albums in hip hop.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Two Nick Cave albums in a week? Can't complain! Right at the start of my journey, I had a couple of Nick Cave albums, and at the time I thought it was some of the worst music I had ever heard. But since then, every time I have been given another album of his, I start to appreciate his music more and more. And now that brings us to today, where I now have listened to the last of his five albums that are on the list. And I can abssolutely confirm that I am now a full blown Nick Cave fan, it took a while to grow on me, but I just love his style of music. His deep and dark voice is so haunting in the best way possible, and just the general moody and depressing atmosphere is some of the best I have ever heard.
Traffic
2/5
Honestly just a completely average run of the mill 60s album, I can't find anything to hate about it, nor can I find anything that even makes it remotely interesting or compelling.
Van Morrison
2/5
Was this concert particularly exciting? Not really.
Did this concert really need to be turned into a live album? Probably not.
Was it turned into a live album anway? Well if you must....
And was it put in the 1001 albums book in place of countless other more deserving classics? Oh you bet it was!
Prince
5/5
Just a complete masterclass in writing, performance, and production. Every song is completely packed with fun and catchy grooves, all being done with some of the smoothest sounding instruments ever recorded. But there are still so many moments on this album where Prince isn't afraid to show off his more experimental side, but managing to do so in a way that still remains super accessible and all slots perfectly into the project as a whole.
The Human League
3/5
I've spent my whole life assuming that this is just annoying cheesy 80s electro pop, but it's actually so much more than that. I still think it's very much of its time in a lot of ways, but there is still a hell of a lot of genuinely interesting and original stuff on this album.
The Who
3/5
Definitely one of the slightly better live albums I've heard, it actually feels like this concert was genuinely really good worthy of being made into its own album.
Elbow
4/5
Sometimes you get some obscure album you've never heard of, and it's some crap nobody cares about. But sometimes you get an undiscovered gem, and this is absolutely one of those. It's just a perfect mix of genres and instruments, while showing enough Radiohead influence to get me interested, but not so much that it sounds cheesy or unoriginal.
Massive Attack
4/5
Mind blowing production and arrangements, and still as amazing and influential as ever.
Pentangle
1/5
Look, I love weird experimental music. But this is weird and annoying, and ultimately just felt completely pointless. I was rather pleased about the fact that after it ended I don't have to listen to this again.
TLC
3/5
To be honest I expected more from this, but I feel like you stil can't go wrong. There is definitely still a coolness about it that makes it feel unique, even if the album as a whole isn't quite as consistent or as dynamic as I would have hoped.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Seriously groovy stuff. Very few albums out there can keep that up as consistently as this one.
Blue Cheer
3/5
I think this is one of those that because it's the first album to do what it did, it's more influential than it is actually enjoyable to listen to. Don't get be wrong, I still really liked hearing an album that was so important to the history of heavy metal, but I think that considering how primitive it is there is still a hell of a lot of refinement that still needed to happen.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
I think it says a lot that the only part of this album I actually found memorable is when he says the n word.
k.d. lang
2/5
I can't deny that she has talent, but I just find this album to be overall so uninteresting that her talent feels really wasted. I think that she has a great voice, and that is definitely what keeps me the most invested in listening to this, but the complete lack of anything else interesting going on is so hard to look past.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
1/5
It's like if Jimi Hendrix ripped off Bob Dylan, and mamaged to sound really boring in the process.
Todd Rundgren
1/5
That sure was a whole lot of random noise.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
I actually find it insane how influential this was. Like there were genuinely loads of other musicians at the time that listened to this garbage and saw the vision, and actually used that to make their music not suck.
Manu Chao
4/5
This right here is a perfect example of how you get westernised people into more non English music. All around this is a fantastic mix of styles and languages that will keep anyone interested to keep listening, just with how fun and accessible it is while clearly showing a lot of multicultural influence.
N.W.A.
3/5
While much of the content on this album has aged terribly, just as much of it is still as relevant as ever. It's insane how so many of the very detailed social issues they call out on an album that's nearly 40 years old is still so hard hitting even today. But I still find it hard to look past a lot of the parts that haven't aged so well, with the violence and misogyny still being such a huge part of it. Overall, I can't deny how influential this album has been to the entire genre of hip hop, but as is the case with many moments on this album, some things are better left in the past.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Wow, I can definitely see where Cocteau Twins got a lot of their influence from. I really like this, overall I think that what Cocteau Twins did in the coming years is just a little bit better, but I always love hearing where some of my favourite bands got their ideas from, even if I think the original isn't quite as good.
Aphex Twin
5/5
Ah yes, Richard D James. I have actually never listened to this before today, it's been on my radar for a while but I suppose that Aphex Twin is just one of those artists that I haven't got round to yet. And unsurprisingly, I love this. It really is everything you would want it and expect it to be. Fantasticly produced, well arranged, and masterfully written, this album just has everything going for it. Very glad to have finally had a reason to listen to this, I'm sure I now will many more times in the near futute.
U2
3/5
I love how they were so indecisive about what they wanted their album cover to be, that they just said "fuck it, let's just use all 16 of our ideas at the same time."
Jane's Addiction
2/5
I can appreciate what people see in this album, but for me I just find it to be pretty messy, underproduced, and not quite able to commit to any particular genre, which I find only makes it feel even more messy.
The White Stripes
4/5
I know that this is far from The White Stripes' best, but I will never understand the insane amount of hate that this album gets. It's still got so many of my favourite moments in their discography, Jack is still showing off his amazing guitar skills, and Meg's drumming is as punchy as ever (Meg slander will absolutely NEVER be tolerated, fuck you she's one of the greatest drummers of all time). "Ooo ahh I don't like the production, ooo ahh too smooth, The White Stripes need to have a more raw and gritty sound" NO THEY DON'T, they are actually allowed to do what they want with their sound, and something I love about this album is how they have a much more polished production style, they use more instruments like pianos, but it's still unmistakably them. Just the opening few seconds on Blue Orchid as smooth and slick as that song is, still sounds so White Stripes. And is that not the best way that a band can expand their sound? By changing it in a way that shows them trying things that they wouldn't typically be thought to do, but in the process still staying true to what makes their sound so iconic? Because that's exactly what's happening on this album, but for some reason people just completely ignore that.
Kanye West
3/5
I think that Anthony Fantano was onto something.
LL Cool J
2/5
Absolutely no world in which this is a must listen. A part of me wants to applaud this album just for being so early in the development of the genre, but there are just so many other hip hop albums from the same year and even earlier that have aged so much better than this. It might have been something special at the time, but now it's completely dated and uninteresting.
Super Furry Animals
1/5
This just feels like a mashup of far too many genres. I think that genre fusion is a really cool thing when pulled of well, but this album pulls it off badly, and I mean really badly. Each song feels completely incoherent, since there are just too many things going on in each moment that I don't even know what I'm meant to be focusing on, and the project as a whole ends up feeling so disjointed because of it.
Stan Getz
3/5
Maybe this is one you need to hear multiple times to truly appreciate, but I still overall just found it to be a pleasant experience, as much as it didn't grab me.
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
Oh, that's it? THAT'S the infamous Kollaps? Used to be lowest rated album on the list Kollaps? German dudes making random noise by smashing metal plates together Kollaps? That's all there is to it? I mean I enjoyed it, but I'm *almost* tempted to give a low rating just for being underwhelmed. This is far from the most extreme experimental music I've heard, if you guys can't even handle this then I really don't know what to tell you.
OutKast
2/5
These albums could have been so good, seriously a missed opportunity. Having them be one album that's two hours long was their first mistake. It plays as two albums, so should be treated as such. Andre and Big Boi literally made their own seperate albums and decided to make them one, when this would already have been so much better as two solo albums from them each. And then you have the issue of the music itself not even being all that interesting. It has a few good songs in there, Hey Ya is an obvious classic. But it's just not at all worth listening to all two hours of this just for a handful of good songs.
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
The Pet Shop Boys are a band who despite being nowhere near in the same league as some of their contemporaries like Depeche Mode, their music is still really unique in it's own way, and is still always something that I know I will enjoy on some level.
Baaba Maal
2/5
Albums like this confuse me. The creator of the original list clearly has an awareness of this kind of music, this album among a handful of others are pretty obscure picks, plus they are from non western artists. So why are these albums so rare on the list? They feel so random, and especially considering how much garbage made it into the book, I feel like it really could have benefited from more diversity of music from continents other than Europe and North America. But anyway, let's talk about the album itself. I guess it was ok, hard for me to judge since I have practically nothing to compare it to of the same genre that I am familiar with. Nothing particularly grabbed me or felt hugely memorable, but it was perfectly listenable.
Deep Purple
4/5
Deep Purple are one of those bands I almost feel like I shouldn't like just because they are often grouped together with other bands of their era that I definitely don't like, but every time I listen to an album of theirs like this, I just can't help but love it. The musicianship is genuinely so good, and considering the standards of the time, the ideas and techniques they use are really impressive.
Donovan
3/5
Man, that is the most 60s album cover I have ever seen, and I mean that mostly in a good way. The music is pretty well represented by the cover too, not the most exciting thing ever, but still just a really solid folk rock album.
Cocteau Twins
5/5
If aliens ever come to Earth, this is the album we should play them. It's already in their language.
Can
4/5
There's so much cool stuff going on here that it's pretty easy to ignore how long it is. I feel like because of its length that it does meander a fair bit, but it still has countless moments that are super unique and really interesting and quirky, that I can easily forgive it draggin on a bit in some other moments.
Kings of Leon
4/5
People really don't like this, huh. I get it, I suppose I can see why people think it's so bland. But compared to some of the shit out there that's *actually* bland, this may as well be the most experimental thing you've ever heard. I get that it can be a bit generic at times, but go and listen to an Ed Sheeran album in full, that will give you a new perspective on the meaning of "bland." Then you will see how much there actually is to appreciate on this album.
Milton Nascimento
5/5
This right here is exactly why I'm doing this project. I have heard of this album, but I've never really thought much of it. It's one of those that I have an awareness of given it has a reasonably large presence in online music discourse, but I've just felt like I've never had a reason to listen to it. But I'm so glad I have now listened to it, because I absolutely love it. It's so accessible to western audiences, but still shows off so much of its more traditional Brazilian sound. And of course all around the vocals and instrumental performances are just fantastic and really act as the backbone of this album's brilliance.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
Not anything hugely memorable but I guess it was perfectly ok.
Method Man
3/5
The Wu-Tang Clan have much better to offer, ultimately being a group made up of some of the greatest rappers of all time, but in the grander scheme of things this is still a pretty solid hip hop album. It is a bit dated, and does pale in comparison to other Wu-Tang projects *cough* Liquid Swords, but it's still just a well enough put together and performed album overall.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
This is definitely much better than the cover would have you think. It looks like the most dated 00s hip hop album cover I have ever seen, but the actual music is actually pretty good. I guess it is still of its time in its own way, but there's just about enough going on that it's easy to forgive. The blending of soul and hip hop I think is done generally pretty well, and ultimately makes it an album that if nothing else feels impossible to hate.
Machito
4/5
I had a lot of fun listening to this. It's so dynamic and always seems to offer you something interesting at any given moments.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
No gimmicks, just a fantastic post punk album all the way through. Every Echo And The Bunnymen album I have had so far I have enjoyed a bit more, so loving this album definitely makes me excited to revisit the others that I enjoyed a bit less.
King Crimson
4/5
It took me a while to really get King Crimson, but after having explored a few of their albums, I really do now. Call me pretentious or whatever, but their music just has a style to it that I can't quite put into words, and it just speaks to me. And this album, while not my absolute favourite, is still a project that shows off many of their strongest moments, and really does still demonstrate why they are such a prolific band in the world of prog rock.
Syd Barrett
2/5
He's just singing about some girl he's sad about, how original.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Kings of Leon are really hit and miss for me, they do have a handful of albums I genuinely do like, but this is one of many that just do nothing for me. They just don't quite seem to be able to consistently capture what they are capable of, and ultimately this ends up coming across as bland and dreary.
Traffic
1/5
It's hard to give an album an in depth review and analysis when the album itself is boring as fuck. "Must listen" my ass.
Tim Buckley
3/5
I think there were just a few too many moments that I found a bit too weird or trying to be avant garde and just end up coming across as weird or annoying, but I still found a lot to enjoy here. I really liked a lot of the much simpler moments, and just his ability to sound sad without being too depressing is something really good too.
Tom Waits
3/5
I think I'm slowly starting to get Tom Waits. I used to think that listening to the entire of one of his albums was the same as Chinese water torture, to actually finding something to appreciate about his kind of style. There's still some sort of block, I feel like I still have a long way to go, but he is slowly growing on me, and there were even a handful of moments on this particular album that I even really enjoyed.
Jerry Lee Lewis
1/5
I'm not normally one to give an album a low rating just because the artist is a bad person, like I wouldn't give MJ or Kanye West a 1 because of their respective atrocities, purely because in their cases it doesn't affect the music. But in this case, it most definitely does. I can't deny that this guy has amazing stage presence, but the audacity for this racist motherfucker to claim that rock n roll barely existed before him is ridiculous. Rock n roll is a genre that was built by black people, and his music rips all all the same black people he claims have no importance to music history. I can't in good conscience give this album any other rating, and honestly even though the fact that he was an incestuous pedophile doesn't affect the music at all, it's just the cherry on top of how awful of a person he was.
The Residents
4/5
I swear some of you just hate fun. This isn't even some super artistic avant garde type of experimental music that's a super acquired taste. It's just silly and stupid, and I had a great time listening to this. It doesn't try to be groundbreaking or artistic at all, it's just a bunch of dudes having a great time making a stupid album.
Femi Kuti
5/5
Holy shiiiii that was actually so fun to listen to. Despite being over an hour long, there is genuinely not a single moment that isn't groovy and funky as hell.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
In every sense of the word, this album is a complete masterpiece. It's what made people take underground avant garde music seriously, and its influence can still be felt in what's being released today.
New York Dolls
3/5
It's pretty clear how ahead of their time this band was, managing to incorporate such a punky energy into glam rock. That being said, I think that the actual music itself could still be a lot better, mainly in terms of the production and just the general diversity of the whole album. But you still have to appreciate what they were trying to do, even if they didn't pull it off that well, but when you're the first to do something, you're never going to be the best immediately.
The Darkness
1/5
Can we please just leave hair metal in the 80s and forget that God forsaken genre ever existed.
Mike Oldfield
3/5
I don't like to use this word to criticise music just because of how often it gets used when people misjudge something, but this album is very meandering. And don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of post-rock so music of this kind of style is nothing new to me, and to be fair there were still quite a few moments that were really cool and satisfying. But I just did find there to be just as many moments that felt like they were completely pointless and went on for far too long.
Deerhunter
4/5
I really like albums like this, just a very simple and straightforward indie rock album, nothing too crazy about it but I'm just glad to have discovered it.
Grateful Dead
1/5
What is it with rock bands from the 60s and 70s, and getting up on a stage, jerking off with their instruments for an hour or two, and thinking they just performed a live album worthy concert.
Lauryn Hill
5/5
I love this album so much, by far one of the most refreshing hip hop projects out there. With themes of love and taking so much influence from soul, it truly is just so unique and almost in a way wholesome.
Brian Eno
2/5
Considering the two artists involved in this, I really expected a lot more. Brian Eno's style (which I absolutely love) feels like it has absolutely no presence. And as much as I also love Talking Heads, this album just feels like it's trying way too hard to imitate that sound, and leaves David Byrne's contributions feeling like he is lacking a sense of identity in his material away from the band.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Never before have I seen such strong willed political commentary that manages to be so wholesome at the same time. This album sees Marvin giving us some genuinely refreshing takes in such a beautiful way, but presents his ideas in such a way that he is showing how he is definitely not a pushover. And not to mention jow beautiful the actual music is, put all of that together and you have a damn perfect album.
Kate Bush
5/5
This really does show Kate Bush at her absolutely creative peak. Managing to put an album together that despite being so experimental and out there, still has just enough going for it that it can reach mainstream audiences too.
Soft Machine
2/5
Yeah I mean that was ok, just by nature of this kind of music I didn't find it to be hugely memorable. One I can see growing on me, although from a first listen it did feel like a chore to listen to by the end.
Aerosmith
1/5
Hair metal.
Lou Reed
3/5
Lou Reed has achieved far better, both with and without The Velvet Underground. It's still a really solid rock album, don't get me wrong, it's just that considering what I know he is capable of, there are just a few too many moments that feel a bit pointless and dreary.
5/5
Of course.
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
I love when electronic music goes hard like this, it's like metal except with computers instead of guitars.
The Everly Brothers
1/5
This album is like the quintessential example of something being of its time. Like I get that at the time, this kind of music had an audience, but I absolutely refuse to believe that there is a single person alive today who would ever seek listening to this album in full or anything like it. This list is meant to be essential listening, but instead we are stuck with poorly aged crap like this, get in the bin.
Soundgarden
5/5
The whole Nirvana vs Pearl Jam debate really annoys me for two reasons: Nirvana are obviously better and it's not even close, but also that Soundgarden are a far better comparison, both in terms of the quality of the music, and the band's history. I do overall give the edge to Nirvana still, but there's absolutely no denying that this and even Badmotorfinger are some of the greatest grunge albums ever made.
808 State
3/5
There's definitely some interesting stuff going on here. The project as a whole I feel lacks direction and doesn't feel all that cohesive as one piece of music, but there are still a lot of cool ideas going on that make it worth a listen overall.
The Vines
3/5
Of all the "The" 2000s indie bands, this one does stand out slightly. It's nowhere near mind blowing, but I still enjoyed this a great deal more than a lot of the other generic indie rock that was coming out around the same time.
Adam & The Ants
2/5
Can't say I was hugely excited by this one. Production was pretty sloppy and it just didn't feel as interesting as so many other new wave albums from around the same time.
Bobby Womack
4/5
This was a pleasure to discover, all around just a really solid effort with lots of elements that were all used really well.
Jane Weaver
3/5
This just felt like pretty standard ambient pop. Nice and chill to have on in the background, but really the most versatile of albums.
The Divine Comedy
4/5
This right here is how you make an album that will stand the test of time more than others that came out of the same scene. I love britpop, don't get me wrong. But the clear influence from so many other scenes and genres while still staying true to the era it came from is the reason this album hold up so well even now.
The Undertones
3/5
As much as this is just your average punk album, it's a format the never gets old. Lots of songs that are only around 2 minutes each that flow in and out of each other really well, and the whole time they are angry about something that isn't quite obvious, but they get passionate enough about it such that you feel like you can get angry about it with them.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
This was really fun, but I do think that it feels like more of a showcase of cool ideas than actually exploring them. I just wish it were a bit longer, which I think would actually give this album a chance to really explore each idea it shows off in a lot more detail.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Oh wow, these are some seriously beautiful and heartfelt songs. Not only so well written but also performed by such a beautiful and passionate voice.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
I like the rawness and punchyness of this, I just feel like it could use a bit of variation since it does start to feel a bit repetitive pretty quickly.
James Taylor
3/5
Nice little folk album, I enjoyed it but it's nothing particularly memorable or mind blowing.
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
This just got worse and worse the longer it went on. They try so hard and completely fail to blend genres that just don't belong together, and it just makes the whole experience a complete mess.
Stereo MC's
2/5
Hip hop is one of those genres that's pretty hard to fuse with others. Sometimes however, genre fusions with hip hop can actually be pulled off really well. Unfortunately, this is not one of those albums. It just feels like a pretty standard dance/electronic album that's generic as it is, but then with rapping in the mix just to make sure that they are trying as many things as possible that they can't pull off.
CHVRCHES
5/5
This was one of the first albums that ever got me into synthpop, and I think it's incredible how well it holds up. It has so many unforgettable moments and absolutely killer synth riffs, but at the same time is so epic and even emotional. Truly one of my all time favourites, I had a great time revisiting it again for the first time in quite a while.
50 Cent
1/5
Wow this has aged poorly. I don't think that I have ever heard such a dated album that actually came out within my lifetime. It just uses all the same boring hip hop clichés over some of the most mediocre and uninteresting rapping and production I have ever heard.
Pink Floyd
4/5
As much as Pink Floyd improved by orders of magnitude in the coming years, their debut is still an unforgettable experience that has so many really cool moments and ideas.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Absolutely quintessential britpop right here. Has a perfect mix of the fun and energetic style of the scene, as well as its own sense of individuality, with MSP being a band notorious for still doing it their own way.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
My Bloody Valentine are a weird band. 3 albums, 25 years apart, and I only really like one of them. This one is okay, but just doesn't even come close to Loveless. It still has a fair bit going for it, there are a lot of pretty unique moments, but compared to a lot of other shoegaze, there really is very little reason to listen to this album over the many other great ones the genre has to offer.
Madness
1/5
Didn't feel particularly inspired by this at all. It felt completely unoriginal, and somehow also managing to be boring and messy at the same time.
Haircut 100
2/5
People have tried time and time again to be as good as Talking Heads, and every time their sound gets imitated I remember that their sound and style is simply too uniquely theirs for any other band to ever pull off.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Run DMC's music I think is one of, if not the best example of something that absolutely deserves respect for being so influential, but by today's standards has aged really badly. Just the whole style, the rapping, the rhymes, the production, everything. It's so dated and even a bit cringe at times, definitely something I'm glad to have heard for it's significance in the history of hip hop, but not something I would ever choose to listen to.
Elis Regina
3/5
I find it interesting discovering music like this. It's so far removed from the type of stuff I would typically listen to, so it's cool do discover something so different, even if I'm often left not knowing how to feel because I have nothing else like to compare it to.
Roxy Music
3/5
This is now the second time I have had a Roxy Music album with a woman on the cover, causing me to expect a female vocalist, only to be surprised by the male vocals. Really thought I would have learned after the first time.
MC Solaar
4/5
There is definitely a coolness to this one that for some reason hip hop in English just doesn't have.
Billy Joel
5/5
For some reason it's never occurred to me to listen to a full Billy Joel album. I know and like a handful of his biggest hits, but now having listened to an actual full album, I just can't wait to discover more. As simple as this album is, it's just so well crafted and perfectly put together and uses each individual moment to its full potential.
Can
4/5
I loveeee long songs like this. Yeah sure, the whole 3-4 minute formula will always work, but taking a song being progressive to the next level is just an amazing experience. You can really fully explore everything that's going on and it really feels like there's no limit to how deeply you can layer different sounds and instruments.
TV On The Radio
3/5
I once heard this described as "the best rock album of the 21st century so far." And don't get me wrong, I like this album, there's definitely nothing wrong with it, but I just don't think that it's anywhere near unique or daring enough for a title that big.
John Cale
2/5
Considering this guy was such a key member in one of the most groundbreaking bands of all time, I was really expecting more. This album really has nothing that any Velvet Underground project does, ultimately feeling like a super generic and even almost soulless release following the stereotype of "band member makes mediocre solo album after breakup."
Cypress Hill
3/5
I really like a lot of the less traditionally hip hop beats used here. It actually reminds me a lot of Beck in some moments, and that style suits the vocals surprisingly well with the almost industrial type sounds. On the whole, I think that the project overall could be a lot better, it is quite messy and rough around the edges, but the ideas and the talent are definitely there.
Q-Tip
3/5
This is one I can see growing on me, but considering that A Tribe Called Quest are one of the most legendary hip hop artists of all time, I feel just a bit underwhelmed by this. Q Tip is extremely talented, obviously, and that definitely does come through. However, I just find the writing and production on this album to feel maybe just a bit boring and generic. But maybe it's also down to expectations, I did go into this expecting to hear A Tribe Called Quest, so once I get more used to his sound as a solo artist I can see myself getting a lot more out of listening to this.
The Streets
1/5
White British men are simply not made for hip hop.
The Mars Volta
5/5
Absolutely definitive post-hardcore album in every way. The guitar riffs are like nothing else, and the vocals are there to back it up too. Every moment feels necessary, original, and even the songs that go on for over 10 minutes are packed with some of the best rock performances of the century.
The Black Crowes
2/5
Yet another rock album with absolutely no distinguishing features at all. And this one is even behind the times with how much it would have fitted in with a lot of the stuff from the 70s and 80s. Far from an unpleasant listen, I'll give it that, but there is absolutely nothing remotely memorable or interesting about it.
OutKast
4/5
Man, I used to love this album. And you know what, I still really do. I guess over time I have started to prefer other Outkast projects over this one. It still undeniably has some of their absolute best songs on it, but the album as a whole experience is just a tad messy, as much as the skits and interludes are a lot of fun, I think that there are maybe just a few too many that make the album feel a bit less coherent than it could have done.
Screaming Trees
4/5
This feels a lot more unique than most grunge, as much as I obviously love Nirvana and Soundgarden and the rest of them, this brings something new to the scene that makes them stand out. It's almost punkier, but somehow smoother and more polished at the same time. To be honest, I would argue that there is a strong case for this not even being grunge at all. It's more just like alternative rock, just with how different it feels to grunge and a lot of the other rock around at the time.
1/5
Here we go, over 70s albums in and it's finally time. I've been dreading this since day one of starting this project and today is the day. I actually feel relief more than anything, I don't have to wake up every day dreading this album anymore. But enough about that, let's talk about the awful music on this thing. Man this is a mess, it's frustrating because there are just a handful of moments that do have a genuinely killer guitar riff, but they are so few and far between that it's barely worth acknowledging. 99% of this is just cringe lyrics and musical clichés that were even predictable at the time.
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
Just what I expected this to sound like, just fun and quirky satire that does a great job at not taking itself too seriously. Not the most coherent or complete product, but for an album like this you wouldn't exactly expect it to be.
Paul Simon
4/5
Paul Simon is one of those artists who is just impossible to hate. This might not be your favourite thing ever, but if you have ears then you must be able to appreciate his talent and still think that this at least makes for good background music.
The Prodigy
2/5
The Prodigy are like the metal of electronic music. And as much as I love metal, this album just doesn't quite to it for me. I do love The Fat of the Land, that one has so much interesting stuff going on that makes it more diverse and overall enjoyable. This one is not only so much longer, but completely lacks the diversity and pacing that it needs. Just an hour and a quarter of pure, uncut hard breakbeat. It needs more breaks and softer moments, especially considering its length.
The Beta Band
2/5
Given this band's name, they are clearly self aware of their own mediocrity. And yet, they still decided to persevere and make an album they presumably thought was good. I almost respect their dedication to not caring, but that doesn't change the fact that this is one of the most bland albums I have ever heard in my life.
U2 I find to be so hit or miss, and this is pretty much the most middle of the road album I think I've heard from them. Like it's hard to complain about this at all, the writing is good, and it's well performed by very clearly talented people, but there's just very little about it that I can point to specifically and say that I actually remembered or noticed that part. Just a collection of perfectly competent but mildly forgettable songs.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Definitely one of the better albums in the "random 80s post-punk" category. There's a lot of shit on this list that falls under that description, so it's nice to get one that I actually quite enjoyed.
The Bees
3/5
This is about as wholesome as I would expect a band called The Bees to sound. Almost even to the point where it's so wholesome that it's not daring enough, and lacks the depth and unpredictability that I like to hear in an album. But it's still a fun little project, it's one that if I listen to it in the right mood I can definitely see myself absolutely loving this.
Tim Buckley
1/5
This is just an absolute mess, there's no common theme or any sense of pacing in the album's sound, it feels like each song was recorded without any regard for how the whole thing would sound as a finished product. His vocals are annoying as hell and don't fit the intsteumentals at all only further adding to how messy this is, and oh my God don't even get me started on the lyrics....
Supergrass
4/5
I always think of Supergrass as having completely fallen off after a genre defining debut, and while I do think that to be mostly true, I often forget that this album is actually still really good. It doesn't have the energy or playfulness of I Should Coco, but it's still a solid, well made and even slightly more mature album that sees them taking a slightly different direction. It's just a shame that every album after this is just a pool of mediocrity given how many possibilities they had after releasing this.
Rush
4/5
Over 700 albums in and I finally got some Rush! Truly such an amazing and ridiculously consistent band, this album being right in the middle of one of the greatest runs of albums in rock history, and to think that after this they only continued to improve. The opening track is obviously so epic and iconic, but I feel like the back half of the album does just lose the plot just a tiny bit. Maybe opening your album with a 20 minute long prog rock sci fi epic isn't the best idea for that exact reason, but all things considered the fact that the second half is still at least decent I think is still impressive considering what it's following.
The La's
3/5
Real shame this is the only album this band ever put out. It's very rough around the edges but their genuine talent and passion for their craft really comes through. It's got a good number of standout moments, just enough to keep me wanting to listen, although there are a lot of less interesting songs too. But just to think what they could have done if they decided to make even just two or three more albums, but instead we are stuck with a somewhat messy and lacking collection of brilliant ideas.
Ryan Adams
3/5
I was daunted by this at first, being over an hour of country. But it's still pop/rock adjacent enough to be bearable for that length, and even then this is the side of country music I actually quite like. I still think this album could do with being a lot shorter, after a while it does start to feel pretty monotonous, but I'm just relieved more than anything that it wasn't a complete slog to get through.
ZZ Top
4/5
Can someone please explain to me why I like this so much. On the surface I should hate everything about this, it's just cheesy and somewhat generic dad rock. But for some reason it doesn't repulse me at all, there's still something so fun and enjoyable about it.
Arrested Development
2/5
Very much an example of "they walked so others could run." This is by no means bad, and considering how early in the history of hip hop this album came out it's actually quite impressive. But listening to this over 30 years later, I just find it to be so dated and even in some ways quite cheesy and corny. I'm sure that at the time that style was all the rage, but there is still a hell of a lot of hip hop from this era that by a landslide has aged better, and I think that comparison is very telling to how "essential" this album really is.
Björk
3/5
As is the case with any groundbreaking or experimental artist, they always have their fair share of misses. And for Björk, this isn't quite one of those but she definitely has far better. I like a lot of the ideas she has on this album, but I just don't think it's really all that well put together and ends up feeling like it's just missing something. I say all of this like I think this album is bad, all things considered it's still pretty good, it's just that I know she's capable of so much more, and so this one feels very underwhelming in comparison.
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
I love albums that do this, the first few tracks make you believe that it's just going to be a straight forward rock album, just a group of dudes playing their instruments and singing for 50 odd minutes. But by the time you're about half way through, you realise that it's actually so much more than that. You start to notice how the soundscapes are expanding and each song seems to be getting longer, more progressive, and more instrumentally focused. You then realise that you wasted a whole bunch of time listening to a 10 minute long drone track, but hey, the process was fun even if the music itself was weird and in some places meandering.
The Cars
5/5
Sometimes a great album isn't some epic concept album with deep lore and profound music and lyrical content, sometimes a great album is just a small collection of fantastic songs that work well together, and I think that is so well represented with this. Nothing crazy or particularly ambitious about it, just some amazing pop and rock songs all packaged in a fun and digestible way.
Korn
2/5
I love Korn, I really do. But this album is one of the biggest misses on the list. I don't blame people for thinking that nu metal is just some cringe music teenagers were listening to if all they are exposed to is this and Limp Bizkit. Korn's self titled, Issues, Life Is Peachy, and even Take a Look in the Mirror would all have been far better choices to repesent the band than this. Those are all fantastic albums that represent Korn and nu metal as a whole so well and really showcase what the genre is actually capable of.
But instead, we are left with this. To give credit where credit is due, there are still a good number of really good tracks on this album, but it's just so bloated with cringy lyrics, entire sections that are completely forgettable, and of course how could I forget the song featuring Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst doing a rap battle about incest, truly one of the worst Korn songs out there.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Every time I listen to an Elvis Costello album, I'm just left with this overwhelming feeling of neutrality, but sort of in a good way. Some albums leave me with the same feeling because they are boring or generic etc, and I have never thought that of an Elvis Costello album, but for some reason his music just does nothing for me. It's more than just "boring but inoffensive," I can tell that it's really good quality music, but for some reason it has still yet to really grab me.
Miles Davis
5/5
This truly is one of the greatest jazz albums ever made. It's enjoyable and accessible to anyone, whether it's the first jazz album you've ever listened to, or you're a super experienced jazz fanatic, this album will always be there to provide you with 45 minutes of some of the most perfectly crafted and performed music ever made.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The Rolling Stones' debut is honestly a pretty underwhelming experience considering that only 5 years later they would go on to release some of the most important records in rock history. But they started out in much the same position as The Beatles, making a short but sweet album of covers that's mildly entertaining and actually quite fun, but nowhere near the standard of what they would manage to achieve later in their career.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
Oh goody, more bland 1960s folk rock. My favourite!
Thundercat
3/5
Thundercat is one of very few strange artists where I think they do absolutely amazing features on other people's songs, but their own actual music isn't nearly as good. I think that Thundercat is a great producer, a great vocalist, and an absolutely fantastic performer. And almost every time I see him featured on a song, I'll enjoy the hell out of his part as he brings a super fun energy that nobody does better than him. But a full album of just that and nothing else, for some reason it just feels like there's something missing. And I do think that this is his best album, it's by far the most complete feeling and best put together, with there still being a good number of standout songs and moments. I guess my problem is that it's all just a bit same-y, he just does his thing for the full 50 minutes, and while he's great at what he does, when it never changes it's just a bit much.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
This is the side of 80s synthpop that has actually aged really well. There's so much annoying cheesy slop from that scene, but stuff like this, Depeche Mode, New Order etc all still hold up incredibly well. This in particular having quite an overt sense of darkness gives it an edge that helps it transcend the rest of the shitty 80s synthpop that is typically associated with that era.
Faust
3/5
Krautrock is a really interesting genre, and one that is a really strange experience for me for some reason. I've never outright hated a krautrock album, but I've never really loved one either. And this album is only continuing that streak, I like this and I appreciate it for what it is, but for some reason even though it has all the elements I would normally look for in a textbook good album, I just can't quite bring myself to that that I love it.
The Gun Club
2/5
Maybe this could grow on me, but for now I'm having a hard time enjoying this all that much. I will say that I think this album is really interesting if nothing else, the blend of punk with blues and rockabilly is a really unique style. But on the whole, I just feel like it could have been pulled off a lot better, as despite the diverse array of genres and influences, somehow the album as a whole manages to feel pretty generic as a collective piece.