Jan 07 2024
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Tapestry
Carole King
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.
4
Jan 08 2024
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Sea Change
Beck
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.
5
Jan 09 2024
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The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
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.
3
Jan 10 2024
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The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
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
4
Jan 11 2024
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The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
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
4
Jan 12 2024
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Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
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
2
Jan 13 2024
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
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
4
Jan 14 2024
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The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
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.
5
Jan 15 2024
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Henry's Dream
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
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
3
Jan 16 2024
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Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
4
Jan 17 2024
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Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
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.
1
Jan 18 2024
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Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
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
3
Jan 19 2024
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The Libertines
The Libertines
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
3
Jan 20 2024
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A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay
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
5
Jan 21 2024
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You Are The Quarry
Morrissey
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.
1
Jan 22 2024
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
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.
3
Jan 23 2024
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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
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....
4
Jan 24 2024
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Want Two
Rufus Wainwright
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.
2
Jan 25 2024
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Shaft
Isaac Hayes
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.
2
Jan 26 2024
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Phrenology
The Roots
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.
4
Jan 27 2024
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In Rainbows
Radiohead
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.
5
Jan 28 2024
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Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
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.
1
Jan 29 2024
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Closer
Joy Division
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.
5
Jan 30 2024
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Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
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.
4
Jan 31 2024
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More Specials
The Specials
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.
3
Feb 01 2024
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Coles Corner
Richard Hawley
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.
1
Feb 02 2024
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The Only Ones
The Only Ones
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.
4
Feb 03 2024
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In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
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.
4
Feb 04 2024
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Tommy
The Who
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.
4
Feb 05 2024
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Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
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.
2
Feb 06 2024
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We Are Family
Sister Sledge
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.
2
Feb 07 2024
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Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
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.
5
Feb 08 2024
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Movies
Holger Czukay
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.
4
Feb 09 2024
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Buffalo Springfield Again
Buffalo Springfield
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.
3
Feb 10 2024
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KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
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.
5
Feb 11 2024
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Vanishing Point
Primal Scream
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.
1
Feb 12 2024
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British Steel
Judas Priest
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.
4
Feb 13 2024
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The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
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.
4
Feb 14 2024
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Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
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.
2
Feb 15 2024
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Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
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.
3
Feb 16 2024
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1977
Ash
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.
2
Feb 17 2024
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Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
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.
2
Feb 18 2024
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Mask
Bauhaus
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.
4
Feb 19 2024
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Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
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.
3
Feb 20 2024
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Mothership Connection
Parliament
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.
1
Feb 21 2024
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Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
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.
3
Feb 22 2024
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Sister
Sonic Youth
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.
2
Feb 23 2024
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Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
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.
3
Feb 24 2024
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Blue
Joni Mitchell
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.
4
Feb 25 2024
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Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
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.
2
Feb 26 2024
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Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
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.
1
Feb 27 2024
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In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
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.
5
Feb 28 2024
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Beautiful Freak
Eels
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.
3
Feb 29 2024
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This Is Hardcore
Pulp
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.
4
Mar 01 2024
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A Night At The Opera
Queen
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.
5
Mar 02 2024
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You've Come a Long Way Baby
Fatboy Slim
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.
1
Mar 03 2024
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Le Tigre
Le Tigre
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.
5
Mar 04 2024
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Close To You
Carpenters
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.
3
Mar 05 2024
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Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
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.
5
Mar 06 2024
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I Should Coco
Supergrass
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.
4
Mar 07 2024
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Fear and Whiskey
Mekons
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.
2
Mar 08 2024
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The Coral
The Coral
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.
2
Mar 09 2024
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There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
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.
1
Mar 10 2024
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Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
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.
5
Mar 11 2024
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All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
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.
4
Mar 12 2024
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Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
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.
3
Mar 13 2024
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Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
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.
2
Mar 14 2024
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Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
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.
1
Mar 15 2024
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Time (The Revelator)
Gillian Welch
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.
2
Mar 16 2024
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Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
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.
4
Mar 17 2024
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Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
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.
3
Mar 18 2024
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Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
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.
1
Mar 19 2024
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At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
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.
2
Mar 20 2024
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Raw Power
The Stooges
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.
4
Mar 21 2024
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American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
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.
5
Mar 22 2024
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Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
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.
3
Mar 23 2024
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The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
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.
4
Mar 24 2024
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Odelay
Beck
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.
4
Mar 25 2024
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GREY Area
Little Simz
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.
3
Mar 26 2024
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The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
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.
4
Mar 27 2024
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The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
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.
1
Mar 28 2024
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She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
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.
4
Mar 29 2024
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The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
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?
5
Mar 30 2024
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Young Americans
David Bowie
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.
4
Mar 31 2024
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Kilimanjaro
The Teardrop Explodes
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.
2
Apr 01 2024
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Being There
Wilco
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.
3
Apr 02 2024
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Definitely Maybe
Oasis
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.
2
Apr 03 2024
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Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
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.
2
Apr 04 2024
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Triangle
The Beau Brummels
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.
2
Apr 05 2024
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Space Ritual
Hawkwind
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.
1
Apr 06 2024
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
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.
4
Apr 07 2024
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Screamadelica
Primal Scream
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.
1
Apr 08 2024
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Hotel California
Eagles
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.
3
Apr 09 2024
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Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
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
Apr 10 2024
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On The Beach
Neil Young
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.
3
Apr 11 2024
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A Seat at the Table
Solange
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.
1
Apr 12 2024
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Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
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.
2
Apr 13 2024
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Urban Hymns
The Verve
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.
4
Apr 14 2024
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Joan Baez
Joan Baez
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.
5
Apr 15 2024
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Psychocandy
The Jesus And Mary Chain
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.
1
Apr 16 2024
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Rio
Duran Duran
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.
4
Apr 17 2024
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Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
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.
1
Apr 18 2024
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Aja
Steely Dan
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.
4
Apr 19 2024
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Copper Blue
Sugar
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.
2
Apr 20 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
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.
5
Apr 21 2024
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Locust Abortion Technician
Butthole Surfers
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.
1
Apr 22 2024
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american dream
LCD Soundsystem
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.
4
Apr 23 2024
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War
U2
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.
4
Apr 24 2024
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Are You Experienced
Jimi Hendrix
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.
4
Apr 25 2024
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Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
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.
5
Apr 26 2024
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Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
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.
4
Apr 27 2024
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Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
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.
5
Apr 28 2024
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Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
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.
3
Apr 29 2024
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Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
Never been huge into gothic stuff, but this is much better than I would have expected.
4
Apr 30 2024
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The World is a Ghetto
War
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.
2
May 01 2024
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Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
Jesus Christ man, keep it in your pants.
4
May 02 2024
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Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
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.
3
May 03 2024
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McCartney
Paul McCartney
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.
3
May 04 2024
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(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
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.
1
May 05 2024
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Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
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.
5
May 06 2024
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Funeral
Arcade Fire
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.
5
May 07 2024
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Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
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.
4
May 08 2024
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The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers
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.
2
May 09 2024
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New Boots And Panties
Ian Dury
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.
3
May 10 2024
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Sail Away
Randy Newman
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.
2
May 11 2024
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From Elvis In Memphis
Elvis Presley
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.
3
May 12 2024
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The Sensual World
Kate Bush
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.
5
May 13 2024
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Rejoicing In The Hands
Devendra Banhart
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.
1
May 14 2024
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3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
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.
5
May 15 2024
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
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.
5
May 16 2024
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Slanted And Enchanted
Pavement
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.
1
May 17 2024
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D
White Denim
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.
4
May 18 2024
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A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
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.
4
May 19 2024
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Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
Hear me out, I may actually like this more than Thriller.
5
May 20 2024
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Music
Madonna
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.
1
May 21 2024
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Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
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.
5
May 22 2024
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Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
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.
2
May 23 2024
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The United States Of America
The United States Of America
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.
3
May 24 2024
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Autobahn
Kraftwerk
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.
4
May 25 2024
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Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
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.
3
May 26 2024
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GI
Germs
This is so unhinged and I love it. Just some of the rawest, heaviest, no bollocks punk I have ever heard.
4
May 27 2024
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Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
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.
5
May 28 2024
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Kid A
Radiohead
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.
5
May 29 2024
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The Idiot
Iggy Pop
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.
3
May 30 2024
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I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
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.
4
May 31 2024
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
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.
5
Jun 01 2024
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Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
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.
4
Jun 02 2024
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Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Small Faces
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.
2
Jun 03 2024
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Moby Grape
Moby Grape
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.
1
Jun 04 2024
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Chirping Crickets
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
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.
3
Jun 05 2024
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Heroes to Zeros
The Beta Band
This album was about as interesting as the 11th of April 1954. Shame as well, the album cover had me super hyped.
2
Jun 06 2024
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Be
Common
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.
5
Jun 07 2024
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Picture Book
Simply Red
This album did have a handful of great moments, but on the whole it just drags on a bit too much for my liking.
3
Jun 08 2024
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Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
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.
5
Jun 09 2024
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Justified
Justin Timberlake
Oh my god this album has aged horrifically. Literal fuckboy music.
1
Jun 10 2024
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Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
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.
4
Jun 11 2024
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The Score
Fugees
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.
4
Jun 12 2024
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Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
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.
3
Jun 13 2024
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Legalize It
Peter Tosh
I appreciate the sentiment behind this album, but it just becomes so boring and repetitive very quickly.
2
Jun 14 2024
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American Pie
Don McLean
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.
3
Jun 15 2024
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Morrison Hotel
The Doors
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.
5
Jun 16 2024
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The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
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.
2
Jun 17 2024
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Cloud Nine
The Temptations
I mean yeah, that was kinda fun I guess.
3
Jun 18 2024
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Live And Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
Eh, just drags on and doesn't really do anything interesting. Kinda glad I wasn't at this concert.
2
Jun 19 2024
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Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
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.
2
Jun 20 2024
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Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
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.
2
Jun 21 2024
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Pornography
The Cure
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.
5
Jun 22 2024
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If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Pogues
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.
2
Jun 23 2024
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Horses
Patti Smith
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.
4
Jun 24 2024
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Chore of Enchantment
Giant Sand
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.
2
Jun 25 2024
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Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
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.
5
Jun 26 2024
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Haunted Dancehall
The Sabres Of Paradise
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.
4
Jun 27 2024
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Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Hüsker Dü
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.
1
Jun 28 2024
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Fishscale
Ghostface Killah
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.
4
Jun 29 2024
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Rubber Soul
Beatles
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.
5
Jun 30 2024
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Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
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.
5
Jul 01 2024
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Frampton Comes Alive
Peter Frampton
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.
2
Jul 02 2024
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Synchronicity
The Police
Just a really solid pop/rock/new wave album. What more is there to say?
4
Jul 03 2024
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Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention
Sort of a cool fun album, but didn't stand out to me as being particularly special.
3
Jul 04 2024
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Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones
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.
4
Jul 05 2024
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Master Of Puppets
Metallica
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.
5
Jul 06 2024
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
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.
3
Jul 07 2024
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Headquarters
The Monkees
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.
2
Jul 08 2024
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Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian
Solid as hell indie folk rock. Incredible passion, and great musicianship.
4
Jul 09 2024
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Dusty In Memphis
Dusty Springfield
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.
2
Jul 10 2024
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Second Toughest In The Infants
Underworld
Just keeps on going and never ends, far too long and repetitive for my liking.
2
Jul 11 2024
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Moondance
Van Morrison
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.
3
Jul 12 2024
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Dirt
Alice In Chains
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.
5
Jul 13 2024
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Jazz Samba
Stan Getz
Felt like a 33 minute long elevator ride.
2
Jul 14 2024
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Arular
M.I.A.
This album goes hard as hell, you guys just aren't ready for the world of abstract and experimental hip hop.
4
Jul 15 2024
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Don't Stand Me Down
Dexys Midnight Runners
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.
3
Jul 16 2024
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Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
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.
4
Jul 17 2024
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At Budokan
Cheap Trick
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.
1
Jul 18 2024
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In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
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.
2
Jul 19 2024
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Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
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.
3
Jul 20 2024
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Frank
Amy Winehouse
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.
4
Jul 21 2024
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Cafe Bleu
The Style Council
Punchy, fun, dynamic, just a solid as hell album.
4
Jul 22 2024
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Mott
Mott The Hoople
I can live very well without super generic dad rock thank you 👍
1
Jul 23 2024
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The College Dropout
Kanye West
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.
5
Jul 24 2024
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Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Peace and love, man.
3
Jul 25 2024
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The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
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.
5
Jul 26 2024
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The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Joni Mitchell
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.
3
Jul 27 2024
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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
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.
3
Jul 28 2024
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Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
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.
2
Jul 29 2024
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More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
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.
5
Jul 30 2024
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Blackstar
David Bowie
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.
4
Jul 31 2024
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Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
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.
5
Aug 01 2024
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Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
White people ass hip hop.
2
Aug 02 2024
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Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
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.
1
Aug 03 2024
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Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
Arcade Fire but it's psychedelic folk? I'm absolutely here for it.
4
Aug 04 2024
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The Real Thing
Faith No More
Red Hot Metal Peppers.
3
Aug 05 2024
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The Holy Bible
Manic Street Preachers
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.
4
Aug 06 2024
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People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
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.
5
Aug 07 2024
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Bone Machine
Tom Waits
This is the worst kind of experimental music.
1
Aug 08 2024
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Paul Simon
Paul Simon
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.
3
Aug 09 2024
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Spiderland
Slint
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.
5
Aug 10 2024
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Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
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.
3
Aug 11 2024
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Paranoid
Black Sabbath
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.
5
Aug 12 2024
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Penthouse And Pavement
Heaven 17
Talking Heads if they fucking sucked.
1
Aug 13 2024
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...And Justice For All
Metallica
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.
4
Aug 14 2024
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Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
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.
1
Aug 15 2024
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Superfuzz Bigmuff
Mudhoney
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.
3
Aug 16 2024
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Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Eurythmics
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.
4
Aug 17 2024
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If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
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.
4
Aug 18 2024
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Talk Talk Talk
The Psychedelic Furs
This album was really annoying, I really with that they would stop talk talk talking.
2
Aug 19 2024
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Third/Sister Lovers
Big Star
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.
2
Aug 20 2024
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Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
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.
3
Aug 21 2024
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Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
This album just doesn't really do anything, it's hard to hate it but it's completely devoid of any personality.
2
Aug 22 2024
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Crocodiles
Echo And The Bunnymen
Nothing too special about this one, just a pretty run of the mill post punk album.
2
Aug 23 2024
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Ghosteen
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
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.
4
Aug 24 2024
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Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
Perfectly enjoyable background music, but nothing to get too excited about.
3
Aug 25 2024
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Brown Sugar
D'Angelo
This is like the background music album of all time.
2
Aug 26 2024
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Dirty
Sonic Youth
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.
4
Aug 27 2024
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
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.
3
Aug 28 2024
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Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
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.
2
Aug 29 2024
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John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon
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.
3
Aug 30 2024
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High Violet
The National
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.
5
Aug 31 2024
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Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
Would it kill these idiots to not shout at me for about 5 minutes.
1
Sep 01 2024
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Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
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.
4
Sep 02 2024
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The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
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.
2
Sep 03 2024
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Made In Japan
Deep Purple
Pointlessly long, boring, repetitive, and way too many solos that don't need to be as long as they are.
1
Sep 04 2024
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Play
Moby
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.
3
Sep 05 2024
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Soul Mining
The The
The.
3
Sep 06 2024
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Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock
Solid jazz.
4
Sep 07 2024
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Arrival
ABBA
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.
4
Sep 08 2024
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Heroes
David Bowie
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.
5
Sep 09 2024
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Siembra
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
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.
3
Sep 10 2024
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Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
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.
3
Sep 11 2024
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Fromohio
fIREHOSE
A bit messy and rough around the edges, but definitely a fun album that's hard to criticise.
3
Sep 12 2024
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Debut
Björk
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.
5
Sep 13 2024
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Black Holes and Revelations
Muse
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.
4
Sep 14 2024
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Dookie
Green Day
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.
5
Sep 15 2024
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Ray Of Light
Madonna
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.
4
Sep 16 2024
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Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
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.
5
Sep 17 2024
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Dummy
Portishead
Perfectly dark and moody, what could anyone not love about this album.
5
Sep 18 2024
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Ramones
Ramones
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.
4
Sep 19 2024
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Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche
Koffi Olomide
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.
1
Sep 20 2024
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Skylarking
XTC
Nothing really that special, but a solid album nonetheless.
3
Sep 21 2024
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Madman Across The Water
Elton John
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.
5
Sep 22 2024
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Hunky Dory
David Bowie
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.
5
Sep 23 2024
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Red Dirt Girl
Emmylou Harris
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.
2
Sep 24 2024
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Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Definitely some of the jazziest jazz to have ever jazzed.
4
Sep 25 2024
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Since I Left You
The Avalanches
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.
3
Sep 26 2024
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Happy Sad
Tim Buckley
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.
1
Sep 27 2024
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Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
This blend of rock with synthpop is amazing. Really fun album.
4
Sep 28 2024
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Murmur
R.E.M.
I really don't get the hype around R.E.M. Their music is completely inoffensive, but there's nothing remotely interesting about it.
2
Sep 29 2024
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Technique
New Order
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.
4
Sep 30 2024
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Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
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.
2
Oct 01 2024
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Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
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.
4
Oct 02 2024
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Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago
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.
1
Oct 03 2024
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Orbital 2
Orbital
This album does have some cool moments, but then those moments go on for too long and stop being cool.
2
Oct 04 2024
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The Stooges
The Stooges
Punk in the 60s is insane. This is arguably more ahead of its time than any other album ever made.
4
Oct 05 2024
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The Doors
The Doors
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.
4
Oct 06 2024
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Wild Gift
X
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.
3
Oct 07 2024
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Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
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.
4
Oct 08 2024
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Zombie
Fela Kuti
Eh, just keeps going and doesn't do anything to even remotely hold my interest.
2
Oct 09 2024
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Elvis Is Back
Elvis Presley
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.
2
Oct 10 2024
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Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
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.
5
Oct 11 2024
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Innervisions
Stevie Wonder
It's really hard to go wrong with Stevie Wonder, his music is just so soothing and comforting.
4
Oct 12 2024
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Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
Absolutely beautiful album. Joni Mitchell continues to impress, as expected of course.
4
Oct 13 2024
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Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell
For soul music this is pretty soulless.
1
Oct 14 2024
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Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Well this band name certainly doesn't lie, that definitely was music.
3
Oct 15 2024
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
Must have been insane to hear this back in the 60s, this was the heaviest music in existence until Black Sabbath came along.
5
Oct 16 2024
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Feast of Wire
Calexico
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.
3
Oct 17 2024
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...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
Some of the most annoying and solluess pop music I have ever heard.
1
Oct 18 2024
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Youth And Young Manhood
Kings of Leon
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.
2
Oct 19 2024
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Aqualung
Jethro Tull
Led Zeppelin except slightly less interesting.
3
Oct 20 2024
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Water From An Ancient Well
Abdullah Ibrahim
There are so many amazing and interesting jazz albums in the world. This is not one of them.
2
Oct 21 2024
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Lust For Life
Iggy Pop
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.
3
Oct 22 2024
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Parallel Lines
Blondie
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.
5
Oct 23 2024
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The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
Alex Turner solo project goes surprisingly hard.
4
Oct 24 2024
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John Prine
John Prine
Far too much rootin' tootin' yee haw for my liking.
1
Oct 25 2024
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Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde
What this album lacks in quality, it makes up for in comedy.
4
Oct 26 2024
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Imagine
John Lennon
Even using my imagination won't help me like this album.
2
Oct 27 2024
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With The Beatles
Beatles
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.
3
Oct 28 2024
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Grace
Jeff Buckley
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.
5
Oct 29 2024
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This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
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.
3
Oct 30 2024
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Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
This list really needs more psychedelic rock from the late 60s, there just isn't quite enough.
1
Oct 31 2024
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Colour By Numbers
Culture Club
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.
4
Nov 01 2024
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Low-Life
New Order
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.
5
Nov 02 2024
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Ten
Pearl Jam
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.
4
Nov 03 2024
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Queen II
Queen
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.
3
Nov 04 2024
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The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
This album singlehandedly layed the entire groundworks for britpop, and for that I will always be grateful to it.
5
Nov 05 2024
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Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
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.
4
Nov 06 2024
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Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
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.
2
Nov 07 2024
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American Gothic
David Ackles
An "American" album is the last thing I needed today. And on top of that it's not even that good.
1
Nov 08 2024
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Junkyard
The Birthday Party
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.
1
Nov 09 2024
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Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
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.
4
Nov 10 2024
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The Yes Album
Yes
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.
4
Nov 11 2024
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Revolver
Beatles
I have a brain, so 5 stars.
5
Nov 12 2024
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Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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.
4
Nov 13 2024
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Butterfly
Mariah Carey
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.
1
Nov 14 2024
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Liquid Swords
GZA
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.
5
Nov 15 2024
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Abbey Road
Beatles
Duh.
5
Nov 16 2024
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In Utero
Nirvana
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.
5
Nov 17 2024
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Maxinquaye
Tricky
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.
2
Nov 18 2024
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Face to Face
The Kinks
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.
2
Nov 19 2024
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Illmatic
Nas
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.
5
Nov 20 2024
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My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
Nothing especially groovy, but there's still a fun energy to this one.
3
Nov 21 2024
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Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
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.
4
Nov 22 2024
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Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
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.
2
Nov 23 2024
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Pretenders
Pretenders
Pretty standard run of the mill new wave album, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
3
Nov 24 2024
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BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé
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.
2
Nov 25 2024
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The Pleasure Principle
Gary Numan
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.
2
Nov 26 2024
View Album
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
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.
4
Nov 27 2024
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Entertainment
Gang Of Four
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.
2
Nov 28 2024
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The Sounds Of India
Ravi Shankar
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.
1
Nov 29 2024
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Porcupine
Echo And The Bunnymen
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.
4
Nov 30 2024
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After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
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.
4
Dec 01 2024
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Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
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.
5
Dec 02 2024
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Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman
John Zorn
I appreciate the attempt to experiment. But seriously, who the fuck is this music for.
1
Dec 03 2024
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Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
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.
4
Dec 04 2024
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Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
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.
5
Dec 05 2024
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xx
The xx
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.
4
Dec 06 2024
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Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
This album really feels unhateable. It's full of epic riffs and fantastic vocal performances, and of course is just so amazingly theatrical.
4
Dec 07 2024
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Aladdin Sane
David Bowie
Piano playing on this album is absolutely top notch.
4
Dec 08 2024
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The Last Broadcast
Doves
This is what Coldplay sound like to people who don't like them.
2
Dec 09 2024
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So Much For The City
The Thrills
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.
3
Dec 10 2024
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The Wall
Pink Floyd
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.
4
Dec 11 2024
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Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
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.
5
Dec 12 2024
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Steve McQueen
Prefab Sprout
This sure is an 80s album alright
2
Dec 13 2024
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Your New Favourite Band
The Hives
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.
2
Dec 14 2024
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Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
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.
4
Dec 15 2024
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Hejira
Joni Mitchell
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.
4
Dec 16 2024
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Destroy Rock & Roll
Mylo
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.
3
Dec 17 2024
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Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
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.
4
Dec 18 2024
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Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
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.
3
Dec 19 2024
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Rising Above Bedlam
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
This album was so bland. And when it wasn't bland it was annoying.
1
Dec 20 2024
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Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
This album was super pleasant, definitely a more interesting genre fusion than I expected.
3
Dec 21 2024
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The Joshua Tree
U2
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.
2
Dec 22 2024
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Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
Without a doubt one of the most beautiful yet devastating albums ever made.
5
Dec 23 2024
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At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
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.
4
Dec 24 2024
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Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
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.
3
Dec 25 2024
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Forever Changes
Love
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.
2
Dec 26 2024
View Album
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
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.
1
Dec 27 2024
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Sheet Music
10cc
Absolutely no complaints about this one. Just a very straight forward rock album that's great at what it does.
4
Dec 28 2024
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Live!
Fela Kuti
This was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting. Maybe does drag on just a bit though.
3
Dec 29 2024
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Like A Prayer
Madonna
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.
4
Dec 30 2024
View Album
Untitled (Black Is)
SAULT
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.
3
Dec 31 2024
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The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Charles Mingus
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.
5
Jan 01 2025
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Wild Wood
Paul Weller
Can't say that this one was hugely memorable, but I did enjoy it overall.
3
Jan 02 2025
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Public Image: First Issue
Public Image Ltd.
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.
2
Jan 03 2025
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Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
Perfectly good for background music, but I really don't see what else this album really has to offer.
2
Jan 04 2025
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1984
Van Halen
Being forced to listen to hair metal against my will? Literally 1984.
1
Jan 05 2025
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Virgin Suicides
Air
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.
4
Jan 06 2025
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Kenza
Khaled
I can definitely appreciate this kind of music in small doses, but a full album of this is too much for me.
2
Jan 07 2025
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Fear Of Music
Talking Heads
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.
5
Jan 08 2025
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Quiet Life
Japan
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.
1
Jan 09 2025
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Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
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.
3
Jan 10 2025
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Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
I hated this one slightly less than the previous Tom Waits album.
2
Jan 11 2025
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White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
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.
5
Jan 12 2025
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School's Out
Alice Cooper
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.
2
Jan 13 2025
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Nowhere
Ride
Didn't love this but it's not the worst thing I've ever heard. Guitars were nice.
3
Jan 14 2025
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good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
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.
5
Jan 15 2025
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Lucinda Williams
I feel like I don't love America enough to enjoy this album properly.
2
Jan 16 2025
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Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
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.
4
Jan 17 2025
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Groovin'
The Young Rascals
Just more generic 60s pop rock. When will it end....
1
Jan 18 2025
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Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Just very straightforward folk rock, I like it. But I can't say anything stood out to me as being particularly amazing.
3
Jan 19 2025
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Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
The Devil himself is responsible for any hair metal ending up on this list.
1
Jan 20 2025
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Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
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.
5
Jan 21 2025
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Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
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.
3
Jan 22 2025
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Back to Basics
Christina Aguilera
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.
2
Jan 23 2025
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Pink Flag
Wire
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.
4
Jan 24 2025
View Album
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
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.
5
Jan 25 2025
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Live At The Regal
B.B. King
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.
4
Jan 26 2025
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Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
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.
1
Jan 27 2025
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The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
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?
3
Jan 28 2025
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1989
Taylor Swift
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.
2
Jan 29 2025
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
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.
3
Jan 30 2025
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Graceland
Paul Simon
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.
5
Jan 31 2025
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Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
This is the worst Talking Heads rip off I've ever heard.
1
Feb 01 2025
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Boston
Boston
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.
5
Feb 02 2025
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Calenture
The Triffids
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.
2
Feb 03 2025
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Trafalgar
Bee Gees
Well it's good to know the Bee Gees sucked even before they were doing disco.
1
Feb 04 2025
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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
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.
5
Feb 05 2025
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Smokers Delight
Nightmares On Wax
Kinda fun album I guess, just goes on for way too long and never changes or does anything interesting.
2
Feb 06 2025
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Trio
Dolly Parton
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.
2
Feb 07 2025
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Figure 8
Elliott Smith
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.
5
Feb 08 2025
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25
Adele
How can someone be so talented yet so boring....
2
Feb 09 2025
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The Bends
Radiohead
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.
5
Feb 10 2025
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There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly & The Family Stone
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.
3
Feb 11 2025
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Chelsea Girl
Nico
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.
4
Feb 12 2025
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Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
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.
5
Feb 13 2025
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Hunting High And Low
a-ha
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.
4
Feb 14 2025
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Oxygène
Jean-Michel Jarre
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.
4
Feb 15 2025
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Ys
Joanna Newsom
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.
3
Feb 16 2025
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461 Ocean Boulevard
Eric Clapton
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.
1
Feb 17 2025
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Bummed
Happy Mondays
I'm pretty bummed about having to listen to this today.
1
Feb 18 2025
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S&M
Metallica
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.
2
Feb 19 2025
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White Light / White Heat
The Velvet Underground
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.
3
Feb 20 2025
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Among The Living
Anthrax
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.
5
Feb 21 2025
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Ace of Spades
Motörhead
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.
4
Feb 22 2025
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Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
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.
3
Feb 23 2025
View Album
Safe As Milk
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
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.
2
Feb 24 2025
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I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
Boring ass country album. I see no point in having to listen to this.
2
Feb 25 2025
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Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
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.
4
Feb 26 2025
View Album
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
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.
5
Feb 27 2025
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Penance Soiree
The Icarus Line
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.
2
Feb 28 2025
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All Mod Cons
The Jam
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.
3
Mar 01 2025
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Hms Fable
Shack
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.
2
Mar 02 2025
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Microshift
Hookworms
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.
5
Mar 03 2025
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Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
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.
3
Mar 04 2025
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Supa Dupa Fly
Missy Elliott
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.
4
Mar 05 2025
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White Ladder
David Gray
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.
2
Mar 06 2025
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Eagles
Eagles
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.
3
Mar 07 2025
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Scott 4
Scott Walker
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.
2
Mar 08 2025
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Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
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.
5
Mar 09 2025
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Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts
The Adverts
Pretty run of the mill punk rock album, I would much rather listen to The Clash.
2
Mar 10 2025
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Tellin’ Stories
The Charlatans
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.
3
Mar 11 2025
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Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Ughhhhh late 60s psychadelic rock ughhhhhhh more late 60s psychadelic rock AHHHHHHH I'M SO SICK OF LATE 60S PSYCHADELIC ROCK AHHHHHHHHH
1
Mar 12 2025
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Django Django
Django Django
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.
4
Mar 13 2025
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Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
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.
5
Mar 14 2025
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Hard Again
Muddy Waters
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.
4
Mar 15 2025
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Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
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.
4
Mar 16 2025
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Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson
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.
1
Mar 17 2025
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Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
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
1
Mar 18 2025
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Rocks
Aerosmith
We get it man, you can screech. Couldn't you think of anything else to do with your life?
2
Mar 19 2025
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Before And After Science
Brian Eno
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.
5
Mar 20 2025
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#1 Record
Big Star
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.
2
Mar 21 2025
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Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
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.
3
Mar 22 2025
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Van Halen
Van Halen
This album (like every Van Halen album) has absolutely no substance, other than just screeching and over the top guitar riffs.
1
Mar 23 2025
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Chris
Christine and the Queens
Just a pretty standard pop album, don't really have a whole lot to say about this one.
3
Mar 24 2025
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Garbage
Garbage
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.
4
Mar 25 2025
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Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
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.
3
Mar 26 2025
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Who's Next
The Who
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.
4
Mar 27 2025
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A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
Coming from a white person: white people suck at making soul music.
2
Mar 28 2025
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Either Or
Elliott Smith
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.
5
Mar 29 2025
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Melodrama
Lorde
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.
5
Mar 30 2025
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Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
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.
2
Mar 31 2025
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Pearl
Janis Joplin
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.
4
Apr 01 2025
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Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
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.
4
Apr 02 2025
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Smash
The Offspring
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.
3
Apr 03 2025
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Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
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.
4
Apr 04 2025
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The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
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.
4
Apr 05 2025
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C'est Chic
CHIC
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.
1
Apr 06 2025
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This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
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.
2
Apr 07 2025
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Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
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.
1
Apr 08 2025
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Life Thru A Lens
Robbie Williams
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.
2
Apr 09 2025
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Songs Of Love And Hate
Leonard Cohen
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.
5
Apr 10 2025
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Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
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.
2
Apr 11 2025
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Disintegration
The Cure
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.
5
Apr 12 2025
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Raw Like Sushi
Neneh Cherry
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.
3
Apr 13 2025
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Like Water For Chocolate
Common
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.
4
Apr 14 2025
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Vulnicura
Björk
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.
4
Apr 15 2025
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Something/Anything?
Todd Rundgren
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.
1
Apr 16 2025
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Doolittle
Pixies
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.
5