729
Albums Rated
3.19
Average Rating
67%
Complete
360 albums remaining
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Rating Timeline
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1950s
Favorite Decade
Reggae
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
57
5-Star Albums
14
1-Star Albums
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By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Rhythm Nation 1814
Janet Jackson
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
Loretta Lynn
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Post Orgasmic Chill
Skunk Anansie
|
5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
|
Savane
Ali Farka Touré
|
5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
|
Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
|
5 | 3.16 | +1.84 |
|
Hysteria
Def Leppard
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
John Prine
John Prine
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
|
5 | 3.25 | +1.75 |
|
Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
|
5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
|
1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
|
Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey
|
1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
|
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
|
2 | 3.94 | -1.94 |
|
Psychocandy
The Jesus And Mary Chain
|
1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
|
Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
|
2 | 3.84 | -1.84 |
|
Peggy Suicide
Julian Cope
|
1 | 2.77 | -1.77 |
|
Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
|
1 | 2.75 | -1.75 |
|
Grace
Jeff Buckley
|
2 | 3.72 | -1.72 |
|
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
|
1 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
|
Slipknot
Slipknot
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pixies | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Flaming Lips | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2 | 5 |
| Johnny Cash | 2 | 5 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Jimi Hendrix | 2, 5, 4 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 2, 4, 5 |
5-Star Albums (57)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Frank Ocean
1/5
I was excited because I had heard good things about him but nope, no, not again. Raw dog, DD tities just the start of the mysigony all over this album. Rich people are bad unless it's him, drugs are bad except when he uses them, woman are beautiful when they do things for him. I was originally confused by the collaboration with John Mayer but by the end it made perfect sense.
9 likes
Screaming Trees
4/5
This is a band that I had heard of but never knew much about them and hadn't listened to their music. Personally the name of the band was a little deceiving (at least for this album), I thought there would be a lot of screaming so I was really pleasantly surprised! I really like this album and this band, one I will look into more.
3 likes
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
Wait, are we mad at the Peace Corp because they aren't real hippies??? And why do we have to poke fun at fat people, women and sad people over and over?
I get it, its satire on the music and people of the time. But typically satire is making fun of a group to support the counter argument, but then he made fun of the other side leaving us with no side to believe in. For me this is truly one of the most frustrating kinds of points, people that are feel superior then you, believe they are so smart, deep and beyond anyone else so they mock them all but offer no real effort to make the world a better place. Then what the hell was the last song! There is some musicality here and the satire concept isn't bad or necessarily badly done. It is also kind of an sketch comedy type concept to an album which is sort of cool and different. I just really hate the actual lyrics and persona it is embodying. The hate for the lyrics and the overall smug meanness are too overwhelming to look past.
2 likes
Pretenders
3/5
So I liked all the pieces individually but not necessarily all together. I liked the lyrics, I liked her voice and I liked the instruments. But (for me) together they just didn't mix always, making songs seem long and drawn out (Private Life felt like it wouldn't end). I liked The Phone Call and Up the Neck. I also really liked the lyrics in Tattooed Love Boys and the music of Space Invader. I wouldn't give up on the band but maybe this album.
2 likes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
I loved this album! Skeletons was my fav. I love how every song is different but still work together so well. i had heard the singles off this album and enjoyed them. Loved the whole thing together
2 likes
1-Star Albums (14)
All Ratings
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
I liked it, it was funky and fun to bop along to.
The Police
3/5
Another that I like but not life changing. If I had been there at the time maybe albums like this would hit different.
Ramones
5/5
This was a fun one! It was quick (wonder what their concerts were like?) but all was enjoyable. At the time they were so cutting edge, but in the context of today they would fit right into the Alt Rock genre (a lot of bands must consider them a big influence). Fun to hear them at their career beginning for what must have just been a fun few days of writing, recording and partying.
Deep Purple
3/5
Tangent review...first live albums have never been my thing unless it is a band I absolutely love and/or have seen in person. I just feel like I miss so much of the context, what was happening, the crowd size and energy and other details, and that makes the crowd noise just seem like background dissonance (purely my feelings). That being said I do enjoy that this was a concert that does not feel purely prescribed and every detail planned (not saying those experiences are bad, just different and more the norm today). All in all it was a fine album and it sounds like the fans enjoyed it, but I am not a major fan so I would have just as much enjoyed the songs in a studio recording.
I do hope they sang more than 7 songs at the concert, while they were long, seems like I would have been disappointed that is all I heard.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
Be prepared for an unpopular opinion. I was so excited to hear this because its Jimi Hendrix, but honestly I was not impressed. Is he talented? There is no doubt he is amazingly talented! But a lot of the songs were just random guitar rifts (that are amazing) but didn't really connect or feel like they had a purpose. The music feels like a guy who is amazing at guitar is just messing around at his home and you are sitting on his couch. It is great skill but I am not sure I can consider it a great album.
James Brown
3/5
It was good, lots of energy and you can tell they were having fun.
ZZ Top
3/5
I was thinking ZZ Top was harder, so this was a pleasant surprise. I liked Have You Heard the best. If it was on I would listen and enjoy it but probably not search it out.
Guided By Voices
2/5
This felt like an America's Got Talent audition record, nothing was finished or a full song, just parts of songs that left me wanting more. I think I could like this band, but I wouldn't listen to this again because it just left me wanting more.
The Thrills
3/5
I never heard of this group so it was a pleasant surprise. It was super interesting to see an Irish band producing such a new wave surfer/beach sound. I would listen again and search out their music more.
Pixies
4/5
This is how you do haunting dissonance correctly. The Pixies have a beautiful dysfunction to them. Can I listen to them everyday, no. But they do this sound and feelings so perfectly.
Waylon Jennings
4/5
I realize why I like old country more than current country, it has substance. It brings rural life to reality, its not drinking beer with a girl on your side while driving a tractor. Its hard work, bad choices, consequences, while navigating pain, heartache and love. They may be 'hillibillies' but they have intelligence, depth and are just trying to make a life for themselves and family (and have a little fun while doing it).
Beatles
4/5
It was fun to go back and see them in the beginning as just a simple pop band (that still had substance) and what think about how far they came. Not a lot of hits on this but they were still good.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
I am a big fan of folk type music and this gives me a country, folk, rock vibe so overall I dig it. It also so reflective and in a weird way nostalgic. I dug it
2/5
I mean the sound is cool and there are some real good damn the man songs. For angry rock it is not bad. But seriously why you so angry...you grew up middle, white class males in Jacksonville, Florida! You say you were bullied (which can be traumatic, no denying that) but you have spent the rest of your life spewing anger and hatred at everyone else. You have even said Putin is a nice guy...WTF. I want to believe your life was really that bad and that you are trying to share those feelings through art, but in today's climate this album gives real white privy incel vibes
Korn
3/5
Not my type of music, but at least it has substance, depth and really goes in deep to those icky feelings we all have sometimes. It doesn't just talk about F the dude who hurt me and I don't care. It goes deeper and focuses on the real impact. Probably won't listen again but can give it credit for having depth.
N.W.A.
3/5
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
There wasn't anything wrong with the individual songs, but as an album I didn't get it. I also don't feel like I have an idea of who they are as a band. One minute it feels like 1950's, then 1970's then almost country, and 1960's female blues ballads. But even the cover of the album confused (and made me laugh) me so I guess it all makes sense now...none of it is supposed to make sense!
Jane's Addiction
2/5
I know this probably unpopular to say but I was not a fan of this album. As a band they have had a huge impact on modern music and Perry Farrell has really impacted the greater music world. But it just felt grating on my ears (ain't no right). So much screaming voices vs a screaming guitar, it was just a lot.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
It made me feel old because my first reaction was, "I can't understand what they are saying." But overall I enjoyed the music, beat tune and dissonance, which seems to be what the music is really about.
Radiohead
3/5
Madness
4/5
The Slits
2/5
I really wanted to love this one (go girl power!) But for me it was so much of the same sound over and over.
Elliott Smith
2/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Solomon Burke
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Madonna
4/5
The Temptations
4/5
Khaled
3/5
The Youngbloods
3/5
Lou Reed
4/5
Mudhoney
2/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This is what I was thinking a Jimi Hendrix album would be like. Developed songs that play on his unique voice and amazing guitar riffs.
Roxy Music
2/5
Elbow
3/5
Moby Grape
4/5
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Michael Jackson
5/5
AC/DC
4/5
Van Halen
4/5
Kelela
3/5
AC/DC
4/5
Fugazi
2/5
meh...others do it better. The vocals are not great, the lyrics are too straightforward, the guitar and drums are good but nothing unique about it. Their sound just feels like a lot of other 80's and 90's bands and nothing stands out enough for me to want to add this to my mix.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Lorde
4/5
Maxwell
2/5
The Cure
3/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
It was interesting. Sometimes I was bopping along and good without lyrics (I Got a Woman) and other times I really wanted lyrics. Listening to Rinky Dink felt a little unsatisfying without Mickey and Sylvia. All in all it was a good listen and fun to recognize a talented group that probably does not receive enough praise.
Nine Inch Nails
2/5
Gillian Welch
3/5
Pretty and haunting
Basement Jaxx
3/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
Maybe an unpopular opinion but meh. I mean overall it is easy good listening but with all the music now it is just fine. At the time maybe it was revolutionary and different but now it is just fine.
The Byrds
3/5
Easy listening hippie music. Nice for a chill relaxing day hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.
The Incredible String Band
2/5
I'm not really sure what this album was. In the 60s with some recreational substance this may have made sense but I was just confused!
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
I am sure this one has a point and was really revolutionary at the time, but it hurt my ears :( I want to appreciate it for its purpose and I am all about protesting and getting your message out there through art but I would just never listen to this again.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Waiver between a 2 and 3. Way now emotional then I realized the Beach Boys were. Vocals not great though. Funny this generation complains of later musicians just screaming into the mic
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Calm peaceful and deep. Side note.... How could two people that create such calm and soothing music eventually hold so much hate in their hearts that they could not be in the same space together.
Violent Femmes
5/5
Listening to this one was like a night on the town! We are jazzed up and ready to go wild and by the end of the night slurring your words and rambling about not living in Chicago.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Complex and deep. Rap is not my preferred musical genre somewhat because most of it feels so one note and the same thing over and over. But not this, at times yes but it was still deeper, had substance, and made you want to listen to the lyrics and words not just dance along and shake your booty.
Julian Cope
1/5
At times seems like music they would play at cult activities and rituals. Started somewhat mellow but also trying to pull you in with all the terrible stuff out there. Safesurfer felt like something they would play or chant as some creepy ritual was occurring. Then the end was like you were brainwashed and stuck in a weird dissonance. Guitar and actual instrument parts were good but overall it made my insides feel icky and kind of sad.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I was really excited about the concept of this album and appreciated the idea. At first I found I struggled because I had in my mind what I thought the pictures should look like so I went back and tried to visualize them in my mind. It was better, but still some just didn't make sense in my mind. Overall I appreciated the idea behind the album (and would love to see the pictures they created in their minds) but overall not a winner for me.
The Modern Lovers
3/5
It was fine, if it came on the radio I would keep it on and sing along. But nothing revolutionary or different. Maybe they one of the first but felt very much like other music of that time.
Bob Dylan
4/5
It's the better Dylan album with some deep lyrics.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
I googled Dusty and found out about her personal life. Glad I did, because the songs hit a lot deeper and lyrics have more deep and double meaning then I knew.
Sparks
3/5
Its different but good. It feels like a mix of old and new, with some alt rock or punk influences.
Daft Punk
2/5
The beats and sounds are good but EDM is really not my thing. I can dance along with it but after a while it just gets repetitive as beats and bass lines over and over. But I hate critiquing it too bad because that is EDM, so in that world they might be amazing, but to me its just meh.
Blondie
5/5
Its Blondie...look at that cover...nothing more really needs to be said.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Hard to push past the individuals problematic personal life to really appreciate the music and not have it tainted by questioning what was he really singing about in these songs.
But the idea of the album and the rawness of the recording is refreshing in a way you rarely get anymore. Concerts are all in such large venues and have such fancy recording equipment, but this feels like you were in a small club bopping along.
Elliott Smith
4/5
It was like less dissonant Radiohead. A lot of feeling, emotion and pain behind some very beautiful melodies. Listening to the whole thing made me sad but it was musically enjoyable.
The Doors
4/5
Simply the Doors, simply good!
Pavement
4/5
I really enjoyed this album. Alt Rock that was just fun to listen to. Right amount of anger and build up but not too much. Most songs had awesome bridges that really enhanced the song. Some felt so different the rest is the song but also so right.
Syd Barrett
3/5
I am so back and forth on this album. Some songs were amazing and I enjoyed them a lot (Octopus for example) but others were just weird (and not a good way). One person was off tempo, off beat, off pitch, off tone, too long or something else.... For me it was not cohesive and very scattered, which is maybe the point. Because of that and the few songs that I connected with I will give it a 3.
Stan Getz
3/5
Good relaxing day drinking on a beach or somewhere warm and tropical. I don't understand the words without translation but that is almost good. Reading the lyrics after listening I did pick up on a lot of the meaning and feelings just by the melody and his emphasis.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Never heard this album so I am glad it came up. I always enjoy an album that has a story throughout and is a full experience, plus I really enjoyed the music. Do you Realize is a hit so it was really interesting to see how it fit into this story and I appreciate it way more!
Stereo MC's
4/5
Electronic music typically don't resonate with me unless they have lyrics I can sing along to...so this album was a pleasant surprise for me. The song Everything to me was everything in this album, electronic, 90's hip hop vibes and 70's jazz vibes, the back up singers, and a fife!
Tim Buckley
3/5
No subtly here. Album made for a smash session. Good beat and jazzy sound. Left me wondering if seven songs too much or not enough ;)
Beatles
4/5
I liked it
Iron Maiden
3/5
It was much more pleasant than expected. The singer really reminded me of other 80s hair band. Probably won't seek it out again but my ears aren't bleeding.
Laura Nyro
2/5
She had a beautiful and soulful voice but overall it just didn't do it for me. It felt like an outfit with just one to many details. If you could have taken off one bow or random jazz rift I think I would have really enjoyed it.
Radiohead
4/5
This is one I liked better then expected. Personally I never really understood the appeal of Radiohead. I only ever listened to what they played on the radio and those songs to me are whiny, creepy, dissonant and just blah. They left me very underwhelmed and didn't ever make me want to seek out more.
I really liked The Bends and Bones. As an album it was much better then a stand alone song on the radio. Not anything magical or transcendent to me, but it was better then I expected.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
I don't know how I felt about this album. Was it a bop? Yes. Was it something I could find myself signing along to? Yes. Should I be or do I have any context to connect with what they are singing about? Probably not.
At times it feels like they are romanticizing a lifestyle that at times I don't think should be romanticized, but that might be my privilege goggles talking. Maybe its not romanticizing but putting a satirical spin on things (Methodonia) or they just need to laugh and be proud because it is a world that is so put down.
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
The voice was nice and the meaning in the lyrics was deep but it was so repetitive. Repetition in each song and even between songs the lyrics seemed the same. After looking the band up I saw that the lead singer had history as a performance artist and that tracks with the vibe of the music (to me). Not something I will be listening to again anytime soon.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
1/5
I seriously had to fast forward multiple songs because it hurt my ears to listen. I don't know why or how they make it sound like that but I wish they hadn't. The parts of the song before that happened I enjoyed, but then the sound quality would get distorted and I just couldn't handle it. I want to give it higher, but honestly I just could not listen to it again even if I wanted to.
Pulp
3/5
Rush
2/5
I wish I could give it a 2 1/2. Do I like the songs individually? Yes. Do I want to listen to an entire Rush album? No. It was too much Rush. Which is weird, because they are not a particularly hard sound or super unpleasant sound. On a side note the album sort of reminded me of every theme song from an 80's action cartoon.
Tom Tom Club
2/5
It was really interesting to hear this and realizing others had sampled their song. After realizing that it felt like the album was written for people to sample their songs! Good beats and melodies, but so repetitive. I can imagine a DJ listening to their songs and finding lots of opportunities to use them to tie songs together, play over or under other songs, and mix and sample. On their own though they didn't really do much for me.
Radiohead
3/5
Chill and eerie. I enjoyed it.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
This was really enjoyable. Some were a little funky but all in all they were so beautiful and different. It was one of the first albums I felt was really something different and didn't remind me of something else we had listened to. Hard to Say Goodbye was a little long but the rest were just beautiful mixes of so many different sounds that just worked so well together.
The Cramps
3/5
It was weird (but I had a feeling it would be). At times I dug the weirdness (The Mad Daddy) and other times it was a little too weird for me (Mystery Plane and I am a Teenage Werewolf). I appreciated that the music was something outside my comfort zone but it pulled from genres that I could appreciate. Side note...the individuals in this band would be fascinating to travel with and follow around. I don't think I would fully understand their outlook on life and the world, but it would be fascinating to learn about it and experience it for at least a short amount of time!
Sonic Youth
4/5
I wish 17 year old me had found this album because I would have loved it! Overall I really enjoyed this music, the right amount of rock with some anger. Sometimes a little too much dissonance for 40 year old me. Also now I don't need multiple 7 minute songs in one album. But overall I would gladly listen and enjoy again.
Kanye West
4/5
I have never listened to a Kanye album, but have heard how talented he is and this album reflects that perfectly. His lyrics are deep and impactful. The beats and songs are mixed so seamlessly. Each song was unique yet fit so well together as an album. The only one I wasn't a fan of was Devil in a New Dress (tracks didn't line up as well and 'background' vocals to me were too prominent). Wish he could get some mental health help so his music could be the complete focus of his legacy.
1/5
This album should have been called insects dodging traffic. Did they say everybody go to a different room, play you instrument as fast as you can and then we will put it together?? Organized chaos makes sense for one don't but over and over it's just noise and really loses it's purpose for me.
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
I was excited for this one because everything I've heard about Kacey as a person was good. She is country but also a little progressive. But I was disappointed by love song after long song that was still rooted in mysigony. There were glimpses I loved, like Happy and Sad. It was a fine album and I still really like Butterflies and I would have loved this in high school but now I just want something a little deeper. By the end I was craving anything that was not a love song, but Rainbow was just enough to save it. I don't like any song individually which is why it's getting a 3 not a 2, but I wouldn't want to listen to this album in totality again
R.E.M.
5/5
I really enjoyed this album but I really enjoy R.E.M. There music is so chill on the surface but deep in the lyrics. Only potential criticism is you always know you are listening to R.E.M. because it all sounds very similar.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Back and forth between a 3 and 4. Going off on long instrumentals is not my thing so the last song was really a struggle for me. Overall though it was good sound, it had passion and emotion that you could feel. The musicians were talented and really riffed well with each other. For me personally at times it was just too long and I wanted to get to the next sound.
The Beta Band
4/5
I kind of really dug this album. It was sooooo different from anything, but still really cool (70's acid trip, modern electronic, high school band). I can see why the commercial success is low and personally I don't think they would do good playing big venues and having big fan bases. I want to see them play in a garage or a small club because their music has an intimate presence and the ability to be different but not pretentious and so unique but digestible. I really liked the first four songs. Easy and Wonderful were only okay, but they picked up again after and finished great (really liked Out-Side and Pure For). I am so glad I found them too and I will search them out more.
The Lemonheads
4/5
I really dug this album! They sounded so familiar do it was a pleasant surprise to hear Mrs Robinson. I loved the very late 90s sounds, seemed right out of Empire Records! Only complaint is that songs blended together and didn't really distinguish between each other
Yes
2/5
How do we explain our music.... We draw inspiration from Rush, but we are sophisticated (Cans and Brahms), spiritual (We have heaven) incorporate some scatting (to be culturally sensitive) and end by doing acid so that the entire thing makes no sense and nobody take knows what they are listening to
Frank Ocean
1/5
I was excited because I had heard good things about him but nope, no, not again. Raw dog, DD tities just the start of the mysigony all over this album. Rich people are bad unless it's him, drugs are bad except when he uses them, woman are beautiful when they do things for him. I was originally confused by the collaboration with John Mayer but by the end it made perfect sense.
John Grant
3/5
It was beautiful and haunting melodies. The lyrics were interesting and different but also strange. I have mixed feelings, I didn't not like it but also don't love it. I appreciate the talent behind it, but don't think I would listen again. I think I would need to listen a few times more to really appreciate it but I am not sure I want to...
Joy Division
2/5
All seemed really one note and just blah.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Not my thing, but I appreciate the depth
Supergrass
3/5
This is the type of music I like in small doses. I don't know why but I love one or two songs by a group like this but then the similar type of sound just gets to me. I really liked Richard III and It's Not Me
Robbie Williams
2/5
I don't really see why this was an album I had to listen to before I died. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything amazing. It felt like a lot of pop albums and could be played on Bob FM. I wouldn't change it, but I am also not seeking it out.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
I like it, beautiful, deep but simple
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
This one started off rough for me but by the end I really liked it. For the first couple songs I felt the lyrics were too heavy or something for the melody...it just didn't flow right to me. But after that it really felt right.
JAY Z
3/5
I get it you are really good but I didn't need you to tell me that in every single song. A little bit of variety would have been appreciated. It was good but some variety would have made it better.
Beatles
3/5
There was something so clean cut and young about this album. I don't know if I enjoyed the motown covers. They just didn't have the same energy and passion as the originals. I didn't really feel like they were pleading with the mailman for their letter, but maybe they were in the British culture. I liked the original songs on the album.
The Specials
4/5
As an album this felt all over the place...but kind of in a good way. One minute it was ska and punk and the next was reggae and island. But reading their background it was about mixing cultures and finding new sounds so they met their goal. Good interesting listen
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Yeah this is just too much. I get it you are angry and creepy but no man. Just creepy and weird and not something I want to listen
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
Ooo this was nice! For me this was just right in a lot of ways. It was blues, but folk, but rock and a little something else in between. I would listen to this over and over.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Angry but in a good way. They aren't constantly screaming and the guitar and drums make sense and aren't just loud to be loud. I really love Rage and their music. It is deep, meaningful and important. They take a look at deep issues in a musical genre that does not traditionally focus on these ideals.
Dr. John
2/5
I mean it's voodoo music... So I'm afraid to say anything bad. Let's just say it was interesting but I won't listen again. I did like the New Orleans vibe though.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
It was good. Some songs were a little long for me liking. I liked the sound
Louis Prima
5/5
This was a fun one! I wanted to get up and dance multiple times. Love the trumpets and just going to it with the jazz and blues influence. I love listening to it and thinking how 'wild' this was back then!
Keith Jarrett
3/5
It was beautiful and a really interesting concept. It is amazing how his mind is able to think of such beautiful melodies on the spot. My only criticism is I wish there were more breaks. I didn't really always see how the melodies moved into each other or found that weren't cohesive. Parts were beautiful but could have been stand alone songs not just a chain. I wonder if in person he shares anything about the songs, in terms of what he is thinking or feelings as he is playing the movements, are they manifesting from feelings in side of him that he is trying to convey or just random melodies he is stringing together.
Eurythmics
3/5
It was interesting to listen to an album of a band and singer I have heard about my whole life but never listened to. It was good but all very one note and similar. Her voice is beautiful and the music is good, would have just liked a little more variety.
Beck
4/5
I remember my sister buying this album when I was younger. I didn't really get the music but it impacted me somehow. I really loved Where its at then and just seemed different but cool. I get the music now and he is so different and is who he is. It's unique and different and for that he gets props. I love that even if he doesn't get the credit he deserves he just silently keeps going and making his music.
Eagles
3/5
I was hoping for more depth and different sounds. I love Hotel California but the rest was just music. Good for the background, but nothing that would headline a playlist.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
Jazz isn't really my thing
Dirty Projectors
4/5
I listened to almost this whole album and felt a familiarity to it, then heard No Intentions and realized I saw them at Lolla one time. Its weird music, but something so serene and beautiful. Makes me want to sit in a green hillside and watch the clouds go by.
Funkadelic
3/5
It was fine but similar to a lot of other rock funk groups. It had a lot of Jimi Hendrix vibes, with the lead singer even sounding like him. Wars of Armageddon, I get was supposed to be sounds competing, but it was just unpleasant to listen to.
4/5
I really like Muse. I think they have a very unique sound and Matt Bellamy's voice is very unique. They have a haunting, rock, vibe that is really beautiful, thoughtful and thought provoking. it is a good mix of electronic, synthesizers and instruments, that are used to cover up bad sound but make new unique sounds.
With that said a whole album of them got to be a lot. Sounds were different but the uniqueness of his voice and sounds became less unique (and maybe almost whiny by the end). Beyond the hits I really enjoyed Assassin and Exo-Politics.
Metallica
3/5
A polarizing band so I need to start with a disclaimer, I am not a Metallica fan and I am not a Metallica hater. I never seek them out (except Whiskey in a Jar, there version slaps) but I don't change the radio if they come on. Critically listening...same cords and beats over and over and the lyrics are just cliché one liners over and over. But maybe that is part of the appeal and why they are mainstream? Overall we as humans are not as deep as we want to believe and we like something we can understand and connect with quickly. But does that make them exceptional musicians? Nope.
Does that make them popular in a genre that wants to be different and go against the grain? Nope. But the psychology behind creating hit after hit (like pop music) in a genre where other bands can't do that, that is a talent.
Pretenders
3/5
So I liked all the pieces individually but not necessarily all together. I liked the lyrics, I liked her voice and I liked the instruments. But (for me) together they just didn't mix always, making songs seem long and drawn out (Private Life felt like it wouldn't end). I liked The Phone Call and Up the Neck. I also really liked the lyrics in Tattooed Love Boys and the music of Space Invader. I wouldn't give up on the band but maybe this album.
Paul Simon
4/5
Mellow, deep and shine good bops. I really liked Armistice Day.
George Michael
3/5
There is no subtly on this album, you know what he is singing about along with some bopping melodies. Really loved dancing around to music my sister and fam introduced me to long ago.
3/5
I am going back and forth. There were some great tracks but then some that were just so out there that it seemed somewhat comical. It was also felt like such a departure from what they were, its like good kids who tried acid once and became completely enlightened and have to make sure everyone knows that they have done this. I don't hate it, but it makes me wonder if another band had released this album if it would have received such critical praise.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
My mom had this record and as a kid, I remember the album cover but never put it together with the music that we would play. Its just right...its authentically trippy, his voice is right for the music, the melodies and chords are perfect, it flows but nothing is overdone. It is, passionate, meaningful, an album you can hear, feel and see all at once. My favs are Misty Mountain Hop and Going to California.
Traffic
4/5
This was a fun jazzy little album. The mix of instruments was a fun way to bring new life to pop/rock music of the 60s and 70s. Lyrics are deeper and conveying a message that is important at the time (and still today). Gives me major summer outdoor festival or evening concert vibes.
Brian Wilson
2/5
So at first I liked it but then I was just confused and stayed that way. I wanted to smile but I just couldn't get past my sense of confusion plus burning was particularly amazing or revolutionary. It felt like the guy at the party that is way high and thinks he is amazing and making something amazing and everyone is looking at him like he is crazy
Radiohead
4/5
Controversial unpopular opinion...for me I have never really understood the appeal of Radiohead. Nothing is bad about them but there is also nothing stellar to me so I went deep on this album, listened to it multiple times, read the lyrics along with the music, without the music and read numerous breakdowns, reviews and abouts the album.
By immersing myself in it, I understand the appeal and it is very well done for what it is. It is looking at our capitalized society at its worst, explaining those flaws and letting everyone know how wrong they are.
But in doing that he completely loses me in what he wants to do to change it and make it better. Or what to even appreciate about in our society. In a way it gives me a little bit of boomer vibes, "Well in my day we used to...." Or when you say it is a beautiful day the person responds, "Yes but the way in the Ukrainian is still going on..." True, but we can appreciate today for what it is, see the small joys in life and try our best to improve it moving forward.
I give it a four for the technical quality of everything involved because that is impressive.
Charles Mingus
3/5
I really tried to listen and immerse myself but just still not appreciating the genre. I did appreciate this one and connect a little more than others before
The Doors
5/5
Classic great album, everything on this just works!
The Auteurs
2/5
At first I thought I would really dig this one, it has a very 90's sound which I typically like. But it really drug and didn't really go anywhere. I wasn't 100% sure what he was whining about most of the time, maybe being too famous and how hard that is (not sure where he was famous...).
Green Day
5/5
One of my favorite albums of all time! Together this album is amazing and each song can stand so well on its own. This one came out when I was in college and really allowing me to to question and change a lot of world views/stances. I have listened to this album numerous times before but still love it today.
Prince
4/5
This is a great album. It has a lot of great hits on it (Little Red Corvette is my fav). Sexy jams are fun and exciting, and Prince might be the best at it. As a lady it is nice to hear a singer talk about making their partner happy in a way that actually feels like the person knows what they are talking about. He has the swagger to back up what he is laying down, you know what I mean ladies.
I wish Prince got my credit and love for his deeper stuff like 1999, Free and All the Critics Love U. Yes there is sex in all of it, but its beyond that, its talking about critical issues (nuclear war, sexuality, insecurity, etc) in a way that is not been done.
The Avalanches
4/5
Techno is another genre I'm just not super into but this album wasn't too bad. It's typically so repetitive (we get it you have a flight tonight!) or just so focused on a beat that I don't see any beauty in it. But this was pretty good to me. Songs were not too long and they were not so repetitive that I was bored
Doves
2/5
This was a weird one...I didn't hate or even dislike anything, but I will never seek this album or them out again. Their music is in my preferred genre so I could like something by them but nothing in this album pulled me in to want to investigate them as a band further.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
I loved this album! Skeletons was my fav. I love how every song is different but still work together so well. i had heard the singles off this album and enjoyed them. Loved the whole thing together
Neil Young
4/5
Chill vibe and a good folk music.
Red Snapper
3/5
Nothing offense about it, but nothing that I love either. I will give it a 3 because I don't really know what is considered good music in this genre. It didn't hurt my ears, I didn't want to turn it off, but I could have walked away and not felt like I missed anything important.
Nirvana
5/5
I've probably listened to this album entirely before, but I don't remember. It is interesting how many of the songs became hits or regularly played on the radio, can't think of another album that has so many radio singles.
I know its cliché but I like this album. I feel like Kurt was a really tortured soul that carried really deeply about others. This album touches on the struggles of mental health and violence towards women. He gives the topics the right amount of seriousness, anger, and action they deserve. I can see people thinking this album is overhyped because in a way it probably isn't anything special and they pulled inspiration from a lot of other bands. But I do really enjoy it and wish he had lived longer and made more music.
The Fall
2/5
Its very punk...too punk for me. Lyrics were great, just too much dissonance and yelling for my taste. For the genre it is right on point and great, but just not my taste really.
GZA
4/5
I am not a rap expert by any means...and this is not my jam. But I can appreciate it is amazing. Everything flows completely naturally, it is deep and haunting, but methodical and perfection. Songs move naturally into one another, but also build and amplify one another. There are basic beats that enhance the lyrics, and not overshadow them. It is not something I will probably listen to again, but its talent and impressive on so many levels.
Elton John
5/5
Just beautiful... This is a great album and everything mixes so well. The lyrics can at time seem like gibberish but that is part of the appeal to me. On the surface you just want to dance around but deep down it says something
Amy Winehouse
4/5
I was really unsure on this one. I heard a lot of reviews at the time and requests from her father to not buy it. The idea was it was glamorizing addiction and furthering her self-destructive habits. First, to me it does not glamorize addiction, there is a lot of sadness and bluntness behind her music. To some it may be glamorizing but in reality it is just her speaking about her life. For her family, I understand the concerns and can only imagine the difficulty they deal with when it comes to losing their daughter to such a difficult disease. In the end this was a dark beautiful album that reflects on a life full of hard times.
Paul Simon
3/5
I mean it's fine...I like his lyrics but for me it's pairing it with the 80s rock that just doesn't mesh. He is a poet and a great one, but it doesn't jive with the 80s rock vibe that others do so well.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Going between a 3 and a 4, but ultimately a 3. I really thought he was British, gave me those vibes. It was short and I think that was good for me. I enjoyed it but it got a bit repetitive in each song, but then each stood pretty good on its own.
Norah Jones
3/5
She has a beautiful soulful voice that brings beauty to pain. My biggest issue is that it all starts to sound the same, meshing one song into the next and never really separating into their each distinct song. Sometimes I also found myself drifting out and thinking of it as background music in a department store. I liked it, but for me it was not earth shaking, but at the time I could see it being a departure from a lot of other pop music that was coming out.
Janet Jackson
5/5
I am about 99.9% sure I owned this cassette tape when I was very young, so listening it now was such an awesome experience. I was able to connect and sing along because I remembered it all, but old enough now to process what she was talking about. Janet Jackson does not get enough credit for her contribution to the musical world. Great album and so many amazing one off songs. She really weaved it all together into a wonderful album.
Gang Starr
3/5
Never heard of them so no idea what to expect. Better then I thought, good lyrics, good beats.
Tom Waits
3/5
Bear with me....at first I was super confused...then it reminded me of "Money Makes the World Go Round" from Caberat (which made me think of Schitt's Creek) and then the album started to make more sense if I listened to it as a soundtrack for a musical. All those weird Lousiana/Bayou characters (except Hang Down your Head, that is a New Yorker) signing and narrating all of these crazy bad evil things happening around them. I am not sure if I would listen to it again, but it helped me contextual the music and be able to get past the initial weirdness to appreciate it.
Rush
3/5
Anytime I hear Rush I think of the character from the Goldbergs that was obsessed with them, his love and obsession for the band make me laugh. His obsession and the general love around the band confuse me slightly. I mean don't get me wrong its not bad...but its not life changing. I read one review of the band and it said they are known for their wide vocabulary and are credited with teaching people new words. Bravo on that I suppose...the 20+ minute song was good, but also could have been broken down into multiple songs and likely done the same thing. I don't know maybe Johnny Atkins just set the bar for this band too high for me to truly appreciate their greatness. For now its a 3....
Def Leppard
3/5
So ironically 80's. At the time I remember family members really grooving to Def Leppard and I likely grooved along too. I still love Photograph, but the rest don't really hit the same today as they did then. Not anything wrong with it, but now that we are out of the 80s the dramatic riffs and action movie oriented lyrics don't elicit the feelings they used to.
Slipknot
1/5
I just can't get into this music...I tried really hard to be open minded to their anger, lyrics and music (each part individual) to try to understand but I just don't. In Psychosocial and Dead Memories they don't yell all the time, and honestly those part aren't terrible. If they did more of that maybe I could give it a 2, but the screaming is just overwhelming. But as is I would never choose to listen to them again.
Johnny Cash
5/5
This show is something that would be next to impossible to do today and that is part of what makes it special but more how much Johnny connects with the prisoners and treats them like humans. His interactions with this specific crowd make this such a unique event. His lyrics speak to the need for prison and police reform in a way that was appropriate for his background, and can be applied to any background.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Beautiful voice, beautiful lyrics, and beautiful music....but way way way too much...
Halfway through the second disc, I just zoned it all out and it became department store background noise. Certain songs would bring me back slightly (They All Laughed, I Got Rhythm) because of Fitzgerald's voice, not the composers. But it just all started to blend together and turn it into an experience I just wanted to end.
This is made for someone that either eats and breathes Fitzgerald or Gershwin, for me as a casual listener it made me actually like it less the longer it went, which is a travesty since her voice is so amazing!
I honestly don't know if I like any band or composer that I would want to listen to 6 albums of their music in a row without some variety mixed in. And maybe that is part of the problem, Gershwin doesn't write enough variety in their music, it all starts to sound the same over and over.
Crowded House
3/5
Never heard of this band or any of their songs. This album really grew on me and it almost felt like two different bands from the beginning of the album to the end. I really liked Weather with you, Italian Plastic and There Goes God. Harmonicas draw me in and I just can't help but like them.
Nirvana
4/5
For some reason this didn't sound all that different to me then their normal music except it wasn't as much drums. But after researching some turns out Kurt wasn't full acoustic and refused to play without his amp and effect boxes. The other thing I learned is they didn't want to play their hits...however most of the songs became hits after. So in retrospect this album isn't as shocking and groundbreaking as it probably was at the time. With that said its a good album. Grunge bands are interesting for live albums because they aren't usually super interactive with the crowd and don't use a ton of effects so it ends up being a lot like a regular album in terms of sound.
Favorite songs with Lake of Fire (go Meat Puppets) and Where did you Sleep last nigh (learned that Kurt refused to do an encore because he did not think he could top this song).
The Kinks
4/5
I enjoyed this album. I like the title track and Animal Farm. Started off pretty "normal" and got trippier by the end.
Venom
2/5
Not my jam, not my genre
But at least the screaming seems almost like signing, not just screaming. The guitar and drums are not always just loud noise, but actual music (that is pretty good at time). They are actually signing about something and not just whining about how horrible life is. These guys are making legit satanic music and are proud of it. They also might be angry and are at least doing it in a way that is musical. Not my thing...but at least it has elements of music in it.
The Stooges
2/5
The intros for the first two songs had me so excited, but the lyrics were so blah. It was repetitive over and over and he didn't have any passion in his lyrics. Then We Will Fall was just weird...it was trying to be cultish (but not enough passion), trying to be druggy (but not trippy enough), trying to be sleepy (but just kept going). There were redeeming moments (guitar and drums on first two songs) but really it was just blah.
Dire Straits
3/5
Beyond the hits this one had some songs I really enjoyed, like The Man's Too Strong and some I didn't like Ride Across the River and Your Latest Trick. After a while the autotune of the voice kind of bothered me. I just wanted to hear his voice along with the more raw guitar in songs like One World. It wasn't a great voice (learned from Brother in Arms) but sometimes natural is just better because otherwise it is just the same thing over and over. I could go back and forth on this album between a 2 and a 3 depending on my mood that day.
Nina Simone
4/5
This was a beautiful album. Everything about it is unique and different, but that works for her. It is a mix of everything all at once but she does it in a uniquely beautiful way. I love that she doesn't feel she needs to fit into a box or a genre but just does her music the way she feels and in the way that expresses what she wants to share.
The National
3/5
I enjoyed each song individually (I like folk, indie, alt rock) but as an album less of a fan. Each song was well done, deep and introspective. I also really connect with the themes of aging, change, being retrospective, and how that can manifest into anxieties, depression and sorrowful feelings. I am at 40 now and feel a lot of that emotion and ideas.
But for me personally I need something with a little more energy in the music to bring me up followed by the current songs to bring me back down. Yes all the feelings he has are real, but there can be beauty in anxiety, depression and sorrow. I am sad because something was good or I can find beauty in today's world even in small parts like a sunset. As an album it left me wanting that piece.
Fats Domino
4/5
This was just fun and interesting. I loved bopping along with it and enjoying some great 50's music.
The Temptations
4/5
It was a nice album. Now that I am older I can listen to the lyrics and appreciate this music on a deeper level. I like the beat, bop and harmony of voices.
Brian Eno
2/5
So meh...I mean it was fine background music for an airport, mall, mediating or whatever you might need this kind of music. From today's context I don't see how this was amazing and influential. Not bad...you can just hear this kind of music anywhere.
William Orbit
3/5
After the first couple of songs it reminded me of opening music from ER and then all I could think is 90's sitcom opening credits or 90-00's movie background music (Gone in 60 Seconds). Which at first made me think meh...but writing those few cords that stick with you and make a moment in a movie more memorable are amazing. So I will give it a 3 because there is something there but I think I have heard enough of it.
Pixies
5/5
I love the Pixies, but hadn't listened to their albums before this project. This album has a lot of the songs I had heard to make me fall in love with them. They are just so unique, but do it perfectly. For me the music has a 50's sock hop vibe, with punk rock vocals, and 70s/80s style lyrics. They created such a uniquely perfect sound that really welcomed a new generation of alt rock. They were so unique, and to this day you can hear bands that were 100 influenced by them.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
2/5
I started off liking but then got confused. It has some interesting jams, but I didn't really see how it connected or how it was really an album. It felt like some guys that are trippin and just playing their instruments. Don't get me wrong they are talented, but I just didn't get it as a collective piece. Which at first isn't a big thing but after looking into the album more the reason it is popular because of what it is as a collective album. I liked Mona and Who Do you Love - Pt. 2, but I didn't get how those really connected with Calvary or Which Do you Love.
Screaming Trees
4/5
This is a band that I had heard of but never knew much about them and hadn't listened to their music. Personally the name of the band was a little deceiving (at least for this album), I thought there would be a lot of screaming so I was really pleasantly surprised! I really like this album and this band, one I will look into more.
Kate Bush
3/5
Going back and forth between a 3 and 4. Some songs were great, some were nontraditional but worked (gave me Taylor Swiftish nontraditional song vibes). Then some were just straight up weird performance piece/modern dance songs.
Dire Straits
3/5
This is an album I would have loved to be placed in the historical time because I have to think it was pretty revolutionary and impactful at the time. Today when I hear it I think, yeah this is Dire Straits, they are mellow, cool and I like it. But coming out in the late 70s in England this was probably super revolutionary. Overall a good album and I would listen again.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Never listened beyond the hits. This is metal I can find palatable. We aren't screaming and growling just because and the lyrics are actually deep and meaningful instead of being mad for no real reason. I won't be coming a Black Sabbath fan anytime soon but overall not a bad album.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
It started out good and I enjoyed the first couple of songs. But as time went on it really started to sound exactly the same.
Willie Nelson
5/5
These are all remakes but he does an awesome job making them his own. Willie does not have a traditionally amazing voice, but he has so much feeling and passion in his voice. I felt happiness, sadness, love and everything in between.
T. Rex
4/5
I was really unsure what to expect, especially after the first song was called metal guru. But this was a pleasant surprise. The guitar on some songs was pretty fire. Rabbit Fighter and Baby Strange were some of my favorite songs. Perhaps Slash have found some inspiration from this guy.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
It was an interesting album that went back and forth before really artsy and more radio/commercial. Overall I liked their sound a lot. Sometimes the lyrics and music sounded disconnected and didn't go together, but I still liked both parts. Reading about them it sounds like they changed their sound over the years so it would be interesting to hear different albums, and understand why this was the album that was seen as influential and not others. Overall I see how a lot of current alt rock has roots in their sound (Nature Boy's opening reminded me a little of Flo and Machine's ship to wreck.) Really liked There She Goes, My Beautiful World, Messiah World, Nature Boy and Breathless.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
This might be less country and more hillbilly hill music (saying that in the best possible way). New York was not bad, but the yodeling on Mule Skinner's Blues was just bad. Reading about him, he is influential in that he changed every expectation life would have set for him and became a singing cowboy. Good inspiration to try something totally outside of your comfort zone if it is what you truly love!
R.E.M.
5/5
R.E.M. is one of those bands you can't really go wrong with. This album is a little more upbeat overall (upbeat for R.E.M.) which is kind of a nice change for them. I don't think there is a bad song on this album. Stand is great but my favorites might be Orange Crush or Pop Song 89.
Only criticism is they do start to sound similar after awhile, but for some reason that doesn't bother me with R.E.M. When you hear one of their songs you instantly know its them because everything sounds similar, but it also sounds different and unique. That is part of what makes them great.
Spiritualized
3/5
It was fine and different. Reminded me of modest mouse. Some songs drug, just repeating sounds. My favorite was cool waves and the use of so many sounds that worked in harmony and didn't feel forced. Mixed feelings in cop shot cop. It really rocked out and had a good sound but it just kept going over and over and then got weird.
Tracy Chapman
5/5
This is beautiful, deep, meaningful and wonderful. Beyond being a work of art, she feels so intimate and genuine. She is sharing her innermost thoughts and feelings and we are blessed to hear them from her in such an amazingly perfect way.
David Bowie
3/5
There were some great ones (Golden Years makes me so happy!) Then some I was a little more confused about. I couldn't quite understand the concept of the album, sort of felt like some random songs he wrote and liked, but didn't really have a connecting thread, but decided he liked the songs so much he would make an album. I would listen again and enjoy it
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Never been a super fan of Springsteen so I did a look work looking into this one and it really moved up this rating. Still not my fav, he has a little too much macho facade for me, but his lyrics really are deep and meaningful to the white working class poor experience. He wants love, to get out of his town and working class life, but feels stuck and knows he can only give so much to live up to the macho lifestyle. He also discuss the complicated return of working class young men from Vietnam. This experience did not make me a Bruce Tramp, but I do see why this album is influential and appreciate what he created.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
CJ introduced this one to me and I enjoyed it then and have a deeper appreciation for it now. I think part of the draw is understanding Illinois history and connecting the references to the songs. His melodies and music are very unique and different and beautiful. The concept of the album is really cool and turns history into music. I would say some of the references are a little over done and forced and not sure I really enjoy having a song that gives time to Gacy. But overall I enjoyed it and will listen again and again. Favs are Decatur (awesome rhyming) and Jacksonville.
Talvin Singh
4/5
This was really kind of cool! Light, OK and Eclipse were my top three. It was amazing to see a blend of electronic, Indian and classical influences together in such a unique yet perfect manner. Light especially was so beautiful with the electronic beat emphasizing the melody that had classic vibes but played with an Indian instrument (I think) supported by Indian rhythms. Electronic is not my thing so I probably won't listen again, but I give this one props for being something I would say is influential and different to the music world (or at least my music world).
Deep Purple
3/5
It was fine, it was for certain rock music. Biggest criticism is a lot of the bass line and drums are similar from song to song and to other bands. When Into the Fire started I thought it was Iron Man by Black Sabbath. Flight of the Rat also really reminded me of another song but I can't place my finger on it. Overall it was good, and another where it would be nice to have heard it at the time to understand how it impacted future music.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Second Kendrick album and I am just as impressed as the first time. He is so talented (not sure why Drake thinks he even has a chance of being this good). He speaks of a world and a life I am far removed from, but his words help me see that world. He makes it seem so natural, simple and easy but it is soooooo deep and complex.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
While nothing hit me as amazing it hit in a way I am not sure I have ever felt before. There was something oddly familiar about this album and it felt like it could have belonged to almost any time frame from the 60's on. It was comforting like a glass of hot chocolate.
T. Rex
5/5
Second album by this artist, and I am not mad about that. This guy is really good. T. Rex makes music fun and makes me want to listen to it again. There is talent here, rock and roll vibes (but not too much), some awesome guitar, lyrics that you can hear and understand and just want to get up and dance. There are 50's vibes that move into folk (Cosmic Dance) into a more rock vibe (Get it On) with a little blues for good measure (Lean Woman Blues). Last time I saw Slash's inspiration, this time I am getting Black Keys vibes.
2/5
It could fit with a performance art piece or as music for a serial killer or the army to play to torture someone (Steam rose from the Lifeless Cloak). I guess it is a two because at least it was organized. However my soul feels like it needs a shower now.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Waiver between 2 & 3...it was just fine. Things were on the border line of good. Lyrics were weird and felt forced at time. Melody and music was good but also felt like they were trying to hard.
Paul McCartney
3/5
Mellow, chill and more folk then the Beatles. But he knows how to make catchy music that sticks with you (that is what is success). Much more pop and simple then some of his counterparts but more folky then the group.
The Who
4/5
For me this started a little slow, but then got a lot better as it moved along. I had never heard Happy Jack or Amazing Journey before but I really loved them. For a live album it was great, the right amount of talking and playing. Plus the songs really flowed into one another and didn't leave a lot of down time to fall out of the music. The My Generation Live Medley was terrific. It is something you expect to get at a Live concert and it was a great rendition.
Patti Smith
4/5
I enjoyed this and it was deep and interesting. It seemed more poetry written to music, and not necessarily songs. I would like to listen a few more times and really pull apart the lyrics to get more of the deeper meaning.
David Bowie
3/5
There were a lot of different feels and emotions in this album. At first I wasn't sure about all the heavy instrumental songs, but they were good, A New Career in a New Town was one of my favs. I don't know if they all worked together but most of the pieces I really enjoyed.
George Harrison
4/5
For the most part it was really good. There were some that just seemed a little out there Behind that Locked Door (sounded country), I'd Have you Anytime and Let It Down (Yacht rock anyone!). I honestly didn't know he wrote soo many Beatles songs. Not being a Beatles head, I credited much of their hippier sound to Lennon but it seems much of it may have come from George. Wah-wah, Apple Scruffs and I Dig Love were some of my favs. The last three songs were an interesting surprise, not sure if I loved them or was confused by them. This was a cool double album and great to see his talent shine. My only complaint is that it was a little long, some songs felt meh (Beware of Darkness) and maybe it was because it was just so much.
5/5
I had heard songs by her before but never albums. As an album she is kind of a bad a$$. For the time frame and the country conservative world, go Loretta telling your man to leave you alone when he comes home drunk! Or being all scandalous and doing the things a man does in I Got Caught! I need to investigate the wonderful world of Loretta Lynn further, you go girl with your beautiful voice and awesome lyrics!
Happy Mondays
3/5
I didn't know what I was expecting, but it was okay but weird. The fife on Bob's Yer Uncle, the sampling on Kinky Afro, the rock guitar of grandbag's funeral. I don't know if it was a cohesive album, so it was confusing overall. But individually most of the songs were okay. Wavering here between a 2 and 3
The Beta Band
3/5
Never heard of them but I kind of liked them. I really enjoyed Human Being and Broke. The song Gone and Quite really drug. But overall I enjoyed it, nothing spectacular but I would listen again.
Bon Jovi
4/5
This is full of bangers! Livin on a prayer slaps even Cubs fans secretly think so :) At the time and for many years this music was just amazing. But now it hours different. We blame Disney princesses for problematic views in relationships but I would say this type of music influenced me and generations way more! All it takes is an I love you and that excuses all bad behavior. Or sex in my back seat makes up for our flight and me being a jerk. Not saying a don't love it but maybe just problematic
Kid Rock
2/5
Trying to be open minded on this one. Not too proud to say I grooved to Cowboy back in the day. However i am much older now. The mesh of rock, rap and country is pretty good and it was revolutionary. His rap is decent. BUT...the lyrics are full on misogyny, racisms, reasons how amazing he is, and just tired and cliche after a while. Pair that with the fact that he grew up on a farm in a small town OUTSIDE of Detroit and his family was fairly well off. Its just poser music
Bob Dylan
4/5
For some reason Bob Dylan always makes me cringe slightly because to me he has a pompous air about him. But maybe that is because he knows he is good, and he is good. I think my fav might be 115th Dream, because it is so ridiculous and it makes it seem he actually has a sense of humor. Maybe he is not as arrogant as my subconscious thinks....
Talking Heads
3/5
I didn't hate it, but it really just started blending together after a while so it was somewhat easy to tune out becoming background music.
When I would force myself to really listen the lyrics were good and deep. They are different and their jams are funky. For me the melodies just blended together and became long as an album.
Culture Club
4/5
This is just mostly happy and weirdly jazzy cluby. It is just very different, but in a good unique way that seems to exude Boy George.
Elvis Presley
3/5
I am not an Elvis fan...so I went into this with an open mind. I felt like I know a lot of the songs, but necessarily by him, which lead me to find out he didn't actually write the majority of his songs, but redoing songs doesn't seem unusual back then. Now the voice...its unique, its expressive, but to me its over the top. I Love you Because just seemed gross and to me not great. The faster songs were better, but even then I didn't think his voice was terrific, just different. This is iconic and did make me want to dance, but overall for me it isn't amazing, just okay.
Linkin Park
5/5
I love this album and it means so much to me. It really changed me. This came out when I was in high school and I listened to it on repeat over and over. It was the first time I felt like it was okay to not always feel okay and even if you are bubbly and happy on the surface a lot can be going on underneath. It sounds angry but actually really sad, and for real reasons. Mike's rapping says all everything while Chester's singing and screaming makes you feel the emotion so deeply. The opening of papercut takes me to a different place, with a perfect move into one step closer and just moves so well all the way until pushing me away. Beyond the hits I love A place for My Head. RIP Chester, you were an amazing artist
Sam Cooke
5/5
This was a hidden gem. I just wanted to bop and dance along in this club. It sounded like a great night to be apart of. So many classic songs and such a great voice.
The Saints
3/5
Good punk music, and it was enjoyable. I would listen again.
The Stooges
2/5
I get the title raw power (which was my favorite song on it I guess)...for me it was just a little too much. It was a little all over the place at times. I didn't get or like I Need Somebody. For what it was it was good, but just not my thing exactly.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
This is a group I had heard of but never heard. I really appreciated it and how well it was written. Rap gets so bogged down but tittes, drugs and how amazing the rapper things he is so I always really appreciate rappers that go beyond the obvious and talk about deeper topics and do it so flawlessly and effortlessly. This was a great example of an album and group that did that. Titties, drugs and their egos may have been included but they all had purpose and reason, not just because it sells records. Overall great album.
Killing Joke
3/5
This was an interesting album and a sound I had never really heard before. Electronic and metal mixed...So it somewhat mellowed the metal vibe and it was metal enough that it avoided the repetition that electronic music can have. It was not heavy vocals, but I was okay with that. It was something I wouldn't listen to again but I can appreciate this as something different and musically unique, that did not make my ears hurt.
George Jones
3/5
This was old style country and it was not bad. Nothing struck me as amazing, but it is something that would be good for a night around a fire or out fishing.
Skunk Anansie
5/5
Never heard of this group or album so I was really unsure what to expect.
Plus metal is not my thing and the title is a little different, but it was much better than expected. I am sure true metal heads hate it but I really enjoyed it. I understand why its on this list, it has screaming and metal sounds but its enjoyable, and there it evokes more than just "I am screaming because I am mad." One top of the emotional depth it focuses on female and black struggles, something metal never does. I started a list of the songs I liked but I really liked all of them. Only criticism is that it started hard and almost the entire second half was a lot slower, maybe more of a mix on the back half. I feel like they would be an awesome live show and I band I am going to investigate more.
The Cars
4/5
I am naive and didn't realize all the hits The Cars created, but hearing them all together the voice is very obvious (how did I miss it!). This is one of those hard one because now its so mainstream, its hard to think of it at the time. Really thinking it is a mix of rock, mixed with pop,...but there are also little pops of country and sock hop, making it a quintessential 80s sound, a sound they helped create. I have always love Just What I Needed. It was all so fun 80's..I just want to dance along with lots of smoke, big hair, a shiny clothing, laser lights and wind.
Eminem
3/5
I go back and forth on this one...he is talented, he talks of his experiences in a way that are somewhat deep and reflects on a culture of blaming media for everything instead of looking inside.
With that said...he is so derogatory, sexist, homophobic and mean. I agree that the media is not to blame, but you are also not blameless using such angry rhetoric and not expecting others to connect with you and feel justified.
Is he talented, yes...did I enjoy him when it first came out, yes...does it hit different today, most definitely
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
It is beautiful and wonderful. It feels like a big Jamaican hug. Sitting on the beach with family and friends, appreciating, love and sharing our current world, life and blessings but also believing we can have more and dreaming of how to change the world so we can get there.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Metal will never be my thing, but I can appreciate Black Sabbath and what they built for the metal genre. They had darkness and deep vibes that were not just screaming, dissonance and loud. Their lyrics could be heard and understood along with music that didn't hurt the ears but was different, dark and haunting. This album has a sound that was groundbreaking and different.
Joe Ely
3/5
This was interesting...it was very Hill Billy Rock. His voice had a very Texas twang and drawl with traditional country elements (steel guitar and fiddle) but then had some very rock elements in songs (like Jericho). His voice had the twang but also something rockish folkish about it with the story telling elements. Something was there, not my favorite but something was different and I appreciate it.
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
This one just got better and better. The hits are great but even the non-hits are amazing. I love her and will add this album to my favs :)
Beatles
4/5
So much growth with this group. Their music has depth and really built with the time and age they lived in. I Want You was kind of a weird song and didn't totally feel like it fit.
The Cure
3/5
This is a band i knew because of their hits, but hits can be deceiving. They were more electric, trippy, sometimes rockier than I expected. In my high school brooding days I probably could have gotten really into it, but today it starts to blend together after a while. Sounds are interesting and different, Prayers for Rain for example had some really interesting melodies and sounds. Vocals overall were interesting and different (compared to other bands) but eventually all sounded the same.
Manu Chao
4/5
I wanted to translate these songs to really understand because they were really fun and interesting. My body just wanted to move along and dance with the music. It was an interesting mix of traditional sounds with modern influences. I do not have a lot of experience with the world music scene so this was a great opportunity to be exposed to something beautiful, talented and amazing.
Peter Frampton
3/5
Amazing on guitar...amazing. Beyond that, its cool and probably would have been a good concert but nothing that is life changing
The Who
3/5
Not what I was expecting from The Who. All I know from them is much trippier and hippy 60's-70's vibe, which you started to get in The Ox. At first listen it reminded me a lot of the Beatles sound, so I can see at the time why it wasn't as well received since it didn't have a super unique sound. Overall it was good, and there were glimpses of who they would become but I'm glad they evolved because their later sound was much more enjoyable and unique.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
It could have just been the picture on Spotify (the group picture gave me mad barbershop quartet vibes) but this one was really odd to me. I got the hippie, San Fran vibes, but it just didn't feel authentic. Something about the guys voice and lyrics made me feel like he was a bit of a poser. It wasn't bad, just odd
Talking Heads
3/5
This is a band I wouldn't know how to describe, but Spotifiy uses art-school punk and that seems so appropriate. There is something very mainstream about them but also artistic and unique, likely why they are so popular.
I don't know how to describe or explain them or the feelings I get from their music, so I can't say what it is I like or don't like exactly. The mainstream factors are missing so its hard to explain.
Love Take me to the River. Beyond the hit for me in some songs it seems perfect, Found a Job, Stay Hungry and Artists Only, I didn't feel left wanting. But others (I'm Not in Love) just seemed like they were missing something or didn't make me feel full and left me wanting.
Overall they are unique, different, talented and I am sure they hit certain people just right. For me it was hit and miss, but I just don't know why (but that might be what they are going for)
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
This was an interesting album, and had a lot of good beats and sounds that made me want to move along. If you took the lyrics out some reminded me of TV theme songs. I really liked some of the songs (i.e. Ungodly Kingdom, Relight the Flame), but then some got a little off. Bomba or Rising Above the Bedlam for example, I liked either the music or the lyrics, but they didn't really go together (to me they had different rhythms). Pretty cool that the band is led and organized by the bassist, that is not often the case, but I it did add a different layer to the music that I appreciate.
Pink Floyd
3/5
Gonna be unpopular but its kind of slow and draggy to me. I like Have a Cigar, but honestly felt like it was much longer than 7 minutes. I also didn't see how there were 5 parts to the first Shine on Crazy Diamond.
Is it beautiful, yes...is it trippy, yes....is it talented and cool, yes. If I am feeling really introspective and thinking, sure I would listen but it is not something I would listen to all the time. My favorite was Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 6-9
Not bad, but not my favorite by them
Duran Duran
4/5
Good bops, deep thoughts, makes me overall think but also feel good.
Slayer
2/5
I did not enjoy it, but some of it is not as bad as I feared. For instance Necrophobic was pretty bad but Angel of Death did not completely assault my ears. Guitar riffs were actually pretty good. But no thanks...I don't need to hear about death, violence and love for satan on the regular.
Portishead
3/5
It was hauntingly beautiful. If I was feeling a little down I would love to listen to this and just wallow (honestly!). The melodies are beautiful and emotional and the singers voice adds beautiful complexity to the songs.
The Birthday Party
1/5
This is just awful. It almost made me physically ill. Why do we need to write a song about the carnage of a car crash? Every song he is just repeating himself over and over, while it sounds like toddlers are hitting things with hammers. No thank you....
Ute Lemper
2/5
She has an interesting voice, but something about it was just so over the top.
And she did not write most of these songs, just sang them, which amazes me she was able to find this many over the top songs to sing. It felt very musical theater or opera overall because it was just sooo much. Plus the lyrics were so literal (Split). The song Tango Ballad sounded very Phantom of the Opera-esque. Its not that it is bad, it was just too much and so in line with musical theater, all I could do was image her in my mind signing these songs sh dramatically moving about on state, singing so hard she is spitting and out of breath, rolling and collapsing on the floor. Which shows she has passion and emotion, but maybe a little much for me.
New Order
4/5
All of their songs had a lot of deeper thoughts and feelings, that have a dark edge to them. I really liked Love Vigilantes, on the surface such an 80's rock/pop song but listening to the lyrics it was far deeper. One could argue that their musical genre doesn't lend itself well to all of the deeper meanings, and could make light of some of those topics. Overall I enjoyed this album and would listen again.
Pixies
5/5
To me this was totally different then the Pixies' first two albums but I still really dug it. This was harder and you can see how they grew and helped to develop the 90s rock era but still kept their own Pixie charm. The Happening really was a perfect mesh of their previous sound with those newer 90's sounds.
Björk
3/5
I thought Bjork was more slow, so I was a little surprised of the electric dance beats. I really enjoyed Human Behavior and One day. I was sitting outside on a beautiful day watching the clouds and that was the perfect setting for Venus as a Boy. Overall though, I don't know if I like her voice and vocal style with the techno sound. I love the voice and the sound separately. But I would love the songs with more folk sound to match her voice better. But she really has a beautiful calmness to her music that I appreciate.
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
Never heard of them, so based on the name only I thought they would have a younger sound and angsty. They have been angsty but in a good way with an older vibe sound. The sound had something 50'sish about it (For some reason I thought of the Wonders from That Thing you Do) but more rock and roll less pop. I Don't Know and Metal Baby were my favs, but all was really good. Going to find more by them!
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Hendrix is great and talented in so many ways. I also really love his voice, it is something so soothing, calming and yet strong with his voice. Guitar is amazing. My only complaint is sometimes the amazing guitar doesn't always feel like it connects with the rest of the song, it is just turns into an amazing guitar riff with some random music in the background. But then there are songs like One Rainy Wish or Castles Made of Sand that seem to work really well. Bold as Love was really amazing guitar work
Turbonegro
3/5
Better than expected and I kind of dug them. Where they anything revolutionary, not in today's world but I would listen again. One criticism is i didn't feel like they always had a lot of emotion and feeling behind their lyrics. Not bad, just not passion.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
It was interesting to see the mixture of traditional African music with more modern influences. Pitche Mi had some fun trumpets and the emotion in the vocals was really nice. I didn't understand but I could feel the love, sadness and emotions. I wanted to be at the party in Immigres and Badou made me want to live a simple life at the beach.
Air
4/5
They got me with Sexy Body (it was in 10 Things I Hate About You). The artist name and album fit, they was something very celestial and aethereal about the music overall.
Eminem
2/5
This just does not hold up...I mean I get it you are mad and had a terrible upbringing. Yes it is trying to be lighthearted, but stapling your teachers nuts and murdering your woman, and rape just aren't light hearted to me. Now he is talented and his raps are very solid but just not topics I want to listen to.
The Byrds
3/5
Some of this didn't hit quite as good as some of the other old country. Still not bad, but started to sound really similar as the album went on.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
This one had some highs and lows (that would also go for the bands mentality when creating this album). Tradewinds was cool and I like Sanitised, but Miami Vice just wouldn't end. Best way to explain is just quirky. It was like Mighty Mighty Bosstones meet Train meets Green Day meets Modest Mouse meets early Beatles meets a little of everyone. As a cohesive album it was really a miss, but more of a buffet of everything that went on in these guys heads all day long.
Neil Young
3/5
He has beautiful and interesting songs.
Sepultura
2/5
So I really hoped that this would be in Portuguese so I wouldn't have to really pay attention to the lyrics. Overall comment what is it with metal singers singing like they really really really need to cough? That singing just ruins it for me and takes out the originality of the vocals, making all metal sound the same. Also they just repeat scream the same lines over and over...the repetitiveness lyrics just make the songs longer without adding much. All of the songs just sound the same after a while.
Metal rant done...I read reviews which lead me to reading the lyrics for the songs. That helped and there is some beauty there and refreshing to see them speak of real world issues.
I liked tiny parts of Ratamhatta...the parts that showed the Brazilin influence. Jasco and Itsari were really cool.
I can see how someone could give this a 3 or 4 (maybe) but I really can't listen to this again.
David Bowie
4/5
This feels so Bowie and so good. It was cohesive made sense and was fun. Musically everything worked together and had such a unique beautiful quality. Love Changes, Pretty Things and Queen Bitch
The Human League
3/5
It was through and through late 80s early 90s and feels like each song came straight out of a movie I watched growing up. Good, nostalgic but nothing stunning. Sort of blended together as it went on.
Dr. Dre
4/5
This is so iconic and good. It is not trying to be too overboard but just simple and chill (if that is a thing in rap). The other thing I appreciate is that its not too much. So many rap artists just go so hard and far with themes of violence, superiority, misogyny. Yes those themes are here, but at a level that matches where culture was at this time without. Dre may not be as big as his proteges but this shows why he was able to recruit such amazing talent, because he is good and knows what he is doing.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
She has such a beautiful voice, that is so effortless and yet passionate and emotional. So much love and pain in the album, truly a classic and beautiful album.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Coldplay
3/5
I was once on a bus at Disney World having a deep discussion about Coldplay and if you could just like Coldplay or if you could only love or hate Coldplay. At that time I was not a Coldplay fan arguing it all sounded the same. Chris Martin's voice is so distinct yet always the same, and the instruments just always have the same balance of everything. I was also in my 20s and wasn't drawn to the existential lyrics.
Listening to a whole album also some variety (I would argue Martin's voice is still one note). I liked the guitar on Shiver and Spies and Sparks were interesting. Now that I am older I appreciate the lyrics more now.
They have grown on me but I don't love them. So future self wins the battle declaring you can just 'like' Coldplay.
Miles Davis
4/5
I do not listen to jazz at all so I am completely unaware if this is good, bad or influential in the jazz world.
What I do know is I like it. I don't listen to jazz because I don't feel like it has a flow, I feel like it is all over the place and the instruments don't really work together but do their own thing. However, for me this was totally different, worked together and made sense in coherent musical pieces.
It was different because it was more electric and not just jazz band instruments, which was also cool and a different experience.
It did give me the vibes of background music in an elevator or a store, but it was still enjoyable.
Elton John
3/5
This one to me was just good. I want to like it more because the songs tackle some tough topics (misaligned wealth, drugs, exterminating native populations, etc.) but for some reason they just miss slightly to me.
Absolutely love Tiny Dancer!
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Reminds me of what Rage Against the Machine tries to do. Focusing on societal issues that are important and needs to be discussed. But this falls shorts in some ways. The lyrics are good and tackle important topics but are so straightforward with no symbolism. The beats weren't bad, but had a high school and unpolished vibe. I could also see how they can be polarizing, by talking about the hypocrisy and issues within the culture that is the typical rap audience. Overall I can see some glimmers of good and influential in the album.
Little Richard
5/5
This guy had energy! I can only imagine he sweat like his album cover when he performed because it is so full of life, energy, fun and emotion. Nothing is super deep, but its so fun it doesn't need to be. This is music you can dance to and have a good time! While no piece on its own is spectacular, all together it is!
Janelle Monáe
4/5
She has a beautiful voice and super deep, symbolic beautiful lyrics. It was super unique and different. The scifi feelings imparted on classical, hip hop, R&B and afrocentric sounds was really interesting. The only criticism is there might have been a little too much on the album and it didn't all seem to flow all the time. But it really did feel like it could be the soundtrack to a scifi musical about a droid looking for love.
Pere Ubu
2/5
I am not sure where I am at with this one. It started okay (kind of liked Caligari's Mirror) but then it just got weird and borderline painful to listen to. I didn't hate the content and meaning, just too much of everything. Maybe I am getting old but half the time I couldn't even understand him.
David Bowie
2/5
This is not the first Bowie album to follow the Bowie format. They start with traditional Bowie songs and move into these instrumental sections, making them somewhat disconnected as an album but I am sure it is because he wants these other songs to get noticed and out to the masses. I liked Joe the Lion and Heroes. The rest were good but were just a little too far out there for me to love.
Sonic Youth
2/5
I didn't mind Tom Violence, Shadow of a Doubt or Secret Girl.
The rest had too much of a performance piece vibe for me. The sounds weren't all bad, I just felt like they should be along with an art installation or a performance. On their own they felt unfinished. Some were totally lost on me, like Into the Kingdom, and didn't really fit into the whole album.
Pink Floyd
4/5
This was a classic album that was good to listen to as a full album and not just the hits. Spotify wouldn't let me listen to Disc 3 so I am focused on 1 and 2.
One weird observation The Trial sounds like Jack Skeleton! His lament song had to have been inspired by the Trial. It sounded just like it could fit perfectly into the Nightmare before Christmas!
There were the obvious classics that were great (Run Like Hell, Young Lust, Another Brick in the Wall, Mother). I also really liked Goodbye Blue Sky and it was one I never heard before. I also liked some of the middle songs that transitioned between and gave you a better idea of the entire feel of the album. There were a couple that I did not enjoy or were just out there (Empty Space and Vera) but overall it was a great album, and really should be included on lists like this one.
Didn't like Empty Spaces, Vera
Obvious ones I like Run Like Hell, Young Lust, Another Brick in the Wall, Mother
I couldn't listen to the majority of Disc 3
Steve Winwood
3/5
Very 80's, it is interesting how some music just oozes that time period and I would say this album does that.
I liked Arch of a Diver and While You See a Chance. After a while though the 80s sounds just blended together and nothing seemed super special. Each song was also just a little long.
ABBA
4/5
Somehow this group can be polarizing, but honestly they are just fun. I don't know where they fit into the evolution of disco and the music scene in the 70's but honestly they are just fun and something to dance to. Even their slow songs I can't help but shake to. Is there anything life changing here, no, but sometimes just dancing and smiling is enough! The fact that they are still known today speaks something to being able to write a catchy fun song.
3/5
Never heard of this group or album so I did a little reading. I don't hate this album but I don't see how there is soooo much love for this album. It isn't bad, but it isn't anything amazing. I also don't really get the connection to the 12 dreams. Some songs on their own were okay, but overall it was slightly disjointed to me, and not in a good way.
I liked Animal Zoo, Street Worm. I sort of liked Nature's Way and Mr. Skin, but they were also a little repetitive.
I didn't dislike it but it I didn't love it and probably won't make me investigate them move. Just another psychedelic album.
4/5
I liked the Cisco Kid and Where was You At. Four Cornered Room had a good political message and appropriate lyrics and music. Instrumental jazz/funk is not always my thing, but I really liked City, Country, City because it made sense and worked as a cohesive song but also as solos. The World is a Ghetto was also a good song and the music conveyed emotions and music in an amazing way.
Cream
4/5
This album screams hippie drug-tripping rock. I only knew Sunshine of Your Love, so the rest was new to me. Beyond that one I enjoyed Strange Brew, Tales of Brave Ulysses, SWLABR, and Outside Woman Blues.
There lyrics were interesting and very descriptive and symbolic, likely connected to their trips, which was really impressive and neat (most of the time). Dance the Night Away wasn't overall my favorite but the picture they were weaving with the lyrics was well done.
Tricky
3/5
This was a weird album but not unpleasant, just really outside of my musical preferences. Rap, R&B, techno and not typically what i pull towards, so I wouldn't listen again. That's not to say its bad, its actually works well together and is cohesive. The signers voice is beautiful and evokes deep emotion. The beats and music go very well with the vocals complementing it almost perfectly. There is a lot of depth here and as I listen I can imagine the person that loves this. I respect it for pushing the boundaries of music and making something that is beautiful and unique.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
Knowing this band this album fit really well, and wasn't anything shocking. I do like the band and think they are a good mix of heavy, rock, alt, techno and all around different, but it works. I wasn't a huge fan of the guitar riff songs, sort of like they were drunk or tripping and just got distracted. But overall it was a solid album from a solid band.
Jeff Buckley
2/5
Something about this album seems overdone and F-boyish...he gives me strong John Mayer vibes. Just too much emotion and too much 'love' seems overdone and not sincere...like if I close my eyes, tremble and cry one tear the girls will come running. Also what is he doing in Corpus Christi Carol.
With that the actual written lyrics and guitar aren't too bad. There is a lot of depth to some and they are touching. The guitar has some good riffs and compliments the overall songs.
But the guy just gives me f-boy creep vibes...he should have stayed a songwriter.
Foo Fighters
4/5
I love fighting Foo and this album is the start. It's raw simple and yet unique. It starts with some hits and moves into some lesser known songs that still rock like Floaty and Weenie Beenie.
Can
3/5
Pretty, would be good background ambient music. Nothing offensive or painful
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Chill and pretty.
Metallica
3/5
Oh Metallica...never had a connection or felt strong either way about them.
Listening to their album for the first time, there were some nice parts. The guitar riff halfway through Master of Puppets was nice. Orion was good mostly because it was different and showed depth. The rest of it just meshes together and ultimately sounds the same, loud drums and loud guitar. Maybe that is my problem with metal...its very two things, loud and screaming (and I don't like either). I will give them a 3 only because I can see the influence here. They made metal mainstream and something more people can enjoy. Some might argue that is bad, but I think anytime you can introduce people to something and make more people accept it you are doing something right. Maybe they are sellouts, but they did make metal palatable and a few good sounds.
Rod Stewart
3/5
There is a lot of repeating lyrics over and over. I don't mind that in some songs and it does make it catchy, but song after song it starts to feel a little uninspired. Every picture tells a story was good and I do love Maggie May, really hits home for some bad relationships. He had a little more twang to his music then I realized, which I appreciated. Overall I liked the range in his music, and it worked. I would listen again or investigate more than the hits
Machito
3/5
I enjoyed the trumpet and brass throughout the songs. Frenzy fit its name really well. It did start to blend together after a while, but I also wanted to dance in my seat and shake my booty most of the time. It really was a mesh of sounds and genres into some fun music. I can imagine being in an old smokey big band club watching people dance, move and have a good time.
Franz Ferdinand
5/5
I know Take Me Out is their mega-hit, but for my money The Dark of the Matinee is the best (but I do love Take Me Out). Then it also had Darts of Pleasure, just awesome. Michael and Come on Home were top songs I had never heard before.
Cheating on you and The Fire weren't my favs, but I still enjoyed them. I knew I liked their individual songs, but this was the first time I listened to an entire album and I am happy I did because it did not disappoint. Their mix of rock, electronic and weird indie rock vibes are wonderful and make this an amazing album. They have their own unique sound so you know you are listening to Franz Ferdinand, but each song has unique moments that make it great.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
If you are with someone and they turn this album on there is no doubt what they are looking to do! He has a beautiful voice, smooth and silky. I like the saxophone in If I Should Die Tonight.
Maybe it says something about my love life, but it was a little long. A full 31 minutes of sexy and slow that sounded the same was a little longer than I need ;)
Spiritualized
2/5
Overall, it was just some weird background noise. It wasn't unpleasant but it didn't really feel like much of anything.
Mylo
2/5
Pretty repetitive overall. I guess some of the beats were cool, but it wasn't anything amazing...Someone might sample his beats which sample other people's beats, but they could also sample the original and probably do it just as good or better. He turned it into music you would hear playing in a hipster hotel lobby or hipster department store.
3/5
Very Sgt. Pepper vibes...hippy dippy with some obvious recreational substances in the background ;) I liked most of the songs but then they kind of went off into weird trippy places. Australia started off cool but then the drugs kicked in.
Mr. Churchill and Nothing to Say were probably my favs and Drivin' was a hit but I found it somewhat annoyingly repetitive.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
Hmmm...So I kind of like the music on this one. There are some good guitar riffs and the melodies really work. I find myself overall enjoying the songs on the surface. I liked Faster and This is Yesterday.
Its the lyrics I start to have issues with...but its not for their meaning. I agree with the sentiment and feelings in the music, they really are bringing light a lot of important issues and aren't trying to sugar coat it but go hard and deep. However, there is something a little white privilege mansplainy and holier than though about the way they present it. There is a way to ally with groups and explain feelings, but for some reason the level of raw and unfiltered lyrics almost push them into a cheesy "we know better" than those actually immediately impacted by the issues. But it was also the 90's and this fit music of that time period. I might check if they have more current stuff to see if that vibe continues or was just the 90s vibe.
Suzanne Vega
4/5
Cracking was spoken word to music...it was fine, just a little to poetry and not enough music for me. But the rest were nice. The Queen and the Soldier was hauntingly beautiful.
One of the reviews I read said they were going to tell their kids this was Taylor Swift as a joke, but she really sort of does the same thing. Her music is less traditional song form, but more of a written poetry form making songs that have traditional elements but also more story and poetry.
Its so late 80s or early 90s...I probably won't listen again but if I had been the same person I am now then I think I would have loved this and listened on repeat.
Coldcut
3/5
The title made me worry but this was overall pleasant to listen to.
Only place I could find this was YouTube Music so I can't speak to individual songs because it was on LONG file. I emphasize long because it was long. I think that might be my problem with house, trap, party, electronic (whatever you call it!) music. I don't mind the beats and the rhythms but they just keep going and repeat over and over with little changes here and there. I personally need something more to break it up, otherwise I zone out. I also know its for dancing and just dancing to the same exact beat and rhythm over and over gets boring to me.
It wasn't bad to listen to, I just didn't need it to be sooooo long. I am also not sure what was so influential about this, sounded a lot like other music in this genre.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
I didn't dislike it, parts were really good but overall I feel like he was saying, "I'm smart, I'm pretentious oh and I was the best member of the Beatles, but I'm amazing without them." I don't see as much growth from him, just trying to make money doing a water downed Beatle album
The White Stripes
4/5
I like Jack White and the White Stripes. He is unique and different, but in a way that works. They are Gothically playful....like Now Mary is this weird little interlude that is fun, yet sad. The only thing I would say is it is a little pretentious (in a good way) and its not cohesive. Each song is its own little work of art, but they would belong in different wings in the museum.
Mekons
4/5
I kind of dug this album. Each song was fun and different and I really liked that. I didn't like Psycho Cupid and was worried where the album might go from there but it stayed on a good course. I really liked Last Dance and Lost Highway. They all were different but had a flare that let me know they were all the same band.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
There is a reason Will Smith, Coolio, Ja Rule and Snoop (probably more) all sampled songs on this album...its great! I think I envisioned more albums like this on the list. Looking at the samples you can easily see how much his music influenced so many musicians and future music. Pastime Paradise really got me, Gangster Paradise was just a rip off of this song! Stevie Wonder is so amazing, this album makes me want to dance and move with such ease. I always knew he was amazingly talented but I had never listened to an album. The second album started to drag after the first couple, but As was a good addition late in the game.
Tears For Fears
4/5
It was an interesting mix of Pop, jazz/blues and something of the aethereal 80's vibe. Overall not a bad album. It was all very pop but something a little deeper. I was not a big fan of I Believe, it was sort of slow and blah. After a pretty up beat start, it seemed really down. Everybody Wants to Rule the World is a winner in my book. I didn't realize they did Shout and Head Over Heels, so that makes it pretty cool. The Working Hour and Listen weren't too bad either. Listen was cool but it got a little long. I wonder with songs like Listen, is that something the band really liked and believed in and so they fought to get it on the record but the producers were like, nope that is not good but we will give you one.
The Darkness
3/5
So I like The Darkness (I Believe in a Thing Called Love is one of my FAVORITE songs!) but I always thought they were an 80's hair band, so when I originally found out the album was released in the early 2000's I was shocked. Everything about them screams 80's hair band, doing their rock and roll thing. So when it comes to be influential I am not sure I can really consider them that, because they really just bought into something that was already there.
Now they did it well...its a fun album and they don't take themselves seriously. They seem like some guys that liked 80's music and said f@ck let's just have fun, make some music and add a 2000's flamboyantness to it. New to me favs were Givin' Up, Stuck in a Rut and Holding My Own (classic 80's ballad).
I waiver between a 3 and 4, because I really like the music, I like the album but is it influential, I don't think so.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Yacht Rock...a genre I don't think we have had yet. It starts off fine, nothing super special in my mind, but just was yacht rockesque. Reading I did see he did pretty much all of it himself and there was some cool recording techs on the second half of the album. It got long but the lyrcis were really what bothered me. Slut, just straight up rude, Marlene is 17 and you don't care because you "love" her, Some folks whiter than me...just not going to try and change problems because it ain't your problem, Piss Aaron...I don't even know what is happening in this one. So I don't think I am going to be listening this one again.
ZZ Top
3/5
It has some hits on it, but those hits are pretty overplayed. As a whole it is cohesive and let's me know who they are and what kind of music they are. Lead singer has a unique and interesting voice. There is also something hard about them, but also kind of mellow which is a bit of a change.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
I love Fleetwood Mac...they are so calming, beautiful and deep. I would also say they blur the lines of folk, rock and a little of their own. Even when they were young they were still mature and deep. Stevie is wonderful and deserves the praise, but Christine and Lindsey are also amazing (and don't get enough credit). They have such depth and range and this album was a beautiful example of that.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
His voice is beautiful and you can feel the emotion. The band is also beautiful. I feel like this music all blends together after a while. Reminds me of watching Lawrence Welk with my grandparents.
The Black Keys
5/5
I always loved the Black Keys and their songs on the radio but never listened to a full album
The Go Getter was not my favorite but that was about it. Beyond the hits it was still great. Ten Cent Pistol, Everlasting Light, Howlin for you all great.
I also liked I'm Not the One, it just had a dark gritty sound that was great.
Unknown Brothers was good, had a loving vibe (maybe it was the jingle bells) that just feels heartwarming in a rock way.
These Days was beautiful, touching, emotion filled and brings a tear to my eye.
Their sound is just so uniquely them. Spotify calls it blues, rock, and it is but also more. The voice, the synthesizers, use of drums, and everything just makes these sound that is so deep, raw and something worth listening to again and again.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
This was an rocking album that kept me grooving until the end. So much angry beautiful girl rock, that showed how we can be strong but still have weak moments. Rich was rocking, Date with the Night was good and Man had a fun voodoo vibe. No no no grew on me and then kind of went weird. Maps and Y Control are just downright amazing. Tick was kind of a weird short ok interlude, Pin was better.
I also love their background and that they have such classical training but then go so punk rock with the band. Will I listen again? Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Pentangle
2/5
It says they are classified as folk, but for me its a little closer to celtic hippy, with an Alice and Wonderland playfulness and Indigenous undertones. I imagine this group sitting around a bonfire with a large group of people dancing around with long hair, flowers, limited clothing, and a lot of mind altering substances. It is really its own kind of thing, that I could really see was new at the time.
Lyke-Wake Dirge felt a little cultish. I liked Training Song and Hunting Song (but it got long). I don't hate it, but I don't think I would seek them out again. Sally Go Round the Roses was good but felt really out of place.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
There are some good moments, but all in all it seems too straightforward and amateur. Hungry Freaks, Daddy was weirdly spoken word and kind of felt like third graders 'singing' at a school concert. Who are the Brain Police again felt really amateur and little kiddish. Go Cry on Someone Else's Shoulder has roots of being good, but they didn't do anything cool and different, it just felt like they were trying to mock it but didn't do anything cool, they just played bad. Wowie Zowie, I get it you are trying to be satirical, but you weren't good. Then Return of the Son Monster Magnet was just some weird bad LSD trip sex orgy, that a person didn't want to be at and was trying to get out of but couldn't seem to find a way out because everyone was wearing bird or monkey masks before turning into cartoon chipmunks that just kept going (much like this sentence). Motherly Love was okay, but left me confused. Are you actually saying you are mama's boys or mocking being a mama's boy...I honestly can't tell and I think that might be one of the overall problems with this album. I can't tell what they are trying to do because they aren't really doing any of it well. It really felt like third graders wrote and performed this album.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Just beautiful. Her voice is just beautiful and full of raw emotion. The lyrics really touch the heart and the time period. Listening to the whole album was so much better than just one song because it of all worked together to write a story. I hate to say this b Bobby McGee (beautiful song!) almost felt out of place and to commercial for the rest of the album. Half moon and my baby were my favorites.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Overall a good album, and interesting none of the big hits were on here. They really have a good rock, folk, and roll vibe. Its almost 1950's and country at times but really upping the rock vibe. Sweet Virginia was my favorite and Tom and Frayed and All Down the Line were seconds. Shake Your Hips sounded just like they covered ZZ Top, but actually ZZ Top stole it from RS who covered it from Sim Harpo and he was not even the first. I didn't appreciate the second half as much because it got long, especially Let it Lose.
Tim Buckley
3/5
I wished I could have listened to this one when it was released. It is psychadelic folk rock...I feel like I have listed to 3-4 albums like this during this project. So the idea of it being great or influential with today's lens isn't one I see. For that genre it is fine, nothing amazing, but nothing terrible. It is a little depressing and sort of a downer. Probably wouldn't listen again because I prefer others that have done similar music more.
U2
5/5
This is a beautiful album and U2 is a beautiful band. Bono is such an amazing song writer and Edge is a great guitarist. They work so well together to create beautiful, thought provoking and important music. This album brings to light so much sadness and tragedy, and they don't shy away from events that happened. Yet they advocate for change and being better humans in a way that makes the music uplifting and hopeful. They are also unique and focus on their strengths and don't try to emulate anyone else or be anything they aren't.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
This is just love, pure and simple. It is not pretentious, possessive, or overtly sexist. It is just pretty and beautiful. I really like You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me and Too Marvelous for Words, they were just about pure love. All the songs were really short, which is kind of nice. Each song was its own feeling or expression of love, so the variety in this kind of music was beautiful. For me it did start to blend together, and if I wasn't focused on different songs I missed that it had changed. I do always question singers from this genre on how much is original or how much are covers, so I do wonder that (I know Anything Goes was a musical and that was the title song). But even if not original he did bring life to these songs with his beautiful voice. His voice, very few compare, I would love him to sing me every one of these songs all day long.
Kate Bush
3/5
There were some beautiful moments, but also just a little too experimental. I really liked This Woman's Work, and lyrics were interesting and deep in songs like Between a Man and a Woman or the Fog. But then those just became more singing poetry or singing story telling. They didn't always tie together as a song, leaving me wanting something more from them that tied each together. Her voice is also a little much after a while. It works with the 80s musical stylings, but it just also just is a lot after the whole album.
The Waterboys
4/5
Overall I really enjoyed this. The Celtic folk vibes mixed with rock are awesome. I see how this group probably influenced modern bands like Flogging Molly. I also like groups like this that connect with their original roots but expand to more modern sounds.
I will only give them a 4 because some songs just went a little to long, like We Will Not be Lovers or And a Bang on the Ear. They are really cool songs overall but I didn't need it to be over 5 or 6 minutes.
OutKast
5/5
Outkast is really amazing and creates something that is so different yet pulls on themes from rap, R&B, jazz, blues that traditionally work well together and mesh with deep electronic/techno techniques. Is it a little vulgar, sure but its also building on musical themes and so different and unique, yet so consumable. They also look at some deep political and social themes in a really intelligent and well done manner.
This album is really a story and builds upon itself, bringing a cohesion but also allowing for songs like Ms. Jackson and B.O.B. to stand on their own. I also think its amazing how two individuals with such different approaches to music styling mesh so well together. I would love to be a fly on the wall of their creative sessions to see how they create their music.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
I like slower rap because I can understand it better and there are a lot of good rhymes. Now I don't like all the b*tches, hoes and misogyny. I also don't know if I look at the violence as trying to make a political statement or just being violent. Plus P. Diddy just sort of makes this all tainted of me. Is it influential...for sure East Coast and West Coast probably wouldn't be nearly what it is without it. I just think maybe for actual music and not just cultural influence, others do it better.
Slipknot
1/5
I might be sick after this album, beause its an hour I won't get back.
Brief moments on Spit It Out, but then it went weird. Tattered & Torn, had a sort of interesting dissonance but again it went too far.
So beyond the loud noise and screaming, its so repetitive. They just scream the same lines over and over. There is just so much anger and hate in this album, that it feels like a little bit on my inside dies, when I think there are people this angry out there.
Van Halen
4/5
Van Halen is a band I always think it going to be so much harder than they are, and for me that is good. To me there is something fantasy or mystical to their music, its like you are always in the clouds and everyone is dressed in silver or gold flowing gowns. Yet they can rock a guitar and write a catchy song that makes you dance and sing along.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
This was pretty and I enjoyed it, and I love getting album like this one. I never would have heard of this band or experienced their music and protest over being exiled from their country. I couldn't understand it but I didn't have to, to feel the passion and emotions in their voices. There was a good mix of traditional African sounds, with modern Blues. Mali brought a tear to my eye thinking of the sadness and love they have for their homeland.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
It felt at times more classical and Indian influenced then electronic. Overall it didn't get me extreme electronic vibes. It also had a lot of instrument sounds that were pure and not electronic. So it was not what I was expecting (dance/rave vibes), but it was also refreshing to see a different way electronic music could be used.
I liked pieces individually, but sometimes they were just so on the nose (Immigrants) that the lyrics didn't have as much depth. I also don't think it was super cohesive as an album. It was really all over the place in terms of the style of song. Each piece alone wasn't bad, but together I didn't always get it.
X-Ray Spex
3/5
Saxophone and punk is way funner then I thought it would be! Punk sometimes is too punk for me and pushes it to a place that is not enjoyable. But this is the right amount of punk and then the addition of the saxophone gives it a fun and different sound. It almost becomes punk mixed with 50's bop music (clapping and talking part in I Can't Do Anything). Let's Submerge and I Can't Do Anything are my favorites.
David Crosby
3/5
Nothing was amazing or grabbed me but it wasn't bad, just simple folk music
Al Green
3/5
At first it seemed sweet, but then I stayed wondering what kind of guy are you, Al, that you can't keep the lady! Not bad but nothing I still come back to.
The xx
4/5
There was a lot I liked about this one at first. I liked the horns in the first song and I liked that it was almost electronic, but still very indie and alt. It seemed like it would almost fit betters in the 90's. The other problem is it kind of drug and just went on and on. I would prefer to listen to this band with one or two songs at a time, but not the whole album. I enjoyed pretty much all of the songs but just too much of one thing.
The Fall
3/5
Why are people grudgeful and Service were good. Good chill, electronic punk vibe. Some songs seemed long and were a little too punk for my liking. But overall a decent album.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Was not a big fan of the beginning but it got better. I enjoyed Someone Great, All My Friends and Us vs Them. Singers voice reminded me of others so it wasn't super unique.
The United States Of America
2/5
Hard Coming Love wasn't bad (had a weird falling down a rabbit hole sound). The second half just became a little too much, and for me their message got muddled into all the weird sounds and musical tangents. Their message and meaning was good and I appreciate the lefty lyrics, but it just gets so mixed into a circusy acid trip that I am no longer paying attention to what they are saying.
The Police
3/5
I have never listened to an entire Police album and the beginning of this album was not what I was expecting at all! Mother...ummm seems like YOU have some issues and need to work through those. Synchronicity II started what I expected from this album. Overall the beginning of the album was a little more synthesizer then I expected. It really felt like two albums (songs 1-5 and songs 6-11). I did not like the first half, but enjoyed the second half for the most part. Tea in the Sahara was a little too slow for me.
Holger Czukay
2/5
So its palatable and doesn't hurt my ears but I have absolutely no idea what the purpose of the album is. It is really all over the place and goes from one end of the musical spectrum to another, but with very little purpose or plan.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
You Don't Own Me is one of the best songs ever but then we go into Wishin' and Hopin' and I lose all of the feminist touch. I love it over all and her voice is quite beautiful. However, some of the songs are so 1950's it is frustrating, but I can look past it because of the time frame.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Liked Stereo Sanctity. Hard but grunge, this would have been perfect for high school me but I'm not quite so angry now so I'll go with a three.
Johnny Cash
5/5
I know they are mostly covers or rerecorded...but dang he is good. His voice envokes such emotions. I know Hurt isn't his song but his version is better hands down and makes me cry every time. Knowing his life and they way he carried himself when he aged just brings so much more depth to his music. Nothing was pretentious or overdone, it was just him and the way he does music, which is beauty in sadness and pain.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Just good stuff...
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Jack hammers are music now...Steh auf Berlin was just awful
Negativ Nein and U-Haft-Muzak were at least palatable
Schmerzen horen just stops in the middle of nowhere and moves into an awful grating sound of Jet'm
I don't think I could listen at home because my dog would not be able to handle that.
Super repetitive and not in a good way
Kollaps wasn't so bad but then the weird metaillic wind
The screaming at the beginning of Schiess Euch Ins Blut is what I am feeling the whole song!
TV On The Radio
4/5
I liked Love Dog and Family Tree, but didn't love anything. Overall it was a different vibe, but good. I won't go back to it, but I could appreciate that this has a lot of musical difference that is beautiful.
New Order
3/5
It wasn't bad...it was just 80's
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I go back and forth on this album (and Smashing Pumpkins in general). Part of me loves them and is so deep, different and I can connect with what he is singing about so much. Then other times (Silverfuck) just seem so pretentious and overdone. Overall I think it is a great album. Love the hits and many of the lesser knowns.
Nick Drake
3/5
Quick listen, but a calm one. Nothing really hit me, but it all sort of made me want to float away.
John Lennon
3/5
It wasn't bad...but it wasn't anything special. I guess I was expecting something more since it was the John Lennon, but I feel like it could have been a lot of people from this folk rock era.
Radiohead
3/5
I am going to steal a line from another review I read about this album...I feel like I am supposed to like them more than I do because they are Radiohead.
There are some interesting beats and mixes (Idioteque for instance) but overall I don't love it or see how it is so groundbreaking. It was different from Radiohead's previous album so yes for them it was a big departure, but its sad electronic music at its core.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Blending together, very dreamy vibes to start out and then it got more raw and rougher.
I have a hard time with things that don't seem to go together. It is like they wanted to write lyrical poetry and make cool vibes and then force them together.
Didn't hit for me
Robert Wyatt
1/5
I don't get blues scatting, I don't get it even more when it isn't harmonious.
Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road #1...was she on LSD?
Alife turned into some weird folk cult chant where an animal was being sacrificed.
Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road #2...The end was okay, but it was like three songs mixed together. But then the lyrics those just went way way left.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Never listened to Elvis Costello so I had no idea what I was getting, but sort of expected big things.
At first his voice was pretty, but then some just got sort of annoying and whiny (Man out of Time specifically), especially The Long Honeymoon.
Human Hands made me think of Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It took me a while to get my thoughts on it, but then it hit me...they sort of all feel like TV show sitcom theme songs (Human Hands really solidified this).
Part of me wants to give this a 2 because I have no desire to listen to it again, nothing was really that amazing or unique, and not really sure who he influenced because its so blah. But its not offense or does not hurt my ears so I guess I will bump it to a 3.
Jack White
5/5
I started to make notes about specific songs, but really I just loved the whole album. It was unique and different and great.
Nas
4/5
Memory Lane was good. I appreciate this one, I can understand it, its draws a picture well of a story and feelings on a world/life (I don't understand) and it is not solely focused on ho's and how great he is. I am not a big rap fan, but I can appreciate there is something really impressive behind this album.
John Martyn
3/5
Most of this was a three for me, but the last song I'd Rather be the Devil, was fire. I could listen to that all day.
The Band
3/5
Songs 4-7 would be ranked a 4. Some in the beginning and end (To Kingdom Come, The Wheel's on Fire, and Suzie) are closer to 2's. There is very little cohesion.
The Byrds
3/5
Overall I enjoyed it. Nothing hit me as, "Wow this is so amazing, or different" but nothing was overtly offensive. It reminded me a lot of Beatles era music. I could have it on and enjoy it, but nothing about this album makes me want to seek it out again.
KISS
3/5
First time listening to a Kiss Album.
Looking back on the 70ish Rock bands, is kind of funny because they were considered so hard and cutting edge at the time, but in retrospect they are fairly tame. But they did lay the ground work for a lot of other musicians so I won't take that from them.
There fast songs were great, guitars, lyrcis, drums, I enjoyed them all.
The ballads however...RIDICULOUS!!!! Beth I hear you are lonely and that I am a bad boyfriend, but I am just going to spend a few hours with my boys. This one was even funnier when it was followed by a song asking the woman if she really loved him ROFL. Great Expectations...so hilarious! This was so 70's-80's rock band, believing that women just would cream for them because they could play the guitar and drums and somehow singing it slowly to me was romantic!
Stick to the fast rock songs and I could give it a four, but those ballads were just sooo bad and did not hold up. I want to believe they were so bad it was a joke, but I really don't think so.
Def Leppard
5/5
I feel like my older sister had this cassette tape and it made me feel like a big kid to listen to her music. This one particularly stood out because something about the cover made me think I was listening to real adult rock music. I remember Love Bites coming on and wanting to fast forward, because I didn't get it....now I get it and it's a good one! I didn't know why but I did know there was something dirty about Pour Some Sugar on Me (but still shook my hair around!).
One thing I have always loved about Def Leppard is that you always know its them, because they have their own unique sound. But they balance it so well, that each song does sound different.
Animal is just amazing, I love it! And beyond that, they are just all good! There sound is unique but great, they have good lyrics and overall there is nothing bad here. This is a great album, turn it up, sing along and dance!
Blur
3/5
Nothing really grabbed be but I enjoyed most of it. There were some random almost pretentious songs in the middle that didn't feel totally necessary.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I don't love it hate it. There are some really fun things going on with the music, sometime complex but child like in the melodies. They do do well together and build some beautiful songs. The music is very contrasting to the deepness and darkness in the lyrics. It's very fitting knowing they were in college and sort of coming of age individually and as a band. I will say I appreciated tracks 5-10 better. I didn't dislike the first four, but I'm kind of over hearing a women's perspective on things from a man's perspective....mainsplaining is really and I'm kind of over hearing how they think we perceive things. Overall I would check them out again but not going to rush to do so.
Hawkwind
2/5
I am not sure what makes this influential. Was it the first time a live album audience never made a sound because they were too high? Was it the longest recorded LSD trip? Was it the first time dolphin mating calls were used in an audio recording? Nothing was terrible, just nothing was interesting. It was just indie psychedelic rock. Maybe they were the first but others have done it better. Down through the Night gave me Garden of Eden vibes. There were some cool bass parts, guitar parts and the flute was interesting at times, but everything just kept going and it wasn't something I wanted or needed to keep going. Also the lyrics were just random and so pretentious. All in all not something I need to hear again.
Arcade Fire
3/5
I am an old millenial but I do not get what is soooo amazing about this band or album. They gave me pretentious douche bag vibes from the start (turns out I was right!).
As for the album, its not bad...its even somewhat enjoyable, but its nothing special or new or inventive. Black Mirror gave me total Elvis vibes and Intervention sounded like it came straight off a Bruce Springsteen album
Would I listen to the album again, sure and I did enjoy some of them but it sounded like a lot of indie millenial alt rock of the time.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I will start with Make Me Feel Your Love was my wedding song. I loved that song (not by Dylan) but my husband loved Dylan so it worked out. Now that is where my love for this album ends. Dirt Road Blues, Trying to Get to Heaven and Not Dark Yet weren't bad. But for those (and all of the songs) I kept checking the length because they felt like they just kept going and going. They also felt so long because the rhythm and melody didn't change it was just the same cords over and over each song making them seem longer.
I don't mind Dylan, not my favorite but I appreciate the depth in some of the lyrics and the folk style. This album confused me with the half blue half folk styling. Beyond that it was just song after song about how someone broke his heart and he never recovered. Nothing was deep into why this happened or what caused it, just she walked out the door, I was happy before I met her but now I am miserable. It really got grating and whiny coming from an old man who showed no accountability or depth into why the relationship ended.
This is an album I feel like Dylan could have done without. Did people really like this album or were they just to afraid to say Dylan did something bad?
Various Artists
4/5
So let's ignore the while Phil Spector part because he is a bad person and I don't want him to taint the talented artists. Really fun, pop Christmas album. I think this is one of the best versions of Santa Claus is coming to town. Sleigh ride is also great, all the background sounds add to the album in a great way. A marshmallow world was a fun bop that seemed original. Christmas and Wooden Soldiers were also great classics. Overall a fun and festive album to celebrate with.
Marty Robbins
3/5
They're hanging me tonight felt more 50s sock hop them cowboy. Overall not bad just not my thing. There is some beauty in the storytelling in the songs. It's straight forward but it's also a good reminder of folklore and story telling traditions through song. Makes me think of some of the songs origin and the cowboy lifestyle long ago. Not wanting to go back but just good examples of a time gone by.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
The question for today is not what came first the chicken or the egg? But who came first Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins? I am sure there are some super fans out there that will argue that Phil Collins hits a better high C or that Peter Gabriel has a better tamber, but seriously they sound exactly the same!
For me who came first really impacts how influential this album is, because one of them just copied off the other!
So during research I found out that that Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins both were the lead singers of Genesis with Peter coming first. Phil was the drummer and took over reluctantly (him and Peter are friends). Knowing that, I understand that this was influential. This was a different sound and unique (to Genesis, Peter and Phil). Its fun, it has emotion and its catchy. In Your Eyes is a great song. I really enjoyed Red Rain I like Sledgehammer, but not so much that I won't change it if something is better on another station.
Then it becomes difficult though because he sounds so similar to Phil that its hard not to compare. Genesis and Phil just do it slightly better, better deeper lyrics, more catchy tunes and something I am less likely to turn the radio on. Phil took what Peter did and just made it better. So I will go with a 3 because it really is a good base for future music and sound but really others took this sound and did it better.
The Adverts
3/5
I didn't take good notes on this album, so this is generic.
There were some good songs, some that were less good. They definitely have their own sound, making it seem repetitive. Each song and lyrics had depth, just a lot of similar cords and melodies over and over. I enjoyed it though, but nothing groundbreaking.
Massive Attack
2/5
So there was some coolness to this album. Shara Nelson is great, and everything she sang gave me the feels, she was terrific! When the guys sang it was just so blah, especially compared to Shara. It was just so vastly different that it made their songs feel emotionless and uninspired. Hymn of the Big Wheel and Unfinished Sympathy.
Overall the lyrics seemed really obvious, which at times was nice but then other times just made the songs a little boring. There were also a lot of cliche lines pulled from other songs (did like the Fiddler on the Roof nod though). I liked the music, and there were some great beats and vibe. It was cool to hear the beginning of trip-hop but if this is all it is, I don't know if I would go further into the sounds.
Steely Dan
3/5
For some reason the phrase "Any major dude..." just makes me chuckle. It feels like an old person trying to be hip. Then Barrytown says how he likes things the way they were and discussing hair cuts. There is something old man shaking his fist at youngsters, but also having long hippie hair and Jesus sandals.
There are some cool sounds like East St. Lousis Toodle-Oo. And Rikki Don't lose that number gets stuck in your head. But those two also don't feel like they should be on the same album.
I can sing and bop along to it, but there is just something slightly weird or off if I really listen to it. I will go with a 3 because I might be turning into that old hippie...
Duke Ellington
4/5
The album was longer but the individual songs didn't seem too bad. Jazz is not my fav but this felt more like Big Band Music that had Jazz influences. Duke Ellington is someone that is acclaimed for his music, and I will say it is really good in terms of Jazz music. The fact that the band had been together so long makes some of the improvising so much more polished and cohesive. Hearing how much the crowd wanted them to continue was inspiring. Skin Deep had great drums and I liked Newport Up and Dimineendo in Blue. The Studeio Concert Excerpts were also nice to just hear Duke play for a bit.
Hugh Masekela
2/5
Starting this off with an explanation of my mind...jazz is not my thing and after listening to two albums in a row I tried to think about why. I think it is the lack of cohesion and what I perceive as chaos in the music, which I am sure is the point, so I tried to think of how to perceive the chaos positively.
In this album it was not bad....it seemed to flow most of the time, and connect back to the undersounds that carried the songs. However, they were just long, for me anything over 6 minutes just seems to drag so I just didn't need so much. I think I could have almost enjoyed it if they were shorter.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
2/5
This was unoffensive hotel lobby music. It was mostly upbeat and didn't go off on many tangents. You wouldn't necessarily notice it but would also be okay if someone changed it. I had heard Take Five and Blue Rondo before, and they were both enjoyable. Strange Meadowlark was good and it reminded me of music in a Charlie Brown movie. Maybe it is just the season but I feel like a lot of the songs gave me undertones of Christmas songs. Reading the explanation it is a big deal album, broke a lot of records for jazz, but honestly I am not sure why. I would almost rather listen to something that is bad and leaves an impression, as opposed to something okay that doesn't leaves little impression.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Another Amy...another complex album. My first thoughts were annoyed and angry. She is complaining and almost encouraging toxic masculinity, slut shaming women, and turns around and talks about how its no big deal to cheat because the guy looked like her partner. Just felt so hypocritical and fun of herself it annoyed me.
But then I listened more and What is it about Men and I Heard Love is Blind really made me think of how our society expects women to be prudes and slutty at the same time. Also the way we promote love and romance in rom-coms and that men only love you when they act like dicks and you put up with it, until they MAYBE change. On top of that toxic relationships and how those mess with your head in a way that is unexplainable unless you have been in one. You can think you are in love but really you are in a total mind f@ck.
Yes it is hypocritical, yes it is dark and unhealthy versions of love, but it is also what our society has created for women to live in. 40 year old me knows better and blocked out what 20 year old me lived.
Neu!
3/5
I was really enjoying this album at first. It was all instrumental but it was fun and enjoyable to have going in the background, even found myself dancing to Leb Wohl and Hero. But then it just kind of fell off and got boring with E-Musik. I really thought that song was building to something but no crescendo happened. After Eight wasn't bad but didn't seem to fit on the rest of the album, it seemed much more punk rocky then the rest of a chill calm album. If it had stayed on the original path I could have gone to a 4 but the way it ended gotta go with a 3.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This one started weird and overall I didn't like the start but was excited to see a different Peter Gabriel from our previous album. But then it got into it and was so 80's but so different that I couldn't help but enjoy it. Something about it is super dark and edgy, but also has that 80;s bop to it that makes it seem light hearted and easy to get into. I Don't Remember and Not One of Us were my favorites. I really enjoyed how he meshed different sounds and genres to make something unique and yet fit so well in the time.
Alice In Chains
2/5
They have a unique sound, you know that it is Staley singing and Cantrell has a distinct sound. It is also much more metal and stands out from the other Seattle music at this time. Them Bones had a cool guitar riff and I liked the voice distortion on God Smack. Sickman's chorus was cool, but not cohesive with the verses.
While overall they have a different sound, every song sort of sounded the same. It just felt like one big song that didn't really go anywhere else. By the end I wanted something more or different, something to break it up and show depth or range. Hate to Feel and Would? almost did that...but they were just too little too late.
Lambchop
3/5
This one was up and down for me. Some were really pretty, relaxing and chill while others tried but the pieces didn't all come together. Sometimes that might have been related to the fact that the album was more an art piece then radio music. I tried to refocus my lenses on how I interpreted and enjoyed the music. I can pick out the reasons for some of the parts I enjoyed less (Falsetto in You Masculine You) and appreciate the artistic value. The music was very aethereal against some darker themes, which made for some hauntingly beautiful melodies. Overall it wasn't my thing, but there were some nice moments and I can appreciate the value it brings to the musical world.
Madonna
4/5
Oh early Madonna...really so much of a game changer. When I hear this album it is a bridge between 80s and 90s pop music. Researching Love Song (because I was 100% Prince was the male voice) and it turns out Prince was the uncredited guitarist on multiple songs and Stevie Nicks actually wrote Love song!!! Sometimes when too many good people are involved it becomes a mess but this really turned out so well.
Like a Prayer is so fire and Express Yourself is such an amazing Girl Power Anthem. Which really is what makes this album so great, growing up Catholic I knew people that burned her CDs and forbid their kids from listening to her music and listening to it now that is just crazy! All she is talking about is female empowerment, expecting a man to treat you well, and enjoying love. What is so wrong and crazy about that!?!?
I can't say its perfect because some of the lesser knowns didn't totally hit, but this is an album that helped shaped 90's music and female empowerment!
Muddy Waters
4/5
I don't remember having Blues yet, or maybe it wasn't memorable but this one was. Something special about this album is how the instruments aren't just playing the melody, they are another member of the band. For instance, Deep Down in Florida, the bass and the harmonica invoke so much emotion and soul. Yes it gets repetitive at times but it's also beautiful. Cross-eyed Cat is my favorite. As I was listening I did think how much similar sounds you find in Blues and that they don't mind. It's like this amazing brotherhood of sound, emotion and passion. This album brings me to a smoky bar, drinks following, people talking and enjoying just the music.
Jethro Tull
3/5
So I go back and forth on this album. At times the rock folks sounds carry me away to a field with a bunch of hippies braising one another hair and making flower crowns, but them it turns into almost cult like music (damn the establishment listen to is instead). Thinking about it maybe that what all this genre was about, Jethro Tull just wasn't as subtle. The fife playing was fire through and added some really cool moments to songs, but also added to the come follow us vibe. Overall I'd listen again but in small doses so I don't follow the pied piper
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
I never heard of this band so I assumed it would be kind of off the wall music since it came out in my younger music loving years. After listening and being fairly underwhelmed I did research and realized this was a super group singing about modern London. Super groups to me are typically a let down, so that explains my feelings on this one. Too many people with too many cool ideas get together and instead of pushing each other they created some watered down generic album. Maybe if I'd been to London this would have been better but nope it's just blah
Sheryl Crow
4/5
There is something so beautiful and kind about her soul that comes across in her music. She is out to have a good time and just wants to have some fun but in a meaningful way. Run Baby Run is a beautiful song. The only one I wasn't a huge fan of was Solidify, just felt kind of weird and out of place to me. Overall it was nice to hear a beautiful woman talking about life in a way that wasn't overally flashy or attentiony.
Radiohead
2/5
My initial though...ugh Radiohead again. So I took a deep breath, regrouped and said, yay Radiohead, so I could give it a fair shot.
Somehow I feel like they have such meaningful lyrics and dumb and repetitive lyrics at the same time. Says and the raindrops for half the song and then I will eat you alive, there will be no more lies for another. Which makes them so hard for me to like or dislike. I like Backdrifts, Going to Sleep, and There, There. But overall I don't get the total love and almost worshipness of them.
On kind of a random tangent...I get it the song is complaining about W Bush and invading Iraq and the war on terror. I am not ever going defend W and the Merica dream, but I do find interesting that he bases the whole album on that and people following along like sheep. Yes W was the figurehead and a lot of people followed like sheep, but your country didn't "fall into the lie," they benefited from it, they wanted to do it as well, they knew there were no weapons...yes W was a problem, but it wasn't jus us, so in a way in retrospect this feels a little bit of money grabby and trying to jump on a bandwagon to make an album to just make money at Merica's expense.
Alice Cooper
4/5
At first I thought it was mostly silly, but reflecting on it that is part of the point I think. He took a concept of school, teacher's, student lives, clique rivalries and graduation and made an interesting story. It lost some cohesiveness in musical style but it was cohesive with the story he was telling. Reading other reviews, I agree this could be the next Rock Broadway show. I would totally check it out!
Isaac Hayes
2/5
Maybe it would have meant a lot more if I had seen the movie. Otherwise it feels a little low impact. Is it good background music, yes. But it is good background music. It has some emotion in it and would work well with some visuals, but on its own it wasn't super interesting.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I listened to this while making dinner so it all sort of smooshed into each other and I didn't know where one song ended and another started. It was good background music, but nothing life changing. I would listen again and enjoy it, but it could have been many other things.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
When I first saw the album and band name I really had no idea what I was in for. After starting I was excited and enjoyed it. I know a lot of things are comparing it to jazz, but it felt a little more big band music to me :) It reminded me of watching the Lawrence Welk show with my grandparents.
Björk
2/5
I feel like I should like this and Bjork but I just can't get into it. Everything just feels so random and I am not really coherent. I was cleaning while listening and realized I kinda of blocked it out and didn't really focus on any of it because it was just not that enjoyable.
Personal weird story however, during Submarine and the song repeating "Do It Now," I found a sticker with the exact same words. Bjork is doing her best to force herself into my head :p
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Everything about this is 80s. It's a little techno but still complete 80s. Nothing super deep or different but enjoyable.
Sade
4/5
I enjoyed this one, it was smooth, soulful and full of emotion. Love and loss were oozing out everywhere. Her voice is a little different and just seeps into every pore.
Cat Stevens
4/5
I wish we could all be this reflective, calm and introspective. Cat Stevens questions life but not in a judging angry way, but in a way that welcomes us to ask the same questions if we want and not pass judgement if we don't. He wants to be questioned and learn from the good and the bad.
Billy Joel
4/5
Reading the reviews I didn't realize Billy Joel was so controversial! I mean is he mainstream, yes but really there is nothing to be offended by in this music.
He has a great ability to tell a story and the music surrounding it is pretty. It is borderline yacht rock sound but the stories are deeper and prettier. I will admit an ex really introduced me to Billy Joel so some songs are a little tainted in terms of personal experience, but Vienna is so pretty and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant tells such an interesting story. Then there are so many singles that are great. I don't know how this could be offensive.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
I enjoyed these as individuals songs but as an album it felt a bit all over the place. I really like folk but sometimes when you add the psychedelic 70s aspect into it they lose me. Folk can be so calm, endearing and deep but then they get into drugs and it just becomes to pretentious. Its like they get high and think wow we are being so deep and this is life changing but if they left the drug haze for a while they would see that it wasn't anything special, just another simple song that could be great if they just cleared their mind and focused. For me this album suffered that in waves, its just like they sat around high and kept saying you know what would be cool, then all chuckling and saying yeah. Nobody questioned anything just went along going way off track.
Van Morrison
3/5
I enjoyed it but as I listened longer it got to be a little too much. His music is good but all very similar.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
So just listening on the surface and not getting too deep, it was good. Lots of good beats, rhythms and hooks (except maybe Kevin Carter, just a little repetitive). But then I read a little more into the lyrics and they are really poetic and deep, but ALL over the place. We are mad about British culture being overtaken American culture, mental health related to being overwhelmed by world atrocities, please like our new songwriter and more commercial songs, I wish I hadn't forgotten my working class roots...just really all over the place. As one off songs it would make sense, but as an album it was just a lot of different things to focus on.
Living Colour
4/5
This was different in a good way. I always loved Cult of Personality (introduced it by Guitar Hero). After that I didn't know a lot about the band, so this was really interesting. Some songs went kind of different directions (Funny Vibe) but it fit with their overall aesthetic and musical genre. Metal, 80's-90's rock is so dominated by white males and hearing a different perspective on the genre was really awesome. Moments reminded me of other artists (Kravitz) but not so much that it was copying. And props to Vernon Reid, I do not understand how he is not on my top guitarist lists (racism doesn't exist right), he is fabulous and extremely talented.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
I knew Boys are Back. It was interesting because I didn't realize they sang it , and for 3 or 4 songs before it played it I thought wow this sounds sooooo familiar. Then Boys are Back and I was hit in the musical face with a ton of bricks. So it is cohesive, but maybe a little too cohesive and all starts to sound the same. So is that good that their sound is unique and identifiable or does that mean they don't have range and do one type of sound really really well.
In terms of live album, in the beginning they did a lot with the audience and then it tapered off and it didn't feel life anymore. I also read the review stating it was overdubbed a lot! I never thought about that, the idea of a live album is that its live not lip synched over, so that lost a little of that for me.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
Wait, are we mad at the Peace Corp because they aren't real hippies??? And why do we have to poke fun at fat people, women and sad people over and over?
I get it, its satire on the music and people of the time. But typically satire is making fun of a group to support the counter argument, but then he made fun of the other side leaving us with no side to believe in. For me this is truly one of the most frustrating kinds of points, people that are feel superior then you, believe they are so smart, deep and beyond anyone else so they mock them all but offer no real effort to make the world a better place. Then what the hell was the last song! There is some musicality here and the satire concept isn't bad or necessarily badly done. It is also kind of an sketch comedy type concept to an album which is sort of cool and different. I just really hate the actual lyrics and persona it is embodying. The hate for the lyrics and the overall smug meanness are too overwhelming to look past.
Primal Scream
2/5
I was worried today was another death head metal day so honestly this wasn't soo bad. There were bad moments in Stuka and Motorhead but overall it was all palatable. It did just become one long techno trip where it felt like everything was from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds (or Trainspotting!). So I can listen to it, I can appreciate it, but I don't want to listen to it as an album again.
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Another example of who you know, how you market and how some people to have it. This is not an band that is commercially popular but they sound a lot like the Rolling Stones and other bands of that time, but they aren't as well known.
I enjoyed the bluesy folk sounds they added into their rock and rol. 32-20 was a pleasant change. nothing amazing, but still pretty good. Little sad they didn't get more press.
Supergrass
4/5
This was fun and I really enjoyed. A little punk, little 80's rod stewart rock, and also fun! There sound was fun and a good blend. Also loved hearing the song from Clueless!
Ryan Adams
2/5
Its never good when the only reason I have heard of him is because he was called out during the Me Too movement. Bad test in my mouth from the start!
Without that, there is some heartfelt sweet lyrics and some fun songs. But then thinking about it, makes them smarmy and kind of gross. Then you get to Nobody Girl and I don't really get what he is doing there. Would I listen to some of them again, for sure, especially if I didn't know it was him. Will I ever seek him out....no, but that is due more to his personal issues and not necessarily the music.
Donovan
3/5
Legend of a Girl Child, Bert's Blues and Guinevere never seemed to end. The Trip was a good song Sunshine Superman was one I knew before and liked. It was just a psychedelic rock album, not bad, just didn't feel special. Now one thing did say this album influenced a lot of other music in this genre, so in that case I see the influence but there were no songs that stuck with me. Side note...what is with the medieval themes?
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I don't really get the need for the live but not live parts of this album. Neil Young is a great story teller and is beautiful on the guitar. I do feel like I need to be in a melancholy mood to listen to him, to truly lose myself in the lyrics. (Besides the last two songs, they went hard for Neil Young, and I wasn't hating it!)
Today is not that mood so its more of a 3, but on a different day I could give it a 4. Side note, he wants to hang with Pocahontas and Marlon Brando...rando!
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
If I heard each of these songs separately I would highly enjoy them. But as a whole it became really blah and long. At times I didn't even realize we had moved on to a new song.
Jane's Addiction
2/5
So I want to go back and forth from a 2 to a 3....
Jane's Addiction is different and developed a music style all of their own, mixing metal, rock, punk and electronic vibe. There are some really guitar shreds and the drums are good, and some of the lyrics are good making some great songs (Mountain Song, Jane Says). Then other times Perry sounds so whiny and repetitive and the guitar does the same and the songs don't really go anywhere for me....I really wish we could do half stars.
MGMT
4/5
I like this. I feel like alt rock is so expansive and can incorporate some many things now with the influences of tech and synethizers and how they impact sound. This is an album that shows more young and modern takes on society with a new and different sound. Sometimes it gets a little whiny but overall I appreciate the newness and uniqueness this brings to music.
Queen
3/5
Cool concept, well executed but got old after a while
Beck
3/5
Atherial, chill, and melancholy on a gloomy day. Enjoyable and a little different from what I was expecting but cool.
Fiona Apple
5/5
Its so down, but so good. So many of us have felt all these songs and felt completely overwhelmed by life and who we are. Hearing them is so gut wrenching yet beautiful. She also has such a beautiful unique sound. Its not perfect, but that is part of what her appeal is. Her ability to story tell and share such deep emotions is intensified by her voice and he music.
Prince
3/5
I go super back and forth on this. Its Prince and he is really good and songs like It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night just hit really well. I also think his sexy songs are just great. The ones that fall short are the ones where he is talking about things outside of sex, which is awful to say because he is allowed to talk about other things, but he just doesn't do it as well. I hate giving Prince a 3 because some of the songs are definitely 5's but some just seem almost amateur. Sorry Prince, but this was not my favorite of yours.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
2/5
I need a Prozac/Zolaft cocktail after that album. I get it death is the only inevitable and if we focus on that too much this is what happens. There are some musically good points like Madeline-Mary and some of the back half songs. But the overwhelming sadness and depression is just too much for me to feel great about this album.
Megadeth
3/5
So its metal...honestly it all ends up sounding the same in the end. I give it a 3 only because in terms of metal this is palatable. I don't immediately want to turn it off, the singer isn't constantly hoarsly screaming, the guitar riffs are musically impressive, and the drums add to the music (not just volume). Some songs were almost okay (Poison was the Cure and Lucretia). But it is a metal 3, not a regular 3
DJ Shadow
2/5
I liked the early stuff better than the later stuff on this album. The beginning felt more unique and different in the techno realm but as it went on it really started to feel much more run of the mill techno. Gotta be honest I was a little surprised this was a white guy. Wikipedia says he "revolutionized hip hop" and his "work involves manipulating samples, taking rare and seldom-heard pieces of music and reworking them into parts and phrases for his songs." Is this album just included so that we could cut out 101 other albums from the list? And who are those artists that were cut out, what messages did we miss from their music so it could be sampled and repackaged into a potentially more palatable commercially appealing album? What credit financially and professionally did those artists receive? What overall message did we miss by only sampling their music?
Ozomatli
4/5
I really enjoyed it overall and listening to the fusion between traditional latinx influence, hip hop and pop music. There were songs like Who's To Blame that had great lyrcis, but melodies were a little one note. America was another that had really good lyrics but melodies almost seemed to fun and beach party to stand up to a strong message, but pop music does that all the time so maybe reflecting, I don't mind it. Fortunate Song, Born in the USA, American Woman...they were all doing what this album does really well, make a deep message but cover it with fun catchy melodies that make them hard to not sing and dance to, so we all sing it and pass the message along.
My only criticism is sometimes the sounds varied so much that the album didn't feel cohesive (Street signs to America to Saturday Night). But the latinx essence in all songs carried it through enough to be a solid 4.
The Beach Boys
4/5
I wish the warm California sun was shining on me today! I listened to Beach Boys often growing because my parents loved them. They are really their own thing, and they do that thing well. They play surfer music in a nice layered pop way focusing on a really simple life, but they seem to realize growing up might be necessary. Lots of good hits on this one that warm the soul with some happy sunny vibes
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I feel like we have had him before and that was enough (side point...i would argue more that one album from any band is too much, we get there voice and influence in one album). I don't get his appeal, he is obsessed with death... He is goth and trying to be shocking and against the grain. This one was more palatable then the last but still just grating. It almost feels like he is trying to hard and turning it into satire, which would make it better, but it's not... It feels like a waste of time and space on the list where I could discover someone else worthwhile
John Coltrane
2/5
How to rate something that I just don't enjoy....I want to, I really do, but the scattered nature of the music just doesn't jive with my brain. There are moments that I start to fall into but then the scatteredness comes in and I get distracted.
Knowing Coltrane is one of the heavy hitters in jazz I tried this time to really focus and fall into the uncomfortableness in the lack of pattern in the music but it just is still not my thing. If I pull out each piece individually they are good and great parts of the time. The piano in part 3 is beautiful and the trumpet throughout I enjoy, but it is all of them together that just don't draw me in.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Overall solid and enjoyable. Quality Rolling Stones at their best.
Now Brown Sugar....its not okay, not right. Yes they stopped playing it, but Richards said, I don't get why they are mad its about slavery and hopefully we will get to play it again someday. So maybe it is and maybe we can bend that he is "trying" to make a political statement, but he never says that and never tries to explain the point they were trying to make. He just wants to play it again because its fun and that is the problem. Yes when this song was written it was a different time, and maybe it was more acceptable, but its not now. Say that, own up to the it, and say for that reason we choose to remove it from our sets, period...the end. I wanna give it a 4, but the response to Brown Sugar makes me take a star away.
Hmmmm...U2 in the 2000's. They did not move so farm from their original selves to feel like this was a complete 'sell out' album, but there are bits that feel like they are just keeping up with the times.
They have big themes, mental health, aging, violence, and battling evil, all these topics fall into their wheelhouse and are important topics to focus on. But something about it just doesn't have the same passion or emotional depth as their early work. Maybe the themes are too much or too varied or just trying to build it around today's lens...but it not their best.
Stuck in a moment is top for me. The hits are good, the rest aren't bad, just sort of meh for U2.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
I feel like I am in an aquarium watching fish swim around. Or one of those 3D or Imax movies showing me giant pictures of space or the world.
Most of it is pleasant but all of it is long, far too long. I see why people got to know them through soundtracks. These songs would fit perfectly into the next Fantasia to see how others conceptualize the music. For me to just sit and listen to, I will pass.
Ice Cube
2/5
Of all the 90's rap, this is not as good or as talented as others. Ice Cube is slower and his rhymes aren't as good as others. He makes good political statements but I don't think the talent is as good as other rappers of the time. Then there is they misogyny, its really all over this album.
The Mars Volta
2/5
Ehhh....this was wanna be Muse or Rage Against the Machine but they do it worse. Some songs have good parts (Take the Veil) but then it became awful.
Carpenters
3/5
Its mellow and chill and there are a lot of hits. But its really kind of meh. Its two siblings just signing pleasantly together. This is one of those albums that maybe you had to be there to really really appreciate it because I don't see what is so musically amazing for it to win 8 Grammy's. Would I listen again? Sure...but will it go on a playlist, probably not.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I have never heard an entire album by Joni Mitchell so I am glad that this project forced me to do that. I go back and forth on this. Her storytelling, poetry type lyrics are beautiful and deep. Sometimes they feel a little to raw and unfinished but I do credit her with creating some deep songs. Coyote was a bit weird. It seemed like a fun diddy, but basically the guy was a predator. Maybe that was the point but then again it just felt way to casual and happy for the content of the song. That theme went a little bit through the album and maybe just a little too casual for some of the themes. Maybe that was her perspective at the time, somewhat the brush it off and act like everything is okay, and maybe it would have hit me better at a different age in my life.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
There were a couple of misses on this album (Scorpio and Dreamin). She's Fresh and It's Nasty felt like it just kept going and could have had a little more substance but they did make me want to dance. Overall it was a good album and a good mix of funk, hip hop and rap. It really starts the evolution to 90's rap, which makes the samples and lines used by current rappers more important. Calling out one song, New York, New York...this one had some really important points like poverty and impact on people in the city. Also the difference between the extreme wealth vs. poor, and mental health impacting people. It did loose me a little when we talked about the wife leaving the husband or the transgender community. How is it we can all get so easily distracted by what the real problem with poverty is and create scapegoats (women, transgender) instead of looking at the big issues.
Supertramp
3/5
It was 70's music. Nothing stood out to me as amazing and nothing was bad. Good vibes and a decent album.
Eric Clapton
2/5
So at first I was excited to listen to Eric Clapton and then I realized I lived under a rock for the past 41 years and didn't realize he was a racist, anti-vaxer, rapist, conservative jerk.
So wow does that tarnish and change things...I listened once and then listened again and it just really tainted it. He's a pretty good guitarist and has some good blue melodies in his music. But then he is a total racist but wanted to build his career on music created by African America's not from his country...but yet they are awful. I hate hypocrites more than anything and Eric Clapton you fit that category. Sure he can excuse it and say he was on heroin and sure it was the 70s, but he still falls into that category today, apparently even laughing about his rant to this day.
So are there some pretty songs, yes...Please Be With Me is beautiful and Get Ready has some good blues riffs. But the music is just built on hypocritical bs, so for me that loses a lot of the meaning and impact of the music. Sorry Eric Clapton...the first time I enjoyed it but after learning you have no respect for others your music is just empty.
Sebadoh
3/5
This kind of felt like a garage band that got its break because of one single (Elixir is Zog) and was booked on a national bar tour and then had to come up with a bunch of songs quickly so they had a bunch of bland one chorus songs. It wasn't bad, but I feel like they wanted to be more and just didn't get there.
The Smiths
2/5
After the first song, I thought it had hope but then it just became kind of the same over and over and ended with Some Girls are Bigger than Others. I waiver between a 2 and 3.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
it was pretty and had a lot of emotion, but not as good as others. You could tell there were feelings but they weren't as raw and emotional as I hoped. It eventually just started to feel like background music.
Metallica
3/5
I liked the idea of this and it was cool. I honestly think it made me like these songs even more, it gave their music more substance, depth and eeriness that I think they lack as a regular band. The orchestra was really amazing, and to make the arrangements for all of these songs and so flawlessly fit into these songs was amazing.
With that said, I could have just done with the highlights, I didn't need the full two hour concert. Give me the 10 best songs of the night and release on a short album and I would have enjoyed it just as much (if not more) as getting the full two hour concert.
Nico
2/5
This is the start of her Spotify bio...One of the most fascinating figures of rock's fringes, Nico hobnobbed, worked, and was romantically linked with an incredible assortment of the most legendary entertainers of the '60s.
I include that because I feel like that explains this album and her ability to create a musical career. This wasn't good, her vocals are not great, the lyrcis are okay, and the musical arrangements don't do anything to help her voice. But she knew people that had money, she was pretty and they needed something to do with her (wikipedia says she lived with a music producer for 3 years and noticed her singing and said let's connect you with a band).
For this album specifically, she didn't write multiple songs on this album and other people produced the songs in ways she didn't approve of (adding flutes and strings, she wanted drums). Which adds to the mess in this album. Too many hands were in it and nobody agreed on what it should be.
To me this album is flawed because she wanted to be a musician and others around her just wanted to put a pretty face on an album. Leaving a mess of sound that feels like an amateur high schooler on an open mic night.
Common
3/5
Never listened to Common but was excited because of the Common I perceive today...but this was 25 years ago...sooooo
First off the music...The jazz and afrobeats were unique and appreciated it. It wasn't overwhelming bass or samples that were mixed together and overpowering to the lyrics.
How he delivered the lyrcis was also good...he wasn't yelling or growling the lyrics in a way that made them hard to hear. He can sing, rap quick, rap slow creating a good unique delivery.
Now the actual lyrics...I did not grow up in the same culture so I tried to look at it through his lens, some were trying to make a point of hypocrisy in the culture (end of the 6th Sense and A film Called) but then other times he really incorporates the misogyny into the lyrics without apology or a point, he really means. Then there is the homophobic lyrics, there isn't any point he is trying to make there, except homophobia.
I want to believe he is better today...so I will try to not let the last two taint the album too much. Overall its different, good but not great.
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
They define themselves as "sloppy" and I can see that. This album wasn't anything special, but I don't agree with all the hate. The lyrics are mediocre and pretty juvenile. It feels like he was high in a basement and just started writing random things (I feel like there is a pattern with a lot of famous musicians!) and then his friends, who are mildly talented put the beat and guitar to it, and poof it became decent!
I like the guitar and drums, I enjoy the blues, jazzy, rock sounds they create. Musically it almost makes me think of Phish, they blended different sounds to make a very unique 90's sound. I won't be buying the album but I am not embarrassed to say I danced along to many of the songs (only to laugh out loud at the lyrics).
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Why was this guy on here twice...one more than enough. Are there some interesting lyrics, sure but they quickly turn bloated and pretentious. The music never really matches up and his lyrical rhythms are just not great. Listening to him makes me feel like I am in a stark white New York style apartment and everyone is sitting around in all black smoking and judging everyone and everything and nothing is ever good enough. No thank!
Alanis Morissette
5/5
The only thing wrong with this album is nothing of those things technically meet the definition of irony.
Alanis you are a beautiful female soul that pulled together an album that shares the complexity of the female soul. We are complex, see the beauty in simplicity and have a right to be angry.
Just a few things to note....Perfect reminds us that we are expected to be perfect and yet that perfection is usually completely contradictory making it unattainable. See Right Through You, what women has that had that relationship and wanted to scream at the man like You Oughta Know. Forgiven is a lesser known song, but dang does she rock out and dig deep on the emotion. There's is a little of Mary Jane in all of us, using toxicity to hide the real pain and never fully healing.Then we move into the opportunity for love Head Over Feet and looking at the small positives in the world after dealing with the bads You Learn. Alanis you are a queen <3
Bad Company
3/5
This album had many songs I was familiar with. They are one of those bands that you don't realize how many hits they truly had. All are songs I enjoy and listen to, but they are also songs I might fast forward, because nothing about them makes me LOVE them. For me they are also not super unique or different, just rock songs that fill space.
Gene Clark
3/5
It was pretty, it was simple, it just was. If I had been in a more deep mindset and on a mountain somewhere i might have rated higher, but today it was just nice.
Cornershop
3/5
This is what I like about this list, a band that I have never heard of making music that is slightly different, but still falls solidly into a category of music.
I do not understand the international success of Brimful of Asha, I found it somewhat annoying. But there were others that I enjoyed and found interesting. Chocolat, We're in Your Corner, Funky Days and It's Indian Tobacco all were something I wouldn't mind listening to agian. What is happening made me thing what is happening, and a few of the interludes were just not necessary to me, but overall it was something I am glad I listened to.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Grateful Dead...what an iconic group, and I was excited to hear an album by them to get the full vibe. I am not super familiar with them but knowing they have such a avid fan base I was excited to be pulled into their world. Wasn't super excited about the Live idea but thought maybe that would be an extra shining star because of people following them around so their live work must be amazing. In retrospect the live album just left it open to long drawn out songs that didn't go anywhere and no interaction with the crowd to improve the overall vibe.
Dark Star was not how I would have started the album to draw a person in. It was slow, long and didn't really draw me in and make me want to continue. St. Stephen was good (would have made a much better start). The Eleven was not my fav but again would have been better then Dark Star, it was more improvising but at least it was exciting.
I don't mind improvising a little, but an hour of it is just too much for me. Death Don't Have No Mercy was my favorite. In the world of improvising it is good maybe even great in this world. Then 7 minutes of feedback...why? Maybe this is them and their style, which means they are just not for me.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Its glam rock...I love that this site calls them heavy metal. This isn't the first time and I think its funny because these types of bands seem to have lost their "heavy" feelings as the years have gone by. Now they just seem like overexaggerated fun rock. Listening to it today, this is something I would jump around and dance and sing to and headbang. It may not be amazing, it isn't anything unique and different but I enjoyed listening to it.
Bob Dylan
3/5
So I watched the Bob Dylan movie...which ended up being about him and his move away from the folk genre and into more rock...based on this year this is his rock era after moving away from folk.
I don't love Bob Dylan, but I respect the depth in many of his song lyrics. But I have to not all of this felt like the cerebral Dylan. It felt more like he was in an era where he wanted to get drunk, do drugs, not care as much about social issues and just jam with his friends. There are deep lyrics but there is also something more fluffy about this album. I actually enjoyed this one more than a lot of other Dylan songs and I could see why this was a commercial success. Some of the songs were a little off to me (One of us Must Know and Most Likely You Go Your way) and just enough misogyny and pretentiousness
Adele
3/5
Adele has an absolutely gorgeous voice and beyond just having a great voice she oozes emotion. You feel all of her past love and sadness. You hear every kiss, fight, makeup and break up. You can't help but fall into the songs and feel every love and sadness in your own life. It is an album that following a break you could easily fall into and drown your sorrows for days.
A couple of criticisms, she was 25 years old when she recorded this...yes you can have these feelings at 25, but something about that makes me a little old and cynical, and that you don't really know those feelings that deeply at that age. My other criticism really is emobided in Hello, as a person that was usually the one broken up with this songs hits differnt. Its your ex, that broke up with you because love got comfortable and they decided something new would be so much better. 10 years later they realize they lost the most important thing and just want to 'check in.' Nope, not at all...I moved on and made a better life I don't want you checking in and don't feel bad for you. There are others on the album that give that same vibe and for me, those emotions just frustrate a little.
Public Enemy
4/5
This group is talented, taking so many aspects of rap, hip hop and sampling to make a great sound that is iconic to the 90s. Really puts on display racism and America, where it was at in the 90's and mostly where it is today.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I don’t usually listen to an album twice, but today I did.
First time through it was just a little too raw, quiet and dark. I missed some of the lyrics which caused me to focus too much on the raw sounds and not connect them to the emotions and lyrics. The lyrics I did catch were often repeated over and over, causing a little more annoyance than enjoyment. It was also first thing Monday morning and I was trying to start off in a really positive state of mind so this was a bit jarring overall.
Second time through I listened along with reading the lyrics. Then I was able to connect the rawness and lyrics together, to have a much deeper experience into the album. There were still songs I really didn’t enjoy (Legs, Man-Size Sextet) and I noticed even more how much she repeats lyrics over and over (especially at the end of the songs). But I could hear the anger, sadness, rage, anxiety and the little bit of ‘crazy’ female we have in us especially after dealing with less than outstanding members of the opposite sex.
I added a few songs to my favs and will deep into PJ Harvey more. It will be interesting to see if she is always this raw.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I have gone from hating Taylor to not really caring about her and to somewhat liking her. I watched her concert and I will be honest I didn’t know how poetic her songs were. So this was a nice experience to sit and listen to an entire album.
There is so much to dive into with Taylor. First her voice is beautiful, and it goes along with the subtle melodies and chords she has created. Song after song is calm, beautiful and subtle emotions of someone looking back. Criticism is that all of the songs are similar in terms of melody and tone, nothing makes me want to stand up and dance and nothing makes me want to cry. Its something I would have listened to in my late 20’s while cleaning the house.
The actual lyrics are poem after poem. Some have hooks and choruses, but most are just long poetic stories. She uses her words to craft depth, beauty and emotion into simple interactions. That might be part of the draw, all of these young middle/upper class individuals that feel their simple everyday lives are not noteworthy, connect with her because even in simple live there are deep noteworthy feelings we have.
In that she has the ability to pull out the simple toxicity in simple life (Tolerate It) and maybe that is why so many men hate her. She doesn’t allow light to everyday toxicity in relationships, she pulls at each moment shines a light on their behavior. In contrast, one thing she lacks is any accountability in her songs, mostly it is always about the others making her feel worthless, and they may have mostly sucked.
Happiness was one of the few where I really heard her reflect and discuss her side of things and that there was some accountability, and maybe that is because she took a lot of time to reflect. It was also really beautiful because so many of us have those feelings about some past relationships.
Its pretty, simple and complex. She has a talent for writing and connecting, and this album is a good example.
The Charlatans
3/5
Reading their Spotify page they seem like a huge success in Britain. But to me this album feels like a lot of the 1990's alt/pop/rock that we heard. Would I dance along and enjoy listening to them play it as a set at the I Love the 90's tour, sure, but it would just mesh into all of the other bands during the day.
How High was probably my favorite, they really seemed to have all of the pieces to rock out and make a hit out of it. I also liked Get On It (I am a sucker for a harmonica) but it felt like it was on the wrong album (maybe Bob Dylan's). The rest started to just mesh together with his whiny vocals. I read some of the lyrics to see if that was where they made their mark, but those were just okay. They look like they were probably semi-cute bad boys, so people feel in lust with them and by proxy the album. Its a 3, I wouldn't seek them out but I wouldn't change the radio station if one of the songs came on.
Pink Floyd
2/5
I feel like I got a contact high just listening to this album. I just did not get into this album. It was disjointed and confusing. One minute we were in a James Bond movie (Lucifer Sam). Then I was traveling across a mythical medieval land (Matilda Mother) followed by being chased by howling monkeys (Power R. Roc. H). Then we traveled to Outer space (Interstellar Overdrive) followed by standing in a field either being a scarecrow or watching a scarecrow (I feel like it was a metaphor but because of the LSD trip, it might have just been about the scarecrow).
There were bits I liked, Interstellar Overdrive had a good bass line, and Stethoscope was a good 70s rock song. But the overall disjointedness of it was somewhat jarring and not one I would put in the rotation.
Elvis Costello
2/5
Based on the font used on the album cover I thought this was going to be something a little more hard and brutal.
Instead it was a mix of lounge pop that is super critical of everything. This is Hell, Sulky Girl, You Tripped, All the Rage...just weird annoying critical angry sadness and at the same time reminding us he is smarter than us. Then his voice just adds to the mehness, like he can't even really singing or rock.
20% Amnesia had some hope of being better, but them just repeating 20% amnesia over and over was just so obvious. At least the song sort of lived up to the cover font!
His lyrics are kind of interesting if you read them, but the rest is just so meh and lack luster, why exactly is Elvis Costello so loved? I notice his album summary is one of the few to mention he was included in this list, just trying to remind us all of his amazingness...if you remind people enough maybe they will believe you. I found myself checking the track list over and over to see how much was left, that is not a good sign.
The Residents
2/5
I don't know what this was exactly. It was Looney Tunes, meets Primus, meets Halloween, meets strangeness. I kept laughing asking myself is this for real.
3/5
This album oozes so much fog, big hair, oversized clothes and over the top cheesyness.
I don't hate it, its just sooooo much 80's, like to the point of being completely over the top. There are some interesting parts and if you want a soundtrack for your 80's theme night look no further, but I don't think I want to listen to the whole thing again.
FKA twigs
2/5
This was much more conceptual than I typically enjoy. I liked the songs that were more traditional song style (Video Girl, Two Weeks, Pendulum). I liked her voice, but wish she showed a little more range besides just super high and breathy.
There was variety but then again not, I think for me that would be the biggest complaint, it just all blended together and was all just more of the same kind of techy breathy wispyness. Don't hate it but probably won't go back to it.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
This one was just fun and enjoyable. It didn't take its self too seriously. They leaned into the 80s musical rock opera feeling and did it well and fun. Its over the top, but not so much that it was cheesy.
King Crimson
3/5
Based on the album cover I had no idea what I was getting into...
I don't hate it, overall parts are actually really interesting and enjoyable. My criticisms are that its kind of all over the place and I am not always seeing everything connecting with the songs being really long. It kind of feels like each song is its own kind of mini album or piece, that don't necessarily all go together but on their own they are mostly nice. Moonchild just kept going and I am not really sure why
The Zutons
4/5
I really liked this one and from a band I have never heard of. I got a lot of Black Keys vibes (who I also like). Zuton Fever had me questioning if it was a Black Keys song, but it wasn't but still good. I also like You Will You Won't, Confusion, and Nightmare Part II. Railroad was a different vibe but still fun. It had older rock vibes with enough newer alt rock indie fun to make it enjoyable and fresher. There were also a lot of extra instruments worked in to make the sound rock but with a little difference.
Lana Del Rey
1/5
Her voice is pretty, she has an interesting way of including American pop culture into somewhat deep lyrics. But as an album its just too much. Too much breathiness, to much melancholy, too much slow guitar, too much complaining about nothingness, just to much of everything. Also when you really listen to the lyrics they are not that deep or earth shattering. She just sings them with such a pretty sad emotional voice everyone thinks she is talking about such deep things. Breaking up Slowly was my favorite song, because of Nikki Lane, not Lana.
I don't know if this all a defense mechanism, saying I like all the bad and then bragging about all the great things you have going on. For me its just whiny in an entitled way, not really deep or emotional. Just I have money, I like when my boyfriend drinks so I can do what I want, and I wander because I want to. You can get slightly sucked in but if you listen its just blah
Django Django
3/5
Fun album! Lots of variety in the music, yet it went together. I was dancing along enjoying myself.
Steely Dan
3/5
It was fun, simple jazzy rock. Good example of yacht rock and fun to have on for a Sunday afternoon drive. Nothing overwhelmingly good though, and they all start to sound similar. Not in a bad way, just in a similar way.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
Started off feeling slightly assaulted (I seriously jumped in my seat slightly). He just starts screaming at me and then the instruments...seriously reminded me of my three kids pretending to be a band, the singer is yelling and the instruments are just everywhere.
One of the reviews said I was supposed to listen to this 7 times to truly appreciate it...I don't think I could do this.
There are fleeting moments, Veteran's Day Poppy guitar, the Bass line on China Pig and maybe Ella Guru and Pachuco Cadaver. But honestly the rest felt like 10 year old boy humor, I just didn't find it funny or enjoyable.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Of the Costello albums this is my favorite. It doesn't immediately annoy me and he has some beats and the music is varied enough that it doesn't all drag together. No Action and The Beat were good. However, Little Triggers is a big trigger for me, this is the epitome of why I don't think I like him. His voice and signing in this song are just so annoying. His voice is clawing and just grates my brain like nails on a chalkboard.
I also think reading the album summary, maybe I am naive but how is this punk rock? Is it new wave and pop, yes but its not punk. Maybe that is also what annoys me about him, every album is described to be so hard, punk, anti-establishment, but in today's terms its just a pop rock album. Its like he is embarrassed by what he is, but wants to enjoy all the mainstream success of pop music. Like Hand in Hand, would just fit into any high school dance of the 60's.
Boston
5/5
I don't care what others say, this album slaps! Guitar work is great, go Tom Scholz!
Are the songs overplayed and completely stereotypical of rock in this time frame...yes but i ain't mad at it. They are all bangers, just make you want to move and enjoy life.
They are just something about this rock n' roll band trying to get everyone take everyone away by some smokin music! The music gives you more than a feeling, but a peace of mind that makes me want to hitch a ride and let them take me home tonight.
Some might think its cheesy, and they might be right. But rocking out to this album feels gouda!
4/5
This was a fun album, but I group I was not familiar with. This was a great version of Punk that was still raw, gritty, but still music and didn't just focus on dissonance. I really enjoyed the song In this House I Call Home.
My only criticism is the female vocalist, she doesn't have a huge musical range which makes her kind of sound flat and not convey the emotions of the music the best. She was pretty good in Some Other Time and Beyond and Back, but if she just let go a little in some of the other songs I think she would have been amazing.
N.E.R.D
2/5
This is so 2000's, back when Pharrell was the man...but it did not age well.
The music is still enjoyable. Good beats and rhythms that mixes styles and genres of music, making something different and unique to the changes in pop the rap genre of the 2000's.
However it is height of douche bag, f@ck boy era. This would have been my high school era...how did we not expect more from the lyrics and dudes. Get over yourself and your wanna be six pack for two minutes and not just sing about a girls boobs and ass and spending time in the backseat. Didn't age well boys, not every internal thought should be made into a song.
Soundgarden
3/5
I always feel like Soundgarden sounds similar, but there was some good variety in this album. It is still very obviously Chris Cornell. It is also a little depressing, but good.
Dolly Parton
4/5
This one is hard to separate how amazing the person is from the music, in a good way. So I listened again really trying to just appreciate the music. I have never listened to a full Dolly album so it was a good treat.
Her voice may not be top 10 ever, but it pretty and she engages emotion in it just right so you feel it but not too cheesy. She hits on certain elements of her life and culture in a way that is not too over the top and degrading to other. Her stories are hers and she makes them unique and different, its folksy, blue grass, country, spiritual, 70's, even a little jazzy. Just simple and beautiful.
Moby
3/5
I had this album in high school, and the same holds today as I felt then. I love the first half of the album, it flows, it moves and makes me feel emotions and the experiences in the music. The sounds are so big that you feel like you are floating in some beautiful world while dancing alone but in a beautiful group of people at the same time.
But the second half just drags. It is not just the rhythms but the lyrics too. The Sky is Broken is just so bad and so long. In the second half some sounds still feel big and beautiful, but then just completely empty but not in a good way. I get the same feeling in My Weakness, it wants to be deep and meaningful but it kind of ends up no where. Its like he thought he was creating something impactful but it just felt unfinished.
First half solid high marks and second half not great....so I will end up in the middle.
Miles Davis
2/5
I really wanted to like this! I really want to like jazz.
But it just ends up being random noise that keeps going and doesn't seem connected. I just get lost in the music, but not in a good way. So for me this was just long and random and I didn't really connect.
Oasis
3/5
This is one of those albums that is potentially harder to rate because I was not there when it was released. Its a fun album, it is full of good songs that are self-assured, strong and bring out emotions. They are fun songs that rock and add to the music of the era.
In retrospect the band is plagued by their weird sibling rivalry that destroyed their band. Overall it is enjoyable and I would go back to it, but with other bands coming up, this one kind of becomes one of many bands of that time. Its still a banger, but in retrospect maybe not as much of a banger as it was at the time.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
This project has taught me I like Blues
This was a good one and I appreciate how well he created a good, soulful album. He has emotion and quality guitar work.
David Bowie
4/5
I loved this album, it was very beautiful and soulful. For the Bowie albums we have listed to its the one that made the most sense and flowed the best. Is it a little more commercial? Yes, but it also made sense.
Iggy Pop
3/5
It was pop, rock, alt and probably similar to other at the time, but I couldn't help but enjoy the first half of this album. It all worked in a weird fun way. The Passenger was one of my favorite. But then we had to go down into wanting young girls and then Turn Blue. Apparently Turn Blue is about heroin and depression but some of the symbolism just ain't right.
Ice Cube
4/5
I am a fan of this one (except the mysiogny, why does that always have to be a musical theme!).
There are a lot of issues discussed, its not too fast but also not too slow. He has emotion to his voice and his rhythms are obvious at times but not at others.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
I don't understand why this needed to be a double album, nothing here seemed so amazing that they needed to do a double. Wouldn't it have been better to release it as two. I don't hate any part of it, but it was just sooooooo much Dexys and I found myself lost and a little over the horns and the singers voice, especially after Keep It, Pt. 2. I think I would have gone much higher if it just didn't feel like they were just doing too much.
PJ Harvey
2/5
So a lot of time I say the singer doesn't have enough emotion but I think PJ Harvey has the opposite. Sometimes her voice is so emotional that it makes me think, its not that serious....
Her voice is also not my favorite, its not great, but not in a Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell bad good way.
It is better than the last album by her, the music is at least palatable, but just not complete for me.
King Crimson
2/5
Sometimes I felt like thy were being experimental and artsy and other times it came across as a high school garage band that didn't know what they were doing. The first three minutes of Lark's Tongue was trying to be artsy but Part II was just a bunch of guys that thought they could play trying to jam out together.
Its not awful, but I don't get this one being included, because its just random songs, with little emotion being created by them.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
There were parts of this that I really loved and enjoyed and felt genuine. But every once in a while it felt forced and almost making fun of the genre of folk and country. I think it was in the lyrics, at times the way she sang felt forced or slightly emotionless and generic. But then it would go back to the deep solemness that felt real and heartfelt.
Lightning Bolt
2/5
This sounded like a college garage band that couldn't find a lead singer they thought was pretty enough to shag. They played in their apartment garage with the door open thinking people would flock to them but they just kept walking by. Nobody called the police on them because it wasn't that awful, but they also never got out of the garage.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
This was good dance music with a fusion of African and South American sounds. I think this is something I am somewhat used to now so it feels less groundbreaking.
David Bowie
3/5
There were some good ones that were deep and emotional. I also enjoyed the music. Where it falls out of a 4 for me is Bowie's voice, a lot of it didn't elicit the emotions in the music. I know he can do it so it was surprising that he wasn't more emotionally invested in a lot of the lyrics.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
Its music you would hear in the background of Sephora, Zara or H&M. Its not bad, it just background music to me. There are some cool beats and they do mix coherently well. Its just nothing special to me. Its very spacy and somewhat aethereal but also all very similar.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
I go back and forth on loving and disliking this album. At times its raw, emotional and beautiful in a rock n' roll way. But then it is just too much being a jerk and full of his emotional toils but not deciding to focus on change. There are some solid garage style rock points.
Air
2/5
Its 90's emo created by an electronic band. It seems very appropriate for the movie and would elicit deeper emotion from the storyline.
Also knowing the movie's storyline it feels like this idealized version from a man's perspective of these girls' lives and experiences. Its like look at these beautiful women and how sad we never got to actually date and hook up with them. They were so perfect (except the one, no judgement Kristin!) its so sad they died and none of us were able to sleep with them (more). Did it convey that message and idea, sure probably pretty well. But also we have heard that perspective a lot. Also it was just kind of the same sounds over and over, aethereal, sad, perfect, melancholy. I would guess these girls were pissed at times, angry, and loud (Maybe this could be Dirty Trip, but then it just kept going). They were also happy at some point, enjoying the world around them, small enough moments that they knew they were missing things. As an album without the movie, it is a little too much sadness for me. In the end it was almost all just emo, so meh...
Fairport Convention
4/5
In a way this was all over the place for me, but not in a bad way. Immediately I thought of Irish trad, but then it was American folk rock and back to trad. There were moments when it was obviously 70's but old school traditional songs and even moments of music that felt very 2020. I loved Cajun Women, I think they really excelled at the faster fun songs. I think some of the slower songs were also good, but my attitude today was less connected to the slower songs (I think I could be on other days). I really enjoyed all of this music.
Beth Orton
4/5
I really enjoyed this album overall, my only complaint is that it is all really the same tempo. A little variety would have improved this album a lot for me.
Solange
3/5
A lot of important messages here that are weaved in nice songs. But it was all the same, nothing went extra hard or slowed down a lot, it was all just kind of there.
Fever Ray
3/5
I didn't dislike this, it was all very easy to listen to and wasn't offense. But it felt like it could have been a compilation of songs out of late 80's movies. Pan's Labryinth, Blade Runner, Howard the Duck, Die Hard, Aliens, Mad Max...it felt so much in that era. I didn't dislike it but it wasn't anything new or different.
Ananda Shankar
3/5
It was interesting, to hear the Indian influences on western songs. I don't know if it was anything that super unique or different, people cover songs and interpret them in their own ways somewhat regularly. Part of me wishes he had leaned even more into his roots to make the songs truly different, but it was okay.
SZA
4/5
She has a beautiful voice and evokes emotion well. I liked Prom, and the extra energy in that song. A lot of it was very similar (might be the genre). But I do appreciate the lyrics (most of the time), it really embodies being insecure, unsure and trying to live up to the expectations of the world for women and the impossible expectations. Some seem simple and immature but there is a lot of truth in them (I don't always shave my legs) and what the overall message is for females. Doves in the Wind was not my favorite, I don't hate the sentiment of the song, just feel like that kind of language doesn't help offset the concerns she poses throughout the rest of the album.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
So my cousin was OBSESSED with Smashing Pumpkins when they came out so I feel like I was intimately aware that this album existed and of the hits, but not necessarily the rest of it. Being into alternative music and not living far from Chicago helped build upon my knowledge of this album (because you can't be familiar with Chicago music and not know Billy Corrigan). So he is pretentious and full of himself, but this album helped to back it up.
Is it perfect, no? But it was something different at the time and really filled a void for alt rockers that were more emo and not so grungy and tough. It was someone being really vulnerable about tough things and mental health struggles. Sometimes he is yelling, sometimes he is sad, and a few times he is almost happy.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Angry 80's girl rock! It is full of emotion and is raw and angry. Was it a lot, sure, but in the 80's women had one option, to yell and be mad and talk around things not directly at things. Spellbound was a great start to a rocking good time.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Right away I thought wow this guy had a good voice so full of emotion. By doing the it was starting to get to me as a pompous and annoying. By Gypsy women I was telling at him to just shut up already.
He is just too much!
Ian Dury
3/5
Kind of a weird goofy album, but not bad goofy. I would listen along again and not feel bad about it. It is off, but in the right kind of off way.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
This album is a good reminder of how overly dramatic the 80's were. It was good, not amazing. The one thing I will give it props for is that it fully embraced the 80's era. Reading a bit about Sananda, I wonder if he continues to embrace a similar sound or where he has gone from here.
Public Enemy
4/5
Flava Flav in his prime. I appreciate Public Enemy and their message. They bring light a number of important issues and their style is slightly more hip hop and not just rap. They also have the DJ, spinning quality to it that makes it more.
The Jam
2/5
I liked this album, but at some point it became background noise. Meaning nothing grabbed me, nothing made me want to pay attention and buy in, it was just there in the background being non offensive. It could have been music on the speakers of a clothing store just playing and I would bop my head but never feel like I was into it. I would also say everything sounded exactly the same, I didn't realize I was halfway through without looking at the song list because they all sounded the same. I don't rate them so low because the music was bad, it was actually pleasant. I rate them low because compared to others on this list, I just don't get what they bring to the table that makes it so special.
Os Mutantes
4/5
This was a pretty fun album. It started off a little weird but really got into a good fun place.
Anita Baker
3/5
She has a beautiful voice, but nothing else was super special to me.
The Specials
4/5
Do the dog not the donkey...for some reason that just made me laugh.
Its starts off with a real 50's vibe that is carried throughout but then picks up and builds a punk vibe with a brazilin island vibe. It was fun and a bop but also talk a little deeper, questioning the expectations of the time.
Death In Vegas
2/5
Decent background noise that I would have heard while shopping at Express in the 90's
Ride
3/5
I am going back on this one. It is a group I have never heard of and do really enjoy. There is some complex sound here and it has a 90's alt rock vibe I really like. But there were songs that really faded into the background and I was listening but not entirely. Or the music overtook the lyrics and I wasn't really listening to what was said. Somedays I might give it a 4, but today I would go with a 3. But I am going to add them to my liked list and hope they show up more and I can experience their songs on a day when they hit me stronger.
The B-52's
4/5
They live in their own weird little world and we get to be part of it for a few minutes. You always know its the B-52's, they have a sound that is all their own. Is it amazing, not necessarily but its fun and different. They are quirky but that is their appeal. I don't know if anyone understands Rock Lobster but its still a fun jam. I also really liked Hero Worship. One criticism could be that the songs don't always have a lot of lyrics but just sort of repeat the same things over and over. Cindy's voice isn't amazing, but its perfect for them and she brings so much emotion to the songs.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
I love the voice, the emotion and the strength in the songs. But I would say they are a little all over the place. Sometimes tropical, sometimes tribal, sometimes blues, sometimes rock. Each song individually I like and enjoy but as an overall album I am somewhat confused.
Roxy Music
2/5
I know you aren't supposed to judge an album by the cover but this one just really gave me some ick from the start. The naked women gave me no insights into the music but then as I listened it made me feel a little incel vibe, like I am weird and strange but now that I have money I can get hot women to pose naked for me. Also what did this have to do with "Country Life." The music on its own was okay, but nothing was special or different.
Ravi Shankar
3/5
It was pretty and interesting. I also enjoyed the explanation at the beginning.
Love
3/5
revelation was just ridiculous, where did that go and come from. I mean none of this was bad just weird and like it didn't go together or really go anywhere. Blip in the universe, don't hate it but probably never need to experience that again.
Deep Purple
3/5
Based on Smoke on the Water I expected this to be a lot harder overall but it was pretty mellow besides Space Truckin. Not bad but pretty mainstream, think a little more rock would have pushed it up a start
Klaxons
3/5
Going back and forth on this one, early on I liked the lyrics but not the music. Then it flipped (specifically Musik). It was punk rock meets metal meets new wave electronic. It was unique and different but just a little more polish would have me enjoying it more.
Talking Heads
4/5
They are quirky and a little bit different, and it shows. But they are not so different that it makes them unlistenable or jarring, which makes me actually want to listen to their music.
Kraftwerk
2/5
This feels so German.... In a way that lacks all emotion and is just bland.
This is the second album by this band and the first at least had an interesting concept. Was this bad, no but it felt like bland potatoes. It felt like pre recorded songs from a synthesizer that you would hear as background music at Hans and Franz's juice bar. It's not taking me anywhere or giving me any emotions, just feeling beige. The more I listened, it almost made me think it could be AI generated music because it's basic stereotypical and generic.
Tito Puente
3/5
Its dance, its mambo, its fun. I think of a dance club in Miami or Cuba or somewhere else warm :)
Only negative is that it all really sounds similar after a while and is very one note. Its a dance party all night.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
I had mixed feelings, it was definitely unique and specific to them. It had some deep emotional themes, but I was in a more positive mood so I don't think it hit as well as it could have on a different day.
The Kinks
3/5
Its pleasant, but very stereotypical 60's-70's music. It could have been the Beatles, The Who...really any British rock band of this timeframe that did a few drugs, but not so many that it became crazy psychedelic. I liked it but nothing grabbed me as fantastic.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
I don't know what he was saying most of the time, but it was fun and dancy. It made me want to dance in my chair and be at a club or beach and enjoy the day into the evening. It would have fit into a lot of 80's soundtracks for a beach setting.
Goldfrapp
4/5
I liked it, she had a nice haunting voice and it was different but enjoyable
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
At first its fun, different, and interesting. After a while thought it becomes all one note and very samsies. I don't want that to take away from something different and that this is a good album for some mellow days. But it could benefit from just a little variety.
Yes
4/5
The first song sounded very Rush-esque. I liked the banjo on The Clap. I really like the song I've Seen All Good People. Perpetual Change was also good. It was an interesting album in that it bounced between long songs to songs more typical in length. The back and forth was good, making it feel not too long but also getting some good guitar riffs in the album.
Joan Baez
5/5
It is pretty, simple, and deep. Folk in its simplest and purest form is really beautiful. She plays the guitar beautifully and her voice is clear and delivers deep touching lyrics. With so little (voice and guitar) she can deliver such deep, touching songs, speaks to how amazingly talented she is. I know a lot of these are not her original songs (common of folk at this time) but she made them her own. House of the Rising Sun for example is so well known but hearing it from her was a different experience and made see the place differently.
Giant Sand
3/5
I like the music, but not sure about the lyrics. It does give me long life in the desert vibes, but he just lacks something to make it sound sincere. He wrote things but doesn't fully believe them. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't come back to this one.
Goldie
2/5
All electronic starts to sound the same to me and this one fits right in there. Sounds like a teenage clothing store in the 90's that was trying to tell me it was too cool for me. Nothing is inherently bad, just all starts to go together and sound the same. If I was sitting outside looking at the clouds and maybe a little high this might be great, but this is just not my world so I don't connect with it.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
So at least this is music, compared to the Trout album this is a 10 star album. I really like the music and about half the time I really enjoy the lyrics. But, every time he goes into froggy voice it just feels like a joke and that he is making a mockery of the music or the genre. Sorry if that is his real voice and not the intent but it just feels that way to me.
The Verve
2/5
I remember getting this album in high school because of the song Bittersweet Symphony and being disappointed with the rest of it. When it came up yesterday I was excited to listen again hoping that I would find some more on here that I liked. Still no. Nothing is inherently bad, but it just feels like a mess. It doesn't really go together except its late 90's emo. We have tech to alt to rock but none are great. Bittersweet symphony feels effortless and real. For the rest they are trying to hard making them so forced sounding that it looses much of the feelings in the song.
The Magnetic Fields
2/5
I feel like this was the conversation while they were not in their right mind on a tour bus somewhere between Indianapolis and Memphis
Member 1 "Hahaha, route 69..."
Member 2 "69...how f*cking romantic, haha"
Member 3 "Teenagers would totally buy an album if we named it 69"
Member 2 "And we could call say they were romantic songs but they wouldn't actually be to be ironic and emo"
Member 3 "Andy would bicycle across town in the rain to bring you candy..."
Member 1 "They will totally eat that up...haha eat up, candy, 69..."
*Everyone laughs like a 12 year old boy*
Yeah...not impressed and just confused by this weirdness...
Minutemen
2/5
This album is really personally divisive, I feel really stuck on how to rate...
First impression, its awful. I get it writing short songs are their thing, but doing it over and over just feels like you don't actually know how to write a song, you just have an idea for what a song could be but you can't actually write a full song. The guy's voice is not great and after a while they all started to sound similar. They hide behind a label of punk to try and hide that they can't write a song.
Reflecting on the lyrics of some of the songs, I like where they were going. I also appreciate some of the songs that have more of the folk sounds (Corona was one). Which made me think maybe I am not getting it and maybe there is something here if I think about it more.
But then I went the other way again and after 43 samples I should like at least one or two of the songs. Punk is about making you think and causing a little discourse but its about the world around not the very essence of the album.
So yeah...I will rate on my gut impression
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
It was fine, nothing spectacular or overly amazing but it was pretty and had some beauty. Overall it was flat though, nothing stirring or making me want to immerse myself into the music.
Simply Red
3/5
So it was so 80's, but also different and unique feeling. 80's can be super cheesy and over the top, but something about it took in the 80's vibes and felt unique and sincere. It had deep inner feelings taking in the times.
Funkadelic
4/5
Songs were long and repetitive, but also had good beats and made me want to dance. Songs had good lyrics and told stories. Funk may not be my thing but I appreciate the album
Eels
4/5
As I listened to this album there was something so familiar about it and then I heard Monster and Me and it clicked...Shrek!
It was also interesting how that song put context for this whole album even before I knew they sang it. There is something childish but dark and haunting about it from the beginning. It connects to the inner dark childlike soul in my and I like that. One critique is that everything sort of sounds the same, but that sound is his and ties it all together.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This sort of became background noise after a while. Not to say I can't appreciate the sound they have for the late 80's. This sound is really reminds me of the early-mid 90's with grunge rocks. They were likely early influencers of this sound, but I also don't think they did it best. So in the overall world of music I can see how it is influential, but nothing about it amazes me today.
White Denim
4/5
This was a nice easy start to a Monday. It was pretty and a little unique. The sounds were familiar but mixed with different instruments and unique pairings. We did simple folk up to rocking out. It was a little full and felt like there were a lot of ideas (the album cover is a perfect metaphor), sort of like a seek and find, trying to find all the pieces or details. All of the pieces were good and really built upon each other (like a fancy seven course dinner), there were just a lot. Definitely interested more in this band.
The Kinks
4/5
Fun and 70's kooky
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
It started as a performance art piece and somehow ended with a pop/folk/rock album. The last three songs were great, but the first part was just wonky to me.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Guessing its not a coincidence to we got this album the day after Brian Wilson dies (RIP).
The Beach Boys getting deep and taking in their blue period. Its a swift departure from what they were so well known for. I think it is awesome that they tried to go this route and share more than the beach and the waves, but something about their style just doesn't lend itself as well to this kind of music. I liked Student Demonstration Time (eerily timely as well). I am glad to see they tried to change it up, but not surprised this is the first I am hearing of these songs and no real hits came off the album.
Steely Dan
3/5
I started and stopped this album about three times, and while I enjoyed it each time I also realized I didn't remember what I had and hadn't listened to because it was all sort of blah...
Faith No More
4/5
This one goes back and forth for me between hard rock and metal. For those I consider more hard rock songs (Epic, War Pigs, From Out of Nowhere) I am a big fan. I don't love it everyday but I do like to rock out from time to time.
For those that are more Metal (Surprise! Your Dead!) I am not as much of a fan, more because its not my music, not necessarily because they did it poorly). I would really like a 3.5 but since that isn't a choice...
Beastie Boys
4/5
Hmmm, so on one hand this album is awesome....
They take rap and make it uniquely their own. I don't always want to consider them rap, because it is just so different but all of the elements are their. Mixing, sampling, rhyming, beats, etc. Its all there and done well but without sounding like anyone else. They have some awesome lyrics as well. Yes they are for young pot smoking white folks, but they are still really good. They are controversial but in all the right ways and not the bad ways. Shoutout to Sabatoge...awesome song. I even liked the musical instrumental breaks in between, Futterman's Rule was awesome!
It is a chaotic album...and not always in a good way. Some bits weren't bad but just felt out of place (Ricky's Theme and Shambala). They have great lyrics but at times they were so distorted you couldn't understand them. Overall it was a good album and one that deserved to be on this list, but its not perfect.
Gang Of Four
3/5
I enjoyed it, it was very punk, but a little different and a little more rock and roll. The vocals were all punk and had a very traditional vibe with that. But the guitar and drums had a little different flair. Not different enough to be amazing, but not bad.
Saint Etienne
3/5
This would have been background music at Abercrombie or another trendy store in the 90's.
There are some beautiful parts that made me feel like I was floating in a super calm sea or the ocean. I have a difficult time connecting to music without lyrics. Maybe if I had the opportunity to sit in a field somewhere and just appreciate every note in the songs without life getting in the way I could appreciate it more, but sadly I am just not there with this type of music.
She had a nice voice, the piano was pretty, and it was all connected to itself but just not my thing.
The Fall
3/5
So it was a weird phenomenon...I would check song names because I liked them. Then feeling like a lot of time would go by I would check the next song and somehow only one song had passed. I don't know if it was me or the album. I liked it, but then felt like it went forever. Not sure what that says
Green Day
5/5
I love Green Day so this is a little biased. I tried to just think about this album only and not everything. This is the album that put them on the map, and for good reason. Its a group embodying British punk with their American spin on it. Some of the topics are a bit juvenile but they were young at the time. Everything for me works on this one. I want to pop and rock and sing out loud.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Its fine....its Elvis. I am not a fan of Elvis and his voice. Now I am sure if I was a teenage girl in the 50's I would have screamed, yelled and fainted at the site of his hips and the crooning of this voice. But today, having all sorts of music in my past his voice actually annoys me. There are some really pretty songs and ones that connect with my rural background (true love on a gravel road) but his voice just drags to me. The songs on this also weren't that different to me, they were more traditional rock country. But maybe they weren't then....maybe I would be throwing my panties on stage for him back in the day because it was new and made my heart (and other parts) be all a flutter. But today I give it a 3...
Gotan Project
3/5
I like the fiddle and it has some neat parts. Just drags at times and get somewhat repetitive. It has some jazzy influence when aren't always my favorite but its not bad.
Morrissey
3/5
I don't hate it, its actually not bad. But there is something about his voice and what he alludes while he is singing that makes me feel like he is a bit much and too full of himself. Like Certain People I Know or We Hate it When our Friends Become Successful....I liked the tunes, they were catchy and a little ironic with the lyrics. But then his voice just feels a little uppity and high and mighty. The way he sings Your the One for me, Fatty kind of makes me want to punch him in the face and Seasick is just sooooo dramatic. I think I would have rated a little higher if it weren't for the little edge of snarkiness he seems to have.
Queen Latifah
3/5
I went into this one excited, Queen Latifah is such an icon and rightly deserves the title Queen. But I was honestly a little underwhelmed. Start off, she rocks the feminist vibes and supports her cultural vibes. She also doesn't focus on bad language or lyrical shock value to get her points across. Which I love. But....there were songs she barely sang on and others where she she seemed like an add on. The songs were good but others have done it a lot better. Her raps where clever, but others are more clever. She was fast, but not that fast. The beats were catchy but others are more catchy. She laid groundwork for women in rap and hip hop and that cannot be denied.
Japan
4/5
So at first I thought WTF is this on the list. So this band ripped off Duran Duran and David Bowie, why are we adding this to the list. Then I thought did David Bowie and Duran Duran team up to make a supergroup named Japan???
So I did a little searching....its not a supergroup. But he does admit to being heavily influenced by David Bowie. And Duran Duran was actually heavily influenced by this band, ala Duran Duran ripped off Japan.
With that said its still just 80's synth rock...little dramatic, little new age spacey but not awful. I will say since they had such an influence in creating the sound I will give them a solid 4. not necessarily an amazing album but they did seem to create something that took the 80's by storm. For me it is a little too dramatic and not something I can get into now, but this was a vibe in the 80's pre-grunge pre-emo era.
The Cult
3/5
Meh, they are just a mis mash of 80's hair metal rock. Its not bad, but I feel like they don't really stand out as anything special in this genre.
Massive Attack
3/5
I wish I could sometimes rate things as not impactful. So this wasn't bad, it was pretty, happening in the background. I went back to check in and I moved on to other songs that sounded so similar I just assumed it was the same album.
So rating it is hard, I didn't dislike it, but nothing grabbed me and made me love it. It was just there, pretty but not impactful.
The Yardbirds
3/5
So I was reading the band explanation on Spotify and what I got was so different. They said they rose from the Blues and R&B scene, maybe the British version is very different then the American version because that is not at all what I got (except Jeff's Boogie).
I like the majority of it, but it was also a little all over the place, fitting more with pop and psychedelic.
Mariah Carey
3/5
I am not sure anyone is more iconic of the 90's...I honestly think she made the butterfly popular! And this album cover, is there anything more 90's. Somewhat rightly deserved, she has pipes and epitomizes a whole persona that is hard to not be interested in even if you don't like it. But this is about the album. Whenever You Call, was the song I liked the most, it showed off her range (in a not breathy, moany, raspy kind of way) and she seemed to have some genuine emotion, but not enough. The rest of the time, I don't think she showed off her voice, it was just whispery singing that didn't really do her any favors. Then it just seemed to scream diva, I am here, I am Mariah, that is enough. You should just know I have emotion and what I am trying to convey, I don't have to do anything for it. Is it iconic yeah, but others have done it better even she did it better on other albums.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
She reminded me of Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks. Deep emotional lyrics which speak of pain and hardship. It speaks to feelings many woman have as we age and reflect on the negative things that have made the harder parts of us and coming out stronger.
10cc
3/5
The Wall Street Shuffle was an interesting start, I get it a criticism of Wall Street, but it also felt really obvious criticism and it rhymed but not that deep. Which seems like it followed all the way through on the lyrics. They were critical but not all that deep, which I don't think always worked with their more dramatic music (like in Hotel). Clockwork Creep did make me bounce a little. It is really eclectic but also palatable. Sometimes it felt really disjointed and all over the place. I don't think its worth a 2 but also not sure I want to give it a 3. It didn't hurt my ear, but there was something inherently juvenile about the album.
Fugees
4/5
I remember when this album came out that it received a tremendous amount of praise. I knew Killing Me Softly because it was on the radio but the rest was not something I was able to access in my small town midwest home. So it was interesting to listen to. It is interesting how Lauryn Hill became the star of this group, but Wyclef and Pras seem to do the majority of the lyrics. They are poignant, deep, feel authentic and go well with the melodies. The album tells a story connected to a world and place in time. overall it is a really well done album.
Now I can't not mention the Chinese Skit because I have included criticisms on misogyny and racism on other albums. Yes this was almost 30 years ago, but that shouldn't have been okay even then. It is also interesting that they are discussing the plight of the Haitian immigrant but also mock an Asian immigrant. I hate the human need to fight hate with more hate. If not for the Chinese Skit I think I could give this a 5, but I just don't want to overlook that portion.
The Sonics
3/5
So I don't get this one being on here...so I had to do a little researching and I am still not sure why this is on here.
First off half the songs are covers, by people that did them better. The reviews and Spotify call them punk and hard rock n'roll, maybe I am missing it but they really just did Beatles Pop for 60's Rn'B songs...musical appropriation much... The singer yells "Yooowwww" on every song so we call it pop and pushing rock, for me that doesn't really track or mean you should be considered influential.
That being said I don't dislike the music, but I would much rather listen to the original artists sing their songs. Their original songs weren't bad, just not amazing. If I lived in Tacoma and they were playing at my local bar I would go, dance and sing along with the covers and go to the bar and bathroom during the original songs. I would enjoy the night dancing, but I wouldn't think they should have made it big.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
Its bluesy and vibey, very relevant even to today's world and time. Sometimes a little to spoken and not signing for my taste.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
I just couldn't get into this one at all. It was just like one long string of random thought that just kept going and going. The music had a very medieval aethereal feel that I could enjoy. Her lyrics and voice were just so off and out of place.
Bee Gees
3/5
This was way more dramatic and depressing then I was expecting. I was thinking the Bee Gees were a little more upbeat then this, but I guess everyone has their Blue Period. None of it was bad, just felt really heavy for a Monday morning.
Ash
3/5
It started off really interesting and a good mix of mainstream but guitar rock. As the album went on though, they sort of mellowed and it still was good but not the edge I felt they had in the beginning. Solid and enjoyable but nothing life changing.
Sepultura
2/5
I remembered them from last time and decided I would listen on YouTube music so I didn't add them to my Spotify algorithm. I hate metal, so this is bias against the genre in general.
If you just read the lyrics they are good. Last time I mentioned they repeat themselves a lot and I didn't notice it this time. Lyrics felt deeper and more thought out. Some songs have solid guitar and some killer guitar riffs. But then there is just this one drum they keep beating over and over in Arise, Desperate Cry and Infected Voice. It is grating and just one sound over and over that gets to me. The voice is still graveling and screaming. It is just so loud all the time.
As far as metal goes this is a 4 for me, it actually has some moments of decent sound but its still metal and I just can't with it.
Merle Haggard
3/5
There is something very homey and comforting about this music on the surface. It embodies the rural, agrarian lifestyle of days gone by. But as I really listen it sort of gets under my skin. Yeah she left you and you can mope about it but what did you do to her. For example, Whatever Happened to Me, at first it seemed sad and heartbreaking, but then I thought, but what did you do for her, why did she not want to stay? I don't know....I give it a 3 for the time frame, but would really like Merle to do a little self-reflecting but doubt he ever will.
Judas Priest
3/5
I was familiar with Breaking the Law but don't have a lot of other Judas Priest in my background. It was much chiller then I was expecting. It has some really good guitar riffs (The Rage).
On a lyrical side I had to go back and listen again. At first I thought, wow not a fan could be a little too right/conservative for me. Looking at the song United and thinking through the typical Metal fan, I was a little bothered. The songs aren't super deep, lyrics are pretty obvious and seem to be lacking substance. But doing a little research, Rob Halford is gay and not a fan of uber conservatives...he does say the band members disagree on political things but it gives me a little hope that he signs these songs with his personal background and feelings in mind. That maybe Red, White and Blue means something different to him (and maybe it is tongue and cheek because he is British, but wants to become an American citizen). Knowing this raises it a bit, because maybe they are simplistic but he is the key to the deepness they lack on the surface.
They are not my favorite, but a good reminder to not judge music or people without digging a little deeper
Caetano Veloso
3/5
Songs are short, quick and happy tropical vibe.
Björk
3/5
Bjork is different, we all know this and we understand that she is performance pieceish not straight up listening. I think the hardest piece for me is that her voice is so drawn out and breathy that sometimes I have a hard time to listen to the lyrics. If I could just listen to her music in an empty room with some art installations moving around me I think I could appreciate it much more, but its just hard for me to hear it. Also they are all slightly longer, making it drawn out a little.
This one is a little more 'consumer friendly' so I did like some of them like It's Not up to You or Pagan Poetry. Some are just really lost on me because they are so drawn out and so dramatic, focusing so much on a vibe instead of a song.
The Smiths
2/5
I was really into it at first, but as time went on it was really one note and similar. By Last Night I dreamt I wasn't into the sound anymore. It got a little grating and one note. Really similar to their last album...
The Bees
3/5
This was kind of meh...it wasn't bad but it was also so melancholy but also not melancholy enough. It felt like a group with a lot of talent but that weren't really putting in effort to make me see it.
Television
4/5
I liked this one. It was a alt, punk, and upbeat and something you could rock along to.
Animal Collective
4/5
There was something really beautiful about this one. I was not familiar with it, but it was just being immersed in a pretty world. For me it wasn't too perfect (Daily Routine felt like it dragged) but I was pulled in and found myself really enjoying it. One criticism is I didn't always feel the ending and beginning of each song, it just all sort of melted together.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Joni is really growing on me as I age. Her style of music does at time seem a little more like spoken word and sometimes falls out of rhythm with the music (which can be distracting to me). However, her perspective is one that is important and one that has taken me a long time to connect with. I enjoyed this album slightly more then the previous album, it flowed better overall.
Richard Hawley
4/5
He has a really nice voice. It has very 50's pop ballad vibes but he incorporates little bits and sounds that let you know it is a more modern. It is a little melodramatic, but his voice suits that vibe.
Scritti Politti
2/5
At first I thought...this is just a poppy fun album.
Then I read the lyrics and thought okay, depth and more then just the typical pop lyrics.
But then reading between the lines, he just seems pretentious and is rather belittling to women
Eagles
3/5
The Eagles are pretty iconic, so I knew what to expect. But because they are so iconic some of the hits are a little overdone. I feel like they fall into a category for me of yeah I like that song, but I will flip channels to see if there is something I like more but come back in case, kind of like your go to cheap beer or comfy sweater...you know what you are getting and you like it but something else could be better.
I was a little surprised i enjoyed some of the lesser known songs a bit more than the hits. Nightingale was a good up beat song and Train Leaves Here This Morning was a good story. Solid songs but nothing absolutely amazing.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
My biggest issue with psychodelic music is that it lacks any consistency and while they may have wrote, created and recorded while on substances, most of the mainstream world can't listen to them while on substances causing them to lose a little bit of their luster and instead become (for me) confusing and disjointed at time. This album was not as bad as many leaning towards being more enjoyable, but there were still times the lyrics seemed to lack emotion or the instruments were just off enough that it was odd.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Third pet shop boys...we moved into early 90's dance club music but with a pop twist. I could see a lot of these beats being resurrected and incorporated into dance club dj mixes. There is also some up beat but also sad, really almost bittersweet at times. It makes a lot of sense when you find out this is around the time they came out. My biggest issue is that it still follows their previous albums of becoming really samsie after a while and just sort of there as time goes on.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Always heard of the Sex Pistols, knew their legacy and influence on Punk music, but didn't know this was their one and only album. The fact that they can make that kind of impact on musical history with one album is pretty amazing. Talk about volatile relationships....but that might be part of what makes the music good.
So in ways I love this album, its high energy and good angry rock songs. They are speaking out against the man in a strong way that was different then others. I really like Submission (guitar was awesome). That volatile, not giving an f attitude makes something really awesome.
But you can't understand Rotten half the time. This is something that is very punk, but it also makes it harder to hear and understand. Also some of the language isn't my favorite (its the slurs not the cuss words). I totally get being angry, but this amount of anger is just a lot and while it makes good music and helps make change is it always done in the best way. They are right on the border line of punk and being characters.
Black Sabbath
4/5
First off RIP Ozzy, you went from this hard core dude who bit the head off of a bat to an animated Trolls character, really solidifying yourself in pop culture.
This album is actually pretty good to me. Metal hard core rock can at times be a bit much, but Black Sabbath manages to merge the loud guitars, yelling lyrics and random anger in metal into a palatable experience for a main stream audience. Could 'hardcore' metal fans say this means they 'sold out' sure, but I always have a hard time with people getting mad when others create music that can be received by the masses....are you mad or jealous? This album makes me want to listen to Black Sabbath more and maybe learn more about the genre in general...isn't that good? Solid 4 to me
Weather Report
3/5
Jazz isn't my thing, but this was a little different. It was jazz but strong R&B vibes, that made the songs a little more polished and cohesive. I could see where true jazz fans wouldn't like it, but to me it made it more enjoyable and easier to connect with. I also like how the songs highlighted instruments beyond the trumpets. It felt less like jazz, but more R&B big band that was jazz inspired.
Billy Bragg
4/5
I really liked the first disc. It was updated punk folk vibe I am getting overall. It is a great UK vibe to the music. I would go into a pub and enjoy it if I heard it. But moving into the second disc it does seem a little disjointed. The second album goes more country traditional folk and then his voice starts to get to me a little. Its not bad, but a lot of whiny country twang that makes the songs seem much whinier and depressing. Suddenly a good folk album calling for change and improvement starts to feel like there is nothing we can do. Tracks of my Tears for instance is just so sad now it almost feels like a totally different song. Overall I love the lyrics and message. If it was just disc one this might be a five for me, but disc two just gets to me too much.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Part of me loved it but part of me was slightly annoyed because they gave me a little bit of wankier vibes. Like they know they are good and let it ooze all over their music. Sometimes it is great and makes for some fun lyrics and great riffs, but then other times it just is too much and becomes sort of annoying. I really liked Mardy Bum and A Certain Romance.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
It was fine, little psychadelic, little 80's/90's electronic synthesizer vibes. Never heard of the group so that was cool, but nothing all that unique and different then made me want to explore them more
Aphex Twin
3/5
Sounds nice, but quickly became soothing background noise. Nice way to break in the work week but nothing made me that excited to keep listening.
Justice
3/5
I was dancing in my chair at the beginning and enjoyed most of it. The end start to drag a little. I didn't need two parts to Phantom and The Party and Stress started to get a little obnoxious. D.A.N.C.E and Let There Be Light were my favorites.
Brian Eno
3/5
Moments were good (Cindy Tells Me), lots of moments were weird. It wasn't bad or unlistenable, just kind of scattered and a little more off kilter then I typically like. The Paw Paw song also sort of stuck with me (not in a good way)...I read about it but still just maybe another reference would have been better.
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Not bad, but without the movie it felt a little all over the place. But I do appreciate getting exposed to music I wouldn't know existed otherwise.
Arrested Development
4/5
I love the different vibe and their approach to music, especially in an era that was so hip hop and hard rap focused.
Missy Elliott
3/5
I wanted to really like this, but it was just okay. It was like Missy and Timberland got really really high and started talking about everyone criticizing them and then wrote the most mellow relaxed revenge album. They threw in a couple of random songs, but also wanted to remind you how great they are, by staying super chill and mellow.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, I knew it was long but this was the first time really listening and it felt like a record needle got stuck and nobody got up to change it. It might be cool with an immerse visual experience but just song wise it goes on way way to long. The rest is just okay psychadelic rock. The first song it seemed like it was trying to make his voice sound way deeper then it was, making it come off as really forced. The others weren't bad, just nothing I added to my liked list.
David Holmes
2/5
I don't mind the beats, they are coherent and somewhat build. But they also stay pretty mellow, feels like the soundtrack for the store Express.
I think where it really falls apart for me are the weird stories at the beginning. I thought wow this guy is from the streets in Brooklyn and sampling life in a different way. No! He is a white guy from Belfast. Nothing against white guys from Belfast, but for me it just really feels off that you are creating these really stereotypical exaggerated stories of a world you are not a part of.
So for me it falls short
Tortoise
2/5
Its pretty, it is interesting at times but overall just music that is there. This isn't the first album we have that has followed a format I find a bit confusing. What is with one really really long song, that has multiple parts that could be broken down into multiple songs that are then followed by multiple shortish songs. I get that there needs to be a certain length to a typical album but if you like long songs do two long songs or focus on short songs. To me I automatically assume the long one is your Opus and the rest is just filler.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
I really liked some songs like Blues in Bob Minor and Free Will and Testament. But then others just felt meh and somewhat disjointed.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
It just felt like a lot of long whinyness. The sounds weren't painful to the ears, just a lot of metal undertones that didn't really add anything just made them seem sad or creepy.
Roxy Music
4/5
It was a good jam
Burning Spear
4/5
Nice reggae vibes. I love reggae in how laid back it seems on the surface but how deep the lyrics cut, making these seemingly chill songs so much deeper and meaningful.
Chicago
3/5
My only major connection to this band is I remember this time my sister and my cousin were fighting over one of their songs being used in movie they wrote while holding an inflatable hammer :)
I had in my mind they would have a major 80's vibe but instead it was much jazzier then I expected. Not bad, but at times it was just more like guys hanging out having fun then an album.
Dead Kennedys
4/5
Based on the album name and cover I was a little worried about this one. Turns out it was pretty good, punk but different. It felt a lot like organized chaos. The guitar in Drug Me rocked. I don't really love violence as an answer so some were a little harsh but then again so are roaches up to your knees and water pouring through the ceiling. This is another album that makes me happy for this project, somebody new and different I would not have been exposed to otherwise.
Pantera
2/5
Could they all be like Hollow?!? That song actually seems unique, different and still in the metal genre. I can appreciate the guitar work and the singers actual voice. The rest of the album is so much screaming and yelling. Then the rough guitar over and over.
The part that really frustrates me about metal is they all do the same exact thing, making it all sound exactly the same to me. I even chuckled at one point because all of the songs were marked as explicit but he screams so much you can't even tell he is saying explicit things! I am sure a real metal head would be able to show me the little differences that make Pantera and this album unique and different but to me it all sounds the same. I don't really like metal and I don't see anything super unique about this album (except Hollow).
Method Man
2/5
Purely quality, speed and ability to make a nice dark flow is really good. Good beats and mixing. But I also honestly don't get half of what he is saying (not because I can't hear the exact words he is saying), it seems like he is just bragging about himself, calling other people really disgusting names and singing about drugs. Looking up different critiques talking about how awesome he is and how socially conscious he is, I might be missing a lot of meaning and context because I lack the life experiences to understand. Not all music is made for me and my experience, and I highly respect that but for today I just don't know how I feel about this one.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
It was definitely 80's but also a nice deep for the 80s. Relax will forever remind me of Zoolander.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
This felt like ABBA if they came out in the late 80s. After a while it all messed together and the background sounds all started to feel similar. It gave very psychedelic techno world floating in a weird astro plane.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
Pretty, a little more new wavey 80's electronic. But also nothing made it different then bands like Depeche Mode
Mudhoney
4/5
This was a good merge from punk into grunge. It was raw and rough so it wasn't completely mainstream but it was moving in that direction. There were a couple of songs I really enjoyed. It also was a sound that was a little different and how it influenced some major bands of the 90's grunge era.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Reading about it really tracks with what it was. He just played for a while and they recorded it. It wasn't polished and it was a little random. It wasn't bad, but more just random as it went on. It feels like maybe they could have edited it some to make it more of an album, especially since he was still alive when this was released.
The Go-Go's
5/5
These were bops and so much fun! I could listen to this over and over.
R.E.M.
3/5
I really enjoy R.E.M. and appreciate that they have a certain mellow vibe to everything. But for me the mellow vibe was just too the same the entire time. I was hoping for some difference and to really connect but instead I just felt it was very surface level and never gave me anything that really pulled me in.
3/5
So this was Live and I think they were pretty drunk or something. It sounds like it would have been a good time and a fun concert, leading me to a vibe for the band. But I don't think I was able to really listen and connect with their music like you can when it is a little more perfected for an album. I think I could get into them a little more if I had heard it in an album format first.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Bob Marley, I love the ease of his music and how he pulls so much meaning and depth to what seem like such simple laid back songs.
Paul Weller
4/5
There were a few songs on here that were really good. It started off slow and didn't draw me in early but the second half was really good.
Kanye West
3/5
Kanye again...stupid sick man. This album might frustrate me more than the last one. He is soooo good at rap and making it so smooth and effortless. He has such good poignant lyrics and mixes in so many pieces that flawlessly go together. His narcism shows but in a way he is really that good at making music. This one did get a little long after a while and seemed a little all over the place at the end. But my gosh he is a bad person and seems to go against so many things he is singing about
Grateful Dead
3/5
This was kind of underwhelming. I have never listened to an entire Grateful Dead album but you hear so much about their fan base that I was expecting something really amazing, but instead it was just kind of blah chill background music. They were nice background songs but overall I was just hoping for more, more to connect with, more feelings, more energy, more something.
The xx
3/5
I was familiar with the first song (not sure why) so I enjoyed having a little connection as I went in. Halfway through I realized they had been on the list before. I really enjoyed the first half. VCR and Crystalised were good, they flowed well together and were a little different and didn't drag. After Fantasy it all started to just mesh and seem really similar and dragging a bit. I enjoyed it overall.
Bobby Womack
2/5
This was a quick album. It seemed a little slow jammy but then if you listened to the lyrics it was a lot about shady girls and breakups. This guy was a little vindictive (when the skeletons are chasing you around the room). The lyrics were simple and plain with a lot of repetition, that is kind of cliche. Not awful but others are better.
John Martyn
2/5
It isn't bad for a rainy day, it was relaxed and chill and went with my mood. It is fluid and smooth, but nothing really grabbed me. I want to almost call it yacht rock but I want to be a little happier and upbeat on a yacht. His voice was different and interesting, but it also became mumbly and hard to understand at times.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I was familiar with the first song and I liked Where Do I Begin. Overall they have some cool sounds and some interesting beats mixed and overlaid together. But it just gets repetitive and long. If techno songs were 2-3 minutes I think I could really get into it, but the same beat slightly changed for 8 minutes just gets old to me. I will say I liked how they transitioned between songs, as an album it flowed really well from one to another. Less massive disruptions between songs made it easier to stay connected.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Another classic I have never heard in entirety. I enjoyed it. Nothing is up beat or happy its all very mellow, deep, dark and sad but there is something beautiful about about that. I didn't realize so much would be interludes and instrumentals. Those are beautiful but it does seem like the album seem shorter and not as complete.
Jamiroquai
4/5
I really like Jamiroquai and as I have aged I like it a lot better. First he starts with such a unique sound. It has this lounge, jazz vibe with techno undertones that just make you want to move. Then he overlays it with such deep, impactful meaningful vibes. As I listen everything hits a little more importantly as an adult, and he just wants us to make smarter choices and make this whole world a better place and then we could all have so much fun dancing along. What a beautiful world it could be if we just listened to Jamiroquai.
Hot Chip
2/5
Meh, just electronic music from the 2010's. Electronic got pretty mellow in the 2010's and became more mainstream and really started adding lyrics. I like the lyrics and I like the mellow. But this doesn't grab me or make me feel it is different, unique or pushing anything. Then you add the length of some of the songs...it just felt like we were repeating over and over this mellow vibe that didn't really enhance songs, just made them drag. Its just kind of there. I have had some way worse 2's but this just doesn't make me interested in this band at all.
2/5
This album started with a very dark late night night club vibe. A place that was a little seedy but somewhere you could go as a regular but not as a tourist. But by the end I feel like it took a super dark left turn into drug induced crack house vibes. Started with lounge singer vibes that weren't too bad, not my favorite but I could enjoy the subtleness however then it went into dark electronic that really drug. Not my cup of tea and the sharp turn into techno was a little too weird for my taste. There were some unique pretty moments even in the techno stuff but I just was never able to settle in and enjoy it.
Tom Waits
2/5
It was a lot of just rambling and sitting at a lounge with one guy singing and talking all night but he wasn't really interesting or funny. I don't think I would stay at this bar all night. Plus why are we at a diner, it should have been Nighthawks at the lounge. I guess he was just overly explaining every tiny detail of a diner (checkered counter, eggs, tips, etc). This just feels like he could have picked any random topic, location, place and explain it with traditional jazz instruments and sounds behind it. Nothing was really all that imaginative or different. This was just a house band with a really random singer.
American Music Club
3/5
Never listened to this band, so going in totally blind. Overall this felt a little extra sad and had some songs that were a little too dramatic (Highway 5 & Jenny). Bad Liquor was also a sharp left turn from anything else on the album. I did really enjoy Firefly, Somewhat and Western Sky. Lyrics-wise overall they were pretty good and had some interesting sounds in the music. But breaking it down it is more specific songs I like, but not the overall album or band. They were just a bit too dramatic and sad overall to be boosted any higher.
Neil Young
3/5
For me this was fine but not amazing. There was one fast song towards the beginning and that started to draw me in, but then it just went back to mellow rock. I like mellow rock, but in this case one song really felt the same as the next and didn't showcase range to me.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
She had a really beautiful voice. I didn't miss anything because this was a live album. If anything I think it improved my impression of the album because it showed how beautiful her voice was. Only criticism is that it is somewhat one speed, nothing too fast or too slow, just showcasing her voice.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
It was like quiet metal. I don't know how he silently screams like that. There were some good guitar riffs and drums throughout but it was overshadowed by the garage band recording style. After a while it was all just weird quiet metal that sounded the same over and over.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
She has a beautiful voice, but it really reminds me of Dolly Parton. It seems like she struggled a little because her record label went under. I really liked Queen of the Silver Dollar. Some were covers, and she sang them well but nothing seemed all that different then other interpretations. No doubt she has talent and a beautiful voice.
The Vines
4/5
I was a big fan of Highly Evolved, Get Free and Factory. Are they a little generic garage band indie alt rock? Sure, but I enjoyed them and would go back and listen. Are they life altering or did they change music forever, no probably not. But they are good to listen to and I will listen to them again.
Randy Newman
2/5
So I like Randy Newman's instrumental vibe, I like the New Orleans sound mixed in with whatever he wants to call it. Its very different and unique, and also pleasant. But it also all the same, he could of been singing any one of his songs and it would have sounded like "You Got a Friend in Me." You can almost get lost in the pleasant sound and ignore the words.
But we must move onto the lyrics....so I am from rural America (a Yankee not a southern) so I do get the point he is trying to make in the first song "Redneck" but I am not sure that excuses the language or a sentiment that is almost making fun of the plight of African Americans. I also get the idea that rural southern America is different and those issues are somewhat normal in the South and they shouldn't necessarily be judged by them. But its in an unapologetic good old boy way that is wrong. The title of the album did tip me off to be wary of the album and it holds up to its name. After reading numerous things...maybe that is his point, the satire of it all. Maybe the satire hit better 50 years ago, but now with today's world it feels more MAGA then anything. Sorry Randy I don't think the politics of today help your album hold up.
Meat Loaf
5/5
This is more than an album it's an experience! This album was one of my mom's favorites growing up so it is near and dear to me. Its so perfect in so many ways, the piano, the guitar, the lyrics and the vocals (shoutout to the females on this record, they are the unsung heros!). Its completely over the top, in a way that is borderline campy making it so much more believable. The lyrics are sung with such passion you miss how ridiculous they are (two out of three ain't bad). I mean how many of us have danced to Paradise by the Dashboard Light at a wedding and forgotten how ironic and ridiculous that is! Everything is dramatic, everything is rock, everything makes you buy in, dance around and sing at the top of your lungs.
Scissor Sisters
3/5
This album was fun and enjoyable. It was a little pop, a little electric, a lot 80's The cover of Comfortably Numb was so different but kind of cool they put a totally different spin on it.
Miles Davis
4/5
Its smooth, simple and complex. I enjoyed that I could follow along with the songs and didn't feel scattered. Was it mind blowing, no but it was nice to have a jazz album I could simply listen to and enjoy.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
The music was cool (harmonica, drums, guitar) and it all really worked together. But the lyrics just sounded like a 18 year old boy that had sex for the first time and that was all he thought about. For the music i really enjoying it and hoping the lyrics would catch up, but honestly they were just stupid and something any 18-22 year old could write.
Tom Waits
2/5
Wow, Tom you are all over the place...also why the heck are so many of his albums on this list!
I don't hate the concept of the album and pulling together death, chaos, lost love, earth destruction...and at times its not horrible. It has elements of difference that do make it stand out. But I just wish he would sing in a normal voice that you could understand. I get this is all part of his character but it would be so much more effective and less of a joke if he didn't sound like Kermit on crack (Who are You). Also some of the lyrics were just so chaotic the message felt lost because it was so all over the place. Better than one of the albums we had but not as good as another.
Jane Weaver
3/5
So I listened yesterday and I thought meh and I listened today and I though well I kind of like it. So I am not really sure how to rate it. Nothing was overly special or different, but it was pleasant and had sort of a folky vibe that I enjoy. I think some days I could bump it up but other days I would bump it down so the middle seems good.
The Coral
3/5
Basically this is modern psychedelic music. They took some rock, indie and techno vibes but made a 70's psychedelic album in the early 2000's. I am not really sure they did anything new and interesting with it. I don't think it was as disjointed as a 70's trip, like maybe they micro dosed their way through the album so it could stay coherent and connected. Not sure they are going to be a band I search out but it wasn't bad.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
I rocked along to this and enjoyed it. I didn't know the trombone could be so good, I always thought of it as more of a side instrument with the trumpet taking center stage so it was cool to see the trumpet shine. The music all had the same Samba beat but each was different and unique. I don't know what he was saying but it was all enjoyable and different. Maria Lionza and Ojos were my favorite.
Skepta
3/5
It was interesting to see American rap moved into a different cultural. This was a little less hard and had an electronic background feel.
The Black Crowes
4/5
Is it generic 90's rock that all starts to sound the same. But I don't mind it. As an album they all work together, they all show what the band is about and are pretty easy with a little simpler background. They took the melancholy attitude of the 90's and moved it into a more mainstream rock (then grunge) with some blues influence. She talks to Angels is an obvious stand out, but some of the others (Twice as Hard, Jealous Again, Struttin blues) were all good and I wouldn't be mad if they came on the radio.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
The Flaming Lips are this perfect mix of crazy and wonderful. For me a lot of bands try to do what they do, be ridiculous, cerebral and different but no one pulls it off quite like they do. They have this aethereal astro-plan sound but then the songs are called Buggin' or Spiderbite Song. I think what is really great about them is they don't seem to take themselves too seriously but somehow sing songs that are really deep and meaningful. They also have a very unique special sound that just makes you smile but also makes you think.
Donald Fagen
3/5
I don't know....I don't hate yacht rock, it has its place and it is nice for a simple day to just listen and chill too. He also has some interesting lyrics and it is nice to hear about his future and where he is headed. But where it sort of falls away for me is that I don't think the yacht rock tune really always meshes with the lyrics. I have never really thought of the genre overall and how melodies and tunes fit with the lyrics. Everything is so mellow and chill, and I don't think I want someone to write me a mellow chill love song. I want a little fire and a little emotion. Maybe I will just go back and forget the lyric and music connection and say, this is fine, chill for a chill day (as long as you don't think about it)
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
Good lyrics, good rhymes, good beats. I have never heard of Jeru so it was cool to be exposed to a new artist. I did appreciate that his lyrics were deeper and not just talking about how amazing he was (sometimes that is all rappers focus on). Instead it was more about culture and oppression, some deeper topics.
Big Star
2/5
I don't usually listen to albums multiple times but I did here leaving me a much longer review...
First listen I was super confused...this album was all over the place and it felt completely disjointed. The first two (Kizza Me and Thank you Friends) weren't bad but then we went in weird directions with (Holocaust).
So I did some research to figure out why this album was included and it gave some context (but I am not sure it was enough to save it). So there first two albums were failures and they blamed their record company and this one was shelved for not being commercial (not a shock). They were trying to be sarcastic but it sounded so sincere. They were breaking up as a band, fighting with each other, and breaking up with a girlfriend (and they removed a lot of her vocals from the album). It felt like maybe this was a dumpster fire that they tried to fix by giving the remaining people more creative control which just kind of made it worse.
Second and third listen...sure, there were some bits that were nice and I can see the creativity behind it. I can see how this album set in motion more room for more alt type sounds that were not mainstream pop or rock. It also really captured some emotional intensity behind a band breaking up and feelings of failure and anger with a melancholy dissonant sound.
However it ultimately left me confused on and unfulfilled as an album. It left this album to sound like a bunch of half finished songs they were workshopping to try and find the band's sound.
Beatles
4/5
I feel like this was the only Beatles album needed on this list. It really gives a good mix of the band when I feel like they were at their best. It is a little pop, a little deep and a little psychedelic. It also seemed to highlight all of the members pretty well. It also had some deep lyrics and some more just fun playful ones.
On the flip side this album does kind of go everywhere. I am not sure where it was in their list of albums but it felt like it might be falling between different musical eras for them. Leaving it slightly lacking in terms of a cohesive album.
John Prine
5/5
I don't know what it was exactly but this album really touched me...maybe its the fact he is from the midwest, maybe that he uses the name Loretta, or that he referenced Reader's Digest or the puns just make me think of clever dad jokes. All in all it was so pastoral in its language but so deep in its meaning. Never have I heard lyrics that used such simple pedestrian language that made such deep and big impact. What was also beautiful to me personally is the country western feel but the lyrics that felt so liberal and anti-establishment. Your flag decal won't get you into heaven was just as timely when it was written as it is today. Growing up in a rural America and loving so much of it and connecting with 95% of it I have always struggled to completely embrace that identity because the other 5% is associated with loud, obnoxious, conservative hate. So maybe that is the real reason I connect with this, John Prine took that 95% of me and mixed it with 5% of quiet, kind, sincere love for others that I believe in. This album is just beauty to me.
Talk Talk
2/5
Made me think 80's emo.
I just didn't get into this one. Maybe it was my attitude that day but it just was so somber and whiny. It was the typical 80's over the type vibe but it was just so whiny and depressing. His voice really started to get to me and I just didn't connect to what he was trying to say. Really left me feeling meh
The Crusaders
2/5
Street Life felt like it wouldn't end, and then the rest flew by and I didn't even realize they were done. The sound wasn't bad but it really didn't make any impact.
Miriam Makeba
4/5
She has a really beautiful voice. The earlier songs I really enjoyed, I feel they were better for her voice and really showcased her well. I get wanting to add the songs in English but I feel like they weren't as interesting or enjoyable. (what was the laughing in One More Dance). I really like The Click Song. Her voice and the music had enough emotion that even without knowing the meaning I could feel the energy.
Sinead O'Connor
5/5
I was 9 and living in a Catholic household when Sinead ripped up the picture of the pope. My parents were not as strict as most, but I remember people saying things and just sort of thinking Sinead was 'bad' and I shouldn't listen to her so this was the first time I listened to her album.
30 some years later, wow the world hated her because she sang of the truth and shattered the perfect world so many upper/middle class white Christians built. Divorce, abortions, miscarriage, female empowerment, female mental health, social injustice...all in this album alone. Her haunting emotional beautiful voice just makes it even more beautiful.. She also has some beautiful musical backing that changes enough to make each song unique and different. All together they draw you in and help you really immerse yourself in her songs and messages.
The Jam
3/5
Nothing makes this stand out from the pack of mod, punk rock music of the time. I enjoyed it, and they had some good guitar drum moments but I am nothing really hit me as worthy to be saved for another listen.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
I feel like he is lucky he is cute. He has his own sound and it's unique and all him but it gets a little old after a while. It's not bad but eventually just doesn't feel unique or different. Lyrics are ok, some stand out but overall not amazing. But it's not bad, it's enjoyable but just not super noteworthy.
Suede
3/5
Meh, I mean it was okay. British mod, glam rock or whatever it is, this just sounds like the rest of it that I have heard. It all starts to sound the same after a while and the voice is just a little grating. I don't hate it, one or two songs would be fine but a whole album is just okay. Maybe the lyrics are super deep and I could get a lot if I listened but I don't want to.
David Ackles
2/5
So he is criticizing and making fun of America using traditional Americana music. But his way of doing it is just annoying. He is full of stereotypical female troupes that do nothing to internalize what his part in the issues might be. He just sits and complains but never really comes up with any solutions, is just mad but doesn't want to do anything about it. I appreciate the nods to the Vietnam War and the plight of the returning soliders but thats about it.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
I enjoyed it as some 90's early 2000's alt rock, but then I looked at the release date and was more impressed. This is pretty impressive for 1988 and the guitar is amazing. The vocals are just okay, which is probably part of the reason they didn't become more mainstream. For me I really enjoyed the first half and have to give them props for being early in this music styling. The second half started to drag a little and then Don't was just too screamy.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
At first I thought it was an old lady singing, not Cee Lo. After that, I recognized and moved through it and didn't hate it. Is it amazing, no...it doesn't stand out as amazing, but there are a few dance songs (I'll be Around) that make you want to get up and dance. This album was very early 2000's and a move from hard rap to booty shaking club rap/R&B. They aren't deep or meaningful, but they are fun to dance and grind to. Not sure why its on this list, unless they are just trying to say can you believe a guy that sounds like this made not one but two albums.
50 Cent
4/5
Do I love the way he speaks of violence, women, drugs and all that stuff, no. But 50 does it in a way that seems completely real and authentic that makes it not feel like showboating or trying to prove himself. He just knows who he is, knows the life he leads and is unapologetic for it. While doing that he makes some good raps and rhymes, plays on a JaRule style hardness that also creates great booty shaking songs. The only criticism is that maybe it could have used a little more on why he had to live this way, include a little on society inequities. As he aged it would be interesting to see if he would change anything to connect to that, but overall I enjoyed parts of it.
The White Stripes
5/5
I love this album and had it on repeat for a long time. Something about the songs are so different but mix into a really interesting story is just really interesting and fun to me. Jack White is also off in his own world with lyrics and his voice but he also doesn't take himself too seriously (close but not quite). Top that off with some guitar, drums and other instruments that change and morph with the songs makes this an amazing album to me.
Ray Price
3/5
He has a nice crooner country twang voice but nothing really moved me. It was just nice and pleasant
Big Black
3/5
So I was honestly a nervous going into today's album. But it was better than anticipated. Is it something that will be in the general rotation, definitely not but I can appreciate the sound and the evolution from pop to something different. It has the grungy anger of punk but moves into an almost metal vibe, but not so much that it becomes metal. While my ears don't always like the dissonance sound from the guitar or the drums, it is still impressive how they take those somewhat unpleasant sounds into a cohesive song. One of my biggest issues with this type of music is I can't understand or hear the lyrics and I think that can be a big miss in general. I want to hear what you are singing about, I want to hear what you are saying and I really think lyrics should be as highlighted as the instruments, but I might be the only one out there.
Kings of Leon
3/5
I like the hits when they are on the radio, but something about listening to them all on an album started to grate on me a little. His voice started to grate me a little and it just felt really generic and blah after a while. If these brothers hadn't gotten in a fight on stage I don't see them making this list.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
I was really missing lyrics. These were some good jams that I felt deeper than just fun to dance to. But I feel like these songs could have been so much more if they were backed with more lyrics.
Dwight Yoakam
1/5
Nope...packaging domestic violence and a love for good ole Dixie in a pretty country package doesn't make it okay.
It wasn't a one off...he threatens violence multiple times and then actually murders her. I don't care if this is a performance piece or a parody but the level of domestic violence he sings about with such a beautiful melody is just more psychotic. No thank you can't get past that
Magazine
4/5
It was fun and different. They were a little edgy in a good way.
Scott Walker
3/5
At first I thought this guy is too much, then it sort of grew on me. He sang with A LOT of emotion
Beach House
3/5
It was pretty and dream like. Nothing slapped but I could listen and not be upset. Parts reminded me a bit of the Pixies
The Young Rascals
4/5
So this one was just fun and enjoyable! It gave me a little bit of a motown feel along with the groovin vibe. Its nothing amazing or life changing, but it is enjoyable and does differ some from song to song.
SAULT
4/5
Different, deep and made you think. It was techno and electronic yet seemed real and raw. Some songs drug a little but seemed to vary enough that it kept my interest. All together or was a for feel that was different and gave me feels
De La Soul
3/5
This was fun mixed with message mixed with Proof Redding. It was just a simple album for the day that had me think a little and chuckle a little.
Digital Underground
2/5
It started out okay...and I am not a prude, but it was just all sex and just got dull after a while. Yes that was the concept of the album, taking a sex pill but it was just over and over freak sex from a dude's perspective. So it just really was one note and not all that great. The rhymes and rapping were slow and obvious, nothing impressive or different. There were some cool funkadelic beats and they overlaid it with some new more electronic sounds but those didn't save it from being overly reliant on their need to have freaky sex and remind everyone they are the underground. Things towards the end just drug...Doowutchyalike did not need to be that long and then packet had like five songs surrounding it. The concept was just not enough to save this one.
Sister Sledge
4/5
They have been sampled galore! They are bumping, dancing and fun. I couldn't stop chair dancing :) Somebody loves me got a little long but their voices were great. Is it deep? No its Disco influenced by R&B. But that is okay, not all music has to be super deep and meaningful, sometimes it can just make you want to get up and dance and feel good. This album does just that
k.d. lang
3/5
I have heard of k.d. lang and was familiar with the hit but that was it so I was going in with little expectations. She has an interesting voice, pleasant and full of emotions. Her sound is just a little different and just a little unique. Close to mainstream but just does it a little differently, making a sound that is pleasant, enjoyable and one that makes you listen twice. I don't know if I necessarily connected with any of the songs, but I wanted to.
The Byrds
3/5
It was a nice oldies album.
Circle Jerks
3/5
So much yelling about everything. They were all short and moved into one another very well, sometimes I didn't even realize it was a different song because they transitioned so well. But that was also kind of an issue for me because it just felt like someone was on meth and just ranting and raving, skipping from topic to topic so quickly it was hard to keep up with them. In terms of the guitar and drums, they were great (really liked guitar in red tape) and fit hardcore edgy punk. For me it was the lyrics that really fell apart, it was very young adolescent and not super deep (and the erractiness). I didn't hate the short album concept, they said what they needed and wanted to say in 15 minutes so why drag on.
Adele
4/5
She has a beautiful voice and the topics she deep, meaningful and mature. Thinking about how she was only 21 at the time seems so impressive that she had had these experiences and so eloquently can describe the pain.
The Icarus Line
2/5
Just alt hard rock. Everything hit you in the face but not necessarily in a great way. Nothing was overly special or different, it just was.
Tom Waits
3/5
The writer of this book sure had a thing for Tom Waits (fourth album). So its "stylistically" different...no its just him again depending on his weird gravely voice and some strange sarcastic sense of humor that nobody else gets. This album might not have piano, but it has the same thing as all of his other albums, his voice and a weird concept, where he just goes on some weird strain of though lyrics. This is not the worst Tom album but lets hope this is where my exposure to him ends.
Parliament
3/5
I didn't hate it but i didn't love it. It was pure funk. Each song sounded a lot a like, really playing into the funk sound. I danced along, but it wasn't anything super special or different.
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
Was there some cool guitar in the first song? Sure. Were the strings and woodwinds cool throughout? Sure.
But ultimately this is all about an old man lusting after a 14 year old and only talk about her in a sexual sleazy way. Its not that he is French and we don't understand...he seriously talks about taking her to a sleazy hotel that you have to sneak into in order to engage in sex that is wrong! Then the song En Melody...just gross, wrong, disgusting. Nope, nope, nope....the fact that people call this his opus and put this album on a pedestal makes it even more disturbing. Excuses like...oh but its beautiful, oh but its unique, oh but he's a genius, oh but but but. NO its WRONG, its inappropriate PERIOD. Let's stop normalizing or making excuses for something that is wrong. He could have written the same exact songs and album and made the women 19. He choose to make her 14, to capitalize on and attempt to normalize pedophile. WRONG PERIOD
Soft Cell
3/5
You can't deny this is 80's. I do give them a little credit for pushing that 80's sound a little farther. It makes up for the over the type breathy lyrics that are somewhat cringe (sex dwarf lol). If they didn't seem so over the type I think I would find it really inappropriate but instead its almost funny.
I waiver here between a 2 and a 3. I love Tainted Love so I will keep it at a 3.
Heaven 17
2/5
I liked the message. But something about it was just too in your face and weird. It was like 80's music, mixed with a news commentator, mixed with spoken word.
Primal Scream
3/5
Wasn't at all familiar with this band or album so I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be more metal and a lot more screaming, so I was happy it was neither. It was techy, electronic, dancy. I little repetitive (my biggest issue with techno) but it was pleasant and nice to listen to.
Arcade Fire
3/5
There is pretty stuff here and it has some great use of instruments that are not traditional to the alt-rock genre. But I just don't know...I don't dislike them, they just aren't this end all be all of rock bands that everyone makes them out to be. There is little here that seems THAT unique or THAT different. Its emo alt-rock.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
It kind of just kept going. One or two songs of it would have been okay, but after a while it was a little grating. I like the last song a lot but often had a hard time understanding her. Overall, not bad but nothing grabbed a hold and made me love it.
Sugar
3/5
Solid 3, nothing is offensive, hard on the ears or so pretentious it makes my head hurt. It is 90's alt pop rock. Its good and I can listen to it all day but never be moved or feel a deep connection to the music or sound.
The Streets
2/5
I mean...hmmm the synthesizing was cool at times.
Wikipedia says Skinner describes his upbringing as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring." I feel like that also describes this album...not poor but not much substance, really boring.
Van Morrison
4/5
I might be a Van Morrison fan. Listening to this album made me want to listen to more Van Morrison, so that feels like it was a great album. It wasn't necessarily a 5 but it was great. He has a very unique interesting voice that shows emotion and depth. He also has some interesting lyrics that make me smile. Then you add together the different instruments and genres he mixes, just make it interesting and enjoyable.
3/5
Everything just sounded like a cloudy Saturday morning after staying up to late the night before. I wasn't really excited about it but there wasn't anything that was inherently bad, it was just blah. I just sat around and chilled.
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Techno...meh. Nothing amazing but nothing offensive. I liked the first couple a lot, but techno is just not my thing. the repetitiveness always gets to me.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
Looking back on this album I am not sure if it was worth as much hype as it received. Don't get me wrong its good (Zion is beautiful) and she takes on deep subjects. Her voice is unique and different and really soulful.
But as it went on it seemed to drag and each song sort of bled into another. Her take on love and hurt was important but at times it seemed repetitive.
I liked song Every Ghetto, Every City and the way she highlighted the small details of beauty of every day of life. I waiver on a 3 or a 4. It is soo much better than some 3's but it doesn't draw me in as much as I expect from a 4.
Orbital
3/5
Its techno...not my genre so I can't really give it any more of a review then that.
Finley Quaye
3/5
Very 90's...but it didn't feel unique or like anything special.
Billie Holiday
4/5
Billie Holiday...I love him (IYKYK)
But seriously she has a beautiful voice, her lyrics are deep and the emotion she evokes is just wonderful. My bigger issue is the orchestra that backs her up. It is beautiful and wonderful but I think it almost makes the songs too much, too much emotion that it almost seems like a joke. I wish she just had a small band behind her so her voice was the only star and she wasn't battling with the orchestra for the spotlight.
Talking Heads
3/5
Talking heads are different and quirky. I like it in small doses but it started to feel long
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
I wasn't really sure where we were going when this album started with a skull cracked half open. Not sure I would have started it that way since the rest of the album seemed to have a much different tune (if it weren't for this project I wouldn't have kept going). Musically not sure anything really sticks with me (good or bad). Some of the lyrics are interesting. It is their ode to the place they were from and raised, but honestly it makes Alabama sound super boring, slummy and sad, which then almost feels like a parody. I appreciate that they are try to put in some redemption for the small part of the population that might not be racist, but it just leaves me wondering why I would even want to connect with the state, their music, their people or their world.
Bill Callahan
2/5
Overall it felt kind of amateur. There were some neat moments or some lyrics that were deep (but they would have been better as a poem not a song) but nothing seemed finished or polished. It was small town America meets a poetry or music compition. This guy was the best in his small town, but if you put him up against others he really isn't that great.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I liked Cupid Come. The rest felt like they would be part of a concept art piece and they needed more to me. Maybe it is partially because I still can't hear the vocals or what they are saying most of the time.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
I like it, but it all starts to sound the same. In retrospect it also could be a 100 bands of this time frame.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Meh, the guitar and riffs were cool but they just lasted so long I lost interest after a while. Is there talent, sure but its just not for me.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
I found this on YouTube
Umm, I am not sure what this is exactly. Sounds like a soundtrack to a musical, spoken word poetry, a bard speaking singing about events or just the crazy lady in town running around singing and scaring the children.
She was full of emotion and even when I couldn't understand her I could feel the feelings and it went well with the music. Just really not something I ever plan to listen to again.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
I liked it. I like angry girl rock. What I really like about this one is you can hear the lyrics and really rock out. The guitar is pretty killer as well (Jenny was my favorite)
Hookworms
4/5
I was leary at first but it grew on me. Nothing amazing or life changing but it changed enough and was pleasant to listen to. I didn't feel like I was stuck in the same beat over and over, it grew and expanded bringing me into a pleasant spacey world.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Smooth funk that makes me wiggle and get into the bass.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Yes...to me this is great rap and hip hop. They focus on being good, making their feelings and points known and good beats. Its not all about f@cking or cuss words. Its talent pure and simple!
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
I didn't know if I was floating in water or space but it was pretty. I listened to the second half on my way home in the snow and it helped keep me calm
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Passion, smooth and sultry, and bops. Good stuff all around
The Roots
4/5
This is how you write an album with somewhat inappropriate lyrics but doesn't bother me. I mean listen to The Seed, and yet I want to be the girl. Just such a fun deep album that changes with each song but still is so perfectly The Roots.
Bauhaus
3/5
I will give it a 3, it was different and but not so weird that it was unenjoyable.
3/5
Solid 3...nothing amazing, sometimes it feels like it is trying too hard but I think that is just part of the progressive rock vibe.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Better than I was expecting but nothing overwhelmingly great. I sometimes wish I could go back to albums and listen when they were first introduced. I could see an album like this being super different at the time, but now I feel like it is similar to a lot of other alt rock.
Dr. Octagon
2/5
What bothers me the most about this album is that he actually has some good songs and parts but then he overlays it with the crude peepee poopoo and gynecology horror/humor that just makes me check out. If you had focused on the good stuff this would have been way more successful.
Wire
3/5
Probably was great and revolutionary at the time but now its good but left me wanting.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
I started a review, scrapped it and started over. I grew up in this era I didn't listen to this album. This album was out at the heigh of the 2000's/90's girl vs girl drama the media pushed (Christina vs. Brittney, Monica vs. Brandy, Mariah vs. JLo). This specific rivalry Christina was the 'dirty' one pushing the envelope on the idea of female sexuality, fighting the double standard and embracing a more free lifestyle. I love that idea and applaud the ladies that pushed that envelope and dealt with the pushback.
But this album focuses too much on pushing the boundaries, buying into the person the media made her and not focusing on what she was really good at, singing (and not always crazy vibrato way). There are a few highlights that show her talent, The Voice Within, Keep on Singin, even Dirrty. But then there was Walk Away, Make Over, Loving me 4 me, they are trying so hard to play into the sexual side that they become cheesy and way over the top. It was like she was trying to hide her voice, and use all these other tricks to get people to like the songs, when she didn't need to! I know it says she was heavily involved in the writing and this was her premiere album, but it doesn't hold up (I have no loyalty to her or Ms. Spears). This album is too much, too over the top, making it overall of a bad example of early 2000's pop music. I will still dance and sing along at the top of my longs to Dirrty and Fighter, but overall this album does Ms. Aguilera Dirrty and doesn't spend enough time letting her show off her strongest asset, her voice.
Jacques Brel
3/5
I don't understand it and sometimes it a little too much emotion and over the top, but it is also French so...
The Louvin Brothers
4/5
Wow its full of tragedy and sorrow. I sometimes think of the oldin days and how hard things were. When people moved you never heard from them again, death was much more common and expectations were so much stricter. This album covers all of that and yet keeps it somewhat light and playful in their songs. This feels like how I would have had to deal with all that sorrow and tragedy, keep it movin, yes I am sad but I can't get drug down into it because its just part of everyday life. We don't forget it, we mourn it, but then the next day comes with its own struggles so we keep going. It makes me think of my grandparents and their lives, the struggles many of them dealt with and yet how loving and caring they were.
Can
2/5
So parts of it are good but most of the time I was just confused and kind of toned it out. It didn't hurt my ears but I don't know how these people got a record deal. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good.
The Shamen
2/5
This was really all over the place. Nothing was bad just didn't go together and I was sure what to expect next in a chaotic random kind of way.
OutKast
4/5
I love this album...it takes you here there and everywhere but somehow works so well together. I like that while they are a team they each took and album and made their own vocals and own talents shine. You can listen to this as one big experience or break it into two separate albums. Big Boi has good rhymes and is just simple, easy going and yet gets to the point in ways you can feel. Then Andre is just so over the top and sneaky funny. I am not sure which I like better because they both have their own high points, on a mellow day Speakerboxxx is where it is at, but on a high happy day I can't help but rock out to The Love Below.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
Reading about this album and the artist I wanted to love it, I went into it with a positive attitude but it was just kind of meh. I didn't think her story telling was all that amazing and I think the music was just fine. Maybe I need to listen again but nothing grabbed me or hit me as anything important.
The Offspring
4/5
When I listen to Offspring I instantly know who I am listening to. They have a sound that is completely unique to them and is fun to listen to. I think that is what makes them so successful, you know you are listening to them and somehow that helps you look past all the little things in their songs that are misogynistic, inappropriate and just a little off. I didn't realize there were so many hits on this album so it was a nice surprise to hear. The one criticism is that you always know you are listening to Offspring because everything starts to sound similar after a while.
Common
4/5
Common is a different modern rapper, he isn't the fastest and doesn't spend the whole time talking about how amazing he is or being in the club. His lyrics remind me of old school rappers who focused on big issues, the cities they love (Chi-City shoutout), and women (not always my favorite of his lyrics) and that is a good thing. He mixes that with hip hop and R&B music styles that make it unique. The Intro was great, Testify was a great story, Chi-City was fun and Real People was different and poignant. He is different in the genre blending together different traditional black sounds and does it well. Being from Chicago he also doesn't get tangled up in rap beefs and just makes music that has a purpose.
Beastie Boys
4/5
How can an album be so right and so wrong at the same time. Its completely juvenile, misogynistic, made by over the top man children. It is so over the top and their whining and complaining is completely immature and ridiculous. I have to hope they are just being characters of themselves (but sadly too many people really think this way).
However, the over the topness somehow works. They mixed rap with rock and some angry punk type vibes to be something unique and different. Sometimes they yell a little too much or just seem angry for no good reason but the beats just make you want to fight for your right to party
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
I love this project because of albums/artists like Ali. This was really cool and one I could listen to again and again. It was so different, yet familiar. I love his nickname King of the desert "blues." It perfectly encompasses his sound and how he has taken his west African roots and backgrounds and mixed it with bayou blues. He shows so well how musical roots evolve and change to meet their setting and time but still stay connected to the ancestry of the musical sound. N'jarou was my favorite by far and looking it up it might translate to 'in the spring,' I don't know why exactly but that brought a tear to my eye while listening, this was his last album and last song before he died. There is so much happiness and life in this song (and album), and to realize he wanted this to be the last sounds the world heard from him makes it even more special and beautiful.
The Blue Nile
2/5
It was emo 80's. It was fine, but also a downer. I really wanted to give it a 3 but the longer I listened I just really couldn't stand it....
Slade
3/5
Fun enough, hair band rock and roll. A little juvenile and simple lyrics at times but nothing completely offensive.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
This was vanilla and oh so bland. It was subtle but I don't think I felt or heard anything along with the subtleness to make me feel this album was anything else but fine.
Björk
2/5
Bjork...not my thing. So for me this one was okay.
4/5
Roll with it started to hurt my ears a little but overall it was good. I can hear the criticism of them going to pop and mainstream. I will also say I think overall they are slightly overrated and I think their massive feud helped turn them into something bigger than they would have been without it. But there are some hits on this that have a great alt pop rock sound that make you want to dance along and be super mellow at the same time.
The Verve
3/5
I don't hate it but wow downer whiner. They have decent lyrics and it's a good overall album. But it's emo and would be good if you want to wallow
The Stone Roses
5/5
This was a hidden little treat. Never heard of them and sad this is my first experience. Lots of the songs made my looked list including This is the One, Don't stop and She Bands the Drum. Elizabeth my dear was a downer. Shoot you down had a little 50s vibe that I enjoyed. Each song was a little different and had a fun easy going vibe but the lyrics had some depth and meaning. Definitely coming back to this one. They took older bops and sounds but really successfully blended them with new sounds. They could for across lots of decades and genres. Love it
The Young Gods
2/5
At first I thought it was someone making fun of the French accent because it seemed so over the top to be true, but it wasn't. Also the first song maybe two, not bad but then it was this death metal with a sleazy french men breathing down my neck. Felt a little more like a horror movie and what a French serial killer would play for this victims. I will give it a 2 only because it was musical at least and didn't hurt my ears, it just gave me straight up creep vibes.
Miles Davis
4/5
This was pretty, chill and a great way to start the day. The music had happiness, sadness and movement.
David Bowie
5/5
The meancholyness to this drew me in but also haunted me from the start. I then read it was written while he was dying and released literal days before his death. It was really haunting and a man reflecting on his life. The only thing I wish he was able to reflect on more positives of his life and the beauty he brought into it for so many people. But then again maybe that wasn't the real him, so many colorful bright stars also have a darkness to them (not bad dark, sad dark) and maybe he really embraced that here in those last moments, he really showed the world that while he was colorful he had that darkness that was hard to shake. Overall beautiful and an honor to listen to a man's final thoughts.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
Based on the album cover I thought this would be a lot more hippie and slightly more pretentious. It lives up to the pretentious nature but not so much the hippie. It is very emo early 2000's. Mostly it is fine, but nothing spectacular. Every song started to sound the same and his semi-whiny voice just didn't do anything for me. Crumb by Crumb started to show something a little different and a good mesh of his emo vibe and the hippie vibe the cover shows, but then it started to really drag and it was so far in the album to make me really enjoy the album. Plus then we moved into Old Whore's Diet (almost 9 minutes long!) and that did me in. I was on the fence of a 3 but then that last song just pushed me over into blech
Ryan Adams
3/5
It was good, nothing super surprising or different but pleasant.
Steely Dan
3/5
So much Steely Dan. In the world of music they have their own flavor and style and they do make me feel like I am on yacht, with the Caribbean in the background. There are some hits that are enjoyable, but they also just grow old after a while. But nothing is unpleasant or not enjoyable.
The Clash
3/5
Meh...they start to all sound similar. I know they are iconic but it just isn't that amazing in today's world.
Mike Oldfield
3/5
Nice, but really just background music. It was pretty but nothing super special.
Erykah Badu
3/5
I like her sound, but I think she is a little too free and open for me to love it.
George Michael
4/5
I don't know why but this really seemed to be an ode to his real personal life. It was interesting to listen and really think about what he was going through and writing about. It made it a lot deeper and more beautiful.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
So I am not sure why this album is here. This is a group that is one step above garage band, local celebs but shouldn't really be on a list like this (think Local H for Chicago). They are fine, but nothing amazing. On a rope wasn't bad but it was similar to a lot of stuff out there. These guys likely hustled hard and just got in front of the right person on the right day.
Don McLean
3/5
He writes some deep lyrics about some important things. They do really push the envelope and really pushes some things. However, the music gets boring and so slow and dull. I know he is folk rock and he likes the style, but just amping it up half a notch really would have brought a lot more to this album and pulled me in more to truly enjoy it.
Baaba Maal
3/5
I enjoyed the vibes but it really felt a little all over the place.
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Meh, good background music to a day of working around the house. Nothing jumped out as amazing but nothing was bad.
The Clash
4/5
The song London Calling is one of the most iconic and I would say best punk songs. To me it embodies everything punk but is also not so far out there that it makes it unlistenable. So I was really excited about this album, but honestly the rest didn't hold up to that song. It kind of became more commercial, more rock, more subdued as it went on. I do like it but songs like The Right Profile and Lost in the Supermarket didn't have the edge I expect from punk music. This album was way better then the other one in the project, but not punk enough to make it a 5.
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
Another meh...it started okay, but then it was like they got too high to keep making the music and just faded into strumming along with no particular place to go. It wasn't unpleasant but just really not interesting
Destiny's Child
3/5
Wow, I totally get why this album was on here because they were a super group and the impact they had on 2000's music was so big (good or bad). These three are pop culture icons, and Beyonce recently became the second female musician billionaire. One cannot deny at least one of the albums by these ladies should be on this list.
But in retrospect, this is sooooo 2000's cringe pop culture, from the outfits they are wearing, to the movie and actress name drops, to the female empowerment followed immediately by female catty slut shaming. They took everything in the 2000's and created a brand, a persona, a lifestyle, a phenomenon that oozed everything girls wanted to be and boys wanted their girls to be. If Cosmo and Essence birthed the perfect females it would be these three. They are talented in dancing and singing, as well as making songs that pop culture wants and pays for. Not sure in retrospect I would call it good quality music but man back in the day I danced and sang along to these songs with the rest of the world!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Its really pretty, I think I would have really enjoyed it more if I could have been sitting around a fire or out in nature but overall it was still enjoyable.