Halfway through, I can already hear how Joni has influenced so many modern singers making the greatest music of today. Some of the most genuine vocal performances delivered through one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. I enjoyed some of the melodic allusions throughout (i.e. ticket to ride). The ending is harrowing. 10/10.
Favorite songs: Little Green, Blue, River, The Last Time I Saw Richard
Least favorite song: My old man
Feels a bit basic, with some of the songs coming off now as forgettable relative to the rest of the Beatles' catalogue. Still some real gems on this record, but to me it's overall not as notable as some of their earliest work, and definitely not compared to what comes after it. That is maybe the highest standard in music, though, and there are lovely songs on what is overall a high quality record. 7/10.
Favorite Songs: All My Loving, Till There Was You, Devil In Her Heart
No particular least favorites
This album definitely grew on me, and I enjoyed the second half a good bit more. I was surprised to read reviews that were so stellar for this album - I did think that some songs were not particularly great. Still good high points, and fun album overall. 7/10.
Favorite Songs: Slow Love, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
Least Favorite Songs: Housequake, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, If I Was Your Girlfriend
Generally a fan of the punk rock vibes on this album. The classic songs are iconic, and I'd say the others hold up. I'm not the biggest fan of weird lyrics, and on first listen I'd say this album boasts its share at times. Some of the less popular cuts start to sound a bit similar. 8/10
Favorite Songs: You Oughta Know, Head Over Feet
Least Favorite Songs: All I Really Want, Not the Doctor
Full of good electronic grooves, this album kept me bouncing my head all the way through. The production on this record is definitely high quality, I'm less of a fan of their vocals. Some real bangers - my biggest knock on the record is the length, and I felt like one listen wasn't enough to parse out most of the songs i hadn't heard before from one another. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: World In My Eyes, Enjoy the Silence, Kaleid
Least Favorite Songs: Sweetest Perfection, Happiest Girl
Bangers only. Great dance tracks, great production, great vocals, and many iconic moments. Michael Jackson's best album, and there's not a bad song on it. Despite its importance as the ballad and that it's a good track, I'm just not a huge fan of She's Out of My Life. I don't necessarily think it fits thematically with the album either. Still, 10/10.
Favorite songs: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Rock With You, Get on the Floor, Girlfriend, Burn This Disco Out
Least favorite songs: She's Out of My Life
I enjoyed this more than I expected to! I suppose I was mostly anticipating a generic British punk rock album that didn't shine. However, I was repeatedly impressed by feeling like the baseline for production value on this record was really high. Fun album that I can definitely see myself coming back to. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: No Feelings, God Save the Queen, Anarchy in the U.K., Sub-Mission, Pretty Vacant
Least Favorite Songs: Seventeen
An iconic album, and a really easy and enjoyable listen despite some of the themes of the hardships of prison. Cash has such a rich voice, and it comes through in a genuine way with his voice cracks and falters. The album is sprinkled with great humor as well. The melodic repetition across songs is interesting - he repeats the same melody Dolly Parton uses in Coat of Many Colors as well. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: Folsom Prison Blues, I Got Stripes, Greystone Chapel
No particular least favorite songs
Not much to say - this is Ella at her finest singing, and of course Gershwin at his finest songwriting. I don't think it carries a ton of emotion, but I'm also not convinced it needs to. I am confused at the inclusion of a compilation rather than a studio album from Ella. Very consistent as Ella always is, but without impact on an album level. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: Nice Work If You Can Get It, But Not For Me, A Foggy Day, They Can't Take That Away From Me
No least favorite songs
I love the energy of this album. I'm much more of a fan of Janis Joplin's vocals than I realized. The bluesy rock sound is really well done, and all of the elements complement each other well. I would say this is particularly true of the raw guitar sound and Joplin's vocals. I'm definitely a fan of the bass playing on this record too. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: I Need a Man To Love, Piece of my Heart, Turtle Blues, Ball and Chain
Least Favorite Song: Roadblock
I'm not a fan of this album. It's well produced, and that's about the only thing I enjoyed about it. I'm not a fan of how Cohen sings, or really of his voice itself at least on this album. It's neither exciting nor relaxing; I'm experiencing psychological arousal that I would call abrasive or uncomfortable. There's not really any message being sent with this album either, and many of the themes are just awkward to me. Hearing Cohen, at age 50-something, sing straight up about how he wants to see a woman naked was not cute, for example. 5/10.
Favorite Song: Take This Waltz
Least Favorite Songs: Ain't No Cure For Love, Jazz Police, Tower of Song
My first impression with this album is that it's not terribly memorable. I enjoyed pretty much all of it; however, I wasn't focused on it for a lot of my listen, and it wasn't really attention grabbing for the most part. I didn't particularly enjoy some of the vocals on the middle of the album. I think this could definitely grow on me with more listens, but I'm not sure when those will come. For now a decent 7/10.
Favorite Songs: Being Boring, This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave, The End of the World
No particular least favorites
Do you guys know wonderwall?
An album with several classics on it, and rightfully so. I like the sound of the album overall, and there's not really a bad cut on it as far as I'm concerned. Champagne Supernova is a banger ending track. 9/10
Favorite Songs: Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger, Cast No Shadow, Champagne Supernova
No least favorites
Another instance of an album where it's nice to put a sound to a band name. I enjoy the soft bluesy sound of their songs, and the vocal harmonies are very nice. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Guinnevere, You Don't Have to Cry, Wooden Ships, Long Time Gone
Least Favorite Songs: 49 Bye-Byes
I loved the energy of this album, and it was a fun listen. I'm not itching to get back to it, but I could definitely continue to enjoy some of the tracks here. +1 for the crab album cover. 8/10.
Favorite Tracks: Breathe, Funky Shit, Mindfields
No Least Favorites
Waterfalls is an absolute banger. In my opinion, if you take that one song out, this album would have some good songs but be pretty mid as a whole product. The production is nice but nothing special, there are too many interludes (and a lot of filler in general), and the vocals can border on annoying. I think this one just didn't land for me. I did appreciate the callback to Prince with If I Was Your Girlfriend. 6/10.
Favorite Songs: Diggin' On You, Waterfalls, Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes
Least Favorite Songs: All of the interludes
I like the instrumentation and general vibe of this album. I would say that Mayfield's vocals leave something to be desired for me at some points. The album does close on a run of a few bangers, though, and the drug bars are pretty hard. 8/10
Favorite Songs: Little Child Runnin' Wild, Freddie's Dead, Think, Superfly
Least Favorite Song: Give Me Your Love (Love Song)
Part I of Larks' Tongues In Aspic is an epic album opener, and part II is an epic closer. I really dug the thick instrumentation of this album, and the violin lines are a unique touch that I felt added a lot. The only part of this that I didn't really enjoy was the vocal performance on Exiles - regardless, I could see this being my favorite King Crimson album once I've given the others their due, and I'll definitely be coming back to it. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part I, Easy Money, The Talking Drum, Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II
Least Favorite Song: Exiles
This album is so beautiful and dreamy. I love the prominence of the bass that grounds it all. I can't tell if the lyrics are supposed to carry much meaning, but I'm struggling to read much into them if they do. That doesn't really break the experience for me - this is a lovely listening experience. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: Iceblink Luck, Heaven or Las Vegas, Fotzepolitic, Road, River and Rail, Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
Least Favorite Songs: Fifty-fifty Clown, I Wear Your Ring
On first listen, I was pretty lukewarm on this album, and I felt like little about it really stood out beyond the hits I already knew. I'm skimming through it a second time and finding a lot more to enjoy. I'm picking up on more of the punk elements the second time, and I think that gives it a new flavor that adds a lot. I don't love everything about it, but it's generally well-made, diverse, and doesn't overstay. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: One Way Or Another, Fade Away And Radiate, 11:59, Heart Of Glass
Least Favorite Songs: Pretty Baby, I Know But I Don't Know
There's a lot of interesting music in here, but holy cow is this album bloated. This is my first taste of Genesis in album form, and I'm definitely intrigued, but this project isn't anything special as far as I could tell. Very little about this sticks out. I wasn't a fan of some of the vocals in the middle of the album - hard to tell where. I can't tell what the goal is thematically here. 6/10.
Favorite Songs: Hairless Heart, The Carpet Crawlers, Anyway
Least Favorite Songs: The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, The Colony of Slippermen,
This album felt like entering a new dimension. I was uncomfortable at first, but I really enjoyed the creative directions that the production took throughout the album. There are still several things in here that come across as weird, but overall it was great and something I'll revisit when I'm feeling some weird music. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: Baby's On Fire, Cindy Tells Me, On Some Faraway Beach
Least Favorite Song: The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch
Overall, I liked this and thought it was well-done. I don't think it's memorable enough to really come back to, and I definitely didn't love it any more than anything I would listen to. 7/10
Favorite Songs: Autobahn, Morgenspaziergang
No least favorite songs
I liked this album overall - R.E.M. has a fairly characteristic sound on this record, and they pretty much stick to it. He's not my favorite lead vocalist ever. A couple of iconic songs pick things up toward the end of 40 minutes that I felt like were generally pretty easy listening, if a bit stale. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: It's The End of the World As We Know It, The One I Love
No particular least favorites
I was surprised to see this album pop up, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it overall. I had heard some of Thundercat's solo work, mostly songs from this album, and wasn't sure it was my speed despite generally admiring his playing and his contributions to other albums I love. It is still weird, but I loved a lot of the production on this album, and the driving bass lines had me hooked. There are a lot of songs, but the diversity of sounds is part of what makes this work as an entire project in my eyes. 8/10.
Favorite Songs: Uh Uh, Jethro, Walk On By, Friend Zone, Them Changes
Least Favorite Songs: Where I'm Going, Drink Dat
This album surprised me in a lot of ways - knowing the most popular songs from this album, I thought I knew Black Sabbath's sound overall, but this wasn't as heavy as I expected. It also came out earlier than I thought, and I was surprised by the anti-war themes. With these being the strong points of the album, they're particularly well done. They do rely a lot on the same scale, with a lot of the songs being in the same key to boot. My biggest critique is that any innovation in the way of melodies is limited -all three of War Pigs/Luke's Wall, Planet Caravan, and Electric Funeral feature the same vocal riff repeated a lot, just used in different contexts. It's really driven home by that riff being the only semblance of a melody that Electric Funeral has. I don't think this detracts from any other individual song, and it's a great record, but it slightly minimizes the overall impact. 9/10.
Favorite Songs: War Pigs/Luke's Wall, Paranoid, Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots
Least favorite song: Electric Funeral
This one took me two tries - I listened at first and felt like it was overblown and sounded a bit homogeneous. However, I gave it a second go and hearing more of the lyrics contributed a lot to it. It's a very liberating album, and a ton of fun. I grew up with Clarence Clemons as one of my idols on the saxophone, and I still love his solo on Jungleland. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the Brecker brothers played on this album as well. I think the deeper cuts on this still don't stand out enough for it to be a 10 for me, but it's strong at a 9/10.
Favorite Songs: Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Born to Run, Jungleland
No least favorite songs
I had heard a lot of great things about this album, and my first listen definitely backed that hype. The beats are great, biggie's flow is iconic, and it all goes together very well. This album is on the long side, but it never feels boring. 10/10
Favorite Songs: Gimme the Loot, Juicy, Big Poppa, Respect
No least favorite songs
Gave it a listen because it came up, but I would never need to hear this album again to remember most of it and call it a 10/10 every time. Immensely revolutionary, so spacious and exploratory while still being a relaxing experience. An unmatched vibe. Every song is a favorite.
