Interesting album to say the least. A much different take on indie rock, with country, Tejano, and jazz thrown in. It definitely SOUNDS southwestern and desert-y, which makes sense considering that this group was apparently formed in Tuscon, Arizona. There seems to be an even mix of vocal and instrumental tunes as well, really bringing the spotlight to this interesting fusion of western genres. Just shy of a 3.5/5 for creativity, as there weren't really any specific tracks that I was pining to go back and listen to, but the body of work was certainly interesting.

I think I prefer Davis’s earlier work, this style of experimental jazz didn’t seem to do it for me. It just felt like there was too much dead air and disjointedness, especially in disc 1 (which consists of two tracks each over 20 min in length I should add). Just never really landed for me, but I appreciate the effort that went into trying something different.

Half of this album is “Roundabout” and “Heart of the Sunrise”. Not really a complaint, but I don’t know what it is with prog rock and its marathon songs. The thing is, most of the rest of the album were short instrumentals that didn’t really match the energy of “Roundabout” or even “South Side of the Sky”. Makes me think that the construction of the album was fiddled with a bit too much, but I guess that was normal for prog rock of this era.

I guess I don't really dig the modern electro-pop sound. Nothing really stood out to me after the album's completion, plus the translated lyrics (I presume) sounded nonsensical to me.

This album is expertly bookended with two of The Who's (and rock & roll's) most iconic songs. Opening with the anthemic "Baba O'Riley" and those mesmerizing synthesizer-like notes which act as a motif all throughout. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is one of those timeless rock ballads that reels you out and hooks you back in with its buildups. Among the lesser known tracks, I enjoyed "This Song Is Over", as that had more of that operatic rock sound heard throughout the album. This might be The Who's best work, maybe rivaled by "Tommy" from a few years prior, but I'd argue that this is more expressive and grand. Just an epic in its own right. Also I just now noticed that the album cover art is the band after taking a leak? Learn something new everyday I guess.

I tend to prefer instrumental funk, and those types of track really shine in this album (moreso funk-rock I guess, especially Maggot Brain). The other tracks weren’t that memorable (save for the title track) and kind of drag on a bit. Maybe a product of its time, as a lot of these early funk records are a bit similar in that vein.

I was familiar with some of the singles prior to getting this album. I haven't been exposed to a ton of electro house, but this album was pretty solid. It starts off strong with 'Genesis', to the iconic single 'D.A.N.C.E' (which feels a tad out of place in this album). The ending three tracks ('Stress', Waters of Nazareth', 'One Minute to Midnight') also prove to be a killer finishing combo after reeling the listener back in. I can see this type of music not being for everybody, so the reviews may be a bit polarizing. But as someone who likes Daft Punk, this record is somewhat up my alley.

Well this album definitely flies by. The Ramones have a pretty signature "sound" and that's very evident in this album. As a result a lot of this album sounds very similar, save for the two singles and a select few tracks. Very uptempo, as was much of "first wave" punk rock during this era. Punk rock definitely evolved to better things in my opinion, but this was part of punk rock's foray into the mainstream radio and I can appreciate that.

I was familiar with some of the singles prior to drawing this album. It's an alright listen, as I've been exposed to other Britpop from around this era. If anything, though, listening to this made me want to listen to Oasis. This album runs a bit long, with a few 5+ min tracks including the interesting final hidden track that literally contains like 7+ min of silence. The singles themselves are memorable (talking about the iconic "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and "Lucky Man" of course), but nothing else really stands out.

First album I've gotten that I knew nothing about (outside of the artist). Very much has that "new wave" sound, complete with mesmerizing, yet subtle drums and bass. The album goes by pretty quick and stays pretty "down" beat. If you're looking for energy, you're not gonna find it here. I think I'd say that I prefer the Cure's later stuff, but this was easily digestible.

So this is the album before 'Doolittle' huh? I gotta say, this album is all over the place. Very few highs and mostly very strange and inconsistent lows. Really raw-sounding and gruff throughout. Kind of had to force myself to finish the album after 2/3rds of the way through. Guess I'll wait until I draw 'Doolittle' (assuming it's on this list) to give my true opinions on the Pixies.

Was not familiar with this band whatsoever prior to listening. Was greeted with a very glam-rocky sound, akin to David Bowie, which I can enjoy. A few of the tracks felt like something I've heard before, but couldn't place my finger on them. No song really overstays its welcome and consists of some catchy & silly hooks/choruses too. Particularly memorable tracks included: "Metal Guru", "Rock On", "The Slider", and "Telegram Sam".

This is quintessential 60's soul and R&B, complete with the powerful tones from the Queen of Soul herself. I've gotta be honest though, I never really dug deep into Ms. Franklin's discography before this, as I was only really familiar with her hit singles. Will definitely be checking out her lesser-known work after this. As for the album itself, every track is just a joy to listen to as you can feel the energy and spirit radiating from Franklin's voice. Evident immediately after starting off with a bang in "Chain of Fools". The same feeling applies to the slower songs from the album as well, such as with "Ain't No Way" and of course the massive "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". It's infectious, really.

This album doesn't pull any punches right out of the gate. I wasn't familiar with this group prior to today, but just looking at the song titles told me what I needed to know. This album isn't "pleasant" to listen to, but it isn't supposed to be. Michael Franti is very up-front and clear with his delivery about a variety of societal issues throughout the album. His delivery honestly reminds me of the likes of Ice-T and Chuck D from that era. One FYI, Spotify omits four songs from the album on their platform for some reason (some pretty big ones too).

Wow, all of Bon Jovi's hits are really on here. Although, I feel like everyone's heard them at this point. A fun listen, although glam metal/rock can feel a bit cookie-cutter at times. It's always a mix of high-energy choruses and then some slow ballads mixed in. Not bad, though.

Eminem is very much a polarizing figure in hip-hop, that much I will agree with. I was exposed a bit to Em growing up, and thus am very much familiar with this album. This might honestly be his best work, but I usually go back and forth between this and his previous album "The Slim Shady LP" in determining that label. Em's..."charged" delivery and explicit lyrical content may not be for everyone ("Kim" has all of that and then some), but the first half of the album sets the tone nicely, featuring some of the more iconic songs from Em's vast library.

This album has a surprising amount of singles, which I guess makes sense considering the timeline of this album releasing after the commercial success of Wham! There really is quite a fusion of musical genres here, with rock, funk and even some soul mixed in throughout. Very... sexually-charged too, if that wasn't already a given with George Michael.

I'd consider myself somewhat of a big beat fan. The sound combination of heavy breakbeats with a variety of sampling can be energizing. I've been exposed to acts such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, and of course, The Chemical Brothers. Although I will admit that I wasn't familiar with much of this album outside of the first track coming in. Many of these tracks sound like they were designed to be idle tracks or in club mixes and as a result, skipping through these tracks means you're not really missing much. This is exemplified in the start of the back half of the album. Although things do take an interesting change of pace at the end. I dunno, I guess I was expecting more, especially after starting with "Block Rockin' Beats".

I have never listened to an album from a folk artist like this all the way through before now, just never a genre that I crossed paths with. I've always possessed an open mind (or ears!) when it comes to music and this challenge just reinforces that. Pretty soothing album overall, and I could hear and see some Americana in the lyrics too. Nothing groundbreaking, but this type of music comes across as more pure and authentic to me I guess, likely due to the limited instrumentals and simplistic sound. The lyrics and the delivery have to shine as a result, and Mrs. Welch does a good enough job throughout. A word to first time listeners, the final track is a marathon song (15 min).

I do not know much of Bowie's work post 1990s, so this was an interesting listen. Very ominous, depressing, and introspective throughout, which makes sense given the state of Bowie's health at the time (and ultimately his passing a few days after this album). "Lazarus" and "I Can't Give Everything Away" were standout examples of those aforementioned themes. I'd be lying if I said this was Bowie's best work, though

Vaguely familiar with the Scissor Sisters prior to listening. I'm not sure how I would describe this sound, they're labeled as glam rock but all the glam rock I know and have listened to is from the 70s. I guess this is the natural evolution of a music genre into the current century. Anyways, there's a good mix of jovial, high-energy jams and slow ballads on here. Complete with an...interesting cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb".

I guess I don't really dig the modern electro-pop sound. Nothing really stood out to me after the album's completion, plus the translated lyrics (I presume) sounded nonsensical to me.

Sounds very much old-school yet modern at the same, with a blend of what feels like soul and rock/indie rock. Starts off great with the opening track & single of "You Ain't The Problem" then really just flows nicely from there. Wasn't familiar before, but this won me over. Great overall album experience.

This is contemporary/folk rock at its best. Poignant & tender, simple, yet complex. Above all though, it sounds authentic. "Fast Car" is a timeless classic, but the other two singles found in the front half of the album hold their own, as well as the chilling notes of "Behind the Wall". The album also doesn't overstay its welcome, as Tracy says what she needs to say in an impactful 36ish minutes.

I think I prefer Ice Cube's later work. This album starts off hard early on, but kinda loses me midway through. Echoing everyone here, but could've done without the misogyny too. Seems like a lot of gangsta rap from this era had similar content. Ice Cube is still one of the greatest lyricists in hip-hop though.

I feel like I had a transformative experience whilst listening to the lengthy "intro". Sounds familiar despite not being super familiar with this group. I guess because prog rock has a signature, yet strange mix of sounds.

More artsy and melodic compared to the Bowie works I'm used to (I believe this is directly before the Ziggy Stardust era). You can certainly hear flashes of Bowie that would come to be later in the decade following this release. Closer to a 4 than 3 if we're using the five-star scale.

As a fan of modern punk, going back to listen to early punk is always interesting. Much like the punk of that era, this album is loud, messy and a little silly too. Rollins' delivery throughout the album is ferocious and emotional. The lyrical versatility is seen starting out with the iconic "Rise Above" and then a few songs later in the silly & satirical "TV Party". I will admit that the songs included do sound a bit "samey", though. I also think that the front half of the album shines a bit more than the back half.

The overall sound in this is pretty timeless and unique for its era. You could drop some of these songs into the 90s/2000s and they wouldn't feel out of place. Like I thought "Blister in the Sun" was an early 2000s indie/alt rock song for a while after first being exposed to it. This feels more alternative than punk to be honest, but I guess the acoustic-like sound throughout plays a big part in why I feel that.

I feel obligated to compare this to George Michael's first album, "Faith", due to it already having appearing on this list for me. "Faith" felt like the more "fun" album due to the mix of upbeat genres throughout. This feels more soft and emotional. One of the review snippets from the Wikipedia article describes a good portion of this album as "cocktail music", which is a bit unfair but kind of fitting honestly. I think "Cowboys and Angels" is a pretty fitting match of that aforementioned sound. George Michael has range for sure but when I think of him, I hear Wham!/his early solo stuff over this and any future work.

Man, the UK hip-hop scene is fairly unknown to me. Grime is even MORE unknown to me. If I were to describe the genre after listening to only this album, I would mark it as aggressive and loud hip-hop. Like the breakbeats in each track are super loud and booming. Everything quite literally sounds "grimy", so the genre name is certainly fitting. As for the lyrical delivery, Skepta & guests are certainly commanding with each verse. A lot of the Brit slang flew over my American head though. Not really my type of hip-hop at the end of the day.

Perfectly weird, as new-wave and Talking Heads usually are. The more I listened to "I Zimbra" the more I became addicted to it.

Can't think of a bad Marley album, though I haven't quite listened to them all. Strong start with "Lively Up Yourself" and the iconic "No Woman No Cry". Everything just flows effortlessly for the most part, makes for a laid-back listen.

Felt almost too grandiose at times I guess? Maybe I'm just a little tired of all the britpop that I've been getting lately. "Common People" and "Disco 2000" do stand out, though.

I'm sure it's been said already, but this is one of the most versatile albums of all time. You can choose to get lost in the sounds of the jazzy modulation/chord progression, or just throw this on as background music. Regardless of how you listen, 45 minutes goes by just like that and your time with Miles Davis & co. is over (until you replay the album of course!)

Hmm, quite a few songs I've heard despite not having ever listened to this album. I would assume most, if not all, of the songs are covers? Still good recordings nonetheless. I always forget Dusty was from England.

This album takes a tonal shift almost immediately, starting with "No Other". It's almost like a country-psychedelic rock fusion all throughout, which is interesting I'll say.

Fine, I'll listen to Nevermind again. But seriously, I can't think of a better starting three tracks, or even FIVE tracks to an album. Just massive hits right out of the gate before you're even finished strapping in for this grunge excursion. Even the "lesser" known songs, including the two acoustic ballads in "Polly" and "Something My Way" stand out too. An influential album for its era and still 30+ years later for sure.

Blues rock at its best pretty much. Also the last Doors album while Jim Morrison was still with us. A lot of big & familiar hits here, including "Love Her Madly", "Riders on the Storm", and even the titular ode to the city of LA, "L.A. Woman". To be honest, this almost feels like an end to this particular blues rock era, as the subgenre appeared to transition to more of a harder and edgier rock sound as the 70s went on. What a way for the Doors to go out!

I think I prefer Davis’s earlier work, this style of experimental jazz didn’t seem to do it for me. It just felt like there was too much dead air and disjointedness, especially in disc 1 (which consists of two tracks each over 20 min in length I should add). Just never really landed for me, but I appreciate the effort that went into trying something different.

I'm really digging this Bowie sound. It's different, but refreshing compared to his previous (at the time) works. His work leading up to Young Americans is good, don't get me wrong, I just tend to prefer funk/soul if it's being compared to glam rock. Definitely a prominent sax sound throughout that sounds straight from the 80s. I'm sure most will agree that there is nothing particularly groundbreaking found in this album, but it's still fun throughout.

I think every human adult recognizes the opening few notes of the title track "Let's Get It On". An album can't start much better than that. This really started a "sex revolution" of sorts in the industry too, as Motown and R&B as a whole really began to embrace slow and sensual jams. Short and sweet listen.

Do yourself a favor and listen to this with some good headphones. I had some reservations upon getting this album, and I imagine the reviews will be VERY mixed prior to looking, but I enjoyed this slightly more than I expected to. This album is almost entirely all a cappella, with help from plenty of other voice talent throughout. Yes it's weird (this is Björk after all), and I'll admit I felt uncomfortable at times with some of the lyrics and strange...breathing/sounds heard throughout (oh God what the fuck was 'Ancestors' even?). At the end of the day, my experience listening could be described as somehow both ethereal and confusing. Guess I'll go right down the middle then.

Just sounds like droll, proto-punk to me. Kept waiting for things to pick up or get interesting and they never did. I think the vocal delivery played a large part in making me feel that way.

Fun (and and also some downright depressing) country-western ballads. Such is the life of a gunslinger in the Old West! The storytelling in "Big Iron" and "El Paso" will have you coming back to this album.

This album kinda rips ngl. I’m not a huge heavy metal guy, so this seems like a good launchpad for those who aren’t familiar with the genre or are hesitant to listen. Don’t expect anything world-class here, but give it a listen will ya?

Just starting with the lengthy opening track, I feel like I was warped into the soundtrack of an 80s sci-fi/horror flick. I swear I was hearing tracks like this in Stranger Things or something. Very mystifying and ominous music, but not something I think I would come back to.

I'm sure many will agree that this is one of those essential albums for all of humankind. It's one of the best-selling albums of all time and it's taught in music history classes of varying levels for good reason (shout out to the Foundations of Rock course I took freshman year of college). It transcends rock and pop. I've always appreciated the sheer variety of sounds & instruments across the album's 39 minutes too. Among everything else, you've got: glockenspiels, sitars, tablas, tambourines, and even comb-and-paper kazoos! Plus it all ends on an absolute high note (erm, a long E-major chord to be specific) with "A Day In The Life", really showcasing the collective effort of each one of the Beatles. I hate to be hyperbolic, but it really is a melding of musical greatness rolled up into 13 songs. I'm not a massive Beatles fanboy either, yet this album always commands my attention whenever I come across it.

I'm a little familiar with MBV's next album after this one, so listening to this was a bit interesting. It's funny seeing all of the genres that Wikipedia classifies this album as, I think I would classify it as quiet, yet loud-post punk rock. Seriously, everything just kinda sounded subdued and suppressed throughout the album? Especially the vocals, but it didn't help that Spotify didn't have lyrics available during my time of listening. I guess I'm learning about "shoegazing" in real time. Not a terrible listen by any means just, a little unusual from what I'm used to.

Didn't expect to be familiar with any of this coming in, but I've definitely heard "Dominion"/"Mother Russia" before (in the in-game radio for GTA IV of all places). If anything, the sound is mostly consistent throughout. The reverb drums really grab you immediately. A few duds keep the overall experience down, though.

A ton of the hits are on here, these songs are what you hear when you think of Peter Gabriel. Outside of the singles, the rest of the album has a “softer” and melancholic sound, which I wasn’t expecting but certainly welcomed it. Listening to this while walking in the rain was fitting and honestly amplified my experience too. Always a great storyteller, that Peter.

Delectably funky, soul-y, and rock-y!

I figured this was a cover album after hearing "Georgia on My Mind", but that doesn't (or shouldn't) devalue this album at all. You can tell Willie has a ton of respect and reverence for these songs as he likely was inspired by them while starting out his music career. Willie gives these tracks a tender touch and a ton of his usual vocal charm. Just another reminder that I need to take a look at the rest of Willie's discography.

Just didn't really move the needle for me I guess. Started to cook with Hot Burrito #1 and #2, but nothing else really stood out from there. Might be one of those albums that was probably influential at the time, but sounds a little tame when heard through modern ears with decades of country music that are easily accessible.

Fun album. I know there are quite a few of these "Johnny Cash at X Prison" live albums, but this is the first time I've fully listened to one of 'em. Really transports you to the time/place with the crowd reactions and Cash himself shooting the shit with everyone in-between songs.

Lots of different genres represented here, a little all over the place as a result though.

Honestly a few bangers here ("Move Any Mountain", which I guess was only in the later US release so that probably can't be counted here, and "Make It Mine") but mostly everything else wasn't really close to rave-worthy. Slightly too long too. This isn't to say that I hate electronic music, though. In fact, I'm hoping that some 80/90s house music appears during the continuation of my journey through this list (only about 50 albums in at this point).

Ms. Lynn had quite the discography I see. Great vocalist for this type of weepy-country music. Album itself is short and sweet despite having 12 songs too.

ABBA seems to transcend all generations. That's very evident in the fact that some of their songs have gone viral again with the TikTok crowd. The pop sound is just easily digestible. I mean, you've got mega-hits in here such as "Dancing Queen" and "Fernando". The earworms are plentiful in this album. Put on your dancin' shoes!

When you get an album titled "Post Orgasmic Chill" (still not sure what that name came from) from a group you've never heard of, it's hard to anticipate what you're expecting. What I really got was passion-fueled vocals with a hard-hitting rock sound and an overall satisfying and refreshing experience. Everything just flows together nicely and even slows down and gets intimate at times. A pleasant surprise!

This might be THE Bob Marley & The Wailers album. It's already the second one I've received on this list and I think I slightly prefer it to the only other one I've previously listened to (Natty Dread). Politically charged and also a little tender at points. 'Concrete Jungle' is a great opening track indicative of what's to come for the rest of the album.

I guess I'm a simpleton, but this album seemed on the safer side. Maybe I was expecting "more", especially since this was a live album. An easy and comforting listen, sure, but I was hoping for some more of that improvisational jazz "oomph". I guess listening to a few Miles Davis records skewed my view on this classic era of jazz.

It's amazing what human voices can do when they are THE instrument. You can feel the pride of Africa through the rhythmic "oooo's" and "mmmm's". I also wasn't aware that this was the group heard within Paul Simon's "Graceland", so perhaps I'll be seeing (or hearing) these guys again real soon!

Appreciate and understand the message, but the whole album felt bloated and heavy-handed whilst delivering said message. Just a lot of repetition on some tracks. Also, the strange ASMR-like interludes that the other reviewers mention kind of take you out of the listening experience (which defeats the purpose?). You could probably cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the album and it would be a slightly better listening experience. Unrelated to the album rating itself, but being taken back to mid-2020 was not an experience I wanted (for obvious societal reasons).

I dig acid jazz and downbeat-style music. This album dips its toes into both of the aforementioned subgenres and gives everything a Latin twist. I'll be honest though, the second half of the album didn't grab me as much as the first half did. Almost felt like a slight sound & tempo change, like the album took a detour.

Simple and similar-sounding melodies, very folksy-Americana sound. Gets a little more energetic near the end. It's not music that'll amp you up, but the gentle storytelling will transport you to a specific moment in time & place. Pretty indifferent to this as a whole, though.

Honestly the opening and closing tracks were pretty strong. Everything in-between kinda lost me though. It's important for an album to keep and maintain momentum (if that even exists in music), and I think this loses its way just a teensy bit. The sound feels ahead of its time for the most part, though. A lot of the melodies and overall song construction feel at home in 80s/90s alt rock/britpop (artsy and a bit lengthy, perhaps a big inspiration to those later artists?)

Timeless. Always an adept storyteller in the genre of hip-hop/rap, Kendrick Lamar tells a coming of age story in the streets of Compton through his eyes and carries the west coast hip-hop torch well. Like his albums before and after, "good kid, m.A.A.d city" is a concept album and thus flows along effortlessly. There isn't a wasted moment throughout, including the voicemail and dialogue snippets as both serve as transitions into the proceeding tracks. Heck, even the album itself seems to come of age with each passing track. The storytelling matures in real-time as the album transitions into a more introspective tone near the end. To top things off, the album loops pretty well for repeated listens.

I did not know of Nick Drake prior to getting this album, but now I'm interested in learning more about this fellow. Immediately it's easy to tell that he was a talented songwriter. A quick Google search tells me that Mr. Drake battled depression and was unfortunately not on this Earth for long. The melancholy and loneliness seeps through in this album specifically but if you zoom out, you're also entranced by the easy-going, folksy-jazz sound heard throughout. I can only assume his other work is just as (instrumentally) pleasing to listen to.

It's a given that there will be a lot of jazz on this list due to the genre's cultural impact in the early-mid 20th century. Jazz itself is timeless and easily digestible (in my opinion). This live album is no different and also appears to be one of the earlier albums (chronologically) in this list. Let Duke and his boys cook, as you're taken back to 1956 for the Newport Jazz Festival. Hearing the live crowd go into a frenzy as the sax solo progresses during "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" is as good as it gets.

I'll admit I'm a Beach Boys fan, but I've never heard anything from this album outside of "Feel Flows" (from the 2000 motion picture "Almost Famous") prior to listening. This does not sound or feel like any other Beach Boys record that you're used to. Way more political and socially aware than the surfer jams from years past. The messages don't really land for me either, I must say. I get that the group wanted to change their image and sound at the time, but some of these tracks just feel outta place, especially "Student Demonstration Time". It's a bit jarring honestly, especially compared to the closing tracks in the same album that feel more at home coming from the Beach Boys. Side note: I guess I'm working through the Beach Boys discography in reverse order as this is the first album of theirs that I've drawn thus far. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing!

Hey, it's the "Bohemian Like You" and "We Used to Be Friends" guys! Onto the album itself, this is probably the most britpop-sounding album from a non-Brit group. Not a slam or anything, the singles really pop and the overall sound they bring is just different enough. Middle of the album was really strong, carried by the big single "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth". Rest of the album didn't do much for me, as a few songs had a tendency to drone on I feel (especially towards the end of the album). I find it difficult to give this anything more than a 3 here.

A perfect Friday album! This is already a top 10 favorite album of mine, but will update with a proper review when I listen (again). Post-listen: This is always a fun listen, every aspect of the Green Day trio gets to shine throughout the 14 tracks. The guitar riffs are iconic to anyone from ages 25-50, the bass lines are tasty (especially to start in "Longview"), and the drums consistently make their presence felt with a very clean, yet crashing sound. Lest I forget to mention the iconic choruses too (just start singing the opening chorus to "Basket Case" around anyone remotely interested in rock music and see who joins in). I would imagine that this pop-rock/punk sound was pretty fresh back in 1994 too, with grunge and heavy metal being the forefront of rock at the time. Argue whether or not "Dookie" can be considered "pure" punk rock, but it's hard to deny the impact this album had on the punk rock/pop-punk scene that emerged in the coming years. I'd consider that era of punk rock my "comfort" music too, so the fact that this album is always in my rotation makes total sense. Plus it's always nice to find another excuse to listen to Dookie, even in a house with unlocked doors and I'm fuckin' lazy...

Never really dug deep into U2's discography outside of the massive hits. This is politically charged and consistently powerful & raw throughout. Plus, you're probably doing something right if you knock 'Thriller' off the top of the charts!

Never been a massive Led Zeppelin fan or anything, but I grew up hearing some of their biggest hits and definitely appreciated them for what they were. Shocker, a few of those hits are on THIS album, including THE hit. There aren't many rock songs that can be dissected and analyzed into three separate parts like the revered "Stairway to Heaven". (Side note: today I learned that "Stairway to Heaven" was never commercially released as a single) But I was more interested in the "other" songs in the album, which is ultimately what *I'm* looking forward to most as I progress through this expansive list of albums. What else does X album have outside of that big hit or two? How does X album come together as a result? To that point, the second side of the album didn't really grab me as much as the first. Tough task with two of the group's biggest hits on the first side of course, but I guess I was just expecting "more" or something in the 2nd half. It seems that I prefer the harder rock songs from Led Zeppelin a little bit more than the folk ones, although I did enjoy the cover of the old country blues song "When the Levee Breaks" as the closer. It almost feels sacrilegious to give this Led Zeppelin album anything less than a 5, but (in my eyes) a 5 would imply that every song is a banger and/or unskippable and I just didn't find that to be the case here. It sounds like I'm denouncing this album entirely, which is far from the truth. This is a great and influential album in the scope of rock music. Maybe more of a personal Top 50/100 favorite, as opposed to a Top 10 favorite of mine (which is totally fine).

Fun, Brazilian samba sounding music with a twist of funk. Inoffensive enough, but the entire album felt and sounded like one whole song though. The top review for this album dissecting some of the Portuguese lyrics was an interesting read as well.

A coming-of-age album that doesn't take itself too seriously at times. I'm a little more familiar with The Replacements later work, so it's interesting to hear their early punk sound transition into the post-punk/alt rock sound that I'm familiar with. That transition seems to happen in real time, almost as if it's maturing along the way like this album's subject matter.

These tracks sound like an amalgamation of descriptive and wordy sentences, like the kind of stuff you would hear at a slam poetry session. Honestly, the vocals sound eerily similar to that of Björk too. Actually, are we sure this isn't Björk? Jokes aside, I will say that this is a very serene-sounding album with the harps and orchestral sections. Definitely well produced and mixed as well (S/O to the great Steve Albini who very recently passed away). The few songs that are on here wander a bit much for my liking, though.

This was certainly an album of all time. It's bad enough that this list seems to have an over-representation of britpop, but this was overly cheesy and pompous. A few of the singles keep this afloat for me, but mostly skippable at the end of the day.

You can pinpoint this as when the Stones exit their psychedelic era and go back to their roots/country/blues rock era. This whole album is kind of a mishmash of the latter-mentioned rock genres, bouncing around between the three. I actually don't think that "Sympathy For The Devil" works as a starting track here though, as it doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of this album from a thematic standpoint. Not a bad listen overall, but guess I was expecting more or maybe I just prefer the Stones harder rock sound (which I'm sure I'll get to later in this list)

I'm usually down for these strange & quirky albums, but this was a little too out there for even me. The group's sound is one thing I found interesting though; with hints of Joy Division, Talking Heads, and even the B-52's in terms of vocals.

Was only familiar with "Wake Up" prior to listening. I've always dug this era of indie rock, but perhaps I've only been exposed to the tip of the iceberg, or the more "poppier" acts. This album seems to alternate between high-energy and low-energy which I wasn't totally expecting (although I guess with an album title like "Funeral", one should expect some melancholic vibes). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I didn't really warm up to the "overall" experience, while some of the separate "parts" were well-orchestrated.

It's funny to see many of the featured reviews complain about repetition on a TECHNO/HOUSE album. Something, something, "Around the World", I get it, but these genres are predicated on rhythm and repetition and were really made for the dance/club/DJ scene. As for "Homework" itself, pretty good for a debut album, eh? Daft Punk (literally) just threw together a bunch of singles and made it their first album. The "proper" singles are crafted well thanks to Daft Punk's funk and disco influences. The album as a whole does run a bit long, though, which is noticeable in some of the 7-minute tracks. Slight aside, but it's disappointing that Daft Punk's massive second album "Discovery" doesn't appear on this list at all (I took a peek out of curiosity). I honestly feel that it is more structured and is a more fun listening experience. That would've been my pick if only one Daft Punk album had to be represented here, but I understand why "Homework" was included and recognize the influence it had on the house scene at the time

This sounds mostly refined and complete for being a debut album. It's got the blues-rock inspired sound that many know Led Zeppelin for, plus big-sounding rock hits in "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown". Side two does sound a bit filler-y when comparing to the rest of the album, though.

Man, this takes me back to college. You couldn't escape anything from this album back in late 2014. (Honestly, has anything changed in that regard nearly 10 years later?) This is when Taylor Swift fully embraced pop (but let's be honest, she's always been a pop artist) and I think it's safe to say that "1989" has Swift's largest hit per album ratio. The synth sounds are really noticeable all throughout, taking obvious influence from most of 80's pop. Very clean from a production standpoint too, but that's always a given with any T-Swift album nowadays. Among the best in the contemporary pop-sphere. Breakup and lovelorn-inspired pop music does get kind of tiring to hear on the radio as it's mostly overdone, but Swift sells it well (I think she knows a thing or two too). Most of the songs on "1989" are wistful and musing, rather than teetering on the edge of mopey or even vengeful (which is funny in this context considering her next album's theme after this one). As a result, everything just sounds...good. It's simply a fun and catchy listening experience and that's what you should expect from pop music, right?

Third Led Zeppelin album in less than two weeks. I guess we're just gonna pound all of these out at once, huh? Let's listen. Eh, it's no masterpiece. Starts off strong with the iconic "Immigrant Song" but kind of peters out after that. I don't think it's Led Zeppelin fatigue, I just don't think the highs hit quite as high as in Led Zeppelin I and IV (the LZ albums I've already drawn so far). Interesting that this is the point in time in which LZ shifted into a more folk rock sound, but a few of the tracks feel...experimental as a result.

Never heard of this artist before but right out of the gate I kinda respect the bravado & swagger displayed. Little Simz talks a big game and lyrically flows nicely for the most part. I was a little worried that this bombastic lyrical onslaught was going to be the entire album for a bit, but things open up a bit and thankfully get a little more layered and vulnerable by the fourth track. Because of that, the album evolves quite nicely over the span of 35 minutes. The overall production and sampling is high quality as well. The UK rap/hip-hop scene is still largely unknown to me and so the lyrical delivery is still somewhat off-putting, but I can say that Little Simz is the best of the (small) bunch from what I've heard out of this regional genre thus far.

Majority of the album is pretty simple and mellow-sounding (which makes plenty of sense after later reading that Young was nursing a back injury throughout the duration of this album's recording and couldn't physically play an electric guitar). I guess that's to be expected with a folk/country rock record. Not my biggest cup of tea, but a few tracks stood out (for better or for worse). "There's a World" almost sounds too ornate for this album, and the same can be said for "A Man Needs a Maid", which was probably my least favorite song in the album performance-wise. The mold is broken a bit with songs like "Alabama" and "Words", as both feature more guitar work. Also have to mention "Heart of Gold" as it's Young's most iconic song and a folk/country rock staple. Looking at the whole body of work, this album didn't do a whole lot for me. I respect and appreciate the songwriting of Mr. Neil Young, but I've never been huge on this era of folk/country fusion. Perhaps I'll be surprised later in this long list of albums though.

The current top review perfectly encapsulates my feelings after listening, just unremarkable really. Not sure what makes this stand out from other synth-pop records from the time. A few tracks did not have much going on and took me out of the listening experience.

I remember this one quite well from my youth. I've listened to OutKast's entire discography up to and including "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" and I must admit that this is not my favorite of the bunch. Not to say that's it's a bad (double) album by any means, I mean it's one of OutKast's more creative works and I still get a lot of the track's beats & samples stuck in my head from time to time. With any double album, you obviously have to split it into two and in this case, you have to look at both halves of OutKast. With Big Boi's "Speakerboxx", you've got a noticeable southern hip-hop sound (much like most of OutKast's previous work) featuring many regional collaborators as well. Rooted within is some progressive and socially aware content matter like religion and politics. Then you have Andre 3000's "The Love Below", which is a more tender, jazzy, funky pop sound concentrated on well... love! Andre 3000 really flexes his creative juices here too, opting to showcase his singing over his familiar rapping "voice". When comparing the two, I prefer "Speakerboxx" because that kind of hip-hop sound was what drew me into OutKast in the first place. "The Love Below" feels like too long of a comedown and gets to be a little much in its lovey-dovey-ness. Though it's really interesting hearing the mammoth hits like "Hey Ya" and "Roses" within the context of "The Love Below", as both are conveniently smacked together. A bloated album for sure (11 interludes?) but always a worthy listen. I'd also implore everyone to check out OutKast's prior work if they want know why OutKast was such a big player in the southern hip-hop scene. I'd assume "Stankonia" will appear later in this list for me, but can't speak for the others.

Probably one of the better G-funk albums of its time. Those slow bass beats, synthesizers, and funk samples have always been mesmerizing to me. Also some familiar names in 90s hip-hop such as Nate Dogg, Warren G, and some dude named Snoop Dogg got their respective breaks with their work on "The Chronic". This album is very much top-heavy, with all three singles squeezed in the first five tracks. I mean, when one of those singles is "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", almost everything is going to pale in comparison. Through plenty of acts contribute and honestly carry this album for the most part. Snoop is the shining example of this, as he is literally involved in more of the album than Dre is. Lots of animosity throughout the album too, mainly sparked by the recent (at the time) split of N.W.A.. Dre goes AFTER Ruthless Records and his former comrade Eazy-E early on. Sprinkle in some raps about street life in South Central L.A., some funny (but mostly cringy) skits, and some in your face misogyny (gangsta rap was a different time...) and you've got yourself a pretty impactful hip-hop record for its era. I hesitate to give this a 5 though, as "The Chronic" shows its age a little bit.

Banger after banger, but that's to be expected for almost any Prince album. Guy was a natural musician and performer (as well as the ultimate horndog!). Now I've never actually seen the film this soundtrack was created for, but you can immediately tell that this album has a "big screen" aura to it as it starts with the iconic, upbeat "Let's Go Crazy", and cools down nicely with the power ballad and self-titled track "Purple Rain". Makes up for a fun, instrumentally-layered pop-fueled 44 minutes. A perfect Friday album as we enter a long holiday weekend. "1001 Albums" seems to know exactly when to give you the appropriate album. Now excuse me as I watch Prince's Super Bowl halftime show performance again...

Ian Curtis has a distinctive voice, almost Jim Morrison-like. It's not easily digestible for everyone, though. Now I haven't heard any of Joy Division's previous albums (only the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart"), so I can't speak on how this stacks with their other work. In a vacuum, this is an uncomfortable listen. Having read into Curtis' struggles in his short life, that discomfort makes more sense. Don't know what else to say really. It's a pretty dark and gloomy album made even more depressing given the close proximity of time between Ian Curtis's death and the release of this album. The backing instruments are odd-sounding and haunting too. Combine that with the monotone vocals of Curtis, and you've got a very weird trip that I'm not sure I enjoyed.

Wow, I can see where Tracy Chapman was partly inspired from. Don't think the delivery quite matches Chapman here, but the sound is pretty unique and maybe a little country-ier.

This album is expertly bookended with two of The Who's (and rock & roll's) most iconic songs. Opening with the anthemic "Baba O'Riley" and those mesmerizing synthesizer-like notes which act as a motif all throughout. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is one of those timeless rock ballads that reels you out and hooks you back in with its buildups. Among the lesser known tracks, I enjoyed "This Song Is Over", as that had more of that operatic rock sound heard throughout the album. This might be The Who's best work, maybe rivaled by "Tommy" from a few years prior, but I'd argue that this is more expressive and grand. Just an epic in its own right. Also I just now noticed that the album cover art is the band after taking a leak? Learn something new everyday I guess.

It's always interesting listening to the solo/follow-up endeavors from rockstars after splitting up from their main groups. I know this is not Paul McCartney & The Wings first album, but this is the first of theirs which I've listened to. The opening single and album namesake "Band on the Run" is a trip of a medley and quite the starter. What follows is a fun and playful jaunt that experiments with some musical styles, but doesn't go too overboard with it.

I listened to "The Very Best of Supertramp" quite a bit growing up, so I'm already familiar with pretty much half of this record and all of "Breakfast in America". Supertramp has always sounded whimsical and a bit peculiar to me. A fun peculiar, that is. Each song from this era of theirs is a journey in itself, with plenty of twists and turns and their signature bubbly keyboard sounds plus melodic piano chords to guide you, the listener, along. I think "Hide in Your Shell" and "Dreamer" are perfect examples of that description when focusing on just this album. It seems like a lot of people like to poopoo on prog rock (and it seems like there's a lot of it on this list), but Supertramp seems to maximize their creative juices when it comes to the genre at large and that is very evident here. They simply blend pop and prog rock well, curating an enjoyable listening experience.

This record is oddly nostalgic for me, as a white boy who listened to this a ton throughout middle and high school. Not that I was trying to be "gangsta" per se, but I was consuming a lot of media at the time that included this era of hop-hop (The in-game radio for GTA: San Andreas was highly influential to me in that regard) and I fell in love with this "Golden Era" of hip-hop the more I was exposed to it. N.W.A. was a force, albeit a short lived one. They were clear and concise in their messages and opinions on the establishment and the police force (which makes you question how much has really changed nearly 36 years later). I think the first three tracks summarize this album and N.W.A. pretty well: displaying their gangster image and character ("Straight Outta Compton", "Gangsta Gangsta") and their aggressive, anti-law enforcement views that many know them for ("Fuck tha Police"). Complete with hard, yet clear, delivery from each of the MCs involved as well as some pretty iconic sampling and mixing scattered throughout. Listening with older ears though, makes me a little more aware on how poorly some of the lyrical content has aged. Misogyny, toxic masculinity, extreme violence, etc, these were all too common in hip-hop from this era and it's hard to block them out when you listen to these albums nowadays. This was a genre-shifting album and has a rightful place on this list. You can honestly hear this shift in real time as the album progresses, with a lot of the samples and beats you'd hear in early 80's hip-hop, combined with the hardcore lyrical delivery. This launched gangsta rap into the mainstream for a bit and in a more general sense, gave the west coast an even bigger seat in the hip-hop scene.

Fun and mostly innocent 60s garage/bubblegum rock record. You know you're in this era when you hear a prominent combo organ sound all throughout. A few of these tracks sounded familiar to me (namely "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone") and then I realized that the Monkees had actually covered some of these tracks. I think I prefer those Monkees covers too.

A good chunk of this album was unfamiliar to me prior to listening, so its was refreshing being able to fill in these "listening gaps" per se. Long gone is the LSD-fueled psychedelic rock and now enters a wide array of musical genres and styles. This almost feels like a compilation album as a result and add in the fact that the group was largely at odds throughout the duration of the album's recording, then things start to connect. Tough to say if this hurts or strengthens the album, as each Beatle was able to feature their own musical creativity. However, it is hard to ignore just how much this album zig-zags as a result of the aforementioned infighting. I do appreciate the different sounds offered ("Helter Skelter" among others) but there were a few tracks that felt like filler or had a completely asinine premise (See: "Wild Honey Pie" or even "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", inspired by Paul seeing two monkeys porking in the street). An uneven, roller coaster of an album...but it's still the Beatles at the end of the day. The signature songwriting and composition is still there. Some of their greatest works and personal favorites of mine are also found here (i.e. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" & "Blackbird"). Maybe this would've worked better compacted into a single album, who knows? Reading about the background and production of this album was very enlightening, though. (Side note: that's the first and only time I'll ever listen to "Revolution 9". I neither gained nor lost from that experience.)

Kate Bush is an interesting artist. Her vocal delivery especially. It's almost Björk-like in it's otherworldly style, but she can go high ala Lauper and other 80s pop divas. She's kind of in her own world in that regard. I'll admit that I haven't explored enough of her discography outside of the singles, though, so this was a fairly new listening experience. I thought the middle to back half of the album shined the most. That's where the power chords started to hit a bit more and the backing vocals became prominent. Everything culminates with the beautiful "This Woman's Work" as the emotional closer. Things took a bit to get going, but I enjoyed the overall body of work nonetheless. A high 3 for me, so let's round up.

Right off the bat, I was NOT expecting that kind of breathy, gruff delivery. Especially paired with the gentle music I was hearing. It kind of...doesn't fit I hate to say. Instrumentally, a pretty easy and interesting listen with the artistic choices made on each track. Vocally, I could take it or leave it.

I've never gone quite this far back in R.E.M.'s discography. I also wouldn't have guessed that this was R.E.M.'s debut album if I didn't read up on it before listening. While a little understated compared to their later work, it honestly still sounds pretty polished and familiar. The jangly guitars, clean drumming, and melodic basslines and choruses, it's all there. R.E.M. would obviously go on to reach great heights after this, but "Murmur" was very much an announcement to the alt rock world that R.E.M. was here and ready for an extended stay. The current avg rating of 3.41 accurately reflects my feelings on this I'd say.

Like many, when I see the name Elvis I hear rockabilly and 50s rock & roll. He’s always had some blues in him too, so this record simultaneously feels both new and somewhat of a return to familiarity. “Late” era Elvis (only in his 30’s at the time!) still has some of that signature vocal delivery, but you can tell it’s dialed back a bit and more mature. I understand that this was a return to non-soundtrack albums after a period of… questionable quality soundtrack work, so perhaps Elvis and co. wanted to play it safe and dip into the blues side of his musical roots. Production quality was certainly not lacking, with the house band, The Memphis Boys, doing a lot of legwork too. Alright album, gets a bit sleepy at times but I can appreciate the evolution in Elvis’ music at the time.

Holy moly, that’s a lot of collabs. Wasn’t too familiar with Mr. Hooker prior to today, seems he had quite the career longevity. Perhaps this isn’t the greatest album to get a sense of what he brought to the blues table, given that the first seven tracks feature a collaborator. Although we do hear some solo mellow blues near the end of the album, in what I would assume is more akin to the sound of Hooker’s earlier work. Album as a whole didn’t really grab my interest, but I am more interested in the artist himself now. Closer to 3.

Erykah Badu's debut album "Baduizm" is one of my favorite albums of all time. That, and "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" were both my first exposure to the neo-soul genre and are what I think of when I see the word neo-soul. Considering how much I enjoy funk, hip-hop and R&B, plus all of the genre fusions that comprise of neo-soul, it's no surprise that the few albums of this genre that I've been exposed to are among my all-time favorites. But back to Erykah Badu. For whatever reason, I never really explored the rest of her discography. I almost feel bad, because now I'm asking myself where "Mama's Gun" was all my life! This is some more of what I loved from "Baduizm". Almost like a spiritual sequel of sorts, albeit a bit more toned back and introspective here. A lot flows together, which some view as a negative, but that makes an album's overall listening experience pretty smooth. "Baduizm" will always be the "bigger" album to me (an easy 5 if it were on this list), but "Mama's Gun" peels back the curtains a bit and gives us a glimpse into Badu's personal life at the time, as the listener witnesses her artistic evolution in real time.

Ah, so this is the Stevie Wonder album that's sandwiched between "Innervisions" and "Songs in the Key of Life". This one must've slipped under the cracks for me. Early on, this didn't sound like any Stevie Wonder album I had listened to. Further through (specifically at "Boogie On Reggae Woman") it started to grow on me. This album seems to be more somber and personal compared to the others, but there are still the familiar chords and clavinet that Wonder is known to feature in his work (Heavy shades of "Superstition" in "You Haven't Done Nothin'"). From a production and personnel standpoint, I was surprised by some of the names involved in the work for this album. For vocals specifically, you've got talent such as Paul Anka, Deniece Williams, The Persuasions and even the Jackson 5. Heck, even Michael Sembello of later "Maniac" fame plays the guitar throughout. Tonally, a different Stevie Wonder album for sure. I still enjoyed this more than I expected to, which speaks to the talent of Stevie Wonder who was already a giant in the music industry around this time.

It's got the hit single "Groovin'"... and that's about it. Gets overly sappy at times and the rest is your run of the mill 60s pop & blue-eyed soul music.

I'm hearing shades of punk and hardcore rock all throughout, but I think noise rock is a better classification. That noisiness almost drowns out the lead vocals, which are already kinda wheezy and muffled. Pretty dreary and unremarkable album as a whole.

Q-Tip was no stranger to solo endeavors at this point in his career, although "The Renaissance" came after a nine year hiatus since Q-Tip's first solo album. Q-Tip doesn't really miss a beat here and while I was not really familiar with this album prior to listening, I was/am very familiar with Q-Tip as a lyricist in a group many know as A Tribe Called Quest. There's honestly nothing super groundbreaking going on here, but the album is still pretty engaging as a whole whilst being a mellow listen thanks to Q-Tip's usual clever lyricism and smooth production. It just goes to show that the jazz-rap, progressive hip-hop sound is pretty timeless. Is this 2008 or 1991? 3.5/5

It probably took a second for many to realize at the time, but Wu-Tang Clan was a hip-hop dream team. When you consider the solo and future careers of the vast roster, it's pretty apparent that this group was a force in retrospect. Not to mention that this was Wu-Tang Clan's DEBUT album. A classic in not only the East Coast hip-hop sphere, but in ALL of hip-hop. As for the album itself, it's pretty raw and gritty throughout. After reading up on some of the album's production, this grittiness makes sense given the limited budget the group apparently had to deal with. Nothing about it sounds "cheap" though, if that makes sense. The group clearly leans into this somewhat hardcore and menacing theme all throughout, complete with many soul samples and clips from old kung-fu movies that have since been made iconic. Plus, the large roster allows each rapper to bounce off of each other and essentially "tag team" in many of these tracks, prominently shown in "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" and "Protect Ya Neck". I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the classic single "C.R.E.A.M.", which still has a resounding impact on hip-hop 30 years later. The hard-hitting, dusty sound and production of 36 Chambers might be off-putting for some people (I'll admit that the intro to "Method Man" still makes me cringe...). This is still a culturally significant album in the scope of hip-hop and even more so when zooming into the East vs West Coast hip-hop picture from the time, as the West Coast had all the momentum with the emergence of G-funk. I'd say that the East Coast hip-hop scene fared pretty well when you look at the rest of the 90s and what followed 36 Chambers.

Not familiar with this group at all. It is funny to listen to an Irish-based group sing about American cities & locations though. It seems they took a lot of inspiration from visiting the American West Coast. Early on, their sound is pretty catchy with elements of jangle rock/pop. Some country & western creeps in more towards the later half. Honestly, the vocals and overall sound remind me a bit of Ben Gibbard & Death Cab for Cutie in that they are subdued and a bit calming/lo-fi. There's a sense of longing and escapism all throughout the album, but it starts to feel a bit clumped together at a certain point and never really ventures out past that. An alright indie album, but nothing special. Just makes me want to pop on some Death Cab for Cutie to be honest. A high 2.

This is one of those hit or miss albums, as is the case with pretty much anything classified as "art rock". This sounds both of its time and ahead of its time if that makes sense. If I were to pick a specific track that encapsulates what The Velvet Underground is trying to sell here, it would probably be "Heroin". This track is a trip (pun intended) with its up and down tempo and eventual buildup into chaos with the backing instruments, eventually overtaking the vocals for the last minute or so. Likely simulating the feeling of taking heroin (not that I would know, please don't shoot up on heroin). The rest of the album is admittedly a tough listen outside of a few other songs. Much of it meanders too much in no particular direction for my liking. Groundbreaking for its time? That I can probably agree on. Would I listen again? Probably not. But what the hell do I know? I do know that having Andy Warhol design your album cover is pretty damn iconic. That's probably the most famous banana in history, next to the Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand.

I got this album long after its release when I was in college and driving an old car with a CD player as its best option for playing music. This was ALWAYS in CD slot 1. I knew most of the singles already, but was drawn in even further by the raw, visceral lyricism from one Alanis Morissette. It sounds so poppy despite the anger displayed. Many listening to this album for the first time will probably write off Morissette as "bitchy" and her voice as "grating", but her performance just sells it even more for me with each consecutive listen. This album never loses momentum. I mean there are SIX singles scattered across and are paced nicely in my opinion. Starting with the strong, anthemic "All I Really Want", right into the raw & emotional "You Oughta Know" (Who is the ex-boyfriend? Is it Uncle Joey from Full House? We'll never know!). It isn't all cranked to the max at all times though, with some lighter jams such as "Hand in My Pocket", "You Learn", and my personal favorite, the silly and iconic "Ironic". I'm a male in my mid-20's, but something about strong female artists/vocalists from this era just draws me in. I guess it's no coincidence why I also listen to Garbage, No Doubt, The Breeders, and others. These female-led groups & solo artists tend to grab my attention more than others, and I'm always willing to listen. "Jagged Little Pill" is the cream of the crop in that regard. Easy 10/10 for me.

It's interesting getting all of these Beatles albums in a non-chronological order. The group underwent a stylistic and musical evolution in such a short amount of time that it's almost fitting to listen to their work out of order due to their mostly self-contained nature. "Rubber Soul" is an album that surprisingly hasn't graced my ears much too, so I should be fortunate to listen to a majority of this for the first time. This album doesn't get too crazy, but it still has quite the range if that makes sense. You can hear the soul inspiration all throughout as well as some precursors to the psychedelic rock sound that would dominate in the following years (AKA the fellas started to dabble with drugs during the recordings). "Rubber Soul" feels like an inflection point in the Beatles discography and overall artistry when you consider what came before and what followed. This didn't blow my mind or anything, but this is still a very solid album from start to finish. Paul and John equally shine as songwriters and the production sounds clean while not being overdone. Helps that this is a fairly easy listen with every song falling in-between two and three and half minutes. Feels like a mid 9ish/10 to me but I'll round up.

I'm not here to talk about the character and beliefs of Kanye West (especially after recent years). This isn't the place for that. Instead I'm going to separate the art from the artist for the moment, transport myself back to 2004 and analyze Kanye's debut studio album. I've always been fond of this album and the whole "Dropout Bear" trilogy. This era of Kanye is him at his artistic best in my opinion. The production is top-notch, which makes sense given Kanye's history as a producer. Very soul and gospel-inspired too, given the samples featured throughout. This was also the height of "chipmunk soul" in hip-hop, which featured those noticeable sped up and pitch shifted samples of the aforementioned soul and R&B. (I was today years old when I learned that this style of hip-hop had that name. Pretty apt name I guess!) Kanye has always been socially/politically conscious and introspective in his work and the see the start of that here. The stretch of "Jesus Walks" immediately followed by "Never Let Me Down" are good examples, with the former focusing on religion and its lack of representation in media/music in favor of more "marketable" content. The latter, along with "Through The Wire", recount Kanye's experiences and reflection on life after enduring a near-death car crash during production. There is a lot to this album. The skits and what essentially amounts to a monologue in the finale "Last Call" bloats the album a bit. Some big names in the hip-hop industry lend their talents nicely here, though. It's still high quality and served as an announcement to the hip-hop world that Kanye West was more than just a solid producer and could rap about some thought-provoking content while having a little sense of humor. I wouldn't peg this as my favorite in the "Dropout Bear" trilogy, but it's still pretty damn good.

This is one of those revered albums that I’d only heard bits & pieces of prior to today. REALLY strong opening. There's a sense of unease and mystique all throughout given the dystopian and paranoia-fueled theme. Tracks like the multi-layered "Paranoid Android" and beautiful yet melancholic "No Surprises" warranted careful re-listens (among others). It's also interesting picking up on the many musical influences are are scattered throughout this album. I hear the Beatles, Beach Boys, even some prog rock in the song construction, despite everything not all being sunshine and roses. With "Britpop" dominating British rock at the time, I'm sure the experimental and gloomy sound of "OK Computer", along with Radiohead themselves, stood out and caught people's attention. This change in rock was definitely felt and 27+ years later, people are still talking about it. I think I understand the hype now.

There are hints of a distinctive jazz flair here, I like the use of the electric piano in "Part of a Whole", "Inner Crisis", and "Maesha". Reminds me of Herbie Hancock. Much of the rest slows down and shifts into the background. It's still pleasant sounding, don't get me wrong, but when you've been exposed to the likes of Miles Davis and Duke Ellington already, it's hard for a jazz record to really stand out and blow you away. In terms of ratings, jazz generally has a safe floor with me though.

There are some LONG guitar intros, outros, and breaks throughout. As a result, most of this album feels very manic-filled, chaotic, and noisy. "Noise rock" is the label I'm looking for I guess. I get that this was kind of the makeup of some alt rock from this era (Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Steve Albini-led acts, etc.). At least there's some song structure here, compared to a few other acts just from this list that I've already come across. For instance, I'd say that this is more digestible than say, "Surfer Rosa" from the Pixies which I drew many albums ago and didn't care much for. A 2.5/5 I'd say. Guess I better prepare myself for the four other Sonic Youth albums that are supposedly on this list.

Can't say I'm familiar with Elliott Smith. Immediately noticeable was the very subdued and somber delivery, almost like a whisper. It certainly matches the album's common theme too. The short run time (sub 40 min) allows for easily repeatable listens, though, and that allowed me to appreciate the content a tad more. I can see how this album (and artist) inspired some of the current lo-fi indie artists and acts. Still a little too subdued for me to get really immersed in at the end of the day, but I'm at least curious enough to check out Smith's other singles and work. Apparently he was featured quite a bit in the 1997 box office hit "Good Will Hunting", a movie I'm quite fond of. Guess that warrants a rewatch!

At this point in their careers ABBA had gone through some rough patches, notably within the group (getting romantically involved with your bandmates seems like a recipe for disaster...). They were coming off an immensely successful decade and probably had one last hurrah left in 'em at this time. This is not your standard ABBA mega-pop sound fare ala "Arrival" from a few years prior. Instead, we get an introspective, slower and more synth-laden ABBA sound here. The production and effort are still there, but I was left pining for the old ABBA midway through. "Fractured relationships" ABBA just doesn't hit the same as "happy-go-lucky" ABBA I guess. I just didn't find much of these songs memorable. Still a well-produced album, though.

It was interesting reading up on the production of this album, as many will notice the two decade gap from MBV's previous studio album to this. Sounds like there were some recordings completed prior to the band's breakup, pretty much making "mbv" a mishmash of both old and new work. You can kinda hear that here, though. There's not really much of a flow across tracks. The only other MBV album I've listened to was their debut album earlier in this list and this just feels like more of the same: the obscured vocals, and atmospheric, distorted guitar sound that MBV is known for. This just reaffirms that I still don't care much for shoegaze. That leaves one more MBV album yet to appear for me on this list ("Loveless"), maybe that one will finally impress me, but I doubt it.

I've never heard a synthesizer used in so many different ways. Just in the title track alone, the synthesizer is clearly mimicking the sounds you'd hear on the highway (or "der Autobahn") such as vehicles cruising by, the tuning of the radio in your car, and even other industrial sounds. The remaining tracks range from unnerving to happy and serene. It's hard to believe that this was released in 1974. This was my first exposure to Kraftwerk, and it's pretty evident that they were pioneers of electronic music. I'm sure their reach extends even beyond that though, as you hear Kraftwerk's influence in much of 80s synth-pop and even early hip-hop samples. The influence is recognizable, but the title track carries this album and I don't see myself coming back to this.

Is this Billy Joel's greatest album? Perhaps. This seemed to signal a breakthrough for Mr. Joel at this point in his career. Almost all of the hits are packed in here. Some of the highlights for me personally: "Just the Way You Are" - always loved this song and its construction, it's sappy but those sax breaks are delectable "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" - probably the centerpiece of the album, a epic medley of sorts telling the story of young love (and subsequent heartbreak) "Only the Good Die Young" - a jaunty tune, telling a tale of lust (and actually got Joel into a bit of trouble with religious types, making the song even MORE popular as a result) Billy Joel has always been an adept songwriter, and later a great showman, but that is probably the most evident in "The Stranger". The album itself might be a little top heavy, but it has some of the best pop-rock that the 70's had to offer and just...sounds like New York despite me never having visited there. Billy Joel went on a roll after this album.

I appreciate and acknowledge the songwriting ability of Bob Dylan, but man I quickly lost interest here. Majority of the songs and performances sound way too similar to each other, especially in the first half. There just wasn't that much energy despite being a live recording. His signature, nasally delivery takes a lot of getting used to as well. The second half, while having a bit more energy, wasn't enough to save the overall album experience for me.

I had only heard the titular track "Ray of Light" prior to this. This is an interesting Madonna album, especially if you're coming straight from her mega-hits from the 80s. I also did not know this album was that critically acclaimed. There is quite a bit going on with this album, as it melds different genres and represents a new direction for the former "Queen of Pop". "Candy Perfume Girl" literally sounds like something that a band like Garbage would've written and performed. Most of the album is centered around electronica and techno-pop, with singles such as "Ray of Light", "Nothing Really Matters", and "Frozen" leading the way. The rest of the album slows down, offering more of a downbeat and tender sound. It's unusual to me to see this album considered by many to be Madonna's magnum opus. Like many I'm sure, when I see Madonna I hear her early career pop-oriented sound rather than this. I get that most artists tend to branch out as their musical career goes on, but this album eliminated any momentum it had the longer it went on. It's really only the singles that could be labeled as techno-pop, as the rest of the album slows to a crawl. Points for trying something different and daring to be deeply emotional, though.

I think what plagues a lot of these art-rock/pop records from yesteryear is that they'll occasionally just DRAG on aimlessly without an end in sight, whether it's instrumentally or via repetition in lyrics. I totally get that this genre is setting out to be unconventional and experimental (this project has exposed me to plenty of its kind already), but it doesn't make it any more pleasant to listen to. That being said, I think this has been the most digestible of the artsy albums I've listened to from this list thus far. Something about this one didn't really irk me as much as the others. Reading on the creation of this particular album was interesting too, as Eno himself purposely sought out musically incompatible musicians to perform together, seemingly out of curiosity. I guess when you're as eccentric as Eno, you can get away with something like that. Although this album came early in Eno's career, making that kind of artistic choice even bolder.

I only know these guys as the “Scooby Snacks” guys, so wasn’t aware that they were a potentially significant group. After listening, I’m not really sure why this album was included. There are quite a bit of rock n roll samples featured which I guess seems unique at first, but then you realize the Beastie Boys were doing that for almost a decade prior. The album as a whole is pretty easy to listen to and doesn’t take itself too seriously, so I’ll give it that. Just don’t know what this album has to set itself apart from the gigantic rap acts of the 90’s. I wasn’t really buying what they were selling if that makes any sense. Like a 5/10 for me.

Half of this album is “Roundabout” and “Heart of the Sunrise”. Not really a complaint, but I don’t know what it is with prog rock and its marathon songs. The thing is, most of the rest of the album were short instrumentals that didn’t really match the energy of “Roundabout” or even “South Side of the Sky”. Makes me think that the construction of the album was fiddled with a bit too much, but I guess that was normal for prog rock of this era.

Some pretty iconic hooks here, and to think that this was the Go-Go’s debut album too. This album and group melded pop and punk together nicely (call that “New Wave” I guess). You could argue that the Go-Go’s paved the way for many pop artists too, especially female-led groups. A pretty fun listening experience overall.

Mostly pleasant folk & country rock. Coming in with newer ears, I honestly hear a twinge of Adam Duritz from the Counting Crows in the vocals. Not much stood out, though. Couldn't tell what the singles were, if there were even any. "Up on Cripple Creek" was maybe the closest thing.

Definitely a turning point for the Temptations, as the group seems to have evolved a bit from their signature Motown soul sound into more funk and psychedelia here. Of course, that soul isn't gone entirely as the second side of this album features it prominently. However, the first three tracks are very indicative of the aforementioned new direction with the title track "Cloud Nine" showcasing this right off of the bat. Honestly wouldn't have minded if the rest of the album had followed suit with side one, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

I can honestly say that I've never heard of this group before. Very interesting name. Right off the bat in "The Cutter", I'm instantly reminded of the Beatles with the use of stringed instruments in what one could only describe as "psychedelic" sounding. This isn't the last time you'll hear these eerie, yet charming strings either. The rest of the album is pretty gloomy, but something experimental was certainly brewing. Kind of reminded me of a discount Cure.

With any live album, you're really keying into the artist's performance itself as opposed to WHAT is being performed if that makes any sense. This is basically a greatest hits album at the end of the day, with each song having its own extended cut and flair. The sound mixing is also pretty damn crisp for being live. - the performance of "Highway Star" honestly sounded just as good as the studio recording, one of the highlights of this live album - drum solo on "The Mule" was pretty cool, albeit a bit long - capped by a 20 min performance of "Space Truckin'"...cool I guess... I actually enjoyed listening to this but I don't really see how live albums merit an inclusion on lists such as these, unless they are truly one of a kind and culturally significant (such as Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison" or Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged in New York" to name a select few). Regardless, I'd give this a low 3.

I've always had a soft spot for this era of garage rock revival. I guess the simplicity mixed with the crashing drums and focus on unique guitar play draws me in. The White Stripes were among those in the forefront of this revival in the early 2000s and I'd wager that nearly every human knows at least one of their songs. For the album itself, there's quite a bit packed into the 40 min of playtime. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is a great opener, the feverish pace of "Fell In Love With a Girl" always entertains, and even some of the slower, less-known tracks such as "I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman" and "I Can't Wait" were standouts to me while listening. Jack White isn't the greatest vocalist, and I don't think he is setting out to be, but I think his style, mixed with the drums of Meg White fits the garage rock energy sound well. Now I wouldn't say that this is the greatest White Stripes album, as I think their best stuff is yet to come from this point, but this was a good entry for them to enter the mainstream rock world with.

Quite the direction to take following a release such as "OK Computer". I came into this album completely blind, so hearing a mix of familiar Radiohead with electronica and what some can describe as ambient sounds was a bit jarring. It just never really struck a chord with me while listening though. I do acknowledge that this was a brave endeavor for a group of Radiohead's caliber. Burnout is very much a real thing and artists should be encouraged to experiment and change things up if they feel the need to do so. Guess I just don't have the right ears or mindset for this kind of experimental "rock", though. Nothing really stuck with me after listening, except for maybe "Idioteque".

I already received "Speakerboxx/The Love Below" on this list and while that may be OutKast's most commercially successful album, I think "Stankonia" better represents who OutKast is and their artistic evolution at the time. Those familiar with OutKast's previous work know that they were more laid-back with a strong funk influence (like most other hip-hop acts from the south), but here in "Stankonia" the tempo is noticeably cranked up and draws a wider array of influences with psychedelic rock, funk, and soul. "B.O.B." is probably the best representative of this if you're handpicking one track from this vast album. Its frantic flow, drum and bass inspired rhythms, guitar break, and the gospel-like chants of "power music, electric revival" near the end make for one hell of a five minute track. "B.O.B." is the song I hear when I think of "Stankonia". Others likely know "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Ms. Jackson" from the radio, and both are also iconic songs in their own right. The rest of the album is pretty broad and introspective in its subject matter and definitely worth closer listens. I never care for interludes in hip-hop albums, but the ones included here don't overstay their welcome too much and flow well into the proceeding tracks. I did end up scanning ahead on the 1001 albums list and it's a shame that no other OutKast albums are going to appear for me after this. I firmly believe that any of their first three albums are worthy of inclusions as each one has a signature sound whilst staying true to their southern/ATL hip-hop roots. But even if artists were limited to one album only on this list, "Stankonia" would take the cake for best representing OutKast in my opinion. A strong, "stank"y 9.5/10 for me.

I'm not super well-versed in Blur, but I can tell that this album was a departure from their early Britpop sound. Britpop was largely through by this point anyway, so perhaps it was the right time to change things up. Of course, "Song 2" (or the "Woo Hoo" song as many likely know it) sticks out like a sore thumb. A song that wasn't supposed to be that massive, as it was apparently intended to be a joke for the record company. 25+ years later, that short song has been covered, sampled, and featured almost everywhere. But that's only two minutes of an album that could be seen as a canvas for all sorts of alternative rock-adjacent sounds from a Brit-based group. Most of it is pretty noisy to be honest, but I did hear some hints of what would later become Gorillaz in Damon Albarn's vocals, a group I'm quite fond of. Not bad.

I like the comic book-style album cover. Without knowing anything about this group, makes me think I'm in for some geek rock. Hmm, not totally what I was expecting. This album jumps around quite a bit; between folk/indie rock, electronica and even funk at one point. I guess I was expecting something more high-octane, but this landed more on the Coldplay side of things when it comes to the "rock energy" scale. Not awful, but a bit forgettable at the end of the day. Teetering between a 2 and a 3. In an effort to be more critical, I'll go 2.

Those who enjoyed Wu-Tang Clan's "36 Chambers" would probably enjoy this solo endeavor from GZA. Keeping with the martial arts theme, complete with excerpts from old martial arts movies and aggressive, attacking lyricism, etc. While the production sounds cleaner than that of "36 Chambers", "Liquid Swords" doesn't quite reach those peaks. That's fine though, as a few tracks come close on their own, notably the singles and the few collabs.

This felt so much longer than 32 minutes. I guess it was the mix of the sludgy, distorted rock sound with some of the long instrumental breaks thrown in. I would say that there is some merit to this album basically laying the foundation of what would become the "heavy metal" sound, but it was a bit of a mess otherwise.

Another prog rock double album... At least it's ELO! ELO were big players in the prog rock/pop era of the 70's. I mean, it's hard to deny the catchiness of their music. Every song feels like a grandiose production, with its mix of pop and classical inspired arrangements, as well as the catchy hooks. "Mr. Blue Sky" is easily the most recognizable song of the bunch, as most movie-goers have heard it at least once. I will admit there is a lot of pomp, especially for an album of this length. One thing of note is the extensive use of the vocoder, which gives that distorted, synthesized-human voice sound. This obviously wasn't the first use of such an instrument in music, but some may have noticed its use in other popular music immediately after and even more prominently later on by the likes of Daft Punk. The experimentation in this album didn't stop there though, as some tracks such as "Jungle" and the instrumental "The Whale" stand out simply for being unique compared to the rest. A fun album, if not a bit long. Time seemed to fly by whilst listening though, so that was hardly an issue. Easily recommendable for those new to this era of prog rock/pop. Personal favorite portion of the album was side 3, "Concerto for a Rainy Day".

Well, I've officially finished the Led Zeppelin quadrilogy. Crazy that the entirety of these first four albums were recorded in less than a two and a half year span. The music production process was just different back then. This might be the better of the first four LZ albums. Like the others, "LZ II" has a few of the notable singles including "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", and "Ramble On" (my personal favorite of theirs). Once again, one can hear the mixing of blues-inspired rock with harder rock here. The iconic riffs from Page (see: "Heartbreaker" and the drum playing from Bonham (basically the entirety of "Moby Dick", for those who like those types of instrumental showcases) are notable. Lyrically still sexually charged as ever, if you're paying even an ounce of attention. The folk and fantasy inspirations records creep in with "Ramble On" as well. As with any other LZ album though, the other songs don't really stack up with the mammoth singles featured and tend to feel "filler-y" as a result. Although "Thank You" and Bring It on Home" stand out for me; the former for being more mellow and tender, and the latter bringing an interesting twist to a blues classic. I'd still consider this on par with, say, "Led Zeppelin IV".

I remember the radio playing the absolute piss outta the singles from this album back when I was in high school. As a result, I sort of despised Adele by association. In retrospect, that didn't seem fair to the artist as they themselves don't necessarily control radio play. Listening to this album in full now with more open ears just confirms the enormous talent of Adele. Starting with the signature single of hers that everyone has heard, "Rolling in the Deep", it is as emotionally charged as I remember it, complete with authoritative vocals from Adele. The rest of the album continues to explore failed romantic relationships, along with the healing and introspection that comes after. The piano ballad "Turning Tables" is a beautiful example of this introspection, as well as the more optimistic "I'll Be Waiting". Everything culminates with the powerful "Someone Like You" as the album closer. There is some musical range here. Soul is in the forefront, but there are tinges of R&B, gospel, and even country. Heartbreak-inspired songs and albums generally come off as trite to me, but a select few can add to and sell it well, and I think Adele is among those acts here. Her commanding presence via her voice bears strong resemblances to certain women of soul from the past. Even more impressive considering this was only her second album. I'd put this in my personal top 10 pop albums from the 2010s.

This album just sounds like Middle America., not sure how else to describe it. The songs are structurally simple, but also catchy thanks to Springsteen and the E Street Band's slamming guitars, crashing drums, and signature emphatic vocals. But what makes Springsteen really special is his songwriting ability. The characters he creates is his music are meant to be relatable in their hardships. While most of this particular album sounds upbeat and bubbly, the actual lyrical content is frankly pretty depressing and authentic. I mean, name a more misinterpreted song than the titular "Born in the U.S.A.". Shows you the power of a strong chorus, as that's all everyone remembers. The rest of the album explores the flaws of the so called "American Dream", complete with disillusionment and struggles experienced by the working-class. Not to say that the entire album has a doom and gloom outlook, as you could argue that optimism immediately follows themes such as these. Leave it to "The Boss" to explore this sort of subject matter whilst being the seminal entertainer that he is.

Somewhat surprised to see some Incubus representation on this list. Not that I'm disappointed, in fact I quite like Incubus. It's just that with how much this messy era of nu metal/alt metal/rap rock seems to get pooped on, I guess I wasn't expecting there to be any representation. Regardless, the album has a lot of jams, albeit a bit backloaded. "Drive" is obviously Incubus's biggest hit to many, but "Stellar" and "Pardon Me" both surpass it for me personally. Heck, even "I Miss You" was an unexpected surprise given it's one of the few slower tempo songs on the album. This is definitely a softer, more radio friendly take on nu/alt metal, or whatever you want to call it. That is totally fine by me though, as a majority of that genre is too much for me at times. However, I personally think the follow up to this, "Morning View", is the better Incubus album. The group moved away from this sorta nu metal sound and carved out a more creative project there. But on its own, "Make Yourself" is solidly enjoyable (outside of "Battlestar Scralatchtica") and a fun product of its time. 3.7/5

Goodness this was unpleasant to listen to. I get what the group is going for, basically telling storybook-like tales centered around murder in the form of song, but it became too grating at points. Nick Cave's monotone and low vocal style didn't really help with that either. The songs with guest vocalists were tolerable at best. Perhaps Mr. Cave is better suited for narrating crime fiction audiobooks.

I remember this record being a massive departure from Kanye's previous work and I honestly didn't care for it much at the time. 11 years later and this is still a tough listen. I mean, right from the start you're greeted with electronic and industrial "beats" WILDLY differing from what you've heard in the Dropout Bear trilogy or even "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" just a few years prior. This continues all throughout and mix that with Kanye's extra-abrasive and brash lyrics, and it all becomes a bit too much sonically. Kanye was always one to strive for greatness and reach for the stars from a production standpoint, and he certainly reached some high highs in his first five studio albums (plus "Watch The Throne" if you wanna count that), but I was never into this one. Drill and trap music have never really been my thing and my tastes were certainly not swayed after this recent listen.

Fleetwood Mac's magnum opus and 70's pop-rock at its best. This is a VERY recognizable album, made even more so by iconic singles such as "Go Your Own Way", "Don't Stop", and "Dreams" (the latter being especially trendy in recent years). Heck, repeated listens made me appreciate "Gold Dust Woman" a little bit more after initially brushing it off. The electric and acoustic instrumentation is blended well here, making for an easily digestible listen. Who knew that troubled relationships and drugs would make for good musical content?

Slightly tolerable noise rock at points, but the occasional unwanted guitar/instrument shrieks became piercing to my ears. Nothing really ever stands out in noise rock in my opinion.

OK, we're firmly into the meat of R.E.M.'s discography now. And boy, that's some good meat. It's interesting reading into the production of this album and how some say it marked a departure from R.E.M.'s "typical" style of music, and yet you've got singles like "Pop Song 89", "Stand", and "Orange Crush" which are memorable in their own right, and thus becoming R.E.M.-like on the way. For the product as a whole, it does a good job (for the most part) of balancing between almost bubblegum pop and then slower, more emotional mandolin-laden songs. I thought the first half of the album heavily outweighed the second half, but this is still a high quality album amongst a plethora of high quality R.E.M. albums during this era.

I’ll give it props for being one of the more interesting and creative prog rock albums, as the prominent usage of the flute stood out to me. As is the case with a lot of other albums though, one track overshadows the rest of the album. The self-titled major rock hit “Aqualung” being the obvious case here. Otherwise very folksy and mostly tolerable.

I was beginning to get burned out from this list, with some recent travel + being obsessed with the Summer Olympics causing me to fall behind as well as a stretch of mediocre albums taking up my backlog as a result. But albums like this make this challenge worthwhile. "The Dark Side of the Moon" is far from new musical territory for me, but it's always nice to have the peace of mind that a titanic album such as this was always waiting in the wings of the random generator. The greatest concept albums flow effortlessly and don't overstay their welcome. One could argue that this is THE definitive concept album, I mean there's a reason that this album is taught in pretty much any music/rock history class. The themes explored are fairly general; among those being conflict, death, and the passage of time, which are things every human experiences. These are conveyed well through their respective tracks via their instrumentation and on-the-nose existential lyricism. Those seemingly random excerpts of dialogue scattered throughout the album make sense now after reading up on the album's production, as those voices are of the staff at Abbey Road answering questions related to the themes central to the album. The album is ultimately bookended with sounds of a heartbeat, driving home the overarching theme of human life and its experiences. Definitely one of the few classic rock albums that deserves its spot on the pantheon of the "greatest of all time" lists. The production is top-notch, as the instrumentation featured throughout is the main character here in my opinion. Guitar solos, synthesizers, ticking clocks, cash registers, etc. An already memorable album made even more so by it's unique instrumentation.

Nice to see some Foo Fighters representation on this list, although I think their best work came in the albums immediately following this one. It's weird, but I've noticed that the author(s) of this list seem to have a bias for artist's earlier work, almost looking past an artist's overall body of work. Regardless, Foo Fighters are always a fun listen. This album in particular feels a bit top-heavy though. Hard to fault the Foo Fighters for that, considering that this album's production was practically a one-band band in the form of one Dave Grohl.

Very summery and reggae-y, but with an indie twist. Pretty comfy, but nothing earth-shattering. Never really took off I felt.

Probably the most recognizable of the Doors albums, and it was their debut album to boot! Mostly everything sounds very polished, with iconic psychedelic rock tracks such as "Break on Through", "Light My Fire", and one of my favorites "Soul Kitchen". The Doors really exemplify this era of late-60's psychedelic rock for me, as I was exposed to them frequently throughout my youth. I will agree that some songs tend to meander a bit here (that's a Jim Morrison special), but The Doors are still a psychedelic rock-era staple to me and I never tire of listening to their hits.

Prince's first solo endeavor. Immediately noticeable were the electronic drums featured throughout, almost sounding like a futuristic version of rock for the time. The album as a whole was a bit too up-and-down energy-wise for me, though. It just never maintains a high level, alternating between classic Prince horndog ballads and outright forgettable tracks. It almost feels directionless. I had heard that this album was one of Prince's more critically acclaimed coming into my first listen and I couldn't help but leave a bit disappointed. I can't deny that the album as a whole is produced well, which keeps my rating of it afloat.

Laid back and more subdued glam rock, but that's to be expected for those familiar with Lou Reed and his previous work. "Walk on the Wild Side" is the most notable track here (hip-hop heads will recognize that bassline sample...) as it sounds simultaneously seedy yet cool, indicative of the subject matter. I hadn't heard any of the other tracks prior to getting this album, so other ones that stood out to me were the sarcastic "Vicious", the softer "Perfect Day", and the more traditional glam rock-y "Satellite of Love". You can certainly hear Bowie's influence on this album. Yet Lou Reed is distinctively different from Bowie in many ways with his performance. "Transformer" is a fun jaunt and over quick enough to warrant another listen, so take a walk on the wild side one more time why don't ya?

Pretty easy to listen to, albeit safe and somewhat cliched heartland/country rock. Seemingly riding the wave of the Springsteen heartland rock sound of a few years prior.

Interesting album to say the least. A much different take on indie rock, with country, Tejano, and jazz thrown in. It definitely SOUNDS southwestern and desert-y, which makes sense considering that this group was apparently formed in Tuscon, Arizona. There seems to be an even mix of vocal and instrumental tunes as well, really bringing the spotlight to this interesting fusion of western genres. Just shy of a 3.5/5 for creativity, as there weren't really any specific tracks that I was pining to go back and listen to, but the body of work was certainly interesting.

At least "Autobahn" was fun, this one was...significantly more dull. Things only started to get interesting at and after the title track, as the rest of the album ranged from monotonous to almost tedious. I'm already aware of Kraftwerk's impact on electronic music, I shared my thoughts on this when I drew "Autobahn" a few months ago. This one just felt more of the same and less exciting to me. At least "Trans-Europe Express" gave us "Planet Rock" a few years later.

OK, this is more like it. Second Kraftwerk album in a row for me, but THIS is what I was expecting to hear from the group. Electro pop that one can dance do, but also simply sit down and digest. Most of the album sounds soft and uplifting, which you didn't really hear much in this era of early electronic music. I think this is the Kraftwerk album that you can point to in terms of being the bridge to the synth-pop era of music that emerged in the early 80's.

Strong opening track and overall debut album for a fairly well known rock group that I don't claim to be familiar with. I don't know why, but CSN was just never a group I was exposed to. Could be that they're way before my time, but even then I tend to lean towards older rock music thanks to my dad or whatever is featured in pop culture via the way of video games and movies. There's some good folk rock here, and each member harmonizes very well with each other. Super reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel, but these guys certainly weren't nobodies in the rock industry at the time. Easy recommendation for those looking for something lighter in a sea of psychedelic and hard rock from the late 60s.

I've always appreciated the guitar playing of J Mascis. I think the usage of feedback and distortion in the guitar always been the main draw of Dinosaur Jr (Nothing against his vocals, though I think there's actually a charm to his drawl). It's weird, I normally despise noise rock but I'd put Dinosaur Jr. on the fringe of that label as their noise, while in the forefront, isn't completely overwhelming like other acts. Their sound is more melodic and will feature extended solos from time to time. "Bug" probably isn't their greatest album (Mascis doesn't care for it himself, apparently), but the opening track "Freak Scene" is classic Dinosaur Jr. wrapped into one song. Simple and short lyrically with prominent guitar solo breaks to bridge the verses. The rest of the album stays afloat until around the penultimate song or so, then gets a little too wacky for my tastes. The overall body of work isn't bad, though there might be better album representatives for Dinosaur Jr.

I'm sure getting a lot of politically charged albums lately, huh. Hard not to hear Radiohead in early Muse, though I think that saying Radiohead is the more impactful group is the obvious statement of the century. I dunno, this album started out well enough but sort of lost its legs midway through. I was expecting it to be a little harder and rawer given the theme, but it all got softer to me. Credit where credit is due though, some various and unique musical inspirations bleed through here. Specifically "Knights of Cydonia", with its mix of hard rock with surf rock riffs.

An interesting mix between frantic and and calming jazz. Outside of the track titles, I don't really hear or see this religious subtext that many critics seem to mention, but I do hear Coltrane essentially sing or narrate through his saxophone. This is mostly evident in the final movement, "Psalm", which takes a more gospel or soul-like approach in its mood. This list has given me an opportunity to expose myself more to jazz, with some being seminal works, and others more mixed in public opinion. I'm not sure I'd quite put this on "Kind of Blue" level, but it's still grandiose in its own right.

This is interesting, as it's supposedly a soundtrack/concept album for a non-existent crime film. Not sure I've ever come across a work like this but I'll be honest, this music does not sound like anything that you'd expect to hear in any serious crime film. Maybe more for a film noir-type thing (not that those types are unserious, per se), which is probably what Adamson was going for here. Not sure about its inclusion on this list, though. I don't know how impactful a fake film score can really be and I couldn't possibly imagine anyone choosing to sit down and listen to this from start to finish. 2/5 solely for the honor of being the first (and probably only) fake film score that I've ever listened to.

This might be too much RHCP for some people and that's totally understandable. This is undoubtedly one of their better works though, as the group embraces their funk roots whilst entering the alt rock era of the early 90's. Also their lewdest album, for better or for worse. Despite the latter point, some of their biggest singles make an appearance here; including "Give It Away" and "Suck My Kiss". But my personal favorite track of theirs doesn't follow their traditional sound and song structure, that being the vulnerable and soft "Under the Bridge". Almost odd that it is featured on this album when you think about it. With all of that being said, fatigue does set in at a certain point on this album, namely after track 12. The highs are high, but the flaws rear their ugly head a few times throughout.

So from what I understand, this is a collection of songs from a German composer encapsulating the Weimar Republic-era, sung (mostly) in English by a German vocalist. Very much theatrical or cabaret, as well as being the first record of its kind that I've willingly listened to. I can definitely appreciate the vocalist here, but I'll be honest in saying that this was a slog to listen through. I think a performance like this is more appreciated as a live offering.

Definitely more glam rock inspired britpop, but I find myself becoming less and less interested in these 90s britpop albums as I go along. It also doesn't help that much of this is overly and uncomfortably sensual, so I guess the album cover should've been a sign. Much different than "Different Class" from a few years prior, but I don't think this quite reaches the heights of that entry in Pulp's discography. I'll leave this one behind.

Knew nothing of this group or album prior to listening, but immediately hearing "Intro" felt like an epiphany. I've heard that track so much across YouTube, social media, and in adverts that I honestly thought it was royalty-free music or something similar until now. The more you know... Now onto the rest of the album. "Less is more" is the theme here, as the sound production is minimalistic, yet very crisp. Touching on themes such as love, desire, and loss, everything feels and sounds intimate as a result of this combination. Intentional or not, some of the songs that feature both of the vocalists come off as romantic duets. However, I do think this style of production tends to result in the separate tracks bleeding into each other a bit. If you've heard one track with short guitar figures and clapping percussion, you've almost heard them all. This is a very 2009 album, pretty much smack dab in an era of budding indie pop acts. Not to say I completely hated this album, in fact I quite enjoy that era of indie pop/rock. This album hits a sort of ceiling midway through and doesn't strive to do much more than that.

Leonard Cohen is a name I've heard, but never really heard his work. Go figure that the first album of his that I'll listen to was apparently his last recorded album. I'm sure I can expect some dark subject matter. Due to Cohen's unfortunate health issues later in his life, he was subjected to recording this album from his living room, and it certainly sounds the part. Very personal and stripped down, with Cohen's noticeably aged and low delivery. Everything is obviously introspective and poetic, as Cohen and co. were well aware that this would be his swan song from the music industry. Hard not to be reminded of David Bowie's "Blackstar" from earlier that same year, with very similar circumstances and theme. These "swan song" albums are never easy listens, but there's a certain charm to the end product we receive when an artist knows that his or her time is running out. It really allows them to step outside their comfort zone and get more artsy and self-reflective with their work.

More jam band live album-madness. This one was palatable due to the easy-listening of their blues/country rock style, which I'd say lends itself somewhat well to the live environment. Not much more than a 3 though, as I don't consider too many live albums "ground breaking".

Imagine creating such an anti-government/military album that you get yourself severely beaten and your mother killed as a result, all while pioneering the Afrobeat genre into popularity. Reading the background of this album and immediate aftermath was eye-opening to say the least. Fela Kuti was one of a kind, standing in the face of corruption from the Nigerian government and military complex, sharing his views via a music genre in which he largely created. Just goes to show you how powerful music can be as a weapon, commanding everyone's attention whether they want to hear the message or not.

Faithfull certainly has a unique voice, giving her this sort of "edge" compared to other vocalists from around this era. I personally think it sells the emotion better, and Faithfull certainly had a rough go of it in the years leading up to this album's production from the sounds of it. That emotion really culminates all throughout. The closing "Why'd Ya Do It" is probably the stand out track here, as it's basically six minutes of scathing bitterness directed towards an unfaithful lover. To be honest, a lot of this sounds like it could've been released a decade or two later, given the popularity of women in rock that would come later. But alas, this one can certainly be appreciated on its own.

This is as synth pop as synth pop gets. I mean, the title track is probably the flagship song of its genre. Lennox's vocals and image paired with Stewart's production made for a powerful musical duo. As for the album, "Love Is a Stranger" and "The Walk" stood out as the other fun and standout synth-pop hits (especially if you're me and hadn't heard much outside of "Sweet Dreams"). But I thought the album noticeably slowed down and changed tone after the title track. This almost feels like a mini double album as a result. Not awful, but just took me out of the listening experience a bit.

Today I learned what swamp rock & blues are. Today I also learned that I do not care for swamp rock & blues music. I will give it one thing, this definitely sounds the part of "swamp rock". Very inspired by R&B from the deep south, specifically New Orleans, with the "swampy" sound being brought on by the psychedelia and voodoo influences that are displayed. It all becomes a bit much to take in and eventually becomes tiring to listen to, though. I feel like I just sat through a voodoo ritual in the middle of the bayou swamp. The underlying R&B rhythms are somewhat catchy at least.

The Beastie Boys were highly influential, using their punk origins to blend hip-hop with rock. Born from that was their massive debut album "Licensed to Ill", eventually becoming the first Billboard #1 rap/hip-hop album ever. All from three white Jewish dudes in New York. This is probably one of the greatest debut records of all time. It certainly got a lot of play from me when I was younger and still getting exposed to hip-hop. The rock samples (as well as ACTUAL guitar play from Kerry King himself) mixed with the group's goofy delivery (and equally goofy lyrics) commanded my attention then and still does to this day. Not really a bad track here, although I think the run of tracks from "Fight for Your Right" to the end especially are matched by few in all of music. The best part is that their discography somehow gets even better from here depending on who you ask. It turns out that these dudes were just getting started.

Alright, let's start here: instrumentally, this whole record SOUNDS pretty ahead of its time. Could be that synth-pop was still somewhat in its infancy around this era. It's all pretty minimalist in the production too, with some obvious nods to 50's rock melodies, somehow sounding simultaneously classic and modern. That being said, I didn't care too much for the trying-to-be-Elvis-like talk singing vocals. It somehow got more uncomfortable as the record went on. I don't think anything of value would've been lost if this was just purely instrumental.

This album was all over the place, but in a good way. I saw the "art rock" label for this album before turning it on and expected the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the highlights were surf rock, psychedelia, synth rhythms, etc. all with a modern twist. Not much else to say honestly, would recommend listening to this at least once through.

You know what you're getting when you pop on some CCR. This particular album is short and sweet and sticks to its blues rock roots amidst a crowd of drug-induced, psychedelic rock from the time. The fact that Fogerty and the boys pumped out three albums in 1969 alone (this being the 2nd of the 3) was impressive. Never a dip in quality, plus gave us some iconic hits such as the self-titled "Green River" and "Bad Moon Rising".

One-fourth of the great quartet of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, this was the debut solo album effort of Stills. Starting with his biggest hit, the jubilant "Love the One You're With", this album jumps between some folk rock that many would expect and some harder and funkier rock with the help of names like Hendrix and Clapton. Heck, even Ringo came in to play the drums on a few tracks, so this album is actually pretty loaded with talent. I don't know if that helps or hinders Stills in terms of showcasing his solo chops (seemed like only a handful of songs featured him prominently), but there's definitely no lack of effort in the production.

Can't say I know too many Brazilian metal groups, so this one caught me a tad by surprise. The lyrical content is usually the same throughout thrash/death metal (I feel) but it's generally overshadowed by the heavy guitar or, more notably here, the drum playing. The breakneck pace in which Igor Cavalera plays the drums throughout is almost mesmerizing. Rest of the album kind of blends together to me, though. Death metal has never really been my scene but I can appreciate the craft in moderation. I'm sure this album is more important in some music circles.

This might be my first time ever willingly listening to worldbeat music. Pretty interesting getting a taste of traditional music (in this case, originating from Senegal and Pulaar-speaking regions) mixed with pop. Despite not being able to comprehend the Pulaar language, the rhythms are pretty soothing and the tracks feature a different mix of musical styles & instrumentation all throughout. The instrumentation definitely sounds of its time too (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, the 90's were an eclectic time for music in my opinion). Some tracks dragged on a bit too long for my liking, though.

I'm somewhat aware of The Cure and their contributions to post-punk and new wave in the 80s, but it felt many of the tracks on this particular record were the same. Long, droning guitar progressions as the intro, followed by the first of a few introspective verses 1-2 min later. A formula was certainly followed here and the allure isn't as special when there's only a slight variation of it a few minutes later. They certainly nailed the gloomy aesthetic they were setting out for though, I can't deny that. I guess I just don't have the nostalgia everyone on the review board seems to have for this album. I didn't hate it entirely, but there's definitely a specific subset of listeners that would really dig this.

Getting more of Cohen's discography I see. I got his very last album just a few weeks ago, so it's nice to be able to hear something from Cohen's prime to get a better idea of what he brought to music. With only two Cohen albums under my belt, it's clear that he used his signature, low vocal delivery the best way he could; creating a sense of gloominess without being totally serious. "Everybody Knows" is probably the best example of my aforementioned point. Instrumentally, the album is a bit here and there (i.e. "Jazz Police"), but that doesn't negate the poetic chops that Cohen displays brilliantly here.

This album tries to do too much while simultaneously being cookie-cutter. Like, there's country and blues rock, but also some of what sounds like R&B (almost Sade-like). Nothing seemed super special about the lyrical content, some of it falling under standard country fare to my ears. Now I have nothing against Raitt, her next album has some good stuff, but I was honestly surprised to see that this album won a Grammy in 1990.

Album #200! Here it is, the first real big rock opera. Not so much a popular concept for albums nowadays, but The Who's "Tommy" is probably the first album many think of when it comes to the classic rock opera format. It's grandiose in concept, but also authentic to its rock roots ("Underture" comes to mind, as it's a solo like many are accustomed to hearing from The Who). It's fun and also a little disturbing at points in its content. You would think that a work like this would spawn from a well-seasoned and experienced group, but realizing that the members of The Who were largely in their mid-20's during this album's recording was pretty surprising. Rockstars from the 60's certainly grew up fast (maybe the drugs helped with that). Anyway, hopefully this inspires you to drop some acid and play some pinball or something.

Mostly light Latin rock with hip-hop elements. Although as a Jurassic 5 fan, I did have to do a double-take when I suddenly heard Chali 2na in "Who's To Blame". I feel like I've heard "Saturday Night" somewhere else before as well (maybe because it sounds like the Black Eyed Peas, which is apt for this time period), but nothing else really pushed the needle for me. It all sounded pretty safe and by the book.

I went on a huge 90's power pop kick within the last year and there's just something about the cheeriness and the focus on melodic hooks that I can't get enough of. Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet, etc., all of these artists were commonly in rotation. Sugar was among those too, but something was slightly different about them. I was wowed by the explosion of sound I was hearing, especially in their debut album "Copper Blue". Not to say it was anything like Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", but the thick & vibrant guitar riffs mixed with frontman Bob Mould's baritone and sort of nasally vocals leading the melodies kind of did it for me. Some of the tracks on "Copper Blue" sound like they drag on a bit, but otherwise the middle of this album is really strong. There are some absolute earworms here too, which is the point of power pop. This wave of power pop kind of briefly came in and out of the spotlight, but it no doubt paved the way for pop-punk to emerge later, which is another one of my favorite genres. For that, I am grateful to these power pop acts such as Sugar & others. Who knew that songs based around yearning & despair would be so damn catchy?

Pretty scathing stuff here, as The Smiths set their sights against the English education system, corporeal punishment, and even eating meat among other topics. It all sounds so...dreamy along the way despite the content matter, probably thanks to Morrissey's crooning style of vocals in the front & center and the jangly guitar sound heard throughout. But The Smiths were a well-organized kit, as said guitar playing/overall composition from Marr, bass from Rourke, and drums from Joyce were vital here and can't go unnoticed. Back to the actual content of the album: while heavy-handed at times, the messages are certainly received thanks to the aforementioned collective talents of the group. There will be more of The Smiths in this list I'm sure.

Not familiar with the late Laura Nyro's discography at all. Quite the soul voice amidst all of the musical layers heard throughout. The tempo changes quite frequently, ranging from more of an upbeat pop sound, to some slower blue-eyed soul & gospel. It was a fun listen, if not a little inconsistent as a whole.

"Two Weeks" is an indie pop classic from this era, but my knowledge of Grizzly Bear pretty much ends there. Everything else sounds very artsy and chamber pop-y. Never has the label "chamber pop" sounded more accurate, as the cacophony of instruments I heard in the last 50 min quite literally sounded like they were playing from within an echo chamber. Interesting sounds for sure, that also feel like they linger on a bit long. I still like this era of 2000's/2010's indie pop, though, and you can argue that a ton of creativity resulted from it. (Note: I definitely recognize "Fine For Now" after listening, as I recall Logic sampling that track)

Ah, The King of the Blues. I admittedly have not been exposed too much to B.B. King, so perhaps a live album is a good launching point. Blues music tends to sound same-y as a whole, but I think it thrives in a live setting. This is a pretty clean live production and King exudes a ton of charm throughout, energizing the patrons of the Regal Theater with his guitar and banter. Makes you wish you could slip back in time for one night to take in this legendary performance firsthand.

Shifting right from blues to heavy metal on this list. This album name is very appropriate, as the content is moody, heavy-sounding, but also very groove-oriented in its construction. A bit of a departure from the speedier thrash metal sound that was prominent in the 80's. "Walk" is pretty iconic in those regards with its ever present riff, but other tracks such as "This Love" and "Hollow" play with tempo changes, eventually getting heavier as they near their respective close. My metal-listening experience is pretty limited, but I can acknowledge that this album is genre defining in that it marked a change in both Pantera's sound and in the heavy metal genre. Enjoyed this more than I expected to.

This seems like a mix of "old" and "newer" Radiohead in terms of the sound. Of course, still socially conscious as ever, but the group attempts to bridge the traditional rock sounds of their "OK Computer" days with the experimental, electronic sounds from "Kid A" and after here. It's fine I guess, if not a bit inconsistent. I've never cared for "Kid A", contrary to how others seem to feel about it, and I've always preferred Radiohead's earlier work & sound. Maybe that opinion will change as I get more Radiohead albums in this list, but I doubt it. On to the next one I guess.

A heavy album in multiple senses. Released during the heyday of grunge rock, Seattle's own Alice In Chains second album "Dirt" tells it how it is from the inside out. Heavy drug use, depression & self-loathing, and death are among the themes covered by the late Layne Staley, Cantrell & co. here. Given all of that, Alice In Chains sounds the most cohesive they've ever sounded here thanks to the guitar work and harmonic vocals that are somehow both simultaneously haunting and enchanting. Definitely AIC's best work and a seminal album in the 90's era of grunge/metal. AIC fit into this scene whilst being pretty unique in their sound Favorite tracks: Them Bones, Rooster, Angry Chair, Would?

"Cornbread Moon" was a fantastic album starter, not what I expected to hear out of the gate from a 70's country-rock album. Not that the tracks immediately following it were overshadowed, but it's hard to live up to a track titled "Cornbread Moon". The rest of the album is honestly pretty fun and adds its own take on the Hank Williams-esque, honky tonk country music from yesteryear via the electric guitars and the synth sound that was beginning to emerge in the music industry.

Happy belated 30th birthday, Ready to Die! The late Biggie Smalls used his larger-than-life persona and delivery to story tell like the best of them in the rap industry. That was in full display here in what was somehow Biggie's debut album. It's a tale of rags to riches, life and death, everything in-between. I'm always somehow surprised that Biggie was in his early 20's during the production of this album, as he already sounds so seasoned with his loose & effortless rhyming. There are some pretty slick samples here too, as the production team pulled from various funk tracks to create these now iconic hip-hop samples ("Juicy", "Big Poppa", etc. Impossible to get out of your head!). Of course, it wouldn't be a 90's hip-hop record without some casual misogyny and countless sexual references thrown in. The interludes and end of song skits can be a bit much at times and bloat the album here. With all of that being said, this is an important album in not only the East Coast hip-hop scene, but in all of hip-hop. Biggie broke into the limelight with "Ready to Die", catapulting him to the forefront of the East Coast hip-hop scene. He only got bigger from there, unfortunately getting murdered at the height of his popularity. However, Biggie's legacy lives on through his two mammoth studio albums, and "Ready to Die" was a pretty damn aptly named album for his debut.

Only having heard some of Cohen's later works, this feels much more low-energy in comparison. I mean, nothing will match the gloominess of his final album, but here the production is stripped down, leaving Cohen to his vocals and guitar (and a noticeable amount of the Jew's harp hovering in the background of most tracks). At this point for me (after listening to three of his albums in about the span of a month) what you see/hear is what you get with Leonard Cohen. More of a pure storyteller who prefers minimalist production ala Bob Dylan. Can be charming, but drones a bit after a while. There are probably a few Cohen albums I've yet to get to on this list, but I'm not exactly eager to get to them at this point.

A classic in the Rolling Stones discography. The Stones lean into what they did best here, and that's hard/blues-oriented rock. I could personally take or leave the few British honkey tonk, country-like tracks though. A pretty heavy and dirty album at points, this album is bookended with some classics. All things considered, a pretty good production given the turmoil within the group at the time.

Not as fun as "Transformer" I feel. A noticeable departure from the glam rock sound that Reed featured in the album prior and also what initially drew me in. There were some hints of beauty, but otherwise it was mostly bleak.

Only knew of “Brass in Pocket” coming into today and as is the case with most other albums with a prominent single, I figured the rest of this album wouldn’t quite stack up to that. I’d say I was quite wrong there, as the entire album was pretty enjoyable and somewhat up my alley. This is very early pop-punk/punk rock and its release date is appropriate, as it sounds like a bridge between the 70's and 80's. I'm not sure this could've worked with anyone other than Chrissie Hynde on vocals too, as she adds her own "punk rock girl" flair with some tender and soft tracks mixed in.

Is this unintelligible on purpose? You're immediately greeted with screaming over an explosion of sounds, which is guess is a sign of things to come over the next 45 minutes or so. There is actually some decent guitar playing underneath most of this, but the visceral Elvis-like vocals gave me whiplash. Throwing punk and blues together is an interesting genre fusion that may be slightly more appreciated in a live setting (for those who are even into that...). I appreciate both independently, but this just wasn't it for me.

Very bizarre, yet descriptively crooning lyrics/vocals. I think the accompanying classical arrangements really complete the deal here, creating an almost cinematic picture in your mind whilst listening. Not really my scene, but I can appreciate it.

Back when Metallica was thrash-ier! Interesting song construction throughout too, with multilayering and dynamics being experimented with here. It's quality over quantity here, as there are a few marathon tracks that fill the album's nearly hour long runtime. Metallica is probably one of the few groups that can get away with these longer metal tracks, as the technical dexterity of each of the guitarists are second to few. I'll admit that I was pretty casual when it came to Metallica and metal in general before taking on this challenge, but as a result I've become a little more tolerant and appreciative of the genre and its subgroups a bit more. It was interesting to hear Metallica's first commercial breakthrough before they eventually transitioned from this thrash metal sound in the 90's. I think I prefer this to the latter to be honest.

Hell yeah. A Tribe Called Quest is probably one of my favorite hip-hop groups of all time. They expertly melded jazz with rap during arguably one of the most creative eras of rap music. All while exuding both coolness and goofiness. One could say that ATCQ were among the acts who spearheaded the 90's alternative hip-hop movement with their debut here. ...And what a debut this was. The group already sounds pretty seasoned and they flow effortlessly in their rhymes here. Most will come for "Bonita Applebum" and "Can I Kick It?" (and rightfully so), but their silly, storytelling side shines ("...El Segundo" & "Pubic Enemy"), as well as other standout lyrical performances from Q-Tip specifically ("Footprints" & "Description of a Fool"). It's all a cohesive and clean-sounding production, helped more so by the fitting samples used throughout. It's wild to consider that the Tribe got better from here, as their next two albums specifically are among their greatest works IMO. "People's Instinctive Travels..." was a great launching point for the group though, and heralded in another evolution for hip-hop immediately following the "gangsta rap" era. Long live alternative hip-hop.

I can get with some garage rock. I like how like 80% of this album is themed around British nightlife/pub culture and yet never feels stale. Each track has a story to tell amid the crashing drums and clangy guitar chords. It's just a fun romp, as were most other garage rock acts from this era.

Ah, the "Girl From Mars' group! Outside of that, a pretty typical power pop/garage rock album from the mid 90's. It's fun and a lil goofy ("I can't live without my Kung Fu movies!") and I don't think it's trying to be more than that. After having a good listen, Ash honestly sounds like an Irish version of Weezer to me. Go figure that they toured with Weezer for a bit around this album's release.

I thought I hadn't heard of this group prior to today, but everything came back to me with the first track "Spellbound". I've definitely heard that track a few times, as it's usually included in any "best of" post-punk playlist. The rest of the album is pretty unconventional and unique for its genre, immediately heard in the very next track of "Into the Light". I don't think I've ever heard guitar effects quite like what were featured there and elsewhere in the album This is a VERY fitting album to get in October, as there's this dark and haunting aura felt/heard throughout (plus a track literally titled "Halloween"!). The aforementioned guitar playing and Siouxsie's smooth, yet equally distraught vocals definitely play parts in that feeling of mine. I was very impressed with this album and it's ALMOST a 5 for me, but I think the album loses some steam in its back half. But man, those first few tracks were strong.

Pretty low-key, personable (and sorta depressing) country music. I was kind of taken aback from the intro due to how personal and direct it was actually. Outside of that, sounds like something you'd listen to whilst drinking a whiskey at home in your dimly lit living room on a weeknight.

I'm certainly no stranger to Mariah Carey. I mean, she's only been a mainstay in pop/R&B for the better part of 30 years (without aging somehow) and those who live under a rock certainly at least know her for her Christmas song covers. This album has seemingly escaped me though. I come into this having listened to Carey's previous album "Daydream" a ton back in the day and I'd consider that among my personal favorite R&B albums. "Butterfly" seems to pale in comparison in a way unfortunately. It's almost entirely slow ballads with some hip-hop features mixed in. I don't feel like Carey really showcased her impressive vocal range here like she did in her previous albums. There just isn't a smash hit here, it's all too safe and by the book. I guess this is an OK R&B record on its own, but I personally feel that there are better album representatives for Mariah Carey the vocalist.

Everything just comes together here. The songwriting, production, the overall mood & emotion. Heck, we've even got the legendary John Paul Jones on some arrangements here. It's a pretty somber record when you peel things back a bit; complete with themes of hopelessness, loss, and mortality, but the aura is unmatched by any other R.E.M. record. I get a sense of nostalgia listening to this, despite it releasing before I was born. It commands your attention, you're left ruminating on every string/note from Berry, Buck, and Mills & every word from Stipe. The group really hit their stride here, and that's even including the run of successful albums released before this one. There's less of that familiar R.E.M. jangle pop and more of a ballad-laden, scaled down sound given the melancholic content. Yet, it never feels directionless. It all culminates into (IMO) R.E.M.'s greatest work.

Despite not having much exposure to PJ Harvey prior to this, I sort of already knew what to expect coming in. Harvey sounds like she's on the verge of exploding at all times. That's raw, unadulterated emotion pouring out of every verse. Unfortunately, and this may sound like a nitpick, Harvey's voice tends to be drowned out by the instrumentals at times throughout the album. Not sure if that was an intentional choice to match the frenetic and moody nature of the album. Outside of that, a pretty unique experience and a window into the era of female-driven rock acts of the 90's.

Listening to early Queen is interesting. This obviously predates their "signature" Queen sound heard later in the 70's, but the artiness is already there. There are hints of The Who and Led Zeppelin in here, but the group was the first to admit this. What set Queen apart during this time were their guitar arrangements (thanks to Brian May), and their desire to be unique, blending hard rock with art rock elements. Their signature uses of multi-layered overdubs and harmonious vocals also appear to debut here. This album has two pretty distinctive sides to it, the first of which ("Side White") being more guitar-focused and a heavier sound. The second side ("Side Black") fully leans into a more fantastical aspect with Freddie Mercury shining here. You've got a kingdom named Rhye and ogre battles galore! Listeners could honestly treat this as two separate short albums as a result. I've been plenty exposed to Queen during my youth, but this album specifically was never one that crossed my path. You can definitely hear the group refining their sounds and finding their feet here. I thought it was a little inconsistent for my tastes, but the best was yet to come of course.

Simon & Garfunkel are always an easy listen. Both gentlemen were already well-versed and well-known in the music industry at this point in time, but this album is significant as it signaled the end of the duo's legendary run together. This is probably their most eclectic work without totally deviating from the folk rock sound they considered home. Immediately starting with a gospel-inspired track, followed by some Andean-inspired world music, rockabilly, jazz, and reggae. Highlights include the classic "Cecilia" (something about that reverb...), "Baby Driver", the self-titled track (where Garfunkel gets to shine), and the fun live cover of "Bye Bye Love". "Bridge Over Troubled Water" signified an amicable end to Simon & Garfunkel's successful musical partnership. It's the duo arguably at their best and also their most ambitious. They certainly went out with a bang before enjoying varying levels of success in their solo endeavors later on. This record is a perfect audio example of "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".

Oasis IS Britpop. Regardless of how one feels about the group, they are what most think of when it comes to this era of Britpop explosion/revival in the 90's. There's just a little more polish with them and the guitars are heavier than most of the other acts. Once again, another example of a group finding their footing pretty much right out of the gate. Sure, some of the lyricism is pretty nonsensical (i.e. the enunciation in "Cigarettes & Alcohol" is pretty funny), but it's a righteous romp mostly all the way through. Singles such as "Live Forever" and "Supersonic" highlight the record, but some of the lesser known tracks I personally enjoyed were "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "Slide Away". The Gallagher brothers were/are pretty insufferable, but they, along with "Bonehead", "Guigsy", and McCarroll created something good here. And boy, they were just getting started too...

No joke, this album generated the day I'm flying out to California for the first time. 1001 Albums knows too much... Anyway, what better way to prepare for a trip to Cali with LA's own Red Hot Chili Peppers! This is probably RHCP at their collective best. A bit front-loaded and nonsensical at times, massive hits such as "Scar Tissue", "Otherside", and the title track are instantly recognizable by many and helped shoot them back into the rock mainstream after a bit of a lull leading up at the time. But like I said, those hits are found within the first six tracks of the album. the second half is a bit hit or miss with some slower, more melodic tracks. Still one of the group's stronger works, though, and helped establish their more modern sound.

That opening riff of "Seven Nation Army" shoulda been a sign of things to come! The garage rock revival was fully in effect here, and the duo of Jack & Meg White were among those at the front of this movement. Probably their biggest album, I would argue that "Elephant" didn't really tread new ground, but rather refined an already existing sound that the White Stripes had been cooking up for a few years at this point. Typically a bare bones approach to garage rock (where do you think the "garage" from garage rock comes from?) the duo blends that raw, energetic rock with some tenderness here and it all hardly feels out of place. A fun listen where you can't help but lose track of time throughout.

This one pleasantly surprised me. Not that I'm completely unfamiliar with Joni Mitchell, but a lot of folk artists from this era tend to be TOO low key and one-note. This album was somehow both equal parts lively and equal parts mellow. The songwriting was strong for the most part, allowing each track to flow along thanks to the jazz flourish that accompanies this record. A fairly easy and fun listen that clocks in at less than 40 min. Fav tracks: Help Me, Down to You

I know *of* Wilco and their place in 90s-2000s indie rock, but I've only heard their hits intermittently across the years. I understand that this is a pretty big indie album too, I think many can instantly recognize those Marina City towers shown on the cover. It's pretty mellow throughout as one would expect, although the transition from "Ashes of American Flags" to "Heavy Metal Drummer" was pretty jarring. Things sorta picked up for a bit from there, but the rest of the album lands a bit too softly for my tastes. There was some interesting instrumentation here and there so it's tough to call this "cookie cutter", but it's probably not one I'd be raring to revisit anytime soon. I think there are more interesting indie artists from the 2000s (that probably don't get much recognition in this list if I were to wager a guess).

I had apparently previously listened to another album from this artist as part of this list, but I have very little recollection of doing so. This is pretty out there, with traditional jazz sounds being accompanied by interesting instrumental choices such as the use of the mandolin, autoharp, and different types of electric pianos among others. However, Martyn's delivery is pretty unwelcoming and doesn't really complete the musical picture here. File this under: "Immediately forgotten after listening".

Good to see you again, Mr. Drake. I was previously exposed to his second album "Bryter Layter" thanks to this list, so getting the opportunity to listen to his debut should be interesting and hopefully enlightening. It's a pretty subdued debut to be honest, but I only have two of Drake's albums to work off of for reference. The songwriting seeds were certainly planted here, though. Right out of the gate you can tell that the then young Nick Drake had a way with words and never wasted a moment on each track. This album specifically finds its legs later on after a bit of a slow start. Almost like it's opening up to the listener after getting comfortable. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's a shame that we lost Nick Drake so young. Looking forward to getting his third and final album, whenever that may be.

This group truly has a unique sound and I'm surprised I've never heard of them before now. I'm not sure many would've thought to combine rockabilly and punk rock together, but that's what we have here. It strangely works too, though I'm sure it might be polarizing to some. When you look closer, both genres are similar in that they are generally stripped down instrumentally, utilizing some sort of sound distortion or echo/reverb as an effect, feature fast tempos, and were "not for the kids" so to speak. As far as The Cramps' take, it all sounds pretty raw and a bit disjointed at first. That's by design though, given this mesh of rockabilly and punk that was introduced. It's frantic and a little spooky. Fitting, as I'm getting this album as we approach Halloween. Tracks like "Zombie Dance" and "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" would fit in nicely into any spooky playlist. These guys probably deserved a bit more commendation too, given their influence and reach on early and later punk rock.

Probably one of the best marriages of jazz and rock. Steely Dan certainly weren't new to the party at this point, but it was clear that they wanted to experiment and push the limits further than they had been already. What we got was a polished production that respects the listener's time whilst providing them with an eye...erm, ear-opening experience. Just looking at the personnel involved, each of the seven tracks were basically their own separate project. Some decorated studio musicians and vocalists honed their craft and chipped in all throughout. Can't really think of any track that drags this down, maybe "I Got The News" if we're being picky. Tracks like "Deacon Blues", "Peg", and "Josie" are each worth the price of admission, though. It's a shame that many dismiss this record and Steely Dan as another "bland" yacht rock outfit. I know that yacht rock was coined much later down the line after this release, but it doesn't *have* to be disparaging. It's simply a label for soft rock and similar-sounding genres from this era (not that I'm denying most of it is cheesy, but there was still some pretty darn good music produced as a result). I guess I've learned that the reviewer hivemind just hates any and all jazz-sounding things. Enough dwelling though, this was a fun record and struck a decent chord with me mainly due to the smoothness & production quality of it all. 9/10.

An uneasy, yet unique listen. This one is somehow more emotionally charged than what we're used to hearing, though, as we get Björk in her post-breakup feelings (but this ain't your mama's breakup record!). What's unique here is that Björk also focuses on the warm parts of the relationship itself, as well as healing process after said breakup. It's a pretty honest evaluation that you don't hear too often in music when it comes to this common subject. I think the production is what listeners will remember the most from this album. Fellow experimental artist Arca was tagged to produce most of this record, and their presence is heard with the mix of industrial & electronic sounds paired with the string arrangements heard all throughout. It teeters on the edge of being too abrasive, but I wasn't as put off as I was initially expecting to be. I only have "Medúlla" to compare to this in terms of all the Björk discography that I've consumed, and I think I slightly prefer this. A little more cohesive and raw. Mid 3 for me.

Man, get over her already, Mr. Gaye.

Hardcore punk that feels right at home in its era. Very raw, frantic, and thrashy. Quick hits that smack you upside the head. The late Darby Crash was seemingly born to be a punk rocker with that vocal delivery of his, for better or for worse. The band's history was an interesting read, and hearing that their shows were so raucous and riotous that they were banned from many LA venues very much checks out. Another interesting note was that Joan Jett produced & mixed this album too. Definitely remember "Lexicon Devil" from Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5. This was pure hardcore punk just as it was taking off in the States. Not a perfect record by any means, but I've always appreciated punk rock for its "no fucks given" approach. The Germs were VERY short-lived with their original lineup, but they certainly made their presence felt here.

I've definitely come across "Babylon" at some point, with no prior knowledge of David Gray the artist then. Nice to get some more context for what ended up being his biggest hit here. This album sounds a few years ahead of its time, as I think that this emergence of "folktronica" was fairly new then. Basically add in some electronic & hip-hop rhythms to the already present acoustic sound. After listening, I can definitely see how this album would've inspired some of the singer-songwriter folk & soft rock acts of the early 2000s. It's comfy, but situational for sure. It was fun revisiting "Babylon", but the rest of the album didn't really reach out to me in that kind of way.

Man, hearing the title track instantly took me back to my days of playing Grand Theft Auto 5, as it was featured in the game's initial trailer and within the in-game radio itself. That's about the extent of my knowledge when it comes to this group, however. There's a pretty hearty psychedelic rock sound here, even more enhanced when listening to the stereo versions of each track on the album remaster. The album has two very distinct sides, with side one featuring your usual, eclectic psychedelic rock. Thick drums, distorted guitar, extended instrumental breaks, etc. Side two takes on a fairy tale-like concept whilst continuing to incorporate the aforementioned psychedelia. It honestly borders on silly and absurd at this point, with our "hero" embarking on a search for the other half of the moon with the help of a giant fly. I've heard other, equivalently weird prog rock though, so I guess I can't be too surprised. This album would've left a better impression on me if it had just consisted of side one to be honest. The stereo version of the opening track is like sex to your ears, a flagship representative of what instrumental psychedelic rock was all about. "Afterglow" and "Lazy Sunday" were good too. Side two could've probably been extended and made into its own album if the group really wanted to pursue that route.

I don't remember this album being this long, but I still look back on it fondly. A neo-soul/R&B classic, the former Fugees member Lauryn Hill was inspired to pursue a solo endeavor after giving birth to her first child. You can hear and feel the emotions poured into this record, as Hill draws on the complexities of different types of relationships, her recent transition into motherhood with an ode to her first son ("To Zion", which is like 2 minutes too long but features some slick guitar licks from Carlos Santana), and her faith with many biblical allusions featured throughout ("Final Hour" & "Forgive Them Father"). A pretty versatile album in that you can label it as soul, R&B or hip-hop, with some incorporation of gospel and reggae too. Fit right in during the neo-soul breakthrough of the late 90's, but has also aged pretty well 25+ years on. The covers never really landed for me, but "Doo Wop (That Thing)", "Ex-Factor", and "Everything Is Everything" were and still are longtime favorites of mine. This may have been her only studio album, but Lauryn Hill certainly left a lasting impact with it.

KISS were always a revered band for me growing up. I didn't grow up during their heyday or anything, but my dad & other family/friends around his age always referred to them in admiration and thus I was just always indirectly exposed to them. Hard to ignore their stage getup too. Some recognizable songs in this album (I've always liked "God of Thunder"). The rest is pretty experimental for KISS standards. "Beth" is the standout in this regard, being an uncharacteristically tender ballad coming from KISS (and sung/written by the drummer to boot). The rest is honestly a bit forgettable when stacked up against other glam metal from that era. I'm sure there are better album representatives for showcasing KISS, but they always struck me as more of a "greatest hits" group if that makes any sense.

This is a hip-hop "Mount Rushmore" album candidate for me. Not only is it one of the greatest debut albums of all time, but it's probably the most important East Coast hip hop album considering the landscape at the time. Nas, who was only 20 years old at the album's release mind you, assumes the "King of New York" mantle with a somehow unassuming bravado. He leans on an already lifetime's worth of experiences growing up in inner city Queens. A vivid picture of the NY streets is painted throughout these 10 tracks, helped even more so by Nas' fluid & poetic lyrical approach. There are just too many memorable verses to count that each track almost warrants its own in-depth dissection. Lest I forget to mention the production and sampling featured throughout. Snippets from Kool & the Gang, The Gap Band, Michael Jackson, etc. paired with DJ Premier & co.'s crisp beats make for a very clean and enhancing production. The only "negative" I can think of is that the album flies by while listening. It's so seamless and comfy for a hip-hop album that 40 minutes goes by just like *that*, then you're right back to "The Genesis". Not a single wasted second or bad track on hand, which is a testament to the talent of both the artist and production team involved. Easy 10/10 for me. "Nas'll rock well, it ain't hard to tell"

I was exposed to grime a while back when I first started this challenge. Suffice to say that I did NOT enjoy what I listened to (it was Skepta). After listening to this specific record, I don't think my opinion has changed too much. This was a little more digestible than that Skepta record from earlier, but it's all still very abrasive and grating purely in terms of some of the samples used and breakbeat-style beats that one would expect to hear in grime music. There's definitely no shortage of energy in Rascal's lyricism, and he's pretty introspective throughout, so I'm certainly not slighting the man himself here. I can acknowledge the fact that Dizzee Rascal helped push grime to the mainstream (in England I assume) via the efforts of this record, and I will rate accordingly. I will probably never enjoy grime music as a concept though, and that's fine. It all seems very region-specific, as you rarely hear this type of music in America. This is for a very specific subset of people who equally enjoy jungle, drum and bass, and hip-hop.

Starting with arguably his biggest hit, "Like a Rolling Stone", Bob Dylan (in typical Dylan fashion) takes the listeners for a ride through 1960s America via his "signature" songwriting & blues-based music. I will admit that this particular album gets repetitive at times, though. I can only listen to the same stripped-down blues/folk song with endless verses and a harmonica solo so many times. I didn't mind the tracks that featured piano/organs or were more traditionally structured. I guess I've just never been crazy for Dylan and his sound. This is probably as good as it gets in terms of Dylan albums on this list specifically, so I'll rate accordingly.

The Who were just wee lads here! It's always interesting going back to the beginning for some of these rock bands that had meteoric rises in popularity. And the Who were certainly meant for the moment with this debut album. It's jangly, crunchy, and chock-full of attitude. Among the cream of the crop during this era of "British invasion" rock bands, yet distinctly different from the Beatles. The Who definitely SOUND young here, but the whole collective of Daltrey-Townshend-Entwistle-Moon bounce off each other well in a musical sense. Come for "My Generation" and stay for some good early hard rock. A little raw, but still a damn fine debut for a group that would fine tune their sound and go on to do even bigger things.

Following up a release such as "Licensed to Ill" is no easy feat. And I'll start off by stating that this does not quite match that debut effort in terms of individual track quality in my opinion. However, I will say that "Paul's Boutique" does feature some truly unique sampling all throughout. Apparently 105 songs are sampled in total here, which is absolutely astounding to me. We're talking samples of classic funk, soul, rock, etc. Now I know that the Beastie Boys are known for their heavy rock influence, but I can't think of another album that incorporates so many diverse song samples. The Beastie Boys really were their own act during this "golden" age of hip-hop, and "Paul's Boutique" showcases that. Looking outside of the plentiful sampling work, you've got the usual goofy storytelling and lyricism from Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA. While there are a lot of tracks, it doesn't really feel that bloated. The last "track" (which is basically a ton of bite-sized raps) showcases some of their breakneck & clever rhymes well, but I also enjoyed "Shake Your Rump", "The Sounds of Science", and "Shadrach". Looking forward to getting "Ill Communication" whenever it comes.

I honestly thought Dire Straits were American-based until right now. Listened to them a bit throughout childhood and never paid any mind to the fact that they weren't American. Not to be considered a slight to the group, as this is one of the most American sounding records I've heard (save for Bruce Springsteen). "Walk of Life" is one of my favorite rock songs, and it's not even one that many would think was recorded in the 80's with how the guitars sound. The synth probably gives it away though. "Money For Nothing" is obviously iconic in its own right, mainly for reasons related to the music video medium. The song itself didn't particularly age well though, which kind of caught me by surprise. The rest of the album, particularly side B, jumps around different musical moods a bit. More atmospheric and melancholic than I was expecting at points. A decent album overall, probably carried a bit by the singles.

Damn, this has all kinds of sounds. Very house-based with some rock, most might recognize "Movin' on Up" right off the bat. That being said, I might be too sober to fully enjoy this. Gotta strap in for this one.

There's just something comfy about CCR's "swamp" rock/blues sound. Really sounds southern, despite the fact that these guys are from Cali. Rockabilly, R&B, soul, and some psychedelia are the makeup here. Also includes some of their bigger hits such as "Up Around the Bend" and "Lookin' Out my Back Door" (can't help but picture "The Dude" vibing in his car to the latter). The cover of the soul classic "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was interesting too, if not excessively long. This is a pretty well put together record, especially considering the release schedule of CCR (this was their fifth album in the span of about two years). They weren't a group to half-ass things, though, and that's obvious here. With the exception of two long tracks, everything is tightly arranged which I appreciate as a listener. Tough to choose between this or "Green River" as CCR's best album. Other notable tracks: "Travelin' Band" and "Run Through The Jungle"

Didn't care for this one too much for some reason. It's here and there, like most glam rock of this era. You've got bizarre "avant-garde" piano solos ("Aladdin Sane"), a unique rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together", and some blues (continuing the Stones influence felt throughout) in "The Jean Genie". I've heard better Bowie records, but this one has its moments. Wasn't enough to keep me coming back, unfortunately.

I honestly had no idea that punk rock's roots went back this far. Even more interesting reading up on this group and finding out that they were formed by American GIs stationed in Germany. Interesting origins (fittingly) for a group that didn't sound much like the rest of the musical landscape in the 60's. It's all pretty raw and a bit radical in its content. I can't speak for how commercially popular this group was at the time, but the fact that only one studio album was released probably tells the story. Seems like they've received more of a retrospective acclaim as the years have went on. Interesting and short record. Can see why this was included in the list, more so for it's influence on punk as a whole. It definitely sounds of the 60's based on instrumentation, but unlike popular rock music at the time based on lyrical content. As an aside, I've definitely heard the third track in an ad, probably for an Apple product or something.

It's only natural for a band to want to keep evolving their sound, especially after the massive success of a record such as "Nevermind", for example. In Nirvana's case, there was an obvious artistic choice to gear the sound and production more towards the abrasive side of things (i.e. the band's earlier releases). Enter producer Steve Albini, noted hater of the mainstream music industry, to help carry out this vision for the group. How do you follow up a record such as "Nevermind"? Capture the essence of the band, get personal, no frills. I will agree that each member of the band somehow sounds more present here. Albini liked to showcase each member & instrument in their purest form in his productions. That's prevalent here with Novoselic's bass, Grohl's drums, and Cobain's guitar playing & especially raw/vulnerable vocal delivery here. The singles here, while some of Nirvana's best, don't really represent the album's overall sound & production. It all makes for an interesting result, as I would argue that the rest of the album is not very radio-friendly. Not really a knock (though I'd consider a handful of these songs "duds") but rather an indication of the group's maturation into their sound. It's a shame that we never got to see what came next of Nirvana, but their legacy is still very apparent.

PJ Harvey paints a landscape of New York City and love via her songwriting here. This is different than the PJ Harvey content that *I've* heard, which is to say that this album is probably more accessible than her previous works. It somehow feels more personal, despite not being as abrasive or in your face as, say, "Rid of Me". Although on that note, nothing really stood out after the 47 or so minutes went by. Harvey's voice gets to shine a bit more here though, I guess.

Pretty good recording and composition fora live show. The context and leadup to this concert is probably more interesting to me, as many of the reviewers seem to have covered already. To adjust and improvise with lesser equipment is impressive in its own right, though. The moans are kinda funny, but it's just the artist getting into their own craft and feeling it in the moment. It's easy to get lost into this composition as the listener too.

I always forget that UB40 were based out of Great Britain. As a result, this group brings an interesting perspective to the reggae & dub genres. Not only are the instrumental tracks slick and satisfying to listen to, but there is also some piercing political commentary that one would come to expect with the subject of reggae music, this time primarily pointed towards the policies and actions of Thatcher-era Britain. "Food for Thought" is probably the hardest hitting of the bunch, focusing on famine in Africa. I guess UB40 became a bit more commercial after the success of this album, but this was a strong start for them nonetheless. Some of the backing instrumentation did feel a bit repetitive as the album goes on, but the use of the keyboard and tenor sax was certainly a unique take on reggae at this time.

This is basically one long electronic/synth track. Impressive for the time when synthesizers were starting to become a focal point in the music industry, and even more impressive given the makeshift home recording studio used to create this album. Very atmospheric and probably requires multiple listens to fully appreciate (or fully hate depending on the crowd). Music that you hear when you think of space and the great beyond.

Another one of Stevie Wonder's "classic period" albums. Only heard the singles from this one, though, so let's jump in! There seems to be a majority of softer soul ballads here, with a mix of synthesizer-laden funk tracks that many would know Wonder for. The latter is why I enjoy funk from this era, I mean "Superstition" is Wonder's most iconic song for a reason. Wonder's vocals plus the sounds from the Clavinet and the Moog are simply divine. The rest I guess were a bit too sappy for me. Wonder obviously has a good voice, but I just think the album as a whole was too much on the tender soul side.

Pure, 70's soul, complete with one of the bigger hits of the genre in its titular track "Let's Stay Together". It doesn't really set out to be more than that, which is fine. Nothing was really groundbreaking to me in terms of the genre, but hey, Mr. Green does look suave as hell on the album cover. Fav tracks: Let's Stay Together, I've Never Found a Girl

An interesting first Ray Charles album to get here. There is so much more than the typical rhythm and blues that many would come to expect. Plenty of crooning songs with country and western standards, (as referenced to by the album name of course), or just blue covers of said country songs. You almost forget that these are covers after all. It's a well-recorded production and a bit of a bold concept given the era that this was released in and the artist at the center of things.

I guess it's just time to admit that I'm simply not a Bob Dylan fan at this point. Three albums of his received already this year through this challenge, including this one, and none have really spoken to me or really blew me away. I can, and already have, recognize Dylan's adept songwriting ability, but the gap between the aforementioned songwriting and actual artistry/lyrical delivery is annoyingly wide. It all kind of grows stale too, if I'm being honest. Too much content is thrown onto these albums without much substance in each. "Blonde on Blonde" specifically has some moments, highlighted by many blues & folk ballads about women and being lovelorn. It just gets duller the longer it goes on, though. There weren't really any worthy-sounding singles here, just a lot of similar arrangements.

Man, this is full of bangers. That's to be expected with Sir Elton John, of course. The image of him just absolutely slaying on the album cover is a good sign of what's in store. ...And what an impressionable start it is. Starting with an eleven minute prog rock-like medley ("Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"), immediately followed by Elton John's three biggest singles, the duo of Elton and Taupin were cooking here. One of the best songwriting partnerships in history, completed by Elton's showmanship and flair on vocals and piano. There are a few lulls that follow here and there, but overall a very strong double album with some of the Rocket Man's best recordings. Fav tracks: Bennie and the Jets, Grey Seal, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, Harmony

I kind of didn't totally hate this actually? Starting off, I thought it would be extremely repetitive (and I guess it still kind of is given the nature of electronia/techno), but the album ended up being more atmospheric than I was expecting going in. It's difficult to recall specific tracks after listening, though. Nothing stood out, as everything just sort of flows along.

I don't know if this is considered THE Queen album, but is definitely has THE Queen song. It flows along pretty well, jumping between different musical styles all throughout. You've got your typical rock ballads, but also some prog rock, Dixieland, and even a shanty-like tune mixed in. It's all pretty ambitious, especially compared to the band's previous works at the time. I will admit that some tracks feel like "filler" here, though. "You're My Best Friend" and of course "Bohemian Rhapsody" can't help but overshadow the others with their stature. Some of the "unfamiliar" tracks do hold their own, though. I'll round up to a 4.

Unique harmonies? Unconventional song structures? Buckle up for some late-2000's indie! Fleet Foxes aren't unfamiliar to me, in fact they have a distinctive sound when comparing indie acts from this era. "White Winter Hymnal" is one of those songs that just about everyone around my age has heard at least once. The hymn and gospel-like sound is almost entrancing and hooks the listener immediately. The rest of the album flows along and takes on a folk-like persona in most parts. It's soothing, but I can understand those who would be annoyed by the overall "mood" I guess. I tend to prefer more "energetic" indie rock personally, but this had some beauty I could appreciate.

Gonna be honest, I don't know much of Randy Newman's work from before his time at Disney/Pixar. The arrangements will definitely sound familiar to many and Newman's slow, Southern vocal style is hard to mistake. The whole album is pretty touching and reflective, if not a bit corny at times. Interesting to see Newman's songwriting ability on display, even way back when.

Eagles are timeless. Hard not to get exposed to them when your parent's coming of age years were in the late 70's. For this album specifically, a lot of the talk can be on the ubiquitous title track, but I think focusing on the unit as a whole is a good start. The majority songwriters here, Henley and Frey use their home state of California as a representative of the USA and the realities of the "American Dream". Their soft vocals make the listener feel comfy, yet attentive. Backed by Meisner, Felder, and Walsh on harmonies and bass/guitar, tracks such as "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Victim of Love" give us more of the straightforward rock n' roll sound that many are used to hearing from the Eagles. A majority of the album does follow in the path of the title track, more tender and cinematic as it nears its end, maybe losing its momentum a bit in my eyes but nothing to nitpick too much about. Still a strong and concise album from one of the dream teams in rock at the time.

Wasn't aware of Alex Turner's (of Arctic Monkeys fame) side-supergroup project with Miles Kane. This is definitely more artsier than I was expecting, taking some inspiration from the orchestral film scores and mod rock from the 60's (ala James Bond). It's an interesting sound for 2008, and not one that was really heard elsewhere at the time. Nothing really groundbreaking though, just a neat little nod to baroque pop from yesteryear I guess.

I think this can be considered R.E.M.'s first "real" breakthrough. "The One I Love" and "...End of the World..." both stand the test of time as two of the group's biggest songs. However, the rest of the album doesn't really follow their normal template that led up to this point, and instead opts to deliver a more "harder" rock sound with clearer vocals from Stipe. This was the first R.E.M. album produced by Scott Litt (first of many at the time), so this musical direction becomes clearer. There's still the familiar jangle pop here and there, but some sax and even a dulcimer is thrown in on the back half. I still slightly prefer "Automatic For The People", which would release a few albums later, but "Document' is still pretty strong for its runtime. A 3.8/5 seems appropriate. Favorite tracks: "Exhuming McCarthy", "...End of the World...", "The One I Love"

Pretty atmospheric and ambient for the first half. Immediately shifts tones for the last half of the album with some long, layered rock sounds. I guess some of this group's members were formerly of Kraftwerk, which sort of checks out given the sound of the last half of the album. I don't think this really holds a candle to the work that Kraftwerk has put out though. There's something slightly different here, as it leans more into somewhat of a psychedelic rock sound. I didn't really get the sense of feeling satisfied after listening through this one, though. Not an album I'll think about ever again.

Sentimental, sweet, and authentic. Dolly is one of a kind and will never be replicated. Country has never been my favorite genre, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy some classic country every once in a while. This album isn't world-changing or anything in the scope of country at the time, but it's short n' sweet and I think represents Dolly among her best as a singer-songwriter. I enjoy this more over her slightly "pop"-ier stuff that would come later.

Welp, no more Blur after this I guess. I've always been fond of the title track, it's one of the quintessential britpop songs with its dryness and catchy hooks. The rest of the album isn't really conventional and jumps around a bit stylistically, though. One could praise Blur for their versatility here or bash them for being inconsistent and trying to do too much. Regardless, this album turned out to be more divergent and stranger than I expected.

The top-rated review at the moment nails my thoughts exactly here. Wasn't familiar with Mr. Burke prior to this, but his voice and range are excellent. Easy to see why he was considered one of the founding fathers of soul music. But the actual musical content of the album just lacks variety in a lyrical and instrumental sense. Almost the entirety of the album can be thrown into the "crooning love songs" bucket. That's fine I guess, it's more so indicative of this era of soul & R&B. Side note: I just now learned that Solomon Burke originally recorded "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". That song had played immediately after this album ended and I had to do a double take. Much slower in tempo than the famous Blues Brothers cover, but both are good recordings in their own right. I love learning stuff (that's new to me) like this!

Always anthemic and representing the heart & soul of America, the Boss set out for exactly that here. There's a decent mix of louder rock and softer, ballad-y rock here, all consisting of various stories of the usual "small town" personas that Springsteen loves to tell. A bit more somber than the other albums of his that I've heard. Never the greatest vocalist, Springsteen and his E Street Band still capture the mood appropriately with their musical direction nonetheless. The album is a bit up and down early on, but I think it finishes strong with the last three tracks specifically, starting with the powerful "Streets of Fire". Bruce was already a mainstay at this point, but this album signaled what was to come with his music for the next decade or so. Primarily from a songwriting standpoint. I'm not sure how to rate this, as I don't consider it as strong as "Born In The U.S.A." which would release later. The last few tracks aren't enough to carry an album, I fear.

Never heard of this group before. It's all very raw, jumbled, but they certainly have attitude. I guess that describes a lot of early punk from the 70's. The prominently featured (and oddly tuned) one-sax horn section immediately stands out, as you simply don't hear that in punk rock. More indicative of the era rather than the genre I guess. Also, I liked how Poly Styrene just vigorously yells the song title at the beginning of most of the tracks. Interesting early punk album that loses its momentum at some points.

A quintessential new wave, pop rock album. Switching to producer Mike Chapman did Blondie a lot of good, as they pumped out hit after hit here with the group all sounding at their best at the time. Debbie Harry is an iconic voice to many, showcasing great range with the variety of rock tracks featured throughout "Parallel Lines". The rest of the group also showcases their musical range, with the combination of new wave and power pop-like riffs & hooks. Just a strong album overall and probably Blondie's best work. Favorite tracks: Hanging On The Telephone (just learned that this was a cover!), 11:59, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass

That was an electric JUG I was hearing in the background the entire time? Gonna be honest, that sound was all I could focus on at a certain point in the album. Certainly unique, but otherwise there was just too much going on sonically. I've heard better psychedelic rock.

I'm aware of the legacy this has due to the single's inclusion in "The Exorcist", but I've never actually heard more outside of the intro to the first track (like most, I would assume). The instrumentation and composition is pretty impressive, even more so after reading that Oldfield was only NINETEEN during recording and also the fact that he largely played most of the instruments himself. I'm mainly referring to "Part One" when discussing the above. "Part Two" takes some...strange turns multiple times through that I guess you'll just have to listen to for yourself.

The title track of "Green Onions" is instantly recognizable and a timeless classic. All for good reason, as those twelve-bar blues joined with the ever-present organ line and the occasional guitar is SMOOTH. That's 60's instrumental jazz/R&B/rock at it's best right there. One of the greatest instrumental recordings ever. Like many I'm sure, I was interested to hear what else was featured in this album too. Quite a bit of covers here actually (side two is all covers), which wasn't what I was expecting. Not necessarily a bad thing, as these renditions are done pretty well. "Rinky Dink" and Twist and Shout" will sound familiar to most at least. Would've been interested to hear more original work, but it was still a smooth listen all the way through.

Never heard of this group or album before. If I were to describe this in one word, it would be fantastical, yet melancholic. It felt like I was listening to a somber fairy tale or a storybook just purely based on the unique instrumentals and soft vocals from Jonathan Donahue (who I learned was briefly part of the Flaming Lips! The sound makes a little more sense now). Reading up some more, it sounded like the group was having a rough go of it as their previous album didn't do so hot in terms of sales. The group was able to muster the effort to record one more album (thinking it would be their last) and lo and behold, this became their best known work. It's pretty inspirational and you definitely hear this sense of "walking away" as a central theme throughout the album. It's not going to uplift you or anything, but this was a pretty unique album that I wasn't expecting as soon as I tapped play. A low 3 or thereabouts.

Not bad for a debut. Couldn't help but hear hints of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu with the vocals and overall neo-soul-like and hip-hop sound. Nothing really wowed me outside of that, though. This album doesn't really stack up to the works of those aforementioned R&B/soul artists from this era. Doesn't have quite the depth and it feels a tad bloated too. Wouldn't have guessed that this originated from the UK. Wasn't aware that there was much of a neo-soul (or British Soul as Wikipedia labels this) movement across the pond at this time either. Although thinking about it now, I'm realizing that soul acts such as Amy Winehouse and Adele would later emerge. That's a different tier of acts however. Getting back on topic, I'd say somewhere between a 2-3 for this album.