Two big hits on this one, Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence. I can’t see myself putting the whole album on, but for sure, this thing is a whole vibe.
Really surprising! Almost prog rock in places?
Yeah. Wish the recording wasn’t so muddy. Smoke on the water is a classic, hands down. Can’t see putting the whole album on.
Yeah! I was surprised to find I knew practically all these.
This is one of my favorite albums. It sounds great, and it’s bonkers!
2 stars: Not my bag.
So strange to listen to. Really filthy lyrics set to almost lounge-y rock.
No.
Really cool album with a tight band.
A+, favorite album.
Wow, I thought this was all the same song?!
It’s been a long time! Really great.
🤘
I can imagine someone would really dig this. Best of luck to them!
Wow, I knew almost every track like a genetic memory.
I liked it, but someone really needed to force them to trim 15 minutes off of this thing.
Humanity went from this to Slayer in less than 30 years!
This spoke to me.
Initially, I rated this 4 stars. But I keep coming back to it and it just keeps speaking. So I used the edit feature for the first time to make this 5 stars.
I know you don’t get the latter day Beatles without these Beatles. I just wasn’t interested in doing this kind of musical archaeology. This has got to be their worst.
Why?
Honestly, I was ready for a lot worse than this.
This sounded like the art on the walls of rental office space.
Wow, this rocked way more than I remembered!
We're at the 10% mark and there's been only one other jazz album so far. I'm so happy this one made the list! It's not one of the usual suspects from Miles or Coltrane, but man, it really captures a lot of mid-century jazz greatness. It's not flashy. It's not pushing the envelope or redefining anything. But if you walked into a bar and these cats were laying this stuff down, you'd remember it forever.
This caught me off-guard. The description of "late 90's indie rock" had me worried. It was pretty cool!
25% fun, 100% forgettable
It’s probably great if you like this kind of thing?
This was surprisingly kind of hard core? I liked it way more than I imagined I would.
Such an incredible mood.
Half the songs on this are legendary, maybe more than half. There was a time I found this amazing, but I just rarely find myself wanting to listen to it now. In part, I think it's the sound quality. I dunno man.
I was surprised to hear Cannonball on this! The rhythm section is killer. And, I love Cannonball, but his stunt casting here I think does the material a disservice. He just sounds so out of place, and he can't really swing with some of these grooves. I'll still add it into the cocktail hour rotation, but, this was a weird one.
Man, this is about as good as it gets for big band.
This is not my thing, but you can't deny this is greatness.
Started off interesting, if a little antiseptic. Really tailed off at the end.
It's a great album, but I don't find myself returning to it often.
This was surprising. We knew a few songs from this, probably stuff that made it into movies over the years?! The band is incredibly tight. But, it slots in a strange place that I don't see revisiting, not jazz, not rock. Erik Satie though? Wild.
A supergroup isn’t really super if they don’t have any good ideas.
Damn. This was great. I feel crazily stupid for never checking this out before.
I couldn't hang with this. There's not enough composition to get into. Obvious talent though, especially in the rhythm section.
Legendary.
Ice-T is the most gangsta rapper ever to be able to communicate with this white guy. It might be the dimples?
I was in high school when this came out so I am condemned to know every single note on this thing. It's remarkable that every last track here got airplay where I live. But I never put this album on and I never really need to hear any of these songs. Master of Puppets is a 5 for me, so this has to be like a 3.
Starts great, ends weird.
This rocked.
If you’re not raging then maybe you’re the machine
The Black Album roasted all these guys' brains.
One of the greatest albums ever in the entire history of the world.
I found out in my early 20's that "This Land is Your Land" was not a song that had existed forever, but was written only about 50 years earlier, in 1945. (And Guthrie's original recording of it is much, MUGH harder hitting than a bunch of kindergarteners singing it.)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" feels kind of the same, like it must have always existed. But no, here it is for the very first time, in glorious stereo. And it, too, is now a little over 50 years old. Kind of crazy.
Yeah. Here in 2025 we’re as far removed in time from this album as it was from the music it was in conversation with. This thing was so out of place in 2003. It’s a novelty, and that one track is a banger. But, man I dunno, not sure you needed to hear this before you died.
I love Maiden, but I never really got into the original singer. I've heard these all a thousand times sung by Bruce live, and only listened to this album a few times all the way through. It's a fun listen, and great to hear how fully formed the band's ideas were right out of the gate. Four stars for the hints of what's to come
Like anyone, I like a bunch of the Stones stuff. Country rock though?
I guess maybe I’m bringing preconceptions of what this music is supposed to sound like, but wow, the stuff on the first track was super out of tune. Couldn’t hang.
I sort of get it, just doesn't hit for me.
Honestly, DNF at track 3. Not without merit, but not for me.
I almost always choose Animals or Meddle over this when I want Floyd on the hi-fi. Or sometimes it's Wish You Were Here, or a smattering of tracks off The Wall. But, I put this on occasionally. For me, this is like a 4.5. Undeniably an all-timer.
I don't know why this is here. It sounds awful. Maybe two OK songs? I survived the whole thing though, so it gets two stars.
Life on Mars is one of my favorite tracks of all time. Changes is great, Song for Bob Dylan is great. But, the rest of the album is too all over the place for me to really want to put this whole thing on.
There are a bunch of tracks on this that are all-timers. But, this is a lot to take in one sitting.
I suppose its not without merit but, no.
Hadn't heard this before! You can still hear grunge's roots here, more punk, less radio friendly. Really cool.
I liked this one that I totally missed in the 90's. I'll revisit it at some point, and I bet my rating will grow.
I’m sure Radiohead prepared me to hear this.
I was white, surburban, and in 4th grade when this came out. I wouldn't encounter these guys for at least another two years when Raising Hell blew the doors wide open. This album was in the "formative mix" of my middle childhood, but not nearly as much as Raising Hell or the Beastie Boys' Ill Communication. It's great.
Not without merit but I don't want to listen to it.
Pretty exciting at first, got kind of same-y later on. As I'm learning from working through this list, that can happen when I don't have a great frame of reference for the music. Will revisit.
I can't get down with this. I get that they're trying to do something here. It's just not something I want.
Of course we knew "No More Mr. Nice Guy". But, the rest turned out to be really great! Will revisit.
Not interested enough to try to get it.
Wow. We only knew "Games Without Frontiers", but it was way weirder and sparser than our memories of it. This was a super cool album!
A lot of hate gets directed at this now, but boy, it was *everywhere* in '92/93, right when I was leaving high school and entering college. It's difficult to separate from that time in my mind. I think it's still pretty great AND all the criticism of Kiedis is totally right. But you can't take Kiedis out of this and get the same stuff.
This was a real surprise! Like a metal Portishead? Post-grunge, but not really nu-metal. A lot to take in all at one time.
Yes: "I Can See for Miles"
No: a thousand other annoying tracks
I guess the whole thing just doesn't translate well to an album?
Crazy to think this was 1981. Not something I can imagine listening to frequently, though.
This is a hugely important album for half of the adults in this house.
This was the kind of dynamic sound CD's promised but rarely delivered. A super cool album!
Orbital 2 is an all-timer for me, but I could never get into this one.
I like trip-hop. This was overlong and uninspired.
Life is too short for this.
One of the best albums of all time from one of the best bands of all time. I can only imagine what it must have been like to hear that opening riff in 1970. Legendary!
Definitely merit here, but not my thing.
Turned out to be much more varied and interesting than I had assumed. The production on the title track is far more amazing than what I had in my memory. Still, I can't imagine really revisiting this again.
I had never really checked these guys out. Total surprise!
I wrote so much code to this back in the day.
Hugely formative album for me.
I think Badmotorfinger is their cooler, less mainstream album, but I'm still glad this is on here. I was a in college when this hit, and boy was this everywhere, including friggin' Spoonman. It's been a while since I listened to this, and I think my favorite track is still The Day I Tried to Live. Do yourself a solid and check out Norah Jones's live cover of Black Hole Sun, recorded just days after Cornell passed.
This might have been the first CD I ever purchased? It really sounded unbelievable back in the day. But man, it's not something I need to come back to.
Guys, I got “Today Was a Good Day” on my birthday!
My wife grew up thinking this band's name was pronounced "hah-no-ee" rocks. Because when you're 12 and you don't have the Internet, that's what happens. We feel old.
Guess I like glam rock?
Should probably have sat down to listen to this whole thing in one go before now.
"Pardon Me" was all over Boston rock radio in 1999. I can remember thinking it was sort of cool back then. Today, it sounds too slickly produced and fake-y. The rest of the album was surprisingly boring.
Some great tracks for sure, and overall a pretty wild ride. I'm glad to finally have the push to sit down and listen to this whole thing. I can't see putting it all on again though.
East coast hip hop is where it's at for me, and I can't believe I slept on this one. Preem's beats are crazy good on this. Guru's flow feels so limitless. Could be a 5 in time.
I went from "uh oh" to "oh ok".
Among the best.
Like so many of these, I never actually sat down to listen to this. I'm glad I did!
Here's my thesis: as a civilization, we are lucky to have this.
This album splits the needle like almost nothing else. It has insanely good production, but they didn't overwork it. It feels raw. Nobody's ego got in the way - or at the very least - it sounds like it was a loving give and take? Sometimes Meg is out in front of the beat, pulling Jack ahead. Sometimes, it's Jack pulling on Meg. However they recorded it (please don't tell me) it sure doesn't sound like one day Jack tracked his parts and then the next, Meg slouched into the studio to lay down her tracks. It sounds like you're hearing these glorious moments captured live. It fucking rocks.
It had that one song on it...
I kind of loved it?
Sounds so hopeful for the future.
Sadly, I couldn't hang with this. I really liked the other Fela album (Live! w/Ginger Baker), but here... I honestly don't understand what he was thinking tonally with his saxophone playing. The grooves are great and obviously, this is a historically important album. I'll take it as my own failing and give it a 3 and maybe revisit this in the future, perhaps it just hit me at an off moment.
Licensed to Ill hit my white suburban life like a ton of bricks when I was 12 years old. I had a rap group with some friends that lasted a whole DAY. This though, this album that hit when I was full-on 15 years old, pasty and pimply? I didn't know it came out. Nobody played it. I didn't encounter it until well into college, when Ill Communication came out to massive airplay. People were like, sure this is good, but have you heard Paul's Boutique?
We dig punk in this house. This was like... money punk? Slick punk? Maybe the production ruined it. It felt like people playing at punk.
Metal came to me in my '20's. I wish I spent more time hanging out with the kids in high school who listened to this.
I was surprised at how NOT tight the band was!
I don't get the hate for this one. It's pretty fun, sort of like a more hip-hop/blues Soul Coughing? The "sloppy" term is kind of unfortunate. The guy is purposely delivering behind the beat, on purpose. The band is tight and the groove is real.
Nirvana for posers.
I don't know how you rate something like this. It's clearly an inflection point in music. Everything that came after it knew this existed.
An absolute all-timer. Put this on when you have a few people over, or maybe just when you're making dinner with your BFF, and it instantly becomes an epic time.
all you non-5'ers be illin'
I got to see Pantera live at an Ozzfest back in the day, when Dimebag was still with us. I finally clued in about a minute or so into their set that the place was packed full of skinheads. You're laughing now, like, what did I think was going to happen? Well, in my defense, this was like 25 years ago, and we... weren't as good at knowing stuff back then?! The hairs on the back of my neck went up, and my lizard brain got me away from the big group of them. What's the word for a group of skinheads? A gaggle?
I bet this was like WAY back in the day, when groups of humans would encounter a group of Neanderthals. Pop out of the forest into a clearing and, oh shit, look at those brow ridges?! Everyone kind of backs up and the Neanderthals pack into an orange Dodge Charger, spin the tires, and drive away.
Anyways I love this album. Unfortunately a gaggle of related hominids who continue to make bad choices also love this album. Also the band made a number of bad choices. But there is no other groove that's quite like a Pantera groove.
This really is an album you need to hear before you die.
The personnel list on Wikipedia is crazy.
I'm much more of a La Grange ZZ Top person than a Sharp Dressed Man person. This doesn't do a whole lot for me.
There are so many great tracks on this.
Not without merit, but I can’t hang. Still love Doctorin’ the Tardis, though.
I've listened a bunch to Black Sunday, but have never actually put their debut on. It's *excellent*. DJ Muggs does not get enough love for these beats! If you're struggling to contextualize this, check out their NPR Tiny Desk concert. B-Real talks a bunch about the backdrop for this stuff.
I had a similar experience with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". As a child of the '70's, several of these songs have always existed, are such a part of the soundscape of my childhood. It's hard to understand that actually they're on an album. I love the sound and the feel of this.
I guess I don't have the ears for this one. I lived through this time period, and there's some great synth pop from then. I'm not hearing what makes this so special.
I have a tough time with the sound quality on this one. It's clearly so damn influential though. Will revisit.
"I don't trust anyone who doesn't like Slayer." -- Mike Patton
I've listened to this album more times in the past decade than any other. No other album makes me feel heard like this. Someone else is just as fucking angry about everything as I am! Sure, the lyrics are not great. Problematic even. But oh man, the music.
Slayer's first two albums on Metal Blade sounded like shit. That sounds mean to say, but honestly, it was the norm! All the rest of the Metal Blade stuff was like that. Just, look, I don't know the story behind that label's recordings, but I can imagine that they were keeping it cheap. For this album, Rick Rubin figured out how to get something that sounded excellent and also different. He also pushed these guys to get faster and faster, recording so the tracks at the edge of what they could perform. The whole album sounds like it's right on the precipice of complete chaos, still super tight, but balanced just so it's leaning a little towards disaster.
Dave Lombardo is the key that unlocks this for me, the player here that won my heart. For sure, this thing would not have been possible without this exact combination of people. Not without Kerry and Jeff's weird stylistic mind meld or without Tom's fire spitting. But it's Dave's feel that does it for me. In the 1970's, heavy metal was still rooted in blues, and still had swing to it. Sadly today, swing is essentially gone from metal. But, here, in 1986, Dave is still connected back in conversation with it. Most rock drummers become metronomic up at these tempos. But Dave is able to play so comfortably and so fluidly, that he is somehow gracefully swinging while delivering unparalleled brutality.
One of the best moments for me is just past the one minute mark in Raining Blood, when the tempo ratchets up. The guitar parts are complex here, and it's clearly right at the edge of what Kerry and Jeff are capable of pulling off. But Dave is like "this is the friggin' tempo guys", and asserting it by playing on the leading edge of the beat with urgency, bodily pulling everyone forward. But, it's still tight? Instead of coming off like a bunch of players that can't cut it, it sounds like a mortal struggle. Dave's lead against Kerry and Jeff laying back a little creates a weird shuffle/swing feel. Within a few bars, they all converge.
Fun fact: when this came out in the '80's on cassette, they took a look at the 29 minute runtime and decided to just lay the whole album down on both sides.
I always gravitate towards Fragile whenever I feel the itch to put on a Yes album. This was surprisingly good!
