1001 Albums Journey

There's some short and rather forgettable tracks on here, but otherwise it's a chill and enjoyable listen. Favorite tracks: Rikki Don't Lose the Number, Any Major Dude Will Tell You, Barrytown Least favorite tracks: Monkey In Your Soul

Fun little indie rock record that starts off sounding like a bit like LCD Soundsystem and ending off sounding like Beach House. The middle track-run is somewhat weak. Also I never realized that this was the record that gave us a song that got turned into a meme track through a remix.

*(Notes are only for the first volume) Ray Charles has an undeniably recognizable voice, and this album is certainly proof of that. The orchestra and big band do a great job in complimenting his voice, and the covers of country songs work much better than expected for the most part. Admittedly I think it is rather front loaded as the back half of it has some of the weakest tracks, in particular It Makes No Difference Now and Careless Love. "Well you know I once was blind; but I'm so glad, so glad I see"

Jack White's distinct vocals compliment this an album that takes a lot of inspiration from its blues and hard rock influences. There's some great riffs to be found on the more up-tempo and aggressive tracks, and the more down-to-earth acoustic tracks help to balance that out. The back half of the album does feel like it drags itself out just a bit, but it's a great listen throughout.

Featuring that o' so classic overblown sound typical of 80s synth-pop acts, this record is rather distinct thanks to its surprisingly dynamic soundscapes with tracks such as The Working Hour and Head Over Heels / Broken while also being complimented by the heavenly vocals of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. The back half of the record is a bit weaker with tracks like the slow and somewhat boring I Believe and Broken not really feeling like the most necessary interlude track for Head Over Heels / Broken. Great listen overall, and one of the finest synth-pop/pop-rock records of its era. shoutouts to that saxophone on The Working Hour EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD

Great folk rock mixed with psychedelic and blues elements. The lyrics definitely feel very much fitting of its counterculture roots. Does feel little bloated and some of these more minimal tracks are kind of boring to be honest.

The beginning of one of the most iconic rock groups in the genre's history, and undeniably a debut that showcases each of the band's members incredible musicianship right off the bat. From Robert Plant's powerful vocal performances on tracks like Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page's killer riffs on tracks like Good Times Bad Times and Communication Breakdown, Paul Jones' eerie keyboards on You Shook Me, and Jon Bonham's drumming throughout the whole record, it's genuinely a great ride from start to finish, with only a few down moments and some admittedly questionable lyrics by today's standards.

Great Afrobeat with some great drumming to boot courtesy of guest artist Ginger Baker of Cream fame. Feels like a great jam session with its drawn out but constantly engaging four tracks.

A great pop rock record that definitely knows how to parody some of the trends of the time but also be a surprisingly very fun and at times even a bit relaxing listen. From the straight rockers like The Worst Band in the World and Silly Love to the more pop-centric and quirky tracks like Clockwork Creep and The Sacro-Ilaic, there's a bit of variety here without feeling out of place.

One of the quintessential G-funk West Coast records. A great showcase that encapsulates what makes Snoop such an iconic and memorable rapper, through his lax yet distinctively memorable flows while rapping about weed, sex, and rival gangs. There's also some great guest appearances from other West Coast rappers from the time. While some of these tracks a bit too drawn out for my liking and some of the lyrics most certainly have not aged well in some aspects (particularly some of the homophobia and sexism), Doggystyle is still perfectly fitting for the kind of rapper that Snoop would become from here on out. snoop doggy doggggggg

The orchestral elements along with the eerie and gothic vocal performances certainly help to push this album's rather dark but also sort of large soundscapes on tracks like Nocturnal Me and The Yo Yo Man. Some of the weaker tracks like Thorn of Crowns and the closing track are more understated in these aspects so they're not as memorable in that regard. On another note is it just me or does bro sound like he moaning doing those "aaah"s on Thorn of Crowns

While this is certainly a groovy record, I ultimately most of the tracks here to be rather barebones in large due to the fact that practically half of the tracks here are primarily just congas and rhythms that get rather pretty repetitive after a few minutes (this is practically the case for the first two tracks). When the songs on this record do get extra instrumentation such as bass and guitar the tracks are noticeably more fleshed out, but they are a bit few and far between. Favorite tracks: Choferito-Plena, Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso, Tribilin Cantore

Otis Blue is versatile in how it demonstrates Otis Redding's ability to elevate these songs with his distinct delivery along with the great selection of soul songs that range from melancholic to upbeat. Admittedly some of these tracks are little cheesy lyrically (e.g. Wonderful World and Rock Me Baby), but it's Otis along with his backing band's renditions of these songs that elevate them even from those moments for a endearing yet at times moody listen.

An interesting mix of hip-hop-like sampling courtesy of the Dust Brothers on a few tracks (e.g. the opener and Hotwax) along with taking cues from various subgenres of rock such as folk, country, punk, and grunge makes for an album that sonically is kind of all over the place and some of these attempts are somewhat abrupt or weak at some points, but somehow manages to be a consistently great experience due to Beck's versatility at tackling these different genres as a multi-instrumentalist (seriously check the personnel notes to look at how many instruments he plays on this lol).

I've always found Kid A to be a peculiar listening experience for me, in large part because I think that your overall enjoyment of the record is going to primarily depend on the mood you're in while hearing it. I also find it to be a particular record in that, if I'm going to be frank, a decent portion of the songs in the tracklist don't particularly standout when you listen to them outside of the context of the record. In some cases I tend to glance over tracks like Treefingers or Morning Bell because of their relatively understated nature, especially in the case of the former coming after the incredible but also rather melancholic How to Disappear Completely (which might I add is probably the darkest Radiohead song in general) and the former being stuck between highlights Idioteque and Motion Picture Soundtrack. With that being said, Kid A is still a significant record not just in demonstrating Radiohead's musicianship through the clear influences they take from acts such as Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, and Miles Davis, but also how much of it really sounds like nothing else that would come before or after it in Radiohead's discography. I personally find it to be a weaker listen than records like OK Computer or In Rainbows, but a great listen nonetheless.

I could respect it for what it is, but to be honest must of the time this just sounded like really aggressive earrape.

Pretty chill listen all things considered. For the most part the tracklist sonically sort of just sounds rather samey and with a few exceptions such as the whatever the hell is going on at the start of in Earlybird. It's serviceable country/folk rock all things considered.

A pretty chill folk rock album all things considered. Doesn't particularly standout in any specific aspect aside from solid singing on Joan's part and good guitar playing.

A great mixture of gospel, punk, and folk elements, along with Nick Cave's ever so distinct and almost gothic delivery on some of these tracks cultivates into a package that feels very versatile and engaging throughout even with its daunting near one and a half hour runtime. I did find it to be a little front loaded as a lot of the major highlights appear on the first disc, though the track O Children is a fantastic (if rather dark) way to close out the record.

Sonically striking as it is mellow, Larks' Tongues In Aspic is perhaps King Crimson at its best (at least by this point) since the days of their debut record while also being an excellent start to this particular formation of the band. From the poignant opening track that contrasts its almost metal-like rhythmic sections to its minimal violin segments, the more acoustically-focused and smooth tracks Book of Saturday and Exiles, to the more straightforward rocker closing track, Larks possesses a consistent tracklist that executes its ideas nearly to a tee. The only real low point on here is the improvisational track The Talking Drum, mostly for the fact that the track takes quite a while to really get going and by then it feels sort of too little too late.

Some great vocal performances from the legendary Janis Joplin along with the psychedelic offerings of Big Brother & The Holding Company make for a pretty engaging experience. The mixing definitely helps to deceive the listener into thinking this is a live recording when its actually not.

While this is a pretty fun glam rock record mixed with some punk elements, I did find it a bit repetitive towards the back-half of the tracklist where the songs start to sound a bit samey and also lyrically is pretty weak, especially when you mostly have tracks talking about doing procreation.

This record is kind of a peculiar case of the tracklist being backloaded rather than frontloaded, as of lot of the first half, with the exception of the opening track, is filled with some rather cheesy lyrical content (e.g. Walking in Your Footsteps) and some rather interesting tracks like Mother (featuring some of the strangest vocal performances I've heard from Sting) for better or worse. Hopefully it feels a lot more focused in the second half and also features The Police's most well-known (and justifiably so) track.

A great, if rather melancholic, listen. A lot of the tracklist definitely has a lot of strongly emotional themes, ranging from heartbreak to loneliness, which in a way is very much reflective of this point in Dylan's life. Admittedly I didn't entirely connect with everything here, but it comes from a very sincere place.

A fantastic live recording from start to finish. From Ian Gillan's powerful vocal performances, the borderline almost hard rock and prog rock influences found on tracks like The Mule and Space Truckin' (the latter of which features some heavy distortions in the beginning that sound almost ear-piercing), this is genuinely such an energetic performance from start to finish. The only real downside I can say is that the mixing on Gillan's vocals could be better, as it can be kind of hear his voice over the powerful instruments especially on the first-half of the tracklist.

A record influenced by the era of drug experimentation, Eastern meditation, and peace-loving hippies, Revolver in a lot of ways feels like a zeitgeist of the decade it was created in. The rather avant-garde nature of its tracklist and the variety of sonic influences ranging from Indian influences on songs like Love You To, more pop-centric songs like Yellow Submarine, to psychedelic drugtrips such as the closing track Tomorrow Never Knows ultimately demonstrate Revolver at its boldest.

Besides maybe a few highlights, this is a serviceable 90s alt-rock album with some rather flat ballads and lyrical content (e.g. Beautiful Freak). The most noteworthy things I can say about this record is that it has a song that was used in the Shrek film and the cover for this might be one of the worst things I've ever seen. Also starting your album with the lyric "Life is hard, and so am I" is crazy

ABBA is really good at making catchy pop melodies, but really not else beyond that. This album more or less embodies that, not that there is anything wrong with that because there is some very fun tracks. "When I Kissed The Teacher" has not aged well at all though lol

There's certainly an 80s new wave flair to this ZZ Top effort with the synthesizers and drum machines having a notable presence on here. There's definitely some catchy hard rock and synth-rock tones to be found here, even if the lyrical content isn't particularly the most interesting.

Bobby Womack's voice is certainly one of a kind, but beyond that this is a very smooth, if rather shallow, soul record that sounds very commercial above anything else. "Stand Up" is definitely a jam though.

Regardless of what the band would do in the years following this, King Crimson's debut is undoubtedly the album that would lay the foundation for the genre of progressive rock for years to come. From the thunderous vocals by Greg Lake on the opening track backed by a furious and up-tempo instrumental featuring heavy guitars and loud horns at its start, the calm before the storm in the folk-like I Talk to the Wind featuring some pleasing flute, the soaring yet dark horns and synths of Epitaph as Lake sings about the fears of the what will come tomorrow in a world frightened by the Cold War, the ambient and jazz improvisations of Moonchild, to the grandiose closer, every moment on In The Court Of The Crimson King never fails to impress even well over 50 years after its release. "The fate of all mankind I see is in the hands of fools"

A pretty down-to-earth folk rock record that has some nice tracks on it, such as "Tears of Rage" and "The Weight." In retrospect there isn't anything that makes it really standout to its contemporaries, but its a good listen overall.

There's definitely some fun and even endearing tracks to be found on here, the novelty of it begins to wear off by the second-half as it many of the tracks drag on for a bit too long (looking at you"Sir Psycho Sexy") and the lyrical content is essentially nothing more but about sex and drugs and whatnot even with the quirky vocal performances of Anthony Kiedis.

Bryter Layter is a great demonstration of Nick Drake's ability as a singer-songwriter, from melancholic tracks such as "At The Chime of a City Clock" to the very sweet and endearing "Northern Sky." The backing instruments, ranging from strings, flute, and saxophone, help to add texture to these tracks while still maintaining a folk flair that is very much distant to Nick Drake, even if some of these tracks without vocals I could live without.

Some very clearly blues-inspired rock to be found here, with some more quirky tracks such as Electricity. Admittedly it feels a little barebones at points but overall its a good listen.

Close is undoubtedly one of the most engaging prog rock records if only for its incredible and sprawling opening self-titled track that features everything from the fast and aggressive guitar, bass, and drum playing of Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Bill Bruford respectively, the beautifully played church pipe organ in the third part of the song by Rick Wakeman, and an infectious chorus that is delivered throughout the track by the whimsical Jon Anderson. "And You And I" is one of the sweetest and most endearing prog rock tracks to be written, containing a wonderful opening part featuring Howe's 12-string acoustic guitar and a lovely refrain from Anderson, the spacey and almost otherworldly feel of its second part courtesy of Wakeman's keyboards and the guitar playing of Howe and Squire alongside Anderson's drawn-out vocals, to the graceful allusions to religion in Anderson's verse in the third part in an almost folk-like delivery before being capped off by Anderson singing the beautiful refrain one last time. Siberian Khatru is certainly the most straightforward track here, but even then it is a complete rocker, thanks to its upbeat instrumental featuring a killer bassline from Chris Squire, some great and intricate keyboard passages from Wakeman, and a catchy chorus delivered throughout the track. The only real nitpick I could make about the track is how it just fades out with the main melody in the end after the final part where the band starts to do a sort of chant. In short, Close to the Edge is one of the prog rock greats, and that is something that cannot be taken away from Yes, no matter what they did before or after this record. "And you and I climb over the sea to the valley And you and I reached out for reasons to call"

There's a very cool sound that combines brass, jazz, and rock to be found here, even if it is executed better on some tracks compared to others, particularly in the back-half of the record. I did find that at decent chunk of these tracks are sort of carried by the guitar playing of Terry Kath. Lyrically it's really nothing to write home about, even with some of the clear references to the anti-Vietnam War sentiments at the time in the last few tracks. "Liberation" is a great closing track. bro think he jimi hendrix on "free form guitar"

A very sweet and endearing listen throughout. Stevens' voice is so sincere and soothing to listen to, and there's an almost nostalgic feel to this record's sound in general. "Father and Son" is simple yet beautiful track in particular. "I am old, but I'm happy I was once like you are now And I know that it's not easy"

I was kind of surprised to find that this record didn't start to overstay its welcome of the most part, it was really only the latter half of it did I just sort of lost interest but even so there's plenty of gems to be found on here. Ella's wonderful voice more than manages to elevate these songs alongside the pleasantly surprising variety in the instrumentals and melodies on here, though that is largely thanks to the large catalog of songs that is used on here. Admittedly some of these songs are more mellow than others, and lyrically some of them are kind of cheesy (I mean sometimes they just sort of name drop historical figures as metaphors for the themes of certain songs on here, which I just sort of found a bit amusing), but it is a rather solid listen. Now with all that being said, I don't think I'm ever going back and listening to this whole damn thing again considering its monstrous 3+ hour length. Also I can completely live without the disc with entirely instrumental tracks.

At best a perfectly serviceable collection of garage punk songs and at worst fairly average. Aside from a few highlights its not anything to write home about.

I will preface this by saying that I've never really been the biggest fan of this record. I'll be straight up when I say this is one of the most overhyped and overblown rock records I've ever heard. But even so, I gave it the benefit of the doubt with relisten and here's what I ultimately came away from it thinking: It does start pretty strong with the opening title track. There's a reason it's iconic: it has an instantly recognizable guitar riff and first verse along with a very upbeat and catchy instrumental alongside lyrics that are quite fitting for the album's clear anti-war sentiments: "Don't wanna be an American idiot / Don't want a nation under the new media / And can you hear the sound of hysteria? / The subliminal mindfuck America" Moving on, we have "Jesus of Suburbia," the first of two long cuts on this record. The first two parts of this song demonstrate some of the issues I have with the record: the overblown sound and almost annoying choruses this record has. In particular, in the song's second part, we hear audible *hey!* chants that bog down an otherwise solid chorus. It does pick up with the more up-tempo third part, even if the intro for that part is weak with its repetitive lyrics and guitar riff. The last two parts (four and five) do provide a nice contrast in sound, particularly with the fourth part, where we get a more acoustic backing instrumental and some surprisingly introspective and venerable lyrics within the so-called character of the song (that being the "Jesus of Suburbia) that seems to be reflective of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's sentiments towards American society. Though with that being said, I will say that the lyric "Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed?" is one that I don't think holds up very well in retrospect (for somewhat obvious reasons). Things pick up again in the fifth and final part of the song, as Billie songs about running from a "hurricane of fucking lies," referring to American propaganda on a rocking instrumental, but transitioning into an admittedly beautiful piano ballad moment that abruptly ends and goes back to the rocking instrumental to end off the song. Overall, it's one of the better tracks on the record, even if I don't think the first half of the song is all that great. Following that is "Holiday," a track that I've never really cared too much for, in part because I find the song to be overly preachy and also annoying, particularly on the bridge where Billie does this screechy voice while acting as a US representative that comes off as forced more than anything else. After that is "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," arguably one of the big highlights on this record. Admittedly, I've never been the biggest fan of these sorts of power ballads, mainly because they come off as sort of cheesy and maybe a little dramatic for their own good, especially with lyrics like "My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beatin'", but there is a certain sincerity in Billie's vocal performance that helps elevate the track. The song ends on a strong high note with its thunderous instrumental towards the last minute or so. From here on out, I find the middle stretch of the tracklist, specifically from "Are We the Waiting" to "Extraordinary Girl," to have a myriad of problems that each track demonstrates. Either a song is wildly overblown (as is the case with that chorus for "Are We the Waiting"), has some relatively mellow instrumental moments ("Give Me Novacaine"), or contains some rather shallow lyrical content and repetitive song instrumentals ("She's a Rebel" and "Extraordinary Girl"). I will say that "Letterbomb" does manage to sort of avoid the issues mentioned above with its catchy and powerful instrumental, even if it is a bit straightforward overall. However, "Letterbomb" is largely overshadowed by the next track after it: "Wake Me Up When September Ends." I previously mentioned that I'm usually not the biggest fan of these sorts of power ballads. However, this song is an exception as it's executed wonderfully not just from Billie's sincere vocal performance and genuinely heart-wrenching lyrics that not only reflect his feelings about the passing of his father at a young age but can apply to anyone who has mourned the loss of a close one (Here comes the rain again / Falling from the stars / Drenched in my pain again / Becoming who we are / As my memory rests / But never forgets what I lost), but also in the instrumental that contrasts beautifully from acoustic guitar and subtle percussion into powerful guitar chords and drumming while remaining very heartfelt. I can more than see why this track resonated with so many people at the time of its release and how it continues to do so nearly twenty years after its release. After this, we get the second of the long cuts on here: "Homecoming." This track contains many of the same issues I mentioned earlier with other tracks, but all combined into a track that clocks in at just a little over nine minutes. It starts sufficiently with another rocking instrumental that works well enough for the first four minutes or so for the track (even if it feels like it overstays its well by then by just a bit) before transitioning to these vocal parts performed by guitarist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool that honestly just come off as sort of annoying due to their vocal inflections sounding rather forced more than anything else. This is before we reach the final part of the part, which might as well have the most overblown part in the whole record, with this huge chorus that tries way too hard to feel grandiose above anything else. I will say that the record does close out with another more straightforward rocker in "Whatsername," as the character of Jesus of Suburbia reflects upon his journey throughout this record. In closing, I don't necessarily hate this record, as I've certainly heard worse records (especially coming from this same band in the years following this record). Still, at the same time, I don't think I will ever understand how it was as acclaimed as it was upon its release when it features a tracklist that, frankly speaking, has only three or four tracks that I see myself going back to for sure. The rest feels either overblown, overly preachy, or shallow at many points. I can honestly say that many other rock operas that have come before or after this outdo it not just in terms of overall execution (including a specific record that would come out two years after this one *cough* *cough* The Black Parade *cough* *cough*) but are more worthy of your time than the nearly one-hour length of this album.

A pretty cute and nice listen. There's not really much more I can say about it other than that. Some of these tracks I would see best being played in the background or even to fall asleep to (in the good kind of way).

Pretty chill jazz rap record. Some songs overstay their welcome longer than others but for the most part this works best in the background. Sort of reminds me of Souls of Mischief and Tribe a little bit.

The first four tracks alone are just simply legendary, but the rest of the tracklist is not too shabby either. Even if it does come off as dad rock, this is a consistently fun and engaging hard rock listen with the ever electric guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen. Admittedly the back half of the tracklist is a bit weaker, in large part due to the rather cheesy lyrics found on songs like "Feel Your Love Tonight" and especially "Ice Cream Man", but even those moments don't severely detract from the great musicianship displayed here.

A very chill yet also engaging record that strikes a solid balance between acoustic folk rock tones and some more psychedelic offerings that show that Syd Barrett still had some juice left in him after leaving Pink Floyd. The back half of the record is sort of whatever and a bit meandering but tracks like "Octopus" and "No Man's Land" in the front half more than make up for it. Could say its better than some Floyd records to be honest.

A pretty chill primarily instrumental rock record with some sprinkles of psychedelica and jazz thrown in. The kind of record perfect to fall asleep to or to relax to in the background.

There's definitely quite a bit of gothic and glam rock inspiration to be found on here, even if it does come off as a bit more artsy (and also a bit mellow) with some of the tracks. The vocalist's voice sort of reminds me of David Bowie in both his sincere and aggressive delivery.

I found that this record has a slow start, but once you get pass the first few tracks its true colors really start to show, especially once you start to appreciate the novel yet immaculate production of this record that combines hip-hop-like production, breakbeat, jazz, along with some wonderful string arrangements and the soulful singing of Beth Gibbons. The final three song stretch is particularly very strong in my book.

I enjoyed this way more than I had anticipated, in part because I've never really been the biggest heavy metal guy. Even so, this is very energetic and uptempo record that actually has some calmer moments such as "Children of the Damned" that help to make things interesting and engaging without ever really slowing the record down throughout. The only real dud for me would be "Gangland," but that's mainly because I find it to be a bit on the repetitive relative to everything else on the tracklist.

This is definitely one of the records of all time. And I can honestly respect it for that, regardless of the wacky vocal inflections to the highly avant-garde instrumentals that feel more like the musical equivalent of throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and not asking the question of "just because we can do this doesn't mean we should do it." Even at its strangest moments, there's a certain novelty to it that I could appreciate and even found some amusement from just because I never really excepted what would come next.

Some pretty good Southern rock that's only really held back by the repetitive structure of some of the tracks along with some flat lyrics I could kind of care less for on a track like "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers." "La Grange" is definitely the highlight of this record for sure though.

From the dark and grimy production courtesy of producer RZA to the equally gruesome yet complex rhymes displayed by GZA and the rest of the Wu-Tang members featured on here (most notably an amazing guest verse by Method Man on "Shadowboxin'"), this record is another must-listen in the boarder Wu-Tang catalog. 9/10

This is as 80s as 80s pop gets really, which is not really a bad thing. It's a fairly competent and fun pop record that ultimately gets carried by its most notable (and understandably so) single: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." The backhalf of it is really nothing to write home about.

A fairly chill disco record. Nile Rodgers' guitar playing definitely carries the rhythm of some of these tracks, though so of them do start to feel like they overstay their welcome after a bit.

This definitely sounds like 80s synthpop alright. The overblown drums and percussion on certain tracks makes for a rather unpleasant listening experience even if there are some cool punk influences evident through the vocal performances or the instrumentation such as the opener or "Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)."

Interesting little record containing a bunch of songs that range from old-timey jazz to some more abstract but brief avant-garde songs that makes for a pretty interesting, if somewhat unfocused, listening experience. There's definitely a German flair to this that I can appreciate above anything else.

An endearing yet very melancholic soul record written in the aftermath of a recent breakup, and Amy really sells it with her truly one-of-a-kind voice. There's a strong tenacity to the singing along with the instrumentals that leads to a pretty consistently great listen, even if I find the tracklist to be fairly front-loaded.

A pretty fun hard rock record. There's definitely some very solid cuts and nice instrumental moments such as on "Dancing in the Moonlight" and "Still in Love with You" while never failing to remain consistently engaging.

Pretty fun pop rock singer-songwriter record. It's more sentimental moments on tracks like "Without You" and "The Moonbeam Song" do help to keep things varied, and Nilsson's voice has quite the range to it.

The essential G-funk record, featuring some of the best verses and production to come out of the West Coast at the time. Tracks like "Fuck with Dre Day" and "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" start this record off start strong, even if it does get bogged down by its backhalf and cheesy skits.

The more avant-garde tracks like "Thriller!" and "Drinking Wine Spodyody" I could sort of do without due to how grading they can get to the ears, but there's some great artsy punk to be found here. The vocals will definitely be something you either hate or like.

The Darkness basically sounds like a throwback to the sound of its clear inspirations such as Led Zeppelin, Boston, and AC/DC, and while it definitely works on songs such as "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" and "Love on the Rocks with No Ice," there's definitely some cheesy lyrical content and the hooks can feel a bit repetitive after a bit. Also, did there really have to be three songs with the word love in them?

Really just an incredible showcase of musicianship across the board, but also a record where Led Zeppelin goes above and beyond on their blues influences with tracks like "The Battle of Evermore" and "Going to California." A fiery yet at times endearing record that is one of hard rock's greatest achievements. "Four Sticks" is kind of just okay though

One of the quintessential 90s East Coast rap albums, next to the likes of Ready to Die and Illmatic. From the dark and dusty production of RZA to the furious rhymes of the various group members such as Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and Method Man, there's a lot of great moments by the individual members along with some very memorable beats such as the smooth piano looping of "C.R.E.A.M." to the dark drums of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'".

The beginning of Davis' jazz-fusion era, and a very modest, yet still engaging listen at that. While it may not have the punchy or more eccentric qualities that later Davis projects from this era would have such as the psychedelics and explosiveness of Bitches Brew, the hard-rock leanings of A Tribute to Jack Johnson, or the more funk-infused findings of On the Corner, In A Silent Way's best quality is in its sonic textures and how it manages to take its relatively simple melodies as templates that allow for its individual parts to take the spotlight throughout the 38 minute runtime, such as the intertwining keys between Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul, the smooth guitar playing of John McLaughlin, to the gentle yet at times honed-in drumming of Tony Williams (especially during the latter half of the title track). This all creates a record that is may sound relatively simple and modest at a first glance but is best appreciated when you start to listen closely to all of its subtle sonic details and realize how beautifully and smoothly it all blends together.

One of the essential jazz records. Such an intense, yet passionate and endearing record that demonstrates Coltrane and his quartet's incredible musicianship. An enthralling love letter to spirituality.

One of jazz's most daring and exciting records ever. Its multi-segmented pieces range from avant-garde horn playing, beautiful guitar solos, to absolute sonic chaos when everyone starts to play progressively faster. An absolute thrill from start to finish, and a testament to Mingus' ability to elevate everyone as a bandleader.