390
Albums Rated
3.22
Average Rating
36%
Complete
699 albums remaining
Featured Review
Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Buzzcocks • 5/5
HAHAHAHA.... YES... YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Post-punk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
90
5-Star Albums
43
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
|
5 | 2.35 | +2.65 |
|
Moss Side Story
Barry Adamson
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Timeless
Goldie
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Scott 2
Scott Walker
|
5 | 2.64 | +2.36 |
|
m b v
My Bloody Valentine
|
5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
|
Phaedra
Tangerine Dream
|
5 | 2.73 | +2.27 |
|
Group Sex
Circle Jerks
|
5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
|
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Ys
Joanna Newsom
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Go Girl Crazy
The Dictators
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
|
1 | 4.12 | -3.12 |
|
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
|
1 | 3.92 | -2.92 |
|
Back In Black
AC/DC
|
1 | 3.86 | -2.86 |
|
American Idiot
Green Day
|
1 | 3.77 | -2.77 |
|
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
|
1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
|
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
|
1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
|
Hotel California
Eagles
|
1 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
|
Moving Pictures
Rush
|
1 | 3.58 | -2.58 |
|
Brothers
The Black Keys
|
1 | 3.58 | -2.58 |
|
Play
Moby
|
1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 4 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.75 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.67 |
| David Bowie | 3 | 4.67 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 2 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| AC/DC | 2 | 1 |
| Aerosmith | 2 | 1 |
| Rush | 2 | 1 |
| Led Zeppelin | 2 | 1 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 3 | 1.67 |
| Taylor Swift | 2 | 1.5 |
| Def Leppard | 2 | 1.5 |
| Peter Gabriel | 2 | 1.5 |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 2 |
| The Who | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| k.d. lang | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (90)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Black Keys
1/5
The Black Keys to me feel like Imagine Dragons with more indie rocker cred. But like more offensive because Imagine Dragons doesn't carry the pretense of presenting themselves as a good band. This was somehow both inoffensive and genuinely painful, I felt like I was listening to an hour worth of primetime TV spots. The soundtrack to the death of mainstream guitar music.
3 likes
The Incredible String Band
4/5
One thing I've discovered on this 1001 album project without fail is that if an album has a very low rating, regardless of genre, even if I'm convinced that this time I will also dislike it, I basically always end up liking it.
Or at the very least, think it's just fine. Almost every single time. It's kind of hilarious.
I actually like this a lot. I don't think it's gonna inspire me to listen to a lot more psychedelic folky shit, but I think it's absolutely great. Weirdo hippie medieval peasant music. This sounds like something some 1970s sex cult run by a schizophrenic would play on repeat through an intercom system. I respect it.
2 likes
Barry Adamson
5/5
Oh my god. A soundtrack album to a non-existent crime film by the bassist of Magazine (who was also in Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds AND Visage)? Yes please.
2 likes
Gang Of Four
5/5
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 I LOVE THIS RECORD 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
2 likes
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
I'm glad I finally listened to an Earth Wind and Fire record in full but the slower songs didn't stand out to me as much, and that's like 80% of the album. I'm glad I gave it a second listen through though, because I found more I liked by giving it a second chance. Still really nice but I'm just not a big ballad person.
2 likes
4-Star Albums (65)
1-Star Albums (43)
All Ratings
Elvis Presley
3/5
I liked two songs from this (I'll Never Let You Go and Blue Moon) but not really my kind of thing
AC/DC
1/5
Dodge Ram commercial music... I hate this so much. I don't care if it's a classic it sucks. The weird rapey song that was like "don't you struggle don't you fight let me cut your cake with a knife" was ok though
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Goes hard love u Janis u killed it
The Offspring
2/5
The first half of this was fun MTV pop punk and a 3/5... the second half was absolutely terrible zany ska-punk and a solid 1/5 so imma give it a 2
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
This album was my jam when I was 12/13 and then I found Wire... and Pere Ubu... still has some bangers and is still a solid album but doesn't quite have the bite of all the art punk bands they were influenced by... sorry Franz Ferdinand ur getting a 3...
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
That "Patterns" song is a banger and so is "A Poem on the Underground Wall" but the rest didn't stand out that much to me. Nice though!
The Flaming Lips
1/5
Coldplay/U2 if they tried to rip off Pavement. This is SO shit. SO middle of the road. SO generic and whiny. Jesus christ the zany symphonic sound is awful. I can't believe how beloved this band was at the time.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
I've loved this album so much since it first came out when I was 13! Easy 5/5 and started my love affair with Janelle Monae. Such a beautiful, ambitious, eclectic concept album that manages to do so much and feel so timeless in the process.
GZA
4/5
So smooth and effortless can't believe it took me this long to listen to this in full
B.I.B.L.E. especially is crazy good
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
It's pleasant enough but it's very dated and derviative and honestly sounds like a more hip-hop leaning version of something from an early 2000s girl group. This is like a Girls Aloud/Sugababes solo record, why is it on this list
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Cringe, but the good kind of cringe
Skepta
2/5
Corny.... Ludacris type bars..... why are we still doing skits in the streaming era can we not leave this shit in 2003??? I liked this but all the songs sound the same also Brits are just not as cool as Americans
Wire
5/5
The most influential, timeless, essential punk album of all time.
The Fall
5/5
I've loved post-punk since I was like 13 but it took me until my mid-twenties to "get" the Fall. They grow on you until you wish every band sounded like them.
Johnny Cash
2/5
This was not a good introduction to Johnny Cash. This feels like a mediocre bootleg of a Johnny Cash performance.
Willie Nelson
3/5
First few songs are incredible but the rest of the album kind of sounds the same to me. It's a lovely sound but the songs don't stand out as much as the first three do! I'd like to listen to more Willie Nelson though, this definitely left a positive impression
Venom
3/5
Black Metal and Buried Alive are bangers but the rest of this kind of sounds the same to me. I will say I'm impressed by how fresh it sounds, it doesn't sound that dated that all and could easily be a new metal release today
Björk
5/5
Such a fun 'artsy girl goes to the disco' album. Not Bjork's best album but still good enough to be 5 stars.
George Harrison
3/5
This feels like a collection of songs that weren't good enough to make it on another album. It's just far too long and only a few of the songs are strong enough to be remembered. I like the Beatles and George Harrison but find it absurd how every single mediocre b-side ever written by these people is treated with universal acclaim
James Taylor
2/5
I could've lived without ever hearing this album and will never voluntarily listen to it again. 2 stars instead of 1 because he can definitely sing.
Aerosmith
1/5
Genuinely exhausting to listen through. Rock for people who eat plain oatmeal every day for breakfast
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
I'm glad I finally listened to an Earth Wind and Fire record in full but the slower songs didn't stand out to me as much, and that's like 80% of the album. I'm glad I gave it a second listen through though, because I found more I liked by giving it a second chance. Still really nice but I'm just not a big ballad person.
Christina Aguilera
4/5
Almost a perfect 5/5 if it weren't for there being a half dozen songs on this 20 song album that are really filler and are there to pad out the album. Some of the best vocals in pop history on some of the best pop songs of the 21st century weaving in and out of the occasional Radio Disney level filler. But I forgive it because the vocals are incredible and many of the songs could be hits today and haven't aged a day.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Glad I got to hear it but not my kind of thing. I'll give it a 3 because it was actually great background music for cleaning the house
Rush
1/5
Basura
Buck Owens
3/5
This is the kind of stuff I signed up for when I started this listening challenge, as I would've NEVER listened to it otherwise. I'm glad I did! I didn't necessarily find a new genre I'll be listening to all the time, but it was an enjoyable listen and it broadened my horizons
David Ackles
3/5
Unusual! Day 27 and it's the first artist I've truly never heard of, not even in passing. Very sappy at times, and a bit challenging, but I like it! It almost reminds me of '70s David Bowie at times -- I'm glad I finally came across an artist here I've never heard of!
Elton John
3/5
Some bangers on here I'll admit but homie is way too obsessed with sixteen year olds
Beatles
4/5
It's a certified banger what can I say
Django Django
2/5
Cannot believe this shit is on this list but Liquid Liquid isn't. This album would not exist without Liquid Liquid, even their names are eerily the same. This is a generic, car commercial, commercial landfill indie homage to no wave. It's fine but it's ridiculous and says a lot about the listmakers' lack of knowledge that this album made it, but the legendary band it is blalantly ripping off didn't.
3/5
Perfectly inoffensive. I was expecting to dislike this more, but the latter half of this record redeems it. The last three songs especially are quite good. I can see why this still sounds timeless, even though I'm not a U2 fan.
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
I wish I liked this more but it was kind of a bit tedious to listen to, especially the 14-minute Sex Machine.. I'm glad I listened to this record because it paved a lot of ways for what was to come in soul and rock and roll but I don't think it aged super well and sounds very much of its time.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
This is cool as hell. I'm so glad I listened to this. Will definitely listen to other CCR albums now, and will definitely listen to this again. I might even grow on me to get to a 5/5. This is just something that I managed to skip somehow as I never grew up listening to classic rock radio or anything. So so good, I got so much out of this. I enjoyed every minute of the 11 minute cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".
The Pharcyde
4/5
Really wish these '90s albums had less skits as filler and wish the humor wasn't so middle school but no complaints cause it's still so good, will definitely put it on again.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I like willow and no body, no crime. The rest of the songs are good songwriting but very bland and feel like music that plays in the background at Target, which is how I already felt about Taylor Swift. So this didn't really change my impression.
Led Zeppelin
1/5
So fucking boring. Not a single track that stood out to me in the entire record. I can't believe how forgettable this was to me.
Def Leppard
2/5
I wanted to hate this even more than I already do because this is aesthetically against everything I value in guitar music. I really hate hard rock and prog rock and hair metal with a burning passion. I did like two songs from this, Too Late For Love and Foolin’. The rest was still actually painful to sit through. The kind of slop you only like if your formative years were in this era and you just have nostalgia from making out with a girl to it in a drive in or something.
Neil Young
3/5
This was pretty cool. "Albuquerque" and "Tired Eyes" especially stood out to me. I saw Neil Young when I was 19 but wasn't really in a place at the time to fully appreciate what he was doing. Not all of this speaks to me but it doesn't ever drag on, and it's really good songwriting.
Honestly, Neil Young sounds so much like Stephen Malkmus to me, I didn't realize how similar their vocals were until this record. I listened to it twice and could tell I would really like it if I was in the right mood, so I'll revisit this later when I'm in a particularly melancholic self-pitying mood.
Leftfield
2/5
I didn't get a lot out of this at all. The second half of this is definitely more energetic than the first but for the most part I found this to be incredibly mid-tempo and uninspired, and I can't tell if it's a Seinfeld effect type thing where maybe this was massively influential or if it is just straight up boring. It reminded me of generic runway show music, generic video game loading screen music, generic gay club music. I'm not surprised Leftfield doesn't like it either.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Still hits as hard as when I cried to it in high school what can I say a certified hood classic
Common
4/5
The first half hour or so of this was a drag (and this is too long of a record, it's an hour and twenty minutes long) but everything that comes after makes me get why it's a classic. The lyrics are pretty dated and homophobic but I'll still come back to this
Norah Jones
3/5
Generic Starbucks easy listening music but I unapologetically like it. It's some bullshit I can put in the background while I answer emails and that's fine, I enjoyed it as that. There were some pretty groovy bass lines in here too.
The Black Keys
1/5
The Black Keys to me feel like Imagine Dragons with more indie rocker cred. But like more offensive because Imagine Dragons doesn't carry the pretense of presenting themselves as a good band. This was somehow both inoffensive and genuinely painful, I felt like I was listening to an hour worth of primetime TV spots. The soundtrack to the death of mainstream guitar music.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Not bad but perfectly forgettable, I don't think I'll ever listen to this again.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I love Nick Cave but this isn't his best. It's pretty indulgent with all the backup chorus vocals and in general feels mostly filler. I think this is an album only for the diehards, which is fine because I'm a fan of his but it begs the question why it's on this list.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Very unapologetically annoying and cheesy and gay, but it's still a vibe
The Who
2/5
God, this was pretty unbearable at times. I can't believe how hard I've forced myself to like Tommy. When I was in high school and was obsessed with bands like The Jam and The Specials (definitely flirting with punk without being outright fully into punk yet) and dressed like a little mod revivalist I really wanted to make myself like The Who in turn, I've even seen them live. And The Who Sell Out still is great to me. But Tommy can get really whiny and corny! Will never be someone who enjoys these big indulgent rock operas and I don't know why I forced myself to pretend I particularly liked this one. It has its moments though.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Love Missy. Love Timbaland. Love Aaliyah. Love this era of avant-garde freak hip-hop production so much. It's a little clunky and it's not Timbaland's best production work, but it's weird as fuck and defined the sound of an entire decade of pop music that left a huge imprint on me, so it was a pleasure to listen to. Twice!
Baaba Maal
3/5
Finally something I would've never heard otherwise instead of fucking U2 and Aerosmith. I don't think I'd ever heard music from Senegal until now. This was kind of psychedelic, kind of blues-y, kind of... new age-y? I won't come back to it probably, but I'm glad I got to experience it. It is kind of long and droning and I just can't stand when any record is over an hour long, but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless.
I really liked the track "Djam Leelii" especially.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
I really got a lot out of this record. It's a record made by a man who's dying and who knows he's dying. If most of the songs were as strong as the title track or Traveling Light were it'd get a 5, but I still got a lot out of the few tracks that really spoke to me. It's very heavy, ambient and atmospheric. Leonard Cohen's voice sounds like pure gravel, Tom Waits on steroids.
It's a shame it came from being in a lot of pain and being very close to death but it's a very, very beautiful last work to leave this world with.
4/5
Cool guys doing cool guy shit I would definitely blow young John Zorn
The Dictators
5/5
All killer no filler. Dumb, snarky, sarcastic, camp, very danceable, everything that punk music should be.
John Lennon
3/5
First three songs really made me think I would hate this because god John Lennon can be really fucking whiny but Working Class Hero is such a masterpiece of a song. I guess John Lennon is at his best when he's trying to sound like someone else because I love how Bob Dylan/Nick Drake that song is so much, it's incredible. And after that it picks up a bit and starts to sound more like a Beatles record, and I like the Beatles. I definitely don't regret listening to it, but it's also pretty forgettable too, save three tracks -- one of which left a huge impression on me, so there's that.
Jurassic 5
5/5
Being sincere on any level isn't cool in 2024 (it wasn't cool in 2002 either) but it doesn't make Jurassic 5 any less good
Miriam Makeba
3/5
Very beautiful voice with so much range, doubt that it's something I'll realistically revisit. But I learned more about South African history through googling who she is, that counts for something. I also didn't realize she was the wife of Kwame Ture. Anyway, none of that has to do with the music -- I guess I'll file it under "glad I listened, but unlikely I will again".
Bob Dylan
2/5
I should give Blonde on Blonde a 1/5 but I am going to give it a 2 because I didn't actually like any of the songs but I do like his weird grating voice and his songwriting
The Pogues
1/5
No
Scott Walker
5/5
I actually love this so much. I was not prepared to like this at ALL. So melancholic, debaucherous, lustful, old-fashioned. Jacques Brel meets Frank Sinatra? I listened to it three times in a row and enjoyed it each time.
Manu Chao
2/5
Very boring but has good politics so there's that? Idk I don't care about this but maybe if I was European and an annoying lefty weed person in 2002 this would be my vibe
Spiritualized
3/5
I listened to this a couple of times because it was pretty easy to let it mentally fade to the background and I wanted to actually notice it.
All I know from Spiritualized is "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space", which I do like, so I guess that was my only benchmark for what I expected from this debut of theirs. There is a good amount of that sound in this one, but this is also decidedly more jangly and shoegazey. It reminds me a lot of the more mellow songs on Primal Scream's Screamadelica, particularly "I'm Coming Down". It was really pleasant to have on, and it definitely has an atmosphere around it, but apart from Shine A Light, which is probably the best Spiritualized song I've ever heard, the individual tracks are pretty forgettable. This is definitely an album you put on start to finish just for the mood it sets.
Boston
3/5
I wanted to not like this but it's a classic for a reason. I like the vocals so much. I likely won't come back to it but I enjoyed it beginning to end. Solid dadrock. I get why it's on the radio all the fucking time.
Elvis Presley
3/5
The cover of Fever and The Girl of My Best Friend are both so fucking good. This didn't sell me on becoming a big Elvis fan but I enjoyed it a lot, I listened to it twice. Probably won't come back to the whole thing through hence the 3/5 but those two songs are fucking great. I like this a lot more than the more manic high energy classics I've heard like Hound Dog which I find kind of obnoxious, ballad-y crooning Elvis is where it's at.
The Clash
4/5
Can you believe I've always claimed to love The Clash never listened to this in full? Such a poser. It's really good but I still have more of a taste for Sandinista! and Combat Rock, I guess I just love weirdo post-punk Clash best. But this is still pretty good. The bass lines are killer too. White Riot and Hate & War and What's My Name back to back to back is some of the best punk music ever written. I wish I liked it even more than I did but I guess the coolest thing about The Clash to me was always how eclectic their tastes were and I find myself missing that. Though I do love how much stripped down Clash reminds me of The Jam. Still good shit!
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
This is three hours and fifteen minutes long. Yes, I listened to the entire thing. It took me several days to get through because I enjoyed it that much. I guess there were like 7-8 tracks to me that were really standout and the rest were nice background music, but I'll definitely come back to it, mainly because it's really nice lounging/cleaning music to put on.
The Zutons
2/5
Apple Store indie (derogatory).
Dolly Parton
1/5
No.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Like a more Twin Peaks-esque, more mellow Depeche Mode. I just got another Pet Shop Boys from this generator literally a week or two before this but it was a lot more kitschy than this. And this is plenty kitsch and camp too, because its still the Pet Shop Boys, but this takes itself somewhat more seriously and feels more "adult" in like an '80s corporate elevator music way. It's pretty cool but it gets monotonous.
Sigur Rós
5/5
Oh my god, what a pleasure to get one of the best bands I've ever seen in my life and an record that completely opened up my entire world when I first heard it in middle school. I guess there are a few tiny moments where I have to give twelve year old me credit for being extremely cool. It's one of the best ambient/post-rock albums ever made.
Joanna Newsom
5/5
This fucking rules. It's so maudlin that a lesser artist would have made this feel like it ventures into Disney girl territory but it's so fucking perfect that it never manages to toe that line. Real weird girl hours who the fuck is up
OutKast
4/5
Almost all killer, very little filler. But there's enough skips for it to be a 4 for me. I just get annoyed by how many interludes and preludes and outros and skits older hip hop records have, and this is over two hours long so there's a lottt of that. I prefer The Love Below to Speakerboxxx it's way weirder and it's a more cohesive record. If it was just The Love Below I'd rate this a 5, but I still just really like both.
Neil Young
3/5
This was alright. The namesake track is good but the rest felt fairly monotonous. Pretty blues-y and cynical in this resigned man wiser beyond his years way so that's cool. I do really wonder if I'm just not a big Neil Young person or if he'll just take time to grow on me, so I'll give this one a 3 like I gave Tonight's The Night, because at least it's pretty short.
Radiohead
5/5
I am so sorry to be a cliché but unfortunately every fucking bit as good as everyone says it is and more. Bury me with this record. I've loved it since I first heard it when I was 11. I will love it until the day I die. My favorite record from this so far.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
There's some fun tracks here. I like the first half of this record a lot. The second half feels like filler bullshit that was scrapped from a Beatles record. But it's a fun and easygoing pop record and I do think it does that well.
Hole
3/5
I really like Hole, but I wish I liked this record as much as other people do. I just wish this was more aggressive. Because it could be if it wanted to be. I think Live Through This is "my" Hole album, for that reason. I blame picking Michael Beinhorn as producer, I'm really not a fan of his sound on anything he does and I think that post-grunge sound is dated in a decidedly uncool way. But I think the band was already starting to be at the end of its rope too. I don't know. Still technically a "good" record but doesn't have any of that magic for me.
Parliament
3/5
I bet this was INCREDIBLE to experience live. As it is, glad I heard it, but didn't change my life either.
The Young Rascals
2/5
Milquetoast sixties pop rock/blue-eyed soul. Both things I like but I did not find this to be memorable in any way, shape or form.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
I really love Missing and I know Wrong is on this record so I was looking forward to listening to more of their output because I was hoping it would sound like that. Unfortunately this is a bit of a bore in comparison to their biggest hits and is just watered down elevator music drum and bass... I wish it did more with the cool breathy vocals but it really doesn't. This was sadly a bit of a disappointment but I'd give another EBTG record a shot, maybe it's just this one that isn't that special.
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Never heard of her prior to this. Didn't really speak to me much but was cool to be exposed to a singer-songwriter I didn't know until now. Kind of a mix between funk, soul and folk rock, pretty cool.
Slint
5/5
Yes.
The Who
2/5
I thought I liked this record, but it's been a decade since I sat down and actually tried to listen to it beginning to end. It's just too fucking long. 23 songs? And there's five Who records on this list? Go fuck yourself.
4/5
Never heard of this before until now. Really like it. Downtempo acid jazz bossa nova. It rules. I love it. Very good cleaning/focus music.
The Temptations
3/5
Motown with a little bit of psychedelic flair. Glad I heard it I guess but didn't really speak to me. I'm guessing there's better Temptations records on this list.
Cheap Trick
3/5
This was ok. Not my thing but totally fine background music. The bassist is handsome so I will give this a 3 instead of a 2. It's my rating system and my rules.
Santana
3/5
These guys fuck.
The Doors
4/5
Tired of writing reviews. Who even gives a fuck about what I think about this. The Doors rule.
Public Enemy
3/5
Glad I heard it and has its moments but doubt it'll be something I come back to.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
It sounds like something that would play in a Starbucks twenty years ago but I kinda like it anyway. I think there's a part of me that would've likely been an earthy poetry slam person that attended Lilith Fair in 1998 so that part of me doesn't mind it at all. I don't know if it's very good or essential per se, at times it sounds like a mix of Taylor Swift and Barenaked Ladies? Which aren't very complimentary comparisons? But I don't know, it's kinda cool at times. I had fun listening to it. I might come back to some tracks it made me want to buy rustic Christmas decorations and like buy a bullet journal or something.
Depeche Mode
5/5
Absolutely perfect record. Not a single track that I don't enjoy.
Taylor Swift
1/5
I got this for day 89. I just wanted to share how cool of a coincidence that is. Unfortunately, this absolutely blows and worse, this is the second Taylor Swift album I've gotten in 89 days. At its best it reminded me of Carly Rae Jepsen but with less personality. This didn't change my perception of Taylor Swift, I already knew she was a competent songwriter with not an ounce of personality to her. Musical chicken tendies, music for people who don't really like music.
Holger Czukay
3/5
Not as good as my favorite Can records (this guy was in Can), but it's still fucking weird and I respect that. I enjoyed the ride. I think the reason this was on this list was because it was an early example of sampling-based work, he collected a lot of the elements just by listening to random things on the radio. Very weird and funky freaky experimental rock/electronic record, with Persian and African music. I don't know. I'm glad I heard it.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
It was fine. I like post-punk Nick Cave so I don't think I'm the target audience for an all ballad effort from him. But it was fine. I really like his singing voice and his raunchy melancholia that his albums have, boring as most of the songs in this one are.
R.E.M.
5/5
Holy shit this took a few listens to click and when it did it REALLY did. I had this down as a 3/5 on first listen.
I never listened to early R.E.M. until now, despite knowing how important they were and all that just because I found their big hits from the 90s to be really whiny and annoying. I think there was a Seinfeld effect thing happening where so many bands took from this sound that the original is not as exciting to me but I gave it a second chance and it got really good. Sometimes it reminds me of Wire and sometimes it reminds me of Crowded House. There's some really great bass lines in here. The opening bass line in Pilgrimage that is played on bass, piano and vibraphone at the same time is insane. I like it a lot I guess it really is just more mellow and melodic post-punk which is exactly what alternative rock basically is lol
David Holmes
3/5
I like this record just fine, but the best part of it is just a remix of half of Gainsbourg's Histoire De Melody Nelson, and also another Gainsbourg standard, probably his most famous song -- Le Poinçonneur des Lilas. Which like of course samples can still be original works but it's less of a sample and more of a straight up remix album, or like just the actual songs but instrumental with some extra kick drum tracks added on top of it, unless there's something subtle I'm missing. I did like it but what I liked best about it was the part that Gainsbourg did. There's also a rework of the James Bond theme too? I don't know. It doesn't feel worthy of being on a list if you know the references it comes from, which aren't deep cuts at all nor is he really adding much of anything to them. It's a very derivative and half-baked album, and if I wasn't such a sucker for 90s electronica I would definitely give it a 2.
Beach House
5/5
Another record that tween me really loved. My entry way into dream pop/shoegaze. Still very good. Definitely belongs on this list and easily one of the best albums of that decade. The last two tracks drag on a bit and aren't as strong as the rest of it, but about as close to perfect as you can get.
Orbital
2/5
I think this record gave me a mild headache. The song \"Walk Now...\" sounds like a ten minute smoke alarm without batteries and genuinely gave me a headache. I like some noisy stuff but unlike the Zorn album from earlier this is very boring on top of being annoying. Halcyon On and On is very, very good. The rest of it though is like tinnitus simulator. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with myself while listening to this kind of music. It feels like a dreadful sort of purgatory. It's not like, aesthetically offensive, but I know I decisively don't like it. I don't dislike it in the same way I dislike Rush or Aerosmith where it's not only boring but also something I feel in my gut should be nuked off the face of the earth, and Halcyon On and On is again an incredible song, so it gets a 2 instead of a 1, but yeah this is definitely largely irritating and a bore. First time I have an actual headache listening to anything on this list. With one very good song to make up for it. So I guess just listen to that and skip all the rest?
The Prodigy
4/5
So good. Gets repetitive at times for my infantile attention span (which is probably why I don't listen to this kind of music much, all the songs are like 8 minutes long) but it's very, very good.
Massive Attack
5/5
Yes. Yes to literally anything Massive Attack. I want the two dudes from Massive Attack to eiffel tower me. I don't even care. I love this record and this band so much.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
This is both sexy and also a really maudlin and vindictive divorce album, it's like so messy that it's kind of awesome? Would be a 4 just for how unapologetically messy it is but I think I like earlier Marvin Gaye records more and also some of the songs just drag on and on. Worth listening to though, the backstory behind this record is crazy as hell
The Police
3/5
A bit of a bore compared to Outlandos d'Amour (which fucking RULES) but there are some truly great songs here. I really liked The Bed's Too Big Without You, Bring On The Night, Walking On The Moon, No Time This Time and of course Message In The Bottle. The rest I could do without. A four for the half of the album that's very good and a two for the other half that is a complete bore.
Fiona Apple
5/5
I wish I could give this a 6/5. I love this record SO much. I can't believe she was only 18 when this came out. I can't really explain how much this record means to me. Maybe to some people it's indulgent or tedious, to me it means everything in the world and more. I don't think I've ever felt so understood by a record or artist. I wish I could bury myself inside this record forever.
George Jones
2/5
I kinda like this kind of melancholic old school country. It sounds so much like Hawaiian music, which I never really made the connection until now. Why does country music sound like Hawaiian music? Is it just the steel guitar? Anyways, all the songs sound exactly the same but it's still nice. 2 because it's not bad at all but there were no songs apart from the title track that stood out to me and I just don't see myself realistically ever listening to this again. At least it was short at under 30 minutes.
Steely Dan
4/5
Hell yeah
Television
5/5
One of those albums that started my love affair with punk music, though I guess a lot of people who hear it might argue that it's not punk and that it's more of just a straight up rock record. I would argue that punk is kind of a meaningless descriptor anyway. It's just so awesome. It's both really urgent and agitated but also shows so much restraint and great musicianship. It's a really weird combination that I've been hard pressed to find before or since. If you don't get this band just keep listening to them until you do. Even their last album in the '90s is excellent. Such a fucking cool band!!!
Yes
3/5
I thought I would absolutely hate this but it's actually alright. This is kind of like The Who if The Who were less annoying. Or Rush if they weren't literally the worst band of all time. It's still unrelentingly dorky because it's prog rock but it has its moments honestly, I'm genuinely surprised. 2/5 because, well, I still had to listen to Yes for 45 minutes.
EDIT: I spoke too soon. This should be a 3/5. 'A Venture' is so jazzy and also beautiful in a very Scott Walker way, another artist I found and grew to love through this 1001 album thing.
The Triffids
1/5
Never heard of this band before. Apparently they were big in Australia. Good for them. I don't give a shit. Fuck man this was just so annoying and just feels like a lesser version of those eighties bands that rode the line between new wave and mainstream rock like The Cars. I really tried to get it because I do genuinely like all that "adult alternative" eighties stuff but I realized after a few tries I don't truly like any of the songs on this album and that I couldn't wait for it to finally end. It's like, not literary enough to be a "sophisticated" pop band like Prefab Sprout or The Blue Nile, not punk-leaning enough to be alternative rock or new wave, not catchy enough to be a good pop/rock band, I just don't understand who this is for or why it's seen as good. And then it started to sound like The Pogues after a while and it's like come ooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn... shut the fuck up........... I gave it a fair shot and listened to all of it more than once but yeah fuck off.
Deep Purple
1/5
Waaaaaaaaaah!!!! Rock on duuude!!!!!!!!!!! \m/
Hot Chip
1/5
If Babyshambles are landfill indie then I guess this is post-landfill indie. One is the sound of iPod commercials and one is the sound of having a UX design job at Apple eight years later. Like the landfill has been paved over and there's a Starbucks with a mural painted on the side of it now and this is what's playing in it. Really bad and just really resigned and flaccid sounding, it's millennial muzak.
Paul Simon
2/5
No complaints, but didn't really speak to me either. Paul Simon is a very good songwriter that seems to be known for everything save putting his heart in what he does, despite making beautiful music. At least that's how he comes off to me. I remember listening to Graceland when I was 13 or 14 because my mom bought me an issue of NME or Spin or one of those magazines that wrote a retrospective on it, and being thoroughly confused by what the big deal was. Being older hasn't really changed that feeling, I guess.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I used to be really into Echo & The Bunnymen when I was in high school, but I wasn't able to connect the dots until now on exactly why I liked them so much. In a lot of ways they can come off as a more boring version of The Cure and The Smiths, especially in this record, but the vocals and "haunting" sound also feels a lot like The Doors too. And like it or not they're kind of the blueprint for bands like Radiohead and early Coldplay that I really liked in junior high. They don't sound far off from the rest of '80s jangle pop or even Madchester either. They're just somehow adjacent to... basically all of alternative rock music without sounding derivative of any of it.
This would've been a 5 for me once but I think my tastes changed. They're a very pompous and indulgent band, and I used to actually find that endearing in the same way I can find the flamboyant bravado of The Smiths endearing, but I guess the more into punk I got the more this record has started to bore me a little bit, particularly the slower songs. Now I like Crocodiles more because it's more angular and dark and more of a post-punk record, but this is still good too.
The Who
2/5
Third Who record so far. Two more to go because there's FIVE on this thing for some reason. My big discovery from all this is that I don't actually like The Who much and thought I did for some reason. Like I somehow gaslit myself into thinking I did.
Chicago
3/5
Five for Liberation and Free Form Guitar, but I think the rest of this isn't something I'll revisit. Way, way cooler than I thought, though. I had no idea how good Chicago used to be. Noisy funk rock jazz fusion chaos, I would've never in a million years thought that from their '80s music.
Duke Ellington
3/5
This was cool!! I'm trying to listen to the original length of all these older records because I don't think I would like it as much if I would've listen to the whole bloated complete version that is on Spotify right now. I just listened to the original five songs that were on the LP. Because I don't care about a jazz rendition of the Star Spangled Banner or four minute long banter introducing the band. But yeah this was really nice, good house cleaning music.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I love Frank Sinatra honestly. This put me in such a good mood.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
Absolutely incredible
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Boring and annoying... kinda like Joe Jackson but a lot less cool
The Beach Boys
3/5
I thought the rest of this would be like the first track and got excited but it was just okay. I like The Beach Boys, but this felt more like a collection of songs (some of them better than others) than a cohesive album.
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
Good but also sounds like NPR music in a way I can't really look past. It rides a weird line between being very beautiful and sounding like it was almost just made to be in the background of a Netflix series or HBO show and I can't unhear that. I even hate saying that because it has good musicianship and it's in good taste but it's still missing something, it's too pretty, like a woman that is too conventionally beautiful, maybe it's just that I need musicians to be dumb or angry or horny or neurotic but somehow he is none of these and therefore I can't say I connect with it. It has all the ingredients for a perfect cake but you're already full.
Kate Bush
5/5
Hell yeah
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
Honestly, I didn't hate this and it had its moments. The second side of disc 1 is especially good. It's just too long... too fucking long.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Pretty good background music, can't say it did much more for me unfortunately but was still nice for what it was
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Didn't change my life but I enjoyed the ride.
Megadeth
1/5
Sorry but this is really annoying. Made me start to question at times if I even like metal at all. Hoe-scaring music
Magazine
5/5
God I love this record so much. And now that I'm older I like it even more. I liked Magazine a lot in college but I think they're one of those bands you start really getting in the latter half of your twenties. Now I feel less like the object in one of Howard Devoto's songs and relate more to his point of view. It's cruel and cynical, it's sexy, it's sleazy, it's really self-centered and obnoxious, it's disaffected. Now being all those things in punk carries a lot of baggage, and maybe they did back then too. But it's something that punk is really missing. It's like nothing really ever stepped in to fill this void and everyone decided punk was just about hanging out and making friends. Anyway. Perfect record.
AC/DC
1/5
Another one I just really did not like. This is my second AC/DC album I got since I started this, the other one was Back In Black. Both of them have been 1/5 for me. But I've been told their early stuff is better so I'll give that a shot too.
So my actual problem with AC/DC is that it feels like they write songs about being jerks to women solely to try to impress other dudes and I like music that is about being jerks to women to impress no one.
Like the day before this I got Magazine, another misogynist band, and that band is cool because at least Howard Devoto doesn't write about it that would impress middle school boys. He almost talks about love in a way that a homeless man on the bus would give me an anecdote without me asking him. So that's why Magazine rules and AC/DC sucks. That and every AC/DC song sounds exactly the same to me. I don't like AC/DC.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Kinda sounds like The Stone Roses meets Suicide? I wish most of the songs didn't sound the same. I might have to come back to this or another record of theirs because it sounded cool, but I gave this two shots and it kind of put me to sleep both times, nice as it was.
Beatles
4/5
Definitely on the bottom half of Beatles records for me but still very good. I have a very boring stance on The Beatles, which is that I think they're great. I love early Beatles, I love late Beatles. I still really like mid-era Beatles, just not as much.
Nirvana
4/5
I like this more than Nevermind. Tourette's is my favorite Nirvana song.
Caetano Veloso
5/5
Apparently tropicália is my thing? Jorge Ben's África Brasil was also a very enthusiastic 5/5 for me. I guess this is something I need to dive deeper into. So fucking good!!
Various Artists
2/5
Why is this one of Brian Wilson's favorite albums? Did they just have a lot less music back then?
Yes
3/5
Yes? More like Ok
Linkin Park
1/5
In middle school I had a best friend, I'll call her Veronica. We were two parallel yet distinct flavors of edgy, and we were for a time inseparable (and I am pretty confident no one I met from school ever understood me more than she did) but we were also still middle school girls at our emotional nadir. And eventually this would cause a rift between us until we stopped speaking to each other in 8th grade and never spoke again since. What actually happened is that she stopped talking to me, just as the rest of our friend group started to wane from me around the same time (I'm sure because of something I did, I was a real asshole to be around at that age.) And not wanting to accept the reality of being rejected again, because around that tender time the only family that was regularly around was my single mom who was always at work and wasn't really able to be around outside of that, I wrote Veronica a long letter of why I didn't want to be friends with her anymore even though she clearly made the decision first. Anyway.
Her favorite bands were Green Day and Linkin Park. I was obsessed with Björk and Radiohead. We both thought we were tortured souls that no one understood and wanted for someone else to notice how tortured we were. She wore fingerless gloves and wore her hair over her eyes and I dressed normal but I would cut my hair short, or would face my iPod conspicuously when a younger and more hip-looking substitute teacher would be in proximity in the hopes I could talk to them about Elliott Smith and they could tell me I had very good music taste for my age.
The reason why I tell this story is so you can understand why I gave this record a 1. It's not because it's bad or too edgy or juvenile, it's because when I was 12, it was very important to me that the world understood that I wasn't *this* kind of edgy, I was a *very specific and different* kind of edgy, so god please, somebody notice. Just like it was for Veronica.
Circle Jerks
5/5
Perfect record.
Ute Lemper
3/5
I wanted to like this because I got excited by the names of collaborators on the cover (Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Scott Walker...) but it's pretty boring. 3 instead of 2 because I think the names that worked on it are still very cool but yeah disappointingly boring. Feels like a lesser Nick Cave record, like one full of ballads that all sound the same.
Led Zeppelin
1/5
So impressed by Led Zeppelin's ability to take from the blues and somehow make it sound like some of the most boring, soulless and absolutely gaudy style of music ever made. I don't like this cock rock stuff and everything it inspired whether it be prog or hair metal, or even Queen, just fuck all of it, also I can't stand their lyrics which are always either a twelve year old's idea of sex or these mid-wit fake profound "big topics", I HATE Led Zeppelin, I wish to god this awful corny band never existed
John Prine
3/5
4/5 for the great lyrics, 2/5 for the music (sorry I still don’t really get country)
Kanye West
4/5
Should really be a 5/5 but I hate skit interludes and there's like seven interludes on this record
k.d. lang
5/5
I am so surprised and mildly embarrassed that I love this so much, but what can I do? I'm a Lilith Fair wine mom at heart. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not cool. Absolutely loved this.
Beastie Boys
3/5
It's alright. It drags on and feels too long. I respect how much this pushed the limits of sampling at the time but it also feels too gimmicky for me to get all that into and I will probably never listen to it again
Mercury Rev
1/5
There is one song I really like on this which is "The Funny Bird", the review is for the rest of it.
I think there was some sort of loose constellation of a movement around chamber pop in the 90s (which by then kinda meant any alternative rock that was intentionally trying to exclude any stylistic borrowing from punk) and this record is weirdly one of the most acclaimed, but most banal examples from that whole scene. Same with The Flaming Lips, I really don't click with both bands. So this suffers from the same disease The Flaming Lips do where this record is really big and theatrical sounding and wants you to know how arty it is, but it also has no edge, no passion and no raw emotion to it beyond being this really fussy, manic pixie dream boy musak. Honestly in a way that reminds me of why I don't like Taylor Swift it's like that bad. Both bands also share this same whiny vocal style that sounds almost like Mac Demarco to me; twee and resigned and castrated and dude fuck this I really just wish I was listening to Tindersticks right now instead.
The Monks
5/5
Never heard of this until now. Crazy ass proto-punk shit from 1965. It reminds me of The Velvet Underground and The Doors but severely lower IQ, very very cool
Joy Division
5/5
Didn't like them as much as New Order when I was younger. Then I started liking The Doors a lot more. Now I get it.
The Incredible String Band
4/5
One thing I've discovered on this 1001 album project without fail is that if an album has a very low rating, regardless of genre, even if I'm convinced that this time I will also dislike it, I basically always end up liking it.
Or at the very least, think it's just fine. Almost every single time. It's kind of hilarious.
I actually like this a lot. I don't think it's gonna inspire me to listen to a lot more psychedelic folky shit, but I think it's absolutely great. Weirdo hippie medieval peasant music. This sounds like something some 1970s sex cult run by a schizophrenic would play on repeat through an intercom system. I respect it.
The Gun Club
5/5
I just discovered one of the best bands I've ever heard in my life through this. Right on.
1/5
Wow I always thought XTC was really cool and this is making me reconsider that.
Meandering baroque pop shit that goes shamelessly deep into some Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney worship more than I'd ever care to hear (but with cornier lyrics). Never listened to this shit until now.
I don't know, man. Of all the two XTC records to put, why have this be the one that isn't Skylarking. Such a random choice. Am I missing something? Was this really influential or or significant to someone back then? Who was listening to this in 1999? Why is this on the list but Drums and Wires isn't. Drums and Wires is one of of the best records ever made.
I am confused. Who even listens to this. What is this National Geographic documentary midlife crisis music. What is going on.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Perfect no notes. I don't have a sophisticated taste in jazz and barely know anything so maybe this wouldn't impress someone deeper into it but idk I thought it ruled
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
Drags on a bit but some of my favorite bass playing I've ever heard
CHVRCHES
1/5
I hated this stuff in 2013 and still hate it now. Sounds like folding shirts at a Forever 21 ten years ago. This dogshit is what made me lose interest in modern indie and start getting more into older stuff and punk.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Almost perfect record
Boring and cringy lyrics. Not irritating enough to be a 1, but just... bland.
Bob Dylan
2/5
Another Bob Dylan album that I thought was totally fine but all the songs nevertheless sound exactly the same.
Public Enemy
3/5
Better than Fear Of A Black Planet. It definitely sounds like it's 35 years old but it's still good.
Beastie Boys
2/5
There's some classics here but they're all corny to various degrees and just overall annoying. I hate the vocal style, annoying record.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Short but sweet. I really like Curtis and I liked this too but not as much as his more upbeat music. This is definitely not like Move On Up or Superfly, it's more mellow and introspective and somber. Wish I liked it more but didn't leave a big impression on me.
David Crosby
2/5
God damn this was a long 37 minutes of my life. So boring. It's not obnoxious enough to be a 1 but I definitely don't get it, the final boss of all baby boomer music. The most Rock Music music ever. I really liked Orleans but the rest is not for me. Boring stoner shit. BORINGGGGG
4/5
What self-respecting Britpop fan would I be if I didn't fuck with The Kinks? Perfect band, perfect songwriting, invented music. Not my favorite Kinks album but still great
Dire Straits
5/5
Unfortunately this is nothing but straight heat and an absolute banger from start to finish. I wanted to not like it. I really wanted to not like it. I was ready to not like it. But it's perfection. It's fucked up. What can I do?
2/5
Another boring Bob Dylan record from this project. My third one so far? How many Bob Dylan records are on here? Why is every single one a 2/5 for me?
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Huh. Thought I would find this really annoying but it's surprisingly okay. Apparently I like this more than Bob Dylan. I am very confused and discovering a lot about myself I guess.
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Oh my GOD the sex noises skits in this are so fuuuuucking cringy and lame. And it's too long. But it's still a classic so we'll let it slide.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Third Nick Cave album I got since starting and this is the first one I got that is actually very good, I was starting to wonder for a second if I just didn't like Nick Cave as much as I thought. Prior to this I got The Boatman's Call and the Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus double album and those were both 3's. This is "my" Nick Cave so to speak.
The Police
4/5
It's a perfect album but it's missing something. I don't know what it's missing. I guess it's too polished and is missing energy. I really like The Police. Love Outlandos D'Amour. But their earlier albums I like more because they are weirder and have more punk energy, even though I think songwriting-wise this is the best one. If this had more songs like "Mother" this would be a 5. I love Mother, I love that Sting didn't want it on the record and I love that fans of this record hate it. Andy Summers was definitely the coolest member of The Police.
Steely Dan
5/5
Hell yeah
SAULT
2/5
I respect the fact that it was released for donations only during the George Floyd protests. And it was relaxing to put on while working. But the actual music itself sounds like coffee shop music, like it sounds like Starbucks music I'm sorry. And the spoken word poetry is pretty bad in a local slam poetry way. I won't shit on this too much because I respect why it was made. It was ok.
5/5
WOW I did not expect to like this so much. As a fan of bands like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode I always overlooked ABC as being too slick and adult alternative leaning, but man do I absolutely love this. I think if you like the lyricism and melancholy of bands like Roxy Music and you also like early Duran Duran you will LOVE this. This is EXACTLY my brand of '80s cheese. It's melancholic, self-pitying, glamorous, frisky, flamboyant. It's so unapologetically SO MUCH. It's like the epitome of gold lamé suits and hairspray and self-absorbed passion. It's like, cool and sexy theater kid music. Yes. So fucking good.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
This was definitely not what I expected, it's definitely a Britpop record but it also pulls a lot from shoegaze too so it reminded me a bit of the band Ride? Who kinda occupied a similar niche? And this feels like it has some pretty strong Beach Boys influences at times too. It's like Beach Boys meets My Bloody Valentine meets Blur. There's a little bit of jazz influence going on too. I liked it, but it's a little zany and try-hard, to be honest. I don't think it's a must listen but it scratches a lot of itches of things I'm already predisposed to liking which is why it's a 3 and not a 4 or 5. I just wish it didn't feel so try-hard about being eclectic intentionally because I really want to love this record, it has all the ingredients for something I would like. But as is it reminds me a bit of a Mike Patton project which is NOT a compliment coming from me.
Kate Bush
3/5
I didn't like this as much as The Sensual World, which was definitely a 5 for me. Really was expecting to like this because I love Running Up That Hill, but this album feels super inconsistent and feels more like an experiment and someone just noodling around than trying to make a solid album? Like, glad I heard it, but I don't know. Overrated. Don't know why it's considered the best Kate Bush record.
Slayer
2/5
This was totally fine but all the songs sound exactly the same. I get why a lot of hardcore sounds like this and it seems fun to play but damn this shit was kind of boring!!
The Who
3/5
This was a bit of a curveball, I was actually dreading this one after three Who albums in the past 166 days that were so indulgently long and a complete slog. Maybe the under forty minute length helps but I honestly wouldn't mind listening to an hour and a half of this. It didn't like make me a diehard Who fan but it's truly a solid live record. Definitely better than the studio albums I've listened to so far. Pretty cool.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Perfect no notes
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
It's jazz. It's jazz that sounds like it would play at a nicer restaurant or new year's eve party. It's perfectly fine.
Radiohead
5/5
This record means absolutely everything to me. It's the ground zero for everything I would grow to seek out in music. Noise, post-punk, krautrock, shoegaze, weird, jittery rhythms, vocals that are "haunting" and "hard to like" and "too much". Melancholy, alienation, passion, nihilism. I bought this CD with my pocket money in sixth grade and immediately put it on in my mom's car in the parking lot, it quite literally changed my life more than anything else on this list.
2/5
Annoying and bad. Can't believe I liked this band in middle school. I should be shot for that
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
Perfect no notes
ZZ Top
3/5
On paper I hate a lot of hard rock but this is fun and has a sense of humor so I like it. Not really my thing but I still like it.
Talking Heads
5/5
Perfect no notes
Paul Simon
2/5
When you're having a mid-off and your opponent is this album
Sonic Youth
5/5
When I was in high school I wanted to like Sonic Youth more than I did in the hopes it would make me cool. I just really admired and idolized Kim Gordon and thought the music itself was just fine. I think I actually now fit into those once-too big shoes. Genuinely loved every minute of this.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
This rocks. Apparently this is a mix of traditional music from Mali and blues. I listened to it twice. The more blues leaning songs were more up my alley than the ones that I guess were more straight up Malian music but it still sounded like nothing else I've heard before so that's cool.
ABBA
4/5
This was a lot of fun! A few of the songs didn't feel different than the pop standards of the time and reminded me of The Beatles or The Beach Boys at their most boring but the bulk of it still rips. Very cool that Dancing Queen is like the fourth best song here, I really didn't realize ABBA rocks this hard. My mom was right all along.
John Coltrane
5/5
Again I wish I knew more about jazz but this is one of the few jazz records I own and idk I love it. Everyone knows this record but I don't care it's really cool. I'm getting the feeling there will be very little jazz on this list in general so it's just something I'm gonna try to look into on my own.
Peter Gabriel
1/5
This was somehow simultaneously really boring and also zany and full of too many ideas in each song. This more folky prog but bluesy rock and roll and also symphonic stadium rock (again there's too much going on in this record) stuff isn't my thing. Solsbury Hill sounds like one of the sample songs that comes with Windows XP/Vista to demonstrate how the visualizer on Windows Media Player works. Sorry that's such a random observation. Then near the end it sounds like Star Wars theme music but with a white boy funk/arena rock lean. There is just too much going on and none of it is interesting. Only the last song (Here Comes The Flood) was tolerable to me. It sounded like a Bowie or Elton John song so that was fine. This album is so fucking stupid
Cocteau Twins
5/5
This is my favorite Cocteau Twins album I've heard so far, maybe because it's more accessible? Whatever it is I love it
Louis Prima
5/5
So this site tells you what your favorite genres and artists and decades are after rating enough albums, and for the bulk of me doing it it's been telling me my favorite decade for music is the '50s? Which is funny because I listen to like, no music from the '50s. But I think it's because the sample size of '50s albums is much smaller, and all of the albums I've heard from this from the '50s so far have just been a lot of fun and perfectly pleasant and haven't been as strongly love or hate as the rest. So I guess my favorite decade will remain the '50s because this was so much fun. This is just really enjoyable and dancey swing music with some jazz and 12 bar blues thrown in too. This was fun!!
Gang Of Four
5/5
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 I LOVE THIS RECORD 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
The xx
5/5
Soundtrack to being a tumblr indie white girl in 2009 but in the best possible way. Flawless record.
Aerosmith
1/5
No lie one of the worst things I've heard in my life
3/5
My least favorite Beatles record (but still a 3, I like the Beatles). I don't really have anything to add about probably the most talked about Beatles record because to me it's just the least interesting one. The interesting stuff is all contextual and not really the music itself. There's some really corny lyrics, which made me think of how social media have changed social customs because I guess it was avant-garde at the time to really just have no fucking shame, "I used to be cruel to my woman / I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved" ...and to me this record feels more like an awkward transition than something that is great on its own. It feels like proto-prog but somehow also stripped down and unfinished at the same time. As someone who would definitely defend the Beatles from complaints of being "overrated" I gotta say I see exactly where people who don't "get" the Beatles are coming from with this record. Never cared for it but give me White Album or Abbey Road any day. Those two records are timeless, still interesting and still worth stealing from and looking back to. This is kitsch, this is 1967. 3 instead of 2 because A Day In The Life is on it.
Sex Pistols
5/5
Actually really good. Weird, I told someone I thought the Sex Pistols were boring as recently as a few months ago. And I wasn't even talking out of my ass I listened to this same record in full. And now for some reason I think it's great. I literally think it's because I started doing this, lol. I think so far I've listened to a good amount of '70s New York punk and proto-punk from this project (Ramones, Television) and also a lot of '60s British Invasion bands (The Who, The Kinks etc) and I hear how this sounds like both now and can be like oh I get this it's like those two things fused. And also I got a PiL album last month and I can hear now how something like this would eventually become PiL
This is another record where it's not possible to have any kind of contrarian opinion on it because it's all been said and done. I guess this is one you're supposed to like at 14 and not come around on at almost 30 but here we are!
Black Flag
4/5
She's no My War or Slip It In but I still have love for her. My War would be a 5 and should be on this list. Slip It In would never be on this list but I'm just yapping about how much I like it anyway because I think anyone who doesn't like that record is an idiot. Here's the real question: why is there no room to put in My War too but somehow all these irrelevant 00s British indie bands and every CSNY, Simon and Garfunkel and Beatles associated album known to man? The guy who made this list is so insufferable. But I listen through the list anyway... day 189
Rush
1/5
Hate this record, hate this band, hate the corny lyrics, hate Ayn Rand, hate their fans
Small Faces
2/5
Annoying, neurotic, quirky, boring, unrelentingly British
Rod Stewart
2/5
Boring but at least it didn't actively anger me idk
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
Apart from Apache Rose Peacock, which is a lot of fun in a porno soundtrack sort of way, I hate this record so much. This is actually very similar to Aerosmith aesthetically, just for a younger crowd. Really difficult to sit through. Crazy how incredible of a year 1991 was for alternative music and this shit makes its way into the list.
Pulp
4/5
I like Pulp a lot, but always overlooked this record, even though it's their most famous one. I really loved His N' Hers in high school, and I've always had a soft spot for more indie/post-punk leaning '80s Pulp (yes, they've been around for that long.) This is good too. Such a funny band to be lumped into the Britpop movement. They were already around for like 15 years by the time they rose to fame, and they were always very quirky and nebbish and horny even for Britpop standards. I don't know. Sometimes I feel it drags on compared to more post-punk/indie leaning Pulp but it's still great.
Ice T
4/5
Genuinely really good, sorry Ice-T I see you as the guy from Law & Order: SVU and didn't expect this to age so well
Barry Adamson
5/5
Oh my god. A soundtrack album to a non-existent crime film by the bassist of Magazine (who was also in Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds AND Visage)? Yes please.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Beautiful. My favorite Stevie Wonder album I've heard so far.
Malcolm McLaren
1/5
Nah, no good -- if you were also wondering what this this is and also only recognize Malcolm McLaren because he was the manager of the Sex Pistols, I guess it's a weird mix of early hip-hop with some turntablism and different music from Africa and the Caribbean. Could be really cool in theory. I don't like it because it's so corny and all over the place that it borders on novelty music, and I think that's kind of a disservice to all the different styles of music it pulls from. Feels less like it's trying to make something cool and more like it's presenting these things as weird and exotic and wacky. It just doesn't work in a way that is annoying to me.
Violent Femmes
5/5
Insanely good. I liked this record a lot as a teenager and I was getting really into Velvet Underground/Lou Reed around the same time, now I can hear the connection so clearly. I hear Bob Dylan style vocals too, man I wish I actually liked Bob Dylan I've forced myself to like him for the longest time because I just honestly like his vocal style a lot but anyway whatever pull it had on the sound here it works. Just one of those bands that every other punk or indie rocker teenager becomes momentarily obsessed with at some point in their journey and for good reason, perfect record.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
It's kind of ass, sorry. Feels like sitting through a coworker's show to be nice to them. Thank god for The Stooges and The Velvet Underground because god damn this dragged on
Ramones
2/5
While this has its moments, I still just don't like the Ramones. Every song sounds exactly the same and has no energy.
X-Ray Spex
5/5
Perfect album no notes
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
This was so fucking weird. I can't tell if I like it or dislike it. I guess the answer is both. At its best this kind of sounds like White Stripes or Red Hot Chili Peppers were on Amphetamine Reptile Records, and at those times it's honestly kind of cool genuinely, there's this effortless jazzy/bluesy meets unpretentious noisy rock vibe to it that kind of reminds me of Helmet but overall it still just feels corny and this is an abomination that could've only happened in the '90s. But I also love '90s schlock so this is so hard to rate. Idk if this makes sense but this album feels like jerking off when you're not turned on, and you could get yourself into it if you really tried to fantasize but like why bother? I respect that this seems to be intentionally doing something confrontational in a semi-commercial sounding way which is a respectable fuck-you to two opposing crowds at the same time but it's also not that good if I'm being honest with myself and I'm probably never gonna listen to this again to preserve my taste in music and protect my peace.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Loved Loaded and the banana album in high school. Always overlooked this one in comparison. I think because it's a lot more mellow and not as aggressive. But it's also really good.
The Youngbloods
3/5
This was pretty cool. Interesting mix of '60s psychedelic rock and roll with folky elements too. It didn't blow my mind but it works, I don't regret listening to it, now I know it exists I guess. It's very aggressively 1969. It kind of has a country twang to it too? And kind of sounds like The Byrds? Then it gets into actual jazz territory?? I don't know. It sounds like every style that played at Woodstock at once, but in a way that doesn't feel derivative. It's done well. Just not really my thing, save a few songs.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
This was a live recording of a performance. I liked it. Somewhere in the middle of timelessly beautiful and boring nice restaurant/hotel lobby music, it's definitely not something I like because I'm giving my full attention to it. Put me in a good mood while working but didn't really make me feel any kind of way either. It's pretty light jazz and really beautiful singing. Will probably put it on again next time I wanna get work done.
Pere Ubu
5/5
First half is perfection and second half kind of is a bit slow for me but it's okay because I'm biased because this is the same Pere Ubu that did The Modern Dance so it's gonna get a 5 I don't give a fuck bitch it's my review and my rules
The Temptations
3/5
This was very beautiful and I will probably never listen to it again. But now I know how much range The Temptations have, so that's cool. Every single track here felt completely different genre-wise it's kind of insane. All Directions indeed.
Travis
5/5
Hahahahahahahaha I actually liked this. I really love the song "Writing To Reach You" and thought the rest of it was genuinely good. I listened to this twice.
Did you know that my first concert was Coldplay? I actually cried when I went, I cried so hard because I was so overwhelmed that I was in the same building as Coldplay. I was 11 and that was probably the last time in my life I was genuinely very happy.
I have a soft spot for all this whiny ballady turn of the millennium Radiohead-knockoff garbage because that was my very first steps into being a rocker! My equivalent of someone else's Slipknot or System Of A Down or something. I was a truly boring and innocent kid and if I had any edge at all it was only because poor social skills and growing up too fast forced me to fit in better with freaks. Anyway.
Travis is one of those bands that started out being praised but would get lumped in with stuff like Coldplay as bad supermarket mom music. This album is somewhere in the middle of early Radiohead and late Oasis. Some of it is chef's kiss melancholic supermarket music and some of it is truly absolute garbage that I kind of forgot how bad it was ever since rap and EDM claimed rock's throne of being the Western world's elevator music. It's very late '90s. That's fine for me. I just truthfully like Gen X mom music slop. Made me feel some kind of way. It's nostalgic for me and endearing. I definitely prefer this to all the garbage that UK music critics pushed after like The Libertines as a reaction against stuff like this.
Don McLean
1/5
Like the Travis album I got the day before, it's an album you can only like if you're a child of the right circumstances. I'm not. The most American thing about me is my love of gas station hot dogs, and I didn't have a dad or grandpa to gaslight me into pretending this is good which I really think is the only way anyone could possibly like this.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Perfect no notes
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
It's three in the morning and I have a lot of anxiety right now and this is definitely making it worse. But it's okay because it's the sound of how I feel. Especially "Touched". It's such a deeply unsettling track. But it's a perfect album.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
I've tried cocaine twice and I've dabbled in cheating so I think that's enough background to understand this album it was alright
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
I really don't like anything to do with Frank Zappa. His career crosses the threshold from aesthetically unrelatable to just genuinely dishonorable. The scat jokes, the attention seeking imagery without really saying anything at all, the juvenile demeanor while essentially just collecting signifiers that want so badly to be seen as musically clever. I've listened through Zappa's discography more times than anyone reasonably should outside the confines of a CIA black site because guys that resonate with this function a lot like dead heads and make it a core aspect of their identity, so whoever isn't initiated should be evangelized too. I've actually sat through a lot of stuff that absolutely honks because of a guy -- entire episodes of Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman podcast, Cum Town, National Lampoon, Megadeth, David Goggins, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Dune and Mad Max movies, Slipknot, Star Wars, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Burzum, Tool, Dungeons and Dragons, anything to do with bitcoin or sports betting, Starship Troopers, Death Before Dishonor. Some of it eventually resonated with me after getting older and growing more jaded and fucked in the ass by life -- power electronics, Houllebecq novels, hardcore. Zappa is probably at dead bottom of the list of stuff that still honks because I can't even bring myself to find it endearing for being out of my wheel house in some uncomfortably sincere or Tarzan-like way, it is just unrelentingly hollow and fucking annoying.
Alice In Chains
3/5
I've never been a fan of Dirt compare to "heavier" albums like the three legged dog one or Black Gives Way To Blue, but I didn't dislike this. I just think most of the songs sound the same and didn't move me much. But it's still a cool sound.
The Replacements
5/5
I overlooked this at first listen, but it's actually so perfect. I'm glad I gave it a second shot. Definitely wouldn't have appreciated it as a teenager, I don't think. Too understated. It reminds me a lot of R.E.M. and a bit of Hüsker Dü at times? Why is this so fucking good?
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
More like Bored To Run. Get it? Ha ha ha. Because this was boring. I put on Warren Zevon after this and it was so much better in every way. The only two songs I liked is She's The One and Meeting Across The River, those two were pretty cool.
Nick Drake
5/5
I love Nick Drake so much. I love this beautiful record, I love every Nick Drake record. I enjoyed every minute of this. It is grim but also feels like the most familiar hug.
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
Why do I like this so much? I thought this band would sound like Foo Fighters or something, I was expecting this to be shit. I really like it. It's controlled and laidback in a way I absolutely love. I totally forgot this band shares members with Kyuss. Really really enjoyed this. Didn't give it a 5 because the second half does drag on a bit compared to the first half but I still got a lot out of it.
Pretenders
3/5
I wanted so badly to like this more than I did, because Precious is so fucking good, but it's just not a very strong or memorable record. It does have its moments though.
Frank Zappa
3/5
I think this is the highest I can possibly give a Zappa record given how much I cannot stand him. It feels like he's trying to make something earnest and not just using his talent to play class clown for once, which I appreciate. The problem with this is that the second half is a 4 or 5 and the first half (which is much more Zappa) is a 1 or 2. It alternates a lot between genuinely really good jazz fusion whatever the fuck but also rock and roll guitar solo wankery.
Coldplay
5/5
Nothing but straight heat I can't put into words how much I wish all of Coldplay died in a plane crash after the first two albums, people talk about the Radiohead influence in this album but I hear so much Jeff Buckley too, yeah sorry this is banger after banger I love you early Coldplay
Nitin Sawhney
5/5
I truly loved this. On the site where this project is done this averages at a little over 2.5. I'm convinced the people doing this challenge on the site are some of the most dull people imaginable. Much of the top reviews are yapping about how pretentious and self-serious it is, I was expecting something really inaccessible or out there. So I start playing it and it literally just sounds like DJ Shadow or Thievery Corporation. That's what's polarizing? It's totally listenable and it's good. There's some classical Indian music elements in it. There's some drum and bass. Like '90s trip-hop mixed with classical Indian music. Sure why not. It really honestly works well. At times it does kind of sound like something that would play in an upscale hotel I admit, but fuck it. I will definitely come back to this. One of the rare times I got something from this that only British people know or care about but I think Americans should care too. If you like '90s trip-hop/downtempo/electronica/drum and bass bullshit you will like this.
Stan Getz
4/5
Definitely also coffee shop music but very lovely coffee shop music. I gave it a 4 and not a 5 because I enjoyed it a lot but it's also not really memorable or compelling. It's just like instrumental coffee shop jazz I don't really know what else to call it. Very short and sweet at a little over 30 minutes and a total pleasure the whole way through. But not a 5 because I think I could've lived without hearing it as lovely as it is.
Nas
5/5
Perfect no notes
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THIS ALBUM INVENTED PUNK MUSIC!! ONE OF THE FEW LPS FROM THIS LIST SO FAR THAT I OWN!!! FUCK THE RAMONES AND THE CRO-MAGS LISTEN TO THIS INSTEAD
The Sonics
3/5
I like this just fine. It's inconsistent but when it's good it's really good. Almost all the songs are covers and there's nothing really special about the covers, but it has a raw and raunchy punk energy for 1963. At least the beginning and end of it does. Some of it is honestly boring and just reminds me of early Beatles, but not as good. I can see how you could see this as punk before punk. It's really timeless in songs like Strychnine and The Witch, especially if you like noise rock and garage rock revival and stuff like that. But not all of it is timeless. I would say the middle chunk of it mostly feels like second tier early '60s rock and roll. Filing this under "cool but I don't think I'll ever listen to it again".
Milton Nascimento
5/5
Literally one of the coolest things I've ever heard. Like I'm actually floored. It's psychedelic jazz rock but also has folk and bossa nova elements too, and it's done in such an effortless way -- truly incredible. Finally something that actually belongs on this list and isn't just something that sold a lot of records in the '80s.
Moby
1/5
This is an absolute piece of shit. I like Porcelain and wasn't prepared for his music to be so terrible. Who is this kind of music for and when do you put it on? I wouldn't want to dance to it but I wouldn't want to play it at a coffee shop either. It is too repetitive and lacks the energy to be paid attention to, but it's also too distracting to be background music. It's gimmick music. Every song is a gimmick. Why does this album exist?
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
It's a classic and glad I listened to it in full, that being said I doubt I'll ever listen to it again.
Prince
2/5
I feel bad for giving this such a low rating but it just did not move me. I understand why it's so beloved, I just found it exhausting. Sorry.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Listened to this a lot in high school and I still love it. The beats are a little too repetitive and it feels a bit dated for that reason but it's a classic.
MC Solaar
5/5
Wow two jazz rap albums from 1991 back to back (I got The Low End Theory the day before this) this absolutely rips great flow and the delivery was so sexy I love French music hon hon hon bleuuugh hon hon
Erykah Badu
4/5
It's good but at 70 minutes and most of the songs sounding the same and sounding like one long song it just drags on a lot, but still good
Gene Clark
4/5
I liked this way more than I expected to, honestly. Folky solo album from one of the guys from The Byrds? I wasn't expecting much at all, I can't even name a song by The Byrds. Beautiful and tender songwriting, short and sweet and a little bit of a country sound that isn't too over the top for my city slicker self that is allergic to that southern drawl vocal style. This was a curveball that I didn't expect to like as much as I did.
David Bowie
4/5
I was a huge David Bowie fan growing up, and Lady Grinning Soul is my favorite Bowie song and in my opinion one of the best songs ever written. This album is really something so special, I don't think I've ever heard something that was this mix of glam rock, boomer hard rock and avant garde jazz solos. It's flamboyant, chauvinist, introspective and pretentious at the same time. Diamond Dogs after this kind of plays up the first two a little more and refines it to a science but there is this beautiful vulnerability to Aladdin Sane, like, the self-titled song, my god!
Ugh I want to give this a five so bad but I think some of the songs like Watch That Man are pretty unremarkable Bowie piano rock songs and are kind of stinkers, reminds me of Elton John or other shit like that I don't really care about, he's at his best when he's playing as sultry minx and there's a lot of that here and it's veiled in dusting powder and velvet and saxophones. Like it's not just gold leotard over hairy chest flamboyant it's like Sophia Loren in a slip dress flamboyant and I respect that.
The Stooges
5/5
Save some cool for the rest of us damn
Silver Jews
3/5
Pavement but more boring? Hmm... I like it fine enough but it's missing something. Sometimes it reminds me of Galaxie 500 or Yo La Tengo. Glad I heard it but not really for me.
Metallica
3/5
It was fine. Pretty corny and self-indulgent but I can't deny there are some bangers on here. I still think Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters are the best songs on it which are the only two I knew before I listened so was it worth it? I guess it was nice to hear, but yeah I doubt I'm coming back to ever listen to this in full.
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
This one is frustrating, because I want to rate it higher but it doesn't fully deliver on its ambition. I'm not gonna pretend hip-hop is fully my wheelhouse or that anyone cares about my suburban white lady opinion but I hear how this pulls from early Kanye and Common, I like both, but without having to sit through tone deaf casual misogyny which was still considered conscious because the bar was below the floor, so that's cool. So it has the sound of both to me but like the lyricism of The Roots but not quite as good as any of these three but still pretty good? It can feel a little corny and it's long. The singles like Kick, Push are the strongest as far as his actual strength as a rapper and the songs themselves. There's a lot to like here and a lot of good ideas but it's definitely inconsistent, it flirts with being almost a classic but not quite.
Janet Jackson
3/5
I was gonna give this a 2 but the second half of it really saved it. I didn't realize how many of her hits came from this record until the last couple of songs. It's ambitious and it doesn't really deliver on its ambitiousness (at least for my taste, I don't really like the thing of having an interlude in between every song and as cool as new jack swing is the non-ballad songs tend to sound samey) but yeah the last few songs are bangers
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
I got Low End Theory a few days ago and gave that a 4. This is perfect though. My favorite Tribe Called Quest record, and after this one Midnight Marauders, which would also be a 5 if it was on the list. Just still so fucking good and hasn't aged a day.
5/5
Better than Aladdin Sane, which I gave a 4. Another Bowie record that is almost perfect if it didn't have its three song run in the middle of boring ballady piano rock. Again, reminds me of Elton John and I don't like that sound at all. Wish it was all Moonage Daydream and no Star. But still really, really good.
Spacemen 3
1/5
Ok kinda stinks. I was in denial about it but this is a total snooze fest. Way more boring than I remember it being. I thought I liked this band? You really don't have to listen to this before you die.
Snoop Dogg
1/5
Corny then and corny now
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Damn this is one of the best things I've ever heard in my life, I kinda feel like a clown for never listening until now this rocks
Todd Rundgren
2/5
This sucks, it sounds like circus music. It’s like The Beatles but annoying and bad
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
I like Cosmo's Factory a lot but this was boring. Not bad at all, just totally fine.
New Order
5/5
Perfect record by a perfect band no notes
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
Perfect record. I wish I could've lived my twenties when rent was affordable. LCD Soundsystem sounds like the swan song of that
Eels
3/5
Wasn't really impressed. Feels '90s in a corny and dated way. This schlock definitely belongs in like some Miramax romantic comedy from 1997 or something. I have a soft spot for that hence the 3 but it's not actually good.
Randy Newman
1/5
1 because Randy Newman's music is so fucking boring and I never want to listen to it again. Every song sounds exactly the same. I think he's a good storyteller and an interesting cult figure but he can only write one song and that song is unbearably dull.
Talking Heads
5/5
Hell yeah
Simply Red
5/5
Genuinely love this so much. This scratches an itch for me that ABC also does, overly polished '80s pop perfection. It's really comforting. I really love corny white boy soul like The Style Council so this just does it for me.
Tom Waits
5/5
I love Tom Waits so fucking much :-)
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
This was a lot better than I expected. I really expected some generic '90s alt-rock bullshit but it's got more of a dreamy space rock lean, very good for what it is. But the end is a drag, it's just bad droning stoner bullshit. Like the last few songs. What comes before is truly great pop rock/shoegaze songwriting. It's good!
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
I thought this was fine. Glad I heard it but I doubt it'll be something I come back to.
Hookworms
1/5
I know a Gen X British guy made this list because he clearly is not aware all of this sounds like an iPhone commercial from 15 years ago and does not belong on this list. It has a few moments in the end but this is just slop... it's musically competent but still soulless and uninspired. FFO Target checkout line music
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Perfect, no notes. Just a perfect band that made two perfect records.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
Another one I'm filing in "cool, glad I heard it, probably will never listen to it again"
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
It's poppy 60s garage rock. I really like bands like The Zombies a lot so this had its moments. If it sounded like Kicks all the way through it would be a 4 or 5. It does not sound like Kicks all the way through so it was just fine.
Sepultura
2/5
This aged worse than I remember sorry. I used to like this record a lot, I don't know what changed. I think part of the problem is that it's way too long.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Nice but every song sounded exactly the same. If I wanted to listen to a Frank Sinatra record it would not be this one.
Iron Maiden
2/5
Not as bad as I thought but I never will listen to this again, at least unless it's against my will.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
I actually liked this more than I thought I would. It felt like Madness meets ABC. Very British and very eighties. There are plenty of songs here that are better than Come On Eileen. My favorite was All In All.
Nanci Griffith
3/5
This was totally fine! I don't care for country music. It wasn't grating or awful, it's lovely songwriting. Just not something I'd listen to voluntarily.
Metallica
2/5
Yawn
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Pretty boring. I really enjoy early LCD Soundsystem (I got Sound of Silver earlier and that was a very easy 5) but this wasn't it. I don't think this belonged on the list and there could've been room made for something more contemporary.
Bad Company
2/5
As far as dad rock goes, the vocals are pretty great. Too bad the actual music is forgettable. But really gorgeous vocals. Paul Rodgers can make anything sound good. Record was a real bore though.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
Frank Zappa is one of the most annoying people that has ever lived. This was an endurance test. It has its moments but the problem is that he ruins everything with his grating voice and childish humor. Fuck I can't stand a single thing about him or his fans. Everything he touches is the most grating, try hard bull shit. 12 minute song that is just chimpanzee sounds, moaning and burp noises. Cool thanks, insufferable tool.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
This was so smooth and so much fun but also I don't know if I'll ever listen to it again sorry. It's cool to see how funk progressed into disco. 3+3 gets a 3 from me. But it was a fun time!
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
I thought this was fine. I don't think I'll listen to it again though. It felt more like something I listen to as part of a paper I'm writing in college than something that felt really personal to me or moved me much.
Elton John
2/5
This was pleasant but it didn't click with me. I'm missing whatever I need to not feel like I'm listening to an oldies station at work. I wish I could appreciate it for what it is because it was nice all the way through but I can't.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Honestly? I was really impressed by how much I liked this. Way more than I would've expected. It's just a perfect pop album. Understated, confident, timeless songwriting. Doesn't feel dated or like an oldies radio station at all, unlike the Elton John album I got the day before. It has so much charm to it. Pretty blown away, honestly. Very, very good. It's not quite my thing enough to be a 5, but it is something special.
The Teardrop Explodes
5/5
It's been a minute since I got an LP I own. One of the best post-punk records ever made. It's just as good as hearing it for the first time as a teenager. How could you listen to this and not want a shaggy mop top haircut and a shearling coat? I already kinda dress like that, I'm gonna attribute it to wanting to be as cool as Julian Cope. I wish more contemporary post-punk albums had the effortlessness that these older ones did but most of them are a bit obnoxious to me. Love this record so much :-)
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
I hate Bruce Springsteen and I hate country music, and this is apparently Bruce Springsteen's more country-leaning 9/11 album. What the fuck were people smoking at the time that this has such universally good reviews? It's pure dog shit.
Genesis
3/5
This had some beautiful moments that were frustratingly brief. I do wish I liked this more, but I'm just so allergic to the very ADD nature of '70s prog rock. I can't stand that a single good sound or idea can't be enjoyed for longer than 15 seconds. I guess that's why I'm more drawn to punk, I think a 15 second idea can be an entire band and genre. So I can't bring myself to like it that much, there's too much going on, and a lot of it I don't care for. But I do like solo Phil Collins, so what I like from there I do get a bit of in here.
The Doors
2/5
This was just fine. I really liked the self-titled Doors record and was way into that one, but this one didn't really do it for me. It's not bad, just not as cool as their earlier freaky psych rock albums. I doubt I'll ever revisit this.
The Kinks
4/5
Yes! I like this! I was a huge Blur fan as a teenager and totally see how much albums like Parklife and Modern Life Is Rubbish pull from this record. It goes back and forth from aggressively British kitsch to truly timeless rock. Great songwriting. It's just straight up real good.
Eagles
1/5
So boring holy shit
Solomon Burke
2/5
Some old school '60s soul. Wish I liked it more, his singing voice is truly beautiful, but the songs completely blended into each other for me. Have to give it a 2 because it didn't really do much for me.
Ryan Adams
3/5
I wanted to hate this because this guy is a creepy scumbag but it's decent. He's a good songwriter. Shame about literally everything else.
4/5
I thought this would be a 5 but I wasn't feeling it all the way through. Still very good of course. But I guess I wish it was all more energetic and punk leaning songs, like Mongoloid and Uncontrollable Urge and Gut Feeling.
Gillian Welch
4/5
Wow, I was really thrown off by how much I like this. It's a country/bluegrass album. Not my kind of thing at all, but truly beautiful.
Supertramp
3/5
Never listened to Supertramp (knowingly, at least) in my life until now. This was actually pretty cool. Like yeah, it's corny, but I don't know. It's perfectly enjoyable. I'm not sure when I'll come back to it but I enjoyed the ride. I felt like I was at a white dad's barbecue, but in a good way. He can grill.
Robbie Williams
1/5
I was actually pretty excited to listen to this one, because why the fuck is Robbie Williams even on this list? Well, it was very bad.
The Coral
1/5
The amount of mediocre and completely forgotten British rock from the early 2000s on this list is truly astounding. This is such bullshit. This comes from a time where you could receive praise from rock journalists for presenting yourself as REAL rock music, because, contrary to what old people will tell you about Spotify and Tiktok flattening culture to mere aesthetics, having "authenticity" and "grit" in alt rock then absolutely was also about the aesthetics you pulled from and what signifiers you aligned with, rather than making something that is simple and stands the test of time. So you get a lot of bullshit like this that aged terribly and coasted by basically because they pulled from The Doors in a time where rock critics resented pop stars and DJs. And for what? So I can waste an hour of my life listening to some overproduced bargain bin bullshit that was given praise 25 years ago for awkward nods to fucking polka and klezmer instead of rap or metal? This is so embarrassing.
Willie Nelson
3/5
This was nice to put on before bed. Felt like a lullaby. Not very memorable. But nice to listen to.
George Michael
2/5
It was fine. Mostly ballads. Too many ballads. Felt like I was listening to the music playing at the supermarket. But I liked Cowboys and Angels a lot.
Sade
3/5
This is actually my least favorite Sade record. It's still good, but it's her first and I think it's weird that it's the only one on this list from someone who made nothing but great albums her entire career. If this was ANY other Sade record it'd get a 5!!! Why this one!!!
The Kinks
3/5
I'm glad I gave this a second listen. I didn't really click with it the first time. My third Kinks album so far in doing this. Not as crazy about this as Face To Face and Arthur. This was pretty good too, but I guess for my taste I wanted something more energetic and proto-punkish. This is a pretty mellow album and it makes it feel more dated. But there are some bangers here. I do like the Kinks a lot even if this one wasn't a huge hit with me.
ZZ Top
3/5
My second ZZ Top album doing this, the first was Eliminator. This also gets a 3, meaning half the tracks were fun and a great time and the other half I could take or leave. I like ZZ Top! I'm not crazy about them but both of these records are a fun time.
Pink Floyd
3/5
One of those really classic albums I just never listened to. It was pretty good. Glad I finally heard it but also who cares.
Gotan Project
3/5
Always cool to get something I've never heard of. This is like electronic loungey tango music. It sounds pretentious and it is. It sounds like something that would play in a swanky European hotel, like Hotel Costes or something. And there's a cover of the Last Tango In Paris theme. I liked it, honestly. The late '90s and early 2000s were so fucking weird! I wish I liked it more because unfortunately it really does sound like hotel music, but I do appreciate the novelty of it. After nonstop Kinks and Willie Nelson and Pink Floyd and ZZ Top it was nice to get something actually different for once.
Booker T. & The MG's
1/5
Boring. Sorry.
k.d. lang
2/5
Hm. I really, really liked Ingénue! Like, I thought it fucking ruled, dude. I got it earlier and gave it a 5/5. I didn't like this one as much. It's a country record and I don't care for country. But I still really fuck with some k.d. lang apparently, that was kind of an unexpected discovery. So I'll check out her other records now that I've listened to the two on this list. she clearly has a lot of range. Shout out to melancholic lesbians.
Radiohead
5/5
I love Radiohead. Don't care at all for the people in the band, but I am not one of those people at all that find them boring, annoying or overrated. This is my personal favorite Radiohead album, tied with In Rainbows. I don't get why this record gets written off as "Kid A b-sides" when it doesn't sound like Kid A at all. Seems like a thing that people say just to justify the fact that this record is a little more moody and introspective than Kid A, and therefore more of a cult favorite. Anyway. Really love Radiohead. Great record.
The Beach Boys
2/5
Boring '60s pop rock, every song sounds the same, every song is about the same thing - girls. And often the lyrics are sad or creepy as fuck. I still don't get The Beach Boys but maybe the later weirder stuff will speak to me more? This definitely didn't.
Nirvana
4/5
This is the only Nirvana album I have on vinyl. It's very good. I like In Utero slightly more, which I got from this generator a while back. But honestly, it's really close. Two great records, neither of which I love enough to be a 5. But still very good.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I tried really hard to like the Rolling Stones when I was younger, and this is their most beloved/acclaimed record I'm pretty sure. The problem is that it's just too fucking long. It's 18 songs long and over an hour. This is from a time when people would sit with one record for a long time and play it over and over, but it feels of its time to me and lacks a timelessness that makes it kind of hard to sit through.
Raekwon
4/5
So good. I get why this is a classic. I wish it wasn't so long. I don't know why every '90s hip hop record is like an hour and a half with a million interludes. But it's very good.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
The production is aggressively '80s. I don't hate it at all, but it did feel like just listening to adult contemporary radio. It didn't piss me off so I won't give it a 1, but I also didn't especially like any songs and I'll never listen to this again.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I like the gay triangle record, but it didn't change my life.
Jethro Tull
2/5
Boring and long, folky prog rock with flutes... look forward to never listening to this again
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
I get why it deviates from normal country but also feels extremely dated for 2018 and this convinced me that country music is like 20 years behind the times culturally, and also that it's very easy to get a Grammy if you're a country musician. This feels like Miley Cyrus meets Death Cab For Cutie and I mean that in the most derogatory way possible. Sounds like Radio Disney music from 2005. I truly don't get it. It's not as bad as Taylor Swift but I still don't like it.
Harry Nilsson
2/5
My first time listening to anything Harry Nilsson. I found this album really timeless and a really well-written pop record, he's a great songwriter, but it's also a bit boring for my taste and I just don't care. Great record though, blew my mind how many songs I recognized that I never realized was him, just not my thing.
Digital Underground
2/5
Sure, I'll listen to the full record that The Humpty Dance comes from. Why not. It was so fucking corny. Like horny in the most "what the fuck are you even saying", weird guy way. I don't think you can get how corny and embarrassing it is unless you listen to it yourself. It was also over an hour long. It sucks. But I've heard worse on this list. Moving on.
3/5
Just okay sadly :-( waited a year for anything noise rock to show up on this list and it was a boring album. Wish the guy who made the list had better/more interesting taste, would've loved to see some Jesus Lizard or Shellac
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Beautiful, short and sweet at 30 minutes. But also didn't really move me too much. But nice for what it was, glad I heard it.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
It's crazy how little it took of the most low grade weed for people to have their mind blown to music like this 60 years ago and now everyone needs to be basically brain dead just to go to the grocery store
3/5
My third Yes album and the third to get a 3/5. I like Yes just fine. I think this is definitely the strongest of the three I've heard. One of the better examples of a genre I otherwise totally despise.
John Lennon
3/5
Better than I expected, worse than its level of praise. Sometimes an excellent pop record sometimes boring droning bullshit.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
This was fun, it's a really great and energetic live record. Don't think I'll ever listen to it again. But this is about as much as you can ever get me to enjoy a '70s hard rock record.
Stereo MC's
3/5
Fun '90s trip hop. I enjoyed it because I love this kind of bullshit but it did kind of feel like shopping in a Gap back in the day instead of something that I really wanna come back to. But points for being fun and not being just more classic rock.
Primal Scream
4/5
I forced myself to listen to this three times back to back until I liked it. It moved up from a 2 to a 4. Why? I don't really know. I really like pretty much everything else I've heard from Primal Scream, and I knew if I forced myself it'd click. So I guess I did the full immersive late '90s experience of spending $20 for a CD that sucks and forcing myself to like it. It's like a weird ambient psych rock krautrock sort of record and I didn't think it was bad when I first heard it, just boring, so I gave it a couple of chances. I don't think I'm willing to put this much effort for most things on this list but this felt like something special. Once Screamadelica shows up on this list it'll absolutely get a 5, I love that record and own it.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I don't like Bruce Springsteen but at least this didn't make me want to rip my hair out. Definitely my favorite thing of his I've heard so far, but still not really for me.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Oh great, more '70s prog. Sigh.
3/5
One of those records that like and get why it's important to punk history but I'm not crazy for. It does belong on this list though.
The Smiths
4/5
One of the best bands ever, even this album which I guess is my least favorite of theirs is still a 4
The Waterboys
3/5
I saw comparisons to The Pogues and Bob Dylan so I figured I was gonna hate this. But actually I like this more than I like both of them. Celtic folk Dave Matthews Band but actually pretty good? Sure why not.
Talking Heads
4/5
Not one of my favorite Talking Heads records, I like Remain in Light and '77 a lot more, but still pretty great.
The Stone Roses
5/5
Easiest five stars ever. This record was practically my entire personality sophomore year of high school. A truly incredible debut.
Tom Waits
3/5
I liked this, but not as much as Nighthawks At The Diner or Rain Dogs. Some Tom Waits records I adore and some I think are just pretty good. This is one of the latter.
Kanye West
4/5
Corny at times but still good. Kanye is a really, really good producer. But the lyrics are corny porn addict shit and it's kind of embarassing. There's a reason 14 year old boys love him so much. But it still sounds pretty modern 15 years later and that's impressive.
Electric Light Orchestra
1/5
One hour and ten minutes of dorky theater kid prog bullshit :-(((
Elvis Costello
1/5
Annoying ass Big Bang Theory theme song type music
Def Leppard
1/5
Genuinely terrible in every way
Hugh Masekela
4/5
Idk shit about terminology for jazz but this isn't like a super out there free jazz type record but it's also not mellow hotel lobby music either, it's somewhere in the middle, pulls a lot from soul music and alternates between mellow soft jazz to like sexy James Bond trumpet music and it's just cool as fuck, this is cool
Goldie
5/5
This one seems to be polarizing for some reason? I was way into it. '90s jungle/drum and bass rules, definitely something I want to get more into.
Brian Eno
3/5
I didn't like this much until I gave it a second listen. On the second time it started to click how much he influenced the way the Talking Heads sounded. Glad I was patient enough to give it a second chance, but it is still kind of a drag until the last few songs, where it gets more of a dreamy ambient edge. This album is a lot of different things, but I think only the last 15 minutes of it is worth hearing.
Buzzcocks
5/5
HAHAHAHA.... YES... YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jack White
1/5
I liked The White Stripes a lot when I was in junior high, and I remember this being a huge deal when it came out -- I'm not sure why but I never gave it a listen. It's pretty fucking annoying.
The Undertones
5/5
I wish pop punk ended up sounding like this later down the road, but Americans ruin everything. Clean and catchy and undeniably very good.
The Libertines
3/5
Forgettable but who am I to say no to some 2000s landfill indie? It was my gateway into punk, after all.
Miles Davis
5/5
This rocks dude jazz is awesome. I decided I'm gonna become a jazz person as I approach my thirties hell yeah
PJ Harvey
5/5
Literally the blueprint for everything I want to be as an artist, love her and this record so much
Eurythmics
4/5
This rocks, darker and more moody than I thought it would be. Like a more minimal and grown up and stripped down Siouxsie and the Banshees. Legitimately awesome. Some of the songs are forgettable but overall very good.
Mj Cole
4/5
Woah. Think this is UK garage. Is this an important UK garage record? I'd have no idea because it's not something I know anything about, and also this list has a tendency of putting things that weren't very important to listen to past the late '90s mark. But I was into it and I'll probably come back to it and explore the genre as a whole more.
The Beach Boys
3/5
Definitely get why this is on the list - it's 2025 and the production still sounds modern even today. That being said I'm not really moved by it.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
I enjoyed this! Beautiful melancholic voice and simple, timeless, well-written songs. Not a 5 because some of the songs are forgettable but as a whole it's definitely something special.
The Cure
5/5
Hell yeah
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Oh wow. Everything I've gotten so far that is Paul Simon or Simon & Garfunkel has been okay at best or a total snooze-fest, was totally expecting to find this a bore and put it off while working partly because I figured it wouldn't be that good. But I found myself liking pretty much every song. This is genuinely excellent. Really stands out from everything else I've heard from them, what great songwriting.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Wish I loved this all the way through because the first three songs are killer but still really enjoyed the ride, kind of a drag with the instrumental tracks in the middle but it's a film soundtrack so I guess it makes sense it won't flow the same as an album
Tangerine Dream
5/5
This ROCKS!!! WOW
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Two things I appreciate about this record is how straightforward it is and that it's only 31 minutes long. There's something almost punk-ish about the fact that it's very much doing what it says on the tin and doesn't try to waste your time, half the songs are almost two minutes long. That being said, half of the songs are honestly great and amazing straightforward rock and roll, and the other half are hokey annoying Rod Stewart sounding shit. So half and half averages out to a 3.
Prefab Sprout
5/5
I LOVE Prefab Sprout. Fuck I wish Americans knew about them more, they're close to unknown here unless you're a music nerd of a certain age. Just a masterclass in effortless songwriting. So good.
The Byrds
2/5
An album of Bob Dylan covers that sounds just like the early Beatles but with American accents. Okay.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Own this one on vinyl, had to spin it at one in the morning (at a moderate volume) :-)
13 year old me thought this is a perfect record
28 year old me thinks this is a perfect record
Os Mutantes
4/5
Weird and wonderful and trippy but didn't move me quite as much as the (few) other tropicalia records I've heard from this so far (REALLY loved the Caetano Veloso s/t and Jorge Ben's Africa Brasil). Maybe it's just that it's a bit goofy and owes a lot to the psychedelic era of the Beatles which has never been as interesting to me but yeah this was fun and weird and wonderful but so far everything I've heard on this list from Brazil has been the coolest shit EVER and this is just "wow this is pretty unique and cool!" so high bar to cross I guess
Green Day
1/5
No.
David Bowie
5/5
Love Bowie so much. This was my favorite Bowie album as a teenager. It's not too glam, not too maudlin piano rock, not too '60s psych rock. It has just the right amount of everything and it is beautiful and timeless.
Pink Floyd
2/5
Not a psych rock person, but fine for what it was. One star docked off for the really annoying quirky vocals (reminds me of Zappa, that is an insult, I hate him) and those stereo channel tricks everyone was doing at the time where the left and right channels randomly start flickering on and off, I'm sure that was cool on a set of nice speakers in the '60s but I listen to music on headphones and it genuinely pissed me off
Heaven 17
3/5
From what I read both guys in this band were also founding members of The Human League. Fun cheesy '80s new wave with really prominent and groovy funk basslines. I really loved the one hit from this record (We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang) and of course Temptation and was hoping it was something like that. It's not, it has more of a dorky yacht rock vibe, but it's still fun and delightfully '80s, just not really something I'll come back to most likely.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Boring easy listening piano music, with some folky and jazzy elements. Not bad but really didn't feel memorable in any way. About as bland as you can possibly get for 'good music'.
Kings of Leon
1/5
Somehow even more obnoxious than the more commercial Sex On Fire/Use Somebody sound that was later to come, an unbelievably shit band
TV On The Radio
5/5
Well, it's weirder and more experimental than I expected, I'll give it that. I don't really know what I expected, I never listened to this band and know fucking nothing about them, because I figured it was just some throwaway 2000s hipster alt rock. And it is 2000s hipster alt rock, but I didn't expect how noisy and jazzy and post-punky (and not just in a Strokes way) it is. So, respect for that. The vocals are kind of annoying, they're doing that White Stripes style of vocals that I don't know how to describe other than it reminding me of Jack Black in School Of Rock, like annoying falsetto but also not really belting out or trying that hard to sing either, but it's fine. The band is great. Would've been even better with some cooler vocals, but... yeah this still rocks.
50 Cent
2/5
The hits off this are all good but honestly this didn't age that well at all. It's hard to listen to this in full, partly because it's from the CD era where every album was bloated and over an hour long and partly because 50 Cent is a not that good rapper rapping over not that good beats. I'm clearly not an authoritative figure on hip-hop, but yeah I don't know. You should listen to 21 Questions before you die. But this whole album? I don't know. It's fucking long, dude.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
It really should be a lower rating but I grew up in California in the 2000s. I'm sorry.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Finally something different from this list. This is a modern blues band from Mali. I got an Ali Farka Touré album earlier in this list and really liked it so I can hear the similarities in this. No complaints from me, this was nice.
Madonna
2/5
It was fine, but didn't really stand out to me much. I like a lot of Madonna songs, but all of them are singles. I don't know if her albums hold up. Or maybe I'm just more into Madonna in the '90s and 2000s, because that's what I heard more growing up. Who knows. But I didn't get much out of this.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Nine albums on this list are from Neil Young, solo or his other projects. NINE. And they all sound the same. They're all perfectly adequate but like, c'mon man.
Talking Heads
5/5
I really like this record. It's the first one they did after '77, so it's a perfect blend of their early more punk-leaning style and the more wacky and funky style that was to come. If David Byrne was more of a curmudgeon asshole and shouted in his songs more this would 100% be a no wave record.
There's four Talking Heads records on this list, all the first four records. I would've loved to see Speaking In Tongues on this list and would've sacrificed Fear Of Music for that one, but I'm a pretty big Talking Heads fan so they're kind of all great.
3/5
I thought this was fine. I still don't really get X, this was a little too low-energy for me, though I did like the vocals and the punky rockabilly energy. It just didn't really click with me, but it definitely wasn't bad.
Miles Davis
5/5
This fucks. Sexually
Radiohead
5/5
This is the fourth Radiohead album I've gotten so far, there's six in here. I feel bad for anyone who hates Radiohead, but I will literally end up giving all of these a 5 I'm sorry.
Gene Clark
4/5
For whatever reason, I find The Byrds boring but really, really like Gene Clark solo. He's a wonderful, timeless, soulful songwriter. I really, really liked this, I can't believe it was a critical and commercial failure. It feels to me like a more ambitious and confident version of White Light, which I also really liked. Both great albums that I would've never given a chance if it wasn't for this list!
Corny and undeniably bad, but I have a soft spot for it. Beautiful Day is the most well-known hit on here and isn't up to par with U2's best songs but is still a good pop song. Elevation is a guilty pleasure for me and I like it, cheesy as it is. When I Look At The World and New York are decent too. But yes I remember this bland ass album and it's definitely a good example of divorced dad/department store music from the 2000s but no one needs to hear this before they die. I'm a bit soft for it because of the nostalgia but if I wasn't, it'd likely be a 1.
Garbage
3/5
Fun and sassy '90s alt-rock with great production. I wish I liked it more but it does feel like mall music and is a little too polished for its own good. But good songwriting it absolutely is.
FKA twigs
2/5
The production here was interesting and reminded me a bit of Bjork or early Grimes, but I just find FKA Twigs so boring. I feel like this music is specifically made for you to look at some disgusting Urban Decay lipsticks that are all broken or covered with the snot of an 8 year old and there's unflattering cold LED lighting and faint sound of a gay guy going "Hi, let us know if you need help finding anything" every 15 seconds behind you. I know these breathy whispery vocals were unusual at the time and didn't sound like retail music when it came out, but it's still just pretty boring.
The Darkness
2/5
This is the best possible execution of a genre I really, really don't like. It's really quite good for what it is, but I hate hair metal, fun and self-aware or not, so it's gonna be a 2.
Doves
4/5
In a similar vein to Coldplay and Travis and those other British "more influenced by Radiohead than by the Kinks" post-Britpop bands. I really love this kind of stuff so I enjoyed it. Might not be your bag if it isn't.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Really, really good. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is because it didn't feel like it flowed super well. I think good kid, m.A.A.d city comes together as an album more. But a really good jazz rap album that deserves all of its praise.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
Another perfect album from high school that still leaves me crying like a baby, had this one on vinyl so had to put it on :')
Air
5/5
Love this record so much. Just beautiful, dreamy, effortless. Can't possibly be in a bad mood listening to it.
Cyndi Lauper
2/5
This was fun but not really for me. I was surprised how many huge '80s hits were Cyndi Lauper ones and came from this album specifically, her first one. But I don't like this big, glossy arena rock style of production and the singing was pretty annoying.
Frank Black
3/5
I wanted to love this so bad. I was ready to love it because the run of the first couple of songs is just so good (it's 22 songs and over an hour long), but it really needed to be edited down to half the length and the second half does not have the energy of the first. First half is perfect '90s indie rock songwriting with most songs under three minutes long and the second half the songs stretch closer to five minutes and I just do not want to hear Frank Black write a reggae song and... yeah this could've been so good. Another victim of the CD era. No album needs to be longer than 40 minutes!
Pixies
5/5
What are the odds to get this the day after the Frank Black solo album? A perfect album, every single song adds so much to this and it has so much variety without ever feeling tryhard or overstaying its welcome.
The Icarus Line
3/5
Never heard of this band but I guess they were pretty big at the time and were post-hardcore adjacent? They did a split with Ink & Dagger? Okay, sure. There's a couple of good songs here but this is just a bit boring. Like if someone who was in The Dandy Warhols got really into noise punk for a bit. It's fine, but the songs drag on and have no point, and I feel like that clashes with this style of more 'aggressive' music. Wish I liked this more because I'm starved for something in this list that's more in the vein of the style of noise rock/post-hardcore I really like but this was just decent.
Prince
2/5
Kinda boring I'm so sorry I find Prince's music just really boring outside of the big hits
Beatles
2/5
I like the Beatles but this kinda honks. The first Beatles album (Please Please Me) is great and I really love the White Album... but this feels like a collection of songs they just shit out less than a year later to fill label obligations, probably because it literally was.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
I really liked this. This is the best-selling "world music" album of all time. I recognized some of the songs but I think the most special and iconic one is the first one. Still enjoyed the ride though, all the way through.
Queen
2/5
As a Queen hater, this is totally, entirely fine. It didn't speak to me but it didn't annoy me either. I'm so thankful this didn't have Bohemian Rhapsody on it because I really hate that song. But yeah not my thing at all.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
If the entire album carried the energy of the first half it would be an easy 4 or 5. The run of the first four songs is just incredible and some of the best music ever written. But it loses a lot of its energy in its second half. It's not bad by any means but just sounds like... anything else the Rolling Stones did in the late '60s and early '70s in its second half. But the first four songs, chef's kiss
Beck
5/5
Used to find this one boring as a teenager and I actually get it now. I like the way Beck genre hops all over in a wry, kinda uncool way, without stepping into full obnoxious Weezer territory. Like there's still some confidence and swagger to it. My bad Beck I was unfamiliar with your game.
Peter Frampton
3/5
Really nice and relaxing dad rock. Borderline easy listening. Great live recording and great guitar playing but the songwriting doesn't really stand out to me. But nice background music to writing letters. I can see why this sold so many records because it's borderline musak. Also I didn't know this is the album that Baby, I Love Your Way is from, cause I'm guessing the live recording is more famous than the studio recording? This is the version I know for sure. So that's interesting. Anyway, definitely in that safe spot of nice but a bit boring
Johnny Cash
3/5
It's a really long album full of Johnny Cash covering other songs. Some are strikingly beautiful, others are Johnny Cash covering a song. A few songs stuck out here (I liked the Hurt cover especially) but overall it didn't really move me.
The National
3/5
Nice but boring? Feels like a mix of Death Cab For Cutie and Interpol I guess, but more boring than both
Tina Turner
3/5
Tina Turner rocks. I really like her low raspy vocals and I like that this album is a mix of jazz and '80s arena rock and it just totally works. I like the first half more than the second half which is why it gets a 3, there's something about it that isn't doing full justice to how great her vocals are and how much emotion she puts in her songs. But definitely still worth listening to, I'm glad I finally heard a Tina Turner album in full and not just the big hits.
4/5
Not my favorite Oasis album but still very good. It definitely flows together great and is great pop songwriting. I kind of wish it was less of a wall of sound but I guess that's what they're going for with the whole '60s/Stone Roses influence?
Soul II Soul
4/5
Really liked this. Sometimes really laid back and smooth and other times just really makes me wish I could've been in a club in the '80s. What a time! A true gem <3