Boy am I glad that’s over with. I have long held the belief that the Grateful Dead one of if not the most overrated band ever. (KISS is a close second.) this album did nothing to dissuade me of that. I suppose if you are a big fan of psychedelic drugs and jam bands, this is your holy grail. For everyone else, i recommend avoiding it. Especially that Feedback track. I’m not sure who that appeals to, but it ain’t music.

What an amazing album. It hits so hard and doesn’t stop. Rage has an incredibly distinct sound. Between Morello’s unique guitar work and the aggressive de la Roche, no one ever sounded like this before. Or since. And then part of Tool shows up in the middle of Know Your Enemy and it just gets better. It has always seemed to me that from that point on the album had a more Tool-esque feel to it, too, while still remaining decidedly Rage. Lyrically, they’re a very intelligent band as well. Whether or not you agree with their politics, they’re not simply parroting things they’ve heard, these guys are informed and dedicated. While I generally believe that musicians should stick to music and stay out of politics, they got into music to express their politics. Their not simply using their fame to spout off about things their uninformed about. Besides, it is so incredibly heavy it’s hard to not be moved.

Psychedelic folk is interesting, but not something I can listen to a lot of. Sad Syd went bonkers, but I guess this is a glimpse into what Pink Floyd would’ve sounded like if he hadn’t.

It always blows my mind to go back and see how many great songs came off the first album of classic bands. The Cars is no exception. This album makes me love the Cars al over again. I can’t imagine anyone not liking it.

If there were more songs on this album half as good as Time of the Season, I would have really liked this album. Unfortunately, the rest of it is just ok not bad, but too mellow for my tastes.

Amazing. So much soul on one album.

I really wanted to like this album. Unfortunately, the only song I actually enjoyed was a cover. Two stars because I was able to finish the whole album.

Powerful and influential, this album flows like an album should. Whether or not you agree with his politics, Chuck D is a brilliant writer and Terminator X mixed like few others ever would.

I never got into Morrissey when I was younger, so I’m glad I finally sat down with a whole album. No, that’s wrong. I was totally fine with never having heard this. I’m amazed that such poorly written lyrics were even allowed to be put to music, such as it is.

Unless you’re on far too many mind-altering substances this is mostly unlistenable. I tried and just couldn’t do it.

As an Irishman, I’m obligated to like the Pogues, which is fine with me.

I liked it more than I expected. The drums especially stood out as excellent.

It’s Prince, so it’s good. The drum machine and synthesizer created a very 80’s sound, however. Whether that’s good or bad is very subjective. The first half was enjoyable, I was feeling 3/5, maybe 3.5. But it took off in the second half. Maybe because I’m more familiar with some of those songs, maybe because they’re just the stronger songs, I’m not sure. But part two pushed it to a solid 4/5 for me.

I generally listen to the album of the day during my morning commute. I am not a morning person. DO NOT listen to this album during a morning commute if you are not a morning person. That said, I appreciate the influence this album had on the use of synthesizers. It’s decent for ambient sound.

I like David Bowie, but never really know what to expect…which is part of what made him great. But sometimes it’s too far out there. This, however, is a solid work throughout.

The Kinks are possibly the most underrated band of the British Invasion. Too many times I have mentioned them to people who have never heard of them. While this album doesn’t have any of the songs that they are most known for, it’s still solid from beginning to end and well worth the listen.

One of the greatest debut albums. There are so many great songs, it’s almost a best of album on its own.

Marvin Gaye could sing an infectious disease textbook and still make women swoon. Even with the pin and, at some points, bitterness on this album, he’s still incredibly soulful. It was admittedly a little difficult to listen to sometimes having gone through a divorce myself, but that’s a testimony to how honest this album is.

Is this the worst album on this list? No. Is it at least mildly interesting or enjoyable? Also no. My drive to work would have been less boring had I listened to nothing at all. “This album has music on it” is about the best I can say.

Uh, no thanks.

An excellent album. Well written songs and she has a great sound. I’m glad that I finally actually listened to some of her music.

I’ll give it two stars since it’s closer to the old, real style of country and not today’s bro country, which gets negative 7 stars. Still, his voice is hard to get past.

This sort of jazz has its place. Unfortunately, that place is most often a dentist’s office. It’s technically well done, but definitely not the best example of jazz.

Great songs from beginning to end. Even the non-hits are incredible. This was a genre defining album.

It hurts to not give an album that has both Tennessee and Mr. Wendell, but then there were U and Natural, which aren’t bad, but definitely not great, either. The majority of the album is spectacular, though, and I would listen to it again any day. Also, I believe that with the energy and message that Arrested Development rings, the world would be a better place, if there were more hip-hop along their style.

If these guys weren’t such raging scumbags, I would’ve liked this album much more. Frankly, they had no right to make such a good album. Slash is disgustingly good. Mr. Brownstone is an astonishingly well constructed song. This album probably deserves five stars, but they’ve made my skin crawl for the last 35 years, so the best I can give is three.

Much of this album sounds like it was written to be the background music for a hospital or cop drama. Just about any song would fit perfectly as the detective who is obsessed with a case comes home to find his wife has left him. He has a flashback of them being happy when they were dating and having a picnic, then back to him sitting at the dining room table in the dark with a glass of whiskey… Or one of the emotional scenes in Scrubs after one of J.D.’s patients dies. Anyway, I was looking forward to this album because I never really got into Coldplay, but had always heard they were great. I figured I had been missing something. Nope. I haven’t missed anything. This album is just there. Technically, I suppose it’s well done, but there wasn’t any meat to bite into. There just isn’t anything driving it forward or drawing me in or giving me anything to care about. It’s just a group of Brits being whiny and sad. (I’ve noticed that this type of stuff sells really, really well in the UK. Are they doing ok over there?) Clocks is pretty good.

I can understand if you don’t like Bob Dylan and you can’t get past his voice. It’s not the most…traditional singing voice. Bob Dylan is not for everyone. But if you can’t I feel sorry for you; you’re missing out some of the best stuff ever created. This album is so iconic that even if you don’t like it, the artists you listen to do, and the artists they listen to do, etc. It changed the shape of songwriting. It deserves to be on this list for that alone. Plus, it’s just so very, very good.

It makes sense what many of these albums are on this list, even if they aren’t my personal taste. This, however, makes no sense. It is so bland it makes rice cakes interesting. It is at best background noise, but mostly it’s sleep inducing. Which I guess is good if you’re an insomniac.

This era of Metallica was crazy good. Even as a Megadeth guy, I cannot deny that this album is excellent and deserves its spot on this list.

I really tried to like this album, but could not. If this is one of the most influential rap albums, I can only imagine the genre would be much better if this album didn’t exist.

Incredibly repetitive. Not the worst, but not something I care to hear again. I was able to listen to the whole thing without being terribly annoyed though.

This is second Suede album I have gotten on this list. I questioned the thinking behind putting the first on. This makes me question the validity of all the choices on this list. I don’t think anyone should ever have to listen to one, let alone to suede albums. Or even songs. This album might be better than the first, but that’s kind of like saying, I’d rather be punched in the stomach than n in the face. There needs to be a setting on Spotify called “Just Exploring" so that you can listen to new stuff without Spotify thinking it’s something you want to hear again. I now have two Suede albums counted against me.

I was beginning to question this endeavor after getting the second Suede album in as many weeks. Then this showed up. It has always made me sad when I find out someone has never heard of Louis Prima, so anything that introduces him to people can’t be all bad. If you don’t at least find some enjoyment out of this album, I am sorry to say that you are the problem. I can only assume you don’t like fun and hate to be happy This music is pure entertainment, a little goofy, and man, that cat can swing. Not only that but Keely Smith (his wife, by the way) has a fantastic voice that complements the upbeat sound (and silliness) of Louis and the band.

It always blows my mind to go back and see how many great songs came off the first album of classic bands. The Cars is no exception. This album makes me love the Cars al over again. I can’t imagine anyone not liking it.

Not the worst thing I’ve ever heard. But I don’t ever want to hear it again. I guess I just really don’t click with UK pop.

She has a good voice and I suppose this is a pretty good album. Just doesn’t seem to hit with me.

I’ve never been a fan of ABBA (once considered breaking up with a girl after seeing ABBA’s greatest hits in her CD collection), but I also never listened to one of their albums, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I guess their big hits really are their best stuff.

I’m not really sure what I just listened to; that first track totally disoriented me. He is reminded me of Martin Short’s style when he does his Broadway schtick, with a little Shatner-esque delivery on Next. I didn’t hate it, but it has no business being on anyone’s “must listen” list.

Meh. I never could get into the Cure. Wait, are you telling me this isn’t the Cure, but a lesser sullen, goth-ish, British band of the 80s? Well then, I like it even less now. I’m increasingly concerned that the book this list was based on is some wank who believes Brit-pop and its ilk to be the pinnacle of recorded music and is trying to foist as much of it as he can on unsuspecting music lovers.

Why is this album on this list? At least it very clearly explains why they are a one-hit wonder. Dexys Midnight Runners don’t seem to know how to start a song, let alone finish one. After 12 minutes I still have no idea what she’s like. And what is with all the mumbling? Does Warren Zevon know they ripped off Werewolves of London? This album raises so many questions that I don’t even care enough to know the answers to. I fully expected them to pull off three stars, or at least a very solid two, but found I disliked it more with every unnecessary minute.

Interesting album. Since my Portuguese isn’t that great, I obviously can’t say much about the lyrics. I did enjoy it though, and could see listening to it again or possibly more of his stuff.

90s alternative is probably my comfort food as far as music goes, and this definitely has the feel of the early 90s. Unfortunately, that’s really about all it has going for it. I just didn’t find any of it very interesting. Mostly it’s just there. I wouldn’t jump over a couch to shut it off, but I’m not going to intentionally listen to any of this again. Knowing that Michael Stipe loves this album actually knocks it down about half a star for me, too.

My dad loved Sade, so this gets one star right off the bat just for him. Fortunately, it’s a good album, too. This isn’t the most exciting, upbeat music, it then it wasn’t intended to be. It’s relaxing soulful jazz, of sorts, and she has a voice that’s smoother than butter on a baby’s butt, too. Not my go to, but pleasant and well made.

Ahhh….acoustic Dylan. It’s a shame that he’s so divisive; folks seem to either idolize him or loathe him with very little in between. Admittedly, it’s not all the most complex musically and he definitely doesn’t have the best singing voice, but his songwriting is just so good. And this is folk, after all. The guitar isn’t really expected to be terribly intricate. Besides, this album has “Don’t Think Twice…” on it, so it’s a big win for me.

I believe anyone who is going through the process of listening to all these albums is open minded and curious enough about all types of music should at least have some exposure to progressive rock. King Crimson is a great choice to do that. I don’t know them well enough to know if this is their best album, but I still found it pretty interesting. I don’t listen to much prog anymore but when I did I always felt almost apologetic when playing it around others. It’s kind of an acquired taste, it’s easy to get lost in the technical instrumentation, and sometimes it’s just odd. Great music for geeks and music nerds alike. But some great bands have prog roots or leanings (Peter Gabriel era Genesis and Rush spring to mind). It’s cool to listen to a band that stayed firmly entrenched in their niche for decades.

This is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time and a master class in sampling. Easily the best Beastie Boys album. The was they wove so many different songs and styles together that there are web sites dedicated to listing the little snippets and phrases; there are just too many to catch otherwise. It is also astounding how seamless some of the transitions in B Boy Bouillabaisse are. Just a great album from start to finish.

The Band are good musicians and they make good music. This is a very good album. It saddens me that, k knowing this, I’ve never been able to get into them. They just don’t seem to do it for me. But at least I can recognize their ability. I’m going with 4/5 because I feel that’s what they deserve, not because of my own level of enjoyment.

I admittedly haven’t listened to much Adele specifically because I always viewed her as a pop artist, and so have written her off as such. However, forcing myself to actually listen to one of her albums, I cannot deny that she has a fantastic voice, very soulful. But I just don’t like pop, and that what too much of this is. The first couple songs, which I was familiar with, did a good job of showcasing her voice. One and only deserves to be bigger than it is as well. However, the rest of the album had far too many played out pop tropes for my liking. All in all, I have a better appreciation for Adele than I did before giving this album a proper listen, but I still don’t see why it would be one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

This sounds oddly familiar, kind of like the Turtles, but Brazilian. It was interesting, not bad, but psychedelic rock just isn’t my bag, man. Can you dig it?

The impact this album has had is hard to fathom. I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard an artist refer to it when talking about influences; probably more than any other work. That alone earns it a spot on this list. And understandably so. Their harmonies are unparalleled, the songwriting is amazing, and the music is great. The fact that I never listened to this entire album before is probably criminal. From a personal standpoint, The Beach Boys was the first concert I went to when I was twelve (opened up for by THE Katrina and the Waves), so they will always have a place in my heart.

Steely Dan is an undeniably great band. But for some reason, they always feel like the music is hear through the door when I was stuck in my bedroom all night while my parents had dinner parties back in the seventies. Which is weird, because my parents never had any dinner parties. While I appreciate all of the songs on this album, I wish that I could get into them more. It just isn’t my style. But that doesn’t change the fact that every song is excellent.

Of all the albums I’ve heard here so far, this is the first that I was unfamiliar with that I actually liked. I had heard of XTC way back in the day, but never heard anything by them. I once almost bought one of their albums just to fill the missing “X” entry in my alphabetically organized CD collection. If their other stuff is similar I may have actually liked it and listened to it more than once. I found it hard to put my finger on what made this music familiar…at one point i thought I heard Who influences, and another sounded like it almost belonged on Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. That’s actually unexpectedly high praise. It mostly kept me engaged, but at some points I lost interest. All in all, I could see listening to this album again. I think that’s still the only spot that didn’t get filled. Bummer.

I listened to this album so many times when I was in my late teens/ early twenties. I am curious how my old guy self would to react to hearing it for the first time now. I don’t blame all those who are just now introduced to Ministry being repulsed or confused by what they’re hearing. Industrial metal is not for the faint of heart. This album is a sonic assault. So heavy, so aggressive, yet at the same time not just a wall of noise hitting you in the face. Not only that, but within that push of sound they built in fantastic pauses to really drive it home. Ministry was one of my favorites back in the day, but I am torn on what rating to give it. On one hand, I want to give it a 5, but at the same time I stopped listening to this years ago when I became a Christian. (Don’t worry, not getting preachy, this is just for background.) I still enjoy it from a musical standpoint, but sometimes it’s hard to separate musicality from message, and it can be difficult to listen to it with a clear conscience. But man, Just One Fix is so well done.

This and Cowboys From Hell we’re on heavy rotation (on cassette!) when I was 18. Nothing better than Pantera for a foul mood; it’s incredibly cathartic. I don’t know how many times I went hoarse trying to sing along with Anselmo. I haven’t listened to them much in the last several years, but it still holds up. Its a toss up which is the better of the two albums, but this has walk, so it probably has the edge. I never could get too into anything after this one though. It would get 5 stars from me if it weren’t for By Demons Be Driven. Never cared for anything along those lines. It’s a shame about Darrell.

Eminem definitely has talent - Stan is pure brilliance - but none of that is on this album. This is some of the worst garbage I’ve ever heard. Just a bunch of violent, “I’m so mean and tough” posturing. The fact that this is so highly regarded makes me sad for society as a whole. And if the argument is that it’s a character called Slim Shady, well it’s an awful character and not one that I would want to listen to. Even that is faulty, though, because as “Slim Shady” he repeatedly refers to himself by his actual name. So if it’s a concept, it’s poorly executed. A bunch of hateful, unnecessarily vulgar, obnoxious garbage. Yes, i understand you don’t care what I think, Marshall, you’ve said it plenty. So much that I think you doth protest too much.

I didn’t get to finish this whole album yet, which is unfortunate because so far it’s the first artist on this list that I was entirely unfamiliar with that I actually really enjoyed. Great songwriting, some really good guitar work, just all around good music. I will definitely be returning to this and listening to him more.

I can’t believe that I never listened to a whole Motörhead album before. I think I would have listened to them a foot bit back when I was younger. This is just good old school heavy rock. And I will most likely listen to them again, but only a song or two. A whole album is just too much of the same for me now.

The Black Keys make some good music. It’s not the best, but definitely not the worst. There’s a good mix of soul and blues and some old classic rock that makes it hard to pinpoint what era this belongs to at some points. There are a couple solid tracks that help to keep the rest afloat. I’ll definitely listen to them again, but their not going to be my go-to group.

Dusty has one of the greatest voices ever. Unfortunately, I have to be in the mood for this style…it’s just a little too slow for me some days. However, there’s never a bad time to hear Son of a Preacher Man. That song alone gets an album four stars.

Most of the time I listened to this I felt like I should be hacking into the server of a bank or following an enemy spy or some other action/adventure montage. The rest of the time I was bored. I literally fell asleep sitting at a red light listening to this. Twice. I see no reason for this album to be required listening for anyone outside people making spy movies. It wasn’t entirely bad, just unnecessary.

I expected a lot more from this. The highlights were Flava Flav and Yo Yo, who actually had a flow and rhythm to their voices. Most of the rest was just Ice Cube yelling while rhyming and swearing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything this misogynistic, either. This type of stuff makes me appreciate just how talented guys like Chuck D really are. Oh, and the other highlight was the last track where he shouted out to a bunch of rappers who were significantly better then him.

Amazing musician, awful person.

This is what I came here for. This stuff is awesome, and I probably would not have come across it otherwise.

Good stuff.

I can’t stand REM. especially Michael Stipe and his voice. The rest of the band might be good, but I can’t get past that whiny voice. On closer listen, no, the band isn’t any good either.

I might have dug this when I was 17, but not so much as an adult. Although I never really cared for the whole demon aesthetic. I can see how this could have been pretty influential though.

Ugh. I expected something with more groove from “Club Classics.” Most songs seemed to take forever before they even took off, then still only had a few bars of anything worth listening to, if anything.

I was completely unfamiliar with NERD before this and had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. This is an interesting mix of many styles that created something unique. They blended R&B and hip hop vocal stylings together, then mixed that with a slightly funky and rock instrumentation to create a cool vibe. I could definitely hear Lenny Kravitz on “Maybe,” and although he was obvious, it still flowed with the rest of the album. Still not sure how much I’ll listen to them again, but it is definitely something that will be on my radar.

The immature beginnings of one of the most important hip hop bands of their era. I hate to play the race thing, because they’re a great group in their own right, but this album opened the genre up to a whole new audience and made it okay to listen to rap for a lot of white suburban kids. They even got a got bit of play on rock stations. While this isn’t their best album, it did break them into he scene and laid the groundwork for some great stuff. It’s also a good example of old school hip hop being fun, before it started to take itself too seriously. All in all this is just a fun album, quite a bit goofy, and all intentionally so. Also, before getting angry at the misogyny, etc, remember they were just dumb kids and grew up. They have since expressed remorse at how awful they were and have changed accordingly.

He’s a great musician, but his solo stuff is a bit…boring at times. Kinda of “adult contemporary,” I guess. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. It’s good enough, I suppose.

Never a big Elvis fan, but his significance can’t be denied. And there are a few solid tracks on here.

There’s nothing I can say about the Beatles that hasn’t already been said. One of the best albums of one of the best bands. Personally, I like this album, but I don’t love it.

“Make a soundtrack to a blaxploitation film.” “No, I think I’ll draw attention to the condition on black folks living in poverty and drug abuse.” And aren’t we lucky he did. Soulfull, funky, and brilliant.

This sounds like something that most people like because it was what they listened to when they were younger, like 17 or 22, not because it’s terribly good. And even then I have a hunch they mainly listened to it because it was “indie,” so it made them cool to be included in that scene. Now I assume the appeal here is nostalgia, because try as I might I can’t find anything of interest here.

This was some great stuff. Well played vibes are like listening to a dream. Weird how some of it sounds like something I’d have heard from Mr. Rogers, though. That is a compliment…the world needs more Me. Rogers related anything.

The first time I heard this song in the 90s I was hooked, mesmerized by the beats and lilting vocals. Somehow, Portishead managed to make an album full of contradictions. The hip-hop rhythm, samples, and scratching mixed seemlessly with the jazz vibe and other worldly voice. It’s a chill vibe, but drives me forward. I feel melancholy and optimistic at the same time. This is one of my all time favorite albums. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it eventually ends. Unfortunately, with their next album, either the bottle was the wrong shape or there was no lighting to catch, because it just doesn’t hit the same way.

I could never get into this era and style. It basically all sounds the same to me, and since I didn’t listen to it when it came out, it has no relevance or importance to me. It was ok, I suppose, but mostly I found it to be decent background music. I guess a good review could be, “This album has music on it. There are instruments and singing.”

I would assume that to make it onto a list like 1001 albums to listen to before I die, said album should have something special about it. Maybe the first of a genre, influential in some way, a key entry in an important artist’s discography, or perhaps just singularly exceptional in some way. Sadly, see none of this in this album. It’s not a bad album. It was, I suppose, mildly enjoyable and I wouldn’t be bothered to listen to it again. I wouldn’t even mind if Spotify popped some of it into a playlist in the future. But it’s not a standout album in any sense.

It blows my mind every time I hear a debut album with this many big songs. There is no denying how good this band is. Few bands could harmonize like CSN. It’s just a question of whether or not you like this style of music.

I guess this is a good album. I’ve heard most of the songs hundreds and thousands of times. U2 just always comes across as pretentious, so I can’t fully enjoy it.

Great horn section

Classic metal foundations. Not my personal preference, but Hanford can sing. Definitely deserves a spot on this list, but not one I’m likely to listen to much again.

This is required listening for anyone who likes punk.

This dropped onto me after The Clash’s first album the day before. As great as that was, London Calling is even better. Different styles of music melded with the punk ethos of the Clash to create music that transcends any of them. One of the greatest albums ever? I just might be.

I was heard of this band for the first time a few days before it appeared here. Pretty boring, monotonous stuff. The singer might want to try adding a third note to his singing. Maybe some inflection would be nice.

This isn’t bad. Not great, but I would listen to some of this again. Maybe.

I could see why some people like this, but to me it sounds kind of like a late 80’s version of the Monkees. That’s not exactly a negative, but it’s not much of a compliment, either. I’m going with three stars, but it’s more of a two and a half.

Preferences aside, this is, objectively, a very good album. I’ve heard some of the songs many, many times, but never really listened to them, much less the whole album. Vocals are fantastic, especially the backing harmonies. However, for me it is just too…corny is I guess the word. Perhaps it’s my dark heart, but sap sap oozes off almost every song. It’s so good I want to enjoy it more than I do. But I won’t penalize it for my own issues.

A Classic of the folk aesthetic of the era. Not flashy, but well crafted and well executed songs.

Not an Elvis fan, but I don’t hate him either. But with this as a debut album, it’s easy to see how he could become such a phenomenon. His swagger is evident in those rockabilly roots.

This is a monster of an album. The mix of electric songs with mostly acoustic songs all with such turns of phrase that only Dylan could produce (and a couple forced rhymes), makes this a classic album. I knew many of the songs, but didn’t realize they were all on one recording. This is why he’s so highly revered.

It’s not horrendous, but if you’re going to name your album “The Holy Bible,” you really, really gotta bring it. They did not. Instead it feels like a cheap attempt to shock people and draw attention to a work that deserves no attention. His vocals are, mostly, shrill and pretty grating after a very short time. Musically, it ok, I guess, but not something I care to hear again. Some of it could possibly fall into a mix of rock from the era and go relatively unnoticed, by which I mean I might not skip to another song or station, but I would probably just zone out and not pay attention to it. I feel that’s what most folks would do, too. And since I’d never heard of them, despite that time period being when I was most tuned into the rock and alt scene, it seems that’s pretty much what happened.

Adele has a beautiful, unique voice, but for some reason I don’t really like her songs. I can’t put my finger on why, but I always feel as though her voice is being underutilized. Maybe the songwriting is just bad and she needs better songs. Also, maybe don’t sing so much lamenting your youth when you’re only 25.

Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. This is a solid introduction to them. Yes, they stole some stuff from the old blues men, but what they did with it was amazing. I’ve listened to this album hundreds of times and I’m not done with it yet.

I expected to like this album more than I did, since I really liked the Kinks back in high school. This one caught me off guard, however. Some seems overly repetitious. Some seemed like it had a bit of a Monty Python sort of off-the-wall aspect, which I actually sort of like. All in all I liked it, just not as much as I wanted to.

Not an awful album, I’d even listen to a song or two again maybe. But there is nothing here that warrants a place on this list.

Fantastic. I was previously unfamiliar with bossa nova, and who better to listen to than Stan Getz. And while I’ve never really gotten into jazz guitar (although have always respected it), I was drawn to Charlie Byrd. Wonderful. All of it just wonderful.

Interesting. Sort of like what The Beach Boys would sound like mixed with Pink Floyd. It flows so incredibly well, I don’t know if I could even listen to just one song off of it without listening to the whole album.

There are definite roots of the upcoming rock scene here. Kind of rough, distortion-y, precursor to grunge and the other alternative stuff coming down the pipe. It never really grabbed me, though. I appreciate its place, but it’s not something I am likely to listen to again.

Dolly Parton as a human is a national treasure. She also happens to be an excellent songwriter. It is very unfortunate for me that I don’t care for her voice much. It’s something about that inherent vibrato that is constantly present that I just don’t care for. I am truly the loser in this situation, because I would like to enjoy her music as much as it deserves.

Groovy, man. Truly out of sight. This cat has soul and I can dig it. But that last jam, man, sounded like they just got a synthesizer and flipped pushed aome buttona for ten minutes.

A bit more of his crooning than I’d prefer. While I see its appeal, especially among the young ladies at the time, I definitely like his more upbeat stuff better. Not a lot of the rockabilly feel on this one. But I suppose it’s a relatively solid album.

The more I listen to the Talking Heads, the less sure I am of how much I like them. Psycho Killer is, unsurprisingly, the standout song on this album. Nothing else stood out as particularly interesting. This list has had quite a few debut albums that were wall to wall fantastic, some that were loaded with hits although not completely great, and others that showcased a burgeoning talent. This album has Psycho Killer.

Just straight forward blues rock. There are some great tunes on this album. I listened to this tape (as in cassette) extensively when it came out back in high school. Chris Robinson’s voice was just raspy enough to be interesting. It isn’t necessarily a complicated album, which is why it works. Unfortunately everything they did after was forgettable, if even noticed.

I finally listened to some Wilco. It may take a few more listens before I really appreciate this album, but it definitely has something cool about it that I hope I can discover.

If you can’t enjoy this, there is no hope for you. You don’t have to love it, but by all that is good, you should be able to enjoy the beauty in that voice. I’m gonna listen to it again now.

Imagine hearing this album when it first came out. Nothing like this existed before. The dawn of a whole new genre. I’ve never cared for Ozzy’s voice much, but the power behind this album and what it did to music is undeniable.

I’m not sure how to rate this one. I like electronic…sometimes. But a whole album? I don’t take MDMA, so I’m not sure it’s for me. Some of it might work well for background music when I’m working. It’s a tough call.

I really wanted to like Steve Earle. I’ve known of a few artists I love that were in some way compared to him, but never actually listened to his stuff. Turns out this was just 40 minutes more country than I wanted to listen to on a Wednesday morning. Sadly, all I heard here was a contribution to the blueprint of the bro-country, d-bag noise pollution of today.

Raw and aggressive, but in a good way. Could’ve done without the Dylan cover, though.

This album is definitely evocative of an era, not only of music but of fashion and culture. For that alone it probably deserves a place on this list. Personally, though, I never much cared for her voice - a bit too shrill for my taste. Annoying, in fact, most of the time. But then there are gems like Time After Time that show that she does have a sweeter tone and can do softer, emotional songs as well as party anthems like Girls Just Want to Have Fun. All in all, not my thing, especially since I never cared for 80s pop when it was the 80s, but still an important album in the greater history of music. For me, a 1.5, for the latter, a 4. I guess that balances out to a 3.

Psychedelic folk is interesting, but not something I can listen to a lot of. Sad Syd went bonkers, but I guess this is a glimpse into what Pink Floyd would’ve sounded like if he hadn’t.

If there were more songs on this album half as good as Time of the Season, I would have really liked this album. Unfortunately, the rest of it is just ok not bad, but too mellow for my tastes.

I’ve never understood the attraction to Springsteen, and if this is any indication, I never will. Seems the majority of his formula is semi-incoherent mumbling then yelling the song title several times. This sounds like a bar band, but one that would make me finish my beer, settle my tab, and take off by the time they were on their third song. Based on my previous experience with “The Boss,” I figure I’d end up giving 2 stars, but tried my best to be open minded and hoped to be surprised. Turns out, nope. I couldn’t even finish most of the songs. I mean, I couldn’t even make it halfway through Factory, and that thing is only two minutes and eighteen seconds long.

I really wasn’t expecting to like this since I haven’t liked any country music made after the 70s. And I wasn’t much digging it at all until the third track hit. It has the feel of the older country and it caught my ear. I had to go back and start over. I guess her original folk leanings brought more of that old feel that I love. Mostly I was drawn to the way she told a story. Overall, not my favorite album on this list, I may never even listen to it again, but surprisingly pleasant.

This grew on me. At first I just bought, “nice for yoga, but when else would I listen to this?” But then it turned into some pleasant background music while I was working. To be fair, the musicianship deserves more attention than I’m giving. It really is quite stunning, but I just can’t get into it more than that.

This man sweat out more soul than I’ve ever had in my whole life. And one of the coolest voices I’ve ever heard.

He got famous with this? This is considered a great album? Really? It wasn’t as bad as I expected but then I guess it couldn’t possibly be. I guess that’s why I don’t listen to much rap from the 21st century. Maybe I’m old, but that’s better than thinking this is good. Two stars just because I was actually expecting worse.

Is there some part of this that qualifies as music? If so, I missed it.

As a caveat, this is not my type of music. I’ve never cared for pop, and most likely never will. That said, this album was significantly more soulful than I anticipated. No one can deny that she has a powerful voice, and she uses it well here. However, it’s still not my thing and it got old well before an hour. And then then was quite a bit after that. I’d have to agree with whoever said it’s almost music for grownups. Objectively, it probably deserves four stars, but for me, the best I can do is three.

I did not want to listen to this album. I hate britpop, and I really can’t stand Oasis. I realize they’re “highly acclaimed,” but, my word what an annoying voice. After listening, I must say, I didn’t like Oasis in the 90s, I don’t like them any better now. I do not see any reason this is considered by so many to be one of the greatest albums. There’s been worse stuff on this list, though, so I’ll be generous with two stars.

This is not an album for the groggy. Most of it felt like when I wake up from a dream, then go back to sleep and the dream continues, but is kind of different. Then the alarm goes off, I hit the snooze button, and it happens again. For pretty much the whole album. That isn’t to say I disliked it entirely. It just felt like being in and out of consciousness a lot. The highest praise I can give it is that the first track sounded like something off of a Peanuts special. The biggest critique is that every one of these songs should have ended far sooner than it did. Some songs need the time to unpack and explore, then time to tie it all together. None of that was the case here.

What?! That’s it? Thirteen minutes of music? Dang, I was liking this, too. I could have gone for a few more songs.

Boy I loved Aerosmith back in high school, and Toys… was one of my favorite albums, the title song especially. My love has dwindled over the decades, especially since they took a much softer turn a few albums into their reemergence from obscurity thanks to Rick Rubin, Run DMC, and a track of this album. It’s still a solid album, though. Just not as great as I once thought it. I guess I’ve (fortunately) matured out of some of the double entendres and innuendos.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t get into it. Slow, droning, depressing… not always bad things, but it just didn’t work for me.

Boy am I glad that’s over with. I have long held the belief that the Grateful Dead one of if not the most overrated band ever. (KISS is a close second.) this album did nothing to dissuade me of that. I suppose if you are a big fan of psychedelic drugs and jam bands, this is your holy grail. For everyone else, i recommend avoiding it. Especially that Feedback track. I’m not sure who that appeals to, but it ain’t music.

Interesting. This album is far more soulful than I anticipated, both musically and lyrically. I don’t see me ever listening to it again, but I wasn’t compelled to skip through it, either. I can see this being a stand out in a genre that I am not terribly familiar with, especially compared to others in its field that have also been on this list.

This is such a tight album. A fantastic blend of blues and rock, all while mixing in a more modern (of the time) feel.

Easily one of the greatest and most important albums of all time. Guitar was never the same after this…or music at all, really. Blues is brought perfectly into the psychedelic age on this. This is how psychedelic rock is supposed to sound, not that garbage that literally every other band of this genre I’ve heard on this list did it. Really, there’s just no denying the gravity of Are You Experienced?

I don’t know if their first album is in this list, but if there’s only one, it shouldn’t be this one. I really like the Specials and I get it, this was “artistic growth” and a departure from their ska roots. But come on, it’s no where near as fun. And maybe I’m missing something, maybe it requires a second listen, but it just wasn’t as cohesive of an album to me. It felt like they couldn’t decide what they wanted to do, so they did a little of all kinds of stuff. I liked it, but not as much as I wanted to. Also, disappointed that there’s not one song about Rudy.

Yes is one of those bands that I appreciate more than I enjoy. They’re talented musicians and compose interesting music. This album is excellent from beginning to end. I just wish I enjoyed it more.

The last album by the xx that was on this list left me hating britpop and angry that such junk was considered essential listening. This album isn’t as bad, but that’s hardly a compliment. The intro seemed promising, but I soon realized that I only needed to listen to one song to hear the entire album. Why even have a track listing if it all sounds the same? Because I wasn’t left angry, I’ll go two stars, but that’s being generous. I still hope I don’t ever have to hear this band again.

This is as fantastic. I have no idea what they said, but what a great sound.

Not my favorite Beck album, but a solid entry. All the good elements are there, cool beats, eclectic lyrics, general quirkiness…

I guess this was ok. I didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. I guess it was better than I was expecting, but then, I don’t know what I was expecting. I might listen to it again, I might not. All that ambivalence is just how it felt, I guess.

What an amazing album. It hits so hard and doesn’t stop. Rage has an incredibly distinct sound. Between Morello’s unique guitar work and the aggressive de la Roche, no one ever sounded like this before. Or since. And then part of Tool shows up in the middle of Know Your Enemy and it just gets better. It has always seemed to me that from that point on the album had a more Tool-esque feel to it, too, while still remaining decidedly Rage. Lyrically, they’re a very intelligent band as well. Whether or not you agree with their politics, they’re not simply parroting things they’ve heard, these guys are informed and dedicated. While I generally believe that musicians should stick to music and stay out of politics, they got into music to express their politics. Their not simply using their fame to spout off about things their uninformed about. Besides, it is so incredibly heavy it’s hard to not be moved.

William Shatner does this better. How did this guy get one album on this list, let alone two? Does this mean I can expect two more from him?!? Hokey smokes, I don’t know if I have that in me.

I liked about half of this album. The rest was ok….ish. After a while, Jello’s voice can get annoying. Plus any comparison to the Sex Pistols is a big negative for me. Fortunately, a lot of the songs are really short.

There are jam bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish, then there are jam bands like the Allman Brothers. If only they were all like the Allman Brothers.

Do people actually like this? I don’t. If I could make a request, please no more CAN. So far I’ve heard two of their albums, which is approximately three too many.

Some of these songs are iconic from my youth/early adulthood. Corrigan’s voice can get a bit annoying at times, though, whiney even. There are some very well written songs on here though. But I don’t think a double album was necessary. I feel like there was one solid album, possibly three sides would’ve been good, but they just filled in with other stuff to make a full four sides. That kind of waters the whole thing down for me. Corrigan’s arrogance never sat well with me, either, so that kind of taints my enjoyment of anything Pumpkins.

Solid and heavy all the way through…with the exception of Planet Caravan which totally disrupts the flow. It’s a fine song on its own, but putting it between Paranoid and Iron Man was just rough. I’m not an Ozzy fan, but it’s hard to deny the power of this band. War Pigs alone gives me little choice but to give it 4 stars.

Im sure this is an amazing album if you’re into goth. But I’m not, so I guess it was just ok. I’m also not super nostalgic for songs that are excessively 80s, which this is. Although I have heard of the Sisters of Mercy, I’ve never actually listened to them, at least not knowingly. I don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything.

With a lot of artists, it’s difficult to make out some of the words, either through distortion or buried under the music or just plain poor enunciation. I’m not sure there were any actual words on this though. I truly did not catch a single word. The entirety of this album sounded as though I couldn’t get my radio tuned into a station well. It seemed like there might be music in the static, but I couldn’t be sure. The result was sort of the opposite of white noise. What would that be, black noise? Puke-green noise? Mauve noise? That’s it, mauve noise. Ugly, obnoxious, artificial, outdated, and doesn’t belong in anyone’s home. This album was wall to wall mauve noise.

Even when I was into heavy music and industrial stuff and Nine Inch Nails and the like, I never cared for Marilyn Manson. He turned my stomach then and he turns my stomach now. As a music lover, it is hard to fathom how overrated I think he is…the only part of this whole thing I liked was a couple bass lines. Now as a Christian, I really can’t stand listening to this stuff. I realize that would probably make this guy happy, if in fact he gets happy over anything. But again, even before that, I just could never find anything redeemable about it and don’t understand why it is so highly acclaimed.

This is an exceptional album. The Drums on In My Time of Dying, especially the second half, alone make this album worth listening to. John Bonham really was the heaviest jazz drummer ever. And then there’s Kashmir, which has a whole different feel unto itself. The entire album just bounces from style to style, thinking Boogie with Stu followed by Black Country Woman, while retaining a very Zeppelin feel. Just fantastic from beginning to end.

This is the definitive concept album. There are other great ones, like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Operation Mindcrime, but in my view this reigns supreme. The flow of the story, the transitions between songs that set the tone for the next chapter, all of it. Beginning to end this is a masterpiece. Additionally, there are plenty of songs that have the legs to stand on their own. Knowing the story helps, but Comfortably Numb doesn’t is fantastic even out of context. Same goes for Mother, Run Like Hell, or Another Brick in the Wall, Pt II. As an aside, I truly appreciate that this album came up on a day that I was building a literal wall at my house.

I didn’t like the part where he sang. I did like the part where this album ended and something enjoyable came on.

I just had physical graffiti about two days ago, and so was determined to not give this album five stars as well. I can’t just keep giving the same band five stars as each time. However, I forgot about some of the stuff that’s on this thing. it’s just too good of an album to not give five stars.

The word “soundscape” kept running around in my head while I was listening to this album. It is impressive how Eno can create an emotion or feeling. The few songs in which he sings detract from the flow and mood, however. I enjoyed it, but don’t know that I’ll ever revisit it.

Old garage band music from back in the day when rock and roll was still fresh. The soul and R &B covers were certainly not as good as the originals (don’t try to one up Little Richard), but it was pretty enjoyable.

Old garage band music from back in the day when rock and roll was still fresh. The soul and R &B covers were certainly not as good as the originals (don’t try to one up Little Richard), but it was pretty enjoyable.

Once at work I requested 90s hip hop to be played. To my dismay, I got NWA instead what I really meant, which was this (and Arrested Development, Digable Planets , etc). Gangster rap may have its place, but in my mind, this is the best of 90s hip hop. Unlike the gangster rap stuff, Tribe has a cool vibe. They use jazz for a totally different style. Sure their lyrics are a bit there sometimes, but that only makes them more unique. They’re not angry and abrasive. They take on social issues and sometimes tell stories about losing a wallet. This is a fantastic album. Tribe shows that you can have fun, have cool rhythms, and still speak out on things like domestic violence.

There is nothing interesting here. I guess he’s trying to be another Leonard Coen. If I was into that, I’d just listen to Leonard Coen. But I’m not, so I’m not going to listen to either.

I guess she has a beautiful voice and is a good songwriter. But to my ears it comes across as warbling. I’ve really tried to like Joan Baez since she’s so highly acclaimed and influential to artists I love, but I just can’t do it.

If you don’t dig jazz, then this is either a great into for you or an annoyance. If you do dig jazz, it doesn’t get much better than this. It swings, it’s got that big band feel, it even bops at times. I can’t imagine the audience at his show sat still; I’m not a dancer and I would probably be up and bouncing. My goodness what a treat and a treasure this is.

As a child of the 70s this hit right in my prime era of music consumption, and the alternative scene was my wheelhouse. Despite that, I never got into Sonic Youth. Listening to this full album now, I under better why. Some of was ok, but man to vocals are really awful quite a lot of the time. Maybe they’re going for something I just don’t get. And I’m ok with that.

Decent post punk. There’s a bit of the punk aesthetic with some foreshadowing of what the eighties new wave brought us, without being poppy. Almost has a Talking Heads sort of vibe at some points. Almost. I’d heard of the Bunnymen since I can remember, but never listened to them. I appreciate that this endeavor has me actually listening to bands and albums that I hadn’t gotten around to. Sometimes it’s a win, but usually not. I guess I’ll call this a win.

I really hoped I would see something more than I did with this because I know Television was very influential for a lot of bands I love. This isn’t the first time I’ve sat with this album, either. Makes me feel like I’m missing something, but I just don’t get what’s so special about them. Maybe you had to be there to get it. I don’t dislike it, it’s just ok. The extended - was it a solo? - on the title track should have been cut to make it a solid 4 or 5 minute song. Instead it sounds like he just did warm ups and finger exercises for several minutes to stretch it out. There were a few other moments Ike it, too, but I found that to be rather egregious.

There are some good songs on here, but goth just ain’t my thing. And I definitely grew out of that broody sad phase by my thirties.

Pretty solid rock.

Sounds like soft alternative pop rock…or something like that. It has just enough distortion and minor chords to almost make it feel edgy. But only just almost. All in all, not terrible, though. I feel like it’s just taking up a place on this list.

I’ll just say it…I don’t really care for much the Beatles in their solo careers. This is probably a good album, and there were a few songs I kind of liked. But certainly not a double album’s worth.

Groovy. Not bad, until the last song refused to end.

This album is fantastic. It has rock, blues, honky took…Mark Knopfler is astounding good at playing what best serves the song. He doesn’t overplay and allows space in a song. Even though he could definitely show off, these songs don’t call for flashy riffs. Sultans of Swing gives a glimpse at just how good he is. Definitely an album everyone should be exposed to at some point.

I loved the Doors back in high school, but as I got older, Morrison sounds less profound and more like a drunk on acid. Don’t get t me wrong, I still like the Doors, but it’s more about the music than the genius of Jim. The keyboards are really what laid the groundwork for every Doors song, and that is as evident on this album as any other. It’s a solid album that still holds up all these decades later, only for different reasons.

This was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t really expecting to like it, but thought it was actually pretty good. Mostly, anyway. It feels like a 3.5/5, so I guess it’s only fair to round up to a 4.

Solid rock album. Coil listen to this many times over.

Ok, I listened to the whole album. Can I be done with the Smiths now? I mean, it’s not awful, but once I heard one song, I heard pretty much everything they’ve done.

Aright, I’ve heard enough. About halfway through and that’s all the Kid Rock I can take. I knew this album, or at least a lot of it, from when it came out, and he always just make me kind of nauseous. I can hear the greasy hair. I guess as the kids today say, he gives me the ick.

Pretty good. Brian Eno’s hand is evident on the second half. It makes for great soundtrack for a movie, but less so for a commute. As a general rule I like some of Bowie’s stuff, and this album holds to that.

Love PE, Chuck D is brilliant, even if you don’t agree with his politics. The fact that he calls out Black folks hurting the black cause as well as call out the white folks shows he’s looking at the big picture and not just playing a victim. Plus, they flow so well. Not necessarily my favorite PE album, but definitely a solid entry on their discography.

Jack White is an interesting guy. I like him. I like this album. But it seems to fall a little short of his White Stripes work. I’ll still listen to it again a few times, but I just don’t like it as much.

Probably my favorite REM album this far, owing to the fact that Stipe’s voice seems somewhat less whiney than on later recordings. That said, I still couldn’t stomach much of it. I just don’t see why anyone would want to listen to this tripe.

As far as the gangster rap that’s been on this list, I guess this is pretty decent. But I really don’t like this stuff. And why is such misogyny lauded as a great album? It feels like about a 1.5/5, but I guess I’ll round up to 2 since it’s better than a lot of the other rap that’s been on this list.

A case could be made for the necessity of listening to one PJ Harvey album. But there is no reason to need to listen to two. This album was okay at best. There were a few tracks where she sounded like she was more just yelling atonally instead of singing. Perhaps it’s a better album lyrically, but I just couldn’t get interested enough in it to care.

I realize Joni Mitchell is highly praised and very influential for a lot of singers and songwriters and singer/songwriters. I just don’t care for her. Maybe I’m missing something, but she bores the tar out of me. But I know she’s talented and all that, so I guess she gets 3 stars.

The music, by which I mean the guitar, etc, is an interesting mix of different styles. It fits in well with the era by being heavy at points, has that alternative to metal vibe, mixes in some scratching and other stylistic elements. The singing, however, is a different matter. The whole one guy singing, then one guy screaming angrily, then singing again, back and forth, then the guy singing holding a note while the other guy screams a line over him thing is ok, kinda cool even. Once or twice. A whole album of it gets rather old. It’s still a good album, and even lyrically it has times it works well. Sometimes they’re even a little off that script. On a side note, I’ve never really been able to get too into Linkin Park because I saw them in concert shortly after this album came out and before they got really big. They headlined a concert with Cypress Hill opening. That was the mistake. Cypress Hill hit the stage like a storm and had an amazing show. Total energy. I’m not even a big fan, but it was great. At one point B Real (I think, this was almost 25 years ago) threw off his hat and dove into the crowd. Linkin Park came out and did a decent show. Had t I not just seen Cypress Hill I would have probably thought they were really good even. But comparatively, it was pretty tame. For the energy of the album, it wasn’t up to par. Then one of the singers interacted with the crowd too. But he got carried by a security guy so he could high five the front row. One of the lamest things I’ve ever seen in a rock show. Especially after your opening act just crowd surfed. Haven’t been able to think of them anyway since. But, trying to be objective, this is I suppose a pretty solid album and I guess I’ll round up to a 4.

I want to love Neil Young. I really, really do. But I never really liked his voice. That said, he has incredibly solid songs, musically, lyrically, just across the board good music. This album continues that with fantastic songs. Powderfinger alone just blew me away. If not for my aversion to Young’s voice, I’d probably give it 5 stars, but the best I can do is 4 and feel bad about it.

I will at least consider the viewpoints of most people on most topics. Gun control? I can see your point. Hot dogs and gyros are/ aren't sandwiches? I can see that. Omnivore? Vegetarian? I get it. But if you can’t see the sheer brilliance of this album, I don’t think I can talk to you. Tori Amos is strong, aggressive, vulnerable, soft…and that a just in one song. Her voice is superior to most, of that era or since, and she brings emotion and voice to a piano like no other. And if you can listen to Me and a Gun and not be a little affected, I can only assume you are a sociopathic monster.

It doesn’t may if you like the Stones or not, if you even kind of enjoy Rock and Roll, this album is a classic. So many absolute beasts of songs.

This album sounds like ripped stonewashed Jordaches, neon leg warmers, and Member’s Only jackets. That’s not a compliment. There’s really only one good song on here (Don’t You Want Me, obviously), and if I’m being honest with myself I probably only like that out of nostalgia.

Straight ahead, fast, hard, aggressive punk. If that’s your thing, you’ll love this. If it’s not, definitely one to pass on.

I wanted to love this more than I did. It’s still fantasy, Ol’ Blue Eyes was one of the greatest singers ever, even in the pre auto-tune era he was a standout. I also appreciate the concept album aspect of it. But it did eventually start to wear on me. Just one song that was a little more uptempo would’ve been a nice change of pace. But the music is so solid throughout that’s it’s hard to ding it at all. I really want to give it 5/5, but I just didn’t enjoy it enough. Sorry Frank, maybe if you have another album on this list.

My goodness what a great album. Not only is it full of amazing songs, but also changed the landscape of music. Just about every hip hop artist and rapper since owes Run DMC some credit for their existence, as do a lot of the rap rock bands. Walk This Way (even though they hated the song) introduced hip hop to the suburbs and gave the white kids like me a chance to appreciate a genre of music we didn’t really get to hear before. Rick Rubin was pure genius for hearing the e potential in that decade plus old song. Personally, I prefer Peter Piper, but then, anything that gave Jam Master Jay some spotlight was awesome.

The picture on the cover kind of gives me the creeps, but I’ll try to ignore that as I listen. It’s kind of cool. I might get into it more after another listen or two, but for now it’s just ok.

Really good album. Not my favorite by any means, but I definitely enjoyed it and will be listening to it again. This album reminded me of an artist that I haven’t paid attention to for a while. I forget about him often, but some reason, I’m just glad to live in a world where he exists. He was always a little outside of the rest of the music world and wasn’t afraid to make stuff that wasn’t quite the norm. Yet it was still great.

Good old soul music. Every now and then some other influence would present itself, like the horns in You Can’t Love ‘Em All, which made but a little more interesting. Good stuff, solid album.

I have heard of Roxy Music many times but never checked them out, so I was a little excited when this popped up. I can’t recall having been this disappointed in a long time. Some wasn’t terrible, but too much sounded like a bad attempt at DEVO before DEVO came along.

This is now I think the third REM album I’ve gotten on this list. One more and I may have to give up this endeavor. I realize they are popular, my for the life of me, I can’t see why. This album, for al it’s praise, is just as intolerable as their others. I’ve couldn’t stand them in the 80s and nothing has changed my mind yet. Michael Stipe’s warbling and whining is more grating than the proverbial nails on a chalkboard. I had hoped I didn’t like the band because I couldn’t pay attention through his voice. But then they had the dmoet boring Uber

This is an interesting album. It starts off punk, then goes in all kinds of directions. There are some great instrumentals, particularly Aurora Borealis. As a whole, it’s really solid. The vocals, frequently out of key, leave a bit to be desired however. A lot of this album is closely tied to Nirvana now, thanks to their coverage of three albums off this list, with part of the band, during their MTV Unplugged show. As a result, I have the Nirvana version embedded in my brain. It’s good to hear the originals; the covers are quite faithful, and I generally prefer originals to covers, but I’d rather hear Cobain singing them.

This album is (almost) wall to wall excellent. The percentage of songs on this double album that are iconic is hard to fathom. It pains me to have to give it four stars though, thanks solely to Revolution 9. I once jumped over a couch to shut this song off it’s so awful. To justify this one song taking away a full star, to me it is like someone who everyone knows to be a really nice guy - a friendly, shirt off his back kinda guy. Just the best guy. But then you find out he also runs a dogfighting ring. It’s just that bad of a song.

A lot was awful, some was ok. That’s about the best it got. I suppose it can be filed as an album that needs to be listened to under the influence of hallucinogenics to be enjoyed. I don’t so I won’t.

Bowie has some really great songs. The rest are usually just kind of there. Or a little too out there. This album seems to fall mostly into the middle category for me.

This album is about as exciting as a low sodium saltine. There is no reason for anyone to have to listen to this.

Great album, but I probably would’ve rated it higher thirty years ago when I was more into this era of music. That doesn’t take away from the impeccable guitar work of the inimitable Clapton. A true master of the craft, and this is him at his peak. The rest of Cream is no slack, either. I just don’t know that psychedelic rock holds up as well as the musicianship deserves. Except for nostalgia , of course.

There isn’t one bad moment on this album. It’s about as close to perfection as a soul album can get. I’ve never heard an album flow as seamlessly as this; the only break was after Mercy Mercy Me, which made perfect sense in the context of the songs. That still didn’t disrupt the flow though. Even the last couple bars brings it back around to the opening themes. My goodness we lost a great one when we lost Marvin.

In a strange twist, I actually like this album more than when I tried listening to it in my early twenties. That’s not to say I particularly like it now, but I really didn’t like it then. They’re not the most musically talented group, but then that’s never been a requirement for a punk band. And this is one of the most quintessentially punk bands. The significance of this album in that regard is undeniable, not just in the music but in the fashion, attitude…they were the whole package. Like this album or not, I have to give extra credit for the place of this album in music history. I’m going with 3/5 because for me it’s a 2, but it probably deserves at least a 4 for significance alone.

This was definitely a better album for my teenage self, but I still enjoy it. As their return from a drug induced hiatus, Aerosmith seems to have retained a chunk of their 70s sound while taking some of the vibe of the 80s rock without becoming a hair metal band. As one with no love for hair bands but a deep affection for 70s rock, this hit just right for me. While I still appreciate Joe Perry’s guitar work and, while he’s not the greatest drummer, I dig Joey Kramer’s style, the lyrics are a geared for the adolescent boy that I no longer am (although I suspect Tyler still is). It is hard to deny his vocal ability though. He really does have quite a range. Pump shows that Aerosmith was still a strong band and were capable of some solid rock. Which makes the awful soft rock they eventually degraded into so disappointing. For nostalgia alone I have to give it 5/5, although my current opinion is closer to 4

I really thought this was a Bryan Adams album when I first opened it up and was confused when I heard this. Also couldn’t figure out why Bryan Adam’s would be on this list. Anyway, not bad Americana sorta throwback style country. Or whatever you’d call it. It’s not Bro Country, as I’ve heard the current garbage called, and he wasn’t singing about a beer in his truck and a girl with a short skirt and cowboy boots, so that was good.

Good, but gets a bit boring after a while. Still, Fast Car is an astoundingly good song.

This is one of my favorite Tim Waits albums, and that’s saying something. It evokes emotions that I’ve definitely felt. Even if I’ve never been in the exact types of places he sings about, I can feel myself there. Nobody is one of my all time favorites…it ran through my head daily for the last few years of my marriage. And Big Joe is just a great story. Quite a few lines have dug themselves deep into my consciousness and subconsciousness. Just this morning, before even seeing today’s album, I was thinking about being Better Off Without a Wife. Tom’s spoken word and…crooning aside, the jazz is just fantastic. It truly has the feel of a little jazz joint. I think that’s a lot of the appeal for me, also. These clubs don’t really exist anymore and I never got to go to one when they did, so this is as close as I can get. This is an album I’d give 8/5 if it would let me. Maybe more. There is just no part of it I don’t love.

Less “cabaret” and more awful, cheesy high school musical. The best track is a cover, which is a sad statement, and I didn’t realize they did Where Did Our Love Go. Everything else was next to unlistenable. Terrible even by British pop standards, which thanks to the albums thus far on this list, is a pretty low bar.

Things I appreciate from Sweden: - IKEA - The chef - Fish Things I don’t appreciate from Sweden: - ABBA In fairness, better than I expected, but that’s probably because I didn’t hear any of the hits on here, all of which I really, really don’t like.

I enjoy the occasional string arrangement on a rock song, and I can’t think of anyone that does it better than ELO. Jeff Lynne is a master at his craft. I just don’t know about a double album of it. This album is full of fantastic, incredibly well composed songs and it deserves 5/5. But I just can’t get into it that much. I’m the one who’s wrong here.

One of my favorite jazz albums. Actually, one of my favorite albums of any genre. Totally groundbreaking in its use of multiple time signatures, sometimes even several within one composition. If I recall, most songs don’t use 4/4 at all. It really opened the doors for a lot of jazz musicians to experiment in new ways. I can’t imagine how difficult this was to play, especially for the drummer, Joe Morello. Not only is it innovative, but it just sounds really cool. Blue Rondo A La Turk gets it rolling fantastically and it just takes off from there. It’s simply beautiful and a joy to listen to.

Solid Who album I guess, but I just can’t get into them as much as I used too. Still a good listen though. Somewhere between a 3 and a 4, so I guess I’ll round up.

Love this album. Beck is a weird dude with weird lyrics and sometimes I don’t know what he’s saying, even if I know what he’s talking about. Just great music that was a product of and driver for the other quirky, alternative stuff that was happening at the time. He’s a unique artist that is instantly recognizable. While I like a couple of his albums a little better, but this is still a classic and one I will return to many more times.

This is an interesting novelty, and probably would have been a really cool show to see live, but I can’t imagine intentionally listening to this again. I’d much rather dig into Kill ‘em All. This is also from the post “Black Album” period, and as such has a bunch of songs off of that. That whole album was so overplayed on the radio that if I never hear another song off of it - in any format - I will be just fine. Also, in preparation for that album, James took voice lessons. Personally, I much prefer the guttural, gravelly voice he had on their first four albums. Good on him for wanting to improve and be a better musician, but I feel smooth vocals take away from the overall feel and experience of Metallica’s music. It’s (originally) hard and heavy and angry. A clean voice does not add to that. Even if there’s a symphony accompanying it.

I’ve never understood the appeal of Bruce Springsteen and this album did nothing to help. There is nothing groundbreaking, original, or even interesting here. Even for the little I’ve listened to him, his music seems to follow a pattern that he deviates little from. I guess when in doubt, verse, repeat title several times, repeat is good enough. I hope there aren’t any more Springsteen albums on this list, but I have a bad feeling I won’t be that fortunate.

I want to like Nick Drake, but he kind of just bores me. This is the second album from him I’ve gotten on here and I am just not interested in anymore. Which stinks because I’m sure Pink Moon is coming at some point.

Latin jazz meets psychedelic rock. Fantastic.

Very strange, but I guess we know that going into it. Never could get to into Zappa. A shame, really.

This has a definite 80s sound going. That’s not exactly a a compliment. And it often sounds like something Bowie would’ve been involved with, but not any of the Bowie that I like. I can hear the Cure influence, too. All in all, not really my thing.

The really unique thing about the White Stripes is their willingness to allow space in their songs. They are able to create powerful songs without a wall of sound behind the vocals on every track. Leaning into the piano instead of a heavy electric guitar for so much of this album was also an interesting choice, and in my opinion one that paid off well.

Ah, the Pogues. Is it folk? Is it punk? Is it Celtic? Yes. What a mix. Such attitude and emotion. Plus I’m a sucker for some banjo, especially where you might not expect banjo. Dirty Old Town it the tops on this album for me, but it’s all good.

Dylan at his finest. For some that’s a low bar. But I love it.

It’s ok, but not blowing me away. I might like this more after a few more listens. Or I might get tired of it really quickly. If I recall, the Verve was considered an alternative band, but they have a pretty solid Britpop vibe and that never really sits too well with me.

Great stuff. Short album.

Cool stuff. Shame we never heard from that guitarist after this.

Not usually much for psychedelic jam bands, but this wasn’t half bad.

Interesting. It sure how I feel about it. I should listen again under different conditions. I just couldn’t connect with it today, but feel it is worth trying again.

There’s some interesting stuff here, and I see some potential, but too much of this was a kind of cool rhythm with a phrase or statement repeated over and over. For a smooth vibe, it has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Admittedly, this album is targeted at a specific audience to which I do not belong, but I can’t imagine this format getting old for anyone. I do applaud this album for its merit as an artistic expression.

The first couple songs sounded almost run of the mill grunge, but by the end I was kind of into it. The punk ethos that was inherent to grunge is very present. I suppose it depends on your opinion of both those genres as to whether or not that’s a good thing. It gave off definite Stereopathetic Soul Manure vibes, and I’m sure it’s something Beck had been listening to.

I’ve known quite a few people who really liked Incubus. I mean, REALLY liked them. I’ve always thought their big hits off this album were pretty alright, but never so great I felt the need to listen to the whole album. I think I still feel that way. That said, the full on scratch track was pretty cool. I don't get to hear a lot of turntablism these days.

Very cool stuff. Makes me want to find more instrumental hip hop.

This reminds me of sitting on the porch or the basement with my dad back in the seventies listening to the “oldies.” If I don’t give this 5 stars, he may haunt my radio until it knocks some sense into me. Besides, this album is just plain awesome.

Good folkish rock type stuff. Sometimes her voice gets a bit too … I don’t know, a bit too something, but for the most part a very solid album. Can’t Let Go has been on a heavy enough rotation on my Spotify for long enough I have to skip it half the time so I don’t get tired of it.

With Hallelujah being one of the best things to ever be put on wax, this album is immediately going to get 4 stars minimum from me. The rest of the album certainly does not live up to that one track, but it’s not terribly disappointing, either.

This plays an awful lot like a metropolitan Tom Waits. For how much I love Waits, I don’t know how I feel about this. Newman spins a nice yarn I suppose, but it lack the grittiness. However, he didn’t pull punches on the red necks, which I appreciate. I think online this after all. Maybe we just need more storytellers.

The world needs to hear more Monk.

I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I do know that I am tired of popular music, especially hip hop and other stuff along those lines, starting an album with something orchestral or such. Like they’re trying to portray a certain cultured-ness. And then popping them back in later. All while littering the rest of the album with profanity and ugliness. It was interesting once or twice, but I’ve now come across it far too many times for it to be original. Granted, the rest of this album stays away from the gutter, but the played out trope is there. As for the rest of the album, she obviously has a good voice, especially on the songs that didn’t over-auto-tune her, whether intentionally or otherwise. But a lot of it I just got tired of halfway through. I wouldn’t intentionally listen to this again, but might not rush to shut it off either. Still, I feel the only reason it’s on this list of essential listens is to sprinkle something more contemporary, regardless of deserving a spot, because it doesn’t.

I realize it’s an unpopular opinion, but I just don’t like Michael Jackson’s music. None of it. Not then, and not now. And, quite frankly, the “hee-hee’s” and “ow’s” get really old really fast. This album 100% deserves to be on this list for its importance to popular music, but I wasn’t happy when it finally popped up because I just didn’t want to listen to it.

This sounds like the soundtrack of a C movie from the eighties. I think the editors put this album on the wrong list. I should be on the “Don’t Listen To” list. It adds nothing but the commentary that you can make music that is entirely forgettable. Two stars because it wasn’t horrible, just pointless.

I liked this more than I expected, but not as much as I wanted. I think it will need another listen to actually appreciate it. It might be much more interesting, or it may turn out to be utterly boring.

Just awesome. What a great debut album. The weakest song on here, maybe Mystery Dance, would be the best song half the albums on this list. Bonus 6th star for the first song I heard on this Monday morning being Welcome to the Working Week.

Is this an outstanding example of this genre, or just a random Bollywood soundtrack that the editors chose? It’s kind of interesting, but the couple of Western sounding songs made me question its choice. Strangely, one of those, One Two Cha Cha Cha, was one of my least favorite.

Mostly self indulgent crap. I never realized how redundant Relax is, maybe because this time it followed 15 or 20 minutes of the same sound in the previous songs. I was happy to hear their version of Born to Run, not because it was good (because it wasn’t), but because at least it didn’t sound like a continuation of Relax. Everything after that was just bad.

He was a king of the genre. So much emotion. Nobody could sing a sad song like.

This isn’t even Cash’s best American album, but I assume Hurt is good enough to overcome that. I forget how good it is sometimes, but listening to it again it makes my jaw drop. It is also important to keep in mind that he was actively dying during this album, and it’s still superior to most things out there. For the other songs, I love how he turned Personal Jesus into a gospel song, as well as the first track. Sam Hall is also just fun to sing along with. The rest of it is still great, too, but for my money the first two American Recordings had the best collection of songs. I am largely incapable of giving Johnny Cash less than 5 stars on anything he does anyway, so I may be a little biased. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a great album.

I’m not trying to censor, but mankind would benefit from this being wiped off the earth and never heard from again. Utter chaos and does not qualify as music as far as I’m concerned. I feel less whole and human after attempting to digest any of it.

Some really good, classic songs.

She sounds like an early-2000’s attempt at Joan Jett or Debbie Harry, not that that’s inherently a bad thing. Definitely has a garage band/punk vibe. Not a huge fan, but kind of interesting. Maps is a standout, not only because it is sonically different from the majority of the album but also because it is just splendid. Says more with simple lyrics and her voice is just more emotive. Easily the best song on the album. Also, I love the line, “I wish I could buy back the woman you stole” in Y-Control. Says so much in one line.

Monotonous and tiresome. Every so often I would realize a song was still playing, get annoyed by it, and skip to the next track.

This is so 70s that it made me nostalgic…and I’ve never even heard it before. Liked it more than I expected, but not as much as I wanted.

The most bluesy album Zeppelin put out. It doesn’t have as many of their biggest songs, Immigrant Song is probably the biggest song off of it, but there are so many great tracks. My favorite album of theirs and, in my opinion, the most underrated.

Music from when country was country, not this pop bro country garbage.

Before listening, my thought was, “Oh goodie. British indie. That never sucks.” But I was pleasantly surprised. This is actually pretty good. Might even listen again.

This was better than the Slim Shady LP on this list. I can’t really see listening to it again, but there were some good moments. Stan in particular stands out as brilliant. I realize there the case is made for “artistic merit,” but it’s just too much profanity, misogyny, violence, hatred, etc. as a whole for me. And for a civilized society. At the same time, a lot of the rap on this list falls into the same category. Ice Cube and 50 Cent have both been on this list so far, and both were too full of misogyny, et al for me to continue to listen to them. Why should Eminem get a pass? Does he have better hooks? Yeah, probably. I think some of his stuff is better written even. But the hate is still the hate and the violence is still the violence. I just don’t need it and I can’t imagine the world would be better off if we didn’t have people glamorizing such attitudes and actions. Maybe Marshall needs to write this stuff to get his demons out and if it helps him, that’s fantastic. But we shouldn’t be idolizing him. I think that’s part of why I like Stan so much. Even Eminem kind of gets it. Ultimately I guess I’ll go with 2/5 because it’s actually more listenable than a lot of the other albums of its ilk. And I just really think Stan is fantastic. But it probably deserves less for the hate mongering. And while I assume it’s part of his creative expression, I can’t imagine anyone actually enjoying listening to Kim. That’s just disturbing. Maybe identifying with the emotions or something, but if that song makes you happy? Seek counseling. Fast.

Better than I expected. Kind of old school, on the border of the upcoming gangsta rap. Having just listened to Eminem for yesterday’s album, I really liked that he managed to respect women and differentiate between most women and those only after money. Might listen again.

This is the third day in a row with a rap album. Each day it’s from a decade earlier and each album is better. The lesson: old school hip hop is the best hip hop and all the newer stuff stinks. Anyway, classic rap from back in the day, fantastic stuff. I miss the old MCs.

Annoying garbage. Like if Tori Amos tried to be that weird girl by making goofy voices.

Huh. Not bad. Not great. Kinda liked Yoshimi Battles…parts I and II. Everything else was just kind of there.

That’s a bit of all right.

I did not expect that. I didn’t even know anyone still made music like this. It has heavy late 60s, early 70s sort of vibe and I totally dug it. Very rarely an album comes across this list from an artist I’ve never heard of that I actually really enjoy and this is one of them.

Eh, I dig the oldies, but this wasn’t my favorite era. The psychedelic stuff just isn’t my bag, man. This seems to be from before it got real trippy, but is on the verge of that vibe. Ok, but not great.