554
Albums Rated
3.43
Average Rating
51%
Complete
535 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Hard-rock
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
149
5-Star Albums
50
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman | 5 | 2.22 | +2.78 |
| Wonderful Rainbow | 5 | 2.28 | +2.72 |
| We're Only In It For The Money | 5 | 2.47 | +2.53 |
| The Modern Dance | 5 | 2.48 | +2.52 |
| Pictures At An Exhibition | 5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
| Next | 5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
| Group Sex | 5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
| A Short Album About Love | 5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
| Ys | 5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
| Freak Out! | 5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| American IV: The Man Comes Around | 1 | 3.9 | -2.9 |
| Moondance | 1 | 3.71 | -2.71 |
| Born In The U.S.A. | 1 | 3.7 | -2.7 |
| 21 | 1 | 3.69 | -2.69 |
| Born To Run | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
| After The Gold Rush | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
| The Stone Roses | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
| The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | 1 | 3.63 | -2.63 |
| Rust Never Sleeps | 1 | 3.53 | -2.53 |
| The Marshall Mathers LP | 1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 5 |
| Beatles | 4 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.6 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.75 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 5 | 4.4 |
| The Who | 4 | 4.5 |
| Metallica | 4 | 4.5 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.67 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 2 | 5 |
| Deep Purple | 2 | 5 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 2 | 5 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 |
| CHIC | 2 | 5 |
| Kate Bush | 2 | 5 |
| Blur | 2 | 5 |
| The Doors | 2 | 5 |
| Prince | 2 | 5 |
| Queen | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 1 |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 1 |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 1.33 |
| Elvis Presley | 2 | 1 |
| Adele | 2 | 1 |
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Ryan Adams | 2 | 1.5 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Johnny Cash | 5, 2, 1 |
| Brian Eno | 5, 2 |
| Sonic Youth | 3, 2, 2, 5 |
| Leonard Cohen | 3, 2, 1, 4 |
5-Star Albums (149)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Motörhead
5/5
My only regret with this album is that my headphones only play music so loud.
3 likes
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
Yeah, not good. It's bloated both as a whole and each song individually. The music is an incoherent mess. I can't even give it points for creativity - it's just poorly done electronica.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (50)
All Ratings
Pulp
4/5
Interesting that a band would bloom this late in their career, but the songs are good and certainly better than what Pulp would produce later.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Bob Dylan
2/5
Meh
1.5/5.0: Bad
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Fun stuff.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Rush
5/5
One of those rare perfect albums. Every song is strong with original ideas and excellent musicianship. A true classic.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Queen
4/5
A few of the songs are straight filler, more than a few overstay their welcome, and the production quality is quite poor, even for the era. Nevertheless, the band's creativity and songwriting abilities shine through nicely on a number of tracks, resulting in some fantastic moments. A reluctant 3.5 stars rounded up to four.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Traffic
4/5
The first song is awful, but if you push past that the album becomes more experimental and you can hear the clear influence this album had on many other artists.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
1/5
The blueprint for making a risk-avoidant and derivative album with minimum artistic effort.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
The Cure
4/5
Intriguing album. Very cohesive.
4.0/5.0: Great
Sonic Youth
3/5
A lot of interesting ideas, even if some of them should have been cut form the album.
3.0/5.0: Good
Circle Jerks
5/5
Live fast, die young.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Steely Dan
4/5
Jazz stylings over rock without ever approaching prog is a clever sound that really works for the band.
4.0/5.0: Great
Garbage
3/5
The grunge and pop bits are very interchangeable with almost any other post-1990 group, but when the band are exploring different ideas the album is excellent. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
3.0/5.0: Good
David Bowie
3/5
Lots of bold choices on this album, even if it is a little boring.
3.0/5.0: Good
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
Alexander "Skip Every Song on This Album" Spence. An absolutely intolerable, lukewarm mess.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
Now we know why the Blues died. Almost every other blues album I've heard is better simply by virtue of not choosing to be annoying. There's more sounds of dying fowl then blues chords on this record. Points for creativity, so 2 stars.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Stephen Stills
2/5
I never want to hear steel guitar again.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Hugh Masekela
5/5
Jazz/jazz-fusion with an ebb and flow to the compositions that I really liked.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Dire Straits
4/5
5 stars if it had no vocals.
4.0/5.0: Great
Elvis Presley
1/5
The quintessential one-star album. A talentless predator riding on the coat-tails of better men and better artists.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
George Harrison
5/5
Worth the two hours for the guitar melodies alone.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Iron Maiden
5/5
Perhaps THE defining New Wave of British Heavy Metal album. This is the album where Maiden began to embrace proggier sounds, but the tight, bass-driven songwriting remains. An all-time classic, and an easy five stars.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
N.W.A.
4/5
Great start, tailed off at the end though.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
De La Soul
2/5
Interesting ideas, but always ends up sounding like Sesame Street.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Portishead
4/5
Really interesting album with great production but an annoying vocal style.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
M.I.A.
2/5
It's very creative, but almost sounds like someone is pulling a prank and convincing people this is a serious album.
2.20/5.0 Disappointing
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This would be a great album if it was 25 minutes shorter. As it is, Mick's vocals really wear thin by minute 55.
3.0/5.0: Good
Van Morrison
1/5
Nothing to see here. Basic, run of the mill, exactly what you'd expect barely-rock.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Jimmy Smith
4/5
I really enjoyed the grooves and melody on this one.
4.0/5.0: Great
Talking Heads
4/5
Really Interesting album. The best Talking Heads album I've heard so far.
4.0/5.0: Great
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
4/5
Interesting use of strings.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
The Who
5/5
Classic album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Metallica
5/5
There were no more riffs left after this album. Easiest 5 stars I'll have to give.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Miles Davis
5/5
Classic - 5 Stars. Easy to see why some consider this the greatest album ever made.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Radiohead
4/5
Not their best, but still a very good album.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Adele
1/5
She can definitely hold a note without coming up for air, but musically this album is the equivalent of C-grade middle school project.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
The Triffids
2/5
Kinda boring tbh.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Radiohead
5/5
Weird yet accessible.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
AC/DC
4/5
Super catchy songs.
4.0/5.0: Great
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Sounded kinda goofy ngl
Led Zeppelin
5/5
The ultimate classic hard rock album
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Interesting album. Like if you crossed The Doors and The Cure.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Paul Simon
3/5
Pretty run of the mill
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Some interesting ideas but pretty boring overall.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
This album is so cheesy Kraft Foods called - they want their Velveeta back
The KLF
3/5
Just like the band, I almost threw a dead sheep when I heard this album. JK - it's alright, if a little annoying.
Miles Davis
5/5
This probably was the birth of the cool to be fair.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Mara-ju-wanna is bad, mkay?
Lauryn Hill
5/5
Ozomatli
4/5
The only street sign this album needs is "CAUTION: Great Musicians at Play".
Joanna Newsom
5/5
OK, this is actually incredible.
Kraftwerk
4/5
The Kinks
3/5
They took a lot of chances on this album and not all of them worked, but points for trying.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Missy Elliott
1/5
Every song is a single 4 second idea repeated for 5 minutes.
Nanci Griffith
1/5
The Woolworth's in the background of the album cover is the only place she could convince to play this driveling wannabe-sixties-country-folk pablum.
Nico
3/5
Not as good as "The Marble Index" but a good album nonetheless.
Iggy Pop
2/5
Nothing interesting or new here.
5/5
I mean, it's Sgt Peppers.
Antony and the Johnsons
1/5
So this is what it would sound like if Adele sang with a mouth full of peanut butter while driving on a bumpy road.
The Who
5/5
One of the first and best concept albums
808 State
3/5
Cheesy electronica. I didn't hate it. Good background music.
Deep Purple
5/5
The best live album from one of the best live bands ever.
Nina Simone
2/5
A mixture of some very forgettable songs and some very powerfuls songs. 2.4999 stars rounded down to 2.
Charles Mingus
4/5
Eminem
1/5
He just talks about himself at a quick pace for 78 minutes.
Mudhoney
4/5
I enjoyed this one
Fugees
5/5
Bon Jovi
2/5
OK pop music.
T. Rex
5/5
A personal favorite.
Beatles
5/5
Aphex Twin
3/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
When my dog attacked an armadillo in the yard at 4:00 am I ran outside shouting "What's going on?!!" and that was a lot more chaotic then this album. Great bass though.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
It's called Deja Vu because it sounds like every other country/folk/rock/blues mashup album released at around the same time. OK in places.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Lambchop
4/5
Such a unique sound
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Interesting pop
Green Day
5/5
Great production, great songs.
Metallica
5/5
Thrash has been completely abandoned on this album for a generic heavy rock sound. Still a great album, but things predictably went off the rails for Metallica in subsequent releases.
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
Yeah, not good. It's bloated both as a whole and each song individually. The music is an incoherent mess. I can't even give it points for creativity - it's just poorly done electronica.
Jeff Beck
4/5
I Beck this album was big
Minor Threat
3/5
Was expecting something a little heavier for a straight-edge band but I guess it was early in the scene.
The Cure
4/5
Beck
3/5
Fun album
Lou Reed
2/5
This was around the point when someone should have taken Lou aside and told him to stop making music, but he never did until death did him from us part. This album does sneak in an extra star for creatvity though.
R.E.M.
3/5
Aimee Mann
2/5
90s B-movie background music
Led Zeppelin
5/5
LZ really gets experimental on this one. A bloated but still 5 stars
Nirvana
3/5
Never unplug.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Rumour has it they were, indeed, born on the bayou
Madonna
4/5
Enjoyable. A little too same-y and bloated to get 5 stars though.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
This album is very reliant upon the audience's emotional response and I don't have time for that today
Fatboy Slim
1/5
everything about this is wrong
Ray Charles
5/5
Pretty standard late-era swing crooning, but dang are the performances top-notch.
Air
4/5
Deee-Lite
5/5
Normal pants are not an option
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
THIS ALBUM BEGS THE QUESTION, "WHY IS MY CAPSLOCK STUCK?????" (IT DOESN'T REALLY BUT HOW DO I GET IT UNSTUCK ASKING FOR A FRIEND)
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Love Thin Lizzy, but live albums are rarely 5 stars
ZZ Top
4/5
Cinnamon Toast Crunch review: Honestly not that toasty but definitely comes through on the cinnamon and crunch aspects.
Barry Adamson
4/5
Octopus Schadenfreude or something
The Clash
4/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
Mostly boring and pretentious. Art rock should still be interesting, which this album definitely isn't. A few good punk moments.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Hit or miss. Opening track is great. Title track is garbage. The whole album is like this. A tug-of-war between good/interesting and bad/dull.
Radiohead
5/5
Distractingly, Kid B never returned from his hike in the forest and was lost to us forever.
Doves
2/5
Turns out this WAS NOT the last broadcast. I checked.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Fantastic, really. Incredibly eclectic selection of songs without losing any quality or cohesiveness, regardless of genre attempted.
D'Angelo
3/5
Interesting album musically. Vocals wear a little over time. 3.5 stars.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Music is great, and I get that it's live, but the talking in the background is unacceptable and not charming at all.
Sam Cooke
3/5
Great voice, although the live production kinda sucks. The music is also corny - the type of stuff Martin Scorsese would play over the 17th montage of his latest 4 hour film
The Mothers Of Invention
5/5
Rumor has it they were only in it for the money.
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
More like broken voice. Wailing in the wrong key over simple loops does not make for a good time.
Abdullah Ibrahim
4/5
Fun album, but not all that unique for the genre
R.E.M.
4/5
Surprisingly coherent for a debut album. Every song is good, and there are a few bangers as well (Moral Kiosk)
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Music is really great, but the vocal performance definitely dates this album. 3.5 stars for me.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
1. The songs are good.
2. The sonic textures are really interesting.
3. The fade-out-sudden-switch structure of each song lends a unique sound to the album.
Slipknot
3/5
Mediocre vocals on every level (rapping, metal screams, melodies), but some killer drumming and interestign musical choices
Daft Punk
1/5
I don't think this was meant to be listened to as an album. If it was, this is one of the least interesting records ever.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
1/5
Mind-numbingly boring and formulaic rock. Everything is humdrum and by rote. Save yourself the time and skip this one.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
It was OK but nothing really that special
Fiona Apple
4/5
Great songs; diverse selection; good voice. Only a couple of annoying ones.
Ray Price
1/5
I had to stop halfway through. Good lord this was awful. References to "Honky-tonk angels" and doubts as to whether his girlfriend would make a good wife are the general tenor and thrust of this mashup of the endlessly rehashed musical pablum that is country music.
Ryan Adams
1/5
Lyin' Badams
Frank Ocean
2/5
Hair salon at the mall kinda music.
Elvis Costello
2/5
Not great, but still better than Presley.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Probably a bad idea to wear a watch in the shower.
Roxy Music
5/5
Really interesting, diverse selection of good songs. Elements of everything from early glam to English folk.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Iron Maiden
5/5
Maiden at their punkiest. Paul Di'Anno was still on vocals, providing a grittier, less dramatic sound than his successor. The star of the album is Steve Harris' melodic and driving baselines. The songs are catchy and well-written (even if they bear a heavy resemblance to late seventies New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest, Saxon, or Diamond Head).
The White Stripes
5/5
Absolute fire
AC/DC
5/5
Too catchy not to be five stars even if it's nothing new.
New Order
3/5
Pearl Jam
3/5
The music is pretty good, but the vocals are just trash. If you want to hear this style of vocal done well, listen to Layne Staley.
Alice In Chains
5/5
Very rarely does any band write such great vocal melodies over such heavy guitar parts. One of the best albums ever made.
Justice
5/5
Super creative album with a lot of diversity in the song selection, especially for dance album. Also very catchy (of course).
Iggy Pop
3/5
Clearly influenced by Jim Morrison here, but the music isn't nearly at the level of The Doors. OK album overall.
Chicago
5/5
Not only is the musicianship great, but the album is fulll of fresh-sounding ideas and unusual choices. A little long perhaps, but the quality of the album makes it feel shorter.
GZA
4/5
A tad long, but the songs are really good.
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
Fantastic vocal performance over subtle jazz.
Pixies
2/5
What are the chances that someone would pick up a bass for the first time at exactly the same moment as another person standing next to a hot mic was attacked by a chicken, all while inside a recording studio?
Gang Of Four
4/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
The Strokes
2/5
Nope, that definitely wasn't it.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Absolutely outstanding in every facet - songwriting, performance, use of genre, etc.
David Crosby
2/5
Interchangeable boring folk rock. The bluesy parts are better, but even then the musical performance is below average.
Stereo MC's
3/5
Mostly good songs, but I don't know if I'd go back for a second listen.
Stan Getz
5/5
I'm a sucker for bossa nova, so this is an easy five.
Portishead
5/5
Instant classic mixing jazz/trip-hop/post-punk
R.E.M.
3/5
Another slightly different than what was expected at the time R.E.M. album. Nothing special, but the nods to country-folk and pop punk are nice.
Laibach
3/5
If nothing else, it's interesting.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
There's better music in this vein made at around the same time but it's still enjoyable.
Pavement
1/5
Vocalist is in the wrong key and sounds like he's falling asleep. Production is incredibly cheesy - like what a 14 year-old thinks rock should sound like. Drummer is just drumming random time signatures. Low-effort nonsense.
Elvis Presley
1/5
oof.
The Temptations
2/5
The only temptation I had was to skip every track.
Thundercat
4/5
Great bass and some interesting and (intentionally) amusing artistic choices.
SZA
3/5
A lot of good songs, but a few very annoying ones bring this down to a three.
The Beta Band
3/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Exceptional. Really had to Take Five after it was over to soak it in.
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Sigur Rós
1/5
I get why some people might like it, but it's intolerably slow with annoying vocals. At its best, its background music.
The Divine Comedy
5/5
Yes, he nicked Scott Walker's sound, but the music does sound like Scott Walker, so 5 stars.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
More like "yeah - no".
David Bowie
5/5
More like 5 stars, am I right?
CHIC
5/5
Performances are off the charts on this one.
Spiritualized
3/5
A tad long with some filler, but the good moments are very good.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Dion
1/5
Annoying vocals, utterly predictable lyrics, basic guitars, and cheesy sounding "new age" drumming accented with inexplicable honking that might be saxophone.
Elton John
4/5
Excellent music but honestly could afford to drop a few of the tracks at the end.
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
I've always been stunned that anyone could listen to this paragon of boring, run-of-the-mill rock. Everything is by rote, and nothing that hadn't been done a million times before is attempted.
Germs
4/5
Has a weird sound, even for early hardcore, but still very enojayable.
The Clash
5/5
It's a classic for a reason
Buck Owens
3/5
If you ignore the incredibly moronic lyrics and forced country accent (both par for the course), the instrumentation isn't bad.
Johnny Cash
2/5
Not a great live album - I know they recorded in a prison but at least try to get the production into a listenable state.
The Band
2/5
Should've been The Banned. Like many artists of this ilk, the country/folk aspects are repetitive and boring, and the bluesy/funky parts are good. Unfortunately, the majority of the tracks lean hard into country/folk.
The Afghan Whigs
1/5
I honestly don't know if I've ever heard a more annoying and whiny album. The music is utterly predictable, throwing every well-worn post-punk trick at the wall. The guitars, bass, and drums do exactly what you expect (slow-builds, 2-note riffs, etc.) and never surprise or create interesting melodies. On top of this, the vocals are horrendous. The vocalist spends the whole album accidentally drifting out of key, which would seem to be almost impossible given that the vocal melodies are also incredibly unimaginative. Every note is the most predictable (and whiny) note available to choose – and he still struggles to belt it out correctly. Definitely an album to skip.
a-ha
3/5
The hooks/choruses are pretty basic, but the rest is interesting and sometimes surprising.
Elton John
3/5
GOod music, but unfortunately boring.
Sufjan Stevens
2/5
Some interesting songs and great melodies, but entirely too long to the point of being obnoxious.
Neil Young
1/5
The title track is one of the worst songs ever written, wallowing in insipid melodies and whiny intonations. Several other songs re-tread the heavily trodden (and never interesting) ground of basic-chord country/folk. Lowest common denominator music.
Kate Bush
5/5
Actually interesting, creative, progressive music.
Jamiroquai
5/5
Really well done album with some great performances.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Some good music can be found here, but my goodness. Not every song has to end with Rod repeating the same line for 3 minutes and/or an out of place hymn.
Cat Stevens
2/5
Very predictable songwriting, but at least he knows not to overstay his welcome for the most part. Still, I was wishing the album would end by the third-to-last song, so two stars.
Johnny Cash
1/5
Unfortunately, The Man was still trying to make music at this point, which essentially boils down to inane, out of breath mumbling, with no (or very poor) vocal melodies, and basic musical arrangements. Additionally, the celebrated covers on this album are decidedly worse than the originals.
Otis Redding
2/5
A little whiny tbh
The Sonics
3/5
This sounds like it was recorded in a closet full of straw, but it is entertaining, and you can even hear the clear influence the band had on future hard rock bands with tracks like "Have Love Will Travel", "Walkin' the Dog", and "Strychnine." These (and other) forays away from 50s rock'n'roll staples are also the strong points on the album. With a little more originality this could be five stars, but ends up at 3.5 for me.
Motörhead
5/5
My only regret with this album is that my headphones only play music so loud.
Supertramp
5/5
Super creative progressive pop full of unexpected moments that fit the music perfectly. Probably Supertramp's best album - which is saying a lot for band that pretty much only made good music.
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
The music isn't bad, which is about as much of a complement as I can give this record. The songs feel unedited (constant repetition) and incomplete (the repetition leads nowhere). Additionally, The production is rough, lending to that feeling of incompleteness (a remarkable feat for an album well over an hour long). If FM had cut 7 or 8 songs, and edited or re-produced the rest, this album has great potential. As it stands, however, this is a bit of a mess.
Sepultura
4/5
This album is far removed from the band's blackened-thrash beginnings that yielded such brilliant records as "Beneath the Remains." They've exchanged their heavy metal credentials for (early) Nu Metal trappings, and, as far as Nu Metal goes, it's not bad. The liberal sprinkling of traditional instrumentation is nice and provides variation for the band’s primary songwriting method – A simple, heavy, repetitive riff. Nevertheless, the aforementioned repetition can get tiresome, especially over the hardly justified 72 minute runtime. As a piece of heavy metal history this is an influential and controversial album that is worth listening too, but lacks the songwriting chops, actual heaviness, or variation to reach the 5 star level.
Iron Butterfly
2/5
This album is a mashup of '60s contemporary influences - The Beatlesesque harmonies, The Doors-y keyboards, and the riff-heavy songs structures of Cream. Unfortunately, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The various elements of each song seem to clash rather than cohere, making the listening experience unintentionally uncomfortable. For example, the track "Termination" begins with an interesting groove but somehow ends up with almost medieval melodies sparring with child-like keyboard noodling before fading away inexplicably, leaving the listener thoroughly unsatisfied. Finally, the title track is wholly unworthy of being 17 minutes long given that it consists of a single riff and some out of place solos. The album does earn an extra star for a nice bass tone.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
If you've ever wondered what a blues album would sound like with the reverb-drenched '80s production style, this album is your chance to experience that. In a word, the glossy production feels antithetical to the blues. The "perfect" production makes the music lose grit, and feel pre-packaged. However, the production does lend the album a unique sound.
As for the music, the performances, both from JLH and his guests, are excellent, and only a few of the songs overstay their welcome. That said, it's diffcult to give this album more than three stars given the plethora of much better blues albums out there.
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
The story behind the creation of this album is fascinating, and it unsurprisingly resulted in fascinating - even enthralling - music. I was truly bummed out when the album ended. An easy 5 stars.
Adele
1/5
The music isn't just boring - it's a simple amalgamation of pre-set drumbeats and basslines, with nary a melodic lead apart from Adele's voice. And this is where the album really fails. While Adele has a strong voice, her vocal meoldy choices also feel like pre-sets. It's like she went with the first melody that came into her head and never tried actually writing anything. The result is a thoroughly boring, unimaginative, album with no surprises.
John Lennon
4/5
Great songwriting with memorable melodies even if some songs (anything Yoko-related) initiate a gag-reflex.
The Undertones
4/5
Sounds like The Beach Boys playing punk - which I'm not mad about. There's a lot of variety to the songs, including insertions of accoustic guitars and organ. Also, nice bass sound.
The Band
2/5
When they stray towards country, the music is atrocious (utterly predictable vocal lines, half-hearted musical arrangements). When they stick to rock, it's actually interesting, with a killer rhythm section. Unfortunately, there are a significant number of country tracks on this album, which really drags the final score down.
OutKast
3/5
Has the potential to be a great album, with lots of variety and great tracks. However there's a ton of filler and unnecessary interludes, and, at well over two hours in length, the album is far too long to thoroughly enjoy. 3 stars.
James Brown
4/5
Very entertaining with good performances. 32 minute runtime helps as well.
1/5
Oh my god. His voice is just terrible. From the first few seconds of the album all the way through minute 90(!!!!!). His nasality and generally lazy vocal delivery quash any chance his lyrical ability had at shining through. Also, the harmonica is at a level beyond grating, and the entire first half of the album is painfully driveling accoustic folk. The second half of the album finally shows some energy, but no amount of average rock can save the travesty that is the first half of this record. Overall, this album is pure torture; a test of endurance that only the most masochistic person would put themselves through.
The Gun Club
4/5
Fun album. Slide guitar in a punk record works surprisingly well.
Hookworms
5/5
The music sounds like New Order playing an Amon Duul II album (post punk, electronica, and krautrock genre mix). A very engrossing experience. While there are no "bangers", the album as a whole has a great flow and really works as just that - the album as a single piece of art, rather than a collection of songs.
King Crimson
5/5
One of the most influential albums ever made, In the Court of the Crimson King essentially created a genre (progressive rock) out of thin air. On top of this influence, the album holds its own to this day. It's a potent mix of heavy riffs, bizarre folk, and weird jazz fusion, all while remaining chock-full of great melodies, memorable hooks, and astonishing virtuoso performances. Quite easily one of the top ten records ever made.
The Temptations
3/5
A lot of good stuff here, but the second half of the album drags a bit.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
I don't know if I'd ever listen to it again, but it's very soothing.
Donald Fagen
4/5
First track is hot garbage but the rest of the album is really good yacht rock/lounge jazz.
Solomon Burke
5/5
I didn't think I was gonna like this album based on "Soul" being in the title, but this isn't run-of-the-mill Goodfellas background music. There's some very interesting musical interpretations of rock and/or soul here, including some fairly intricate accoustic guitars. And of course, his voice is great.
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Yes, the skits are unpleasant, but the music is really good, and importantly, is not one-dimensional.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Powerful voice, but the songs themselves are also great (Adele, take notes).
The Byrds
4/5
Good songs for the most part with great performances. The one or two tracks emulating Bob Dylan bring this down to four stars.
Various Artists
1/5
Just no. All Christmas music is negative 10 trillion stars.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
5/5
Great music, even if it's prog at its most excessive.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Arguably the greatest album cover of all time and arguably the most influential album of all time. Easy 5 stars.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
A good rhythm section does not automatically translate to a good album. The vocals are nasal, the melodies are pure whine, and the lyrics are a melodramatic mess. 2 stars for Flea.
The Dictators
3/5
Clearly not much effort went in to the writing of these songs, but the DIY sound is what punk is all about, and the songs are fun.
TV On The Radio
1/5
Art rock must be interesting, and this is not that. Weak vocals struggling to produce mediocre, repetitive melodies over music, that, while unusual, is utterly forgettable.
The Mothers Of Invention
5/5
This album is intentionally hilarious, and I'm here for it. Literally made me laugh out loud. Also hugely influential in the Rock In Opposition movement Henry Cow started a few years later, and you can even hear that influence in more modern bands like System of a Down.
Blondie
5/5
Really phenomenal new wave/post punk. Boasts some super-creative songwriting, great sing-along melodies, and some early rock influences.
Jeff Buckley
2/5
The music isn't bad per se, but his voice is grating, and every song is much too long given the lack of muscial development in the songwriting.
Ice Cube
4/5
Good music, but like a lot of post-CD revolution albums, it feels a little bloated.
The Incredible String Band
2/5
There are some OK moments in the back half of the album, and no one can say it isn't creative, but not every musical idea needs to be recorded. However, if you enjoy mooing sounds, fire kazoo, and grade-school level recorder, this album is for you.
Blur
5/5
Another 90s album with bloat, but the songwriting is really good - full of unexpected moments and melodies.
Santana
5/5
Phenomenal latin jazz/blues.
Cyndi Lauper
2/5
While a few of the songs are catchy, the music is plastic, shiny, and safe. On top of that, the vibrato vocals sound like the braying of a donkey. This combination means that the music is neither interesting nor well performed.
The Darkness
5/5
While his voice takes some getting used to, the songwriting and performances are great. This album must have been a light in The Darkness at a time of alternative rock slop.
Sister Sledge
5/5
I can't help it; I like disco.
Bill Callahan
1/5
All talk-singing and sing-talking sucks. The sing-talkers/talk-singers should all have their vocal cords removed and save us from the pain of listening to them. I would also say the vocalist was out of tune, but I'm not sure there was a tune, and the songs were moving so slowly it would be hard to tell anyway. The production also sucks. The music is decent enough but is buried deep behind the ever-present talking. Some parts were so bad I couldn't help laughing.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
The number of amazing songs on this is unbelievable. Will always be my favorite Hendrix album.
The Cardigans
5/5
Sure it's bubblegum pop, but it's difficult to believe how many absolutely fantastic vocal melodies are on this album. Combine that with clever, succinct songwriting and unusual instrumentation, and this is one of the very best albums on this list. The nods to Black Sabbath (both the cover and sneaking the riff to "Black Sabbath" into "Heartbreaker") are nice, totally unexpected touches.
Megadeth
4/5
It's been a few years since I listened to this album in full, so it was an interresting exxperience going back to it. I really wanted to give it five stars because of how good the music itself is, but Dave's vocals really are atrocious, even for a subgenre not particularly noted for great vocal performances. His vocals have no bite and serve no sonic function like most metal vocals. Still a four though.
Van Morrison
1/5
Same old story here. The country folk parts are some of the worst sounds ever recorded and are further proof that this unimaginitive and annoying genre should be banned. The title track and few of the others are stray from country folk and are actually OK in places, but even when exploring other genres this album is still grating and uninteresting.
Sebadoh
3/5
Weird album, but I didn't hate it
Solange
4/5
Super interesting songwriting and good performances.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Despite the preoccupation with insects, this album doesn't suck. Unlike the pretentious and posturing country/folk of the seventies peddled by Neil Young and Van Morrison, there's a real, bluesy, gritty edge to this music. It's just a man and his guitar, and it's enjoyable.
Talking Heads
5/5
Really interesting album with creative and varied song ideas.
Orbital
4/5
Kinda hypnotic.
The Replacements
3/5
I didn't hate this, but pretty forgettable rock with punk influences. I can't imagine ever going back to this, but again, not terrible.
Talking Heads
5/5
Another very interesting album from Talking Heads.
Love
3/5
The first track is unlistenable, and the closer is not quite interesting enough to warrant its runtime, but the five songs in between are surprisingly good with a lot of variety.
Sonic Youth
2/5
Incredibly boring with almost toneless singing. Some interesting ideas bring this up to a 2-star album.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Not even my style of music, but the songwriting/vocal melodies are too good for this to be less than a four.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Great songs/performances with more than a few classics.
Fela Kuti
2/5
Very interesting music, but the over-16 minute long drum solo brings this down from a 4 to a 2.5.
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
Easy to see how influential this album was. Good music, too.
Beastie Boys
2/5
Not really my style. A little repetitive and shouty, which leads to exhaustion quickly. Still - not terrible.
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
A minute and a half in and I was Googling "cliffs near me". Somehow I survived all 75 minutes of this cookie cutter, country-tinged, pre-packaged garbage, although it took me several hours to get through it.
Duran Duran
5/5
Super fun album with great songwriting and instrumentation (especially the bass).
The Undertones
5/5
The Beach Ramones.
U2
2/5
This started strong, but by the time that "Hey sha-la-la-la" showed up in the lyrics to the fifth song I knew that the creativity was spent. The rest of the album was pure filler and forced emotionalism.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Fun album, but undeniably goofy.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I understand the appeal, but the album just moved too slowly for me and didn't warrant its overly-long runtime.
The Stooges
4/5
Vocalist sounded like he cared and was definitely trying. Big fan.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
As soon as he answered the telephone mid-song on the first track I knew this was going to be a fun album. A little repetitive, but fun.
Billy Bragg
3/5
Great idea for an album. Some good songs, some not so good ones.
Machito
5/5
Absolutely incredible melodies over a phenomenal rhythm section.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Great album, although the Chicago blues style isn't my favorite
Mudhoney
4/5
Fun album. Interesting music with an edge, but also a sense of humor.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Not run of the mill rock; some interesting ideas but definitely doesn't need to be over an hour long.
Sade
5/5
Fantastic vocals and great instrumentation.
Black Sabbath
5/5
"Changes" is kind of a weak song and doesn't fit the flow of the album, but the rest of the record is straight fire - a masterclass in riffing.
Moby
3/5
Each track is a single idea repeated ad nauseam, but at least some of the ideas are good.
Alice Cooper
5/5
Classic album, despite what the Reverend Smithy might think.
Jurassic 5
3/5
Kinda goofy, but fun nonetheless.
The Birthday Party
3/5
Very strange album. Don't know if I'd ever listen again, but extra points for creativity.
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
It's hard to imagine a worse singing voice being paid to be recorded. Dude sounds like he was shocked awake in an unexpected location and asked to sing. Some of the instrumentation isn't bad but the voice is just terrible.
Derek & The Dominos
5/5
This was fantastic. Should've never gone into pizza.
ZZ Top
4/5
Really fun album with some heavy hitters and a lot of variety. A little bit filler at the end brings it down to a 4/5
The Streets
1/5
This album gave me a new perspective on how bad music can be. Nevertheless, the first track is so bad that the rest of the album doesn't feel quite so terrible. Still even just giving out one star feels too generous.
The Blue Nile
3/5
Crystal clear production with some very weird instrumentation/arrangement choices that are somehow both ambient and jarring. Fairly concise album at only 38 minutes, despite the 5-6 minute song lengths. A couple of the slower songs do drag a bit, but overall the album is too interesting to give less than a 3/5.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Well-put together album, but the vibes are more interesting than the music.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Very interesting album with a ton of variety even if some of the songs demonstrated questionable decision-making in the songwriting process.
Love
3/5
I liked the other Love album on this list better, but this is serviceable psych rock.
Joy Division
3/5
This wasn't as good as I remember it being, but points for being monumentally influential.
Roxy Music
3/5
Interesting album, but not as good as the later album of theirs I've gotten on this list.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Some fun songs but also the usual grating glam sound.
Randy Newman
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Interesting album with a lot of variety and some cool instrumentation choices.
3.5/5: Very Good
The Cars
4/5
Almost textbook rock songwriting with nothing unusual on the surface but a few weird moments on closer inspection. Enjoyable throughout. Only real complaint is it was too short - but maybe that's just right.
4.0/5.0: Great
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Jeez, some of the lyrics really haven't aged well, but musically this album is quite an achievement. Catchy songwriting, unique instrumentation (for the time), lots of variety, and a gritty, dark feel to the music. An unnecessarily long closing track brings this down a notch.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
2/5
I don't know why anyone would listen to a full album of PJ Harvey when Kate Bush, Patti Smith, and Joni Mitchell did what she does much earlier, and much better. Still, there are good individual tracks to be found, but this album isn't great as a whole.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
The White Stripes
4/5
This is about when Jack White really started to make weird music, and the oddness feels fresh. And, while the record is a bit all over the place, it works as a whole.
4.0/5.0: Great
Dire Straits
3/5
In an utterly predictable outcome, the heavy-handed 80s influence added absolutely nothing to the music and made most of the songs a complete drag. There are some interesting ideas and (of course) some fantastic guitar parts, even if they are sparsely populated throughout the album.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
4/5
An almost progressive approach to bluesy/psych rock yields a lot a variety and very few, if any, dull moments.
4.0/5.0: Great
The Police
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Elvis Costello
3/5
Hit or miss, but mostly miss. While most songs have their moments, the album is plagued by two issues. First, the production has this really annoying, almost wheezing sound that's constantly there. Second, every song is 90% a repetitive refrain that consists of Elvis repeating the song title over and over until any chance of the song not being irritating is completely pulverized into nothing.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Ash
5/5
A great mix of aggression and emotion, with great songwriting, cool vocal melodies and a slew of really enjoyable moments.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Stan Getz
5/5
This album contains at least the best bossa nova song, and several other contenders. It's impossible to do anything else when listening to this record other than pay complete attention. Absolutely iconic.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Gene Clark
4/5
This is the direction country music should have taken. Great songwriting with interesting musical ideas and zero stupid lyrics.
4.0/5.0: Great
Robert Wyatt
3/5
The album begins with a solid rock track, then cuts to some (jazzy?) folk, before finishing off with a slew of pretty good jazz numbers. However, those folk songs (tracks 2 – 5) are truly brutal and should have been cut from the album.
Mixed: 2.5/5.0
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
Throw-away early ‘00s rock offering nothing new except for the inexplicable choice to have a dying chipmunk on vocals.
1.5/5.0: Bad
The Stone Roses
1/5
This album has exactly zero interesting or catchy melodies, a rambling half-hearted rhythm section, and no creative ideas apart from a random sitar passage. They had about four minutes worth of music and somehow stretched it into 58 minutes.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Beatles
5/5
Immaculate album from the music down to the album art.
Iconic: 5.0/5.0
Judas Priest
5/5
Perhaps the most iconic album from a band that was releasing an iconic album every year at this point.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I understand why some people consider this one of the greatest albums ever made, but it's a tad over-long to really be 5 stars.
4.0/5.0: Great
Bad Company
4/5
Grandad rock but with really good songwriting, a lot of variety, and a strong vocal performance.
4.0/5.0: Great
Christine and the Queens
1/5
Pretty crappy, pre-packaged, cliché-driven, ultra-compressed, dime-a-dozen 2010s pop.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Oasis
4/5
There's a lot of quality songwriting incorporating everything from rock, to blues, to grunge, and even some jazz melodies. The album is brought down by two factors. First, almost every track is about a minute too long - the band doesn't seem to know how to end a song. Second, Cigarettes and Alcohol is a blatant rip-off of T-Rex's hit song "Bang a Gong". It's almost a carbon copy and should not be on the album.
3.5/5.0: Very Good.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Incredibly diverse and well put together album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Caetano Veloso
4/5
Super interesting album. It utilizes all sorts of genres, from bossa nova, to folk, to psychedelic rock. The melodies and rhythms are interesting, catchy, and very, very chill. This album apparently also created the genre of tropicalia, and how many albums can say they created a genre?
4.0/5.0: Great
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
This is easily the best Elvis Costello album out of the three I've heard. It's stuffed with great melodies taken from early sixties pop and psychedelic rock, performed over a groundwork of reggae, fifties symphonic arrangements, and a thunderous bass. While the vocals are not great, the combination of interesting musical choices, fine melodies, and vitriolic anti-war lyrics makes this album outstanding.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Doors
5/5
5.0/5.0: Iconic
The Who
4/5
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Arcade Fire
2/5
Every song (and there’s far too many of them) starts out with an OK melody and rhythm and some cool production, before the loathsome vocalist joins in. Then the song drones on and on with no change whatsoever until the bands drives home the point that they are obnoxious, and only obnoxious.
The best song is easily “Empty Room”. Not coincidentally, it’s much, much shorter and has a different vocalist.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Creative and intriguing album.
4.0/5.0: Great
5/5
Perfectly at the cross-section of prog, pop, rock, and electronica. Pulls off the almost impossible task of being both catchy and creative.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Lightning Bolt
5/5
Groovy noise-rock should be more of a thing.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Eels
3/5
Some interesting musical ideas on this. Some of them worked, some of them didn't (RE: ukulele). The hushed singing (which has unfortunately become prevalent these days) may have been interesting at the time, but is nevertheless terrible - just as it is today.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Nice music, but his voice sounds like he has a lozenge stuck in his throat and is singing through a cardboard tube.
3.0/5.0: Good
Gil Scott-Heron
2/5
Maybe it was the version I listened to, but the production is absolutely abysmal on the electric piano on the first track. The vibration of it and its constant changes in volume made the song positively unlistenable and I almost stopped the album entirely. However, I persisted and found some really great (parts of) Jazz/R&B crossover gems. Nevertheless, not one of the songs came even remotely close to justifying its length, with many tracks ending with two or three minutes of repetition. Additionally, the slow jams were less jammy and more drifty, leaving me frustrated – as did this album as a whole, because it has a lot potential.
Addendum: H2Ogate was a beautiful take-down of Nixon.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
For the reviews that criticized this for being repetitive . . . correct. This is electronic dance music. That's kind of the point.
For dance music, this album displays a lot musicality and variety.
3.5/5.0: Very Good.
Magazine
3/5
Lots of interesting music on this one.
3.0/5.0: Good
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
Proof positive that all the crap music came from Neil Young.
CSN >>>>>>CSNY
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Very weird album with a cool backstory. It's like jazz-fusion, but it only takes the odd instrumentation choices from prog, and the more ambient, strange soundscapes from experimental jazz. Only three stars because his voice is just not good, even though I understand that the whole "childlike" singing was intentional.
3.0/5.0: Good
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
I liked some of the forays into different genres, but this album definitely felt a little dated. I also thought it maybe could've gone harder at times.
3.0/5.0: Good
Paul McCartney and Wings
5/5
Mamunia and Let Me Roll It aren't great, but the rest of the album is pretty close to perfect, with unusual song arrangements and Paul's usual stellar vocal melodies.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Doors
5/5
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Black Flag
5/5
5.0/5.0: Iconic
David Bowie
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Alanis Morissette
2/5
1.5/5.0: Bad
Bob Dylan
1/5
This album came out in 1963, and somehow, the harmonica has STILL not been banned and it’s 2025. When the hilariously incongruous nails-on-chalk-board sound of the harmonica first waded blindly into the opening track I burst out laughing. It’s inconceivable that anyone would subject themselves to this sonic torture. I would understand it if there was some sort of attitude behind the music but it’s just lazy lyrical platitudes and half-hearted instrumentals.
Addendum: His attempts at playing the blues are a travesty to the genre.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Kid Rock
1/5
Why is this tagged as metal? This is not even remotely metal. It’s missing the rhythmic complexity/intensity and the musical aggression (NOT the false chest-beating of Kid Rock) that defines the genre. Chuck Berry is musically closer to Thrash than this is to metal. Instead, this is genuinely terrible (and pathetically imitative of ‘90s hip-hop and rock) music that drains intelligence from the listener. It presents no ideas worth hearing either musically or lyrically, yet astonishingly drags itself out for seventy-one minutes.
But while we’re on the subject of metal, why do we get a Kid Rock album, but are missing seminal metal records from Bathory, Mayhem, Death, Incantation, Darkthrone, Meshuggah, Opeth, and Mastodon? This is a seriously under-represented genre in this list and we’re filling up precious few slots with some of the worst music ever made; music that isn’t really even part of the genre. What a tragedy.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Nick Drake
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Who
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Baaba Maal
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Funkadelic
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
5.0/5.0: Iconic
The The
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Massive Attack
4/5
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Neu!
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
Sheryl Crow
3/5
The three country ballads ("Strong Enough", "No One Said it Would Be Easy", "I Shall Believe") are downright terrible. They offer exactly nothing interesting at all, and consist entirely of interminable whining and boring country music. However, the rest of the album shows a lot of variety and is actually pretty good.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Tito Puente
4/5
There are a lot better swing, jazz, and Latin albums from that time period, but still enjoyable nonetheless.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Earth, Wind & Fire
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Verve
3/5
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Mike Oldfield
4/5
4./5.0: Very Good
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
Gorillaz
3/5
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Parliament
3/5
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Air
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Pretenders
2/5
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Genesis
5/5
This is the final album with Peter Gabriel on vocals (and the last truly great album Genesis made). While earlier Genesis albums may turn off some listeners because of their disjointed tendencies, this album showcases Genesis’ progressive peak. It’s polished, flows well, and is full of virtuoso musical performances. Gabriel is at his most dramatic and Hackett’s guitars are ethereal, but the Rutherford/Collins rhythm section is the real star of the record, constantly driving the music forward with a peculiar bass tone and weird time signatures. While the music is more refined than usual, there are still experimental elements to the music. However, these elements fit seamlessly into the structure of the album and contrast with the melodies and storyline quite well. Pure genius.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
MC Solaar
4/5
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Happy Mondays
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Ministry
3/5
This is the definitive industrial metal album, but I’m somewhat confused why this obscure (and frankly not great) subgenre gets an album on this list but far more important/influential subgenres like death metal, black metal, progressive metal, or even djent have zero albums (I’m aware that Venom’s “Black Metal” is on the list, but that is not black metal, despite the name). In any case, this is an OK metal album. It has cool rhythms but suffers from the usual repetitiveness and cheesy production of most industrial metal. Every week there are multiple better metal albums released than this, so it’s a bit disappointing that this record is taking up a spot on this list.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Elastica
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
The Rolling Stones
2/5
One great opening track and then a bunch of cringy takes on country rock.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Slayer
5/5
This is the best and most influential thrash metal album of all time. While Metallica’s Master of Puppets has arguably better songwriting and Megadeth’s Rust In Piece is better technically, Reign in Blood perfectly captures the pure aggression, breakneck speed, and riff-centrism the genre is known for. Additionally, this album had a major a influence on the burgeoning death metal and black metal scenes. Not many albums on this list are as technically proficient as this one (shout out to Dave Lombardo’s drumming), very few are as influential, and none are as musically aggressive.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Half-baked attempt at Celtic-infused-reggae-turned-new wave, with every song dragging on too long, far too many many tracks (15!!!), and the usual not great post-punk vocals. Some cool rhythms and melodies, but nothing original.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Finley Quaye
2/5
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Public Enemy
2/5
Not as good as Fear of a Blank Planet.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Tracy Chapman
2/5
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
MGMT
3/5
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Prince
5/5
Absolutely iconic in every way imaginable, from creativity to variety to influence to performance to production to melody choice, etc., etc.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Eric Clapton
3/5
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Roxy Music
4/5
3.5/5.0: Very Good
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Television
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
Pere Ubu
5/5
Kind of wild how a lot of the great, most interesting albums on this list have low ratings. This is infinitely better than the dross dished out by Springsteen, Dylan, etc. that seem to always have high ratings here.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Modern Lovers
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
Public Enemy
2/5
Lyrically it's great, but musically this just isn't good.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
The Damned
5/5
Lots of variety in the instrumentation while maintaining early hardcore aggression. Tight, inventive songwriting with a nasty guitar tone, piercing lyrics, and good performances.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Kind of like if Bob Dylan made interesting music.
3.0/5.0: Good
Spiritualized
3/5
No real reason for this to be an hour long. Background music, but nothing terrible.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Beastie Boys
2/5
1994 produced Emperor's genre-defining record "In the Nightside Eclipse", and yet here we are with another cheesy Beastie Boys album.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Steely Dan
4/5
Without the cheesy saxophone this is an easy 5 stars because everything else is pretty fantastic.
4.0/5.0: Great
Afrika Bambaataa
1/5
This is hilariously terrible music, and it turns out the artist is a seriously terrible person, too.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Ramones
5/5
Hard to rate this less than a five just based on influence, but it's also a really fun album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
This is a really fun album with unusual instrumentation (or maybe that is usual for new tango?). Only a couple of complaints. First, waaaaayyy too much xylophone or marimba or whatever that was. Second, there are literal cartoon "slipped on a banana peel" sounds throughout - which only add to the silent movie-music feel of the whole record. Still, the music itself can be very moving at times.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Jam
3/5
3.0/5.0: Good
The Beach Boys
5/5
1971 reveals a much more mature version of The Beach Boys then the silly surf rock they had made in the previous decade. The production is slick, the variety is immense, the songwriting is clever, and the themes are overtly ecological and political. Combine all this with a succinct runtime and striking cover art and this is a fantastic album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Great instrumental performance, but the song structures are kind of meandering and his vocals are annoying.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
M.I.A.
4/5
Fun, clever, creative, and politically aware, but undeniably sounds like an Ali G. skit at times.
4.0/5.0: Great
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Very well done although a little boring at times.
4.0/5.0: Great
Queen
4/5
Like most Queen albums, there are a few incredible songs, some good ones, and some straight filler. The amazing (as always) performances keep this at a 4.0/5.0.
4.0/5.0: Great
Bee Gees
1/5
For the first five songs, the vibrato vocals are uproariously bad, the songs are meandering or downright absurd, and the lyrics are painfully cringey. Combine all this with a colossal runtime and you would have a candidate for worst album on the list if it wasn’t for some fairly interesting instrumentals on 2 or 3 of the songs.
However, the band turns it around on tracks 6-8, before returning to the interminable garbage they started with.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Os Mutantes
4/5
Really fun album with strange instrumentation and weird artistic choices. The kind of pleasant surprise that should be on this list.
4.0/5.0: Great
CHIC
5/5
It's very rare for an album to have such great musicianship, performances, and melodies all packaged together with perfect production values.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Marty Robbins
5/5
How did country music go from the great melodies, performances, and story-telling of Marty Robbins to the utter travesty to music that is Morgan Wallen? If nothing else, this album demonstrates just how terrible modern country music is, and that's a shame.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
U2
3/5
The music is OK on this one, definitely better as a whole than Achtung Baby. However it suffers from the same problems. Each song stops developing musically after the first minute, yet the band insists on playing for another 4 minutes. Additionally, most of the tracks are very safe early eighties rock. Finally, Bono's vocals are average at best, and the production fails to lend any edge to the music.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
The bluegrass tracks are really good, but the old-time-baptist-church-music, while well-executed, is just not my taste (PTSD). Combine that with a gargantuan runtime and copious studio chatter, and unfortunately this gets a mixed review. Still, this is an eternity and a half better than the utter swill spewed forth from the auto-tuned maw of Morgan Wallen.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
ABBA
5/5
Just about perfect pop music. Incredible melodies (like almost anything that comes out of Sweden except Meshuggah), tons of variety, exceptional songwriting, and strong performances. Only knock is the sometimes fuzzy 70s production.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Dead Kennedys
5/5
5 stars on attitude and politics alone, but the influence, variety, and performance clinches it.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Gene Clark
2/5
This is much, much worse than the other Gene Clark album ("No Other") on this list. The main culprit? A despicably grinding harmonica sound that very well might be the most hateful sound I've ever heard. It's a shame, because his voice and songwriting are actually pretty good.
1.5/5.0: Bad
OutKast
3/5
Great album dragged down by an enormous run-time caused by an excess of filler tracks and completely unnecessary skits. Still gets 3 stars because some of the music is fantastic.
3.0/5.0: Good
Deep Purple
5/5
Finally! An album with RIFFS. A highly influential album with top quality performances and an outstanding album cover.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Al Green
3/5
I don't particularly care for his voice, the album cover is pretty bad, and the instrumentals feel a little cut-and-paste, but the songwriting is good and the record isn't too long.
3.0/5.0: Good
Paul Simon
3/5
Significantly better than the whiny American folk rock (a mostly crap genre to be fair) he pushed earlier in his career. The bombastic eighties instrumentals and production actually fit his voice quite well, and the songwriting is inventive and unpredictable, even if it does drag at times (predictably during the folky sections).
3.0/5.0: Good
Beatles
5/5
Yes, it is a VERY long album, but the truly amazing part is how the time flies while listening to this record. There are so many incredible songs on this double LP that the few (possible) missteps can be easily forgiven. Not just an album you must hear before you die - this is an album you must own before you die.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Lots of great songs with catchy riffs and melodies. A tad overlong and a bit whiny vocally, but generally this is well done grunge.
4.0/5.0: Great
American Music Club
2/5
Album is not on Spotify, but is available on Bandcamp if you want to listen without being interrupted by YouTube ads.
Review: Not my cup of tea, but I'll try to be objective. The lyrics are actually pretty good - the kind of definitive American folk poetry that would land this album on this list. The music is well done for what it is, but is only interesting in patches, while meandering into poorly done country at times. The vocals range from not memorable to just talking. I want to give this at least a "mixed rating" for being different, but there are literally no moments I truly enjoyed on this.
2.0/5.0: Bad
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Tracey Thorn's vocals are fantastic - they fit the music perfectly. Ben Watt's music is mostly cool instrumentation with jazzy vibes, but is often unpredictable, which is nice. Only knock is sometimes the music feels like it isn't going anywhere.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Metallica
5/5
Yeah, it's long (like a lot of Metallica's albums), and Jason Newstead's bass is inaudible, but this is a masterclass in melodic thrash with a ton of variety and some killer riffs. I am a little confused as to why this made the list and Ride the Lightning didn't, but I'm not going to complain when this list offers up albums more to my taste.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Wilco
2/5
The vocalist is wildly out of key at times, and the music is mostly basic and unimpressive, apart from a few transitional synth parts.
The problem with a lot of these indie rock albums is that they always sound like the band phoned them in - partly because the music isn't challenging at all, and partly because the style demands simplicity. Nevertheless, if the album is short enough and takes a few chances, indie rock can indeed be interesting. However, while Wilco does take some chances musically, the album is also almost a full hour in length, and each song is stretched at least 2 minutes past where it should've ended.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Ice T
3/5
24 songs and 72 minutes is just too long to make a good album. Some of the music is great, but there's entirely too much filler, including far too many interludes/skits.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
Just what we needed: Ol' Bruce still sounds like he's singing while taking a dump, but now that dump is drenched in 80's reverb. But wait - there's more: every song consists of the most predictable melody repeated ad nauseam with no development of theme whatsoever and not a single note or rhythm to challenge the ear. Even when Bruce decides to branch out and attempt more challenging genres than regurgitated two chord American folk slop, it ends up being a pale, pathetic, plagiaristic imitation (see the rockabilly of "Working on the Highway"). But generally, this album is about as basic as music can be - essentially what would happen if you wrote music for people who don't like music. Lyrically, this sounds like ChatGPT being asked to write the least self-aware doggerel possible. The first two Springsteen albums on this list got 1 star for being a blackhole of creativity and this makes it a trifecta.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Guided By Voices
3/5
This scores points for taking a different creative path - They kind of took the idea of the album and bent it to the band's own vision. Still, the demo-like feel to all the songs really does detract from the album (in my opinion). Also, the music itself isn't all that good, although the constant change in sound due to the many very short tracks makes it enjoyable for the most part. Finally, that album cover is just so so so so bad.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Ticks all the usual Stones' boxes:
- Hasn't aged well lyrically
- Has a few bangers
- Has lots of filler
3.0/5.0: Good
Supergrass
5/5
Great melodies, succinct songs, good lyrics - hard to find fault with much on this album.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
Unpopular opinion, but the heavier songs are much, much, much better than the mellow songs on this record. They allow the drummer to really display his talent, and the crunchy guitars kind of drown out Billy's whine (most of the time). In contrast, everything (lyrics, music, enjoyment) is drowned out by Billy's whine on the mellow/emotional songs, all of which are supremely skippable. In fact, it seems at this point in the band's career, Billy Corgan has decided that the focal point of every song should be his quite frankly subpar vocals. Overall, while the record is ambitious and has a lot of great moments, the enormous run-time and the vocal slop don't just prevent this record from achieving greatness - they make it a genuine disappointment.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
4/5
Iconic reputation, but the reality of the matter is the music is great, but even for the time not especially innovative. Still, it is a great album
4.0/5.0: Great
David Holmes
4/5
4.0/5.0: Great
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I little syrupy for my tastes (with very little in the way of nuance), but the melodies are undeniably great.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
The Sugarcubes
5/5
Fourth best Icelandic band after Sólstafir, Misþyrming, and Svartidauði.
Super creative & unique post punk/pop.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
PJ Harvey
3/5
Love the punky, aggressive bass - it's easily the best/most interesting part of the album. There's also a lot of creativity in the musical ideas here. Unfortunately, each song consists of only one half-formed idea that runs its course after thirty seconds, and PJ's vocals are still incredibly annoying (although lyrically she's very good). Still, the rawness of the whole album is enjoyable.
3.0/5.0: Good
The Mars Volta
5/5
Weird after 400+ albums to finally to get an album in a genre (prog rock/metal) and era (2000s) that is one of my favorites. Really good musically. The guys are clearly at the top of their game, and the musicality, variety, freneticism, and thematic darkness really hit the spot. Also, hugely influential on modern prog. Easy to see their influence on Haken, Leprous, Soen, Riverside, etc. Yes, the lyrics are bizarre, but so is the music and conceptual storyline, so that's not really an issue.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Hole
2/5
Pretty forgettable run-of-the-mill alternative rock. I kept waiting for something interesting or different to happen, but it was a fruitless fifty minutes of nothingness. Cut-and-paste melodies, totally expected instrumentation, and below average vocals. Difficult to understand why this would be an album anyone must hear, unless it's just to get Courtney Love on the list or perhaps as an example of the yawnsville American alt-rock scene of the late 90s.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Elis Regina
4/5
Really great vocal performance over a surprisingly wide variety of well-performed instrumentals.
4.0/5.0: Great
Another boring and forgettable U2 album.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Interesting and influential album, but 78 minutes of this is asking a lot of the listener.
3.0/5.0: Good
Nas
5/5
Really great 90s rap not ruined by excessive skits or a gigantic runtime.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Black Sabbath
5/5
Pretty much untouchable. The first perfect metal album. R.I.P. Ozzy.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
The The
4/5
Interesting music with creative/unexpected moments and great melodies.
4.0/5.0: Great
Björk
3/5
I'm torn between giving this a high rating for the undeniable creativity and great production, and giving this a low rating for being something I didn't enjoy at all due to molasses pacing and what seemed like intentionally aggravating vocals.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
N.E.R.D
4/5
Fun album with a lot of variety, even if a lot of it is by the numbers.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
John Grant
5/5
417 albums in, and this is the biggest surprise of the list so far. I thought I was going to hate it based on the description and reviews, but was pleasantly surprised instead. The best part of the album is the vocal melodies. They are constantly surprising/strange/untypical. The instrumentation is also very cool - he does not hesitate to change things up or make unanticipated choices. Finally, the pacing is good. Other than the last song, every track fits the album well.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Led Zeppelin
5/5
It's Zeppelin - of course it's a five.
But really, can you imagine listening to this in 1969? Nothing this immediately heavy existed at the time (yes, there was Blue Cheer, but they were on the downer side of things). It must've been mind-blowing.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
Once again, Springsteen delivers a total nothingburger of an album. There’s absolutely nothing here musically, creatively, or lyrically. It’s completely devoid of anything interesting or attention grabbing. There’s also obviously no artistic intention here. It’s so plainly a corporate cash-grab of least-offensive-music-most-likely-to-get-listeners that it’s sickening.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Brian Eno
5/5
One of the most creative albums on this list. Every idea is interesting or forward looking (even the production, which is presciently 80s sounding).
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Cure
5/5
An excellent encapsulation of the morose goth rock sound. Great instrumentation, slightly strange/disturbing lyrics, and songwriting that is a constant, dirge-like, brooding trudge.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
Fun album. I wasn't a big fan of the vocal style, but the instrumentals and melody choices were great.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Prince
5/5
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Faith No More
5/5
Forgot how good this band is, even with the somewhat annoying vocals and subpar rapping. The instrumentals are fantastic with hints of everything from Exhorder-like grooves to Dream Theater-esque melodies.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Scissor Sisters
5/5
Really well-made pop with a ton of variety.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
4/5
I don't want to like this, but the songwriting and melodies are too good to rate this lowly.
4.0/5.0: Great
T. Rex
4/5
Like a lot of T. Rex, it's very fun, but not quite as good as Electric Warrior.
4.0/5.0: Great
Donovan
5/5
This was surprisingly good. Very psychedelic - before that was even really a thing, and it features what would become Zeppelin's Page and Jones on a number of tracks. Finally, Donovan's voice is fantastic in my opinion.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Appreciation for this album functions as my litmus test for whether I will get along with someone.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Maxwell
5/5
Don't listen to these other reviews. This isn't just background music. This is super detailed R&B featuring swathes of jazz, funk, and pop with great melodies and impeccable production. This is quite an achievement for a debut album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Jack White
5/5
Just another super creative and well done album by Jack White.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
5/5
The boffins at Prog Archives consider this to be the best prog album ever made and it's easy to see why. It exemplifies the genre. For that reason alone it's an obvious inclusion on this list, but it also helps that the music is exceptional.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Sugar
3/5
Pretty good for the most part, but the cut-and-paste annoying choruses bring it down.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Tricky
4/5
Getting major Helena Bonham-Carter in Sweeney Todd vibes from the vocals. The music is very dark, creative, and atmospheric.
4.0/5.0: Great
Travis
4/5
Yes, it's inoffensive alt-rock, but there's actually some pretty cool/unusual melody choices on this record that make it stand out for me.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
5/5
This is pretty incredible avant-garde jazz with vague elements of grindcore. If you want something similar that leans hard into death metal, check out the incomparable Imperial Triumphant (I recommend the album Goldstar as it is more accessible).
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Willie Nelson
5/5
Willie's voice works perfectly with this set of old standards. Such a mellow album, with a short runtime, a consistent vibe, and a cover which captures that vibe exactly.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Can
4/5
Very interesting album. Feels like it was way ahead of its time.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Skunk Anansie
3/5
Some good moments, but they kind of mixed the least appealing parts of alternative rock (the whiny bits) with some very run-of-the-mill metal riffing that is mostly forgettable.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Residents
3/5
This is just incredibly weird music. Difficult to listen to, but points for creativity.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Leftfield
5/5
I really liked this. This felt like quintessential electronica, but was also super creative.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Gram Parsons
4/5
I didn't know James May played country music!
Honestly this is really good, and I don't even like country music. Good songwriting (other than Love Hurts, which is only painful because of how bad of a song it is), good lyrics, short album.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Eminem
1/5
I'm incredibly not interested in simple cheesy music loops with inane talking over the top. Seriously wondering what the appeal is here.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Kate Bush
5/5
The ultimate 80s art pop album. Creative, interesting, and polished.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Massive Attack
3/5
Lots of points for creativity and variety, but unfortunately, about half of the songs don't really work.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
Boring post-punk with a few good moments, but really not much to see here.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Turbonegro
4/5
Very fun album – in your face, punky glam (glammy punk?). But if we’re going to have Norwegian bands wearing corpse paint on this list, why not have formative second wave black metal albums like Darkthrone’s “Transilvanian Hunger”, or Mayhem’s “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” (which should be on the list solely based on the bizarre story behind its creation).
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Van Morrison
1/5
Yeah not good. Interminable songs with little to no variation and Ol' Van bellowing over the top like an injured water buffalo. The only good parts are the jazzy instrumentals added afterwards by the producers.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Tom Tom Club
4/5
Fun album with a unique sound.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Blur
5/5
Dang, I guess I just like Britpop. Great songwriting, melodies, lyrics, production, etc.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
This is really great for what is. Good songwriting, melodies, variety, and beats.
4.0/5.0: Great
Beach House
1/5
I'm sure this is well done for what it is, but I really can't stand this style music.
Billy Bragg
3/5
It's pretty good for folk but it's not really my cup of tea. This isn't a very fair review, but oh well.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
David Bowie
5/5
Really good stuff. Probably better than Ziggy Stardust in my opinion.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
5/5
This is a super fun album. I love that it's basically a hard-edged seventies version of 50s rock 'n' roll. Cool idea and well-executed.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Tina Turner
2/5
Too eighties, even for the eighties.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
System Of A Down
5/5
I forgot how incredible this album is. So frenetic and angry, but the truth is no music like this had ever been made before and it signaled great things to come for the band. A truly innovative album and very worthy of inclusion on this list.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
The perfect soundtrack for when you're too disillusioned to dance but still want your existential crisis to have a funky bassline.
3.0/5.0: Good
The Stooges
5/5
My ears feel like they've been chased through a junkyard by a caffeinated bass and a shirtless Iggy Pop.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Beastie Boys
2/5
To all the reviewers upset about the reviews calling this a couple of guys shouting their brags at a microphone: Yes, that's exactly what this is, and no, it's not enjoyable.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
The Only Ones
4/5
Really good, melodic, almost glam sounding punk/pop with a lot of variety.
4.0/5.0: Great
SAULT
3/5
Love the message and the musical variety, and the production values are spectacular, but this album commits a few cardinal sins - i.e., child-like chanting and lots of talking.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Sonic Youth
5/5
This is easily the best of the three Sonic Youth albums I've gotten on this list. They mix up the sound a lot more on this album. I'm hearing everything from noise rock to post-metal to even some black metal passages. It's difficult to imagine bands like Cult of Luna, Neurosis, or Pelican not being influenced by this.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Christina Aguilera
2/5
A little bit disappointed in this. I don't think her voice works with the retro-style of music, the production is terrible, and the execution is VERY 1990s (record scratching, out of place booming bass, etc.) - which clashes horribly with the 60s/70s genre choices. Finally, the album is far too long.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
4/5
Fun album and well done.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
Some cool beats, but far, far, far too long. If this album was half as long it would be four stars, but as it stands this is quite disappointing.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Boston
4/5
Quintessential dad rock album. The are a little tired and boring but some of the more progressive elements are really good, and the production and story behind the album are great.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Well made album.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Fairport Convention
4/5
Not surprisingly, the three worst songs on the album were all written by Bob Dylan. These tracks are boring and overwrought simultaneously. The other 5 tracks are actually really good and a few are an excellent example of the re-worked British folk sound eventually perfected by Jethro Tull. Sandy Denny’s performance is particularly excellent. Her voice is unparalleled for the era and her melody choices are superb. It’s a shame about the Dylan tracks, but there’s a great EP inside this album.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
The Go-Go's
5/5
This feels like the ultimate new wave album. It ticks all the new wave boxes, but also has a lot of variety and is a lot of fun.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Little Simz
3/5
Massive points earned for making an album that is actually album-length (35 minutes) compared to the colossal 70-minute albums that artists seem to always drop these days. Also great flow, and, importantly, the music portion is carefully crafted and has nuance (American hip-hop artists, take note). Nevertheless, the British accent always makes me chuckle.
3.0/5.0: Good
Blind A Wink Horse Good Nod As A As To Is A
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Classic album.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Radiohead
5/5
Undeniably great - musically, compositionally, production-wise, lyrically, etc. Only complaint would be that the vocals take some getting used to.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
David Gray
1/5
Super unfortunate for society that this kind of became the template for pop music in the 21st century.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Arrested Development
2/5
Great music and lyrics, but the goofiness levels on the vocal delivery is hilarious and really drags this down. Also, much too long.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Ice Cube
3/5
Sounds so dated, but it has its moments.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Lemonheads
2/5
Very boring run-of-the-mill indie rock. Very hard to justify this being on the list but something like The Beatles' Let It Be not being on the list.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
The soul elements are just not good and very skippable, but the rest of the album is actually pretty good and definitely better than the other Dexys album on this list.
3.0/5.0: Good
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Pleasant music that sounds very much of its era. In truth, all of these tracks could stand to lose 2 minutes. Probably a four-star album if it was 36 minutes rather than 52.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Fall
2/5
Highly recommend opening the Wikipedia page and double checking the original tracklist before listening to the entire two hour album that seems to be the only one available online.
As for the music, there's a reason bands don't record their albums in one day. The music is shoddy and barely thought through. I get that this is all about the vocalist's rants, but at that point just write an essay and spare us the music. Points for the attitude though.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Metallica
3/5
I wasn’t expecting to like this just because post-eighties Metallica is objectively average or bad depending on the album, and I’m not far off in my pre-assessment. The first issue I have is that the symphonic elements merely detract from the innate heaviness of Metallica because the band was never intended to be symphonic in nature. In consequence, the music doesn’t mesh at all. My second issue is the choice of this album as the representative of symphonic metal on this list. While there are metal acts whose entire identity folds in symphonic foundations perfectly (think Emperor or Fleshgod Apocalypse), Metallica is not one of those acts. If this album is on the list because the authors thought orchestral elements + metal sounded cool, then why this album out of the hundreds of symphonic metal albums? It makes no sense. My third big complaint is that this bloated, questionable album made this list, but the incredible Ride the Lightning didn’t (although this album does have tracks from that album). My final issue is that the whole thing is just too damn long. On the plus side, there are still some great moments from the band’s early discography.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Haircut 100
3/5
Yet another new wave band I've never listened to. Do we really need 400 new wave albums from the late seventies/early eighties? The music itself is OK with good melodies and funky rhythms, but the use of horns is not well done and the saxophone should never have been used. It's obnoxious.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Is there anything worse than a slow-paced country music song? Not just in music, I mean is there anything worse to ever exist than a 60 BPM country music whine-fest? Luckily this album is evenly split between these teeth-grindingly hokey snoozers and some more upbeat country/bluegrass/rock.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Tim Buckley
2/5
This is just incredibly boring folk rock. There's much, much better stuff in this vein made at around the same time.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Steve Winwood
3/5
The music, performances, and songwriting are pretty good, but the eighties production and instrumentation have aged like milk. If this album had been made 5 or 6 years earlier it'd be great.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
JAY Z
2/5
I need someone to explain the appeal of some guy bragging for a whole hour over OK music. And really, the music isn't even that good. You could randomly select an album and chances are it's better musically.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Literally just Bob Dylan but with interesting chord choices.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Saint Etienne
3/5
This sounds like so many of the other British groups that incorporate pop/post-punk/electronica on this list. Some cool beats, some cool melodies, and about 15 minutes too long.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Röyksopp
4/5
Really good atmospheric electronica.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Incubus
3/5
This isn’t metal. It’s alternative rock. This album seems a strange choice to make this list, but my guess is the authors felt it was representative of the immensely popular metal-adjacent alt-rock sound of the late 90s/early 00s. As for the music, it’s actually significantly better than a lot of albums from that era. There’s a lot of cool/interesting things going on, and they make up for the terrible lyrics. The vocal melodies are also surprisingly good (I was dreading them based on similar artists I’d heard). Despite all this, the second half of the album is significantly worse, and drags the score down. In truth, there’s a massive amount of Tool-worship going on in this album, which makes me wonder why the authors didn’t just put Tool on the list instead, which would’ve been much more enjoyable.
3.0/5.0: Good
Shack
2/5
When I started this list I thought I hated Britpop. Then after this list exposed me to the subgenre I thought I loved it. Now, however, Shack has me reconsidering my position. This is mind-numbingly boring and safe rock and really doesn't deserve to be on this list. Despite this, the music isn't terrible - just boring.
1.5/5.0: Bad
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
Oh my God. I finally finished this over 8 or 9 sessions. If this was only 40 minutes long it would get one star for trying way too hard to be cutesy while producing some very bland music. Add the fact that this album is 3 hours long and you have a candidate for worst album on the list. What a colossally terrible idea for an LP.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Django Django
4/5
Somehow it's fun, psychedelic, and atmospheric all at the same time.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
2/5
I know this is influential but I honestly didn't enjoy it. Points for being only 25 minutes long.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Pink Floyd
5/5
If any album has a claim to perfection, it's this one. The production values, atmosphere, musicality, lyricism, and cover art are all off the charts. The production is particularly impressive, even by today's standards, and became the bar that every other album is compared to.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Frank Sinatra
4/5
The music is amazing and Frankie's voice is great, but honestly it kind of detracts from the samba sound. Still, it's a great album.
4.0/5.0: Great
Scritti Politti
2/5
Some good melodies in here, but this is mainly vapid, meaningless, syrupy, commercial pop with god-awful 80s production.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
FKA twigs
1/5
Some of the music inside this album is interesting, but it consists of hardly formed ideas and doesn't develop enough to warrant song lengths over a minute. The lyrics are embarrassing. It's hard to believe she wrote those out, re-read them twice and gave them the OK. Finally, FKA Twigs falls into the same old intolerable trap that almost every other post-2010 artist falls into. Namely, a endlessly repetitive chorus consisting of almost no melody and ridiculous lyrics.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Talking Heads
5/5
It's fun and super influential and it never outstays it's welcome.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Songs From a Room if the room in question was hermetically sealed from anything approaching listenable music.
0.5/5.0: Unlistenable
Killing Joke
3/5
Interesting album, but a lot of the songs drag on too long without a lot of development. Cool album cover and points for creativity in the music.
3.0/5.0: Good
Culture Club
2/5
Yeah this is just about as cheesy and shallow as you might expect from the cover.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Tears For Fears
3/5
I really wanted to like this due to the high production values and the reputation of this album. However, I think the melodies are uninteresting or even poor, the songs are overly repetitive and don't develop enough to warrant the song lengths, and the vocals are weak.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
I didn't hate this. Yes, it's unpleasant, but it's supposed to be.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Youngbloods
5/5
Great musicality on this record. The guys are clearly very talented, and they have the songwriting capabilities to match their chops. There's barely any folk or country on this record (a good thing), so I could see how some listeners may feel misled or be expecting something different given the tags, which may be why this doesn't have a higher rating. The truth is that this is an exceptionable jazz/psych rock record with an incredible sense of melody and rhythm.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Beck
4/5
Fun album with a lot of variety (although a lot of filler too).
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Queen
5/5
Probably my favorite Queen album. This sits exactly at the juncture between Queen as a hard rock band and Queen as extravagant pop-rock sensations.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Soundgarden
5/5
Great album with cool melodies and heavy riffing. I always liked how Soundgarden leaned into a more stoner/doom sound than other grunge bands and that element is still here even as they sound more "commercial".
4.5/5.0: Excellent
The Yardbirds
3/5
True hit or miss album.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Of all the metal albums in the world this one somehow made it to this list (probably because of the controversy surrounding it). While it has good moments, the album is too long and too obviously campy and try-hard to be enjoyable.
1.5/5.0: Bad
The Coral
3/5
This started slow but as the music got progressively more unusual I enjoyed it more. There's a lot going on musically even if most of it is really simple.
3.0/5.0: Good
Pulp
2/5
There are a couple of outstanding tracks but the rest is an astonishing amount of filler.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
I had the perfect review lined up for this:
Blandwagonesque
Unfortunately, this is actually pretty decent stuff.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
This was disappointing. His voice is great and the instrumentals are good, but almost every song is just one 5 to 7 second idea repeated ad nauseam, and the album is too long.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Really enjoyed this one. Very soothing and the lo-fi production reminded me of some blackgaze bands (no doubt influenced by MBV) that I enjoy.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
One of those albums that completely missed the fact that the music needs some effort too. It can't just be melancholic poetry. We have an artistic medium for that. It's called poetry.
He has a nice voice though.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Ryan Adams
2/5
Not as bad as the other Ryan Adams album I had on this list but still kind of meh. All of this had been done before and been done much better.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Dusty Springfield
3/5
She has a great voice, and it's a fun album/easy listening, but it's also a 60s covers album and kind of run-of-the-mill.
3.0/5.0: Good
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
1/5
I had to listen to this on YouTube and the best music I heard was in the advertisements in between songs. Sad boy basic chord folk is just not interesting at all.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Living Colour
3/5
Fun band and fun album. One of the better examples of 80s hard rock, and the emphasis on funk is cool. Great performances all around. Only knock is that the hard rock/glam metal sound is tired and I'm bored of it. However, like I noted, the funkiness helps.
3.0/5.0: Good
Carpenters
3/5
Very pleasant and well-put together album (except the Help cover. Didn't need that). She has an amazing voice, and the music isn't hateful, but it's also incredibly simple.
3.0/5.0: Good
Faust
4/5
It always amazes just how influential and ahead of their time these early 70s krautrock albums are. I love the atmospherics on this album, but it also uses progressive song structures and does nothing but take chance after chance - which I love.
4.0/5.0: Great
UB40
3/5
Some of the instrumental parts are great, and the lyrics are still poignant to this day. However, there are two knocks against this album. First, the 80s saxophone is terribly grating and should have been left entirely off the album. Second, the extended jam sessions on some of the songs don't really develop the way good jams do (see almost any prog band) but instead drone on interminably. Nevertheless this is mostly an enjoyable album.
3.0/5.0: Good
Digital Underground
1/5
Some of the music is OK, but the endless loops of the same sample over and over is just not my cup of tea. I know it's the genre, but I don't care for it. Additionally, the vocal delivery is hilariously dated and the lyrics range from not good to very sketchy.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Happy Mondays
3/5
It's OK
2.5/5.0: Mixed
The Human League
2/5
Yet another early eighties new wave album. Didn't care for this. The music was just silly, and as a human I can definitively say I don't claim these guys.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Kings of Leon
2/5
Overwrought late oughts rock.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Peter Gabriel
5/5
Pretty fantastic album. There's so much variety on this record - you can definitely see that Gabriel provided the artistic vision for much of Genesis' more outlandish tendencies. It's also hard to fathom that this came out in 1977. So many eighties albums tried to sound just like this (for better or worse). Based on influence and enjoyment, I think this has to be five stars.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Brian Eno
2/5
I know it's innovative and influential, but at the end of the day it's just samples and I don't care for that.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
The Killers
2/5
Just about as basic as you can get. Very much lowest common denominator rock.
1.5/5.0: Bad
Todd Rundgren
4/5
Really fun album with a lot of variety. Clearly influential, too. I could hear a lot of sounds/instrumentation that didn't become popular until almost a decade later (or more).
4.0/5.0: Great
Cee Lo Green
2/5
Can't get behind his voice. It's super corny. Some of the music is actually pretty good, but 1 hour and 5 minutes is just too much of Cee-Lo.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Quite an interesting blues sound on this album. I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should have, but I still think it's very good.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Mike Ladd
3/5
This was slightly disappointing to me because of the length and its questionable inclusion on the list. However, there are some interesting moments musically and it's certainly better than a lot of the other hip-op on this list.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Harry Nilsson
5/5
Super fun album with a lot of hits.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
I have big problems with some of the instrumentation. The saxophone bits are unbearable and the drum machine sounds terrible. That said, the melodies are pretty good, and some of the goth-ier dirges are right up my alley.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Randy Newman
4/5
The super slow songs (especially the ones about God and/or America) are just annoying, but the other songs are undeniably great. Textbook songwriting, fantastic melodies, lots of variety, and Randy's great voice.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
Meat Loaf
3/5
Has its moments but is also kind of basic rock.
3.0/5.0: Good
Michael Jackson
2/5
I know it's unreasonable to complain about the basic pop sound of this record since Michael Jackson invented it, but it is very annoying. Yes, some of the music is pretty good, but most of the songs are too long and vapid and I don't care for his voice. 2 stars for influence but I can't imagine ever intentionally listening to this again.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Björk
5/5
Pretty fantastic album. So much variety, with lots of cool beats and weird instrumentation. Easy to see why she became an international sensation with this as a debut record.
5.0/5.0: Iconic
Mekons
4/5
I don't know if I enjoyed this album enormously, but I'll be darned if it isn't super unique. It really holds your attention, and it is very worthy of being on this list just for the experience.
3.5/5.0: Very Good
White Denim
5/5
Super fun album. Indie rock with jazz/prog stylings and short song lengths.
4.5/5.0: Excellent
Talk Talk
3/5
There's a lot of interesting music on this. However, the songs are a little too long for what they offer, and the vocals are just not great. To be totally honest, this would receive a higher rating if it wasn't the 327th 80s British new wave album I've gotten on this list. Can we please have more variety???
2.5/5.0: Mixed
Paul McCartney
3/5
Yes, it's raw, but there's still good songwriting and melodies on this.
3.0/5.0: Good
New Order
2/5
I'm really struggling to give a crap about yet another British 80s new wave album. There's one or two interesting moments on this but it's mostly interchangeable with all of the other new wave albums on this list.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
Norah Jones
3/5
Easy listening and she has a great voice. Some of the slower, more basic, pop-tinged numbers are not good, but they're forgivable.
Also, it's possible to write a review of this album without mentioning coffee houses.
3.0/5.0: Good
The xx
1/5
Very basic super-compressed over-emotional late 10s pop. Also, the contemporary Christian music melody choices are so aggravating.
1.0/5.0: Embarrassing
Leonard Cohen
4/5
This is far better than the other 3 Cohen albums (all late 60s/early 70s) I've gotten on this list that were just slightly more interesting versions of Bob Dylan. On this record, Leonard actually puts effort into the music side of things, producing some very intriguing tracks that allow his lyrical abilities and great voice to shine
3.5/5.0: Very Good
The Electric Prunes
2/5
There's a lot of great 60s psychedelia out there, but this definitely isn't it. Almost every idea is half-baked and poorly performed. Even when they try to do something out-of-the-box it just ends up being nonsense. The exceptions to this rule are "Luvin'" and "Try Me on for Size", which (although incredibly basic) are still great examples of mid-sixties blues-rock numbers.
1.5/5.0: Bad
The Prodigy
3/5
As far as electronica goes, this is varied and has a lot of really cool moments. Unfortunately, it's about 35 minutes too long. I get that dance tunes have to be a certain length (long), but maybe they could've split this into two albums to make for a better listening experience. That said, this was not intended to be listened to as an album but rather to be played inside a club, so I can understand their decision to keep the whole thing.
3.0/5.0: Good
Radiohead
4/5
This was a Radiohead album I had never listened to, but I really enjoyed it. Lots of variety and plenty of very interesting ideas on this. It's a little long, but it's so vibey that the time passed quickly.
4.0/5.0: Great
Miriam Makeba
3/5
This is the kind of album I signed up to this list for. Pretty incredible this came out in 1960. While it uses some 50s/60s contemporary elements (barbershop quartet choruses, etc.), and a lot of traditional sounds, it's very forward looking in that the rhythms and vocal arrangements became a staple of a lot post punk and new wave music more than 20 years later. She also has an incredible voice. That said, not every song is enjoyable, and some of them are a downright struggle to get through (see "One More Dance").
3.0/5.0: Good