669
Albums Rated
3.54
Average Rating
61%
Complete
420 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Punk
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
134
5-Star Albums
29
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Trout Mask Replica
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
|
5 | 2.29 | +2.71 |
|
Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
GI
Germs
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
|
Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
|
5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
|
Tago Mago
Can
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
Vincebus Eruptum
Blue Cheer
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Scott 4
Scott Walker
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
|
5 | 2.82 | +2.18 |
|
Freak Out!
The Mothers Of Invention
|
5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
|
1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
|
The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
|
The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
|
1 | 3.24 | -2.24 |
|
Hysteria
Def Leppard
|
1 | 3.22 | -2.22 |
|
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
George Michael
|
1 | 3.17 | -2.17 |
|
Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
|
1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
|
Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
|
1 | 3.06 | -2.06 |
|
Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey
|
1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
|
evermore
Taylor Swift
|
1 | 3.03 | -2.03 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 4 | 5 |
| The Who | 4 | 5 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4.75 |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 4.75 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 5 |
| Public Enemy | 2 | 5 |
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 5 |
| Rush | 2 | 5 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 2 | 5 |
| Van Morrison | 2 | 5 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 5 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 2 | 5 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 5 |
| Steely Dan | 2 | 5 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4.2 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 4.33 |
| Deep Purple | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Super Furry Animals | 2 | 1 |
| Def Leppard | 2 | 1.5 |
| Björk | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Mothers Of Invention | 5, 1 |
| XTC | 5, 2 |
| U2 | 4, 1, 3 |
| Brian Eno | 2, 3, 5 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 3, 5, 2, 3, 5 |
5-Star Albums (134)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
A Tribe Called Quest · 7 likes
5/5
Never realised just how great this album is. The samples are picked from seamingly everywhere. Lots of it seems to have been grabbed from From, Fusion and R&B. I love the flow, the lyricism. Everything here is a joy to listen to. Paced really well too.
The Cramps · 5 likes
5/5
Amazing album. Psychobilly and punk classic. All the songs are really energetic and have this nice country rock 'n roll twang to them.
Germs · 3 likes
5/5
Love this album, lots of the songs here tend to get stuck in my head. A groundbreaking album for Punk and the development of Hardcore. It's a shame they only got to record one album, but this album is one of the tightest and energetic records to listen to. The production here is also unrivaled by any of their other published works. Darby Crash's vocals are great and energizing and this entire record just pumps me up.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse · 2 likes
5/5
I love how its essentially two halves of an album. Going from slow and acoustic to fast and distortion drenched means there's a great build up. Especially towards the end with Sedan Delivery and the final track. Love how Hey Hey, My My also comes back as an electric track in the end. The songs themselves are brilliant and melancholic. Another great Neil young album.
Can · 2 likes
5/5
A classic. Gets more and more bizarre with every song. Aumgn and Peking O are wonderful.
4-Star Albums (224)
1-Star Albums (29)
All Ratings
Beatles
5/5
It's the bloody Beatles
Adele
3/5
second half bit less interesting, decent to good album
Talking Heads
5/5
Favorite Talking Geads album so far. Ending track is great.
Public Enemy
5/5
Best rap in the game.
The Police
3/5
Already listened before. Fun album, not the best work by the police but it has a nice vibe. No bad tracks but not many standouts either.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Odd voice, instrumentation is really solid. Haiti is a nice and chill song. Alright album but I don't think I'll listen to it much again, not my cup of tea.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Audio volume issues on Deezer really hampered my enjoyment. Enjoyable album, reminds me of House of Pain. Do prefer other rap acts of the time to this however.
Ramones
4/5
Quintessential punk. Punk did go on to do cooler things though.
Can
5/5
A classic. Gets more and more bizarre with every song. Aumgn and Peking O are wonderful.
The Specials
4/5
Enjoying this more than I thought. Lyrics are really fun and the songs aren’t too ska for my taste.
Beastie Boys
5/5
YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY!!!
Solomon Burke
3/5
Feels like a typical soul-album of the era. Nice album but not something that really sticks.
The Mothers Of Invention
5/5
Wowie zowie what a cool album.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Best album to vent out anger.
Norah Jones
2/5
It sounds fine, but makes for a forgettable piece of muzak. Something to put on in the background. Don’t know why is quite nostalgic though.
2/5
Not a fan of sophisti-pop. The look of love and poison arrow are fine cheesy 80’s singles. The rest didn’t leave an impact.
Silver Jews
3/5
Fine album, enjoyed it more than the other album I listened by them.
Rush
5/5
Classic. One of the best prog rock albums out there.
MGMT
3/5
Fun album with some nice songs on it, kids especially.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Clearly a quality album. Has a bunch of great parts but a lot of it doesn't really stand out to me. Has a bit of an old timey English feel. Not really my type of music but good listen nonetheless.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Good album with some stand out tracks like Superstition and I Believe. Stevie Wonder did make a few better albums though.
The Offspring
5/5
Pop punk :O .... but it's actually good !!! :O.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Classic CCR, I listened to a lot of CCR and still think I haven’t spent enough time with this one.
Tito Puente
2/5
Thought I’d enjoy it more than I did.
Slade
4/5
You can really hear what would become the hard rock and heavy metal of the later 70’s in this one.
Michael Jackson
3/5
More of a hits collection than a proper album, only really like about half the songs so half the rating.
Robbie Williams
1/5
Really did not enjoy it. All of it felt like filler run of the mill pop content. Even Angels, normally a pretty good song, didn't stand out much because it was right in the middle of the album.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
Bizarre album, quite jazzy.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
Nice vocal jazz, not the genre that is really my cup of tea though.
Miles Davis
5/5
Absolute classic. Miles is more revered for his later work within modal and jazz fusion, but this is a good showcase of why he was already the best tooter in the early 50's.
Jurassic 5
4/5
Good rap album, Nelly Furtado feature is a plus.
Saint Etienne
3/5
Fine
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Great record, the album tracks are even better than the hits.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Very solid album, probably 5 stars but gotta listen to it more for that.
The Black Crowes
4/5
Pretty fun album, good old rock 'n roll that's kind of an outlier for its time.
Television
4/5
Friction and the title track are great songs. Other songs are good too.
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
Good album, very relaxing. Many imitated it, none did better.
Nas
3/5
One of the albums of all time
Radiohead
4/5
Never gave it a fair chance before and ... wow. Very nice listen, experimental yet still a pretty easy listen. Easy to see why it got so popular. Fitter Happier and the second half not being as interesting drags it down a bit for me though.
Dire Straits
4/5
Good one. Mark Knopfler has a really characteristic playing style. Not what I’d call ground breaking but very nice nonetheless.
Traffic
3/5
Seems good, probably need a bit more time. Can easily see the rating go up to 4 eventually.
Morrissey
3/5
Its the Smiths but more of it, will most likely go back to it at some point later in time but didn’t impress me that much at first.
Neil Young
5/5
Classic Neil
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Not bad, but not my kind of album. I prefer the French versions of the songs generally. One and a half hours is just too long for an album like this however.
The Beach Boys
5/5
All time classic, every song on it is pleasant to listen to and there are some stand out tracks like I just wasn't made for these times and wouldn't it be nice. There are no pet sounds in this album however >:(.
Nightmares On Wax
1/5
One of the most boring listens I've had so far. This album goes nowhere. Some of the grooves are nice, but then they drag on for long and lose any of the impact they really had. Elevator music for stoners.
Jethro Tull
4/5
Number of good tracks on this one, Locomotive Breath and Aqualung are classic rock staples and theres other good ones as well. Doesn’t really feel like prog rock to me.
Ray Charles
3/5
I feel like Ray Charles has better albums from this time.
Sonic Youth
4/5
It grows on you, nice soundscapes throughout.
Foo Fighters
3/5
Fine standard rock & roll album, doesn’t seem to have many of the hits on it.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Has a lot of fun guitar is it. Did like the album but it left less of an impact than I would’ve liked it to.
The Damned
5/5
Probably the best classic punk album. Has a lot of bangers and a lot of fun wit in it. Anti-pope, Melody Lee and Looking at you are the high points.
Kelela
1/5
How is this an essential album? Feels like every other similar album from the time.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Surprisingly good. The singles I was already familiar with, but there were some nice album tracks in there as well. The album tracks did fall off in the second half though.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Kind of a weird album. Figured I’d like it more since I like a lot of post-punk, but this one doesn’t do anything for me. Fodderstompf also really stinks.
JAY Z
3/5
The samples are nice and well implemented. Overall didn't like it as much as I did first time around. Kind of starts sounding the same after an hour.
Radiohead
4/5
Good album, liked it more than OK computer.
Primal Scream
3/5
Nice and quite mellow album. Really liked the 60s psychedelic tones throughout. Prefer screamadelica though.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Much preferred this one over funeral. Out is the somewhat boring indie rock, in with the more uptempo and upbeat instrumentation. The electronic touches are nice too. Sounds a lot like what a lot of early 2010’s rock tried to be.
The Police
3/5
Was a fine album, don’t enjoy the Police like I used to.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
Great album, lovely instrumentation. No idea what he's singing but it sounds nice.
Screaming Trees
4/5
Good album, certainly gonna come back to it.
David Bowie
3/5
Fine album, other Bowie albums are better. Did have a bunch of good tracks like I'd rather be high.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Lots of familiar songs, more than I anticipated. Really enjoyed it, but most likely won’t visit it again anyways.
Paul Weller
5/5
One of my favorite surprises so far. Really enjoyed the atmosphere, instrumentation and his voice.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
One of my favorite Leonard Cohen albums. All the songs on here are great, even the less liked ones like Jazz police I still manage to enjoy. Does suffer from some very 1980's music tropes but it doesn't distract from the quality too much.
Supergrass
3/5
Really enjoyed the first few tracks, but it fell off and the second side didn’t capture me the same way.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
It's got some of the big hits for sure. I've never been enamored with Aretha Franklin's deepcuts for some reason, which prevents me from giving it 5 stars.
Anthrax
3/5
Not as good as the rest of the big 4. Caught in a Mosh is a nice track and none of the other tracks are especially bad, but they don’t leave much of a lasting impact and feel quite generic.
John Lennon
3/5
Not that impressed by it. Working class hero is a great song, but I don't find myself liking many of the other tracks on here. The dude can do a good scream though.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Shine on you crazy diamond is a great song, but I don't find myself caring about the 3 songs that interrupt it as much. Pink Floyd has made better albums.
Doves
2/5
It exists ... And it's music. Really not memorable.
Metallica
3/5
The combination of metal and classical instrumentation works really well. The fact that it's a live album with the public in the background helps add to the more theatrical feel as well. What really kills it are the vocals though. This era of Metallica isn't the best and this weird autotuned voice ruins the impact. Some tracks like nothing else matters and call of ktulu work really well, but most of the newer tracks don't.
3/5
Pretty fun listen, had some fun instruments.
Iron Maiden
5/5
Essential heavy metal album. Not as much of a focus on the vocals as other Iron Maiden albums, which I like.
The Clash
3/5
Didn't like this the first time around, but listening to it again I'm starting to come around to it. Pretty good and fun album, but still a bit pop-ish for my tastes.
The Afghan Whigs
4/5
Good rock album.
Neil Young
5/5
I like most things Neil Young and I like this one. It's got the most big hits of all his albums for sure, although not every track is as great.
Hole
4/5
Courtney Love has a great voice and can really scream out the lyrics. The scream-tracks are a high point, don't really like the softer songs as much.
M.I.A.
3/5
Not my type of music at all, but I really enjoy it. Fun beats in there and quite uptempo. Can't make out any of the lyrics. It does get a bit gimmicky after a while.
Aimee Mann
1/5
What a nothing album. It's not awful, but there is nothing here that I'd consider worth coming back to. About 100 other artists do this exact schtick but better.
Louis Prima
3/5
Fun listen. Quite a solid album for it's era, feels like more than just some thrown together songs.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Really not what I anticipated, based on the singles I knew by them. Really good rocker and a lot more noise rock and punk-y than I expected them to be. Multiple really cool songs out of this. Really glad I got to listen this, even with that ugly album cover.
Ride
4/5
Pretty good shoegaze album. Doesn't go quite as wacky as some other shoegaze efforts though.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Not as strong as the debut album imo. It does have the bigger hits, but I don’t really care as much for them as I do on their debut or powerslave. Still a really solid metal album, but not quite their best.
William Orbit
2/5
Was fun at first, but it really turned into a slog to get through in the middle section. Somewhat nice industrial and ominous tones throughout, but nothing that really justifies its length. Does have enough nice moments and a good enough album cover to save it from 1 star.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Don't really feel this one. Its got great songs and some of the best songs of the time as covers, but as an album it doesn't really strike me. Later Aretha albums are a bit more coherent and work better as albums, rather than singles collections.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
This one flew by. Really nice album and a genre of jazz I’d like to discover more.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Bob Marley at his best, less of the hits and more politically charged songs. Liked it but still not really a fan of reggae, the beat really doesn’t match the tone of the songs.
The Monkees
3/5
No idea why they chose this Monkees album, fine bubblegum pop.
Cyndi Lauper
2/5
I don't really like Cindy Laupers voice, sounds too screechy to me. Time after time is a great 80's classic, the rest of the songs range from pretty good to awful. I didn't like the last part of the album and the weird reggae-beat song and Beach Boys-esque track on it.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Almost feels more like a greatest hits album than a regular one. Has a ton of great songs on it, my favorites being wild horses and moonlight mile.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Lyricism is on point, but I don't really like Kendricks rapping voice.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Great noisy rock album, really liked this one.
Eurythmics
3/5
Pretty good synthpop album, feels like I’ve gotten a lot of synthpop so far.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Bit boring eh.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
Good album, but man that’s a lot longer than expected. Really liked how it was a big summary of classic country and American folk. Sometimes their interpretations felt a bit corny however.
Lorde
4/5
Could see myself listening to this more often. Lots of interesting beats and songs on here.
The Temptations
4/5
Not their best album. Papa was a rolling stone is the clear highlight here and an amazing song by itself. The rest of the songs are nice but not as impactful.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
Had some fun beats, feels non-essential otherwise. Don’t think I’ll listen to it again.
Soft Machine
4/5
Ahead of its time, was not expecting it to be more jazz than rock. Good album though its not one to listen often.
Todd Rundgren
5/5
Great album, feels like the american Elton John.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Good band man yeah idk.
The Roots
4/5
I really liked the boombastic in your face songs.T he albums did have a few duds though, like the 10 minute song Water.
The Crusaders
3/5
Street life is a great song, the rest of the album is somewhat uplifting elevator jazz fusion. 3 Stars.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Feels like every song on this album could have been a hit. Don't like the hits as much on it since they're so incredibly overplayed. Great essential piece of hair metal though, probably all the hair metal you will ever need.
Public Enemy
5/5
What a great album, probably the best hip hop album out there.
Air
4/5
It's a good listen for sure, but it feels as if you miss some of the heft of the pieces by not watching the associated movie. Still a nice listen that flies by.
CHIC
3/5
The bass playing is amazing on this, really groovy. I feel disco is more of a singles game though, and this doesn’t have the hit power some other disco albums have.
Al Green
4/5
Lovely soulful album. Lots of great hits on it like let’s stay together and how can you mend a broken heart. Album feels like the perfect length as well.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I was pleasantly surprised by the deeper cuts on this one. Heathen and Waiting in vain were great tracks. My hatred towards Three little birds and One love bumps this down significantly though, can’t stand these don’t worry be happy-esque reggae songs.
Fela Kuti
5/5
Perhaps his best work. It’s politically charged, yet upbeat and incredibly groovy.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Train did it better. Great album but I think Led Zeppelin went on to do better and greater things on future albums.
Fever Ray
3/5
A lot of nice soundscapes in there. I really liked the dark ambient tones in the first song. The rest of the album was more upbeat but still nice.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Everything is right objectively, but I find myself not really caring for almost anything Bruce Springsteen. It’s all a bit too polished and bombastic for me.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Great bit of noisy alternative rock. Lots of great songs like the opening track. However, it does get a bit same-y at times.
Cream
5/5
One of the first hard rock records ever. Love the distorted noisy guitar on it. Lots of great tracks like Strange Brew, Tales of Brave Ulysses and of course Sunshine of your love. Not every track is as great, but I enjoy listening to all of them.
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Not often that you find a new album where you already know most of the songs on there. Hugely important band, but I’m not that much of a fan of the Louvin Brothers vocal performance.
Tim Buckley
2/5
I should like it, based on my preferences, but I cannot seem to get into it. The songs don’t stick with me.
The Black Keys
2/5
Generic blues rock, thought El Camino was better.
New Order
4/5
Way better than I expected it to be. Great blend of both the new wave and alt rock of the 1980's. Not that much of a fan of the vocal performances though.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Pretty nice listen, doesn't feel particularly deserving of being one of the 1001 essentials.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Feels a few years ahead of its time. The band is playing really well here.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
The 2 singles off this album are great, peak 1960s pop music. The other songs are nice with varying levels of interest in them.
Erykah Badu
3/5
Quite a nice listen. The patrician's choice of 2000's female R&B / Soul artist.
The Blue Nile
2/5
Another sophisti-pop album. Tinseltown in the rain is a nice famous song, the rest went in one ear and out the other. Doesn't seem to excel in its genre or borrow enough outside it to be memorable and worth revisiting.
Steve Earle
4/5
Great revitalization of country music. Still sounds incredible and really fun to listen.
Tracy Chapman
5/5
I was blown away by the production first time I listened to this on LP. Really powerful album, Tracy Chapman really sounds like she means every word she says. The first tracks are the best part of the album, but it only falls off a tiny bit at the end.
Deerhunter
2/5
Of all the albums of all time, this is certainly one of them.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Good album, but I don’t click with it like I do with other golden age hip hop albums. I’ll be sure to keep listening to it though.
Tears For Fears
3/5
Feels like a greatest hits record of the 1980’s. I really like shout and head over heels, the rest of the songs I don’t care much for. The entire production feels very 80’s cheese.
Stan Getz
4/5
Lovely album, feels right at home on a warm summer night. The band plays really soft and gentle. Shame this album isn’t any longer.
Red Snapper
3/5
Pretty nice soundscapes. I liked this more than the other electronic albums from this era that have been presented so far, the harder beats and occasional rapping really help it.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
I’ve really grown fond of shoegaze lately. Love this album, but its not quite as good as its successor.
Muddy Waters
4/5
It sounds really nice, never been that much of a muddy waters guy though. He doesn’t have the ferocity that John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton have. His playing is immensly great though.
Soundgarden
3/5
I love Soundgarden, but this isn’t the best release they have. There’s a bunch of great songs on here, but the runtime is a bit too long and there’s a number of filler tracks on it. Badmotorfinger also had the better hit singles and deepcuts imoz
The Cramps
5/5
Amazing album. Psychobilly and punk classic. All the songs are really energetic and have this nice country rock 'n roll twang to them.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Sounds fine. Didn't really pay attention but it seems right up my alley. Bit derivative from things like Sonic Youth and Hüsker Dü though.
Supertramp
5/5
Love this album. Manages to blend pop and prog effortlessly, lots of high points here such as School, Hide in your Shell, If Everyone was Listening and the title track.
Motörhead
4/5
Every song sounds the same.
Dennis Wilson
1/5
Absolutely nothing to this album.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Classic album and an all time icon. However, it's not my favorite listen. near 50 minutes of just guitar, harmonica and singing gets a bit repetitive. I also think there's better folk albums from this time and that Bob Dylan went on to do much more interesting things.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Amazing how much music they managed to put in this album. Every single song on here is great and memorable, and somehow they managed to fit 2 of their longest songs with jams in there on it as well.
Beatles
5/5
One of the greatest albums of all time. Don't like every part of it, but especially the end medley is amazing.
The The
4/5
Quite an enjoyable listen. Listened to one of the songs off the album yesterday and had this pop up as my album of the day. Feels like a more energetic Simple Minds.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Really good album. Lovely piece of post-punk that I'll be sure to listen more.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Not as good as I remember. Burrito deluxe is a much more memorable album with better hit songs. Lots of country rock albums from this era that are better.
Taylor Swift
1/5
I was willing to give this a fair shot, but what a nothing album this is. 1 hour of Taylor Swift being accompanied by little more than a piano puts any man to sleep, the lyrical prowess on display really isn’t good enough to make an album like this. Any 4 minute song feels like 10 minutes halfway through. Is this what the hype is all about?
Bob Dylan
4/5
I like it a lot, but I'm not a fan of every track on here and some drag on for too long.
5/5
I should really listen to the Kinks more. Every time I listen to them I am positively surprised. This album is really great too, great album that rocks surprisingly hard. Shangri-La is my favorite here.
Van Morrison
5/5
Beautiful album. Very lush instrumentation with some intricate playing scattered throughout as well. It's such an easy album to immerse yourself into and watch time fly by. Gets more beautiful with every listen.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Doesn't really feel essential imo. You notice some more world-music esque production and percussion on here, especially on the final track. I like it but it's not overly memorable.
Radiohead
3/5
Had some pretty weird and harsh instrumentation in there. Feels like they took regular songs and clobbered it with a layer of avantgarde. Quite enjoyable.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
I really like this one more than I expected it to. The songs are perhaps a bit poppy but really seem to capture the post 9/11 American zeitgeist. Much better than I expected from an artist over 3 decades into his career, Bruce's voice still sounds amazing too. There are some beautiful songs in there like Paradise and Into the fire, mixed with a bunch of more upbeat songs.
Britney Spears
3/5
I had no idea what a Britney Spears song sounded like, aside from the big hit on the album. Lots of the album sounds like it could be any late 90s pop artist. Still a nice album that keeps your attention and the Sonny & Cher cover was a fun surprise.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
Good album. All the songs penned by themselves and some really good energetic playing in there. Short and sweet album that was one of the best of its time.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Doesn’t really have a lot of interest to me. I like glory days and my hometown is alright but the rest puts me to sleep or is way overplayed.
Pavement
4/5
I love it.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Listens fine. Time seems to fly by whenever I listen to the Cocteau Twins. Not the type of music I actively listen out anymore, I prefer more abrasive and harsh shoegaze-like music.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Has some of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs and riffs. Love that it's a double album but not all the songs on here interest me as much.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Objectively really good. Touches on some heavy subjects and has a surprising amount of depth for a pop album. The runtime it a bit too long for my taste however and its not really my cup of tea.
Blue Cheer
5/5
What an amazing album, straight out of the gritty demonic psychedelic 60s. The self penned songs are really great and the covers are the hardest takes of said songs at the time. Its not really heavy metal but it's Cream or Jefferson Airplane turned to 11.
Beck
3/5
Fine album, probably needs a relisten. I found it a bit forgettable at times but it had nice moments.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Some of the songs aren't very inspiring. I thought the It's all over now cover went on for too long. Rod Stewarts voice makes anything a pleasant listen though.
The Pogues
4/5
Fun album to listen. Really dug the cozy pub atmosphere this album brings.
MC Solaar
4/5
I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Lyrics, idk I can barely speak french. The flow and rhythm were on point though. Ragga Jam is a clear high point for me.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Another day, another Bob Marley album. No woman no cry is one of his better hit singles, still don’t really care about reggae though.
The Auteurs
3/5
Why is it called New Wave if it sounds nothing like the genre? Sounded a lot more like generic alt rock to me. Was a fine album but went in one ear and out the other.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Really nice in concept. I love the golden age hip hop in combinations with African beats and themes. I found myself longing for more pronounced African influence though, it doesn’t feel as apparent as I would like it to be.
Jerry Lee Lewis
5/5
Best rock & roll album out there. The playing is really energetic and are some of the best renditions of said songs.
Travis
2/5
Was really surprised to hear 'Why does it always rain on me' on here. I hadn't heard that song in ages and had no idea it was by Travis. The entire album feels like 2000s Skyradio-core. The songs were nice but this is one of the oh so many pop albums that I won't be playing again.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Finally an Elliott Smith album, I was really looking forward to this one. Really liked the album and every instrument feels like it has a purpose here.
Muddy Waters
5/5
One of the greatest players and singers to ever do it. It’s apparently a comeback album but its barely different from his early material. Not that that’s a bad thing, his voice still sounds phenomenal at this age. Every song is a jam and a great blues classic. No surprises but you can’t go wrong with Muddy Waters.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
One of my favorite albums of all time. I love the harmonies, I love the songwriting, I love the songs on here.
Hawkwind
4/5
Album gets better the further you delve into it. Some of the tracks commanded attention and sounded a bit like proto-Boris while others were too drawn out and boring for my taste. Did have some great highs though, like Brainstorm.
Paul Simon
3/5
Was a fine album, I like some of his other works better. Maybe it’ll grow on me. Me and Julio down by the schoolyard is a classic though.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Really like a lot of the songs on here, but it falls off in the second part IMO. The quiet parts on songs like Soma are way too quiet, to the point where you can’t hear anything in the car. I wish it had more hard rocking tracks.
The Young Rascals
3/5
Very quaint and peaceful record. Feels like a really solid more bubblegum-pop esque album. Not really my cup of tea though.
Wild Beasts
2/5
Really forgettable listen. Nothing blatantly offensive but not much to make me turn back.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Might be my favorite Zeppelin album. Contains more acoustic tracks than pretty much any other Led Zep album, but I think they’re at their strongest here. Gallows Pole, Tangerine and Hats off to Roy Harper are all great songs.
The Stooges
4/5
It feels a bit too polished for a Stooges album, almost more power pop esque. The raw outbursts of Fun House made way for tighter songs.
Goldfrapp
4/5
Really enjoyed this one. Soft singing with all sorts of weird instrumentation. Really liked the string parts in the background. Quite a haunting sounding album. First track was my favorite.
Slipknot
3/5
Edgy as fuck brooooo. Bit too noisy for my taste but quite an important album.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
No idea how people call this album boring. There's a lot of variety in there. Really liked this one, big fan of this Jazzy Hip Hop in general.
FKA twigs
3/5
You can really hear how it influenced later 2010's and 2020's pop. Very interesting blend of electronica and alt pop. Does really fall off in the second half though. Doesn't really do enough to keep interest for me.
The Triffids
2/5
The umpteenth synthpop album on here. This one had a bit more aggressive synth drums than others, but still not wholly memorable or worthy of being on the list.
Magazine
4/5
Quite a good listen. Liked a bunch of songs here.
DJ Shadow
4/5
I liked it a lot more than my previous listen of this. The songs are really varied and the samples must be quite obscure since I didn't recognise many of them. Really liked the bass in lots of parts. Did fall off at the end though.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Rap legends. Always nice to hear how well they do the vocal interplay between them and finish each others sentences. I don't like it as much as raising hell and it really feels primitive at times but a good album nonetheless.
Metallica
5/5
Every track on this is a joy. Sanitarium and Disposable Heroes are my favorites, but I like them all.
Deep Purple
5/5
One of the best driving albums, and that’s the exact scenario I listened in. The first five tracks are all high points for me. The organ and guitar go so crazy that it’s almost demonic.
Kanye West
4/5
This was much more R&B-leaning than I expected a Kanye album to be. Kind of glad that this is the first Kanye album I listened, I feel like I learned quite a bit about the man and his upstart on here. I liked a lot of the songs but I wasn't really wowed by them.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Really fun to try and recognise as many of the samples as you can. I really like this album, but it's not the Beastie Boys album I keep coming back to. Lots of great music on here though.
Korn
3/5
Balances out somewhere in the middle. There's some really cool tracks on here, but they are balanced out by the number of similar sounding forgettable tracks and downright uninteresting one. Doesn't justify its runtime too well.
David Bowie
3/5
Not my favorite Bowie album. Not that much of a fan of Bowie's piano ballads and a lot of the acoustic songs here. Changes and Life on Mars are also far from my favorite hit singles of his. The album does end pretty good with Andy Warhol, Queen Bitch and the Bewley Brothers though. Overall not too impressed. Ziggy is a better rocker and more commercially successful, The Man Who Sold the World was a stronger album as well, and anything he did after is way more impressive to me.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
It's fine I suppose. I liked the hits on here and nothing stood out as bad or boring. Don't really see why Elvis Costello deserves 6 placements on this list though.
Boston
4/5
Really great dadrocker. All the members are incredibly talented at their instruments. Foreplay / Long Time is the highlight for me, although I like a lot of the other songs as well. Does get a point less for how overplayed some of the songs are, even if they're good.
The Verve
3/5
Oasis' Be here now from Temu. It feels really overindulgent. There's some nice songs here like The Drugs Don't Work, but the overall thing is a lengthy 75 minutes with songs that have been needlessly dragged out. Can't say they aren't nice noisy soundscapes though.
Bob Dylan
5/5
One of the easiest 5 stars to give. I love all the songs on here, especially the ones where Dylan goes electric. Tombstone Blues, Highway 61 Revisited and Queen Jane Approximately are my favorites, but I like them all.
LTJ Bukem
3/5
FYI: the spotify-link to this album is wrong. The real version is 2.5 hours long and has completely different songs.
Difficult album to rate, the trouble finding the right version didn't help. I'm not that big of a Drum n Bass fan and 143 minutes is way too long as an album. I enjoyed the first hour or so but 20+ long tracks gets boring after a while. I still enjoyed the individual songs on here and I do think it's deserving of a place on this list as representation for a pretty big genre, but I don't think I will ever listen to this as an album again.
Coldplay
3/5
Much better than I anticipated. Sounds quite a lot like a more melodic Radiohead. Some really strong tracks on here like the title track and Clocks. Doubt I'll listen to it much more though.
4/5
As popular and sell outs as they became, I never really hated the material U2 put out. I mainly like their earlier 80's output but almost anything they've done is fine by me. This one starts off with 3 of their biggest hits and then runs through a bunch of great deep cuts. Bullet the Blue Sky and Red Hill Mining Town were my favorites this listen. Not a big fan of the last track though, doesn't add anything and the album was already hard enough to cram onto 1 LP.
Ian Dury
4/5
Ian Dury is a funny man with funny lyrics, such as on the final 2 tracks. His voice isn't conventionally pretty, but this half talking half singing voice works well for the songs. Album just seems to fly by, but its a really fun listen if not a very conventionally beautiful album.
Fats Domino
3/5
Was quite a quest to figure out which album this actually was. Said album cover isn't on Deezer and there's 2 albums from 56/57 with basically the same album title as this. Fats Domino is always a treat to listen. These recordings feel like the emphasis is put more on the bass and guitar rather than Fats' piano playing. I liked the album but it's a bit short and I think Fats Domino Swings would have been a better pick since it includes all of his biggest hits.
EDIT: I still have no idea what the actual album is supposed to be.
EDIT 2: I found the proper album now which is different from the previous one. Sounds fine, didn't recognise any songs besides Blue Monday and Blueberry Hill. Always a joy to listen to Fats Domino but I still think Fats Domino Swings is the better showcase of his skills.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Love this album, might be my favorite album of all time. The tracks on here are truly stellar. Cinnamon Girl is a great opener and reminds me a bit of Mr. Soul from Buffalo Springfields second album. Down by the River has such mesmerizing guitar playing that I could listen to for hours. The regularly reoccuring harmonies sound really nice as well.
The Who
5/5
Best concept album of 1967, not Sgt Peppers!!!! Really like the songs and the fun jingles give a bit of a look into the slop that was on the airwaves at the time.
Joanna Newsom
1/5
What is this? Almost an hour long and just 5 tracks. Every song feels like some long winded medieval storytelling accompanied by bardcore instruments. Am I too dumb to get the appeal? I really don't wanna listen to it again.
Morrissey
3/5
Fine album, sounds like some nice 90s college rock. I liked a bunch of tracks on here, especially the first and last track. Lots of solid hooks and riffs here, prefer it over the other Morrissey album I had.
Air
4/5
All I need was a track I hadn't heard in a really long time, really nice to rediscover that one. The rest of the album was pleasant as well, relaxing downtempo electronica that doesn't get boring like a lot of other electronica does. The songs have memorable moments and melodies to them and don't overstay their welcome. Relatively short and sweet album.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
The guy on the right sums up my reaction to the album. It's a Sin and What have I done to deserve this are pretty famous hits and decent songs, but I couldn't vibe with the album overall. Its a step above the other garbage that ruled the late 80's airwaves but I can't really see it as anything worth going back in time for to listen to. Interesting vocals though.
Funkadelic
4/5
There are some stellar tracks on here, like the title track and the fart noise song. Not every track on here is as consistent or memorable. Still a great Funk classic.
Nina Simone
5/5
Nina Simone's singing and playing is extremely soulful. A lot of great tracks here, can't really go wrong with any of Nina Simone's output from this era.
The Stone Roses
4/5
MADCHESTER! I like pretty much every song on here, from the deepcuts to the big hits. Every track is a joy and there's no real filler here. However, while I like the tracks, I don't quite love them like I do with other albums.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Worthy inclusion. It's a very pleasant album to listen to, just not one I pick often. A great starting point for discovering more Latin and Cuban music. However, the genres they touch on here have more fleshed out albums to delve into. It's a good compilation but I'd rather listen to other albums in these genres.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This album has everything. A double LP that doesn't overstay its welcome. There are memorable songs and riffs for days. Tons of guitar solos as expected too. Memorable hits like Crosstown Traffic, All Along The Watchtower and House Burning Down. Along with that some epic jams that delve into long ass solo's like on 1983 and the Voodoo Child/e's. Only nitpick is that I'm not really a fan of Little Miss Strange, it sounds a bit out of place and doesn't live up to how amazing other songs are. One of the best 60's albums still.
The White Stripes
4/5
A bit of a mixed bag for me. I like the White Stripes but this one has more duds on it than their other albums. Still, especially the harder rockers are great songs. I loved Blue Orchid and Instinct Blues. As Ugly As I Seem is a beautiful slow and simple song. A lot of the other songs range from unmemorable to not that liked by me. Still a well liked and nostalgic album for me though.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Surely one of the albums of all time. Bit like the Young Rascals album but modernized. I liked the songs and vocals were quite nice to listen to, but I don't think I'll listen to it again.
Gene Clark
3/5
Gene Clark has made better albums, I think No Other is a much more innovative sounding album by him. It has nice guitar playing at times and Clark's vocals are always pleasant to hear, but it doesn't stand out in an ocean of memorable 70's songwriters.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Sledgehammer is great, so is the duet with Kate Bush. So are a lot of the other non big hit tracks. Its too drenched in 80's production for me to enjoy it a whole lot but there's a lot of good on here.
Def Leppard
1/5
Classic rock at its very worst. It's not the worst album to listen to but its such an incredibly uncreative and boring record. The hit songs are all overplayed to the point of being grating to the ears and the deep cuts have nothing interesting buried in the album. I've listened to less enjoyable albums but none are as bland or undeserving of being on the list as this one. If you want cliché 1987 hair metal you're better off with Whitesnake or Guns 'N Roses.
Black Sabbath
5/5
I’m a sucker for Black Sabbath and this one is no exception. This album is more rooted in the Blues than their later albums, including a cover of the Aynsley Dunbar song Warning. Chock full of classics like N.I.B., Evil Woman and Black Sabbath. Every song is a joy.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
I wish this was longer. Not quite as many bangers as Sounds of Silence, mostly due to the short runtime and the small “skit” at the end. A beautiful album otherwise with a lot of my Simon & Garfunkel favorites like Homeward Bound and Scarborough Fair.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Even more of a singles compilation than Thriller is. I prefer it over Thriller, even though it doesn't have anything to top the fantastic trio of songs on there. Bad is good, The way you make me feel is bad. Speed Demon has one of the coolest baselines known to man. Dirty Diana, Smooth Criminal and Leave Me Alone are all classic tracks, the rest in between could be stolen. Overall somewhere in the middle.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Hurt is an all time classic and easily worth 5 stars. I love Johnny Cash and this era of his music. There’s more interesting American recordings though IMO. There’s a few duds on here like We’ll meet again and a few uninteresting ones. Songs like Hurt, First time ever I saw your face, I hung my head and In my life are amazing though.
2Pac
4/5
Really solid album, easy 4 stars. The beats are amazing and 2pac has a very clear delivery. Lots of good tracks but Dear Mama is the highlight for me.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Funny coincidence to have 2pac and Biggie right after each other. This album is pretty bloated just like Biggie himself. The skits are awful but the songs are all bangers. The songwriting does get repetitive after a while though. Could count about 20 different cars he bragged about and shooting and fucking and bragging gets tiresome here.
TV On The Radio
2/5
Pleasant to hear, but pretty forgettable. The songs did quite differ from one another but still feels like 2010's landfill indie to me.
George Michael
1/5
Freedom is one of the better George Michael songs and Soul Free was alright too. What an absolute slog to get through the rest of it though. The songs are way too boring, way too long and completely uninteresting to me. More than any other album I was waiting for this to be over.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Pretty enjoyable listen. The piano playing is quite impactful and Nick Cave has a great voice. Some of the songs linger a bit long for my tastes though. Will have to listen again.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Good album but not his very best work. I liked some songs like the opening track. Great and powerful voice that really shows his age.
Tom Waits
2/5
I can take the voice of Captain Beefheart, Geddy Lee and Leonard Cohen, but Tom Waits doesn't really gel with me. It's a bit too much and distracts from his lyrics. Instrumentation is quite nice if a bit too slow for my taste.
Wilco
4/5
Enjoyable album. Not much to say about it but I really liked it despite its long running time.
Miles Davis
4/5
Stellar line up of musicians. You can really hear what Jazz Fusion was about to become and how the next decade was gonna look.
Neil Young
5/5
Maybe his best album. Like every song on here.
Stan Getz
4/5
Really nice listen, the type of music you can play in pretty much any setting. The playing isn't what I'd call spectacular but it is pleasant to hear.
Paul Simon
5/5
Heard this album a lot as a kid. Love this album, a seamless blend of a lot of African rhythm and genres and Paul Simons western music. A joy to listen to throughout.
Dr. Dre
5/5
What a great bunch of songs on here, effortlessly flowing into each other as well. Love the G-funk here, the beats are all amazing, even has a flute solo at one point. The lyricism and flow is really great too, maybe not the very best but certainly up there. Still has a few annoying skits but not nearly as bad as Ready to die. Great collection of songs to listen to.
James Taylor
3/5
Was a bit dissappointed in this album. Fire and Rain is a good song and there's a few other good songs like Country Road on here. A lot of the songs I didn't enjoy or found to be very forgettable though. Runtime is short as well and I find this album doesn't really stick out in the sea of 70's singer-songwriters.
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
Not really impressed. I used to like listening to Lenmny Kravitz when I was 8 years old and hadn't heard of Nirvana yet. There's a lot of quite funky and groovy elements here but the overall album sounds like pretty forgettable rock.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Really nice listen. Never heard this album outside of the first minute of Let's Get It On. Just some nice soul music.
Ministry
3/5
Quite a weird metal album. Doesn't have the usual metal grunts really but singer has a really distorted singing voice. Songs often don't follow a set structure of verse and chorus and whatnot. I enjoyed parts but a lot of it doesn't do anything for me.
Beatles
5/5
Has a few duds but one of the best Beatles albums still. Nice collection of strong hits and deep cuts.
Dr. Octagon
2/5
I like Ultramagnetic MC's a lot, but not so much into Kool Keiths solo work. Don't really care for the themes of the songs here and the album drags on for way too long. The few bars that do stick out are just bizarre. I do like the classical touches throughout however.
Bon Jovi
1/5
I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT
Ice Cube
4/5
Fun listen. Really liked the samples here and Ice Cube spits some great lyrics. May be misogynistic but Bitch is just a really nice word to say.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
Supposed to be a big inspiration for the first wave of Punk bands from the first wave of Punk. Don't really hear it though. I enjoyed listening to the album but it didn't really feel boundary breaking. Still a nice sounding album with some good variety throughout. The singer really belts out at times and there's some really cool riffs throughout. Reminds me most of Cockney Rebel.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Never realised just how great this album is. The samples are picked from seamingly everywhere. Lots of it seems to have been grabbed from From, Fusion and R&B. I love the flow, the lyricism. Everything here is a joy to listen to. Paced really well too.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Positively surprised. A lot of variety on this album. The songs are a bit long but its all a pleasant listen.
Gang Of Four
5/5
Really good album. Groovy bass and short and punchy songs.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Didn't feel this one. Objectively well put together but I don't like Rowlands singing voice and the songs much. Too Rye Ay nah man.
Parliament
5/5
Really funky, really groovy. Really fun to listen to.
Serge Gainsbourg
5/5
Beautiful album, somewhat haunting at times too. Love the orchestra that plays throughout the album and the really funky guitar playing on En Melody. Gainsbourgs voice is beautiful too.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Maybe I've listened to this and its derivates over the past 20 years too much, but it feels a bit boring to me. Still a good album with some punchy songs and great bangers on there. One of the best 2000's rock albums.
The Who
5/5
What a trailblazer of an album. The first side starts of with some less memorable cuts but it does build up hype really well. Side 2 and 3 have some really memorable songs like the Acid Queen and Pinball Wizard. That is also when the amazing 'See me, feel me' chorus starts popping up. The story might be a bit wacky but the album is filled to the brim with amazing energised playing and tons of memorable riffs. 60s bloat and excess at its best, a sign of what was to come in the 70s.
The Slits
4/5
They just make cool noises man. Drums and bass is really groovy and nice. The scream in the album is really cool too. Really like the version of I Heard it Through The Grapevine and Typical Girls.
The Cure
5/5
The Cure never really clicked with me outside of a few of their more popular hits, but now it really does. Really love the dark mood it sets and the more barebones approach to instrumentation. Highlights for me are Play For Today, A Forest, M and At Night. The entire album really is great though.
Brian Eno
2/5
I can admire how this pretty much birthed the genre of Ambient music, but its not for me. I don't like ambient music and while there's probably a time and place for it for me, that time and place wasn't today.
The xx
3/5
The woman has a great voice and is nice to listen to, the guy I don't really like listening to at all. The instrumentation is sparse but the right instruments drop in at the right time, especially the guitar. I really liked the first few songs but it dropped of hard after that. The latter half was boring and didn't relaly have much enjoyable about it. Wanted to give it 4 stars but 3 is the most I can muster.
Genesis
5/5
Filled with a lot of great moments. Excellent jams and songs throughout the entire album. Its a long sit but it doesn't really lose my interest and is plenty varied. All the songs work incredibly well on their own.
The Verve
3/5
I'M GONNA DIE ALONE IN BED x100. The lyrics seem mostly there to fill the space with sound. Surprisingly decent little album. Every song flows into one another and half orchestra in the background adds a lot of layers.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
I was kind of dreading this because its a double album, but it turned out quite nice. Doesn't seem to have an overarching theme but there are a lot of good classic rock and pop tracks on here. Every song feels like it could have been a hit single, Tusk the track is one of the weirder tracks in that regard.
Faith No More
4/5
This is really cool. From Out of Nowhere and Woodpecker From Mars are my favorite songs here. The bass slaps and the other instruments are well played too. The best hard rock that the 80's had to offer. A lot better than the hair metal drivel that came before and a lot better than the countless rap rock nu metal albums that were inspired by it.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Doesn't feel like it was quite a hip hop album already. She's Fresh and The Message are true rap songs and my clear favorites on the album, but the rest of the album is much more late 70's funk-like. A shame Message II is only on the extended edition of the album, because its one of my favorite songs here.
Jacques Brel
4/5
I really love Jacques Brel's music and this one was a pleasant listen as well. However, I miss some of the uptempo songs that Olympia 61 has. Also doesn't really have the hits I like from him on here and the runtime is very short. Nevertheless a beautiful album. If only my French was adequate enough to listen to the lyrics.
Pixies
4/5
Hell yeah. Some great hits on here like Debaser and Gouge Away. Really love the loud quiet dynamic on here.
Gorillaz
2/5
Quite a slog to get through. The most milquetoast rapping I've ever heard on album. A few songs are quite nice and there are some nice parts to even the boring tracks that save it from a 1, but its not something I'm gonna visit again. I found the 2 remixes tacked on at the end more interesting than the songs on the album itself.
The Jam
3/5
Should probably love this more based on what it influenced, what it was influenced by, and who was a part of it (Paul Weller). Didn't really stand out to me though. Everything is there but it didn't really click with me.
Talking Heads
4/5
I could really hear what would become the influences later on Speaking in Tongues and Remain in Light with the hints of African music in there. Had a lot of variety and a bunch of fun songs in there.
John Prine
5/5
What a joy to listen to. One of the nicest country albums to listen to. The vocals are first and foreman and are easy to listen to and pretty fun and witty. Just a joy of varied country and folk music.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Reading the wiki-page for this article, it really does sound like the bridge between Bauhaus and the Pixies. There is lots of alternative rock from this era to go around, so it's not very essential but a nice listen nonetheless. Female vocals is always nice for a change and the songs are fun to listen.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
The Triffids if they were good. Liked the guitar playing on this one. There isn't really a bad song on here, the Killing Moon is probably the highlight but a lot are great. Still not really a fan of this 80's synth-pop business.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
The beats and rapping is quite primitive, Hip Hop has come a long way since this album. Still fun to listen and the tracks really bang. And of course Walk This Way is a certified hood classic.
Pere Ubu
4/5
How many glasses were broken during the production of this album? I really like the combination of punk and some Avant Garde elements in here. Vocals are nice but not very typical. Bumping it up half a star to compensate for all the low ratings.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Maybe not as strong as the first 2 albums. Still filled with great riffs and playing throughout. Every other band had to catch up 10 years to sound anything like Black Sabbath. The non metal interludes aren't as nice as in their self titled and Paranoid though.
R.E.M.
4/5
Might as well be a 90's greatest hits album. Don't like every hit on here but there's a lot of nice like Drive. Stipe's voice is a joy to listen to and the small orhcestral touches in the album are pleasant to listen to. The fame of some of the songs kind of hurts my perception of them, they're overplayed to a point where its hard to enjoy them.
Miriam Makeba
3/5
Finally something completely different after all the albums I was long familiar with. Her lovely voice is about 90% of the song. I wasn't really a fan of the English sang songs, especially the Charles Colman duet with the laughing throughout. Still a nice bit of variety from a country with a rich music history.
Various Artists
4/5
Always a listen during the Christmas times. Christmas Music may be cliché and overplayed and all that, but this album oozes atmosphere and good times, even if Phil Spector wasn't that good in delivering good times himself. The performances by the girls are amazing and the wall of sound works incredibly well for Christmas music, its like you're in a shopping mall in some feelgood Tim Allen Christmas Movie. The essential Christmas Album.
Chicago
4/5
Chicago when it was still good. The album is basically a 1 hour jam session with a few live songs at the end. The band plays really well and the solo's all give plenty of time to shine. Favorites here are Poem 58 and I'm a Man, Free Form Guitar is certainly an experience too. I like Chicago II a bit more though.
Van Halen
3/5
More tolerable than other hair metal from the era. I really don't care for Panama and Jump, but Hot for Teacher is a classic with great playing from Van Halen and saves the album from rating it lower. The other deepcuts here are fine if not something I won't really visit again. The album feels too polished for a hard rock album.
The Modern Lovers
3/5
I have a soft spot for things that are somewhat proto-punk like this. The singing is done pretty bland and uninteresting, but it fits the aesthetic pretty well. The relatively simple riffs and playing is done really well and I find the songs to be very engaging, even if the things that are sung about don't always make sense.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
I love how its essentially two halves of an album. Going from slow and acoustic to fast and distortion drenched means there's a great build up. Especially towards the end with Sedan Delivery and the final track. Love how Hey Hey, My My also comes back as an electric track in the end. The songs themselves are brilliant and melancholic. Another great Neil young album.
Alice In Chains
5/5
Used to really love this album, still like it a lot. A lot of great moments here, it does fall off a bit at the end because the runtime is a bit long for such a heavy album, but Would makes up for a lot of it.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
A few of the greatest Lynyrd Skynyrd songs represented here. Simple Man, Teusdays Gone and of course Free Bird are the stand outs. The rest are fine tracks as well. Good album to get into Southern Rock.
King Crimson
5/5
What a beautiful album. Aged really well for the birthplace of a genre. I love every bit of it, even the weird noodling on Moonchild and the other unorthodox musical moments.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Kind of a difficult one to rate. On one hand, its got some of the best songs of the 70s on here. Pastime Paradise, I Wish, As, Joy Inside My Tears, Sir Duke and the sweet Isn't She Lovely are all great tracks. On the other hand, the near 2 hours runtime with the bonus EP does really drag on, and some songs, especially on the first side, I didn't really care for. Great album but I'll probably pick out the songs I like here rather than listen to it in its entirety.
The Prodigy
4/5
One of my favorite dance albums for sure. The hit songs off here are all incredibly hyped and the other tracks here do well to keep you engaged. May not be as raw as Music for the Jilted Generation but trades it for a shorter more engaging runtime and stronger overall enjoyment. Prodigy is great in turning harsh noises into something greatly melodic.
The Temptations
3/5
Some review here said it and its hard to unhear. One side is a great Psychedelic Funk side while the other has schmalzy 60s pop songs. The Psychedelic side sounds great but is too short and the Motown-side sounds dated, but that's not really relevant in 2025. Some good moments, especially Runaway Child, but the Temptations went on to do better when they leaned more into the Psychedelic Funk later on.
Johnny Cash
5/5
It's a bit slow picking up and not as song heavy as At Folsom Prison. However, the high points here are really great. The debut of A Boy Named Sue and San Quentin, both classic songs in his catalogue are here. Less songs also means there's more room to pick up on Johnny Cash's conversations with the live crowd and his humor. Johnny Cash is a real badass and does pretty much all the heavy lifting for country musics reputation.
Wilco
3/5
These songs really grow on you over time. First time I heard the album I found it quite boring, then I found myself enjoying I'm The Man Who Loves You. This listen out I really enjoyed Heavy Metal Drummer and a few others. However, on the whole the songs are just a bit slow paced for me and the singers voice can get a bit boring. Great live band though.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer is always all over the place, they're not the most consistent band. I really like their first 2 albums and Brain Salad Surgery but never really enjoyed Tarkus for some reason. Tarkus itself doesn't really hit the heights of other side long epics like Focus' Eruption and Pink Floyds Echoes. There's some good jamming in there but its not a very cohesive piece and doesn't always sound the most pleasant. The rest of the songs are short pieces with varying degrees of quality. Noone really needs to hear Jeremy Bender before they die. The album cover is one of the best album covers ever though, extra point for that.
Hole
4/5
Much more enjoyable than I found it to be first time around. Courtney Love has such a great voice for rock. The album starts off quite strong with Celebrity Skin and stays a pleasant listen from there. The harder edge that Live Through This had isn't here as much, there's more focus on nice guitar accompanied ballads. Still has rockers like Playing Your Song on there though. The variation in songs keeps it interesting.
Bill Callahan
5/5
What an incredible voice. As a fan of Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash this is right up my alley. This is the modern country I've been looking for. The instrumentation is really sparse and aids the vocals super well, usually just an acoustic guitar and light touches of drums, bass and other snare instruments. Lyrics are beautiful as well. Great to have a new discovery after 20 days of albums I already knew.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Really like the fuzzy guitar playing on here. Groovy songs that feel like you can put them on in pretty much any situation. That Lady was the highlight for me but they're all enjoyable. Just good old 70's funk. The more soul-tracks like Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight drag the groove of this album down a bit though.
Goldie
2/5
Timeless sure takes a lot of time to sit through at almost 2 hours of runtime. Why are all these 90s DnB albums so incredibly long? It's dance music you can't really dance to that isn't all that fun to pay your attention to either. There's some nice moments on here and I can see myself putting on a song or 2 from here but as an album it really doesn't work. Adrift is also an atrocity.
Cheap Trick
3/5
Enjoyable, but a bit inconsistent. The songwriting is definitely there, but the performances are a bit hit or miss. I liked the long and drawn out Need Your Love and Surrender + some other songs. Felt the energy was there and a live version aided those songs. Some of the other songs feel lackluster though, the energy isn't there and the playing and singing isn't all too great. Still a pretty fun listen.
The Pogues
4/5
Would've been a more fitting album 3 weeks ago. I've really warmed up to Shane MacGowans drunk and mumbled singing over the time. Effortless blend of punk and folk presented here. I get a really warm and cozy feeling listening to this album, the recording quality is crisp yet quite intimate sounding. Just a jolly time all round and playing along with the Dubliners is a nice bonus in the bonus tracks.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
How did this get to be the popular one, outside of having Stairway to Heaven? I like Led Zeppelin but this one feels really overrated. When The Levee Breaks is great and Stairway to Heaven and Black Dog are good, but the rest aren't much to write home about. Led Zep I through III and Physical Graffiti are all way better.
Elvis Presley
4/5
Starts off a bit slow but still a beautiful album. Not the most innovative for its time, but you don't need more with a voice like Elvis and a collection of nice songs. His voice sounds great here and the lush instrumentation keeps even the more basic songs a pleasant listen. In The Ghetto is a great song to end on and the bonus tracks are even better, shame those weren't included on the album originally though. I'm a sucker for this schmalzy honey glazed 60s country pop and this is one of the best albums to do it.
OutKast
4/5
I was afraid it was gonna be another album ruined by skits like the Notorious B.I.G., but thankfully the interludes weren't that distracting here. Its very refreshing to hear OutKast just spitting bars here and actually rapping, their 2 big hits feel more like RnB. Favorite songs here are Gasoline Dreams, B.O.B. and Xplosion, where they do just that. The runtime is a bit long but a good album nonetheless.
Marvin Gaye
2/5
One of the most acclaimed albums of all time, but I don't really get the appeal. What's Going On is a pretty nice tune but the rest is kind of forgettable to me. It's all pretty sweet and politically charged but boring to listen to imo. I just don't get the appeal for this one.
Eminem
1/5
Music for edgy teens who never even heard of other rappers. The guy was nearing 30 on his album and still writes as if he's just learned how to swear. I don't like the beats here, I don't like the lyrical topics on most songs and I really don't like his type of humor and the skits. Eminem only ever seems to punch down when trying to diss other artists too. Where did Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera hurt you?
The Strokes
3/5
Fine album with a bunch of nice songs, but not something that really leaves a lasting impact on me. All the songs are pretty simple and catchy and I really like the way they muffled and ''lo-fi'd'' the singing here. The Strokes aren't really a bad I would think of often if not for their impact on the music world. Other artists have since made garage rock revival albums that I'd rather like to listen to. The runtime is also pretty short and it doesn't have the best and coolest Strokes song on this album.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
After a few listens, I think this album finally clicked for me. Sounds like an effortless blend of alt rock bands and singer songwriters like his father and Leonard Cohen. The album is a bit overproduced and bloated but it also adds to the aesthetic here, can't really complain about an album being on the long side if thats all the material we ever got. Beautiful voice and there's lots of odd instruments and musical touches throughout that work well. The middle part of the album with Hallelujah really takes the pace out of the album though.
John Grant
4/5
There's 2 albums in here. A great and beautiful singer-songwriter album and a more joke-ish upbeat, almost dance album. Some songs combine both sides better than others. I love the darker and more serious songs on here, the choir in the opening track is beautiful and John has a wonderful voice that sounds flawless on here. Songs like jc hates faggots manage to straddle the line between humor and heavy subject matter really well. Songs like supernatural defibrilator really ruin the vibe and atmosphere of the album for me though. Could've been 5 stars without those songs, taking into account the runtime of the album, but alas.
The Beta Band
2/5
It had a bunch of interesting parts in it. I heard a lot of Post-Punk and a bit of Psychedelic Rock in the album and really enjoyed it. The album sorely lacks hooks of any kind though. The meandering parts take too long and the fun parts aren't really present enough. I don't hate it but there just isn't enough action packed into the album as I'd like. I also really dislike the album cover and the band name, makes it look like some 2000's Nickelodeon show.
Orbital
3/5
Feels really ahead of its time. This album really sounds like what a lot of electronic in the following decades would sound like, both good and bad. All the shitty beach club music sounds like it originated here. Can't blame an album for what it inspired though. This album on its own is a pleasant listen and doesn't really get boring despite its long runtime. It doesn't really have hooks or hits but I guess that isn't the point of the album. Still a bit boring and not entirely my cup of tea although I've been warming up to techno and house.
Green Day
4/5
I really don't like pop punk, but I'll set my prejudices aside and admit that I quite enjoyed this album. The album is 38 minutes with 15 songs so it's pretty jam-packed with short hard hitting songs. The album has some of the better Green Day hits on it like Welcome to Paradise and When I Come Around. The album tracks aren't all as memorable but they're nice to hear and just as fun as the rest. The closer was a bit of a useless bummer but otherwise a fun listen. Still not punk though.
Prince
3/5
Not really into Prince or this album much. I can't get myself to enjoy this more 80's synth driven Funk. Perhaps its suffers from a lot of music in the decade wanting to sound like Prince. His guitar playing and songcraft is still incredible though. Let's Go Crazy is a fun song and When Doves Cry and Purple Rain are good songs even if overplayed. Don't really dig most of the album tracks on here, they either don't stick or have some weird other thing about them that I dislike. Small note but why the hell is the flower pattern on the sides of the album cover here?
The Magnetic Fields
5/5
Discovering that the godawful book of love song by Gavin James was a cover is a true mindfuck. This is easily one of the longest albums on the list, and kind of hard to judge it as a regular album because of it. 69 love songs is what it says on the tin, with no broader overarching theme or motive besides just writing a whole lot of stand alone love songs. For a 3 hour album it never really gets boring, having 3 vocalists and a huge variety in instruments and approaches to songmaking makes every track at least interesting. The entire album just kind of sucks you in and gently flies by as you fall in and out of focusing on the individual songs. I liked a lot of the tracks here, too many to count. I'm really happy to have listened this album but it will probably take a long time to visit it again.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Good psychedelic rock album, but its just missing that special something IMO. There's a lack of hooks and soaring moments for the songs itself and they don't really leave an impact. Its a pleasant listen nonetheless but I wish there was a bit more to it. The mixing and mastering of this album sounds great though, very clear at conveying what it wants to and emphasis is put on the right instruments at the right time.
Oasis
4/5
A bunch of great songs on here, my favorite Oasis album. Live Forever is my favorite Oasis song and other songs like Cigarettes & Alcohol and Roll n Roll Star are really enjoyable as well. It does suffer from the things all Oasis albums suffer from though. The songs are too long winded and noodly at points, the mixing is incredibly loud and there's way too much going on soundwise. The streaming version of this album also seems to have long silent breaks between every song that ruin the flow. A bunch of bangers still.
The White Stripes
5/5
It feels like the groundwork for what a rock album is supposed to be, even though it came out 5 decades after rock & roll became a thing. Jack and Meg manage to fill up the entire sound palette just between the two of them. The songs here manage to be vary different from one another. Tons of rockers on here, really enjoyable album.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
This has to be one of the shortest albums on the list. I really like Simon & Garfunkel, but this is one of my least listened albums of theirs. For such a short album there's quite a bit of filler content or barely songs, almost like a concept album that wasn't fully realized due to runtime constraints. However, there's some of the greatest Simon & Garfunkel songs on here. America, Mrs. Robinson and A Hazy Shade of Winter in particular. Overall 4 stars.
Blondie
3/5
I like it but not really more than that. The singles off here are great, to the point where it might as well be a greatest hits album. I don't really care for the rest of the album though. It's nice disco flavoured punk / new wave but it's not really interesting enough for me. There's a lot of better music in this genre from the same period.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Big album for its influence and genres like Shoegaze. However, its aged rather poorly since other albums afterwards did the concept much more fleshed out and better. The soundscapes and songs are nice but there is little variety in the songs. A nice listen but not one I'd pick to listen to over something like My Bloody Valentine or Ride.
Orange Juice
4/5
Surprisingly enjoyable listen. I don't tend to like this 80's new wave slop that often comes along here but this one was nice, very mellow and pleasant. I don't know why it falls under post-punk, it sounds a lot more inspired by things like funk and world music. The album is a bit monotonous and falls off by the end because of it, but its a pleasant listen nonetheless.
Radiohead
4/5
Best Radiohead album IMO. When they were still an alt rock band rather than delving more into the electronic and abstract. The production is excellent and there's a lot of great songs here. Street Spirit is probably my favorite Radiohead track, the deeper cuts like Fake Plastic Trees and My Iron Lung are wonderful as well. I don't really have a reason not to give it 5 stars except that I'm still a bit biased against Radiohead.
David Holmes
2/5
Incredibly slow and dull album at the start. Quite a boring listen and found it really hard to get through. The tempo changes hardly existed in a lot of songs and they went on for way longer than they needed to. By the end there were some more interesting elements though. The James Bond song was pretty decent, if largely reliant on the original sample. The Serge Gainsbourg song was also great and saved this album from a 1 for me.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
A load of nothing album. None of it sounds bad or offensive, but it all sounds like other artists from the same time, who usually did the same thing but better. The first track was pretty nice, the rest really wasn't that memorable. Not much to say about this one, doesn't really feel essential.
The Mars Volta
4/5
One of the best prog rock albums of the modern era. Although it doesn't really sound like prog rock, sounds more like an amalgamation of rock genre up to that point. The vocals are incredible, but sometimes over the top. There's a lot of great riffs in here and a lot of powerful moments that I really like. The album does have its more sprawling and spaced out moments but they are never long enough to ruin the flow of the album. Great album if a little harsh because of its length and loudness.
Nine Inch Nails
2/5
Load of nothing album. There's sound and its playing from the speakers but its never really music that captures my attention. There aren't really any hooks or songs, there's noise but not noise that keeps my interest. Quite dissapointed with this album. I like everything it inspired and what it was inspired by but this is a load of meh. March of the Piggies and Hurt are pretty nice songs but I struggle to really remember anything else.
The Soft Boys
4/5
Wow, this sounds like the missing link between 70's Rock and Power Pop and all the Indie Rock that came afterwards. You can really hear how it was inspired by both Psych Rock and the later Punk and Power Pop. The songs are all fun listens even though they don't really stick yet. Probably gonna listen to this one more, it's a fun short and punchy album. The fact that the streaming version has 40 songs on it probably lowers the score a lot on here.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
This feels like the perfect sunday morning album to get, timing of the random generator really worked on that part. A nice soft and mellow folky album to listen to. Disillusion was a very nice and groovy track. The album is a bit dull and boring at times though and the runtime is a bit too long, victim of the CD era.
Sade
4/5
Difficult one to rate for me. It's smooth despisable and awfully cheesy 80's adult contemporary music, but its executed so incredibly well. The recording is crisp and every note and beat is well thought out. It's more 80's Steely Dan than Michael Bolton or Richard Marx. Very commendable to make the dreariest and most cliche music genre sound good. Smooth Operator is a certified classic and I really liked Frankie's First Affair as well.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
Beautiful album. Almost all the songs here are classics that worked their way into my mind. Their vocal harmonies are beautiful and there's lovely guitar playing throughout. The acoustic and sparse songs mixed with more conventional 60's folk rock also really adds to the variety of the album. Certified classic.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Drums sound absolutely massive here. I really enjoy the opening track Dominion and have fond memories of it in GTA IV. The other tracks just don't seem to really do it for me though. They all have a similar sound and just don't compare to Dominion. The atmosphere on the album is incredible still.
Sister Sledge
5/5
From one sister to another. May be my favorite disco album of all time. He's the Greatest Dancer and Lost in Music are some of the best disco tracks ever made and the rest is just a nice bonus on top of that. I love the bass and the groove here. The songs feel like they could go on until the end of time and I wouldn't really mind. Not all tracks are as strong but the highs in this album more than make up for it.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Fine album. Frank Sinatra has a beautiful voice and the big band orchestra wonderfully accentuate his songs. A full album is probably a bit more of what I can stomach from a big band vocal artist though. Gotta give it some leeway since it's one of the very oldest albums on the list still.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Nice and raw album. I haven't listened much PJ Harvey but I've liked what I listened so far. Varied songs and a good voice she has. I did feel like Rid Of Me was a bit better though, I can't quite remember many of the songs here after the first listen.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Sounds a lot like a modern day Talking Heads to me. I've grown to like Dance-Punk quite a bit more since starting this journey. This album has some nice loud Drums and Synths throughout that really bring the energy. The album itself is a bit on the long side and some of the songs were quite long winded overall, but nonetheless a pretty enjoyable listen.
Rush
5/5
What an amazing album this is. The first side has one of the coolest and best prog epics on it. The entire album and story is super nerdy but feels really cool because of the hard rock sound. All 3 musicians play excellent and Geddy Lee's vocals, while taking a while to get used to, really fits the band. The second side has a bunch of great songs too, I really like A Passage to Bangkok with its oriental bells throughout. This album energises me like no other.
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
I can see why Nuevo Tango never caught on. Both players and everyone else here is extremely proficient at their instrument. Especially the violin and piano playing on this album I find to be really beautiful. The star instruments of the show don't really appeal to me though. I don't think the sounds gel well together and the entire album seems to go nowhere. There's quite a few interesting moments and I'm glad to have heard it but I don't think this is something I'll ever touch again.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Pleasant enough listen. The album seems to start with its Hard Rock bangers and then proceeds to transition into more Country-esque songs. There are some nice tracks on here but I find Rolling Stones albums to be really lacking without their hits. It feels (and sort of is) more of a compilation of non single and non album tracks from the past years. Nice to listen to but god knows how this ever came to be one of the best albums of all time.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
The first 3 tracks were great, after that it really started to sag into 90's popslop, only for it to really pick up with the final 2 tracks again. The Drum n Bass parts were nice and unexpected. The singers voice is really pleasant and reminds me of all the music that was on the radio in the late 90's and early 2000's. I can't place or recognise any of the songs here but they sound vaguely familiar in a way. Could've been a higher rating if more of the songs were like Before Today, Wrong and Walking Wounded.
Dolly Parton
4/5
Pleasant enough country album. Couldn't fully pay attention but I liked what I listened to. I'm a sucker for this era of country anyways. While this doesn't really sound innovative, it focuses on good storytelling and there's a good variation of songs on there.
Mudhoney
5/5
Biased since I went to a concert of them recently. Singer still has a great voice after all these years. One of my favorite grunge albums, the playing is superb and the songs are all really active and hyped. Gotta compensate for the low score this has as well.
Pink Floyd
5/5
What is there to say about this album? Everything about it has already been said before, it's ascended above pop culture and has become this thing that's always been there. Everyone likes it and it gets its flowers on pretty much any platform, including here.
Deep Purple
4/5
This is about as classic rock as a classic rock album can get. I'm a big fan of Deep Purple, but this album is a little hit or miss to me. There are some of the greatest tracks they ever made on here: Highway Star, Lazy, Space Truckin' and When A Blind Man Cries are some of the best songs Deep Purple has ever played. The solos are amazing on here. On the other hand, Smoke on the Water has gotten boring after hearing it for so long and the other songs on here aren't that interesting. Overall not as good as In Rock.
Black Flag
5/5
One of the essential Punk albums. Henry Rollins has enough energy to bring down an entire building here. Rise Above is my clear favorite here but I like everything else on here as well. Maybe not my complete favorite Black Flag album but still a great one nonetheless.
The Saints
4/5
Pretty fun Rock & Roll album. It has quite a bit of energy and there's good songwriting on here. All the songs on here are pleasant enough and work well enough on their own. I haven't really found a song to stick out and really stay in my mind with this one, probably needs an extra listen or 2 to really click.
Van Morrison
5/5
I can't give an artist I just bought tickets for to see them live anything but 5 stars. You have to be in the mood for a Van Morrison album, but when you do, it becomes perfect and hits just right. This one is filled with a lot of classics, I really like everything on here.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Quite a hypnotic experience. This is one of those albums you can really drown away in and enjoy. As a result I can't really pick a favorite song here, but the entire album overall is a joy to listen to. There's plenty of variation on here as well. I can hardly make out the instruments but the overall album is just a pleasant 40 minute soundscape.
Lana Del Rey
1/5
Disappointed with this one. I listened to some hit singles of hers before which I liked, but this album was a boring monotonous slog to get through. The lyrics don't feel strong enough to carry the very sparse instrumentation and the songs might as well all be interchangable. There's no real joy to be found here. I suppose its quite a pretty album with a clear aesthetic and there are some nice moments, but overall its way too drab and boring for me to like it.
Slipknot
3/5
Sounds like what I assume all other modern metal to sound like, for better or for worse. The drums here are amazing and I really like the vocals on here too, both the screamy and not so screamy ones. The second half brought more variety to the album overall but I enjoyed either side. Can't really find any fault with it other than metal isn't really my thing.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
And the crowd goes mild. Everyone is very proficient at their instruments here as you'd expect. However, I felt the energy on this album was missing a bit compared to other albums. Its a pleasant enough listen but not one that really lasts for me.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I liked this one more than the other Flaming Lips album. The album seemed to be more rooted into psychedelic and noise rock than their later work. Some good songs like Race for the Prize here. Almost want to give it 4 stars but its still a little too lacklustre for me. Not that big of a fan of the vocals either.
The Kinks
4/5
Always nice to have a Kinks album. I like this one but I think the Kinks have done better. This feels like a transitional album between the classic aggrevated rock of their debut and Kinks Kontroversy and their later work. All these songs are nice to listen to and there's a bunch of great R&B rock singles in here. Nice collection of 14 punchy short songs.
Madonna
4/5
I wasn't a fan of William Orbit's album on this list, but I think his work combines really well with Madonna. Interesting electronica that goes nowhere matches really well with Madonna's pop-sensibility. The album is a bit on the long side but its full of nice motivs and weird left turns to keep you engaged. I loved hearing the snippets of Arabian and other world-music on here. Madonna also sounds great on this album. Frozen is also an all time classic.
Talking Heads
4/5
Hugely important album. Really like the Talking Heads as well. However, I feel like the other Talking Heads albums are just a bit better and more matured and defined in sound. Psycho Killer is a banger and the albums clear high point for me, I like the other songs but they don't do as much for me.
Motörhead
3/5
Every song from Motörhead sounds very similar, but it scratches a certain itch. I like how this album has the extra energy from being a live album while also sort of serving as a greatest hits up until that point. I do feel the albums blows its steam really early though, side 1 with Ace of Spades and the beginning of side 2 have the best Motörhead songs imo, but after a while the latter halves of side 1 and 2 kind of blend into one. Still an enjoyable listen with a ton of energy.
4/5
I really loved listening to this. The start is a bit rough, but after a while you really get immersed in the soundscaped and it becomes an almost transcendental experience. I love the haunting African rhythms and percussion here, gives the album a very ominous feeling. It's amazing just how groovy this album is with its minimalist approach and harsh noises, you can hear that Liars once made dance-punk. Really enjoyed this one and the low global rating on here isn't justified.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Peaceful, pleasant and gentle album. Joni Mitchell has a beautiful voice and there's some great songs here. I kind of prefer other Joni Mitchell albums but this one was nice enough, if not that memorable for me, even after multiple listens. California is probably my favorite song here.
Incubus
2/5
This album felt like pretty gutless rock for a large part of it, thankfully it really picked up pace at the end. I wouldn't say this is a very good album but its a good example of what commercial rock was like at the end of the 90's. Make Yourself and the last 3 tracks I really enjoyed. Don't think I will ever really revisit this album but there's some worthwile singles on here. Still woefully generic though.
Weather Report
4/5
Really straddles the line between competent fusion and cheesy cliche Jazz. It has a lot of moments of brilliant playing, especially Jaco Pastorius his bass playing shines here. However, there's a few moments where it sounds a bit cheesy, perhaps because of its influence. I found this to have a lot of variety as well. Rumba Mama sounds very different from the phenomenal Birdland sounds different from the other songs on here.
Leftfield
3/5
I enjoyed it more than I expected it to. It fulfills its function as a dance / house album pretty well and there's a lot of variety in the album. I didn't find it immediately grabbing but I'm sure I'll warm up to it when I've listened to it more. Can see myself putting this on at a party.
Fiona Apple
5/5
Lovely album full of great ballads and songs. I really like the instrumentation and singing here. Fiona Apple's songwriting is also great as well, much better than the pop girlies that followed after. I really like how a lot of the songs change in sound throughout the song itself, every note here feels like its really thought out. Shadowboxer and Sullen Girl are my favorites here.
Bauhaus
3/5
I think Bauhaus has done better than this. The album seems a bit more nonsensical and lighter than their earlier efforts. The sparse goth-sound is still there, but the vocals are a lot less impactful than before. I also think it somewhat lacks a hit or other memorable bangers in here. No idea why they picked this over the IMO much better In the Flat Field.
Adele
2/5
It's hard to explain, but the mid 2010's production is really bothering me here. It was an awful era for pop music and the hits on here really feel like a letdown compared to 21. I found the songs that dialed the production back a lot better, such as Million Years Ago. The overall sad tone of the album combined with Adele's voice that can get a bit overwhelming to listen to for 50 minutes makes it a dreary sit through for me. There's a few nice deep cuts here though.
Duke Ellington
4/5
Duke Ellington always delivers and is pleasant to listen to. There's some great playing on here and the band seems to be really energetic. Listening to this one really made me want to listen to the complete 2 hour concert. I can see why he was so popular back in the day, its very easy yet pleasant Jazz to listen to. It really feels like a celebration of Jazz and Ellingtons own career.
Jamiroquai
3/5
This was really Funky, a lot cooler than I anticipated it to be. Jamiroquai has made an effortless blend between Funk and the House and other electronic music of the 90s. The brass band is nice and the basslines are really groovy. Didgeridoos are also a really cool instrument and a nice touch. I didn't mind this one not really having any Jamiroquai hits but I think the album falls off hard in the second part. The songs get a lot longer and not that much better IMO, it quickly gets to be the same thing.
Traffic
4/5
Felt like a jam session that was over before you know it. I like Traffic and I think they've always had nice sound that seemed to blend all the popular styles of their time really well. As a result they don't really stand out of the crowd though. I liked this one quite a bit but I feel as if other Traffic albums are a bit more defined and have a clearer direction.
OutKast
4/5
Two completely different albums in one, funny idea and certainly one way to do an album as a duo. Speakerboxxx is a pretty nice listen but feels a bit like a worse Stankonia to me. The Love Below is where the real magic happens, lots of inspiration being taken from Jazz, R&B, Funk etc. Incredibly varied and interesting to listen to, even if there are some wacky lyrics and skits throughout.
Patti Smith
5/5
Some heavy hitters on here like Break It Up, Gloria and Land of 1000 dances. I really like this album and admire it for what it's done as an innovator. Don't really have much to say about this one, just a pleasant varied listens that feels a little bit unpolished at times. Whether that's for better or worse.
Dion
1/5
A hidden gem this album is not. Dion himself does not like this album and Phil Spector did an awful job on this one. The voice recording sounds like its 20 years behind and the production manages to be the worst and most undercooked of 70's bargain bin music. Want a good later career Dion album? Listen to his 1968 self titled album instead, a beautiful underappreciated piece of music that is everything this wishes it could be.
Portishead
3/5
Sounds a lot more dramatic than their debut album. I really like how it seems to build and build into some very unnerving noises. There isn't really a song structure or tangible instrument to latch onto here, unsettling stuff. That said, I think this album teeters on just being random sounds a bit too much at times. This will probably grow on me with more listens. The album cover is great in its simplicity as well.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Wild ride of an album. Janis Joplin is really belting here and delivers some incredible performances, but the band can't be forgotten either. There's some great jams here especially in the early parts of the album. The covers are great as well on here. I feel this album lacks a bit in inspiration though, it feels very of its time and the best moments tend to come from covers of other songs. Damn great at performing them though.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
The ingredients are there, I like the messy production, the barely audible vocals and the screeching guitar. However, it never really amounts to a proper song here. There's a lot of creative ideas but they all exist in a vacuum, they don't interact with each other and as a result its not very cohesive and the songs feel more like throw away demos.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Perfectly fine post-punk. Well made and pleasant to listen to. Siouxsie and the Banshees never really clicked for me for some reason, even though it should be right up my alley. I liked listening to it but I can't really recall any moments from the album.
What a middling effort by a band that otherwise has some pretty good material. I don't really care for the hit singles on this album and the deepcuts are even less interesting. Bono's voice is still pleasant to listen to and there's some nice moments that remind you of the good band they once were back in the 80's, but overall it's an unremarkable album.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Can't believe I never got around to listening this one before. A nice folky album with some big early 70's hits on it. There was a lot of Folk Rock going around at the time, but Cat Stevens chart successes makes him one of the more memorable ones. It's a very easy album of folky acoustic classics to get into and to listen to.
The Thrills
1/5
2000's album that was very clearly inspired by the 60's. The 60's influence bring a nice tone to the album but the 2000's aesthetical choices and production ruins it for me. I don't really care for the songs here and the entire album has this sort of heavy orchestral noisyness to it that doesn't really fit. I don't really see a reason to listen to this one, its too boring for even the Indie crowd and wasn't popular enough to be remembered fondly.
Brian Eno
3/5
Brian Eno is a genius, but I don't like this album as much as some of his other work. This album isn't really engaging like Roxy Music or Brian Eno's solo work that came after. The ideas are there but the songs don't really feel fleshed out yet. It's still enjoyable to listen to but I think it strays a little too far from conventional songs. Sure sounds way ahead of its time though.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
This album goes anywhere it wants to, every following song on the album is a surprise. I liked the EDM touches that keep it modern sounding. The last 2 songs were a bit of a dud but otherwise I enjoyed everything that was on here. The concept is really cool and I like the album cover a lot as well.
Richard Thompson
4/5
Upon reading about this album I found out it was from the same guy who started Fairport Convention, and the similarities are noticable. This was very pleasant 70's Folk Rock to listen to, although I don't feel it really stands out in this niche filled by lots and lots of musicians. Still an enjoyable listen and I can't hold anything against it. The vocals were really pleasant on here.
The La's
4/5
Enjoyable album to listen to. There is a lot more to this one than just Here She Goes. I quite liked the songs here although they got a bit samey at the end. Still a good one as for as Britpop classics go.
Eric Clapton
3/5
Can't say it wasn't influential. This album is the type of blues middle aged men for the coming half a century would all be playing. I can't really decide on whether I like it or not. On one hand it sounds incredibly dull and boring and far below Eric Claptons capabilities. On the other hand, some of the songs are pretty pleasant to listen, such as Let It Grow and Motherless Children. Ends up somewhere in the middle.
Frank Zappa
5/5
Every Zappa album feels different from the others. This is basically a 40 minute over the top jam session, and I love it for that. Zappa's playing is excellent here, as well as the rest of the bands really. I love the energy of it and how its Jazz that sounds like Rock. Captain Beefhearts on Willie The Pimp are nice to hear as well. A lot to love about this one and I keep coming back to it often.
George Harrison
5/5
Hard one to rate. I really enjoy a lot of the songs on here and its a beautiful listen. The third records' jam session is pretty enjoyable as well, even though it gets a bit boring quickly. However, I really don't tend to come back to this one often due to its length. Still incredible to listen to.
Fishbone
3/5
Fun listen, seems to blend every popular music genre from the late 80's and early 90's into one. There's the hair metal, fun ska-esque trumpets and the funk metal the likes of RHCP would copy. Can't see this being all too memorable but it was a nice and varied album that seems to be a cut above most albums coming out at the time. I wish it had more of the punk and metal that they seem to be known for on here.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Landmark album. Some great songs on here and the concept is very ambitious overall. However, I feel this album is a bit too grand and over the top at times. There's also quite a lot of songs that feel like filler and don't really add to the overall experience. It's an amazing listen and an amazing journey but it's noticably more flawed than the previous 3 Pink Floyd albums.
Richard Hawley
4/5
Richard Hawley's voice is great at filling the room. It almost feels like he is singing in a cathedral, aided by the production. The instruments are are kept to a minimum but seem to come in at the perfect time, kind of reminds me of Leonard Cohen's later albums in that way. This was a surprisingly pleasant listen even if it sometimes bordered a bit on boring, especially at the end.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
Difficult one to rate for me. I really like and dislike his voice at the same time. It works great for singing and almost sounds like a modern day Otis Redding, but his rapping only works in some songs for me. I do like the samples here that occasionally turn up. Production is solid as well as I'm a sucker for 2000's rap and R&B and there are a few tracks I really enjoyed. But there's a few duds to so it ends up somewhere halfway.
Os Mutantes
5/5
It's goofy, silly and incredibly fun to listen to. It might not be the most consitent album out there, but I can't give it anything other than full marks for its influence and how much I enjoy listening to it. A Minha Menina is an incredible song and there's a lot of other great parts on this album as well. Tropicalia is great to listen to and this was my gateway into Brazillian music and MPB.
Elliott Smith
2/5
Fine enough, nice but a bit forgettable imo. It was pleasant to listen to but the songs were a bit dull to me. I don't really get the hype for this album, suppose its because I don't really tend to focus in lyrics.
Ryan Adams
1/5
Big fan of his ethics, had no idea he made such boring music. I really don't like how boring this one is. Supposedly a great songwriter but this rivals Eversnore in terms of boredom. It finally picked up a little towards the end but it was too little and much too late. For a singer-songwriter he doesn't seem to do a whole lot of songwriting nowadays. All his new releases are just covers of other more interesting songwriters.
Destiny's Child
2/5
Certainly an album that has music on it. It starts off relatively strong, by virtue of having all its hit singles up front, but the album gets worse and worse as it goes on. It's all servicable and enjoyable enough to keep it from a 1 star but there really isn't much to this album otherwise. I don't really care for Destiny's Child and this certainly didn't motivate me to look further into their music. The runtime is also a bit too long and the album overstays its welcome.
Radiohead
3/5
It's certainly a decent album and was pleasant enough to listen to. But Radiohead isn't really my thing and this one didn't sway me either. There were some nice moments but I wasn't paying much attention so a lot of it probably flew over my head. One of the greatest albums of all time, I guess.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
Bizarre album throughout. It goes from semi-normal songs like Ella Guru to really wacky songs like Pena and Hair Pie Bake. The quote about listening to this multiple times is right, I've come back to this album for years now and it only makes me want to listen to this album more and more. It's one of the most fun albums to listen to and it's innovative to boot. Easy 5 stars.
Boards of Canada
3/5
It's well made, well produced, beautiful and all that. It's just not really my type of thing however. 70 minutes of mostly passive, chill and laid back pieces with barely any singing isn't my type of thing. I can appreciate the work that went into it and as far as the genre goes this is one of my favorite albums in there. But I'd still rather listen to something a bit more active.
Manu Chao
3/5
Pretty fun listen if a bit forgettable. Big surprise that this guy turned out to be from France and not Latin America. I liked everything on here, but this isn't really my type of music. Still, can't deny that it's catchy, well-made and straddles the line between poppy and interesting pretty well.
The War On Drugs
4/5
It's a bit repetitive perhaps, but it really doesn't bother me on this one. The album is very chill and pleasant to listen to and feels like some crossover between classic rock and modern indie. Under the Pressure and Lost in the Dream are pretty big hits and feel like the stand outs on this album. I like the whole of it though, even if I wouldn't necessarily seek it out myself. I could listen to their meandering playing for hours.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Landmark 90's album. This is really good at scratching an itch that only Shoegaze manages to do. It doesn't have the most hooks or the best songs and songwriting, but the wall of noise coming from this album is just really pleasant to listen to. Only Shallow is easily one of the best songs from the 90's.
Marilyn Manson
4/5
What a fitting album for Easter. Anyways, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It sounds a lot harder to my ears than Nine Inch Nails without losing the edge. I liked a lot of the songs here, noisy industrial metal banger after banger. The album is perhaps a bit long, but my interest didn't really wane until the very end of the album. All in all a pleasant surprise from a guy who got a ton of flack all throughout his career.
Paul McCartney and Wings
5/5
Hit after hit after hit. Paul McCartney didn't need the Beatles to write good songs and this clearly shows it. A lot of McCartney's best songs are on here. 1985, Band on the Run, Mrs. Vandebilt and Let Me Roll It are all classic 70's rock hits. The only is only let down by the Mamunia, No Words and Picasso's Last Words IMO. Very close to a perfect album if not for those relatively lackluster tracks.
Stereolab
4/5
Nice and enjoyable listen. Didn't really get to pay attention to it but I liked what I heard. Bonus points for being sung in French too. Probably have to listen to this one again since I liked it but don't really recall that much from it.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Might as well be a complete covers album, since he only wrote a few of the songs himself. Still, Rod Stewart gives it his all in these performances. I find the quality to be a bit varying across the album. Every Picture Tells A Story and Maggie May are the big hits here and easily some of the best material on the album. Some of the covers like That's All Right and Reason To Believe are good too, but I find some of the other songs on here a bit lacking. Lands in the middle overall.
Gary Numan
4/5
Straddles the line between being poppy and avant-garde really well. It's a regular new wave album at heart, but the wacky noises used for instrumentation throughout keep it from being stale and boring. Cars is an all time classic and I found myself enjoying a lot of the tracks here. Maybe not quite the greatest album ever made but it's a fun listen nonetheless.
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Dusty Springfield singing a lot of beautiful cover versions of some of the most iconic songs of the 60's. Son Of A Preacher Man is the big hit, but I actually prefer a lot of the other, more orchestrally expansive songs on this album. The Windmills Of Your Mind and No Easy Way Down are my favorites here. It's quite reminiscent of Elvis in Memphis in that its a solid collection of orchestral 60's pop covers. Just a beautiful album and a joy to listen to.
System Of A Down
3/5
Easily recognisable as System Of A Down. I really liked it at the start and the aggresion all throughout was great to listen to. However, listening to it gets a bit grating as the album goes on. I've figured I really like listening to System Of A Down, but only in shorter bursts. 57 minutes of it is just a bit too much for me.
Steely Dan
5/5
I've been on a Steely Dan binge the past week, so this was a welcome and fitting surprise. Every single song here is well made, well produced and a joy to listen to. This is not my absolute favorite Steely Dan album but it's a really fun one nonetheless. Countdown To Ecstasy feels a little more like a jam at times than other Steely Dan albums.
David Bowie
4/5
Classic album from his most iconic era. You can really hear Brian Eno at work here if you listen to this after listening to any album he produced from the time. I like the touches by Eno and Bowie's own more conventional songs here. The two don't really mix, but they intertwine and keep the album fun to listen to. I really like this one, although I think there are a few better Bowie albums than this. It doesn't have as many stand out moments as Low and Station to Station.
Joy Division
5/5
Another classic. The influence it's had on pop culture is hard to deny and basically all alternative music of the past 40 years sounds like it. I think it still holds up well and is fun to listen to. Lots of great songs here and Curtis' delivery along with the almost robotic backbeat works really well. I feel these songs really get better as you listen to them more.
The Who
5/5
The Who may have made better album later on in their career, but I just have a soft spot for this type of mid 60's R&B rock. My Generation is one of the best songs for the time. All the other songs here are enjoyable covers or originals. This album is brimming with energy, Keith has great energetic drumming and John Entwistle is one of the best bassists out there. Giving it anything other than 5 stars would be doing a disservice to how much I enjoy listening to this record.
The Libertines
2/5
A real nothing album, forgot almost all of it by the time I hit play on the next album. I wouldn't say it's bad, but in a sea of 2000's indie rock bands it really doesn't stand out. The singing is bland, songwriting is not too memorable and there weren't any songs here I would wanna come back to.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
Bangin' album, a hommage to all their Blues legends. It's full of covers and thus doesn't really have its own material, so the focus is mainly on how they play it. I'm a sucker for the 60's Blues Rock scene so this is right up my alley. The playing here is brilliant, they don't really stretch the blues songs too far like people would later in the 60's, but there is still room for them to stretch and solo the songs. Claptons guitar playing takes center stage, but I love the drums and singing here as well. I think there are other, more interesting British Blues albums, but this one is still a pleasant listen.
Second Rod Stewart project in a week. His voice sounds better and more unique the more you listen to him. Never listened to this full album before and I can say I like it more than his solo work. It's quite a generic blues album, with some less inspiring covers like Memphis in there. But I'm a sucker for blues rock, so I don't really mind. Stay With Me is an amazing song and the rest of the album is enjpoyable as well. It sounds a lot like what the Black Crowes would go on to copy 20 years later.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
Not very good. I can stomach a lot of generic classic rock, but this had nothing to it IMO. No energy, no stand out tracks, no noteworthy moments. I'm a Cadillac / El Camino Dolo Roso was the only one that was of any interest to me, since it was the only track that was noticably different from the rest. This doesn't feel essential, I can think of 1001 classic rock albums better than this.
The Cure
3/5
It's a good album to listen to for sure, but I don't really care for this one like I do with others. Lullaby is a nice song, but overall the songs feel kind of boring. The album is a bit on the long side as well. I just feel this one doesn't have much interesting to it and it kind of feels like, admittedly pleasant, background noise to me.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
A lot to take in at once, but a beautiful album nonetheless. The album starts off right with a really fun rocker as the opening track. It seemed that the first disc was a more energetic album and the second one was much softer and melancholic. Amazing how Nick Cave can make consistently great albums 20 and even 40 years into his career. Will definetely revisit this one.
The Fall
3/5
Fun enough to listen but not something I'd really come back to. I liked some songs here, such as Paintwork and I Am Damo Suzuki. I disliked some others and I felt indifferent about a bunch of them. Its kind of weird that this band is hugely influential yet gets little to no attention from most people. I can admire it for what it's done but it is not something I'll listen to often. Maybe a track here and there.
Shack
2/5
Kind of conflicted on this one. The downtempo songs are really dull and generic to me. I like the more energetic songs but they sound too much like Oasis. The production is way too bombastic and the entire thing is overproduced to hell and back. It had its moments but on the whole it's a forgettable listen with not much to make me want to come back. Opening and closing track are great though, for completely different reasons.
ZZ Top
3/5
The bonus live tracks were more enjoyable to me than a lot of what was on the main album. La Grange is an all time classic and used to be my favorite song when I just got into classic rock. I never felt the rest of the album was as strong though. The rest of the songs aren't as hard, aren't as memorable and don't have the same atmosphere to them. It's still a nice listen but it doesn't really warrant revisiting often.
Mudhoney
4/5
Always fun to listen Mudhoney, still think they do Grunge better than the big 4. This album isn't that cohensive since it isn't really an album to begin with. Not every song is great on here but there are many that are and they're Grunge classics. Don't know why Mudhoney has 2 albums on this list though, especially when one isn't even really an album.
Primal Scream
3/5
Really middle of the road for me. Its a fun listen and pretty ahead of its time, but I almost never search for it myself. I really enjoy the remix / cover of Slip Inside This House and the overall album keeps me somewhat engaged throughout. Primal Scream makes music that noone else really seems to make, they have their own Electronic / Psychedelic niche that they fulfill really well.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
Great album, really doesn't feel like its a double album. I was blown away the first time I heard this, although I feel like I've found better Brazillian albums since discovering this. This listening of it just felt a bit off, it doesn't really have the attention grabbing music I thought it had at first, and not being able to understand Portugese makes it harder to listen to the lyrical themes here. Still a great album though.
Spacemen 3
3/5
After the first few tracks I was ready to write it off as Electronic slop and give it a 1. Then came Revolution, which I found to be a brilliant track. It's the clear bridge between the likes of Harmonia, Suicide and later electronic acts such as Stereolab. The pulsing rhythmic repetitive beats work really well in the case of Revolution and Suicide, where there is a clear drum beat and its generally more uptempo. I just wish it continued that trend more though, rather than a lot of the more boring tracks like How does it feel. When the tracks are boring, they're a real chore to get through, but there are fun songs on here I'd listen to again.
Moby
3/5
I got the CD version of this at home, just like everyone else on the planet. It's never really one I put on though. There's a number of hits I remember and I like, such as Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad and Honey. Honestly, pretty much every track here is pleasant to listen to. The overall album just has a bit too much of a soda commercial vibe though. The songs are all varied but they get a bit stale by virtue of repeating the same looking sample the entire time. It's nice what Moby created here in terms of soundscapes and catchy songs with just a single sample, but I don't like it quite enough.
Blur
4/5
Not really saying anything controversial when I say that Blur is a good band. Britpop gets a lot of flack here, but this Blur album still seems pretty well regarded. There's quite a number of songs I like here, Girls and Boys and Parklife, the biggest hit singles, first and foremost. The album is full of humour and wit and brings a lot of variety to the table. There's a few weird oompa loompa band esque songs and interludes on here, but they don't detract from the listening experience too much.
The Kinks
3/5
Not the most thrilling Kinks album. I love the Kinks and there are some great songs on this album, but it doesn't seem to have the cohesion that some other Kinks album and albums from other artists at the time had. Can't help but feel that this album could've had a little more oomph to it than it does. Still a pleasant enough listen from the Classic R&B British Invasion era from a band of brilliant songmakers.
Mercury Rev
2/5
Aggressively middling to listen to. Can't say I really hated or disliked any part of it I listened to, but I found myself quite bored with a lot of what was presented here. Probably a big influence and all for some otherwise it wouldn't be on the list, but I can't differentiate this from a billion other indie pop musicians and bands also in existance.
Germs
5/5
Love this album, lots of the songs here tend to get stuck in my head. A groundbreaking album for Punk and the development of Hardcore. It's a shame they only got to record one album, but this album is one of the tightest and energetic records to listen to. The production here is also unrivaled by any of their other published works. Darby Crash's vocals are great and energizing and this entire record just pumps me up.
Ray Price
3/5
Country singers were already familiar with making concept albums before the Beatles ever tried their hand at it, such as with Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs and Bitter Tears. Ray Price here has one too, and Country music works really well for this type of storytelling. The vocals are incredibly clear and the songs are easy to understand. This album feels a bit drenched in Country clichés though, partially because of the era its from and because it influenced what came after. It's an enjoyable listen, but there's much more interesting Country music from this era.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Probably one of the most middling albums on the list and the global ratings reflect it. It's 80's British synthpop / new wave. One of many on the list, but better put together and more punch than others. Still, I don't really think it justifies its position here and I don't see myself revisiting this soon. I like how it seems to be a bit less polished than their other album on here, not edgy enough to be like the post punk and new wave I like though.
Tim Buckley
2/5
A little more pleasant to listen to than his earlier work, but that comes at the cost of sounding a lot more cliché. I didn't really enjoy his earlier albums, but they had their own distinct sound to them. This album sounds like a knock off of any number of bands combining rock, funk and soul at the time. Looking at the wikipedia-page and other sites, this doesn't seem to be a very influential album of his either. I think it was a boring listen, not one I'd return to.
Megadeth
4/5
Maybe not as good as Metallica or Slayer, but a fun listen nonetheless. Dave Mustaine's vocals work really well on here and all the musicians here are apt at their instruments. There's the typical shredding and solo'ing you'd expect on a Trash album. The songs are all great and the I Ain't Superstitious cover was a welcome surprise, but they don't really stick out like they do on the first 3 Metallica albums. It's a good album still, but there are better Trash albums out there.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
Very nice to have some representation from non-western music on this list. I wasn't the biggest fan of this one though. It's a very cheery and upbeat album for sure, but the late 80's / 90's production it's drenched in hampers my enjoyment of it a lot. I'm also not the biggest fan of Soukous in general, the music doesn't really have hooks and just goes on and on and on. It's nice to have the tempo increase in the songs after a few minutes, where they reach their peak enjoyment for me. Still happy to have heard this album and I feel it does deserve its placement here.
fIREHOSE
4/5
Didn't really have hits on it, but it was nice to listen to. I tend to like the fIREHOSE albums more than those made by the Minutemen. I generally like Punk more than Indie Rock, but this just clicks more for me. Time really flew by with this listen. Sounds like it was a real precursor to all the 90's Indie music that came on the scene later on.
The Boo Radleys
2/5
Why is this the Giant Steps album they included? It wasn't a bad listen, but I'd be lying to myself if I said I was gonna listen to it again. Inoffensive boring Indie Rock with only a few moments of interest. There's a blend of a lot of different things here, all better done elsewhere. I'd probably give it a 3 on a good day, but a good day this is not.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
This has a surprisingly high average rating, for what people tend to like here. The backstory explains a lot of this though. I feel the story behind how this album was formed really enhances what would otherwise not be the most memorable listen. But considering the horrible situation in which this was performed it's amazing how well it sounds. Jarrett's playing is absolutely brilliant, the seeming lack of other clearly defined instruments being more than made up with his talent. This album never bores even though it's a one hour, 4-part listen. The piano is just mesmerising and you can really get caught in listening to it.
Beth Orton
3/5
What Songs: Ohia is for Neil Young, Beth Orton is for Joni Mitchell. Her voice and acoustic songs are very reminiscent of Joni Mitchell especially. The Electronic touches here don't feel overbearing and seem to aid the music well. Beth Orton's voice is beautiful and the recording is very clear. Overall enjoyable, but songs sort of started blending together by the second half and becoming a bit less interesting.
John Lennon
2/5
I don't really like John Lennon's solo work, this one especially has some duds. The overall vibe of the album is way too mopey and cliché 70's pop rock. More dull than the Carpenters or Captain & Tennille. Imagine and Jealous Guy are songs I've grown tried of over the years and there's a lot of awful pop slop in here as well. There's still some nice songs, John Lennon hadn't completely forgot how to make a good song, but overall not a very enjoyable album.
Deep Purple
4/5
Deep Purple are really good at making live music and this shows it. The songs are just a vehicle off which they can make some incredible solos. The record is incredibly energetic and a real hard rock bop to listen to. This isn't an album to really listen to often though. 8 songs for 4 sides of an LP is really few and sometimes it all feels a bit too much to listen to. Still a great record to listen.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
How do you rate an album like this? It's a pleasant listen and it's full of good songs, but that is bound to happen when you make an album spanning 5 LP's with covers from one of the greatest songwriters and composers of all time. The orchestration is beautiful, Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful voice and they probably spent a ton of money producing this album. I don't think I'll put these 3.5 hours on for a second time. Unlike the Magnetic Fields, who also made a long album, this one is more of a compilation album than one with an overarching theme. I don't think we needed the full 5 records on this list, despite them all being filled with lots of pleasant songs from the great songbook era of music.
Sparks
5/5
It's energetic and dumb fun, just a joy to listen to this. Especially side 1 of this record is really captivating and full of hits. This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us is one of the best singles of the 70's. Sparks is an all around bizarre band and I'm glad they are included on this list. The newspaper article that was included with my Sparks record says they are addicted to candy, which explains why the entire album sounds like a sugar rush.
50 Cent
2/5
2000's Rappers try not to make an overly long album challenge, impossible. This didn't need to be 74 minutes long, none of it is bad but it doesn't all feel essential. That aside, it's a pretty fun listen that holds up surprisingly well. I like the big beats all throughout and 50 cent has a pleasant voice to listen to. A lot of Hip Hop in the years following tried and failed to sound like this. A bit conflicted on this one, it was a fine album to listen to but way too long and not every song is quite In Da Club genius. Points knocked for the Eminem feature as well.
Stephen Stills
3/5
Certainly one of the albums of all time. I love Stills as a songwriter, but his songs don't come alive as much without the likes of Crosby and Young. Love The One You're With and Do For The Others are both brilliant songs, but I didn't really have any other stand-out songs on the album. Pleasant enough to listen to but not the most essential thing he's been involved with.
Jeff Beck
4/5
Happened to be listening to this just last week. The streaming version of this adds a lot of fluff, but the album itself is a fun listen. Rod Stewart is at his best here and Jeff Beck shows some excellent blues playing. I don't consider Jeff Beck to be one of the guitar greats, but his playing is nice to listen to regardless. Nice variety of songs here with some favorites like Ol' Man River and You Shook Me.
Nanci Griffith
4/5
Not too screamy, not too experimental, not the most noteworthy album on this list. However, Nanci Griffith has a wonderful voice which has been wonderfully recorded here. I just really enjoyed listening to this. Perhaps the mood was right or perhaps I'm just a sucker for a well made country allbum, but this was pleasant.
Thundercat
3/5
Great bass player and nice to have a modern inclusion. Incredibly well made and probably really to other peoples liking, but it's not really my type of music. Not a big fan of the vocals and it feels a bit too ''soft'' at times. I can really admire the craft, but it's just not really my thing.
Haircut 100
3/5
Really groovy listen. Sounds very similar to XTC and Duran Duran. I really liked the bass throughout this record. The songs don't necessarily stick but they were enjoyable nonetheless. I was weary when I saw it was gonna be a British 80's New Wave album, but the ones I've had have all been pretty nice so far. Nothing special but nice.
Sepultura
4/5
One of the coolest inclusions on the list. Glad to see some metal representation that isn't just the big 4 or some poorly aged nu-metal. Pretty cool to listen to even though it's not my favorite genre of music. I quite liked the Canyon Jam at the end. Didn't really hear the Tribal and Folk influences other people are talking about here that much.
Arrested Development
3/5
This album always feels more interesting thinking about it compared to listening to it. The approach and overall vibe of this album is really great, but it doesn't come to it's full potential often enough imo. The hits here are really great and it's an album that easily listens away. No real bad tracks and the big hits are fun. Speech may not be the best rapper to ever do it, but he has a pleasant flow and some attention grabbing hooks. Still, there's a number of Hip Hop albums from this very year I'd listen to before it.
Killing Joke
4/5
Good thumping backbeat throughout the album. Liked it more than I did listening to it first time around. You can really hear how this would go on to influence a lot of different types of music in the following years and decades. The production is really sparse, which lets the band focus more on doing their sort of post apocalyptic jam out music. Still, they made a much better album a few years later down the line.
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
What a coincidence to recieve this album the day after Sly Stone passed away. This album is a cumulation of everything that made 60's music great while simoultaniously predicting what a lot of the 70's would sound like. The album is filled with great songs and there are some incredibly hard grooves on here.
Living Colour
3/5
Fun album, Cult of Personality is one of the hardest hitting mainstream rock songs of the late 80's. Besides that the album is just fine. Has some good politically charged songs in it, but I feel its a little ''80's overproduced''. Not every song on here is as big of a hit as well and there's quite a few forgettable songs here.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Bizarre contrast between the name of the band, the album and the album cover itself. Beach Boys are a crazy band with some of the deepest and weirdest lore of any artist. Brian Wilson was a genius and the rest of the band was good as well unless they were Charles Manson or Mike Love. This album is a pretty good one, some very pleasant songs here along with some weird stuff like Student Demonstration Time. Not the very best album out there or even the best Beach Boys album of this era, but nice to listen to nonetheless.
The Who
5/5
Time to whip out the original LP I got of this one again. This is always gonna be an album I'll hold dear to me, listened to it a lot when I was just getting into classic rock. Every song here is a classic in its own right. The hit songs are well known and well regarded of course, but the deep cuts here like Bargain and Love Ain't For Keeping are amazing as well. The Beatles broke up, the Stones turned boring but The Who kept on making good albums well into the 70's.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
5/5
Beautiful and really heartfelt album. I discovered this one last year and been a fan of it ever since. These songs have such an emotional heft to them and they're all beautifully written and arranged. Time just flies by when listening to this one, every song here is a joy to listen to.
The Cure
4/5
Didn't like this much at first listen, this time around it was a lot better. There's some great drumming here and the songs are some of the darkest the Cure has made in their career. I like this era of the Cure a lot more than their pop stuff from later on. Still doesn't really have many hits to talk about here.
UB40
3/5
I don't really like UB40, but their early stuff is pretty nice. Food for Thought is one of their best hits and there are a few other neat songs on here as well. However, the entire album feels a bit boring and repetitive. There's a lot of instrumentals with nice beats that just drag on for a while. None of what here is bad but it's all a bit lame and boring. Still nice enough to listen to and a few better songs that make it worthwile.
Michael Jackson
5/5
My favorite Michael Jackson album by far. This one is just hit after hit after hit and Girlfriend. A collection of wonderful 70's Disco, made by some of the best people in the music industry. Michael Jackson was very good at surrounding himself with talent while also being a great musician and showman himself. Controversy aside, he's a legend and this is one of the best Disco albums out there.
The National
4/5
Another artist I've seen live before. The National is not really my type of music, but I like it nonetheless. They teeter a bit on boring at times with the kind of monotone vocals but it never really becomes boring. The monotone vocals set a great atmosphere and I like the guitar playing on here as well. A lot of good songs I liked, particularly Bloodbuzz Ohio and England.
Charles Mingus
4/5
Great album. It manages to be very chaotic but seemingly organised at the same time. For how 'out there' his music is, it is remarkably easy to digest. Don't really listen to Mingus that much, but I don't really know why this is the release that everyone seems to drool over. I personally like The Clown and Ah Um better. Still a great album, but it doesn't win me over like some other jazz records do.
Queen Latifah
3/5
Fun listen, I'm a sucker for late 80's golden age hip hop. Quite refreshing to have one of a few women from this era rapping here. I like the songs but nothing really sticks, it's a fun listen but kind of inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Probably doesn't help that I've had a lot of good albums before this one.
The Adverts
5/5
Really fun and energetic listen, classic Punk. The first few songs are incredibly and really pull you in right away. It doesn't ever really lose steam. Sometimes albums like this can get a bit tiresome because its just fast and raw songs one after another, but this one didn't really feel like that. Gotta spend some more time with this album but I really enjoyed it.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Oldest album in the list right here. I felt kind of bored by this release for whatever reason. I can like Frank Sinatra and crooners at times, but didn't really care for it now. It's all well made and well produced, but it's just kind of boring to me.
N.W.A.
3/5
I like Public Enemy a lot, so I should like this one more than I do. The title track is one of the best sogns of the golden age of Hip Hop for sure, but besides that I don't find the album to have that many strong and memorable tracks. I like it still, but it hasn't aged as well or hits as hard as some other similar albums of the era.
SZA
1/5
Really not the type of music for me. I was switching between not really paying attention and not really enjoying what I was listening to for most of the duration of this record. Some songs were alright and some were really not to my liking, couldn't tell you which are which. A lot of late 2010's early 2020's music sounded like this and I really cannot stand it.
Tricky
2/5
Fine enough, there were some interesting sounds on this for sure. The entire thing didn't really grab my attention though. 57 minutes is kind of long and there are no real hooks or other moments that stick with you. I can't recall ever hearing Tricky himself on this either. A big kind of nothing album to me.
Holger Czukay
3/5
A weird listen and a fun one for sure. I really like it when there's albums on here that don't sound like anything else on the list. The 4 songs on here were all different from one another. That said, the songs themselves are fun but not very memorable. There's something nice and delightfully weird about the album but I don't think it'll ever be a mainstay in my listening habits.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
What an incredibly grim backstory for such a pleasant and uplifting album. This doesn't feel like it really pushes the envelope that much, but it's nice to listen to. I'd still prefer the Samba and Bossa Nova of the old legends, but this does nice at blending the genre with slightly more modern sounds. Really pleasant album to listen to that seems to go by way too fast.
Def Leppard
2/5
I don't like Def Leppard and this didn't change that perception. Was really struggling with how much I dislike this album or whether I secretly like it a bit. But I don't. The entire thing sounds like the predecessor to everything awful that came with late 80's popular Rock, which it is. Some songs are ok, some are kind of kind in an ironic way and some, like Rock of Ages, are godawful atrocities of music. I will say that I really like the ''look what you've done to this rock & roll clown'' part in Photograph.
Paul Simon
3/5
There's probably about 6 or 7 Paul Simon albums I'd think about including on this list before this one. It's a fun listen but not really an essential one. There are some fun upbeat songs I really enjoy here, such as Cars are Cars. However, there are a few too many acoustic songs on here that just feel unfinished to me. This entire album has that feel of not living up to its full potential, and the backstory behind this one explains how so.
The Pharcyde
3/5
Pretty fun album, the goofyness is both a blessing and a curse. The beats flow really well here, but I wasn't really that impressed with the overall thing. It's fun and it sounds good but it probably needs a few more listens for me to appreciate it.
The Stooges
5/5
The genesis of Punk, Hardcore and almost every other relevant rock genre of the past 50 years. This album is a great collection of noisy somewhat pop-tinged songs. The songs feel a little unbaked and unrealised compared to their later 2 albums, but they are great to listen to nonetheless. I love listening to the stooges and even something like the awfully positioned We Will Fall doesn't deter me.
Nirvana
4/5
I like this more than Nevermind, the album is more raw and rocking than their previous effort. The second side is especially nice, with less hits and more grunting raw screaming noise songs like Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. Shame we never got more out of Nirvana, but this is a somewhat fitting end for the band.
Donald Fagen
4/5
This still really feels like a Steely Dan album, despite being a solo work. I like this album, there are some fun hits here and no track is unpleasant to listen to. The album plays it a bit safe at times though, the divide between campy soft rock and Steely Dan is a bit thin.
Napalm Death
3/5
I find this to be a bit of a grating listen. Not because I don't like grindcore or other types of hard music like this, but because the album hasn't aged all that well. The entire thing just feels kind like random slamming and screaming and drumming, there's no real theme and the recording sessions were even seperate. Still, it's nice to have music like this on the list and the influence it had and novelty of it bumps the enjoyment up a notch. There is nothing on here that is anything like these 33 minutes.
Brian Eno
5/5
I can’t really find any fault with this album, this is Brian Eno at his best. Beautiful album with lots of nice, short yet spacious songs. There is room here for experimentation and solo’ing without it becoming pretentious. Robert Fripp’s guitar work is some of the best he’s ever done here as well.
The Cars
5/5
Another brilliant 70’s album. Every song here is a banger. The songs are quite short, simple and well constructed. Just what I needed is one of the best songs of the 70’s. The Cars never topped their debut.
Tom Waits
4/5
I was dreading listening to this, since I didn’t like Heartattack and Vine much …. but it’s actually really good? Waits voice still sounds like Captain Beefheart in Sesame Street, but I think his old bluesmans voice is fully utilised here. Instrumentation is sparse, soms clings and clangs and bits of conventional instruments here and there. It all sets a really nice tone with apt lyrics to back them up. I really liked this much more than I thought I would and will be revisiting.
Bobby Womack
3/5
Before the likes of Luther Vandross and Prince, we had Bobby Womack and other trailblazers. I've listened to Bobby Womack in the past, but I can't really say that this is his most interesting release. It's a fine if not too notable listen, there are nice songs on here but nothing that's hugely consequential.
The Dictators
4/5
Fun listen, doesn't really feel like the Punk predecessor it is claimed to be. You can hear what was supposed to become Punk in the later years, but it feels more like a collection of Glam party anthems to me. I like how the band doesn't take itself too seriously, from the silly album cover, to the Cher & Sonny cover to the silly lyrics all throughout. It seems to achieve what it wants to do pretty well. That is where it also struggles a bit I think, there isn't that much to this album besides some fun songs. Can't blame an album for not trying to be something it's not though.
Pixies
4/5
I've listened to this album once or twice before, so I was surprised at just how many songs I recognised and enjoyed from my previous listens. Pixies really knew how to write some good hooks and pop songs. There are some lesser weird tracks on here, especially on the second side of the record, but they're fun pieces at best that don't district from the listening experience.
Joe Ely
4/5
Fun Outlaw country album. Pleasantly surprised to see it here, since this isn't the most well known of albums. The songwriting is great here and Joe manages to combine traditional country well with modern instruments. The album is a bit on the short side sadly, wish it had just 1 or 2 tracks more.
Alice Cooper
4/5
It's very basic classic rock, but fun nonetheless. It can get a bit too tryhard poorly aged edgelord at times but it's a fun and goofy album if you don't really take the shock in shock-rock seriously. The hits on here are good, I really like Elected. There's a bunch of nice deepcuts as well, pleasant surprise overall.
David Crosby
3/5
Perhaps my favorite voice in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. His raspy voice is a great addition to the nice vocal harmonies they have. The other members chime in on his solo album as well, which I think are the best moments here. It's a nice album, but it's very light on hits and memorable moments. I've listened to it about 5-10 times but I can never really recall anything from this album. I wish it stuck with me more, but alas it doesn't.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Almost 500 days in, somehow this is only the second Elvis Costello album I got. I’m kind of middle of the road on his music, I never dislike it but it doesn’t really pull me in. This one was pretty fun, the album and the songs were all pretty short and it sounded quite ahead of its time.
Pretenders
3/5
One of those albums that doesn't really feel like it belongs on the list. Can't really see what is so special about it, not like it was the first or only New Wave band fronted by a woman, and surely it's not the best or most important one at that. I found most songs to be kind of middling but the last 3-4 songs were nice and picked up the pace. Brass In Pocket is a fun song and I probably didn't pay that much attention, so this album gets the benefit of the doubt,
The Doors
5/5
Full of memorable lines this one. SHE GET HIIIIIGH, I eat more chicken than any man has ever seen and “mother, I want to (REDACTED)” as some examples. I love the Doors and their debut is their strongest record. Jim Morrisons energy translates well on this record and I love Ray’s keyboard playing in particular. This feels like the quintessential late 60’s band.
Carpenters
4/5
It’s no longer 1973, it’s cool to like the Carpenters guys. I’ve really underestimated how talented the Carpenters are. It may be schmalzy pop music, but the instrumentation is perfectly placed, with drum fills and guitars always seeming to come in at the right time. Karen’s voice is also beautiful and the selection of covers they have selected here work really well. An enjoyable album, even if it falls off a little by the second half.
Mariah Carey
1/5
Every generation has its own singer with a beautiful voice and no good songs. The boomers had Barbara Streisand and the 90’s had Mariah Carey. I’ve come to find out I really don’t care for 90’s R&B. The sound is painfully dated and the production is full of awful cliches. The songs on here are really unimpressive as well, they aren’t even good at showing off Mariah Carey’s voice for a lot of the album. The title track was almost worth a 3, the rest of the album I really don’t feel like listening again.
Elton John
4/5
I always forget just how impressive of an artist Elton John is. The album starts off with Tiny Dancer, a song I didn't really like until I listened to it again yesterday. The entire album sounds massive, yet Elton Johns voice makes it sound intimate as well. The string arrangement backing many of the songs is very pleasant to listen to. Very enjoyable album, although some parts like the choir at the end sounded a bit campy.
Eagles
3/5
I bet that if I make a reference to the Big Lebowski it’d be really funny and epic. Eagles have always been a middling band to me, they are in a music genre I really enjoy, but I find them to be a bit boring and would much rather listen to other stuff. This album had some of the better Eagles hits on it, and the deepcuts were pleasant as well. Still, doubt I’ll ever return to it in the near future, would rather be listening the the Byrds or CSNY.
Fairport Convention
3/5
This was a fine listen, it kind of just flew by really fast and I didn’t really get to pay attention to it. Fairport Convention is one of those bands I should really like, but I never really bother to listen to them. Will probably need a relisten for a fairer rating.
Genesis
4/5
Always a joy to listen to prog era Genesis. This isn’t the album of theirs I return to the most, but its a lot of fun nonetheless. The story really gives off fantasy vibes. Like with the previous album, I wish I paid a bit more attention so I could have more to say here, but alas.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Probably my most listened album in high school. Incredibly influential band and incredibly good music. One underappreciated aspect of this album is the variety in here. For a few blokes from Birmingham making a lot of noise, there’s quite a varied track list. Paranoid sounds clearly different from Fairies Wear Boots, sounds different from Planet Caravan and Electric Funeral. Rip Ozzy you legend.
Fugees
3/5
Everything here feels very tastefully made, a lot more polished than other albums from the era. The album cover is absolutely great and iconic, sidenote. I find myself enjoying some songs here, but not really the overall project. The skits, while not bad like some other albums, still ruin the flow of the overall listening experience. Some of the songs here are good, but they never really seem to hit a real high. Still enjoyable, but not something i'd listen often.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
Always a sucker for mid 60's R&B. Paul Revere & The Raiders was the American answer to the British invasion, although they don't really sound that American besides the name. The nice part about albums from this era is that you can easily compare them to one another, since they all cover each others songs. I'm not your stepping stone was done better by The Flies, but this version is still fun. I like the album, not the best from the era but good nonetheless.
Tom Tom Club
3/5
Fun album, you can hear the artists enjoying themselves here. The entire project is quite cutesy, so are the album cover and the video clips associated with this artist. However, therein I find my biggest gripe with this album as well. It's fun but feels very inconsequential and unmemorable. It's 40 minutes of joyeous but forgettable boops and synths. Under the Boardwalk was the most memorable song, but that wasn't even on the original album. It's a nice album, but it definetely feels like a side project, before they got back to more imporant things.
Elbow
1/5
This album is about fighting my demons, if my demons were trying to put me to sleep. This albums has some of the most boring tracks I’ve come across in my almost 500 days of this project. It really took the worst parts of Coldplay and 2010’s indie and stuffed it into one. The 2 hits on here are alright but not my cup of tea.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
This is the top result for the term “repetitive”. Unfairly so, in my opinion. The songs use a lot of repeating patterns but the album is pretty varied and doesn’t get boring. The hits on here are great, I fondly remember Funk Soul Brother and Right Here, Right Now, so it was nice to hear the album they were from. That said, the hits felt like they were a cut above the rest. The other songs were fine but not nearly on the same level.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
Quite a nice album at first. Het voice sounds a bit more aggressive than Lauren Hills voice and she has a bit more bite than other similar artists of the time. There’s a few fun instruments here like the accordeon as well. It falls off hard in the second half though, the songs turn kind of mopey and the energy is all gone. I like inclusions in the list that I’ve never heard of and was glad to hear this, but I don’t see myself listening to it in the future.
Tina Turner
5/5
I'm almost 500 days in, and over that time I've realised that the moment you get an album matters almost as much as the album itself. A good album can hit you poorly if you aren't in the mood and vice versa. This hit at the perfect time. Driving an 80's sports car while the sun is setting to your holiday destination, Tina Turner's Private Dancer is the perfect soundtrack for it. Some banging 80's pop of the good kind, the not Scritti Politti or Shakin Stevens kind. The hits on here everyone knows and are a joy to listen to again. The synths are great, the cheesy trumpet and guitar solo's are great and Tina Turner's voice is better here than it's ever been. This isn't the best album on this list by a long shot, but it was the perfect album to have gotten this very day.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
I'm glad there is music like this on the list, noisy unapologetic post-hardcore that never sees the light of the Billboard 100. The opener is a barnstormer of a track and my favorite here. There are moments for calmer songs on here as well, but they don't interest me as much. Overall a bit on the long side perhaps, but a good and angry album to listen to.
Meat Puppets
5/5
One of my favorite albums. Lovely blend between punk and country going on. I really like how the album switches between chaotic and peaceful playing instantly and effortlessly. The albums barely feels like it has actual songs, it's more of a consistent type of riff combined with either nothing or some other song. Always a joy to put on.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
What a fun album to listen to, punk at it's best. The horns make it sound like the band really had a blast putting this together. The album isn't really more than a collection of lots of their singles, but it doesn't really need to be. It's the perfect length with the 2 bonus tracks on streaming, I'll listen to it again for sure.
Doves
2/5
I don't really like this singers voice, he sounds like a Chris Martin impersonator giving it the full 30% at a karaoke bar. There were some fun beats and rhythms throughout, the playing saves it from being really bad. A really uninspiring and boring sound to me though, perhaps because everything on 2000's radio was sounding like this at one point. The way the music swells up and blooms into solo's is pretty nice though.
Circle Jerks
3/5
Influential for sure, but I always found the Circle Jerks to be a bit boring compared to their peers. All the ingredients are there, but it suffers a bit from being the first of its kind. MDC and a league of other bands do 15 minute straight to the point hardcore albums better.
Steely Dan
5/5
One of the easiest 5 star ratings to give out. Every song on here is a joy to listen to. Side one of this album is one of the single best sides of music ever made. I love almost everything about this album, the guitar work on Reeling in the years, the chorus on Midnite cruiser, the piano on Fire in the hole, etc. Side 2 calms down a little bit after Reeling in the years but the songs stay strong throughout. I always enjoy this album, you can put it on in pretty much any situation as well. Saying this is my favorite Steely Dan album is a boring pick, but damn it is my favorite.
Super Furry Animals
1/5
Big album of nothing sauce. The first track is a great banger, and then nothing of note comes afterwards. There's a bit of every genre that was big in 90's Britain, Shoegaze, Britpop, Alt rock etc. It all kind of blends in an artists with whom I have no idea who they are making music for. This was a really dissappointing one, especially after how good the first track really was.
Judas Priest
3/5
Judas Priest, seemingly at their poppiest here. The tracks differ between good old heavy metal to some awful 80's cheese. This really isn't their strongest album, but it's fun to listen to nonetheless. Songs like Grinder and Breaking The Law are great and metal classics. This album is brought down by some of the more anthemic poppy songs on here. This could've been a great album with shit like United and Red, White & Blue.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Does this album need to be on the list? Not really. Still, I had my fun with this one. The first few tracks, especially the opener, have some great percussion on them. I want you is also a nice track that I keep confusing with the Beatles song of the same name. I liked this more than his other 2 albums I've had so far, every vocal performance Elvis Costello seems to give it his all.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Same Cooke is a brilliant artist and a very energetic performer. This album doesn't have the audio quality that his studio albums have, and this means that Sam Cooke's voice sounds a lot more raw. Can't say this album really has any of his hits on it, there's a lot of classic Soul repertoire on here. No one like Sam Cooke to interpret these songs and bring them alive though. I find the songs fun, but Sam Cooke nevers really wows me like he can in the studio or with some of his other live performances.
Bert Jansch
4/5
There's a lot of 60's folk music and each artist brings his or her own flavour to the table. Bert Jansch has a pleasant voice, some great John Fahey-esque guitar playing and is from the same country as Donovan, to my surprise. It might not be my favorite album ever, but it was nice enough listening to it. A bit on the short side, but that is to be expected with albums of this era. The fact that this was self-made for peanuts makes it more special to me as well.
CHVRCHES
2/5
Sounds nostalgic, even though I never listened to this artist before. Reminds me of the era of Minecraft-video's and other 2012 stuff for some reason. I liked this, but the album got tedious pretty fast. The noisy synth blares and drums get tiring quick and the 1 hour runtime is just too long to be justified IMO. There's some nice moments here, but as an album listening experience it wasn't to my liking.
PJ Harvey
2/5
Kind of a boring release to me, dissappointing after enjoying her first 2 albums. Bitter Branches was fun but outside of that I struggle to really enjoy or even remember the other tracks here. It's probably well written but I don't really tend to focus on the lyrics too much. The songs were all this kind of meh indie pop to me, a far call for her rougher and rawer earlier work.
The Byrds
4/5
Maybe not my favorite album by theirs, but you can't go wrong with any Byrds-album. It's a really short album that seems to fly by in a moments notice. It's nice and comfy Folk rock that was quite a trailblazer at the time. The Byrds don't often get mentioned in discussions, even though people love them and they're included multiple times on this list. I'll gladly listen to more of them.
The Young Gods
4/5
WTF, this is really cool. The rating on here really isn't justified. This is some bizarre combination of French and industrial rock that seems to blend really well. There is nothing I've heard that is similar to this, for better or worse. I really enjoyed just how bizarre and fun this entire thing was. French and rock mix like oil and water but the contrast works really well here.
R.E.M.
4/5
This one has some of the best R.E.M. singles on it and is the best blend between old school alternative R.E.M. and the later, more pop oriented band. The singles here are brilliant, I really like Orange Crush, Stand en Turn You Inside-Out. I feel the album is a bit lacking besides the hits though, the deep cuts don't really feel on par with the other songs here and are kind of mediocre and forgettable. Still fun to listen to and maybe my favorite R.E.M. album through the strength of its singles.
k.d. lang
2/5
Starts out nice, but falls off fast and gets boring for me. Perhaps it's the fatigue of catching up with 2 weeks of albums in the past 3 days. Het voice is beautiful and the music suits it well. I can see how this would catch on in a time with artists like Celine Dion.
The Undertones
3/5
I was really surprised to hear Feargal Sharkey on here. The famous Feargal Sharkey, known for his 1980's hit song ''A Good Heart''. Amazing to hear Feargal Sharkey in unexpected places like this. Hearing Feargal Sharkey on a late 70's / earl 80's new wave / pop-oriented record makes Feargal Sharkey even more of a typical 80's star. This album was a pretty fun albeit generic listen, it's the typical fun new wave but with Feargal Sharkey singing over the songs. The instruments are pretty fun and aid Feargal Sharkey well. Goddamn Feargal Sharkey.
Peter Frampton
4/5
Peter Frampton is a rockstar without the rockstar attitude. His songs here are fun and good, there's a lot of improvisation, good guitar work and talkbox singing going on. This album is also pretty much the best selling live album of all time. It lacks a bit of edge, but it's a fun listen of a pretty generic but competent artist. I really love the hits here, ''I want you to show me the way'', ''Jumping Jack Flash'' and ''Do you feel like we do'' are all certified classic rock staples. The rest here vary from nice to a bit forgettable, but they are all energetic.
The Birthday Party
3/5
Sounds like cave rock Nick Cave. I liked it at times, but not too thrilled overall. It feels a bit undercooked and unfocused and it's not too clear in what it wants to do. That said, it's really cool to see this proto-Nick Cave album and the album has its moments. The title track is really fun and the album is bursting with raw energy and power. Nick Cave belts his way through this album and the backing band adds to the force.
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
The engine behind Motown and the decider of what pop music was gonna sound like for the rest of the decade. It's impressive how instantly recognisable these covered and instrumental versions of songs are. I got a Woman and Twist and Shout are recognisable from the first note. Green onions is also a classic in and of itself. It doesn't really have the depth of later albums on this list and it doesn't make me want to put on a second Booker T. album, but it's a worthwile inclusion nonetheless.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
I love this album. Captain Beefhearts work is actually pretty accessible, outside of his most famous album. This album is a great blend of experimental music and blues with great songwriting. This album is also just really groovy. The songs get stuck in my head easily, the bassline bops and the guitar work is really unique and twangy. Captain Beefheart was great at attracting great musicians to his band, not as good in treating them well though. Still, great album from one of my most listened artists.
Donovan
4/5
You can really hear how Indian classical music influenced the Brits in the mid to late 60's. Donovan's album is full of hypnotic percussion and sitar work. This is his best work IMO. His best songs like Season of the witch and Sunshine superman are right here. The comparison between him and Bob Dylan may be a bit too glazing, but Donovan is a fine musician in his own right.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
It's music, it's competent, but I'm growing weary of Echo & the Bunnymen. I don't really care for this sanitised post-punk they produce and they sure as hell don't need 3 albums of it on the list. Realistically a 3-star album but it ain't getting that out of spite. The Cutter is a fine song, but everything here kind of becomes a forgettable mesh. Ocean Rain is a more interesting work by them IMO and that was all the Echo & the Bunnymen needed here.
Bad Company
3/5
Acceptable generic classic rock. The very definition of dadrock to me. It's got a few hits, it's got some well made deepcuts, it's the average length of an album. It's not really an important album, just one of the many classic rock albums people like that you still hear on radio stations. It's fine all in all.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Always a joy listening to Jimi Hendrix. For the album considered the ''least'' of his 3 big albums, this one sure is filled with a lot of great songs. There's a vague alien concept going on here but the strength of this album mainly comes from all the great individual songs on here. I love Hendrix' playing and his subdued voice really fits the album.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
It's a real classic within music nerd spheres and the jazz world as a whole, but I've never really cared for it. It sounds pleasant enough but there isn't much going on for me. Perhaps a victim of having influenced a lot of overly polished and awful fusion to come after. The bass is a high point on this album, but outside of that I find myself surprisingly bored for something that is really groovy in essence. Some albums I'll just never click with I guess.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
1/5
What a load of nothing, the first few tracks have some ok moments, but after that it turns really boring. It's synth-pop without any pop. It's doing a worse version of what bands like Kraftwerk and Ultravox did before them. I never really enjoyed the major hit they had and I didn't like listening this album when I got it on LP from a large collection. I'd be fine with never listening to this again, I'd want to never listen to it.
Björk
1/5
Thank god this is over. This one got boring really fast. The orchestra is beautiful and I don't really mind Björks voice, but there is absolutely nothing happening on this album. 9 long songs that all barely change throughout their lengthy runtime. I'm sure Björk can do and has done better than this snoozefest. Words can't describe how much I disliked listening to this, but numbers can, 1/5.
Hookworms
4/5
This one was pretty fun. Was pretty obvious what it wanted to sound like with this one. It's a bit derivative and it kind of falls off by the second half, but I enjoyed this a lot more than other offerings from the 2010's that the list has given me so far. It's quirky yet weirdly dancable nerd music.
The Byrds
3/5
I like the Byrds, but this is one of their weakest albums from their classic period IMO. The title track is a fun one and the other songs are all decent, but there aren't real standout moments or anything here. I'm kind of baffled as to why this one was included at all. There's enough Byrds representation as is and there's other albums not featured that I think showcase the Byrds better.
Queen
3/5
I find Queen albums to be very inconsistent, but that is part of the fun of the listening experience here. I really don't like the hits on here, especially Love of my Life and Bohemian Rhapsody are incredibly overplayed. Besides the hits and the few cornball musical-esque tracks here, there are some good songs on here. Death on two legs and The Prophet's Song are great surprises for me on here. Queen can write and play some great tracks, but it's almost like they don't wanna do most of the time.
Ravi Shankar
4/5
Ravi Shankar is great at ragging a Sitar and making it sound insane. I couldn't ever mirror what this guy is playing. The explanations of how the Sitar and Indian Classical music work serve as a nice introduction, but take away from the album as a whole imo. Still, can't go wrong with any Ravi Shankar album consisting of some nice Raga's.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
The Manic Street Preachers are one of many British bands of this era featured on the list, but they are one of the best ones to listen to. The music is really energetic and catchy while still maintaining a rock edge. I found myself enjoying a bunch of the songs on here, such as Interiors and The Girl Who Wanted To Be God. There's a lot to explore here and a lot to love, I don't think one listen is really enough to give it a fair rating.
Dirty Projectors
3/5
It's a weird album for sure, but I quite enjoyed it. The guitar playing is quite random and erratic and reminds me of Captain Beefheart at times. The playing and singing is all quite varied and the album doesn't wear out its welcome. There's intricacies and interesting tempo changes all throughout here. Not really my music but I enjoyed it.
Laibach
3/5
Bizarre album and kind of hard to rate. I liked the novelty of it and the goofy cover songs on here are fun, but there's a lot of meandering pounding synths and bongs that don't do much for me. A lot of this album doesn't really do anything. Still, having a Slovenian industrial band on here is a pretty fun thing.
Queen
3/5
Probably the best Queen album on here. This one has quite a few good songs on here. Stone Cold Crazy and Brighton Rock are some of the best songs ever played by Queen. Unlike the other Queen album I had this week, I don't really mind the hit singles off this album either. That said, it's a Queen album and I still find it wholly inconsistent. There's a few duds and awful non-rock songs on here that ruin the flow and an otherwise nice album. I wish Queen had some more consistent albums.
The Youngbloods
4/5
Fun listen. They sound quite far removed from the Greenwich village scene they were originally from. Their sound is folky, but also clearly inspired by Jazz and Psychedelic music. I liked the improv's throughout this album. Generally well made and fun to listen to, the Byrds if they were a jam band.
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
Everything here is fine, but nothing here is impressing or worth revisiting. It sounds like a compilation album for teen comedy series music. I can't say I really disliked anything here outside of maybe 1 or 2 songs, but the entire thing is just so non-noteworthy. The album cover sure is some late 90's goodness though.
Crowded House
3/5
Was fun listening to this, I remember all the hits from the radio from back in the day. That said, the non-single tracks aren't really that interesting to me. They fall kind of flat without the nostalgia attached to them. They do have their own sound. Between INXS, Split Enz and the Dundee scene, this continent really brings it's own flavour of pop music to the table.
Peter Tosh
4/5
Fun listen, I don't usually listen to Reggae but this made me wanna listen to more of it. Always nice to see an album where someone is fighting for something. Reggae always manages to sound fun and positive, even when it's surrounding serious topics. The album cover is a true classic as well.
Nick Drake
5/5
Nick Drake is a great singer-songwriter and his music is always a soothing joy to listen to. I don't really like all the instrumental backing on here though. Sometimes it works great and on the whole it's fitting instrumentation, but especially towards the end there and moments that would've been better left without. This is still part of a great trilogy of albums though, and it's nice that Nick Drake eventually found his following, even if it's years after he passed.
Can
4/5
Sounds almost like it could be a Techno album in a way. Can were massively ahead of the curve and it shows today in their appreciation they get from music snobs. This is generally their highest regarded album, but I like other Can albums more than this one. This is Can at their most refined, but it loses the wacky and zany edge I notice on the likes of Monster Movie and Ege Bamyasi. I still really like Can and this album though. Seldom does a 4 song, 40 minute album go by so quick. The drums are hypnotic on this one.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
It's unmistakably a Bruce Springsteen album. 10 very typical Bruce Springsteen songs, some more famous than the others. The ballads and stories told here are pretty appealing, but I just don't really care much for Bruce Springsteen. I can't find any real fault in it, it's a perfect and well rock album by any objective measure. But Bruce was never really my thing and I doubt it will really be.
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
God this is boring. Nothing but a guitar and an hour of singing by one of the least engaging singers of this entire list. One or two songs on here were maybe fine, but the rest of it was all a borefest to get through. Headache and boredom inducing, couldn't wait for it to be over. Can't imagine the album had any real influence.
Talk Talk
5/5
This was a beautiful album. I know Talk Talk went more into post rock and experimental territory as their career went on, this being somewhere in the middle of that process. This album is incredibly well made and polished, without being a cliche. I already knew Life's What You Make It, but the other tracks on here are very enjoyable as well. Mark Hollis had one of the clearest and most beautiful voices of the era. This was a really pleasant surprise I'll definitely revisit.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Bruce Springsteen at his bet. None of the trumpets and band involved, just him singing acoustic songs with a guitar. This really brings out the Americana-vibes, especially with the album title and cover. I'm 5 Bruce Springsteen albums in now, on the whole I'm more positive towards him, but I'd rather he'd made more of this and less of Born in the USA.
Deee-Lite
2/5
Groove Is In The Heart is a fun song, and the only thing you really need of this album. The album has some really fun ideas, mixing disco with house and a funky aesthetic. However, the music fall kind of flat and a lot of it sounds like filler house to me. Kind of a shame, because the rest of the album drags down the power of their one hit song for me.
Skunk Anansie
3/5
Very refreshing album, I hadn't heard anything like this in the list yet. It's a really strange but effective combination of Metal, Electronic and Pop. The lyrics are really heavy for an artist that got played on mainstream pop stations. I think this would've benefitted from 1 or 2 of their big hits being on it though. It's close to a 4 but there aren't any real memorable songs off this for me.
KISS
3/5
Questionable sonic choices here. Church bells really don't fit here lol. Kiss is a strange band, pop rock and disco but with Heavy Metal appearance. Some songs here do go quite hard, Detroit Rock City is genuinely good and God Of Thunder is one of their harder songs as well. The rest of the songs are all forgettable generic pop tunes though. Kiss is hugely influential for their appearances, stage theatrics and extreme level of selling out, but their music is never what was important about them. Perhaps their disco album or Kiss Alive would've been more fitting as a pick for this list.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Halfway point in this list, and kind of a middle of the road album. Didn't like it as much as the other Nick Cave albums I've listened to so far. It's not bad, but not really the best one I've listened either. I think he's done more interesting on other albums. Wish I had more to say about the halfway more but I don't.
5/5
Daunting to put up at first, being a 3 song 40 minute album, but actually very enjoyable to listen to. This album is full of memorable moments and brilliant playing. It's amazing just how fast this goes by. Easily one of the best prog albums ever made.
Green Day
2/5
Dookie straddled the line between pop and punk pretty well, this one does not whatsoever. There's hardly any Punk element to it, you can't make a pop album and a rock opera and have it fall under Punk as well. I really didn't like this. The big hits are all fine but I've heard them a million times before without ever putting it on myself. The transitions between the songs are nice but the album tracks don't do it for me. Definetely deserves to be on the list, I just don't like it.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
Great voice and some really nice songs on here. I really liked the Can't Take My Eyes Off You cover and Everything Is Everything. I found a lot of the songs to be kind of filler though. It's a long album and I didn't really care for a lot of it. Good album, but not really my thing.
Billy Joel
5/5
I really liked every song on here, should really listen to Billy Joel more often. Could by naming my favorites here but it'd end up as just naming the entire track list. Billy Joel is a brilliant songwriter and singer like many of this era, and this is probably his best album. Nice combination of hits and well known fan favorites on display. Very varied, good runtime and something that pretty much everyone can enjoy.
Eminem
1/5
This may have aged horribly, but I don't think I would have enjoyed this in 1999 either. I really don't care for the edgelord theme this album brings on. The skits are insufferable and the songs may as well be skits most of the time, so those are insufferable as well. There are some good parts to this, I generally like the beats and sometimes it feels like Eminem is actually about to say something meaningful. Before he comes back to 'kiss my ass' -esque lyrics. None of it that makes me want to listen to it again, I feel emberassed for even putting this album on. The first notes of the following album in the playlist were liberating.
Hüsker Dü
5/5
One of the weaker Hüsker Dü albums, but that says more about their great catalogue of music. It's a bit long and the songs are a bit middling at times, but it's like a final playlist. The last thing they made before they split up and there's 20 songs to enjoy. I like this band a lot and while I find this a strange inclusion, I still really really enjoy listening to it.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
A bit boring, but well made and still enjoyable enough. It's like the British version of enigma. The opening track has such an unfortunate name that it makes it easy to make fun of. Still enjoyed this, a nice combination of synth-pop and, at the time up and coming genres like house and dance.
Nico
4/5
I can see why this has a low rating on this site, I really enjoyed it though. I wouldn't say Nico's vocals or beautiful or that I even really like her voice. It sounds a bit robotic and there isn't a lot of range. It is incredibly mesmerising and fitting for the album though. This sounds like the birth of a very large part of alternative rock right here. It's a hypnotising and engaging experience, really pleasant album.
Sonic Youth
4/5
It's a pretty fun album. It's noisy and abrasive, but it doesn't really sound as such. It took me a few listens to start enjoying Sonic Youth. This is a perfectly fine album by them, kind of in between the harshness of Evol and the sprawling beauty of Daydream Nation, both of which I prefer. Really influential band and good stuff.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
I absolutely love this album. It's such a timeless masterpiece, these songs sound like they've been around for centuries. Leonard Cohen started as a poet and it's very noticable in his songwriting. I've listened to this one more than any other album on the list and I'm still puzzled by the lyrics and what they mean. There are stories told, yet everything said here remains a sort of mystery where you never know the true meaning or intent behind the song. I think Cohen's guitar playing is also at his very best here. He went on to do more lush works as he furthered into his career, but the songs here just being accompanied with his guitar and the occassional other string instrument or voice really aids the songwriting. One of the best albums of all time.
The Darkness
4/5
This album is just goofy fun. From the album cover that looks like a classic B-movie poster, to the other the top solo's and vocal delivery. The layer of irony and fun that this album brings makes it a lot more interesting than the sources it's derived from. I would rather listen to this over Queen or any number of poorly aged Hair Metal bands. I Believe In A Thing Called Love is a great song and a bunch of the others here work well as standalone singles too.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Fun listen, very much in the style of Booker T. Kind of surprised that this was by Blue Note, it's much more linked to Soul and Blues. The songs blend together and kind of fly by. I feel like it's a great album for background listening, but he's done more interesting albums in his career. I got a soft spot for Organ-centered Jazz though.
Gang Starr
5/5
Gang Starr are one of the best Hip Hop groups of all time. I love this era of Hip Hop, where seemingly anything was possible and there were tons of interesting ideas in every album. Gang Starr delivers great flow and some great backbeats as well. It has dark lyricism without falling in the yet to be established gangster rap tropes. I hadn't heard this album by them yet but I'll be sure to return to it. Neat that the song from GTA IV was on here as well.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
5/5
There is nothing like this album, probably for the better for a lot of people judging by the ratings. I really like it though. It's the music of the hippie era, completely devoid of any sort of optimism. It paints a very bleak and dark picture. The extra songs tacked onto the streaming version really help the album as well, it feels like these have always been part of the album. It's a strange listen, but the closest you'll get to outsider music on this list. Coming from a soul who was well within the music scene.
D'Angelo
3/5
This album got a lot better once I started paying more attention to what I was listening. There'are loads of nice touches, but they are sort of hidden if you aren't actively paying attention. The beats are nice and D'Angelo can twist and form his voice in all sorts of crazy ways that wonderfully blend in the songs. That said, I'm still not generally a fan of 90's R&B and the album did bore me at quite a bit of occasions. Undoubtedly a great album, but not my thing.
Django Django
4/5
A pretty inconsequential but fun listen. I didn't mind any part of it, and I enjoyed the bit more sparse production here. You can hear the influence the likes of LCD Soundsystem had on this band. It's fun dance Punk-esque music. Not too high art, not too important and probably not worthy of being included on this list, but a really enjoyable bop to me. The hell is that album cover though.
Drive-By Truckers
5/5
I really love this Southern rock infused Country and America aesthetic. It's a big blend of everything Southern musically and it works really well together. Suffers a bit from being a 2000s album, with the loudness being turned up to 11 and the album being a bit overly long, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. The lyrics here are great and it's refreshing to hear a Southern band that acknowledges the somewhat troubled Southern pride while still loving the USA. The guitar playing is great here and I really like how the overly American vocals sound. AMERICA FUCK YEAHHHHH
The Style Council
4/5
What a strange album this is, I really like how varied it is. The first half sounds like a typical, of the era Jazz album. It's inspired by the 50's vocal Jazz and has this overall overpolished and kitsch aesthetic to it. Kind of like a Pat Methany Group but without the gut to it. But then, a fucking rap song out of nowhere. And then there comes R&B, and by the end it's a blend of pretty much every sound of the era. It's all done very competent as well. Overpolished at times but the variety makes it really enjoyable.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
What can I say, it's a typical Elvis Costello album. I enjoyed some of the songs and the overall album was pretty decent, if not very impactful to me. I feel that part of the reason Elvis Costello became a bit of a meme on here is because he doesn't just have 7 different albums, but they all sound similar to each other. I've heard 4 of them so far but none of them really sounded all too different from one another. Elvis Costello isn't a Tom Waits or David Bowie who made radical stylistic changes throughout his career. He's just a guy who makes well written pop rock songs.
Iron Butterfly
4/5
The title track is what is front and center on this album, but I think side A deserves some credits as well here. I don't like the intro song, but after that there's a streak of nice songs. It's a nice showcase of the downright demonic sounding guitar work and jamming that will happen on the other side, while still conforming to a regular song structure. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the true centerpiece here though. A regular single, stretched to it's absolute limits and filled with solo's like only the 60's could do. The production here is famously ass, but that does give the album a certain charm. Landmark album here.
Nick Drake
5/5
Probably my favorite Nick Drake album. His first work was his best, perfectly balanced in between the slightly more overproduced and slightly unfinished sounding second and third album. His songwriting is excellent and his voice and guitar playing is a joy to listen to. His strongest collection of songs here.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
This generator is pulling out quite a few surprises for me lately. Having an album of this era is always a special occasion. Before the concept album, before singles were included on albums and this one is even from a time when the 10 inch LP was the standard option. It's a nice collection of songs, some of which went on to be covered lots of times in the Greenwich Village-era Folk of the 60's. It's not the most interesting listen in 2025 though. I like older Folk music, but the old folk that didn't push any musical boundaries doesn't really feel like a memorable listen to me. It's good but not really outstanding.
Turbonegro
4/5
Pretty enjoyable this one. Just a few dudes making loud blaring Punk Rock. This is a bit more accessible than most other Punk albums, but it doesn't really lose any appeal because of it. Prince of the Rodeo is a great song I've had saved for a while now, enjoyable listen overall.
Simple Minds
1/5
I kind of like a number of Simple Minds hits, this one only had one of them though. The rest of the album was a real snorefest though. Basic 80's pop but completely devoid of the upbeat atmosphere that the rest of the 80's and their later work also had. Completely forgettable listen. They were a popular band but this doesn't feel worthy of inclusion on the list. I really don't find any merit in this listen. Promised you a miracle isn't even that good.
Devendra Banhart
3/5
This seems to get compared to Joanna Newsom quite a bit, but I enjoyed this album a lot more. His voice is still divisive like Newsoms, but I could actually enjoy this. The songs being a lot shorter and concise helps too. It's a bit monotonous at times, but the albums length and amount of songs keeps it bearable. Guitar playing here is excellent and I did like a few songs here and there. Interesting enough listen, although I wouldn't rank it as one of the 1001 essentials.
Funkadelic
5/5
This isn't just an album, this is a complete experience. I haven't listened every Parliament / Funkadelic album there is, but this seems to be regarded as their last great album. And what a great album it is. It's like a blend of everything learned from their past years as a group, combined with new influences like Disco. The added live parts bring this album to life even more so. I also think the Maggot Brain performance here is better than the version on the album of the same name. What a brilliant album, I wish it were even longer.
Shuggie Otis
2/5
I don't really care for Shuggie Otis' music. It should be something I really like on paper, being an excellent blend of all sorts of genres I enjoy. The playing is smooth and well performed. I just don't really care for it. It's a bit too philly Soul at times and it's a bit light on hooks or other earworms. Wish I liked it more but alas. My favorite moments were Freedom Flight and Sweet Thang, but either one wasn't part of the original album itself.
The Gun Club
5/5
I've really enjoyed this album for the past few years now. This Bluesy Punk music is the type of music I really enjoy. The atmosphere it sets here is great and there's a lot of memorable moments and hooks. The instruments sound like a blend of western and Punk. I haven''t really found any album like this, which is both a shame and testament to how unique this is.
Björk
2/5
This is not for me. It's objectively well made and very inventive, doing away with earthly things such as genre and song structure. The lack of that makes it a hard album to enjoy. There are nice sounds throughout, but there is no enticing structure to keep it all together. I also just don't enjoy Björk's voice much. It usually feels like more of an instrument here, but I still don't like listening to it. Maybe I'm not smart or nerdy enough for this, IDK.
Venom
4/5
I think their debut album was a bit better, but this is a great album nonetheless. Just a dozen or so quickfire Metal bangers filled with the occult, fast solo's and a vocalist grunting his way through. Hugely influential for a lot of metal genres. May sound like it was recorded in a bathroom, but so does all the cool stuff it influenced. It's a landmark album and it's still enjoyable to listen to today.
Kraftwerk
4/5
Much better in the German version than the English one, English just can't replicate beautiful words like Schaufensterpuppen. I really like Kraftwerk, but this is probably my least listened album of their golden era. Still a great album, but it doesn't have the refined songcraft of Mensch Maschine or the overarching theme of Radio-Aktivitat or Autobahn. The songs are all typical Kraftwerk, sparse, electronic beats sung over by a robotic voice. There's some nice and interesting sounds used throughout. Still fun to listen to.
Slint
3/5
I've listened to this album multiple times and I never know what to think of it. It is heralded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and while it does have its moments, I find it to be kind of boring. The singer isn't exactly great and neither is the rest of the band, and they don't make particularly outstanding music. The songs are really spaced out here which gives them some room to drone on and breathe. This does create some nice and haunting soundscapes and the parting away from conventional song structure is commendable. I don't really like Post-rock much, I can find some good in this but it's not my thing.
Japan
4/5
This is more enjoyable than I remember it being on my first listen. It's synth-pop for sure, but without the cliché 80's things being associated with it. Songs are pretty strong and a bonus point for having a Velvet Underground cover on there. Doesn't compare to their debut album though.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I wish this album wasn't so goddamn long. This has to be the longest album besides Ella Fitzgerald and 69 love songs. Despite that it's a good album though. Some songs feel a bit pointless and some drag on for too long, but there are a lot of good and great tracks here. The variety is astounding and the some go from quick and grungy to lush and slow seemlessly. There are a lot of stand outs here, too many to mention.
Blur
4/5
I really liked this. You really notice Blur moved on from Britpop here into pastures new, a welcome change. The songs are more chill (except the breakout hit) and the entire vibe is more Trip Hop and Jazzy than their earlier album. It's a bit more experimental too, especially with the weird jam that's the final track. Makes me excited to dive a bit deeper into Blur's later catalog because this is really solid.
Roni Size
4/5
FYI: the streaming version of this album is really long, but the real album is only the first 2 CD's, minus the last 3 tracks. I've learned to appreciate these long ass 90's dance albums since starting this challenge. They aren't really meant to be listened to as a regular album, they're just 2 hours of similar bangers that you could pick any one out of and enjoy. I don't usually like Drum N Bass but this was really enjoyable. The jazz inspired basslines work really well with the drums and create a lot of enjoyable grooves. The formulaic structure of the songs does start to make them less enjoyable after a while. This also nabbed the Mercury prize away from nerd rock Radiohead, so that's a big plus.
LL Cool J
4/5
I've never been that much of a fan of LL Cool J, this was pretty nice though. One of the real Hip Hop pioneers who was already an oldhead by the time this came out, even though he was only 22 at the time. This has a surprising amount of R&B touches inside. It's kind of a forgettable listen though. It isn't as nice to listen to as a De La Soul or Eric B & Rakim. It's a fun but kind of forgettable listen. 6 minutes of pleasure and the title track are my favorites here.
Laura Nyro
5/5
This sounds way more like a 70's album than it does a 60's one. Effortlessly predicts the sound people like Elton Jong and Carly Simon would go on to produce. I really enjoyed this, the songs had meaningful lyrics and they all sound lovely. Really pleasant surprise.
Gram Parsons
4/5
Another day, another good album. A few wonderful songs on here. This version of Love Hurts sounds great and Las Vegas is one of the best country songs of this time. Not all the songs quite hit this level of greatness, but it's an overall enjoyable listen.
Dinosaur Jr.
5/5
This gradually builds up and up into a really noisy album. The songs start out like normal alt rock noise and eventually turn into the wonderful noise that is Don't. I really like Dinosaur Jr, this isn't my favorite album by them but it's still really good.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Another day another great album. This is a classic for good reason. Really influential but also just great fun to listen to. The 2 covers here are the clear highlight, although the other 2 are nice as well. The covers have been dissected, pulled apart and stretched to make side long epics. Isaac Hayes voice is utterly beautiful and the guitar playing with the swelling strings is epic as well. Great album.
New Order
3/5
Fine album on it's own, but a bit middling compared to all the good albums I've had the past 2 weeks. This has really strayed from synth-pop into pure dance music. It's fun to listen to and groovy enough on it's own, but as dance music I think it's been superseded by stuff that came afterwards and is more dance-able. Didn't really leave much of a lasting impact either.
Khaled
4/5
There is a lot of variety on this album, you hear the influence from all over the world. There's chansons, samba, conventional rock with a really cheesy Imagine cover and of course the Arab music itself. I really like that this is included in the list. It's a bit too poppy at times and quite long for repeated listens, but it's enjoyable and quite varied.
ZZ Top
3/5
Pretty much the ultimate classic rock album. Car on the cover, loud, filled with solo's and covering important topics such as women and being cool. I think ZZ Top works better as a singles artist though. THey have a few great songs but their albums can be kind of middling. I didn't really dislike any part of it, but it isn't that adventurous or boundary pushing. It doesn't really try to though, can't fault an album for what it isn't trying to be.
Pearl Jam
5/5
I have really enjoyed this for a while now. This album is brimming with energy and has some insane vocal performances on it. The hits here are kind of overplayed, but Even Flow and Jeremy are still great. The non-hit songs and especially the opening track are amazing though. I didn't really feel like listening to it today, but it's a brilliant album I often put on.
3/5
I liked this album more when I was younger. There are a few cool songs on here, Knights of Cydonia in particular. A lot of the songs here I only like a little or feel indifferent about. Some good singles but not really a great album. I also find it to be a bit too Queen-esque at the time. Also heard some of the songs here way too much which kind of dampens my enjoyment.
Missy Elliott
3/5
The beats are quite good on this album. Love the production here and there's some great songs being interpolated and sampled. Missy Elliott has a nice flow too, usually reserved but there's times where she's flying through bars. I don't really click with the album though. It's kind of long and the songs that didn't have nice samples didn't really latch onto me. Fine album, important album but probably needs a relisten to appreciate it more.
Flamin' Groovies
4/5
This was a fun listen. A lot of nice and, for the time, modernised classic Rock & Roll hits. It's an influential song, but not very outspokenly influential at that. You notice this kind of crazier Rock & Roll style in bands like the Cramps and the later Punk movement. The songs being covers brings some nice variety, but also makes it a bit creatively bankrupt at times. Still fun to listen to.
The Pretty Things
4/5
I'm a sucker for Psych rock and this is very much that. Deflecting Grey is one of the greatest songs of the 60's and the rest of the album is pretty nice too. Not really a memorable listen, there aren't many memorable songs outside of Deflecting Grey, which wasn't even on the original album. Cool that it's a concept album, but I have no idea what it's about.
Giant Sand
2/5
Kind of sounds like a lame version of Karate. There were some moments of brilliance and I did enjoy parts of songs, but the overall experience is just kind of boring. Satellite is a good song and it conincidentally happens to be the only one with a bit of noise behind it. I was in the mood for this type of music but I don’t think I’ll revisit this any time soon.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
A musician from Africa being able to record his own album was a real luxury in this time. I've listened to quite a bit of music from this region from this era and this album does not disappoint. The atmosphere here is great, very joyful and danceable. The songs are long but don't overstay their welcome whatsoever, I'd say it's too short of an album if anything. Just a fun album from an underrepresented area of the world.
Super Furry Animals
1/5
The best part of this album was the part where the music stopped and it was over. The final minute of No Sympathy was pretty interesting, full of weird noises and almost turned into an EDM track. Nothing else on this album came remotely close to being as interesting as that part. A lot of boring joyless and soulless drab, with uninteresting songs. This band didn't need an album on the list, let alone two of them.
Beatles
5/5
''It was great, it sold, it's the bloody Beatles' white album, shut up!'' as Paul McCartney said. Sure it has some lesser songs, but it's the Beatles at the peak of their creative output stuffing a double album full of all sorts of great and wacky tracks. The tracks here are all very different and enjoyable in their own right and they somehow flow together well. The relative inconsistency is part of the charm, and let's you discover new favorites even after years of listening to it.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
Does this even qualify as an album? It's listed as an EP on some places. Still, this was pretty decent. Fresh combination of Neo Soul and some modern R&B influence. The short runtime really aided the pacing, even though the frequent skits made it a bit of a drag to get through at the end. It's something fresh in the list for sure, and a hell of a lot better than the other 2 2020's albums I've had so far.
Bee Gees
2/5
The Bee Gees are out of their depth here. A band in the 60's making a double album rock opera is a task that's only really able to be fulfilled by rock greats such as Frank Zappa, the Beatles or the Who. The Bee Gees already had a bunch of albums released in the three years prior and they are more of a singles band to begin with. What you end up with is an album that has some pleasant songs but no hits and an overly optimistic runtime. Better off with a greatest hits of their 60's output.
Suicide
5/5
Frankie Teardrop has some of the most sinister sounding screams in all of music history. This is such a lovely album to listen to. The final part can get a bit same-same but it's a great album nonetheless. Ghost Rider is one of the best songs of the entire scene. I really like the minimal pulsing synths that make for a very alien version of Rock & Roll. Really important album to boot.
Caetano Veloso
5/5
Lovely music. Kind of the start to the whole Tropicalia movement. I love how MPB music effortlessly blends music from all over the world together, the last track was a real surprise with it's Eastern influence. Beautiful album, beautiful album cover. There's MPB albums I like more and are a bit better, but this one came before all of those.
Ananda Shankar
2/5
Somewhat nice album, but even for the time quite cliche. Pop had already been blended much better with Sitar music before. The covers here are fun but not really worth listening to more than once. The original tracks are a bit better, but I feel that Ravi Shankar and others produce more interesting works.
Madonna
2/5
Really 80's and not as a compliment. The title track is great but that's about it. A lot of very tiresome cheesy late 80's pop that makes it more of a drag than an enjoyment. Don't really hate it but there isn't much to like here. Even the other hit singles aren't Madonna's best work.
David Bowie
4/5
It's David Bowie as a Rock & Roll star, but there is a noticeable evolution from Ziggy Stardust to here. The album seems to take a lot of inspiration from Roxy Music and Brian Eno. The regular song structure often evolves into a chaotic noisy improvisation, such as on the title track. The album cover is very iconic and the album is a fun listen to. Not the very best Bowie album but good nonetheless.
XTC
5/5
Pleasant album that I put on quite often. It's somewhat of a concept album, but all the songs stand on their own and are all well crafted. The inclusion of Dear God lifts it up a point for me, brilliant alternative song that for some reason isn't included on every version of the album.
2/5
2 XTC albums in 2 days. This one seemed to have garnered a lot of critical acclaim as well, although I never listened to it before. I didn't like it nearly as much as Skylarking though. The songs don't really go anywhere. They are experimental in nature, but there's no pop hit inside as there is with other XTC albums. It all flows nicely into each other, but it's just a collection of slightly too long meandering songs that aren't that enjoyable.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Joni Mitchell is highly acclaimed and made a lot of stellar music, but I'm kind of indifferent to all of it. It's nice enough but it all kind of sounds same-ey to me. I didn't ever dislike listening this album, but I have no real desire to turn back to it. Hejira is a bit better IMO and has a bit more Jazz to it, this is nice but not really a favorite.
Scott Walker
5/5
Scott Walker is a real poet and writes some beautiful songs here. Hero of the War, The Old Man's back again and Get Behind Me are some of my favorites, but I love every song here. This was in his phase were he was still rooted in a pop song structure, unlike later albums of his. His voice is a joy to listen to, very clear sounding on the record and very dramatic without exaggeration. I like the background choirs, the strings, the drama and everything here. The album isn't long, but thankfully it's the 4th in a sequence of similarly great albums.
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
Wow, I didn't think I'd like a Grime album but here it is. Hard to believe that Dizzee started recording this album when he was just 15. This project is just full of energy, every song is a hard hitter. Sometimes the songs start out with a gentler sample or beat but there's always a big beat and some quick, almost shouty deliveried verses in there. I really like just how bombastic and energetic it is. This album also sounds way ahead of it's time, 10-15 years later and this sounds seemed to be everywhere. Pleasant surprise. Biggest British rap artist since Slick Rick as well.
Kings of Leon
2/5
I was fearing the worst here, so it could only end up being better than expected. Sex on fire is still an awful song that rock stations only play so they can say they also play modern rock. The other songs ranged from bad (17) to pretty enjoyable (the opener, Closer). It's not really bad music, but it's very milquetoast and wholly generic because of it. The singing is a bit hit or miss, it does work for some tracks. Not an album I'd listen to again, but I'd be lying if I called it one of the worst albums on here.
Justin Timberlake
2/5
Don't really need anything besides the singles off this album. It's well produced but has a lot of boring songs on it. Cry me a River and Rock Your Body are alright, the rest I don't care about all that much. Just really not my thing and not good enough to sway me from thinking otherwise.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Country classic that is still loved today. Forget Sgt. Peppers, this is a real concept album, a nice collection of clearly Western inspired Country songs that invoke the feeling of being stranded in some small Western town in the Arizona wilderness. A lot of classic songs here, sung with a very clear sounding voice. It amazes me how good the production sounds on a lot of late 50's album, almost like the peak of analog recording. It gets a bit same-y if you listen to the entire album with bonus tracks on streaming, but it's a good listen nonetheless.
U2
3/5
U2 gtes a bad rep at times, but they make some pretty decent music. I really liked the first part of the album, up until One. Some very new sounding songs for U2 and interesting ideas. After that the songs kind of ranged from decent to forgettable. Nothing of it too bad, but it really lacks the hit smashes that Joshua Tree had.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
One of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time. It has a lot of memorable lines and I like quite a few of the songs here, such as I, The Blacker The Berry, King Kunta and a few others. The album is a bit too long for my taste though. The interludes I don't really care for the the latter part of Mortal man doesn't feel necessary IMO. Production is really good as well. Just not really my thing though and too long for my tastes.
Neil Young
4/5
Not the best Neil Young album from this time IMO. It has a few good songs like Albuquerque but a lot of the other songs don't interest me all that much. Still, I like Neil young so a Neil Young album is never gonna be something I don't want to listen to. Just think a lot of his other work outshines this.
Randy Newman
1/5
I've listened to multiple of them, but I really don't care for Randy Newman albums. The songwriting is obviously there and he's had some good successes, but his own performances of songs feel way too lifeless for me. His singing sounds very dull to me and is accompanied by little more than just his Piano. It's hard to really enjoy, there's a lot of songs but all of them just blend into one forgettable soup because of how similar the sound is on all of them. I tend to prefer beat over lyrics and this just has no punch.
Metallica
3/5
Did quite a lot to push Metal into the mainstream, but this album never really did it for me. Metallica has always had longer songs, but 9 songs on a 65 minute album is a bit silly. There are a lot of great songs here with brilliant Guitar solo's especially. Production is famously ass and having a bit more Bass would've been nice.
The Human League
3/5
Perfectly fine album that really marked how the following decade's pop music would sound. Don't you want me baby is a classic, the rest of the album is fine but not really my cup of tea. I can't help but feel like the onslaught of godawful synthpop in the rest of the decade somewhat soured my perception of this album. It was a novel sound at the time but it's not like there is a lack of synth-pop out there.
The Killers
3/5
People weren't kidding when they said this was a very front loaded album. All the hits are in the first few songs and after Somebody Told Me this really drops off. Still a pretty decent listen. Not spectacular and I don't really care for Mr. Brightside, but it's a fun enough album. Loud blaring stadium rock, probably really fun in a live setting.
Calexico
3/5
Very interesting blend of Mexican music and Indie Rock. Does get a bit repetitive at times and there's quite a few instrumentals here. The album cover looks real cheap and ugly to me, so it was a pleasant surprise to figure out that the music inside is better. Still a bit of a forgettable listen.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Every time I listen to Fairport Convention, I am reminded that I need to listen to them more often. Out of the albums I've heard of them so far, this one does the best at combining Medieval music with the Contemporary sounds of the 60's. There's less vocals and more focus on improvisation here. It's a very easy listen and also manages to combine some very different musical styles. Just another solid record from 1969.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
It's full of covers, which was the standard way to go for a pop album for a long time. Dusty Springfield delivers them soulfully with her great and clear voice. I don't think it's quite as good as some of her later albums and it's a bit of a weird one to pick, but it does show off this era of pop really well. Full of classic songs, good voice, strings and band in the background. Bonus points for the bonus track Summer is Over.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
Fun album with quite a few high points, but falls off on the second disc. Basically every Frankie goes to Hollywood hit is on here, so you don't need much more than this album. Even then, this album had a number of uninteresting tracks that made the runtime felt longer than it really was. Side one and two are great, Two Tribes, Welcome To The Pleasuredome and Relax are all great 80's anthems. There's a lot of variety here too, having originals, covers, uptempo tracks and gentle ballads. I like quite a bit here but as an album it's kind of a daunting task to listen.
Billy Bragg
3/5
Well made, well sung, well played, but doesn't really grab me. I find Wilco to be a good band, but their studio albums often feel a bit boring. I can't really find fault with the album, but I just don't have that much interest in a lot of the songs here. Still a really decent tribute to one of the greatest American songwriters out there. Wonder why we didn't get an album from Woody Guthrie himself though.
Eels
3/5
Had seen this memorable album cover before, but I never listened to the album itself. Pretty fun alternative rock. Reminds me a bit of Screaming Trees. Don't really remember much of this though. Will probably listen to it again sometime.
John Martyn
4/5
Very 70's album this, from the Prog-like album cover to the Progressive, Folky Pop music inside. I really liked Martyn's guitar playing on this record and he manages to blend some fun musical styles together in an overall pleasant album. The Guitar Playing and Trip Hop tinges have this really hypnotic charm to them. His voice was very soft but it suited the album well.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I liked this more than all of the Björk albums I've had so far. It is experimental, but it also sounds like a more typical alternative rock album of the time. It's short and has some nice songs on it, I quite like Motorcrash on here. Short and fun album. I normally don't enjoy Björks voice, but here it takes a bit more background to the other instruments.
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
It's a really fun novelty and something really different from the rest of the list. I just wish it was a little more out there though. The movie and soundtrack are partially Western inspired, and I find those tracks to be the least interesting here. I like that the inspiration comes from all over the world and you can hear that a lot of budget went into this piece. It's not really the type of album you'd come back to often, although not having seen the movie may make me miss parts of this.
Elvis Presley
4/5
One of the oldest albums on the list, and without it there'd probably be less than half of the list on here. Really influential for sure. It's short but all the songs on here are delivered well. Can't really blame Elvis for the racist tendencies of his era and he could deliver the music a lot better than white contemporaries like Pat Boone and Neil Sedaka anyways. It's still fun to listen to, even 70 years later.
Little Richard
5/5
Yesterday it was Elvis Presley's debut, today it's Little Richard. This has to be the definitive 50's Rock & Roll album. The performances have a lot more energy than Elvis and he wrote more material himself. Just about every song here has been covered to death by all sorts of artists. Hugely influential and the energy translates well to the listener.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I just really like these early 60's British Invasion records. It may just be full of covers and have no real hits, courtesy of the record labels album policies at that time, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. The record is really energetic and the songs chosen here are pretty fun. The Stones went on to make more interesting music, but this is still a good album.
Scritti Politti
2/5
Of all the 80's slop on here, this has to be the worst. Uninteresting tracks and using the same synths as everyone else in this decade makes it hard to stand out. At least it was over quick. It has some surprising earworms though, Wood Beez got stuck in my head really fast.
ABBA
3/5
It's got more depth and better songwriting than you'd expect from a Europop album. Feels like this was one of the pioneers for a more Art influenced piece of pop on the European continent. That said, I don't care for it much and I don't care for ABBA much. This doesn't really have any of the songs they are known for, so it gave me the opportunity to listen to it with new ears. I liked it but probably won't return. The title track was pretty good though.
Tom Waits
4/5
Nice to see a Tom Waits album. Bone Machine was one of my favorite discoveries from this generator and has become my most listened to album of this year. I don't really know what to make of this album, I guess I like it? The first half of the album left me puzzled as to what I was listening to. As with other Tom Waits albums though, it slowly drags you in and engages you. It's unlike anything else, in a good way in this case. Songs are deconstructed to barely recognisable audio waves. Everything here feels meaningless, but it's a really interesting effort to see. Will probably relisten to it sometime, let it really sink in.
Stephen Stills
4/5
This was really fun to listen to. A bit much to take in at once, but nice nonetheless. Feels like listening to a lot of extra Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young material without the vocal harmonies. There's a bit more focus on groove here, some funky guitar playing, longer jams and influences from Louisiana Rhythm & Blues. The songs all had this semi ''outtake'' feel to them, which was explained by the way in which this album came to be. Stephen Stills is a real workaholic and eventually he was only allowed to do a few takes per song.
Sebadoh
4/5
Very typical Alternative Rock album of the era. Sound is very reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr., and almost feels derivative at times. Songs are good, most of them quite short and there's a lot of variation. It balances nicely between soft, loud, acoustic and feeback driven. Maybe not the most imporant album of 1993, but a good album.
Gillian Welch
2/5
I was kind of looking forward to listening to this one and the first song was pretty nice. This album got boring real quick though, I really had to fight falling asleep. 50 minutes isn't long but there's almost no variety and every song is about 1 or 2 minutes longer than it needs to be. There was an applause somewhere in the middle, the rest of the album is really forgettable. Perhaps I would've liked it more another time, but this wasn't it. I guess it's nice that it's an old school country album.
Frank Black
3/5
Good to see Frans Bauer made it onto this list. Fine album, bit long but pretty enjoyable. The songs don't really rise above what the Pixies did though. It's all good, but it doesn't really feel great to me. Just a bit CD of alternative rock songs.
Faust
2/5
Not really my favorite, as far as Krautrock goes. A lot of it is noisy and abrasive, but I don't really hear much more than that. Doesn't have the groovy jams of Can or the vibes of Ash Ra. The Wiki states it's more experimental than actual music, but I don't really see it's experimental nature as being that much more ahead of the curve compared to other early 70's experimental work. Picnic On A Frozen river makes a great song for the Garfield Kart soundtrack though.
B.B. King
4/5
Out of all the old Blues legends, B.B. King seems to be the most famous. Could partially be because of his longevity, but still. He doesn't really play that fast, but there's a lot of feel in his guitar playing. The entire band is infectious and energetic and the entire thing is quite nice to listen to. It's not the most extreme live Blues album, but it's one of the earliest and still a fun listen.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Really influential and it's very meditative and almost transcending to listen to. A lot had of music had been 'discovered' by the early 70's, but Tangerine Dream and other German artists managed to create some entirely new soundscapes around this time. However, as an album it's a bit of a hard listen. Not because it's unpleasant, but being a long Berlin-School album requires a different form of listening than a conventional album. You don't really pay attention, you just half tune in and ascend to some other place. I don't though. One man's crack is another man's wack or something.
Afrika Bambaataa
4/5
First listen around I wasn't impressed, but this time around I really enjoyed it more by taking it for what it is. It's rough and the beats are comparatively basic to what we have now, but once you get past that it's a really fun album. Equal parts Parliament and Run-DMC, I really dig the Afrofuturism vibe going on here. Dope album cover and some simple and hard beats here. Other artists took this style and massively improved it, but this isn't a bad album by any means. Point extra to compensate for it's low rating here.
Sonic Youth
4/5
The album still sounds very modern for a 35 year old album. Their albums seem to get more refined with every new installment, drums and bass I really enjoyed here. It doesn't really offer much that other Sonic Youth albums don't do, it's just more of what you're used to. Some of Kim Gordon's vocals here feel a little excessive. A shame, because there's some of her best songs on here as well.
a-ha
2/5
A very middling 80's synth-pop album. They are from Norway, they have the one really popular song, that's about it. Not really a fan of Take on me but I did enjoy it this time around. Rest of the album isn't bad but isn't what you couldn't find elsewhere.
Kate Bush
4/5
Surprisingly enjoyable. It's a pop album, but there is clearly a lot more going on here than just a few pop hits. I really love all the small touches throughout, the background choir, the bass blurts, the weird animal noises she makes at the end. Really pleasant surprise of an album.
5/5
It's somewhat a product of it's era, but it has some real gems to it. I find myself digging a lot of the songs and they blend Jazz and Psychedelic really well with their own bland of rock. This is probably the best album they made even though their other albums are great too. This one feels most complete and refined.
The Vines
3/5
Naming a Psychedelic track Mary Jane well after the 1960's should be a crime. Rest of the album is fine enough modern Rock. Not quite car commercial 2000's Rock, but it's much more sanitised than more interesting albums from the likes of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and BRMC. Probably fun if you grew up with it but not the most interesting thing otherwise.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Surprised to find some songs on here that I already knew. An album centered around the idea of boring suburbia is pretty interesting as the disdain towards American suburbia wasn't as big in 2010. There's some nice songs but I'm just not that big of a fan of Arcade Fire. Maybe it'll grow on me someday. The Mercedes on the front cover is cool at least.
AC/DC
3/5
They manage to sound pretty unique by sounding like the most unoriginal band ever, somehow. It's energetic and Brian Johnson is a great vocalist for the band. The album gets quite repititious and there's very little to differentiate the songs. Not that the band was trying to make anything other than that, but it doesn't give me much reason to listen to the album instead of individual songs. You won't find anything better here than Back in Black or Hells Bells.
The KLF
1/5
Muzak for the new generation. How can you blend so many up and coming musical styles together in such a boring package. Nothing sticks, the album cover is boring and the cover on streaming services is ever less interesting. It's not revolting to listen to, but being barely noticable noise is all it's really good for.
The Avalanches
5/5
I'm a sucker for transformative and sample heavy albums, and this is probably the very best example. Avalanches really managed to create beauty out of heaps of (probably landfill) records. Frontier Psychiatrist is a standout for me, but the entire album is a nice experience. It all blends into each other really well.
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
While not really being that impressive, it's a decent album from an era where country went really pop. It's halfway between Vince Gill and Willie Nelson, just polished and pop enough to fit in the 80's, but lacking the rougher edge I like in a country album. The Buck Owens duet was pretty nice and I dug every song on here to some extent. All his other albums from the era are a much better showcase of his compositional talents though.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Imagine how good this would be if it wasn't tied to a being a movie soundtrack. Full of great songs here, even the instrumentals make for a pleasant listen. High points are Pusherman, , Freddie's Dead, Little Child Runnin' Wild and the title track for me. Curtis Mayfield is an excellent song craftsman and he elevated this random blacksploitation movie to something still listened to half a century later. Super warm and groovy.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Hard one to rate, bonus point for being very unique at least. This is some halfway between muzak, music hall and musicals, inhabiting both the best and worst of said styles. The songs are all over the place, some parts I actually quite liked but most of it was really drab and unpleasant. I will most likely never listen to this again, but it's commendable to make a pop album as hard to listen to as this.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
Frank Zappa is one of those artists where you can love his albums and hate other ones at the same time. Hot Rats and Freak Out are the greats of his 60's period, this one the stinker. I like when Frank Zappa combines his experimental approach with his excellent playing and songcraft, not when the album is composed of sped up and looped throwaway tapes with the occasional bit of enjoyable music in them. There was half of a fun song on Flower Punk, but the listening experience bounces between background noise and 7 layers of irony deep Chipmunks chatter and noodling. The Mothers can do so much better.
Billie Holiday
3/5
Good to see a Billie Holiday album on here. Pretty much the only album representation of pre-war music, along with Sinatra, Duke Ellington and that weird Dagmar Krause album. I don't think this is as good as Billie Holiday's older songs. The leaps in recording quality and her age kind of expose her shortcomings as a vocalist. Her voice sounds a lot better when softly spoken into a horn directly connected to Shellac. The songs don't really do much for me either and don't necessarily sound like they are hers.
4/5
This was pretty good. I like it when Blur really leans into their Britpop and Britishness, it gives the album more personality than their later works. Most songs here are fun and upbeat, quite a bit of variety too. Some songs dragged on for a bit too long, they'd be nice at first but then have 3 minutes of nothing tacked onto them. Still a fun album and a good effort.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Perhaps not as elusive and elite as his debut album, but still very good. His performances aren't as good here, but the songcraft here is just as good as any of his other best work. Lots of my favorite songs of his on here. Very worthy debut album with a collection of nice music. Sounds ominous for a lot of it, but ends on an uplifting note with Tonight will be fine.
Mylo
2/5
Mainstream Rock & Roll died in the 2000's but I don't think Mylo gets the kill count for it. The songs worked well enough as background music but weren't really enough to sustain or reward a more attentive listening session. Has it's place I guess, wouldn't really say it is essential, but that goes for the majority of 2004 albums on this list. Namedropping a bunch of Muscle cars or better musicians also doesn't make for great lyricism.
Spiritualized
4/5
Interesting album that is a lot more spacey than contemporary Shoegaze albums were at the time. Apparently it also leaned harder into Blues, but I only heard a little of that. It does feel like there are some old standards here buried between layers of drone and feedback, makes for a pretty unique album. It does get a bit same-same at times, the sprawled out spaceyness makes it more monotone than other Shoegaze albums, which can already have some boring moments to begin with. Album cover on streaming is a lot less cool than the cover shown here too.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Atmosphere setting for sure, it's both haunting and slightly uplifting at times. I really wonder how an album like this turned out to be such a huge hit in the 70's, it's good music but not necessarily mass appeal. That said, it does sound more accessible than a Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream. The relative accessibility does hurt it a bit for me, it doesn't go all that crazy and it feels like the rest of the album is just the build up and comedown for the popular part IV.
Sonic Youth
5/5
My final Sonic Youth album on the list, and perhaps my favorite. Looking back I'd have probably given a few others of theirs a 5 as well. This feels like Sonic Youth at their best, great songs and noise without some of the endless sprawl of Daydream Nation. This strikes the right balance everywhere, album length is a perfect drive's worth as well.
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Sort of in the middle on this. I like the opening track in particular and think the entire album has this nice Indie and Americana flair to it. Kind of sounds like America and Crosby, Stills & Nash without the vocal harmonies. It doesn't really outdo it's similar artists though and it does get to be a bit boring at times. Didn't really grab me but it was good enough.
The Zutons
3/5
I only knew these guys from being the original writers of Amy Winehouse's Valerie, so I was kind of blind going into this. On one hand, it's a 2004 british indie album, the epitome of what people despise on this site. That said, this was a fun listen. Never felt boring, had some unique songwriting and was all around a pretty fun listen. The sax was noteworthy too. Very nice to see a 2000's indie album that is actually fun and upbeat. Still not really my thing but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Tom Waits
3/5
I expected this to be weirder than it was, kind of disappointed. All the ingredients of a Tom Waits album are there and it's certainly wackier than a conventional album, but I expected more after listening to the likes of Bone Machine. It's alright but not really more than that.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
This has to be the third 2004 album from this week. The definitive 2000's British Rock record for me, I prefer this over Arctic Monkeys and others. A bit short but a ton of fun and straight to the point songs. The guitar playing and vocals especially I quite dig. Shame they never had an album quite as good as this afterwards.
Massive Attack
2/5
You can hear that a lot of thought and effort has been put in this. Every lick and note seems to have been carefully calibrated to deliver a perfect Trip Hop album. I find it fucking boring though. It's kind of weird and that it somewhat rewards attentive listening, but the nature of this genre is that it's very much background music. I just forget to really care for it, not my thing I guess.
10cc
3/5
10cc is a fun band but they don't really have a consistent discography. This album has some good songs and a number of others that don't really add much to their catalog. Wall Street Shuffle is a great opener to begin with. I liked the blend of genres here and the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously. They kind of want to be every type of band at once. Not a bad album but I'd rather listen to the singles off this.