Kickass punk album, but not as good as its legend. It IS legendary, though, so four stars.

Hurts my heart, but I'm going to give Elvis three stars. The rockabilly is solid, but I think the songs that have been done better by black artists make these versions sound bland by comparison (I've Got a Woman, Tutti Fuitti). He just isn't the King here.

This is such good classic soul. I had only heard a few of the songs before, but pretty much every song on the record is awesome. Listened to the first Elvis album yesterday, and it pales in comparison (literally). Would love to have a good vinyl pressing of this one too. Four stars.

I listened to this album at least three times today. It was amazing the first two times, but I was considering rating it as four stars because I zoned out and got distracted from it. The third time I listened to it with headphones, and there is no way I can give this album less than five stars. It deserves more. It's in the pantheon. This record is as full, textured, and layered as any Pink Floyd or Genesis record. I had to read about the production of this album because I couldn't wrap my mind around how a "singer-songwriter" could put together a project with this level of production. I love it. Five stars.

Rockin'. Excellent Rolling Stones vibes. I'll listen to this one again. The record is just about perfect for what it's trying to do, but it's so straight forward that it doesn't really excite me. Four stars.

Not much to think about here, but a lot of fun. Felt really sincere. I see why this was revolutionary when it came out, but it was so influential that everything is pretty familiar now. Four stars.

Fantastic record full of standards getting the Nelson treatment. Love the story behind this record as well, another example of a legendary artist doing what they wanted to do despite label skepticism with brilliant results...and in ten days too! There were a few times I thought a reading would get corny, but I was happily proven wrong. Each new track greeted me with an earnest reading such that many will now stand right beside their more well-known recordings by other artists. Booker T Jones deserves a lot of credit for the production and arrangement too (and that organ work, so beautifully understated!). If I had any lingering doubts that Willie Nelson is a paragon of American Music (I didn't), those doubts have now been erased forever. This will be a five star record for a lot of people. Even though it is an album of covers, it's not a novelty. It is perfect, but it doesn't speak to me on the deepest level. Four stars.

Beautiful. Peak '90s female singer-songwriter vibes, a product of it's time for sure, and I don't feel like I was ever the target audience for this recording. Still, this album is worth a repeated listen. Simple arrangements, but very pretty and well recorded. I didn't dig into the lyrics too much, but what I heard of them was also lovely. Four stars.

A lot of fun. Experimental blues. And like make experiments, there are varying levels of success. Some of the material on this record is genius, but it's too inconsistent. Three stars.

Man what a banger. One of the best debuts of the 90s. Guitars, guitars, guitars, just like I remember it. It was always obvious to me that this record was more a hard rock 70s arena revival than the grunge that grew directly out of punk. For some reason I never got into any later Pearl Jam albums, but this one is perfect. Four stars.

I remember when this record came out. My buddy David got a promo from Coconuts Records where he worked and brought it back to the dorms. My opinion now is the same as then. This is very pretty music. The arrangements and singing are soulful and have still held up all these years later. The production is lovely. The mastering and dynamic range feel open and present without being over loud, even though the disc was cut in the heat of the loudness war. But. Apple's lyrics are sometimes awkward, and I can't get over it. Two months younger than I am, she made this record at 19. At the time, everyone was very excited at her precocious musicianship. And the record IS well written for someone that young. And just imagine how we young men felt about her videos! But this is the 1001. Kate Bush, Billie Holiday, and Joni Mitchell are on this list. There are no excuses or asterisks. This record just doesn't live up to that high standard of the legends of her genre. Still, this record is a great start, and I'm now quite excited to listen to her more mature album(s) on this list. Three stars.

I loved this record when it came out. I think I had it on tape and the CD singles, at least the ones for High & Dry and My Iron Lung. I had Seven Television Commercials, a compilation of music videos from The Bends and OK Computer, on VHS. To my knowledge, this is Radiohead's only true good rock album before they went full prog with OK Computer. It was a huge step up from Pablo Honey. In fact, I was so obsessed with The Bends for so long that I didn't get into any of their other albums for years, no matter how good they were. Listening again now, it's obvious to me that this record isn't as mature as their later efforts. It rocks out, and it does that excellently, but it doesn't have sonic and musical depth of the albums that came after. It also feels that it wasn't mastered as well either. It's loud. The dynamic range is pretty limited, but it helps that this is a distorted album already. Of course it's still an awesome record and a personal favorite. I still get goosebumps when Thom harmonizes with himself on Black Star. But it's just not Radiohead's best, no matter how much I love it. Four stars.

I definitely was not allowed to listen to this one when I was growing up as a fundamentalist Southern Baptist in the eighties, but even I was aware of this force of nature, and, of course I had to learn those two licks from One (the pretty part and the rockin' part) years later. I've never considered myself a metal guy, but I have to love this early Metallica stuff, even through the Black Album. And Justice for All has a lot of crossover appeal for broader music fans. It's metal flavored metal. It's all the good stuff about thrash, delivered in a perfect package. We have the classical influenced guitars played at blistering speed, the growling vocals, double bass hits, apocalyptic lyrics. It's all here, and it was never better before or since. Four stars.

This album was on Rick Beato's 40 greatest sounding albums of all time list, and I can see why. It is subtle, insightful, and beautifully recorded. It's flawless, just not my thing. Four stars for the genius though.

I don't know why I find neotraditionalist Americana to be so boring. I love all of the genres it borrows from, old country, blues, garage, folk. But I end up feeling like these bands just rotate the same three songs between them. It sounds like Exile on Main Street being played underwater, like if The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion was too depressed to roll off the couch. I've read a lot about how Jeff Tweedy is such a great song writer. Ok, but the vocals are buried under layers of haze, like they are too shy to come out to play. It sounds good, but it fails to grab my interest. Three stars

I need more time with this album. It seems like a great record to listen to with headphones. Solsbury Hill is a total banger. This album reminds me of Kate Bush, with a lot of quiet but interesting musical tidbits happening in the background. But the record isn't quite as good as The Hounds of Love. Four stars.

Ok. One listen and I've had enough. This record is pretty fun, and I think I get it. I probably won't listen again. The problem is that thumbing your nose as an artistic strategy tends to date your music. That kind of experimentation is valuable. It just doesn't tend to result in timeless music. Maybe timeless music isn't the point, and that's ok. Three stars.

I'm so happy to be reminded of how great Pink Moon is. Listened to this record over and over again yesterday. Every single song is a beautiful little piece of atmosphere despite being so simple. Nick Drake's ability to create such a deep, mellow vibe with so little is inspiring. I didn't connect with this record to the point of giving it five stars, but I will put this album back in rotation. Would love to have a good vinyl copy too. Four stars.

On YouTube, there is a video of Henry Rollins describing a years-long one-sided feud he had trying to outdo Iggy Pop on stage. In that video, he calls Funhouse one of the sexiest, most violent, genius records ever. I'm inclined to agree with him. This thing is a beast. No one would ever call this an audiophile record, but it is punchy, perfectly squeezed through the neck of a jar to that perfect point of immediacy and detail. It rocks the speakers hard; headphones reveal all of the menacing undertones. More rock than rock, more punk than punk, in the pantheon of music, Iggy Pop is the god of war. This is the beginning of his chaotic character arc. Five stars.

Killer. This was my first listen of this brilliant album, and I had a lot of fun. I heard shades of a number of prog alternative bands in this music, which almost led me to give it a five star rating. I hear Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, flavors of shoegaze, and even jam bands. Bel Air drags a bit but is a great car song. Will listen again and look for a vinyl copy. Four stars.

This concert is classic Cash, so awesome from the jump. Darlin Companion is a joy. The recording is ok but not great. His jokes for the inmates are a bit corny, but they seem to enjoy them. I'll listen to this again with pleasure, but it won't be a favorite. Four stars.

I don't think it's bad. I just didn't like it. I think I understand why people like Bruce Springsteen, but he's not for me. This music feels like how country music would feel years later. It's a collection of anthems for the working class. Very direct, no metaphor. I didn't hate it, but I listened only once and didn't feel like giving it a second go. Not interested. Three stars.

An interesting listen. It's the great Cohen, so the lyrics are brilliant, but I can't get past the 80s style arrangements. None of it sounds quite right to me. I listened twice and "liked" maybe two songs, but I'm not interested in playing this album in it's entirety again. Three stars.

So chill. So very, very chill. This is a nice session from the incomparable Jimmy Smith. It's pretty straight ahead, though. Many jazz albums from this era can work as background music but have enough detail that a critical listen is rewarded. That's not my experience here. This album is cool to listen to and very accessible, which means that it is never becomes challenging and is, frankly, kind of forgettable. I was glad to get a chance to listen to this album because I've seen it on sale from the Blue Note Classic reissue series. I haven't pulled the trigger because I feel that I already have a number of albums from that Blue Note series, including Smith's own Midnight Special from the same sessions as Back at the Chicken Shack, and I haven't seen much of a reason to add this one. My understanding is that Back at the Chicken Shack is the more important album, but I like Midnight Special better, and the Blue Note Classics reissue on vinyl sounds great. I'll probably just stick with that title from here on out. Three stars.

80s Prince through and through. Enjoyed this one but not aching to get back to it. Four stars.

What a surprise! My music knowledge is more wide than deep. I had never heard any of these songs, so I was thrilled to get an unexpected prog masterpiece. I will definitely be returning to this one. Four stars.

I think I got a vinyl copy of this record from a thrift store when I was in high school. It's big, bombastic arena rock. It is aggressive and even a bit obnoxious with the long, rocking, excessive solos, etc. The album definitely rocks, but it's too much area excess to match my tastes well. Three stars.

This is a fantastic record. Many times when I hear an album noted for how influential it is, I'll be a bit bored because so many people have copied it, that I've hear all of the jokes before. But not here. T. Rex doesn't sound like the bands it influenced. Those bands sound like T. Rex. I definitely hear some Bowie-like qualities here, but the sound is more like two artists channeling the same vibe rather than one following the other. Bang a Gong is the perfect example of an awesome song that has been totally played out. I've skipped it so many times in the past, but it sounds great on the tracklist here. Cosmic Dancer is a new surprise favorite of mine. I'm impressed with what Bolan was able to do here though I do wish the album was more consistent. Four stars.

This record was a lot of fun, unique in is blend of Irish folk music and punk attitude. Interesting for the first listen but then not nearly as exciting on subsequent plays. Good record, but it'll be rare for me to feel the need to come back. Three stars.

Slick, slick, slick. Too slick. This is alternative rock for normies. A little bit rockin' but with lyrics safe for sorority pledges and teenyboppers. It's totally cool to be as poppy as you want. I have nothing against it. But the super poppy "rock," especially alternative rock, does not do it for me. A delicious pile of plain white rice. The music is good as in well-performed and produced. Three stars.

Oh wow, what did I just hear? When I started collecting vinyl, I jokingly wished I liked certain artists more because their albums were so well regarded on LP. Neil Young is at the top of that list. But I had never heard this masterpiece before. And it's odd too because I am very familiar with the singles from this album, Old Man, Heart of Gold, Needle and the Damage Done. I've never considered myself a Young fan, but, of course, these tracks are canon classic rock, and I always thought they were great. What's unfortunate is that I wasn't aware that they were from this album or that they even were from the same album. When listened to together as part of a full album project, their magic opens up. I've only experienced this one other time, with Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On, and while Harvest didn't quite capture my heart the way that album did, it's still a masterpiece that I plan to get on vinyl and listen to over and over. Five stars.

Except for maybe Abbey Road, I doubt that I have listened to any album on this list more than Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins. This was one of my stone cold favorites in college. I knew some of the songs, especially "Today" and "Disarm," but I really got into the Pumpkins and this album when Mellon Collie came out. I saw them twice on that tour, late '96 and early '97. There were a few amazing singles off of this record, but many of the tracks aren't just songs. They are spacey, anthemic, prog-rock compositions produced from the context of a 90s alternative ethos. So much of my music taste was introduced to me by this band and this album. Creativity must have been just pouring from Billy Corgan during this period. Every song ebs, flows, changes, spaces out, and dive bombs back in. I love this record. I have always loved this record. I will always love this record. Five stars.

Oh so good. This dude's voice is so warm, and his readings of these songs is just excellent. The music is deceptively morose despite the seemingly happy singing cowboy overtones. And the tales are mostly DARK AF. I've already ordered the vinyl and can't wait to hear this over and over. Four stars.

Could be nostalgia, as this record came out my junior year of high school and the singles were all over MTV for years afterward, but this album is brilliant. Like much of the best rock n' roll, it sounds completely of its time without sounding dated. Plus, Regina loves it, so there's that...

Well-executed psychedelic blues in same the vein of early Grateful Dead, but nothing that made me stand up and pay close attention.

Just fantastic blues rock from the '60s. The singles from this record are so instantly recognizable that I think I forgot how good they really are. Everything else was a very pleasant surprise.

Wow these are great songs. Bob Dylan is the master of the American folk ballad, and he shows it here. I wouldn't want to listen to The Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands every day, but it was epic this first time through.

Great '90s breakbeat.

Really beautiful acoustic/harmony classic rock. Some of the instrumentals almost reminded me of dark new age, almost like Dead Can Dance.