254
Albums Rated
3.09
Average Rating
23%
Complete
835 albums remaining
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Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Britpop
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
36
5-Star Albums
23
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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Ratings by genre
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Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches | 5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
| The Bones Of What You Believe | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| Marcus Garvey | 5 | 3.19 | +1.81 |
| The Man Machine | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| You Want It Darker | 5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
| Ágætis Byrjun | 5 | 3.37 | +1.63 |
| Parklife | 5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
| Stardust | 5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
| The Fat Of The Land | 5 | 3.41 | +1.59 |
| Hail To the Thief | 5 | 3.44 | +1.56 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| So | 1 | 3.55 | -2.55 |
| Ellington at Newport | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
| Crime Of The Century | 1 | 3.41 | -2.41 |
| Ready To Die | 1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
| Horses | 1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
| Winter In America | 1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
| Me Against The World | 1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
| Swordfishtrombones | 1 | 2.95 | -1.95 |
| Innervisions | 2 | 3.87 | -1.87 |
| Bone Machine | 1 | 2.86 | -1.86 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 4 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 3 | 5 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 2 | 1 |
| Tim Buckley | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (36)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Sister Sledge
5/5
I absolutely love this. Impossible not to tap your foot or nod your head. Nile Rodgers is excellent, had no idea he was on this album but his guitar sound is instantly recognisable. Love the strings and the tight beats, such a groove. Just makes you feel good.
He’s The Greatest Dancer, Lost in Music and Thinking of You are incredible. Played this album 4 times on Friday and had a good old boogie in the kitchen.
🕺🕺🕺🪩🪩🪩
2 likes
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I can definitely hear the influences on later indie rock and britpop. Hard to believe this came out in the 70s, it sounds much more modern.
Some good tracks scattered around but on the whole it’s not interesting enough to make me want to listen to again and again. Lipstick Vogue is brilliant though.
1 likes
Blue Cheer
2/5
Cool to listen to some early heavy metal but I can’t see myself coming back to this.
1 likes
Can
2/5
Paperhouse -
Good track. Elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers & Foals, can see how this inspired bands
Mushroom -
Mushroom head mushroom head
Oh Yeah -
Sounds like it belongs on OK Computer. Good drum beats
Halleluwah -
Groovy baby
Augmn -
What the hell
You should win a t-shirt if you make it through all 17 minutes of this
Peking O -
Sounds like year 7 music when you and your mates mess about on the keyboards
Bring Me Coffee or Tea -
Thank god it’s over
1 likes
1-Star Albums (23)
All Ratings
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Funky soul, can’t go wrong. Favourite track - I Want To Take You Higher
Nirvana
4/5
Perfect album to block out the bullshit on a busy Tuesday morning in the office.
Will definitely be coming back to this album in the future. Favourite track: Very Ape, because it’s a good track and Arctic Monkeys completely ripped it off with ‘Potion Approaching’ on Humbug!
Public Enemy
2/5
Quintessential 90s hip-hop. I wish I liked this more than I do, but it doesn’t really do it for me. Definitely a good energy but I found some of the samples repetitive and the lyrics, while important for their time, were a bit heavy for me.
I understand this is a product of the golden age of hip-hop. Just not really my thing.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Bob Marley on our fourth day, what a treat! Enjoyable listen the whole way through. Not as catchy as some of his other albums though, and the slower live version of ‘No Woman No Cry’ is far better than studio in my opinion. Jah forgive me.
Sister Sledge
5/5
I absolutely love this. Impossible not to tap your foot or nod your head. Nile Rodgers is excellent, had no idea he was on this album but his guitar sound is instantly recognisable. Love the strings and the tight beats, such a groove. Just makes you feel good.
He’s The Greatest Dancer, Lost in Music and Thinking of You are incredible. Played this album 4 times on Friday and had a good old boogie in the kitchen.
🕺🕺🕺🪩🪩🪩
Elton John
2/5
Nothing wrong with this, I just found it very boring. Every song sounded the same. Won’t be in a rush to listen again.
Big Black
3/5
Noisy and frantic. A bit like Pixies on speed. Good album and a much needed energy boost after Elton John yesterday. Shame it’s not on Spotify, the compression hindered the audio quality a bit on Soundcloud. Think they took their material off Spotify in protests as a few artists did a couple years back. Would sound great live.
Favourite song: Big Money
Funkadelic
2/5
Made for good background music but I didn’t find it particularly interesting. Enjoyable enough but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen again.
I do admit my opinion may be slightly affected by the fact that we’ve have 3 funky-ish albums already. One can only funk so much!
Gil Scott-Heron
1/5
What is bro yapping about? Half of this didn’t even feel like music, lots of talking with indiscriminate jazz in the background. The tracks without drums were very boring which felt like most of them. I wasn’t keen on the flute sprinkled throughout either.
I feel like if I read about what he’s talking about I’d ‘get’ it more, but I don’t want to have to research to enjoy an album the first time. For some reason I predict dad will like this though 🔮
The Rolling Stones
3/5
A solid album. I like a few tracks by the Rolling Stones but for some reason I can’t get that into them, so this was probably the first album of theirs I’ve listened to the whole way through.
Paint It, Black is obviously a classic and rightly so. I’d like it if more of the album was this dark - a few tracks were more generic rock and roll which were ok but not that memorable. Under My Thumb and Lady Jane are very good. The closing track was too long and trailed off into a jam with some sleazy ad libs from Jagger that I didn’t care much for.
A good listen all in all, and a nice way to close week 2!
Favourite track: Paint It, Black
De La Soul
4/5
Great album. I love the fun, upbeat sound - complete contrast with the darker Public Enemy album we had previously.
At an hour long I was worried the album would feel bloated but it didn’t at all. The skits throughout were fun and I read this album was the first to do it which is cool. Apart from De La Orgee - what was that!
I liked the fact that it was loosely a concept album with the game show theme. The flow and wordplay were top notch throughout and the samples were brilliantly woven in.
Can’t pick one favourite track but Tread Water, Jenifa Tought Me, Ghetto Thang and The Magic Number all stood out to me. Will be coming back to this for sure.
The Byrds
3/5
Enjoyable album. Early psychedelic rock. Sonically perhaps could’ve been more varied.
Eight Miles High and Hey Joe are standout tracks, the latter of which reminded me of Led Zeppelin.
Roxy Music
3/5
Oscillates between awesome and awful - often within the same song.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Safe and inoffensive. If this was a restuarant, it would be Nandos.
Adele
2/5
Adele is undoubtedly a fantastic singer. Hello is an incredible opener, powerful and striking. Million Years Ago was an unexpected delight. Unfortunately a lot of the other tracks blended into each other. Soulful ballads get boring quick.
U2
4/5
Before this I’d only listened to The Joshua Tree and their big hits. This album has a grittier sound which I didn’t know U2 had in their discography.
Bono’s voice is brilliant. Lyrics are good, obviously quite political - I would’ve preferred the topic to mix up a bit but the music was great so it didn’t matter.
‘War’ didn’t have a bad track. Each song felt varied enough while still feeling cohesive as an album. Closing track “40” sounded a lot like their mellower later stuff - foreshadowing perhaps? Great album overall, and didn’t overstay its welcome at 42 minutes long.
Favourite track: New Year’s Day
Tom Waits
1/5
What a terrible day to have ears
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
Cool, laid-back album. Consistently decent but nothing that blew me away. I liked the blues/hip hop influence and the drums and bass lines were nice. Dragged a bit towards the end - could’ve done with the last 4/5 songs being cut.
Favourite track: This Ain’t Living
Wilco
4/5
This is good music. A bit Radiohead, a bit Weezer, a bit Eels. Never heard of Wilco but glad I have now.
Favourite track: War on War
AC/DC
5/5
Fuck yeah
Air
2/5
A bit boring. I enjoyed ‘Remember’ but otherwise nothing much stood out to me.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Live albums aren’t something I listen to often. I prefer studio albums - if I want to watch a live show I’ll go to one! Or watch old shows on YouTube so you can actually see it.
What’s more, this isn’t even a true live album - it’s snippets from several live shows with studio recordings and crowd noise overdubbed. It’s neither a live album nor a studio album. So what’s the point?
3 stars because the songs are solid but the format means I probably won’t come back to this, and a double album at 1h 16mins is too long.
Beck
3/5
Mixed bag. Cool mostly, weird in places and not necessarily in an enjoyable way. I like his voice.
Favourite track: Jack-Ass
Ash
4/5
Delightful synthesis of grunge and britpop. Sounds a mix of Oasis, Nirvana and Green Day. Opening with the sound of a Tie fighter is worth the rating alone!
Prince
3/5
Big funky sexy purple album. Some great tracks here and others that lost me a bit. Favourites were 1999, D.M.S.R, Lady Cab Driver. 3.5/5, rounding down.
Stan Getz
3/5
There is a time and place where I would love this album. Perhaps in the early evening on holiday, somewhere hot - going for a stroll or having a glass of wine on the balcony before dinner. Or sipping coffee in some French cafe on Sunday.
A hectic Monday at work in overcast England sadly did not match the vibe. While it didn’t click with me immediately, I can appreciate this is a beautifully constructed album with excellent production. Relaxing and carefree. Right now this album isn’t for me. But one day, I know it will be.
Wilco
2/5
I liked Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but this was significantly worse. The songs aren’t as strong and it sticks around long enough to become boring. Last track sounds like I Saw Her Standing There except it tails off into nonsense for 3 minutes after the song’s natural conclusion.
Watered down snooze-fest 🥱
Burning Spear
5/5
Top tier. Every track is good, great instrumentation, and what a voice! I can’t think of a flaw so has to be 5. Immaculate vibes.
Favourite track: Live Good
Pink Floyd
4/5
An incredible sonic experience, as Pink Floyd albums typically are. A little bloated but the quality throughout is irrefutable.
Dire Straits
4/5
Tracks 1-3 - 10000/10
Tracks 4-7 - 6/10
Tracks 8-9 - 8/10
Starts unbelievably strong. Money For Nothing has possibly the best guitar riff of all time. Walk Of Life is also brilliant, always thought it sounded very Bruce Springsteen.
A few of the later tracks are more forgettable. Great album but it does lose steam a tad which prevents it from being 5 stars.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I can definitely hear the influences on later indie rock and britpop. Hard to believe this came out in the 70s, it sounds much more modern.
Some good tracks scattered around but on the whole it’s not interesting enough to make me want to listen to again and again. Lipstick Vogue is brilliant though.
Arcade Fire
5/5
Brilliant album. Captures that same nostalgic feeling I get from a packet of pom-bears or ‘1979’ by the Smashing Pumpkins.
It’s just really good music. I listen to all the Arcade Fire studio albums semi-regularly and there isn’t a bad one (yet to listen to We). The Suburbs and Funeral are the best of the lot.
Daft Punk
4/5
Big fan of Random Access Memories and various singles but never listened to Homework the whole way through. I was pleasantly surprised by how house this album is. It’s quite barebones compared to a lot of modern house but that doesn’t stop it being an absolute groove. Can see how this is so influential for the house & electronic genres.
Majority of tracks are excellent as standalone songs. A couple of tracks felt as though they were designed to be woven into a DJ mix and not listened to necessarily the whole way through or as part of an album… I’m very torn about marking them down for that. It’s music engineered for the dance floor - the ‘album’ is secondary.
In this project I am judging each record as an album. As a collection of influential house tracks to get the party bouncing, this is 5 stars. As a cohesive album, this is 4 stars.
Favourite tracks: Daftendirekt, Revolution 909, Da Funk, Phoenix, Indo Silver Club, Alive
Madonna
2/5
Decent 80s pop. Not much to say about it positive or negative. Doubt I’ll be coming back to listen again. Distinctly average.
2.5/5, rounding down because it’s a bit preachy.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Something about his face on the album cover is unbelievably irritating. He was sat there smirking at me the whole time I was listening, judging me intensely with those beady eyes. It was very distracting. Not cool Tom.
As for the music, it was alright
Duke Ellington
1/5
I might have rated this higher if it wasn’t:
A. A live album
B. 2 hours long
C. Incredibly boring
Tom Waits
1/5
Please god make it stop
I can see some decent songs buried somewhere here. But they’re made obsolete by some questionable mixing/producing and his strange voice. Clear your throat man!
Sonic Youth
2/5
Sounds like a bad Pixies cover band
The Clash
2/5
It’s alright. Decent early punk but nothing blew me away, I think their later stuff is better.
Kraftwerk
5/5
Big fan of this album since Mum helped me identify The Model after the melody popped into my head one day about 10 years ago. I was looking forward to Kraftwerk coming up on this list.
Wayyyy ahead of its time, still sounds like the future now. They basically created the electronic & techno genres. Brilliant the whole way through.
I listened to this on my flight home from Croatia. Had this incredible moment when Neon Lights was playing as the plane was lifting in the night air, lights flashing on the plane and the runway, then seeing the lights of Split from above. The plane lights even seemed to be in time with the music. Hell of a song/moment combo.
Very cool album, have enjoyed before and will enjoy again!
Willie Nelson
5/5
Never listened Willie Nelson before but I loved this! The songs are kinda simple but that’s part of what makes them so good. Smooth voice and sweet lyrics without straying into corny town. It’s all very nice and I enjoyed it a lot.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
This is to rap music what Fast & Furious is to action movies. Completely over the top, but undoubtedly pretty fun. Lyrics are best taken tongue in cheek, but the beats and bass lines are solid.
Cream
2/5
Snoozedelic
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
Great sound. Makes you want to ride through the desert on a Harley Davidson. Songs For The Deaf is my favourite album of theirs but this is still very good.
Favourite track: Mexicola
George Harrison
5/5
❤️
Masterpiece. Radiates warmth and sunshine. We’re lucky the world gave us George Harrison. This album is heavenly.
Beatles
5/5
I like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer ok, shoot me
2Pac
1/5
Too serious for me. I prefer more laid back, playful rap. For most of this Tupac was talking about his life and struggles he’s been through, but I don’t know or care enough about him to be engaged by it. Musically it all sounded the same. Can’t see myself listening again.
Can
2/5
Paperhouse -
Good track. Elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers & Foals, can see how this inspired bands
Mushroom -
Mushroom head mushroom head
Oh Yeah -
Sounds like it belongs on OK Computer. Good drum beats
Halleluwah -
Groovy baby
Augmn -
What the hell
You should win a t-shirt if you make it through all 17 minutes of this
Peking O -
Sounds like year 7 music when you and your mates mess about on the keyboards
Bring Me Coffee or Tea -
Thank god it’s over
Dead Kennedys
3/5
Lively album but mostly just noise. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Initially had the original version on which sounded very flat - the 2022 mix sounds much better.
Nick Drake
5/5
Edit: Had to update this review after I first wrote it. Wow. I am blown away. My life feels richer for having Nick Drake’s music in it. He was remarkable.
—
How beautiful are the lyrics. Each song is a perfectly sculpted story. Lyrically the best album we’ve had on this list so far - I was reading along while I listened and it’s pure poetry.
Intricate acoustic guitar and nice supporting instrumentation. Quite a lovely sounding album, and one that I’ve heard a lot over the years thanks to mum! Very much a ‘Sunday’ album for me, will always remind me of dinner lunch :)
I went on a bit of a Nick Drake binge and listened to each of his albums on repeat over the weekend. Each one is brilliant.
Incredibly tragic that he passed away at 26 without knowing how many people his work would touch one day. Fruit Tree manages to predict his fate and legacy with eerie accuracy. Truly the Van Gogh of music.
Favourite tracks: Fruit Tree, The Thoughts Of Mary Jane, Time Has Told Me
Peter Gabriel
1/5
Only love can make looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove
The Kinks
2/5
The Kinks are fine. I just can’t shake the feeling that The Beatles did everything they did but with far better production, lyrics, vocals, instrumentation, creativity, and with greater variety & experimentation in sound and genres. For that reason, I don’t find myself listening to them much.
I like the racy, distorted sound of The Kinks on some of their debut album, but this was smoother and less abrasive - to its detriment. I don’t hear much that sets them apart from other British bands at the time, besides the singer’s distinctive voice - always sounds like he’s got a blocked nose!
Considering this album came out within the same couple of months as Revolver, this is far, far behind. Sunny Afternoon is brilliant but otherwise a forgettable album. Sorry Dad.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
1/5
90 minutes of wailing. Yoko Ono must be a fan.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Shamone! Some bangers in here and some filler. Thought the drums and guitar work was solid, particularly on the faster tracks. I don’t have very strong feelings about this album, it’s just ‘good’.
Ramones
3/5
3 stars seems to be about the ceiling for my enjoyment of punk albums. This one reaches that ceiling.
Coldplay
5/5
“People like Coldplay and voted for the nazis. You can’t trust people, Jeremy.”
—
In all seriousness, the first two Coldplay albums are some of my favourite albums of all time. Their music has been on a steady decline ever since, and frustration with their more commercial recent stuff is completely justified when you know the calibre of music they CAN produce but choose not to.
But that doesn’t take away from those first two albums. Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head are exceptional. Parachutes is melancholy, dream-like, with an almost aching beauty. Timeless, too - and feels like it is aging very well. I love this album.
Favourite track: Trouble
The The
3/5
Thought the first half of this album was very good but it tailed off a bit. Still an enjoyable album from a band I’ve never listened to before. Good stuff!
The Undertones
2/5
Annoying voice, boring music. Not outright terrible but just didn’t have anything that made me want to listen again.
Bonnie Raitt
1/5
Favourite track:
Dire Straits
5/5
Fire straits 🔥🔥🔥
Portishead
3/5
This album sounds how sleep deprivation feels. Soundtrack of doomers. It’s one of those albums where I really haven’t listened to anything like it before. I had to keep retyping my review as my opinion kept changing. Initially I hated it but it grew on me as the album progressed, and more again with a second listen. Really loved Roads so that earns it a star alone.
I was reminded of Gorillaz in places. Very bleak and atmospheric. If I was feeling depressed and wanted to feel more depressed I would put this album on. It’s like the antonym of Getz/Gilberto.
I’m not sure how often I’ll be in the mood to listen to this, but without a doubt it has expanded my musical horizons. Will revisit.
The Vines
3/5
Mid
Talking Heads
3/5
Pretty good. Feels like they were still finding their sound a bit with this album. Talking Heads are at their best when they’re groovy and there was a fair bit of that here. Strong 3 but didn’t wow me enough for a 4.
Minutemen
2/5
Some good some rubbish, too many songs. 45 is absurd
Taylor Swift
4/5
Certified hood classic.
Taylor Swift is an absolute chart hit machine - there are so many huge songs in this album and you can see why. Banger after banger. The only problem is that her music is incredibly one-dimensional. After a few tracks I was ready to score this album very highly, but by the end, the lack of development or nuance had me getting a bit bored.
Nonetheless, this is a top quality pop record that still sounds fresh a decade on. So many great singalong songs. Lyrically it’s okay but she’s cracked the code of writing songs that a VAST number of people can relate to, and she writes all her own stuff. Taylor Swift does one thing and she does it well. A bit like AC/DC… bet that’s a comparison you didn’t expect to read today!
Well earned 4 stars. Haters gonna hate.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
I was ready to go in guns blazing about the 3 hour runtime but this album is very pleasant indeed. Great voice, fun lyrics, smooth and relaxing music. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be ‘charming’.
Definitely far too long, but I listened to the whole 3 hours while I was working on a warm sunny day and it made for a very peaceful Monday.
Favourite songs: They All Laughed, Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off
Serge Gainsbourg
2/5
3 stars for the music
1 star for the noncey French bloke
Tim Buckley
1/5
Complete shit
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Good music, if a little boring. Sexy music done well. Tim Buckley, take note…
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Wow. This is really good. Dark, but with a real warmth. Some brilliant lyrics, sparse but effective production with excellent bits dropped in like the strings on Travelling Light, and the guitar on If I Didn’t Have Your Love. Bass lines were great the whole way through.
I like the slow but not sluggish pace. The whole album feels like I’m in a small dimly lit bar sipping whiskey and smoking cigarettes. I love his voice. As a fan of The Streets I’m not adverse to a bit of talking over music as long as they’re saying something worth listening to. And Leonard Cohen definitely is here. Some real poetry, made even more visceral by the fact he wrote and released this just weeks before dying.
Immediately the parallel with Bowie’s Blackstar was apparent. It takes a true artist to create something so introspective and beautiful in the knowledge that their time is almost over. Bravo Leonard Cohen.
Favourite track: If I Didn’t Have Your Love
Michael Jackson
4/5
Great album but definitely not the GOAT like a lot of people say, not even close. The good tracks are very good but there are a couple of duds - including the Paul McCartney one, surprisingly.
You can see why it’s a classic though. Thriller / Beat It / Billie Jean as a three track run is just ridiculous. This album has been overplayed in my lifetime from 1999 onwards - I can only imagine the craze this caused in the 1980s.
Kate Bush
2/5
Didn’t really enjoy this. Production was too over-the-top-80s. She’s a good singer but I found her wailing style a bit tiring after a few songs. Not my thing.
Throwing Muses
2/5
Guitar was decent in places but the lyrics and vocal style didn’t do it for me.
Sheryl Crow
2/5
Could tell exactly what this was going to sound like just from the album cover.
Johnny Cash
4/5
This was great. Some brilliant songs and some brilliant covers. Johnny Cash has an excellent way of telling sad stories through his music.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
I don’t know what Chooglin’ means and at this point I’m too afraid to ask. If there’s one thing I gained from this album it’s that I must keep on chooglin’, so choogle I shall.
I like Creedence Clearwater Revival. To me they sound like Led Zeppelin’s chilled out stoner cousin.
Overall it’s good but nothing earth-shattering.
CHVRCHES
5/5
This album is amazing! Science/Visions blew my mind! Don’t know why I haven’t listened to CHVRCHES before. I knew a couple of songs that were on FIFA but that was all. They’re a bit like The 1975, a bit like La Roux, but more sophisticated than both. The singer has a great voice and I love the synths. Such a beautiful colourful soundscape, made me feel all tingly.
Britney Spears
1/5
Lots of albums on this list feel like they are expanding my mind. With this one I actually felt my braincells withering away.
E-mail my heart 😂
Shack
4/5
This is good. Sounds a bit like Ash and The Coral, and a few tracks were very Stone Roses. Definitely starts stronger than it finishes but still lots of good tracks throughout.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Pretty good but didn’t have the wow factor. I like the Bowie influence, didn’t realise he was so involved. Sixteen was creepy.
Dr. Dre
3/5
Good music, good delivery, good features.
Steely Dan
4/5
A great sounding album and an interesting mix of different sounds. Only half an hour long but I never knew what the next track was going to sound like. All very well produced and mastered.
—
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number - sounds like Bowie
Night By Night - Funky. Sounds like In The Gallery by Dire Straits. Sweet guitar solo.
Barrytown - Reminded me of The Beatles - ‘Tell Me What You See’ on Help!
East St Louis - reminded me of Raindrop Prelude by Chopin at the start, with a jazzy west side story Pixar movie type thing. Big wah
Pretzel Logic - think I’ve heard this one. Sounds very bluesy
Monkey in your soul - also sounds quite Bowie
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
I feel like I should like this more than I do. It’s good but nothing really gripped me. Somehow it wasn’t psychedelic enough
Quicksilver Messenger Service
1/5
Rubbish. More of a jam than an album. It’s like they hadn’t actually written anything before they sat down and pressed record.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
This was great. Quite a long album but I put it in the background when I was gaming with the boys after a busy day (attempting the Der Eisendrache EE on BO3 Zombies) and it made for a fitting soundtrack.
I already knew a few of the bigger singles but the tracks in between were good too.
Favourite track: 1979
Queen
3/5
Besides the first few songs this was quite forgettable. It’s Queen so it’s still good but not many of their best songs were on here.
The White Stripes
2/5
Another album I thought I would enjoy more than I did. Quite a disjointed album, wasn’t particularly rocky and never felt like it got going. I like a few White Stripes singles so was expecting a little more.
Dagmar Krause
1/5
I’m actually glad this isn’t on Spotify. Any barrier preventing me from listening to this again is a good thing.
D'Angelo
3/5
I liked this. Had a classic RNB feel and good vocals. Not the deepest music in the world but nice relaxing background music. Reminded me a bit of Craig David.
Tracy Chapman
3/5
These are good songs. Didn’t set my world on fire but was still enjoyable and I can see why she’s popular.
Bob Dylan
3/5
The first thing I’ll say is I can really hear how he influenced The Beatles. Much of this record sounds like it was pulled straight from the Let It Be album.
Unfortunately, this didn’t really move me. I like some of his more folky acoustic stuff like on Freewheelin’, so I’m looking forward to that coming up on this generator. His singing style on this one was a bit more… shouty? It’s his distinctive style but it’s like he’s exclaiming each line rather than singing it, I’m not really a fan.
It’s pretty good music, and endlessly influential, but not one of my favourites. And tune your guitar man! Desolation Row was by far my favourite song, if more of the album sounded like that would’ve scored it higher.
Nina Simone
3/5
I listened to this with Jess on the drive back from Northampton and we enjoyed this. Good songs and a great voice. Did get a bit tedious towards the end of the album, but still solid.
Blue Cheer
2/5
Cool to listen to some early heavy metal but I can’t see myself coming back to this.
2/5
I don’t like live albums. Harmonica was ear-piercing and too much of it. Annoying singing. Rudimentary, uninspiring guitar. Lyrics are good but not good enough to carry this ‘album’ for 90 minutes.
A few songs are solid, like Desolation Row and I Don’t Believe You. But those were not written for this album specifically, and so this album doesn’t deserve credit for them. Which begs the question - what does this album in isolation offer? The answer is simple - very little.
I’m aware I’m harsh on live albums but I see nothing wrong with that. I’ve loved Oasis’s entire discography for years but how many times have I actually sat down and listened to Knebworth 1966 (Live)? Maaaaaybe once? Studio albums are where it’s at, for this list anyway.
My criticism isn’t purely because it’s a live album though. That slow, wailing rendition of Like a Rolling Stone at the end was frankly annoying to listen to. Bleh. Sorry Bob, this doesn’t do it for me.
Otis Redding
3/5
Just makes you feel good! He has a great voice, really soulful. I think Paulo Nutini must have been a fan, this reminded me of him. Strong 3 but didn’t quite grab me enough to warrant a 4, it’s just nice relaxing music.
Steely Dan
3/5
Solid, easy listening dad rock. No weak points but also no big highs, just a good album the whole way through. I preferred Pretzel Logic - that one felt more varied and interesting to listen to. Still, another strong 3 - I’m giving out a lot of 3s at the minute!
Amy Winehouse
5/5
I was already familiar with Amy Winehouse and this album, as I think most people who grew up in Britain in the early 2000s are. She really was incredible.
What I picked up from properly listening to this album on headphones is just how beautifully it was produced. Each sound and instrument was perfectly selected to create a wonderful mood and to support Amy’s fantastic vocals and lyrics.
Goosebumps, multiple times, even on the tracks I’ve heard hundreds of times before. Rest in peace Amy Winehouse. She was a star.
Christina Aguilera
1/5
Piss poor. ‘Thank You’ was the most self-absorbed piece of music I’ve ever heard
Abdullah Ibrahim
2/5
Nice background music but a little boring.
Van Halen
4/5
This sounds great up loud. Everything about it is BIG. I love the heavy, crunchy guitar sound, and some of the lead guitar is very technically impressive. I can imagine Van Halen would’ve been amazing to watch live.
A reliable personal barometer by which I gauge my enjoyment of music is how it makes me feel physically. When I’m enjoying a piece of music I get this electric shivering sensation down my arms and legs, and I got it with this album.
I watched Wayne’s World 2 this week, and this is exactly the sort of thing they would like. Party on, Garth!
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
This was cool! Listened to this with Jess on the drive to Liverpool and the word she used to describe it is ‘vibey’ which is pretty accurate.
Talented group of players and good to listen to something I would never think to put on otherwise.
5/5
I could go on and on about how great this album is, but I don’t need to. The music and its legacy speaks for itself. Mega.
Roll (with it) on Heaton Park 2025!
David Bowie
4/5
This was an interesting one. I like David Bowie a lot. Some of his stuff can be a little difficult to digest at first, including this album, but that adds depth and intrigue. This album felt rewarding to listen to multiple times.
After listening 3 or 4 times I’m still not sure how to rate this. Initially it felt too experimental, but I grew to really like the first half of the record - particularly Heroes and Sons of the Silent Age. I’m not really sure about the ambient tracks.
3.5/5, rounding up, but I reckon with more time it could easily become a strong 4.
Patti Smith
1/5
It’s not completely unlistenable but I honestly couldn’t name a single thing I liked about this album.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Relaxing, funky, easy listening, some nice guitar in places. Goes on for a bit too long, would benefit from having some of the noodley tracks in the middle of the album cut.
Strawberry Letter 23 was the standout track for me, liked that a lot. Great name too
🍓✉️ 2️⃣3️⃣
Nine Inch Nails
2/5
Blimey
Talking Heads
5/5
Top notch. Really unique sound, so many layers and intriguing sounds going on. I love the fast, frantic pace of the first half of the album. It’s almost like house and dance music, pulls you into a trance.
David Bowie
4/5
If this album was a box of chocolates it would be Celebrations. Because it’s better than Heroes
The Doors
3/5
If you take some mediocre Rolling Stones album tracks and slap in some organ, you have The Doors. The organ sound is distinctive but sounds incredibly dated.
3 stars because I like the psychedelic lyrics, and it’s undeniable that The Doors create a unique mood.
Queen
2/5
I know it’s Queen but I didn’t really enjoy this. It seemed kind of directionless. Forgettable album
Stevie Wonder
2/5
Boring. Intriguingly dissonant at the start, then moderately funky, then tapers off into sleepy ballads and ditties.
Blur
3/5
I like Blur a lot, saw them at Wembley in their comeback tour last year which was amazing, but I’d be lying if I gave this anything above 3. Beetlebum and Song 2 are brilliant, but the tracks that follow don’t live up to them at all.
Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, The Great Escape, and their 2023 album The Ballad Of Darren are all better than this.
Blur
5/5
Peak Britpop. Lighthearted, fun, with great lyrics and stories throughout, and unmistakably British.
Girls & Boys, Tracy Jacks, End of a Century, Parklife, Badhead, To the End. This is Blur firing on all cylinders.
Radiohead
5/5
OK Computer is one of those albums that makes you go, fuck me, how did humans create that. Absolutely extraordinary. There isn’t a single moment that isn’t brilliant.
Musically it’s very sophisticated. I love how Radiohead aren’t afraid to play with time signature, such as the switch from 4/4 to 7/8 in Paranoid Android, to the drifting 6/8 in Subterranean Homesick Alien, to the delicious polyrhythms in Let Down.
Production is brilliant, with beautiful layers of sound washing over you, and some excellent riffs and guitar work from Jonny Greenwood. There’s something extraterrestrial about it all - as if OK Computer fell off the spaceship of a particularly cynical martian.
To say the lyrics are poignant is an understatement. It really speaks to the side of me that loves to take an Orwellian, dystopian view on the world - all delivered with Thom’s delicate but striking vocals. I’m running out of adjectives.
If I could rate this a hundred stars I would.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
Björk meets Tones and I?
Ys is an intriguing and conflicting album. The strings arrangements are quite lovely. It’s trying to sound much older than it is, which it sort of achieves, but suffers from her irritating goo-goo baby voice. She’s like a millennial bard.
Artistically there’s something there, and the lyrics are quite ambitious and vivid in imagery, but I can’t get on board with it. After a few minutes I was annoyed. I’d like this a lot more if it was an instrumental.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
This is pretty great. I know they’re acclaimed but hadn’t really listened to them much before. They’re a bit like a more wistful Fleetwood Mac. Quite folky which I like. I saw a video of them performing Scarborough Fair the other day which was really good too (despite their American mispronunciation of ‘Scarborough’).
I like these guys. I’m getting more into folk thanks to a certain Nick Drake, and Simon & Garfunkel scratch a similar itch. Will listen again.
Bob Dylan
4/5
The best Bob Dylan album we’ve had on this list so far. More acoustic focused which is where he shines, and the tracks that have electric guitar use it tastefully like ‘Meet Me In The Morning’. His vocals are significantly better and less annoying than in Highway 61 Revisited. He actually sings well in this one.
Still not convinced he’s the genius people claim he is but this gets the thumbs up from me. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts is the standout track - what a story!
Circle Jerks
1/5
Well at least it was only 15 minutes
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Nice album. Romantic crooner songs have their place, and Frank Sinatra delivers them well in his buttery smooth voice. Each song sounded the same to the point where it was hard to distinguish them from one another, but it didn’t stop it from being a pleasant listen.
The War On Drugs
4/5
Ethereal
Beastie Boys
3/5
Enjoyed the 90s hiphop sound and the instrumental ‘filler’ tracks were pretty good too.
Sigur Rós
5/5
Ágætis byrjun ebbs and flows with exquisite beauty. It might be one of the most beautiful albums I’ve ever heard. Each song drifts gently into the next, rising to astonishing crescendos (such as Viðrar vel til loftárása), then fading away until the next one. A gorgeous Icelandic mountain range for the ears.
I have no idea what the lyrics mean but that doesn’t matter. This album is as much sonic art as it is music, transcending language and genres. It’s almost like classical music but with the addition of modern instruments and production techniques. A couple of the more guitar-let tracks reminded me of Radiohead and felt like fitting resting points before continuing the hike to the next peak, to continue the mountain analogy.
I love everything about this. Somehow it captures the essence of beauty in life; I can’t imagine any day in which you listen to this with your full attention being a bad one. Hoppípola is not on this album but deserves praise too. I’ve liked that song for years but never probed further, but I’m glad I have now. Thanks Sigur Rós.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Can hear the influence on Talking Heads here, particularly in the first track. Really strong start to the album but unfortunately it gets a bit boring towards the end.
Billie Holiday
2/5
Not unpleasant to listen to but sooo booooooooooring. I wasn’t keen on her voice either.
Pavement
3/5
Mostly throwaway trashy vaguely grungey 90s rock, but it had its moments. Zürich Is Stained and Loretta’s Scars were really good. Sort of like Pixies or Smashing Pumpkins but with less oomph and madness.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
I was going to give this four stars, but fuck it, Take Five!
This was excellent. Our best jazz album on the generator so far, up there with Getz/Gilberto. Listened to it twice in a row.
I’d heard Take Five before and it’s such a good track, love it. The whole album is so well recorded and produced, it’s from 1959 but sounds like it released yesterday. And I love the percussion and unusual time signatures. Relaxing but interesting to listen to. Great stuff.
I’m not usually a jazz listener but I can’t find a flaw with this. I visited the famous Village Vanguard jazz club in Downtown New York recently and this album makes me want to go back.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Not bad music but it didn’t do much for me.
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
At its best, it’s fairly boring funk. At its worst, it’s a directionless jam with some weird musical choices like yodelling? Not sure about this. Luv N’ Haight & Runnin’ Away were the only tracks I enjoyed really.
Minor Threat
3/5
This delivered a much needed speedball energy hit at 9:30 on a Monday morning in the office. Power chords baby!
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
Bland, generic 60s psychedelic rock. I was close to giving this 1 star to be honest but the first half of the album was okay.
The Prodigy
5/5
Peak 90s rave. I imagine seeing The Prodigy in a big warehouse in the 90s is probably one of the greatest experiences you can have as a human being.
Beck
4/5
A wonderful album that took me by surprise. I didn’t love Odelay but Sea Change is very good. Beck is a distinguished songwriter and guitarist, and this album is both relaxing and moving.
I was trying to work out its influences, of which I’m sure there are many, but the most obvious to me was Nick Drake. Round the Bend is very reminiscent of River Man. The album also sounds quite similar to Radiohead and Eels in places, but that’s not to say it doesn’t stand on its own two feet.
John Lennon
4/5
Good album but if I was to rank post-Beatle albums it would be below All Things Must Pass and Band On The Run. Still very good - Jealous Guy is heavenly, one of my favourite songs ever.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Impeccable band name. Lackluckstre music.
Happy Mondays
5/5
I got massively into this album in my second year of uni - a time when I was listening to a lot of Britpop and Madchester music, as well as discovering my love for dance music - house, drum & bass, bassline and techno. It was one of the most significant years in defining who I am as a person, and this album will always remind me of those times.
Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches doesn’t want you to take it seriously, and doing so kinda spoils the fun. Because that’s the main thing this album is - fun. Bob’s Yer Uncle is the only track I’ve never been keen on, but there are so many great tracks - Kinky Afro, God’s Cop, Dennis and Lois, Step On.
Musically and lyrically, there are far more adept albums on this list. But this has a laid back indie/dance funk that I always find myself coming back to.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Raw, good guitar sound and great vocals from Ozzy, but didn’t have many standout moments for me.
Nick Drake
5/5
Pink Moon is so good that I can’t even begin to write a review that does it justice. After Five Leaves Left came up on the generator last year, Nick Drake rapidly became one of my favourite artists. I’d heard his music before from Mum and Dad, but when sitting down and giving his music my full attention, I was struck by his poetic lyrics, unique folk guitar style, and incredible songwriting despite his troubled life and short music career.
Pink Moon is perhaps Nick’s magnum opus - his final album, written and recorded at a time when he’d all but given up. It’s very barebones; gone are the drums from Bryter Layer or the strings from Five Leaves Left. Just Nick and his guitar. It’s moving, warm, delicate, and melancholy.
Learning Nick’s songs on the guitar only grew my appreciation of them. From the intricate finger picking patterns in Parasite, to the unconventional tuning throughout the album, reconstructing his songs myself continues to be a rewarding challenge. He plays his own way, unlike anyone else. And he does all that whilst singing some of the most beautiful and profound lyrics ever written?
Nick Drake was a genius.
Gorillaz
5/5
Banger of an album and a very successful musical experiment by Damon and co. Too many good tracks - Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood, Rock the House, 5/4, etc. And all the album tracks in between are brilliant and set the mood perfectly.
Having now listened to Portishead thanks to the generator, I can now see the connection and influence between them, particularly with the trip-hop elements in tracks like New Genius (Brother).
Enjoyed listening to this again, I’ve got it on repeat now!
The United States Of America
1/5
Terrible
Merle Haggard
4/5
Nice relaxing country album. 3.5 rounding up
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
One of them where it’s not my usual thing but I can tell it’s really good and deserves praise. Very talented singer with a unique voice, and the musical arrangements are done very well. Emotive.
I was already familiar with this album as it was played a lot by mum & dad when I was younger. Was a nice surprise when I pressed play and recognised it immediately!
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
I don’t think I’ve ever related to music less.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Pretty good. Not much more to say
Orange Juice
4/5
Holy moly, this is great. A very tight, dance type groove that reminds of Talking Heads in the faster songs. This sounds really ahead of its time - it could easily be an indie rock album released this year. Hard to believe it came out in the early 80s.
It almost starts off too strong. The first four tracks are brilliant, then it tails off a bit with Breakfast Time. It picks up a bit again towards the end with Hokoyo.
Bon Jovi
3/5
This album serves as a vehicle for the delivery of Livin’ On A Prayer & You Give Love A Bad Name. It’s the sugar coating on a tablet allowing the medicine to pass directly into your bloodstream.
But I wouldn’t eat paracetamol for the capsule. And I wouldn’t listen to this album for the tracks that aren’t the two huge singles. The rest of the album is a big hairball of glam rock fluff.
Sorry mum!
5/5
If we made contact with aliens and wanted to share a record with them that best represents music created by humans in the last 60 years, you’d struggle to find a better one than this.
This album is simply great. It’s everything really. Timeless, progressive, funny, poignant, vibrant, and catchy. No weak tracks. Doesn’t overstay its welcome at 38 minutes, yet so much is packed in. Faultless.
On top of that, my family loves Bowie and our amazing cat was named Ziggy, so it ticks the sentimental box too.
Wham bam thank ya mam!
N.W.A.
2/5
I liked a lot of the flow, delivery and rhythm, but while I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in the struggles they describe, a lot of the lyrics and themes didn’t really resonate with me. It also went on for a bit too long, and some of the sample based tracks simply aren’t as good as the originals.
Moby
4/5
Moby is pretty great. Porcelain is beautiful, always gives me goosebumps. Lots of other really good tracks throughout too. I also really enjoyed the techno tracks like Machete - I would’ve liked a bit more of this. Guess I need to check out more of Moby’s earlier techno stuff.
Marking it down a star because it’s not the most cohesive album, and particularly towards the end it just seems like a few experimental tracks thrown together a bit. And I didn’t care much for the ambient sound collage type tracks like 7 and down slow.
Still a great album - reminds me of when I studied Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad in GCSE music
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
Bland 80s nothingness. Last track was pretty good though.
Aerosmith
4/5
From my limited view of Aerosmith, I was expecting this album to be a lot more glam rock / hair metal than it was. I was pleasantly surprised - it’s sophisticated, grounded, well produced. Guitars sound great, as do the lead vocals.
Adam’s Apple was my favourite song - immediately followed by Walk This Way which I was less keen on, but probably because I’ve heard it a thousand times before (both this and the Run-DMC version).
Quite a varied album too.
M.I.A.
3/5
Interesting mixture of sounds track to track. Paper Planes is the only track I knew before and one that I like a lot. Jimmy was an absolute banger. Can’t say I loved the rest of the album, but I appreciate there are a variety of worldwide sounds and influences incorporated.
Garbage
2/5
Samey and overly 90s. Didn’t really enjoy this.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
Gotta be Marge Simpson’s finest work
Roxy Music
3/5
Not as annoying as the last Roxy Music album we had - this felt a bit more mellow. Decent, and a pretty varied mixture of songs, but nothing massively standout.
Ray Price
3/5
Nice relaxing honky tonk album and great vocals. Bit samey.
Beastie Boys
4/5
I really like this era of hip hop. Great samples, fun beats, it’s just a good time. Reminded me of 3 Feet High and Rising, which I later learned came out the same year. I’ve never really listened to Beastie Boys before despite them being a huge name, but now I want to hear more.
Def Leppard
3/5
Fairly standard hair metal, not a bad listen.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Mostly sensational but just begins to lose my interest in a couple of places.
Meat Loaf
3/5
1 - epic opener
2 - good song, catchy, intro sounds christmassy
3 - boring ballad
4 - Good song, great vocals
5 - boring 80s ballad
After these tracks I listened to the rest of the album in the car and couldn’t remember which track was which. Pretty good album though, pretty mixed. Never listened to Meat Loaf before, only know him from Fight Club. He had a great voice.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
Didn’t know what to expect with this but it was great. Jazzy in the right way, great drumming, great singing. Enjoyed listening.
Motörhead
2/5
Live albums are pointless. And Motörhead are just a bad AC/DC.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Immediately recognisable as early 90s. Pretty good but somehow not grungey enough for a grunge album.
Kanye West
4/5
I’m very conflicted. Kanye is a horrendous person. But this album is undeniably great. Wordplay, production, beats, everything is top notch. Marking it down a star for obvious reasons and because it goes on slightly too long.
B.B. King
2/5
I’m sure BB King is great but I found this a little boring, plus it’s a live album
The Incredible String Band
1/5
The biggest compliment I can give this album is that it came from the same era as the Beatles, who produced some groundbreaking psychedelic music. This is not it. Really quite terrible. Few redeeming qualities besides being amusingly whimsical, and credit for experimenting with lots of different instruments and sounds - even if most of them don’t work in the slightest.
Albert Hoffman should be named in the credits.
Lightning Bolt
1/5
I need a sit down
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Pretty good. Recognised a few tracks from Dad playing them over the years (Bonny and Appetite specifically). Nice alternative 80s sound.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
A dazzling 70s party
The Smiths
5/5
A genre-defining indie rock album that I didn’t want to end. Beautiful riffs from Johnny Marr, paired with excellent vocals and songwriting from Morrissey. In true Smiths fashion the lyrics are very ‘tortured romantic’, delivered in a cohesive and authentic package that you can’t help but be drawn into.
Despite it not being the longest album there’s a decent amount of variety - from the wallowing, forlorn ‘I Know It’s Over’, to the rollicking ‘Vicar in a Tutu’ with a beat and tempo that reminded me of Folsom Prison Blues, to the jangly and bright ‘Cemetry Gates’ (though the lyrics tell another story). I haven’t even mentioned Bigmouth and There Is a Light… do I need to?
Funnily enough, the weakest tracks in my opinion are the opener and the closer. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others has some rubbish lyrics, but it’s such an outlier that maybe that’s the point? It doesn’t matter anyway because Johnny Marr’s guitar work is superb as ever.
My only other criticism is that the production is very 80s sounding. I’d be interested to hear what this would sound like if it was recorded, produced and mastered today - though that will never happen with Marr and Morrissey’s relationship (or lack of).
Overall a very good album. My dad absolutely loves The Smiths, and I can see why!
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
This sounds somewhere between Joy Division and The Stone Roses, without the good bits of either. Not a fan of the screechy fuzzy static noise present on most tracks either. The songs would be a lot better without it.
Miles Davis
3/5
Track one set a great mood and felt like it was building well, but ultimately didn’t really go anywhere. I was begging for it to burst into a big crescendo, but it never really did. Track two set a very different mood with some repeating piano phrases toying with dissonance to create a slightly nervy timbre. This track develops more than the first, moving into an elevated funky section, then regressing.
Interesting album, and I enjoyed listening to it in a critical environment. I wouldn’t rank it among my top jazz albums, but I liked the underlying feeling of mystery and intrigue.
Venom
1/5
Rather unpleasant
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Pretty good but far from their best album. Big fan of Immigrant Song, Tangerine and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, but the tracks in between were just okay.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Am I a Creedence fan?
The Police
3/5
Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Not overly memorable besides Every Breath You Take.
Big Star
3/5
Good sound, quite Beatles esque, specifically George. Liked the first few tracks, tailed off towards the end.
Morrissey
3/5
Some good tracks here. Reminded me of other early 90s bands like Suede and The Stone Roses. Overall not quite as compelling as the earlier Smiths work though. There’s a big Johnny Marr shaped hole.
The Temptations
3/5
Made pretty good background music for a Saturday night dinner but I wouldn’t bother listening again.
5/5
One of those albums that I find impossible to do justice in a written review. One of the best albums of all time by the greatest band of all time, but everyone knows that. So instead I’ll focus on what this album means to me.
Despite being born in 1999, I grew up with The Beatles. They were always played around the house from as early as I remember, and I’ve continued to listen to them for 26 years - now more than ever. This culminated in watching Paul McCartney perform with Ringo Starr at the O2 last year with my brother - probably the greatest experience of my life.
The Beatles’ music to me is emotional, awe-inspiring, beautiful, comforting, nostalgic, funny, catchy, timeless, perfect. It’s nice to know that in my life (wahey), no matter what age I am (even when I’m sixty four), through good times and bad, I’ll always have The Beatles.
I could continue pouring my heart into this review but it would go on forever. This album is everything to me. I’ll end with the difficult task of ranking it besides the other Beatles albums. I can’t separate Sgt Pepper’s, Abbey Road and Rubber Soul, but my favourite is always Revolver.
Guided By Voices
1/5
It’s a bit Beatles, it’s a bit proto-Strokes; some nice ideas here and there but it sounds unfinished, like a demo album. Could’ve done with more time in the oven.
The more I listened the more I disliked it. 41 minutes that never seemed to end. Rubbish singing, rubbish lyrics, rubbish recording, rubbish songs. Some of it is impressively bad - ‘Ex-Supermodel’ has this horrible sample the whole way through of what I can only imagine is someone snoring? Who likes listening to that?
Pretenders
2/5
Wasn’t convinced by this. Didn’t enjoy it
The Beach Boys
3/5
Hit and miss. I don’t really see the big fuss about The Beach Boys. I can tell they branched out a bit with this album which is good, some interesting 70s sounds.
Stan Getz
4/5
Lovely. Really enjoyed Getz/Gilberto so it was a pleasure to listen to more
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
2/5
Boring
Air
3/5
First two tracks really good. Last two tracks really good. Stuff in the middle meh.
Kate Bush
4/5
When it’s good, it’s very good. Running Up That Hill, Hounds Of Love, The Big Sky, and Cloudbursting are great. A couple of weaker tracks in the second half but you can’t fault the artistic vision and uniqueness of Kate Bush’s sound.
Butthole Surfers
1/5
Impressively bad. Has to be a joke? Wonder what it’s doing on this list - pioneering in the post-enjoyment genre, perhaps
Dusty Springfield
3/5
A pleasant listen. Nice voice, warm instrumentation, and generally inoffensive in a good way.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
An album that fully deserves its ‘classic’ status. Not sure how I haven’t listened to this before really, though most of the tracks I’ve heard individually. Kendrick is great. As always the lyrics, wordplay, and productions are on point. This album felt a bit more playful than his later stuff, kinda reminded me of Kanye in places.
MC Solaar
3/5
Never listened to french hip hop before but now I have. It was cool.
New York Dolls
3/5
It was alright. A bit like thin lizzy? Not majorly interesting but not bad either.
Black Sabbath
5/5
RIP Ozzy 😢🖤
Quite fitting that this came up the day after his passing.
As an album, it’s a classic for a reason. Dark, heavy, barebones. Great riffs, solos, drums, atmosphere, and of course vocals from Ozzy. Just cool. I can imagine this must have caused quite a stir when it came out in 1970 - after a psychedelic, hippie 60s, this is the antithesis. Cathartic.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Another 5 stars from me. It’s a tremendous album from the King of Pop. Groovy, funky, catchy, brilliant vocals and backing instrumentation. I prefer this to Thriller.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Masterful. Pulls you into a world of groove. It’s amazing how many songs have sampled and nicked bits of this - this feels like tapping into the source.
For its length there doesn’t feel like much filler, but it is too long even without the bonus EP. For that reason it loses a star, but a very strong four.
Stand out tracks: Contusion, Sir Duke, Isn’t She Lovely
Beatles
5/5
Simply makes you happy. The fact that this is far from their best album and still easily 5 stars speaks volumes about the quality of The Beatles. Best band ever.
UB40
3/5
A good reggae album but suffers from being a bit samey. I don’t know much about UB40 but I feel like maybe their debut isn’t their strongest? Props to them from being from 0121
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
Very well recorded for a live album but this isn’t really my thing. I thought tango was more upbeat, danceable? This was just slightly pretentious jazz. Didn’t do much for me
Fairport Convention
3/5
Hit and miss. The second song had me wishing it was over, but Matty Groves is an absolute banger. Evens out to being just alright.
Parliament
3/5
They talk the funky talk, but do they walk the funky walk? Somewhat.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Another good funky album. Never heard of these guys but recognised a few songs. Skipped the different mixes and interviews as I presume they weren’t on the original album
Sparks
3/5
Bizarre, but I kinda fuck with it. First few tracks are strong and sound ahead of their time. Lost me a little after that.
“Gonna hang myself from the family tree” is an absolutely wild lyric
David Bowie
4/5
The good tracks are some of Bowie’s best. As with Heroes, I’m not too fussed about the ambient tracks towards the end. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is still the greatest David Bowie album.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Liked the vocal harmonies. Good to listen to something I never normally would have before. The a capella style was cool but some instrumentation would’ve elevated it.
R.E.M.
3/5
Fairly boring until the last 3 songs which are really good. A bit samey and uninspiring on the whole.
Solomon Burke
4/5
Really good classic soul sound. Great vocals. Will revisit this
Kelela
3/5
Interesting album. I guess you could call this contemporary R&B? A touch of avant garde about it. Production was pretty excellent, interesting mixture of sounds which were great on headphones. I actually think it would be the basis for a great dance music album - it’s got that sort of ethereal feeling at times that you get some Bicep or some liquid dnb.
Ultimately though it doesn’t really go anywhere and I found myself getting bored towards the end.
Rahul Dev Burman
2/5
As a film soundtrack it’s fine, but not something I’d really choose to go and listen to itself.
The Undertones
3/5
Fun album, sounds ahead of its time, a lot like some indie rock albums twenty years later. Was a bit like The Strokes at the start.
The singer’s voice has always annoyed me though!
The Smiths
4/5
Solid album, doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Queen Is Dead, but still very good
The Doors
2/5
Dull and uninspiring. Not a fan of The Doors, but can’t like everything I suppose
Beatles
5/5
How can you rate an album with Back In The U.S.S.R, Blackbird, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I Will, Julia, and Helter Skelter anything less than 5 stars?
The White Album is a long stream of consciousness of an album that has everything from epic rock power, to delicate folk tunes, to silly ditties, to abstract sound collages. It doesn’t really have a flowing theme, but it contains some of the most creative work from the greatest band of all time.
I even like Rocky Racoon!
Suede
3/5
A very solid 3 stars. Suede will always have sentimental value to me as they were the first band I ever saw live with my family, I must have been 11 or 12.
I might have given this 4 stars if not for Brett Anderson’s sharply descending vocal inflictions on almost every word. It gets irritating - he didn’t do it when we saw them live, and they sounded much better for it.
In places it sounds quite Bowie-esque, wrapped up in a britpop package. Also sounds similar to Blur, who in my opinion were much better.
I’m 26 and am fortunate enough to have seen Suede, Blur, Oasis, Richard Ashcroft, and Supergrass. And I’m seeing Radiohead soon, to put an end to my own britpop era!
Gene Clark
4/5
Combines the best parts of Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan. Also reminded me of Sea Change by Beck. Great guitar, nice vocals, steady pace. A nice relaxing listen. Audio and production sounds great on headphones - hard to believe this is from 1971, it could’ve come out yesterday.
Steely Dan
3/5
Blimey, there’s a lot of Steely Dan in this list. This album was more jazz inspired than the others, and I recognised Peg from De La Soul’s sample. Besides that not too much to note. Made a nice enough soundtrack while I made huevos con chorizo for lunch.
Rush
3/5
I enjoyed the more prog rock tracks. YXZ was pretty nuts in a good way. I liked some of the unconventional time signatures, and the drumming throughout was pretty epic.
Not so much a fan of the singing or lyrics though, it would be better as an instrumental album.
The Beta Band
2/5
An odd and directionless album. Not unlistenable but not good either. The lyrics in the closing track are comically bad.
Black Sabbath
4/5
The first heavy metal an album, and what an album it is. So ahead of its time in 1969. Dark, minimal, great riffs. What’s not to love.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Pretty bad. I like folk and this was trying to be too folky for me. A lot of the songs were simply annoying.
The only exception was ‘Once I Was’, which was lovely.
Public Enemy
3/5
Yeeeeeeahhhhhhh boiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
The Smiths
4/5
Not as consistent as The Queen Is Dead, but still a great Smiths album with a wonderful jangly guitar sound and solid vocals. Highlights are Girlfriend in a Coma, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, and Paint a Vulgar Picture.
Radiohead
5/5
Dark, moody, brooding, and that’s just Jonny Greenwood’s haircut.
Hail To the Thief is an album that I never paid much attention to as a Radiohead fan until recently, and despite my ignorance, I’m actually glad for this album to be so fresh to me. It’s bloody brilliant.
There’s a definite theme, and many tracks follow a similar format - starting slow and wistful, before growing and finally exploding into a burst of pained energy. It’s a winning formula.
This album feels like a perfect mid point between the slightly more conventionally rock-sounding In Rainbows, and the experimental, electronic Kid A. As an appreciator of all forms of Radiohead, this is a great balance to have. It is also the album that to me sounds most like Muse (or rather, Muse sound like IT). Many tracks feel straight out of Origin of Symmetry or Showbiz.
A top tier album that has recently become one of my favourites by Radiohead.
Nirvana
3/5
I’m very torn by this one. Some of the tracks are 5 stars, no doubt. But I don’t get on with the live album format, generally. Kurt’s voice is amazing and the band sound great. But this isn’t the origin of those songs. That’s what the albums and singles are for. I’m sure this would’ve been great seeing it live, but as a recording, it doesn’t compare to their studio albums for me. That’s where the real creativity and genius lies.
Judas Priest
3/5
We have Black Sabbath at home
Black Sabbath at home:
Hugh Masekela
2/5
Too jazzy?
Nirvana
4/5
This is THE grunge album. Can’t say I listen to loads of the genre but Nirvana had something special.
Duran Duran
5/5
Absolute banger of an album. Duran Duran encapsulate everything great about 80s pop bands. Catchy, tight, with punchy production. Perfect balance of guitars and synths, and vocals are on point. It’s simply cool to listen to.
Highlights: Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf, Hold Back the Rain, Save a Prayer, The Chauffeur.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
Made me feel like I was in Red Dead Redemption 2.
I rather enjoyed this. It’s a style of country that sounds like it could be much older than 1972. As a Brit I found their accents endearing, and while this was very long at 2 hours 9 minutes, I quite enjoyed the gaps of chatting between songs. I felt like I was getting to know the cast of a Western film, and the length meant it all had sufficient time to breathe and set the scene.
It was like listening to a session of a band recording an album, rather than the album itself. Which would only work if you’re invested in the band, and despite me having never heard of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band before, I enjoyed their humorous quips and monologues. A bit like the ‘Get Back’ Beatles documentary, but honky tonk.
I haven’t even mentioned yet the fact that these are incredibly talented musicians. It was clearly all recorded live, with lots of improvisation. The guitars, strings and vocals are all excellent throughout.
A very enjoyable listen. Yee haw!
5/5
The magnum opus of a brilliant band. Muse at their absolute best. No weak songs. How can an album with Knights of Cydonia on it be anything less than 5 stars? It still gives me goosebumps now, and I’ve been listening to Muse for almost 20 years.
Worth mentioning that on top of having an excellent discography, Muse are one of the very best live bands. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen them 3 times, and each time they were incredible. My brother and I made it onto the official Simulation Theory film/DVD (see me singing at the camera during Starlight). I even saw them bring out Brian Johnson and play Back In Black which was pretty special. They’re one of those bands that you could see anywhere at any time and know with certainty that they will put on a top tier show. They’ve got the whole live performance thing down to a tee.
We can only hope that future Muse albums come close to reaching the heights of Black Holes and Revelations. Luckily The Resistance, Drones, Absolution, and Origin of Symmetry are also great.
David Holmes
3/5
Interesting 90s electronic album. I enjoyed the more jungle influenced bits - would’ve liked more of that. Not so sure about the James Bond song or some of the samples.
The Black Keys
3/5
El Camino >>>>>
Bob Dylan
3/5
Another Bob Dylan album that I feel like I should really enjoy but just don’t much. It’s fine. I like folky guitar led music, but it doesn’t stand out to me. I found his vocals and harmonica a little grating. Sure, he’s a good songwriter, and perhaps if I didn’t listen to this while working I’d be digging deeper into the lyricism and wordplay. But musically, it falls a bit flat. Not bad as such, but not great.
Talking Heads
3/5
Didn’t love this, nowhere near as good as Remain In Light. Lyrics and singing weren’t great - not very serious, but not in a good way. However, I LOVED the last track - it was brilliant! The whole album sounds more 80s than 70s too, so I guess it’s pretty ahead of its time.
2/5
Trying to do too much, to the extent that this is mostly nonsense. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Superfluous.
Soundgarden
2/5
Like Foo Fighters if you took away anything that made them good.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Excellent folk album. Love the rendition of Scarborough Fair (besides the American mispronunciation of ‘Scarborough’) and the Silent Night closing track with the gradually rising news was quite powerful.
Some really excellent tracks throughout the album too - Cloudy, Homeward Bound, Feelin’ Groovy. Love that the album didn’t overstay its welcome - short and sweet.
I’m a fan of Simon & Garfunkel thanks to this generator. Will revisit.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
I have no doubt that Jimi Hendrix was an incredible musician. But for whatever reason, even as a guitarist myself, his music doesn’t do an awful lot for me.
I think I would enjoy this more if I was tripping balls in the 60s, but alas, I am not.
Incubus
2/5
Sounded a bit like Red Hot Chili Peppers at times and also a bit like Foo Fighters, but not as good as either. Enjoyed a few songs but the lyrics were terrible, knocking this down from 3 starts to 2.
Supertramp
1/5
It’s not often I have nothing positive to say about an album, yet here we are. A weird disjointed theatrical 70s mess. Not a fan!
Richard Hawley
4/5
Grateful for my dad playing this a lot when I was growing up in the early 2000s. Richard Hawley is very underrated and has an excellent voice. Loads of great songs on this album but my favourites are Just Like the Rain and Born Under A Bad Sign.
Radiohead
5/5
A stunning album and possibly Radiohead’s best.
From the very first five notes of Everything In Its Right Place, the mood and tone is set. It locks you into the atmospheric, ambient, emotional experience that is Kid A.
This isn’t an album for a sunny day. It evokes feelings of despair, confusion and hopelessness in a measured package of electronic experimentation. A departure from Radiohead’s previous sound, sure - but one that allowed the band to explore their more artistic side like never before.
I’ve always said the title track, Kid A, makes me feel a very specific way. Like I’m an alien that’s just woken up on Earth. It’s got that kind of early morning grogginess, but on an existential level. Fascinating.
The National Anthem is a Radiohead classic with an awesome repeating bass line. How To Disappear Completely makes you want to float around the room while crying. Treefingers, Motion Picture Soundtrack, and Untitled paint wonderful ambient soundscapes. Optimistic and Morning Bell are brilliant too - the former of which being the only track that really sounds like it could fit on OK Computer or any records the band put out before this.
Top tier album. Sometimes I have an itch that only Kid A will scratch. Radiohead London 2025, see you there!
The Beach Boys
3/5
Hella overrated. While I think Wouldn’t It Be Nice is a great song with some heavenly vocal harmonies, the rest of the album didn’t really have any standouts and was kind of samey.
A lot of people call this one of the best albums of all time, and it’s definitely very influential, but when I think of other albums that fall into that category like Rumours and Abbey Road, this falls short. An enjoyable listen - no more, no less.
John Lennon
3/5
A good album and some powerful commentary on the state of the world, but ultimately not as good as some of the other post-Beatles albums like Imagine, Band On The Run, and All Things Must Pass.
I love Hold On, though. Lovely song.
Talk Talk
2/5
The music was decent and atmospheric but on the whole I found this boring. It might have gotten 3 stars if not for the singer’s voice which I found rather annoying. Not for me - sorry Dad!
Hawkwind
2/5
2h15 of psychedelic grunge trash. Almost so bad it’s good, but not quite. Only rating two stars because the feverish madness of it paired quite well with a comically busy and chaotic day in the office.
Eminem
3/5
He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?
Depeche Mode
2/5
Thought I would enjoy this more than I did. Started off pretty good but quickly got dull. Trying to be too grand and synthy for its own good.
Paul Simon
4/5
My first time voluntarily listening to Paul Simon on his own and not as part of Simon & Garfunkel. I really enjoyed it! The songs are kinda nerdy, singing about numbers, the moon, and the brain, and I dig it. It’s a nice change of pace, fun to listen to.
Singing is great and the instrumentation is too, with some great guitar that sounds like a Stratocaster on one of the middle pickup configurations. An enjoyable listen, have saved this album for the future.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
As a piece of music it’s alright to listen to. Nothing crazy. I like Mick’s voice but his fake American accent is annoying, especially when he’s quite an eloquent bloke when he’s talking.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
In a way this is sensational, but in another way, it isn’t.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
More Rolling Stones. More mediocrity.
The Band
2/5
Decent album. Nothing really stood out as being particularly good or bad. 2.5 rounding down.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Started off really enjoying this, enough for 4 or 5 stars even, but it went on for too long and got progressively more boring. Can imagine it would sound good in a dark, quiet room on some good headphones.
Bob Dylan
3/5
There wasn’t really a time when I wasn’t enjoying this album. I really like Dylan’s more aged voice and prefer it to his younger voice. An enjoyable listen. Was tempted to give four stars, but knocking down to three because it sounds the same the whole way through.
CHIC
3/5
Vibey. Unfortunately not as vibey as Sister Sledge. Good Times was amazing to see live at Glasto. If the whole album was that danceable, it would be 5 stars.