A lot of this album is actually really good. It’s at its best when it’s reflective. Eminem wrestling with the his new found fame and how he has been received. A classic theme for a sophomore album. He lets you break down the fourth wall a bit and assures you he is mostly just talking shit. Stan is one of his crowning achievements. It’s extremely evocative and a master class in dark storytelling. Some of it definitely feels like the slim shady LP and that’s when I think it’s at its weakest. Kim is the perfect example of this. It’s an awful song with nightmarish subject matter and no redeeming moral or message. He may hurst be “talking shit” but if you’re going to shock the audience you should at least have something to say. 3.2

Incredible album. I’ve heard Paul Simon my whole life from mom, dad, and Chris but have only ever really listened to his hits. This albums incredible front to back. Super consistent tone throughout. Great lyrics and some really good folk style guitar picking. Loved it

Loved it really cool modern psych. Never heard of them. Lot of jazz influence too

Some of the songs on this album have become undisputed classics in rap, and the record itself is an important moment in hip hop. The album pushed rap into new places. Dr. Dre’s production defines the west coast sound, and the flows are ahead of their time, but all that’s secondary to the point of the album. It’s a big fuck you to everyone who’s not young black kid from Compton. They're saying this is what I’m about. Everyone hates me for it, and I like it that way. It’s not that they don’t care if it offends you. They hope it does. 3.6

Nothing about this album's particularly offensive except maybe the vocal delivery. At times it sounds like a bad Lou reed impression. Regardless it’s uninspiring. I find it repetitive and emotionless. Some of the playing is good and there’s a couple catchy licks here and there but nothing really broke through and tunneled into my brain. 2.3

This album feels huge. Tons of different instrumentation and a chorus of voices the entire time. It’s a ton of fun, very, intricate, and way ahead of it’s time. The early synth sounds really jumped out to me. No one was this effective with a synth in 1976. The classical influence comes through on a lot of this album as well, especially on tracks I was less familiar with coming in. Despite the complexity it never feels unapproachable and manages to be extremely catchy and memorable. 4.4

This often sounds like a precursor to the dance music of the 2000s and beyond. The staccato rhythmic piano chords are foundational to modern house music. The drum machines and heavy kick drums so come to mind. A major difference however is how rough around the edges and deconstructed this record feels. It’s quirky and industrial feeling. It also wears it’s major influences on its sleeve: soul, funk, and disco. What surprises me is the hip hop influence. A lot of the beats at the core of the less dancy songs sound very hip hop to me especially the intro song. Super interesting listen. 4.0

Eminem is one of those artists that’s respected, influential, and had a huge peak in terms of success, but that people don’t really listen to or acknowledge all that much these days. Kendrick sites him as one of his biggest influences and the influence stylistically is clear. Obviously Eminem is one of the best technical rappers of all time, but to me he’s never really saying much. It’s a lot of shock factor without any real content. Some songs are very conceptual and interesting like “guilty conscious”, but many of the others come off as stream of consciousness. The protagonist feels like a potential school shooter who’s in therapy, and the listener is left trying to determine if he is serious and dangerous or just talking shit. I’m giving this a 2.8. It’s not my favorite from Eminem and I feel he’s more important to rap than he is actually fun to listen to

The beastie boys make me laugh. The subject matter is only a little bit cleaner than the slim shady lp and straight outta Compton, but it’s just so goofy it’s charming. They just sound like kids. Like they belong in detention. Musically, they exist in a category all their own between hip hop and punk. Trading off words and phrases between members is an old school hip hop thing that they take to the nth degree. They’re yelling into microphones that must be turned all the way down. The production is raw, rough, and super catchy. 3.2

The albums more bass forward and musical than I expected. I liked it but didn’t love it. It seemed like the production and vocal delivery were holding it back a bit. Rio and hungry like the wolf were obvious standouts. Everything else was a bit of a blur. The Chauffeur being the exception. I found that song very interesting

There’s a lot of really good stuff on here. All blues that at times reminded me a lot of the allman brothers. The vocal quality took away from this album a bit, but the guitar playing is so good it makes up for it. Layla is probably one of the best songs of the genre. 3.6

A lot of this album is actually really good. It’s at its best when it’s reflective. Eminem wrestling with the his new found fame and how he has been received. A classic theme for a sophomore album. He lets you break down the fourth wall a bit and assures you he is mostly just talking shit. Stan is one of his crowning achievements. It’s extremely evocative and a master class in dark storytelling. Some of it definitely feels like the slim shady LP and that’s when I think it’s at its weakest. Kim is the perfect example of this. It’s an awful song with nightmarish subject matter and no redeeming moral or message. He may hurst be “talking shit” but if you’re going to shock the audience you should at least have something to say. 3.2

This album rocks. I expected it to feel corny or boring, but it didn’t. It’s a ton of fun. It’s straight ahead sex drugs and rock and roll music. It reminds me of Boston at times and punk rock at other times. It rocks. 3.6

A perfect album. One that you can listen to front to back without any moments that drag. The lyrics are incredible, taking on large and abstract concepts and cutting to the core of them in not so many words. The playing on this thing (especially David Gilmore) combined with the synths and effects (which never seem to show their 50 years of age) create songs that feel like worlds unto themselves.

Really good singer songwriter album that reminded me of a litany of other artists. The slower songs sound like Zach bryan a bit. There was some Johnny cash and bob dylan as well. It’s a sound that’s becoming more popular now. Roots revival country that is moving away from the big pop country stadium sound that has been dominant. Interesting to discover people had been making similar music as early as 2000

Interesting, but not something I would come back to. The technical proficiency shines through, but I didn’t feel like there were a lot of memorable moments or themes. It all ended up feeling like the best score of a Disney movie ever written. 2.7

I’m lukewarm on this band and this album. I feel like it scratches an itch that I don’t have. They’re fine, but even the hits don’t really excite me.

Good album that didn’t quite blow me away. It’s pleasant to listen to and I recognized a couple of the tracks, but it’s a very simple and short album. I could see it being important to folk music.

I went back and forth on this album. A lot of it sounds like a drunk guy rambling to himself. The instrumentals are these repetitive beats that are slow, but driving headbangers. There’s some cool production on it. The whole thing feels raw and strange and dark. I think I like the music but it’s hard to get over the vocals.

Experimental weird album. The production is crazy. Sounds like they listened to daft punks homework and a bunch of 90s techno. The sings is strange. Madonna is strange. I was interested by this album and could see it being influential but I don’t think it would be accurate to say I liked this album. Bizarre stuff

I enjoyed this a lot. Good unique instrumentation and really fun and upbeat. It’s not something I’ll listen to all the time. It’s more of a novelty for me. Some of it was super interesting though. 3.4

What a masterclass in southern rock blues. The solos on this thing are so good and the band is tight throughout. Whipping post is unbelievable. Not a lot to complain about here

It’s not the worst old of school rap but it’s certainly not the best. It’s a bit bloated at over an hour too. It’s definitely a moment in time for rap but it doesn’t hold up, and it’s not as charming to go back and listen to as some other artists from the era

Not a huge Prince guy. Nothing on here was all that bad but it’s not something I’ll revisit. Even purple rain doesn’t really do it for me. Songs feel disjointed or just outright weird and for a guy who’s incredible at guitar he really doesn’t do a lot of guitar playing. Tons of drum machines. Some would say too many

This album defines good not great. It sounds like any radio rock song from the 90s/00s. Maybe if I was coming of age in that era and desperate for stuff like this I would like it, but it just seems unremarkable to me.

Finally an album for incels! I love this thing. Really erratic and interesting instrumentals and the vocal delivery is frantic and angsty. Lyrics are funny. Hooks are catchy. I will listen to this thing again

I’m torn. There’s good stuff here. There’s bad stuff here. There’s ridiculous series stuff here. It’s almost like disco ELO at times and then other songs are shitty pop from a musical. The lyrics are consistently terrible though. That I’m sure of. Money money money and dancing queen carry the album. Nothing else touches these tunes and dancing queen is timeless

Early punk that sounds like it’s got some Cali surf influence to it. I liked it. It was goofy but good. Probably a fun band to see live. The singer sounds drunk and the drummer can really play. Otherwise it was pretty straightforward.

Jimi Hendrix is pretty good at guitar. There was a lot on here I hadn’t heard before. More straight ahead songs than I expected. The most well know ones have these massive solos that stand out but there’s a lot of good psych rock that’s not as solo heavy

Few albums have this much appeal across generations. People my age and younger, especially women, are still putting this album in their top 5. I’m not just talking about classic rock fans or music enthusiasts, but casual listeners. That level of lasting reverence speaks for itself. The album itself is packed with hits. It’s smooth in its lighter songs and relentlessly driving in its more intense moments. Stevie Nicks is flawless, and the rest of the band is tight. The production is great. Theres not much to complain about here.

Quality gen x angst on this thing. Not my usual listen but I found myself enjoying it. I think if I was 10-20 years you get and this album found me at the right time I would love it. The rough vocals sometimes help and sometimes hurt the overall sound. It’s a little bloated at over an hour but otherwise a solid album

Very interesting. Worth a listen through but not one I’ll return to in all likelyhood. It’s like a different take on music with a focus on driving and repetitive refrains over really lively rhythm sections. It’s entrancing.

This was one of those albums that I thought I would know a few songs from going in, and it turned out I knew basically every song on the album. It turns out I unknowingly grew up on this album, as my family plays songs from it constantly. It’s just a delight to listen through. The harmonies are immediately identifiable and unique to this band. The overall sound is folky, but still has a rock edge to it at times (especially the guitar parts). Just a great record

Not my favorite Stevie album but still Stevie so still good. His style is just so identifiable. No one sounds like him. The middle tubes on this album were my favorite. Overall a bit slow and soulful but I enjoyed it

This album requires your full attention but it’s worth it

I really like the music in this but something about this guys voice buys me. He sounds aloof and dispassionate most of the time. Some songs break through but on the whole I can’t get over the vocals