Detroit Rock City is a classic, but otherwise, everything was pretty forgettable. The slower songs also felt off, which didn’t help things. There really isn’t anything explicitly wrong with it, but there also isn’t anything that stands out

I’m not a rap fan, but I thought this was good. The overall ambiance was okay well set and what I could follow of the story I liked, but there wasn’t anything that resonated with me and made me want to listen to it again

This felt like art, not music. The soundscape was fascinating and really well put together. The mix of sounds they put together was extremely impressive as well. But all its intricacies made it hard to engage with and I generally felt lost while listening (which I think the artists would take as a compliment). Album to hear before you die? No question. But is this something I’ll come back to often? Probably not

This was the most joy I’ve felt listening to an album in a long time. It might not be the most complex, experimental, or heady album I’ve ever listened to, but the band executed on the concept amazingly. I’ll definitely be coming back to this one

This was all over the place in the best way. The band clearly had a lot of fun writing this and that transferred to the songs on the album. So glad to have found this

This was amazing - excellent storytelling set to great music. I somehow never heard this before and now get why he is so revered

Nothing wrong with it and it was interesting to listen to, but it just didn’t do it for me

I’ve tried Bowie in the past and always found him a bit too eccentric. This was definitely the right entry point for me. His unique style showed but in a way that felt approachable. Very glad I gave this a spin

This was pretty clearly a good album. Good production, fittingly meaningful lyrics for the genre, and good musicianship (especially the bass). But it just didn’t click with me

I hate to say this, but I spent most of the album wishing I were listening to Nevermind. Which is a shame because this album has its own unique and interesting sound, and is very engaging. But I just couldn’t get that thought out of my head

Definitely get the hype. It conveyed a great mood, and her voice expressed it beautifully.

This one really confused me. It was well produced and the storytelling was well done, but I had no idea how to approach the cabaret style of music. I definitely found myself warming up to it by the end, and I am very glad to have listened to this because I never would have otherwise, but at the end of the day, it’s just not for me

This is one of those cases where this is an absolutely foundational album for its genre, but to the modern ear can sound dated, as it did to me. Very happy to have heard it, but it personally didn’t resonate with me.

I should have liked this album more than I did. There was a lot of well played, varied music on there and they explored a bunch of interesting ideas, but the quiet parts were too long and too quiet for me - I lost interest and it was hard to pick it back up. Still a very interesting album though

If I could give this 4.5, I would. I had never heard of janelle monae before, and am glad to have fixed that. The album has something for everyone with each song having its own unique feel, and that is a testament to her versatility. It didn’t hit me quite right to be a 5, but this was still very, very good

This was the first one where “need to hear before I die” felt like a stretch. It was perfectly fine, but generic. I felt like I’ve heard plenty of other versions of this album in my life that were very similar. All in all good, but not really special

I get what they were trying to do here, and it was an impressively ambitious undertaking, but it was a swing and a miss for me. I didn’t feel like I was listening to music - more like a string of noise, and I just couldn’t get into it. Fascinating to hear though

So much angst. I love this band, and in the end shows the promise they had, but it’s definitely still raw and unfinished. Definitely fun to listen to, but far from being great.

Took a bit to grow on me, but it really did. Fun, chaotic energy and very interesting writing. Very glad to have found this band, definitely will be coming back to them

Detroit Rock City is a classic, but otherwise, everything was pretty forgettable. The slower songs also felt off, which didn’t help things. There really isn’t anything explicitly wrong with it, but there also isn’t anything that stands out

Good classic rock, but it felt forgettable overall

Normally, good albums can be described by words like “beautiful”, “fun”, or even “pleasant”. This album is none of those, but is still fascinating as a snapshot of life for those in Compton at that time, which makes the harshness and brutality of it an integral part. I’m not usually into rap, but this I was able to enjoy much more than usual. Still not a favorite of mine musically, but as a piece of protest art, this is extremely compelling

There were some great things about this album. The songs themselves where irreverent and funny, and the instrumentation and songwriting was great and created the moods they were going for. But I just found the album annoying. The high vocals were painfully grating, and a lot of the time, it seemed like the band thought they were funnier than they were and beat a few jokes to death. Overall, there’s good stuff in there, but it’s held back by some serious flaws

Nice, but forgettable

Good, but not terribly memorable

I really wanted to like this more, but it was just okay to me.

This was really interesting. It was more storytelling than anything, but his voice was perfect for it. Not something that particularly grabbed me, but very good to have found

There were some good things in there, but i couldn’t shake the thought that I’d rather be listening to the beatles

My thoughts on this album clicked on that one song that sampled Avril 14th by Aphex Twin. It was great musically and set a great atmosphere, and then Kanye put just enough self-aggrandizement on top of that to make it not unpalatable. At the end of the song, my takeaway was that the original Avril 14th was better. Granted, I don’t listen to rap, and there might be something to his lyrics that might be more meaningful to someone who does, but it didn’t resonate with me. This might be controversial, but I feel like this album succeeded in spite of Kanye West, not because of him. It struck me as a series of slightly worse versions of great songs that are still very good. I struggled writing this because I did enjoy listening to this album, but at the end of the day, my takeaway is that a rap album was good, but would be better without the rapper, which is pretty damning praise.

I’m not sure why this album of theirs was picked. It’s not bad, and it shows potential, but it feels rough around the edges. I accidentally listened to some of their later work, and that sounded much more refined, but as is, this was just okay

All over the place, but very unique and compelling

This might not have clicked with me the most musically, but it was the closest I’ve ever been to understanding what prison life is like, so from that perspective, it’s an extremely interesting album

Tale of two halves. The first one was more a poetry session, which is great for some but not me, and things picked up a lot in the second half when the band came in. Averages out to average

I wanted to like this - interesting mix of styles and great musicianship, but it just didn’t click with me. Still very cool to hear though

They had a vision and they executed it uncomfortably well, but it didn’t click with me

I wish I was at that concert