408
Albums Rated
3.89
Average Rating
37%
Complete
681 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Folk
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Enthusiast
Rater Style ?
135
5-Star Albums
10
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Isn't Anything
My Bloody Valentine
|
5 | 2.75 | +2.25 |
|
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
The Sounds Of India
Ravi Shankar
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
A Walk Across The Rooftops
The Blue Nile
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
Slayed?
Slade
|
5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
|
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
|
4 | 1.88 | +2.12 |
|
Gris Gris
Dr. John
|
5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
|
Infected
The The
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
Ghosteen
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|
5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
|
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
|
1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
|
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
|
1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
|
The College Dropout
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
Achtung Baby
U2
|
1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
|
All That You Can't Leave Behind
U2
|
1 | 2.98 | -1.98 |
|
Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
|
1 | 2.82 | -1.82 |
|
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
|
2 | 3.78 | -1.78 |
|
Yeezus
Kanye West
|
1 | 2.77 | -1.77 |
|
Justified
Justin Timberlake
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
|
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
|
2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 4.75 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 3 | 5 |
| Beatles | 3 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 4.4 |
| Miles Davis | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Kinks | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 2 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 2 | 5 |
| Kraftwerk | 2 | 5 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 2 | 5 |
| Public Enemy | 2 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 2 | 5 |
| Motörhead | 2 | 5 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 2 | 5 |
| AC/DC | 2 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 4 | 4.25 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.33 |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 4.33 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.33 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Kanye West | 2 | 1 |
| U2 | 2 | 1 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | 2, 5, 4 |
5-Star Albums (135)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The The
5/5
Reading previous reviews, I see a lot of people not getting this record at all. I presume they did not live in early 1980s UK.
Upbeat jazzy pop accompany bleak lyrics of alienation, political, social, and personal. Which, apparently, I can still remember.
7 likes
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
This is fantastic. A collection of standards but Vaughan's performance makes it very special.
3 likes
Laibach
4/5
I was a bit wary of this, slightly put off by the "industrial" label. But I was very pleasantly surprised. It's built around two cover versions: Queen's One Vision, and Life Is Life from Opus. Both are reworked into Wagnerian epics and the whole album was very enjoyable.
1 likes
The Avalanches
4/5
First thoughts, like before: if it's so great, why haven't I heard of it, or them before?
On listening: this is very interesting indeed. The phrase "electronic music" worries me but this is a clever use of technology and samples. It's effective.
1 likes
Metallica
5/5
Listening this time, I found myself liking the first half of the album more but there's no doubt about its status in the development of modern metal.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (10)
All Ratings
The Smiths
3/5
Still pretty good, although I don't really listen to The Smiths now Morrissey is out as a horrible racist.
Best tracks? Cemetry Gates, Bigmouth, There Is A Light.
Stan Getz
5/5
Flawless and timeless classic.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Obviously the big hits still get quite a lot of radio play but as it's been a while since I last listened to the whole album, I'd forgotten how good the rest of it is.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
What a voice! What great songs. What might have been?
I was slightly disappointed by the recording and production, all the character in the brass and strings has been "filed down" somehow, leaving just the sound with none of the transients. Could have been virtual instruments for all you can tell.
Green Day
3/5
Bloody hell, some of these reviews! You'd think Green Day were the Second Coming!
In fact, the singles are okay but the rest of it gets pretty dreary.
The Residents
3/5
The second day on the trot I've read some reviews and thought, "Bloody hell" but for different reasons.
I admit that I was a bit apprehensive. The Residents are, after all, one of the foundations of avant-garde art-rock; it might be unlistenable. But it's not, it's definitely at the easy listening end of avant-garde. And quite pleasant.
David Bowie
5/5
It's genius.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
It's pretty good, obviously Proud Mary went on to be a classic. I've always preferred CCR's version. I don't think it's their best work though.
King Crimson
4/5
Not my favourite KC album especially not the title tracks but it's not terrible.
Goldie
2/5
The title track is good but like everything else, at least twice as long as it needed to. The rest, that I could bear is self-indulgent twaddle.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
I'd be lying if I said I either understood jazz improvisation or listened to a lot of it. You can tell everyone playing is good and at the top of their game though.
Cream
5/5
Entirely justifies its classic status.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Very good. Sympathy For The Devil has always been a favourite.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
It's beautiful but not my usual taste. I also suspect the songs are way more religious than I usually play (just going by titles I can read).
Alice Cooper
5/5
Not sure if I've ever listened to all this before. I really enjoyed it.
The Blue Nile
5/5
This is the first of these that I've owned since it came out, more or less and it still sounds fresh. It's a masterpiece.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
I don't know a lot of Joni's albums all that well. I need to play through them all because this proves that I'm missing a lot of good music.
Frank Sinatra
5/5
My dad is still a big fan of Sinatra and I was brought up listening to his music. This is pretty much perfect.
The White Stripes
3/5
Not sure what this album or band are doing in a collection of all time greats. I'm sure it was fine at the time and it still is. But a must listen before I die? Laughable.
Solange
4/5
I can't help thinking that I should, at least, have heard of all the artists on a "must listen" list but Solange is completely new to me. That's not to say it's bad, quite the opposite. It is a bit overlong though. Some of the "interludes" could vanish without hurting it.
Billie Holiday
5/5
Really beautiful singing but such a shame that her life was taking its toll.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
One of the great albums of the 1980s. It's pretty much perfect.
The Isley Brothers
5/5
Funky as all hell! Love it.
Tom Tom Club
4/5
This stands up pretty well to the forty odd years of history under the bridge since its release. Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love still stand out but it's all good.
Judas Priest
4/5
The music is still damned good. Some of the lyrics are preposterous. Still fun.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
One of my friends said of this, when I told them which album I'd been given, "it's one of the good ones." He's right, it's one of the best.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
I'd never even heard of Jorge Ben before I was assigned this album. After listening, it's clear that I have some more research to do.
James Brown
4/5
Do we all know how good James Brown was? This is an interesting document but not really the best introduction to his work.
Tom Waits
5/5
This is a fantastic album!
Elvis Presley
4/5
Mature Elvis. Fantastic singing, fantastic playing. Songs maybe not quite so memorable. Although his version of Fever seems almost as well known as Peggy Lee's.
The Avalanches
4/5
First thoughts, like before: if it's so great, why haven't I heard of it, or them before?
On listening: this is very interesting indeed. The phrase "electronic music" worries me but this is a clever use of technology and samples. It's effective.
Miles Davis
5/5
Six stellar musicians at the height of their powers. Absolutely deserving of its classic status.
Norah Jones
3/5
It's fine. The singing and the playing is lovely and all. The singles are great. The whole album goes on a bit. Do I think it's a must hear album for all time? No way.
Sister Sledge
5/5
A masterpiece of disco. The singing and playing are both brilliant. It's astonishing that Rogers and Edwards had never met the Sledges before writing these songs.
Raekwon
2/5
I'll be honest, I found this rather hard work. But I've listened to it now and I doubt I'll ever feel the need again.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
I've never listened to this outside of the context of the film before. While some of it is slightly dull film music, parts are absolutely amazing.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
This is a go-to album for me. I've heard it so often but another listen never hurt.
Derek & The Dominos
1/5
Weird for a bloke who stole his act from black musicians to be such an unrepentent racist. Hateful man.
Air
2/5
Why does anybody think that this is a must-listen? This is okay but no better than that. I'm sure it works well with the film but not independently.
Bill Callahan
5/5
I've come late to Bill Callahan; I'm catching up gradually. This was new to me but it's lovely.
Le Tigre
3/5
It's okay. Its problem is that, being old and having listened to lots of things, I remember the bands from where they took their inspiration, some of whose work will probably be on this list somewhere. If I were younger and didn't know those influences, I'd probably be more impressed.
Blondie
5/5
One of the best albums ever released.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Not my favourite Dylan album. A fair number of the songs are very good but they go on a bit.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Not my favourite Maiden album (I hope Number of the Beast is on this list) but haven't not listened to the whole thing for ages, it's pretty bloody good. This time around, I was slightly surprised to discover that the prog element has been there since day one.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Even after reading the Wikipedia entry, I'm struggling to understand why this album is on the list. There's nothing wrong with it, it's fine, enjoyable even but it doesn't seem essential.
The Young Rascals
3/5
Another pleasant album with two or three cracking good songs. But it's another where I'm left wonder if it's really deserving of its place here.
Beck
3/5
I like Beck; I've got a couple of his records but not this one. It's okay, seems like more of the same kind of stuff. Nothing particularly stands out and, once again, I'm wondering why it's on this list.
The Cure
3/5
My thesis is been that this album is a shibboleth for genuine Goths. Genuine Goths all LOVE it. People, who just like The Cure a bit (even the early stuff), like me, don't.
I think it's okay. I like Lullaby but I also think it's overlong and more than a bit self-indulgent.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Beautiful songwriting, beautiful playing, beautiful singing, beautiful harmonies. This might be a textbook for singer/songwriters, if only it was that easy! They even manage to out-Dylan Dylan on A Simple Desultory Philippic.
Paul Simon
4/5
More beautiful songwriting. A couple of stone cold classics and a couple more that deserve to be better known than they are.
The Libertines
3/5
If I were 20 years younger, I'd almost certainly have bought this on release and loved it. As it is, even though I don't hate Doherty like a lot of my friends seem to, I can see it's a game of two halves. There are a few songs I really like (The Man Who Would Be King, What Became of the Likely Lads for example) but a lot that sound more like rehearsals than performances. I assume this is by design, whether theirs or the producers. Ultimately, it's mostly filler.
The Who
4/5
Three brilliant songs bookend this album but the songs in between aren't as well known for good reason. They're not terrible but they're clearly not as good.
Eagles
4/5
The second album in a row with strong start and finish. The rest is pleasant but not the same league.
The The
5/5
Reading previous reviews, I see a lot of people not getting this record at all. I presume they did not live in early 1980s UK.
Upbeat jazzy pop accompany bleak lyrics of alienation, political, social, and personal. Which, apparently, I can still remember.
The Temptations
4/5
Obviously Cloud 9 is the big hit but the whole album is really good. I like their cover of I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Runaway Child, Running Wild is amazing.
Randy Newman
4/5
People who rated this only 1 star are idiots.
Randy Newman is without doubt one of the world's greatest ever songwriters. Witty, funny, bitter, biting satire coupled with tunes of genius.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Christ but it's long. Even the title is long. Too long. Nobody needs a 2 hour + double CD on a list like this, i don't care how many it sold.
But is it any good? Mostly. The singles are fine, if a bit pretentious: grunge tending to generic rock. Well, so are the non-singles, despite Wikipedia's insistence on the variety of styles.
What this really is, is an album for playing on long (in UK terms) drives.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Not my favourite CCR album. A couple of nice covers but not even my favourite cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine despite the nice guitar solo. Up Around The Bend, Who'll Stop The Rain, and Long As I Can See The Light are all great tracks though.
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
Absolutely nuts! But so engaging. It is a marathon at almost 3 hours. This time we played every song; unfortunately, I napped through about half an hour of the last third 🫤
Not every song hits, some are only fragments but a lot are worth listening to and a few (The Book of Love being the best known) are brilliant.
The Beta Band
4/5
Very coherent album, clearly focused and obviously belonging together. Strong songs too.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
This style of music isn't really stuff I choose for myself. However, there's no doubting the talent on display. I found myself really enjoying it.
The Kinks
5/5
A cast-iron classic! Was it the first pop music expression of a yearning for a semi-rural golden age that never was? Slightly satyrical and all brilliant.
Lauryn Hill
2/5
Is it finished yet? Lauryn Hill has an absolutely amazing voice: beautiful golden, velvet. But every song is like being beaten senseless by that voice.
Individually, each song is great but the cumulative effect is, to me, unlistenable en masse. From about four songs in I was counting the number of tracks remaining. It decreased very slowly.
Animal Collective
2/5
Dull and overlong
LL Cool J
4/5
God is this 34 years old? I haven't listened to anything by LL Cool J for years and years (never really a big rap fan) but he's quality isn't he? Little of the dick-waving self-aggrandisement of modern times.
Kraftwerk
5/5
A classic!
The Go-Go's
5/5
A perfect indie pop record. Still sounds fresh.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Richard Hawley
3/5
I've heard some of these songs before but I don't think I've played the whole thing. The playing is lovely but it feels like watching a film rather than experiencing the real thing. Oddly uninvolving.
Dire Straits
4/5
Very strong debut, Knopfler knew what sound he wanted and got it from the start.
Arcade Fire
2/5
Individually the songs are okay. It's only when listened to all the way through that the full banality becomes clear.
Ramones
4/5
I suppose at the time it came out, it must have been quite the thing, now, if I'm honest, it sounds quite tame. There are some good songs here though.
Depeche Mode
2/5
This doesn't do much for me except reinforce why I think of Depeche Mode as a singles band,
Supergrass
3/5
Enjoyable but not great. Except for Sun Hits The Sky, which is.
The Sabres Of Paradise
1/5
I can only speculate about what drugs makes this sound good. Definitely none of the ones I'm taking!
Sonic Youth
5/5
This still sounds bloody good.
Pixies
4/5
I've never really liked the Pixies but you can see why this was popular and inspiring to so many bands.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Whether it's the politics or the hits, an absolute classic!
Prince
5/5
I've never seen the film and I can't imagine how well Darling Nikki fits into it but the album is brilliant.
Linkin Park
3/5
Not my favourite genre of music but as it goes, this is not half bad.
Megadeth
4/5
Daft if you stop and think about what he's singing but the music largely carries you along.
Kanye West
1/5
He's an arsehole. Enough.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Not bad but it didn't really hold my attention
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This is okay, pleasant even but I'm not convinced it's that special.
Al Green
5/5
Stone classic. Not a bad track here.
Oasis
2/5
I bought this when it came out and liked it a lot. Now, thirty years on, and having listened to a lot more and more varied music, I can hear how basic, plodding and dull it is.
I remember it was a double LP but really, it wastes an awful lot of space on that format (each side is only about 15 minutes rather than pushing 25). I can't help thinking they could lose a song or two and definitely lose a minute or two of uninteresting music from each of the songs.
Beatles
5/5
I hope the world does not need me to tell it how good this album is.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I can almost understand why people downrate this with its jazzy noodling bits. Almost.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I'm just going to say it: this should not be on a list entitled 1001 you MUST hear before you die. It's too long and too dull.
Sigur Rós
2/5
I don't get post-rock. I can hear the talent on display but none of it affects me in the slightest, except for the eventual boredom.
James Taylor
5/5
James Taylor can do no wrong in my book.
The Cure
4/5
A great album, several songs are personal favourites.
Radiohead
3/5
I've never listened to this; I went off Radiohead before this. Some nice stuff but, mostly they're still up their own arses.
And to the reviewer who suggested watching their 2003 Glastonbury performance. I did, live — had a miserable time watching guitarists play their effects pedals while refusing to play a hit.
Björk
3/5
Disappointing background music. Mostly did not involve me at all.
Bee Gees
3/5
Wow! I know that the Bee Gee's output before the mid-70s could be unusual to say the least but I wasn't expecting this strange! Not entirely dreadful but not great either. It is, at least, interesting.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
It's hardly bad when it has two absolute classic songs on it but it's not my favourite Stevie album.
Little Richard
5/5
I bet there are a bunch of idiots reviewing this and saying how similar all the songs are. This is foundational stuff: Rock'n'roll would not be the same without Little Richard.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
Every track is way too long for the content. Can only see this being interesting if you're on drugs.
Orbital
2/5
Largely dull, definitely overlong. If I could have any time back, I'd be requesting this 75 minutes.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
It's an odd one. There are some good songs but a lot of it feels a bit self-indulgent. I can't help thinking that history might have been different if everybody involved had pulling in the same direction.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
I'm not sure exactly what I think of this. The music is beautiful and Sinatra's voice is still good but they don't really fit together and the whole thing is unnecessary.
Muddy Waters
4/5
A quality performance from Muddy.
The Smiths
3/5
Never my favourite Smiths album. Too many dull tracks.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
This is pretty good but nothing particularly stand out for me.
Joy Division
5/5
Foundational record for gen-X brits. It's all brilliant but side 2, especially, is a run of absolute masterpieces.
Baaba Maal
4/5
I suspect that Baaba Maal was one of the first Worldbeat acts I heard but only in fragments on odd radio programmes. This is very good.
Guns N' Roses
3/5
I can see why it sold bucketloads. The songs are catchy, the playing is good, the singing is, at least, interesting. However, it remains manufactured pap of the worst kind.
The Mamas & The Papas
5/5
It's a classic. I don't know if it's possible to dislike those harmonies.
The Doors
4/5
It's not even the hits, although they are stellar, it's the playing that gets me, especially Manzarek. Just brilliant.
The Specials
5/5
The Cure
4/5
This holds up well in comparison with newer stuff I think. Definitely not a pop Cure album.
Thin Lizzy
5/5
Despite the argument about how much of this was actually recorded live, it holds up really well. Fantastic versions of the songs.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I can't help feeling that this is weaker for Stevie, merely brilliant in a run of masterpieces.
Ravi Shankar
5/5
I feel sorry for those dimwits on here who can't manage to listen to an introduction to Indian classical sitar from the acknowledged master.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
This is really enjoyable even past the hit singles.
Slade
5/5
My dad bought this on release. I'm not sure why, I think he only played it once. I played it a lot, still play it occasionally. I absolutely love it. Favourite songs have changed over the years, from Gudbye T'Jane or Mama weer Crazee Now to Look At Last Night.
Meat Loaf
5/5
This was part of my childhood, even though I've never owned a copy, I've absorbed pretty much every track. It's utterly preposterous and totally overblown but in a knowing way. But of course, it's marvellous.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I bought this in 1980, I've loved it ever since.
Leftfield
4/5
I've never heard this before (I tend to avoid dance music) but I really enjoyed it.
Basement Jaxx
2/5
Odd that, at the time they complained about the meretricious quality of dance music because 25 years on, this sounds just as flash and pointless as the stuff about which they railed.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
It's a good job they put the big single up front because, apart from that, it sounds exactly like any of the other umpteen billion albums PSB have released.
Public Enemy
5/5
I've never really been a big fan of rap but I remember listening to this when it came out. It was amazing then, and it still is.
The Stone Roses
5/5
Nothing really to add. I've owned it since it came out. I still play it.
Taylor Swift
3/5
This is nice enough but a bit bland, the songs a bit more forgettable. I think she's done better. For me, Folklore was better.
I'm not convinced this album belongs on this list; it smacks of a change that needed to be made to ensure a new edition of the book had new things.
Julian Cope
4/5
I remember this being released. I didn't buy it. I'd never listened to it. Boy do I regret that now!
Korn
2/5
An hour I want back. Complete rubbish! Except for Freak On A Leash, which stands out.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Another foundational work for modern popular music. We could not be here without this.
Black Sabbath
5/5
For the last record I reviewed, I wrote that popular music would not be the same without. Without this record, I would not be the same.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Quite difficult to listen to this, knowing what happened afterwards. It still sounds good and Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart is still just about the most accurate song title ever written. Except for the apostrophe, obviously!
Tina Turner
4/5
An odd experience. Like most people, I've been bombarded by the singles from this album (although, somehow, not the massacred version of Help) without having heard the whole thing in one sitting. I swear I did not know there was a longer version of the title track.
Undoubtedly, this record made TT a solo star. And it is very good, except Help!
The Modern Lovers
5/5
Spartan, almost perfunctory garage rock with odd psychedelic tinges. I'm not sure I knew these recordings were intended as demos but it makes perfect sense.
In its own way, without meaning to be, it's a masterpiece.
Sex Pistols
5/5
This record changed the UK. At least, it helped to confirm the change already in progress.
The music here is much better than advertised, the lyrics deliberately provocative. It's a shame it all fell apart; was designed to fall apart, really.
Metallica
5/5
Listening this time, I found myself liking the first half of the album more but there's no doubt about its status in the development of modern metal.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
Big band music was another thing my dad introduced me to, although I don't remember him having this album. It's brilliant.
Throbbing Gristle
4/5
I'd be lying if I said this was my ideal listening but I do recognise that this album was an important milestone in the development of industrial music and it's nowhere near as awful as some of the deluded muppets on here calling themselves reviewers would have you believe. You just have to remember that it's an art project.
Beatles
5/5
I admit that I prefer the covers on this except for All My Loving but this is still great pop.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
This is a nice collection but I couldn't really hear the Afrobeat influences that Wikipedia mentions.
John Coltrane
5/5
This is not really my kind of jazz but I can recognize its importance and influence despite that.
Michael Jackson
3/5
The singles are familiar and of a fairly high quality but the album tracks don't really do much for me.
Pearl Jam
4/5
This still sounds pretty damned good.
The Clash
5/5
It's a classic!
Wilco
3/5
Not terrible. Interesting songs and I'm one who quite likes Jeff Tweedy's singing voice but I don't think it's as good as critics suggest. It all feels slightly flat.
5/5
Jazzy, funky, soulful. This is a very good record.
Ray Price
3/5
Price has a great voice and a great backing band.
This is a country analogue to Sinatra's “In The Wee Small Hours”.
Various Artists
5/5
This is a great collection
Joe Ely
4/5
I didn't know Joe Ely at all but this is great.
Funkadelic
5/5
One of the greats
Sam Cooke
5/5
This is a great live album. The intimacy of the recording almost makes you feel like you were there.
Lightning Bolt
1/5
Very much an acquired taste, this genre. One I've no intention of acquiring. A couple of tracks resembled music but I've had papercuts I've enjoyed more.
The Style Council
3/5
I completely didn't get this when it came out, like a lot of people I wanted more Jam. Now I think I see what Weller was trying to do with it: move beyond the abstract, coded cool of the Mods back to the earlier, actual stuff that inspired them.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
I've never been a fan of Beefheart, even though lots of friends are. Consequently I've never listened to this. While it's occasionally odd, it's mostly recognizably bluesy. I rather enjoyed it.
MGMT
4/5
Influences from all and sundry but surprisingly enjoyable.
The White Stripes
4/5
I've only really heard the hits from this album before, never sat and listened to the whole album. Really enjoyed it.
Steely Dan
4/5
Proto-yacht rock. Very good playing and showing a variety of influences absent from a lot of rock music. Rikki Don't Lose That Number and Any Major Dude Will Tell You stand out for me.
Primal Scream
4/5
I really enjoyed this. I haven't heard most of it and I can't think why I didn't buy it when it came out.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
This is two exceptionally good records. The second is a more obvious Nick Cave album, instantly recognizable as such; you can hear echoes of this in his most recent album. The first is a rockier, more blues-led affair. It's another album I should have bought on release.
The War On Drugs
3/5
Quite enjoyable but I'm not convinced it's essential listening.
Talking Heads
3/5
I didn't know this album well at all. Obviously Life During Wartime was the big hit from it that always makes Greatest Hits collections and I knew the other singles. It seems to me that it's front-loaded for those singles with a longer, less interesting tail. It's not bad exactly but the evidence is clear: reviewers loved it, record buyers didn't.
U2
1/5
Pointless drek!
R.E.M.
5/5
R.E.M.
4/5
On this listen, it sounds more like a debut; not quite as polished as later. Still pretty good though and Radio Free Europe is still a classic.
Pixies
3/5
I still don't like the Pixies. I don't mind some of the tracks (Cecilia Ann and Velouria) but I just can't get enthused.
Stan Getz
4/5
I do like Stan Getz. One of the few jazz albums I bought in my youth was one of his but it wasn't this one. This is damned good however.
The Jam
5/5
Still sounds great to my ears.
Bad Company
3/5
There's nothing bad in this album. All the songs are well-written and well played by a bunch of very talented rock superstars. There's also no emotional connection. This is the stuff that Punk Rock was invented to kill.
Ghostface Killah
2/5
I can see there's talent here but it's nothing I can listen to.
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
This is fantastic. A collection of standards but Vaughan's performance makes it very special.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
That this album remains at least as relevant now as when it was written is maybe an indictment of our times but it was and still is a masterpiece.
Massive Attack
4/5
This kind of stuff isn't really my thing but it's well done and it's doing something original.
More dire shit from U2. I cannoth for the life of me see how this album deserves to be on this list.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
It's okay. It's lasted better than some of their contemporaries but their big thing was Alex Turner singing in his native accent, which was hardly original.
The Police
4/5
This is actually a really good listen. The singles are good but so are most of the album tracks. Moreover, the recording is astonishingly high quality throughout.
It's obvious why Sting wrote the majority of the songs though. The ones here written by Summers and Copeland lack finesse, especially in the lyrics.
OutKast
2/5
Two and a quarter hours and all I got from it was Hey Ya!
I admit there are good ideas and good songs buried in here but it's self-indulgent to the very edge of reason.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
I thought I'd listened to this album before but I don't think I have. It's bit of an odd mix of things, as if he was searching for a style. It's right there: Solsbury Hill!
I also like Here Comes The Flood a lot but several of the other tracks do not thrill me at all.
Frank Sinatra
5/5
I've written on here before of my dad's love of Frank Sinatra. However, it's me that loves this particular record.
Blur
5/5
I guess this is Damon at his most Ray Davies but 30 years on, it still works.
The xx
3/5
Minimalist is the watchword, I guess. Beats, guitar, lyrics. Otherwise it's all fairly straightforward pop. The songs sort of work but I can only summon minimal(ist) praise. I don't quite understand why they seem to be lauded in some quarters.
Radiohead
2/5
The sound of a band with too much money and/or time amusing themselves instead of doing something worthwhile.
Lorde
2/5
Mediocre. Green Light is the obvious single, being by far the most catchy song.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
I'm not sure it's their best but it's pretty good.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
This is one of those strange 60s records with an apparently random mixture of song styles but Dusty's amazing voice shines through.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
I'm developing a theory: there is not as much jazz on the list compared to other genres. Therefore, what there is, is genuinely the best.
Either that, or I need to listen to more jazz because this is excellent.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
A bit great but also quite a lot nuts!
The Kinks
4/5
The first few tracks sound a little like a poor copy of The Beatles but then the songs start to hit home and by the end, it's been brilliant.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
A classic
Brian Eno
5/5
This is really interesting and I'd not heard it before. The music is eminently listenable and doesn't feel dated.
I daresay this was something of a foundation for the "sample as instrument" genre. It must have been a lot more difficult in 1979 than now, when I have the impression something like this could done in a day or two.
The Strokes
3/5
Hhhm. I think this is my first time listening to the whole album, mostly I hear singles (well, THE single). It's odd, like they've deliberately chosen boring minimalism. Was that the turn of the century thing? I swear there's at least two consecutive tracks that exactly the same rhythm section. But I know they can be interesting, there are flashes of inspired playing.
Arcade Fire
2/5
Parts of it were quite nice (the music especially) but overall, I found it dull.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Quite an odd record really. Rather bitty and unsatisfying in a lot of ways but even the worst SImon and Garfunkel record beats a lot of people's best work. And it does have America and Hazy Shade of Winter, which are both glorious.
TV On The Radio
4/5
I'd never heard of TV On The Radio, which in a list of this kind, can't be an entirely good sign. However, this is not bad at all. The songs all seem slightly too long and I can't help thinking they lose a bit of focus but this is interesting.
Laibach
4/5
I was a bit wary of this, slightly put off by the "industrial" label. But I was very pleasantly surprised. It's built around two cover versions: Queen's One Vision, and Life Is Life from Opus. Both are reworked into Wagnerian epics and the whole album was very enjoyable.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
There's no doubt that the guy could rap. In a technical sense it's a masterpiece of rhythm and flow over well selected samples. The subject matter, however, is not nice. Drugs, guns, sex, and murder. That, it's often autobiographical doesn't really help. I doubt very much that I'll ever feel the need to return to it in the future.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Two absolute classics top and tail this and there's some good stuff in the middle too but a few that aren't as interesting.
Solomon Burke
4/5
He's got a great voice; I don't know why he wasn't a bigger star.
Deerhunter
2/5
Not unlistenable; I liked a couple of tracks but I can't understand why it's on this list beyond somebody insisting on another change for the new edition and this being released the same week. Rightfully, I've never heard of Deerhunter or this album.
Stereolab
5/5
I think this is a brilliant record. I've owned it since it came out and I still return to it fairly often.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
I've never heard this before but I was pleasantly surprised. I found it better than a lot of dance music because the tracks have development, it's not just the same repetition all the way through. I still think most of the tracks are too long for sitting and listening to.
Nick Drake
5/5
Caetano Veloso
4/5
Not only have I never listened before, I've never even heard of Veloso. I was pleasantly surprised that Brazilian rhythms weren't particularly foregrounded, in favour of a more general psychedelia.
The Verve
4/5
The Verve before all the spiky edges were sanded down and they made gazillion-selling anthems. Inevitably, it's a bit longer than it might be but it proves that the drugs did work for a while.
Rod Stewart
3/5
The title track is good and Rod's version of It's All Over Now is nice it doesn't seem like essential listening.
Björk
4/5
Chock full of good songs.
Rush
5/5
First off, and I can't stress this enough: Fuck Ayn Rand! And fuck all the nazi broligarchs who worship her, currently dismantling the US government (check review date, YMMV). May they all rot in hell!
This album has haunted my days since high school. The nerdy kids advertising themselves as targets by drawing the cover on bags, books, etc. Yet, I've hardly listened to it.
Anthem is a stupid story on which to base a song suite. A good job that they did such a half-arsed job of it and turned it into a very daft thing.
That said, the music is interesting and the playing is top-notch.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Parts of this are really quite good but, once again, almost every song is longer than it needs to be. The realy problem is that its inclusion on this list smacks of publishers scrabbling for reasonable new releases for a new edition at a time when the supply of new releases had just dried up. There's no way it has earned its place.
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Songs of love and heartbreak for, I imagine, the teen market. It transcends that by showcasing the Everly's stunning (and influential) close-harmony singing and by containing the first recordings of Love Hurts and Cathy's Clown.
Television
5/5
Often imitated but never bettered. You can hear its continuing influence in every week's new releases.
Talking Heads
4/5
I keep thinking that I know more of Talking Heads's work than I really do. Here, I only know Once In A Lifetime and to a lesser extent Born Under Punches. Not that the rest is bad.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
Absolutely not what I needed on a Monday morning! Obviously Hurt is a classic, whether this version or the Johnny Cash one honestly, the rest did not do much for me.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
Everything that's wrong with modern music in a nutshell. In no way does it deserves its position on this list. It is shit, from start to finish.
Deee-Lite
3/5
It's okay. I'm a bit surprised it's on the list; as far as I'm concerned Deee-Lite were one-hit wonders. The whole album is similar to the one-hit I guess, but not quite as much fun.
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
I quite like this, especially the music, but I can't work it out. Not for the usual reasons given in the reviews I've read, about the impropriety of the relationship described, but more about how implausible the whole story is, at least, as described on Wikipedia (my French is not good enough).
Melody is 14, from Sunderland but talks with Jane Birkin's cut-glass London accent. She flies on a cargo plane which crashes and he hopes she'll return to the cargo cults of Melanesia (which just happens to chime with Melody)?
Is the singer dreaming/fantasizing the whole thing? Is it a piss-take on Gainsbourg's part?
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
This is a masterpiece.
Portishead
5/5
This is a masterpiece.
Hot Chip
3/5
First time listening. It's a bit ... meh. Did it really take so many people playing real instruments to make it sound like a bloke with a DAW and a bunch of VSTs?
Eagles
4/5
This is good but not quite as good as I was expecting somehow.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
A bit of a throw everything at it debut. There's no doubt that people who say it's overblown are right but I suspect it was all intentional.
Radiohead
3/5
This is the point they discovered they could climb up their own collective arse, so they did. A couple of songs I like but most of them I can take or (more likely) leave.
Pink Floyd
5/5
One of the foundations of my record collection. I still listen to it, I still remember all the lyrics. I still love it.
Coldcut
3/5
This record was not essential listening when it came out, much less so now. People Hold On is, rightly, still remembered (and compiled) while the rest, forgettable then, is almost wholly forgotten now.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Honestly, this isn't as much fun as I remember it. Part 4 is the memorable one, with Part 2 also being pretty good. There are listenable bits of the others but either repetition, or plain dullness get in the way. Yes, it was groundbreaking on release and I accept it has earned its place here more than some but it'll be a while before I seek it out again.
Kanye West
1/5
This fails on every possible level. The rapping is poor. The lyrics are hate-filled. The "lo-fi" arrangements are spoiled by excessive use of autotune for effect. The music is crap. And to cap it all, West is an obnoxious piece of shit who is taking up space better left empty.
The other albums I've rated one star here are all wonderful by comparison. This might be the very worst thing described as music that I've ever heard. I can only think it's included here as a dire warning.
Lou Reed
5/5
Coldplay
2/5
They can clearly play and write songs but their output is just so uninspiring.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
The Crusaders
4/5
Street Life, the song is a metaphor for the rest of the album: smart, funky, polished, and goes on a bit too long.
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Absolutely brilliant!
David Bowie
4/5
Pretty rubbish. For a Bowie album. It's only got the two stellar singles.
The Beach Boys
5/5
Not all of the words quite deserve the status accorded to them but the music does. You can hear its influence everywhere.
Happy Mondays
4/5
I know the mental fans go for earliers but this is my favourite Mondays album, bought when it was released. For me, it's the musical high water mark of Madchester.
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Seriously too long and too boring. The well known tracks are okay (I can't be bothered checking which were actually singles), they get trotted out for radio play to this day.
I see all these reviews claiming how much they love Jeff Lynne. well, however much that is, kid, it's nowhere as much he loves himself.
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
More interesting than most albums of this style that I've heard (admittedly, not many) and I enjoyed the early part. Unfortunately, went on a bit too long and I rather lost interest in the latter part.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
I know this is a classic but even so, I find it quite challenging to concentrate on for the full duration.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Props to those people who managed to give this all-time classic album less than five stars. You're idiots but at least you know what you like.
Morrissey
2/5
Morrissey is a racist douchebag and this is mediocre rubbish. And all those people who think he ever writes music rather than words are idiots.
Santana
5/5
An easy one to judge. I don't dissent from the general world-view of this work.
Country Joe & The Fish
4/5
I only knew Country Joe from his famous anti-Vietnam War song and a vague memory from the Woodstock movie. This is considerably more psychedelic than I was expecting. But in a good way.
Eminem
2/5
Yes he can rap but this is miserable, hate-filled crap. Another one I never have to listen to again.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Some of these covers work (Hurt, Personal Jesus), some don't (In My Life). But, on balance, I prefer a world with more Johnny Cash than less.
Van Halen
4/5
I know it's been rather cool to look down on this for the introduction of synthesizers but I still quite like it.
Holger Czukay
4/5
I think it's fair to say that I was more interested by this album when reading its Wikipedia entry than I was enthused.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. It's all approachable and, actually quite enjoyable.
Silver Jews
4/5
I've never even heard of Silver Jews but I really enjoyed this.
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
Pure class!
Dire Straits
4/5
Listening to the whole thing for the first time in ages, it feels incredibly dated, mostly, I think, because of the production but also, I think that most of the songs are a bit longer than they need to be.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
I don't think this is his best work. As short as it is, it struggled to hold my attention.
Soft Machine
2/5
I didn't get on with this at all. I don't know why; I'm not against prog rock. Maybe it's the acid jazz. The only track I can say that I liked was Moon In June.
Ministry
4/5
I don't know much Ministry. Luckily, what I do know is on this album.
CHIC
5/5
I've never listened to the whole album but the two big singles have become ever-present classics. That meant, that I'd never heard "Savoire Faire", which is astonishing. Yes, the tracks are probably a bit long but, on this occasion, I can overlook that.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
I was a bit skeptical because it's so recent but I like a bit of Desert Blues and this is an excellent listen, even without understanding the words. I can only hope they're suitably excoriating.
Motörhead
5/5
A classic!
Don McLean
5/5
Two of the greatest songs ever but the rest of the album is also very good.
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
A very enjoyable listen but I have no idea how representative it is of either Bollywood in general or Burman's works in particular. It seems, at least, a bit Westernized, for the possible crossover of the film.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Iconic album!
Beastie Boys
4/5
I get that it was a big departure for their sound but I don't think it was quite as revolutionary as some reviewers seem to think. That said, there is damned good music on this album.
Van Morrison
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I was a bit surprised that I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected.
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Gil Scott-Heron is still vastly underrated.
ABBA
4/5
A third of the tracks are timeless classics, forever played pretty much everywhere but the other two-thirds are pretty much uninteresting filler that I doubt anybody who isn't doing this project has heard more than once or twice.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
I look at the run time and think, "OMG" but there is so much brilliant stuff on here that many lesser artists could have made a whole career out of, never mind one release.
Bauhaus
4/5
It's a little odd but essential. I was inspired to play In The Flat Field and Bela Luosi's Dead immediately afterwards. Unfortunately for Mask, I preferred both those.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
I'm getting to the stage where I see another hour+ record and wonder whether brevity counts for anything anymore.
Clearly there is good stuff on here but, I'll be honest, a lot of it just washed over me.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
I can hear that there is music on here that I could like quite a lot. Unfortunately, none of it works for me in this context.
Beck
4/5
Beck
5/5
I bought this when it came out but I haven't listened to it in a while. It still seems fresh and inventive.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
I can't remember ever listening to this before. It is astonishing.
Cheap Trick
2/5
I thought I'd like more of these US AOR acts but this all just sounds dull and uninvolving
The Beach Boys
4/5
I've never heard this album before. I don't even think I've ever heard any of the songs on it. Pleasantly surprised.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Still brilliant.
Beatles
5/5
As I often write, it's not my favourite Beatles album, yet it is absolutely brilliant.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
The music is quite enjoyable but in the end, I found the singer's voice grating.
Jungle Brothers
5/5
A bit of a missing link for me. It came out at the time I graduated and having heard (and liked) a bunch of rap and hip-hop at university, I moved towards indie and missed this. A crying shame on my part because it's fantastic.
The Police
3/5
It's okay. The singles were good and some of the album tracks are weird.
David Bowie
4/5
Not my favourite Bowie album but it does have several outstanding tracks on it.
The Damned
5/5
This is just a fantastic album.
Motörhead
5/5
Yep, cheesier than cheddar but, you had to be there!
Big Star
5/5
This record, and Big Star deserved so much more.
T. Rex
5/5
5/5
Elvis Presley
4/5
Not my favourite Elvis period but this album did give us In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, and Don't Cry Daddy, which are classics.
The Byrds
4/5
Not my favourite Elvis period but this album did give us In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, and Don't Cry Daddy, which are classics.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I truly don't understand people who say they hate Dylan.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I doubt I'd be doing this project had I not discovered Pink Floyd.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
I don't understand people who claim not to "get" this album but who give five star reviews to albums that would not exist without it.
AC/DC
5/5
To quibble that all their songs sound the same is useless because, that's almost the point!
The Sugarcubes
4/5
Scritti Politti
4/5
I'd forgotten how good this was. Except for Wood Beez, it hasn't really had the lasting influence or staying power one might have expected.
Michael Jackson
2/5
For an album as influential as this was in terms of production, it's not very good is it? I mean, it pretty much set a template for a sort of pop album, that's still followed slavishly today. But almost nothing off gets any radio play, "Don't Stop ..." is about it and then rarely compared to Jackson's other stuff.
David Bowie
4/5
I'd never listened to this all the way through. Surprisingly good.
The Vines
3/5
When I was younger (younger than I was when this came out), I'm sure I'd have loved it. Now, it positively reeks of stereotypical "landfill indie" to me.
Björk
3/5
This is interesting but not necessarily stuff I'd want to listen to regularly.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
The first half of this is so packed with bangers, the second half really doesn't have a chance of keeping up the pace.
Beastie Boys
3/5
Yes, the production was revolutionary but I find the stuff here less interesting than the previous Beastie Boys album I listened on here. To be honest, if I didn't pick this up on release (a time when I was listening to a vast variety of new music), and I didn't, it's unlikely I'm going to care now.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
I've never heard the whole album before. I can't say it was unexpected but it was pretty good.
Anthrax
4/5
I don't listen to a lot of thrash metal but this I quite enjoyed this.
Black Sabbath
5/5
An astonishing record in a run of astonishing records.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
This is just not my cup of tea. I can her that she can sing properly, it just doesn't interest me.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Yes, all the songs sound very similar to each other. Yes, they obviously nicked their ideas from earlier bands like Wire and Gang of Four. But that sort of thing is almost necessary for things to work: steal a bit, change a bit. And I found myself enjoying this more than I expected.
The Stooges
5/5
Another foundational recording for so much of rock music that has followed it. Absolutely essential for any collection.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
I quite liked this, although I do feel it faded right at the end.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
This is great when it's rapping, especially The Message, which is rightly a classic but the other stuff doesn't interest me much.
Hole
5/5
I bought this new but it's been a while since I listened to it. It's a band right that the top of the game.
R.E.M.
4/5
Not my favourite R.E.M. album but it's still pretty damned good.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
I liked Under The Bridge but it's a long slog to get to it and a long slog left after it has finished..
Pantera
3/5
I didn't particularly like this, I'm not sure why.
Pulp
4/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Never heard of it, which is always a bad sign. It might have been revolutionary when it was released but now it sounds like vast amounts of stuff. It's okay if you like that kind of thing.
Elvis Costello
5/5
Listening more carefully for this project, it's so obviously a debut: a mix of different styles to see what comes across best. But it's still brilliant.
Ray Charles
4/5
Green Day
5/5
I bought this on release, largely for Basket Case but I enjoyed the rest of it too. And 30 years on, I think it's still the best pop-punk album.
Ute Lemper
4/5
I was given one of Lemper's earlier albums to listen to and really liked it. I was a bit disappointed she didn't break through to the mainstream. There's some wonderful singing on here but I could do without the last track.
The Zutons
2/5
Longhaired Landfill From Liverpool!
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
It might be a film soundtrack but it does not need the film to work brilliantly.
Nirvana
5/5
I bought this on its release and have listened to it often over the years. I finally noticed just how front-loaded all the big hits are and how devoid of them what would have been side 2 is.
Elton John
5/5
There is so much good stuff on this.
Suzanne Vega
5/5
I didn't buy this until after I'd bought Solitude Standing but I have owned a copy for a long time. I'd forgotten just how good it is.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Pretty good I think, even though David Bowie probably deserves as much credit for that as Iggy.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Michael Jackson
3/5
I've never sat down and listened to the whole thing before, there's never been a need with most of it being released as singles. I like some of it.
Q-Tip
3/5
Never heard of Q-Tip, which is not a great sign but this is okay. Definitely on the easy-listening side of hip-hop, to see point of being bland.
Lambchop
4/5
Weird and wonderful, almost as expected. I'm not sure I hear much of "country" everyone talks about.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
I haven't listened to more than the title track and Thunder Road in ages but it's still very good.
Supergrass
4/5
I wasn't buying too many albums at the time this came out, so I only heard the singles, although there are quite a lot of them. It didn't really hit home quite how good this was until I listened to the whole thing.
Def Leppard
3/5
Individually each song is fine but as an album, it palls after a while and by the end I was glad it was over.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
I've never listened to this album before, mostly because I figured it would be challenging based on its subject matter. I'm glad I have now.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
Another album I'd almost certainly never have heard but for this project. Very interesting.
Cat Stevens
5/5
This album contains two of my favourite songs. Stevens was at the top of his game when he made it.
Tears For Fears
4/5
This is the first time I've listened to this. In 1985, commercial synth-pop was the last thing I wanted to hear. But now, I can hear that it's really rather good.
4/5
This is another album I know only through the singles. But the singles have become timeless classics.
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
I think I understand what they were trying to prove but I think they're wrong and I didn't really enjoy the argument much.
Aerosmith
3/5
Surprisingly uninvolving. These mid-70s rock albums are just not grabbing me in the way I expected. I mean, it's okay: the playing is accomplished but I struggle to get into what they're singing about.
Depeche Mode
4/5
I enjoyed this more than I expected to. Obviously, the big singles made their impact at the time and since but even the album tracks were good too.
The Zombies
5/5
While I've never sat and listened to the whole thing in one go before, I've heard quite a lot of it before and it's great.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
I was slightly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Obviously the singles but the rest too.
Dr. John
5/5
For once, this was not my first listen, I like Dr. John; I saw him live once, at Glastonbury, in a spectacularly inappropriate mid-afternoon slot. He was great. So was this. Weird but great.
Peter Frampton
4/5
Yes, it's good but the singles released from it (especially Show Me The Way) still get so much radio play that it's almost as if Frampton never recorded anything else.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
It's good isn't it? Not quite as good as What's Going On, for my money but, still ....
Lynyrd Skynyrd
5/5
Yes, I daresay they were a bit redneck and racist but they're all dead and the music is fantastic.
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
I'd never heard this before, not sure I've even heard of the band, come to that.
It's quite but I'm not entirely convinced it's earned its place on the list.
Harry Nilsson
5/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
I've heard this album once before and I still feel conflicted about it. I feel I should like it more than I do.
The Band
5/5
I guess it's not my favourite album by The Band but it'll do!
Frank Ocean
1/5
Absolutely dire. In no way does this deserve a place on this list.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
The thing I really noticed this time, is the weird Brian Jones instrumental bits. Even so, it's not my favourite Stones album. Not so much an aftermath as a beginning.
Rod Stewart
4/5
Even though he's become a bit of a joke recently, Rod had one of the great rock/blues voices. Here, he's showing it off to good effect.
Sisters Of Mercy
5/5
I did not buy this album when it came out: I was a poor student and a friend copied it on to cassette for me. That cassette followed me around until cassettes weren't a thing but by then I'd bought the CD. It still gets played on occasion and I wouldn't be without it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
I actually like some of the songs on here but they suffer like almost all bands with a famous bass player, too much bass in the mix.
Iron Maiden
5/5
It's a bit odd but I never bought any Iron Maiden records, not even this one, despite having a lot of love for Run To The Hills and The Number of the Beast.
Mylo
2/5
I can see what the guy was trying to do here (imitate The Avalanches) but I found the results wholly unsatisfying and to be honest, mediocre.
AC/DC
5/5
Brian Johnson taking over the vocals but an otherwise unchanged formula of heavy blues, crunching riffs, and lyrics that would not pass muster these days, barely managing it 45 years ago, I imagine. Still ....
Public Enemy
5/5
Angry, confrontational, and, sadly still far too relevant.
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
Not quite complete rubbish. Lamar clearly has some talent as a rapper but, god, it's pompous and overblown.
Alice In Chains
4/5
I'm not sure why but I missed this on release. It's rather good, even if the subject matter is not pretty.
Drive-By Truckers
1/5
Some nice guitar tones but how long? And, seriously, trying to tell me that Wallace was actually a nice guy? Fuck off!
Primal Scream
4/5
Yes, it's great. No I didn't really want to listen to it at 9.30 in the morning.
Germs
4/5
Nina Simone
5/5
You just can't beat that voice!
Pulp
5/5
Undoubtedly the best Britpop album. I'm still a little peeved that I couldn't get on to the field for their 1995 Glastonbury performance!
Kraftwerk
5/5
Janet Jackson
3/5
There is some nice stuff on here but it's all a bit relentless, compressed, and LOUD!
Talking Heads
5/5
Just really good.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
I've not been getting on terribly well with mid-70s US rock albums on this list but this is an exception. It's an interesting debut.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Fairly strong throughout but it starts to feel like it has gone on too long by the end.
Little Simz
3/5
There's little doubt that she's talented but I think she's done better stuff. Some of this sounds like her sixth-form poetry.
Gorillaz
3/5
I was disappointed to be honest. I know the singles, especially Clint Eastwood and was expecting more like that, not the maudlin filler it actually contains.
Buck Owens
4/5
Underrated!
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Duran Duran
3/5
I've never thought that the songs on Rio were as good as on their first album.
ZZ Top
4/5
The singles of this album introduced me to ZZ Top in the first place but listening now, you can hear how over-produced it is. Frankly, I prefer their older stuff these days.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Another album in which I wasn't interested when it came out and again, now I can hear that it was pretty good and I should have been interested.
The Sonics
3/5
Interesting to hear one branch of the development of garage rock but it's not the greatest album.
Prince
4/5
Almost the archetypal Prince album, in my mind, at least: a couple of classic singles, some filthy sex, and a bunch of filler so catchy that most other performers would kill to have half of Prince's ability.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Plainly pompous
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I bought this on release but I haven't played it much lately.
Miles Davis
5/5
Whenever I get one of the great jazz albums on here, I keep writing that I don't know very much about jazz, which is still true. But here, especially here, you can hear how good it is.
3/5
Sounds convinced of its own importance but it's just another passable rock record.
Fiona Apple
3/5
It's okay but I didn't find it held my attention.
The Killers
3/5
Highly efficient corporate pap.
Willie Nelson
4/5
A slightly odd choice for Willie to record an album of standards but he has a fine voice which suits quite a lot of the material. Everything is good about this record.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Miles Davis
4/5
I really struggled with this one, experimental jazz not being my thing. However, the later tracks were a bit more straightforward and enjoyable for me.
John Lennon
3/5
I've never sat down and listened to this album in one go before. It's quite hard to come to a judgement about it for me. Imagine and Jealous Guy have been ubiquitous over the past 45 years but the rest of it, pretty much ignored. On balance, some good, some bad.
Steely Dan
3/5
Almost designed to be uninvolving.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Yes, she has a great voice and Son Of A Preacher Man is a deserved classic but I don't care for her version of Windmills Of Your Mind and the rest is a bit anonymous.
Love
5/5
I can't remember who recommended that I listen to this: it was roughly 30 years ago but I'm glad they did. It's a fantastic record and remains so.
3/5
Never heard this before. Not bad.
Queen
5/5
An easy one!
Bob Dylan
5/5
My favourite Dylan album, I think. All complete genius!
The National
3/5
I was a bit disappointed by this because I have friends who have told me how good The National are. I was disappointed because a number of the songs start well, interesting, catchy even but instead of flowering into greatness, they just bumble along and fizzle out.
The KLF
4/5
There's no doubt that they knew how to craft a catchy hit and they caught a wave and rode it like nobody else. Listening to all of it, one after the one does make it sound a bit samey because it was but the hits are still great.
Turbonegro
3/5
I'd probaby have loved this if had come out when I was considerably younger but, listening to it as a grumpy older bloke, it's not as interesting.
Foo Fighters
3/5
Slightly disappointing. Like all Foo Fighters output it's a mix of enjoyable and completely commercial. It's music almost designed to sell.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Obvious debut album. Naive lyrics but she's got the voice.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I don't think I've ever listened to all of this album in one go before. It somehow lacks the edge of their previous stuff, was that all John Cale? It's still pretty good though.
4/5
I'm pretty sure I'ver never heard all of this before. Yes, they definitely went a bit overboard on mimicing Ray Davies in places but I enjoyed this quite a lot.
Dolly Parton
4/5
These days, it sounds little bit twee to my ears, some of the songs, like the title, positively saccharin. That said, it was clearly an important step in the development of one of most influential country singers.
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
Would I ever have bought this in the days before streaming? Very doubtful.
Sade
4/5
It's fair to say I didn't get this at all when it came out. The singles got played to death, still do I guess, on some radio stations. Listening to the whole thing for the first time ever, 40-odd years later, it still sounds pretty bloody good.
Elliott Smith
4/5
I don't know Elliott Smith's work much at all. I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything off this album before. And that's a shame because I really enjoyed it.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I didn't know this album but I quite enjoyed it.
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
I think this is pretty good for a debut album. It falls down in the extra tracks added for the reissue I was asked to review. I suspect the original release, without those tracks, would have been more coherent.
The Stranglers
5/5
One of the foundational records of Punk Rock but they were always better musicians than that implies. Really, it's brilliant.
Gotan Project
3/5
Clearly it's not the anonymous background music that a lot of reviews claim, definitely it's better than that.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Afghan Whigs have never really come to my attention and I'm not sure why. I quite liked the music here, the lyrics less so.
Brian Wilson
4/5
This is pretty good but not as good or revolutionary as it would have been in 1967.
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
Very enjoyable
Wilco
4/5
So long that I had to listen in two sessions. I expected it to fade in the second half but I found myself enjoying those songs at least as much as the first half.
Eels
5/5
I bought this when it came out and I still think it's excellent.