On this episode of "The IT Crowd", Moss (Richard Ayoade) and his friend practice their hip-hop rap for the talent show at the local middle school.

Almost quintessentially 80's style music: light, electronic assist, tuneful, catchy. Morrissey's voice is melodic and matches the music as well.. as long as you ignore what he is saying. I went into this expecting it to be a big downer based on the reputation, but the first song was bright and energetic and uplifting... again, as long as you ignore the lyrics themselves. Then you start noticing the lyrical absurdities and depression "Oh please please please don't kill me", he croons softly and lightly as the chorus. More hits than I remembered from this album, hearkens back to my youth. Thoroughly enjoyed this listen. Downsides: * Not danceable * Singer's voice is too low pitched * Wonderful schadenfreude.

Not really my genre. The first attempt I got in about 3 songs and just wasn't feeling it. My second attempt, many hours later, was more successful. It wasn't bad, but I don't feel like there were any standouts for me as well, and the collaboration with Kanye was "rougher" as per the latter's style, which I am less appreciative of. While I probably wouldn't object to hearing some or most of this album again, I am not putting it into my playlist.

To be honest, when I saw this pop up, I groaned a little: I like the Police, but they get overplayed and so I was expecting this would be a little bit of a slog. To my surprise, and perhaps because it has been so long since I gave them a serious listen, I really enjoyed this. Well, except maybe "Mother". Also, the final song "Murder by Numbers" with it's lightness and tunefulness juxtaposed to the lyrical content really gives The Smiths a run for the title of absurdist. Still though, singer's register is too low.

I hadn't heard of Nick Drake before: looking him up it's a pretty tragic tale. This is good coffeeshop or cafe music: kind of sad if you listen to it directly, but as background/mood it's inventive and well executed and not saccharine or bland. I'd like to rate it a little higher than Common, but there's no half-stars. Also, not danceable, and singing register is too low.

Growing up, there were only 2 ways to listen to music: buy it (usually via the Columbia Records and Tapes: 13 for $1 as long as you bought 8 more within a year), or listening to the radio. I was a kid without income, so the latter was the main method. Unfortunately, the decent rock station in town had "Beatles Sundays": every Sunday all day, all they played was Beatles. This Clockwork-Orange-style torture and conditioning has resulted in me not enjoying listening to the Beatles except in very occasional small doses. This album is not a small dose of the Beatles, and the age and mixing technology means it's a very bright, treble-heavy, and frenetic assault on the listener. While I have an appreciation for the breadth of the Beatles' abilities, the new ground they forged and the broad influence they had on the music scene, that does not extend to an appreciation for listening to this album. I didn't even get halfway through before I just had to stop and listen to something else to calm my jangled auditory nerves.

Interesting as exploratory. This music would be good as mood for a film (confirmed by the Wikipedia article), but it's not really something I would listen to on its own merits. In the inevitable comparison to the most famous Icelandic singer Bjorke, the latter can be more discordant but is more unique and exploratory, whereas Sigur Ros feels hesitant and careful. Not danceable, singer's register is higher, but not high enough.

Great album. Good voice, good music. Also funny: I can't forget but I don't remember what. I'd write more, but the Jazz Police are coming. Still not danceable, voice register way to low.

Very 80's, with some classics, some I hadn't heard before, and only one or two strange ones. Overall I enjoyed this. Not danceable, singing register higher... but not high enough.

Interesting and exploratory. I think LoveFool is the best on the album and some of their other albums are better, but I still thought this wasn't bad. Singing register *almost* right, but still not danceable.

I hadn't heard some of the songs on this album, and there's actually one or two that's a bit slower! They do all kind of blend together, lacking the variety available from other artists. However, consider this album in its context: introduction of punk to the world. From that perspective, it's fantastic and bold. Still, listening to large amounts of this when not drunk and partying is a bit tiring to the ears. Not really danceable: really more of a spasmodic response.. who looks good doing that? Singing register too low.

Fantastic. Nice high register for singing, but still tough to dance to.

Surprisingly good... and hilarious. Still no dancing!

Interesting early grunge rock, but nothing truly engaged me on this album. I did note the interesting contrast between his melodious singing and her angry rasping.

Not my favorite of Jack's work, but still good, and Meg drives pretty strongly. Interesting that Jack wanted it to sound rushed, and told the engineer "not to make it sound too good." There's definitely a rawness to it.

I didn't realize Ray Charles was "big band" as I haven't listened to much variety from him. This was a nice listen, and has some well known songs as well as some good new ones. "Daddy's done turn salty, Baby, you made him so sore. You done your daddy dirty." Slow dance only, good voice, but singing register too low.

Too much Zep when I was too young to appreciate them. I can appreciate them more now, but some of these are like jingles that have been repeated too many times for me.

Lots of frenetic playing and yelling into the mic. Some of their later stuff is better and more melodic.

Good for a dance club, or as background for a dinner party. A little monotonous/bright to be something you listen directly to or while working. Did love the xylophone leads in Hong Kong Mamba. Danceable!

Very different sides. Listened to this a couple of times and it really grew on me. Amazing that this was his *eleventh* album, released in 1977 after his buddy Iggy Pop helped him sober up, and his first album was only 10 years before that. I'm realizing how little of his work I'm familiar with, even though I've heard a lot of Bowie. Probably be listening to a lot more in the future, even if he was keeping a Low Profile.

It was better with better headphones; on lesser phones the sopranos and the drums and the clipped wording all got kind of punchy. I appreciated this album, but I probably wouldn't get it from the Columbia Records and Tapes Club.

Better than the previous album from Common. A little more diversity amongst the songs, and a Black Panther history lesson. I don't really have any objections, but nothing here made me want to put it into my playlist either.

Great voice, great entertainer.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Next.

Still not a huge Zep fan due to the overplaying in my youth, but this is really an album full of hits.

Hadn't listened to much Joni before other than the very well known ones. Pretty nice, and I can see why she's had so much influence across the industry.

Hadn't realized this was the group that did "Perfect Skin", and otherwise I didn't know about them. There's a throaty ambiance to his voice that reminds me of Hollis from Talk Talk or Roxy Music's Brian Ferry. Overall a good non-synth representation of the early 80's: a nice album and very enjoyable. 3.5 because there's nothing really *outstanding* here; Perfect Skin is really good, the rest is good, but not memorable.

I'm not really into the Indian music. There was clearly an effort to include some other ethnic expressions and so there was some variety but it all still felt fairly Indian. Nothing came across bad, but it was kind of a background ambient album overall. Perhaps my Western ear is not attuned to the finer nuances of Indian music, but unlike the Hives album whose title "Your New Favorite Band" was very wrong, this album's title was spot on: it was ... "ok". "Wear your colors or you look stupid, ya?" and then I looked stupid anyway listening to the 48-seconds of silence at the end of the Vampire track.

Nope, not a fan of the country music. I did enjoy however reading the WIkipedia article on Gram Parsons. When Keith Richards says you're being too reckless with the drugs, that's saying something. It's definitely a tragic story and I'm sad for the guy, but his friends could have done a better job with his burial wishes.

It's a 2.5. There were some good parts, and some not so good parts. I'm getting more clarity on how I want to rate these, but I'm struggling with this one (I really wish we had a 7-point scale), but in the end, I don't think I'll be wanting to listen to this in the future, so I rounded down.

Fits a different mood than we've normally had here, but it's pleasant to listen to for long periods of time. I had to take a little bit to change listening gears, but then I definitely enjoyed this one.

A classic!

There may be better Stones albums, but this is definitely a good one. Most of the youtube songs were 2008 remasters, and while I don't have the originals to compare to, the remastering probably contributed to my enjoyment to give it a richer sound than the typical early 70's mixing had.

Yes, I'm probably a weirdo, but I'm a big ELP fan. Not necessarily of Emerson's treatment of his instruments, and I laughed at the conditions placed on him for using the pipe organ at Newcastle, but I actually had this album (CD) in college.

OK, listening to full albums rather than the overplayed selections of my youth, I'm coming to appreciate them more. I'm probably more a 3.5, but not quite ready to push this up to 4 stars.

Interesting lyrics, although I'm not always sure what they mean... there might be references I am not old enough to know. Generally I liked it, although by the end I was ready to not hear his distinctive voice and any more harmonica.

On this episode of "The IT Crowd", Moss (Richard Ayoade) and his friend practice their hip-hop rap for the talent show at the local middle school.

Not their best stuff.

It was OK, but no candidates for my playlist. The first song started with an interesting promise, but then just kind of dissipated. Nothing else really stepped in to be memorable. I actually listened several times while doing other things and still couldn't tell you anything about most of it.

Enjoyed this album. Trend setters for a new genre (or two) and catchy and energetic.

Complex rhythms, intricate melodies, well crafted. Like peaches and cream.

Not enough inspired music. I wanted to like it more, but it was reminiscent of the un-memorable parts of Gorillaz Plastic Beach. To much reliance on the voice to do melody, assigning the piano player to be the most boring drummer ever (play this chord once a second for 2 minutes, then play the minor chord 5 times, then go back to the original chord, but don't play anything else). There were a few songs that were stronger, but overall it wasn't quite strong enough for a 3.

Hadn't listened to much k.d. lang before, but I enjoyed this one. She's got a great voice, and both the lyrics and the melodies were nice. Some of them were a bit easy-listening... youtube autoplay paired her with Joni Mitchell, which I thought was appropriate. A nice solid three/3.5.

Ugly and annoying. Started a couple of the songs, but as soon as the enraged demon singing started I had to stop. So really, did not listen, but I wanted to get the chance to indicate the lowest possible rating.

This one is already on my playlists.

Distinctive voice and generally good, although a bit punchy after a while.

At some points, Bowie is a rather insane lad. This album has some established hits and some others that wander around looking for something.

Very 60's. A bit all over the place, with the worst song (Friends of Mine) followed by the best one (Time of the Season), which ironically was the one they fought the most over. I'd probably give it a 2.5, with much of that strength coming from the last one, but I think I'll round down this time.

Dylan's 30th album, released almost 30 years ago! Reading the wikipedia page about Dylan and then the separate page listing all his awards is impressive. This album was much more calm and bluesy than the previous (which had more energy but was more jangly) and I enjoyed it more. His voice however sounds like it's almost gone, with a smoker's rasp. Focusing on the vocal harmonics makes me wince, but stepping back and taking in the whole sound takes the edge off and overall it works better. The last song felt like I was listening to a book on tape.

Stevie Wonder is good, but most of this album didn't really resonate with me.

I liked it better than I thought I would.

Please stop screaming at me. Some of the songs begin promisingly, but then the screaming starts. I was contemplating a two because of Itsari and Canyon Jam, but they didn't write Itsari, and re-listening to Canyon Jam, it's crickets and tin cans and gunshots, it just sounds nicer at first because there's no screaming. Also leaning towards a 2 because I thought it was at least a little better than Slipknot, and good to see some additional cultural representation, but I just can't go higher than a 1 because of the screaming.

Too country for me.

Interesting and weird, but I enjoyed this.

Classic late-night jazz. That's about the only time I listen to this genre, but I enjoyed this one in that context.

I did not appreciate that the youtube version was a 50'th anniversary deluxe 3.5 hr version with several outtakes of each song... great for a superfan, but not as an album listening experience. It can also feel a bit underwhelming listening to this because we've heard most of these so many times on the radio and other plays over the years, but this album full of good strong songs. Classics, slow and strong, with a backbeat that's hard to master.

I had heard Nothing Compares 2U and the Emperor's New Clothes but not any of the rest of the album before. I listened multiple times and liked it more and more each time. Good music, blending Irish characteristics with deeply felt emotions.

Not as edgy as some punk, and the singer is a bit more melodic than some punk singers (although still very punk-ish? punk-ey? punk-lik?). I think this is a good overall representative of the genre. It's not one of my go-to genres, but I listened to this album several times without getting annoyed or tired of it... but also without falling in love with it either. I did enjoy the last one (Moving Away From The Pulsebeat), which had a bit of a beach rhythm to it.

First couple of songs: oh, I didn't know this band were the ones that sang that. This is very 80's and for me, very pleasant. The singer's voice, the instrumentation, the lively rhythms... enjoyed it!

Great album! Both the songs and the lyrics and well done.

Excellent smoldering jazz.

She has a good voice, but this is not my music.

Fun and different. It's a fat funky album. Surprised not to see Frank Zappa in the credits for the last track (Wars of Armageddon).

He's generally talented, but I just don't really enjoy listening. Maybe it's his voice, but I was wanting it to be over.

Not bad, but not the greatest, and the singer's voice gets a little tiring over time. I had no idea they were as big as the Wikipedia article revealed. I'll bet a live show would be more appealing.

Although some of these are fairly simple and repetitive, they are well crafted and cleanly implemented. Geared a bit more towards a dance club, I was surprised to see the majority of Kraftwerk's output is from the '70's: well before the other electronic music. They were clearly ahead of their time and the music is impressive considering the era they had to work with. I enjoyed this and other Kraftwerk albums and will be listening to more in the future.

I had not heard of Goldfrapp before. I listened to this album a couple of times and then some of her other work at random. This album was good, but based on the sampling, I enjoyed some of her other stuff more. Still, there's clear talent here and I will be enjoying Goldfrapp in my music rotations in the future.

I don't know why *this* was the Clash album that was the one we must listen to until we die. It's OK, kinda standard punk, but some of their later albums were much better. I guess this album would have appeal relative to the early punk scene or to a Clash diehard, but I didn't find it to be hugely compelling.

I feel like this was more inventive, more musical, and less whiney than the previous Elvis Costello albums we listened to, but it still feels too much like a punchy marching music with regular beats and rhymes that don't vary.

Great vocals and songwriting. Pleasant and relaxed.

This is a cannonball into the 60's pool. Many of these are covers so I feel like this was more of a Beatles promotional album than the freedom of the band to create their own space, and indeed, they were required to generate 2 LP's a year by the record company. The mixing on this album really bothered me as well: I could hear different ambient background come in and out as different tracks were highlighted, and the gain seemed overbright. This was a bit surprising as the mixing engineer also handled several of Pink Floyd's albums and I haven't had the same experience there. I noted from the Wikipedia page that the upper right is prominently marked "stereo" or "mono", so this is probably the early years of a recording studio technology expansion and experimentation period: the mix that produced good sound from early AM radio and early stereo equipment isn't quite the same on modern sound technology. I'm not a huge Beatles fan (overexposure as a kid?) but there's talent here, although young and rough still, yet to find its true groove.

I didn't dislike this, but it seems like the most generic form of this style. It's like a collection of the most boring Beach Boys. It's consistent and inoffensive, but a little soft and saccharine for my preference, so it's getting a 2 because I won't object to hearing it, but I won't be seeking it out either.

Massive talent. Perhaps it's unfair that most of the youtube version of this album is accompanied by the video of the session, but to see how relaxed and unassuming they were, yet knowing the struggles and the behind the scenes fighting to control their art and share the session with the MeatPuppets. I really enjoyed this one.

I appreciate the broad experimental approach to music, with saxophone, piano, and various Eno effects. I feel like Brian Ferry's singing is a bit over-the-top and theatrical and syrupy for my tastes though; it works in certain songs, but not for an album-full. I could see this being a Bowie album (and better). There's a lot of good work by Eno on this album. To me this album is a good example of how Roxy Music hovers around the edges of the music scene, making periodic appearances but never becoming mainstream.

Started with one of the all time great. Too bad the later portion of the album couldn't match it. All good, but only that.

Interestingly, their most famous song (Love Spreads) is from a later era, but there's a lot to like about this album. It has an echo-y aspect to it: I don't know if that was a recording technique or the way their instrument's were setup, but I'll bet it worked really well for live shows.

A lot of fun and while one or two got repetitive, the overall had good variety.

Pink isn't really my scene.

Pull on your big black engineer boots and stomp around, and don't let any damn Billy goats cross your bridge! Lots of good stuff on this one.

Not as iconic as his famous movie score, but relatable and enjoyable. Probably not a go-to for me, but I did enjoy it and nothing here I didn't enjoy.

Inventive cacophony. You can stay in the basement if you do the chores and the dishes, but if you play this music anymore do it across town.

I'm not normally a fan of this genre, but she's got a unique and appealing voice, and some good lyrics (although she sure talks to her Mama a lot).

It's well done and doesn't come across as country and Western, but it's music my grandmother would listen to and I think it would have more appeal to that generation than to me. It's a three or better on quality, but other than one or two tunes I don't think I'll be looking to listen to this again.

Never heard of these guys before, and I couldn't quite figure out what type of music I would call this. Sometimes "club music", sometimes a little bit of jazz, sometimes a little bit of rock. Overall very interesting stuff, and I enjoyed this album.

Truly iconic.

Some of these are fantastic (e.g. Hurt). The gravel that age has added to Cash's voice adds a poignancy to these covers, and the acoustic guitar work is very good, with the engineering to include string noise and other ambients. I do wish he'd added a little more emotion and range to some of them though; for example, Personal Jesus sounds a little monotone like he's just reading the lyrics and doesn't care much about it. I wanted to like this one more, and I think it's still good enough it deserves more than 3 stars, but I needed just a little more from him vocally and emotionally to get to a 5.

The general policy is to rate the music, not the (current) political views of the artist, but that's more difficult when the subject of the music is politics. However, aside from the artist's recent politics, this is not bad. I don't usually listen to this style, but I can appreciate the breakout abilities and bold presentation here. (Also, many people are more familiar with her "Paper Airplanes", which is not on this album.) She's built a lot of sound off very limited capabilities, and is using that sound to push forward and challenge the world.

Truly a great pair of songmasters.

Epitomizes the 60's hippie culture, with lots of self inspection, freedom, drug usage, social commentary and critique, and musical development. While not everything on this album is a strong listen, it's hard to underestimate the impact of both this album and Jefferson Airplane as a band, so even though this only has a couple of top-ten hits, it's a great album in its context, so I'm going high. Fun fact: the first drummer left (before this album) because he didn't like the band's culture and drug use. He was a former US Marine Core drummer... about as opposite of a culture from the band as you could be.

I don't think this is their "best" album, but it's got quite a variety on here: funk, rock, ballads, etc. My first listen was not great because I wasn't ready for it and the explicitness was overwhelming, but with another listen or two, I'm impressed with the breadth and capabilities here. Interestingly, our previous album (Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow) was Jefferson Airplane's second album, and they had to leave a track off their first album because it contained the word "trip" which made their record label. Now compare that to this album, especially Sir Psycho Sexy.

It doesn't have the richness or complexity of compositions by some of the well-known composers like Chopin, Rachmaninoff, or Liszt, this is improvisational jazz "in the moment" rather than carefully constructed over longer periods of time. In that context, it flows beautifully, has no discordant moments, and is well done. It's even more impressive considering the conditions under which it was made (both for him and the piano, according to the Wikipedia page). His vocal exclamations were initially off-putting: I thought it was a rude audience member but then read that he's known for both these vocalizations and his intolerance of audience noise. After getting used to it a bit, I found I enjoyed this quite a bit.

The off-key singing and meandering 60's exploration of self and drugs and society was boring and tiring, and I was glad when I finally reached the end. I expected to like it more, but with only one song (Feelin' Alright?) that had any punch to it, I don't see myself returning to this album.

Sometimes the beat was a bit repetitive, but this was generally fun and fresh.

Interesting contrasts between the different singers. Impressive when I recognize 6 out of the 10 songs as well-played "hits". The ones that weren't hits were still good. There's a good harmonization, and despite being late 60's this album still feels timeless.

I can't think of another band with the range--and stubborn bravery to express that range--as Queen, and this album epitomizes that range. Ballads (both sweet and sad), rock, operatic pieces, ragtime, harmonization, vocal roundels. All superbly done and expressed by the entire band. This is *definitely* an album that belongs on this list (even defines this list), and I didn't really want the next day's album to come up because I was still enjoying this one too much.

Atonal, weird, caught up in the performers' local issues, and punk. Not as horrible as death metal, but did not enjoy.

There's a couple of famous songs, and then others that are inventive but still early Santana. I feel like some of the later albums were more solid.

Great music to program to.

I appreciated the exposure to styles of music I don't normally run into. While this is from an earlier time and thus has the influences and character of music of that area, it's well done and her voice is clear and expressive. Good rendition of "House of the rising sun", and fun songs like "The Naughty Little Flea". And then... what's up with "One more dance"?!

Not bad, not great.

Note: according to Wikipedia, there should be 13 songs on this album, but th e youtube music version only has 8, missing songs: 1 Mean Woman Blues, 4 Matchbox, 5 What'd I Say Part I, 6 What'd I Say Part II, and 11 Hound Dog. Wikipedia also notes the album was only available in Europe for a long period and I suspect US rights for the performance of these 5 missing songs is why they aren't available. This is a lot of fun, and was probably a ton of energy when seen live.

This is difficult: am I rating based on whether I would listen again, or based on how well this album was executed. It's reasonably good on the latter, but probably going to be low on the former, so I settled on a 3.

This one didn't really do much for me, and the singer's voice take's a little getting used to.

Very 80's. Agreeable, but nothing stands out.

This album felt more melodic and less punchy than some of the others. No standouts, but not as tough to get through. Explored some interesting topical elements. I feel like this whole 1001 albums thing is just a ploy to make us listen to the curator's favorite artist.

Light, fun, and pleasant. Except for Wicked Annabella, she's not pleasant!

Classical Smiths: simultaneously good music and depressing subjects. I don't think there were any big hits on this album, but there was a bit of experimentation. It's a soft 4: better than some of the things I've given a 3, but it could be better. Art can push us to consider uncomfortable things.

I enjoyed this. Reminded me of Velvet Underground, or even a bit of D-Squad. Good voice and interesting lyrics; occasionally the latter bordered on too repetitive, but the writing was generally fun.

Not as bad as the other metal stuff we've had... but did not enjoy. The only thing that was interesting was comparing the Burns mix to the Lani mix and getting an idea of the impact of the mix on the product; the latter sounded much better.

Like I'm in high school again! There are some good hits here and solid rock from start to finish.

Never heard the entire album before. It's good!

The youtube link gave me a blank screen. I search for the album independently on youtube and got a version that has remixes and additional material (e.g. the song Wonderful Ass). Unfortunately, this is the version of the album I need to rate. Prince is (was) unique, innovative, and iconic. I liked the songs in general, but also felt that the version of the album I had was meant more as an accompaniment to the movie (which I have not seen) than as a standalone work. Good songs. Some not so good. And bad arrangement?