Jun 21 2024
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Blackstar
David Bowie
This is an incredible work, and I do believe it will join the list of best Bowie albums. Moving, experimental, haunting, even familiar in places. What a swan song!
5
Jun 23 2024
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Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
I remember enjoying this mixture of Funk, Rock and Rap when it first came out—now, having not listened to it for decades, it does sound quite ‘samey’ so it could do with trimming a bit. As it stands, it feels too long to maintain peak interest over its entire runtime.
3
Jun 25 2024
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Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
Absolute perfection. I don’t have the lyrical ability to describe this, so let me (probably mis)quote someone else I once heard long ago: Dylan sings like a dog with its leg caught in barbed wire. If that isn’t recommendation enough, I don’t know what is!
5
Jun 26 2024
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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Immense, life-changing, and weirdly a little bit polished too. The best-known Punk album, though not the best. Time has tamed its sound and reputation somewhat, but it’s still excellent. Highly recommended.
4
Jul 04 2024
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AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
Magnificent. A powerful debut album from Ice Cube after he split with NWA, this is filled with banger after banger, with production by Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad. Continuing the inner city themes but taking them to a whole new level, it’s a terrific original statement.
4
Jul 08 2024
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Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Great album. Clint Eastwood is, of course, a certified classic.
4
Jul 10 2024
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Synchronicity
The Police
Glorious, and contains so many hit songs.
5
Jul 13 2024
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Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
4
Jul 14 2024
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Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
It’s… pleasant to listen to, but not overly exciting. Perhaps it sounded wider in the early ’60s?
3
Jul 17 2024
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John Barleycorn Must Die
Traffic
This is actually the first the Traffic album I heard, and I loved it.
4
Jul 22 2024
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Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
All very pleasant and inoffensive. It’s simply… OK. I’ll listen to it if it’s on and I can’t switch radio channels, but I wouldn’t buy it or put it on, myself.
3
Jul 23 2024
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
Magnificent!
4
Jul 26 2024
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Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
Terrific album!
4
Jul 28 2024
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Songs From A Room
Leonard Cohen
4
Jul 31 2024
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Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
This is a bona fide classic, with rocking numbers, and more sensitive songs too, like Sail Away. Of course, there are the (in)famous My My Hey Hey Blue…Black songs—one acoustic, the other electric—and my favourite: Powderfinger. The album is filled with great performances, lyrics and music. I can’t recommend it enough.
5
Aug 02 2024
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Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
Dylan returned like an Old Testament prophet to reveal incredible music and poetry like ‘Not Dark Yet,’ ‘Tryin' to Get to Heaven’ and ‘Highlands’. Essential.
4
Aug 10 2024
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The Joshua Tree
U2
5
Aug 11 2024
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Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
An incredible album. Groundbreaking, even. It showcases her wonderful vocal range and experimental songwriting, blending elements of Pop, Rock, and Art-Rock. I love it, and recommend it highly.
5
Aug 13 2024
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In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
Based album.
4
Aug 17 2024
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Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
Classic album that deserves the accolades it’s received over its lifetime.
4
Aug 19 2024
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A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
Classic. Supreme, like the title says.
5
Aug 21 2024
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Superunknown
Soundgarden
4
Aug 26 2024
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S.F. Sorrow
The Pretty Things
5
Aug 27 2024
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MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
Phenomenal album that reworks old classics and adds some new ones in the form of cover versions. Top tier album.
5
Aug 29 2024
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Believe it or not, this was a flop on its release! A critical and commercial failure, with only the passing of time making critics and consumers see sense. That’s just nuts!
4
Aug 30 2024
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John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon
4
Aug 31 2024
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The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
4
Sep 03 2024
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The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
An outstanding classic which builds a beautifully designed narrative of the protagonist, despite not being a ‘proper’ concept album, through a variety of song types, all of them singularly excellent. Marvellous!
5
Sep 04 2024
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Ragged Glory
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Why do I keep fucking up?
5
Sep 05 2024
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Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
Excellent production, terrific lyrics and flow. Each member has his own style, and the album, while a little messy, is a thrill from start to finish. Shadowboxing, martial arts classic!
5
Sep 06 2024
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Phaedra
Tangerine Dream
Incredible. Exciting, important, cosmic, futuristic… Highly recommended.
5
Sep 07 2024
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The Chronic
Dr. Dre
This was an absolute game-changer, with its new sound that influenced so many Rappers going forward. Snoop Dogg sounded so fresh and innovative on this. The sound of my mid-teens. Magnificent.
5
Sep 08 2024
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New Forms
Roni Size
This is a jazz classic; heady Drum and Bass. I can understand that people nowadays may not get the hype behind it, but at the time it took things to a whole other level.
4
Sep 09 2024
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90
808 State
Classic!
4
Sep 11 2024
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Selected Ambient Works 85-92
Aphex Twin
An absolute classic, and an electronic music album for the ages.
5
Sep 14 2024
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Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
I have no words, except to say it’s an utter classic. People have worded it more expertly me than I could, but this album is a top tier essential. Get it, spend time with it, cherish it.
5
Sep 15 2024
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Station To Station
David Bowie
Perfection, and the title track is my favourite Bowie song ever.
5
Sep 16 2024
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Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
4
Sep 17 2024
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Metallica
Metallica
Big change in sound, but oh what a classic!
5
Sep 18 2024
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Suicide
Suicide
Absolutely incredible, and still influential. Plus Alan Vega sings like Elvis Presley!
5
Sep 21 2024
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Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
4
Sep 24 2024
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Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Stone cold classic with incredible raps and inventive production featuring nifty samples. Bags of humour too. Mandatory listening.
5
Sep 29 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
Classic, with some magnificent songs on it. Buy it now and revel in it!
5
Oct 02 2024
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Atomizer
Big Black
4
Oct 03 2024
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Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
3
Oct 04 2024
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Nowhere
Ride
Phenomenal work with beautiful, distorted, but ultimately transcendent, songs. The original ended with ‘Vapour Trail’ which was so poignant it hurt. Magnificent album. A Shoegaze classic.
5
Oct 08 2024
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Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4
Oct 10 2024
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The Healer
John Lee Hooker
4
Oct 12 2024
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The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
Catchy, danceable, machinic, but also oddly human too. Terrific album well worth your time.
5
Oct 17 2024
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The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd
4
Oct 24 2024
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Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
5
Nov 01 2024
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Face to Face
The Kinks
4
Nov 02 2024
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Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
4
Nov 03 2024
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Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Thick, dissonant layers of samples, often pulled from Funk, Soul, and Rock, combined with sirens, scratches, and breaks. Production team the Bomb Squad’s approach here is to layer sounds in a way that mirror the social tension and complexity in the lyrics—tracks like “Fight the Power” exemplify this with its stacked samples and driving rhythm, creating a sense of urgency. The production choices on songs like “911 Is a Joke” and “Burn Hollywood Burn” keep the listener off balance, as sounds collide and voices weave in and out, reinforcing the messages in the lyrics.
Lyrically, Chuck D’s verses are relentless, addressing systemic racism, media manipulation, and cultural appropriation with sharp precision. “Welcome to the Terrordome” confronts criticism of the group head-on, turning controversy into a rallying cry, while “Fear of a Black Planet” examines racial paranoia and social power dynamics. Flava Flav’s interjections add a level of satire and comic relief but also underscore the serious themes.
All in all, this is a top-tier album and you need to listen to it now !
5
Nov 05 2024
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...And Justice For All
Metallica
Despite Lars deliberately killing Jason Newsted’s bass, this is one terrific album. Their songs grew longer, more technical, yet still with memorable riffs. Everything about this album is exquisite. They moved beyond simple Thrash with this one. Probably their best.
5