561
Albums Rated
3.1
Average Rating
52%
Complete
528 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Blues
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
34
5-Star Albums
4
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
|
4 | 2.13 | +1.87 |
|
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
|
5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
|
Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
|
5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
|
The Next Day
David Bowie
|
5 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
|
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
|
4 | 2.39 | +1.61 |
|
Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
|
5 | 3.42 | +1.58 |
|
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
|
5 | 3.44 | +1.56 |
|
The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
|
5 | 3.45 | +1.55 |
|
Blue
Joni Mitchell
|
5 | 3.49 | +1.51 |
|
It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
|
5 | 3.49 | +1.51 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Legalize It
Peter Tosh
|
1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
|
The Bends
Radiohead
|
2 | 4.01 | -2.01 |
|
What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
|
2 | 3.94 | -1.94 |
|
Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
|
2 | 3.94 | -1.94 |
|
In Rainbows
Radiohead
|
2 | 3.84 | -1.84 |
|
The Grand Tour
George Jones
|
1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
|
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
|
2 | 3.78 | -1.78 |
|
Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
|
1 | 2.75 | -1.75 |
|
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
|
2 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
|
The Joshua Tree
U2
|
2 | 3.67 | -1.67 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 6 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 4.5 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.67 |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 4.33 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| The Byrds | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (34)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Spiritualized
2/5
Mostly harmless, but very forgettable. I didn't dislike it but it very quickly turned into background music. it could have easily been shorter.
6 likes
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
Better than the Peter Tosh album I had awhile back, but 40 minutes of reggae is still just too much for me. I'm not chill or laid back enough for this.
2 likes
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Love Amy Winehouse, but this is not her strongest album. I think you can tell it's her debut, the sound is there but it isn't as refined and polished as it will be in future albums. There also aren't really any hits on this one. All of the songs are perfectly fine and nice to listen to, but none of them have stuck with me past that initial listen. A perfectly nice way to spend an hour, but nothing to write home about.
2 likes
The Fall
2/5
Long and a bit too pretentious. It's not a bad sound, but it definitely started to get tedious about halfway through.
1 likes
Marvin Gaye
2/5
Soul just isn't my thing. I'm sure this album was cutting edge and revolutionary when it came out, but it just feels cheesy today.
I didn't dislike the album, but I don't think it's one I'd intentionally listen to again.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (4)
All Ratings
Elton John
4/5
Full of absolute classics, but this really tapers off dramatically in the second half. With the exception of "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", pretty much everything after the titular "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is only alright, and I found myself checking my Spotify several times to make sure it hadn't started a new album without me noticing. The first four songs absolutely kick down the door and really solidify the album as a hit though.
I really loved the decision to open the album with "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", what a way to kick it off.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
Oh, this is not my jam at all. It's not a huge surprise, I rarely listen to soul/funk to begin with, but I was looking forward to trying this one out! I did enjoy the opening track, "Billy Jack", but everything after that was much more soul and much less funk than I expected.
Lyrically the songs are very good, and there were bits and pieces here and there that stood out musically to me. It's not one that I think I'll be listening to all the time now, but I would like to revisit it at some point now that I have a better idea what to expect.
B.B. King
4/5
This is great! So much energy throughout, and I love how the music carries across all of the tracks even while he's speaking/interacting with the crowd. Spotify has a slight pause between each one, but I'm sure on Vinyl it's very smooth and continuous. The backing band is impressively tight, and there wasn't a single song that felt out of place.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Guys were just hanging out and harmonizing back in the day. This album was fine, it's Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young who I've listened to before (though not just one album straight through), so there weren't any big surprises.
My favorite song was "Woodstock" which was the only one on the album not written by one of CSNY lol
David Bowie
5/5
It's interesting that this book/project includes both Low and Heroes, but not Lodger even though the three albums together are considered a trilogy and do (I think anyway) speak to one another.
It's David Bowie, so obviously this was going to be a hit with me. It's not my favorite Bowie album, but it's not his worst. Possibly unpopular opinion: I actually do like the instrumental tracks on Side 2. As far as the lyrical songs go, he's got three solid hits and obviously the titular "Heroes" steals the show. The overall album feels flimsy in spots, but you gotta respect Bowie and Eno for experimenting and making the art they wanted to make.
Willie Nelson
4/5
I really liked the instrumentals on this one, so it was funny to see that the studio was nervous about the sparse arrangement before it was released! The piano especially was really lovely!
This is a really solid album. I haven't listened to a ton of Willie Nelson, and country doesn't tend to be my genre, but I enjoyed this one. The concept album style worked really well and made for a really cohesive and consistent listen overall. It's one I think I would listen to again!
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
It's nice to get some non-Western music! It's Bollywood, and follows that Bollywood formula effectively. It's an easy access point for people unused to Indian music, but also kind of an odd choice. Are there other movie soundtracks on this list?
Overall the album was fine. I wasn't blown away, but I did really enjoy several of the songs. I'm adding the movie to my Watchlist on Letterboxd.
Bill Callahan
4/5
Do I actually like Country and just didn't realize it? This doesn't sound like what I think of as being country, and I really enjoyed it! I will definitely be checking out more of Bill Callahan's work.
"Eid Ma Clack Shaw" and "Invocations of Ratiocination" were my top tracks. I feel like this project is making me realize I really do enjoy instrumentals/interludes/soundscape tracks, which I would never have guessed.
Kanye West
3/5
For the most part it's very good. But while the highs are high, the lows are very low.
I do think the guest vocalists really help elevate this... everyone knows Nicki's verse in "Monster" is fantastic, and Bon Iver was an interesting addition to a few tracks. I think if it had just been an hour of Kanye alone it wouldn't have worked so well, his lyrics are often the weak point here. And the Chris Rock sketch at the end of "Blame Game" felt too long and out of place.
The overall production is tight, and the background instrumentals on the tracks are great. I was pleasantly surprised by "All the Lights (Interlude)", which I thought was really lovely.
I really liked "Hell of a Life", plus of course "Power", "All of the Lights" and "Monster" are the highlights of the album.
2/5
U2 is overrated.
I did try to go into this one with an open mind, I don't think I've ever sat down and listened to a full album by them before, but alas I remain underwhelmed.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
I like Ella Fitzgerald, and I like the Gershwins... but do I like them enough to listen to their music for 3 hours straight??
This was fine. Ella Fitzgerald's voice is amazing, and her skills really shine here. As a full album though it was just too long. It was too easy to stop really listening and just tune it out as background music. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I would listen to the whole thing again.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Not the best Springsteen album, but still solid. "Dancing in the Dark" is one of my favorite songs, so I was obviously pleased to have an excuse to listen to that this morning.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
This sounds like the soundtrack to an Indie movie circa 2003
George Jones
1/5
Hmm not for me. Very twangy with lots of slow love ballads.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Steely Dan is wild because if you asked me to name one of their songs before now I absolutely couldn't do it, but then I somehow knew all of the songs on this album while listening.
Perfectly average and unremarkable listening experience. I look forward to once again forgetting about Steely Dan by tomorrow.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I'm so torn on this one! I liked it, but I didn't, but I did...
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
Ok!!! This is the type of album that reminds me of why I wanted to start this project in the first place! Totally unexpected sound from an artist I had never heard of before, and I really enjoyed it.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Otis Redding
3/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
The Waterboys
3/5
Radiohead
2/5
Radiohead songs all sound exactly the same to me.
The Gun Club
3/5
High energy, but the sound is repetitive after awhile. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this (I'd never heard of The Gun Club), and I was pleasantly surprised by the music and the energy. You can definitely hear where this sound influences later bands.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Dolly! Some of the tracks were a little too Country for me, but the overall album was well-written and well-produced, and not a bad listen for a slow Sunday morning.
Pink Floyd
4/5
It took me a couple of days to get to this because it's just so long and I knew that as a rock opera/concept album breaking it up into shorter chunks wouldn't be ideal.
I've heard it before, so there weren't any surprises. This was my first time listening to it with headphones, which made for a fun new experience. It's long, and it drags in spots, but the overall concept and music are solid. "Comfortably Numb" is obviously the standout.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Sounds like both video game music and the soundtrack to a spy film made today but set in the 80s.
My first experience with both Kraftwerk and Electronica and it was not what I was expecting (positive).
King Crimson
4/5
So unexpected and fun! Pink Floyd-esque in spots, which I wasn't expecting. The album as a whole was very cohesive and the tracks flowed nicely. I know a lot of improvisation was happening but it also all felt very intentional. Lark's Tongue in Aspic Part I and Lark's Tongue in Aspic Part II were my favorite, and really book-ended the whole experience really nicely.
Van Halen
3/5
Pink Floyd
4/5
My second Pink Floyd this week! I actually ended up listening to both this and "The Wall" back to back because I hadn't gotten to "The Wall" yet from earlier this week and had already been planning on knocking that one out today.
This is the better of the two albums. Much shorter, tighter, and more intentional. I like the prog rock elements a lot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nirvana
4/5
XTC
2/5
Not what I was expecting. I like a good concept album, but this isn't really working for me. I just feel like other bands have done this sound more effectively. The flow between songs was nice though, so it has that going for it.
Ray Charles
3/5
This feels like a very safe pick. Inoffensive and unexciting. I don't think it does a great job of really showcasing Ray Charles' skills and energy, but the arrangement and songs are solid throughout.
Love
3/5
I listened to this twice because I wasn't sure about it the first time. Very 60s, but interesting to listen to.
David Holmes
2/5
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
George Harrison
3/5
Me seeing this album: George! 😃
Me seeing the length of this album: George... ☹️
Sam Cooke
4/5
John Prine
2/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
The Fall
2/5
Long and a bit too pretentious. It's not a bad sound, but it definitely started to get tedious about halfway through.
Nina Simone
5/5
Love Nina Simone. This is a pretty solid album overall, with no real duds. Wild is the Wind and Lilac Wine are both iconic.
Wild Beasts
2/5
New Order
3/5
Linkin Park
3/5
I've never been a huge Linkin Park fan (they aren't bad, sound just doesn't do much for me), but my sister owned this album on CD back in the day so I've heard it many times. Listening to it again for the first time in probably close to 20 years brought back a lot of memories! In the End still slaps.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I was pleasantly surprised by this! I like Frank Sinatra, but I don't think I've ever sat down and just listened to a full album by him (beyond like maybe a "Greatest Hits" my mom has). This was surprisingly cohesive, and each of the songs flowed really nicely into the next to create the full album experience. I would absolutely listen to this one again.
4/5
Prog Rock again! I'm into it. 3 songs, 40 minutes long, opens with birdsong and the music of nature so you know you're in for a treat of experimental sounds. This was a fun discovery
The Libertines
3/5
Definitely a fan of '00s Indie Rock (/Pop Punk), so I do like this album. It reminds me of a lot of other bands/albums from the same time though, and doesn't especially strike me as a standout of the genre. Overall an enjoyable listen, but there's nothing to write home about here.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
This is an album made up of some very good songs, but overall it's having a bit of an identity crisis. It can't quite figure out if it wants to be fun & funky, or slow & romantic. So it tries to be both and the result feels disjointed. The funky songs are the better of the two options.
Standout songs include "Big Brother", which is surprisingly modern-sounding, and of course "Superstition", which is probably the best song on the album.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
The Dandy Warhols will always be iconic for giving us "We Used to be Friends", the theme song for Veronica Mars. That song isn't on this album though, so I'm going in blind here (just kidding, I've listened to other Dandy Warhols songs before)!
I don't really care for the shoegaze elements, but I like when they get more upbeat and into more indie rock territory. An interesting sound overall, but not something I think I'll listen to often.
Supergrass
3/5
Feel like I've been giving out a lot of 3s lately, but there have just been a lot of albums that have come up that I'm indifferent to.
I don't hate this, but I don't think it's particularly special either. I probably could have died without having heard it, but it wasn't like my morning was miserable because I was listening to it. I'd probably leave it on if it came up again on Spotify.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Ok, so I'm just going to get 3/4 of the Pink Floyd albums on this list out of the way in one month (and within my first 100 albums). Cool.
Anyway, this was better than The Wall but I didn't like it as much as Dark Side of the Moon. Still a solid album, and I do really like the song "Wish You Were Here" just on its own. I think "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (parts 1-9) is too long, but I generally liked the album as a whole anyway.
Tom Waits
3/5
I like Tom Waits' melodies and instrumentation, but I hate his gravely, mumbly, Cookie Monster voice.
So I'm torn on this one. The album as a whole is solid and for the most part enjoyable, but can I get past the vocal stylings? Probably not enough to listen to this with any regularity. So it's likely an average 3-stars.
Tom Waits
3/5
Tom Waits 2 days in a row... Well, I said it yesterday , but I'll say it again: I like Tom Waits' melodies and instrumentation, but I hate his gravely, mumbly, Cookie Monster voice.
The worst part is, he doesn't have to do the voice. He has songs on his albums where his voice is still gravely and deep but he doesn't sound like a muppet monster, and those songs are quite nice! I generally like his music and his lyrics and his overall vibe. But he'll probably never be more than 3 stars for me.
Dolly Parton
3/5
The gang's all here! I wish there were fewer slow songs on this album. I enjoyed it but there was no real energy, which is a bummer when you have three really talented and energetic singers working together! It was good, but it could have been so much better!
R.E.M.
5/5
It IS the end of the world as we know it, and I DO feel fine. Thanks, R.E.M!
Seriously though, R.E.M. is always great. I think "Automatic For The People" is probably the better overall album (or maybe I just have more nostalgia for it), but this one is definitely an enjoyable listen. Good energy, good songs, good listening experience.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
A fun fact about my cat: he loves Joni Mitchell. He will always come and hang out if he hears her.
I love Joni Mitchell too, so that works out. This is one of the albums I already own on vinyl, so I was excited when it popped up here and I had an excuse to revisit it!
Peter Tosh
1/5
Not really my style. I don't mind this kind of music in smaller doses, but 40 minutes of it got old fast.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
It's fine. As with the last Stevie Wonder album I got, I enjoyed the funk songs better than the slower ballads.
I unexpectedly really enjoyed "They Won't Go When I Go"... The instrumentals in it were lovely!
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
I wasn't really expecting to like this one, but I mostly did! There were a couple tracks that veered too country for me (I'm not a huge fan of the yodeling), but by and large this was a pretty good album!
Beck
3/5
The Cramps
4/5
I actually like this way more than I was expecting to. It reminds me of a John Waters movie. Rockabilly punk (punkabilly?) that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like how high-energy it all is!
Bob Dylan
4/5
The KLF
2/5
Y'know, there's a time and a place for electronica and I'm starting to think that 7am at home while I'm getting ready for work somehow isn't it.
I don't dislike this music genre, it's actually pretty fun and creative, but it certainly does get repetitive after a few tracks.
Not my favorite electronica album that I've heard so far, but not bad. I'd rate it somewhere between 2 and 3. It's not as good as Kraftwerk but it was less pretentious than David Holmes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Police
2/5
Meh, I'm underwhelmed but The Police. "Message in a Bottle" is fine, but the album as a whole is nothing to write home about.
John Coltrane
3/5
Smooth and polished jazz. The album itself is a full story, really it's one 30-minute song.
I wish I had a greater appreciation for jazz, but, alas, I don't and was mostly indifferent to this one. I didn't dislike it, it certainly didn't feel like a chore to listen to it, but it was ultimately just pretty background music as I went about my morning.
I would like to listen to this again at some point!
Lou Reed
5/5
Lou Reed is always a delight. This album has several classics on it, just even the songs that didn't hit it big are fun and fit nicely into the overall album. I was thrilled to start my day with this one!
KISS
3/5
This album was so middle-of-the-road, it was almost funny. Not bad but definitely not a standout either.
Adele
3/5
I was 21 when this was first released, so obviously it left an indelible mark on my psyche.
That being said, I haven't actually listened to the full album in probably close to 10 years and it doesn't really hold up as well as I was going it would. The big hits are still fantastic, "Rolling in the Deep", "Set Fire to the Rain", "Rumour Has It" and "Someone Like You" are all powerhouses. But all the songs in between them just feel lacking anymore. I do still enjoy her cover of "Lovesong".
So a 3 rating. It's enjoyable enough that I'll listen to it again, but it didn't overly impress me, even with the nostalgia factor.
Marvin Gaye
2/5
Soul just isn't my thing. I'm sure this album was cutting edge and revolutionary when it came out, but it just feels cheesy today.
I didn't dislike the album, but I don't think it's one I'd intentionally listen to again.
Sepultura
2/5
Metal must be so hard on the lead singer's throat. Honestly the way metal bands sing is one of the reasons I'm not really into it. The other is that all the songs sound too similar, I can't tell them apart and an album ends up feeling like one hour-long song that I got bored of back at the beginning.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
An unexpected change of pace. I listened to this as I walked to/from the farmer's market, and it was a nice soundtrack to a lovely false-Fall morning. The instrumentals in this are skillfully done and the album flows between songs well.
Not something I would have picked up to listen to on my own, but I'm glad to have heard it.
Metallica
3/5
I should probably give this one another listen, I wasn't really giving it that much attention for parts of it. It was generally fine, definitely some talented instrument playing happening. The music itself was not really my thing but I didn't dislike it either.
Cornershop
3/5
Not bad, the Indian elements were quite fun!
Jeff Buckley
3/5
Listened to this the other day with a raging headache, and not surprisingly couldn't actually remember much of it when I went to rate it the next day. So it gets a do-over, and unsurprisingly my overall reaction is meh. It's fine. He has a nice voice, but the music itself is nothing to write home about, and the covers were better than the original songs.
Spiritualized
2/5
Mostly harmless, but very forgettable. I didn't dislike it but it very quickly turned into background music. it could have easily been shorter.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Safe and inoffensive dad rock.
The album being live doesn't really add anything to the overall feel or energy. I know parts of it were overdubbed and I wonder how much of that affected the feel (by making it feel less live...). The double album aspect also makes it feel too long, I would have appreciated it more I think if it were a tight 45 minutes instead of 75 (though I think the Spotify version has a coupleof extra tracks if the Wiki is right).
I haven't really listened to Thin Lizzy before this and I probably won't listen to them much after this either. I feel like you could replace them with pretty much any 70s rock band and it would sound the exact same. The instrumentals are skillfully executed though, and there was nothing on it that made me actively dislike them.
CHIC
2/5
The first song on this ("Good Times") is definitely the only hit off it for a reason. It's not a terrible album, but there are a lot of slower (not great) songs that really change the feel of the more upbeat numbers. I liked it well enough, but not enough to really listen to it again.
Kanye West
2/5
Kanye can definitely produce an album, much like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", each part of this is calculated. I think you can tell it's his first album though. He hasn't quite figured out his sound yet, and seems to bounce between different genres in a way that's not as effective as I think he wants it to be.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I don't particularly like the sketches on Kanye albums.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
5/5
A very cool album. An interesting mix of genres and styles, and Janis Joplin absolutely killing it on vocals. Loved it.
Travis
2/5
Early-aughts coffee shop easy listening.
Back in the day (2006/2007) I read a book series called Twilight... You may have heard of it. Anyway, Stephanie Meyer posted author playlists for the first two books on her author website/blog before the publication of the third book, and on one of those playlists was "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" By Travis. That was the first time I'd ever heard of this band, and now the two are inexorably linked in my brain. Sorry, Travis.
Suede
3/5
This sounds like they're trying really hard to sound like Bowie, but it's not as good as Bowie and doesn't have the energy. It's not bad, but it's not an interesting or new sound.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
This was fun Pop Rock. The title track was the only one I was familiar with going in, but there weren't any songs on it that were bad.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Still not a fan of Mayfield's falsetto, but this was a fun and funky album.
Kings of Leon
4/5
This is such a fun album. I've always liked Kings of Leon but had never listened to a full album but them before, so this was a treat.
Brian Eno
3/5
Could have used this 2 days ago when I was in an airport...
I did quite like this though. It was nice background music at work!
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
"California Dreaming" is the best song on this album, and the rest are only ok. Beautiful harmonies but meh songs overall.
R.E.M.
4/5
Not R.E.M.'s strongest album, but still a good one. They've definitely found their sound here, and the energy is there.
Barry Adamson
3/5
Not bad. Not as good as Goncharov, but not bad.
This is a really fun concept but I'm not sure how effective it was overall. I can appreciate what Adamson was going for though, and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was super fun.
Cypress Hill
3/5
I don't listen to much hip-hop, but I didn't mind this. It sounds very 90s, and there isn't a lot of variety between songs, but it's a fun sound at least.
Sigur Rós
3/5
Atmospheric. The songs feel a bit long, but the flow is nice and it's pretty to listen to.
Pulp
3/5
Catchy songs. I already knew "Common People" and "Disco 2000", but the rest were new to me. Didn't blow me away, but I like their sound.
Nick Drake
3/5
Music to stare out a bus window like you're in an indie movie to.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I always really want to love Springsteen, but I'm often underwhelmed by him. Lyrically very good, musically fine, it just doesn't click for me though.
Beastie Boys
4/5
My first ever Beastie Boys and I'm pleasantly surprised! "Eugene's Lament" and "Flute Loop" were my favorite tracks, but I really enjoyed the way they played with sound throughout.
Neil Young
3/5
Fine Neil Young, not great but not bad to listen to.
Skepta
2/5
Interesting in that it made me consider rap in other countries, which I hadn't thought of before. As an album it wasn't really for me, but it wasn't painful to get through.
Cat Stevens
5/5
I'm in my Cat Stevens era ✨💁♀️
The Byrds
2/5
I didn't realize the Byrds were country? I think of them as being more folk rock but the first half of this album was full on twangy. The latter half had more rock elements, and I did feel like the album got better later on, and I enjoyed their version of "Pretty Polly". Overall I'm not sure that this needed to be included on this list. It's fine but not particularly interesting.
Sugar
3/5
Sounds like any number of rock bands from the 90s/early-00s, but it wasn't bad at all.
Metallica
3/5
Pretty solid Metallica. I continue to be impressed with the band's actual skills as musicians, and the songs I wasn't already familiar with were decent. Still not really my genre, but I can appreciate it.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
We need more poet singer/songwriters in the world today. I always enjoy Leonard Cohen but this was my first full album listening experience for him. It was a solid album.
Big Black
3/5
Taylor Swift
4/5
I'm not a Swiftie, but I do admit to really enjoying folklore and evermore when they were released in 2020. Of the two, evermore is the weaker one. It feels like a lot of b-sides that weren't quite good enough to make it onto folklore.
There are some solid songs on here though, "No Body, No Crime", "Champagne Problems", and "Closure" all stood out to me on this listen.
Garbage
3/5
Fun album, but a bit repetitive by the end.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Kraftwerk really is just a lot of fun, definitely the best as far as electronica goes. I think I liked this one a little more that "Trans Europe Express" but I also knew what to expect going in, which helped.
Britney Spears
3/5
I was 9 when this album was released and also very much the target audience, so I'm legally obligated to defend this album to my death.
That being said, even knowing that my sister owned this on CD and that we listened to it all the time, I gotta say I don't actually remember a lot of these songs outside of the major hits. Which isn't a great sign when measuring album impact. There are a ton of 90s pop ballads, and not enough of the pure pop that Britney does best.
4/5
I don't want to get too ahead of myself here, but these guys just might be able to save Pepperland from the Blue Meanies...
Dagmar Krause
4/5
Found a YouTube playlist that pulled all the tracks together in one place! I gotta say, I 100% was not expecting this when I hit play. Very theatrical/showtunes-y but with a very bleak feel. Makes total sense that it's a bunch of Weimar-era Cabaret songs. I like the tracks in German better than the ones in English.
The whole point of this project was to introduce myself to new-to-me music that I wouldn't come across or seek out naturally, and I think this album is a great example of that. It's weird and dramatic, but I'm into it.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
We love a concept album with a cohesive sound and cool vibes.
This is the first full Janelle Monáe album I've listened to, but whenever I hear songs by them, even out of context, I'm always pleasantly surprised somehow. So I think I need to just lean into it and admit I'm a fan.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie albums are always like 6-10 songs long and never waste a single track.
Adele
3/5
It's an Adele album. Powerhouse vocals, but not a lot of variety. It's enjoyable but not interesting.
Grizzly Bear
2/5
I know I listened to this yesterday morning, but I don't remember any of the songs today. Chill, coffee-shop music, not particularly memorable.
N.E.R.D
3/5
I pretty consistently enjoy these albums more when I listen with headphones as opposed to just from my phone speakers, and it's extra noticable when I end up splitting an album half speakers/half headphones... Which is what happened with this one. I enjoyed the second half (headphones) much more than I was enjoying the first half (speakers).
This was better than I was expecting based on the album art and wiki summary! It's an interesting mix on genres, and doesn't sound super 2004 like I was expecting. The two Lenny Kravitz collabs were the best tracks on the album, but the other songs weren't bad. Some of the lyrics definitely had me 🤔😂 though.
Pleasantly surprised but not blown away.
Little Richard
3/5
I'm going to have Tutti Frutti stuck in my head all day, aren't I...
This album was good. High energy, familiar songs, definitely danceable. The length was just about right, it didn't feel like it overstayed its welcome.
The Byrds
2/5
I always think I should like the Byrds more than I actually do. A little bit goes a long way with them. They've got a couple of good songs here but also a lot of mediocre songs that weren't that interesting.
Soft Cell
3/5
Lol wtf was "Sex Dwarf"??
Very 80s, "Tainted Love" is really the only standout, but as far as 80s New Wave goes, this was good.
Beatles
3/5
First of all, big fan of this album cover. It looks like they kinda forgot about Ringo and had to quickly add him in after the fact.
As far as the music goes, I know this was historically significant in the rise of the Beatles, but it's so bland. It sounds like they're playing at a prom in the 50s. It's very early-Beatles, and it's fine I guess. It's not necessarily one I would listen to straight through again.
AC/DC
3/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
Pretty good 60s folk rock.
William Orbit
2/5
I do like a good ambient soundscape, it must be said.
I think this would have benefitted from being shorter. Parts of it are quite good, but the overall album drags on to the point where I was bored by the end.
The Who
4/5
I really love the film adaptation of this album, and I gotta say I think the film soundtrack with the full cast is better. No offense, Townshend, but you're no Ann Margaret. Tina Turner's "Gypsy the Acid Queen" is so high-energy and camp compared to this one, it's not even a competition.
The music in this is great though. I love the instrumentals in the different -tures, and the overall concept/story is wild but fun.
The Who
4/5
Two days in a row of The Who... It's so annoying when you get back to back albums by the same band.
It's good stuff though, I always like the Who. They're really solid instrumentally, and they make the covers their own.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
I'm actually surprised by how many of these songs i already know. Like if you'd asked me this morning to name a Fatboy Slim song I don't think I could have done it, and yet...
These songs are sooo long and sooo repetitive. I'm not really a fan of it. Maybe in smaller doses, but as a full album it got old pretty quickly. My reaction when the last song ended was "thank God that's over".
Judas Priest
3/5
Pretty standard early-80s metal/hair band sound. Not bad overall as an album, but not a lot to make it stand out from the crowd for me.
Beck
3/5
Beck is Beck. I do like how he plays with genres, but I never seek out his music and it never really sticks with me. I don't think this will be an exception.
Muddy Waters
5/5
Such a vibe.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Soundtrack to either an alien abduction or a day at the aquarium. Either way, Oxygen is an appropriate title for these songs.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Better than I expected. More genre range than I thought CCR had, which was surprising.
Billy Bragg
3/5
Despite being a British album, strangely appropriate for today's US Presidential Election. Pretty good overall, but a little long. The songs were starting to sound a bit samesy by the end. I liked the vibe though, and will be checking out more of Billy Bragg's stuff!
The Only Ones
2/5
A bit whiny for me. It sounds much more modern than 1978, so the date was surprising. Some decent songs but it's not really doing it for me.
Tim Buckley
2/5
I'm not the purity police, if Tim Buckley wants to be unapologetically horny & racist on main that's his choice. The problem is that these songs just aren't that good. Disappointing considering I was pleasantly surprised by Buckley's "Goodbye and Hello" and was hoping for something similar here.
R.E.M.
5/5
This is my favorite REM album. I own it on CD somewhere and listened to it a ton in middle school/early-high school (I never owned any other REM albums, I genuinely don't know why I got this one...). I haven't listened to it in years though, so it was nice to revisit it! I'm pleasantly surprised to still remember all of the songs and lyrics. Nostalgic, but in a way that holds up.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
Ugh I am not in the mood for 3.5 hours of electronica, but here we go I guess.
Interesting that this is a mix of artists and not just one artist, the sound is very consistent and flows well between songs even though it's a mix. It's alright, but nothing particularly special.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
I'm a simple girl, I see the word "shoegaze" in the genre list and immediately lower my expectations.
These guys weren't bad. They're a little airy and insubstantial for me, but they definitely have a unique sound (very 90s) and the album was easy to listen to in the background of my day.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Love Amy Winehouse, but this is not her strongest album. I think you can tell it's her debut, the sound is there but it isn't as refined and polished as it will be in future albums. There also aren't really any hits on this one. All of the songs are perfectly fine and nice to listen to, but none of them have stuck with me past that initial listen. A perfectly nice way to spend an hour, but nothing to write home about.
Mercury Rev
2/5
Ugh more shoegaze. I quite like the weird little instrumental interludes throughout this album, but the lyrical songs are meh.
Carpenters
3/5
I like the Carpenters fine. Not the most exciting album, but inoffensive and a nice background to my morning.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Foo Fighters
3/5
Yup, it's the Foo Fighters. Exactly what I expected, no surprises.
Mekons
3/5
Surprising, I'm not sure what I was expecting (probably more mediocre brit-pop), but I enjoyed the pub rock vibes of this. I've already established I'm into instrumentals, and the folkesy vibes are doing it for me.
It's not an album full of hits, but it does feel ahead of its time for '85. It loses its momentum in the second half and gets a little too country with "Lost Highway".
Talking Heads
5/5
Snoop Dogg
3/5
3, but I should really deduct a star for the awful album artwork and the boringly misogynic lyrics. I like Gin and Juice though.
Justice
2/5
D.A.N.C.E is a classic, but it's about all this album has going for it. It's overall not bad, but electronica gets repetitive to me.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Soft, easy songs to listen to. Not particularly memorable but I do want to listen to it again.
The Band
3/5
Pretty standard late-60s rock. Nothing groundbreaking, but not bad..
Lambchop
2/5
Oh, in a stunning twist I actually liked this less after switching to headphones. Maybe this is just a better morning album than evening one?
IDK, this wasn't without it's moments. I liked "Butcher Boy" and "The Old Gold Shoe" but a lot of it was slow and didn't really speak to me.
The Band
3/5
Better than "Music From Big Pink" which i suppose makes sense, since this was their second album. It feels more cohesive as far as sound goes. Folkesy genre-wise, which I enjoyed.
Neil Young
3/5
The Cure
4/5
I've had a lot of folk rock in the last week (which I do like but gets old), so this was a welcome change of genre. And it was interesting to think about how much music developed between the late 60s and the late 80s to lead to genre shifts like this!
I've never listened to a full Cure album before, but it was a familiar and easy sound. "Lovesong" is a classic for a reason, and the overall album was very cohesive.
Brian Eno
3/5
Very Brian Eno. Well produced and he's having fun playing with sounds.
John Martyn
2/5
More funk than folk, but still not overly compelling. "I'd Rather Be the Devil (Devil Got My Woman)" was a solid track, but the rest were underwhelming.
Cream
3/5
A few good songs, but more filled than anything else. This feels like an early album, not as cohesive as it could be. It was fun to listen to though.
The Modern Lovers
4/5
All the reviews that are like "they're trying too hard to sound like Velvet Underground" don't get it, that's a feature not a bug! This album was not what I expected going in (with no knowledge of The Modern Lovers), but I really enjoyed it! It's got good energy and the sound is consistently one I like. I feel like you can hear their various influences, but they do also have their own sound, and they're having fun lyrically.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
That's some twangy country!
I don't hate it. The sound really isn't my favorite but the songs themselves lyrically are pretty fun.
Steely Dan
3/5
Mostly dad/yacht rock and easy listening, but there were a couple of songs where it seemed like they were playing with sound in a fun and interesting way. "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" is kinda a bop. And "Charlie Freak" was unexpectedly fun.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
I just don't listen to much hip-hop so I don't really know what I should be listening for when it comes up here. I like the genre fine when I hear it, but i don't tend to seek it out. This wasn't bad, I was familiar with a few of the songs but definitely not all of them. The overall "Wu-Tang" schtick was funny.
Keith Jarrett
3/5
Pretty piano.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
I liked the spoken word poetry bits, and the incorporation of other musical styles beyond just Rap. Overall a pretty solid album, with depth to it. I think it's one that probably rewards relistens.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I have definitely heard of LCD Soundsystem before, and I'm sure I've heard some of their music at some point but somehow none of this was familiar. It was good, it didn't blow me away but I mostly enjoyed it. Definitely better with headphones.
M.I.A.
3/5
I like M.I.A. well enough, but as a full album this was underwhelming. Definitely not her best.
Doves
2/5
Ah ok, my initial impression was that this is music my sister would have been super into in high school and I would have tolerated while she was driving me around but not really enjoyed. Which was pretty accurate.
Some of the songs did get more interesting/complex, "M62 Song" and "Friday's Dust" had a cool sound, and the instrumental tracks were solid. Overall though it's just fine, kind of bland indie-pop.
Boston
3/5
I've definitely listened to this album before. Boston's never been my fave dad-rock band, but they are definitely one of the better ones. This is a very cohesive album, the band has a distinct sound but the songs do all sound the same after awhile.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
I actually do like the World Fusion aspect of this, it makes for some interesting listening. The radio-show framing device for it got old fast though.
Green Day
5/5
This one's definitely influenced by nostalgia but I don't even care. Soundtrack to my high school years!
I've always really liked Green Day, so even without the nostalgia factor this probably would have gotten a high rating. Solid sound and instrumentals throughout, and the songs are thoroughly entertaining. There isn't really a dud in the bunch.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Cohen is always enjoyable. His songs can sound very same-y sometimes, but it's more about the lyrics with him than the tunes.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Not a very long album, but it has energy. The songs are all familiar, and some of them I've heard by other artists during this project (which isn't a surprise for the time period). Clearly the value in this album isn't in the songs themselves, but in the performance and production.
Comparing it to other live albums is interesting. The recording quality is very good for a live album, and i think the audience's energy and Lewis's feeding off that definitely help elevate the overall listening experience.
Idk this isn't going to be one that I immediately purchase and listen to all the time, but it's a fun listen and is mostly harmless in the grand scheme of things.
Mudhoney
4/5
Pretty solid proto-grunge/punk. I liked it!
Pere Ubu
3/5
I don't know what I was expecting, but I did enjoy this one.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
There were at least two songs on here that made me go "wait, this is Smashing Pumpkins??"
Incubus
3/5
When I was 11 or 12 one of the older dancers at my ballet studio was obsessed with Incubus and did a whole class for us with this album instead of the traditional classical music. It's my top association with the band. It's not really a great album and is very late-90s sounding, but it's not bad. I generally enjoyed listening to it.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Ok, one of the only things I really knew about RunDMC going into this was that they covered Walk This Way, but I was not expecting it to go so hard. I think they just own it now, it's their song.
I like the way these guys play with and merge genres. It's fun to listen to.
Coldcut
2/5
Violent Femmes
5/5
Honestly, of you played this for me with no context I would have guessed this was much more recent than 1983 (positive). I like it, the sound is like early pop-punk. It's got energy, but it's tempered by the slower tracks. Some of the lyrics are absolutely deranged and at one point I was like "oh God, imagine if the incels discovered this!" But I still had fun and enjoyed the vibes.
The Temptations
2/5
It's fine. The funk songs are fun, but the soul ones don't do much for me. The overall album feels uneven.
Ute Lemper
2/5
This album is all over the place. Some of the songs I enjoyed, some I think are probably better in German, some were bland and boring. Probably due to how many songwriters were involved in this. I generally like show tunes, so I didn't really have any issues with that part of it, but I wish the songs had been generally better and more consistent.
Funkadelic
3/5
TIL fried ice cream is a reality!
This is a perfectly fine funk album. The first half is better than the second half (which loses momentum), but the opening track "One Nation Under a Groove" is very fun. The band is clearly having a great time grooving together.
Kate Bush
5/5
Ah! I love Hounds of Love! It's one I already own on vinyl, and I'm excited to revisit it today. I rarely actually listen to Side B, so that was nice!
Various Artists
3/5
Hmmm... Feel like this was maybe not "random" but it did make me smile this morning.
Solid album, many of these particular versions of the songs have become Christmas staples over the years, and it's always a delight to hear some Darlene Love. At the end of the day though, it's a Christmas album. And I'm not convinced it's the best Christmas album out there, but it's fine. It gets thrown on for one month of the year and then not thought of again for the other 11 months.
Pere Ubu
3/5
Dithering between 3 and 4 for this but ultimately I think it's probably a 3. I like this genre though. It's my second Pere Ubu album and I've been pleasantly surprised by both of them.
The Zombies
3/5
What's your name? Who's your daddy?
"Butcher's Tale" and "A Rose for Emily" seem like the standouts here to me. This is pretty standard psychedelic rock, but it's done well enough.
Duke Ellington
3/5
Eagles
3/5
My mom once told me that this was a great make-out album, and it ruined both the album and the song "Hotel California" for me.
Regardless of it's alleged impact on my parents' sex life, this is a fairly underwhelming album. The singles off it ("Hotel California", "Life in the Fast Lane") are definitely the best part. There are a lot more slow songs than I expected on it, and they're mostly unmemorable. I generally think most Eagles songs should be on average at least 2 minutes shorter than they actually are. I don't hate it, I don't love it, it's fine.
Prince
3/5
Joy Division
3/5
Meh.
MC Solaar
3/5
Unfortunately my high school French was not up to this challenge! But this was still fun despite only catching every few words. I like getting international albums, it's interesting to see how the same music genres evolve differently in different countries. French hip-hop/rap isn't going to be my new top genre, but I enjoyed it.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Coldplay
3/5
Coldplay has kind of become a joke within the cultural zeitgeist over the years, but the result of that is that this album is actually better than I was expecting. At the end of the day though it still sounds like early-00s coffee shop music.
I actually think Coldplay's best album is "Viva la Vida" which isn't even on the 1001 albums list, so what do I know.
The Hives
3/5
It seems like cheating to include a compilation instead of the original albums these songs were featured on, but it is what it is. I did recognize and enjoy several of these songs (though probably wouldn't have been able to tell you the artist before this). It's definitely my kind of genre, but something about it was just ok. Not really a stand out.
Gorillaz
4/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
More Country than I was expecting, which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise. It's Elvis so I knew what I was getting into. Blue Suede Shoes was great, a lot of the covers ("I Got a Woman" and "Tutti Frutti" especially) were underwhelming.
Blur
3/5
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
I like "You Can't Stop the Prophet" and "Ain't the Devil Happy". As with all hip hop, I don't really know enough about it to feel like I can give it a fair rating, but I don't dislike it. I do feel like this got repetitive after awhile though.
The Pogues
4/5
David Gray
2/5
Coffee shop background music. Nothing super memorable or impactful, but there were at least 2 songs on here that I didn't realize we're David Gray.
One of those albums that I know my dad is going to rate higher than I'm rating it.
Björk
4/5
This is a headphones album for sure. My first Björk album, and I'm kinda into it? It's weird, but I knew it would be going in. The use of vocalizations instead of instruments is really cool and makes for an interesting but cohesive sound.
James Brown
2/5
Some of the girls in this audience need to chill out before they hurt themselves.
Tight instrumentals but none of the songs are particularly memorable.
The Avalanches
2/5
"Frontier Psychiatrist" was great, but overall this album is just a lot of sound bites and samples. It got repetitive fast, although I'm sure it took a lot of skill and time to put together.
Simply Red
2/5
Too easy listening for me. Why was the second song inexplicably recorded as if live but no other song on the album was? There there wasn't anything terrible here, but it bored me.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Almost pop-punk! You can certainly see where the groundwork is being laid for later punk bands, but it's almost too clean for me to really feel like it's true punk. Super high-energy and so on-the-nose as far as defying authority goes it almost feels performative. Lots of fun to listen to though!
Lorde
3/5
I always want to like Lorde more than I do. I don't dislike her, she's fine, but she rarely wows me. This album was no exception. A couple of solid songs and a lot of perfectly fine filler.
ABBA
3/5
The Stranglers
3/5
The songs aren't super memorable, but I did have fun listening to it. It probably would have been a 4 star if I hadn't paused halfway through and then accidentally listened to several of the earlier songs without realizing it because I didn't remember having already heard them.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Different sound for Bruce. Not bad, but not what I was expecting.
Supertramp
3/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
So many of these "World" genre albums just sound like some white guy went on a voluntourism gap year and is convinced he was "enlightened" and discovered something completely new and won't shut up about it. I did listen to the whole thing though so I guess 2.
David Bowie
5/5
If you don't like "Kooks" we can't be friends.
Truly one of Bowie's best. I love the evolution of his sound here, he's still a little folksy/hippy at this point in his career.
Orbital
2/5
Omg why is this over an hour long? That is excessive!
Talking Heads
4/5
Wild that there aren't more hits on this album. The sound is cool, but the album as a whole does kind of fizzle out on the B-side. Brian Eno's influence is noticeable, but I like Eno so it wasn't a negative. I love musicians who just do their own thing, and David Byrne definitely falls into that category.
Iron Maiden
3/5
Slipknot
2/5
I just don't really care for Slipknot. They feel like they're trying too hard to be edgy, and this album was way too long for what it was. The sound was also very 2008, I can't decide if it's aged well or not.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
More Country than rock but it was fine overall.
The Icarus Line
2/5
I'm kinda surprised I'd never heard of this band before. It came out around when I was first really paying attention to music and figuring out what I liked, and it's a genre I tend to gravitate towards. All that being said, the music was fine but ultimately unmemorable.
U2
3/5
This is better than I expected. I didn't like Joshua Tree and I'm usually underwhelmed by U2, but this is a well-produced album with a tight sound. "Seconds" made a lovely bridge between "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day".
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
This is just so incredibly long. I like the folksy bluegrass instrumental tracks, I'm less interested in the twangy country vocals. I actually really enjoyed the talking in the studio bits between tracks, it added a human element to the album that I found charming.
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
C'est merde.
Incredibly French, and trying embarrassingly hard to be cool and sexy. Maybe groundbreaking and interesting in it's time?
The Doors
4/5
Doors fans aren't made, they're born!
I do like the bluesy rock vibes of this, and obviously Love Her Madly and Riders on the Storm are solid hits. I did end up listening to it twice so that should probably weigh until my overall score.
Miles Davis
3/5
The Black Crowes
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
I'm somehow always pleasantly surprised by CCR. I don't know why because they always sound exactly like I expect them to, but for whatever reason I never think I'm going to like them.
Anyway, this was a solid album. More country sounding than I expected, but enjoyable. It didn't overstay its welcome or start to sound too same-y to me.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
Better than the Peter Tosh album I had awhile back, but 40 minutes of reggae is still just too much for me. I'm not chill or laid back enough for this.
Metallica
3/5
I mean, at the end of the day it's a greatest hits album. The live orchestra gimmick is cool but ultimately underutilized. I was actually really excited when the album started with the symphony playing "The Ecstacy of Gold", but by a couple of songs in it was pretty clear that the symphony was just filler and not actually necessary.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
My favorite of the CCR I've gotten so far. Very bluesy swamp rock that definitely works for me. It's wild that these boys were from California though. You weren't "Born on the Bayou" John!! You're from Berkeley!
Metallica
3/5
Would probably be more into this if I hadn't just heard all the hits from it two days ago on S&M. It's fine, it's Metallica. I'm always impressed with how technically proficient these guys are on their instruments.
Sepultura
2/5
I'm not a fan of the heavy metal screamo voice, so this isn't really doing it for me. I do like the Brazilian influences and instrumentals (Itsári and Canyon Jam were cool), but not enough for me to get past the singing style.
Pantera
2/5
Van Morrison
3/5
Not gonna lie, like all my albums this week have been metal, so this was kind of a breath of fresh air and my rating is likely to reflect that.
Easy listening. Elevator and hold music. Wholly inoffensive to my ears but not particularly interesting at the end of the day.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
AC/DC
3/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
This was not actually that bad! I went in knowing it was the lowest rated album on the list, so my expectations were tempered, but I kind of liked it!
I wouldn't like go to a live show or something, and I'm definitely not going to be buying this to listen to on the regular, but I thought the sound was an interesting experiment. I like it when people use non-traditional instruments like this. I absolutely did know when the album ended though because the next song that played on my Spotify had a legit guitar and I was like "oh, guess Kollaps is done".
This feels more like a performance art piece than music.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
American Music Club
3/5
Sounds like something my dad would have had on a cassette tape when I was a kid (positive).
I actually do like this. It's quiet but the instrumental aspect is solid. "Jenny" and "Last Harbor" were really lovely. At the end of the day it didn't blow me away, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Mike Ladd
2/5
Honestly I'm just wildly indifferent to this one. It's not bad, it's not amazing, it's mostly just boring.
Dr. Dre
2/5
This album ain't shit but hoes and tricks 😔
Snoop is really carrying this album, his verses are far and away the best on here, which isn't saying much. In the end it's a lot of posturing and somehow every single track is about Dre's dick.
The backing music and beats are great though. They've aged well and I think elevate the overall album. Without the beats it would be wholly unremarkable.
T. Rex
4/5
I went into this being like "I don't think I actually know that many T.Rex songs??" But then I knew like every song on the album. So shows what I know I guess. Clearly this is my kinda music.
Radiohead
2/5
I remember when this album came out and everyone was buzzing about the "pay what you want" thing. I don't love Radiohead, their songs all sound the same to me. It's a fine sound when it's on, but it's not one I ever find myself actively seeking out. Honestly, it's a 2.5. I don't know which way I'll be rounding.
Yes
3/5
Thundercat
4/5
I unexpectedly liked this. I wasn't expecting to based on the description, but the songs were nicely paced, and the lyrics were entertaining.
Saw a review comparing this to the YouTube video "A Brief History of Japan" and honestly that is spot-on as far as overall vibes go.
Massive Attack
2/5
This is going to sound dumb, but I did not expect there to be lyrics on this album. I actually think the singers detract from the tracks, and it would have been better without them? "Heat Miser" was the best song on here and it's the only one without a vocalist.
U2
3/5
Rush
4/5
Dion
1/5
How did he manage to make "(He's Got) The Whole World In His Hands" bad??
Honestly thought this was probably going to be a 2 for the first half but then it just kept going and getting more painful. "Your Own Backyard" entertained me for a bit at least. Spotify combined two of his albums but I only listened to the songs listed on the Wikipedia track listing. Not my style musically. Boring instrumentals and uninspired vocals. No thanks.
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
The Stone Roses
3/5
1989 feels so late for this sound, it feels like these guys belong in 1969.
Green Day
5/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Shack
2/5
Hmm it's fine. Unremarkable but inoffensive. Had a couple of songs that made me perk up with interest, but they ultimately fizzled out without really delivering.
Bob Dylan
4/5
"Tangled Up In Blue" is truly one of Dylan's best.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I like when Zeppelin goes folksy.
Ar one point in college I was chatting with someone and I asked if what he was reading at the time was any good and he shrugged and went "I mean, it's Hemingway" and honestly that's how I feel about Led Zeppelin. You know what you're getting into when you start it, there aren't really any surprises, but it's solid music and not the worst way to spend 45 minutes.
k.d. lang
2/5
I think "Constant Craving" is the only k.d. lang song I'd heard before listening to this and I gotta say, it's the only real standout on this album. It's easy listening, lang has a lovely voice, but all the tunes go in one ear and out the other. Her general vibe is too cool for her music to sound this bland.
Nick Drake
3/5
The Byrds
2/5
Why are there so many Byrds albums on this list?? My quick search says there are 5 of them! I don't think The Byrds made enough interesting music to justify taking up that many slots on this list even if they are considered "influential"!
TLC
2/5
This was fine. I'm not really into R&B, but this felt well-produced (if a little too long). The songs are mid, but I can appreciate the cultural and musical impact the album ultimately had. I don't expect it'll be one I revisit.
Pixies
4/5
Blur
3/5
Seems that I know a lot more Blur songs than I initially thought I did. I liked this one better than the last Blur album I got (Blur 1997), and as far as 90s brit-pop goes, they aren't bad. They have good energy and it's a fun album to listen to.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
I was into it. The melodies are lovely and meandering, and lend a very cool overall vibe to the sound. The songs all blend into each other in a way that makes this very much an album that rewards listening to it straight through.
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
Great album title, wish there were more of a haunted dancehall vibe to these tunes. Let's get some "Carnival of Souls" creepy organ music sampled or something!
The songs are interesting but ultimately unsubstantial. It works well as background noise while doing other things, but I wouldn't spend much time with it otherwise.
MGMT
4/5
I'm torn between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but I expect nostalgia will win out to bump it to the higher score.
Not my favorite MGMT album but it's hard to deny that the hits in it really hit. It's a fun mix of electronica and pop that hits just right.
Beastie Boys
3/5
These Boys seem like they're having fun, I like that they all take turns with the verses.
Didn't like it as much as Ill Communication, but still a solid hip hop album. The sampling was really well done, and an unexpected treat.
Johnny Cash
4/5
This is some good Johnny Cash. The songs are primarily covers, but they've all been stripped down, and the combo of simple guitar and Cash's voice is very effective. Obviously "Hurt" is amazing, but Cash really makes each of these songs his own. A high point to end his career.
John Grant
3/5
It's fine. There are some fun lyrics, some high-school emo poetry lyrics, and maybe someone's shopping list? The tunes themselves are quiet and start to sound a bit samey after awhile. I think this one would have benefitted from some additional editing and maybe tightening the whole thing up to a solid 40 minutes.
The Cure
3/5
Steve Winwood
2/5
Nothing much here to inspire. It's fine.
Elvis Costello
3/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
Prince
3/5
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
The hype around Hendeix's guitar skills is absolutely earned. The album is a little long and meandered in places, but overall an excellent listen.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
I liked this one more than I was expecting! It's got a narrative through-line, and the sketches between songs tied in nicely with that. It's not really my preferred genre, and it did feel long at over an hour, but it never felt like a chore to listen to. Ventures a bit too religious at times.
Circle Jerks
4/5
Fast and frantic. After several days in a row of 1+ hour long albums though, the brevity here was refreshing. The sound is unquestionably punk, but I'm into it.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
"You Outta Know" is still the angry girl breakup anthem of all time.
Was genuinely very excited to get this album this morning. I was too young for Alanis to really make an impression when this was first released, but I can absolutely hear the blueprint here for future Canadian pop rock girls like Avril (who I did love as a tween/teen).
The Dictators
3/5
Oof some parts of this one were rough to get through. The music itself is fine, punk-esque hair band/jock rock vibes.
Gang Starr
3/5
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
The Fall
3/5
I liked the opening song quite a bit, and the rest of the album was fine. It didn't wow me but it was alright.
808 State
2/5
Repetitive
Ice Cube
3/5
One of the better hip hop/rap albums I've gotten so far. The messages are unfortunately still very relevant today. The mysogyny is unfortunately as prevalent as it always is in this genre.
David Bowie
5/5
This is an interesting album to include on this list. It was only in one edition of the book (rightfully replaced by Blackstar in the next edition), and it genuinely feels like it was probably only inclided under the assumption that it was going to be Bowie's last. I remember the buzz around the surprise release, and I remember even at the time being generally underwhelmed by it.
It's solidly Bowie, so it's good stuff, but it's not his best. I feel like some of the songs were probably ones that weren't quite album-ready but got thrown on here anyway to (unnecessarily) pad it out. The sounds and themes he's playing with here will eventually be refined and perfected in Blackstar, but they aren't there quite yet.
Simple Minds
3/5
The sound mixing on this album is absolutely atrocious! It's like DRUMS BASS vocals SYNTH. Maybe the reason Simple Minds didn't have more hit singles was because no one could actually hear them singing?
It's fine. Incredibly 80s and not super memorable, but not bad either.
Roni Size
2/5
Generated this album yesterday and was so annoyed at getting another 90s electronica album, especially one over 2 hours long, I skipped it. I followed-up on it today though, and I can't say skipping it was a bad idea. It's long, it's repetitive, it's electronica. It overstayed its welcome by probably and hour and a half.
The Smiths
4/5
Y'ever listen to an album and have it immediately transport you back to a previous version of yourself? I've never really listened to the Smiths, but this album started and I was immediately in my senior year of high school/first couple years of uni again. I'm a different person now, I'm exactly the same person as I was then. The Smith's have got me feeling nostalgic, and I'm once again a lonely, uncool, terribly insecure girl. I am a cliche.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
Way more fun than I was expecting.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Probably a 3 but a high 3. It's enjoyable music but an hour of it does get old. Mr. Blue Sky is a bop though, and I liked the sound through-line from Steppin' Out to that. And Birmingham Blues weirdly didn't sound like ELO, but I did like the sound on that one.
3/5
Generic 80s New Wave Pop. Not bad but nothing really stand-out on this album. I did like the opening of "Show Me" quite a bit.
Talk Talk
3/5
The Police
2/5
I'm not convinced this list needed two Police albums, but whatever. Sting is Sting, the Police are the Police, you know what you're getting into.
Jimmy Smith
3/5
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Feels like this album wouldn't have been out of place around 2010, so 2004 surprised me. High 3 rating. It's fine, but overall meh.
Jack White
4/5
I mean, it (unsurprisingly) sounds like a White Stripes album, and I like the White Stripes so I am (unsurprisingly) vibing with it.
Orbital
2/5
Waking up this morning to more electronica like
It's fine. It's electronica. Some cool sampling of sound clips but every song is too long and too repetitive so I start out interested and then lose momentum super fast.
LL Cool J
2/5
More hip hop/r&b than I was expecting, which I feel is often the case with rap albums from the 90s. It's fine.
Paul McCartney
3/5
Yes
3/5
I didn't think I knew this band, but then the album cover looked super familiar and I recognized at least two of the songs on it ("Your Move" and "Starship Trooper: Life Seeker") so I guess Spotify has probably shuffled them into various "recommended for you" playlists in the past. It's not a bad album. I agree with the reviews that say that they sound a lot like Rush but not as good.
The two songs I recognized were definitely the best on the album, and I did think it got better as it went. I don't think it was a particularly stand-out album, but I wouldn't turn it off if I heard it again.
The Temptations
3/5
Super Furry Animals
2/5
No bad, but I felt like the band was having an identity crisis. Every song sounded like they were trying to mimic different, better bands.
Beastie Boys
3/5
There are a lot of Beastie Boys on this list. Not a bad thing, they're fun. The generator has given me all three in reverse chronologically order, so this is my last one on this project. Probably middle of the road out of the three.
The three song run of "Girls", "Fight for your Right", and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" was really solid. These guys are so goofy, but the energy really carries them.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Killing Joke
4/5
I was really expecting this to be a meh 3, but I had a lot more fun with it than I expected, and I ended up listening to part of it again this evening just because, so it deserves more than a 3.
Best song was "S.O.36" which weirdly reminded me a lot of Bowie's "Girl Loves Me" from ★, which obviously came much later than this.
Machito
3/5
Television
4/5
Miriam Makeba
3/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
Carole King
5/5
Dead Kennedys
5/5
This one's a lot of fun. I listened to it twice!
Faith No More
3/5
Morrissey
2/5
Musically inoffensive, but lyrically insufferable.
Fats Domino
4/5
I love you 20-minute albums from the 1950s!
3/5
Bobby Womack
2/5
The Prodigy
2/5
Laibach
3/5
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Background music, but better than I was expecting going in.
Klaxons
3/5
Sounds like a lot of music I was listening to circa 2007. I knew "It's Not Over Yet" already, but had honestly forgotten it existed until it started playing. It's fine, not standout or revolutionary, but a decent representation of late-00s UK alt rock
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Not as good as Blue, but it's Joni Mitchell so it's still miles ahead of a lot of albums on this list. The last few tracks started veering into a kind of swing-y 1940s sound, which was cool.
Leftfield
2/5
Completely indifferent to this one. I didn't like or dislike it, it simply was. It did feel too long though, and I doubt I'd actively seek it out again in the future.
Ride
2/5
Ughhhh it's fine, it's 90s shoegaze. Exactly what I expected going in despite some occasional sparks of promise that quickly fizzled out.
Oasis
3/5
The La's
3/5
Most of the songs are kind of 90s does 60s, which is fun. By and large there isn't much here. It's a fine album, but beyond "There She Goes" (which doesn't really sound like any of the other songs here), there aren't really any stand outs.
Massive Attack
2/5
Maxwell
2/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Funk and soul tends to be very hit or miss for me, but this one definitely hit! "Sex Machine" was a weak point, but the rest of the album was a pretty fun, funky time.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Wait, there are multiple Dexy's Midnight Runners albums on this list?? Why?
This is fine but ultimately nothing to write home about.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Oh hey, I watched the documentary about this group awhile back, but never actually listened to the album so this is a bit of a treat! I knew what to expect going in and wasn't disappointed, it's just fun, upbeat music.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
Def Leppard
3/5
David Crosby
3/5
The White Stripes
5/5
4/5
Wilco
3/5
The Verve
2/5
90s albums are always too long. Unfortunately, every song on this album sounds the exact same, and none of them are as good as Bittersweet Symphony (which is a good but not a great song).
Sabu
3/5
Neu!
3/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
"I haven't made a mistake yet in my whole career"
"Brian, we keep waitin for ya to make a mistake"
RIP Brian Wilson, you were a real one.
David Bowie
5/5
Not my favorite Bowie, but I do recognize the significance of it within his career as his transition from glam rock to more funk/soul inspired music. He has some great songs on here (Young Americans, Fame) and some definite flops.
The backing vocalalists (including Luther Vandross) on this are especially good, and really contribute to a very different sound for Bowie.
It's gonna get a 5 but only because of my personal biases, I totally get why this one isn't everyone's cup of tea.
King Crimson
4/5
Tom Tom Club
3/5
I really enjoyed the first couple tracks on this (Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love) but after about the 4th song everything started to sound the same. Most of the songs were longer than they needed to be, and very repetitive. Overall I didn't dislike the sound but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to.
Van Morrison
3/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Baby, baby, BABY, baBe, 👶, babY, bAby, Babe, bb
Beck
3/5
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Julian Cope
2/5
I only listened to the original album, not even the deluxe edition, and I got a say, this album is about 12 songs too long.
The music itself is fine, nothing special, very 90s. I think I'd view it more favorably if it hadn't felt so interminable.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Miles Davis
3/5
Fiona Apple
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Silver Jews
2/5
Every song had at least one lyric that made me go 🤔🤔 but overall this is a pretty bland album.
OutKast
4/5
This really does sound like two albums, and I think the strongest songs on each of them are the ones that sound like they belong on the other one/manage to combine the two sounds more cohesively. I think this would have been 5 stars if they had found a way to make the whole album flow together more.
I like the Andre 3000 side slightly more than the Big Boi side, but both made for fun listens.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Joe Ely
2/5
Air
2/5
UB40
2/5
George Michael
2/5
Chicago
3/5
Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? 🤔⌚
Ramones
4/5
X-Ray Spex
3/5
I feel like on paper this should have checked all my boxes, but in reality I was underwhelmed. Good energy, but didn't leave much of an impression.
Brian Eno
4/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
This was my third Beach Boys album in a month, but all three were different enough to be interesting. The typical Beach Boys sound is here, but it's generally tempered compared to some of their earlier stuff. The environmental message was occasionally cloying but came from a good place.
The Yardbirds
4/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
I spent the whole time I was listening to this album doing the jerk off gesture because I was so annoyed by it.
This was too long, and every song sounded the exact same, and unfortunately I have had Californication stuck in my head all day which is not helping endear this album to me. If I was listening to this in a vacuum and had never heard any RHCP before I could see where this could be interesting, and I don't mind the occasional RHCP song on the radio, but as a full album this was just self-indulgent frat music.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Still reeling at the fact that there are three (3) Dexy's Midnight Runners albums on this list.
This is fine. I'm not sure what version of the album Spotify has though, it doesn't match any of the album track listings on Wikipedia, it's close to the original, but there are some tracks that seem to be missing and some new tracks that aren't listed, so I genuinely don't know. The majority of the tracks seem to be there and in the right order though so I'm just going to go with it.
Jethro Tull
5/5
Feeling like a dead duck
Peter Gabriel
3/5
ZZ Top
3/5
Iron Maiden
3/5
Frank Black
3/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
The Zutons
3/5
Pearl Jam
3/5
Pearl Jam songs all kinda sound alike, but I also recognized a lot of these so it wasn't bad.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
Jeff Beck
4/5
Solid Blues Rock, and I enjoyed the unexpected Greensleeves.
David Bowie
5/5
I enjoy Bowie's ambient experimentation in the Berlin trilogy.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Cool concept, ok execution. I generally enjoy Nick Cave, but this one isn't his best.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Jamiroquai
2/5
Frank Zappa
4/5
Ananda Shankar
2/5
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Some really cool sampling happening on this one. I do enjoy 90s hip hop, the artists always sound like they're having just the best time.
PJ Harvey
4/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Patti Smith
4/5
I love getting albums that I already own! Listened to the vinyl for the full, raw experience.
I like Patti Smith quite a bit, but I admit this one isn't my favorite of her albums. "Gloria: In Excelces Deo" absolutely slaps and is a powerhouse start to the album, but none of the songs after it really reach that same peak. Nevertheless, it's clearly influencial and is building on previous rock trends in an interesting (to me) way. Smith's lyrics are always fantastic, she really is a poet and rocker, not the other way around.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I mean, this was fun. It was about what I expected from a Belle & Sebastian album. Mellow, but not in a bad way. It made for some chill background music while doing other things.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
This vibes. It didn't blow me away, but I was mostly into it. There were points that I didn't love (lots of discordant ambient sounds that didn't work for me) but there were also plenty of ponits where I was into it. Probably not going to be higher than a 3 though because I do think this is one that would have to catch me in the right mood. Dreamier than Rock Bottom for sure, but not a better overall album.
Fugazi
3/5
Elastica
4/5
Yeah, it's good alt rock.
Arrested Development
3/5
Not bad, but the songs started getting really religious and preachy about halfway through, which I wasn't expecting. The instrumentation was really cool though, and I had fun.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Giant Sand
2/5
NGL I can't remember this album's name or the band or any of the tunes on it, even though I know when I listened to it yesterday I was like "a little long, but not bad". So I don't even know.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Caetano Veloso
3/5
Why does this man look like he wants to kill me?
Tricky
2/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Definitely a jam. And some of the songs are so funny? Wasn't expecting that!
Morrissey
3/5
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
Oh, this has a similar vibe to Einstürzende Neubauten! It only pre-dates Kollaps by like 3 years, but there's definitely a connection between the two. This is cleaner, more polished, and I like it better at the end of the day. There's a bit of electronica to it, and I thought the voice clips were interesting. Not one that I expect i'll listen to regularly, but an interesting 40 minutes!
Ian Dury
2/5
Not sure this is really one I needed to hear before I died.
It's fine, I guess. I don't hate it, but I feel like a couple of songs was sufficient to get the sound/vibe and I really didn't need 40 minutes of this. I don't mind goofy music, but this didn't feel particularly clever.
I will grant that "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" kinda slapped.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I can never decide if I like Nick Cave or not. The albums of his that hit are really good, but the ones that miss are just slogs to get through. I also didn't love Murder Ballads so I wonder if it's just Nick Cave's ballads that really don't speak to me. Much to ponder.
The Clash
4/5
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
Dire Straits
4/5
Guitar George who knows all the chords is an outlier adn shouldn't be counted.
Eminem
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Honestly thought I'd already gotten all the Nick Cave albums on the list, but apparently not. In a previous review I was like "I generally enjoy Nick Cave" but now I'm questioning that because the last three albums by him that I've gotten (including this one) have been resoundingly meh.
This one is not very fun, mostly it's just boring. I'm bored. I get it Nick, but can you make it a little more interesting?
Beatles
3/5
The Coral
3/5
The Young Gods
2/5
French circus metal.
The Tidal link actually took me to a different album (by the band Eau Rouge) which sounded like MGMT dance music, so I was confused for a couple of tracks until I figured out what happened. The actual album was much closer to what I expected based on the Wikipedia and reviews.
I liked the opening track, but wasn't especially into the album as a whole by the end. I think I would have liked it better if the vocals were less grating.
M.I.A.
3/5
This was a fun listen! I was pleasantly surprised by the opening track ("Bamboo Banga") using the lyrics to "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers, I wasn't expecting that!
Overall this is a fine album, it sounds like what you'd expect from M.I.A. "Paper Planes" still holds up.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
4/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
I listened to it twice and really enjoyed it both times!
Heaven 17
2/5
Between a 2 and a 3. It's not the worst thing I've listened to, but it's not especially interesting either. Like off-brand Devo, it doesn't quite work as well as the good stuff. Very repetitive and by the second half I was ready for it to be done.
Elbow
3/5
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
Elevator music. Pretty but insubstantial.
Buzzcocks
4/5
Scott Walker
3/5
I genuinely don't know, so 3 I guess?
Definitely a crooner sound but not like any crooner music I've heard before. Some of the songs/lyrics are bizarre, some of them are alright. I can definitely hear bits that clearly influenced later bands/artists. Overall not a bad listen, I didn't hate it, but I don't think Scott Walker is going to be one I listen to regularly.
The War On Drugs
3/5
The Wallflowers meet Lord Huron. But not actually as good as either of those bands.
It's fine, it sounds like indie rock of the 2010s, so exactly like I expected it to going in, but it does have some nice 90s alt vibes on a few songs. I think my younger sister would be into this. A little too long and samey at the end of the day.
The Cult
3/5
Mid. Perfectly fine, but nothing really stands out here.
Marvin Gaye
2/5
Really enjoyed how smooth the transition was between each song here, but at the end of the day I still just don't love Soul.
Aerosmith
3/5
Queen
4/5
I have such a hard time rating albums from major bands. On the one hand, this was pretty mediocre as far as Queen albums go, there weren't any real standouts and it sounded exactly like I expected. On the other, a mediocre Queen album is still better than so so many mediocre albums on this list, so I'm torn.
Basement Jaxx
2/5
Steve Earle
2/5
Solidly Country. I'm not really a country fan but I've definitely listened to worse than this over the course of this project.
Blondie
5/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
There's like a three-song stretch in the middle that's really good ("Everybody Knows", "I'm Your Man", "Take this Waltz") but everything else on this album seems weirdly 80s and is a different sound than I usually expect from Leonard Cohen. All of the songs drag on for longer than they really need to.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
My final Dexy's Midnight Runners album! When I went in I was like "oh, it's only 7 songs, that's not so bad" but then somehow every one of those 7 songs was 10 minutes long, which is honestly so detrimental to the album as a whole.
I don't hate this music style, but we've had better examples of it already on this list (and on other DMR albums), so at the end of the day this just feels like unnecessary filler.
3/5
Dire Straits
4/5
The Triffids
2/5
Ozomatli
2/5
Probably one I should relisten to at some point, I didn't really give it as much attention as some of these other albums.
I liked "Doña Isabelle" the best from this, otherwise the songs all kind of blended into each other.
Billie Holiday
3/5
Animal Collective
3/5
Solange
3/5
2/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
As a Pink Floyd album this kind of sucks, but as a psychedelic rock album by a new up and coming band it's fine.
You can hear the sound that they're eventually going to figure out (especially in songs like "Interstellar Overdrive" and the end of "Bike") but a lot of the songs just sound like standard, kind of goofy psychedelic rock of the era.
Why did Bowie and Pink Floyd both release weird gnome songs in 1967?
The Smiths
2/5
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Nick Drake
3/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Reminds me of my senior year of high school, and my crush who was super into Arcade Fire and always had one of their songs as his Myspace profile song 😂
Michael Jackson
3/5
Khaled
2/5
David Ackles
3/5
Interesting to see this classed as "Country" as the genre. It's much more show-tuney than country. Lots of big band instruments and storytelling lyrics.
Mott The Hoople
4/5
Mott the Hoople wants to be Bowie so bad it makes them look stupid.
The Blue Nile
3/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
The Pretty Things
3/5
Elliott Smith
2/5
Coffee shop music. Faux-deep but ultimately insubstantial. Not bad to listen to, but very much background music.
Q-Tip
3/5
Beatles
4/5
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
The Pharcyde
2/5
Spacemen 3
2/5
Bad Brains
3/5
Faust
4/5
I like the music, it's a cool vibe. I wish the songs weren't all so long though, they start to drag about halfway through each one.
Sebadoh
2/5
Meh
Beach House
3/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Anita Baker
3/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
Super Furry Animals
3/5
The Killers
5/5
🚨We are on 24-hour Killers lockdown🚨
Definitely not a perfect album, but I did very much imprint on it when I was 15/16 so I forgive all its flaws.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Bert Jansch
4/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Wait, are there multiple Kings of Leon albums on this list?? Is that necessary?
It sounds exactly like a Kings of Leon album. Which isn't bad, but doesn't blow me away either. I thought Only By The Night was better overall.
The Style Council
2/5
A lot of sounds trying to happen here. Not all of them bad, but it makes for a very inconsistent album.
The Go-Go's
4/5
Pixies
4/5
Justin Timberlake
2/5
"Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body" are both fine, it's clear why those were the singles from this album. The rest of this one is decidedly meh. Every song is 5 minutes long and super repetitive, which I guess is probably good for dance music in a club, but is tedious to listen to straight through.
I was never a Justin Timberlake fan, even though I was smack dab exactly in his target demographic when he was at his peak.
The Soft Boys
3/5
N.W.A.
3/5
Björk
4/5
Lana Del Rey
4/5
Lana Del Rey albums are summer listens, not autumn listens, but setting the timing aside this is still a fun album. Not my favorite of hers, but I enjoyed listening to it.
Soundgarden
3/5
Paul Simon
4/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Ended up having to split this into two days because I didn't have time yesterday to listen to the full album!
It was fine, exactly what I expected from Smashing Pumpkins. The sound's not a bad one, but 2+ hours of it did feel like a drag. Some really solid songs on here mixed with some some really unmemorable ones.
Waylon Jennings
4/5
Is this project turning me into a country fan? What is happening? This was genuinely just a fun album. It was a good length, and the songs were catchy but not cloying. I enjoyed listening to it.
Public Enemy
3/5
3/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
Hot Dog those inmates really loved the harmonica!
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Orange Juice
2/5
Todd Rundgren
3/5
2.5, super hit or miss for me across the album, but not a bad listen.
The Who
3/5
I'm not sure the Live gimmick was necessary here, but it is always fun to hear bands interacting with an enthusiastic audience.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
The White Stripes
4/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Fairport Convention
4/5
Honestly torn between a 4 and a 5 on this one, but I think it'll probably land on a high 4. I love English Folk Rock so this was right up my alley. I really enjoyed the mix of traditional ballads with original pieces.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
Barry Adamson
3/5
Not sure what the plot of this fake movie was, the soundtrack was all over the place.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Destiny's Child
2/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
3.5, this was a lot quirkier and fun than I was expecting it to be!
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Madonna
2/5
Ash
2/5
I didn't hate it but I also have already forgotten every song on it and will likely forget the album even exists in a week of so.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Rock and Roll 🤘
Morrissey
2/5
2.5, it's fine but it wasn't particularly groundbreaking. It sounded like a Morrissey album of which there are apparently a million on this list.
Method Man
3/5
Still a lot of Wu Tang for a solo album. Very good sampling and production.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Talking Heads
4/5
There is WATER💧 at the bottom of the OCEAN 🌊
New York Dolls
4/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Arctic Monkeys-lite. I liked listening to it but there weren't any memorable songs to make me want to return to it regularly.
The Damned
3/5
He's got the hands of a deranged clown??
Tom Waits
4/5
a-ha
3/5
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
The Incredible String Band
2/5
The Residents
3/5
Super weird but in an interesting way! It held my attention, and didn't overstay it's welcome. I'm not about to go out and buy it to listen to all the time, but it wasn't a bad way to spend 35 minutes.
Sonic Youth
3/5
3.5. I've listened to this one a couple of times, and I like it, but something just isn't clicking to make me want to round up instead of down. Who knows, maybe that will change.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
Jacques Brel
3/5
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
Quicksilver Messenger Service
2/5
At one point I thought a song (Calvary) was done so I went to check how many tracks were left on the album, but we were only halfway through that specific song.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Wilco
3/5
Pentangle
3/5
Slipknot
2/5
Not sure this list needed multiple Slipknot albums, but sure. It's exactly what I expected going in. I'm always kind of disappointed in Slipknot because Corey Taylor has a nice voice but he insists on doing the heavy metal scream singing that is just grating to my ears.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
White Boy Blues.
That Eric Clapton guy sure can play the guitar though.
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
God, this is just so long. I like the Magnetic Fields but have never listened to a full album of theirs, and this was a doozy of a place to start. 3 hours is so much time to find to sit and listen to music on a Monday. There's a real range of songs here, some good and some not. I would love to hear a tighter version of this with all the filler for the sake of filler cut out.
About halfway through the first 10 songs or so I was like "this sounds so much like the Gothic Archie's, I wonder if the lead singer did that project too..." And then I googled it and not only did he do The Gothic Archie's but Daniel Handler plays the accordion on this album 😂 It's a small musical world out there!
PJ Harvey
2/5
I got almost all the way through this album before realizing that I wasn't actually listening to it and at some point it had slipped into background music territory. It's was nice background music, but not a very captivating album.
The The
3/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Very 80s. Sounded exactly like I expected it to. 3.5 stars rounded up!
Skunk Anansie
2/5
I'd never heard of this band before and went in with no idea what to expect. They're cool, but this album is wildly inconsistent. None of the songs really hit with me, but pretty much all of the long slow ballads were misses and there were too many of those for me to really enjoy the album as a whole.
I'm always excited to get a woman rock band on this list though, they are not well-represented.
Eminem
3/5
Like the last Eminem album I had parts of this were really rough. There are some pretty solid songs on here (Stan, Who Knew, The Real Slim Shady), but there are also plenty of songs that are almost painful to listen to. Despite that, Eminem is somehow always a better rapper and lyricist than I expect him to be.
I've yet to hear a rap album where I consistently enjoy the sketch tracks, and this was no exception. Suffering through Ken Kaniff did prompt me to look up the history of sketch tracks in rap and hip hop albums though, so that was fun.
2.5, rounding up.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
The National
4/5
I used to listen to this one a lot in college, so it has a strong nostalgia factor for me.
The Birthday Party
3/5
The Jam
3/5
Herbie Hancock
3/5
Dinosaur Jr.
2/5
Fela Kuti
3/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Suede
3/5
Weather Report
2/5