285
Albums Rated
3.12
Average Rating
26%
Complete
804 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950
Favorite Decade
Funk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
39
5-Star Albums
24
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt
|
5 | 2.29 | +2.71 |
|
Rejoicing In The Hands
Devendra Banhart
|
5 | 2.81 | +2.19 |
|
Damaged
Black Flag
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
World Clique
Deee-Lite
|
5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
|
Truth And Soul
Fishbone
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Permission to Land
The Darkness
|
5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
|
Bad Company
Bad Company
|
5 | 3.25 | +1.75 |
|
Emergency On Planet Earth
Jamiroquai
|
5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
|
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
|
5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
|
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
|
5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Different Class
Pulp
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.4 | -2.4 |
|
xx
The xx
|
1 | 3.35 | -2.35 |
|
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
|
1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
|
The College Dropout
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
Live Through This
Hole
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
Are You Experienced
Jimi Hendrix
|
2 | 4.14 | -2.14 |
|
Youth And Young Manhood
Kings of Leon
|
1 | 3.09 | -2.09 |
|
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
|
2 | 4.08 | -2.08 |
|
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Lucinda Williams
|
1 | 3 | -2 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pixies | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Kanye West | 2 | 1 |
| The xx | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Verve | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | 4, 1 |
5-Star Albums (39)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Dr. John · 5 likes
1/5
If Dr. John was going for dreadful, he got it. The audio mixing on this in genuinely dreadful. The lead vocals are loud, shocking, and distorted, and ruin the performance of the much better backing musicians. There was not a single track on this album I would bother listening to again knowing how crummy the listening experience is. Save yourself, don't bother. There's more than enough average crappy psychedelic music from the late 60s on this list anyway.
Lightning Bolt · 2 likes
5/5
This album is pure energy and distilled chaos. I know some will argue that it sounds like a bunch of people playing their instruments fast and loud and it doesn’t sound like music, but to me everything feels very intentional. There is a blend and a balance to these parts as they turn music into something feral and primal. I completely agree that this album deserves to be on the list because everyone should experience this at least once, just to see what having rock instruments truly cranked to the point of exaggeration feels like.
The Dictators · 2 likes
4/5
I had a surprisingly good time with this album. It’s not perfect, but that’s the charm. It sounds like people having fun making imperfect music. One of my favorite things is hearing people record music for fun, rather than it needing to be a magnum opus. I know some of the lyrics were a bit questionable at times, but I think that can be overlooked with how influential this type of music was to punk and other genres.
The xx · 2 likes
1/5
I saw a joke online once about how “Minimalism is a scam designed by big Nothing to makes us buy more less” and that’s how I feel about this album. It feels like they repeatedly tried to find the least amount of effort they could put into a song and still call it music. There are times when this works, like in film scoring, but as a standalone album it feels sparse and uninteresting. I would actively skip any song that wasn’t Intro from this album.
Paul Simon · 1 likes
4/5
A remarkable album full of a lot of great tracks. I can see myself coming back to this album again. Interesting to hear the African influence on the tracks. Glad I took the time to listen.
1-Star Albums (24)
All Ratings
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
These songs all feel so long. Sometimes it works, but other times it just feels unnecessary. I’ve heard a handful of songs off of this album before, so it’s nice to get to hear those again. It reminds me of high school, which is weird because this album came out 20 years before I finished high school. But it makes me think of playing Rock Band with my friends, hanging with Ryan, and having fewer stresses in my life. Sir Psycho sexy is still a trip. I don’t know that I’d go back and listen to the whole album all the way through all that often, but I enjoyed this revisit.
Queen
5/5
I did not realize just how operatic this album actually is. There are swooping falsettos and aria-like melodies all throughout the songs. I found some new songs that tickled me, such as Lazing on a Sunday afternoon. Death on Two Legs is an understated standout on this album. Everyone knows Bohemian Rhapsody, but Death is an earworm full of power chords and amazing harmonies. I would absolutely listen to this album all the way through again. It goes down smooth and sounds incredible.
Eagles
3/5
I took some time to look up Eagles since they weren't a group I was as familiar with. This is a really great album, but at the same time it feels tame compared to the 50 years of rock that came after it. There are plenty of times where this album sounds like cowboy campfire songs that were expanded into rock songs. I do like that this type of rock has more of a country and western influence, and the vocal harmonies are spectacular. It's a shame that rich vocal harmonies like this fell out of fashion. I don't know that I will come back to this album, but I will think about how it influenced rock for years to come.
Van Halen
4/5
This feels like a quintessential 1980s album. It’s hard to think about from Rock from the 80s and not include Van Halen on that list, and I feel like this album has all the singles you would expect somebody to know. Obviously some of the lyrics and juvenile and questionable at times, but they exist as a product of their time, and can exist then without trying to be recreated now.
Beatles
3/5
Throughout different points in my life I have often wondered if the Beatles are famous because they are good, or because they managed to have an idea first. I frequently flip flop on my opinion, but this album pushes me toward the “first” side of that spectrum. The songs are pleasant to listen to, and some are catchy enough to remember and think about, but most of them I just listened to and didn’t think much more. I think not everything they wrote needs to be obsessively reviewed. Some songs can just be mediocre.
Led Zeppelin
2/5
I really wanted to give this album the benefit of the doubt. The first few songs were really good. Then came the first long song. Then another. Then lots of songs with throaty ooohs instead of lyrics. I listened to it all. I won’t go back.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Always nice to hear a crooner. I enjoyed getting to hear some old jazz standards. A good time all around.
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
I love this style of music. Some of the tracks were a real vibe. Some show how music has changed. Parade was an example of a song that has not stood the test of time. Regardless, I would listen to this again, or add some tracks to other playlists. Good stuff.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
It's a bad sign when I'm already bored during the opening track. This is tiring, boring, pointless audio. I can't even call it music, because swells of chords and repeated lines barely feels like it qualifies. The lyrics are vapid. The singer's voice tries to sound wise and elderly but comes off as tired and dehydrated. You could not pay me to listen to this again.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Good musicianship, but I had a hard time focusing without being able to understand the lyrics.
Michael Jackson
2/5
Very slick and well produced album. The chunky bass lines are a treat, but otherwise not a lot stood out to me.
Ice T
3/5
This isn’t exactly my kind of music, but I understand the cultural significance of it. While I’ve knocked other albums for being well produced, the overall result was they had nothing to say. This album is well produced, and you can feel the message Ice-T is trying to give. There are times where it feels exaggerated and it’s likely fictional, and it often over glamorizes violence and disturbing things, but it feels like that was the point. The only way to cut through the noise was to be brash and hope that people heard you. I also enjoyed the Body Count song. If Body Count isn’t in this collection, I’ll have to make a note to listen to some on my own time.
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
A lot of this album was just generic country rock to me, with a heavy lean in name dropping bands they liked. Then the tracks about the Alabama Icons made me sit up and listen. I thought they were really passionate and informative. Then it was back to generic country rock. At least it’s pre 9/11, so it’s not infused with misguided patriotism.
Gorillaz
5/5
I haven’t listened to this album all the way through in a number of years, but it is just as good as I remember it. I’m glad it came onto my list when it did because it’s such a killer summer vibes album. The blend of Albarn’s previous rock work and hip hop just goes so well together. I was delighted to hear this album again and many of the songs will go into rotation for my other listening. Would absolutely listen again.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
This album shows a real evolution in house electronic music could be taken seriously. Not only are the songs catchy, but they play with motifs and often feature a considerable amount of theme and variation. It’s not just a handful of samples played the same way for 3-7 minutes at a time, and I think that makes it stand out against the bleeps and bloops that came before it.
Joan Armatrading
2/5
It was a nice blues/rock mix, but nothing about it really stood out to me.
Black Sabbath
2/5
R.E.M.
4/5
A really great listen. It’s melancholy pop that makes you feel happy and sad. Hard to describe, but great to experience.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
A nice, grooving jazz album. Can’t say much stood out to me, but it also didn’t offend either. Nice bass lines in a lot of the songs. I’d put it on as background music in the future.
Donovan
4/5
A really interesting listen. I can hear this influence of this album reverberate through the next nearly 60 years. From Jefferson Airplane, to the Doors, to Beck, to even Smash Mouth. Elements of this album feed the inspiration of bands to come.
I already knew a few songs on this album, but it was enjoyable to hear the rest.
Willie Nelson
3/5
This album has a really great flow. It definitely feels like it was meant to listen to as a whole album.
Willie Nelson has an incredibly soulful singing voice. And it’s refreshing to hear a country album that is so simplified. Mostly acoustic guitar with vocals. Sometimes another instrument chimes in, but never in an overpowering way.
Sometimes a hymn, sometimes a cowboy tune, sometimes a poem, but always done with intention. I like it.
Fugees
2/5
This is the kind of music where I can tell it’s well done. I can tell it’s meaningful to the right people. I am not those people. I try to give every rap and hip hop album a chance, but between the skits, the language, and the general themes, I just can’t see myself listening to the whole album again. I could listen to the singles again, and I think they have a great dynamic in the music they make. It’s just all a vibe that is not meant for white guy me.
Megadeth
2/5
I knew the title track from an unfortunate night of playing Rock Band 2 years ago. At that time I loathed the song from hearing it so much, but eventually learned to like it. Now I finally listen to the album as a whole and it’s… fine. Most of the songs sound boringly same-y and unforgettable compared to one another. It’s nice to get to hear metal on the list, but there’s not nearly enough about this album to make me want to listen to it again.
Queen
3/5
You can hear the Glam Rock style associated with Queen, but overall this was kind of a snooze of an album. Killer Queen is obviously the highlight of the whole album and beyond that most of the songs are just there. I’d listen again, but I think other albums from other bands are more deserving of attention at this point.
The Go-Go's
5/5
This album hit a sweet spot for me. Little pieces of punk and surf fueling high energy music. The instruments and voices sound great and well mixed. A nice variety in the song writing. I only knew the singles going in, but I was so impressed by this album. I would absolutely listen to it again.
Pentangle
2/5
I always enjoy a folk rock group, and this album started off strong, but lost me by the end. I don’t know exactly what didn’t work for me, but I thought it was just kind of average overall by the end.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
I always want to try and say at least one nice things about these albums. So here’s my one nice thing: I’m glad “music” like this exists so it could evolve into what would become the industrial sound.
Now that we have that out of the way. Ooof. This really is a tough album to listen to. Was it really vital I hear this in my lifetime? At least I have a new contender for music to clear out a room at the end of a party.
The Byrds
1/5
Saccharine and uninteresting country. Almost so much so that it sounds like a parody of country music.
2/5
I feel bad because I’ve been taught so much of my life that noise isn’t music. That loud wailing and screeching is just sound. I respect the people who try to form something out of that chaos. They try hard to make something they think others will like listening to. But I just don’t have the ear for it. Having listened to Kollaps last week, this is a more enjoyable experience, but it’s still not something I plan on coming back to.
Beatles
4/5
This album is great, but at times there were elements I found odd. The first half of the album is full of incredible songs, but they whiplash around tonally and stylistically every track. Then the back half of the album feels like one long, extended song broken into movements. And then The End is a neat little bow to tie the package together. You can absolutely see why albums like this are the foundation for so many other musicians for decades. I just wish I liked the whole package a little more to bump it to a full 5 stars.
Black Sabbath
3/5
A cromulent album. Changes is the standout on this record for sure. It’s a welcome change out pace on the album.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
It’s not terrible music, just overly repetitive with not much to say. I’m sure it was cool for its time, but now it sounds crunchy and antiquated. Can’t say I’ll go back for another listen.
Johnny Cash
4/5
A fantastic album. The covers aren’t all perfect, but there is a level of emotion to them that’s hard to match. I would absolutely listen to this album again.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Non-specific early 90’s grunge. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t all that memorable. I think there’s a reason I’ve never heard of this band. At least it doesn’t feel like my time was wasted.
Everything But The Girl
4/5
This is exactly my kind of music, but I can’t say every track grabbed me. Looking at the release year, this album feels ahead of its time. The songs have a feel that reminds me more of the 00s. I enjoyed this listen, I was into it from the first track. I will make sure to return to this album in the future to give it another listen.
Dolly Parton
3/5
This was another one of those albums where the component parts are great, but the sum of the whole just wasn’t for me. I thought their voices were nice together, the instrumentation is good, but I didn’t love it.
The Kinks
3/5
I enjoyed this album. It was enjoyable from start to finish, even though I didn’t know any of the songs before going in. I think I would go back and listen to this album again to try and pick some songs I’d put on a playlist in the future. Good time overall.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
It sounds like a 90’s ska album, but they forgot to mix the horns in. Otherwise kind of forgettable 90s rock. I doubt I’ll go back for another listen of this one.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
I’m sure Cohen is seen as a poet for a generation, but I have a hard time focusing on his music. A lot of the time it feels like the guitar is just too frantic. There are other folks artists and albums which appeal to me, this one can stay in the played once pile.
Alice In Chains
2/5
There was a point in time where I didn’t have my own defined musical tastes and I thought that anything from the grunge and alt-rock scene was what I preferred to listen to. I listened to this whole album and I now know that I liked certain radio singles, but a whole Alice In Chains album does not do it for me. It’s too slow paced and whiny sounding, and the lead singer uses the same affectation to his voice that Jack Black uses when he’s trying to be a silly guy. Now I know. Teenage me was really lost on musical tastes.
The Temptations
4/5
One thing I like about this list is how is does try to gather examples of the best artists in a genre. The Temptations have a remarkable R&B sound that isn't like anything else. I liked the album overall, but some of the songs got just a little long in the tooth. Still a good listen by the time it was done.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Both Blue Rondo ala Turk and Take Five are masterpieces. They make this album absolutely worth a listen. This is also just exactly the type of jazz I like listening to. I would absolutely listen to this album again.
The Prodigy
2/5
Pretty generic D&B music. Didn’t love the lyrics to the opening song, they weren’t great and I’m sure the sentiment has aged poorly. It makes for okay background music, but I wouldn’t actively seek it out to listen to.
Paul Simon
4/5
A remarkable album full of a lot of great tracks. I can see myself coming back to this album again. Interesting to hear the African influence on the tracks. Glad I took the time to listen.
Kraftwerk
2/5
Having listened to a handful of these older electronic music albums, they suffer from the same problem. They develop some unique instrumentation, but they are just bland and repetitive. I’m glad they’re the stepping stones for the genre and others to come. But I just can’t see myself coming back to this.
Dead Kennedys
4/5
This album reminds of the first few seasons of South Park. It feels like it's trying really hard to be edgy and offensive, but with an undercutting cynicism toward both the problem and the solution to the problem. However, the medium works perfectly. This is high energy punk music that shows up to be rude and make you listen, and I enjoyed the experience.
The Avalanches
5/5
This was an incredible ride of an album and one that really fulfills the purpose of this list. This album ebbs and flows between thoughts and songs and moods in a beautiful flowing way. I would not have come across this album in my normal listening, but I would absolutely recommend this to others.
The Thrills
3/5
There was a point when I was a teenager where if I had heard this music, I probably would have fallen in love with it and staunchly defended it. But in my 30s I think I missed the window and it just sounds like most other melancholy indie music. It’s well produced, and occasionally their accents make it hard to tell what they are singing, but it’s good overall.
4/5
I had a great time listening to this album. I thought the tracks were fun and upbeat, and there was definitely a critique of society in the lyrics. I will have to give this one another go around at some point.
The Pretty Things
2/5
I just don’t think psychedelic rock is my thing. I don’t think rock operas are my thing. I tried to keep an open mind while listening to this, but I just didn’t feel it.
Dolly Parton
3/5
Dolly has a really nice voice, it’s a shame so much of this album is singing about two timers and man stealers. If I listen to more Dolly, I’ll skip those kinds of songs.
Johnny Cash
4/5
This album is such a unique piece of history. I cannot imagine a world where artists not only perform in prisons, but are able to make records there. I really love the quality and bass of Cash’s voice. The songs are enjoyable, but the circumstances really make this album worth a listen.
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
It’s not unlistenable, but it’s close. The beat is occasionally good, but it’s also often way too loud over the vocals. The whole thing is just too chaotic most of the time. I also personally just cannot make out a lot of the lyrics because of his blended accents. For people who like this, great. I will probably never be one of them.
SAULT
4/5
This is the kind of album that makes me glad I am doing this project. When I started listening I wasn’t really won over. I couldn’t really relate to the album. But I thought about how just because I don’t understand the art doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist. This is a way for me to see into a world that is not my own. Even if I don’t plan on revisiting it, it was important to hear it once. That is what this project should be.
Radiohead
3/5
I just don't see what's so great about Radiohead. It's an okay enough album. That's about it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
A truly exceptional album. There is so much soul in these songs, and the first half is just amazing song after song. The back half isn’t as well known, but the song quality is still great. I would say this is probably my favorite Chili Peppers album, and the one most people should give a listen to in order to give the band a fair shake.
Nick Drake
2/5
This is again on the side of folk music I don’t care for. It’s not the darker themes, or the lyricism. It’s the way that the singing/lyrics feel disconnected from the music as a whole. There’s an interesting album here, I just wish the people who weren’t Nick Drake got some mention, since they were doing the more interesting things.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
I had a great time listening to this album. I don’t know that every track was my favorite, but it was hard to stay still listening to them. I would go back and give this another listen.
MGMT
5/5
I have a complicated history with this album. When I was a teenager I was visiting Germany and my mp3 player bricked. Since I didn’t have much spending money I could only grab a CD or two from a local store and this was one of my buys. I listened to this album quite a few times over the next few weeks.
I fell in love with some of the more popular singles like “Time to Pretend” or “Kids”. I listened to them on repeat over and over. Eventually I learned how great “Electric Feel” was. And I’ve listened to these songs so much. Spotify has recommended these songs so much. In a way I’ve grown weary of them. Maybe it’s because I know I can’t be a teenager again.
Coming back to this album was a nice trip down memory lane. I don’t think I’ll stop by again for some time, but I was happy to be there. This album really reminded me of finding my own taste in music, of discovering what the alt music of the time was like. I know there is bias in my ranking, but like I said, my relationship with this album is complicated.
2/5
I can see the proto-punk in this album. It has moments of being interesting and starts to pick up by the end. Then Starship happens and it all falls apart again. A useful listen for understanding music history, but not something I plan on returning to.
Kanye West
1/5
I at least gave it a listen. He sucks as a person, and the album is a poor product of its time. He’s not a genius. He’s not a messiah. He’s just got an enormous ego. And when you push for mocking education and reinforcement of religion, you get a population full of idiots.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I enjoyed this. Closer to my normal taste in folk music and some of the tracks near the end really surprised me. I enjoyed the more diverse instrumentation as the album built up.
Queen
4/5
Queen is one of those bands that puts out consistent work. I find their albums all enjoyable, but having listened to 3 for this project now, I feel like this album deserved to be on the list the least. There are other bands that made interesting and unique work around that time, or influenced by Queen. I hope that there isn’t so much Queen on the rest of the list so I don’t start to sour in them.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
A truly phenomenal album from front to back. This is such a folky rock album full of rich harmonies and intricate melodies. On top of that, the songs are fun to listen to, but contemplative at the same time. It really feels like an evergreen album that you can find something new in every time you hear it.
Moby
3/5
This is the first time I’ve ever listened to any of Moby’s work and I don’t know how to feel. On the one hand, there are times I found myself getting into the overall production. But there were plenty of times when I heard the sample once and dreaded that the song would be 4 minutes of that sample on loop. I don't know that I will really come back to this album, but it at least didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth.
Arcade Fire
2/5
This is an album I knew I was biased against before even listening. This album came out when I was in high school, and it signaled the end of radio being worth listening to. My favorite alt-rock station (ClearChannel owned of course) was all too thrilled that Arcade Fire and the Black Keys were such big Grammy contenders that year. So much so that they played those two artists basically every third song on the air. I was sick of it. I thought the music was nothing special, and Arcade Fire specifically sounded whiny. This was my first time listening to the actual album, and it was fine. It wasn't really good or interesting. The songs just kind of chug along, and most of them seem averse to having a catchy melody. I'm sure the lyrics are part of the appeal, but the overall product was so boring I couldn't bring myself to care. I tried, but I can't get over the bias, this music is just okay at best.
Jethro Tull
5/5
I think this album is the first time I’ve really enjoyed a Prog album. I’m not sure what changed, but something about the way the instruments come together, and overall melodies really hooked me. I was listening while getting some chores done, so I think this one deserves another listen at a time when I can really focus on the music.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
This was another one of those albums that feels like the lesser know influencer of a genre. You can hear a lot of inspiration for future Alt Rock bands throughout the run of the this album. I had a good time listening to it, and I will likely try giving it another listen at some point in the future.
2/5
This was another of those albums where the “Must Hear” part seems extremely exaggerated. This album was okay at best. There are more interesting albums that could be on this list over an entirely forgettable soft rock album. I’ll be lucky if I remember this album in a year.
Suede
3/5
An alright album overall. I wasn’t really captured by it, but I didn’t give up on it either. Just not really my type of dedicated listening music.
Miles Davis
2/5
I know Miles Davis has some really influential work. This felt like background music. Surely there are other jazz albums one “must hear” out there.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
I don’t know. Some of the music was good, but the man seems like a sleaze. Just go listen to the original artists.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I’m torn on where to rate this album. On the one hand, I know the singles well, and I was excited to hear them. On the other hand, this album is very long and not every song feels as memorable or necessary. Still, I think I would considering listening to it again, even if broken up over several listening sessions.
Brian Eno
2/5
This is one of those albums that feels like it was really important at the time, but has faded into obscurity, and probably for good reason. The samples make for an interesting listen, and some tracks really groove. But others just drone on for minutes at a time. Both artists are highly influential, but there’s a reason people tend to talk about the music that’s more palatable to listen to when the discussion comes up.
Miles Davis
4/5
This was a refreshing return to miles Davis after the last album of his I got on this list. The tracks feel so smooth. The motifs appear all over the album. It’s such an enjoyable listen.
Funkadelic
2/5
One or two tracks were good, but overall it felt like a novelty album where the novelty wore off pretty quickly. Then it was just bland noise for a while.
Kate Bush
2/5
I started this project because I wanted to expand my musical tastes and maybe find some new things I liked. What I’m finding is I’m very closed minded and don’t like most things. This was one of those things. Congrats to Kate Bush on her “One of a kind musical journey” but it’s not for me. This was pitchy and wailing, and I’m good to not listen to it again.
The White Stripes
5/5
Truly an excellent album, a real evolution of the grunge and garage rock of the 90s. Each song is punchy and catchy and worth giving multiple listens. While some may not like Meg White’s more simplistic drumming, it’s hard to not want to stomp your foot to the repeating kick drum in most of the songs. I would heartily recommend this, and I will happily give this album another listen in the future.
John Prine
4/5
I wasn’t initially sold until I got to Your Flag Decal, and it clicked. I enjoy a folksy, country tune. But the biting satire of patriotism not making you a good person was a refreshing change from a genre often oversaturated in religious sentiment.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Absolutely brilliant. Improvisation is no easy task for a short solo, I cannot fathom the tremendous pressure of doing an hour long concert of improvised music. Jarrett is clearly a master of his instrument, and the time he put in shines in the way he plays.
Hugh Masekela
5/5
This was my album on a cold dreary winter Monday. And it is so up my alley that my day just improved. This album had exactly the right energy and feel. The instruments were tight and the melodies were great. Even on some of the more out there tracks like Blues for Huey, I found myself coming around to liking them by the end. I don’t know how I hadn’t heard Hugh Masekela’s work before this, but I will certainly return to find other albums of his.
Randy Newman
3/5
I can’t quite decide if I like this or not. I would probably have to give it another listen, but I don’t think it would be a top priority. I hear the wit in his lyrics, and the instrumentation is unique. But there were plenty of times where my mind wandered, and I just wasn’t that interested. Really a mixed bag.
Bob Dylan
4/5
I know there are lots of people who don’t care for Dylan’s style, or the way his voice fluctuates in pitch as he sings, but not me. I dug this album, it just clicked with me. I found the lyrics to be the right kind of humorous, and the instruments to just feel right. It just fits perfectly with the type of folk music I really enjoy. I would definitely go back and give this another listen.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
I’m such a sucker for Simon & Garfunkel. To me they ARE folk music, and this album is no exception. A wonderful listen all the way through. There’s some poppy ear worms like Mrs. Robinson, some contemplative songs like America, and some truly emotional work like Old Friends. This album builds you up and tears you down again and again. It’s magnificent, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
I was not expecting the soundtrack to a Blaxplotation film to be on this list, but the fact that I could identify exactly what the music was without looking it up tells me exactly why it is on this list. This album was a great listen, and I can see why the best songs went on to surpass the legacy of the film itself. And the music is effective without being cliche. At one point I asked myself if a song was chase music, only to look at the track title and see that it was in fact the backing audio for a chase scene. It was done well, the music is a groove, and despite the genre relying on exploitation, the music felt original and fresh.
King Crimson
1/5
It starts boring and proceeds to only get more boring. This is music that is far less clever than the band thinks, and becoming agonizing to listen to after a few minutes. By the third time it sounded like pots and pans falling down a staircase in the opening track, I knew I was in for a bad time.
Mariah Carey
2/5
This album is well produced, and Mariah Carey has a very impressive voice. But the genre just does nothing for me. I was so bored listening to this album. I honestly barely remember anything about it because almost every track sounded the exact same, and all of them felt very dull, very quickly.
The Sugarcubes
3/5
It’s like the B-52s and the Cranberries had a child and told it that it could grow up to be whatever it wanted to be. So it grew up to be mediocre. The overall sound is alright, but the weird effects on the voices did not do it for me. I would consider giving this another listen, but I don’t think it qualifies as being one of the most important albums of all time that everyone should listen to at some point.
Elton John
4/5
I really enjoyed this album. I don’t know that every song is perfect, but there is a consistency to how good they are. The most famous songs really stand out, and they are the most enjoyable to listen to. I would definitely give this album another listen.
Moby Grape
2/5
It was fine. I think there’s a reason I hadn’t heard of Moby Grape, and a reason my brain doesn’t remember a single song from their generic sounding psychedelic album. This is another one of those albums that doesn’t actually feel like one you need to hear, just one that people think is important because it’s old.
Blondie
4/5
This album starts really strong with several really catchy tunes. Unfortunately it starts to run out of steam before the album is done, but that doesn’t stop it from being a great time nonetheless. I can absolutely see myself tossing this on again for another listen in the future.
Cat Stevens
4/5
At first I wasn’t sure I was feeling this album, something wasn’t clicking. But I kept listening and heard some parallels to other folk music I enjoy like Simon and Garfunkel and just let myself unwind and try to enjoy the album for what it was. Pleasant surprise to hear Wild World as part of this album. I would give this one another listen.
The Kinks
3/5
This album felt like it went on forever, and not in a good way. The Kinks have a nice sound, almost like if the Beatles wanted to write songs that might also work as chants at football match. The problem is that some of them are catchy and fun, and some of them are bland and forgettable. And by the time you’ve listened to an hour of this, the forgettable ones seem to be piled pretty high.
The White Stripes
4/5
A really great album. Between hearing Elephant a few weeks ago, and this album today, I actually like the White Stripes more than I realized. That being said, Elephant is the stronger of the two albums. This was is a little more chaotic and doesn’t hold together as well. “We’re Going to be Friends” has been a favorite song of mine for ages, but it sticks out like a sore thumb on this album. Still gave a bunch of tracks to enjoy again and again, so I like it overall.
Iron Maiden
5/5
An unexpected winner for me. I don’t know what it was about the combination of instruments, lyrics, and delivery, but the sum felt greater than its parts. I enjoyed the energy of this album and hearing some of the big hits made it really come together. I don’t know if I would like the rest of their catalog, but this album crushed it for me.
De La Soul
4/5
It was a change to hear a rap album from a group that was very young when it was recorded. On the one hand, there is a youthful exuberance that isn’t full of weight from adult life and problems. On the other hand, there’s a lot of juvenile content like Orgee or the pointless skits that rap albums of the time had. When it hits, it really hits. But when it’s childish it becomes far less enjoyable.
Dr. John
1/5
If Dr. John was going for dreadful, he got it. The audio mixing on this in genuinely dreadful. The lead vocals are loud, shocking, and distorted, and ruin the performance of the much better backing musicians. There was not a single track on this album I would bother listening to again knowing how crummy the listening experience is. Save yourself, don't bother. There's more than enough average crappy psychedelic music from the late 60s on this list anyway.
Brian Eno
2/5
I don’t know what it was, maybe the day, maybe the weather, maybe work, but my mind had no interest in this album. I know I listened to the whole thing, but I don’t remember any of it. I’m sure Brian Eno is a genius to some people, but this album was apparently so bland to me that I couldn’t even be bothered to archive any of it to my memory. Maybe at some point it deserves another chance from me, but for now it’s shelved with other so-so albums.
Happy Mondays
3/5
Congrats to the person who wrote a seven page essay in the reviews about this album. I wish I listened to whatever you heard, but this was alright at best. Nothing memorable, but nothing offensive. Great to put on in the background at a party.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I knew the song Chameleon before listening to this album and I think it has a monumentally funk groove. But even then it goes on for just a little too long, and that's how this whole album feels. It just feels like every song overstays its welcome a bit too much and devolves into something frantic because of it.
Garbage
4/5
It’s absolutely my kind of music. I wish I could have listened a little more closely to pick out songs I liked best, but overall it’s the type of album I would put on just to enjoy a drive on a nice day. I’ll try to get back to it at some point and give it a listen with a more focused ear.
Sonic Youth
3/5
I’ve heard a couple of albums by Sonic Youth before and I’m torn. As a teenager trying to find my own style, I convinced myself that I could really like Sonic Youth, but I don’t know that this was ever really true. I liked some of their songs, but others just fell completely flat. Maybe they won’t ever be to my taste, or maybe I need to listen more thoroughly to appreciate them. I still enjoyed this album, and I’d give it another listen, but there are other works by Sonic Youth I’d rather hear.
David Bowie
3/5
I wish this hadn’t been the first Bowie album I got as part of this project, because it was just okay. I know this album holds a lot of meaning because of Bowie’s death, but as someone not too familiar with his work, it didn’t really catch me. There were some songs I enjoyed, and some that felt long and droning with nothing of interest happening. I know there’s a lot more Bowie albums on this list, and I look forward to hearing any of them over listening to this again.
Buck Owens
4/5
I had a really fun time listening to this album. I’m a sucker for really cliche sounding country and this had it all: steel guitar, banjo, fiddle, themes of “my baby left me”, etc. It was so over the top that it hits that sweet spot of just letting yourself enjoy it for being almost silly. Plus many of these songs have such good structure that I’d love to hear other bands like CAKE put their own spin on covering them. I also really appreciated that despite being country, it wasn’t overly religious. If I needed to put on a country album, I’d strongly consider this one.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
When I was 18 I went on a weeklong backpacking trip right after my first real relationship had ended. It was a 15 hour drive to the state where we would be hiking, and the only album in the car was Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits. I didn’t mind this, I was already a fan of Simon & Garfunkel. Thanks to that, I knew many of the songs on this album. I like these songs, but I don’t think the album as a whole is quite as much of an emotional gut punch as Bookends was. The songs have those lush harmonies that make them great, but they sometimes feel shallow with little emotion attached. I’d still recommend this album, and I think it’s worthy of this list, just to hear how their songwriting changed and influenced others.
Oh, and that girlfriend who ended things was Emily. So everyone on the trip got a chuckle out of every play of For Emily.
Elvis Presley
3/5
I thought I knew a lot of Elvis‘s catalog. Seeing an album of songs, I didn’t recognize seemed interesting at first. But man, this album just feels so uninspired. Suspicious Minds is obviously the highlight of the album and probably the only song worth listening to more than once, I will definitely give other Elvis albums a chance, but I think once was enough for this album
Queens Of The Stone Age
3/5
I did not realize that Queens of the Stone Age put out their first album in the 90s. And unfortunately, it’s just alright. It sounds like a more aimless Foo Fighters. Having heard their newer work, I think the sound they evolved into was a much better choice. I also think the number of songs with too much random noise is too high.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
I’m sure that at time of release this alb was really game changing and stood out for how unique it was. Now it’s 40 years later and it’s just okay. The big singles Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time still land very well, but the rest of the album just feels like any other 80s pop. I don’t doubt that this album was incredibly influential and launched many musical careers. I just think the successors went on to outshine this album in a number of ways.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
This album was a wild ride. I heard so many splashes of other artists during the run time. There was some Chicago, some Elton John, some Beatles, and a bunch of other bands that either influenced or were influenced by this album. I don’t know that every song worked for me, but the flow was there. The choice of having no singles makes sense when you hear how much the songs blend together. I might take another listen someday, but all in all I’m not upset this was on the list.
System Of A Down
2/5
I can’t say I was a fan of System of a Down before this, and after listening, I’m still not. There’s more musicality to this than I expected, and the cultural history of the band certainly shines through in the song. But the angst and the weird pitchy singing just did nothing for me. One or two songs were okay, but overall I mostly just wanted the album to be over. I can see why it is on the list, but it won’t ever be for me.
Kate Bush
3/5
This was a much better Kate Bush experience than the last album I got on this list, but I can’t say any of the songs were that memorable to me. I can’t say any obviously remember Running Up That Hill because of its recent cultural impact, but the rest was just nice sounding 80s pop. Still a fun listen, but unlikely I would go back to it.
Motörhead
2/5
There's an irony to the name of this album, because it's so boring it could put me to sleep. I already dislike live albums because the recording and mixing quality is very rarely there. Then add a band who's hits all sound the same and you end up with a slurry of heavy guitars and overpowering drums for minutes on end. There were multiple times I had to check to see if a new song had started because it sounded so similar to the song before it.
And it cannot be overlooked that the mixing on this is truly awful. A good studio recording draws attention to different elements of a song as they happen. This album treats everything as equals, meaning the drums often overpower anything happening in the vocals or guitar. It really is a drag to listen to.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Of the live albums I’ve had to listen to for this list, this album at least had the energy and crowd interaction to make it feel worth being a live album. It was a nice listen, but it mostly reminded me of seeing a band perform on a cruise ship. There’s a lot of talent from the band, but it feels like they’re playing to a room that’s more focused on drinks and other activities. Closer to the end of the album the feeling starts to fade, but it was just kind of an uncanny observation.
Willie Nelson
2/5
It’s a bold move to have cover albums as part of this list. An album like this needs to have so much going for it to make it worth saying this is more worth hearing than originals. That is not the case for this album. It’s fine, and at moments it was fun to hear a Willie Nelson take on a classic, but I think this album could be retired from the list and not a single person would miss it.
FKA twigs
1/5
Nope. This was borderline unlistenable at times. I can’t stand breathy singing, and this had it cranked up to 11. The drum machine was obnoxious and felt like a bad fit in most songs. I was looking forward to the album being over so I didn’t have to listen anymore. I don’t think this is a must listen for anyone, and it doesn’t need to be on this list.
Robbie Williams
3/5
Kind of unremarkable Britpop, but also not offensive. I can see why this album didn’t really make a splash in the United States. But it definitely fits in with the time that it was created. I don’t know that I would go seeking out this album in the future, but I wouldn’t complain if it gets put on as background noise
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Sinatra has a nice voice, but it works best when it gets to do a variety of songs and tempos. This album all but put me to sleep. I can’t do a dozen slow crooning songs in a row. Maybe there’s a day where the mood is right to listen to this, but it was not today.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
This was an album I knew of but had never heard. This is the reason I like this project, it gives me a chance to enjoy some of these types of albums. This probably won’t ever be my favorite album, but I liked hearing something truly unique and different rather than another boring pop album from an artist who hadn’t been good in many years.
Kings of Leon
1/5
Any day I don’t think about Kings of Leon is a good day. Obviously today has been ruined.
4/5
I had heard the singles off of this album plenty of times before, and I was obviously well acquainted with the “anyway here’s Wonderwall” meme, so I went into this album expecting the songs I didn’t know to be so miserable that there’s a reason they never got radio play. I was wrong. This album is strong all the way through, and really good overall. I think it really is a case of becoming so popular with some people with strong personalities that it was bound to have detractors. It happens to popular things all the time.
Green Day
3/5
I struggled to determine how to rate this album. I still like the singles, they were the soundtrack to my adolescence. There is a familiarity to them that’s hard to shake. There is also something to be said about the creativity of a punk opera. But at the same time it makes some of these songs boring and makes the whole album kind of boring over all. The use of various words that are now considered slurs makes it a lot harder to talk about what a cultural touchstone. I understand they wanted to emphasize that they were the out group, but it just feels dated and uncomfortable now.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
This was another album where I really disliked it at first, but the longer I kept listening the more I understood its significance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still grating and irritating to listen to at times, but I hear the inspiration for bands like Talking Heads and Pixies buried in the sludge that is long, droning avant-garde post punk. There’s something valuable to this record, and it’s the lessons other people took from it.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
An enjoyable album that showcases some great arrangements and a lot of talented players. What struck me most about listening to this album was that I realized I had actually played a number of these charts in various jazz bands over the years. Really shows that they are the staples of the genre. And while it is a genre that I like, I don’t know that I would be reaching for this album as my first listen.
AC/DC
2/5
AC/DC is good at writing one type of song. This album is 10 versions of that song. They’re all well produced, but they feel very repetitive after a while.
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
I look at all the other reviews on this album and I feel like I’m missing something. Listening to it, it feels like a quintessential “you had to be there” album. Even the cover of the Prince song means literally nothing to me because I’m not familiar with the original. She has a powerful voice, but nothing in the run time of the album captured my interest at all. I’m just too young to appreciate it all I guess.
Charles Mingus
3/5
I get what Mingus was going for with this album, and some parts really land. I’m a big fan of how heavy and ripping some of the low end instruments are. I just don’t think the pieces all connecting and flowing together does the album any favors. I think the best jazz charts have clear melodies and defined endings.
Billy Joel
5/5
I didn’t realize how many of Billy Joel’s hits were on this album specifically. I feel like this is one of those albums where everyone can find a track they really like, and the rest still feel great. I could see myself putting this into my regular rotation of full play albums for roadtrips or something similar.
Morrissey
3/5
Wrong review posted, I still need to listen.
The Youngbloods
2/5
I cannot decide how I feel about this album. The main this I can say is that the songs with no vocals are the much better songs on the album. It just felt like a sampler of a bunch of different styles, all decently executed but with no theme or other factor tying them together. I can’t think of a reason to really return to this album.
Fiona Apple
2/5
I understand what this album is supposed to be, but something about it just does not work for me. I’m not a fan of the idea that the voice is the instrument and the lyrics becoming secondary to just enjoying the husky raspy tones of somebody’s voice. Congrats are having so many singles on this album, but I thought they all sounded very similar, and I don’t think I would come back to listen to this album again unless someone really really begged me to give it another listen.
Shack
1/5
I try to judge these albums on various merits for why they should be included on this list. Some albums are a showcase of the technical skill and musicianship of the artists involved. Others were a cultural phenomenon at one time, and some are just progenitors that influenced other artists and albums.
This album is none of those things. As a band with a name I didn’t recognize, I was expecting to hear something amazing, or a style choice that others mimicked to greater success. None of that is here. It’s a perfectly cromulent album, but nothing about it makes it worth a recommend, let alone a spot a list of extremely important albums to hear in your lifetime.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
I knew exactly what this album would be from the artist, and it’s fine. I think there’s a real cultural significance to reggae music. So many of these songs are songs of storytelling or protest. It’s the same idea behind Americana Folk but in a different genre. It’s a bummer that the genre has been co-opted into such a commercial product to get people in the mood to drink cocktails on cruise ships, but this album predates that soullessness and feels like it was made by a group who wanted to be storytellers of song.
T. Rex
3/5
It was fine, it was also just a lot. Songs seemed to go on for longer than what felt right. I did think the opening track k had a really good feel, but nothing else really hooked me quite as much. I think the biggest surprise was just how much this album sounds like it could have also been recorded by an alternative rock band in the mid 2000s. Everything old is new again I guess.
Mylo
4/5
This was a choice I probably never would have heard if not for this project. Overall I liked the album, it was unexpected to hear what is now considered “lo-fi” on an album from that many years ago. I gelled with most of the tracks, with only one or two missteps. I do think the title was a bit of a misstep as well, but not enough to ruin the experience.
The Beach Boys
4/5
The biggest surprise about this album is how activist it is. There are so many songs very clearly written to be pro-environmental works, and I love it. I love that a band that was all about surfing and fun believed that it was their platform to reminder people that the water isn’t fun if we actively poison it. The songs are unmistakably Beach Boys, but with some evolution in style to the singles I knew. A great listening experience.
Lou Reed
5/5
I already knew a handful of songs from this album, but there was no way I couldn’t love it. This music is at the top of the through line of inspiration for all the music I like. Reed’s poetic yet often silly lyrics, the instrumentation, the pacing and tone, all of it is perfect. I am so glad this album was on the list to give me a chance to go and finally give it a full listen. I’m glad I spent it with you.
Steely Dan
2/5
Aggressively mediocre. I don’t remember a single song that wasn’t Rikki, and I only remember that because it was in a marching band show I was in. Otherwise they play their instruments well, and I’m sure the fans will say there’s a depth to the song writing you can only appreciate on repeat listens. This won’t get that repeat listen, I barely paid attention on the first one.
Calexico
4/5
As I listened I kept trying to make reductive thoughts about who this band sounded like, or what two bands blended together to make an album. The longer the album went on, the more I realized that reductive thinking like that doesn’t do this album any justice. It’s a unique blend of rock, mariachi, jazz, samba, and other styles that really does feel like its own thing. I’m glad to have found another really interesting album from a band I’ve never even heard of.
Led Zeppelin
2/5
I just don’t think I have it in me to enjoy a Led Zeppelin album. They’re all very good at the instruments they play, but every song is just so boring to me. There’s only so many times I can listen to noodling guitar solos and shrieks of BABY before my brain checks out and wishes it was listening to something more entertaining and enjoyable.
Beck
2/5
Sad Beck writes a nice soulful ballad. But an entire album of them wears thin. This is not the only album on the list of “Oops! All Sad Ballads” and they all disinterest me in the same way. I know music is a form of expression, but it’s like trying to talk to a mopey friend when you’re having a good day. The vibes are never going to match, and they will just bring you to their level.
Coldplay
3/5
I don’t know that I’m the biggest fan of Coldplay, but I feel like their music was part of the soundtrack of my adolescence. I recognize a number of the songs from this album, and the ones I don’t pass by in a smooth and inoffensive way. It’s good background noise, but I don’t think I’m going to say I’m converted to a mega fan.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This was some 80s music if ever there was some. That’s not a bad thing. This album moved gracefully between different moods and styles in a way that was refreshing. It’s funny how much you can hear the Genesis and Phil Collins in this music that Gabriel wrote. I would give this one another play to catch some things I didn’t hear the first time around.
Tangerine Dream
4/5
I really enjoyed this album for being an early electronic music album. This album actually felt like it got the Odyssey feeling it was going for rather than just being a series of disconnected beeps and boops. I joked with my wife that this album sounds like someone trying to both make music and make love with a Pac-Man arcade cabinet at the same time. I would definitely consider listening to this one again even if it was just his background noise.
Orange Juice
4/5
There’s a high number of reviews on this site who complain that this album doesn’t know what genre it is trying to be. I think that’s such a discredit to the spirit of music. The worst types of bands are the ones who release albums of 12 songs that are all indistinguishable from one another, and there are some like that on this list. This album is a new wave experiment full of lots of big gambles. Not all of them pay off, but I would happily listen to some of the songs on this album again knowing they at least tried to be different.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
I'm torn about how to rate this album. I've known Take Me Out for 2 decades now, but hearing the rest of the album I wasn't all that impressed. There's a lot of musicality in this album that clearly inspired other alt-rock artists of the 2000s, and they really took the ideas and ran with them. I do think it's important to recognize the trendsetters though, so I'll be a little generous with my rating.
The La's
3/5
This album feels kind of like a mixed bag. There She Goes is very clearly an All Timer of pop songs. However, the rest of the album features a lot of songs that drag and repeat for extended periods of time. I think I would give this album another listen, but I don’t know how soon that would be.
The Doors
2/5
I can see the appeal of the Doors, but nothing on this album did much for me. It felt like an edgier, American response to music from the Beatles and Stones. There’s nothing wrong with that, it just wasn’t for me. I don’t know that I’d give it another listen because I think my mind would just wander again trying to pay attention.
1/5
It’s an odd sensation to listen to something and feel your brain cells dying as it happens. This album is so frustrating because there is some musicality and genuine hook to the songs, but the extremely juvenile nature and the constant feeling of impotent rage makes it impossible to care. I had almost considered giving this two stars before being forced to endure the outro track and minutes of the same laughing sample. Maybe I’m jealous because I wish I could equally rich and famous by being a useless, vile, lazy person.
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
An odd and beautiful album that is equal parts haunting and quirky. This is a great album to encapsulate that sensitive alternative rock that emerged in the mid 2000s. I’m glad I didn’t hear this album when it came out because I would have been insufferable with the amount I would have become obsessed with it. This album is definitely one to listen to multiple times, and an easy recommend to others.
Common
3/5
I liked the first half of this album. It was a nice change to hear a rapper who is talking about creating a wholesome future rather than destroying and living nihilistically. Unfortunately this whole album is tainted by the production and guest appearances by Kanye, a despicable human being. I hope Common has realized that not all relationships need to be maintained.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
I know that I am in the minority, but I find Jimi Hendrix exhausting and boring. I can barely keep my mind from wandering through most of the songs. I don’t doubt that Hendrix was an absolute legend at guitar, but it doesn’t translate to making songs everyone enjoys.
Aerosmith
2/5
I swear I listened to this whole album, but I don’t remember a single thing about it after Back in the Saddle. The whole thing just felt like background noise. Nothing about it was interesting or engaging enough for my brain to remember it. Maybe this is an important album in the development of rock, but it stands as hollow remains compared to more interesting things that came after.
Ghostface Killah
2/5
I was surprised to see this record was from 2006. I assumed gangster rap was completely played out by then, and it shows in this way this album comes together. The writing and production are tight and create some interesting songs, but the whole package is woven together with uninteresting skits, excessive sexism, and unending references to violence and drug culture. I guess one part of the album can’t exist without the other, but it weighs heavy on how worthwhile it is to visit the album almost 2 decades later.
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
All of these folk/psychedelic albums just sound and so bland and similar. I don’t really remember anything about this album other than Broken Arrow, which sounded like they had 4 different song ideas and refused to make different songs. I wasn’t an awful listen, but I just can’t see myself wanting to go back to it at any point.
N.W.A.
5/5
I think I have to give this a better rating for being a gangsta rap album that didn't have any stupid and unfunny sketches baked into it. This album feels like a cultural touchstone. I don't agree with all of the lyrics and ideals, but there are plenty of things that still hit just as hard over 40 years later there's something to be said about that. This isn't just anger for anger's sake, there's a fight against injustice, confusion about where power should lie, a bit of pointed narcissism, and sense that life should be fun. I don't think it can be everyone's thing, but I think it's worth hearing at least once.
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
This is an incredibly difficult "album" to review, because a 5 disc (6 if you count the non-vocal tracks) really stretches the definition of album. I personally had a great time listening to this. I like the music of the Gershwins, and Ella Fitzgerald's voice is positively enchanting. All of these songs just sound so effortless when she sings them. Even when I started to drift while listening to the whole collection, I continued to be drawn back in by the quality and soul of her voice. I also think it was nice to get some Broadway and stage music as part of the 1001. That type of music is extremely influential, but it feels suspiciously absent from this list. All in all, I think disc 5 is the best of the collection, but any of them will give a consistent good feeling that music recorded after fails to capture.
Barry Adamson
3/5
A bizarre listening experience, and one I probably would have never found without this project. I want to like it a bit more, but some of the tracks just didn’t do it for me. Conversely, some of the songs were great, and when the vibes were right, it was an absolutely fantastic experience. I would considering going back to try and bookmark some of my favorites, but I don’t know that this whole album needs another listen.
Fishbone
5/5
I’m amazed I have never heard Fishbone before. Listening to this album was like finding the missing link between 80s Hair Metal and the 90s third wave ska revival. This kind of music is a style I really like, and I had a great time listening. I will probably go back and give this full album a re-listen at some point. Or multiple points. Or explore the discography. It was just a really good time.
The Stooges
2/5
There were one or two songs that were okay, but it mostly just felt bland. I know people in the reviews talk about it being proto punk, but it mostly just feels like chugging rock. There was an extra irony to how impotent a song named Raw Power was. I’m glad that punk went on to evolve into something with more to say and more to care about.
The Clash
3/5
This is one of those rare albums where I know the artist and album by name, but did not recognize a single song on the track list. Overall it was an okay listen, but I can't say anything was overly memorable to me. I liked the tracks that had clear ska influence or actually featured horns, but I can't even remember any of their names. I know this is still that proto punk era, but I don't think I would revisit albums like this too often.
Mudhoney
3/5
A solid grunge album. I found myself drumming along to a number of the tracks, so I must have found the music catchy. I can’t get in the head of people who do this project and manage to deeply analyze the lyrics for every song. Sometimes the music can just be catchy and not too memorable, that’s how I felt about Mudhoney.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
I knew of Janelle Monáe before listening to this album, but I’m really glad was on the list. This really is an album that earns its spot by being worth the listen from front to back. The songs feel unique and distinct, but blend cleanly and give a strong, connected flow. Monáe’s voice is strong and powerful, and acts another instrument in the powerful orchestrations. This was truly a great listening experience, and this album is going on the repeat listening pile for sure.
Radiohead
5/5
I don’t know that I am a Radiohead fan, but I liked this album. The choices in the singing, the sound of the guitar, the overall composition, it worked for me. I would consider giving this one another listen. The influence on future alternative music is really present in this and I want to give it the respect I think that deserves.
Culture Club
3/5
This whole feels like the 1980s, for better or for worse. Karma Chameleon is a really catchy ear worm, but I have a hard time remembering any specific songs after that. I enjoyed listening to them, and I don’t feel like my time was wasted listening to the album, they just also lacked staying power in my brain.
Don McLean
4/5
McLean has a really great voice, and the title track is an all-timer for singing along to. The people who complain the rest of the album is unlistenable just don’t like that folk music is often more mellow than it is rock. These songs capture that mellow nature well. I would consider adding a handful of these songs to any American Folk playlist I make.
Pearl Jam
5/5
When I was in middle school, I had a music teacher that let us know that this was one of his favorite albums in the world. I really liked this music teacher, I wanted to be this music teacher. So I bought a copy of this album. I knew a few songs by Pearl Jam between Guitar Hero and the radio, but this was my first real experience listening to a whole album by them.
I don’t know if I got it back then. I really wasn’t that familiar with grunge, and it just didn’t feel like the kind of music I normally listened to, but I kept listening to it over and over. Eventually I learned the lyrics, the sound of the guitar parts, the drum patterns. But I don’t know that I even got it.
But listening to it for this project, I get it. The sound is perfect and the album just has the right tone. So this rating goes out to Greg M, who taught me that musical tastes need expanding.
Nick Drake
4/5
I actually took the time to listen to this album twice because it was so short overall. I can’t quite decide where I land on it. Part of the reason I listened twice was because I barely paid attention the first time. Drake’s voice and guitar work are nice, but they just didn’t make a strong first impression. The second time I listened I enjoyed it much more. I could feel the soul in the compositions, and the very light piano helped to complete the experience. I don’t know that I would specifically go back for this album, but I can hear the influence ripple forward through time.
Parliament
5/5
I had a ton of fun(k) listening to this album. This was one of those albums that was just fun for fun’s sake. The musicians seemed to be having a good time, the music was upbeat and lively, and it was easy to get into the groove. Funk is also the only genre I know of where it’s not just accepted, but seemingly encouraged to spend half of the songs talking about how funky the music is. This album will definitely go in the pile of re-listens.
Talvin Singh
2/5
The album title is apt because it sure exemplified the idea of OK. The eastern influence is ok. The drum and bass is ok. The overall design of this album is ok. It just sounds like the reason all video game soundtracks in the 2000s tried to combine eastern musical themes with drum machines for certain levels. Overall pretty forgettable and I don’t think I really needed to hear this.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I am certainly not a Bob Dylan fan, but I’m also not a pure hater. I don’t have the same complaints about his singing style nor choice to use a harmonica. My issue with Bob Dylan is that he was probably an okay poet who tied his lyric to aggressively mediocre folk backing. I love folk, but I prefer when it has a richness to it in instrumentation or vocal harmonies. An hour of guitar and harmonic that are mixed too loud over the lyrics gets very tiring. Dylan’s rhyming scheme of having every line of a stanza use the same syllable also wears rather thin rather quickly.
I understand why his work is on this list, but as a musical experience it’s okay at best. I think reading his lyrics as poetry would probably be a better way to ingest them, and leaves room for more musically interesting takes for a list like this.
PJ Harvey
2/5
This feels like it should be my kind of music based on the time period when it was produced, but good golly it's dreadful. I was hanging on until the terrible bugle call sample that was neither in time nor added anything meaningful to the song. It sounded like a juvenile attempt at putting a song together in GarageBand. None of the songs feel impactful or interesting and Harvey's voice is often screechy or squealing in the songs. It feels like she wants so badly to be Delores O'Riordan, but doesn't have any of her vocal qualities. I don't understand why there are multiple PJ Harvey albums on this list, but I have yet to see anything about them that makes them worth listening to, let alone worth recommending to another person.
Paul Simon
4/5
I'm just such a fan of Paul Simon that even a middling album from him still left me charmed and entertained for the entire listen. He writes a good and catchy song that it's hard to not find something to like. The only song that felt a bit too odd was Cars are Cars, but I'm wondering if I missed a deeper meaning to it somewhere. Still, as much as I like Paul Simon, I wonder if this is a slot that could go to a band or artist that doesn't have any representation on the list.
The xx
1/5
I saw a joke online once about how “Minimalism is a scam designed by big Nothing to makes us buy more less” and that’s how I feel about this album. It feels like they repeatedly tried to find the least amount of effort they could put into a song and still call it music. There are times when this works, like in film scoring, but as a standalone album it feels sparse and uninteresting. I would actively skip any song that wasn’t Intro from this album.
Talk Talk
2/5
Now that’s what I call generic 80s! Another ho-hum album included mostly likely because the band is from England. It washed over me like an inoffensive rain leaving no memory in my mind and drying off the second the album was over.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I’m starting to reach the point where I am hearing multiple albums by the same artists on this list, and it really makes me question the need to hear them. This is a fine album. Good hooks, fun production, etc. But there’s a nagging feeling that even some of the bad albums deserve a spot more than making sure multiple albums of a discography are here. It should be more of a suggested listening if you find Sledgehammer getting stuck in your head after hearing it for this project.
The Sonics
2/5
I think that having early garage rock is important for a list like this. However, this album isn’t it. The fact that it’s a majority of covers that aren’t even as good as the originals almost feels insulting. I also have found through this project that I have a tolerance level for the number of times an album has some wail loud enough into the mix that it clips. It’s not unlistenable, but I’m sure there are original bands more deserving of the slot.
Beatles
3/5
A good album and a fun listen. The vocal harmonies are the standout on this album. The overall songwriting is good, but I can’t say that I was wowed by any of the songs I didn’t already know. I can’t say I’d actively choose to listen to this album front to back again, but I don’t regret the time I spent on it.
Nirvana
3/5
This is another album where I had previously heard most of the tracks. Some of them were specifically these recordings, some were the studio versions. I don’t really know how I feel. There’s clearly a lot of passion and emotion in this recording, but I also find that Nirvana tends to overdo it and make songs drone on longer than needed. I didn’t hate the experience, and I’m glad what they did for grunge and associated genres, but this isn’t an album I would probably choose to come back to.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
I liked the overall sound of the album, but I’m the outlier on this site, I think Janis Joplin sounds atrocious. She doesn’t sound soulful. She sounds raspy and like she’s constantly trying to sing outside of her vocal range. There are times where she sings using her normal voice and it sounds great. It’s a bummer those spots are few and far between and the rest of the time she is screeching like a banshee.
5/5
This is another absolutely biased one for me. I have heard this album countless times and think it is a masterpiece. I'm sure this is just my brain remembering when life was simpler, but I can live with that. The songs still go hard, and I still like listening to them.
Fleet Foxes
5/5
I have such a fondness for Fleet Foxes. They are everything I want a modern Folk band to be: rich vocal harmonies, fitting instrumentation, melancholy lyrics, they're the whole package. I was introduced to them through Helplessness Blues, and I think that's a better album overall but that may just be a bias because I already know that album and hadn't listened to this one front to back. Even still, White Winter Hymnal is an all time great song, and I'm sure this album will grow on me even more over time as I add it to the rotation. And all the people on this site who grade things poorly because they don't like the vocal harmonies are just projecting the fact that nobody wants to sing with them and they're jealous.
Skepta
2/5
I’m grateful to have a different type of album over more boring and pointless psychedelic rock, but that being said, I don’t care for Grime as a genre. It’s just too mumble-y and grim for me. And the fact that this album had several instances of phone calls or conversations baked into the end of songs is a non-starter. It wasn’t unlistenable, but I would certainly opt to put something else on almost every time.
The Darkness
5/5
This album unapologetically wears its influences on its sleeve, and I think that’s its strength. There are times when those influences are dialed up to 11 and it almost feels like parody of itself. But the whole thing is fun. And I Believe in a Thing Called Love is an all-time great rock song. I think there’s some room to let a fun album be fun, even if it’s not perfect.
Beastie Boys
5/5
So I always thought that I could only tolerate the Beastie Boys in small doses. Listening to this album, I think that might still be true, but they recognize that too. Instead of an onslaught of repetitive beats and lyrics, they space the songs out with interesting and unique instrumental tracks. The songs are designed to flow from one to the next. Genres and bent, flipped and thrown across the album, dashing from punk to jazz to funk to rock. And amazingly the whole package works. It’s a solid album and one that I think everyone really should listen to, if only to adjust their perception of the music the Beastie Boys truly made.
Yes
4/5
I think I might actually be kind of a Yes fan. It feels like everything should go against that. I don't tend to like overly long songs with excessive soloing and I've never really thought of Prog as a genre that I like. But I'll be darned, I enjoyed listening to this. Prior to this the only song that I really knew was Roundabout (Thanks Rock Band 3), but I just found myself listening and enjoying, taking in the skill of the players and the lush vocal harmony. I'll probably go back and give this another listen at some point.
Talking Heads
4/5
I don’t know that it would be my top pick for a Talking Heads album, but it’s hard to listen to it without cracking a smile and bobbing your head along. The cover of Take Me to the River is an all timer. I would consider giving this one another listen in the future.
Beck
4/5
This is what I think of when I think of Beck. I can’t hear the phrases “bottles and cans” or “destination a little up the road” without launching into Where It’s At in my head. This is a great genre exploration album that clearly had a huge amount of influence on the alternative and indie scene for years to come. It wouldn’t be the first alternative album I would pick up, but I would happily groove to it while it plays.
Pulp
1/5
Listen to the song Common People and skip the rest. The singer tries to sound sexy but comes across as an out-of-breath incel creep. And the lyrics really reinforce this point. I try to be fairly sex positive and I’m positive no one should have sex with anyone in this band. Do not recommend.
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Despite the length and being a double album, I enjoyed the listen. There was a good amount of pacing between driving, classic rock songs and slow, tender ballads. The amount of useless live show fluff was kept to a minimum which was also nice. I don’t know if it would be the first thing I reach for, but I enjoyed the experience and I’d consider listening again.
The Dictators
4/5
I had a surprisingly good time with this album. It’s not perfect, but that’s the charm. It sounds like people having fun making imperfect music. One of my favorite things is hearing people record music for fun, rather than it needing to be a magnum opus. I know some of the lyrics were a bit questionable at times, but I think that can be overlooked with how influential this type of music was to punk and other genres.
The Verve
1/5
Boring. Dreadfully boring. I’m astounded they were able to write so many songs that I could forget as they were happening. Once again, this list platforms an uninteresting album because of the UK bias. I hung on for some time, but when my brain had the thought “is this still going on?” I knew there was no hope for this album, nor any reason for it to be on the list.
Coldplay
2/5
This was an album where I knew the singles, and even then, I wasn’t really that impressed with them. It’s fine background music but I could not really get myself to focus on the songs or melodies. Even now I can’t think of a single other song off the album. At least it’s mostly inoffensive that way.
Sigur Rós
3/5
I get why people would really love this, but it wasn't quite my style. I really don't care for the 8 or 9 minute long soundscape style songs. I won't knock points for being in a language that I didn't understand, but I don't think it really helped either. I'm glad I listened though. It was nice to get something completely outside of my normal listening.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
A good time and a fun listen. Really enjoyed when it dipped into a more electronic funk on some tracks. I would listen again for sure.
Fever Ray
2/5
This was another album I wouldn’t have heard if not for this project, but I don’t know that I cared for it all that much. This list has another problem of equating minimalist, sad electronic music as the most important stuff to hear. Maybe put a fun electronic album in instead?
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I wasn’t familiar with the pet shop boys before this, and it certainly evokes a specific feeling. This is most definitely club music for the 90s, good and bad. I enjoyed listening to it overall, but it wouldn’t be the first thing I reach for as a listen. Still, it was nice to have an electronic and synth heavy album that wasn’t all doom and gloom the whole time.
Carole King
4/5
I had a college professor who was obsessed with Carole King, and listening to this I get why. She has such a strong and soulful voice, and the arrangements really make that shine. It’s nice that there are other instruments that get to solo and showcase talent, but the focus is put where it really matters.
Steely Dan
2/5
Another Steely Dan album that made me feel nothing. I just don’t remember a single thing about this album other than Peg, and that’s because I knew it previously. It’s not a bad thing to listen to, but I don’t know that multiple Steely Dan albums need to be on this list.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
This was a really nice album that I don’t want to hear in its entirety again. They have an incredible grasp on harmonizing and arranging, but so much of the songs start to sound the same after a while. Also, every so often there was a mouth noise that just kind of skeeved me out. Don’t take any of this as too harsh of criticism, it’s a great A Cappella album, it just wears your patience down too.
Devendra Banhart
5/5
There have been a number of albums on this list so far of a single person singing folk music with either guitar or piano. They’ve always been fine. Until this album. I don’t know what it was about this album, but this one just did it for me. The guitar had a dark and frantic energy, and the vocals weren’t too smooth, but also weren’t overly jarring. Everything just worked. This has been one of my favorite discoveries for an album and artist I had never heard of before.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
This was a really fun listen. Obviously some of the lyrics feel really uncomfortable now, but I imagine some of them were intended to feel uncomfortable then. Overall the album has great energy and really sucks you in and makes you groove along to the beat. My biggest complaint is that Sex Machine is a long track and I lost focus on it after a while. Overall good though, would listen again.
Kanye West
1/5
Kanye is a hateful, stupid person, I’m not streaming anything that gives him money and I’m not doing anything to spread any amount of influence he has.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
It’s been a little while since I’ve had one of those albums that I can hear the influence on so many other artists or bands. I don’t know that this is a perfect album, but it really does some interesting experimenting with songwriting in terms of length, instrumentation, and lyrics. I don’t think I would seek this album out again, but I’d certainly listen again, and I’d recommend it to others just to round out their musical understanding.
Adam & The Ants
3/5
Certainly one that I had never heard before. Most New Wave stuff is good for a listen, but it doesn't really stick with me. That's not a knock against this band or any other New Wave band. It's catchy to listen to in the moment, but there wasn't really a lasting impression from any of the songs on here.
The Police
4/5
I don’t think the Police know how to end a song, I think they just keep playing until their recording engineer ran out of tape. Jokes aside, I love Message in a Bottle, and I thought this was a great album overall. I’d probably consider giving the whole thing another listen.
Emmylou Harris
1/5
Emmylou has a really great voice. It’s too bad that most of the songs on this are so bland and dull that I can’t recall any of them. Except One Big Love, because the lyrics sound like someone who got their first rhyming dictionary and just had to give it a whirl. Congrats to Emmylou for putting out at least 19 albums, but this seat should be reserved for an album that’s the complete package, and this album is far from that.
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
This album knows exactly what it wants to be. It’s a dirty, grungy mass of industrial sound that imposes and is unrelenting. And it’s amazing. It all works so well and creates a memorable style of music that is so cohesive and conveys the exact feelings you are supposed to feel. I had a great time with this album and would listen again.
Kraftwerk
4/5
There is almost a hypnotic quality to this album. There is a slow build to the bleeps and boops as lyrics and motifs fade in and out of the songs. It’s been fun to get to hear a lot of different older electronic music to see how some of those decisions helped to shape an album like this. Albums like this walked so future artists and soundtracks could run. I’d put it on again as background noise.
Ramones
4/5
I remember playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and restarting levels over and over to try and get Blitzkrieg Bop to play. Somehow I never actually tried to hear the album it came from. I feel like had I listened to it then, I probably would have loved it. Hearing it now, I respect it, and I love the energy of music. This album is such a great example of just having fun with making music. It’s simple and fun. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great listen.
Green Day
5/5
An iconic album of teenage angst that’s fast, tight, and keeps your engaged. Despite having never listened to this whole album before, I knew over half the tracks just from radio play alone. They’re just that good. They paint a picture of a youth that feels displaced and longing, and I think sentiments like that will always be relatable, making this album feel special for generations to come.
Sex Pistols
4/5
I expected to go into this and find the album grating, but overall valuable and influential to Punk and music as a whole. Surprisingly, I actually really enjoyed it. It was mixed shockingly well, so none of the parts overpowered each other. And despite the fact that Johnny Rotten has become kind of a sucky and polarizing character in recent years, everything about his schtick works for this type of music. I would probably give this one another spin just because I can.
Lightning Bolt
5/5
This album is pure energy and distilled chaos. I know some will argue that it sounds like a bunch of people playing their instruments fast and loud and it doesn’t sound like music, but to me everything feels very intentional. There is a blend and a balance to these parts as they turn music into something feral and primal. I completely agree that this album deserves to be on the list because everyone should experience this at least once, just to see what having rock instruments truly cranked to the point of exaggeration feels like.
Gene Clark
3/5
A mixed bag, but overall more good than bad. A handful of times the songs almost felt like Simon and Garfunkel, which was great! But then there were things like the bland and uninteresting cover of Stand By Me that was okay at best. Not my favorite country album, but it still beats any rah-rah patriotism modern-day country album.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
A perfectly acceptable Dad rock album. It certainly has a lot of southern country twang to it. I knew Up Around the Bend before going into the album, but the rest of it was new to me. Overall not particularly impressed. I know that Creedence Clearwater Revival is often hailed as a great pioneer of early rock ‘n’ roll, but I just don’t see what all the fuss about.
Prince
4/5
I can’t tell how I feel about Prince. No one writes a song quite like Prince did, and I mean that in the best and worst ways. I don’t know that I always agree with every artistic and stylistic choice Prince makes in every song, but I have to admit that this was an engaging and interesting pop/rock/soul/whatever else he felt like doing album.
Hole
1/5
I wanted to give Live a chance based on the radio singles I had heard. I am unimpressed. This was another album that I forgot as I was listening to it. Multiple times I had to remind myself that I was supposed to be listening to this album for the project. I don’t think this is a must hear, or culturally relevant.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
An absurd and intriguing album. For the time period, it’s certainly better than a lot of the psychedelic stuff that’s so boring it puts you to sleep. I think my biggest gripe is that the album is just a bit too long overall. It’s fun for a while to have songs of varying styles and intensities, but eventual it wore thin for me and I was ready for it to be over. Still, it was nice to hear something different and experience something new.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Congrats to Super Furry Animals for being the first UK bias album on this list that I didn’t hate. I thought this album was actually pretty fun overall, and it would be a fun unknown band to show people. Just nice to have a UK band who wasn’t so boring I wanted to turn the album off and listen to something else.
Pixies
5/5
Back in high school I spent countless hours trying to convince my friends to listen to anything by Pixies. I never convinced any of them. It probably didn’t help that it was the mid 2000s and their moment in the sun was in the rear view. But you know what? I still think my friends missed out. This album is stellar. The bizarre and violent lyrics mixed with the grooving bass lines and erratic rhythms are all part of an amazing blend. I knew about half the songs going in, and each one sounded like catching up with an old friend. I will continue recommending this album to people, no matter how many hours of disinterest I get.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
This is probably the shortest amount of time I’ve gone in this project between hearing two albums from the same artist. My last CCR album was less than two weeks ago, and unsurprisingly in that timeframe I haven’t become a convert. This album is also just kind of quality southern blues inspired dad rock. Obviously Proud Mary is a song whose reach extends past the legacy of this album, but otherwise I don’t really remember much about it. I don’t think it’s a must listen just for one specific song.
Kid Rock
1/5
I’m not gonna listen to this album because I don’t feel like giving any money to people who actively tout that they want to use their platform to make others lives worse.
The Saints
3/5
This album is at its strongest on tracks like Orstralia where there is some unique instrumentation to drive the sound. Unfortunately those tracks are few and far between with a lot of somewhat forgettable punk music in the gaps. Not a bad listen, but not one I’m likely to go back to either.
Pixies
5/5
I had a great time listening to this album. I knew a few of the tracks from it. It feels like it has a bit less of an edge compared to Doolittle, but it’s still good overall with some really catchy books and basslines. It’s been really nice to get to revisit Pixies, since I hadn’t really listened to their stuff in years, then got 2 albums within a month of each other. I will probably listen to this one again.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
You can definitely hear that Cohen has the same folk songwriting sensibilities that his contemporaries like Bob Dylan or Paul Simon. Once again though, I struggle with the disconnect of trying to have meaningful poetic lyrics juxtaposed against incredibly frantic instrumentals. They are often so fast and intricate that I would get distracted focusing on them, and realize I hadn’t been listening to the lyrics for some time. Maybe this is an album I need to give another listen to really digest, but for now it was fine.
Ryan Adams
1/5
This is another album that greatly overstates the importance of all of the songs on it. There are one or two songs that are reasonably fun and catchy to listen to, however, most of the songs just have melodies or other elements that make you wish you were listening to a better song. There were multiple times, listening to this album where I thought of a different song or album that I’d like to be listening to because of a song that was currently playing. I don’t mean that in a positive way, it feels like this album is watered down versions of songs that you might like. I can’t recommend it, and probably won’t listen to it again.
The Jam
4/5
I feel like I’ve heard music by The Jam before, but if I have, I can’t remember it for the life of me. That being said, I really enjoyed this album. It has a punk soul, but layered musicality that makes it more interesting and not quite as rough around the edges. I can’t say that my brain was fully focused on every track as it happened, but I liked the overall experience enough to go back and give it another listen at some point in the future.
R.E.M.
4/5
I think R.E.M. might be the prime example of what alternative rock is. So many times during this album I was struck by how interesting the melody and harmony were together, and the number of non-traditional instruments they were played on for a rock band. Something about it is just feel-good music, even when the lyrics are contemplative and melancholic. I will likely listen to this again.
Anita Baker
3/5
This is an album I would have never heard without this project. It’s just part of a genre that have little understanding of, and honestly feel under qualified to review. Anita has a powerful and charming voice, and the songs and arrangements on this album play well into that. I wish I had better or more in-depth thoughts, but I think this album mostly stood to show a blind spot in my music knowledge.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
I’m sure Joni Mitchell is an important and formative artist for a lot of people, probably even some musicians that I really like. However, I just found this album kind of boring overall. There were a lot of songs where repetition went from feeling artistic and meaningful to just feeling lazy and drawn out. This was another album where I actively felt myself think “this isn’t over yet?” And that’s always a bad sign.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
This album reminds of the scene in Futurama where Calculon is singing at a wedding. That’s how it feels to have Frank Sinatra on a bossa nova album. His crooning voice blaring over the subtle and delicate music that Jobim is weaving. In the medley near the end of the album there’s a moment where Jobim is singing, and Sinatra promptly pipes up to talk about how great he is, like Frank can’t go 30 seconds without hearing his own voice. I love this genre, this album is a worst of both worlds. I wish a more traditional bossa nova had taken its place.
Gary Numan
4/5
This is a good album to showcase what synth pop would become. There’s a cheerfulness and a darkness to a lot of the songs. It’s a fun listen that’s very engaging and upbeat. Cars is clearly the standout on the album, and it’s obvious why, because it’s so dang catchy. I don’t know that I would reach for the whole album again, but I will keep a couple on rotation.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
Out of time, out of key, and out of place on this list. I don’t care if it makes me uncultured, I do not see how this is an important album to listen to. It never felt interesting or creative, just droning and unrelenting. Never again.
Tortoise
3/5
I had no idea what to expect from this album and now that I have listened to it I have no real idea of what to say. It’s a lot of prolonged variations on musical themes and I think it’s worth listening to, but I also had a hard time staying focused on it and often felt my mind wander. Still glad I gave it a spin overall.
Missy Elliott
3/5
I spent a lot of time trying to decide how I felt about this album. By the time it was over I wasn’t even really sure that I had heard the musical stylings of Missy Elliott. I heard a half dozen guest artists, and I heard the compositions of Timbaland, but I don’t know that I could recognize what part of it was Missy. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. It’s a palatable album over and there were multiple times I found myself nodding or moving to the beat. But there was nothing so remarkable about this album, nor a song so iconic that it will remain in my head for the foreseeable future.
Skunk Anansie
4/5
I had never heard of this band before, and I figured this was another case of forcing an unknown UK band down our throats. I was pleasantly surprised. This album sounds like it inspired bands like Evenescence since it came out a few years before some of their bigger hits. I think the first half of the album was a little stronger over all, but it was a good listen and I will likely recommend it to people.
Slayer
2/5
I had heard Raining Blood before, but this was my first time listening to an actual Slayer album. I can see why people like it, but I don’t think it’s for me. It’s just a bit too chaotic with not enough redeeming value to wade through the chaos. I can at least say that I tried even if I’m not coming back to it.
The Bees
4/5
I feel like this is another album that I would have adored in my adolescent years. I think this is still a good album, a unique blend of relaxed pop with some reggae and other influences. I might try giving it another listen down the road, but it certainly wasn’t offensive or felt like a waste of my time. I just don’t remember much specifically about it either.
ABBA
4/5
I can definitely see why an artist like ABBA made this list. I didn’t know many of the songs off of this album going in. They were all so catchy and full of hooks that it was hard to not move your body to them. I don’t know that I’ll specifically come back to this album, but I would consider listening to an ABBA greatest hits if there aren’t more ABBA albums on the list. The music they make is just effortless fun pop rock.
Marty Robbins
4/5
It’s nice to hear some respect for songs of American tradition. I’m sure there are things about this album that don’t hold up in modern culture, but I think it represents a good window into a specific era of America that idolized cowboys and the Wild West. The songs feel heartfelt and sincere and bring up a time when “manly” men thought and sung their feelings rather than push them down and pretend they don’t have them.
Roxy Music
4/5
I hadn’t thought about Roxy Music being on this list, but it makes perfect sense. I only knew a few of their tracks before this, but I found them catchy and unique. Listening to a whole album, it exudes that uniqueness. Songs sound entirely different from each other with different featured instruments and styles. It’s a smorgasbord of variety that’s pleasing to listen to and leaves you quite entertained.
The Shamen
2/5
I don’t think this album has aged poorly, it just exists as a relic to a time for a small group of people. There is a time and a place for everything, just like how movie soundtracks are great, but don’t exactly make for the most compelling listen by themselves to most people. That’s how I feel about this album. I’m sure at a club in the 90s this album went hard. But in my car in 2026, it sounded overly long and very similar. There really isn’t much I remember from it other than the run time was far too long overall.
Deee-Lite
5/5
I gotta admit, they named the band perfectly because this album was a delight. Admittedly when it started my brain just kept assuming every song was Groove is in the Heart, but I could hear the similarities but feel the distinct differences after a little while. Having listened to a much more insufferable 90s dance album from this list earlier in the week, this was a breath of fresh air and a really enjoyable listen. I am amazed at how instrumental this dance music feels rather than electronic. I will probably listen to this one again.
Shuggie Otis
2/5
Shuggie seems like a really talented guy, but this album just didn’t hold my attention. After enough sustained wah from the guitar and organ my brain just kind of zones out. Maybe I’d consider giving it another listen down the road to reevaluate, but for now it goes on the not too impressive or aligned with my tastes pile.
Madonna
2/5
There is a lot going on in this pop album, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. This album feels like watching an old movie with early CGI. At the time of release it probably felt groundbreaking and interesting to see all the new techniques being used. And now it just feels bad. It’s dated and kind of off putting. Even the catchiest songs are plagued with weird electronic drones and overlapping sounds that make them unenjoyable. It just is not for me.
Britney Spears
2/5
This album starts really strong and gives a false impression that it is going to make you sit up and notice. Unfortunately that energy fizzles a few tracks in and devolves to mostly forgettable pop ballads with a over-polished sheen. This might also win “Most Turn of the Millennium” album by having a song named E-mail My Heart. I do feel bad for Brittney. Not just because of the obvious stuff with the breakdown, but also because this album is full of elements from R&B and spiritual music, and it was foist upon a little white girl. It just feels extra slimy anymore.
LL Cool J
2/5
This album has taught me that the number one thing I dislike about rap is an album stuffed to the brim with songs all about how great the rapper is. This album is an over long example of this format. There are some exceptions, such as the title song, but for the most part it’s mostly just 75 minutes of bragging about being the greatest, most self-reliant, most improbably powerful person. Even things that feel like they should be tongue-in-cheek come across as insincere because there’s no wink and nod, it’s just using brand names in the lyrics uncreatively. I will not listen to this again.
Bad Company
5/5
I will admit that I expected to go into this album finding it dull or self-indulging. I was wrong. This really felt like no frills classic rock. There were elements of blues and country woven through making it feel human and raw rather than an over polished product. I enjoyed listening to it the whole way through and thought the pacing of the album was great and the composition and instrumentation worked well. Glad I can still be surprised by some of these albums.
Mudhoney
2/5
How can something this high energy still be so sleepy and boring? This feels like it should be another album with lots of things about it I would like, but it didn’t appeal to me at all. I don’t remember anything about the album save for one of the songs had harmonica. Really just an uninteresting and forgettable listening experience.
Stan Getz
5/5
Impeccable. Truly a masterpiece in the Bossa Nova genre. Everyone on this album gets it and plays together perfectly. Give it multiple listens.
Chicago
4/5
I had heard a number of Chicago songs before this album, including a number of songs from this album. I can safely say they are at their best when they include the horns and write punchy, hooky songs. There are a few of them on this album and it shows how a debut album like this could be so well received. All they needed to do was remove some of the noodling and meandering tracks like Free Form Guitar and this would have really had the juice.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
RATM is another band that I had known about for years, and was even familiar with a lot of their singles. I admit that as a teenager I was just delighted by the rap-rock song where the guy repeatedly says Fuck You, but becoming older and more politically aware, I see why they wrote the music they did. I think this album gets a little long in the tooth with how much the tracks sound like each other, but the passion of the message is there the whole time.
John Martyn
2/5
Some unique compositions with unexpected instruments, but otherwise not terribly memorable. I’d consider listening to it again, but I’d probably remember it as much on that listen, which is to say, barely at all.
Django Django
3/5
This album feels like watered down Daft Punk. There are some hints of really great musical ideas, but they are buried under aimless song direction and extreme repetition. The vocals also becoming tiring by the end of the album. There are no counter melodies, no call and response, no unique harmonies, just vocals in the same type of chord over and over. Another case of overhyping a UK band for this list.
White Denim
4/5
An enjoyable listen for newer traditional style Rock music. I enjoyed what I heard and even caught myself just moving intuitively to the music a few times. I can’t say that any one song really sticks out in my mind as a memorable tune, but all of them were good enough to leave a positive impression on me. I might have to go back and give this one another listen at some point.
The Cult
4/5
At first I was worried that this was going to be a tiresome retread of AC/DC that somehow made the cut. I was pleasantly surprised by the actual album. It’s like AC/DC if someone told them their sound is actually annoying and tiring to listen to for an entire album and they tried to make it more interesting and palatable. I realized I had heard Love Removal Machine before and liked that song, and I won’t flog the album for what everyone’s reviews always hate, having the gall to do a cover. This was a good listen, and I’m fine with it being on the list.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
This is the most Beatles album I’ve ever heard by a non-Beatle. I don’t remember where I heard Gotta Get Up before, but it’s a very fitting opener to the album. The rest just really reminded me of the Beatles, but if the band was actually just a single guy. Not a bad thing, but with only a quarter of the members, the album only makes a few truly memorable songs.
Stephen Stills
2/5
I’m not sure why, but I just wasn’t feeling this album. It’s not a bad album, and sometimes it was catchy, but it just failed to capture me in any meaningful way. Maybe on another day with another listen I would feel differently, but I don’t know that a different listen would change my feelings.
The xx
2/5
It seems that somewhere between the debut album and this album they learned that music should maybe musical elements. That being said, it still sounds like 7th grade poetry for lyrics slapped over extremely uninteresting guitars and synths. I saw another review that said they were really cooking with this. Maybe cooking boiled chicken and rice.
Julian Cope
4/5
I actually came around on this album by the end. At the start I assumed it was another self-indulgent British addition like so many other albums on the list. But by the time it was done I could see how bands I like would have liked it, and how it could be my kind of album to show people. The biggest issue is that it is just too long. Multiple songs have 2-3 minute musical lead ins before the lyrics. By the time you’ve finished the album it’s an exhausting process of trying to decide how much of a song could or should have been cut down or removed to make the listening experience a bit more palatable.
Jamiroquai
5/5
A fun breath of fresh air that hasn’t really felt like anything else on this album. I know of a few of the bigger hits from Jamiroquai, so I was surprised to see that none of them were on this album. That being said, it definitely holds its own and deserves a spot on this list. They create a sound that bounces between genres and makes you want to move your body.
Khaled
3/5
This is another album where I wish I had more context. I am completely lost on what this type of music is and if this really is the best of the best, or just an album that sold well. I liked the sound of it as a whole, but it went on for way too long. I also think trying to cover Imagine was certainly a blunder. I’d consider listening to some of it again, but definitely not the whole thing.
2/5
So I chose to look up what made this live album so important to include in the list. Having read up on the circumstances surrounding this album, it doesn’t deserve to be on here at all. For anyone who naysays and claims this is a vital album for the point when Bob Dylan’s style changed by going electric, this album showcases none of that. The sets are separate, they edited out the heckling and jeering in the second set. This album is just a congratulatory back pat for anyone who wants to act superior toward someone who doesn’t like Bob Dylan.
On top of that, the music is just bland. I still think Dylan’s lyricism is extremely basic especially in the realm of rhyming, and an hour of him with guitar and harmonica playing other songs with studio versions is just not interesting. The full band is an adequate blues rock group, but nothing about them really shines.
This is just an album for people who like to say “you just don’t get it” or “you had to be there”. I don’t get it, I wasn’t there, and it doesn’t need to be heard on this list.
Steve Earle
1/5
This is some self-loathing music to drink moonshine to. It’s almost comical in how much it sounds like parody of country music. And it shows a shift of when country was about wanting a better home to live in, and becomes more about the Don’t Tread on Me while I lick boots and pretend refusing to get an education makes me smarter. A boring and vapid listen, and not worth the time.
Elvis Presley
3/5
I can’t say I know a lot of the “non-hits” from Elvis and they’re fine. I think this album is another prime example of something that was interesting at the time because it was new and shiny, and didn’t have to be particularly earth shattering. Maybe it makes me boring, but if I’m going to listen to Elvis, I’ll take an album with some of the hits.
Ray Price
2/5
I don’t think crooner country is a very good genre. Something about the two styles just clashes in a way that isn’t interesting or something greater than the two parts. The musicians were good on this album, and Ray Price has a nice enough voice, but it didn’t sway me. I did enjoy getting a personal greeting at the top of the album though. I do like the idea of the artists talking you through the intent of the music before you hear it. Maybe that is the importance of this album.
Afrika Bambaataa
4/5
I really enjoyed the energy of this album. The flow and the samples just worked well together and created something lively and engaging. I can’t say I was able to focus that much on the lyrics, but I still found it delightful overall. I’d consider giving this another listen somewhere down the road.
Fela Kuti
5/5
This is an album I almost certainly would have not found on my own and I loved it. There was so much energy and musicianship. Certainly a better listen than almost all of the psychedelic rock on this list. This album makes me wish it had more amazing hidden gems like this overall, to make them actually worth listening to before you die.
Janis Joplin
2/5
I like the energy and drive of this album, but I’ll be in the minority, I can’t stand the sound of Janis Joplin’s voice. It’s grating and irritating after a few minutes, which makes it even more difficult to tolerate for an entire album. Mix that with the fact that it’s psychedelic rock that I already feel lukewarm about and you’ve got a dud in my book.
Suicide
1/5
I wish I could be first at something so I could monumentally suck and still be see as “influential” for some reason. This album is bad. There are sharp spikes in volume, it’s droning and repetitive, and it evokes a rage fueled by boredom. These are the edgelords of the 1970s and this album holds nothing of artistic or cultural merit. The only influence it has is teaching future artists how to make better music than they ever could.
k.d. lang
2/5
I don’t like crooner country when a man does it, and now I can confirm I also don’t care for it when it’s a woman too. This album just didn’t work for me. The studio musicians felt different every song so there was no consistency. It just felt like k.d. was singing to extremely polished karaoke tracks with no soul. Maybe future work feels tighter and more unified, but this just felt bland, even with a good voice.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I always heard about this album as being some kind of revelation to Rock & Roll. I think those people overhyped it. It’s a better than average rock album, but it’s not the greatest thing to ever be recorded. My favorite thing about this album was how much it very clearly inspired Brandon Flowers and the Killers. A lot of their work has that same Americana rock and roll feeling and it can very clearly be drawn back to artists like Springsteen.
Leftfield
1/5
The list is 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before you Die. To me, this implies that these albums have interesting musical or cultural significance that will be important for the listener to dissect and absorb from listening. This is yet another slickly produced album which contains none of that. It’s all droll, uninspired electronic music that most people have never heard of and even fewer will remember. It’s not a required listening experience by any means.
Radiohead
4/5
I don’t think this album is the greatest thing to ever exist like some people think. It’s certainly full of memorable songs and interesting production. But it’s not an album for all seasons. This is an album for when you are depressed and anxious, but doesn’t feel like the kind of thing I would want to listen to when I’m having a great day. I’ll put it on the list to listen to again when the correct circumstances hit though.
CHVRCHES
4/5
I will admit I have personal bias for this album. I was already kind of familiar with it and really like the singles from it. That being said, I do think that it slows down at bit towards the end and doesn’t quite have the same energy and impact as the top of the album. But the sound and synth was so unlike what everyone else was doing at the time, and it’s hard to listen to it and not want to jam along.
The Verve
2/5
This album knows exactly what it wants to be: a swirling miasma of flavorless Britpop. Britslop, as it were. Every song is equally forgettable and equally crammed with distortion. The only half memorable song opens the album, then I washed away in a see of bland. This album doesn’t feel groundbreaking or special. It just feels like filling up on complementary bread instead of eating a meal.
Lucinda Williams
1/5
This album really showcases how musical acts build off of each other. The Wikipedia article says there were guest appearances by Emmylou Harris (an artist I’ve rated 1 star) and Steve Earle (an artist I’ve rated 1 star). So by this logic this album is statistically likely to be 1 star. And it is, because it’s another bland and forgettable modern country album that acts like being drunken and uncivil is somehow a charming and desirable trait. Dreadful. Not worth the time.
Big Black
2/5
A serviceable punk album. I can’t say anything really stuck out, but I’ve listen to a ton of albums Steve Albini helped to record and produce, so I can see why this would be on the list. Just not really all that interesting to me as a listen.
Black Flag
5/5
This feels like the true quintessential punk album. It’s got the right mood, the right lyrics, and the right production. It’s sounds like a bunch of angry, disenfranchised guys who just need an outlet for their frustration. They don’t always play or sing perfectly, but they capture the feeling of rage and fighting that we all experience from time to time. Must listen.
Megadeth
3/5
I listened to the whole thing and I have no strong feelings one way or the other. It’s all technically very impressive and not grating to listen to, but at the same time I don’t really remember how any of the songs go aside from there being fast and intense guitar solos. I think it deserves to be on the list, it’s a likable foray into listening to metal, but unless you’re really into the genre, it will probably play without much holding your attention specifically.
Patti Smith
2/5
This album feels like it is dripping with “cool 70s” energy. I can see girls back then wishing they had the effortless edge and charm that Patti had. But I think that energy doesn’t carry much weight today. The music is fine, but it certainly doesn’t feel cool now. It just feels like old rock, and despite what places claim doesn’t really feel Punk at all. It wasn’t a bad listen, but I think it’s not as timeless as some people might think.
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
Flyover state, flyover album. There’s nothing you’re missing by skipping this one. It’s a bunch of mournful songs about people Bruce tries to frame as Midwest Folk heroes, when in reality they all come off as whiny children who act as victims of circumstance. And of course, the song that treats the cop like martyr for not forcing his brother to obey the law. Just a drag of an album. All bummer albums just don’t work. They’re never worth the time to listen to.
Pink Floyd
3/5
The main thing this album did was annoy me that normal musical soundtracks don’t seem to make the cut for this list. For all intents and purposes this album is basically an opera or a musical, but from a different origin. The fullest songs that got packaged as singles are really good, but a lot of the connective tissue between them are a handful of musical interludes that I don’t think always work. I would consider listening to it again, but I imagine my mind will wander just like this time with how long and meandering it feels at times.
David Bowie
2/5
David Bowie still had what it took to put together a decent album all the way up to the end. I already heard that album on this list. This album was on the list and got replaced because it’s just an average Bowie listen. It’s not really that interesting or monumental, and I’m sure there are other albums from this time period, or even that year which weren’t included in favor of adding more Bowie. It’s not a bad listen, just really mediocre.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
I bounced back and forth how I felt about this one. It has a Beatles in the 2000s sensibility that tends to work well for it. However it is quite a long album and meanders through a lot of songs I don’t really remember. I think it was an okay listening experience, but I don’t know that it would definitively be on everyone’s list.
ZZ Top
3/5
I’m not that familiar with ZZ Top’s sound prior to this album, but a lot of the other reviews on this site seem to act like this album was a betrayal to who they were. I didn’t bring that baggage to my listening of it, so I only heard the album through fresh ears and it’s fine. It’s starts really strong with some catchy songs that will get stuck in your head, but by the end of the album it’s a bit less memorable and a bit more monotonous. The songs are all a little too similar with a driving beat and don’t feel quite as catchy as the openers.