472
Albums Rated
3.2
Average Rating
43%
Complete
617 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Hard-rock
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
35
5-Star Albums
9
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Good Old Boys
Randy Newman
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
|
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
|
5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
|
Achtung Baby
U2
|
5 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
|
Tommy
The Who
|
5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
|
2112
Rush
|
5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
|
Stardust
Willie Nelson
|
5 | 3.4 | +1.6 |
|
Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
|
5 | 3.4 | +1.6 |
|
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
|
5 | 3.45 | +1.55 |
|
Aja
Steely Dan
|
5 | 3.46 | +1.54 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
|
1 | 3.17 | -2.17 |
|
Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter
|
1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
|
Ys
Joanna Newsom
|
1 | 2.8 | -1.8 |
|
Tago Mago
Can
|
1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
|
Two Dancers
Wild Beasts
|
1 | 2.75 | -1.75 |
|
Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
|
1 | 2.64 | -1.64 |
|
Born To Be With You
Dion
|
1 | 2.62 | -1.62 |
|
In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
|
2 | 3.6 | -1.6 |
|
Moon Safari
Air
|
2 | 3.58 | -1.58 |
|
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
|
2 | 3.57 | -1.57 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 7 | 4.43 |
| Beatles | 4 | 4.75 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Who | 2 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| My Bloody Valentine | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1.5 |
| Blur | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (35)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
This is another one of those albums that I just plain missed because my kids were growing up and I guess I was just getting old. But while I was a bit dismissive of it through the early tracks, when "All My Friends" came on, it just knocked me out! Am I the last person over 30 in the English-speaking world to find this truly terrific song?! In fact, it made me go back and listen to the earlier tracks again with a much greater appreciation. This is definitely worth a spin or three.
1 likes
Neil Young
4/5
One of the greatest songwriters of the rock era. This is an often overlooked gem from Young.
1 likes
Big Star
4/5
Quite delightful, though it's likely to disappoint those who come to it from the over-hype of the several "rediscoveries" it has experienced over the years. If you go in expecting something like a cross between a lost final Byrds album and a George Harrison solo effort, that seems to hit it about right, I'd say.
1 likes
4-Star Albums (119)
1-Star Albums (9)
All Ratings
Pulp
3/5
Kind of like New Wave David Bowie . . . but not as interesting.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Smooth and sexy!
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
This album has always seemed a bit overrated to me.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
The Police
4/5
This was a seminal album of my college days, and the truly great songs on it remain truly great. But I'd forgotten the number of much less successful "filler" songs it includes. In some ways, it might be seen as a fine encapsulation of Sting's career. When he is good, he is so good that he makes you forget how often he could also be just plain mediocre.
Television
3/5
This started out as an unexpectedly fun album that had somehow slipped my notice for many years. About halfway through, the shtick seemed to have run its course, though.
David Bowie
4/5
The poignancy of Bowie essentially writing his own requiem here will always be a huge part of this album's effectiveness. But it also seems like there's very little that's memorable enough here to to stand in the truly top tier of Bowie albums, especially to those who are not already huge fans. He was a genius, and this might very well be a work of genius. But it's also, sadly, largely forgettable when held up against the larger Bowie pantheon.
Beach House
2/5
Not unpleasant, but I'm also not hearing much that's innovative. Pretty sure I'll have forgotten this album and group ever existed by next week.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Frank Zappa was certainly an innovator, and this album shows a lot of the ways he experimented with what could be done in popular music. But listening all these years later, I have to wonder: What was the point?
Elvis Presley
4/5
The joy that comes through early Elvis recordings is always palpable and infectious. This was a guy who was having the time of his life figuring it all out.
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
Sugar
3/5
Seemed pretty generic to me. Is it really a top 1000 album of all time?
Lenny Kravitz
4/5
I remember when Lenny was the epitome of cool. This album shows just how much he deserved that reputation!
R.E.M.
4/5
Still a lot of fun after all these years. And the lyrics remain virtually indecipherable!
Fred Neil
2/5
3/5
"Greenman" is a banger! Otherwise, I was rather underwhelmed.
ZZ Top
4/5
These guys just rocked!
ABBA
3/5
It's ABBA. What is there that anyone can add to the discussion of ABBA and this late date. Back when they were big, I was always pretty indifferent to them, but "Fernando" (from this album) has always been my favorite song of theirs.
Jeru The Damaja
2/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Pixies
3/5
Some fun here, but not the Pixies best by any means.
The Human League
2/5
Their one hit is on this album (in case you were wondering).
Deerhunter
1/5
Generally uninspired background noise.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
What a sweet voice! And great orchestrations of some classic songs.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Sweet, mellow and soothing. When Old Blue Eyes took his music seriously, he could create absolute masterpieces like this.
Van Morrison
4/5
An absolutely singular voice in the history of music.
Beatles
4/5
Even in this early cover-laden work, the Beatles are already showing the wide musical interests and influences that made them the greatest band of all time.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
The voice was the voice, of course. But Sinatra was also great at picking the songs that always seem to take it to another level. This is plain and simple an album for ALL lovers, not merely the "swingin'."
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
For a little while there, these guys were absolute hit-makers.
Willie Nelson
3/5
I love Willie, and this was certainly a breakout album for him. However, I was struck hearing it again all these years later by how slim a lot of it is. Most of the songs are great, but they often feel a bit underwritten.
The Cure
2/5
Not much memorable here.
Deee-Lite
3/5
I wanted to make fun of this when I started, but darned if it isn't quite infectious!
Suede
2/5
I was very underwhelmed.
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
Some infectiously catchy stuff on here. I liked it better than I thought I would.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
\"Immigrant Song\" might be the best album opener ever. This remains a timeless classic for good reason. A complete banger!
Goldfrapp
3/5
Beautiful voice, but not seeing much point to the very safe arrangements of these songs. I suppose just not my cup of tea.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
The man can play a horn!
Dirty Projectors
2/5
Didn't see the point to this one.
The Thrills
2/5
This is no doubt the most overtold joke in rating this group, but I was NOT thrilled. In their best songs they sound a little like they're trying to be the Beach Boys . . . if the Beach Boys had been boring and predictable.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Yeah, they're a one-hit wonder, but this whole album brims with infectious enthusiasm.
GZA
3/5
Silver Jews
3/5
Not bad as far as it goes. Sort of like a slow-down and less pithy They Might Be Giants.
Travis
4/5
These guys were a nice surprise! I'd rank them up there with Oasis.
Blur
2/5
Rather bland and one-note.
CHIC
3/5
I was never much of a disco fan back in the day, but the talent here is undeniable.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
This rocks pretty hard. Not sure why I'd never heard of this guy before.
Maxwell
3/5
Some super smooth easy listening here, if you're into that kind of thing.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Unmatched beauty in songwriting and performance have rarely (if ever!) been more clearly on display than in this album. Just sublime.
The Beau Brummels
3/5
This was a surprising little gem!
Jimmy Smith
4/5
This guy is great. Infectious and fun.
Beck
3/5
A decent album, but nothing I'm likely to be seeking out to listen to all that often.
Pretenders
4/5
They hit the ground running here, though greater songs were to follow.
Pink Floyd
5/5
An all-time classic for good reasons.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Smooth sound and a nice voice. Nothing overly memorable, though.
Yes
4/5
Some all-time great jams on here, but also a lot that feels like filler.
The Young Rascals
4/5
These guys seem to be somewhat forgotten or underrated in hindsight. Some great musical variety here!
Miles Davis
4/5
Smooth and always surprising. David was the bomb, baby!
Joy Division
3/5
Felt generally kind of dull at first, but kept growing on me the more I listened to it.
Johnny Cash
3/5
"Hurt" was just about the perfect song for Cash at this late stage in his career, and his version here is wonderful. But with only a couple other exceptions, it is clearly an album recorded by someone being indulged because he is (obviously) an all-time great. I'm glad we have it, but it's not even close to most of his earlier work.
Tom Waits
3/5
Interesting and competent, as always from Waits. Not one of his most memorable, though. A pretty spooky October listen, maybe!
Cypress Hill
3/5
For an album that seemed so much "of its time," this has held up surprising well over the past three decades.
Metallica
2/5
Soft Machine
2/5
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Not a band I remember at all, but a fun, highly listenable LP.
3/5
Still enjoyable as far as it goes, but sounds very much of its time.
The Avalanches
2/5
Kind of all over the place musically. Nothing I would call particularly memorable.
Morrissey
3/5
Fun, but also largely forgettable.
The Go-Betweens
3/5
Enjoyable, but quite "of its time," in my opinion. There were a lot of groups that sounded pretty much like this in the late 80s.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
This group's name should be My Boring Valentine. Mostly just a lot of vaguely rhythmic background noise.
Joanna Newsom
1/5
At first I found this uninteresting, but it soon became actually irritating. Like she's trying to be Kate Bush but without Bush's sublime vocal talent.
50 Cent
3/5
Iconic.
Neil Young
5/5
My wife says he sounds like a goat. I say he IS the G.O.A.T.
N.E.R.D
3/5
Not typically my type of music, but generally infectious.
Buzzcocks
4/5
This rocks!
Sam Cooke
5/5
The songs are still delightfully infectious after al these years, and Cooke sounds like he's having a blast in this live performance. A great choice if you're ever feeling the least bit down!
Van Halen
3/5
I hadn't listened to this full album in maybe 30 years, and hearing it now was both enjoyable and a little bit sad. Some iconic VH songs of the David Lee Roth era here, of course, but it's impossible to listen to this without realizing that it was clearly the beginning of the end.
The Young Gods
2/5
An interesting combination of styles and instruments here, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I spoke French. The prevailing heavy metal vibe is not overly unique.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Smooth and mellow. Nice for quiet background music, I suppose.
Kate Bush
5/5
This sounded like an instant classic when it first came out in 1985. Today, it sounds like a timeless classic. Bush is amazing! I can't think of any artist more deserving of the renaissance she got a couple of years ago.
Pulp
3/5
Not anything I would turn off if it came on to a stream I was listening to, but also unlikely to be anything I ever seek out again.
AC/DC
5/5
There are almost certainly better rock and roll albums in history, but this is flawless in its execution of its scope. Rock and roll ain't noise pollution, baby!
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
I think I had seriously underrated this group. Very listenable music.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie had really found his voice by this album.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Didn't do much for me. Mostly just dark and grinding.
4/5
Her sound and voice are so happy and upbeat that it's sometimes easy to miss just how angry a lot of these songs are about the double standard for women and men in 1960s America. Sadly, much of what she sings about is still relevant today.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
I'd forgotten just how much energy they always brought to their music! Unfortunately, despite that energy, most of the songs are also individually forgettable.
I mean, it's U2, so there are some great songs here. But somebody needed to say no to the various versions and edits included.
Ice T
3/5
Some smart commentary on life in America that still seems as timely today as it was over 30 years ago.
Radiohead
3/5
Not overly upbeat, so I have to be in just the right mood for this.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Infectious. "Shining Star" is an all-time banger, of course, but there's also a lot of "filler" here.
Robbie Williams
3/5
Mostly harmless.
Nick Drake
3/5
Not disagreeable.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
Sounds just like you expect it will: like a foundational work of blues-inspired rock and roll. Or like Eric Clapton, which is essentially the same thing.
Bauhaus
2/5
Very much that mid- to late-80s sound, with maybe a bit of Frank Zappa influence mixed in. Mostly forgettable, though.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
What a voice. Gone much too soon.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Holds up surprisingly well.
Mj Cole
2/5
An incredibly eclectic mix of styles and genres, most of which ultimately hold little appeal to me.
Thundercat
3/5
I found myself largely indifferent.
JAY Z
2/5
Jeff Buckley
3/5
His "Hallelujah" is quite good, of course, but for my money only the second or third best version of that song. Other than that, there's a lot of forgettable stuff here.
5/5
If not the best album of the 1990s, this is certainly in the conversation for that spot. Every track here is solid.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Smooth as butter!
King Crimson
2/5
Undoubtedly ground-breaking in 1969. Now, it sounds largely just self-indulgent, I'm afraid.
Beatles
5/5
An all-time classic for a reason. The Beatles at the top of their songwriting and performing talents.
Cream
4/5
Cream at its best--which is very good indeed!!!
Hawkwind
2/5
Radiohead
2/5
Really highlights the limited diversity of this band musically. Not quite as good as OK Computer, but it's sort of hard to tell the difference.
Air
2/5
Largely forgettable.
Spiritualized
3/5
Mostly harmless.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
A generational voice, gone too soon.
LL Cool J
4/5
Still musically solid (the title track is one of the all-time great bangers) and lyrically clever enough to surprise a laugh when you least expect it. A seminal album for good reason!
Violent Femmes
3/5
Still some fun here, and "Blister in the Sun" is a bop that stands the test of time.
Ride
2/5
Meh . . .
Michael Jackson
4/5
The guy was screwed up eight ways to Sunday psychologically, but man, he could write hit songs and sing. His voice on "Man in the Mirror" is just amazing.
Dead Kennedys
2/5
Loud and fast, if you like that sort of thing.
Finley Quaye
3/5
Fun, but somewhat repetitive.
The xx
3/5
Decently mellow, but not overly memorable.
UB40
3/5
They had found their sound here . . . which never really changed much on subsequent efforts.
The Mars Volta
3/5
I guess My Chemical Romance would be the best comparison, though this album never hits the highs of the best of MCR.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
Remember when dark and discordant was a thing? Then you might like this! Otherwise, not much to recommend.
The Offspring
4/5
Some great bangers here!
The Boo Radleys
2/5
At best, some smooth but forgettable easy listening. At worst, so experiments with how much irritating noise a listener might be able to tolerate.
John Martyn
3/5
Some smooth-sounding jazzy riffs here.
Wilco
2/5
Sometimes clever lyrically, but I always hope for more from this group musically. There's just too often a kind of slow, plodding sameness to the songs.
Peter Frampton
4/5
The virtuosity of Frampton's guitar playing is match only by the joyful energy he exudes on every track. There's a reason this was a seminal album of the mid-1970s.
The Cure
3/5
A decent group that seemed dedicated to producing largely non-objectionable music. Their sound is definitely memorable, though very few individual songs are.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Decently listenable, but nothing really stands out here.
Elliott Smith
2/5
I'm sure there are fans for this kind of music out there, but to me it sounds like he's trying to perform the least memorable songs he can produce.
John Prine
4/5
What a great album! Even if you don't recognize any of the songs by their titles, they're likely to set off memories as soon as you start hearing them. Prine was a terrific songwriter, and the number of artists who covered his work in the 70s and 80s would make up a long list indeed. These performances are sometimes rougher than the covers you might have heard, but they all highlight just how terrific the songs themselves are.
The Clash
3/5
Not completely up to their highest standards, but everyone has to start somewhere. The sound is definitely already there in this debut.
The Stooges
3/5
Probably too much forgotten in terms of their influence on the music of that era. They certainly liked to experiment, but not everything they try here is successful.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
Janis's voice is sublime on "Piece of My Heart," but though the group was clearly aware of her as a standout, they weren't quite ready yet to give themselves over to her completely yet. Thus, there's some unevenness of this album. (Though that might also be because it's a live performance).
De La Soul
3/5
These guys were having a lot of fun!
Björk
3/5
Feels like she had lost a lot of her early energy by this album.
Eric Clapton
3/5
The sheer artistry is absolutely undeniable, of course. But with only a couple of exceptions ("I Shot the Sheriff", "Let It Grow"), there's a lack of energy that I don't remember from when I listened to this album many years ago. The album hasn't changed, obviously, so it must be me.
Merle Haggard
4/5
Listening to this nearly 60 years after its release certainly confirms Haggard's reputation as the original outlaw of country music.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Hits all the right Pearl Jam notes, if that's your thing.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Some pretty orchestrations and a beautiful voice, but not really my cup of tea.
AC/DC
4/5
You can't spell "heavy metal head bangers" with AC/DC!
Rush
5/5
This is the album that made me a lifetime Rush fan (as it did for Dave Grohl, as well, apparently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTz2TDr79eI). It just simply rocks!!
Kraftwerk
2/5
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Competent, but only sometimes interesting.
Sonic Youth
2/5
Really doesn't seem to hold up as classic after all these years.
Muddy Waters
4/5
The bluesy roots of so much of what was to come. A great album.
Megadeth
3/5
I don't think there's ever been a band whose sound is easier to define just from its name. This is exactly what you'll expect it to be. Skillful guitar work, and songs like "Peace Sells" almost rise to an Alice Cooper-esque level of songwriting.
Sparks
3/5
Cute.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Not quite to the iconic sound that made up their greatest hits here.
Morrissey
3/5
Lyrically witty with over-the-top orchestrations? Must be Morrissey!
Various Artists
4/5
A very strong Christmas album, with versions of some classics that have really held up. Some very talented folks working here.
Scott Walker
4/5
Surprisingly good! Walker had a smooth crooner voice, but his subject matter was surprisingly edgy. I'll be looking for more from this guy since he seems completely overlooked these days.
Blur
2/5
Kind of seems like they're trying too hard here.
Dr. Dre
3/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
A singular voice of her generation singing a fine selection of great songs from the 1960s. "Son of a Preacher Man" still bangs almost six decades later.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
At least three all-time classic songs on this album, including the title track and "Everyday People." Though much of the rest feels like funkadelic filler, those tracks alone make this a great album.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Better as a middle of the road pop group than when they revert to screamo mode.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
Some funny lyrics. Musically bland, but that's likely what they were going for in a generic love song kind of way.
Public Enemy
3/5
Neu!
3/5
Interesting, but largely forgettable, I'm afraid.
The Specials
3/5
A very reggae-esque Clash sound. Not bad. But also not The Clash.
Beatles
5/5
Well, yeah, an all-time classic. Very few albums ever made have this many good songs on them. What the Beatles were able to do musically is unlikely ever to be repeated.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Never has an album been more deserving of the renewed recognition this one is getting.
The Icarus Line
3/5
This generally rocked, but nothing really grabbed me and said, "You must hear more!"
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
This is the Bob Marley sound, all right!
Björk
2/5
There's a pretty voice here, but musically it often seems to be just making noise.
The Soft Boys
3/5
Some fun stuff here, from a group I'd never heard of before.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
No one did prog rock like ELP.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
A really great voice, and a fun live recording.
The Yardbirds
3/5
Mostly harmless.
The Monkees
4/5
All the great songs that you remember from the Monkees are NOT on this album. But it does show that they were actually musicians who put out a lot of music worth listening to.
5/5
A classic. Bowie at one of the several distinct peaks he reached in his career.
Minor Threat
3/5
Rocks pretty hard. Not for the faint-hearted.
Otis Redding
5/5
Otis is still remembered primarily as one of those singular talents who died way too young (at age 26), about a year before his biggest hit--"(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay"--became his only #1 single. But this album, released two years before his death, really highlights just how great and versatile he was. Chances are you will recognize every song here--though usually from a version by another artist. Otis makes each of these great songs his own, though. A really terrific record!!!
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Some really beautiful stuff hear, though sometimes marred by less successful sound experiments.
Muddy Waters
4/5
This guy was having so much fun! An album to listen to if you need an instant shot of pick-me-up!
Jurassic 5
3/5
I was 40 years old when this album came out. A white guy. I can't imagine I was any kind of intended audience for this. But listening to it now has been a lot of fun.
David Bowie
4/5
Not among Bowie's top works, but he certainly showed he could still make interesting music well into his 60s. He was definitely taken from the world too soon!
Steely Dan
5/5
Seven songs all nearly perfectly made. One of the great albums of its time, and it hasn't lost any of its luster.
Heaven 17
3/5
The closest equivalent is probably DEVO. Some fun stuff on this album, but ultimately less cutting than that ground-breaking group.
Oasis
4/5
Like very few groups, Oasis seemed to emerge fully formed with this debut album, and only got better on the efforts that followed! It now seems sort of inevitable that something this good could only exist for a very limited time.
Bobby Womack
3/5
Some smooth, easy-listening here.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
A truly wonderful songwriter, but definitely more "vocal stylist" than "singer" as a performer. :-)
Destiny's Child
3/5
Much more my daughters' jam than mine, but three obviously talented ladies.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
A great example of how anger and vitriol can be turned into timeless art! Still fun to listen to more than a quarter century after its release.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Absolutely beautiful.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
Absolutely a sound of their time in the early 1980s, but still upbeat and fun to listen to more than four decades later!
The Byrds
4/5
Highly innovative in their time, of course; but what stands out about listening to this album now is how comfortable and familiar it all seems.
Fairport Convention
3/5
Some great Dylan covers on here, among other songs. A beautiful voice, reminiscent of Joni Mitchell.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Sheryl Crow
4/5
An amazing number of great songs here, especially considering it's a debut album. Crow definitely hit the ground running!
Miriam Makeba
3/5
Upbeat and generally fun. A terrific voice.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
A high-energy performance of some of their greatest hits.
Megadeth
3/5
This is going to be exactly what you expect: high-speed riffs and screaming guitar wails. Great for what it's doing, but limited, of course.
Basement Jaxx
3/5
Smooth and easy to listen to. Not particularly memorable.
The Go-Go's
3/5
Wow, this takes me back to my college years! As fun and infectious as I remember it!
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Elvis Costello
4/5
Infectiously fun.
Neil Young
4/5
One of the greatest songwriters of the rock era. This is an often overlooked gem from Young.
David Bowie
4/5
"Sound and Vision" is among the second-tier Bowie songs that 95% of that artists out there would probably kill to have written. It kind of sums up this album, which is experimentally instrumental in its second half in ways that Bowie returned to on parts of Blackstar.
R.E.M.
4/5
I've always had a soft spot for this one, though I get the impression true R.E.M. fans might be a little embarrassed by it. "Stand" is one of my all-time favorite bops!
The Style Council
3/5
A very smooth, jazzy sound from this group I don't think I ever heard of. Really like the often tongue-in-cheek titles, like "The Whole Point of No Return."
U2
5/5
One of the greatest albums of the early 90s; U2 at their best. If you haven't ever heard this album, why not?!
Magazine
3/5
Kind of a fun late-70s sound, anticipating groups like Shriekback from a few years later (though not nearly as hard rock as that example).
Raekwon
3/5
Lorde
3/5
Seems almost the definition of a sophomore slump after the wild success of her first album, but there are some decent tracks here and her voice is beautiful.
The Charlatans
3/5
Very much of their time, with a bit of an Oasis vibe. Entertaining to listen to, but not all that memorable for me.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
It's Bob Marley. Anyone who can't find joy in this needs to reexamine many things about their lies. Possibly at his most political here, but you're hardly going to notice as you bop along with him.
The Verve
3/5
Listening to it now, this is something of a mess. There's nothing NOT to like here, specifically, but somehow it doesn't really add up to anything.
Gorillaz
3/5
Mostly harmless.
Van Morrison
3/5
Morrison is a generational talent, no doubt. But this is a surprisingly low-energy set.
The Byrds
3/5
This album shows both the strengths and weaknesses of The Byrds. Tremendously innovative, and when it works (Eight Miles High), it's absolutely iconic. When it doesn't work, it's largely forgettable.
Black Sabbath
3/5
"Heavy" is the word here. If you like metal, it's not going to get much better than this.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Wonderful.
The Beach Boys
3/5
An important transition album for the group with a couple of songs that have become iconic. But not the first Beach Boys album anyone is likely to turn to when they want to listen to them, I think.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
I don't remember this group, but, yeah, they sound a lot like my college days.
Little Richard
5/5
A transformational figure in the history of rock. And still a pure joy to listen to today!
Al Green
4/5
A wonderful voice and talent. In addition to the classic, "Let's Stay Together," this album also includes a pretty great cover of the Bee Gees "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"!
The Who
5/5
I've long argued that song for song, this is the greatest album of the rock era. This is obviously a subjective judgement, but break breaking it down by track makes it hard to argue, I'd say. It includes three all-time classics in "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "Won't Get Fooled Again." It's "middle three" tracks, quality-wise--"Bargain," "Love Ain't for Keeping," and "Getting in Tune"--would almost certainly be the top songs on about 90% of the albums ever released. And even it's "bottom tier" is a terrific mix of tracks, with "My Wife," "The Song Is Over," and "Going Mobile." There is absolutely no filler here! This is my go-to for solid greatness all the way through! It gets five stars only because I can't give it six.
Miles Davis
4/5
Liz Phair
3/5
I've always wanted to like this album more than I do. An early-thirties father of three young girls when this came out, I wanted it to give me insights into what I myself had always done wrong as a man and use this knowledge to help my daughters not become the disappointed women Phair so often writes about here. Alas, though I can see certain flashes of brilliance, instead of insights, I've mostly only ever heard anger. Instead of guidance, grievance. I still blame mostly myself for my lack of understanding. But after more than thirty years, I'm resigned that I will never change enough to truly appreciate what others see here. My daughters have turned out fine despite those limitations on my part, thank goodness.
Jamiroquai
3/5
Upbeat and not hard to listen to, but highly derivative of stuff Stevie Wonder was doing much better roughly a quarter of a century before this came out.
Randy Newman
5/5
This feels like the album where Randy Newman fully found his folksy, R&B infused, political commentary voice. "Rednecks," "Birmingham," "Marie," and "Louisiana, 1927" are all essential tracks in his discography. Somehow, messages that would feel strident from other artists always invite a sharp laugh of recognition from Newman. He'll give us a moment to feel superior, then quickly pull it out from under us. A wonderful talent.
The Strokes
3/5
I've always wanted to like this group more than I do. There's nothing wrong with what they're doing. I just never find it all that compelling or memorable.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Surprisingly hard to rate this one. By my count, 5 or the 13 songs here are among the greatest written in the past sixty years or so. But (not surprisingly, I guess) there's a pretty big drop-off from the best of those to the filler. Still, this is an essential album for everyone to listen to if they care at all about popular music is the second half of the 20th century.
Ray Price
3/5
Some timeless stuff here.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
My wife says Neil's voice is the Greatest Of All Time! Or maybe she's just saying he sounds like a goat. Either way, a fantastic songwriter and performer.
Wild Beasts
1/5
Yeah, this one just didn't do anything for me.
Roxy Music
2/5
Still pretty rough and unformed here, without the smooth polish that would characterize the later stuff that they are still primarily known for.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
A surprisingly fully formed debut album that includes all-time Petty classics "Breakdown" and "American Girl." Most of the other tunes feel less polished by comparison, but still a great listen nearly fifty years after its release.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Groundbreaking in its day, of course, but still surprisingly listenable today in a way that most of the "experimental" efforts of the late 60s are not. Lou Reed anchors it with a keen awareness of how to prioritize the music and assure the shock of the experimental parts are not overshadowing.
Dolly Parton
3/5
It's almost impossible to listen to this while you're trying to do something else. Parton tells stories that just suck you in.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
I've never been a big country music fan, and 80s country usually sounds to me like the most generic, cliched version of the genre. I'm glad Buck Owens got another hit with his duet with Dwight on "Streets of Bakersfield," but this version is almost laughable if listened to back-to-back with Buck's original. Just not much here for me, I'm afraid.
Fugees
3/5
Entertaining, with some fun takes on a couple of classic songs from the seventies. Parts feel overindulgent in the way a lot of rap from the nineties can feel today.
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
It was great that Raitt finally received some long-deserved accolades and financial success from the album.
Talking Heads
3/5
This is certainly where they found the sound we still remember them for. But better albums were to follow.
Talking Heads
3/5
My second Talking Heads in a row! That's not a bad thing, I guess. They were building their canon here by adding all-time classics "Life During Wartime" and "Heaven." And they had definitely discovered their signature sound in this second collaboration with producer Brian Eno.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
I was all set to really ravage this one, because these guys were not much more than a joke to me back in the day. But unbelievably, I found it much more entertaining than I thought I would. Never underestimate the power of nostalgia!!
Leonard Cohen
4/5
This is a guy in peak form after nearly two decades of great songwriting. While his vocal styling could be off-putting, the man could make music!
Pere Ubu
2/5
I wonder if albums haven't been added to this list just for their irritation value. Given the sound and the time period, this was probably an inspiration for groups like Devo and the Talking Heads, but it shows little of the musical skill and only some of the humorous charm of those groups. A six-minute noise experiment that serves as the album's penultimate track (and roughly one-sixth of its total running time) feels like time I'll never have back in my life now.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Waylon Jennings
3/5
This is the sound of it all coming together, man! Fifteen years after being discovered by Buddy Holly, Waylon finally found the sound here that he would ride to superstardom in the '70s and on into icon status for the final decades of his life.
Haircut 100
3/5
This sounds exactly like you'd expect an album from a British new wave group of the early 80s to sound. I wonder if their band name might have inspired all of those "number" band names from the next decade: Sum 41, Matchbox 20, Blink-182, and the like. :-)
The Temptations
3/5
No one did R&B any funkier!
Rage Against The Machine
3/5
It doesn't get much more metal than this!
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
These guys immediately sounded so good harmonizing together that it's sometimes hard to remember that each of them were actually already established stars with other groups. Some beautiful, timeless stuff here.
Pixies
3/5
A fun band.
American Music Club
3/5
A nice sort of folky rock collection that seems like it might have set the stage for later, more successful groups like Counting Crows. An easy listen.
Q-Tip
3/5
Mostly harmless.
The Zombies
3/5
Much of it sounds as cheesy as you remember most British Invasion songs of the early 60s sounding. Then comes "Time of the Season."
Iron Maiden
3/5
I think of this as heavy metal in its purest form. Listen only if you're ready to rock!
Gene Clark
3/5
I have no memory of this album (or any of Gene Clark's other solo efforts after the Byrd's disbanded), but I was pretty young at the time. After listening to it, it strikes me as a quite competent collection of songs that have kind of a mellow Grateful Dead vibe. It's certainly much better than you might expect an album so thoroughly ignored by the American audience to be. But neither does it rise to the level you might imagine from the Album of the Year award it received in the Netherlands.
Korn
2/5
As heavy as you imagine it to be.
The Cramps
3/5
Kind of like if the B-52s married the Ramones. Only now that I've typed that, it sounds way more interesting than the songs on this particular album.
The Clash
4/5
This is the sound I think of when I think new wave/punk of the late 70s and early 80s.
John Lennon
4/5
Starts with one of the greatest songs ever written and it doesn't decline much from there.
David Bowie
4/5
A hallmark of Bowie's career was his ability to keep reinventing himself. This album falls pretty much in the middle between those early harder rock hits that I still like the best and his later, more commercial pop-synth mega-hits that took him to a whole new level of superstardom and brought him an entirely new generation of fans. But even in leaving one phase behind on his journey to a new, he was writing classics like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Heroes." Just a truly singular talent.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Iconic.
Sleater-Kinney
3/5
A solid bop!
The Byrds
3/5
The musicianship is fine here; the songs well-chosen and well-performed. But hard to hear this as a seminal Byrds album.
Missy Elliott
3/5
Not even close to my usual jam, but not painful to listen to.
The Doors
4/5
Hard to imagine a better debut album than this. They would have greater commercial successes, of course (particularly after Morrison's death), but it really feels like they could only repeat themselves of go downhill from here.
808 State
2/5
Sometimes, I forget that there are entire genres of music--enjoyed by millions--that have touched me only obliquely. How do I rate albums like that? Objectively, I know many people love to lose themselves in the kinds of beeps and squeaks of electronica ably showcased here. Subjectively, I'm not typically one of those people.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
Joyful and upbeat.
Beck
2/5
Two Becks in three days is at least one too many! This one felt tired and repetitive, not nearly as fresh and upbeat as Odelay (my other recent Beck selection). Both Odelay and Sea Change apparently came out of periods of personal loss and change, but in the former, life events lead to interesting insights and musical inspiration, while the latter just seems to focus on bleak feelings in the bleakest manner imaginable.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
A sound that underwhelmed me in my high school/college days. Apparently, not much has changed in my musical tastes since then.
Beck
3/5
A lot of sly wit and sneaky energy in these songs.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
The man could do fascinating things with a guitar. There's no doubt about that. And some my find this an interesting exploration of the variety of sounds possible when our traditional concept of "blues" music interacts with certain varieties of world musical styles. But it doesn't feel like anything I'm going to deliberately come back to revisit.
Charles Mingus
2/5
Chaotic and not always easy to listen to. Probably the point, but needs a very specialized and committed audience for appreciation I'd say.
Solomon Burke
4/5
A pure gem from an artist too much forgotten. A wonderful voice in the manner of Otis Redding or Percy Sledge.
Radiohead
2/5
This is one of those groups I've always wanted to like more than I actually do. I love that they experiment with incorporating so many different elements into their music, , but the results often seem more incoherent than innovative to me.
3/5
Really quite listenable despite the general pretentiousness and self-importance of its lyrics.
Massive Attack
3/5
Nothing here should make your ears bleed, either literally or metaphorically.
Big Star
4/5
Quite delightful, though it's likely to disappoint those who come to it from the over-hype of the several "rediscoveries" it has experienced over the years. If you go in expecting something like a cross between a lost final Byrds album and a George Harrison solo effort, that seems to hit it about right, I'd say.
The Youngbloods
4/5
This one surprised me! I was doubtful that an album from a one-hit wonder that came out two years after their one hit and never even made the Billboard top 100 should be on a list of 1001 great albums of all time, but there's some good stuff here. "Darkness, Darkness" is the real deal, as about two dozen covers over the years has shown.
Garbage
4/5
This album is a total banger! I can't believe these guys were never bigger than they actually got.
Britney Spears
3/5
Solidly produced and performed bubble gum pop. If you expect neither more nor less than that, you won't be disappointed.
Nirvana
5/5
Somehow, this still doesn't seem to get the same kind of love as Nevermind, but it definitely rocks! Parts feel like an attempt to over-correct the sense that the band must have been selling out in some way to achieve their success, but more than three decades after whatever may have influenced the choices Cobain and the band made, it still mostly just sounds like a flat-out work of genius.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Mostly harmless.
Deep Purple
4/5
Includes one of the most iconic songs of the rock era, of course, in "Smoke on the Water." But "Highway Star," "Space Truckin'," and "Never Enough" are also great tracks.
The Crusaders
3/5
Some easy-on-the-ears late-70s jazz/soul fusion.
Method Man
2/5
I'm clearly not the intended audience here, so feel free to disregard this rating. All I can give is my gut reaction, which is to hope I'm never forced to listen to this again. I hope others enjoy it, though.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Undeniably one of the most influential albums of the rock era, but what struck me most on this listen was how really just three songs here managed to seep into the consciousness of the general public and remain more than six decades later. As revolutionary as it was for its time, most of the tracks here seemed to serve as pointers for what others (most notably the Beatles, of course, on Sgt. Pepper) would quickly be doing much better.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Remember that hot minute in the summer of 2008 when Kings of Leon seemed destined to become kings of everything? If you were alive and paying attention then, this will take back to those days. Subjectively, "Sex on Fire" never really worked for me, and it seems even lamer all these years later. I can still listen to "Use Somebody" and "17" though.
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
There's a golden age for works like this. I'd say it's probably about 13.
Willie Nelson
5/5
An album that proves (if proof was needed) that great music is great music and great artists are great artists. I can still remember just how crazy it seemed that Willie Nelson of all people, Mr. Country Outlaw, had done a record featuring romantic standards from decades past. But every song and performance here is amazing. You can not like the type of music; that's just a matter of personal preference. But what can't be denied is the quality and beauty of the performance.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Is it possible for an album to sound paradoxically timeless and completely and totally "of its time"? If so, I'd say that description is perfectly apt here. Fleet Foxes were at the forefront of that hugely popular turn in music that would soon bring us Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers, with a sound strongly influenced by traditional folk with a mix of features that seem to go all the way back to the Renaissance. "White Winter Hymnal" is an amazing song, with a video that's probably the most heart-breaking animation you've seen since the first ten minutes of Pixar's "Up."
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
A sweet voice and pleasant bossa nova beats. Mostly harmless.
Joan Baez
4/5
A beautiful voice singing timeless songs.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Is there anything to say about this one? It's Isaac Hayes singing/speaking soul in his uniquely Isaac Hayes style. Even if it's not the kind of music you typically like, it's hard not to have fun with him.
The Hives
3/5
Some skilled musicianship put to use in largely unmemorable songs. It was easy to see The Hives as a next generation Sex Pistols back in 2001, but now that a whole 'nother generation has passed, they really come off the worse for the comparison, possibly due to a sense they became a phenomenon more manufactured than organic. To be sure, there are probably no songs here that you WON'T like. But 25 years later, there are also no songs we're still rocking to in the same way as we rock to "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K." nearly 50 years after they came into existence.
Drive Like Jehu
2/5
Well, they certainly succeed in the "loud and chaotic" department, which seems to be what they are going for. If that's the kind of music you're wanting to hear, they will not disappoint.
Eminem
4/5
Not a big fan of rap music in general or Eminem in particular, but there's some funny shit here.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
Don't quite see the appeal of this one.
Sonic Youth
3/5
For me, one of those albums that's more fun to think about in terms of its influence than to actually listen to.
Brian Wilson
4/5
I guess I had gotten too old and dismissive of the Beach Boys as a 60s phenomenon by the time Brian Wilson got around to "finishing" this album twenty years ago, nearly four decades after he started working on it as his perceived ultimate masterpiece. I vaguely remember it coming out, but I honestly don't think I ever listened to it fully until today, the day after his death. It's really quite amazing, and I had a far more positive reaction to it than to a coincidental re-listening to Pet Sounds a couple of weeks ago. The songs of that LP have been just a part of my life since before I was even aware of music, so they tended to underwhelm. This album, while maybe a bit too "slick" at times in its efforts to provide cohesion to some songs that were first written and recorded at a time when Wilson himself lacked complete mental cohesion, really feels like the revolutionary effort Pet Sounds was in its own time. Not perfect, by any means, but really quite great.
Santana
3/5
The Undertones
3/5
These guys slipped under my radar back in 1980, and it's kind of easy to see why. Nothing wrong with the tracks here, but nothing all that notable either. I'd say they're comparable to The Tubes and Gary Myrick and the Figures, both groups I enjoyed back in the day.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
I can't imagine a rawer, more moving album. She had been through six kinds of hell by this point in her life, and she turned it into true art.
Nina Simone
4/5
A truly amazing voice that peals the layers beneath every possible emotion.
Django Django
2/5
Not quite sure what the attraction is here. I guess some people must like what these guys are doing, but it all seems very generic and forgettable to me.
The B-52's
3/5
All the fun sound and upbeat humor that were the group's signature style feel fully formed in this debut.
The Pretty Things
3/5
This one raises an interesting question. Is paving the way and serving as an inspiration for some great rock operas that followed it enough of a reason to include an otherwise pretty pedestrian album like this on a list with the greatest albums of all time?
T. Rex
3/5
One all-time classic song surrounded by a lot of very competent but otherwise unmemorable tracks. There are worse things to listen to if you just want to have some fun.
Neil Young
5/5
My wife always says that Neil Young is the greatest of all time. At least, that's what I think she means when she says he sounds like a goat! :-)
Whatever you might think of his voice, the power of these songs is undeniable. Wonderfully written, produced, and performed, this album absolutely has to be in the conversation for greatest of its era.
Simple Minds
3/5
This is Simple Minds finally sounding like Simple Minds. It will depend on your musical taste whether you consider that a good thing or a bad thing.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
Sometimes somewhat self-indulgent, but always interesting, with humor and pathos perfectly blended. I always wonder if my tolerance for the albums over-indulgences comes from my own connection to the state itself and its rich variety of stories, both personal and public.
Aerosmith
5/5
A rock and roll classic, now half a century old! If you haven't known at least half of these songs for most of your life, you haven't been listening to rock!
Janis Joplin
4/5
Yeah, we lost Janis just as she found her fully adult voice with this album. Some unforgettable renditions of some great songs.
The Cars
4/5
I've never been a big Cars fan, but I have to admit this album has stood the test of time as one of the great debuts, right up there with Boston The Doors, and The Killers. Iconic songs that you can't get out of your head if you try (and believe me, I've often tried!).
ZZ Top
4/5
I remember when this album came out, and a band that had been just sort of an interesting piece of background noise in most people's musical perception became suddenly omnipresent. The hot women in their music videos were a big part of that, I suppose. But the songs themselves are just plain fun to listen to, even forty years later.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Tom Waits
4/5
Man, this is fun! Just sit back and take the ride of a lifetime.
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
Some pretty iconic stuff here. The title track alone pushes this into the "above average" range, but pretty much every song is groovin'.
Simply Red
3/5
This was an easily dismiss-able group in the 80s, so I was anxious to see if they might have been better than I remember. Not really, though I did gain a slightly higher level of respect for the variety of music on this album and the musicianship itself.
Christina Aguilera
4/5
An absolutely singular voice and an album where we can listen to a performer reaching musical maturity.
Mike Ladd
2/5
Nirvana
5/5
An all-time classic. This is one of those albums that showed us that most of what we thought was good music was really just crap and that there were a lot more possibilities out there. Great writing, great performances, the perfect capture of the mood of the nation at a particular moment in time.
Supergrass
3/5
A group I'd never heard of before, and an album that's fine. "Mansize Rooster" and "Alright" are two pretty nice bops. Coincidentally, I had a Nirvana album yesterday. Though roughly from the same era, these guys are pretty much the opposite of that.
Traffic
3/5
This was pretty clearly a group that was losing its direction by this time. Some decent track, but no real coherence to the music or approach here.
5/5
One of the most wildly entertaining albums ever produced. This is the Beatles at their best: and that's saying quite a lot, of course! There's nothing I could say here that would add to the voluminous commentary already written about this record, so I'll just note how much FUN they all seem to be having here.
Kanye West
3/5
Beth Orton
3/5
Seems like a talented voice. Nothing really stood out for me, though.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
Of the hundreds of albums I've listened to so far from this list, this was, without a doubt, one of the longest.
Arcade Fire
3/5
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Very uncompelling, except for some great wordplay in a few of the tracks and titles.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Iggy Pop
3/5
Rod Stewart
5/5
This is the album where, in my opinion, Rod Stewart discovered his best voice. Later in the decade, of course, he would become a megastar with albums and singles selling far more than this. But if you listen to those later songs now, they seem very jokey: like Stewart is parodying himself. The songs here, especially "Maggie May," "I'm Losing You," "Every Picture Tells a Story," and "Mandolin Wind," still feel fresh and timeless with each new listen.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Great opening riff on "Soubour," the first song! Mostly infectious fun throughout, but one day after listening to it, I can't say I specifically recall any of the songs.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
I suppose that until I come up with my very own list of the 1001 greatest albums, I should stop making comments like "How is THIS one of the 1000 greatest albums of all time?!" Certainly, there has been an effort to include a diversity of musical styles on this list, and this is absolutely a decent example of heavy metal machine-blasted music from the 1990s. I suppose if I had heard it at just the right age in my emotional/musical development, I might even have found myself smitten by it like I was with Shriekback a decade before this came out. But hearing it now leaves me just pretty much "Meh [shrugging emoji]." I don't know. Kind of like Rage Against the Machine without the thoughtfulness or the really terrific guitar shredding?
Black Sabbath
4/5
This album rocks, now and forever. RIP Ozzy! Or maybe I should say Rest in the Joyful Chaos you were so terrific at creating!!
Sisters Of Mercy
2/5
Really not much memorable here, despite the efforts of Jim Steinman, who was a god of rock and roll melodrama.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
This is another one of those albums that I just plain missed because my kids were growing up and I guess I was just getting old. But while I was a bit dismissive of it through the early tracks, when "All My Friends" came on, it just knocked me out! Am I the last person over 30 in the English-speaking world to find this truly terrific song?! In fact, it made me go back and listen to the earlier tracks again with a much greater appreciation. This is definitely worth a spin or three.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Every once in awhile, I think about how many women like this with beautiful voices and remarkable talent have flickered through the musical world, then quietly disappeared. Nothing wrong with this album, but also nothing remarkable memorable either.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Some fun songs, but often problematic thematically in our more politically correct times. This one really shows its age both musically and lyrically.
U2
4/5
Here's U2 coming into their own with confidence and energy.
Queen
3/5
Yeah, every group started somewhere, and I suppose it's still interesting to look back at Queen as they were figuring out who they wanted to be. Obviously skilled musicians by this point, but the song-writing feels almost painfully young.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Entertaining and well performed. Mostly forgettable if you're not a tango fan, though.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
Like almost every double album I can think of (Pink Floyd's "The Wall" might be an exception), this one suffers from unevenness. There are enough great songs to have been at least a 4 (and a serious candidate for a 5) if they had been on an album with half as many tracks. But there are also plenty of songs to place this in the 2-3 range if they had been the sole material on the album. The result is something more like a 3.5+ effort, so I'll go ahead and round up for the sake of those great songs, but if I consider the experience of sitting through the entire album every time I listen to it, this should probably be a 3.
Prince
3/5
Starts out incredibly strong, but fades in the final few songs. He's mostly trying to have fun and be dance-y here, which is fine. But in hindsight, this is an album that has to be seen as just starting to hone the genius that would come a couple of years later with Purple Rain.
Fats Domino
3/5
A fun album from an iconic artist.
Sonic Youth
2/5
Sonic Youth has never really done much for me, so I have to resist the urge for rating them lower than they probably deserve simply because we've never clicked for some reason. Still, much of this album seems self-consciously noisy and messy, an attempt to avoid seeming "too mainstream." I can't imagine ever wanting to listen to any of these songs again.
Queen
4/5
This album truly begs the question: Can a single indisputably outstanding song lift an otherwise mediocre collection of songs into the realm of greatness? The other songs on this album are certainly serviceable. While taking part in this project, I've listened to dozens of albums (possibly over 100 of the 350 I've rated so far, actually) filled with songs just as competent but forgettable (and occasionally embarrassingly cringe-worthy) as most of the songs on this album. What those other albums lack, of course, is their very own "Bohemian Rhapsody." If two or three other songs here were even one-quarter as good as that song (almost certainly a consensus top 5 of all time, so a big order, admittedly) this is a slam dunk 5 instead of a 4 rating. Or, looked at another way, this would have been Led Zeppelin IV instead of what it actually is.
One more note. A couple of weeks ago, I got Queen II, and commented on how it reflected a very talented but ultimately immature group, with somewhat embarrassing tracks about evil trolls versus white queens and other such clearly Tolkien-inspired lyrics not uncommon for the era. The band had largely (but not completely) moved away from that by this point (two albums later), but "The Prophet's Song" is clearly still revisiting that phase of their development. On this listening, though, I came to realize that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is also a song like that. Or a parody of a song like that which somehow spirals into a greatness that a more straight-laced approach could never have achieved.
Pere Ubu
1/5
Perhaps this was ground-breaking in its day (though I question that assertion a bit, since it largely mixes a lot of bits and pieces that others were already doing in more interesting ways), but it doesn't feel all that relevant anymore. It generally just feels scattered and unfocused.
Motörhead
3/5
No surprises here. This album will sound exactly like you expect it to.
Steely Dan
3/5
I have mixed feelings about Steely Dan. Their songs are typically smooth and easy to listen to, but almost aggressively so, if that makes any sense. There's nothing NOT to like here. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Pretzel Logic" are the standouts. But there are better overall choices (just about every song on AJA, for instance) if you really find yourself needing a Steely Dan fix.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Some all-time greats here, which still sound just as good as you remember them: "Wanna Be Startin' Something," "Thriller," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "PYT." And some songs like "The Girl Is Mine," which sounds even hokier than you probably thought back then. On those great songs alone, there's probably an argument that this is one of the best albums of all time, and I can objectively understand that argument. But music is ultimately subjective, and while I might smile nostalgically when I hear a line like "Show them how funky and strong is your fight," Jackson just never did it for me. And besides, he stole that tune from poor, long-suffering Weird Al Yankovic! ;-)
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Some powerful tracks on here, and it was a great return to recording for Bruce and the E Street band. Not quite in his top tier of work, though.
Elton John
5/5
One of the few double albums that is not too over-bloated to deserve a top rating. Sure, there are some songs here that are a bit weak, but in many double album playlists, you'll find enough dross that you wonder why the artist didn't just go for a single, really great album. Here, a single album would almost certainly have left out too many terrific tracks.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
This albums moves along nicely, if not spectacularly, through most of its tracks. Then we get to those final two!
Supergrass
3/5
It's easy to see why these guys are still beloved by so many fans. And just as easy to understand why the rest of us remain staunchly indifferent. Nothing here nearly as fun as "Alright," from an earlier album of theirs I reviewed for this 1001 albums project.
Dr. Octagon
2/5
Maybe if I was still 14 years old? "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman" is kind of fun, I guess.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
I've been trying to figure out what's missing here. The song-writing and production are outstanding, and Williams has a voice that can soar or ache as the situation warrants. I'm old enough to remember the acclaim this album received when it came out nearly three decades ago, and it certainly deserves all the plaudits. But it never really grabbed me emotionally, so it's not a recording I've thought about in at least fifteen years. This latest listen didn't move the needle at all. Put it down to the subjectivity of musical taste, I guess.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Often quite delightful.
Miles Davis
4/5
The title pretty much says it all here. It doesn't get much jazzier than this!
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
Not something I would have chosen for my own personal top 1001 albums list, but I'm sure it must have its fans.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Can a band be both over-hyped and absolutely magnificent at the same time? That's been my assessment of Arctic Monkeys for a long time. Man, they are talented, but I just can never get my head around the idea that they are as good as their many fans say they are. Then again, listening to an AM album is NEVER a bad experience. And this album certainly belongs in the conversation when you're talking about greatest debuts of all time.
Barry Adamson
3/5
OutKast
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Nothing here as iconic as "Hey Joe" or "All Along the Watchtower" (with the possible exception of "Little Wing"), but this is definitely an album that shows off Hendrix's range and sublime virtuosity.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Smooth and very easy to listen to.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
A decent escape from his Beach Boy roots, with some stuff that shows a clear influence from all that early-70s Topanga Canyon renaissance. Kind of surprising that he never really followed this up.
Paul Weller
3/5
Mostly harmless.
The War On Drugs
3/5
Interesting, but this seems like it's ultimately going to be just forgettable. Nothing I hated here, but also nothing that stood out and made me say, "I gotta listen to that song again!"
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
KISS
3/5
I've never been much of a KISS fan, but it's hard to deny that they were very good at doing just what they aimed to do.
The Residents
2/5
On a list of Dr. Demento's top 1000 albums, yeah, I could see this.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
Remember 2004, when everyone sounded just a little bit like The Killers, but not quite as good? Ah, good times!
The Black Crowes
4/5
An incredibly strong debut album. Do you suppose they knew it was going to be the high-water mark of the group?
Iggy Pop
3/5
It's nice to go back to this Iggy debut from time to time and realize that he has now spent five decades just being true to himself. Side Two has always been something of a snoozefest to me due to its emphasis on experimentation over entertainment, but of course that was Iggy's choice and he stuck with it.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
There must have been a process people went through before experiencing an Allman Brothers concert or live album that made them seem awesome. Unfortunately, I had no mind-altering substances before this listen, so they sounded talented but mostly pretty average.
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
Mott The Hoople
3/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
A decent amount of fun.
Coldplay
3/5
Coldplay mostly just leaves me like "blah!" I guess I understand their appeal, but most of their songs seem like "What's the point, really?"
Radiohead
3/5
I really have to be in the right mood for Radiohead.
Taylor Swift
4/5
For some of us, Swift's irritating omnipresence can overshadow her singular talent, I think. If you can ignore all of that, though, she's certainly terrific. Great songwriter, great performer.
The Triffids
3/5
I had completely forgotten this group existed, which kinda seems like the whole point of them, I guess. "Jerdacuttup Man" is kinda fun. And the songs sort of grow on you the deeper you get into the album. But "forgettable" is still probably the best way to describe them.
3/5
Not the most exciting Kinks album to include here, but still the Kinks, I guess.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
An iconic group with an iconic sound.
Dion
1/5
Last night, my daughter told me that there was no Warren Zevon on this list! Unfortunately for Dion, this is now going to be the first album of many where I say to myself, "There are at least four Zevon albums that are FAR better than this!!"
But even aside from all of that, this album sounds like a singer and a producer at least ten years past their primes just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something sticks. Might be worth listening to if you want to hear one of the worst versions of "(He's Got) The Whole World in His Hands" ever recorded.
The Temptations
4/5
Approximately one-third of this album is an extended version of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," one of the all-time great jams, so there really is no way it could be bad. The rest of the tracks do literally seem to be going in "all directions," as the album title promises. Most of those directions are a lot of fun. That said, many songs often just seem to drift off rather than having clear endings, which I would have to blame on poor or rushed production. Or maybe that was just the way they did things back then.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
A little too downbeat for my tastes, I'm afraid. Plus, I recently became aware that there are no Warren Zevon albums on this list. That albums like this should make it while Warren gets overlooked is a travesty!
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Not at the absolute top of Neil's discography (that would be After the Gold Rush and Harvest), but a great listen nonetheless.
Moby
3/5
I really kind of wanted to hate and dismiss this, since I knew it wasn't going to be as good as at least three or four Warren Zevon albums that inexplicably did NOT make this list of 1001. In the end, though, I have to give it grudging respect. WAY too long, but generally entertaining, especially when listened to with the videos.
Aerosmith
3/5
I was talking with someone a while back who surprised me with the assertion that he thought Aerosmith didn't really get the kind of love he thought you'd expect for a group that has been so big for so many years. But when I look at the average rating for an album like TOYS IN THE ATTIC and see that it's pretty comparable to average ratings for albums by groups like Supergrass, Moby, Beck, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, I have to concede he probably has a point. And I think it's probably albums from this PUMP era that diminish their reputation. Big hits and Grammy winners of their time, albums like this showed that Aerosmith could certainly still play in their 40s, but they hadn't really evolved (especially lyrically) in nearly two decades (at the time) of existence. They never actually did, so they're often seen as entertaining, but ultimately frivolous, especially when you know them through videos for songs like "Janie's Got a Gun" (highly pretentious) and "Love in an Elevator" (just silly). Unless you're a long-time hardcore fan, it IS hard to take them seriously.
System Of A Down
2/5
I appreciate the effort to get a variety of musical styles and eras on this list, and I suppose this is fine as hardcore heavy metal music goes. But when I get this, a couple of Megadeath albums, Rage Against the Machine, and others (even less skilled), but NO Warren Zevon albums, I have to start questioning this whole enterprise.
The Who
5/5
Still the standard by which all rock operas are judged. Only Pink Floyd has come close with The Wall.
The Flaming Lips
2/5
When an album like this has been deemed more worthy to be on this list than ANY Warren Zevon album, it's hard to take this enterprise seriously.
The White Stripes
4/5
It's amazing how sometimes going back to the basics and simplifying everything can sound revolutionary. That's exactly what Jack and Meg achieve here.
Soft Cell
2/5
This group had its moment, I guess, and "Tainted Love" remains high on the list of one-hit wonders. Another album that seems mostly harmless, but its inclusion in the face of absolutely NO Warren Zevon albums making the 1001 list is a travesty.
Meat Loaf
5/5
Yeah, this is one of the great rock and roll listening experiences you'll ever have. Both Meatloaf and Jim Steinman were geniuses. Together, they were a completely unstoppable force.
Jacques Brel
3/5
I couldn't understand anything he was singing about here. It was almost like he was speaking some language entirely different from English!! :-)
Tom Tom Club
2/5
Not sure I see the point of this album. It's cute enough and filled with competent percussion, but nothing stands out as "must hear," especially when I know this has been included on the list of 1001 albums but absolutely NO Warren Zevon albums made that cut. I've certainly heard albums on this project that I would drop from the list before I bumped this one, but I can't imagine it would ever have made the cut of my own personal list of 950 albums I feel people "must" listen to.
New Order
2/5
Maybe there are less memorable synth-pop groups and albums from the mid-80s, but how would I know really, since I would have forgotten them as completely as I forgot this group. Keep in mind that THIS completely forgettable album has somehow been included on the list of 1001 albums we MUST hear (for some reason), but NO Warren Zevon albums. If you don't know Warren Zevon, then pick ANY one of his albums and listen to it back-to-back with this one. I guarantee Zevon will be the more memorable (and enjoyable) experience.
Scissor Sisters
2/5
Not sure why the rest of the world liked this group so much better than their native U.S. Could be that most of the songs really sort of suck, with the exceptions of "Take Your Mama" and "Tits on the Radio," which are kinda fun. They don't really make up for what must be the worst ever cover of "Comfortably Numb," though.
Def Leppard
3/5
Well, they were certainly a force back in the 1980s, so it's hard to question this selection on the 1001 albums list. They weren't my cup of tea, but I can't deny they were at the top of the heavy metal hair band pyramid in their time. Watching their videos today, though, they definitely give off a Spinal Tap vibe.
Gillian Welch
2/5
Nice voice, but a strange selection of songs that she for some reason has decided to sing at a dirge-like tempo. I guess that a really depressed Americana music fan might get something out of this.
4/5
A strong album throughout, with two all-time standout songs in "Cisco Kid" and "The World Is a Ghetto."
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Rule #1: No album ever needs to be over two hours long.
Rule #2: If you're a group as talented as Smashing Pumpkins, you're going to have some decent songs on any album you make.
Rule #3: NO album EVER needs to be over two hours long!
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
As a general rule, it's probably best to avoid albums that are praised primarily for their "virtual reinvention of the guitar." I don't dispute this description of what happens on the album, since only the final song has anything that even sounds like a guitar at all. Instead, guitarist Kevin Shield has managed to make his instrument sound like the most irritatingly droning keyboard you can ever imagine. And to highlight this "innovation," the vocals have been turned down and pushed so far into the background of each song that I couldn't tell you whether or not they have the least merit. Somehow, the compilers of the list of 1001 albums we must hear before we die have decided that this particular album is better than every single album Warren Zevon made, NONE of which appear on the list. Just over 400 albums into this journey, whenever I get an album like this, I start to question every single life choice I've ever made that has somehow led to me to the 48 minutes I just wasted.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Like Mozart, Zevon (who has inexplicably been entirely shut out of this list of 1001 albums!), and Bowie before him, Cohen had the grace to give us his own requiem with this album. And it's lovely. Thoughtful and wistful, without ever slipping into anything maudlin. There's not a weak track here, and the title track and "Traveling Light" are simply sublime.
Ice Cube
3/5
The Police
3/5
They were young, having fun, and finding their sound.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Fun, but most songs start sounding the same after awhile.
Can
1/5
How many albums of free-form jazz fusion-inspired nonsense are needed on a list of 1001 great albums that has somehow managed to exclude every single album by Warren Zevon? I can't imagine that anyone other than the surviving members of Can and their immediate families would think any less of the list if this album had been left off.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
A decent debut album, offering hints of what was to come for the band in a couple of years. Did I have to hear it before I die? I don't think so, but it didn't actively assault my ears, like some of the albums selected for this list.
Ice Cube
2/5
Pavement
3/5
This album has me wondering if I haven't been thinking of this list all wrong. At this point, I'm almost 40% of the way through it, and the most frustrating aspect has been knowing that some great albums that I have loved over the years have been left off in favor of (often multiple) albums from groups and individual artists who seem to me to be far less talented and musically influential than my own favorites. But the list is called "1001 Albums YOU Must Hear Before YOU Die" (emphasis mine). What would a list be like if its goal was solely to introduce ME to albums I have not YET heard. I've already heard the great albums by the most popular groups represented here (The Beatles, David Bowie, Springsteen, The Stones). In fact, a quick review at what I've heard so far indicates I had probably heard roughly half of the albums I've been presented BEFORE I started letting this list tell me what to listen to first thing every morning. Should those albums even count? Hearing them AGAIN was often great, but it added little to my musical knowledge. Looking at the list this way helps me to understand why there are so many mediocre albums by semi-talented British groups from the 90s. I was busy raising three young children in the 90s and didn't have a lot of time to spare for listening to new albums. So the curators of the list had to find a bunch of albums from that era that *I* needed to listen to before I die. Thank you, list curators, for being so considerate! And I'm sorry that the 90s were so bereft of actual good music that you've found yourself having to resort to multiple albums from groups like Blur and The Fall. Now I know it's for my own good. I won't stop complaining, of course, but nobody ever said that medicine has to taste good.
That said, I hadn't heard anything by Pavement before, but I found this album to be a lot of fun. I wouldn't be surprised if I listen to it again someday. :-)
The Velvet Underground
2/5
This hits all the notes one would expect of a Velvet Underground album, but other than the title track (which has many better versions recorded later, in my opinion), nothing here feels really timeless. A lot of it sounds like the kinds of sound experiments bands were trying in the late sixties in order to expand our concepts of what music is, but that we now just listen to with kind of puzzled expressions on our faces.
Massive Attack
3/5
This feels like a mostly forgettable effort by a group that was talented enough, I suppose. I generally applaud the effort made by this list to include a diversity of styles and sounds, but it often seems to do so by making trade-offs like including an album like this but completely ignoring ALL of the albums of Warren Zevon. How does that make any sense to anyone?
1/5
So that was a very long, unpleasant 41 minutes! These guys were very talented and undoubtedly doing what they wanted creatively in mixing jazz with hardcore punk as they free-styled on their instruments. But it took about three songs (out of seventeen!) for everything to start sounding the same. There are a total of 0 albums by Warren Zevon on this list purporting to represent 1001 albums we all "must hear" before we die. But this ear-crushing cacophony made it. You do the math. Listening to this has given me a headache.
Butthole Surfers
2/5
Yeah, I was initially excited to see this album pop up as my selection for the day, because there are some Butthole Surfer songs like "Dracula from Houston" and "Pepper" that I really like. Apparently, those songs are outliers and not at all representative of the group's larger body of work (except, perhaps, in terms of lyrical irreverence). Neither of those songs are on THIS album, which is yet another example of the compiler's over-fondness for noise rock. It's a great reminder of the subjective nature of any endeavor like this. "Where's the Warren Zevon?" I keep asking myself. In vain. Some days it's hard to continue, knowing that I have nearly two years left and will NEVER be greeted by Warren as my album of the day.
2/5
Another selection that reveals a British bias for the nineties. I presume this because so many albums on this list seem to come from that time and place, highlighting (I suppose) the author's background as far as seminal musical influences. This is fine, but it leaves out my own biases for what is largely defined as Americana music. There are three albums by Blur on the list, NONE by Warren Zevon. That makes no sense to me.
The Fall
1/5
Three albums by the Fall. Three Albums by Blur. Two albums by Suede. Two albums by Pavement. Two albums by Oasis. ZERO albums by Warren Zevon. That tells you just about everything you need to know about the musical leanings of the list's compiler. I mean, this group (in its myriad incarnations and personnel lineups) hung around producing music for four decades, so kudos for that, I guess. But the tongue-in-cheek title to their "greatest hits" compilation from 2004 gets it just about right: 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong. They had very little commercial success (and that limited almost exclusively to the UK) and almost no evident influence on any groups or musicians other than the British groups of the 90s that the compiler of this list clearly cut his musical teeth on. Musical tastes are pretty much all subjective, of course, but if you're new to listening to this list, expect a LOT more albums like this. If you're nearing the end of this journey, this is going to sound like a good number of albums that you've already heard.
Mudhoney
3/5
I think I really wanted NOT to like this because the selections I've been getting from the 1001 list lately have leaned toward late-80s/early-90s groups that never quite seemed to live up to their promise but were obviously obsessions for the compiler of this list in his younger years. But man, with every new song I kept getting a little more hooked. Nirvana may have become the worldwide phenomenon, and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden may have maintained a higher quality of music over a longer span of time, but it's not too big a stretch to say that none of those groups might have existed as they did without this group and this album paving the way. If this is not quite as defining of Grunge as NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS was of Punk, it's only about half a step below that. Their cover of "The Rose" here is SIMPLY amazing. Yeah, this is definitely an album I'm glad I heard before I died.
Scott Walker
3/5
Jesus Christ! There are TWO Scott Walker albums on this list. There are ZERO Warren Zevon albums on this list. What the hell is wrong with the compilers of this list!?! I guess if you're nostalgic for voices like Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck? I mean, as a performer and producer (and probably less so, but a bit as a songwriter), Walker did influence a number of great artists from the 70s (most notably David Bowie), but two albums seems like at least twice as many as he probably warrants.
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
When I saw the title of this album, my first thought was "Dear God! I hope there aren't actually 69 songs!!" Sure enough . . ..
I've mentioned in other reviews just how few albums need to be this long (about three hours!), and there is a ton of chaff in with the wheat here. But I have to admit that seems to be the point of this one. This is Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" writ large. The experiment seems to have been to try to write love songs in as wide a variety of genres and styles as possible. As the title indicates, that effort often turns into a kind of joke, but songs like "The Book of Love" and "Papa Was a Rodeo" and maybe half a dozen others make you think maybe we SHOULD fill the world with silly love songs. I mean, 8 out of 69 would be a pretty dismal batting average for a baseball player and still makes one question the need for the other 61 songs, but my guess would be that the 8-10 songs that speak to me would not necessarily be the same 8-10 songs that anyone else would mark as standouts. So maybe that's the point?
The Jam
2/5
Two albums on the list by The Jam. ZERO albums on the list by Warren Zevon! Other than that, there's nothing wrong here, but nothing exceptionally memorable either. If you've ever heard an album by a British New Wave band of the early 80s, you'll know what this is going to sound like.
Foo Fighters
4/5
When you watch the videos, you can't help but marvel at how young they all were. But, man, that sound is so polished and amazing. Foo Fighters are the one truly great thing to come from the tragedy of Kurt Cobain's suicide.
Elis Regina
2/5
I applaud what sometimes seem to be almost half-hearted attempts to include a diversity of musical styles and eras, but why THIS particular album? Nothing specifically wrong here. She's got a nice voice and a lot of energy. Apparently, she was huge in Brazil back in the day. Maybe you could sort of, almost, kind of make the case that she was a precursor to a performer like Madonna, though that feels like a big stretch based almost solely on gender. You'll definitely hear albums from this list that are far less pleasant to listen to, but probably few that are more forgettable. I'm pretty sure I will have forgotten all of these songs by the end of the week . . . and today is already Friday!
4/5
A solid album throughout, maybe U2"s second or third best, in my opinion.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
Some pretty decent electronica here, but its inclusion on the 1001 list seems kind of random. There's a lot of good electronica out there, and I'm not sure this stands out enough to be singled out.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
A delightful and impactful album from one of the great musical talents of the late 20th century. If you've only heard the edited, "radio" version of "Living for the City" that was released as a single, you owe it to yourself to hear the full version included on the album, which far more directly and powerfully addresses the way dreams can collide with social and racial injustice. For that seven and a half minutes alone, this album is essential. But it's certainly not the only reason to listen to this great work.
Prefab Sprout
2/5
A promising opening track in "Faron Young," but the farther I got into the album, the less interesting it seemed to become. Not as light and frothy as many of their contemporary British pop groups, these guys seem like they're probably overrated as more "serious." But there's really not much here.
Erykah Badu
3/5
Jungle Brothers
3/5
Goldie
3/5
George Michael
3/5
I remember when this album came out, and the world (or at least the U.S.) just seemed to suddenly and collectively decide that we were done with George Michael. I don't know why that happened, because there are some decent tracks here and no real clunkers. I'm surprised there haven't been more covers of these songs, because it seems like they might do well if put into the right (non-George Michael) hands.
Richard Thompson
4/5
This was the kind of album I hoped to discover when I began this project of listening to the 1001 albums I must hear before I die! Ironically overlooked in America, it nonetheless sounds to me like a missing link between the folk music of the 50s and 60s and the rise of Americana music in the 90s. Leave it to a talented Brit couple to map out that road for us!!
X-Ray Spex
3/5
Another of those albums from my high school years that I missed completely because it had no traction in the U.S. (at least not in my native Midwest). It's a fun listen.
Kanye West
3/5
"Runaway" is a great song.
Minutemen
2/5
It has long been my contention that almost all halfway decent double albums would have actually made much stronger (maybe even outstanding) single albums. In this case, maybe if it had been trimmed down to a single EP it could have been okay. When an album's most memorable tracks are on a side named "Chaff," you just aren't trying hard enough to edit and balance out the worst impulses of the group's three members.
Soul II Soul
3/5
Primal Scream
3/5
Often cited for the wide diversity of musical influences it showcases, this album actually seems to suffer from its lack of focus, trying to stuff too many different styles into its content as a whole and even into individual songs. That said, when they stay focused and get rock-n-roll rootsy, as on songs like "Medication," the album can delight. When you contrast that more simple track with a song like "Motorhead" (which immediately follows it on the album and turns into something of a muddled mess), you kind of wish they had just pared things back and rocked.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Billy Joel
5/5
One of the great ones!
Faith No More
3/5
This definitely rocks. An entertaining heavy metal banger from an era dominated by groups that too often seemed to be parodying the genre. Falls in love with its musical virtuosity a little too much for my tastes, but it's still an entertaining way to spend an hour.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
A surprisingly fun album about people behaving VERY badly. I like the way it ends with the sweetly upbeat "Death Is not the End."
Femi Kuti
3/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
I could probably make the argument that Side A of this album is the single greatest first side in rock history. "Tangled up in Blue" is simply one of the best songs ever, And "Simple Twist of Fate," "You're a Big Girl Now," and "Idiot Wind" are each amazing in their own right, showcasing Dylan's unmatched songwriting ability. For me, Side B has always been a slight drop-off from that first side . . . because what wouldn't be?! Still, how many other artists and groups would give up their firstborn to have "Meet Me in the Morning," "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts," and "Shelter from the Storm" as the "hits" from their own LPs. That they seem second-tier in this group of songs says everything about the greatness of Dylan in general and of this album in particular.
Big Star
3/5
Big Star was an extremely talented group, but I always get the sense that they were only half committed to their songs and albums. Nothing you're likely to hate too much on this album, but also not likely to be anything overly memorable if you're listening to it for the first time.
Carole King
5/5
A truly great album from one of the great songwriters of all time, finally getting her due here as she stepped out as a performer.
Calexico
3/5
This was a pleasant surprise to me, though many of the tracks in its second half seemed pretty forgettable.
Bert Jansch
3/5
The Auteurs
3/5
Competent, but largely forgettable.
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
While this album does NOT include their signature hit ("For What It's Worth"), it still has some standout songs, including Neil Young's "Mr. Soul," "Rock and Roll Woman," and "Broken Arrow."
Beastie Boys
3/5
Way better than I always expect it to be. This might rise to the level of a new guilty pleasure.
Brian Eno
2/5
It's all there in the title, for better or for worse. Nothing wrong with these tracks. In fact, they are probably more interesting than any music you've ever heard playing over an airport loudspeaker. Just not sure why it was essential for me to hear this album before I die.
Elastica
4/5
A lot of high-energy fun!
Def Leppard
4/5
Yeah, they really rocked. It was a pretty silly era in musical history, but these guys rocked it for all that it was worth.
k.d. lang
3/5
What a voice. An album that reveled in its "throwback" status back in 1988 and still exudes that same magic today.
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
For some reason, listening to THIS specific album has made me realize that there are NOT 1,001 albums that ANYONE must hear before we die. There might be 100 such albums. Maybe up to 200? The rest is all just someone's personal preference or albums that they have enjoyed listening to at some point in their life. There's nothing wrong here. Nothing all that overwhelmingly wonderful either. It wasn't a bad way to spend the better part of an hour. But would my life have been any different if I had never heard it? Nah.
Wilco
3/5
Mostly harmless, but too long for what its offering.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
A tremendously talented performer who was perhaps at his artistic peak here. But, man, a lot of this just seems self-indulgent. Not necessarily a Rundgren effort I feel like coming back to when I'm in the mood to hear him.
Tito Puente
4/5
Wow! "Upbeat" and "happy" hardly do this album justice as descriptions. "Long" is also appropriate, but if you're looking for something to give you a lift, Puente is never going to steer you wrong.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
So this is the third Nick Cave album I was steered to in the past three weeks., one of FOUR of his albums on a list of albums I supposedly need to hear before I die that includes ZERO albums by Warren Zevon, an artist who I would argue has a similar dark aesthetic in his themes but a much more diverse set of song-writing skills. I've got nothing against Nick and his Bad Seeds (my ratings for Henry's Dream and Murder Ballads were both 4/5, which for me means "Very Good, I'd listen to this again), but there comes a point where too much inclusion of an artist has diminishing returns, glaringly highlighting how the exclusion of other artists altogether has to be a blind spot of the supposed expert compilers of the list.
Ryan Adams
2/5
Not sure I've ever understand the point of Ryan Adams.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
I was not surprised to find this album included on the 1,001 list, what with the Oasis haircuts, the Arctic Monkey sounds, and the pretty clear Scott Walker influences. The only surprising thing here was how much I actually LIKED this one. Turner and Kane neatly walk the tightrope here between paying homage to the sounds of the past and adding their own fresh touch of the present (albeit a "present" that is now itself almost two decades in the past!). It probably helps that, musically, I was a 70s kid, not quite an old enough fart to remember with complete veneration the sounds from the 60s they are echoing here. By the time of my seminal musical influences, the kinds of songs they're hearkening back to here were simply examples of a certain very hip sub-genre from a decade or so earlier that had been largely drowned out in the wave of musical experimentation that was the late-1960s and early 1970s. Early Killers albums pay this era respect in ways that are slightly more inventive and effective for my tastes. There's nothing quite as good here as "Somebody Told Me," Mr. Brightside," or "All These Things That I've Done." But overall, this album probably holds up pretty well to a comparison to Hot Fuss. It's a fun listen.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
You know (and probably love) most of these songs, so there's not much to say about them. There's a sort of rushed feel to the album as a whole, though. I mean, 12 songs and 28 minutes? S&G had clearly found the sound that would characterize their imminent rise to greatness by this time (highlighted by Simon's songwriting genius and Garfunkel's performing genius), but they hadn't yet had time to fully explore it. That would come in the albums that followed this one.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
You are not going to hear a cooler, smoother album than this!
Stereolab
3/5
The first 5 or 6 tracks here are some pretty interesting layered electronica, but the second half of the album just sort of fades into forgettable downbeat tracks. For me, the less prominent the vocals, the more interesting the song.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I've always wanted to like Frank Zappa much more than I have ever actually been able to. Irreverence seems all well and good . . . until it regularly crosses a line over into irritation. There were plenty of times in his career when Zappa was able to walk this delicate balance and remain on the right side of that line. Unfortunately, this album is NOT one of those times.
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
Nico
2/5
This is an amazingly dull album, considering how many talented individuals were involved in the making of it. I'm thinking the problem is that the LEAST talented artist involved is the one named in the album's title. Perhaps she was simply responding to a producer's instructions to remove as much actual beauty or emotion from her voice as she possibly could?
David Bowie
5/5
A work of creative and performance genius. It's too bad Bowie was so drugged up when he recorded it that he later couldn't remember it.
Tom Waits
3/5
Something of an eclectic mix here, but tied together by the raw power of Waits' voice.
The Pogues
4/5
Fun.