Kind of like New Wave David Bowie . . . but not as interesting.

Smooth and sexy!

This album has always seemed a bit overrated to me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Seemed pretty generic to me. Is it really a top 1000 album of all time?

I remember when Lenny was the epitome of cool. This album shows just how much he deserved that reputation!

Still a lot of fun after all these years. And the lyrics remain virtually indecipherable!

"Greenman" is a banger! Otherwise, I was rather underwhelmed.

These guys just rocked!

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.

Some fun here, but not the Pixies best by any means.

Their one hit is on this album (in case you were wondering).

Generally uninspired background noise.

What a sweet voice! And great orchestrations of some classic songs.

Sweet, mellow and soothing. When Old Blue Eyes took his music seriously, he could create absolute masterpieces like this.

An absolutely singular voice in the history of music.

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.

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'."

For a little while there, these guys were absolute hit-makers.

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.

Not much memorable here.

I wanted to make fun of this when I started, but darned if it isn't quite infectious!

I was very underwhelmed.

Some infectiously catchy stuff on here. I liked it better than I thought I would.

\"Immigrant Song\" might be the best album opener ever. This remains a timeless classic for good reason. A complete banger!

Beautiful voice, but not seeing much point to the very safe arrangements of these songs. I suppose just not my cup of tea.

The man can play a horn!

Didn't see the point to this one.

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.

Yeah, they're a one-hit wonder, but this whole album brims with infectious enthusiasm.

Not bad as far as it goes. Sort of like a slow-down and less pithy They Might Be Giants.

These guys were a nice surprise! I'd rank them up there with Oasis.

Rather bland and one-note.

I was never much of a disco fan back in the day, but the talent here is undeniable.

This rocks pretty hard. Not sure why I'd never heard of this guy before.

Some super smooth easy listening here, if you're into that kind of thing.

Unmatched beauty in songwriting and performance have rarely (if ever!) been more clearly on display than in this album. Just sublime.

This was a surprising little gem!

This guy is great. Infectious and fun.

A decent album, but nothing I'm likely to be seeking out to listen to all that often.

They hit the ground running here, though greater songs were to follow.

An all-time classic for good reasons.

Smooth sound and a nice voice. Nothing overly memorable, though.

Some all-time great jams on here, but also a lot that feels like filler.

These guys seem to be somewhat forgotten or underrated in hindsight. Some great musical variety here!

Smooth and always surprising. David was the bomb, baby!

Felt generally kind of dull at first, but kept growing on me the more I listened to it.

"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.

Interesting and competent, as always from Waits. Not one of his most memorable, though. A pretty spooky October listen, maybe!

For an album that seemed so much "of its time," this has held up surprising well over the past three decades.

Not a band I remember at all, but a fun, highly listenable LP.

Still enjoyable as far as it goes, but sounds very much of its time.

Kind of all over the place musically. Nothing I would call particularly memorable.

Fun, but also largely forgettable.

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.

This group's name should be My Boring Valentine. Mostly just a lot of vaguely rhythmic background noise.

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.

Iconic.

My wife says he sounds like a goat. I say he IS the G.O.A.T.

Not typically my type of music, but generally infectious.

This rocks!

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!

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.

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.

Smooth and mellow. Nice for quiet background music, I suppose.

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.

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.

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!

I think I had seriously underrated this group. Very listenable music.

Bowie had really found his voice by this album.

Didn't do much for me. Mostly just dark and grinding.

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.

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.

Some smart commentary on life in America that still seems as timely today as it was over 30 years ago.

Not overly upbeat, so I have to be in just the right mood for this.

Infectious. "Shining Star" is an all-time banger, of course, but there's also a lot of "filler" here.

Mostly harmless.

Not disagreeable.

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.

Very much that mid- to late-80s sound, with maybe a bit of Frank Zappa influence mixed in. Mostly forgettable, though.

What a voice. Gone much too soon.

Holds up surprisingly well.

An incredibly eclectic mix of styles and genres, most of which ultimately hold little appeal to me.

I found myself largely indifferent.

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.

If not the best album of the 1990s, this is certainly in the conversation for that spot. Every track here is solid.

Smooth as butter!

Undoubtedly ground-breaking in 1969. Now, it sounds largely just self-indulgent, I'm afraid.

An all-time classic for a reason. The Beatles at the top of their songwriting and performing talents.

Cream at its best--which is very good indeed!!!

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.

Largely forgettable.

Mostly harmless.

A generational voice, gone too soon.

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!

Still some fun here, and "Blister in the Sun" is a bop that stands the test of time.

Meh . . .

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.

Loud and fast, if you like that sort of thing.

Fun, but somewhat repetitive.

Decently mellow, but not overly memorable.

They had found their sound here . . . which never really changed much on subsequent efforts.

I guess My Chemical Romance would be the best comparison, though this album never hits the highs of the best of MCR.

Remember when dark and discordant was a thing? Then you might like this! Otherwise, not much to recommend.

Some great bangers here!

At best, some smooth but forgettable easy listening. At worst, so experiments with how much irritating noise a listener might be able to tolerate.

Some smooth-sounding jazzy riffs here.

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.

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.

A decent group that seemed dedicated to producing largely non-objectionable music. Their sound is definitely memorable, though very few individual songs are.

Decently listenable, but nothing really stands out here.

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.

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.

Not completely up to their highest standards, but everyone has to start somewhere. The sound is definitely already there in this debut.

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.

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).

These guys were having a lot of fun!

Feels like she had lost a lot of her early energy by this album.

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.

Listening to this nearly 60 years after its release certainly confirms Haggard's reputation as the original outlaw of country music.

Hits all the right Pearl Jam notes, if that's your thing.

Some pretty orchestrations and a beautiful voice, but not really my cup of tea.

You can't spell "heavy metal head bangers" with AC/DC!

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!!

Competent, but only sometimes interesting.

Really doesn't seem to hold up as classic after all these years.

The bluesy roots of so much of what was to come. A great album.

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.

Cute.

Not quite to the iconic sound that made up their greatest hits here.

Lyrically witty with over-the-top orchestrations? Must be Morrissey!