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2000s
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Metal
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water | 5 | 2.47 | +2.53 |
| Follow The Leader | 5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
| All Hope Is Gone | 5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
| Konnichiwa | 5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
| Devil Without A Cause | 4 | 2.07 | +1.93 |
| High Violet | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| System Of A Down | 5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
| Eliminator | 5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
| Hybrid Theory | 5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
| Coat Of Many Colors | 5 | 3.42 | +1.58 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa Brasil | 1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
| Exodus | 2 | 3.94 | -1.94 |
| Caetano Veloso | 1 | 2.85 | -1.85 |
| Abraxas | 2 | 3.72 | -1.72 |
| Live At The Regal | 2 | 3.68 | -1.68 |
| The Queen Is Dead | 2 | 3.66 | -1.66 |
| Buena Vista Social Club | 2 | 3.66 | -1.66 |
| Birth Of The Cool | 2 | 3.65 | -1.65 |
| A Love Supreme | 2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
| People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm | 2 | 3.61 | -1.61 |
5-Star Albums (20)
View Album WallPopular Reviews
MGMT
4/5
A pretty pleasant listen with a few super catchy synth melodies. I enjoyed my time with the album, it gets pretty dreamy at times and I for sure liked some songs more than others - which all seem to have been their break through hits from previous recordings just re-recorded for this album.
Standouts
Time to Pretend
Electric Feel
Kids
4/5
3 likes
Raekwon
2/5
This one completely failed at capturing my attention. I don't think it's a bad album fundamentally, it's just not for me. It's a clearly great album that overwhelmingly fails to activate the parts of my brain that makes me care and pay attention
Standouts
-
2/5
2 likes
Fela Kuti
2/5
A few minutes in to 'Let's Start' I noticed that the drum (or is it the bass?) follows the same rhythm along the lines of "du du du du, dun dunnn" and it just never changes, and it's the same for 'Black Man's Cry' which I just couldn't ignore the repetitiveness of after 18 min of the same even if there's some nice guitar bits or trumpets on top of it sometimes I just could not focus on anything else
Standouts
Ye Ye De Smell
"Du du du du, dun dunnn"/5 (2/5)
1 likes
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
This one just kinda failed to catch and hold my attention it's not bad sounding, but it's just something I've heard and isn't able to remember much of
Standouts
When The Sun Goes Down
3/5
1 likes
Coldplay
3/5
I think Coldplay will continue being a singles band for me. They've had some bangers through the years, including 'Clocks' from this album, but having listened to the whole of this album I don't find myself enjoying the rest of it nearly as much
Standouts
Clocks
Amsterdam
3/5
1 likes
1-Star Albums (4)
All Ratings
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Eric goes pretty hard on the guitar solos in most songs and it becomes a bit self-indulgent. Especially "Key to the highway" is pretty much just a 10min guitar solo. The lyrics are often pretty simple, and the solos often aren't very imaginative either. As a whole the album comes across very cookie-cutter with some notable exceptions. The album gets progressively better towards the end after "Have You Ever Loved A Woman?". Layla is obviously the big draw here and is indisputably a classic
Tentative 3/5
Jack White
3/5
A lot more bluesy than I had initially expected when I first saw the album pop up and listened to the first few riff heavy tracks. I appreciate the piano coming through a lot. And while it's a little inconsistent I also enjoy the mix of country and blues influences on the different tracks like 'Hypocritical Kiss', 'Trash Tongue Talker' and 'I'm Shakin''. On some of the tracks like 'Freedom At 21' the vocals remind me a lot of "Mindless Self Indulgence"
Standouts:
Love interruption
Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy
High end of 3/5
4/5
Call me basic, but even if pretty overplayed 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger' are just great sing-along hits and always evokes feelings of cozy group events in me. And serve as a strong 1-2 punch at the start of the album just in case you forgot who you were dealing with.
It's definitely a more commercial sound than what was probably appreciated at the time, but knowing what we know about the success of this album I think it's hard to say that Oasis didn't pretty much nail a popular sound on here.
I have vivid memories of playing Gran Turismo 3 on my Playstation 2 while listening to 'Wonderwall' and Blur's 'Song 2' from the same era on repeat as a child. Guess I was bit of a Britpop fan back then even if I didn't know what Britpop was.
Standouts:
Don't Look Back In Anger
She's Electric
Champagne Supernova
"Anyway here's Wonderwall"/5 (4/5)
Violent Femmes
3/5
I don't think this will ever really become my favourite kind of sound, but I don't hate it. I didn't know that there was such a thing as "Folk punk" before this album and it kinda tickles my brain in the right way a bit with the acoustic bass and the sudden inclusion of not one, but TWO xylophone solos on 'Gone Daddy Gone'.
Standouts:
Gone Daddy Gone
Good Feeling
Add It Up
"Punk needs more xylophone"/5 (3/5)
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Funky guitar and bass right from the first notes - here we go! 'Jesus' gets a little too gospely for me without really hitting what makes gospel cool sometimes. A pretty chill and enjoyable listen.
Standouts
Billy Jack
Love to the People
3/5
David Bowie
3/5
Clearly a very experimental album that sounds way younger than it's 1977 birthdate would suggest. Listening to 'Warszawa' for me evokes feelings of celebrated modern movie ambiance/soundtracks like Inception and Interstellar. Not my favourite Bowie tracks, but I can easily see how it challenged the notions of what music should be at the time and inspired other artists.
Standouts
Warszawa
3/5
Beatles
4/5
One of the classic Beatles albums. Remarkable in the variety of the tracks where it's both clear that the band is somewhat fractured, but also that every member seems to peak in their own respective ways. Big fan of the rough vocals on 'Oh! Darling' good call from McCartney to take it rather than let Lennon sing it
Standouts
Come Together
Here Comes The Sun
Oh! Darling
"You are breaking up the band Yoko"/5 (4/5)
The Flaming Lips
2/5
Reminds me quite a bit of David Bowie, but maybe with some more focus on the vocal. The acoustic guitar with the electronics makes a very distinct contrast. I find the concept of the album interesting but I don't think I'll listen to it again
Standouts
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2
All We Have Is Now
2/5
James Brown
3/5
Soulful R&B even on a live album just hits in a certain way. And that the mans voice is as smooth as they come only makes that more obvious.
Standouts
Try Me
"I wanna scream"/5 (3/5)
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Earth, Wind & Fire has never been a band I've listened to much, and I don't think that's really going to change after hearing this. The album is -fine- but I have to admit that their tracks kinda meld together for me and I would be unable to identify pretty much any other number than 'September' by name. And that song isn't on this album. I like the bassline, it's funky, it's groovy. But it also becomes a bit samey. The vocal doesn't do much for me most of the time. I can't help but to think that if you are an American baptist this would hit different. But I'm neither of those things so maybe I just don't really get it
Standouts
Shining Star
All About Love (First Impression)
3/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
When I saw the name Peter Gabriel come up it rang a bell but I couldn't think of any song I knew by him. I must just have heard a lot of people mention his name through the years. The music has a lot of the same feel as Phill Collins' solo stuff and someone else's that I can't quite place right now. With an average song length >5 min there's no sense of short-but-sweet about any of the songs, but somehow some of them still manage to feel quite short. 'In Your Eyes' at times reminds me of the Tarzan soundtrack in some parts which I guess speaks to Peter Gabriel and Phill Collins' shared roots in Genisis. Overall I find the album a bit slow and the songs tended to fade into the background for me quite a bit. 'Red Rain' has the rawest vocal of the album and it makes it stand out to me. But I feel like it overstays its welcome a bit just repeating the very simple chorus for around a one and a half minutes straight. 'In Your Eyes' feels like it has the most world music inspiration. 'Sledgehammer' has a pretty funky bassline
Standouts
Sledgehammer
Big Time
In Your Eyes
"That English guy from Genisis"/5 (4/5)
Guns N' Roses
5/5
The album starts with 'Welcome to the Jungle' which both became a huge hit, and kinda serves as a warning for what's to come. This album is quite frankly wild. I can never go back to the first time I heard these songs but if I could I am sure I'd love them again. Unfortunately, because of the success of this album and the songs on here the hits are very overplayed at this point. I don't think it's fair to fault the album for this though as it's basically suffering from success and staying-power. This amount of hits on a debut is just wild and I think for that alone the album deserves a pretty high rating, and for Slash's guitar and the sheer staying-power of still getting played ad nauseam almost 40 years later has to take it a bit higher. Even if *I* personally think these songs are a bit worn out I have to give credit. The last Guns N' Roses fan hasn't been born yet, and might not for many many years
From a more musical perspective Guns N' Roses with this album changed what was the mainstream in rock to more hard rock away from the glam of yesteryear and ushered in the age of hard rock and arena rock while still keeping some of that hair metal influence, but almost in a mocking way
Standouts
Welcome to the Jungle
Rocket Queen
Anything Goes
5/5
DJ Shadow
3/5
Very clear and defined hip hop rhythms here, and I'm sure a lot of them would work great as backing tracks for a strong vocal. Unfortunately, I personally think a lot of them become a bit repetitive and slightly boring without a vocal to break the monotony. 'Changeling' makes itself noticed by being _only_ 7min long, but somehow making it feel like 15. Great if you feel like time is moving a bit fast and you need to slow it down. But a great listening experience it does not make. Further down the album around 'Transmission 2' the sound starts becoming more ambient which I enjoyed a lot more. The album also feels a bit like what we'd call a "shitpost" in modern meme culture with tracks like "Why Hip-Hop Sucks In '96" serving as a one-off joke jab at the genre. Seemingly 'What Does Your Soul Look Like - Pt.' 2 & 3 has dropped off the album, which I find funny for some reason. 'Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt' seems to be self-reflection, and biographical which I found kind of cool on the 2nd listen
Standouts
Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt
Transmission 2
Mutual Slump
Transmission 3
"Guess who's coming"/5 (3/5)
Cream
3/5
It's fine. I don't hear anything here that I don't like, but at the same time not much catches my ear. It's pretty chill and a bit funky and is a cohesive listen. It doesn't feel quite as dated as I'd have feared, but it's still very clearly 60's sound I'd say.
Standouts
World Of Pain
Tales Of Brave Ulysses
Mother's Lament
3/5
Songhoy Blues
2/5
I've never heard of this band before and their story is very inspiring. I was somewhat excited initially because I felt like the music was competent and I was hoping to hear something that really stood out to me deeper in the album. Unfortunately I never found anything that stood out to me and before I realized I'd been through the album 3 times without really noticing any of it. I don't think it's bad, just very forgettable and same-y
Standouts
-
2/5
Carole King
3/5
The music is pretty simple, but the songwriting it top notch and I can see how this would be both a hit on its own, but also how covers with stronger backing music and different style could hit and elevate the tracks in their own ways. An enjoyable listen all the way through. Well mixed and calm
Standouts
Tapestry
I Feel the Earth Move
3/5
3/5
Honestly it's a bit of a mess, but it feels like that is on purpose, and as long as I don't try to fight it and just go with the chaos it's not unpleasant.
Standouts
Siberian Khatru
3/5
AC/DC
3/5
It's a nice album, and 'Highway to Hell' is pretty timeless even though I've heard it _a lot_ in my time. The rest of the album is serviceable but blends together a bit for me with very little standing out to me as specially good. That's not to say the music is bad in any way and I generally enjoyed listening to it. It just didn't make me stop and pay attention, or pull me in much other than the title track
Standouts
Highway to Hell
3/5
Neil Young
3/5
The music is pleasant and sounds nice, but it just fades in the background for me a lot and my brain didn't really latch on to any one track to really stand out. This doesn't mean that I think it's bad. It will just be one of those "Oh I've heard that before but don't remember it" kind of deals
Standouts
-
3/5
Kate Bush
4/5
I've never listened much to Kate Bush. Obviously I know 'Running Up That Hill' and have heard 'Cloudbusting' before too, but the rest of her catelog is pretty much unknown to me. I didn't expect such an experimental vibe from the album but I've enjoyed it. It somehow feels very dramatic but also light at times. I think 'And Dream Of Sheep' captures what I mean with a pretty dramatic start that then flows into a more airy and light sound. 'Under Ice' then follows with a very dramatic opening that really creates tension. 'Waking The Witch' starts dramatic, then becomes light and then abruptly transitions into what I think is best described as chaos. 'Jig Of Life' is very folky, and evokes feelings of dancing, but in a slightly discordant way that makes it feel a bit ominous.
Standouts
Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Cloudbusting
Under Ice
Jig Of Life
4/5
The Youngbloods
2/5
Honestly just kind of forgettable. I liked the start of 'Darkness, Darkness', and it is the song that stands out the most to me, but then it flows in to the same kind of sound as the rest of the album turns out to also have. Paradoxically if the music has been worse it wouldn't have been as forgettable and it may actually have gotten a higher rating
Standouts
Darkness, Darkness
2/5
Fela Kuti
2/5
A few minutes in to 'Let's Start' I noticed that the drum (or is it the bass?) follows the same rhythm along the lines of "du du du du, dun dunnn" and it just never changes, and it's the same for 'Black Man's Cry' which I just couldn't ignore the repetitiveness of after 18 min of the same even if there's some nice guitar bits or trumpets on top of it sometimes I just could not focus on anything else
Standouts
Ye Ye De Smell
"Du du du du, dun dunnn"/5 (2/5)
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
I don't like live albums a ton. Most of the time I feel like they more so add noise to the tracks than anything else. I think I feel a bit different about this one specifically though. Sarah here very much evoke feelings of some kind of jazz-club-speakeasy-whiskey-in-hand-smokey-room-film-noir thing. Her voice is so smooth and comforting, and I think the "liveness" of the album almost makes the whole thing into more of an ambiance thing for me that almost transports me to this calm place. Something that a classic concert live album has never done for me which I find interesting.
Standouts
Just One Of Those Things
Willow Weep For Me
3/5
Portishead
3/5
Psychedelic isn't really one of my favourite genres, most of the time I don't really connect with it a lot however Portishead hits a good mix for me with the more experimental and electronic elements. I found the first part of the album pretty enjoyable and then as I progressed through the tracks became more grating which I think was on purpose. I respect that, but I did enjoy those tracks like 'Magic Doors' a lot less
Standouts
Nylon Smile
3/5
Green Day
5/5
Album shows up, kicks in the door and throws 'American Idiot' in your face and then we are off. American Idiot is my favorite Green Day album. I also really like Dookie, but for me American Idiot just hit different. I understand that those two are switched for a lot of people, but I find that Dookie deal a lot more with the personal, where American Idiot really hits it home with the heavy overtones of critique of the system, the government and society as a whole and really voices the feelings of a generation of disillusionment in the wake of 9/11. The punk-rock/punk-pop sound that Green Day had previously developed on celebrated albums like Dookie just hits extra on the spot when used to approach this subject from this angle. And while the album did serve as a voice of a generation it is still as relevant and applicable today as it was when it was released - just for slightly different reasons
Standouts
American Idiot
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
5/5
B.B. King
2/5
It's a live album and I'm not a huge fan of those. I can tell that it's competent blues, but blues just isn't in this style isn't something I listen to much aside from going "Yup that's oldschool blues alright, neat". I don't think I'll ever listen to one of these songs again purposefully, I simply won't remember that they exist past tomorrow
Standouts
It's My Own Fault
2/5
Steely Dan
2/5
I think this one runs into a bit of a "worst of both worlds" kind of situation for me. It's jazzy, but I don't like jazz that much, and they seem to have discarded the best part of jazz: the solos. And it's pop-y, but mostly in a vocal that I feel wants a more defined melody, and the track length is shorter.
Standouts
With A Gun
2/5
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Jimmi Hendrix, legendary name, very skilled on the guitar. Unfortunately I'm really not a fan of psychedelic music I just don't really connect with it. I can tell that it's skillfully played, but it doesn't draw me in and pull me along, I always feel more like an outside observer
Standouts
Castles Made of Sand
3/5
Nas
3/5
Generally an enjoyable listen, hip-hop isn't something I listen to a lot, and not something I know a ton about. The lyrics seem interesting and the production good and I can see how this would have inspired a lot of people in the community. I think I've heard a few of the tracks before but I'm not entirely sure
Standouts
Halftime
Life's a Bitch
3/5
Pere Ubu
1/5
This one is a tough one... Normally I often enjoy weird music, but this ain't it. I think that the highest praise I can give the music(?) on this album is that it's very hard to ignore/tune out, and it's never boring. I wasn't even really sure how to describe the genre, because I'd never heard of art punk before. Now that I've learned what that is I do think it's a good descriptor though. And otherwise I think another review here describes it as "It sounds like the result of leaving a group of school children unsupervised in a music classroom"
Standouts
Over My Head
1/5
Syd Barrett
2/5
This one is not a very cohesive album and that probably has a lot to do with how it was produced basically 3 times. The music just kinda failed to hold my attention, it almost felt strangely monotonous and bored in it's delivery
Standouts
No Man's Land
2/5
Parliament
5/5
It's pretty hard to be in a bad mood listening to this album, and they kind of insist that you shouldn't either. The whole alien concept works pretty well I find. The music is interesting (and well done) and the lyrics are fun. 'Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples' basically has fart noises and somehow that kind of works. I can easily see how this would have inspired a lot of later artists.
Standouts
P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)
Handcuffs
"Time to get funked-up"/5 (5/5)
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Wu-Tang Clan has been one of those names I've heard thrown around a lot through the years. Often in a very positive light, so I've always meant to listen to some of their stuff, but have never actually sat down and done it until now. I gotta say it's not all killer, I don't really get the point of having what's basically interviews on here, that feels like filler. But I like the flow and the beats of a lot of the stuff. I'm not huge into hip-hop, so I don't know if I'll go back and listen to this one again, but that's not because I disliked it and I'm generally left with a positive impression of Wu-Tang Clan. I can clearly see how this has inspired a lot of other hip-hop through the years even without being very into hip-hop so that just confirms to me that their legendary reputation is well earned to me
Standouts
Bring Da Ruckus
4/5
Dennis Wilson
3/5
I don't mind it it as much as I thought I would when I heard the first 3 tracks, some of them were more interesting. Ultimately I still wasn't super impressed with most of it, but I did have a few tracks that stood out to me, and I did like elements of others like the horns on 'Time'
Standouts
Friday Night
Thoughts of You
3/5
The Band
3/5
A lot of the tracks start with very interesting sounds and ideas, but then somewhat devolve into something that sounds similar to all the rest of the tracks when the vocal takes hold. I think that's a shame because they clearly have had other ideas. I'm thinking of tracks like 'Chest Fever', and 'This Wheel's On Fire' as examples for how it can work. I think they should lean more into that stuff
Standouts
Chest Fever
This Wheel's On Fire
3/5
The Gun Club
2/5
From the very first track I was hopeful that this was going to be a pretty good album, but I feel like the whole thing took a nosedive from there and never recovered. Everywhere I look it says that this one is a groundbreaking album, so it's probably important, and I'm not sure groundbreaking ever has to mean "good", but I had hoped for something different. Maybe this just isn't a good genre for me
Standouts
Sex Beat
2/5
John Coltrane
2/5
I've spent all day talking about this one with the group, and I'm still not quite sure what to write here. I think I manage to get lost among the chaos, but not lost in the chaos. I'm not a participant, I'm not pulled along, I'm just there and chaos is around me. I'm not a relaxed listener, but I also don't really feel included in the experience or invited to participate. So I end up in a sort of uncomfortable limbo - a kind of deer-in-the-headlights experience. I really do want to like this, it's clearly a bunch of very talented people. I just don't get it I guess
Standouts
-
"I just don't get it"/5 (2/5)
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I'm not really sure what to say about this album. I'm not sure I really understand why it's considered _so_ good, maybe I just didn't listen intently enough. I find the vocal mildly unpleasant, but nothing that ruins anything.
Standouts
Carey
California
3/5
Thelonious Monk
3/5
I feel like I'm more and more learning that I'm just not really a jazz person. This one is fine, I don't mind listening to it, but I don't feel like it's particularly profound or engaging. It's just kind of there and it's fine. Clearly some very talented musicians, but I just don't connect
Standouts
-
3/5
The Undertones
4/5
This was an unexpected joy. It's so joyful, youthful and almost naïve in both the lyrics and the music. It kind of brings me back to a simpler time when the weight of the world was less. The guitar on 'Teenage Kicks' reminds me of something I can't place
Standouts
Male Model
Teenage Kicks
Get Over You
"In a world that's cruel being kind is the most punk you can be"/5 (4/5)
R.E.M.
4/5
Very clearly the first instance of that recognizable "R.E.M." sound which would inspire many a 90's alt-rock band in the years to come. I don't think it's R.E.M.'s best album ever, I think that title belongs to 'Automatic For The People' but it's a very enjoyable album none-the-less and has a few big tracks too. I would listen to this album again on purpose
Standouts
It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Oddfellows Local 151
4/5
The Avalanches
4/5
There's a lot of noises here, and some of them are quite grating. I have to say I was not a believer to start, but everything changed after 'Avalanche Rock'. On my second time through I didn't mind the first few tracks at all, so maybe I just needed to get used to them
Standouts
Flight Tonight
Close To You
Electricity
Frontier Psychiatrist
4/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The album starts with a string of hits and then it just kind of loses steam. If the album had ended after 'Californication' or just a few tracks later this would have been a very strong album, but as it stands it instead just fades and I ended up losing interest a bit. The funk-rock mix works for me in general though
Standouts
Scar Tissue
Otherside
Get on Top
Californication
4/5
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Largely very enjoyable. I've never really listened to Fatboy Slim before, but I might do so in the future. It reminds me of "The prodigy" which according to Wikipedia isn't so strange because they are also one of the defining bands of the Bigbeat genre
Standouts
Song for Lindy
The Weekend Starts Here
4/5
Janelle Monáe
5/5
This is a very interesting mix of genres. It feels like a very experimental album that's pushing genre boundaries and somewhat defies definitions. From an almost pop sound on some tracks to more rock like sound on others and with constant R&B-but-not-exactly vibes. And yet somehow it's still pretty easy listening. I see why this one is getting the praise that it is
Standouts
Suite II Overture
Sir Greendown
Tightrope
Cold War
5/5
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I don't feel like this is a very cohesive album, it's supposed to be a concept, but it's not clear what the concept really is to me. A lot of the tracks sound like Beatles did at this time, but extra bland. I can maybe see how this could have been the inspiration for some of the early Pink Floyd, but in a way more refined form. The singing also just isn't... good..? On top of all that I just don't really like psychedelic music
Standouts
-
2/5
U2
3/5
If I had to pick a U2 album to listen to the this one isn't the worst, but I still don't like them very much. I generally just find them a bit boring a lot of the time
Standouts
Sunday Bloody Sunday
3/5
Happy Mondays
2/5
I wouldn't say that I particularly enjoyed this one, it was a bit weird, but in the boring way. I'm really not much for the "drug" genres, acid-house, psychedelia, stoner rock etc. This music seems to fall in multiple of those kinds of categories and I just don't enjoy that very much
Standouts
-
2/5
Robert Wyatt
2/5
This one was weird. Somehow both psychedelic and chaotic at the same time. It flows like free-form/improvised jazz at times, but with a bunch of weird sounds. 'Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road' has polyrhythms I'm pretty sure. All in all I didn't enjoy the album much, but it did have moments of just pure confusion or just interesting things enough that I didn't turn it off
Standouts
Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road
"No geese or seagulls were harmed in the production of this album"/5 (2/5)
Public Enemy
4/5
This album is good. If I was more into hip-hop it might even be great. The very clear 90's hip-hop/rap hits clean. And it's very hard to argue with the political/cultural message of the album - and it certainly makes no apologies for itself. It's in your face aggressive critique of society and the system on top of a beat that sounds more welcoming than you'd expect. Uh yeah! FIGHT THE POWER!!
Standouts
Pollywanacraka
Fight the Power
4/5
Nirvana
5/5
Fantastic album, the arangements are very delicate and stripped down and Cobains voice really shines through. On the covers it feels pretty clear that Cobain was trying to experiment with a new kind of sound that we unfortunately never got to hear him develop
Standouts
The Man Who Sold The World
Come As You Are
Dumb
Pennyroyal tea
5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I don't think I've ever listened to a Rolling Stones album before today. I know that they are pretty legendary and such, but I just have never gotten around to it. I enjoy their track 'Paint it Black' but there's no track on this album that catches my attention in the same way
Standouts
Sympathy for the Devil
No Expectations
Salt of the Earth
3/5
Missy Elliott
2/5
Not really my style of hip-hop, but not terrible
Standouts
Hit Em wit da Hee
2/5
Van Morrison
3/5
For me it all kind of blended together into just a 38min long track. It's not bad, but not much stood out to me
Standouts
Moondance
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
CCR is one of this bands you can instantly recognize by their sound, I don't think I know of any artist that sounds quite like them. They are also some of the most successfully productive bands I know just constantly hitting the top of the charts and releasing album after album during the short time they stayed together. And this album was kind of the real kick-off for that
Standouts
Tombstone Shadow
Bad Moon Rising
4/5
The Stooges
2/5
This one is not really my style. I generally have a favorable attitude towards punk, but this one doesn't quite hit "punk" and instead is very "drug-y" on some of the tracks like 'We Will Fall' which I generally dislike. They do have really cool guitar on some of the tracks - especially on 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' so credit for that. Unfortunately half of the album is pretty much one song, and it's not one of the good ones
Standouts
1969
I Wanna Be Your Dog
2/5
The Doors
3/5
I'm not really a The Doors fan, I haven't listened to them much, but psychedelic music just doesn't fit me very well. Additionally I'm not a great jazz fan either, and I feel like I hear some heavy jazz influences on this album too. I have heard 'Light My Fire' before, but I think it might have been a cover by someone else, or maybe the single version which I understand to not have the big middle jazz section - I remember enjoying this song more than I feel like I did this time at least. 'Back Door Man' is also one of my standouts, but I'm told that that's not a The Doors number but rather a cover, so the fact that it's one of my standouts probably indicative of me not super enjoying their own sound
Standouts
Light My Fire
Back Door Man
The End
3/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Some nice and enjoyable uptempo swing Louis has a nice voice for this stuff, and I particularly enjoyed the jokes in the lyrics when they occurred. 'The Lip' is both an interesting song, but also just a silly joke of a story, and that made it really enjoyable for me. Some of the other stuff was nice, but also a bit forgettable at times
Standouts
Just A Gigolo
The Lip
Jump, Jive, An' Wail
4/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
I've heard the name "Marvin Gaye" mentioned many times in my life but never really listened to any. This made me pretty interested in listening to this album, which is also supposed to be one of his biggest commercial success. However I mostly just found myself a bit bored by the music and like the lyrics were preaching to me
Standouts
-
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
3 becomes a very broad rating for me, I'm a little sad this is a 3. I probably wouldn't consciously seek it out again, but I didn't dislike it. Generally I enjoy funk so that was nice, and even the 14min heavily jazz influenced 'Sex Machine' wasn't too bad
Standouts
Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
3/5
Talking Heads
3/5
It's punk and it's pretty alright. It sounds kind of familiar, but I don't think I've heard it before. It gets a bit strange - sorry "artsy" - at times, but it's not too bad, most of it is pretty enjoyable. By no means a new favorite band or album, but I didn't mind it, and I wasn't particularly bored
Standouts
Psycho Killer
Qu'est-ce que c'es/5 (3/5)
Fiona Apple
3/5
This one is a bit of a strange one for me. It feels pretty average, maybe a bit above average, but doesn't seem to be super special. The wiki article is very small, critical reception was on but not blown out of the park. I'm struggling to figure out what makes this so important.
The music is fine, the first 5 tracks were close to a 4, but then it took a dive on the last half of the album so it lands on a solid 3 for me
Standouts
Shadowboxer
Sullen Girl
3/5
System Of A Down
5/5
What an album! System of a Down has always been kind of it's own thing. Yes it's nu metal, but it almost feels impossible to compare to others still. This fast, punchy, heavy, manic(?), frantic, silly sound they have going on is very special and recognizable. But other bits have a very large sound almost like a score, aaanndd then it goes back into something weird again like something that sounds like gypsy music. I love it, but I would understand if people find it a bit much and/or weird. On top of all this is some very critical lyrics that tackles big problems with society, government, or institutions - so that's also nice.
Personally I would have chosen the "Toxicity" album, I feel like that had bigger cultural impact, but this is a good album too
Standouts
Sugar
Spiders
DDevil
War?
5/5
Dire Straits
4/5
This album getting 4 is carried heavily by 'Sultans Of Swing' and the generally excellent guitar-playing that's going on. I feel like the guitar on the tracks is a cut above the rest of the parts, and mostly carries some otherwise middling tracks on everything but 'Sultans Of Swing' where it all comes together more like what Dire Straits would later be known for
Standouts
Six Blade Knife
Sultans Of Swing
4/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
I'm not exactly sure why this one was celebrated so much by critics. It feels a bit pretentious on a lot of the tracks, and I didn't feel like the music was that fantastic. I mostly preferred the tracks that were a bit orchestral/symphonic and found the rest just fine. I might remember this one more from the cool band/album name, and the cool album art than for its music in the future if I had to guess. The songs are fading from my memory today already.
Standouts
Intervention
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
3/5
Madness
3/5
The album was alright, the songs were enjoyable but not great or super interesting. 'Our House' stands out among the pack and is pretty well known around these parts. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't hit like that again. Maybe the lyrics are more interesting, but I somewhat forgot to listen to them because my attention wasn't held
Standouts
Rise and Fall
Our House
3/5
3/5
I mostly find Beatles music to be pretty boring. This album isn't the worst offender but I still will probably never purposefully listen to it again. I understand that it has had huge cultural influence, but at the same time all that is so long before my time that I can't really relate or connect with it. I also don't really ever connect with psychedelia so that's also a bit rough
Standouts
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
3/5
The Birthday Party
2/5
The music is pretty noisy and a bit chaotic - which isn't a bad thing by default, especially not for punk. However I then usually expect something to tie it all together to make it really great and I often look to the vocal to do that. On this one I feel like the vocal doesn't do that for me, it constantly teases me by being almost there but ultimately doesn't live up to the potential I feel is there. This leaves me with a sense of unfulfilled promises and noise
Standouts
She's Hit
Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow)
2/5
Nick Drake
3/5
Slow and melancholic in an enjoyable way, but also a bit boring to the point where I forgot to really listen to a lot of the songs and therefore missed the deeper meaning
Standouts
Riverman
Way to Blue
3/5
The Strokes
3/5
None of the tracks really caught my attention. The music for what it is was fine, but in no way fantastic. I feel like I hear this sound but more refined in other later bands, so in that sense it's probably an important album - just not a great one for me. I can't sing a line from a single track on here today 1 day later, and in a few days you could probably play one of the tracks for me and ask me if I know it and I'd say I'd never heard it before.
Standouts
-
3/5
Skepta
5/5
I enjoy rap/hip-hop with at least some aggression and this strikes a good balance of being passionate and a bit angry without being just gangsta' rap. I enjoy the rhymes and some of them are reasonably intelligent. The beats are also nice and punchy. I also enjoy that the lyrics have a purpose, a meaning, other than just: fuck bitches, shoot snitches, get stacks, like some rap (that is sometimes enjoyable, but in a different way). It's not the biggest 5 I've given, but I would probably recommend this one to a friend if I knew they were into this kind of stuff
Standouts
Konnichiwa
It Ain't Safe
Man
Shutdown
That's Not Me
5/5
Raekwon
2/5
This one completely failed at capturing my attention. I don't think it's a bad album fundamentally, it's just not for me. It's a clearly great album that overwhelmingly fails to activate the parts of my brain that makes me care and pay attention
Standouts
-
2/5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
It's fine. I'm not a big fan of jazz, and this album hasn't really done anything to change that. At the same time it also hasn't done a lot to make me dislike it
Standouts
Alice In Wonderland
3/5
Hugh Masekela
3/5
It's jazz so it's on the back foot from the get go, but I enjoyed bits of this, especially the sax on a lot of the tracks
Standouts
Minawa
3/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
Beastie Boys is yet another of those bands that has a unique and instantly recognizable sound. The beats are punchy, the rap is punchier, the lyrics are wacky, and the party never stops. While portraying a parody of frat culture Beastie Boys pokes fun of any genre or style within spitting distance, and sound damn good doing it
Standouts
No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Girls
Fight For Your Right
"Deliver Colonel Sanders down to Davey Jones' locker"/5 (5/5)
David Bowie
3/5
Bowie is very beloved, but he's also just weird and experimental and that's sometimes good and sometimes bad. This album for me is alright but doesn't really hit anything super special
Standouts
Young Americans
Fame
3/5
Def Leppard
4/5
Def Leppard is an institution in metal and this album is their real breakthrough and where they found the sound and lineup that worked for them
Standouts
Too Late For Love
Foolin'
Rock Of Ages
Action Not Words
4/5
The Kinks
3/5
I find this style of music mostly boring, but not really bad - so in many ways I don't really like or enjoy listening to it, but I also don't actively dislike it and want it turned off. It's the same feeling with a lot of Beatles music too.
Standouts
Tin Soldier Man
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
It would be a shame to say I'm a psychedelia/acid fan. And the first time I heard this album I didn't connect a ton with it. But today I think I must be in a different headspace because it's better now. The mix is a bit weird though, or maybe that's just the version on Spotify, there's a lot of stuff only happening in the right channel. I still don't think I fully get entirely what the fuss is about with Jimmy Hendrix
Standouts
Love Or Confusion
The Wind Cries Mary
Third Stone From The Sun
4/5
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
I ended up liking this one quite a bit more than I expected to. It really caught my attention in some of the jams. Unfortunately, it also got a bit long and self-indulgent on some of the tracks (22 min wtf?)
Standouts
Done Somebody Wrong
3/5
Tom Waits
3/5
There's two kinds of songs on this album. Rough, rasp, dirty powerful ones, and sugarsweet love ballads. And one entirely instrumental track. It's clear to hear that this is a Tom Waits that's in the middle of a transition to a different style
Standouts
Jersey Girl
On The Nickel
Mr. Siegal
4/5
Ghostface Killah
4/5
The production and beats on this album are immaculate. I don't think I'll ever really become a Wu-Tang fan, but this is probably the best one I've heard so far. I might return to this album again later just based on the beats
Standouts
The Champ
R.A.G.U
Clipse of Doom
4/5
Dr. Octagon
4/5
This one was weird. Very apt album to get for Halloween with its horror inspired imagery and samples. I'd describe the album as something between a bad trip and a fever dream. Everything is wacky and slightly insane, and very silly and unserious, but it's delivered as if it wasn't which is an interesting split. Some of the beats had a pretty wild low end on my subwoofer and I enjoyed that
Standouts
No Awareness
Halfsharkalligatorhalfman
MGMT
4/5
A pretty pleasant listen with a few super catchy synth melodies. I enjoyed my time with the album, it gets pretty dreamy at times and I for sure liked some songs more than others - which all seem to have been their break through hits from previous recordings just re-recorded for this album.
Standouts
Time to Pretend
Electric Feel
Kids
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
This one was a bit of a hard listen. Not because the music was grating, but mostly just because I didn't really care about most of it and while some of the messages were commendable they were also pretty preachy sometimes, and I don't appreciate that very much
Standouts
Three Little Birds
2/5
Soul II Soul
3/5
I found it a bit repetitive - very rhythmically hypnotic which might be very good for a certain mood, but that was not the mood I was in and not a mood that I recognize myself being in often. Outside of that mood it just serves to almost lul me to sleep with that predictable monotony
Standouts
Keep on Movin'
Fairplay
3/5
Slipknot
5/5
I'm giving this a 5 because I'd recommend it to others, but it's not the biggest 5 I've given. There's some pretty solid hits on here, but the tracks also sometimes get a bit same-y. There's not really a lot of bands that I know of who have a sound quite like Slipknot, so that's cool
Standouts
Sulfur
Psychosocial
Snuff
5/5
Elbow
4/5
Initially I really liked this one but the album is pretty long and eventually I started just being a bit bored. A lot of the early tracks kept feeling familiar, like they almost reminded me of something, but never quite. I might listen to this one in the future again and give it more time to maybe better appreciate some of the other tracks. I'll give it a 4, but it's at the very low end of 4
Standouts
Starlings
Grounds for Divorce
4/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
I liked this one, but as the album went on it became pretty long and it lost me a bit. I can see why it was in the book, but I can also see why it isn't anymore
Standouts
Suburban War
3/5
OutKast
3/5
Two solo albums in a OutKast trenchcoat masquerading (unsuccessfully) as a single cohesive mass. It's a very long album, but ultimately it's pretty good still
Standouts
Bowtie
Hey Ya!
Roses
?/5
Crowded House
3/5
It's fine. It reminds me of something on some of the tracks, but I can't quite place what it is. Maybe it's just 90's rock in general.
Standouts
It's Only Natural
Tall Trees
3/5
The Roots
3/5
This one was interesting, there's a lot of different things going on, but it was also a bit chaotic and not super cohesive due to all the different styles. I might enjoy this more if I listened to it more, but not a ton stood out to me on the first go-around so I probably won't get around to picking it up and listening to it again
Standouts
Rock You
3/5
Sade
3/5
When I heard 'Smooth Operator' I thought I would end up rating this one higher... Turns out that the album just starts really strong for me and then it doesn't reach that level ever again. Sade's voice is lovely, nothing wrong there, it's apparently just not the kind of stuff that catches me that much.
Standouts
Smooth Operator
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
It's hard to not respect CCR for their achievements and if nothing else their sheer productivity. This is their 5th album is just 2 years, and 6 of the 11 tracks charted in the top 5. That's unbelievably successful
Standouts
Ramble Tamble
Travelin' Band
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Who'll Stop The Rain
4/5
Lorde
4/5
I've only ever really heard 'Royals' from Lorde and aside from being catchy I never heard anything else. This album was very pleasant and I can see myself returning to it at some point in the future to explore it more
Standouts
Green Light
Sober II (Melodrama)
4/5
Bill Callahan
2/5
This was mostly just boring. I managed to go through the album almost 3 times before I noticed because nothing stood out to me
Standouts
Rococo Zephyr
2/4
The Pretty Things
3/5
I can't recall a single song of these I heard yesterday. I know that I listened to it and I didn't hate it
Standouts
-
3/5
Mylo
3/5
Mostly a chill lounge album which sometimes rises to be a bit more, but never quite becomes memorable. An enjoyable listen, but it leaves no lasting impression on me. I may remember 'Destroy Rock & Roll' for its use of the sermon
Standouts
Valley of the Dolls
Destroy Rock & Roll
3/5
Radiohead
3/5
This one was ok, it was chill and dreamy to listen to. But it was also a bit too dreamy and almost psychedelic and I didn't super enjoy that as much.
Standouts
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I liked it. I feel like this may be one of those albums that gets better if you listen to it more. For that reason I might return to it at some point in the future
Standouts
Racing in the Street
4/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
Very Iron Maiden. I haven't heard a ton of their music, but they are always very recognizable on the guitar particularly.
Standouts
Invaders
Run to the Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name
4/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
Most tracks on this one are 3 min longer than they need to be. That's not enough to make them bad, but it is enough to make them feel stretched a bit thin when all the lines of lyrics are spent in the first 2 min
Standouts
Get on Top
Hong Kong Bar
3/5
Arrested Development
3/5
I don't dislike the music and it has its moments. For me it often gets a bit to religious preachy, but I like the funkiness. Also this is a pretty strong quote from 'Give a Man a Fish'
"Raise your fist but also raise your children
So when you die the movement moves on"
Standouts
Give a Man a Fish
3/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
I guess this is pop, but it's so seeped in roul and R&B that it almost doesn't count. It's not for nothing that she won 5 Grammy's. This album was everywhere and feels very real
Standouts
Rehab
You Know I'm No Good
4/5
Elliott Smith
2/5
This one seems like it's possibly a pretty deep album lyrically. However I wouldn't be able to say because the music completely failed to catch my attention so I managed to forget to listen to any of the words on the entire album. I can't mention a single thing this album is about. On the positive side I didn't hate the music, it just never made an impression
Standouts
-
2/5
Queen Latifah
3/5
Not super my style hip-hop wise, but it did get better about halfway through. Queen Latifah is a name I've heard before, but I did not know that it was music she was famous for
Standouts
Latifah's Law
The Pros
Ladies First
3/5
Billie Holiday
3/5
Vocal jazz is the one type of jazz that I actually seem to like most of the time. This falls into the likable category, but it also becomes a little same-y with most of side one just being love songs in the same tempo. Side 2 improves this somewhat by touching some other subjects.
Standouts
You've Changed
I'll Be Aound
You Don't Know What Love Is
3/5
Meat Puppets
4/5
I faintly remembered the name "Meat Puppets" from researching "Nirvana" when their "MTV Unplugged" album came up on the list earlier. Other than that I don't think I'd ever heard about them before. The tracks that have vocals have pretty clear punk-vocals but the music is more rock/country so that's a bit interesting. All in all I liked it and may return to explore more in the future
Standouts
Plateau
Lake of Fire
4/5
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. It's a very unique kind of punk that's somehow still danceable or at least has that kind of quality that pulls you along. The lyrics are also pretty fancy for punk - I had to look up what "matinée" means
Standouts
Jacqueline
Take Me Out
The Dark Of The Matinée
4/5
Jorge Ben Jor
1/5
What this album taught me is that I apparently dislike the Cuica. The sound grates my ears and I can't stop focusing on it to the detriment of everything else in the songs. And so often it feels like it follows its own arbitrary rhythm regardless of what else is going on
Standouts
Xica da Silva
África Brasil (Zumbi)
"Wuuv Wuuv Wuuv Weee"/5 (1/5)
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Like so many of these bands from way back I mostly know them through their hits. I've always liked 'California Dreamin' but for some reason I've never listened to pretty much anything else from "The Mammas & The Papas". Now that I have it turns out that I actually like it quite a bit
Standouts
California Dreamin'
Somebody Groovy
The "In" Crowd
4/5
Gary Numan
4/5
I listened through this one multiple times, it worked well as a sort of ambiance for me. I very much get this desolate tech dystopia vibe from it
Standouts
Metal
Me, I Disconnect From You
4/5
Jimmy Smith
3/5
I found it enjoyable. I'm not big on jazz in general, but this one was nice and smooth and I appreciated that quite a bit. I can't name a single track though as they all meld together for me quite easily when there's no lyrics
Standouts
-
3/5
5/5
While the music isn't a technical jazz marvel there's also something to be said about being to the point and coming together with the vocals and the vibe to create a bigger experience. When Limp Bizkit came up there really wasn't anything quite like them, there were obviously other nu metal acts, but none with the same juvenile, frustrated yet energetic sound and lyrics. To this day I'm not really sure if I "like" Limp Bizkit, but their tracks have a catchiness and an aggressive unwillingness to be ignored and accepting the state of things. It's music that feels like it wants you to do something about the things that frustrate you
Standouts
Hot Dog
My Generation
Full Nelson
My Way
Boiler
5/5
The National
5/5
I feel like this reminds me of something that I can't quite place in style. I really enjoyed this one, it's calm and pleasent and dripping melancholy. Somehow it leaves me with a positive feeling still where a lot of melancholy often leaves me with a depressing one. The vocals and music work well together and it impresses me how the sound manages to both feel fragile and simple/clean and somehow also like an epic open soundscape
Standouts
Anyone's Ghost
Afraid of Everyone
Runaway
5/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
For the initial half of the first track I was a bit skeptical that it wouldn't be all that good, but it grew on me very quickly from there. The music is light but still retains some depth and it's very pleasant to listen to and holds my attention. It's not hard to see how this debut would go double platinum - especially in 1981. I would not be surprised if this album set a lot of the tone for the entire decade
Standouts
Lust To Love
Automatic
Skidmarks On My Heart
4/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
I thought I knew what Amy Winehouse was, but it turns out she's a lot more than the mainstream radio stations have lead me to believe over the years. I found quite a bit of enjoyment in the music and lyrics on this one and that's something I'll keep in mind in the future
Standouts
Fuck Me Pumps
What Is It About Men
Amy Amy Amy
4/5
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
Nine Inch Nails is one of those bands that's impossible to avoid at least hearing about if you are at all into metal and such. And yet I've never really heard anything of theirs other than 'Closer' and 'Hurt'. I don't think I've ever really realized that they had such an industrial sound before now and I'm not sure it's entirely my cup of tea. I flip back and forth a lot on whether I think it's pretty cool or just noise. At the moment I think I'm leaning towards "pretty cool". Maybe it will clear up if I listen to it more, but I don't know if I'll find the time anytime soon...
Standouts
Closer
Reptile
Hurt
4/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Its super interesting to me how this is still as relevant today as it was in 1978. '1/1' reminded me a lot of the Minecraft soundtrack where C418 managed to make some music that nobody noticed and yet it has wormed its way into the collective consciousness of a generation. And is now inspiring a whole new generation of musicians
Standouts
1/1
4/5
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Not bad, but marks off for being a live album. I can never really seem to get the vibe for most live albums I hear. I might give some other releases from Thin Lizzy a chance in the future though
Standouts
Rosalie
The Boys Are Back In Town
3/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Nothing on this album really stood out to me in any way. That said it was a pretty enjoyable listen but it will fade from my memory and be forgotten pretty quick and I don't think it will cross my mind organically again
Standouts
-
3/5
Dead Kennedys
3/5
I enjoyed some of this but I also found some of it a bit grating. What I found most interesting is how I felt like I knew this a bit already because I've heard things that clearly must be inspired quite a bit by Dead Kennedys. 'California Über Alles' sounded a lot like a System Of A Down song, so they were probably inspired from here.
Standouts
Kill The Poor
Let's Lynch The Landlord
California Über Alles
Holliday In Cambodia
3/5
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
A bit too chaotically noisy for me, and yet not quite noisy enough. This may very well be the kind of album that requires more listenings to really unfold. Unfortunately due to the format of an album per day I don't have time to give it that kind of attention.
Standouts
-
2/5
Haircut 100
3/5
An interesting mix of genres that sometimes is very funky and at other times sounds very calypso-like. It didn't mange to grab my attention super well, but it was an alright listen
Standouts
Lemon Firebrigade
3/5
Gorillaz
4/5
This one was tough for me to decide. Gorillaz (and also Blur) has always been one of those bands where I like a few tracks but not really anything else they've made. I think it's down to how experimental it is and most of those experiments then end up not being successful for my tastes. I often feel like it would probably be really cool if I was on drugs. Long story short I was trying to decide if 'Clint Eastwood', which is a certified banger, is enough to cary the album all on its own, and I'm not quite sure it is...
Standouts
5/4
Clint Eastwood
4/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
Theres some very clear Elvis Prestly influence here and just in general the whole album is full of a bunch of different genre influences so it's kinda hard to describe as one thing or another. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't mesmerized
Standouts
Welcome To The Working Week
Mystery Dance
3/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Having heard one Marvin Gaye album already that I didn't like that much I was more pleasantly surprised by this one. This one is more like what I'd expect Marvin Gaye to be based on what I've heard about him
Standouts
Let's Get It On
3/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
I think my favourite thing about RHCP is their funky bass. There's a few certified bangers on this album, but also a bunch of stuff that I think is just alright - but even the ones that are just alright still have that bass underpinning them and I like that
Standouts
Suck My Kiss
Give It Away
Under the Bridge
4/5
Very blues rock and fun vibe. Overall pretty enjoyable albeit a bit forgettable for me. Not many or the songs held my attention very well but they were all pleasent
Standouts
Stay with Me
3/5
James Taylor
3/5
Pretty standard folk rock. Moves close to country and blues on some tracks. It's pleasent to listen to, but I probably won't seek it out again.
Standouts
Sweet Baby James
Country Road
3/5
Linkin Park
5/5
It's wild to me that this album has been removed from the newer editions of the book... While today this is an incredibly commercial mainstream album, when it released it was everything but. Nu metal was a outsider and though a few bands had success with it nobody had the kind of success Linkin Park was about to have. Mike Shinoda's rap flow and production merged with Chester Bennington's vocal skills and deep emotions led to an almost instant shift in what was considered mainstream and introduced a whole new generation to metal
Standouts
Papercut
One Step Closer
Points of Authority
Crawling
In the End
5/5
Adele
4/5
Having only listened to the hits before I actually enjoyed a bunch of the other tracks on here. The hits are obviously hits, but they've also almost been played to death. I found the album soulfull/emotional and vocally strong.
Standouts
Rumor Has It
Turning Tables
Set Fire to the Rain
One And Only
4/5
Sex Pistols
3/5
I do enjoy punk from time to time. This one is pretty unspecatular for mee though. Culturally I've been learning that this had a huge influence, and while I've never heard any of it before (or at least don't remember it) I _have_ heard the name "Sex Pistols" before and was aware of their existence which is also a kind of indication of their impact
Standouts
Anarchy In The UK
3/5
The The
4/5
This one was kind of fun. I really enjoyed the very sharp and punchy kick drum on 'I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)' and the intense piano and xylophone on 'Uncertain Smile'
Standouts
I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)
Uncertain Smile
Giant
4/5
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
This one just kinda failed to catch and hold my attention it's not bad sounding, but it's just something I've heard and isn't able to remember much of
Standouts
When The Sun Goes Down
3/5
The Killers
4/5
I like the tempo of a lot of the tracks on here. You end up sort of getting pulled along. The lyrics are also pretty fun and/or interesting
Standouts
Mr. Brightside
Somebody Told Me
4/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
I'm probably commuting the 8th deadly sin by rating this one a 3, but it didn't feel super special to me on 2 listens through. The album cover is obviously iconic and has had a huge cultural impact. I think more people know that cover than knows where it's from. I kinda see what the point of the album is, but it's either not really for me, or I need to listen to it a lot more than the time allows on this list
Standouts
Brain Damage
Eclipse
3/5
Beth Orton
3/5
I liked the first track and found it a bit interesting but my interest quickly dropped and it just became a bit plain and samey
Standouts
Stolen Car
3/5
Eagles
3/5
I basically only know 'Hotel California' by the Eagles. And that one is not on this album. What is here though is fine, but feels very middle of the road country rock. And maybe that's because this is some of what defined the genre, but I still didn't find a ton that I was excited about here
Standouts
Witchy Woman
Nightingale
Tryin'
3/5
The Young Rascals
3/5
I don't think I can really remember anything from this album. I did listen to it and the music wasn't unpleasant, it just wasn't memorable
Standouts
Find Somebody
It's Love
3/5
The Who
4/5
The Who is one of those bands I've heard about and know the name of because it seems like everyone has heard of them. And I've for sure heard at least the riff from 'Baba O'Riley' and the scream from 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. I've heard 'Behind Blue Eyes' before, but I think I might only have heard the Limp Bizkit cover. All in all there's some interesting things going on here, and a lot of it I very easy to consume so I could see myself listen to it again
Standout
Baba O'Riley
Behind Blue Eyes
Won't Get Fooled Again
4/5
Coldplay
3/5
I think Coldplay will continue being a singles band for me. They've had some bangers through the years, including 'Clocks' from this album, but having listened to the whole of this album I don't find myself enjoying the rest of it nearly as much
Standouts
Clocks
Amsterdam
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I have to admit that I thought that I had a form of understanding of what Pet Shop Boys sounded like, but this album didn't sound like that at all. I actually enjoyed that and found the difference interesting but I probably won't remember to return to this, so in that sense the album didn't leave a big impression
Standouts
How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
Nervously
3/5
Pulp
4/5
Having only heard 'Common People' from Pulp before this is quite the difference. I think I probably need more time to fully appreciate what this is, so maybe I'll return to it some day and explore deeper. There seems to be some depth here
Standouts
Help The Aged
Sylvia
4/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Not a huge fan of this one. I was mostly just bored
Standouts
Christine's Tune
Hippie Boy
2/3
Isaac Hayes
4/5
I enjoyed this more than I expected. Primarily the later parts of the tracks where the electric organ or piano and the like go wild
Standouts
Walk On By
Hyperbolicsyllablecesquedalymistic
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I'm not mad at it, but I also still don't really get the Bob Marley hype. I probably wouldn't ever seek this out and put it on, but if it's already playing I'd be OK with listening to it
Standouts
No Woman No Cry
3/5
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
I particularly enjoyed the very punchy drums in this production. I knew a few of the tracks before, but have otherwise not really heard much Fleetwood Mac before though I know the name
Standouts
Don't Stop
The Chain
4/5
Tori Amos
4/5
I like it. The vocals are good and the kick drum quite punchy which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the varied piano play and buildup and such. 'Me and a Gun' is a haunting track and the choice of a capella means that there's nothing to hide behind
Standouts
Crucify
Winter
Me and a Gun
4/5
Caetano Veloso
1/5
Not my style. I'm not really into this kind of south-american music. I'm not sure I fully understand why because I like other kinds of exotic music... I probably also not helped by the fact that it's in a psychedelia fusion genre, and I already usually don't enjoy psychedelia normally.
Standouts
Clarice
1/5
David Bowie
4/5
This is so clearly different from the earlier Bowie stuff, and much more the stuff I like. There's some hits on here, but especially the tracks about Warhol and Dylan I found to be less interesting. It's a very clear way to credit the inspirations, it just wasn't musically interesting to me.
Standouts
Changes
Life On Mars?
Quicksand
4/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
I found this one a bit basic, I had hoped for better. It failed to capture my attention
Standouts
N.I.B
3/5
Björk
2/5
A bit too avant-garde for me I think. Or maybe it just needs more time to dive into than this format allows me
Standouts
Black Lake
2/5
New Order
4/5
I found this generally uninteresting, but the ambient tracks 'Sunrise' and 'Elegia' were so good that I might return to New Order in the future to see if they've made more of that stuff
Standouts
Sunrise
Elegia
4/5
Minor Threat
2/5
The best thing about this album is it's length. I was pretty bored the whole way through, but at least it was short so that's nice
Standouts
No Reason
Cashing In
2/5
Eagles
3/5
'Hotel California' is undoubtedly one of the tracks of all time. But I'm not sure it's good enough to make up for what is an otherwise pretty bland album in my opinion.
Standouts
Hotel California
3/5
4/5
This is where Bowie really starts for me personally. I don't enjoy most of his earlier stuff nearly as much. This album also had a very clear and huge impact on music as we know it now
Standouts
Starman
Ziggy Stardust
Suffgagette City
4/5
Korn
5/5
This album is really fun and really challenged the metal genre's old clichés. This is nothing like the classic metal of the 70's and 80's. But at the same time it's very metal. 'Freak On a Leash' is pretty much impossible to not have heard at least once if you are a metal head. It's in many ways a very fun feeling album, but the subjects it deals with are anything but. The bass is super heavy, but also a bit funky. The guitar has heavy riffs but also these spacy ambiance whines. And the vocal switches between dark and raspy to clear into basically scat. All of this makes this album very oppressive in it's sound, but at the same time also kind of silly. This was the album that really legitimized nu-metal
Standouts
Freak On a Leash
Seed
My Gift to You
5/5
Hawkwind
2/5
This feels like one of those kinds of albums which are progressively cooler the more drugs you are on. It probably also requires multiple listens to really get. And I just don't think I'll ever get around to giving it that.
Standouts
The Black Coridor
2/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
It's alright but I wasn't blown away and I probably won't return to this album again of my own volition. Nothing on here really caught my attention.
Standouts
Immigrant Song
3/5
Kanye West
4/5
Hoo boy... Seperating the art from the artist is particularly hard on this one in lieu of the recent events. That being said then this is about the greatest album, not the greatest people... And in that aspect this album is really strong. I've never heard it before but found myself going back to listen to my standout tracks multiple times
Standouts
All Falls Down
Never Let Me Down
The New Workout Plan
Through The Wire
4/5
The Temptations
3/5
Pleasant enough, but not a lot to catch my attention.
Standouts
Cloud Nine
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
I don't find psychedelic rock very interesting, it mostly just feels really same-y to me Nad never really makes an impact on me
Standouts
Moog Raga
3/5
Little Simz
3/5
Not really my preferred style of rap. The flow is good though and the beats are cool
Standouts
Offense
Boss
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
It's alright
Standouts
Mrs Vanderbilt
Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
3/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Its a somewhat interesting mix of country, jazz and pop, but not interesting enough to be memorable for me. I'll probably remember this one as the album that had the lesser cover of 'Unchained Melody'
Standouts
Unchained Melody
3/5
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Very impressive debut, and it opens with possibly the two biggest hits of Tracy Chapman's career. The rest of the album never quite reaches those heights again, so having it be that front-loaded is a bit of a double-edged sword. That said, the rest is fine, just not as good. 'Behind the Wall' being acapella really makes the message stand out
Standouts
Talkin' Bout a Revolution
Fast Car
Behind the Wall
4/5
Stereo MC's
3/5
I didn't really connect with this one. Technically it's fine, and it doesn't sound bad. I just found it a bit bland
Standouts
Step It Up
3/5
AC/DC
5/5
Personally I consider AC/DC a bit overplayed. But the fact that I even think that now 45 years after it's release speaks to the crazy staying power of this album. If it just wasn't that good it'd never still be overplayed even among people born 20 years after it's release. The lead singer switch for this album is absolutely pivotal for AC/DC as a whole, and by extension music history
Standouts
Shoot to Thrill
Back In Black
You Shook Me All Night Long
5/5
Solomon Burke
3/5
Very nice soul voice and generally an enjoyable album. Just not a lot stood out to me which means that I probably won't remember this in a few weeks
Standouts
Cry to Me
3/5
The Pogues
4/5
I like both The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly but I've never really listened to The Pogues and I'm learning that this is kind of where the genre started so that's a shame. There's some good stuff on here and I might listen to more The Pogues in the future for sure
Standouts
Turkish Song of the Damned
Fairytale of New York
Thousands Are Sailing
The Irish Rover
4/5
Elton John
3/5
Not exactly a very cohesive album I gotta say. But there's some big hits on here. And it's enjoyable enough to not suffer too badly from being a double album
Standouts
Candle in the Wind
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I've Seen That Movie Too
All The Girls Love Alice
Muddy Waters
3/5
I don't really like live albums most of the time, so this one is starting on the back foot already. Unfortunately, while the music is alright, it doesn't ever really capture my attention, and as so never gets past it being a live album
Standouts
I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man
I Got My Mojo Working
3/5
Adam & The Ants
2/5
This one didn't stand out to me much, but unlike most albums that doesn't stand out it also didn't just fade to the background which would have left it with a 3/5. It kept demanding my attention by being noisy, and then not delivering anything interesting enough to justify that demand
Standouts
Ants Invasion
Don't Be Square (Be There)
2/5
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
It's kinda weird but not in a bad way. At worst it's a little boring sometimes. The track titles are very long and a lot of them are pretty funny. I think I need more time to figure out if this is just one giant joke, or if there's something deeper here
Standouts
-
4/5
Beatles
3/5
Ive never really been much of a Beatles fan, and I think this journey is teaching me that I also won't likely become a Beatles fan anytime soon. At best it's fine, and at worst it's boring
Standouts
Eleanor Rigby
3/5
Kid Rock
4/5
I hear a lot of Rage against the machine and beastie boys in the flow and music here. I've never actually listened to a whole Kid Rock album before but I found it pretty enjoyable. I've obviously heard 'Bawitdaba' before, it's quite a classic, but I don't think I could have said that it was made by Kid Rock before.
Standouts
Bawitdaba
Devil Without a Cause
Only God Knows Why
4/5
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
The more of this list I listen to, the clearer it becomes to me that if a genre is called "psychedelic X" it's not going to be one of my favourites. That said I think the funk parts of this makes up for some of it and makes it at least somewhat interesting
Standouts
Little Child Runnin' Wild
Freddie's Dead
Superfly
3/5
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
It's alright ambiant music, it reminds me of a soundtrack in some ways and it totally could be for a space-y movie of some kind. Most tracks faded a bit into the background (as intended I guess) but a few of them had bits that kept my interest
Standouts
Oxygène (Part II)
Oxygène (Part V)
3/5
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Beautiful music, and the story behind this whole concert is wild too. It's almost hard to believe that it's all improvised and not just put together from pre-prepared segments
Standouts
Part I
4/5
Tom Tom Club
2/5
I don't like it. The beats feel stiff and the flow likewise. It almost feels like it's bad on purpose, but I get the feeling that they are completely serious. It's giving "Math's teacher doing hip-hop to try to make the kids think that it's cool" vibes
Standouts
Wordy Rappinghood
2/5
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Alanis has a pretty unique voice and I enjoy her attitude. This album in particular contains some of her top hits and they are still bangers today.
Standouts
You Oughta Know
Hand I My Pocket
Head Over Feet
Ironic
4/5
The Smiths
2/5
This one didn't really make an impression on me
Standouts
The Queen Is Dead
Frankly, Mr. Shankly
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
It's not hard to understand why Springsteen got the nickname "The Boss". He has presence, and a powerful voice. Some of the tracks on the album did become a bit "samey" in sound, but they always remained distinct songs and didn't flow together.
Standouts
Born In the USA
Cover Me
No Surrender
Dancing In the Dark
4/5
Maxwell
3/5
I know it's intentional, but the tracks kind of all just blended together for me and I ended up being a bit bored and forgetting to listen
Standouts
-
3/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
This is one of those legendary albums that I don't think I've ever listened to all the way through before. I like it, but it probably also suffers a bit from all the hype. I think what interested me the most was the disillusioned storytelling throughout the album. But what lost me the most was probably the same thing because it feels like there's not a lot of clearly defined tracks. Sometimes the end of one track is stuck onto the start of another, which I guess isn't as bad on an LP, but with track based listening it makes the lines very blurry and the listening experience a bit jarring. I prefer this album over "Dark Side of the Moon"
Standouts
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
3/5
The Stooges
3/5
This one became a bit forgettable for me. It wasn't great, but it also wasn't really bad, so it didn't really stand out much
Standouts
Search and Destroy
Death Trip
3/5
Death In Vegas
3/5
This one often got a bit too psychedelic for me but I did like the atmosphere quite a but on some of the tracks
Standouts
Death Threat
Aisha
3/5
3/5
I for sure like some tracks more than others on this one, but I guess that's the nature of experimentation. For some reason the intro riff of 'Morning Will Come' reminds me quite a bit of "Sex On Fire" by "Kings of Leon"
Standouts
Prelude - Nothin' To Hide
Nature's Way
Morning Will Come
3/5
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
Psychedelia and folk rock are some of the genres I consistently end up not enjoying very much. I simply just tend to get bored when listening to a whole album of that stuff, and this one is no exception
Standouts
Bluebird
2/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
The best Iggy Pop album I've heard so far and one that might actually merit listening to again to see if there's more below the surface
Standouts
The Passenger
Turn Blue
4/5
Public Enemy
3/5
Sound wise this is very much the hip-hop of the era, or at the very least the sound of what would become the black hip-hop flow in the 90's. It's fine but it always just ends up reminding me of MC Hammer or Sir Mixalot since that's probably the 90's hip-hop artists I've listened to the most. And that ends up undercutting the edge of the is album quite a bit for me. I preferred "Fear Of A Black Planet" over this one
Standouts
Bring The Noise
Caught, Can We Get A Witness?
She Watch Channel Zero?!
Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
I like it. It's not an album I'd recommend to just anyone, but if they like ambiant music I might suggest they check it out. It's a bit of a mixed bag, but nothing is weird enough to really stand out in a negative way.
Standouts
Over Fire Island
The Big Ship
Becalmed
Spirits Drifting
4/5
Bert Jansch
4/5
This one turned out to be more interesting than I initially thought. It was not at all what I expected when I read "Scottish folk singer" before listening and I was a bit disappointed before I eventually started enjoying some of the more jazzy bits
Standouts
Oh How Your Love Is Strong
Casbah
Angie
4/5
Sheryl Crow
4/5
Maybe it's just because I've had a lot of heavily instrumental 60's stuff lately and that it's just nice to have something more pop-y for a change, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit
Standouts
Leaving Las Vegas
Solidify
All I Wanna Do
4/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
I basically remember nothing from this album, barely even what genre it is, and I listened to it just a few days ago...
What I do remember is that it wasn't bad, it just didn't leave much of a impression
Standouts
-
3/5
The Offspring
4/5
The Offspring is one of those bands that I like sometimes and other times just find a bit tiresome. They usually have high energy which I like and the tracks on this album are no exception. The album contains a few of their all time biggest hits, but a lot of the other songs disappeared a bit for me. A lot of them sounded similarly enough that I probably wouldn't be able to pick them out.
Standouts
Come Out and Play
Self Esteem
What Happened to You?
4/5
Grateful Dead
3/5
I don't really have anything bad to say about the music from a technical point of view. It's just the kind of music that never really seems to grip me
Standouts
Box of Rain
Ripple
2/5
Love
3/5
Just strange enough to keep my attention most of the time, but I'll probably still forget about it quite quickly and I don't think I will feel a need to revisit this
Standouts
She Comes In Colors
Revelation
3/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
It was a interesting take on jazz, but the novelty wore off pretty quick for me I think, and from there it was just something that played in the background
Standouts
Song For Sathima
3/5
Santana
2/5
This one is a bit strange, I'm not quite sure how to explain it other than guitar and hand drums. It didn't really manage to capture and hold my attention with its instrumentals, and the vocals didn't help much
Standouts
Se a Cabo
2/5
Metallica
4/5
I think what this list is doing to me is mostly showing me a bunch of stuff that I rate 3 and that ends up pushing me to want to rate the few albums that do stand out 5 just because they are a breath of air. This is one of them... I don't think this is a 5/5 album, but I still had the impulse to give it a 5 anyway
Standouts
One
The Shortest Straw
Harvester Of Sorrow
4/5
The Smiths
4/5
After having listened to "The Queen Is Dead" earlier on the list I was expecting this to be something else than what it turned out to be. This was surprisingly different and I could see myself possibly returning to this at some later point to give it a bit more time
Standouts
Death of a Disco Dancer
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
4/5
John Lennon
4/5
Music from the 60'ies is usually a pretty uphill battle with me. I just find most of it plain boring. This one stands out a bit more, 'Imagine' being an all time top hit and I found the diss track aspect of 'How Do You Sleep?' a bit intriguing. There's probably more depth in the other tracks too, but they didn't leave much of an impression on me
Standouts
Imagine
How Do You Sleep?
4/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
The album starts very strong with the first three tracks being great. From there at tone of the album changes to a more sad/introspective which actually is OK, but suddenly felt like a bit of a rug-pull with with where my expectations were after the first few tracks. The vocals here are really good, and while I was not sure if we were supposed to listen to them because they are on the deluxe edition I found that I liked the acoustic versions of these tracks better than the originals.
Standouts
Zero
Heads Will Roll
Soft Shock
4/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
This is one of the best albums from the 60's so far. On my initial listen I was ready to give this a 3, but on my second way through I noticed more intricacies and changed my mind. Particularly the layered vocals caught my attention a lot more.
Standouts
Scarborough Fair / Canticle
Patterns
Homeward Bound
4/5
Oasis
3/5
The tracks on this one blended together quite a bit for me. There were some enjoyable bits in there for sure, and nothing was bad. I just can't name much that stood out to me on this one
Standouts
Supersonic
Married With Children
3/5
Nitin Sawhney
4/5
This one was quite a ride. I found it basically impossible to predict what the next track would sound like based on the previous. That made the whole thing not super cohesive - and yet in a strange way it also provided some cohesion in a way. I don't know if I will every return to this, but it did keep my attention and it was an experience
Standouts
Homelands
Serpents
The Conference
4/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
The more introspective songs on this one didn't really grab me. That leaves the few more classic Beach Boys tracks to carry the album for me and that wasn't enough for me
Standouts
Do You Want To Dance
Good To My Baby
3/5
ZZ Top
4/5
ZZ Top is one of those bands I've been aware of for a very long time, but where I've only listened to maybe a few tracks and never sought out. If someone had asked me to guess what an album of theirs sounded like I wouldn't have guessed this but rather something harder. I've enjoyed my time with the album, it's pretty nice driving music
Standouts
Waitin' for the Bus
La Grange
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
I liked this more than I expected, I'm pleasently surprised that Paul Simon managed to write something that sounded more modern and had more introspection than a lot of the stuff he made with Garfunkel. That said it's still not really my style but it's alright
Standouts
Allergies
Think Too Much (a)
3/5
Minutemen
2/5
This is a very long and not very cohesive album. I like a lot of the experimentation with fusing punk and all sorts of other genres but that also left me missing a clearer through-line. This can work. I've heard this kind of album work before. But those albums also didn't have 43 tracks that switch style every 2 minutes. Nothing had time to leave a lasting impression on me, and then something new came along
Standouts
-
2/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
As someone who only really knew "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen this was an interesting look into what kind of music he makes, and it honestly wasn't what I expected. And I kind of like it. A lot of the tracks on this album builds up to be very angry/passionate and that just really worked for me. Maybe it's because recently I've heard a lot of 60'ies stuff where it seems almost a crime to show passion in your voice, I don't know
Standouts
Last Year's Man
Dress Rehearsal Rag
Diamonds in the Mine
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
The Brian Eno influences, especially on the back half of the album are very evident and is a very interesting glimpse of what he was going to create in the following years. Aside from that there's a few classic Bowie hits to be enjoyed on here
Standouts
Beauty and the Beast
Heroes
Sense of Doubt
4/5
Elvis Presley
4/5
This is it. The album that started modern music and kicked off rock and roll. It's early Elvis and before studio recording and such so the album suffers a bit from having a lot of the tracks be very noticeably from different recordings and that's a bit of a shame with modern ears. Ultimately there's a few solid hits on here and while the album is short and sweet it's impact can't be overstated
Standouts
Blue Suede Shoes
I Got a Woman
Tutti Frutti
4/5
Beatles
4/5
Finally a Beatles album that enjoyed listening to. This one doesn't sound like it's from the 60'ies but rather more modern. It's also not psychedelic like so much from that decade.
Standouts
A Hard Day's Night
Can't Buy Me Love
Any Time At All
4/5
Stereolab
2/5
When this album was at its best was when I barely noticed it was there. At its worst I was starting to consider skipping because I was bored.
Standouts
The Noise Of Carpet
2/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This album both kind of disappointed me and surprised me. I'm not entirely sure what my expectations were when I saw "The Rolling Stones" on the cover, but this wasn't quite it. At the same time I was positively surprised by some of the tracks and the general vibe of the album
Standouts
Let It Bleed
You Can't Always Get What You Want
4/5
Yes
3/5
I think this suffers from being prog and simply needing more time to really sink in, but due to the nature of this list and only having one day to listen it kind of gets a rough deal. I feel like this might have some potential on repeat listenings
Standouts
Perpetual Change
3/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
This one was pretty enjoyable, but probably a bit forgettable for me. I don't think I'll remember much from this album. 'Mr. Tambourine Man' was good but dragged on for a few minutes too long
Standouts
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Mr. Tambourine Man
Gates of Eden
3/5
Tina Turner
3/5
A few bangers on this one, and I found it interesting that a lot of well known artists wrote a bunch of the tracks. Ultimately though I don't think the rest of the album holds up to the level of the hits
Standouts
What's Love Got To Do With It
Private Dancer
3/5
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Normally I'm not really into Acid rock or psychedelic rock, but this one was quite alright and especially a few of the tracks caught my attention more than I'd expected.
Standouts
Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
Section 43
The Masked Marauder
3/5
Tim Buckley
2/5
Not really my style. Two of the tracks were a bit interesting, but overall most tracks were either forgettable or leaning towards annoying
Standouts
No Man Can Find The War
Goodbye and Hello
2/5
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
There's some interesting sounding stuff on this album, ultimately nothing really stood out to me and left a lasting impression in my memory. Like I know I listened to the album, but if I listened to it again today it would probably be close to a first listen again, but I enjoyed the listen that much I remember, it was very pleasant and nice listen that I wouldn't mind doing again
Standouts
Hero
Final Days
Light
3/5
Nirvana
4/5
This is a good album, but I think I find that I often prefer the MTV Unplugged versions of the tracks more than these versions. That makes it hard for me to justify top marks for this one. I think some of it is just that I prefer the mix where it's easier to hear the vocals. That really brings out a lot from songs like 'Pennyroyal Tea' for me as opposed to the version on here which is drowning in guitar
Standouts
Heart-Shaped Box
Rape Me
Dumb
4/5
Girls Against Boys
3/5
I didn't dislike any of this one, but I also don't remember a single song from the entire album. This makes it a bit hard to review I guess.
Standouts
-
3/5
Steve Winwood
3/5
Pretty smooth and soft, hard to be offended by. Unfortunately for me it also just didn't demand my attention much, so it ended up being quite forgettable
Standouts
While You See A Chance
Night Train
3/5
Lauryn Hill
4/5
I didn't think I'd like this one as much as I ended up doing. There's some really cold bars on here "I'ma get the mozzarella like a Rockefeller Still be in the church of Lalibela, singing hymns a cappella whether posed in Mirabella" has such a nice flow
Standouts
Lost Ones
Final Hour
Everything Is Everything
4/5
The Cars
4/5
Very pleasent and easy to hear how this could/would set the tone for a lot of the stuff soon to come in the 80's just a few years later.
Standouts
My Best Friend's Girl
Just What I Needed
4/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
This either doesn't really match my music taste, or I need to listen to it a lot more for it to open up for me. It's not that it was bad by any measure. But I also didn't really feel like it was that good
Standouts
80s Life
The Good, The Bad And The Queen
3/5
The Jam
3/5
I like the more punk tracks on this album, but a lot of the other stuff is fine also. It mostly just didn't leave a strong impression on me
Standouts
Mr. Clean
Billy Hunt
3/5
Anita Baker
3/5
Very smooth and nice but I don't think it's likely that I will remember it and return to it ever on purpose
Standouts
Caught Up in the Rapture
No One in the World
3/5
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
There's some nice elements on this album, but it's quite simply too long for what it is. The tracks sound too similar and if you'd played them for me one at a time spread out I might have enjoyed them more. But tightly packed like this it becomes too much and very clear how same-y the tracks sound and none of them ends up standing out
Standouts
Luck of Lucien
2/5
Alice In Chains
4/5
I've always been aware of Alice In Chains, but never really taken the time to listen to their stuff. It's pretty good. I think that this is one of those albums that really unfolds on repeated listens which this new album per day format doesn't really reward much
Standouts
Rain When I Die
Junkhead
God Smack
4/5
Black Sabbath
5/5
I don't think there can be much debate about Black Sabbath's importance and influence on music history and music as we know it. Also R.I.P. Ozzy Osborne who just died
Standouts
War Pigs
Paranoid
Iron Man
5/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Very smooth, I kind of forgot to listen because it just played very chill in the background. Pretty short too, I must have listened through it like 4 times before I really thought about it
Standouts
The Girl From Ipanema
Baubles, Bangles And Beads
3/5
Beck
2/5
I really only know Loser by Beck and I think that's still true. I think this album may need to be listened to quite a bit to really open up if it ever really will for me. It's quite weird and unusual but not in a immidiately cool or fun way
Standouts
Devils Haircut
2/5
Love
2/5
Folk rock and psychedelia are not genres I enjoy much is one of the things I've learned from this journey so far. This album has not changed my mind about that. I found it unremarkable and incapable of catching my attention
Standouts
Andmoreagain
2/5
Jacques Brel
4/5
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. It's still in French and I don't know that I'll return to it probably for that reason. But a lot of the emotion really came through anyway which surprised me.
Standouts
Amsterdam
Les Toros Avec Final
4/5
Cheap Trick
3/5
Much better than I expected when I saw it was a live album. Ultimately it's still a live album though. I like the energy, I dislike the screaming audience and the fact it sounds like it's recorded from far away and is almost a bit hollow in its sound
Standouts
Come On, Come On
I Want You to Want Me
Clock Strikes Ten
3/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Very nice album. I enjoy the funky Stevie Wonder tracks the most and thankfully there's a few of those on here
Standouts
Boogie On Reggae Woman
You Haven't Done Nothin'
4/5
Miles Davis
2/5
Jazz is still not really my thing it would seem. I read that this album was under appreciated when it came out and later gained renown. Maybe I'm one of those people who wouldn't have liked it on release
Standouts
Darn That Dream
2/5
Kanye West
2/5
The beats were pretty sick in a lot of cases, but lyrically this is some of the weakest I've heard from Kanye. On multiple tracks he rhymes the same word with itself like 8 times. The texts have become generic drug, bitches, money tracks with a bit of illusions of grandure thrown in but without anything interesting to say. It's a 40 min exercise in self-fallatio and a waste of some pretty cool beats.
Standouts
-
2/5
Deerhunter
3/5
Dream pop has this issue for me where things don't tend to leave an impression on me. And anything psychedelic often faces the same issue for me. So I guess I should have seen this coming, but I'm still surprised that I remember absolutely nothing of what I listened to yesterday other than it didn't sound terrible
Standouts
-
3/5
Deep Purple
4/5
Very nice and clearly an album that has put its mark on history. 'Living Wreck' gives me a lot of "Smoke on the Water" vibes so it's easy to hear where that would come from a few years later.
Standouts
Flight of the Rat
Living Wreck
4/5
Tears For Fears
3/5
Some bangers on this one. Some of the tracks could probably be shortened from 6 min to 4 min and be better for it, but they are still good
Standouts
Shout
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Head Over Heels / Broken
4/5
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Pleasent enough, but I constantly forget to pay attention. It just doesn't catch or keep my attention.
Standouts
Join The Boys
3/5
Everything But The Girl
3/5
I wasn't really sold on this in the first half, but the back half of the album was pretty good.
Standouts
Lonesome for a Place I Know
Apron Strings
3/4
Aimee Mann
4/5
I wasn't sure if I should give this a 3 or a 4, but based on how long I was deliberating and how kinda-interesting I was when I just flipped through the songs again I think I've deemed that this one might be one that opens up more on multiple listens and deserves a 4
Standouts
I Should've Known
Stupid Thing
Mr. Harris
3/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
This is a legendary album, probably mostly because of 'Stairway to Heaven' which I personally believe is a bit overhyped. It's a great track, but I don't think it holds up as "the greatest song ever written" as some want to make it out to be. The rest of the album is of a lesser quality and I don't think that's enough to carry the album to a 5/5
Standouts
Black Dog
Stairway to Heaven
When the Levee Breaks
4/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
This one is very atypical. I like the parts that's more Gothic ambiance but then mostly dislike the parts that are more dream-pop
Standouts
Otterley
3/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
2/5
Not great. The sound quality is not great and some of that is probably just because it's very old, but I've heard way better recordings from the 50's. Aside from that I found the voice unpleasant on a lot of the tracks, and the lyrics didn't really capture me
Standouts
Salty Dog
2/5
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
I didn't enjoy this one. I guess that makes it good punk because it's pretty inaccessible to me and I think that's the point. So I guess that from a certain point of view that makes it a great album that achieves what it sets out to do. But from a point of view of whether I think it's enjoyable or not it's a poor album
Standouts
-
1/5
The Who
3/5
This album has a bunch of song titles that remind me of newer tracks from other bands and now I'm wondering if those newer ones are references to this album. Unfortunately I don't think the music is great
Standouts
My Generation
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I like the first half of the album with just Niel more than the last half. The last part is interesting but with the clear comparison to the first part I find that the fist part connects more with me
Standouts
My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
Pocahontas
4/5
Jungle Brothers
2/5
I'm just not a big hip-hop fan I don't think. There was some interesting lyrics about discrimination and such sometimes but I will not return to this album
Standouts
Acknowledge Your Own History
2/5
Elastica
3/5
It was alright, but unfortunately I don't remember anything else from listening to the album. Maybe that's because I had a busy day and didn't pay enough attention, or maybe it just didn't leave a strong impression other than it was generally alright.
Standouts
-
3/5
Sebadoh
3/5
Interesting, I've never heard of Sebadoh before and while some of the tracks are just weird and not great there's some that are interesting in different ways. It's not an easy album to describe though
Standouts
No Way Out
Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)
3/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
I really enjoyed the darker more Gothic sound on this one as well as the reflections on mortality
Standouts
You Want It Darker
4/5
Pixies
3/5
I'm sure I listened to this album yesterday, I have clear memories of hearing music and lyrics and that it was alright. I just have basically no memory of what that music was or what the songs were about
Standouts
-
3/5
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
This one is an interesting genre-mix. There's clearly a lot of hip hop, but also elements of R&B and possibly some soul. Some tracks remind me of Amy Winehouse
Standouts
It Takes More - Bloodshy Main Mix
3/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
I don't think I've listened to this exact kind of music before. It's kind of punk, but also not really punk. And I don't know if that makes it better or worse. It was good enough that I didn't mind listening to most of the tracks, and the ones that I enjoyed less weren't terrible. It's not in the high end of 3, but I also don't think it's quite a 2
Standouts
Tunic (Song For Karen)
3/5
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I wanted to enjoy this, but the whole big band sound with this happy lovesong vibe is just super uninteresting to me. Even though the songs were short they felt long to me. I enjoyed Sinatra's style on "In The Small Wee Hours" much more
Standouts
-
2/5
Depeche Mode
3/5
Some interesting elements on here, but a little too dream/chamber pop for me a lot of the time. I like their later stuff more I think
Standouts
Strangelove
Little 15
3/5
ABBA
4/5
Ive never really considered myself an ABBA fan. Not that I don't like them, they are fine, they have some catchy big hits. But I guess this list makes fools of us all and maybe I just kinda like ABBA or maybe they are just so much better than a lot of the other stuff I've heard recently that they shine in contrast. At any rate this was an enjoyable album and whether I want to or not (I do) I will encounter a bunch of these songs again in my life just due to their sheer popularity and staying power. And somehow only 1 (one) of the tracks on here is in ABBA's top ten most played on Spotify
Standouts
Dancing Queen
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Money, Money, Money
4/5
Spacemen 3
2/5
Boring. For the best of the songs I simply just don't remember them, for the worst they actively started to annoy me. It's like it's too complicated for all the band members to actually play music at the same time so there's usually one member who just gets the same 4 beats and have to repeat them over and over for 11 minutes. Sometimes it even feels like one of the other band members get bored and try to do something more interesting but get shushed or something (they stop immediately) like on 'Suicide' the few times when the drummer tries to jump in
Standouts
Suicide
Lord Can You Hear Me
2/5
Rod Stewart
3/5
It was alright, if a bit unmemorable. His voice is pretty cliche folk/country and he sang fine. I did kind of forget to pay attention to what he was singing most of the time, but I did find it a kind of odd choice to end one of the songs with some silence, then an instrumental lead up and finally ending with a verse of 'Amazing Grace'. Now that I think about it in retrospect I guess it could have been a song of the entire life of a person, and the silence followed by 'Amazing Grace' could be death and funeral... But as I said I didn't listen enough to the lyrics to be sure
Standouts
Maggie May
Mandolin Wind
3/5
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
This album is still what Cyndi Lauper is primarily known for. And the sound here is quintessential 80's pop. If you ask someone to name a random 80's pop-hit there's a pretty good chance that they will say "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". This came early enough in the 80's that it clearly influenced the sound of the entire decade
Standouts
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Time After Time
All Through the Night
4/5
The Auteurs
4/5
I was very back and forth on this one and whether it was a big 3 or a small 4. I like a lot of what's going on here, especially the hidden track, but there's also a lot of it that while alright and pleasent enough failed to leave an impression on me
Standouts
American Guitars
Valet Parking
Sub Culture (Hidden track)
4/5
3/5
I don't think k listened closely enough to really get caught by the story lines on the album
Standouts
Australia
3/5
The Electric Prunes
3/5
This one is a bit of a mixed bag. The first few tracks remind me of Pink Floyd, but then it becomes more Beatles further down. None of it is really bad, but it's also not great
Standouts
I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)
The King Is in the Counting House
Try Me on for Size
3/5
Fela Kuti
2/5
I don't think I'm ever really going to be an afrobeat fan, and this album hasn't changed that. While the music isn't horrible in general it still just doesn't really interest me. I think it's down to the core elements of what makes something afrobeat that just doesn't interest me
Standouts
Mr. Follow Follow
2/5
Van Halen
5/5
Iconic album, huge hits, and an undeniably massive impact on the history of rock and metal. Among the psychedelic rock of the '70-ties this album stands out as something completely different and as a harbinger of things to come
Standouts
Eruption
You Really Got Me
... Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
5/5
Joni Mitchell
2/5
This one becomes a bit to navel-gazing for me. I get the concept, but it doesn't really work for me very well.
Standouts
A Strange Boy
2/5
Django Django
4/5
I liked the first half of the album more than the last half I think. Maybe that's because the first tracks are best, or maybe it just became less novel to me as the tracks went on. I find the mix of synths and physical percussion instruments interesting
Standouts
Default
Waveforms
Zumm Zumm
Silver Rays
4/5
Television
3/5
It's enjoyable enough, but nothing I'll remember after a little bit and I'll probably not be returning to this album in the future. There's stuff I'd rather listen to and I'll probably completely forget about this one soon
Standouts
Marquee Moon
3/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Very soulful. The woman is clearly very talented with one hell of a voice. I like all the extra layers in the songs with the different adlibs going on
Standouts
Respect
Soul Serenade
4/5
The Cure
4/5
I have been back and forth on whether this one was a large 3 or a small 4. Ultimately I've landed on a small 4 since I could see myself returning to this at some point in the future to give it a bit more time. I found the atmosphere very interesting but I probably didn't listen enough to the lyrics to really appreciate everything.
Standouts
-
4/5
Ride
3/5
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It's not terrible, but I also didn't really enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I think that the guitar and such just became a bit too noisy, but at the same time that also makes this really oppressive atmosphere which is cool in a way
Standouts
Paralyzed
3/5
Air
3/5
I likes a lot of the ambiance on this one, but it often kind of fell too much in the background and I forgot to notice it. That can be a sign of good ambiance, but it's hard to say since I forgot to notice
Standouts
Suicide Underground
3/5
ZZ Top
5/5
ZZ Top is one of those bands I've always been aware of and I've heard some of their hits, but I've never thought about how iconic, different and impactful they were before. They have a very recognizable guitar that I think I might now be able to associate with them correctly.
Standouts
Gimme All Your Lovin'
Sharp Dressed Man
5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Very weird that this album had such a massive difference between the UK and US release of this album. Paint It Black is legendary and it's not on the album that was included on the list for some reason
Standouts
Mother's Little Helper
Paint It Black (US version of the album)
Under My Thumb
3/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Leonard Cohen is quickly becoming one of the big wins of this list for me. I've never really listened to him or known what his music was like before, but this is the 3rd album of his I hear from the list and I've consistently rated them 4/5. In no way perfect, but something I very well might return to and explore deeper in the future.
Standouts
First We Take Manhattan
... Everybody Knows
Jazz Police
4/5
Sam Cooke
4/5
I think I'm learning that I like old live albums a lot more than modern live albums. They are just different in some way. There's a lot of passion on this album which manages to just pull it up to a 4 for me
Standouts
Twistin' The Night Away
Having a Party
4/5
CHIC
3/5
This is before the "Disco Sucks" movement but unfortunately as I understand it CHIC's continued success was stopped pretty dead when the movement started. I think this is a shame, it could have been cool to hear what this pretty solid base would have developed into
Standouts
Le Freak
I Want Your Love
3/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
Maybe it will get better if you listen to it over and over, or maybe it's better when you are high? I find that I just really don't enjoy psychedelic rock at all, and while this adds a bunch of strange noises to switch it up it's just not enough
Standouts
Astronomy Domine
Lucifer Sam
The Scarecrow
3/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
I kinda like some of it, a lot of the guitar is very cool, but the same pattern often repeats for the entire song and it becomes very long and kind of repetitive. It's probably technically impressive and very innovative for its time, but I don't find it to be something I'd want to listen to for enjoyment
Standouts
Kissability
3/5
Elton John
5/5
I mostly know Elton John from his big hits and I was kind of surprised by the intensity and passion in these more melancholic songs that I don't think I've heard or at least not heard a lot before
Standouts
... Tiny Dancer
Madman Across The Water
Indian Sunset
5/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
This is a great album, you can already hear that signature Michael Jackson sound that would take the world by storm in the years to come.
Standouts
Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough
Rock with You
Off The Wall
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
This style of rap is not really my style, and I find it unlikely that I'll return to any of these tracks in the future. That said then the beats were pretty cool on some of the tracks at times.
Standouts
Money Trees
m.A.A.d city
3/5
The Charlatans
3/5
I don't remember a single thing from this, it just became background noise for me, and if that had been on purpose then this would have gotten a better score, but I don't think it was. I didn't dislike the music, it just didn't grip my attention either
Standouts
-
3/5
Suede
3/5
This one was close between 3 and 4. There's definitely something interesting here that in some ways I'd like to explore more. But at the same time it's not interesting enough that I think I'll ever actually do that and so it becomes a 3 from me.
Standouts
The Next Life
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I somehow ended up liking the really long tracks the best on this one which is usually not how it goes. Both of them are 50% or more guitar solos and somehow pulls that off without becoming repetitive and boring which is otherwise usually what happens for me when they are that long. These kept me engaged and that's a sign of some great work.
Standouts
Down by the River
Running Dry
Cowgirl in the Sand
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
Not really my style of rap. I don't really know how to explain it fully but the flow just isn't satisfying to me and the lyrics are too much bitches, drugs and gangbanging
Standouts
-
2/5
2Pac
3/5
I don't think I'll ever fully understand the Tupac hype, it's just not really my style and that's OK. I think the album is alright, but I don't really find a need to listen to it again and probably won't
Standouts
Intro
Young Niggaz
Death Around The Corner
3/5
Fred Neil
3/5
Ive never heard of Fred Neil before so it's interesting to find out that he was this important influence on folk rock. That said I don't think it's a fantastic album, but it's alright, and that's an experience I have with a lot of these albums that pave the way, usually the truly great albums comes after the way has been paved and the concepts have been refined
Standouts
The Dolphins
Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga
3/5
Ramones
5/5
Oi Oh! Let's Go! I don't always enjoy pink, but this one is pretty great. They show up, say their piece and leave without overstaying their welcome. And it's very obvious that this became the blueprint for many many many punk bands since
Standouts
Blitzkrieg Bop
Beat on the Brat
5/5
Dolly Parton
5/5
Dolly Parton is an institution and with good reason as can be heard on this album which came out after her quick and deserved rise to fame. Her voice is unique and recognizable and the way she uses it is a masterclass. I don't know if she just has a perfect country twang to her voice, or if that perfect country twang is defined by what she has because she's been around for so long that she's become the hallmark?
Standouts
Coat of Many Colors
If I Lose My Mind
Here I Am
5/5
Buena Vista Social Club
2/5
The music wasn't so bad, I was mostly just really bored and had to convince myself to not switch to something else.
Standouts
-
2/5
Method Man
2/5
Wu-Tang just isn't my style I don't think. I have yet to like one of the albums the group or its members has made
Standouts
Release Yo' Delf
2/5
Pink Floyd
4/5
I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan, I've found a lot of their albums pretty hard to get into or a bit boring. I think I like this one a bit more than most I've heard. It has a bit of a different style to it that I prefer
Standouts
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. I-V)
4/5
Devendra Banhart
3/5
This one was a bit of a strange one. The lyrics were pretty weird on a bunch of the tracks which I found interesting, and the music was fine. Not something I'm likely to return to in the future, but an ok listen
Standouts
Insect eyes
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Im more of a murder ballads kind of person I think. It's not that this is bad, it's just not as good at holding my attention
Standouts
Into My Arms
3/5