A very pleasant listen. Out on the Weekend started it off very nicely. Heart of Gold is an absolute gem. Old Man was lovely. Words (Between the Lines of Age) was a cool way to end it. Apparently Young made this mostly acoustic due to a back(?) injury he picked up on his ranch. Easy 4 stars, but the other songs, although pleasant, were not very memorable.

groovy

nice hip hop grooves, produced by Kanye. Not one I'll go back to very often though. 67/100

jazz classic, what more to be said.

2000s indie, standard enough. Heads Will Roll, Soft Shock and Skeltons were my song highlights (latter especially). Decent 3.28 star I'd say. Like the electronic influences.

The third of four on the magical Off the Wall - Thriller - Bad - Dangerous run from Michael Jackson. How to follow up from Thriller, the greatest selling album of all time? Mr Jackson wanted to sell 100,000,000 copies of Bad (Thriller sold 72m) but never reached such a level with this. And if I'm honest, although it's a very solid album, I think it's the weakest on this incredible four album run. This album did encourage me to go on a Michael Jackson marathon and boy was that a wonderful journey. Very interesting to see all the other names and characters that were involved in the development of this album and music videos (Martin Scorsese directed the video for the song Bad, which was supposed to be a duet with Prince!). Also being reminded of how important dance was to MJ by watching some of the music videos associated to the album (or short films, as he liked to call them). 4.2 stars. Liberian girl may have been my favourite revelation from this listen.

some nice songs but I spent most of the time waiting for it to be over. 2.4 stars as there are some lovely basslines and some of the songs hit well.

what a refreshing listen! I hope this list will have more global music like this, it really opens the mind. A very pleasant listen. At the start I was a bit unsure of what I thought of it, but it built very well as the album progressed. Have never heard music from Mali before, but will definitely go on the search for more West African music now! A solid 4 stars from me. Will return. Favourite songs: Savane Soya Machengoidi Soko Yhinka Banga

This put me on a long overdue Led Zeppelin marathon. In doing this, I could put some perspective on where this particular album stands in their collection. Definitely an interesting listen, a solid 3.8 stars (rounded up to 4) for me. The Rover and Kashmir as my favourite songs. I do think it was slightly too long though, at 82 minutes. Nonetheless, good starting point for a timeless band.

ughhhh. While I can respect the impact Nirvana have had on music, they're the first band I've come across on this that I really wanted to turn off halfway through. However, "Heart-Shaped Box", "Pennyroyal Tea", and "All Apologies" were all decent listens. Deciding between 2 and 3 stars presented quite the dilemma. Go with my gut, basing it solely off the music I heard and give them two? Or try to claim that "I understood them" and give them three for street cred? Ultimately decided on the former. Nevermind is the only Nirvana album I can struggle through.

Very funky. Makes me want to explore the US more. Ghettos and all. Favourite song: Cisco Kid Very honourable mention to the three long tracks in a row: City, Country, City Four Cornered Room The World is a Ghetto Great find.

This looked promising. Cool album cover. Description had me initially sold - a chance to find an overlooked, forgotten gem? Couldn't wait. But ultimately, a very average album. Nice in parts, with "Another Friday Night" and "Waiting for the Moving Van" being good listens, but ultimately nothing to really note here. Not sure it deserves a spot on this list tbh. Sounded like a cheesy movie in parts. I really wanted to love this album; become one of Mr Arckles' few listeners on Spotify. But oh well. A not unpleasant but ultimately uninspiring 2*.

nah. Human NRG and Possible Worlds showed promise and bump it up to 1.8 stars, which I'll round off to 2 for generosity's sake.

The Black Crowes' (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) "Shake your Money Maker" is not my cup of tea to be honest. Sounds very ZZ Top to me, or like something you'd hear on the movie "Cars". Not necessarily bad things, but just not my favourite type of music. Favourite songs: Seeing Things She Talks to Angels (written by one of the band members when they were 15!) 3.3* for me.

Wow, what an album. Perfect length, amazing atmosphere, booming bass, Robert Smith's unique vocals. The Cure's second album, recorded on a low budget (the song "The Final Sound" was supposed to be more than 52 seconds but they ran out of tape). I saved most of the album to my "album era playlist", a first on this run of album listens. I also immediately played the entire album again upon finishing. A good sign! I imagine myself coming back to this album regularly. Favourites: Play for Today Secrets In Your House A Forest M At Night Seventeen Seconds 5 stars. Best I've heard thus far here.

Vulgar is probably the best way of describing this album, for better and for worse. Was interesting though. A low 3 stars.

oh man, I just found this album annoying. Probably cruel to give it my first one star as I'm sure much worse will follow, but I just got nothing from this and two stars seems too generous. vocals were more annoying than anything I've ever heard.

looking at the writers' credits for this album was an education in the who's who of pop production. Max Martin, Greg Kurstin, Bruno Mars, even Rick Rubin who was unimpressed by an earlier version of the album. Following up 19 (my personal favourite of hers) and 21 was always going to be difficult, and Adele claimed she suffered writer's block for years. Working with those at the forefront of pop production always helps! But ultimately I think this falls a bit flat compared to her older stuff. Less soul behind it. Of course, vocal performance as always was stunning, but it was brought down by "safe" songwriting and an overly-pop feel (I understand why she went further down that route though - the album was credited with saving the pop music industry the year it came out!). Also interesting to note that all the other big names in pop music (apart from Coldplay) rescheduled release dates to avoid chart competition with Adele. Some power! Favourite songs: When We Were Young (co-written with Tobias Jesso Jr.) Love in the Dark (co-written with Samuel Dixon) Million Years Ago (co-written with Greg Kurstin) All I Ask (co-written with Bruno Mars and his entourage - and it indeed sounds like a quintessential Bruno Mars song...) Sweetest Devotion (co-written with Paul Epworth, some nice instumentals on this one) I hope that this is not the only Adele album they chose for this list. If it is, I really wonder why 19 or even 21 weren't chosen instead. 3.3*

The best-selling album of the 21st century. A number one album in countries as diverse as Brazil and Denmark, South Africa and Mexico, Argentina and Hungary. 21 seems simple in its premise: a break-up album with rare occasions for other topics. If you take a step back and think about it as a piece of art written by one person about another, it is deeply personal - yet it resonates with a good chunk of the world. I guess most people have been through a relationship breaking down (?) The guy-who-is-everywhere-but-nowhere, Rick Rubin, was supposed to produce the entire album, but in the end only produced 3 songs I believe. Adele chose to keep the more raw-sounding versions she had created with other producers during or just after her break up. Indeed, she was told to add some layers to Someone Like You, the simple piano and vocals deemed to be too little. Thankfully she decided to retain it as is. It's hard to overstate the universal success this album was, winning awards left and right, breaking sales records, across many countries. The music itself is a refreshing mix of styles, from soul to country to ballad and a few things in between. I had forgotten how good it was (and indeed, think it builds beautifully on 19). Turning Tables is a special song, I really felt a wealth of emotions when listening to it. Other honourable metions are: Take it All I'll be Waiting One and Only Lovesong (a cover of The Cure! Very well done) Someone Like You Indeed, the "b-side" of this album is popular music at its absolute finest. First side is slightly less interesting but still shows moments of brillance. Nostalgia factor is very high on this too, I remember listening to it when I was a kid, played on repeat by both my mother and father. A solid 4.2 stars. Beautiful stuff. (P.S., in a true random fashion, this album came up for me the day after Adele's 25. This album is on a completely different level to that) (P.S.S., I was going to give this 5* but a weekend of reflection brings it down to 4)

nice basslines 3.6 rounded up to 4. Marquee Moon Guiding Light Torn Curtain

I'm all for experimentation in music but it has to have some redeeming quality. This has nothing.

standard enough rock album, nothing stand-out for me.

some interesting lyrics, pleasant to listen to, but nothing special really. 2.5 stars, rounded down.

Never gave Arcade Fire a chance before this listen. Brilliant stuff - a nice mix of light rock, electronic elements and interesting subject matters, as a man of the suburbs too. Favourite songs: The Suburbs Ready to Start Half Light I Half Light II (No Celebration) Suburban War Wasted Hours We Used to Wait Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Think I'll definitely be returing to this. 4.3 stars

what a journey. Among the greatest hip-hop albums I've listened to. 5 stars.

Sign of the Times was a great start to the album. After that I quickly lost interest. Stopped halfway - was far from being unlistenable, but was just very meh.

Livin' on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name, Wanted Dead or Alive are three great songs. The rest is corny thrash. Has aged very poorly. 2*

A very pleasant listen. Out on the Weekend started it off very nicely. Heart of Gold is an absolute gem. Old Man was lovely. Words (Between the Lines of Age) was a cool way to end it. Apparently Young made this mostly acoustic due to a back(?) injury he picked up on his ranch. Easy 4 stars, but the other songs, although pleasant, were not very memorable.

Ehhhhh... Looking forward to listening to their later work, to understand how they went from being a cheesy cover band of American rock 'n' roll hits (they do have original stuff here too but strinkingly unoriginal) to THE BEATLES. Because listening to their first two albums makes it seem to me that they could easily have vanished after these and lost to time. Nothing special at all. Don't get me wrong, it's pleasant enough music to listen to, especially if you want to be transported to an American road-side diner in the 1950s. But the fact these lads were from Liverpool makes it all the less authentic. I'd listen to the music that these songs cover/mimic, listen to the Beatles later stuff, but I won't be returning to this... ever. Can't see why it's on this list, unless it's just to show how much they developed in such a short time...

What a listen. Then understanding the impact Kraftwerk had on music, an easy 5 stars. Every song is an absolute tune. I feel like The Model was already very familiar to me somehow, but it hits hard as the lead single. Neon lights is brilliant too, U2 actually did a cover of it on their Vertigo single. Also learnt that Talk is strongly based on Computer Love by Kraftwerk! Anyway, a classic album that has aged spectacularly. Shout-out to the German language version too. 5 star brilliance.

pleasant, nothing more nor less

A very pleasant listen. Carole King was undoubtedly a songwriting genius, and I have much respect for her. It's too late You've got a friend (You make me feel like) A natural woman are the standouts. However, I just gave Cat Stevens 3* for Tillerman, and this is a similar vibe, so I'll have to give the same here. Pleasant but wouldn't be rushing back to it.

just meh

Expected more from Radiohead. Some good songs: Sail to the Moon Backdrifts There, There Scatterbrain but rather uninspiring stuff. Cool album cover though.

tears for fears man! can hear the vague kraftwerk influences. some parts of the album are a bit of a drag but overall great stuff. 3.8*

easy listening but rewarding at the same time. 4 stars!

neat. Don't enjoy Black Dog and Rock and Roll to be honest, but rest of album is solid. The Battle of Evermore Stairway to Heaven (albeit overplayed) Going to California When the Levee Breaks are classics. Going to California is one of my favourite Led Zeppelin songs. 1971!

guess there's a reason why "gangsta rap" is king. Not as bad as I thought it would be though

An enjoyable listen, probably won't be rushing back to it as the lyrical content is a bit grating at times. Favourite songs: The Nigga Ya Love to Hate Once Upon a Time in the Projects Endangered Species A Gangsta's Fairytale (my favourite of album) Who's the Mack It's a Man's World Why are hip-hop albums so long?

Wow! Production top-class, lyrics interesting and a welcome break from gangsta rap, incredible range of samples used. There's not one filler song here. Hip-Hop at its absolute finest. Love the skits too, as a degree holder it's a nice kick in the teeth from a different perspective. Last Call is an epic way of finishing it all off. Watched the Kanye documentary about Coodie and Chike a few weeks before listening to this, gave a great background on what the man went through to get to the point of being able to release this album. A producer, and a rapper?! One for the ages. Kanye is a lot of things, but he's undoubtedly a musical genuis too.

poetic masterpiece that is very pleasant to listen to. High 4* from me.

bad moon rising and lodi were highlights. Pleasant but not the most memorable.

some fun, but mostly meh. 2.5 stars. Britpop...

very, very boring. Some hits bring it up from a one star rating

cool album, had low expectations as the album cover was so basic. Picture of the three main members peaked my interest though. Started well. I repeated Family Tree and Love Dog straight away. DLZ also a decent bop. Was going to give a (high) 3 stars but in the end it was a fun and interesting listen, deserving a (low) 4 stars.

An album that starts with Gimme Shelter is always going to be pretty damn good. Love in Vain continues well. Some decent but somewhat forgetable songs until we get to the last part of the album, with Monkey Man and You Can't Always Get What You Want finishing it off strongly. 4.25*

Two Rolling Stones in a row. Nothing on Let It Bleed in my eyes. Wild Horses is an absolute classic though.

Loved the mix of genres, and there were some interesting songs along the way. However, parts of the album were rather boring. Disappointingly so -- just not much going on. Re-hash, Clint Eastwood, Sound Check (Gravity), Rock the House as my favourites. With the exploration of different genres, it did sound a bit cheesy at times, like lowest common denominator stuff for a given genre. None other than Ibrahim Ferrer of Buena Vista fame showing up for Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) brings it up to a low 4* for me. David Albarn is a musical genius, but better things were to come from the Gorillaz. 3.6* to be exact

ok, sounded like the Beatles a lot of the time

wanted to give this five stars but it falls just short with a few songs I don't care much for. But when it hits, it hits hard. Are We the Waiting is my favourite. Grew up with this, never really knew what it represented. Nor that Green Day had another album ready to go and the master tapes were stolen, then they went back to the drawing board. Also annoying that on Spotify they merge most of the songs together (apparently because the original digital release was on iTunes and they wanted to retain gapless playback between those songs). Anyway, a high four stars from me!

First of all, brilliant album cover. Reading about the history of Elvis is rather interesting. One can't say simply that Elvis simply "stole" African-American music and made it white in a time where racial segregation was still unfortunately prevalent. Of course, he was strongly influenced by this music, but he had the vision to bring it to a new (white) audience. And it appears he was well aware of the debt he had to the black performers that came before him. There's an argument that his music helped to reduce the boundaries between white and black culture at the time and that seems fair. Then to the rather immense cultural impact Elvis had. He was one of the first sex symbols, potentially. Some quotes from wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_Elvis_Presley#Danger_to_American_culture): Frank Sinatra opined: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people" His actions and motions were called "a strip-tease with clothes on" or "sexual self-gratification on stage". In August 1956 in Jacksonville, Florida, a local juvenile court judge called Presley a "savage" and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing at Jacksonville's Florida Theatre... Sounds crazy now, but Elvis shook up the music game quite significantly. The music, from 1956(!), is still a pleasant listen today - albeit somewhat cheesy at times. Can't give anything but a 5*, all things considered. Great stuff.

A classic. A few weaker songs bring it down from 5 to a high 4*

not sure why this album is on here. Very average.

Nice for a change! However, in my ignorance, and not understanding the language sung in, it did get a bit too repetitive for me, and it was very long.

vibey

Expecting more with Eno tbh. Beauty Queen and Bogus Man were interesting. Not bad, but probably won't return

Have been listening to a lot of hip-hop recently, and while I can appreciate the art, I found it to be less pleasing to listen to than most of the hip-hop I've listened to (including from this era). Political message is interesting! But not as easy on the ear as the hip-hop I'm more familar with. 3.5 star rounded down

groovy, jazzy, funky, soul-y. Lovely stuff.

why so angry man? one song brought it up from 0, not bothered to remember which

just garbage, man. From the silent gaps on Supervixen to the distortions on Stupid Girl, and much in between, a very rewarding listen. Milk is my favourite song. For some reason, I don't really like "only happy when it rains", despite it's popularity. I remember seeing this album as a kid as my parents owned a CD, had never listened to it before though. 4.5 star and not pure perfection as the 5 star suggests, but nonetheless, a fantastic listen.

Great listen, The Doors always hit the mark! However, not as enjoyable as Strange Days nor their self-titled debut for me. Too bluesy. Hyacinth House and Riders on the Storm were my favourite songs, with honourable mentions for Love Her Madly, Car Hiss by My Window and LA Woman.

3.5 stars, not quite worthy of a four. Love Led Zeppelin, and there are some interesting songs on this album, but overall it may be my least favourite of their albums. Music seems quasi-directionless at times. Decent listen nonetheless!

meh with a side of ok

rock, but too much roll

i never would have listened to this album would it not have been for this list. Black Sabbath as a name scared me off. Glad I listened though, brilliant album. Paranoid, Planet Caravan and Iron Man was quite the run of songs. Still a bit too heavy in parts for my personal tastes but good stuff!

I used to be a Beatles-sceptic. This is the second time I listen to this album through. I am now starting to understand the hype for the Beatles (their earlier stuff was not at all to my tastes and seemed rather generic, but this is gold). Can't decide between 4 and 5, I think it's exactly 4.5 star but I'll round up (with some hesitation)

Listened to this on CD, as I thought I should have at least one Chili album in my collection, although I wasn't a big fan of their work. Wanted to give it another try, and wasn't disappointed. Brilliant listen.

Another good find! I'd give it a 3.6 but will round down to 3. Tears of Rage, Chest Fever and I shall be Released were my favourites.

Knew the name, not the music. Cool album, probably won't be revisiting but was nice while it lasted. Sensual World, The Fog, Never be Mine, This Woman's Work were my favourite songs. Did not expect Sensual World to be celtic!

WOW! Another artist I probably would have never listened to a full album from, had it not been for this list. What an incredibly pleasant listen. Comforting, to a level little music/art in general can reach. The title song is beautiful. She has some voice.

An inoffensive Beatles record. Fun listen. If I Fell, Can't Buy Me Love, Things We Said Today, You Can't Do That were my favourites. Absolute favourite was "And I Love Her", however. Fantastic song altogether. Feck it, is this list driving me to liking The Beatles? (this was their first album that I found anything of note in)

What a bloody album. Didn't expect to enjoy it so much, even as a house lover (thought house was best consumed in mixes or singles). Listened to this walking around the mean streets of the 17th and 18th Arrondissements of Paris, stopping at a cool looking bar and just taking this album in in its home ground. 5*, without doubt.

Some moments of beauty, interrupted by some odd sounding human-made sounds. Shame, in a way. Also really stumped as to how this album reached such popularity - I know the movie contributed a lot, but still. In a way, nice to see people being so open to such an album!

Decent enough! Calvary Cross and Great Valerio were cool. Probably won't return much but pleasant while it lasted

disco funk brilliance from this philly sister group. Shoutout to the ever-groovy Nile Rodgers too. easier to love was my favourite song, great bop. Probably wouldn't have bothered with this album had it not been for this list!

A very decent alternative rock album from the guys from Athens, Georgia. Following directly on from their wildly successful Out of Time, it was probably R.E.M.'s most productive writing time. Was afraid that the non-singles on the album would not reach the heights of Everybody Hurts and Man on the Moon, but for the most part they delivered. Liked Star Me Kitten especially. 3.8 stars, rounded up!

I finally get the Beatles hype. This website, and the persistent insistence of some (read one) friend, has brought me to the dark side. Not sure whether this or Revolver is my favourite of theirs, but damn is it good. For 1969 too! Easy to hate the Beatles at a superficial level, but once you give them a chance, any music lover would have to take something from them. Because and Sun King as my personal favourites (both Lennon), but shout out to Harrison's contributions too, very enjoyable. I agreed with the rest of the Beatles' assessment of McCartney's Maxwell's Silver Hammer (not bad, but cheesy enough, didn't like.) I also agreed with Lennon that Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam were "a bit of crap I wrote in India". But other than that, a top top album. 5*, a worthy milestone in music.

Country, what a sound. All sounded the same to me ultimately, but it was pleasant enough background music. 2 star is a bit too low, so low 3 star for me!

An interesting reggae album with punchy and important topics covered

funky soul brilliance. Not quite 4 star but 3 star is far too low too. 3.67 for me. That's the Way of the World, All About Love (First Impressions), Reasons as the standouts for me. EWF originated in Chicago, but on Spotify they're most listened to in Santiago, Chile and Mexico City, then Paris! Worldwide appeal.

A strong 4 from me. Absolute gem of an album. Moby may be the most uncool DJ of all time, but he makes (made?) some great music.

Don't understand all the hate for this album on here. What a great exploration of different genres from the Americas. And I mean, for all the hate over the appropriation of hip-hop by a British white dude, Eminem went and created one of his catchiest songs from one of said gringe hip-hop songs. Solid 3* from me, interesting listen.

A bit odd. The Gift was oddly satisfying to listen to. Prefer their other stuff.

What a fine jazz album. Easy but fun listening.

Thanks Taylor for the inspiration. You helped produce an album Kanye will probably never top. Got this on CD at an Oxfam in Paris for €3, and was reminded about just how damn good the album is. The first Kanye album I can remember listening to as a kid. I've since put on this CD with friends over and we all agree - it's just hit after damn hit. 5* for me, no bad songs on the album. All of the Lights (interlude) as my absolute favourite for sheer beauty. Well played, Mr West!

A deserved classic. Favourite songs were: London Calling Spanish Bombs The Card Cheat Train in Vain (Stand by Me) Making Elvis' iconic album cover even more iconic.

groovy, but missing something I can't quite put my hand on.