Elephant
The White StripesLove this album. Been a huge fan for a long time and really appreciate the second half of it. Youve got her in your pocket is one of my favorites
Love this album. Been a huge fan for a long time and really appreciate the second half of it. Youve got her in your pocket is one of my favorites
Dang, I forgot how bad almost cut my hair is and how amazing Helpless is. Neil young was 25 on this album 🤣 amazing
Baby be mine and The Girl Is Mine are Incredible The stretch of bangers after that is truly jaw dropping
Fun album with a fantastic diversity of tracks
Fun album with a fantastic diversity of tracks. A little bored on some of them, but overall, I love this album
I loved side 1. The percussion sets the vibe of the album; its super groovy. Loved the low volume vocals (im sure that inspired some groups - gorillaz maybe?) I just didnt get into bel air. It had some cool parts with chromatic walk downs that were very radiohead like. I wanted to like it, but it felt like filler sometimes on the back half
Id give it a fair 3.5 stars if I could. I really appreciate fatboy slim’s grooves and feel. This album was just too much of the same repeated. On the bright side, I loved song for lindy (amazing guitar slide) and the weekend starts here. First down, Michael Jackson and next to nothing were my other notable likes
What can you really say? This album is incredible. A perfect spin and valid as a “best of all timer”
I really enjoyed this. Favorite tracks were Big Brother and Sunshine of my life
Fun album! Good to hear the early up and coming sound that they had here. Stir it up is a solid track. Concrete jungle was deep. Not much for roots music in my life, so this was neat exposure
I mean, it had some fun moments. I like the edgy harmonica used throughout 😂 Pokin around was my favorite track No idea what the significance is to this album. Based on the release date, it might be one of those records that spawned the grunge rock scene
A few newbies for me! Loved Greg has a boner as a goof track
Overall, pretty nice background album. I liked one track called “King” and the rest were largely secondary to me
Really dense, but overall enjoyable. Diminuendo and Cresendo was my favorite track. Great lines, fun crowd, amazing energy
As a massive 60s fan, this was cool to add my repertoire. I liked a few songs, but a lot of it seemed overdone (which I consider to be an artifact of me listening to this 50 years later). Nine Pound Hammer is my favorite track
Some neat tracks for me. Everyone's heard song 2, but damn, it explosive even on the album. Country Sad Ballad Man and BeetleBum were my other favorites. The second side of the album was a little less interesting and for that ill knock it back to a 3 star rating
I genuinely tried, but couldn’t get into this. And to think Robbie Williams is the best selling singer songwriter of all time in the UK 😂 Idk, it felt like even the hits (Angel) weren’t interesting. Some of the singing was great
so much fun! Never had the opportunity to do this with a frank album. Impressive and made me want to experience this in the 50s. I also see how singers of the 60s idolized the hell out of him. So much style
Side 2 was a nice ride for me. I didnt realize how religiously connected this album is. Hymn 43 (sounded like a Joe Cocker song) and locomotive breath were awesome tracks.
One or two okay tracks. I find the concept dated and hard to truly get into, so the album is pretty meh
If horns and folk music are meant to come together, this is it. I dont think there are many stand out tracks, but the overall album listens really beautifully
Some interesting tracks. The first 2 being the best besides their mega hit
Often hated by nirvana purists, I honestly find In Utero to be my favorite album of theirs. Its a strange album, but man, its still raw and has some really screechy, head bangin rock that is still unique today. I could see how Cobains depression is laid out on the album - “teenage angst has paid off well, now im bored and old”.
Not a single album sleeper. Lots of fun time signatures and an absolutely incredible 1h+ album. Ive heard the hits on this before, but it was well worth diving through it. Let me drown, my wave, mailman and half were great discoveries for me. All around, super impressive. Favorite grunge album now
Back to back grunge show! Ive definitely gone through Dirt a few times in the past. This time I approached it to try to learn more about the song constructions & history. It was neat to finally figure out how they make those creepy vocal harmonies (seems like they are stacking 5ths). Also, I didnt realize that Layne wrote a few tunes on this album. A disturbing amount of hard drug references for this. Makes me sad knowing how deep the band was at that time even before Layne went off the rails. All around amazing band. Not sure if this is their best album, but its wonderful nevertheless
Never gets old. BB King is a triple threat - entertaining emcee, amazing singer and fantastic guitar player. Fun time going through this again. You hear the influence on any modern blues guys
Good to finally dig into some 60s country, but I wasnt particularly attracted to most of the songs. I liked Night Life and Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women.
Super stupid and Can you get to that were my favorites. Very entertaining album as a whole. Pioneering in a ton of ways. Wild to think that this was 1971. This had dark elements, dancy tunes and incredible improvisation
Fun listen! Glad I made it back here to catch up. The sounds that they got out of anything percussion and bass were so distinctly Duran Duran. Some songs feel like cousins to previous ones based on how they organized the harmonies and general progressions (Hold Back The Rain and Hungry Like The Wolf sound the same)
Super dreamy and airy. Loved a few of the lesser relevant tunes - norway and walk in the park. Never heard of these guys 🤷♂️
Never heard of these guys or the backstory! Pretty interesting to see how the groups influences/backgrounds mesh. I hear a lot of the verve and gorillaz. After all is said and done, the album isnt super memorable after 2 listens. Maybe it takes some more reps So far, I really liked Herculean
Super fun listen. Havent heard most of these, but I found most of the album very easy to pay attention to. Kentucky Rain was my favorite track
Wow! Glad I came back to this one. I distinctly remember being on itunes for this tidal wave of hits. And even today, Im still surprised at the number of true bangers on here - Holiday being my favorite. I appreciated a few others this time too. Give Me Novacane and Shes A Rebel were stand outs for me
First time all the way through this. What sticks out to me is how truly bluesy Led Zeppelin could be. Theres definitely some versatility shown to go from slow blues to heavy rock and back. Really appreciated the run from In My Time Of Dying to Houses of the Holy, Trampled, Kashmir, In the Light, Bron yr aur, down by the seaside and finally ten years gone. Thats a 7 track run of pure awesomeness. Plants vocals really stretch and every lick gets glued onto your brain.
Could not get in a groove with this album. I could see the strong argument for this being influential in the 80s for its psych rock ideas and thus significant enough for this list. Thats all I can say though. The listenability was low for me and I only found a couple of songs interesting. Kilimanjaro (the album title track) was my favorite… which stands out because it doesn’t sound like the rest of the album. Reward was also somewhat interesting for those wacky horn effects
Love this album. Since there is no other time to talk about Free Bird, I have to rant about how spectacular that song is 😂. I hear Free Bird today only in an ironic context, so to have an opportunity to take it seriously again was refreshing. The first 4mins 20 seconds is obviously cool and bluesy. The melody (bwwwwuahhh, wahhhhh wyyaaa, wyyyahhh, wyabb) makes you feel like a free bird coasting in the air and is really catchy. Next, and you were teased with this earlier, it feels like youre about to leave and be the “free bird”, but unlike the easy and melancholic coast you expected, this is an cannon blast to outer fucking space that honestly does not drag on for the next 4 minutes and only gets more entertaining as it goes on. Around 7mins 30, the shuffling drum beat gives me goosebumps as I picture Jenny from Forrest Gump about to SEND IT off a building in high heels while high as balls on heroin and cocaine. The energy is fantastic after 100s of times through this song. Out of back of the mix around 8mins, the bass guitar finally cuts through the chaos to claim the official peak of this roller coaster. Somehow, they fucking land that eagle without it feeling rigid and fade it out (my only actual complaint is that they didnt decide to come to a final hit) Free Bird… holy shit
This took me a few listens to respect it and I truly sit between not liking this and finding it really interesting/cool Waiting for That Day was a cool track. Loved the ode to the rolling stones Heal the pain was great. Sounds like a paul mccartney track from the early Beatles days They wont to when I go was really neat. Dark, haunting, showed Michaels vocal control
1986! Wow. Cant say I was over the moon about any specific tracks, but the entire album is really approachable. I appreciated the fun bass lines on piano, unique percussion to each track, Mark Holis’ super interesting voice, proper synths April 5th was probably my favorite track. Time Its Time is another good cut.
Cool! Definitely heard a few cuts off of this before, but never assembled an idea of who the Fugees are. Most of the album was forgettable, but there were quite a few awesome tracks. Loved the no woman, no cry cover and killing me softly. I could sense this album was stripped for stems in other, modern rap songs too
Way more entertaining than I thought! Each arrangement was unique and not overly done.
Love this album. Been a huge fan for a long time and really appreciate the second half of it. Youve got her in your pocket is one of my favorites
Well, this must be my 3rd or 4th time trying to understand sonic youth. And again, I dont get them. Some of the sounds are alright. Hot Wire My Heart was my favorite. With that, I never find myself actually enjoying this album or finding it unique enough to stick around for it. As I read, they are quite influential, so ill give them a second star alone on that quality
Classic, never gets old.
Wasnt a tiring listen, but nothing stood out to me 🤷
Judging based on the music itself, I was mildly entertained and then bored for each song. Ive heard zombie a million times, but the rest of the tracks were also decent. Broadly speaking, fela kutis story is wild and earns my respect.
Fun to listen to for the boomer rock throw backs, but I couldnt find much of it worth the hype of being on this list. Compared to Frampton comes alive, this album doesnt even come close, in my opinion. My favorite non obvious cut was Suicide. Didnt know Huey Lewis and Bob segar bith featured on this. Its also such a 70s/80s thing to do a live album and then go put overdubs on it 😂 the dead did this too
Legendary in so many ways and kind of unsettling. I know Compton life was/is wild and unfair, but damn. Murder, drug abuse and sex are all over this. Lyrics aside, its a groovy as fuck album that has some jams that still stand. So many features too! All around, it’s enjoyable and I see how it shook the US when it dropped.
AHHHH, ÇAAA C’EST BON ÇAAA Loved the common themes/intros between the songs. That super compressed guitar sound is cool. Whoever produced this did an amazing job. So many variations on percussion. Conte de fées was my favorite cut on the album - its basically two songs. As a fairly decent French speaker, I can barely understand Congo French. This is a whole different language it feels like.
This was really worthwhile. Ive never given any time to A Tribe Called Quest, so it was all pretty much brand new for me The sampling was creative and the storytelling was generally interesting. There is definitely a flow to the album as a whole. Lots of great tunes that ill be spinning later
I dont have a ton of clear thoughts on this album. The title track is haunting and cool. The broad middle of the album was largely forgettable for me and occasionally boring. It feels like Cohens music is about the lyrics and emotional delivery. Probably not the ideal choice for a 2 hour drive. Besides You Want It Darker, It Seemed The Better Way and Leaving The Table were cool. Ill have to revisit this later
I really enjoyed this short classic. Mend A Broken Heart was my favorite
A lot more interesting than I thought! Ravis nephew, so nepo album warnings were everywhere. I came to learn that Ravi didnt even teach him, so thats pretty cool I thought there were some super interesting tracks and the mesh of east and west is always cool. Freaking Moog synthesizer! Metamorphosis was a great building track. Really enjoyed all the covers. Having played a sitar recently, ive come to appreciate all the resonating sounds that come from that box of strings. Pretty fun album
Red rain!!!!!!!!! Fun album. I respect Gabriel a lot more now. I didnt like the track with kate bush.
I still dont know what to think of this album. Im a mix of really excited and kind of tired. Its such a long play, but it has so many interesting indie sounds. Vocals are impressive and nostalgia was everywhere. Very interested to see what the rest of the gang thought
Yayy. Ive heard this album 1000 times in my life and I never tire of it. Plain and simple, its a master piece of work Some amazingly catchy tracks with wild backstories. I personally dont care for the Peruvian El Condor Pasa, but that kind of strategy would eventually pay off for Simon
Ive been listening to 21st century schizoid man since i heard it 5 years ago at Zeitgeist. I always thought this was was from a new band.. my mind was blown when I read that this was from 1969. I have a hard time thinking about what it wouldve been like to have experienced the prog rock ideas mixed with early metal before 1970. That mustve been tremendously avant garde I really appreciated Talk To The Wind (duo version) as well
Not a huge fan, but I did enjoy a few tracks. J-Beez Comin Through was my favorite
This was GREAT. I loved digging into the production history here. Didn’t realize the star power on this album and that Mayer sang the “Go” sample. Fun flow for an album, didnt feel like a super perverted album either (maybe doggy style was just too much for me)
I WANT THE YOUNG AMERICAN Fun album. The two singles are so popular that im surprised I wasnt already familiar with the tunes. For me, its all about side A. Win, Fascination and Right are really fantastic tunes with wicked sax all over the place On the B side, I wasnt a big fan of the across the universe cover on first listen, but after spinning it a second time, I got the gist of what Bowie/Lennon were trying to do. Fame is such a cool song, so I wont call the B side a waste of time. Loved the collaboration on it
Let the record show that I gave each song a chance and even the artists top songs. Outside of a few potentially polyrhythmic ideas, this had no artistic value to me
Actually really entertaining listen! Favorite tracks were Be Anything But Darlin Be Mine and Embraceable You The whole listen felt very real and organic. I appreciated the introduction and random noises/mistakes the band made. Really happy after. Ill probably revisit this at some point to do some more digging
Yes, across the board, this was a fantastic listen. Its a classic with so many hits Voodoo Chile is fantastic and maybe better than Voodoo Chile Slight Return. Didnt know about the band experimenting with different producers and how drugged out Brian Jones played on All Along The Watchtower
Due to this landing on a Friday, I was able to run in twice. Im glad I did because it took me a while to enjoy the fusion of western rock ideas (what sounded like blues/r&b) with the afro/mali rock sounds. I still think it would be challenging to find a band for them to tour with- apparently they opened for Alabama Shakes for a while? I didn’t hate any track. I most enjoyed the albums final two tracks - desert melodies and Mali. The story behind the band is pretty inspiring too. Islam is one hell of a drug
A classic. Beyond the giant hits (nuthin but a g thang and bitches aint shit), there were some cool moments I heard a few flute solos - one in rat tat tat tat The skits were a combination of funny (deez nuts) and jarring (doctors office). Overall, good enough listen. 4 stars for rap and probably 3 stars for my personal tastes. I dont know why they included Stranded On Death Row. My only question mark of the entire listen Just like doggy style, this album pushes the uncomfortable gangsta rap lyrics that are supposed to represent life for black america. And damn, some of it is jarring.
Wow, this is what keeps me doing 5 albums a week Probably annoying to read, but worth saying. My only exposure to the MPs beforehand were the legendary nirvana covers in their unplugged show. Which I thought would sound better to me, but I actually prefer the Meat Puppets originals I loved this album and was completely hooked from ~start to finish. The music is complex, but not over the top, lyrics weird and deep. Genre spanning song selection. The influence on later bands is super clear - grunge, 90s/00s punk (Climbing had to of inspired some CAKE songs) We’re here sounds like an REM song, New Gods belongs on Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Im A Mindless Idiot sounds like a Led Zeppelin song, What To Do more CAKE 😂, 100% Of Nothing sounds like a Phish jam. And god damn, this came out in 1984 lol… if I played this next to Poison or Guns N Roses, Id shit myself.
I really tried. The only likes/appreciation on this pop/rap album from me is from the refreshingly wholesome, feminist lyrics. I wasnt there when this came out. It sounds like a Madonna album.
I appreciate the uniqueness of this and story telling, but ultimately I found this album to get into. Maybe like a Randy Newman album? It takes a while to get the character and story /shrug. I went through it twice so far and it was a lot better on round 2. In short, there were some cool songs. I really liked more of the more bare songs instrumentally speaking. England and The Last Living Rose stand out. Words That Maketh Murder was a good one too
I havent listened to all of Steely Dans albums and I know theyve experimented with tens of musicians (every album), but this feels like the band’s ultimate mission. An album with various instrumentation choices, jazz improv breaks, perfectly timed hits and a pop feel that brings it all together - and the masses that follow Genuinely, Aja is a masterpiece IMO. Peg, Deacon Blues and Josie are radio friendly with incredible vocals (Michael McDonald is perfection). Aja is super prog rocky and has the most exciting hits. I could dust off this album twice a year for the rest of my life and never tire of it
Not that I dont like this, there were just very few times where I was super interested and focused on the tune. My favorite two tracks were Death Of A Disco Dancer and I Wont Share you. The popular songs were boring to me and the melodies weren’t as pleasant All that said, I liked my second time through a lot more than the first. Ill give them three stars for that
Mildly entertaining. I can see how this influenced a lot of country in the 80s and 90s. All that said, there are other Jones albums that are more interesting/better. This felt like the cliche of country 3 stars for country, 2 for me personally