My first year of grad school was pretty miserable: I would be up till 4 a.m. reading Kierkegaard and listening to Bach, and never really socializing. That, and a lack of money, led me just after Easter to take on some ESL teaching to adult learners - folks from 18 and up who'd come to Cambridge for a few weeks or months to brush up their English. We teachers would take them out to the pub or to other social events; as spring turned to summer, we'd end up hanging out with them quite a lot informally as well. With my wages coming in, I was finally shedding my old habits of dressing exclusively in black rollbacks, and wearing more casual clothes: I was at last beginning to unwind myself. June sees the end of exams, Suicide Sunday, May Week, and all the balls - then the undergrads largely go home, and the place starts to fill with tour groups and language students. Then there are the fairs - Strawberry Fair, with the haze of weed, and Midsummer Fair, both on Midsummer Common, by the river. My flat on King Street wasn't far from there, so I'd wander over frequently. That became the story of most of my grad school summers: long summer afternoons, perhaps an evening at the Fort St George overlooking the water, hanging out with these visiting language students, many of them, like me, on the cusp of adulthood, and away from home, seeking adventure, exploration, and more. It was in these years that I first listened to "Pet Sounds." That, along with "Astral Weeks" and "Forever Changes," will always take me back to those times: summer as the moment of eternity, not as kairos, but as the locus of nostalgia, languid afternoons and the golden light of the early evening. All that to say - there's no way I could review this in any way objectively. But perhaps that in itself illustrates the impact of "Pet Sounds": it was always the right soundtrack for those times. All of those happy-sad songs, a sense of lack and loss of the very moment you're living in and the experiences you're having. God, I love it.

The first half of this really brought back my younger days - "Time after Time" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" are absolute classics. The later stages didn't grab me quite as much, but the general vibe was good.

I don't typically listen to the early Beatles - I prefer "Rubber Soul" onwards - so it has been a while since I put on "With the Beatles." Going back to it, I was actually surprised by how fresh it sounded - particularly the self-penned songs: Lennon and McCartney were clearly growing in confidence and finding their own voice. While it was definitely patchy - some of the covers sounded pretty dated, and not all of their own songs hit the mark - I had a renewed sense of why and how the Beatles made such a huge impact all of a sudden.

This is gorgeous. It's not my absolute favourite Nick Drake, but anything of his is good. I've listened to it before, and I'll listen to it again. Soft, introspective, evocative.

Moderately good album, but not quite as good as other British concept albums of the period, e.g. "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" or "S.F. Sorrow." Usual Kinks-y sound. Worth including on a playlist if in that kind of mood.

I was completely unfamiliar with this band, so this album was a great surprise. I'm a big fan of late 60s psychedelia, so this really appealed to me. I'm looking forward to listening to it many more times.

This is another one I'm going to have to listen to multiple times and in the right mood. It's promising, but I get the sense it's a grower - I'll enjoy it more with a few late-night listens, when I can really focus on the twists and turns.

Really a 3.5. I was never into The White Stripes - I just never really bothered listening to them - so I didn’t have huge expectations. I liked this - it was a bit of Hendrix, a bit of glam, and a lot of the Stones, and I could definitely imagine myself listening to it again some time, when that’s the mood I’m in.

Eh. This sub-Pistols punk doesn’t do it for me anymore. Maybe I’m too old.

Absolutely brilliant: seamless blend of rock, jazz, contemporary classical and more. Standouts were the opening track and “Easy Money.”

This album will always have a special place in my heart because of the personal memories I have of moving to Chicago at the time it came out. But even without that, Sufjan’s delicate aural filigree, his gift for indirect, oblique communication, and the unique soundscapes he presents make this an undoubted 5/5 for me.

This was a good listen. "Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" was the standout track for me.

Like the previous Stevie Wonder one, I enjoyed this as background music.

Mixed. It started off fairly mediocre, but the more trip-hoppy bits later on were enjoyable.

This was absolutely stellar. What a voice! What an atmosphere! I’ll be putting this on my playlist for sure.

This was a lot of fun - the more grown up version of glam, Bowie-esque. I’ll definitely listen again.

I'm torn here. I'm giving it a 4 for first impressions, but I suspect it may grow to a 5 on repeated listens. Lyrically brilliant, playful, and distinct.

It's so hard to listen to this in any way objectively: all the post-"Help!" Beatles albums have such an outsize place in my life, as well as in culture more broadly, that I'm listening to everything it's associated with as much as the music itself. Still, I'll try: "Sgt Pepper's" has never been my favourite Beatles album: there are a few songs that seem a bit too schmaltzy or trivial. That said, really re-listening just now, paying proper attention, was beneficial. Some tracks that I hadn't particularly loved before stood out more, e.g. "Mr. Kite." There are some absolute classics - "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," the title track. And then there's "A Day in the Life," arguably the greatest Beatles song of all, to close it out. So in the end, I can't give it less than a 5 - even if it's boosted by subjective experiences.

My high school best friend *loved* this album (hi Charlie!). I never really got into it then, and I don't feel inclined to now. It's fine - "If I Can't Change Your Mind" is a good track - but seems a bit generic to me: nothing is making it stand out from a lot of similar stuff. 2/5

It's okay, but seems a little generic; I'd rather listen to Buffalo Springfield. "California Dreamin'" is a stone-cold banger, though - enough that I may listen to the rest of the album again.

Odd choice of Dylan album: there are at least four of his earlier albums that I'd put on here before this, and I'm not sure any artist needs to have more than that. But it's an album I've always liked, and probably the best of his later works; I've listened to it often in the past, and will definitely do so in the future.

This one had a fair amount of personal significance - I remember Kurt dying. But I haven't listened to it for a while, and (maybe because I listened rather than watched) it didn't grab me as much as the studio albums. Still, there's something there, and the Bowie cover is wonderful.

This was fine, and got better throughout. It's not grabbing me yet, but I can see myself giving it another go.

Obviously, I'm not the audience this is aimed at. It was okay: I wouldn't try to block it out if it came on while I was sitting in Starbucks, but otherwise it wasn't much more than aural wallpaper for me. Maybe I need to listen enough to get the lyrics or something...?

I love Leonard Cohen, but I wasn't expecting too much from this album: I haven't been as grabbed by his post-2000 works by and large. But this was lovely: the sound of a man reconciling himself to mortality, acknowledging his failings without being overwhelmed by them. I suspect I'll keep coming back to this one - I was going to stick with a cautious 4, but I already find myself putting it back on, so I may as well go all the way with a 5.

This was okay. It's open of those albums I feel I ought to rate higher because of its influence - and I do like a bit of eighties synth pop! - but most of the album felt fairly forgettable. (Except, of course, that closing track...)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to this. I knew Public Enemy by reputation, and went into it as open to it as I could be, wanting to find out why. But what I didn't expect was that the very things I liked about it were things that I'd often dislike or at least not want to listen to: it's abrasive, aggressive, full-on, and loud - certainly not a melodic easy listen - and it doesn't concede much to the new listener. Yet I found myself compelled by it, intrigued by what it was doing, and wanting to hear more. I'm not sure when I'll listen to it again - it doesn't seem right for most of the circumstances in which I listen to music - but I will make the time.

This was okay. I like disco, I like funk, and this had both. But none of it really stood out to me. It'd be decent background music in the right sort of bar, but I'm not sure I'd ever put it on to listen to myself.

I've vaguely intended to listen to Sly & the Family Stone for a while, so this was a welcome selection. I wasn't too taken at first - it was fine, but nothing special - but I was definitely into it by the second half, and will for sure listen again. Great stuff!

Very mixed feelings here. I was never especially into Ash - they were just another one of that whole Britpop crowd, and I preferred others - but listening to this again, I realised there were a ton of songs I knew and liked. On the other hand, it doesn't hugely stand out for me from a bunch of other things of that era. So - 3/5 for some nostalgia-boosted banging tunes, hampered by Tim Wheeler's terrible singing.

Eh. I didn't manage to connect with this at all.

My first year of grad school was pretty miserable: I would be up till 4 a.m. reading Kierkegaard and listening to Bach, and never really socializing. That, and a lack of money, led me just after Easter to take on some ESL teaching to adult learners - folks from 18 and up who'd come to Cambridge for a few weeks or months to brush up their English. We teachers would take them out to the pub or to other social events; as spring turned to summer, we'd end up hanging out with them quite a lot informally as well. With my wages coming in, I was finally shedding my old habits of dressing exclusively in black rollbacks, and wearing more casual clothes: I was at last beginning to unwind myself. June sees the end of exams, Suicide Sunday, May Week, and all the balls - then the undergrads largely go home, and the place starts to fill with tour groups and language students. Then there are the fairs - Strawberry Fair, with the haze of weed, and Midsummer Fair, both on Midsummer Common, by the river. My flat on King Street wasn't far from there, so I'd wander over frequently. That became the story of most of my grad school summers: long summer afternoons, perhaps an evening at the Fort St George overlooking the water, hanging out with these visiting language students, many of them, like me, on the cusp of adulthood, and away from home, seeking adventure, exploration, and more. It was in these years that I first listened to "Pet Sounds." That, along with "Astral Weeks" and "Forever Changes," will always take me back to those times: summer as the moment of eternity, not as kairos, but as the locus of nostalgia, languid afternoons and the golden light of the early evening. All that to say - there's no way I could review this in any way objectively. But perhaps that in itself illustrates the impact of "Pet Sounds": it was always the right soundtrack for those times. All of those happy-sad songs, a sense of lack and loss of the very moment you're living in and the experiences you're having. God, I love it.

Another one that's perhaps too familiar for me to be objective. This has always been a solid choice for me: the rootsy combo of country, blues, and folk is pulled off perfectly; the original tracks are great little pieces; the covers bring out new dimensions of the originals. The album is greater than the sum of its parts (perhaps fittingly for a group that started as Dylan's backing band): it's more a mood than a collection of individual songs. It's a perfect example of its kind. For me personally, it's not an album that obtrudes in my thoughts much, nor one I'd necessarily think of when identifying my favourite albums of all time. I wouldn't necessarily put it on first; instead, it's one of those that I'd see when leafing through my collection to pick the next one to put on, and think "of course, that's the perfect one!" and be very happy with my choice. It's been dipping in and out of my life for the last twenty years - and I'm sure it'll be with me for the next twenty and beyond.

I had mixed feelings about this. It made more sense when I considered it within the context of British music of the time - particularly the London scene: you can hear the first stirrings of multiculturalism in the effort to incorporate influences from e.g. reggae. I've never really loved New Wave music as a whole, though: while I recognize its importance in expanding the possibilities of alternative music, I've always felt like much of its peculiarity was done for the sake of quirkiness, rather than because it led to better music. I don't think this album will change that view, but I could imagine giving it a few more tries to be sure.

This was fun, and it'd be fine in the background. The final track is a belter, of course - though to be honest, I'm not sure I'd listen to the whole album again apart from that very familiar song.

Oh boy, I would have really loved this when I was about 13-14, when it was all about Nirvana. Still pretty awesome now: it's experimenting a bit, but it still rocks.