One of my favourite albums of all time. Every tracks works. Morrissey’s lyrics and vocal delivery are deliciously hilarious. He’s a comic genius like Marilyn Monroe and Maggie Smith.
Amazing step forward for the Beatles but it’s a few songs short of perfect, especially Doctor Robert which is such a stupid ass song imo. What a lackluster name for a drug dealing pharmacist guy lol.
Love their commitment to the gimmick! Embracing the dumb & the simple in a clever way.
Zappa is not really my thing but I think he succeeds at what he’s trying to do on this record. This collection of weirdo Prog-jazz jams is much easier for me to stomach than his juvenile lyric doo wop songs.
Perfect album to jog to. Makes paranoia fun!
Best kind of album to zone out to ☺️
The intimate production matches the warmth of willie’s voice.
a collection of cleanly recorded, highly derivative Stones song-types. They can play their instruments well but they forgot to bring anything new to the table.
Very strong entry in the “greatest rock vocalist” generic classic rock sub-genre. It’s cool when someone acknowledges they’re bad news 😎
Sometimes the voice grates but it is undeniably iconic
A few classic tracks (especially Stan which is probably his best song) but freakishly too long and repetitive in its themes, filled with filler and shitty sketches. Obviously the homophobia and misogyny are rampant, but there’s also nothing lamer than a rapper who keeps dunking on boys bands and Britney Spears. Eminem is a talented and unique voice in hip hop but supremely overrated bc white non-rap fan critics could identify with where he came from and what he was saying. Gen Z proceed to cancel Eminem. He needs to leave Christopher Reeves alone :/
I’m starting to understand the appeal of the Pogues’s brand of Celtic punk. The musicianship here is undeniable. I want to cry everytime I hear “Fairytale of New York”, it’s such a perfect blend of irreverence, schmaltz, sarcasm & heartbreak.
The more I listen to this album the more I’m in awe of his truly singular songwriting ability and performance style. His tunes are often hilarious (probably the most consistently funny non-joke-song songwriter) but also sometimes heartbreakingly beautiful, bc he is able to paint an honest (and ugly) picture of how people think, feel and treat (mistreat) one another.
This was a complete discovery for me but it was a pleasant surprise. Such fresh contagious beats. You know your humble critic was dancing hella often listening to this while completing household chores. It was a lengthy album and yet I still wanted to move my body the full duration. Think about that. No matter how unique each track started, it felt like most the songs found their way to the same joyous soukous jam by the end of it, but I actually thought that was a fun connective tissue and not a demerit for the record.
Wham! was college for George Michael. Faith was his mission statement.
Not the biggest blues aficionado so half the tracks didn’t really do it for me, but g-damn do some of these jams go! “Tiger in Your Tank” won me over especially. I was like that crowd going wild by the end of it. It’s truly offensive how many mega-rich British rockstars are in total debt to Muddy and your boomer dad will never have a clue :/
Incredible intro to a band I should have known and loved for a long time now.
Polite, professional rock band not without their merits, but much too medium for my tastes. They have a knack for writing good melodies over anthemic chord progressions that are almost always ruined by superficially romantic & vague lyrics that sound intellectual when sung in a proper British accent.
Cash is a legend and this is an interesting album to come at the end of his life. Mortality is a theme that keeps popping up. This is his Lou Reed’s LULU, albeit much more critically acclaimed? The tracks that work the least for me are the stripped down covers of popular modern rock tunes like “Hurt” and “Personal Jesus.” His vocal feels kind of phoned in on those. The album cuts on which Cash puts his heart, soul, vim & vigor into the vocal performance are where it’s at. Nothing is better than a 70 year country singer repeatedly scream “damn your eyes” like a maniac.
Nick Drake, the lounge act.
I could see how this would be instrumental in the evolution of heavy metal.
I’m glad this band exists for their fans.
A lot of filler for a classic album, but the hits are essential
Another perfect album from my favorite musical artist ❤️
Interesting voice, great articulation, groovy lyrics. A little too flower power pilled for me to swallow at times.
Effervescent grooves that go down easy. The title track is probably the only required listening but it was all enjoyable/smooth as hell.
Curious as hell. Didn’t always stick though.
I checked my work: 3 + 3 = 4 stars 😊
As a kid I found F Boy Slim’s brand of DJ dance music lame and annoying. As an adult I feel the same. Maybe that’s a reflection on me. Either way, let’s keep it moving.
It makes me mad thinking about all the actually good music this album took the spot of.
They really shovel out the hits
Majestic textures. Songwriting with a painterly touch. I can only hear Van the Man bark out the same lyric over and over and over again for so long though.
Better songwriting overall on Nevermind but this one has the riffs, and Albini’s raw production kicks too much arse not to deny its power.
Not my new favorite band but this was aight
What can I say? It’s obviously good
sexy, funny and eternally cool.
When the bass player and drummer husband-wife duo get to prove their value.
Joanna squeaks and yips out some of the most majestic indie folks tunes of the aughts.
Perfect album for a pizza party
Chemically-induced cerebral, surreal blues. The lyrics and the band are amazing of course but let me also shout out Dylan’s voice on this album. People always say how Dylan is a great songwriter, but I always will stand behind him being the best vocalist for his material. The acidity and passion poured into every line makes each word sting in your mind that much more.
Haunting stark magicial masterpiece.
One of the true indie aughts masterpieces
Overrated and headache inducing. I guess I value the Gallagher bros more as personas than I do as musicians. So many unbelievable quotes in the press. Loads of great tweets and interview clips. I thought that would translate to an enjoyable 90s rock album. Nope. Hopefully Maybe it gets better after this, but this one was packed with too many boring retreads of great British musical movements that came before, be it the Manchester sound, glam rock or the Beatles. Definitely Maybe some groups are better at being rock stars than they are at being bands.
Gets stronger with every listen
Greatest scene setter in music
One perfect surreal punk song after another.
A little too much filler, but the songs that hit hoo boy
This shit went harder than I could ever have predicted. Blurred the lines of classic rock that is too technical and too dumb beautifully.
First Beatles album I heard and the first album in general to truly blow my mind.
Sounds like some shit my friend Brandon would like. Not for me
Perfect LP to spin on meatless Monday😌
This album cements Clapton’s boring hack period, which he’s been in ever since.
My generation’s white album (if I was born 25 to 30 years earlier).
Vocal jazz is not really my cup of tea, but since it was served to me I took sips that mostly refined my crazy little tastebuds.
These fellers sure can pluck strings
This was my favorite band and album when I was young teen. It doesn’t hit emotionally like it once did but it’s still an impressive production 50 years later.
The snap, crackle & pop of gorgeous hippies vocal harmonies.
My first Rufus album without Chaka Khan - no jk ofc. Witty songcraft and clever arrangements, that I’m sure I would enjoy even more on further listens
Hate to be that guy but listening to this today made me very nostalgic for a time I was excited to hear a new Kanye album when it dropped.
With all due respect to the king: not-a for me!
I like that their sellout record was their first one and honestly it still is pretty darn good.
Fresh take on self-empowering soul.
Truly so versatile and in a way that every type of song they do is still very much a Fishbone song first and foremost, whether it be ska, soul cover, hard funk or circus freakout. Only reason it’s not a perfect rating is because I was not into a couple of the genre excursions personally but still respect them like mad for attempting.
Great getting ready to go out album for some reason
Used to spin this on vinyl often over a decade ago. It was a pleasure revisiting an album I haven’t thought about in quite some time. So many delicious melodies. Jeff Lynne bringing fun symphonic pop to the masses. This is prog rock stripped of a lot of the pretensions.
24 years later it still sounds inventive.
In the business of triggering dopamine
Masterful fusion of pop and new wave.
Does not quite reach the heights of Norman efffin Rockwell but conveys a nice country-lite atmosphere. Very intimate, very lovely.
The British (and better?) lcd soundsystem
I was a little hesitant at first but then I got fully funked up. Started relistening to tracks immediately after the album ended.
Who knew I’d be vibing so hard to this stuff
Beautiful noise and vocal fry
Important cutting edge new wave album. My only complaint is that “Cars” goes so much harder than nearly everything else on the disc.
Every song written with such empathy and the arrangements are so cinematic and perfect
Got “too jammy” as my friend Lou would say by tracks 2 & 3, but the 2nd half really won me over with its soulful sincerity and camaraderie of sounds.
Most psychedelia albums feel so stuck in their era, this one transcends it.
Not my personal favorite Stevie but undeniably a masterpiece tour de force, etc.
Much better than F. Boy Slim. Plus he’s a certified bald icon.
Started off very strong but at a certain point kind of blended in with the most mediocre moments of their career.
“Mother” makes so much more sense to me now that I know Andy Summers palled around with Robert Fripp.
My 2nd favorite album of all time - come on
It delivers on what it says it’s selling
Felt more live than dangerous, but I got mad love for lizzy.
Came in thinking they were a little bit corny for my tastes. What the hell was I on? Masterful combination of funk, jazz, and pop that surely lays the groundwork for Yacht Rock to come. Obsessed with whenever Maurice White lets out a “yoww/yah”.
Fantastically short album. I really cued into Art’s vocals this listen and feel strongly that he is the secret weapon here. Also need to mention that “A Simple Desultory Phillic” is truly one of the worst & unfunniest songs I’ve ever heard in my life.
Definitely more bangers than I would have guessed, there is probably another pop/r&b album of the era that could have taken its place though.
Had no idea how badly I needed the accordion-vibraphone jazz combo - fuck ya!
A simply a sucker for this sound
It’s a style that mostly holds up sonically although pretty immature and misogynistic thematically. His flow and voice are undeniable though, especially over smooth yet unnerving Dr. Dre beats.
One of Neil’s many masterpieces. Infusing the punk spirit into his music and inventing a new genre in the process. Love the post-modern yet personal lyrics and psychotic electric guitar tones.
A few of the songs go on longer then needed or wanted but boy do I love this band’s sound.
Bruce’s most epic album. Comic book imagery fused with potent 60s rock n roll operatics. A bi-curious vampire bit this album and it turned into Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell a couple years later.
They say it ain’t as good as the best but they lie.
A lot of power and excitement, but also kind of highlights the sloppiness and limitations of The Who as a live act. I’m especially thinking the long drawn-out jams where Roger Daltry yelps out horribly improvised vocal riffs.
Some enjoyable album tracks, some filler, but “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” will always be the far and away star.
This was mind blowing when I was in college, now i find it endearing, vulnerable and absolutely beautiful.
I just don’t want to be listening to shit anymore
Steely Dan as actual band and it’s not their best album but certainly their most badass.
This was the perfect album to listen the day after David Lynch dies. Noisy violent funny surreal American art that is still accessible & entertaining.
Prog rock that isn’t bloated or boring, instead it’s soulful and groovy.
Despite me not always jiving with black thought’s flow and lyricism (comes off pretty corny at times), the musicianship and songwriting are impeccable.
Probably her best album from my favorite version of Joni. No shade to Blue, which is also perfect, but this is a whole other level of genius. Every song is so structurally astounding without losing any of the personal vulnerability of her earlier folk songs. I never made the connection between jazz Joni era and 70s Steely Dan but it’s literally the same time period with many of the same session musicians.
Date went okay, probably won’t go on a second one though.
They were on a roll (pun intended)!
Wasn’t expecting to give this 5 stars but what can I do?
Maybe a couple of songs too long but we had fun
I’ve long thought I was over finding the song, “Imagine” listenable, let alone the all-timer it’s been hailed as for seemingly its entire existence. Overplayed in general, over-representative of Lennon’s solo legacy, and over-utilized for self-serious celebrity sing-alongs. That being said, my annoyance with that song skewed my feelings of this album in full, it is the Imagine LP after all. Well, after this listen-thru I softened on the song in question a tad (it’s good, just not something I want or need to hear), but more importantly realized the greatness of the other tracks even more. “Gimme Some Truth”, “It’s So Hard” and “How Do You Sleep?” are undeniable 70s mid-rock bangers. “Jealous Guy”, “Oh My Love” and “How?” are genuinely gentle gems. “Oh Yoko” is maybe my favorite Lennon song ever. Imagine I gave it 5 stars on the strength of the other material lol?
Neutered rehash of new wave. Again I choose die.
Another 5 star album from Blur? This project had revealed that I’m really into this band I only previously knew 3 songs of prior. And since this project also had me listen to an Oasis album, to which I gave 1 star, I now know who I would have rooted for in their classic feud. Shoutout to the very Belew/Fripp by way of Bowie guitar playing and the sharp & very British songwriting.
Not too shabby for a bunch of Beatles soundalikes.
Upbeat & quirky post-punk with emotive vocals - I love it
I was the biggest Pink Floyd fan when I was freshman in high school. This might be their best. Returning to this album 20 something years later, I’m able to hear more clearly how it ties into other musical movements throughout history. Overall it’s funkier and groovier than I remember. “Welcome to the Machine” is a Kraftwerk track. “Wish You Were Here” is country. “Shine On” has elements of Albert King and the jazz. And darn, the whole time I was marveling at the musicianship of David Gilmour and Richard Wright, and at Roger Waters’s lyrics. And the amazing engineering and production value. I got a lot of love for the eclecticism, the concept and the personal feel to the work. Great.
When they do their extended jams I can’t get into it. It sounds annoying. But sometimes I like when they play songs and I will always love Jerry Garcia’s voice. I prefer Grateful Dead, the studio band.
I kind of like this guy’s style. He’s the bridge between Jackson Browne and Stephen Bishop.
Currently going through a breakup, so thanks for the assist. Am I now of the camp that this is his best album.
They had such a definitive sound from the get-go. American new wave pop with mild punk undertones. I also hear a lot Western & cowboy song influence in there, so giddy up, too!
It’s like a whole album of awesome album cuts.
Another brilliant album by one of my “heroes”
Not sure if this is an actual album or what but either way thank you for introducing this awesome artist to me.
This is my classical music.
The sound is there but the songs aren’t quite yet.
Early British punk that signals new wave with its energetic tunefulness and experimentation.
The nerds got something right here
A little too teenage angsty for my tastes but I respect the hell out of it. I’ve figured out that “Closer” is a more fucked up version of George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex”. This is definitely the most receptive I’ve ever been listening to NIN though so I could see me coming around fully in a couple years or so.
The beginning of U2’s elder statesmen of rock era. The maturity produces some great ones as well as a few snoozers. It’s funny how they always seem to front-load their albums with their biggest hits.
Not one of my fave Talking Heads albums. I always thought Eno’s production goes a little too spacey on a couple of the tracks that should have a dryer sound given their tight funky punky arrangements. That being said, they’re probably my favorite band and this is still brilliant as hell.
Wasn’t even aware they put out an album in this era. It was good!
Amazing blend of styles. Bravo. I only wish one other track on the album matched the caffeinated chaos of “20th century schizoid man”.
Run-DMC are important as hell to the history of rap and pop culture at large. They were also one of my first favorite groups period. There are some undeniable classics here (“Peter Piper”, “It’s Tricky”) but just a year or two later hip hop evolved in terms of flow, lyricism and beat-making to something so beyond this that it makes this sound like it’s of another century. It makes this sound dated and hard to take as seriously in 2025.
Johnny Cash is a cool dude and a music legend - no question - but it seems redundant to have this on the list since it came out after and is not as captivating a performance as At Folsom Prison. I’m not even really into the title track and he plays it twice back to back lol.
This is the hardest this one ever hit for me. Especially keyed into Thom Yorke’s vocal delivery and melodies on this listen. Somehow both so vulnerable and at arms length.
They got the right energy
Perfect soundtrack for a Sunday drive to a vineyard lol
As my friend Lou once said, “too jammy man” zzzzzz
She’s got the right touch
Solo Jazz piano crossing over into a quiet small 70s drama soundtrack - brilliant
Always energizing to hear Fela’s music. Translates incredibly well to the live format
Loved this crud and now that I think of it, it appears I am mounting my proper Cure moment. Groovy goth experimentation over steady post punk drum beats. Damn, is early cure real hip hop? Who can really truly say for sure?
Disco meets Broadway meets pop genius
Was not expecting to dig this as much as I did. They are like a joke band that takes their craft very seriously. Super campy, super cheeky but also super well written and performed. I enjoyed the inspired blend of classic rock styles: glam, hair metal, AC/DC, all done in this knowingly absurd manner. Also kind of cool that the lead vocalist sounds like a young Thom Yorke.
Potent and important. The energy and angst still sound so fresh. My main knock is that some songs in the second half sound like rushed rehashes of classic material on the first half. I would have happily cut “territorial pissings” and “lounge act” specifically and turned them into b-sides. It ends with the amazing double punch of the reflective “something in the way” and demented “endless, nameless” perfectly showing to us two tiny versions of the band within the band.
This really captured my soul. Way to go Dusty!
I’m in my LL Cool J appreciation era for sure. I def undervalued him as a rapper bc growing up I knew him more as a cheesy action star/ubiquitous CBS personality. But this man has serious skills. The lyricism and storytelling are a cut above. The beats are funky fresh and playful as hell. It’s not just the ladies, listeners love cool j, too!
Their sound is incredibly honed in: White dudes doing reggae-informed literary- focused new wave. The only one I didn’t really dig was the goofy ass Stewart Copeland track, “on any other day”.
What the hell, guess this is a masterpiece. Alice Cooper is much as it is musical theater as it is hard rock.
Some of it I dug, some of it I snubbed. Cool concept overall though with the virtual band thing. Reckon I’m more of a Blur bloke!
Charli XCX’s Brat is much better
Come on man - why you got me listening to this shit?
Both sludgier and prettier than previous albums. Classic Black Sabbath never misses.
He made some good points here and there.
Banger after banger. Sequenced to perfection. A mid 90s hip hop-informed r&b treasure with so much spunk.
That golden mystical sound
Knew of husker du, had no idea of this particular album’s existence. Super solid, super engaging college rock songwriting and performance.
Fat, smoove and fresh fun to the max.
I want to be out on Paul Simon bc he seems like an incredibly annoying guy who thinks he’s funnier than he is and holds a grudge. But unfortunately he’s got the goods. What can you do? Sidenote: I like to imagine “Hobo’s Blues” was Simon’s attempt at getting anti-rockist, Woody Allen’s attention, which eventually leads him to being cast in Annie Hall 5 years later.
What a talent and a tragic loss. He’s clearly one of the most influential singers to the current generation of “singing in cursive” pop stars, either directly or indirectly. Turn on the radio and you’ll hear his vocal DNA all over the place. For this being his only official studio album it’s an extremely notable one. I do have minor quibbles in some areas. Although I appreciate the nods to top notch material, the two covers are little overwrought for me vocally - I’m much more moved by John Cale’s pared down piano version of “Hallelujah” and Nina Simone’s sublime “Lilac Wine” than Buckley’s attempts here. Also, in the midst of the record’s near perfect second half, “Eternal Life” sticks out as a lackluster Soundgarden ripoff to me. Anyway, I’ll give him some titular grace for an overall memorable and foundational ‘90s alt rock/singer-songwriter hybrid. RIP JB.
Thank God for the mighty John Coltrane.
Her voice is as buff as a competing bodybuilder, and these songs are all flexes.
The singer sounds like 90s alt Bono. Also a little Father John Misty before Father John Misty. Some songs I really dug, others got the shrug but it was a worthwhile listen and great intro to band I might have only vaguely known by name.
Wahoo! An astonishing feat in modern pop songwriting, and funny as hell, too.
Seems impossible for me to dislike a Steely Dan song. They knew what the heck they were doing.
Get this Diet Public Enemy out of here
A hallucinatory hillbilly classic. Perfect for a hazy spring drive.
Dave Grohl seems to have the (insecure?) impulse to make these songs heavier than they need to be. Most of these songs, that he himself wrote, have emotionally resonant and/or candy-ass melodies, but they are trapped in confused arrangements that are signaling you to head-bang. It’s like he’s soulfully uncomfortable not pummeling the shit out his drums or tossing basic hard rock distortion on his guitar even when that guitar is playing pretty intricate chord shapes. It is true that Dave is a great punk/grunge drummer whose forceful style elevated Nirvana, but Foo Fighters ain’t really that type of band. There’s a hollowness in the heavy here. This is why “Big Me” ends up being the best and bravest song by far, because it is allowed to be its true self: a gentle and self-reflective/confessional ditty with nicely strummed guitars and softly played drums. The self-restraint pays off.
A treasure to the whole world, not just Illinois!
Fantastic - the first 3 tracks are literally perfect 2000s Indie bangers
Arthur Lee is the Riddler of Rock. In an era that heralded Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, he was a black genius who got lost in the shuffle. This album is a beautiful 60s Southern Californian marriage of the wunderkind pop orchestration of Pet Sounds and the dark psychedelic tones of the Doors. It’s assuredly a product of its time and yet it’s a super original and rewarding entry in the Summer of Love West Coast rock movement. The unpredictable stops and starts to melodies and lyrics and whimsical arrangements make it a work worth returning to over and over again. I heard it first 20 years ago, but was even more blown away by it on this listen.
My favorite part was when the lady sang, but sadly I learned she’s not a real member of the band. Anyway, the rest of it wasn’t so bad.
I heard this not that long ago. Liked it then, like it now.
As a major Bowie boy, this was admittedly never my favourite from his classic run of records. But it still is that good. Awesome blend of his idiosyncratic songwriting & vocal stylings with sumptuous r & b rhythms & textures. The guest spots from Luther Vandross, David Sanborn and John Lennon really help make this a special album as well.
This is as essential to my musical diet as the banana is to my daily diet lol.
Ultimately not my thing but it’s an iconic sound that they totally perfected.
Chronicles (vol. 1) the parallel evolution of two styles Dylan mastered: surreally hilarious blues-rock and prophetic-poetic folk.
Def in my top 3 albums by a “rock band” to come out in the decade known as the 2000s.
One of the most overrated albums of my generation. My main takeaway is that every song goes on for far too long. This includes great songs on here like “Power”, “All of the Lights” and “Devil in the New Dress” but especially the album’s lame, interminable centerpiece “Runaway” and annoying as hell “Blame Game”. For better or for worse, Kanye didn’t want to edit any of his ideas here. In retrospect I kind of hate the more mopey, emo material that was clearly informed by his previous album 808s & Heartbreak (maybe not so coincidentally my least favorite album of Kanye during his heyday), and gravitate towards the abrasive, self-destructive material that points to his next album Yeezus, which I believe is Kanye’s true masterpiece of the 2010s.
A more recent sentimental favourite of mine and prob my top PJ Harvey album currently. The personal lyrics of a foreign artist in NYC reflecting on themes of love hit home with the sparse but emotionally potent rock n’ roll. Always brings me fondly back to when I first listened to it just a few years ago in my car eating Popeyes.
Crack a miller low-life and dance through pain.
Masterful storytelling propelled by British slang and homegrown beats. Don’t love it all but respect must be given.
More depressed sounding Bill Callahan with cool production touches. Pretty nice man!
Yet another masterpiece from one of the best to ever do it. That his final album is among his boldest and bravest in his catalogue is so fitting.
These silly guys sure can groove
I heard she wasn’t into the orchestration. Sorry I know it was her record but I feel like she was wrong. The sparse guitar backing, Nico’s haunting vocals and the orchestration all work perfectly together.
RIP Brian. My personal fave masterpiece by the Boys.
The originator: enough said.
Smiths really can’t miss.
I hate “use somebody” so much I forgot that their early stuff ain’t so bad. Still not my cup of tea but absolutely listenable!
Smooth, joyous and breezy jazz for a summer day drive.
A band that mastered their sound from the first album. Appreciate the conciseness. 11 songs in 35 minutes. The Velvet Underground is always brought up as a major influence on early Strokes, and I would agree with that when it comes to their image and general NYC attitude, but musically they sound much more indebted to New Wave and Post Punk. I honestly hear a lot of the Cars in them.
A bunch of unusual sounds all coming together to make an iconic record.
Very well titled album. That’s pretty much what it was.
This a great reminder that I should listen to more Björk lol. It’s such a beautiful & brilliant album. Curious and sensual songs realized by romantic electro production with wonderful recurring hallmarks: fizzy beats, luxuriant keyboards, baby-cooing synths, ghostly kids choir, and Bjork’s magnificent swooping, crackling vocals tying it all together.
At this point, this is just too perfectly stupid to hate on.
Although some of the other British blues rock groups had more technical ability, who cares?! The Rolling Stones more than made it up in ideas, songwriting, production, attitude and a sloppy feel that makes their best work among the greatest of its era.
Yeah, I think I’m mostly good on listening to anything that can be classified as classic hard organ rock at this point.
2nd Kings of Leon album in a month on here. Starting to get pissed off. Is it the worst music ever? Definitely not. But do we really need both of KOL’s first two albums on this list lol?
Not exactly my bag but I appreciate the theme of peace, which I agree with btw!
Prestige American Idol cringe that sounds like it was made exclusively for both the greater Grammy’s electorate and recent divorcees reclaiming their sense of self after years of settling. Nah.
RIP Neil Peart. You were a great drummer who wrote shitty lyrics. I ain’t trying to listen to your mini rock opera adaptation of a whack ass Ayn Rand fable. Side 1 basically unlistenable bc of this and the music essentially being diet Canadian Tommy. Side 2 has equally bad lyrics but they verge on charming with their one off explorations of themes as goofy as white boys traveling through Asia and a tribute to the Twilight Zone. The band also legitimately rips at times. Overall I prefer Moving Pictures. Rush’s nerd prog is much more digestible when married with ‘80s new wave. But maybe that’s just me!
Really got a kick out of how frequently Peter incorporates “every day” into his choruses.
A top 10 album of all time for me, and most assuredly the one I have listened to the most in my life. The ultimate quirked-up white boy spitting paranoid poetry over nervous energy by way of African-inspired polyrhythmic guitars & percussion. I love the arc of this record. It starts off upbeat & funny in an unsettling way (“Born Under Punches”, “Crosseyed and Painless”), revs up to an ecstatic climax (“The Great Curve”, “Once in a Lifetime”) and gradually slows down to something darker and calmer (“Houses in Motion” to “The Overload”). The repetition throughout the puts me in a wonderful trance I’m always ready to return to. It really is the perfect culmination of Talking Heads’ partnership with Eno.
A blast of raw energy fueled by a dark libido.
Thank you for turning me on to this :)
Damn! This was another delicious discovery for me. Early British punk with a little more texture than its contemporaries, already anticipating the arrival of post-punk. Also now I know about Gaye Advert, “London’s first female punk star!” I was fully engaged mate.
Mama Mia do they have their sound figured out! Only issue with this album is that the best song is the first one and a lot of the other songs sound the same, and despite me liking that same sounding song, it gets kind of monotonous 3 quarters in.
So true bc I Either think a song on here is a genius indie pop composition Or an overly emo missed opportunity.
The first of Steely Dan’s two perfect albums of lowlife luxury & degenerate decadence - plus an absolute pleasure to listen to every time.
Superb. One of the best voices and flows in rap ever - the old soul confidence, jazzy cadence and clever moribund lyrics that will either dazzle, tickle or gut, but never bore you - who likely was just scratching the surface of greatness when his life was cut short. So many classics on this debut, however like many albums of the CD era, is a little too long and redundant for its own good. Could have dropped 2-3 tracks easily and made this a perfect album, but alas. The morbid title is prescient and apt, given the death obsession that runs through nearly every track on here. A legend.
Hoo boy, this thing is ass-loaded with hits! Perfect classic rock-new wave cusp album.
This album poses the question: what if Eric Clapton’s 70s solo career was actually interesting in any way?
Cute, smart and 80s as hell ❤️
This pairs so well with espresso. I was prog rocking out to my best abilities.
This is the future I want
Some of their most interesting and experimental work included (“Kashmir” and “In the Light” to name two giants) but very shaggy as a unit. Which makes sense since it’s both a new studio album and a collection of outtakes smashed together. I also think by the time you get to ‘75, Zeppelin’s iconic riff ratio takes a slight dip, but they’re still mainly on the mark.
Neil doing a somewhat more commercial version of country rock but still doing it very Neil paid off. Not my favorite of his 70s canon but everything is strong. The bizarre piano ballads backed by a bombastic London Philharmonic Orchestra ate such an interesting texture in the context of the rest of the album.
Iconic but ultimately not for me. Leans too heavily in the pop direction on the pop-alternative divide. “You Oughta Know” is an all time scorned lover banger though!
An absolute treasure trove of late 90s adult oriented country. A vibe I would happily spend time in for little under an hour of my time. Emmylou has got it.
Obsessed with this being labeled as progressive rock.
Plainspoken philosophical lyrics combined with fun melodies and cartoon psychedelia production. One the Lips’ 4 masterpieces.
Not bad but definitely not needed here. 2000s rock revival seems to be overrepresented on this list.
Despite being one of the lamest popular rock bands of the last 25 years they have a knack for writing the occasional good soft rock song. “Yellow” and “Trouble” are well composed and performed, although the lyrics are vague and trite. Yet even at their best on this debut they still only amount to heavily diluted versions of 90s Radiohead and U2.
Essentially Todd’s Laura Nyro/Carole King album with a little power pop, experimental hard rock and Stones send-ups peppered in. Not sure if everything hits but it being a double album, it was all worth the attempt. Also not confident that the clever names for each album side correlate that well with the material but whatever, he’s a genius. He’s my Frank Zappa.
He’s got great beats and street authenticity but his flow and lyrics are so lackluster. Undeserved place in rap history.
A lot of fun Muppets energy on this one, and Elton & Kermit are killing it!
Pleasant, friendly, playful late 60s rock music that is a little anonymous but doesn’t necessarily work against it.
Rectum word count is off the charts. Brilliant & sick.
A document of a solid rock band
The greatest rockstar of all time’s greatest album.
Not really for me but I respect the hell out of it.
Sometimes the white boys got it
Bro is versatile stylistically speaking
Hell of a time hanging with Norman, Terry, girls, that guy’s cousin and the whole lot!
A band that was continuing in the legacy of the Beatles without straight up ripping them off.
Oh okay so the better Oasis?
Really getting into the weeds of this project it seems.
I genuinely had a blast with this one. More so than a band, KISS is a boldly shallow consumer-ready organization, but like good fast food they have a certain charm & quality control that appreciated when consumed in small doses. Perhaps unexpectedly, the production value is high as hell, featuring cinematic orchestration and sound effects, and the songs are well written and executed. It’s a popcorn album.
Side note: I found it fascinating that Peter Criss’s vocals on “Beth”, with their soulful lived-in hoarseness, reminded me so much of Dennis Wilson’s voice during his 70s solo era. It’s a drummer turned heart bearing balladeer thing I guess.
I’m thinking John Martyn is like the Captain Beefheart of Eric Claptons.
Nice music but why does it all have to be so bloody long??
2 unremarkable albums by xtina on this list already? I hope that means that there will be at least as many albums represented by Janet Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Beyonce and Mariah Carey, too.
Christina is no doubt a vocal powerful, but she isn’t that interesting as an artist and this album is ridiculously long and teeming with filler and cliched, over-sung pop R&B songs. That being said “Ain’t No Other Man” and “Candyman” both rip.
Sadly another case of white boy got it.
There are at least 8 Nick Cave albums better than this one, but cool music anyway!
The rawness can’t be denied. It feels like an immediate and often times problematic as hell product of its time, while also maintaining as a vital & timeless piece of American art. I do firmly believe that Ice Cube or Eazy-E should appear on every track since their voices perfectly embody this sound to almost other worldly proportions. I also believe that Dre shouldn’t be rapping ideally at all, but I get it. It was a group effort after all.
A mad genius and gentleman ❤️
Used to be on shit back in sophomore year
Idk if Tommy can hear but I can 😊
Arrested Development type shit ❤️
Groovy blend of the Beatles and Dylan. Interesting band in general. Just mid 60s enough to not make it into the classic rock rotation that some of their American contemporaries like the Doors, Hendrix and CCR enjoyed, while also being clearly so influential on so many rock movements and artists to come, namely psychedelic rock, power pop, jangle, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and the Stone Roses.
I’ve heard for a long time that this band was apparently influential as hell on all the 80s hair metal bands, and now that I’m finally listening to them for the first time that is certainly evident. They are such an interesting mixture of hard rock and art rock with a very European sensibility.
A beautiful & brilliant album that brings me back to the summer of 2009. I would listen to this often in my bedroom while going through my first major breakup, and it proved to be so incredibly therapeutic & helpful to my little aching heart. Music heals - hell yeah!
What the hell - most of this dumb ass fuckery works.
Welp - it’s finally fall and the freaky folk rockers are doing their magic harmonies again
Listen: they’re starting to win me over, what can I say?
Joni’s seamless transition from folk to folk-rock to jazz-rock. Also interestingly, the Joni album that features music that sounds the most like the Law & Order theme (“Just Like a Train”, “Down to You”) and the Frasier theme (“Twisted”).
Call me a normie but I like this like more than Astral Weeks
Very badass album. Really not much more to say other than that.
This quirked up white boy horny as hell! He’s somehow both scrawny Tom Jones and chiller Scott Walker, but I dig it.
A thriller diller for sure
That’s how you do it more or less
Bruce at his Bossiest. Dumbed down and bigger and sexier sounding but not losing any of the gravitas he came in with on Nebraska.
The undefeated Queen of Pop
Much more like Foreigner than I’ve ever heard AC/DC sound before , half these riffs ain’t hitting dog.
Common to me is a rapper who flirts with corniness but the production and guest appearances more than make up for it!
Ryan Adams is talented but also such an oppressively annoying poseur that it too often takes away from the listening experience. It comes across in his vocal affectations and ostentatiously bad boy lyrics. Still, Gold has some undeniable poppy alt-country gold sprinkled throughout that shines in spite of how insufferable he clearly is. I heard “Sylvia Plath” in 2025 and thought this is essentially what Lana Del Ray does but her version of it is much much better. Still got to acknowledge the who came first though. Anyway, Heartbreaker remains the true champ of this era of Ryan Adams.
Dark psychedelia for the 80s, pushed through thrashy punk.
Pure pop perfection. The bridge between mid-60s Paul McCartney and early Chicago.
Never could stand “Getting in Tune” man
Man this really pissed me off
I know Mr. Cooke for his sweet buttery smoothness and exquisite grace, but this live performance showed off a rawness I didn’t know was there. Quite illuminating!
Todd Rundgren is my Frank Zappa
The historical importance of riffing on “cream cheese” for several minutes is not loss on me.
I’ve turned a corner on this band. I was neutral for years but since my interim love affair with Paul Weller’s 80s sophisti-pop band, the Style Council, I’ve reverse engineered an appreciation for this British power trio. Great songs, tight performances - that’s entertainment!
Very fluid mixture of blues and psychedelica, and very British, too. Three evenly matched power players in Baker, Bruce and Clapton. The balance is very on. “Hell yeah” if I’m being honest.
Even more so than Ziggy, this is the glam rock zenith.
Polite music with a little edge to it 😈
Who doesn’t want a strong dose of trip hop in their Brazilian music? I’m sure some ppl but whatever I was vibing. One of the most 1999 sounding ass albums I’ve ever listened to in my life.
He’s an unconventional singer with a non-pretty voice but the music is so pretty.
Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards all day ❤️
Lesser Beatles which means it’s still great. Couple of the George songs are sounding a little puny here.
What a weird, cool, underrated band. A little prog rocky, a little soft rocky, a little power poppy and very art rocky. It is my duty to dig deeper.
The music on its face is not terribly bad or offensive, but what it represents is. Another overrated, mediocre and derivative white rock band from this century’s album that I did not need to listen to in this lifetime or any other. The White Stripes/Jack White already did this and did it with more idiosyncratic production and lyrical content.
What a true treat to listen to this whole album again for the first time in 10 years. It remains a potent document. I teared up listening to “Sing About Me.” Generational talent.
These guys got grooves, riffs, tones, vibes down to an elemental level.
These bastards get what they’re doing to a tee. Cartoonish yet straightforward corporate blues rock. A non-metal Texan AC/DC and this is their Back in Black.
Hey - I mostly liked most of it!
I probably have ceiling for appreciation of Nu Metal but I respect
the hell out of the indigenous rhythmic experimentation and themes explored. And also “Born Stubborn” just goes hard as hell.
Nothing but love & respect for this unearthed legend.
Overall ass kicker,
And I’m not even a grunge guy!
Annoying in the best way possible!
The house kept rocking for me
Perfect musical manifestation of 90s indie culture.
I’ve returned to this album so many times and it keeps revealing itself to be one of the most stunning, vulnerable and fulfilling pieces of pop song-craft, arrangement and production. So many holy shit moments.
She’s the poster child of responsible white liberal boomer singer-songwriting and frankly kills at it.
This was my most satisfying listen of this album yet.
Let’s take the corniest elements of Wyclef Jean, Santana, Lin Manuel-Miranda and the Black Eyed Peas and blend them into one whack ass group that’s just asking to be nominated for a Grammy circa 2006.
As a verified original Pixies aficionado idk how I never listened to this before. More fool me!
Liked this more than I thought I would!
The Brian Wilson of slobbishly charming & funny American crooners, but I guess that is just Brian Wilson, too. Whatever, I love them both. This album is the perfect entry point into Nilsson and his singular way of doing pop music.
Know your history. They didn’t invent the blues. But this is still pretty awsome.
This was a respectable chiller, although I did feel a lot of these songs went on much too long for their own good. Perhaps if I listened to it high while doing a jigsaw puzzle instead of under-caffeinated while commuting to work I would have felt differently though.
Such a great turn of the decade (80s into 90s!) album! Perfect midway between the sophisticated soulful soft-jazz sounds of Sade and the early 90s club bangers, with a little Gen X angst peppered in!
Dude’s got melodies for days on end
This cropped up during the height of “grunge” music and is much more innovative, timeless and grimier than any of that lot. Wu-Tang is the true grunge music and I would say is the greatest band of the 90s and this is their greatest album.
Right up my silly little alley
Interesting time stamp in pop music - an instant icon fronting a well oiled album filled with super Y2K & blippy tracks with sophisticated chord changes that are also paired with a couple middling Adult Contemporary corporate ballads that point to the dregs of American Idol. All the singles are classics and from the jump Britney has an immediately recognizable identity & presence.
Insanely insensitive album cover and album name but beautifully executed swing music. Also, Red Bank, NJ mentioned ❤️!
The Purple One’s foray into philosophical religious hedonistic synth pop.
What a pleasure to listen to
It ain’t my bloody valentine but it does rock
Groovy shit - toggling between far-out folk rock freak-outs and cryptic Kris Kristofferson country crack-ups.
Welp the androids did it again
Holds up for it’s humor and commitment to the bit.
Important more than great
Love the production and sound but the lack of arrangement variety and length start to dilute the entire product
Good test run for Disintegration
Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are two of my absolute musical heroes. Chic is so dialed in: debonair disco & freeing funk.
Frick yeah I want it darker!
She is such a legend, hero and bald icon! Paved the way for the angsty guy alt-rock-pop of the mid ‘90s without really reaping any of the benefits bc she was blacklisted for her bravery. This is not as strong song-wise as her debut, but still cuts so deep in its greatest moments. I echo the single tear shedding in the “Nothing Compares 2 U” video when I listen to this beautiful record by a beautiful Irish soul.
Potent and fun as hell band. What i wish pop-punk actually was.
Yeah! Or better yet: fuck yeah!
Such a potent brew of angsty new wave. This and Hounds of Love (both 1985) are kind of the peak of the whole genre. Poppy and accessible but still a major artistic statement and in total control of the technology rather than getting swallowed whole by it.
A early foray into the long form slow jam sound that is intriguingly underpinned by Marvin’s neuroses.
They slay. I hear a lot of what the Strokes do guitar-wise a few years later in here.
There are tiny ass hints of things I like in here but…
Calculated cringe for commerce
Perfect. It came out when I was a freshman in college, therefore I’m trauma-bonded to it.
One of the greatest albums of “the Aughts” - fullll stop! I love the legacy of noise in political/rebellious music carried over from groups like Public Enemy to this piece. Fun and powerful!
Yes indeed. Also just want to acknowledge that for a classic British prog rock album, there’re curiously a good deal of Latin rhythms & flavors going on here.
The sound of 80s yearning - the ultimate vibe to be transported to.
Eerie & emotionally driven retro-futurism.
This is well-crafted classy music, but with all due respect to Mr. Sinatra, if I could be Frank, I just don’t really care about this at all.
One of the most meaningful satirical pieces of America and its implicit racism in music ever. A
gumbo of ugliness, beauty, goofiness and brilliance.
Astounding. My first time tapping into the lyrics on this album and it kind of floored me.
It’s interesting that this came out 6 months before Led Zeppelin’s debut album and covers much of the same territory but no one remembers it. It even seemingly gives songwriting credit to the blues men who songs appear here, something Zep had trouble remembering to do lol. That being said Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones both appear as sidemen here in a limited capacity and assuringly contributed to British heavy-blues-rock scene, it’s just wild that Jeff Beck is largely erased at this point. Also, Rod Stewart’s vocals kick much ass.
Overall it’s a sure for me dog
Shit-stain/pit-stain rock that is very occasionally kind of fun.
