328
Albums Rated
3.51
Average Rating
30%
Complete
761 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
How you rate albums
Rating Timeline
Average rating over time
Ratings by Decade
Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Post-punk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
48
5-Star Albums
10
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle | 4 | 1.87 | +2.13 |
| Merriweather Post Pavilion | 5 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| Kollaps | 4 | 1.9 | +2.1 |
| The Last Of The True Believers | 5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
| Here Come The Warm Jets | 5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
| Third | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert) | 5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
| Nothing's Shocking | 5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
| John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| Live Through This | 5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway to Hell | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| Document | 1 | 3.56 | -2.56 |
| Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
| I Should Coco | 1 | 3.34 | -2.34 |
| Hysteria | 1 | 3.21 | -2.21 |
| Queen Of Denmark | 1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
| The Rising | 1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
| Back To Black | 2 | 4.02 | -2.02 |
| Kala | 1 | 2.91 | -1.91 |
| (What's The Story) Morning Glory | 2 | 3.84 | -1.84 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 4 | 4.75 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Cure | 2 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.17 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
| David Bowie | 3 | 4.33 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | 1, 4, 4 |
| Beck | 3, 2, 5 |
5-Star Albums (48)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Talking Heads
5/5
The type of album where you listen through once and it's not all that impressive but hey it was only 20 minutes. So I may as well give it another spin.
Finish it again, hey may as well give it another spin.
Then you've realised you've been listening to it all day and the album is over 40 minutes
10/10
2 likes
Jethro Tull
3/5
Im sick of googling bands and albums on this list and it saying "hard rock" and it turns out its milque toast gen x prog.
Theres nothing wrong with it, its good even. But c'mon has this list got anything heavier?
7/10
1 likes
Radiohead
5/5
Big Radiohead fan but first time listening to this, pleasantly surprised.
I actually think the high points of this album are better than Kid A in some respects but unfortunately just lacks the complete consistency to get itself there.
9/10
Fav tracks - 2+2=5, Sit Down. Stand Up, Backdrifts , Where I End and You Begin, There There, A Punch Up at a Wedding, Myxomatosis
Least fav - none
1 likes
Foo Fighters
2/5
This album has been a dark shadow stalking the corner of my vision since we started this list.
I got it early on when I first started it on my own. I gave a scathing review and at the time gave it a 4/10 and with hindsight it should have been a 3.
I've dreaded this album.
Here's what i wrote the first time
Every song sounds so washed out, thid is a call gets interesting towards the end but goes nowhere with it and then the song ends.
Nothing on the album sounds as hard, sharp or punchy as it should.
Instead of a hearty stew of hard it is the auditory equivalent of dirty dishwater.
Weenie Beenie is definitely the best track by a mile as it doesn't sound like milquetoast watered down hard rock and actually has a little edge and punch.
Cool album cover though.
An album from an artist at a time it couldn't fail.
The fact that this is even remotely compared to anything Nirvana put out is a joke. Listen to Milk by Nirvana and then anything off this album and tell me it's even remotely comparable.
Mid production at best.
Didn't help that after this album finished a them crooked vulture track came on and immediately shat on everything in this album.
I feel mostly the same only that it wasn't nearly as bad. Maybe the better headphones made all the difference.
Just really mid this time.
5/10
1 likes
1-Star Albums (10)
All Ratings
Van Halen
4/5
I did not expect to like this so much.
Glam 'hard' rock is really really really not my thing, but this album is filled to the brim with Bangers and well made songs
Back loaded tho
8/10
Fav tracks - Jump, Drop Dead Legs, Hot for Teacher, I'll Wait, Girl Gone Bad, House of Pain,
Least fav - Panama
Michael Jackson
5/5
I remember Michael Jackson coming on in a record store, hearing it on a high quality sound system for the first time opened my eyes towards how masterful it sounded.
Surprisingly this is the first time I've given a full listen through of the album.
My only criticism is it is slightly front loaded and the highs are so high that it makes songs that would otherwise be the highlights of an average album seem a lot worse.
9/10
Fav tracks - Wanna Be Startin' Somthin', Baby be Mine, The Girl is Mine, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing), The Lady of My Life
Least Fav - Human Nature
Steely Dan
5/5
I'd never actually intentionally listened to Steely Dan, I'd involuntarily heard them on videogame Soundtracks, film and TV Soundtracks, in Markos car ect. But this is the first time I've sat my ass down and LISTENED.
I thought I was gonna be a cynic, that it was gonna sound dated, kinda old and mildewy.
Some albums from this era take a little bit to get the feel for. To catch what makes them so great, Paul McCartney's "Ram" for instance. This isn't like that at all. Every song is immediately, Jazzy or filled with soft rock joy that doesn't feel stale at all. Instead, fresh and original. Which might sound completely retarded but if this came out today I feel like it would still be a hit. Genuinely feels impossible not to be.
10/10
Fav tracks - All of 'em
Least Fav - Perfect Album
Particular highlights imo are Dirty Work, Kings and Midnight Cruiser
Marty Robbins
4/5
Phenomenal album.
The Master is a Masterpiece, so good it made Running Gun seem way shitter than it was (even though after a couple listens it's still the worst track on the album imo)
El Paso II is also a major highlight, type song to give a mf butterflies.
Type of album to have so many great tracks one passes by and you gotta relisten cause you think it's an off cut but it ain't it's just as goated as the rest.
9/10
Fav tracks - Big Iron, They're Hanging Me Tonight, Cool Water, Billy the Kid, Utah Carol, The Strawberry Roan, The Masters Call, El Paso I, In the Valley, Little Green Valley, The Hanging Tree, Saddle Tramp, El Paso II
Least Fav - Running Gun
The Police
3/5
An album that's only on this list because one of the books authors liked a couple of their songs and through on their most popular album.
Overall pretty forgettable but otherwise inoffensive album with a few good to great tracks.
I actually listened to this a few weeks ago and nothing stuck out but relistening the album was pretty chill and enjoyable.
Idk maybe I'm being too generous.
7/10
Fav tracks - Message in a Bottle, Regatta de Blanc, Bring On The Night, Deathwish, Walking on the Moon, On Any Other Day, Contact, Does Everyone Stare
Least Fav - None really
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
The chorus of you look good in the dance floor is so fucking milquetoast.
Oh God, I forgot the whole album is like this.
An album filled with songs with 10 seconds of a single amazing moment surrounded by utter mediocrity and blandness (4songs in)
Riot Van, the only song I remembered being phenomenal on the album is still the goat
Wait nvm I got home and finished listening to it, this might be one of my most personally contentious albums.
FUCK this album is backloaded AS FUCK
For context, for many years in highschool this WAS my favourite album of all time for quite some time.
I returned to it a few years ago and thought it was mid as fuck and gave it a 4 /10 relistening to it today I think I was too harsh but it's easy to see why, the front half of this album is BAD and puts an AWFUL fucking taste in your mouth for the rest of the experience.
Ima have to drop my individual track reviews for this one
Length
1. "The View from the Afternoon" 8/10
2. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" 3/10
3. "Fake Tales of San Francisco" 3/10
4. "Dancing Shoes" 3/10
5. "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me" 4/10
6. "Still Take You Home" 3/10
7. "Riot Van" 9/10
8. "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" 8/10
9. "Mardy Bum" 8/10
10. "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..." 6/10
11. "When the Sun Goes Down" 8/10
12. "From the Ritz to the Rubble" 7/10
13. "A Certain Romance" 5/10
Average = 5.77
I'm gonna round down to 5/10 for the sake of the inconsistent listening experience.
But will give 3 stars. What a ride
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Strange Coincidence I literally listened to this album for the first time on my own a couple days ago.
An album where every Second Song is a Masterpiece and every third song is just alright or just good.
Suzanne, The Stranger Song, So Long Marriane, and Teachers are insane.
8/10
Fav tracks - Suzanne, Master Song, The Stranger Song, Sisters of Mercy; So Long, Marianne; Stories of The Street, Teachers, One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
Least Fav - Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
SHORT REVIEW TODAY
EVERY SONG A BANGER, GREAT, OR EVEN PERHAPS PHENOMENAL
9/10
FAV TRACKS - ALL OF 'EM
LEAST FAV - NONE
Bon Jovi
3/5
Jacob described this album to me as "Music for Retards",
Still an alright album but.
"Let It Rock" 6/10
Entertaining and fun guitars but forgettable
"You Give Love a Bad Name" 9/10
Goated
"Livin' on a Prayer" 7/10
Played to death, revived and then played to death a second time. Still good tho.
Bonus points for being a working class song that's pro union, especially for such a massive hit.
"Social Disease" 5/10
The beginning of True retard music, the writing on this track is awful
"Wanted Dead or Alive" 7/10
Dad music as fuck. My Dad fucking hated Bonjovi, and Glam metal. He called it big hair metal. He would still get this stuck in his head though. Genuinely surprised there aren't more covers of this. It's begging for a Metallica cover I stg
The next two both have decent guitar sections with horseshit writing and vocal performances
"Raise Your Hands" 5/10
"Without Love" 5/10
"I'd Die for You" 6/10
I actually liked the vocal performance on this one.
"Never Say goodbye" 3/10
This song made me thing of that video that went viral a little while ago of the two methheads that stole that Mercedes with the dash cam and mic on. This seems like a song they would romantically dance to.
You know this has been played at some fuckwits wedding.
"Wild in the Streets" 5/10
I forgot this one all ready and it's the last one I listened to.
Average = 5.8
I'll give it 6/10
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
We have Morrissey at home sounding aaah front man.
Do not let Taylor Hannon near this cunts he would have an anneurism listening to them.
I had literally never heard of these guys before.
I thought this was gonna be an easy 5/5 for me but then it mixed it up.
I genuinely thought the first couple tracks were phenomenal.
Then Geno, the most popular track on the album hit and it was downhill from there. A string of good but not great tracks and then a step lower. The final track was great though.
This album is front loaded as fuck.
The lowest 8/10 I can possibly give without it being a 7.
Would probably be a 7.6 if I believed in such degenerate reviews
Fav tracks - Burn it Down, Tell Me When the Light Turns Green, The Teams that Meet in Caffs, I'm Just Looking, There There My Dear
Least Fav - Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire it Doesn't apply
Beck
3/5
This album is insanely similar to the work of Gotye outside of his hits.
It made me realise Gotye is a massive fucking hack since his entire non-mainstream music career is just a rip-off of this album..
I'm not mad though. Gotye improved upon it massively.
This album to me is good but feels incomplete. It's trying to do so much with Sampledelia and achieves none of the punch or impact Gotye would a achieve a few years later.
Most of the tracks on this album are good, very few are great.
Broken Drum and Scarecrow are massive highlights for me. Sad pop Beck never fails for me. Love it.
7/10
Fav tracks - Que' Onda Guero, Girl, Missing, Black Tamorine, Earthquake Weather, Hell Yes, Broken Drum, Scarecrow, Farewell Ride, Rental Car, Emergency Exit, Send a Message to Her
Least Fav - Go it Alone
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Not much to say here, sorry for the short review.
I think it's a Masterpiece, my top 2 highlights are Ain't No Way and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
10/10
Fav tracks - All -1
Least Fav - Groovin'
Love
4/5
I thought this was great. Listened last week, forgot to write down my thoughts back then.
Good Humor man is goated tho
8/10
Fav tracks - Alone Again Or, Andmoreagain, Old Man, The Red Telephone, Maybe the People Would be The Times or Between Clark and Hilldal..., Live and Let Live, The Good Humour Man He Sees Everything Like This, Bummer In the Summer, You Set the Scene.
Least Fav - None Really
Sonic Youth
4/5
The blunt, chaotic sound of Sonic Youth's visionary but difficult early work had begun to give way to a more coherent and song-oriented attack on 1986's EVOL, and with 1987's Sister, Sonic Youth revealed that they were a great rock band as well as a great art band. From the shifting dynamics and disquieting mood of the opening track "Schizophrenia" to the ferocious coda of "White Cross," Sister was the work of a band that had grown impressively stronger and more unified in the 12 months since their previous long-player. The sheets of sound that issued from Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo's re-tuned and modified guitars were still the core of their sound, but Sonic Youth's songcraft was steadily improving as they made better and more effective use of their aural palette and created a melodic context that helped their noisy report make greater dramatic sense. After going through a handful of drummers, Steve Shelley finally gave Sonic Youth the combination of chops, imagination, and force that they needed behind the kit, and while he certainly improved EVOL (his debut with the group), it was Sister where he truly make his mark: the steady pulse and rhythmic shadings of "Catholic Block," "Stereo Sanctity," and "Tuff Gnarl" helped firm up the tunes and added some discipline to Moore and Renaldo's exploratory guitar work that, remarkably, made their twisted instrumental figures more impressive and no less distinctive. And the warmth and clarity of Bill Titus' all-analog engineering made the guitars (and Kim Gordon's bass) sound as glorious as they always deserved; while Sonic Youth had been a band with great ideas from the start, Sister was where the execution finally caught up with the concept, and it was their first truly great album.
8/10
Fav tracks - Schizophrenia, Catholic Block, Beauty Lies in the Eye, Stereo Sanctity, Pipeline / Kill Time, Tuff Gnarl, Pacific Coast Highway, Cotton Crown, White Cross
Least Fav - Hot Wire My Heart
Animal Collective
5/5
A masterpiece in all aspects except for the fact its slightly overproduced.
Been listening to this for years but it's never had that spark of pushing it to be a 10.
9/10
Fav tracks - all of 'em
The Smiths
5/5
Everything I listen to this album it's like the Vince McMahon meme, where I'm like, this is what a 10 sounds like, no wait this is, no wait this is. With each song until Vicar in a Tutu. Crazy that this ain't even their best imo.
10/10
Fav tracks - All - 1
Least Fav - Vicar in a Tutu
Michael Jackson
3/5
Didn't click for me nearly as much as Thriller, still a good album with some bangers
Didn't really like some of the mixing felt that his voice was way too quiet on some tracks but that might be the version I listened too.
Took a few listens for some tracks like Dirty Diana and the way you make me feel, to click and even after having it click, still weren't great imo.
Not really a single bad track per se, just lots of alright to good tracks and only a couple which stuck out as great.
7/10
Cypress Hill
3/5
For a second I glimpsed into into how most members of this group feel about every other album.
Complete apathy.
So fucking front heavy, very strong opening.
I don't actually think there's anything that's overwhelmingly bad like you could play just about any random song from this album and it'd be alright.
It's just the the kill people slonk gang weed gets old quick and it really feels like come on get to the point.
There's so many bands that garnered an audience just from singles around this era, this feels like another one.
Fav tracks - Pigs, How I could just kill a man, Hand on the Pump, Hole in the Head, The Phuncky Feel one, Real Estate
Least Fav - Ultra Violet Dreams
John Lee Hooker
3/5
A serviceable, and good Blues album that tends to ebb towards generic.
On my first listen I thought it was super middle heavy, on a second listen I realised it's a lot more spread out and there's some songs especially towards the start that I didn't give enough credit.
A good album that could use a touch more eccentricity
7/10
Fav tracks - All -2
Least Fav - My Dream
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Who's horny ass BOOMER grandma put this on the greatest albums of all time.
ME FELLA, IM THAT HORNY ASS GRANDMA,
THIS SHIT SLAPPED,
Made to love is sweet corny and camp,
That's just to much whips you into the feels,
Sigh, Cry, Almost Die, is a MAJOR BANGER
It's always you gave me butterflies and is an astoundingly beautiful love song.
Lucille makes me wanna get up and dance.
Donna, Donna is another great track which constantly brings me back.
And Cathy's Clown's country sounds add the perfect touch to end the album on.
Such a short, sweet and ENERGETIC romp.
I'm giving it an 8/10 or now cause I don't think it's a Masterpiece or anything but it grows on me every listen and I could see it very easily climbing to a 9/10
Beastie Boys
3/5
Where beasties boys and where hear to say we had a horrible influence on music in a major way!
This is my first front to back beastie. Boys and there's a lot to like.
But God damn can these guys and only these guys get away with a flow like this and it's influence and widespread adoption in the mainstream has drilled a Hole in my skull with its usual shithouse execution that took multiple listens to even remotely allow me to appreciate it. Which I did end up doing.
It's just a massive shame that the sampedelia production wasn't what was widely accepted and instead it was a flow that no-one else can effectively replicate and then ruins it for everyone.
Understandable if you love this one, if it was an instrumental would would be an 8 or 9
Fav tracks - Shake Your Rump, Johnny Ryall, Egg Man, High Planes Drifter, The Sounds of Silence, Hey Ladies, Looking down the barrel of a gun, What comes around, Shadrach
Least Fav - 3-Minute Rule
Radiohead
5/5
Y'all already know what I'm rating this.
One of the best albums from one of my favourite bands. They only way I could dick ride this harder was if it was OK Computer.
It's got lush, deep, beautiful production that never even remotely comes close to sounding over produced.
It's about as perfect an album can get to sounding its got hidden beauty that you only discover on a second, third or 15th listen.
10/10
Fav tracks- perfect album
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
It's miraculous to me that someone like Damon Albarn whose the vast majority of his work is criticised in sounding like Gorillaz B-cuts even with 4 other known artists collaborating on the project still achieves this.
I do love his voice but c'mon all this shit sounds like the Fall just a bit better.
Albarn doesn't know when to quit or atleast take his time, he has so many projects beneath his belt and countless albums but only a handful of great ones.
I actually liked the vast majority of songs, the opening and closing tracks are definitely the highlights but it took me a couple listens to really get into the album.
7/10
Fav tracks - History Song, Northern Whale, Herculean, Behind the Sun, The Bunting Song, Nature Springs, Three Changes, The Good the Bad and the Queen
Least Fav - 80s life, Soldier Tale
Tom Waits
4/5
My first listen I thought I was listening to one of my new all time favourites, this album captures a range of emotions so well, it's surprisingly funny, but also melancholic and introspective.
Waits has a way with words that can't be understated.
On further listens the recency bias wore of a bit and I saw it for what it was, a little rough around the edges but a still astonishing piece of spoken word poetry, delivered by one of the best voices in music over the top of remarkable jazz.
I have no doubt for those who saw this live it was life changing.
I also can't see why you could dislike this album, think it's just good or alright maybe but the jazz is so good and the delivery so capturing it couldn't possibly get a bad review... right? Right?
Low 9/10 for now but definitely something I'm going to return to regularly , really awesome to capture a live performance of a GOAT before his prime. A really magical and important album.
1001 - 26 (24 Was Kid A btw hence no review)
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner (1975)
Genre - Spoken Word, Jazz
added to the music list. 🐍
9/10
Fav tracks - Opening Intro, Emotional Weather Report, Eggs and Sausage, Better of Without a Wife, Nighthawk Postcard (Free Easy Street), Warm Beer and Cold Women, Putnam County, Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emmission), Big Joe and Phantom 309, Spare Parts II and closing
Least Fav - None really
The La's
2/5
Nostalgia bait for millennial and gen x as it falls right on the edge of their respective music tastes
Because of this one might expect the most insufferable album ever created.
But in a cruel twist of fate its just the album a British hit single happened to be on. It's bland beyond understanding.
The first couple tracks are okay but sound but don't really go anywhere interesting and when you think they're about to they just end.
Beyond that you just get tired melodies and riffs and vocal flourishes that had fucking nothing but sounding like 50 alt rock singles you might hear in a shopping centre in the UK or a pig and whistle in Australia.
This is the first album on this project I have genuinely experienced displeasure listening to.
Looking glass is the only track on the album I might return to but even then it's hard to not imagine some skinny gen x with long hair and a soul patch biting his bottom lip and thrusting while he belts out the same chord on one of the few halfway decent songs on the album.
This sing gave me a little hope before plunging itself back into a few more songs that aren't bad but go nowhere and then a few more songs that are bad and bland and also go nowhere.
I can't sleep and Doledrum are also okay I guess.
This album didn't need to be over an hour, what made you think you ate musically competent enough to demand someone's attention for longer than a standard 45 minutes.
Entitled pricks.
4/10
Fav tracks - I can't sleep, There She Goes, Doledrum, Looking Glass
Least Fav - The rest
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Shit review today from me, been super busy, bretty great, no complaints all round good as album.
Liked all the track didnt dislike any.
Give me your love was my favourite cause it reminded me of Gran Turismo 4
Deep Purple
4/5
Not really my bag bit hard to deny this is a great album.
If this was up your alley could very easily understand someone giving the album a 10/10
Last two songs felt a bit tacked on.
Lazy a Masterpiece though fr, loved that track.
Fav tracks - All of em -2
Least Fav - Space Truckin', When a Blind Man Cries
The Charlatans
3/5
God damn I hated this shit on the first listen, one of the most boring generic ass Brit pop / rock ever conceived.
Sounded like literally everything from the era. If you plugged a description of this album into an AI it would spit out something identical.
On further listens it wasn't that bad and actually had some alright tracks. How High is genuinely the only good track though.
Still just sooooooo average, not even bad just the most average of average of average.
5/10
Fav tracks - Tellin' Stories, One to Another, Area 51, How High, Rob's theme
Least Fav - North Country Boy
5/5
On my first listen I thought disk 1 was substantially better than disk 2.
On my second listen, I thought the second disk was equally as good if not marginally better.
This album isn't a Masterpiece but every track is enjoyable.
Sure some tracks feel a little dorky but that adds to their charm.
Visions of Johanna through to Mr Tamborine man are all hands down masterpieces and would be best track on any other album but here they are back to back to back bangers and make it genuinely hard to pick a favourite or the best. (It's gotta be Just Like a woman lol)
BUT THEN MY BOY DOES IT AGAIN.
Back to back to back bangers on disk 2 From Leopard Skin pillbox hat through to rolling Stone.
And for whatever fuckibg reason this album wasn't just influential on Folk, Blues and rock but also contemporary experimental hip-hop for some reason!? And definitely contemporary blues. Awesome tracks.
9/10
Fav tracks - All - 1
Least Fav - Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues
Throbbing Gristle
4/5
Okay, I'm prepared for the incoming pretentious, fart sniffing, pontificating allegations. And I ain't beating them.
I'm also not going to go to war with everyone.
I'm just going to put my best case forward for this album.
Talking Heads realised their first feature Length album in '77 it was wildly ahead of its time in predicting the sounds that would define the 80s but also in its sampling, editing and production techniques. This only grew on future albums.
Similarly, even earlier White Light / White Heat by the Velvet Underground came out in 68 and capture the textures, Fuzz and Punk that would explode in the early 70s with Branca, Sonic Youth, the Swans and all other subsequent alt rock and Punk projects of the late 70s and early 80s
What does this album have to do with any of that?
It released in 78 and was riving that second end of a decade wave of innovation.
No-one was making sounds like this this, except for Eno and before him Halim El-Dabh on his single Lady and the Poet single and some faggots out of Princeton Uni music department. There's probably others but those are the ones I know of.
I was disappointed by the track hit by a rock cause it felt like it was going somewhere but didn't. I felt as though not only is the album deeply experimental but it has nothing to show for it. Thankfully I didn't feel that way throughout.
In fact everything up to and including Dead on arrival didn't amount to much other than an early use of sampling in this manner.
However, weeping blew me away, this track came out nearly 50 years ago and it sounds like an experimental track that would have came out today. It's so unique and beautiful and sad.
Hometime pushed me, the moments of babies Cries really got under my skin. And that was the point. By experimenting with sampling you are able to create soundscapes once unthought. Music doesn't have to be catchy and danceable it can be foreboding and scary. This track filled me with a sense of dread. Very cool.
Hamburger lady minus the vocals if used for the Soundtrack of a contemporary horror film would receive praise for its building of tension, the imagery associated with it is immaculate.
Some people are amazed that Aphex Twin developed some of his early works in the mid 80s, AB/7A came out in 78, c'mon you gotta admit that's pretty cool.
I feel the same way about E-coli as hamburger lady, could make it onto a horror movie Soundtrack today and no-one would bat an eye and may even give it praise.
Walls of sound, is a premonition of the looping soundscapes of no-wave and influence as mentioned above that would dominate the early 80s and have a lasting impact on all alt rock going forward.
This album reminds of Enos album another green world. And while he might have beat them to the punch this album is certainly remarkable and influential for its time and certainly deserving of a spot on the list.
What people need to understand is, that this album while not to most peoples taste isn't a Flaming garbage heap, it's not just banging noises together. I've been to dogshit live noise shows, anyone can bang some shit together and call it music. That's a 1/5. This isn't that. This is well composed, influential, ahead of its time. It had structure and nuance.
8/10
Fav tracks - IBM, Weeping, Hamburger Lady, Hometime, AB/7A, E-Coli, Walls of Sound
Least fav - none really
Supergrass
1/5
I'm genuinely concerned for the well-being of children who were brought up in an environment where they were exposed to parents who were a fan of this.
We're not supposed to is particularly egregious.
Strange ones and time to go are the least painful to get through the latter only cause they're singing about the album ending.
I don't like the way the guy on the left is looking at me.
Fuck this was bad
2/10
Stan Getz
4/5
A little bit back loaded as my favourite tracks were the second Lady from impanema, so danco samba and o grande amor.
Genuinely pleasant though.
Liked every track.
Not much to say really
Shack
2/5
Such a nothing burger album so I'm going to give a nothing burger review.
4/10
Fav tracks - Pull Together, Streets of Kenny, Cornish Town, Daniella,
Least Fav - The rest
Johnny Cash
4/5
Fuck he's so cool.
Everyone's already talked about the highlights in chat so, but yeah full of great moments
8/10
Fav tracks - Wanted man, I Walk the Line, Starville City Jail, San Quentin, A Boy Named Sue, Folsom Prison Blues
Least Fav - None
Sabu
4/5
Maybe (?) The most front loaded album ever created.
I LOVED the first 4 tracks on this thing, I listened to the album over and over and over and I just couldn't get around that back half. Those first four tracks though, mf masterpieces.
7/10
Fav tracks - El Cumbanchero, Billumba-Palo Congo, Choferito-Plena, Asabache,
Least Fav - Simba
OutKast
4/5
The only time I've ever voluntarily listened to so fresh and so clean and I was miserable, aside from that I thought it was a mix of tracks ranging from alright to great. Genuinely unique and innovative on some of these and really simple and catchy on others. Wouldn't go as far as to say that this was a phenomenal album but I could see an argument for great. While I'm just resting at good.
Definitely deserves to be on the list especially with the massive cultural legacy and impact Outkast has had.
7/10
Fav tracks - gasoline dreams, Ms Jackson, Snappin and Trappin, I'll call B4 I cum, B.O.B, Xplosion, We Luv deez Hoez, Humble Mumble, Red Velvet, Slumbers Velvet
Least Fav - so fresh and so clean
Amy Winehouse
2/5
If I knew nothing about Amy Winehouse she would definitely give off the vibe of a girl who says bruh, smokes too much weed and kinda has the same vibe as ogre Fiona from Shrek and despite this still gets mad at you when she overhears you playfully call your mate a retard cause it's offensive or whatever.
Anyway important and deserving album to be on the list but still mid, none of the songs where bad, the title track is fantastic but not enough to save the album.
Slightly backloaded but barely.
Next album please.
5/10
Fav tracks - Black to Black, Tears Dry on Their Own,
Least Fav - None
The Dictators
3/5
It was good but not great, can definitely see how influential it was and where the influences went but probably wouldn't return to it aside from a couple songs.
Genuinely feels like we've had three albums in a row that definitely deserve to be on the list but aren't great.
7/10
Fav tracks - The Next Big Thing, Back to Africa, Master Race Rock, Two Tub Man, Weekend
Least Fav - None
Coldcut
4/5
Great Album, (Im) in Deep and Which Doctor are masterpieces easy. Just kinda liked other electronic artists around this time a bit more, Larry Levan or Brian Eno for example. And I understand this is doing something different and is extremely influential but I'm generally more of a fan of what came to be than what's on display here.
Still great though with a few tracks I love.
8/10
Fav tracks - People Hold On, Fat (Party & Bullshit ) , (I'm) In Deep, Which Doctor, Beats & Pieces [Mo Bass Remix], Stop This Crazy Thing [Hedmaster Mix]
Least Fav - None
Sparks
3/5
Genuinely loved side A and thought this album was tracking for a really high score. Then side b hits and it falls of completely, it becomes a slurry of the same vocal distortion.
Samey is a very lazy criticism but side B is just that, with the exception of Equator every track sounds the exact same with little or no difference.
These guys clearly had an EP and were pushed or for some reason where asked to extend it to an LP and rushed it and shat the bed.
6/10
Fav tracks - The Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us, Falling In Love with myself again, Here in Heaven, Thank God it's not Christmas, Equator
Least Fav - The rest
Kanye West
4/5
Family Business aka music Bundy Bogans play at funerals.
Aside from this track I had very little exposure to this album and I had only heard that song cause I once was talking to a fat bogan chick about music out the front of fat Louis and she held her phone up to ear yarning about how family means everything to her and even though she hates her cousin who crashed her commo she still loves her..
Anyway great album. Jesus Walks is huge highlight but so are all the others in my fav tracks.
8/10
Fav tracks - We Don't Care, Graduation Day, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, Get Em High, The New Workout Plan, Slow Jamz, Breathe in Breath Out, Two Words, Last Call
Least Fav - Family Business
The Band
3/5
May as well get Jackbot to write this review cause that's about how I feel towards this thing, it's got that dad rock vibe and makes for alright background music I guess, but it's not really my thing.
Actually that last bit isn't true this is normally massively my thing but I just didn't have enough to sink my teeth into.
Didn't help that after each listen a beach boys track played and juxtaposed the mediocrity.
Then on the third listen a track with them and bob Dylan played and was infinitely better.
Not a bad all by any means it's even got some tracks I'll definitely return to.
6/10
Fav tracks - Tears of Rage, In a Station, The Weight, We can Talk, This Wheels on Fire
Least Fav - None really
The Cars
3/5
Completely inoffensive and obviously important. Just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to...
Wait what was I going to say? Idk someone about how how just what I needed is the only memorable song on the album.
Completely eclipsed by what it helped to inspire but I'd take this over brit-pop any day
6/10
Fav tracks - Good times roll, just what I needed, all mixed up
Least Fav - None really
The Flaming Lips
3/5
This music moreso than a lot of the other stuff we've listened to is particularly subjective, I never have found the font man of these guys grating but on this I can definitely see how it could.
I personally loved the drums it's gated or reverby or something I can't describe but I love it.
I think there's definitely a reason that despite giving it a 9 4 years ago I never returned to it a other than a few tracks.
Adored sleeping on the roof.
9/10 -> 7/10
Fav tracks - Race for the prize, a spoonful weighs a ton, the spark that bled, buggin, what is that light?, The observer, sleeping on the roof
Least Fav - The spiderbite song
Travis
3/5
Britpop had its moment in the 90s and Travis here is a little late for the train.
So he waits on the platform for the radiohead express.
He does Brit-pop better than the vast majority of the other hog water but pales in comparison to radiohead (he wants to be them so bad)
6/10
Fav tracks - As You Are, The Last Laugh of the Laughter, Slide Show
Least Fav - None really
Neil Young
4/5
Not much to say, great album.
The title track is astounding.
8/10
Fav tracks - All-1
Least Fav - See the Sky about rain
Soundgarden
4/5
Fake ass dad rock enjoyers will say they love the stuff and then when REAL gen x Dad rock walks in they'll rate it poorly
7/10
Fav tracks - Let Me Drown, Superunknown, Head Down, Limo Wreck, The Day I Tried to Live, Kickstand, 4th of July, Half,
Least Fav - Fell on Black days
The Stooges
4/5
This album is my version of that experiment where they asked a stranger to hold their drink and then asked how their day was and if they gave them a cold drink they said it was shit and if it was a warm one they said it was good except it's me finding out this guy is a pedo the day before.
Which is a shame since I like every song on this album and I'd never heard this album in its entirety but have been an iggy and the Stooges fan for quite some time
Obviously deserves a spot Punk wouldn't exist without it and the unintentional(?) shitty mixing is to thank for a stylistic trope of a generation of albums. On Any other given day I might have given this album a 9 or a 10 which it probably deserves.
8/10
Fav tracks - All of 'em
Least Fav - n/a
Bee Gees
3/5
Aw sweet a boomer nostalgia trip.
It's amazing how this album manages to encompass both the fake hippie bullshit and their shift towards conservative neo-liberalism.
You just know some cringe ass BOOMER has cried to With all nations.
It's amazing how much this album nailed an entire generation like yeah all you cunts are peace and love and anti-establihment now, but by the 90s you'll vote conservative for 30 years out of fear for the price of your home going down.
It's also worth questioning how influential ALL these bands could really be since the vocal production on all these fucking albums from this era sound identical. But the turn of the century boomer prediction does go crazy.
7/10
Fav tracks - Odessa (City on the Black Sea), You'll Never See My Face Again, Whisper Whisper, Lamplight, Seven Seas Symphony, With All Nations (International Anthem), First of May, The British Opera
Least Fav - A few of the others
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Music for attention seeking normies
7/10
Fav tracks - Red Rain, Don't give up, Mercy Street, Big Time, We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37), This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)
Least Fav - Sledgehammer
Elliott Smith
3/5
I liked this album a fuck ton more than more other Elliot Smith stuff I've heard.
Which is to say, it was good.
I reckon could give this a 1, cause I did notice this is definitely an album you can't zone out to, it demands your attention especially to notice all of its little details and instrumental depth.
7/10
Fav tracks - Son of Sam, Junk Bond Trader, Everything Means Nothing to Me, L.A., Stupidity Tries, Easy Way Out, Wouldn't Mama Be Proud, The Gondola Man, Can't Make A Sound, Bye, Because
Least Fav - None really
Iron Maiden
3/5
Not the earliest Heavy Metal nor remotely the best, only deserves a spot on the list as it serves as the debut for one of the greats of the genre.
Every song was alright
6/10
Fav tracks - All -2
Least Fav - Running Free
Khaled
3/5
What a nice album, I sure hope he has a good relationship with his wife and kids!
I really wanted to love this, that opening track is amazing and gave me really high hopes, but ultimately failed to deliver. I'm sure he'd have a different album I'd enjoy more. But as far as this goes it's just good.
7/10
Fav tracks - Aalach Tloumouni, Imagine, Ya Aachkou, Melha, Raba-Raba, El Bab, Gouloulha-Dji, Derwiche Tourneur
Least Fav - None really
Fugazi
4/5
I feel the same way about this as Marko feels about that Stooges album, one track you adore surrounded by a bunch of other good tracks.
Definitely front heavy but a lot more tracks I'll return to this time upon returning to the album.
I think The Jesus Lizard captured the vibe this album was going for but just noisier and better on LIAR but still a good album in its own right.
7/10
Fav tracks - Turnover, Repeater, Merchandise, Blueprint, Two Beats Off, Styrofoam, Reprovisional, Shut the Door, Joe 1
Least Fav - None really
Otis Redding
4/5
Was a third through the album and was genuinely thinking my review was going to be
"My only complaint is that this isn't longer and that there's a white woman on the front cover.
Masterpiece"
But then the second half of this album and its ass compared to the front.
The first 6 tracks of this album are genuine masterpieces and I wish they were longer and made up the entirety of the album.
That being said the back is still alright to good and it's still a cool and easy great 33 minutes.
8/10
Fav tracks - Ole Man Trouble, Respect, A Change is Gonna Come, Down in the Valley, Shake
Least Fav - ehhhhhhhhhhhh,
Bob Dylan
4/5
Is it weird that I liked the live one more than this?
8/10
Fav tracks - All-3
Least Fav - Love minus zero, on the road again, gates of Eden
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Mid
5/10
Fav tracks - Rich, Tick, Cold Light, Maps, Y Control
Least Fav - The rest of them, but also none really
The Beach Boys
4/5
Listened to this album a million times always thought it was good but not great no matter how many times I tried for it to click.
This time it kinda did, felt more than just some good pop of its era, a lot more emotionally resonant, a really sad album tbh despite what it appears at a cursory glance.
8/10
Fav tracks - Wouldn't it be nice, you still believe in me, don't talk (put your head on my shoulder), I'm waiting for the day, God only knows, I know the answer, here today, I just wasn't made for these times,
Least Fav - None really
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
An album put on this list by Music critics which agreed with ALL the decisions of the Blair government.
Not a single even half good track on this thing. Genuinely appalling.
1/10
Fav tracks - N/A
Least Fav - failure album bruh
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Fuck the vocal performance on this thing is bad, which is a shame since I actually liked some of the instrumental. The guitars on this heavily inspired Albini and a lot of noise rock which I gotta give it rep for but otherwise an unenjoyable experience.
5/10
Fav tracks - Swan Lake, Poptones, Chant, Radio 4
Least Fav - The rest
Bob Dylan
5/5
Not really much to say, just a phenomenal album, not a bad track
9/10
Fav tracks - All of em
Least Fav - n/a
Eagles
2/5
I guess the opening track was okay
3/10
Fav tracks - none
Least Fav - n/a
The Strokes
4/5
A good album that ultimately packs less of a lunch that it could or should given the heights the album already reaches
7/10
Fav tracks - Soma, Barely Legal, Someday, Last Nite, Hard to Explain, New York City Cops, Trying Your Luck
Least Fav - None really
The Stone Roses
3/5
A good album with a lot of high moments. Pretty backloaded and lacked the oomf it nearly had but I wish it had more of
7/10
Fav tracks - bye bye bad man, (Song for my) Sugar Spun Sister, Made of Stone, I am the Ressurection
Least Fav - n/a
Nirvana
4/5
If you don't like this album you're a retarded contrarian hipster, this album fucks.
That being said it's not perfect and there's a pretty wide gap between the phenomenal tracks on this album and the good ones
9/10
DJ Shadow
5/5
A little backloaded but otherwise phenomenal album
9/10
Fav tracks - building a stream with a grain of salt, Changeling, Stem/Long Stem, Mutual Slump, Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain, What does you soul look like pt. 1
Least Fav - none
Kate Bush
5/5
Not as magical this time around probably cause I own it on record and listening to it in my shitty earbuds doesn't compare. Also one of my most relistened albums.
Sounds crazy but arguably has 3 of the greatest tracks of all time. Running up that hill, waking the Witch jig of life. And yes I mean all time greatest tracks not just Bush greats or pop greats. Music greats. You could even further the argument and extend it to cloud busting as well.
It's a Masterpiece, no ifs or buts. The first time I heard this I was delivering pizzas and I thought I had crashed my car and fucking died and was simply hallucinating finishing the delivery meanwhile my soul stood before St peter. That's how this album makes me feel.
10/10
2Pac
3/5
I've always found 2Pac to be overrated. This album and his music in general is completely listenable but lacks the ability to grab you.
You know the albums mid when you repeatedly think to yourself about how long you've been listening to this, and the first song that comes on shuffle after the album finishes is better than any song on the album
6/10
Fav tracks - Heavy in the game
Least Fav - none
Buck Owens
4/5
While this album doesn't reach the heights of Marty Robbins, nor the depth of Johnny Cash or its Genre Siblings in Townes Van Zandt, it brings to the table a remarkable level of consistency.
Although what I'm about to say may seem to contrast the aforementioned statement. EXTREMELY front loaded.
8/10
Fav tracks - I've got a tiger by the tail, let the sad times roll on, Wham Bam, If You Fall Out of Love With Me, Fallin for you, The Band Keeps Playin' On, Streets of Laredo, This Ol Heart
Least Fav - none really
Mudhoney
3/5
Hidden review, hidden review
5/10
Fav tracks - Touch Me I'm Sick, Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More, Chain That Door, No One Has, Burn It Clean,
Least Fav - idek, this album is 2hours 15 minutes and I liked 4 songs off it
The Pogues
3/5
She wondering if I should on the Pogues until I fall from Grace With God
I hate Gimick shit, power metal, sea shanties, bard-core. This reminds me of that but is actually good
Really fucking front loaded tho
7/10
Fav tracks - Turkish Song of the Damned, Bottle of Smoke, Fairytale of New York, Medley, Sketches of spain
Least Fav - none really
Eagles
3/5
A competently made album that just ain't for me.
5/10
Fav tracks - none really
Least Fav - none really
The Cardigans
4/5
Crazy that this came out in '96 so insanely ahead of its time, sounds like the indie pop /rock of mid 2010s if it wasn't shit
9/10
Fav tracks - Your New Cuckoo, Been It, Step On Me, Losers, Iron Man, Choke,
Least Fav - none really
The Doors
4/5
Yeah I'm a Doors fan
I love that all their albums not only benefit from multiple listens but demand them, and each time they reveal something a little more
8/10
Fav tracks - All-2
Least fav - Hyacinth house, crawling king snake
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Could never get around these guys, no matter which album I try they have some undeniable hits but it always just ends up being eh as a whole
5/10
Fav tracks- Papa won't leave you, Henry
Least fav - ehhhhhhhggg
Queen
3/5
Listening to this album made be feel like Vito in the gay club
It's a good album, but it's also really fucking annoying
Playboy Carti's self titled album is better anyway
Front loaded as fuck
7/10
Fav tracks - Brighton rock, killer queen, tenement funster
Least fav - none
Prince
4/5
RuPaul wants to be this guy so bad
7/10
Fav tracks - The Beautiful ones, Darling Nikki, I would Die 4 U
Least fav - none really
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Lazy review lazy review
9/10
Fav tracks - Bring Da Rukus, Clan In Da Front, Wu-Tang 7th Chamber, Can it All be so Simple / Intermission, Da Mystery of Chess Boxin', C.R.E.A.M, Method Man,
Least Fav - none really
The Youngbloods
4/5
Sounds like just about everything that came out of this era, feels to me like clone of other shit. Liked a few of the more stripped back quieter tracks
The most innovative part of this album is its awesome cover which admitted is ahead of its time
5/10
Fav tracks - On Sir Francis Drake, Trillium
Least Fav - none really
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
Lol I mixed this up with my Regatta review, thank God I was gonma give them the same thing.
Am I cooked?
6/10
Fav tracks- mother, syncronicity II, murder by numbers
Least fav - none really
The Police
3/5
This album is right up my alley Genre wise but failed to stick the landing on enough songs to thoughly impress me
6/10
Fav tracks - camping next to water, a other Pearl
Least fav - none really
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Yeah I think I've finally settled on the fact this album is great
Front loaded tho
8/10
Fav tracks - mojo pin, Grace, so real; lover, you should have come; corpus Christi Carol, eternal life, dream brother, forget her
Least fav - none really
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Not as good on a re-listen
The quintessential album for born late in the generation boomer who had kids at a really young age.
This album is not the first of any of its respective genres but its some of the best showing in them.
9/10
Fav tracks - All of 'em
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
...I'm stupefied by how uninterested I am by the album
5/10
Fav tracks- our house
Least fav - idk man
Roxy Music
2/5
4/10
Fav tracks - Strictly confidential
Least Fav - ehhhhhhhhh
Green Day
2/5
The longest 39 minutes of my entire life
5/10
Fav tracks - Basket Case
Least Fav - All by Myself
Radiohead
4/5
Dookie by Green Day was released 1994, the Bends was release 1995, welcome back dookie.
8/10
Fav tracks - Planet Telex, The Bends, High and Dry, My Iron Lung, Bulletin Proof... I wish I was, Black Star, Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Least Fav - Fake Plastic Trees
Hot Chip
3/5
Unremarkable
6/10
Fav tracks - flutes
Least Fav - eghhhhhhh
Suicide
4/5
I'm so tired boss
8/10
Fav tracks - Ghost Rider, Rocket USA, Cheree, Frankie Tear-drop, Che
Least Fav - none really
Peter Tosh
3/5
An extremely well made album that isn't my thing at all.
6/10
The Smiths
4/5
Not the best from the Smiths but still good.
Extremely backloaded, had never heard the title track, what a Masterpiece.
7/10
Fav tracks - I want the One I can't have, The Joke isn't funny anymore, well I wonder, barbarism begins at home, meat is Murder
Least fav - idk
ZZ Top
2/5
One hit wonder album, completely uninteresting
5/10
Fav tracks - La Grange, Jesus Just Left Cicago (live)
LTJ Bukem
3/5
7/10
The Beach Boys
4/5
Front loaded as fuck but still phenomenal
9/10
Fav tracks - Do You Wanna Dance, Good to my Baby, Don't Hurt my Little Sister, When I Grow Up (To Be a Man), Help me Rhonda, Bull Session with "Big Daddy"
Least fav - None
Talking Heads
5/5
Phenomenal, manages to capture that magic spot between nostalgic original which makes it endlessly listenable.
The Good thing especially, has that quality in Spades.
9/10
Fav tracks - Thankyou for sending me an Angel, The Good Thing, Warning Sign, Found a Job, Stay Hungry, Take Me to the River, I'm Not in Love (Alt version), Thankyou for Sending me a (Country) Angel
Least fav - N/A
2/5
The last two tracks are okay I guess, but Jesus this ain't even mid.
3/10
Metallica
3/5
A couple good singles, even a good album at times but it fails to come together
6/10
Fav tracks - Sad but True, The Unforgiven, the God that failed
Doves
3/5
Android needs to invest in implementing an emoji of someone guzzling cum, cause that best describes this album, it's good, but I wasn't the first, nor was it influential or innovative. But it is British.
7/10
Fav tracks - here it comes, break me gently, Sea Song, Melody Calls
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
Not much to say, a pleasant listen and a pleasant surprise, was not expecting a band with such a shit name to make such decent music
Didn't adore many of the tracks but they were all alright to good
Barely scrapes into a 4
7/10
Fav tracks - Be-in, Orange, I Love You, Good Morning
ZZ Top
2/5
Pretty sure every song on this album is a 5/10 and for that reason given its commitment to complete and total utter mediocrity I gotta deduct a point.
I'm pretty sure I forgot about ever having listened to thus album mid way through listening to it
4/10
Fav tracks - none
Least fav - none
Radiohead
5/5
Big Radiohead fan but first time listening to this, pleasantly surprised.
I actually think the high points of this album are better than Kid A in some respects but unfortunately just lacks the complete consistency to get itself there.
9/10
Fav tracks - 2+2=5, Sit Down. Stand Up, Backdrifts , Where I End and You Begin, There There, A Punch Up at a Wedding, Myxomatosis
Least fav - none
De La Soul
3/5
Expected to like this way more, still cool it came out in 89 though
6/10
Fav tracks - The Magic Number, DAISY age, De La Orgee
Solange
3/5
Alright, it's just a shame that once this album ended the songs that played by her from different albums were immediately better. Definitely prefer her tracks like losing you and stay flo or songs in the same realm but by different artists like Her light by cleo soul or Blood and Marrow by Hiatus Kaiyote more than anything off this album.
A great artist, phenomenal even, just not her best stuff imo
Album is super backloaded too, and I think she knows this by the way it's structured with those song by song interludes at the very back.
6/10
Fav tracks - Junie, Don't Wish Me Well, Scales
Stephen Stills
2/5
So fucking boring
3/10
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
Feels like such a waste of time to even put effort into this.
Trying to type this album name made me take up smoking again
4/10
Fav tracks - If you all get to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
4/5
8/10
Fav tracks - Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon Song, Heartbreaker, Ramble On
Ramble On especially is a Masterpiece.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Some genuine masterpieces on this thing, shame it's so front loaded
9/10
Fav tracks - Willow Weep For Me, Just One of those things, be anything but darling be Mine, how high the moon
Radiohead
5/5
Historically this is has always been a weaker entry by one of all time favourite bands, this time around it clicked more than previously, it still has its low points on a couple tracks.
But it still has all i need on it, which might be my favourite song of all time, videotape is also beyond a Masterpiece in Deep and complex whilst managing to sound astonishingly simple.
9/10
Fav tracks - All -2
Least fav - 15 Step, House of Cards
Various Artists
3/5
6/10
Fav tracks - Frosty the snowman, sleigh ride, Winter Wonderland
Gang Starr
4/5
Definitely not background music and I'm too dumb to appreciate some of what's going on
8/10
Fav tracks - Execution of a Chump, Check the Technique, Take a rest, As I read my S-A
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1/5
How is the mixing on this so fucking bad
3/10
Fav tracks - none
Least fav - blood sugar sex magik
Sex Pistols
4/5
Bodies leaves a bad taste but it's still a great album
8/10
Fav tracks - Holidays in the Sun, Liar, God Save the Queen, Problems, Anarchy in the UK
The Stranglers
2/5
The most bland, Nothing burger, milquetoast "punk" album ever.
4/10
Fav tracks - Princess of the Streets, Hanging Around
The Boo Radleys
2/5
It's kinda crazy how ahead of its time this was given how it sounds identical to the mid overproduced indierock thay dominated the 2010s
5/10
Fav tracks - Upon 9th and Fairchild, leaves and sand, Rodney king, the white noise revisted
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Despite what my profile might say I Love hard rock, it's just got to be good or else most of the time it sounds milquetoast and bland.
This album reminds me of brand new's devil and God not in Genre but in how it has perfected the fundamentals of a genre while keeping it fresh.
1988 for this albums release is crazy.
Years before the gunge of the 90s so much so this album isn't characterised as Grunge even though it undeniably is
And even further before the hard rock revival of the 2000s with foo fighters and Queens of the stoneage.
9/10
Fav tracks - All of 'em
Led Zeppelin
4/5
8/10
Fav tracks - Babe I'm gonna leave you, You Shook Me, Dazed and Confused, How Many Morw Times
Black Sabbath
5/5
10/10
Fav tracks - All -1
Least fav - panet caravan
Sam Cooke
5/5
I love Soul, but never in a million years would I think that an R&B album would be my favourite album OAT.
But this takes that cake.
Absolute masterpiece, after first listen proceeded to listen another 4 times back to back
10/10
Fav tracks - Perfect Album
New York Dolls
4/5
Proto Punk? Inspired by the rolling stones and of a similar vein to the Stooges?
A song called Vietnamese baby?
Provocateurs?
This album and band has pedo shit written all over it. But to my surprise it appears as though this album beats the accusations.
It's a shame that the first song I love off this album comes 5 songs in, and the album definitely gets a bit better from there
7/10
Fav tracks - Frankenstein, Trash, Subway Train, Private World
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
Good album, it's a shame it has none of her best songs on it that I immediately ran to after listening, Meditation and Aruanda the self titled album being better than this in every way.
Still nice to return to the voice of Samba though
7/10
Fav tracks - The Face I Love, Parade (A Banda); Oba, Oba; Beach Samba, My Foolish Heart, Here's that Rainy Day, It's a Lovely Day Today
The Killers
3/5
Okay okay it's grown on me a little its aight
6/10
Fav tracks - Jenny was a friend of mine, smile like you mean it, on top
Least fav - Mr brightside, Somebody told me
Ray Charles
3/5
5/10
Fav tracks - Alexander's Ragtime Band, Don't let the Sun Catch you Cryin' , Am I blue
Dire Straits
4/5
Wasn't sure what time expect at first, caught on pretty quick.
Great album
8/10
Fav tracks - Money for Nothing, Walk of Life, Why Worry?, Ride Across the River, The Man's Too Strong, Brothers in Arms
Todd Rundgren
2/5
This album gives Jared Leto performing bad Steely Dan
5/10
Fav tracks - You need your head, Is it my name?
Everything But The Girl
1/5
3/10
Fav tracks - Blue moon rose
2/5
Any alright songs on this album are nearly all ruined by the dowager vocalist.
Especially noticeable on morning Glory and Champagne supernova
4/10
Fav tracks - Don't look back in Anger, Hey Now
David Bowie
5/5
Always been a Bowie fan, miraculously never listened to this one.
Masterpiece.
10/10
Fav tracks - All - 1
Least fav - Sound and Vision
Soul II Soul
4/5
Not much to say, great chill album.
8/10
Fav tracks - Holdin on, feeling free - Live, Dance, Happiness- Dub, Jazzies Groove, Back to Life (However do you want me),
Baaba Maal
4/5
The dickheads who this book suddenly wake up and realise there's music made outside of the UK
And it's good
7/10
Fav tracks - Toro, Daande Lenol, Daniibe, Minuit
The Associates
4/5
A deeply underrated post-punk albumin never heard of it or a single song off it, some genuinely masterpiece songs on this thing.
Lacks consistency though and I found it pretty front loaded
8/10
Fav tracks - No, Bap De La Bap, Gloomy Sunday, Nude Spoons, It's better this way, Club Country, Love Hangover, Club Country 12" version, Party Fears Two - Instrumental, Australia - John Leckie Recording, Grecian 2000
OutKast
4/5
Speakerbox is unironically a 10 but the love below falls off.
Still a great album overall
8/10
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
9/10
Fav tracks - Voodoo Chile, Burning of the Midnight lamp, 1983... (A Merman I should turn to be); Still Raining, still dreaming; All along the watchtower,
Harry Nilsson
5/5
Related to a few songs pretty heavy.
Phenomenal, timeless and well produced.
9/10
Fav tracks - Gotta Get up, Down, without you, coconut, I'll never leave you, Si No Estas Tu,
The Young Rascals
2/5
Completely forgettable
5/10
Tangerine Dream
4/5
Great album, but fuck it was long for an album that was just 'great'
8/10
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Album structure is Like
Mid
Masterpiece
Mid
7/10
Fav tracks - Fuck Me Pumps, I heard Love is Blind, Moodys mood for love
Dusty Springfield
4/5
7/10
Fav tracks - Mama said, when the light starts shining, my colouring book, twenty-four hours from Tulsa , Anyone who had a heart, I only want to be with you,
Arcade Fire
5/5
One of my favourites in highschool
Easy listening, overproduced, indie rock, and it holds up
9/10
Fav tracks - All of em
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
7/10
Fav tracks - Beyond Belief, The Long Honeymoon, Town Cryer
Django Django
3/5
Shitty overproduced 2010s indie rock that is very unfortunately good
7/10
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
6/10
Pink Floyd
5/5
Attention seeker music
9/10
Def Leppard
1/5
3/10
Ian Dury
1/5
2/10
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Good album, great even.
Reggae just ain't my thing
7/10
The Doors
4/5
Listened and liked a couple songs off this before listening to the full album.
I'm generally a Doors fan but all their albums require so many relistens for me to get it and enjoy it, it's really gaslighting myself at this point.
This still has enough great tracks to hold itself up though on the first couple listens.
7/10
The Verve
2/5
Probably the most deserving to be on the list but ass cheeks album
3/10
Destiny's Child
3/5
6/10
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Damn, lowest common denominator Tom Waits goes crazy
8/10
Marvin Gaye
3/5
6/10
Talking Heads
5/5
The type of album where you listen through once and it's not all that impressive but hey it was only 20 minutes. So I may as well give it another spin.
Finish it again, hey may as well give it another spin.
Then you've realised you've been listening to it all day and the album is over 40 minutes
10/10
Jimmy Smith
5/5
Yeah I definitely like some tracks more than others, but absolutely no skips, kept listening on repeat all day, such a pleasant experience.
10/10
Skepta
3/5
This album fluctuates between being extremely original, unique, boundary pushing yadayada whilst also being genre defining to having one of the worse songs I've literally ever heard on it (ladies hit squad)
7/10
Joni Mitchell
4/5
A great album where a few of the songs ended up making it to my all time favourite playlist I enjoyed them that much. But the consistency just isn't there to push it all the way unfortunately.
8/10
Girls Against Boys
4/5
I've listened to some masterpiece albums, but very rarely does an album grab my attention as much as this.
The bass feels like someone grabbing you by the collar and shaking you back and forth.
The lead guitar almost feels like secondary to the drums and bass on this thing. It's a really unique take on post-harcore that avoids the genres trappings and but also its staples in equal measure so much so I hesitate to even call it that.
I reference devil and God a lot in my reviews only cause it's a touchstone. Where it takes the staples of the genre and perfects them delicately tiptoeing around its cliches and traps and occasionally leaning into them.
This album throws them out the window and you are left with something very unique and original.
It's not perfect, a lot of duds and flat moments in what would otherwise be a belter of an album
Stand outs are definitely, rockets are red, learned it, and bullet proof cupid
Billy's one stop and bug house also deserve mentions
8/10
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
6/10
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Not a lot to say, good album, liked a lot of the songs, backloaded as fuck.
7/10
CHVRCHES
3/5
The voice of this woman is angelic and extremely nefarious, it almost convinces you for a second that women aren't evil.
But then you hear gun, and the smug entitled sarcasm in her voice gives you a vietnam flashback to that girl you spoke to at a house party one time.
Good album but held back by half the songs sounding like everything Carly Tae Jepson put out for a while, which isnt necessarily a bad thing but its pretty tired, we sink is particularly bad for it.
7/10
R.E.M.
1/5
This was a displeasure to listen to.
Genuinely upsets me that everything on this list that is considered essential hard rock listening is just dogshit gen x nostalgia shit
It's the end of the world as we know was good tho I guess
3/10
John Martyn
4/5
A thoroughly pleasant experience.
8/10
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
8/10
Beatles
3/5
I hadn't listened to this album since highschool and I only really remember liking 1 track off of it, so I invented a time machine just for this review to go back and ask myself.
This is what I had to say
"“In My Life” is probably my favorite track—super emotional and actually made me think about stuff."
Awesome, thank you 16 year old me.
Current me also really liked I'm looking through you but especially Wait, that song feels super ahead of its time.
Like I know that the Beetles obviously shaped the zeitgeist and changed music forever but Wait could come out today and I think it could still be a hit, sounds super contemporary.
Backloaded as fuck though, I was pretty meh on everything up until Girl. I've also never been a fan of the Beetles Sitar, always felt like a gimmick.
6/10
Ryan Adams
4/5
51 minutes felt like 10, i was gonna say none of the tracks particularly stood out but then the middle of the album hits, stays good till the end.
8/10
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Bro put a shirt on, PLEASE
8/10
Metallica
2/5
If you want a mixed orchestral live album just go listen to unpeeled by Cage the Elephant.
No joke its way better, this just feels like the lamest guy you knows idea of "cool".
It's not and neither is your Dragon Ball figurine, maybe if someone else owned it, but not you.
3/10
AC/DC
1/5
God can this list please include some fucking half decent hard rock so I don't have to keep giving them bad reviews and have it as one of the lowest reviewed genres on my profile.
This album is like the opposite of of ahead of its time. It sounds like if someone in the 50s decided to make a hard rock album.
It's so quintessentially cringe Gen X, the type of Gen X who votes Pauline Hanson, complains about woke and the Satantic imagery of the French Olympics despite this being their favourite album.
I'm convinced this album sounded dated on the day it came out despite releasing in '79. A truly miserable experience.
2/10
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Today we’re diving into Heaven or Las Vegas, the seminal 1990 album from the Scottish dream pop pioneers, the Cocteau Twins.
Now, when it comes to Heaven or Las Vegas, you’re talking about one of the most defining albums of the dream pop genre. The Cocteau Twins have been shaping ethereal, lush, and deeply atmospheric music for years by this point, but with Heaven or Las Vegas, they hit a high-water mark that’s still influencing artists to this day.
Let’s talk about the sound first. This record has this otherworldly, almost celestial quality to it. It feels weightless but in a very immersive, enveloping kind of way. The production, courtesy of the band and their long-time collaborator, Robin Guthrie, is crystal clear, yet it still maintains that dreamlike haze, which is part of what makes this album so mesmerizing. The synths, the guitars, the reverb—it all swirls around like some kind of atmospheric cloud, and it just pulls you into its depths.
Then there’s Elizabeth Fraser’s voice. Good grief. If you thought her vocal prowess was impressive before, she takes it to a whole new level here. The vocals on Heaven or Las Vegas are completely untethered from earthly constraints. They can go from serene and gentle to ferocious and emotional in a split second, and she delivers one of the most evocative and haunting performances I’ve ever heard. The way she sings, it almost feels like she’s in a completely different realm, floating above everything, casting these spellbinding vocal melodies over the mix.
The songs themselves? Lush, emotive, and transcendental. Tracks like Cherry-Coloured Funk and Pitch the Baby are such perfect representations of the Cocteau Twins' ethereal style—there's a fluidity in the way the guitars weave around Fraser’s voice, and every note feels like it’s carrying some kind of emotion. Then you have a track like Iceblink Luck, which pairs a gorgeous, buoyant melody with Fraser's nearly indecipherable lyrics, creating this sense of ungraspable beauty that is the hallmark of the band’s sound.
I mean, sure, a lot of these songs are not easy to pin down in terms of meaning. Elizabeth Fraser's lyrics are often abstract and impressionistic, and that’s kind of the point. It’s not about literal interpretation here—it’s about the emotions and feelings that these sounds evoke. Whether you're drifting through the sublime instrumental waves of Fotzepolitic or getting swept away by the intoxicating, dream-like state of Heaven or Las Vegas itself, the music communicates on a level that words can’t fully express.
Now, there’s a slight shift on this album compared to some of the band's earlier works. There’s a poppier edge to the production here—more accessible, maybe—but it never compromises the band's signature atmosphere. The dreamy textures remain intact, but it’s a little more refined, a little more polished, and it feels like the Cocteau Twins are reaching out for something more universal, all while staying true to their unique voice.
If there’s any downside to the record, it's that some of the tracks blend into each other a bit, and if you're not fully immersed in the mood, certain parts can feel a tad repetitive. But that’s really a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, especially considering how deeply emotional and immersive this album can be when you let it wash over you.
Overall, Heaven or Las Vegas is an absolute classic. It's dream pop at its finest—elegant, atmospheric, haunting, and genuinely transcendent. Whether you’re a longtime Cocteau Twins fan or just getting into their music, this album is a must-listen.
10/10
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Tbh before this list and even going into this album I knew every little about Elvis Costello so I did some research about him, his music and his significance.
His father, Ross MacManus, was a singer in the Joe Loss Orchestra and even sang on a popular R. White’s Lemonade commercial in the UK.
Paul Kagame and his government have faced numerous allegations over the years, including:
Political Repression & Assassinations
Targeting Opponents: Opposition leaders, journalists, and former allies who criticize the government have been jailed, exiled, or even assassinated.
Notable Cases:
Former intelligence chief Patrick Karegeya was found strangled in South Africa (2014).
Exiled general Kayumba Nyamwasa survived multiple assassination attempts.
Opposition politician André Kagwa Rwisereka was found murdered in Rwanda (2010).
His Real Name Isn't Elvis Costello
He was born Declan Patrick MacManus in 1954. He took "Elvis" from Elvis Presley and "Costello" from his great-grandmother’s surname.
Crackdown on Press & Free Speech
Independent media in Rwanda is heavily restricted, with journalists being arrested or fleeing the country.
Some Rwandan exiled journalists have been killed or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
On tour, Costello has sometimes performed as an opening act under an alias, playing different styles before his main set.
Human Rights Abuses & Forced Disappearances
Human rights groups report that Kagame’s government uses torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings to maintain control.
Suspected critics and dissenters often go missing or are later found dead.
He Was Almost in the Beatles' Movie "Yellow Submarine"
Costello was considered for the voice of a character in the animated film but ultimately wasn’t included.
Role in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Conflicts
Kagame’s government has been accused of supporting armed groups in eastern Congo, leading to mass violence and instability.
The M23 rebel group, accused of atrocities, has been linked to Rwanda’s military.
UN reports have implicated Kagame in resource exploitation and human rights violations in the region.
He Got Banned from "Saturday Night Live"
In 1977, he was booked on SNL and was supposed to play "Less Than Zero," but he abruptly stopped mid-song and launched into "Radio, Radio"—a protest song against corporate media. NBC banned him for 12 years!
Election Rigging & Lifetime Presidency
Kagame has been in power since 2000 and has won elections with over 90% of the vote, raising suspicions of fraud.
In 2015, a constitutional change allowed him to potentially rule until 2034.
Wow what an interesting guy, the album is alright I guess, I really enjoyed, Tokyo Storm Warning, Battered Old Bird and I want you
7/10
John Grant
1/5
This guys got it all wrong Jesus Christ doesn't hate faggots he WAS a fag
The Gospel of John repeatedly refers to an unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23, 19:26). Some could argue this phrase implies a deeper, more intimate relationship.
A "newly discovered" scroll from a Roman centurion claims Jesus had a close relationship with certain male followers and was known for showing particular favoritism toward young men.
lost fragment of Mark's Gospel (sometimes referenced in real academic circles) describes Jesus spending a night alone with a young man in a linen cloth
Anyway album was shit, supernatural defibrillator and that's the good news were particularly bad.
The type of album where the shit songs are so shit that it almost convinces you the mid tracks are good. (they're not)
2/10
Wire
3/5
This album alternates quickly between heat and mid.
2 mid, then 3 heat, then 4 mid, then 1 heat, then 2 mid, then 3 heat, then 5 mid, then ends on heat.
It just doesn't have the punchiness I was looking for and on a return it still doesn't. And I genuinely feel like it's only foundational in post-Punk cause film critic deckhands invented the term to give this album a good review despite being a pretty flat Punk album.
7/10
Duran Duran
3/5
Unfortunately the most notable thing about this album is the cover and it's significance and impact on art history.
The last two tracks on the album are easily the best and its nice to end on a high note but the journey to get there isn't particularly riveting.
6/10
John Coltrane
5/5
The rolling drums on part three are really a stand out of the album. But the entire thing is phenomenal.
Part one is such a phenomenal, deep layered opening, it's loud attention grabbing and eye opening.
Part 4 is is an equally good closer, my intimate and subtle but still enthralling.
Part 2 is easily the weakest, if it wasn't a Coltrane album I might say it's forgettable but it obviously isn't and probably has a hidden depth i don't fully appreciate.
9/10
Anita Baker
3/5
I've really enjoyed all the new R&B and Soul I've been introduced to thus far.
Has opened my eyes to two genres never realised I adored as much I do.
This doesn't feel like that though. Less of a Serenade and more of a woman shouting in my ear.
It wasn't bad though, I enjoyed the goofy Japanese ass production (Thank you Yamaha execs) and the opening track was quite stellar and gripping.
Just didn't last, will quickly forget this one until I inevitably hear a track can't put my finger on where from and go listen to Super Sonic Racing instead.
6/10
Pavement
3/5
Second time properly sitting down and reviewing this album and I was really excited cause previously I thought it was "just good" with a couple banger singles I keep returning to.
Unfortunately I feel mostly the same this time around but enjoyed the back of the album a whole lot more.
It opens really well but the track just quite have the oomf for me to give it a like.
No life singed her, Conduit for Sale and Fame thrower are all still great and I have a heightened appreciation for Jackals this time around.
But overall still just a good album. Nothing more, nothing less.
7/10
M.I.A.
1/5
I'm convinced the author hasn't actually listened to this album themselves in full, another BS one hit wonder album.
That's being said I'm gonna be blasting the most profound lyrics I've ever heard.
When it's really hot, we go to the river and swim
When we're goin' fishin', we catchin' the bream
When the river's high, we jump off the bridge
And when we get home, we play some didge'
When it's really hot, we go to the river and swim
When we're goin' fishin', we catchin' the bream
When the river's high, we jump off the bridge
And when we get home, we play some didge'
🔥🔥🔥
2/10
The Cure
5/5
Shit reviews for a little bit cause I'm playing catchup
Near perfect album, prayers for rain is unreal.
10/10
Rush
4/5
Wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, was gonna give it a 9 if not for the fact that we got 2 proggy albums in a row and the genesis blew me away.
8/10
Genesis
4/5
Backloaded as fuck or it just took a little while to click.
I think it's the latter, cause once it did, it felt massive, soulfull, complex and intentional.
In the best way possible this album felt a LOT longer than an hour and a half, it felt like a never ending voyage, a must take trip that I would gladly take again.
9/10
Ray Charles
4/5
Enjoyed this way more than other Ray Charles I've heard.
Why this mf gotta go and make an album specifically about me. Why these old school R&B guys just be so Romantic and capture the way i feel on every song. I relate to most of the stuff on here in one way or another.
Phenomenal, one of the most 9/10 albums ever and I feel impossibly torn between rounding up or down.
And if i ain't sure a 5/5 don't feel right.
9/10
Death In Vegas
3/5
FRONT LOADED AS ALL FUCK
Those first three songs blew my dacks right and I had to run down to Uniqlo only to realise they don't have fatasses my size in Japan.
I then spent the rest of the day without pants, (trust me the fit was fire previously). Too bad the outfit is now half baked. And the album felt the same way too.
Some really good stuff on here, but it just ain't got the wherewithal.
7/10
Tears For Fears
4/5
Massive sound, endlessly satisfying.
9/10
Sigur Rós
3/5
I thought it was good when I first listened but time has only jaded me further.
I enjoy the low dense rumbles on some tracks, and when the album stops the auto play is always banging but that's where the true highlights stop.
This album just can't avoid the folksy /mu/-core ass production.
The back half of this album ends up sounding like a more Ambient version of neutral milk hotel or the Microphones, which doesn't suit the sound at all imo.
I also just find the vocalist to be annoying.
Definitely not a bad album tho, it's just aight. I'd reach for Eno, Aphex Twin or even the softer tracks of Nine Inch Nails over this any day
6/10
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
My disappointment was immeasurable when I found out Elvis Costello was a British white guy doing shitty new wave and not an awesome black Jazz Trombonist as his name might suggest.
This guy really isn't for me, Goon Squad is the only song I liked off the album and I'm pretty sure that's only cause I'm a Platinum Puller on Jerkmate Ranked.
5/10
Leonard Cohen
4/5
This album left me with so many questions.
What room? Who's room is it? Where is this room? Why do I specifically like everything second song off this album? Why does Leonard Cohen have so many fucking albums. Why are his two most successful released back to back? I count 39 albums excluding the live albums. Is he an example of if you just spit out enough shit some will land.
Man was prolific and this album is great. But questions man. Making me think too much. Ima just listen to YEAT instead 👍
8/10
Linkin Park
5/5
All day I've been asking myself, am I really going to do it? Am I really going to give Lincoln Park a 5/5?
Such an awesome time capsul, more than that it is so unbelievably well produced. The sound isn't for everyone that's for sure. It's needlessly edgy, but not splatter edgy. Which path white boy, the sickness or hybrid theory?
But it doesn't do this album justice, it's no wonder this album is beloved by morons who like I prevail and prentious music nerds alike.
There's something to it man, mastering a genre commands respect.
Bout to pump a white monster, punch dry wall and blast this all over again.
9/10
Bob Dylan
4/5
I enjoyed the singles on this album quite a bit and it easily has some of my favourites of Dylan's work but as a complete package I enjoy a lot of his other stuff more, even some of the live albums.
8/10
The Rolling Stones
3/5
In contention for one of the best album covers of all time, i adore that thing.
Leagues below Exile On Main Street, i understand its something different entirely, but it feels less complex and composed.
Maybe it'll grow on me but at this point just left me feeling it's aight.
6/10
William Orbit
4/5
9/10
Stereolab
4/5
14 year old me would have ADORED this album. And usually that would rub me the wrong way, I ate so much of this type of shit up as a teen that as an adult I usually just find it tacky.
This is kitsch though, in the best way possible, I enjoyed the vast majority of the tracks and will be returning, with a likely high score next time.
8/10
Suede
2/5
One of the most nothing albums I've ever fucking heard. Opening track is cool tho I guess
4/10
Pink Floyd
4/5
This album is lost on me, I don't appreciate it nearly enough.
It was my my favourite album theirs in highschool but I quickly realised I know nothing about it, nor do I appreciate what going on nearly enough.
So fuck you, same score as throbbing gristle.
8/10
The White Stripes
4/5
Well I had a massive review written for this but fuck me i guess the fucking site decided to nuke the entire thing.
Tldr: hard rock is never hard enough, thankfully this album is
7/10
The Byrds
3/5
Ain't no way a Beetles clone called themselves the Byrds
6/10
Queen
3/5
Never been a Queen guy, I don't enjoy Freddie Mecury's voice, it's been drilled into my brain and one too many shitty house parties.
But I actually enjoyed this one.
7/10
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Woah, so this is what BritPop is meant to sound like.
Too bad it's still distinctly British sounding and got that eating food after brushing your teeth sorta taste to it.
The 303s on here go fucking insane tho.
7/10
David Bowie
5/5
Absolutely Foundational to my taste, encase it wasn't obvious.
By no means a perfect album, or even remotely close to Bowies best, (if he even has one they're all beautifully and meticulously flawed) but still phenomenal and eye-opening for a 16 year old me.
9/10
Steely Dan
3/5
I loved Can't buy a Thrill, not sure why this didn't stick for me.
Also fuck you personally for enjoying this.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
There is no other way to describe this other than it was a thoroughly pleasant experience that I enjoyed immensely.
Definitely could have been longer.
9/10
The Who
4/5
Never listened to these guys before today, didn't expect to enjoy them as much as I did, very similar to the stones which is definitely not a bad thing. If anything this album really pushes me to go listen to their recorded stuff.
Like all good rock and roll or classic rock or whatever you want to call it, it's actually got a lot of depth to it. I found myself returning to songs I didn't enjoy or find particularly remarkable the first time around only to be genuinely impressed, like "how did i miss that" this really is an album with a lot of depth a layers to it and it's just a live recording.
I love classic rock albums like Paul McCartney's RAM or the aforementioned Stones Exile On Main Street which demand to pay attention and promote you to keep coming back, and to listen over and over and over.
Definitely the type of album to creep up on you. You throw it on just one more time and then you've been listening to it for 4 hours. Good stuff.
Super preliminary review since this stuff always grows on me. I originally gave RAM a 7 and now I think it's a 10 so...
8/10
Portishead
5/5
A new a few songs into this album is was probably going to be a 10.
I thought Dummy by Portishead was phenomenal and enjoyed just about every song. But unfortunately as time has gone on its faded into the recesses of my mind without a strong compulsion to return.
This was different, Geek the Girl by Lisa Germano is a Masterpiece and one of my favourite albums of all time. This album operates in the same realm and is better in nearly every way, somehow.
It feels like the forgotten sound track to a Lynch film, the B-sides to a silent hill sound track. It's original, creative and brilliant.
I cannot wait to listen again.
10/10
The Black Keys
3/5
The Black Keys, Artic Monkeys, and Cage the Elephant made up the bulk of my 14 year old music taste.
Artic Monkeys has undoubtedly aged the most poorly with consistently bland and unimpressive albums.
Cage the Elephant have faired much better, I still return to their albums thoughtout the year and have songs which I adore. Unfortunately ruined by Matt Shultz getting over his coke addiction.
The black keys sit somewhere in the middle, but even amongst albums I would considered "mixed" in quality Brothers is mid.
They are attempting to do a distorted garage sounding blues that is somewhat inspired but utterly flat. Even as a teen I recognised this as a particular weak link.
Dan Auerbach has always exhibited remarkably more talent as a producer, and teacher than as a musician in his own right. Just look at the guys production credits if you're curious. He taught Matt Schultz how to sing and clearly understands how to run an electric guitar through a machine to get something to get a sound which is dreamy, rough, textured. Like a mirage in a south American desert.
As a composer and a writer. Mixed.
5/10
P.S.
Inverted Bell Curve, the start and the end are definitely of the peaks on this one with a complete wash in the middle.
CHIC
4/5
I've listened to this album few times now and each time I thoroughly enjoy the experience. It's undoubtedly a great if not phenomenal album.
Unfortunately a day after I listen to it, I forget most of it. I listen to it again and then the same thing happens. Maybe that's a fault of me but it just isn't all that memorable and although the act of listening is a 9 I can't give it more than
8/10
Merle Haggard
4/5
It isn't Marty Robbins, but it's certainly great.
Something about these country western artists is occasionally they'll write a song that's so bang on relateable it leaves you sitting there like : O
8/10
Giant Sand
4/5
8/10
Yes
3/5
I thought close to the Edge was a Masterpiece, Roundabout is a great song, but am I completely off the ball by feeling this album is pretty one hit wonder?
I really enjoyed the fish as well but nothing else on the album had any strong effect on me.
6/10
Adele
2/5
The Norman's are going nuts for this one i bet. Dare I look at the global reviews?
The three best songs on the album are the last three tracks and one of them is a cover. Crazy what decent songwriters can do cause Adele's cover of Lovesong is great.
Never listened to the hits of this album voluntarily and aside from Someone like you i still won't.
Atleast it wasn't boring like the vast majority of albums of this calibre.
Those last three songs really were great though.
5/10
Elliott Smith
3/5
I'm not listening to this shit again.
I've listened to this album front to back a few times on atleast 6 separate occasions. I'm genuinely getting up to 18 listens of this thing. Once in the recommendation of a friend I generally regard as having great taste, once on a music Essentials list and the other 4 in my own time trying to "get it", this thing is everywhere in music circles. Posters in record shops, highly rated and frequently discussed on forums. Mentioned often by those whose opinions I value. Glazed by fuckwits who enjoy wanky sad shit like radiohead.
This album is mid and I'm tired of everyone pretending it's not. Go listen to Giles Corey instead or figure 8. That's way better.
6/10
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
On first listen I thought this was phenomenal and was gonna be a 5/5.
But something was off, I enjoyed it but when I went back to my liked songs there were massive gaps and I was like what???
Since it plays like one continuous track clearly i thought the songs were longer than the reality.
On a second listen the flaws stuck out a lot more. On the songs I didn't particularly care for some of the stuff they were doing with synthesisers end up sounding like they're looping a royalty free sample on some music software.
There highs are still very high though.
Blues Variation, and that entire back portion from the Baba Yaga through to The great gates of Kiev, even the nutcracker are all killer.
Very polarising in quality imo though. Still enjoyed quite a bit however.
8/10
The Avalanches
4/5
My first exposure to Avalanches was a friend gushing over frontier psychologist. He showed me the music video and my thoughts were, "this is alright, nothing special, sounds alot like the plunderphonics of Gotye".
As I soon came to realise these guys were quite ahead of their time and Gotye, Onetrix Point Never and a lot of others owe them a lot.
They're started a trend amongst Australian musicians for the better and plunderphonics, although not the first, does feel distinctly Australian. In the same vein as Ozploitation Cinema.
My second exposure to this band was a situation with a lesbian who ruined my life. She had great taste in music though. And thankfully she made me give them a second chance and I'm glad I did.
8/10
Stevie Wonder
3/5
I liked Maybe your Baby, that's about it.
Nothing else stood out and im an idiot for thinking so I'm well aware.
Not bad, didn't dislike anything.
6/10
B.B. King
4/5
This album feels out of order, i thought it was great, but if it was BB King who designed this set list it really ain't it.
Thankyou 1001 for introducing me to another awesome Soul and R&B album.
Ain't got nothing on Cooke tho.
8/10
Solomon Burke
3/5
Simultaneously 1001 continues to give me great new old Jazz, R&B, Soul albums in one hand and then in the other throws me an album that I only love song from.
This is unfortunately the latter.
Can't nobody love you is great, the rest is inoffensive and forgettable.
6/10
Frank Ocean
3/5
Music for annoying hyperactive closeted gay guys.
Frank Ocean benefits from being the best in class in what is a fundamentally dreadful genre that is contemporary R&B.
A genre so far removed and bastardised from its original incarnation that it does an disservice to the original genre to given group them remotely together.
Channel Orange is undoubtedly competently made. It creates a mood and atmosphere and a sense of world and narrative that is genuinely impressive.
Thinking bout you, pyramids, Forrest Gump and Lost if you're feeling generous are great songs. But there's a lot of bloat.
If this is your jam power to you, I'd love to hear why you enjoy contemporary R&B, genuinely.
I just can't help but escape the feeling that this is the genre popularised by a society and a culture that would rather read the Wikipedia entry for a book then the book itself.
Unironically good album tho, just hate the genre.
7/10
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
ELP bros its so over...
I really enjoyed pictures at an exhibition and Trilogy but didn't enjoy a single track off this.
I didn't hate any either.
Unfortunately after 3 albums in a row that are totally MID we have truly entered the Mid realm of the list. I sure hope more mid doesn't follow...
(Spoilers it does, im writing this review late)
5/10
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Loved the first few tracks and enjoyed the album as a whole, wasn't an unpleasant experience. But didn't find it particularly notable and would much prefer to listen to Crack the Skye by Mastodon. Fuck yeah.
6/10
Public Enemy
3/5
Everything I'll say is probably the same as others.
Good album with some absolute classics. But the gimmick gets old.
Controversially I enjoyed this more than it takes a nation.
7/10
Neil Young
3/5
Not bad Neil, not bad.
Not good enough for me to put any of your tracks in my monthly playlist with the exception of a Man needs a maid.
But definitely not a bad album.
7/10
American Music Club
2/5
I listened to this album 3 times and can't remember a single second of it. I'm sorry. It's embarrassing, how am I meant to review an album i literally can't remember.
Every time it finished Will Smith came into whatever room I was in and memory wiped me. It's fucked.
I'm trying so hard. I pulled the album up again and put it on while writing this review. I paused it and forgot what I was listening to.
How cunt.
Obviously, im taking the piss.
Mid and forgettable, and in many cases that's worse than being bad. Or maybe it isnt. Cause atleast with this I don't look at the title and cringe at the thought of having to listen to it again like other albums i rated similarly (ZZ Top im looking at you)
4/10
Foo Fighters
2/5
This album has been a dark shadow stalking the corner of my vision since we started this list.
I got it early on when I first started it on my own. I gave a scathing review and at the time gave it a 4/10 and with hindsight it should have been a 3.
I've dreaded this album.
Here's what i wrote the first time
Every song sounds so washed out, thid is a call gets interesting towards the end but goes nowhere with it and then the song ends.
Nothing on the album sounds as hard, sharp or punchy as it should.
Instead of a hearty stew of hard it is the auditory equivalent of dirty dishwater.
Weenie Beenie is definitely the best track by a mile as it doesn't sound like milquetoast watered down hard rock and actually has a little edge and punch.
Cool album cover though.
An album from an artist at a time it couldn't fail.
The fact that this is even remotely compared to anything Nirvana put out is a joke. Listen to Milk by Nirvana and then anything off this album and tell me it's even remotely comparable.
Mid production at best.
Didn't help that after this album finished a them crooked vulture track came on and immediately shat on everything in this album.
I feel mostly the same only that it wasn't nearly as bad. Maybe the better headphones made all the difference.
Just really mid this time.
5/10
Elbow
3/5
Probably the most what the fuck nothing pick on this album for me so far. I've never heard anyone talk about it, not critics, not music fans, very little mainstream attention. A random '08 album.
I hated this on first listen. So much so I couldn't finish it. I picked it up fron where I left off the next day.
This is a certified I would have loved this in highschool. Sounds like 90% of indie art rock from the late 00s.
I found his vocals campy and cringe.
But then I kept listening and maybe it was that opening track starlings and that "darling is this love" that kept me restarting it but damn it, it works.
Don't get me wrong there's some major stinkers on here. But it also keeps me coming back despite how many criticism I have. And im thankful its on the list.
Will recommend to my brother 👍
7/10
Bob Dylan
4/5
Bob Dylan album I've listened to in the past and loved.
Before I started rating music though. Every track was already liked on my spotify.
Went through, banger banger banger banger.
Was prepared for another Bob D W. Wasn't until the second listen through today that the cracks started to show.
Yeah its a great album. Yeah I still like everything track with the unfortunate exception of Lily, Rosemary blahblah.
But does it really have as any masterpiece stand outs.
To quote The Cat in the Hat, "No not really, no"
Tangled up in blue, Your a Big Girl now (Possible Smiths reference!?!), Idiot Wind, and if you see her, say hello. Fuck. And they fuck hard. Not enough to pull the album up to the heights of a Masterpiece like Highway revisited.
This album got those relative tracks but Bob could only dream of capturing the relatibility of even the most average country western musician.
8/10
The Clash
4/5
Finally some good fucking food.
Or as Joe Strummer said in his breakout role in Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers, "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!"
This and Dylan back to back, have we perhaps left mid city?
I sure hope so.
Wasn't sure whether to round this shit up to a 5 or drop it to a 4. Very difficult. Ultimately the weaker songs namely the last three tracks of the album make the decision for me.
9/10
Brian Eno
5/5
This album like the majority of Eno's albums is sign post of what was and what is to come.
The Piano takes from Jazz before it and influenced Pop to come, namely Bowie.
The vocals and instrumentation and experimentation on this is heavily prog influenced and then ofcourse is a touchstone for King Crimson.
Around this time Eno was excited and participating in the burgeoning no-wave movement too and it shows.
You could lost off stuff this thing clearly influenced and what it was influenced by for hours but I won't.
This album is genre bending melting pot masterpiece and i wouldn't expect anything else.
10/10
The Damned
4/5
A Pretty great all round Punk album that is super listenable and can easily go for a couple loops and not feel tired. Certain tracks are certainly heightened after multiple listens.
Unfortunately there's only a handful of standouts and the rest are just good.
8/10
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Mr Sinatra's voice on this is commanding so much so it sometimes detracts from the beautifully composed instrumentals.
Relatable lyrics. Loved a bunch of the tracks on here.
8/10
Snoop Dogg
3/5
There's like 4 good songs on this thing and he's lucky they're phenomenal tracks.
The rest just feels like filler
7/10
Pink Floyd
5/5
Previously my favourite pink Floyd album and unfortunately this re-listen didn't do it justice. Im sure I'll return at some point and love it just as much as I used to but this time around it think im enjoying wish you were here a bit more.
That's not a good thing for an album since im dropping a point.
Still phenomenal though.
9/10
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
Genuinely beautiful, heartfelt and Sentimental.
I did not expect this. My stoner mate who has probably abused every girlfriend he ever had and had to move back home after fucking up his life for the 3rd time recommended this album to me once.
I didn't take it seriously, I thought he had moved onto crack instead of bongs. To be fair he has pretty good music taste.
I hope he's doing alright, in the caravan in his parents backyard, smoking cones. He's a piece of shit but was a good mate in high school.
That's kinda the feeling this album evokes. Its emotional and has similar vocals to Sun Kil Moon, a certain Southern melancholy. Sun Kil Moon is way sadder tho.
This album has bargaining and feels like an early Modest mouse in that sense. But the south instead of the mid west.
Throw about a dozen other influences into this thing and you might get close to this Epic.
Especially Lyrnard Skyrnard who hangs over this album like a dark nostalgic cloud. Kinda like booting up the PS2 as an adult and remembering how you used to play it with your older brother who took his own life. Sweet, nostalgic and deeply Melancholic.
Im not being melodramatic, that is actually what happened to my stoner mate who recommended me this album.
I understand why he loved it.
I think I love it too. Just not yet. I'll be back, just like Benji by Sun Kil Moon keeps pulling me back. I've listened to this album countless times since we got it. And im only scratching the surface of enjoyment for a great many of the tracks on this thing.
9/10
Doves
2/5
Competently composed if not overproduced album that I felt absolutely nothing for.
If this is your jam good for you but it genuinely feels like the "this is so sick bro" of indie rock, i can imagine the critic who wrote this talking about the instruments on this album like an early Gen Z high school stoner might talk about a bliss n eso album cover in the context of a conversation about "greatest albums covers"
This album was influential atleast, it influenced the mass wave of shit overproduced indie rock albums in the late 00s and early 10s. Thanks fuckwits 👍
5/10
Brian Wilson
4/5
Feels like a greatest hits beach boys album that's missing 90% of their best songs
Still some great tracks on here though.
RIP
7/10
Rush
4/5
On first couple listens I didn't enjoy a single track here, on the third listen it kind of clicked, there's catchy energetic loops that really get your head to bop.
Probably worth way more of my time but I've been in a bit of a music rut at the moment. So ima put a pin in it and return.
7/10
Cat Stevens
3/5
I enjoy the big tracks off this, wild world, father and son, where do the children play. + a couple others.
But ultimately i found the album alright but pretty unremarkable
6/10
Steely Dan
3/5
For the most part this didnt quite click.
There's some gorgeous piano on this thing. The keyboard is often excitable and when the guitars get going they really flourish.
The vocals can be awesome at times too.
But yeah just didnt click I guess.
5/10
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
The squeaky strings at the start went for 0.1 one seconds too long so you already know that certain people listening are immediately filtered on arrival and have decided they hate the album.
First track has some beautiful vocals and composition.
On the one you know I love the refrain before the hook.
On peach trees hes obviously going for a Thom Yorke style of vocalisation. It works here tbh and when his voice comes i er the backing vocals its quite angelic. They die down only to pick back up over the vocalist its really awesome stuff.
Little Sister is a little overproduced but another incredible vocal performance. This album clearly inspired a lot of indie which came out following this release for better and for worse.
The Art teacher is where I first noticed the sucking of air through his teeth, but it really impacts the track and the rest of the album from here.
A lot of the tracks past the Art teacher see a noticeable drop in the quality of the vocal performance, the lyrics become uninspired.
The ability to hit continuous notes is impressive though, even if the sucking gets more noticeable, which it usually does.
The longer the album goes the more over produced and melodramatic it gets, which is a shame cause it started strong.
Surely this guy can just turn his head away from the mic while breathing.
5/10
The Go-Betweens
3/5
Australian Alt Rock has an incredibly wealthy and storied history of melancholy. Sometimes referred to as "drone" after the most notable band in the broader movement.
Although I would have preferred this to be a Drones or Midnight Oil album its still nice to see some representation albeit pretty mediocre .
If you even enjoyed this slightly I would encourage you to go listen to "Havilah" by the Drones which is important to Australian music culture but unappreciated even by Australians.
5/10
The Temptations
3/5
Look i I've listened to this album like 3 times now and each time I've taken notes by hand and then lost them so this is what you get.
7/10
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Opens with essential smooth jazz.
Enjoy the way he isnt afraid of putting a guitar on a jazz or soul track.
Brings a distinct style and vibe to the whole thing that doesnt sound like other music of this genre.
Liked it more than his other stuff so far
7/10
Jane Weaver
4/5
Can I name a single song i love on this album? No
Can I remember a single track? No
How many times did I listen to this? 4
Did I enjoy this album? Absolutely
It puts me in a trance from which I cant escape. It also introduced me to Jane Weaver and I've gone on to listen to Flock which I enjoy a good bit more. Its also got one of the best album radios I've ever heard so that's a plus.
7/10
Anthrax
4/5
Just an all round great thrash album.
I told my Dad a known thrash enjoyed i was listening to this today, he proceeded to listen to it as well as he hadn't listened to it in a few years.
When I asked him for a review for this he called me a faggot
8/10
JAY Z
4/5
7/10
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Man I love this guys voice.
Surprise masterpiece
10/10
Paul Simon
5/5
I adore the hooks on this thing, the boy in the bubble, and all around the world especially.
Its all very pleasing to the ears but in particular on the title track there's a Mathy upbeat folk quality to it.
There's great song structure across the entire album the intro in Diamonds is a standout giving way to Paul's beautiful voice.
Extremely catchy and light riffs all across this thing that immediately put you in a good mood.
You can call me Al is a song you've heard a million times but when you actually sit down and listen to this thing you realise the complexity, depth and beauty to the track.
Masterpiece
10/10
Deerhunter
4/5
Im convinced this album has subliminal messaging in it that makes you wanna blow your brains out.
Was super obsessed with this album in uni and listened to it a lot, despite being adamant it was a 6/10
Its a bit better than that on the whole with some masterpiece singles.
Maybe (?) The saddest album ever made, idk it certainly gives Antennas by GSYBE and XXX by Danny Brown competition
7/10
The Who
4/5
Not the best by the Who imo, but still pretty gooooood.
7/10
Nina Simone
5/5
The vocal delivery on this is insane.
The build ups are crazy.
Early on i found myself questioning whether all the tracks were going to be this magnificent and they were.
Its crazy how influential this is, you can see its DNA all over the place from contemporary folk, to metal and experimental.
10/10
Alanis Morissette
4/5
I didnt take any notes for this shit.
I remember enjoying it though especially the two opening tracks
7/10
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I went to check my notes on what I had written for this album and all I had was a drawing of a little flame.
So I guess I thought this was fire?
8/10
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Their WHAT is starting to whine
7/10
Mercury Rev
4/5
Enjoying this album and all Mercury Rev / Flaming Lips albums fundamentally comes down to whether you enjoy Donahue's vocals.
Clearly a lot of people do, myself included, but understandably a lot of people wont be able to.
The strings on this album are reminiscent of Godspeed You Black Emperor.
The opening track is reminiscent of some of the best Flaming Lips songs.
Donahue's delivery on this album is stellar, STOOONEYYY... THROOOWWW.
A strange mix of emotion here, melancholic but not quite depressing.
The writing can at times be a little cliche.
The backup vocals when they chime in are interesting and stray from notable influence seen elsewhere in the album and become something quite unique and of their own. Which is definitely interesting when paired with the heavy post-rock inspired strings.
I collected coins is an interesting interlude, musique concrete, esque. Experimenting with distortion, really cool.
A lot of the tracks exhibit a catchy build up with a great chorus.
The happy end is a track i adore on this thing, modern classical, no-wave inspired, discordant, uncomfortable loops. Love.
Im really mixed on the funny bird. The start and the refrains sounds like a mid Flaming Lips track but the break downs are really good.
Overall a lot to like.
8/10
The Residents
3/5
This album opens with some interesting instrumentals thats a little hard to call experimentation given the date this album released. They're good but are unfortunately ruined by annoying vocals which are not particularly remarkable in any way. Something that will become a running theme of this album.
Sinister is cool and moody
The Booker tease is bluesy, jazzy and a touch surreal and dreamlike.
Blue Rosebuds is where this album shows its hand, for better and for worse. It wears its influences on its sleeves and does little to innovate.
The film inspiration is clear, especially David Lynch and his Soundtracks.
Unfortunately for Blue Rosebuds it is another interesting track ruined by "experimental" vocals (talking in a high pitched voice)
The annoying vocals are actually used to somewhat decent effect on Lizard Lady. They're anxious and repetitious which makes for a good companion alongside the "melody" which drives up the fear, anxiety and paranoia.
Semolina is rhymically eerie, a kinda cool track after three nothing tracks and then Lizard Lady. It evokes the imagery and sound of Giallo horror and their prog sound tracks.
More nothing of note tracks then weight lifting Lulu, which is actually a good moody song filled with awesome and uncharacteristically subtle bass lines.
Krafty Cheese is wacky and zany for the sake of it but there's something actually pretty interesting and original going on here. Not that id return for a second listen to really find out.
Hello Skinny is probably my favourite track of the album, more brooding, bluesy Jazz. Going for a vocal performance on here heavily inspired by Gira of Swans or Hayward of This Heat. But why would I listen to this when I can listen to Swans or Heat.
Its not a bad album its just everything on this album has been done better elsewhere and thats not very experimental, is it.
6/10
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
I've listened to this album so many times that I've worn out my favourite tracks to the point they sound bad and that the tracks I originally thought were mid I now think are phenomenal. Despite this i still uncover something new to enjoy and appreciate on each listen. This time.e was no different.
The unfortunate reality of this album though is being so influential that every local industrial artist sounds like a cringe school shooter version of Reznor (trench coat included)
The vocals walk such a fine line between being bad that anyone trying to emulate this style is inevitably doomed to fail.
9/10
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
The building ups on the tracks here are awesome.
It scratches the same thing in my brain that adores doom, noise and sludge.
Repeated musical motifs across this whole thing.
Unfortunately very front loaded
8/10
AC/DC
3/5
I enjoyed this a lot more than other AC/DC stuff, which is to say i didnt hate it.
7/10
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
No notes, a pleasant easy listen but pretty unremarkable.
6/10
Traffic
3/5
Fun and Jazzy
7/10
Arcade Fire
4/5
Whereas the suburbs is coated in nostalgia for me this album is not. Its always been widely beloved by forum dickheads online and hipsters in public. In highschool I never got it. I also found it lacked the emotional weight that neighbourhoods had.
That being said, I've grown to really appreciate this album. Every bad genre has its exception. Post Hardcore has Devil and God, Industrial Metal has Streetcleaner and overproduced 2010s indie rock has this.
It feels like a beloved precursor to the far superior works of Car Seat Headrest but man does this thing swell and punch and leap.
And if it managed to stick the landing it would be a phenomenal album.
Unfortunately it doesn't and despite some genuinely masterpiece songs on the front of this thing, its only a great album.
8/10
King Crimson
5/5
Better than anything those Pink Floyd blokes have ever released 👍
9/10
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Initial impressions are that its pretty unremarkable.
The souring strings, playful trumpeters and corny vocals sound cliche.
I really dont like this guys vocals for the most part. Super melodramatic.
I can get behind stuff thats melodramatic and corny but this album doesnt necessarily feel like it's paying homage not acting as a touchstone between music of past and future, instead it feels like its wearing its influences on its sleeves and not doing it particularly well.
In and out of Paris and London sounds like some shit Bowie.
I actually enjoyed Charge a little bit, it was kind of original, upbeat and fun until it does the R&B thing. What the fuck was that?
I enjoyed songs of love, this is the kind of overproduced indie garbage I enjoy. This sing is my jam.
A long and sleepless night is enjoyable, the build up is great, the chorus is messy and intense and the refrain is good.
The dogs and the horses is great too but made me question whether this album is just super backloaded, the vocal performance on this track is reminiscent of musical theatre and is actually really good.
5/10
Black Sabbath
4/5
Great album.
Definitely prefer paranoid though. Its more dynamic, varied and complex.
Extremely backloaded
Snowblind through to Under the Sun are phenomenal.
8/10
Coldplay
3/5
These guys wanna be Radiohead so bad.
When people talking about disliking Radiohead this is how I imagine it sounds to them.
That being said this wasnt bad, the scientist is popular for a reason its a good song.
I also enjoyed the title track, although I cant bring myself to put either into a playlist due to the embarrassment of having fucking Cold Play in a playlist.
It was alright
6/10
Elvis Presley
4/5
Well, well, welllllll its Rick and Morty tiiiiimmmee
This album is quite beautiful with some amazing and varied tracks. I enjoyed the thematic irony this album brought to the table from track to track, some really good writing here.
Folk-country Elvis as opposed to Rock and Roll Elvis which im a lot more familiar with.
His rock stuff is extremely fun and danceable, this has its fun moments, while maintaining its emotional depth, this surprised me a lot.
There's a lot of bangers on this album but I really enjoy the high energy love songs, like Any day now, with its THICK bass line.
Suspicious minds is a good track but I definitely feel as thought it has unrealised potential, the chorus is begging to do more.
The last couple tracks are a little bit of a bore. The strings are pretty standard as are the vocals and song structure.
Reveals its front loaded hand
8/10
Parliament
3/5
Funk can be a little goofy and "cringe" at the best of times.
But got dang do i love busting down to some funk and this is the good stuff.
It aint Larry Levan though.
7/10
Cornershop
2/5
Evil new age indie rock enjoyed by Satanists.
Reminded me of bad Trip-Hop
Actually kind of ahead of its time for '97
5/10
Ray Price
4/5
hb pull up to a girls crib like, "I didnt know God made honky tonk angels."
My brother in christ, she gave up the only one who ever loved her. And went back to the wild side of life.
7/10
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
At i was like ehhhhhh
Then i was like, holy shit this kinda good.
I pretty much like every song off this album.
Would i come back to it super regularly, probably not
Still a pretty great album tho
8/10
Bob Dylan
3/5
Woah, im usually a massive Dylan enjoyer but this left a lot to be desired.
The closing track is a masterpiece but my other favourites on this album, Leopard Skin, and Just like a woman, I much prefer other versions.
Still a good album overall but : /
7/10
Joy Division
4/5
I've lost count of how many times I've listened to this, never really got it until this time around.
Enjoyed it significantly more than previously visits.
Maybe its cause i usually have some grand expectation for what this album is or should be and this time I didnt care and just let it play and listened.
8/10
Sister Sledge
3/5
Sister sledge sounds like the name of a lost hardcore band.
7/10
Joe Ely
3/5
Really great single artist, just a good album.
7/10
Faust
3/5
Front and back loaded without much in the middle.
Final track is really really cool.
Jennifer is also great.
7/10
Iron Maiden
4/5
7/10
The Temptations
4/5
No notes.
Literally.
I added every track to my liked though.
9/10
Thin Lizzy
5/5
After wading through all the mid milque-toast rock on this list i expected this to be more of the same.
This is definitely one of the biggest surprise hits on this list so far.
Unfortunately slightly front loaded and fails to stick the landing on tbe back. If it did this would be a bonafied masterpiece.
Unfortunately we have to settle for simply phenomenal.
9/10
The Cure
5/5
I guess im just a cringe Cure megafan now.
Nothing sounds like them and this is another borderline masterpiece album save for the hanging garden.
Standouts are 100 years and Siamese twins
9/10
Jane's Addiction
4/5
Its crazy that Jane's Addiction is equally popular amongst 13 year olds born in 1999 who hate their step dad, Black NEET lesbians who dropped out of high school to play Halo Reach custom maps all day, dont shave and smell bad; Mexican tradies, music critics and /mu/ users.
8/10
Funkadelic
5/5
So many goated albums in a row leaves me feeling doomed to punishment like we're about to get meatloaf or smth.
Phenomenal album, when they lean into rock its truly excellent.
9/10
Meat Loaf
3/5
I did not expect ti enjoy this at all, I have a particular disdain for hair metal (to no-ones surprise).
But this album is well produced, funny, camp and proportionally cool.
Nah gammon, the above is partially true but it's mid
5/10
Bad Company
2/5
Completely unremarkable
4/10
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Hits different after a massive fuck up
9/10
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Inoffensive half decent beats with a forgettable and unremarkable vocal performance and writing.
5/10
Elvis Costello
3/5
A few good tracks here but i really despise this safe shit that you would definitely here in the background of a whetherspoons.
5/10
David Bowie
3/5
A bowie album eith some masterpiece singles on it. Arguably his best song, but not much else.
7/10
Gillian Welch
4/5
This album is bretty gud and probably deserves a higher score, but giving us Jackson C Frank before giving us this makes this album seem like ass in comparison.
There's definitely a few belters on here namely Elvis Presley Blues and I Dream a highway, but ultimately the entire album ranges from good to great.
I didnt take any notes for this one so these are just some off the dome thoughts.
Peace and love from the middle east ✌️❤️
7/10
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
This album doesn't have the repeated sucking of the last album so he clearly developed a smoking habit between the two releases.
Probably said this last time I reviewed Rufus but this guy really is the final boss and progenitor of overproduced indie, which i will never forgive him.
The worst part is, his stuff isnt even bad its just so painfully mediocre.
5/10
The Flaming Lips
4/5
The most 8/10 album to have ever been made.
Pops up on every music board, every all time list. A great album no doubt but absolutely positively nothing more.
I forgot about this album and thrn cone bacm every few years and every few years i have my new favourite tracks or what have you but the score never changes.
8/10
The Velvet Underground
4/5
A great album in a very mixed catalogue.
I despise some of their albums, think some are masterpieces. This sits somewhere in the middle that I think its pretty great.
A lot of depth with enjoyable subsequent listens.
8/10
George Harrison
5/5
A phenomenal album that borders on masterpiece and woukd be if not for the length that only just overstays its welcome and leaves the album feeling a touch bloated and unwieldy.
9/10
Nanci Griffith
5/5
I reckon this is pretty phenomenal
9/10
Supergrass
3/5
Unlike the awful I should Coco, this is alright and can actually imagine a couple of these tracks coming on the radio and not switching it over.
Would i add anything here to a playlist? Fuck no.
6/10
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
I dont seem to have a foundness for this thing like other people do. Theres like 3 great songs here and those songs are phenomenal but not enough to carry the album
7/10
Nick Drake
5/5
Ive seen this Nick Drake everywhere for years in the conversation of goat artists.
Knowing that isn't even widely considered his best and loving it so much, has my really excited to listen to his other stuff.
10/10
Beck
2/5
I've heard people say it's one of his better albums.
I've heard its awful.
The truth is its something else entirely!
It's completely mid!!
5/10
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
Interesting tinny drums with a low thumping rhythmic kick drum.
The repetition induces an unnerving and eerie trance.
There's a specific type of autistic that enjoys this stuff. It scratches an itch that is hard to describe.
The title track on this thing is the stand out. Addictive stringy plucky guitars, a heavy kick drum accompanied by the further stings and stabs of a second guitar.
8/10
Morrissey
4/5
I know that album cover would have gone so hard in 2004
Morissey really was born in the wrong time, he would have killed it as political streamer.
Off the rip this feels far worse produced than anything by the Smiths but as the album goes on it definitely grows on you.
His voice is more mature here but less dynamic.
Backloaded, All of the Lazy Dykes is a genuine masterpiece that feels like a David Bowie deep cut you hear on the radio but with a different vocalist.
I like you is super charming as well.
7/10
John Lennon
5/5
Woah, the pained, strained, screaming vocals on the opening track accompanied by the folk rock arrangements is really really great.
Clearly an extremely influential album to to every indie / alternative rock artist.
The second track sounds like a great b-side off Mac Demarco's Salad Days, then immediately into the third track which influenced the entire career of the black keys.
Its definitely giving your favourite bands favourite album.
I genuinely cant get over how good this thing is.
A touch stone for all of Lennon's inspirations and influences and all the people who were inspired and influenced by him.
There's a Bob Dylan and a Bowie inspired song on here.
Just really great stuff. The Climax is amazing also.
10/10
Cream
4/5
This album is screaming for the songs to be longer.
Its a great album with great songs but they're all wayyy too short.
Also pretty front loaded.
8/10
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Undeniable masterpiece that loses out on the 10 on it simply not being my thing alone.
8/10
2/5
This is like early Sonic Youth is they were somehow even more mid and also 30 years late.
The fact that this got slapped with the genre, Noise Rock, is insulting, just cause the band their copying helped to create the genre doesnt mean you get to use it too.
5/10
The Monks
2/5
For a second you're like "wow this is ahead of its time," then you remember The Velvet Underground was a thing and they were good and this is bad.
4/10
Scissor Sisters
3/5
An interesting pastiche of disco presented as Glam Rock
A few good tracks but not really my thing.
6/10
Ramones
2/5
Imagine your entire career being based off the success of one song.
5/10
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Phenomenal album with no skips but since ive been loving you is such a masterpiece that it puts the album into perspective and nothing else really holds a candle
9/10
Eminem
2/5
This album is corny overrated and aged like milk but is still somehow kinda okay.
Its crazy to me there was a time this idiot was considered the GOAT. What were people thinking, seriously, how many references to fucking his Mum are on this thing? Mr Mathers has a major Oedipus complex.
He also approaches the album with this, you can't cancel me for being homophobic when its not so much we're trying to cancel him but people were begging him to write about ANYTHING else besides his Mum, his ex or gay guys and nothing has changed. Your goat has the depth of a puddle. He knows how to write a catchy song but thats about it.
Also Kim might be the worst song ive ever heard.
That being said it still has its moments and is catchy as hell.
5/10
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Are you feeling sinister is a Masterpiece.
So the opening track left a lot to be desired. But then the second track came on. Its complex and catchy albeit bordering on overproduction.
This didnt last for long as I found the rest of the album pretty mediocre.
This album exemplifies the taste and bias of the author for overproduced.
But talk about an album which requires multiple listens.
On subsequent run through I found myself adoring the opening track + some others.
I listened to the lyrics a bit closer and found them to be quite moving.
The second track really doesnt need the trumpets though. It genuinely detracts from an otherwise great song.
7/10
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
phenomenal and easy listening
9/10
Talking Heads
5/5
When people are curious or shocked by my high scores for throbbing gristle or early Sonic Youth, or Suicide or no new York any of the other experiments,besides personally enjoying them, its because without them you wouldnt get albums like this.
The techniques of experimental albums are taken and elevated here to an icon of music.
This album was my and many others babies first steps into broader music besides what I heard on forza horizon when I was 14.
And it would exist without DOA the third and final report. Its no coincidence that it came out two years before this.
The use of tape sampling on both albums is inextricably linked and the concept of creating such a Masterpiece of an album out so sampling your own instrumental loops blew my teenage mind.
Ofcourse this album is a Masterpiece and ofcourse its better than the experiments, its listenable, danceable music.
Is any of this true idk, I think I remember reading something some time. But sometimes I just be saying shit.
10/10
Joan Armatrading
4/5
I did have a big review written up but I lost it. I swear.
Loved Love and affection and Save me
7/10
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
One good track in here and its one of the two singles and its a collab.
Completely unremarkable
5/10
The National
3/5
Maybe we were too harsh on the BritPop maybe the true scourge of this list is the 2010s overproduced Indie Slop which this list apparently has a metric fuck ton of.
This was alright, and generally I enjoy 2010s overproduced indieslop but it is getting tiresome.
6/10
Kanye West
4/5
I loved this album in uni, its the perfect tempo to listen and study too without distracting from the content.
But with age it certainly has become a lot more corny.
Maybe its cause of all the Tory's who froth this, maybe its cause the first cracks of Kanyes deep insecurities begin to show on this album and make it a little cringe in retrospect. Maybe its cause every track that came on after this was better.
Idk
Still a good endlessly re-listenable album.
7/10
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
9/10
The White Stripes
4/5
Genuinely surprises by how many hit singles on this thing there are.
The White Stripes are Foo Fighters if they were better and Queens of the Stoneage if they were worse.
I definitely prefer Jack Whites solo stuff l, still good though.
7/10
The Smiths
4/5
After our brief stint in Morriseys solo stuff its good to be back. This album doesnt come close to the Queen is Dead or Hatoful of Hallow but the production is as always immaculate.
8/10
Hole
5/5
Ive always enjoyed Hole's hit singles. First time ive listened to this or anything by them front to back.
A phenomenal grunge album i adore maybe even more than anything by Nirvana. The highs arent as high but the consistency throughout is unreal.
10/10
Dolly Parton
4/5
Giants in their respective genres.
A great album with some great tracks.
Megadeth
4/5
This album is a smattering of 1 or 2 masterpiece tracks at a time and then filler inbetween.
Im talking
Holy Wars, Hanger 18, filler...
Lucretia, tornado, filler...
Polaris, my creation
Im hesistant to call some of these masterpieces as well.
And again with the weak sauce, metal.
Its a great album BUT GIVE ME SOMETHING HARD
Jethro Tull
3/5
Im sick of googling bands and albums on this list and it saying "hard rock" and it turns out its milque toast gen x prog.
Theres nothing wrong with it, its good even. But c'mon has this list got anything heavier?
7/10
Public Enemy
4/5
Second instance of me sitting down to listen to this front to back. Gave it a few spins, definitely enjoyed it more than last time.
Definitely the type of albuk you put on and not really the kind of album where yiu can pull any random single out of.
Ofc it has its hits but its definitely more a whole experience.
8/10
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
This thing comes out the gate swining with the first track.
The tracks are good some are even great, like liberation. Too bad its ruined by what sounds like a fire alarm goung off occasionally in the background.
Also enjoyed one and one make five, and to speak is a sin
7/10
Bill Evans Trio
5/5
THIS ALBUM IS GOATED
10/10
R.E.M.
3/5
Enjoyed this WAAYYYYY more than Document. This thing was actually good as opposed to bad which is a massive improvement.
Backloaded as fuck though. Orange Crush, Turn You Inside Out, I remember California all great.
Too bad theyre towards the end and start is mostly forgettable.
7/10
Beck
5/5
One of my favourite albums of all time and remains such. Deeply melancholic and moving. From the portion of Beck's career were he couldnt help but make melancholic bangers.
10/10
Orbital
3/5
I love the album art and title for this thing but ultimately felt like it was an alright IDM album with some great moments.
The end of the first track made my kidneys hurt
6/10
Venom
4/5
Just some solid classic speed.
Nothing too fancy nor does it need to be.
Great stuff with not many standouts, just consistently great track you can put on and leave the album on repeat for hours.
8/10
Bert Jansch
3/5
Worse than just about every other folk album on this list so far.
Which is to say its just good as opposed to phenomenal.
Pretty forgettable even though it was enjoyable while listening
7/10
The Who
3/5
I disliked this than every other project by them ive heard.
Only 2 truly great tracks on this thing and one is the title track.
An unfortunate one hit wonder still alright album by an otherwise great band.
7/10
Dolly Parton
4/5
Great album that is just plain wayyyy too short. Could have liatened to this for way longer.
A mixed bag of straight up masterpieces and just good songs.
7/10
Pentangle
4/5
Great
8/10