Jul 28 2024
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1984
Van Halen
Man the start of this album is absolutely killer. Jump and Panama back to back, then Drop Dead Legs? Fantastic. I love a good guitar solo, and Eddie VH is one of the best to ever do it.
I was not expecting Van Halen to be so polarising, that was a surprise to me. This album rocks. There was only one caveat I had with it:
Hot For Teacher is a weird song and I felt gross listening to it.
This album is near perfect to me, the only thing that stops me from giving it a perfect 5 is Hot For Teacher. What a shame. Nevertheless, awesome album, and definitely will be giving it further listens in the future.
4
Jul 29 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
Is this album better than Bad? No - but, this album is still incredible. A real benchmark for what pop music is and it defined pop music forever.
This album is the best selling album of all time for a reason, and nothing I can say here could do justice to the other tens to hundreds of thousands of other reviews written for this beast of a thing. So alas, 5.
5
Jul 30 2024
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Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
Despite being a massive fan of Gaucho (one of my favourite LP's ever), I've never actually ventured much further into Steely Dan's discog.
I've obviously listened to Do It Again, and Reelin' in the Years, and Dirty Work - but songs like Kings, Midnite Cruiser, Only A Fool, etc. all held up so well.
Honestly, this album is so solid every single song on it could handle itself as a single. This album is flawless. Probably my favourite album on this generator so far.
5
Jul 31 2024
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Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
This album is very special to me, so there's no chance in me being objective or unbiased, I happily admit that. This album, of which I discovered from New Vegas, but my love further reinforced from El Paso's feature on Breaking Bad. Every song holds on its' own, but put together, it's a masterpiece. Marty Robbins had such a beautiful voice, and his way of storytelling in songs was incredible. I could listen to this album on repeat forever - it's one of my favourite albums ever. It's beautiful, and if you actually give it a proper listen outside of "le big iron" album, you'll find some really interesting and beautiful music. Easy 10/10.
5
Aug 01 2024
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Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
Deathwish was a cool song, the drums were great and how it picks up the pace after the chorus. But that's all the good I can write about this album.
Obviously Message in a Bottle is a classic, but they didn't seem to give a fuck about any of the other music on this record, knowing they'd sell more copies.
Two good songs, the rest is almost unlistenable horseshit.
2
Aug 02 2024
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
Probably one of the most iconic indie albums ever, although in my opinion AM takes the cake for /most/ iconic.
This album is fantastic. I was worried going into this as I hadn't listened to it in a very very long time, and didn't know if I'd hold it in as high of a regard - but every song here stands on it's own flawlessly.
You can tell what the songs are on it that are 'standouts' by stream numbers, like IBYLGOTD, Mardy Bum, WTSGD. This is a flawless execution of what British indie should sound like, that became the fastest selling album by a band in UK and changed the way music is listened to and distributed forever (as they were one of the first bands ever to release their album online).
This album is extremely consequential, so I think most reviews are either going to be a 'love it' or a 'hate it' mentality, and I'm firm on the side of the former.
5
Aug 05 2024
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Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Man, this album was great. I enjoyed every song, not a single miss on this album. It really reminds me of a mix of Bob Dylan meets Townes Van Zandt.
The vibes were sombre, and I actually really enjoyed how almost nothing rhymed.
I was so close to giving this a 5, but for me, it just is missing /something/ that I can't put my finger on. It's not a 'perfect' album. I am definitely keen to listen to some more Leonard Cohen, and hopefully a future album is deserving of a perfect score.
4
Aug 06 2024
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At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
Yeah this rocked. I love blues.
I can't bring myself to give a live album a 5, and this album just feels like a long extended jam rather than a produced and put together piece of art - plus, there's nothing really 'unique' about this, it's just blues, and good blues at that. I also think it goes on for a bit long, there's only so many guitar solos you can listen to for an hour to make this a 'perfect' live album.
Still, I enjoyed this a lot and it's well deserving of a 4.
4
Aug 07 2024
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Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
I never really considered myself a fan of Bon Jovi, but my mind definitely changed with this record.This album is about as hair metal as it gets, but I think they did it the best.
I really enjoyed the latter half of the album, after they played all the hits (which of course, are obviously good). The mixing was great, there was just enough guitar solos in there that it felt rock enough, and the lyrics were on point.
This is a really good album, I can't see myself coming back to it in a hurry, just because I'm not huge on hair metal, but this is definitely a solid listen.
4
Aug 08 2024
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Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
Dexys Midnight Runners
Man, I didn't expect this album to be so polarising. I thought it was great.
The instrumentals of this album are genuinely incredible, I loved the brass and the horns.
I can understand why there seems to be a hate for the vocals, but I quite enjoyed them. They didn't tire for me at all. It worked well with the brass backing. Unless you're referring to Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire - holy shit that song was foul, like he completely forgot to sing.
I'm Just Looking had so much passion and soul put into it - that song was a standout.
The latter half of this album was somewhat of a letdown when compared to the first half to middle, but still an enjoyable listen to me.
4
Aug 09 2024
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Guero
Beck
Never listening to this album again. It wasn't unlistenable, but Jesus Christ was is boring. I couldn't tell when one song ended and another begun, it all sounded the same. Nearly an hour of repeating guitar chords and barely hearable harmonica. This shit is just plain as - I wanted it to end by the time I got to Farewell Ride. Very soulless and uninspired album. I can't believe I put up with this for an hour.
2
Aug 13 2024
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Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
One of the essentials of Aretha Franklin, between this and I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, but I reckon this is her best work and you won't find a better soul album from the 1960's.
There's not a single song on this album that I even remotely dislike, it was a pleasure from start to finish. With classics like Good to Me as I Am to You, Ain't No Way and CHAIN OF MOTHERFUCKIN FOOLS. People Get Ready is probably a standout for me, that song is special and I adore it - though it reminds me of Changes by Charles Bradley vaguely.
Easy 5 - if you don't like this album idk what to tell you man you're either a contrarian fuckwit, a racist, or your music taste just fucking sucks.
5
Aug 14 2024
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Forever Changes
Love
Alone Again Or was a good lead track, you can clearly tell this album was structured around that song. Every other song blurred into each other, I genuinely couldn't tell when one song ends and another begins, in a bad way. There was one exception though - Old Man. That song sucked, and didn't even make any sense.
My God is this album plain. It feels like every British band from the 1960's album offcuts blended into one boring ass album. The only times I got some modicum of entertainment was from whenever the trumpets started playing, which made songs like "Maybe The People ..." tolerable, and actually pretty good.
It's not a bad album, per se, but it's just flavourless. Plain Greek Yoghurt. Dull.
I'm tossed between a 2 and a 3 here, but the fact I just was waiting for the album to end leads me towards a 2.
2
Aug 15 2024
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Sister
Sonic Youth
A lot of these songs seem really poorly mastered, Schizophrenia sounds nothing like the rest of the album, I can barely hear the lyrics over the instrumentals.
There's a few quality songs on here I enjoy, namely Catholic Block, Stereo Sanctity;
But there's also a few songs on here I /don't/ enjoy, like:
Cotton Crown, Master Dik (WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE WE'RE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE CICCONE )
Pipeline/Kill Time (two and a half minutes of fucking guitar reverb? wtf is that shit?)
I definitely didn't hate this album, it was on the enjoyable side. I honestly feel like where this album falls over is the vocalists - neither of them can sing and they detract from the awesome guitarwork. Listen to White Cross and tell me that their male vocalist can sing. He can't.
If there was an instrumental version of this album, it would be an easy 4, but alas.
3
Aug 16 2024
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Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective
This album has two fans, people who abuse psychedelics and hipsters with a superiority complex who pretend to like this shit to seem unique and cool.
You know that old wives tale about your cousins mate who did too much acid and fried his brain into permanently thinking he's an orange? This is what I imagine was playing during that dudes trip, and not in a good way.
Summertime Clothes is the only enjoyable song on the album, I came back to listen a second time for that song (it's actually good) - but it doesn't redeem the rest of the album, which is tainted, annoying, uninspired, hipster garbage.
Standout awful tracks include:
Daily Routine, where I thought I was actually enjoying the song until it just suddenly turned into 2 minutes of dumb noise effects. Just end the song dude.
Taste, where the singer decides to repeat the same thing for over 30% of the song. Yeah sick dude we get it.
Brother Sport, where I couldn't even understand what the fuck the vocalist was saying, it sounded like a completely different language.
This album doesn't need to be an hour, most of the songs runtime on this thing are littered with repeating vocals or annoying long drawn synths that go on for ages. It was a dread listening to this and I hope I never have to be subjected to it ever again.
1
Aug 19 2024
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The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
As someone who generally passionately hates The Smiths, I put that behind me and went into this with open ears, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Don't get me wrong, this album is still shit - I can't stand Morrisey's stupid fucking monotone whining voice - BUT, I didn't hate all the songs, and I definitely didn't hate the instrumentals. The guitarwork was nice, and had a great 80's tone to it. I genuinely enjoyed the title track of this album, I don't think I'd listen to it regularly, but it's tolerable.
But that's about as far as I can go for the positives. This album is whiney, annoying, and boring. Most songs drag on and on and on. When the album finished, I genuinely couldn't tell when it looped because each song sounds exactly the same as the other.
I still hate The Smiths, and I still hate Morrisey's annoying vocals and lyrics - but I at least can say that this album isn't the 1 star rating I was expecting to give and I'm glad I at least gave it a chance.
2
Aug 20 2024
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Bad
Michael Jackson
I don't know what is so magical about this album, I can't put my finger on exactly what it is, but this album is perfection. I literally looped it for 3 more plays it was that good.
Every single song fucks.
The instrumentals are amazing and so in-tune with the 80's. The vocals are obviously amazing.
There's really no need for a long-winded review here. This album is as good as it gets for pop. I could listen to it over and over and not get tired of it. Perfection - nonce or not.
5
Aug 21 2024
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Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
https://voca.ro/1h8V5kSlH8Wm
4
Aug 22 2024
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The Healer
John Lee Hooker
Man, I was not expecting this album to be as good as it was, I've never even heard of John Lee Hooker before this.
Some great features on this album. I knew the Cuttin' Out was going to be a good song, given Canned Heat feature on it. That and Think Twice Before You Go are so fun and high-energy.
I had to listen to this album 4 times to know what I wanted to rate it, I was so tossed between a 4 and a light 5, but honestly the last two songs on this album are so special and pushed me over the edge to a five. The emotion on My Dream really hit me, I had to pause the album and process in silence after listening to that song, that shit made me feel something. What a beautiful piece of music.
This album has ended up being one of (if not) my favourite blues albums I've ever heard. Five stars.
5
Aug 23 2024
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A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
While I generally enjoy early rock & roll, this album was a bit of a snooze fest for me. Really have else nothing to say about this album, it's not a jam mate, it's just total marmalade.
Lucille was a good song, but other than that, this record feels very plain and unimaginative, the lyrics were uninspired and all about the same thing. This is just Temu Beach Boys.
Note, it's definitely still listenable, and I didn't dislike any of the songs, it just wasn't that interesting to me. I'm sure if you played this at the local RSL on a Friday you'd have the oldies frothing at the mouth though.
3
Aug 26 2024
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Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
TLDR; first half is meh, the second half is God-tier good; 4. But why did the Beastie Boys copy Mr Beast when picking their name????????
What I love about the Beastie Boys is their recognisable sound, they're one of those artists you can immediately tell it's them, even if you're not a fan - which I'm not generally. That's not to say I dislike the Beastie Boys, I just never took time to sit down and listen to them outside of a select few tracks which I love (So What'Cha want is such a bop it's unreal) and License to Ill.
I genuinely think the first 5 songs or so in this album are a letdown just in terms of scope, I found them a bit plain and uninteresting. The instrumentals on this album are absolutely phenomenal from start to finish.
I couldn't stand the first half of The Sounds of Science, but after that, shit got real and the song actually rocked. From there, 3-Minute Rule really started to pick things up for me. Instrumentals picked up, until 5-Piece Chicken Dinner. What the fuck was up with that?
Anyways, this album is good. It wasn't a life changing listen, but it's fun, interesting, and honestly I'd definitely throw this album on when going for a drive.
4
Aug 27 2024
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Kid A
Radiohead
I wrote a really long review about how this album was okay and listenable/enjoyable after my first listen. Then I listened to it a second time. And a third. Then a fourth - and finally made up my mind: this album is shit.
If you removed the vocals from this album you could easily throw this into the background music of a video game from 2005 (specifically the part where nothing happens and you're just exploring). The only song that was the exception to this rule was Idioteque.
I had so many questions during my listen through: What was the point of this album? What message was it trying to convey? Who is this records' target audience? I left with more questions than answers. What a mystifying album, in both a good and a bad way.
I don't know what I think about this album. In some ways I absolutely hate it, and can't stand certain songs. But then, when I think of the album as a whole? It wasn't /that/ bad. By my third listen through I decided I'd had enough and the album really goes nowhere, and has no point to make. It's boring. It had potential, and my first listen through was definitely exciting in trying to unravel the mystery that is this album.
2
Aug 28 2024
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The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Man this album is boring. I forgot I was even listening to it at one point, I had to double check it was still playing because my brain had tuned it out as white noise. I only 'came to' because of how shit The Bunting Song is.
There's really not much to say about this, it's not offensive or bad necessarily, it's just boring as fuck. I constantly kept looking at the track list hoping I was close to the end.
Go listen to the Gorillaz instead.
2
Aug 29 2024
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Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
I love jazz. If I saw this live, in a jazz club, I'd probably be all for this album - in fact if I was in a jazz bar, or somewhere that matched the atmosphere of this album, I'd definitely rate this higher - but honestly, I just don't feel this translates well onto a record. Obviously it's not the instrumentals that's the issue, it's Tom rambling on and on about some of the dumbest things I've ever heard:
You can't go fishing because of your wife?
Various things you had for breakfast?
Who's in the diner while you're eating?
What the fuck? The whole concept of this album is whack.
This album really does have some standout tracks, Warm Beer and Cold Women just worked - because he stopped doing his stupid rambling mumbling shouting, and actually used his harsh, gravelly voice in sync with the jazz behind him. And it worked. The song is great. A shame it can't be said for the rest of the album, because like clockwork, it's back to rambling about masturbating or some other nonsensical shit.
This album isn't for me, because for all the faults I have with Tom's vocals, the band behind him are pretty damn faultless. I was hard tossed between a 2 and a 3 here, but I'm going to go with a 3, just because I think if I listened to this in the right mood and in the right place, I'd actually enjoy this record. I'm going to re-listen in the future and I think my opinion will change, but I'm definitely interested in listening to more Tom Waits in the future.
3
Aug 30 2024
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The La's
The La's
In this album: British invasion cosplay made by some losers in the 90's who were born in the wrong generation. Another generic British rock album but completely uninspired.
Once I got to Looking Glass I wanted to shoot myself. I struggled to finish this record. Looking Glass and All By Myself were incredibly painful, I nearly gave up on finishing this album when I had to deal with them. WHY ARE THEY SO LONG AND REPETETIVE? I GET IT CUNT, YOU'RE ALL BY YOURSELF, SHUT UP.
This album is obviously just a one-hit-wonder album, as There She Goes is the only recognisable (and good) song on the album. Why does the quality of the music suddenly perk up only for There She Goes, then the rest of the album sounds like it was recorded on a used microphone from the 1960's? Did they spend all their budget on the one hit song and forgot they had to record a whole album around it? Why is There She Goes a completely different genre to the rest of the album?
Just go listen to literally any British invasion album instead, it sounds the exact same but at least it's good.
1
Sep 02 2024
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Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
I had to listen to this a couple of times to decide what I really thought of this. I loved this, as a soundtrack it honestly was unreal. As an album it held itself well too. I wanted to give this a 5. I think the only thing that stops me is its' staying power in my head. I can't see myself coming back to this album in a hurry even though I loved it. This is why I hate the 5 star rating system, it would be a 9/10 if I had the option, but alas.
Songs like Pusherman (famously sampled by Eminem), Junkie Chase, and Freddie's Dead were standouts, Pusherman is definitely a favourite. I'm gonna go hunt down the film and watch that soon, and maybe it'll tide me over to a 5. If the movies anywhere near as good as this soundtrack; it'll be a great watch.
4
Sep 03 2024
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Machine Head
Deep Purple
While I'm not nor have ever been a fan of Deep Purple, I can come to appreciate how consequential they were to rock. This is probably the most 'classic' or album they have, with so many songs being cult classics. I don't need to go into much detail about Some On The Water or Highway Star, everyone has heard them, either consensually or by stepping food into a Guitar World for more than 4 seconds.
I did just want to call out Lazy - man that song was good. It felt like a blues inspired rock ballad. The keyboards and harmonica really stood out here. Man, the back end of this album rocked.
The rest of the album was pretty vanilla to me. As I said, Deep Purple just really isn't my jam, but this is still a pretty good album all things considered. I can't fault the instrumentals on here, but I definitely have my issues with the lead singer's vocals. I enjoyed this listen, and went to give it a 3, but the latter 3 songs on the album are all so good they're worth giving this thing a 4.
4
Sep 04 2024
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Tellin’ Stories
The Charlatans
When I saw I had to listen to MORE British rock, I went in with pretty underwhelming expectations, but I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. This album feels so 90's it's insane, and really does feel like exactly what Britpop should sound like.
Nothing really /stood out/ to me per se, but as a record it was super enjoyable. I think North Country Boy was probably my favourite song though. This album was just cool and fun.
Also the fact that their keyboardist died while recording this album so they drop him from the album cover and just give him a 3 minute organ solo at the end of the album is really funny to me. Rest in peace Rob Collins you got teleported to heaven through the sunroof of that E34 mate.
4
Sep 05 2024
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Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
I empathise with the people who hate Bob Dylan who had to sit through an hour and a half of his droning voice and ear piercing harmonica.
I love Bob Dylan, but a live album? Really? That's like having a 'greatest hits' album on a greatest list, I don't really think it counts. I get that Bob Dylan of all artists sounds completely different pretty much every live performance, but I really didn't want my first Bob Dylan album on this list to be this - it just feels disingenuous to rate some of my favourite Bob Dylan songs all on one album despite them all coming from different places.
Visions of Johanna is one of my favourite songs of all time, so it was nice to hear a true-to-record version of that live. I also appreciated the first disc of the album.
Honestly, sitting there for an hour and a half got pretty tiring listening to this. I really don't think a bootlegged live recording is a 'must-listen', but it's still enjoyable nevertheless. Tossed between a 3 and a 4 (I'd give this a 7/10 if it were on a 10 scale), but I think there's better Bob Dylan records out there to listen to, nor is this essential, so I'm gonna go with a 3.
3
Sep 06 2024
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D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
This album just sounds like the last recording found on your dad's phone after he goes missing in the Belanglo State Forest and you spend the rest of your life convinced that he was abducted by aliens.
Good album if you're an audiophile (or...) and like listening to beep boop random noises and being freaked out (Hamburger Lady put me on edge) - but this shit isn't music. At all.
1
Sep 09 2024
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I Should Coco
Supergrass
Honestly, this album was a very enjoyable listen. I am willing to die on this hill and say this album is good, even. My only gripe is that this album feels like you've listened to something completely different once you get to the latter half. It doesn't feel like the same album, and this album doesn't feel super true to itself.
It feels like they've recorded some of these songs in the 60's, some in the 70's, and some in the 90's - but I don't hate it honestly.
We're Not Supposed To was atrocious, but after that the best songs on the album were present. I was tossed between a 3 and a 4 here, but considering this album only has one 'skip' on it, and the rest of the songs I enjoyed, I'll go with a 4.
As far as highlights are concerned:
Time felt kinda like a Smashing Pumpkins record, and the harmonicas rocked.
Sofa was just a belter of a tune, with fantastic instrumentals, it sounded like it was from the 60's honestly.
But yeah, good stuff. Definitely will be coming back to this one after the insufferable wave of Britpop in this album goes away and I can finally listen to a British accent in a song again without gagging.
4
Sep 10 2024
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Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
I am genuinely lost for words about how incredible this record is, it all feels like one song, and I didn't want it to end. This send me through a rollercoaster of emotions.
I'm not going to be able to write an objective review here, because this album is just so fucking good it defies words. Portuguese sounds so beautiful over a smooth jazz background. I would kill to have heard this live in a dark bar and smoke a thousand cigarettes while enjoying this.
Incredible. Seriously, I can't believe I've only heard snippets of this before.
5
Sep 11 2024
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Hms Fable
Shack
1001 britpop albums to listen to before you die by your own hand
i hope the hms fable sunk with no survivors, this album was trash
1
Sep 12 2024
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At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
I usually am not a fan of live albums, but man this was great. Honestly, I can only see myself coming back to Boy Named Sue on here, hence the 4. However, this album was damn near faultless, especially for a live album. Looking forward to Live @ Folsom coming up.
4
Sep 13 2024
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Palo Congo
Sabu
Holy fuck this wants me to put a bullet in my head. Just some cunt yelling over constant drums, yeah sick man.
I have a theory JFK was hesitant on authorising the Bay of Pigs invasion until he heard this atrocious piece of shit. And 62 years later I am had my own battle with trying to finish this record without un-aliving myself.
1
Sep 16 2024
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Stankonia
OutKast
I went into this album expecting great things, and was left sorely disappointed. Man, what the fuck is this thing so long for? Like three of the songs are actually good, the rest is filler or stupid skits that got old after the second skit.
The hit singles on the album that I need not name are great songs, of course, which spares this album of a 1.
This album is trash, I always thought Outkast was overrated, and was hoping to be proven wrong, but sorely I was right. This record has no reason to be 73 minutes of boring filler, good lord.
2
Sep 17 2024
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Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
God the first half of this was a fucking slog. I never got the appeal of this violent junkie lunatic - I think she's extremely overrated and neo-soul is lame and boring. To me this is just Britpop for white kids who grew up on Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye.
Rehab is both a disgustingly uncreative song and such horrible messaging. Shame she didn't heed her own advice (or lack thereof) lmao.
I admit she has a great voice, but I just don't vibe with her. I was fully prepared to give this a low rating, but the latter half of this album really stepped this up from a 2 to a 3. Tears Dry On Their Own is my only highlight really, that song was actually real good, but the rest was between just 'okay' to 'garbage' - the former seemingly being the main vibe here.
3
Sep 18 2024
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Go Girl Crazy
The Dictators
This is like if Deep Purple met The Ramones. You can definitely identify the similarities with The Ramones here, but I believe this record came first.
I love punk, and this is probably the first example of punk rock that's identifiable, hence the label proto-punk.
The album definitely trailed off toward the end, but man the covers on this album were great. I Got You Babe and California Sun (Ramones did it better though) were so good. I honestly can say I enjoyed every song on this album, probably with the exception of 'Master Race Rock', that was a bit weird.
This album was a super fun listen, and the instrumentals were on point. It's not perfect though, and I couldn't see myself running back to listen to this one in a single sitting again, but I've already added a few songs to my playlists.
Glad to see some punk rock history appearing on this list.
4
Sep 19 2024
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What's That Noise?
Coldcut
Big beats are the best, get high all the time.
Is this album too long? If you include the remixes, yeah, it is. But I don't really count them, they can definitely be skipped (a 10 minute remix of a song we already heard is grim). I still managed to give it 3 listens and it still kept my attention.
Fuck this album was good, I've heard People Hold On before, but that was my extent of experience with Coldcut. It's a shame this album isn't on Spotify. Guess I'll have to buy the vinyl.
There's no chance electronic music of this age - when drum machines were really only starting to come out and electronic was only just being defined - could ever not show it's age, but you have to respect your elders in this case. You wouldn't have people gurning their face off on MDMA on Coolangatta Beach listening to Fisher's shit ghost-produced house (ironically with pop samples from around this time) without the precursor records like these.
The synths are sloppy, the samples are dated, and the bass and drums sound like they're straight out of a 1990's aerobic workout-at-home VHS tape that your mum used to work out to so she could keep fit for the neighbour she was cheating on your father with. But, I fucking love all of that. It's cheesy in the best way. I loved this thing, and yes my bias is showing here, because I love old house music and trip hop. Easy 5.
5
Sep 20 2024
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Kimono My House
Sparks
Wow what a linear regression of an album. From just okay to downright trash. Especially Equator, that song made me want to put a bullet in my head. There were no highlights, only mediocrity to 'holy fuck I can't wait for this to end'. Pretty sour listen, I struggled to get through it twice, only making it about half way before I was done. That being said, not every song on here is bad, so it's not worthy of a 1.
Honestly, not much to be said here, and the album cover just reminds me of two evil American kimono-wearing energy vampire girls at JAZZ IN (ろくでなし) in Kyoto. I will never forget them and their evil, vindictive ways. Those 3 hours of my life on the short trip I had abroad that I will never get back. I wish the rest of their life is filled with nothing but warm beers, sour milk, and mouldy bread. The lies spoken by both parties, sins never washed away, the word of Satan behoves them. One day our paths will cross again, and I will be ready. Ready for what is to come. I will emerge triumphant, or perish. I await that day.
2
Sep 23 2024
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The College Dropout
Kanye West
I've never really been a huge fan of Kanye West, my introduction to him being seeing the music video for Stronger on RAGE as a kid. But man, this album was unbelievable. Not a single skip on here, I completely get why this album is so acclaimed.
This album could have gone for 2 hours and I would have eaten it up like the pig I am. It was that good.
If you can't separate the art from the artist, you shouldn't be on this site rating music, I guarantee I bet I'll see a bunch of paedophiles in your top artists. Get a grip. This album is flawless, no matter how rotten the artist is.
5
Sep 24 2024
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Music From Big Pink
The Band
Don't get me wrong, this album is good - and an interesting listen. I listened to this a few times, and I really did enjoy a lot of the songs on here; but the latter half of the album really detracts from my rating.
This record feels so top heavy, I found myself disinterested and left feeling like they ran out of things to say and it kind of just all blurred together in a bad way after We Can Talk.
Definitely would listen to this again, but the tapering off toward the end where all the songs sound the same or touch the same concepts really didn't do it for me. Tears of Rage was a damn good song though, I listened to that like 5 times and loved it.
3
Sep 25 2024
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The Cars
The Cars
I came into this never even having heard of The Cars, let alone recognising any of their music. It's nice to come into something fresh.
The magic of this album really lies in the synths. Quite possibly one of the few new wave albums I've listened to where I didn't get sick of the synths and in fact was anticipating every time they came back on. I've never experienced that in an album before.
This album really has no skips. After a few listens, I wanted to give it a 4, but realised not a single time did I get sick of this, and I really enjoyed every song back to back. I think I listened to this like 3 times in a row without even realising because it felt fresh and new every single time. I think this album might be the perfect new wave album. Everything was done right and not to excess.
The only downside to this album is I have to stare at some woman's fucked teeth. What a hideous album cover lmao. If that's the only downside to your album, then you've done pretty well in my books.
Highlight tracks: My Best Friend's Girl, Just What I Needed (certified banger), You're All I've Got Tonight, Moving in Stereo. So pretty much half the album are bangers.
5
Sep 26 2024
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The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips
Wow a band named after thrush that sounds like LCD Soundsystem for even bigger losers.
Instrumentals are good, but once that crybaby wankers voice kicks in I really just can't do it.
This record what Radiohead sounds like to people who hate Radiohead
You're lucky to get a 2 lads
2
Sep 27 2024
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The Man Who
Travis
The Man Who's album is used by anaesthetists to put patients to sleep naturally. Utterly boring uninteresting shite. James Blunt for even blunter individuals.
Going to start logging these because there's so fucking many in this ridiculous list:
Britpop album #5/48.
1
Sep 30 2024
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On The Beach
Neil Young
I've literally never listened to Neil Young before, and man what a good introduction. This album rocks.
I wanted to give this a 4, but on reflection, this album has no skips, no bad points, no downsides, and at no point was I uninterested or felt like this could be better.
Honestly, this album is fucking good and I can't wait to listen to more Neil Young in the future if this is what's in store for me.
Highlights: Revolution Blues, Vampire Blues, On the Beach, Motion Pictures, Ambulance Blues. Basically the whole album.
Light 5.
5
Oct 01 2024
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Superunknown
Soundgarden
This album would have been good if they took half the songs from it and deleted them forever. This was a gruelling 70 minutes and did not need to be this long, I got the gist of the album by like track 3 and after that it felt more of the same over and over. I was itching for this to end as I got after the halfway point.
Obviously Black Hole Sun is a fantastic song, but that's probably the only song from this album I can say I 100% was into and enjoyed.
2
Oct 02 2024
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Raw Power
The Stooges
I was really looking forward to this album, but man, what a letdown. It's funny to me how this sounds worse than their debut album lmao
It sure feels ahead of it's time, and I can appreciate that it probably sounds like shit intentionally, but this is critically acclaimed? Why? It's not particularly interesting. It wasn't a bad listen, I just really don't get the hype behind this album.
3
Oct 03 2024
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Odessa
Bee Gees
This is so NOT rainbow rhythms.
2
Oct 04 2024
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So
Peter Gabriel
son: mummy can we buy phil collins albome
mum: no son we hav;e phil collins at home..
In all seriousness, this album was a fucking snoozefest. Red Rain and Sledgehammer were dope, but then Don't Give Up Played. Fuck. That. Song. Was. So. Shit.
Sledgehammer & Big Time are getting slapped into my 80's shitbox playlist, the rest of these songs can go into the slop. Really wanted to enjoy this one as a fan of Genesis and a bigger fan of Phil Collins, who funnily sounds almost exactly the same but at least his music doesn't bore me to death with it's mediocrity. What a disappointment.
2
Oct 07 2024
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Figure 8
Elliott Smith
One of the few albums that cracks the 70 minute mark that doesn't feel like it drags. I enjoyed this one. It's not for everyone, but I can really feel Elliot Smith's influences in other indie artists. It's a really mellow and easy listening album.
I really enjoyed L.A. and Can't Make a Sound.
The album really utilises volume to drive home points. There's parts of the album where the instrumentals take centre stage and really overpower Elliot's quiet voice, and those are parts of the album I really enjoy.
Overall, probably a light 4.
4
Oct 08 2024
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Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Is this Iron Maiden's best work? Certainly not. Is this album still good? Apart from the hideous album cover, you bet. Sorry Eddie.
This album is never going to be perfect, and I don't think this would ever appear at the top of anyone's 'best Iron Maiden' list. I think some of the bass sections are way too heavy on certain parts of the album, and it's really noticeable on Phantom of the Opera, it just doesn't sound good. The mix could have been better. Specifically on songs like Phantom of the Opera and Iron Maiden.
It's criminal that this album appears in here over Powerslave though. Unfortunately the writers had to can the appearance of Powerslave from 1001 Albums due to the fact they needed to cram another Britpop album in there. Oh well.
Fuck the guitar solos on this album were good though.
4
Oct 09 2024
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Kenza
Khaled
Holy shit that Imagine cover was dreadful lmfao.
This album was okay, a lot of dreadful songs on here, but some were okay in my books, I even liked E'Dir E'Sseba and El Bab.
An almost 80 minute runtime fucking killed me though. I can't in good conscious give this more than a 2, because I was so fucking over this by about the 9th song. An absolute slog, I could bare differentiate one song from another, apart from Imagine, obviously. Cut this album in half and remove the filler and you'd probably have a pretty solid album. Unfortunate it didn't pan out that way.
The absolute lowlight of this album for me was that screeching woman's voice which sounded exactly like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWO5J_DIK84
2
Oct 10 2024
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Repeater
Fugazi
I'd never heard of Fugazi before this, and as soon as I heard the first song, I knew it was the singer from Minor Threat - one of my favourite punk bands ever. Unfortunately, this doesn't even come close to Minor Threat, and nor would I have expected to. Nevertheless, this was a solid album and an enjoyable listen.
My main gripe with this album is nothing really stood out to me. As a piece of art I did enjoy the sit down and listen through of it, but did anything really pop for me? Not really. I don't have anything I hate about this album, at all, honestly there was no skips on this album - but every song kind of just meshed together as one piece. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but there's nothing in here that draws me back.
This was such a hard album to rate. If there was a 10 star scale it would be a 6.5 or 7 out of 10. I was inclined to give this a 4 because it really was an enjoyable listen, but it just feels too forgettable for me to rate it higher than a 3.
3
Oct 11 2024
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Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
Come on man. Who the fuck doesn't like this?
This is nearly a 5, but just doesn't have that staying power I'm looking for in an album. God this was good though.
4
Oct 14 2024
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Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
I like Bob Dylan, but this is easily his most overrated work. This album is a fucking mess - have no idea how this is considered one of the greatest rock history; it's really really shit.
It wouldn't hurt to sing with some vocal range, instead of the same dreary whiney voice, Bob. Fuck me.
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" really rescues this album.
2
Oct 15 2024
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Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
A pretty tasty fusion of punk-rock and early 2000's indie. Lots of substance, and a pretty enjoyable listen. However, it's just not for me. I really didn't feel one way or the other when listening to it, and nothing stood out for me. It just felt a bit plain to me, I don't know why.
3
Oct 16 2024
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Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
Individually most of the songs on this album are shit. If you played me any of these songs on their own I would probably turn it off and go listen to something else. But when played as an album, there's something magical that happens. I really do think this is one of those albums you have to listen to in it's entirety to be able to enjoy, and boy do I enjoy it.
Admittedly this album is 10x better to listen to on vinyl than digitally.
Do I think this album is perfection? Not really. It's close, and I definitely will keep coming back to it. However, it's really hard to find any flaws in this. Yes, there is a difference between flawless and perfection to me.
tldr; perfect? no. flawless? yes.
I want to give this a 4 but my brain will not allow it, simply because this is a 9/10 to me and not deserving of less.
5
Oct 17 2024
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The Rising
Bruce Springsteen
This is horrifyingly bad. Holy fuck. Two songs in and I could not believe I still had another hour and a bit of listening to this garbage.
Somehow this is Bruce Springsteen's 9/11 "comeback album", but ended up just being terrorism to my ears. Like the war in Afghanistan, this album went for entirely too long, was almost entirely pointless, and caused almost incalculable amounts of suffering.
1
Oct 18 2024
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Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
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 released their first feature-length album in '77, which 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 captured the textures, fuzz, and punk that would explode in the early 70s with Branca, Sonic Youth, the Swans, and all the other subsequent alt-rock and punk projects of the late 70s and early 80s.
What does *Metal Box* have to do with any of that?
It released in '79, riding that end-of-decade wave of innovation.
No one was making sounds like this, except for Eno and maybe, before him, Halim El-Dabh with his piece Wire Recorder Piece or even John Cage’s experiments, though to a much lesser degree. There are probably others, but those are the ones I know of.
I was disappointed by No Birds because 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 at times. Thankfully, I didn’t feel that way throughout.
In fact, everything up to and including Albatross didn’t amount to much more than an early use of dub techniques in this manner.
However, Poptones blew me away. This track came out nearly 45 years ago, and it sounds like an experimental track that could come out today. It’s so unique and chilling, capturing that post-punk rawness while being strangely beautiful.
Careering pushed me. The hollow echo and the jarring rhythms really got under my skin. And that was the point. By experimenting with dub, post-punk, and heavy distortion, PiL created soundscapes that were previously unthought. Music doesn’t have to be catchy and danceable—it can be abrasive and off-kilter. This track filled me with a sense of unease. Very cool.
Graveyard, 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 haunting.
Some people are amazed that Aphex Twin developed some of his early works in the mid-80s. Radio 4 came out in ’79, come on, you gotta admit, that’s pretty cool.
I feel the same way about The Suit as I do about Graveyard. It could fit into a modern horror soundtrack and no one would bat an eye. It may even receive praise.
The walls of sound on Metal Box are a premonition of the looping soundscapes of no-wave and influence that would dominate the early 80s and have a lasting impact on alt-rock and industrial music going forward.
This album reminds me of Eno’s 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 of post-punk classics.
What people need to understand is that this album, while not to most people’s taste, isn’t a flaming garbage heap. It’s not just banging noises together. I’ve been to awful live noise shows; anyone can bang some stuff 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.
10/10
Fav tracks – Poptones, Careering, Graveyard, Radio 4, Albatross, The Suit, Memories
Least fav – No Birds
--
Just kidding, this album was fucked.
1
Oct 21 2024
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Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
Album 2 of the BD trilogy, and the randomised God's have given this to me consecutively. This album really is fucking awesome. Like a Rolling Stone is such a phenomenal track, and is usually a staple for getting introduced to Bob Dylan.
My only gripe with this record is I get lost in the lyrics a lot of the time. Desolation Row and Ballad of a Thin man are shocking for this. I lost focus for like 2 seconds and had no idea what he was on about.
Actually, now that I think about it, Ballad of a Thin Man is actually a pretty shit song lmao.
Nearly a perfect album - probably worth the accolades it got, but there's better Bob Dylan albums out there.
4
Oct 22 2024
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Eagles
Eagles
Why does every Eagles song sound exactly the same? Why is every song by the Eagles a fucking love or heartbreak song? Jesus Christ, give it a rest.
This was still an enjoyable listen. They have such a recognisable sound, something you'd hear on K-ROSE while you're flying a Regina at max speed at dusk. The Eagles put you into a very sombre mood, shame the sombre mood is always the same fucking thing and you just think about some girl that broke your heart. One of These Nights is such a better album than this.
Probably not something I'd come rushing back to outside of the lead track.
3
Oct 23 2024
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Is This It
The Strokes
Not particularly familiar with The Strokes, but definitely recognise the album art, that shit is iconic.
Honestly though, I had high hopes for this one, especially since it's so critically acclaimed; but it wasn't all that grand. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it felt pretty flavourless and lacking in depth.
I'm sure there's some British Indie freak out there who thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread, but honestly this really doesn't do that for me and I can't see myself coming back to any of the songs on this record in a massive hurry.
3
Oct 24 2024
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The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
This is like if you kept the instrumentals and 80's feel of The Smiths but replaced the whiney cunt singing with someone more tolerable. This is pretty alright as far as Britslop goes.
My main gripe with this record is half the songs could be cut in half and the album would be so much better. I enjoy a long song but some songs are just the same repeating bars over and over and over and it's pretty exhausting. You have to sit through 10 minutes of repeating songs to be able to get to the gold in this album, which is a shame.
Fool's Gold is a fucking 10/10 song though. Ten minutes long and I could listen to it on repeat all day, phenomenal. Biased of course as it was featured in GTA SA and thus I grew up bopping to it.
How to fix this album:
1. Cut all the songs playtime in half.
2. Delete Don't Stop from the album entirely.
3. Move Fool's Gold to the place of Don't Stop.
4. It is now a 10/10 album.
Britpop album #6/48.
3
Oct 25 2024
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Nevermind
Nirvana
Kurt: "This song is called 'I hate myself and I want to die'"
Nirvana Fans: "There’s no way this dude killed himself"
I don't need to say anything about this album that hasn't been said a million times. This album is a top ten of all time and there is never going to be a valid argument against that fact.
Territorial Pissings and Stay Away are absolute favourite of mine.
5
Oct 28 2024
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Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
I was really looking forward to this, but honestly this is a bit of a letdown. Whilst I can tell this was cutting edge for the time, and the mix of samples together on a lot of songs was genuinely great, it was just really missing that oomph that I would be expecting from an instrumental hip hop album.
Comparing this to Donuts by J Dilla or the Rappers Best Friend series, does this stack up to those - which are my favourite instrumental albums? I don't think it's even close.
Definitely cool record and a worthy listen if you're trying to study or work and want something interesting to focus to, but as a greatest/must listen album of all time this doesn't hold it's weight.
3
Oct 29 2024
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Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
I would like to take a moment to recognise the poor guy that tried out this site but ended up getting two Kate Bush albums as his first and second album.
https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/5fa11a5923dd065578a169f9
The chances of that happening are 0.000766%, or about 1 in 130,548.
I hope one day our noble hero returns, and God willing, he gets this album as his third.
That being said - did I get a different album as everyone else reviewing this or something? I fucking hated this. It was awfully boring, lame, and weird. Genuinely struggled to finish this one, it took me a couple of attempts because I just wanted to slam my head against my desk whenever another song started playing.
Thanks to Stranger Things for reviving this, it should have just been left buried in the 80's like asbestos and leaded petrol - the latter I had an uncontrollable craving for drinking whilst suffering through this.
1
Oct 30 2024
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Me Against The World
2Pac
Tupac's magnum opus, and a must-listen staple for west coast hip-hop. While it definitely shows it's age more than other 90's hip-hop records, this album has no skips.
I grew up listening to this album, and it was my first real introduction to hip-hop as a child.
Not many of Tupac's 'best of' appears on here, but this is arguably his only album that is solid from start to finish. Something that you actually *want* to listen to from start to finish. Tupac never replicated that again on any of his albums both during his tenure & posthumously.
Don't get me wrong, this dude was an unbelievably disgusting scumbag who deserved everything that happened to him, but separating artist from music, it's a pretty damn perfect album.
5
Oct 31 2024
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I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
Honky Tonk electric guitar from the 50's/60's melts me, I love that shit. This was almost worthy of a 5, the range in emotions was super impressive, and I equally loved the emotional songs as much as the hootin' and hollerin' misogynist drinking anthems.
Super solid listen, and something I'll be coming back to in the future. The only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is that it just didn't have that 'pizazz' that separates this from any other Honky Tonk album and makes it feel truly unique. Certainly an 8.5 to 9 out of ten though.
Fuck this album art is creepy but.
4
Nov 01 2024
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Superfuzz Bigmuff
Mudhoney
When I saw the runtime of this album, I wanted to shoot myself. Thank fuck it's just the deluxe edition and I don't have to sit through more than 6 songs on this thing - because I was done by about the 5th.
I guarantee this album only got popular after Nirvana (and Kurt's head) exploded. Just because this is loosely related to Nirvana, doesn't make it good. This is fucking lame. It's like if you took all the bad parts of hardcore punk and slapped a shitty singer who sings in different tones on each song so there's no cohesion.
Not a fan.
2
Nov 04 2024
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If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Pogues
My ancestors are going to bestow a generational curse on me for not giving this a 5, but unfortunately I wasn't drunk enough to enjoy this one.
Up the RA.
2
Nov 05 2024
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Hotel California
Eagles
Nowhere near as good as their self titled debut in my opinion, but also still mid. The only song I really resonated with and enjoyed was Try and Love again.
I get the hype behind this album, but honestly I think there's better Eagles records out there. This just feels like it blew up because of the lead track (which is a banger, let's be honest here).
If Eagle's debut was a 3.5, this is just a 3. Pretty generic country-dadrock.
3
Nov 06 2024
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First Band On The Moon
The Cardigans
Super bright, on the nose album. I really enjoyed this one, it had me smiling throughout. Some good bops, but let's be real, the only reason this album is on this list is because of Lovefool, which is an absolute classic and a 10/10.
Great listen, would do again. Not perfect, but I'm glad this was included on this list despite being a one-hit-wonder.
4
Nov 07 2024
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L.A. Woman
The Doors
If you take the worst parts of the blues and joined it together with most boring parts of psychedelic rock, and have it be performed by the most boringly named band, with boring and uncreative album art, then you end up with this shit.
What is the appeal here? White people who don't want to listen to real blues music?
Whack ass overrated album.
2
Nov 08 2024
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Henry's Dream
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I tried twice to get through this. The first time I got about half way through before I had to turn it off because it was too weird and distracting.
I picked it up again, before getting about two songs in and hating it even more.
This album is dogshit lmao I don't understand what is going on through half of it, I can't even write a good review for this because my brain subconsciously filters it out as white noise until the parts where it's too weird to not focus on anything but that.
1
Nov 11 2024
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Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
The more I listen to Queen's deeper cuts, i.e. every song on this album that isn't Killer Queen, the less I care for both the band as a whole, and the album I'm listening to. I'm beginning to think they are overrated.
This album wasn't really it for me. It was okay, and listenable without anything particularly upsetting or offensive - but it was just bland. Killer Queen is obviously a standout, and a great track at that, but otherwise I cannot think of a single other memorable song on this thing.
Extremely mid and forgettable album.
3
Nov 12 2024
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Purple Rain
Prince
The production on this thing is insane, I really do like Prince, and this album. The consistency of production quality really stands out for me here. I've never actually listened to this album from start to finish, and it was certainly an enjoyable listen.
Is this album perfect? No. I think the quality of writing in some parts of the album are really lacking. Darling Nikki really just creeps me out more than anything, and he screams like a fucking girl half way through it for some reason. Yoko Ono core type shit.
Still, this album is a banger. The kind of album I'd want on cassette and drive around to at night in my 80's shitbox. Really tossed between a 4 and a 5 here, but the writing quality on a few songs could be better, so alas, a 4.
4
Nov 13 2024
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Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
Hip-hop perfection. If this isn't in the top 5 for wny "best of all time" hip-hop lists, it's a bad list. Every song on this is a classic. This album has no skips, and every second on this record is utilised to perfection.
This record kick started an insane amount of careers, and with good reason.
One of my favourite hip-hop albums, and it's always a pleasure to come back and listen to it.
I do prefer the expanded edition, the remasters tweaked a bit of the patchy 90's quality, but nevertheless, whichever version you're listening to, it's perfect.
Favourite song off here has gotta be Da Mystery of Chessboxin', but every other song I'd have no idea what would be my second favourite, they're all so special and perfect to me.
5
Nov 14 2024
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Elephant Mountain
The Youngbloods
When I saw this come up and read it was 60's folk music, I genuinely groaned. Really not a fan of folk. I was shocked listening through this. It was like a mix of jazz, rock, folk, experimental, and whatever else. This album was like a bag of party mix lollies, fuck me.
I think this album really shines when there was no vocals, and the band just played. You can tell what songs they've made to be the hit singles (Don't Let the Rain Bring You Down, Quicksand, etc.)
On Sir Francis Drake, Trillium, Quicksand, and Sham were certain highlights for me.
Really really enjoyed this one. No better feeling than going into an album expecting it to be shit but then falling in love with it. What a great fucking album.
5
Nov 15 2024
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The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
It should be illegal for albums this boring and dreadful to be this long. I got the picture by about the third song, it could have ended there, though I'd still give this a 1.
This is Elliot Smith for people who like watching paint dry. Bland, uneventful, uninspiring, dull, and soulless - half of the reason I hate this shit is the guys one tone singing voice throughout the whole album, making every song sound the same.
The only redeeming factor of this record is the really shitty artwork that looks like a kids scrapbook version of Exodia the Forbidden One from Yugioh lmfao.
1
Nov 18 2024
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Synchronicity
The Police
I do not like Sting; no not one bit,
I think his music is really shit.
I will not listen to it in the car,
I will not listen near or far.
His voice is whiny; his lyrics dull,
It makes me want to slam my skull.
No Synchronicity; no magic here,
Just painful singing that hurts my ear.
It had it's moments; I will admit,
But I still can’t say I’m a fan of it.
2
Nov 19 2024
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Grace
Jeff Buckley
A fairly enjoyable listen, I was genuinely dreading this one because I only know the cover of Hallelujah, which does nothing for me - I do not like that song. So I was surprised to learn that this had a really good selection of some rocky/folky songs, and the typical crybaby wanker shit.
The first half of the album is truly good, but it does fall off after So Real. Maybe that's just because I don't generally like slow sad songs, which is what the remainder of the album generally consists of.
It really amazes me how much Myles Kennedy sounds like this guy.
Enjoyable listen, nothing really mind blowing here - also way too long for what you get. A lot of songs end up sounding the same. I probably wouldn't come running back to this, but it was certainly good enough.
3
Nov 20 2024
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Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones
Wow this album is long. Don't get me wrong, I love The Rolling Stones, but fuck me, over an hour? I had to listen to this in two chunks.
Maybe I'm a normie Rolling Stones fan, but where are the HITS. Again, another album where a lot of the songs sound the same, they could have easily cut this thing in half and it'd be much more listenable in one piece.
Still, good music on here, it just gets very tired after the half way point. Definitely taking songs out of here for my playlists, but I'm rating the album as a whole sit through listen, so I can't rate it too favourably based on that.
3
Nov 21 2024
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Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
It's alright. Feels real flavourless and lacks soul. The only song that really struck me was Helpless, where I finally now understand why people hate Neil Young's singing. Fuck me that song was dreadful.
Country Girl was pretty good though, as 'epic' as you'd ever describe a folk rock song.
Really not much to say here. Plain ass album. A real meat and potatoes, straight up and down, beef Wellington, "Don't trust the Argies!", dick in the vagina, cheddar cheese, and chicken tikka masala record.
3
Nov 22 2024
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For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
This album is simply a cheap imitation of the golden era of Australian pub rock except worse in every way.
2
Nov 25 2024
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Dookie
Green Day
The drummer is seriously putting in overtime on this record.
I'm probably the most tolerant person of pop punk out of my friends, but fuck me, even this album is a drag. Every song starts the same and sounds the same, no fucking range from Billie Joe Armstrong whatsoever.
Only song I do enjoy is When I Come Around, the rest of these songs could easily have the same title and I'd believe it was the same song.
Hopefully I never have to listen to this album again in my life, lame ass whiny album.
2
Nov 26 2024
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The Bends
Radiohead
My second listen to a Radiohead album ever and I still am failing to understand why these guys are so universally acclaimed.
The bloke can't fucking sing, and they need to chill with the delay pedals on the guitars. What is the appeal of this band?
I did enjoy the rock elements of Bones, that was a pretty neat song.
Just was also a good tune. The guitarwork on it was really good.
Two good songs in a row; and then they immediately ruin it with My Iron Lung, a shitty garage rock imitation song that sounds like a Year 7 school band practice session.
Overall, I didn't hate this album, but I also didn't 'enjoy' it that much. It's a bit of a plain jane album, with not much to offer outside of some nice guitar solos on a select few songs. I couldn't stand the parts of the album where it slowed down to acoustics and I had to listen to that dreary cunt Thom Yorke sing about how sad he was over some shit.
This is unquestionably better than Kid A, though.
3
Nov 27 2024
View Album
In Our Heads
Hot Chip
This reminds me a lot of new-era Glass Animals.
Honestly, I quite enjoyed this one. Quite a fruity little poppy album, with overwhelming British indie tones. This album really picks up at the end.
My only real gripes with this album is the singing is definitely lacklustre and out of tone at some points, but the groovy electronic and synths really do it for me.
Highlight of the album is absolutely Night and Day.
4
Nov 28 2024
View Album
Suicide
Suicide
Like listening to Sigue Sigue Sputnik if they were even more uncreative and retarded.
1
Nov 29 2024
View Album
Legalize It
Peter Tosh
Raggae is either dogshit or really really good and there's no in-between. This album is od the latter. It's definitely an album you have to be in the mood for, and the touches on weed culture and smoking do get jading, but there's just so much quality on this album it's fantastic.
My highlights are definitely:
Brand New Second Hand
Till Your Well Runs Dry
WHY MUSTI CRY
No Sympathy
It's just shy of a 5 for me, as there's a few songs I don't gel with that well (Legalize it being the most apparent), and it doesn't necessarily /stand out/ on top of already existing raggae music.
Solid album and one I'll definitely be coming back to in the future.
4
Dec 02 2024
View Album
Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
Another rendition of professional and good instrumental band let's their one retarded mate sing over their music who absolutely fucks it. Much better than The Queen is Dead, though not better enough for me to rate it any differently.
I had really high hopes after hearing The Headmaster Ritual, as I seemed to enjoy it - and then it just got worse from there. When that stupid cunt started yodelling in I Want the One I Can't Have (loser anthem) I was done.
It's such a shame, because I honestly love the guitars and the drums, shame they didn't release a Morrisey-free version of this album, I'd enjoy that a lot better.
tldr; good music until the whiny incel starts singing
2
Dec 03 2024
View Album
Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
We all know La Grange (that is, in fact, the only ZZ Top song I know) is a classic. Outside of that, and some wicked solos, especially the guitarwork on Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, this doesn't really offer up much. Once you get up to La Grange, you've pretty much heard all they have to offer on this record.
I didn't hate this in the slightest, but it just teeters off and it really does feel a bit plain. Still, an enjoyable listen, and a nice, fresh change in tone after having to listen to another fucking dreadful The Smiths album.
3
Dec 04 2024
View Album
Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
IF YOU'RE READING THIS - THE REAL ALBUM IS HERE, NOT ON SPOTIFY:
CD1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZK_0dgj43s
CD2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYqDVqYSTxs
Some songs have been removed from both due to copyright, but it's over an hour and a half long anyways so who cares.
I finally got around to tracking down the ORIGINAL Logical Progression album, as the one on Spotify isn't even close to being the original. I listened to the Spotify version first, and I don't think a single song on there lines up, which obviously is going to skew the reviews on this site unfortunately.
It's a real shame, because this is a really great album. It's hard to believe this came out in 1996, when breakbeat/jungle/DnB was really just an infant of a genre. This feels like it could have easily been mixed in the early 2000's and I'd have no idea.
Issues with this album are few. I can definitely see why this is not everyone's flavour, especially since 95% of the slop on the 1001 Albums book is all English or American rock from the 70's-90's. However, if you're into electronic music, I'd bet that it would be easy to fall in love with this album. There is a few jumps and hiccups in the mix, but I'm going to put that down to a bad CD burn rather than issues with the album. There was definitely a few moments that I found repetitive, and it's not an extremely engaging album that you'd sit down and listen to intensely, but Liquid DnB has never been about that.
This is album #93 for me, and it's pretty clear to me that this is by far the most underrated album on this list (so far). It's not perfect, but it certainly blew me away. In the context of the time, this deserves a 5, because it's utterly amazing how polished this is for such an old record using dated equipment. However, I'm rating this off personal taste, and because CD2 was a lot more of a slog, I think this is a well deserved 4.
4
Dec 05 2024
View Album
The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
Pretty amazing to think that the incredible Pet Sounds came out a year after this - because this album is foul.
This is the kind of shit teenagers in the 60's listened to in their cars at full volume to try and get pussy. Boring and whiny, the harmonies don't even do it for me.
There was a few good songs yeah, but I really do have high expectations for The Beach Boys, and this sorely disappoints.
2
Dec 06 2024
View Album
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
Very enjoyable listen. There are very few faults I can find in this album, but it's weirdness and tenacity really do draw back from it at times. I understand that's what they're going for, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.
Though not to detract from this record, I really enjoyed a lot of it's songs - maybe it did go on for a bit too long, but there's plenty of songs on here that are going to start living in my playlists (looking at you, 'I'm Not in Love'.
4
Dec 09 2024
View Album
The Joshua Tree
U2
Getting this album right after Talking Heads (produced by the same loser) is really funny. Talk about a downgrade.
Look, it's not an garbage album musically, it's really not - and that's what makes it so awful to listen to.
This entire record bar one song (With Or Without You) is just one big build-up, with no release. Every song on here makes me long for women across the world who get so close to finishing in the bedroom, yet don't. Really does remind me why my girlfriend sleeps in a separate bed.
The fact this album is so fucking boring is really what makes it terrible. The music is so inoffensive it becomes offensive, what a paradox that is.
still better than The Smiths tho
2
Dec 10 2024
View Album
Metallica
Metallica
Is this their best album? No. Is this album fantastic? Yeah.
This record is truly deserving of the hype. However, it feels a lot more poppy than traditional Metallica, which I understand - but I don't think this is deserving of a 5. It's close, but I really do enjoy the speed metal aspects of Metallica more, I think James Hetfield's voice synchs to it a bit better.
4
Dec 11 2024
View Album
Lost Souls
Doves
What's wrong little piggy boy? You've barely touched your trough full of unlistenable British crybaby wanky slop.
1
Dec 12 2024
View Album
...The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Dandy Warhols
When I heard the first song, I immediately thought this was Britpop and I had an instant pavlovian response of giving this 1 star. However, once I got past the first song (which was pretty bad), the rest of the album fucking rocked.
This really does sound like the American version of Britpop, but in a good way. There are plenty of weird songs on here (like I Love You, wtf was that about), but then they crawl it back with absolute bangers like Last Junkie On Earth, which was both funny and interesting.
Nothing really blew me away here, but I definitely enjoyed this one and there's plenty of songs I'll be coming back to.
4
Dec 13 2024
View Album
Eliminator
ZZ Top
While this definitely holds stronger than Tres Hombres, it still ultimately feels generic enough for me to not care for it that much.
Very 80's rock. And not in a good way. There was a lot of enjoyable moments and instrumentals on here, but ZZ Top really just doesn't have anything outside of the "generic garage rock" appeasement. It was a very average listen, but nothing offended me here.
This album is the kind of shit you'd hear blaring from the site radio at an exhaust mod shop. Still, better than Top 40 hits or if you're unlucky enough to find the worlds gayest exhaust fitter who happens to be listening to Radiohead.
3
Dec 16 2024
View Album
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
God this was fucking boring, I was done right after the second song. So far the worst Radiohead album I’ve listened to on this fucking list.
More avant-garde artsy bullshit from this bunch of losers. It amazes me that people eat up this slop and still are somehow left wanting more. Just go listen to any other Radiohead album, they all sound exactly the same. Seriously, I don’t get it. The Bends was the closest thing I’ve listened to so far that was actually listenable. The rest of this discography just sounds like shit narcissists pretend to like so they can feel superior to us “non-believers”.
Sit Down, Stand Up was the only song I had any remote interest in. After that it went straight back to normal bullshit whiny whacko nonsense.
Fuck Radiohead.
1
Dec 17 2024
View Album
3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
There are so many flaws in early hip-hop albums, it took many years of trial and error to really perfect the genre - but it’s the flaws, bumps, and faults with this album that make it so damn good. That being said, the production on this album is unreal. Eye Know is such a well-produced track it’s not even funny.
I listened to this album for the first time ever this year, introduced to me on vinyl. My first listen I was pretty indifferent, it was enjoyable, but nothing really stuck out to me except for Me Myself & I. Then I listened to it again, and again. And again. Then I finally took a deep dive into this after getting it on this list - and wow, what an album. Every beat slaps, every bar rhymed with purpose. As I said, it’s not perfect, but that’s what makes this such a raw experience. Not to mention, extremely tasteful features (I’m looking at you, Q-Tip).
The only massive drawback I have with this album is the sex scene. I will never for the life of me understand why artists think I want to hear that shit in songs. Christ.
I think if I didn’t listen to this for a 5th time I would have given it a 4, but it’s really grown on me a lot. I don’t think you’d be able to find a better alternative hip-hop album of the 1980’s, and I’d love to be proven wrong. So impressed with this album and it only seems to get better the more times I listen to it.
5
Dec 18 2024
View Album
A Seat at the Table
Solange
This is one of those albums that I've always avoided because it's really popular with ##white women##, in the same realm as Frank Ocean. I regret that decision now.
Artsy new age R&B isn't /usually/ my thing, but my goodness this album was an incredible listen from start to finish. I had to give it a couple of listens to really dial in what I thought of it.
Mad is really where this album sets off for me. I'm pretty sure that's her most popular song, and I can see why. Mad rocks. It's not often that Lil Wayne actually contributes positively to a song, but he really adds some freshness to the song.
This album is phenomenally well produced, which is really what carries Solange. It would be a more mediocre album with just her voice alone, which isn't /breathtaking/. Songs like Borderline really showcase that.
A lot of the production here reminds me slightly of Tyler, The Creator - but you can just tell she's worked with an all start cast of producers to get this album going.
Seriously, this album is so well produced I reckon they could have thrown any other singer with no talent on here and it would have still held up solid. Great album, enjoyed every listen.
5
Dec 19 2024
View Album
Manassas
Stephen Stills
Seems like most popular rock artists of the 1970's, they've made a hit song, added it to the first track of the album, and then immediately run out of ideas and proceed to fill the rest of the album with country rock slop. The worst of which being Fallen Eagle.
It's not to say that this album is bad per sey, there's some quality songs on here. It's just that this sounds like a knockoff Eagles, but even more creatively void. This album is way too generic for my tastes.
Not only did they run out of ideas, they decided in their infinite wisdom to make this album dreadfully long so you had to suffer through it gruellingly.
I was aiming at a 3 for this one, but fuck me it was a gruelling sit through towards the end. I had to take a break to be able to listen to the last 3 songs. Learn to pace your fucking music out, guys.
2
Dec 20 2024
View Album
Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby
It's very rare that you get to see "one-album-wonders", especially on this list. I can smell the Prince production all over this. Even a lot of the vocalisations are similar to Prince's.
I think our overexposure to 80's nostalgia these days is really what detracts from this album. It's not q bad album and I enjoyed it, but it just sounds like EVERY other piece of music from the 80's: Rhythm trumpets, that tinny reverb drum, deep bass, expressive vocals and heavy synths. Switch the vocalist and you may as well have a Prince song, or Depeche Mode, or Peter Gabriel, or any of the 9000 other artists from the 80's that sung over instrumentals exactly like this one. It's a shame because this bloke has a really good voice, he's just a product of the time, and once you get a few songs into the album you really do realise this production style is a one trick pony. It runs out of substance, and fast.
If You Let Me Stay seems like the standout song from this record in terms of theme and tone. Apart from that, the song where he just sings a children's nursery line over some shitty 80's synth drum beat and ad-libs "PUT ON YOUR WETSUIT YEAH 🤘🤘", Jesus that was horrible. That being said, Who's Loving You was an incredible song and probably my favourite on the album.
If I could give this a 3.5 I would, because it's not bad, but it just lacks flavour in a lot of the songs. Also recency bias makes me like this album more because the final track is such a colossal banger.
3
Dec 23 2024
View Album
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
I have nothing to say here that hasn't been said before. Excusing the band's very apparent sexual proclivities involving minors, we all know Led Zeppelin 1-4 is probably of the greatest sequence of rock albums of all time. It feels morally wrong giving these guys a 5, but it'd be arguably more morally objectionable if I gave them anything less.
Though Jimmy Page loves a 1/5, heh.
5
Dec 24 2024
View Album
At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
It's hard to believe this is a live recording with the quality. This is my favourite kind of jazz. I adore this.
5
Dec 25 2024
View Album
In Rainbows
Radiohead
I fucking hate Radiohead.
But.
Listening to this album is like when your teacher pairs you up in an activity with the school bully, and it turns out he's actually a really nice guy. I am disgusted with myself that I really enjoyed this one.
I still think they're a bunch of overrated crybaby cunts, BUT, it actually works here. Really good instrumentals, and the vocals seemed to mesh really well here.
Well played, you bunch of pansies. You got me.
4
Dec 26 2024
View Album
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
Thank fuck this was only 30 minutes. I fucking hate Christmas.
Though this wasn't too bad, I've definitely heard worse Christmas music. Still, I hate Christmas music regardless of how good or bad it is. I hope this is the only Christmas album on this list or I am going to be a very unhappy boy in a years time.
2
Dec 27 2024
View Album
Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
I was not expecting to see a Gang Starr album on here. What a sight for sore eyes. Weird that they picked this over their much more acclaimed album 'Moment of Truth'.
This album is a weirdly intoxicating combination of A Tribe Called Quest and Rakim in the best way. Although some of the beats show their age by way of repetitiveness, the smooth vocals of Guru really do mellow things out.
The main gripe with this album is its length. If you take a break after "Take a Rest" (haha) it seems to make this album pace well, but I would dread having to slog through all this one go.
Enjoyable album, but I really do thing this was a big miss by including this instead of Moment of Truth, which is where they really made a name for themselves.
4
Dec 30 2024
View Album
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Holy fuck this is what Red Hot Chili Peppers non-hits sound like?
This is almost unlistenable, I was struggling after the blowjob song. Holy fuck.
I think this is probably the third album I've listened to on this site that I have been completely unable to continue.
Garbage album. If you enjoyed this out of nostalgia I get it, but if you came into this album fresh and enjoyed it, get your head checked. Seriously.
1
Dec 31 2024
View Album
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Look, I love punk - but even for punk these guys have no talent lmao.
It wasn't intolerable, and I do enjoy songs like Anarchy in the UK.
This was going to be a 3/5, but the song Bodies was so utterly disgusting I have to drop it down a notch. Not only was that song shit, the lyrics were just overly edgy and don't really convey any point apart from 'abortion bad hurrr'.
Losers.
2
Jan 01 2025
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Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers
Good album, except:
Way too long
Old mates voice becomes jading
Organs
Fuck me, give it a rest on the organs cunt, Jesus.
I've listened to a few songs off this album that I do really enjoy, but the deep cuts are mid.
I'd give this a 3, but given that I'd never revisit this album again it gets a -1.
2
Jan 02 2025
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Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
What we need to do is create a powerful sense of dread. See, the longer the album, the more dread.
1
Jan 03 2025
View Album
Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
It's like sour warheads in my mouth. Listening to this was painful. Like watered down hair metal.
I feel like I need a shower after listening to this prick's gritty jading vocals for 45 minutes. Yuck.
2
Jan 06 2025
View Album
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
I don't care what the neighbours say, I'm gonna give it a 5 each and every day.
5
Jan 07 2025
View Album
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
One of the all time metal greats, and definitely deserving of its status as a GOAT. This album is immensely top-heavy, but there's a whole lot of substance once you get past the first 4 or so songs. War Pigs, Iron Man, etc. have all been done to death, so I'll take a deep dive into the lesser known 4 songs on the album.
Electric Funeral is hands down the worst song on this album. Ozzy is a real let down with his vocals I adore every song on this album, except for this one. This song is genuinely a bit of a miss for me. It picks up nicely at the end, but the start of the song really wigs me out.
Hand of Doom is probably the most exciting song on the album. It is really similar to Paranoid, but I think it plays better on the ears.
Rat Salad is a nice solo, with some great drumming in between. It's a great song, but I think it would have gone really well placed further up the album to break up some of the similar sounding songs like near Iron Man. The drum fill definitely does drag on, and it does show when you compare streaming rates of this song to the others.
Fairies Wear Boots is another pretty good song, that seems to combine pieces of all the previous songs into one. I enjoyed this song, and it's a nice way to top off the album.
Genuinely an incredible album, and deserving of a 5. Well worth its spot in the top 10 of all time on this list.
5
Jan 08 2025
View Album
Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
The biggest mistake they made on this live album was not letting King Curtis shine on the sax more. Good lord that guy can fucking play.
Not usually a fan of live albums, but this goes pretty hard. Super enjoyable, super fresh. Not perfect, but that's probably why it was buried for 20 years.
4
Jan 09 2025
View Album
New York Dolls
New York Dolls
While I don't really have any issues with this album per sey, it was just really uneventful and honestly quite boring.
I don't even have much to say about it. Every song sounded the same, but at least the songs were all relatively enjoyable listens.
3
Jan 10 2025
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Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
You know, for the wife of Gilberto of the renowned Getz/Gilberto (incredible album), I went into this with expectations that were way higher than I should have. Boy, what a letdown.
This album is okay, but there's songs on this that just don't belong on here. Parade comes out of fucking nowhere and I feel like I'm watching a high school music. She sings it in English, and it shows. Here's the lyrics:
There's a circus parade
And there's a easter parade
July The Fourth a parade
Thanksgiving they have parade
And there's some battle's parade
Columbia's day a parade
And the policeman parade
In everybody's parade
And labor day a parade
And there's a veteran's parade
Inauguration parade
And everything's a parade
It's not that is bad, it's just fucking dull man. Having her stare into my soul with that bland face of hers while she desperately tries to recreate the success of The Girl from Ipanema is grim. I really couldn't get behind this one. Sorry Astrud, but let your husband do the cooking next time, your voice is beautiful, but if this is what you have to offer as a solo artist, stick to your day job.
2
Jan 13 2025
View Album
Hot Fuss
The Killers
The hits on this album are good. Mr. Brightside is overplayed to death, but it's a good song if you can get past the fact every nightclub in the world plays it towards closing time so the song has become jading to me.
Once you get past All These Things That I've Done, you've really listened to all the substance of the album, and oldmates voice really starts growing old. I was fucking shocked learning they are yanks wtf. I always thought they were British.
Mediocre album at best. Genuinely can't tell the difference between any of the songs that aren't the big hits.
tldr completely inoffensive bland british sounding mormon rock
3
Jan 14 2025
View Album
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
There's definitely better Ray Charles albums out there, but this was pretty damn good. It's hard to find a Ray Charles song that isn't a grand time.
4
Jan 15 2025
View Album
Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
Probably the most front loaded album of all time. The first side is absolute perfection, but it tapers off on side two which is a real shame.
I have nothing to say about this that hasn't been said already, so I'll just call out that So Far Away is one of my favourite songs of all time.
4
Jan 16 2025
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A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
Once you get through the 1 minute gunk at the start of this album, there is a really good album to listen to here. Yeah, it's all over the place (which I think was intentional), but if you go into this expecting that, it becomes a much more enjoyable experience.
I found myself bopping alone to songs like Does Anybody Love You, Medley, etc.
Gotta say, the global reviews of 2.8 really had me doubting this project, but it's fresh, and definitely listenable, if you can get past the slop at the very beginning of the album. But that doesn't even account for 1/5th of the album, so I'm willing to let that slide.
4
Jan 17 2025
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Idlewild
Everything But The Girl
Big emphasis on the Idle, not so much on the Wild.
2
Jan 20 2025
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(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
**BRITSLOP BOSS BATTLE**
Wow, I actually didn't hate this. There was a few songs I enjoyed, but a lot that I couldn't care less for.
My main gripe with this record is how fucking boring it is. After the """"hits"""" - I'd genuinely pay money to never have to hear that song again - it really doesn't get interesting, in fact the opposite. Mediocre and monotone singing, boring ass Britpop guitars, nothing fun about it at all.
Boooooring.
2
Jan 21 2025
View Album
Low
David Bowie
Great listen.
This was excellently paced, every song was unique and fresh and still adherent to the theme of the album.
I really enjoyed this one, but what the fuck happened in the second half? Sounds like he smoked some PCP and started having a psychotic episodes. Completely off cuff.
Still, I enjoyed this thing, it was just surprising in the second half.
4
Jan 22 2025
View Album
Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
The Burleigh Tavern isn't just a bar, it is a shrine to everything shallow about the Gold Coast. Attached a little too near the beach, it attracts a crowd that seemed assembled by a casting director. Sun-kissed skin stretched tight over suspiciously perfect, plump cheekbones, lips inflated to unnatural proportions, and linen shirts with white jeans so meticulously laundered, purchased from Tarocash, Universal Store, or Connors; they almost look like costumes. The drinks as ridiculous as the clientele. A single cocktail could cost as much as a decent bottle of wine, served in glassware so fragile it seemed designed to disintegrate if you didn’t hold it like vintage porcelain china. A pint of Balter will set you back a considerable $20. Add that to the $40 you paid to enter this ridiculous nesting ground of trust fund women and crypto-scammer men.
Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Vol. One blasts relentlessly from the speakers, the smooth 80's/90's grooves so painfully out of place with the two-left-footed crowed it felt ironic. Tracks like African Dance and Happiness pounded on a loop, the silky yet dated basslines and repetitive beats pretending to create an air of sophistication, and anywhere else it would - but here, in a bar drowning in fake tans and fake vibes, it just came off as pretentious noise. People shouted over the music to make themselves heard, their voices cutting through the bass with an edge of irritation. By the railing, someone in a designer shirt leaned over and emptied their stomach onto the beach below, their friend laughing while snapping a photo for Instagram. The music and arrogant voices blur into one, and you find yourself reeling for the same drugs that everyone else inside is on, to either blend in and become like water, or to cope with the realisation that your night is going to be shit, and you've already spent your last $100 in your spending account to get in here and have a pint.
The Burleigh Tavern isn't a place to relax, socialise, or dance, it is a pretentious echo chamber of overpriced mediocrity, wrapped in a soundtrack acts like it's better than it is. What a shame it is, that an album that I genuinely enjoy evokes these kinds of emotions in me. There is a lot to listen to, but then again, so little. There's nothing wrong with this, record you just need to be able to switch your brain off, similar to the same process talking to any local of Burleigh Heads, Broadbeach Waters, Paradise Point, or Palm Beach. Once you do that, an hour feels like forty minutes. Once you've mastered it, you start to enjoy the album. That is not an easy feat.
The redeeming factor? Back to Life, which brings a fresh air of life into this album. It's smooth transition into Jazzie's groove is really a pickup too. What a great way to end an album.
4
Jan 23 2025
View Album
Lam Toro
Baaba Maal
I'm not going going to pretend like I'm some well cultured music efficiencionado - I'm not. I'm a straight white dude from the West, so maybe I'm lacking the cultural ties to enjoy this record.
I don't like this very much, but only because I don't understand the singing, and I really don't like that type of vocals. The instrumentals were great, and I couldn't resist a smirk each time I heard the slap of that twangy bass, which is really what redeems this to a 3.
3
Jan 24 2025
View Album
Sulk
The Associates
Associate 1: "Hey, we're a bunch of queers, let's make some post-punk music!"
Associate 2: "Okay, who's going to be the lead singer? I'm not a good singer."
Associate 1: "Shit, I can't sing either."
A lightbulb appears over Associate 1's head, his eyes glow green.
Associate 2: "I KNOW! I'll just do a poor imitation of David Bowie!!"
Associate 1: "You're a genius. We're going to make so much money. Nobody will like our music, but at least fuckwit music critics will rate us highly, because post-punk is so /IN/ right now!"
Associate 1 and Associate 2 proceed to suck each other off in delight.
I'm not gonna lie, at least the instrumentals were pretty good. I don't think this album deserves to be the 7th worst album on this site (as of 24/01/25), there's plenty worse post punk garbage lurking around on this list that deserves a worse fate.
I actually ended up enjoying this album as it went on, hits like Party Fears Two and Club Country were really worthy songs, you can definitely tell what songs on this album are good and not by the Spotify streams.
tl;dr - bowie copycats with really good instrumentals but good songs are overshadowed by other songs with the singer being shit and trying way too hard
3
Jan 27 2025
View Album
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
Did Outkast ever make an album without a ridiculously fucking long runtime? What is this shit? I get it's a double album and the record label forced them to drop it as a single album, but what were they thinking? Surely you'd cut a bit of the fat off before releasing. This was painful.
I always thought I was a fan of OutKast, but their deep cuts suck man. OutKast is just popular because of their hits (which are bangers, no refuting that).
Let's be mathematical about this. The Way You Move, Hey Ya!, and Roses, total to 13 minutes and 18 seconds. The entire album is 134 minutes and 49 seconds. That means that 9.7% of the entire record is listenable and genuinely good music, and the other 90.3% is borderline unlistenable slop. Don't even get me started on the interludes and intros. Fuck me, what a slog.
I feel bad giving this a 1, because ~10% of this album is great. Ten percent is not a big enough margin to save this album from a 1. If this album was maybe half the length it would save it, but fuck me. I thought I was going to enjoy this more than Stankonia, but that album sucks for other reasons, though length and interludes play a massive factor in my rating here, too.
I genuinely struggled with this one, in fact I couldn't even finish it after 6 seperate attempts, with massive breaks in between. Hopefully this is the last OutKast album I have to listen to, because as I've discovered, I am NOT a fan.
tldr; insanely overrated early 2000's hits album with runtimes too long and pre/interludes that are either extremely uncomfortable or a complete waste of time and exist for no purpose other than to annoy you
1
Jan 28 2025
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
I literally listened to this for the first time last week, and on vinyl, before getting it on this list. So a physical listen and a digital listen gives me a lot to work with here.
It's a pretty solid album, and definitely an album worth listening to with your mates over a few beers. Seriously, scotch and this album go together like heroin and Jimi- oh..
But, there is a lot lacking for one of the albums considered to be a "greatest of all time". The runtime can become excruciating. You have to sit through 3 LP's before you even get to the two biggest songs on the record, and these songs are the ones that 99% of people probably bought the album for in the first place.
This is still a great album, but I think in the grand scheme of things, it's a bit overrated. Definitely deserves its' spot on the 1001 list, but this album would not even be considered in this list if it weren't for the last two songs on the record.
Sorry Jimi, mate; but you've done better.
4
Jan 29 2025
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Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
Wow this was refreshing, a record that makes an hour feel like 15 minutes. The downside of that is, of course, that apart from the hits, nothing really stood out to me here. As an entire record though it was an enjoyable listen, and certainly one I'll be coming back to.
It's like if you made the Beatles less boring. Pretty cool stuff.
4
Jan 30 2025
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Groovin'
The Young Rascals
Enjoyable listen, but this album really feels like it was just made as a cash grab because of Groovin'.
I don't really have a whole lot of input on this one, but I did really enjoy the organs for some reason. They scratched a part of my brain I didn't know I needed scratched.
Solid listen, would listen again. But Christ what a horrific album cover.
4
Jan 31 2025
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Phaedra
Tangerine Dream
An equation:
Throbbing Gristle + Actual Talent - Throbbing Headache - Butane Huffing = Tangerine Dream (at least this record). Plus brownie points for working on GTA V.
Never heard of these guys before outside of their work on GTA V (which was great).
The more I got through this record the more I enjoyed it. Fuck me, what an album. I was engaged the whole way through. I kind of got sad as I got towards the end of this, I didn't want it to stop. Something about this record just itches a part of my brain I didn't know I needed scratched. Crazy to think this came out in 1974, sounds like something you'd hear in a horror video game from 2010.
Definitely not something that meshes with today's ADHD riddled society. Munch on a few dexies before jumping into this one and you'll have a good time.
5
Feb 03 2025
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Frank
Amy Winehouse
I've been huffing on air duster all morning in preparation for this one.
Amy Winehouse is overrated. I think a lot of her popularity stemmed from her extremely healthy, teetotal, stable lifestyle that generated headlines due to her very positive influence on the youth and good natured, pacifist, go-getter attitude.
I won't deny that this woman was an extremely talented musician when she wasn't spending all of her time looking into the mirror, but her voice really does get tiring after 30 minutes of listening to it. All the songs sound kinda-samey.
This record is more consistently good than Back to Black is (where half the songs suck, and the other half were really good), but I still don't really find her music to be all that interesting. Still, nothing on here was inherently bad, and I'd completely understand why some people would adore this album. Can't fault it for being anything except somewhat boring and a 'one-trick pony'.
3
Feb 04 2025
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A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
A Brit stealing American Soul who stole from black people. The Led Zeppelin of Soul. And despite this, this thing is fucking incredible.
Explains why the British museum is so good - the secret ingredient is crime.
5
Feb 05 2025
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The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire? More like Arcade SetMyselfonFire
Christ this one was fucking boring. I was done at Rococo. Sprawl II was the only interesting song on this wet piece of cardboard disguised as a record. This is basically U2's Joshua Tree but with the dreadful 2010's radio-era production over the top.
I got so impatient at the constant repetition I ended up skipping the latter quarter of most of the songs just to get through this without blowing my brains out.
Dreadful. Sprawl 2 was good tho, but doesn't save this from a 1.
1
Feb 06 2025
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Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
This definitely gets off to a slow start, but ends up being an otherwise really enjoyable album.
There's definitely better Elvis Costello songs out there, but as a cohesive record this definitely flows well. I think it maybe was a bit on the long side, but not going to knock that since I genuinely enjoyed a majority of songs on this record, so no harm no foul.
4
Feb 07 2025
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Django Django
Django Django
This album really reminds me of KNOWER, which is coincidentally also featured on GTA V (F the Makeup, Skip the Shower). Checks out, really.
Outside of the above, nothing really stood out to me here. It's a fresh sound at least, and not British indie slop like I'm used to getting served up hot and fresh on this list.
I'm sure this is someone's flavour, but to me it's plain vanilla. Still, enjoyed the listen.
3
Feb 10 2025
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Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Already reviewed this one on 10th July 2024:
"Phenomenal album, great fusion of funk and notes of jazz. Album flowed so well I hardly noticed when the songs changed.
Will definitely be listening to again.
Taj Mahal was a standout track"
Do I have anything to add after my 3rd listen? No. This album fucking rocks.
5
Feb 11 2025
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Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
It is utterly ridiculous to include this on here but not Dogs. The author of this book should be shot against a post for making that call.
This (and Dogs) is one of the best albums of all time. End of review.
5
Feb 12 2025
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Hysteria
Def Leppard
https://youtu.be/aDUOC9Xk2wM?t=16
2
Feb 13 2025
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New Boots And Panties
Ian Dury
Maybe the Taliban were right for banning music in Afghanistan.
1
Feb 14 2025
View Album
Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Dis a di bes Reggae albom a aal taim fi a riizn. BOMBOCLAAAAT!!!!!!!
5
Feb 17 2025
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Morrison Hotel
The Doors
more like the snores lol
2
Feb 18 2025
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Urban Hymns
The Verve
sigh.
1
Feb 19 2025
View Album
Survivor
Destiny's Child
Why is there an American pop album on my 1001 Britpop albums list? Is this thing broken?
It's hard to ignore the cultural influence Destiny's Child (and the Spice Girls) had on pop in the early 2000's. However, unlike other major events in 2001, the world seems to have ultimately moved on from pop diva groups, and by consequence that makes this album feel extremely dated. Still, they managed to squeeze two unforgettable classics out of this thing, that's better than most popstars of the 90's-00's.
Nothing in this album screamed out to me as jaw dropping or inherently original, though the first couple of songs are clear 2000's pop classics. I also feel Beyoncé is really carrying this album. There's plenty of gaps in production, and it's clear that Beyoncé was the glue for this group. That's probably why she's the only one who went onto superstardom post-breakup of Destiny's Child. Though, she did sell her soul to the Illuminati and feasts on juvenile adrenochrome to keep her youth, but I don't want talk about that bit. For self-preservation reasons.
Overall, I think my sister would hang me from a tree if I gave this anything under a 3. So that's what it WAS going to get... UNTIL Gospel Melody. Minus 1 for that dreary abomination of a song, Jesus fucking Christ what an absolute slog of a song cunt. Listening to that song was like sour warheads in my mouth, and much like sour warheads, left me feeling a bitter taste for this album. There's few times I say this, but the CIA could very easily and effectively extract any secrets out of me by forcing me to listen to Gospel Melody. Strap me to a chair and play that shit on repeat, and by the second loop you'd break me. Fuck you, ladies.
Apart from that, not bad, really. Enjoy your 2.
2
Feb 20 2025
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Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
Sleepytime 70's rock being sung by your drunk uncle at karaoke. He'll drive home later in his and Rob Collins himself and your last memory will be how his voice was completely identical as the drunken rambling of Springsteen on Badlands or Something in the Night.
This cunt cannot sing for his fucking life. Is English Bruce Springsteen's second language or does he have a cleft palate or something? I genuinely couldn't understand a fucking word this rat looking motherfucker had to say. The only songs on this record I could make out what he was singing (which was far and few) were okay, but they felt so meticulously generic of 70's radio rock that I wouldn't even know it was Springsteen, let along come back for a second listen. The only song where he was coherent was Streets of Fire (which I will touch on in a moment) - the only solidly good song on this album.
Leaving aside Springsteen's tenuous grasp on communicating in English, the musicianship isn't half bad. The pianos play well, there's some mean guitar solos, and the drums have a nice reverb to them. Genuinely, the guitar solos on this go so hard it probably saves my review from a 1. Somehow the best guitar solo on the album, Streets of Fire, has the lowest stream ratings on Spotify - also despite being probably the best song on the album.
Still better than his 9/11 album, whatever the fuck that was called, (it's somewhere in my Lowest Rated Albums list) but that's like saying stepping in dogshit is better than stepping in horseshit. At least the dogshit (Darkness OTET in this case) is dry & stinky versus wet, offensively bad, and day ruining.
2
Feb 21 2025
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Here, My Dear
Marvin Gaye
Proverbs 21:19 - "It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman."
It's Marvin Gaye, so of course it's going to be a sold piece of work, but that doesn't excuse the subject matter here. Holy fuck man, get a grip. Or as you so politely put it, "Time to Get it Together" - when did that happen? Clearly not here. Imagine getting this cut over a 55 year old woman when you're 38. Jesus Christ. We got black Marcus Aurelius over here; or if you're a subscriber to Nation of Islam, just Marcus Aurelius.
Aside from the subject matter annoying me here, there's really not a whole lot of substance until the latter half of the album. The first 7 songs blended into the next, not in the way I particularly enjoy, more of the "every song sounds the same" aspect.
There's some great saxophone work here, as there always is on a Marvin Gaye's, but that doesn't really save this record from mediocrity.
It's a sweet listen, don't get me wrong here, and one that I could listen to casually if I wanted to relax - but my gripe here is there isn't substance for me to latch onto and really call this a standout record.
3
Feb 24 2025
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Fear Of Music
Talking Heads
This is a very good album, and I really like it a lot. I think Talking Heads has probably been my favourite artist to come out this list, considering I had never listened to a song (or at least, recognised a song) by Talking Heads until I got More Songs About Building and Food. So this review is really going to draw a lot of comparisons to that album.
Fear of Music is an interesting one. I really enjoyed it, and I spent a long time listening to the album over and over, I think I listened to it 6 times in total. The reason why is I couldn't decide whether this was worthy of a 5 or not, and I don't think it is.
This album is carried by Life During Wartime, which is an incredibly cool, funky, fun song. To me that song sounds like peak Talking Heads. But the rest of the album just doesn't stack up to that song. Once you get past it, there's a few licks on there that sound good; like Air, Heaven, and Animals. All good listens. But once I get past the magic of Life During Wartime, nothing really peaks my interest as much as that song.
Another thought, is this album better than Buildings & Food? Absolutely not. If that album doesn't get a 5, then this doesn't either.
That's not to say this album doesn't fucking rock. I am yet to listen to a Talking Heads song I dislike, it's just not as good as Buildings & Food, and there's not much that stands out outside of the lead single.
See you at Remain in Light.
4
Feb 25 2025
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Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
Mentally I'm here, my Chicken Shack:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/eb3BTFkxR9txV4VN8
Incredible record. The only downside is that this kind of music makes me crave a concerning amount of nicotine and whiskey.
5
Feb 26 2025
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Konnichiwa
Skepta
Probably the most important album to the entire genre of grime next to Boy in Da Corner. Extremely biased review because I was 17 when this came out, where It Ain't Safe, Shutdown, and That's Not Me were a staple of every house party I went to for my late teens. If you didn't have the privilege of hearing songs from this album at house parties you went to, you either weren't cool enough, or didn't live in AU/UK. Suck shit.
I have no ills with this album, this is grime perfection. I'm not surprised this album is rated so poorly on this site. Though it's mostly yanks winging., there are some valid criticisms, but those criticisms reflect on the genre itself rather than this record. Grime isn't for everyone. That's was the whole point until Stormzy ruined it by selling out and making music with that greasy ginger cunt Ed Sheeran. Now it's a household name and the genre is ruined forever. Much like mainstream hip-hop in the US, Grime is no different nowadays. You absolutely fucked it, Stormzy.
Skepta's booming voice really stands out, but it's the production that really makes this album. The latter of the half has some of the filthiest production I'd ever heard on a hip-hop song. Man, Shutdown, and ESPECIALLY That's Not Me - one of the most sampled grime songs of all time. Which itself was a sample of another early grime song.
That's Not Me is probably the song that defines this album, and probably is the biggest grime song of all time up to that point. In fact, I think it still is the biggest & most impactful grime song of all time. If you can't tell, I enjoy the fuck out of that song, and considering the amount of artists that sample or rap over the beat, I dare say I'm not wrong.
Like I said, grime isn't for everyone - but if you like grime, you definitely recognise that this is probably one of the most important albums to come out of the genre, if not THE most.
I don't think any Grime artist has been able to replicate an album like this, nor will they. This defined what grime is at the time, and will always be remembered as so. Well deserved 5. It's a shame this is probably one of two grime albums on here, but I understand, it's not everyone's cup of marmalade or whatever the fuck it is they say. /end biased review.
5
Feb 27 2025
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The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Joni Mitchell
Strangely, I've never heard of Joni Mitchell. Maybe I live under a rock.
This album just sounds like a shit female remake of Bob Dylan. Maybe that's just folk in general but this honestly is ass.
I couldn't make out any lyrics, it all just sounded like jumbled up word salad of random shit. Don't Interrupt The Sorrow is a great example of the nonsensical bullshit she rambles on about. I still have no fucking clue what that song is about. Even when she did make sense, I genuinely just did not give a fuck about what she has to say. Every song is just a bunch of random haikus of shit she sees. Joni Mitchell writes songs like a kid in grade 9 trying to meet the word count. I do not care that there was a lot of taxis like "schools of fishes" when he was hailing a cab, why not just fucking say "he got a cab"? What's with all the bullshit circumlocutory writing for a boring ass story?
Not only was this nonsensical, it was also boring as fuck. I'm just stoked this record was only 43 minutes. How very thoughtful of her, if Joni Mitchell was a British artist she'd make this record AT LEAST 75 minutes.
Genuinely glad to know I'll never have to listen to another song from this record ever again. Not a great introduction to Joni Mitchell lmao.
Harry's House went alright, but only because there was (for once) a decent backing track so I could just tune out the retarded word salad.
1
Feb 28 2025
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Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
Boy when I found out these guys were a bunch of ex-Fugazi hacks, I wasn't expecting much. Fugazi's Repeater was a bit of a snore.
Unfortunately, this is much the same except with the added sprinkle of being fucking boring.
I'm not compelled to write too much about this record, as everything I've said about Fugazi's Repeater holds pretty much true to this. It's not bad, it's not great, it's just a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast - and much like John Harvey Kellogg inventing the cereal to prevent masturbation by way of bland diet, this bland album has the same effect.
2
Mar 03 2025
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
I did really enjoy this one, but I honestly don't have a whole heap to say. Nothing particularly stood out to me except for Bell Bottom Blues and Layla.
Great album, but white man blues for 75 minutes can definitely get tiring at times.
4
Mar 04 2025
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Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
Sounds like a cheap knockoff of Queen with synthesizers, this album only feels famous because of the only unique song on this album - Mr Blue Sky. Otherwise forgettable record and far far too long.
It would have gotten a 3 due to song quality, but slapping this one with a minus 1 for wasting my precious time with boring ass deep cuts that wasted my time fuck you
2
Mar 05 2025
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The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
I was going to make fun of the fact that CHVRCHES were only known for their (great) synth pop cover of Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys, and how this album was just a relic of 2013 that has been long forgotten. Both of which are true. However, I decided against it after a couple of listens, and man, what a delightfully refreshing listen. I must say I wasn't expecting to see CHVRCHES on this list though.
I'm not a huge fan of synth pop or whatever genre you call this, and every song does scream in similarity, but I genuinely enjoyed this one a lot. I do see why this would get boring, especially since she seems to only sing in one tone. I think they make up for this in pacing, though.
Is this album deserving of a place on a top 1001 albums ever list? Maybe, but it depends what you have in there as a 'representative' of synth pop. I dare say this might be as good as it gets.
4
Mar 06 2025
View Album
Document
R.E.M.
Absolutely unreal that I got this album the day Cyclone Alfred is due to hit my home. I like to think that End of the World as We Know It is on loop in people's heads as they sell out toilet paper, gotta avoid that cyclone-induced spitty bum.
Really not a fan of old mates vocal style. I don't like that weird American country twang. This reminds me a lot of America's (the band) Horse With No Name vocal style, but over a whole album.
The instrumentals were great, very fit for the time - but fuck me I cannot get over how annoying this cunts voice was. The relatively short runtime made it tolerable, but if this thing was an hour I'd genuinely struggle.
This is my first time listening to R.E.M, and I must say, pretty average album. The hits off this thing stand out like a sore thumb (in a good way), but there's not a whole lot of substance past those.
3
Mar 07 2025
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One World
John Martyn
This just sounds like white people jazz for white stay at home mums to put on during the day. BOOOOORING
2
Mar 10 2025
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Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
Coming into this, everyone knows what Green Onions is. Amazing song, sure, whatever, but fuck me - I was not expecting quality up to the same par for the rest of the album whatsoever.
What a delightful listen. Nice to get an instrumental so I don't have to listen to a talentless (usually British) lead singer yap on about something I don't care about. Though, the organ is really a lead singer in the context of this record.
This is top tier shit. I could listen to this all day.
5
Mar 11 2025
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Rubber Soul
Beatles
I've actually never listened to a Beatles album before ever in my 26 years on this planet. Probably because everyone I knew who were super into The Beatles were born-in-the-wrong-generation kids (aka massive losers). Plus I always thought they were massively overrated from just listening to their hits.
My standouts on this record all seemed to have some sort of Blue's inspiration. What Goes On and I'm Looking Through You specifically. Those two songs were outstanding, but looking at streaming rates, they seem to be the most overlooked. I'm also not sure why In My Life gets all the praise from this record, that song was the most boring on this album lmao.
It was a fairly enjoyable listen, I wouldn't call myself a fanatic about this album, but it's got a lot going for it. Great production, quality, good writing, interesting instrumentals. I've also gotta give props to the fact this album doesn't go for 500000 minutes. I love it when an album runtime starts with a 3, which is something the Brits tend to struggle with. I'd definitely come back to this when I'm in the mood to listen to Wifebeater & Other Couple of Drugfucked Fellas. OOPS - I meant to say The Beatles.
4
Mar 12 2025
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Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams
Before I start - if you voted this record poorly because this guy is a predator but you have people like Bowie, Kanye, Miles Davis, John Lennon, any 80's metal band, or the kiddy-fiddler-quartet aka Led Zeppelin in your top artists, just know you're a moron and a hypocrite. Either you seperate all the artists from the music, or none. You can't just choose to ignore one piece of shit's proclivities over another just because you like that artist's music more.
Anyways, aside from the above, the first half of album was a snoozefest. The kind of shit your mum puts on during the day after her valiums have kicked in. You know how Americans really like recreating successful British TV shows and they usually always fail in comparison? This is that except in this case he's aping Damien Rice.
Still, I didn't hate it, the start was super boring and I generally just don't subscribe to crybaby rock - but otherwise, the latter half was really enjoyable and the harmonica went hard. Bang on average record I'd say. Can't see myself coming back to any songs in a hurry.
3
Mar 13 2025
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Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
I originally listened and reviewed this seven months ago:
"Walk on by is such a classic sample, I never even knew this was the original record.
Honestly this album was so good until the last song, which dragged on with making random noises. I'd give this a 4 if it wasn't for the last song (which ironically is a quarter of the whole album) being such a letdown. First 3 songs rock though and this album is definitely worth a listen."
Not sure what I was smoking, because after a second listen, this is fucking unreal. I must have been listening to the whole remaster, and not Walk On By to By The Time I Get To Phoenix.
This album is a masterpiece holy fuck.
5
Mar 14 2025
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S&M
Metallica
Because this is (unfortunately) an album consisting of an entire live performance, I am going to avoid rating this harshly based on it being "too long", though this was an absolute struggle to finish, I won't lie.
This thing honestly got off to a good start, until I heard violins trying to replicate the Master of Puppets intro is when it all started going downhill. The song selection here was good (though I don't think 2.25hrs was a very nice thing to do), and for once (thank God), Lars' drumming was actually not too bad considering how terrible he is usually. Unfortunately Hetfield sounds like he smoked a carton of Chinese Double Happiness cigarettes before singing on here. Horrendous voice.
My main gripe here is the symphony. Don't get me wrong, I love a good symphony/rock band mesh - go listen to Alter Bridge @ Royal Albert Hall Man if you want to hear it done right, because the symphonic arrangements on this record were actually dogshit. Nothing meshed at all. It's like they took the SFSO and got them to play a completely different arrangement in a completely different key to the band. It doesn't help that most of the members of Metallica are generally talentless so working with them would have been near impossible, but come on man, Jesus Christ.
There are, I will admit, a few songs where there are exceptions to the above like The Thing That Should Not Be, where the orchestra and the rock actually mesh well, but those are few and far between.
I genuinely think this would have been better off if the symphony wasn't there and they just stuck to a long ass live album. I would have enjoyed it a lot better, and I LIKE orchestras playing with rock bands, but this is just terrible.
PLEASE STOP INCLUDING LIVE ALBUMS ON HERE THEY ARE SHIT AND BORING (except for u sam cooke love u)
tldr; too long, orchestra is shithouse and doesn't mesh at all, hetfield singing is bad, this thing sounds like watching lawn bowls at a rugby game
2 hours of this has genuinely rotted my brain
2
Mar 17 2025
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Highway to Hell
AC/DC
It's nice to hear a hard rock song that references "Beating Around the Bush" instead of singing about a 14 year old girl for once.
A requirement of receiving my Australian citizenship was either swearing allegiance over either a copy of this or performing the ceremonial wash of Gina Rhinehart with a rag on a stick. I opted for the former. So expect a biased review as result.
Christ this is a horrendous album cover for such a great album. I've actually never listened to anything except for the lead track (mandatory Australian listening), so what a treat every other song on this record was.
As far as alcoholic dad hard-rock goes, this is genuinely the best album I've heard from end to end. I didn't lost interest at any point, the guitarwork was spot on with some mental solos, and Bon Scott's voice was nothing short of phenomenal. It's just a shame he died behind the wheel of a stationary car, as we booze cruisers know it's always best to go out in a high speed alcohol fuelled crash. Oh well.
I genuinely don't know what song on this is my favourite, they all had me hooked, and I honestly think they were all of top notch quality and tone - except Highway to Hell of course; that song has been played to death at pretty, where you hear it like 10 times a night at any Australian sport venue.
This far exceeded my expectations, I genuinely thought this was going to be an album of filler right after Highway to Hell, but there's an enormous amount of substance and great music in here. Will definitely be revisiting in the future after the next 15 Britpop or pedo-rock bands that I will inevitably be faced with post this.
5
Mar 18 2025
View Album
Heaven Or Las Vegas
Cocteau Twins
Due to a personal traumatic event I encountered involving a 9 hour overnight Jetstar flight from Osaka Itami to Cairns Airport, alcohol induced delirium, snus, and a hallucinatory apparition of a female passenger next to me; I will be declining to review this one in detail, and instead give a rating accordingly. You know it's a phenomenal listen anyways.
Listening to this a year on from that experience has made me had a pavlovian reaction to this album like a 30 years sober person picking up heroin again.
5
Mar 19 2025
View Album
Blood And Chocolate
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
"I want to make an album where the entire focus of the album is on me, and my voice, because I'm a narcissist."
"Okay Elvis... Can you sing well?
"no but ill pretend like i can and we'll turn down the instrumentals so everyone HAS to hear me :)"
this album would have been infinitely better if this elvis costello cunt shut the fuck up for more than one second i grew tired of his stupid singing style and the album felt endlessly long as a result
shit album did NOT enjoy
2
Mar 20 2025
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Queen Of Denmark
John Grant
I'll start off by saying; I'm not sure what was up with /THAT/ song (you know the one I'm talking about). I'm sure that's gonna get a couple of 1 star reviews from the crybabies on here. But I digress.
I went into this expecting to be bored to death and having to slog through it. What a pleasant surprise that I was wrong. This thing gets off to a pretty slow and sombre start, but mid-way through things really pick up and we hear some treats like It's Easier, Outer Space, etc.
The hype with this album keeps up until you get to the fucking awful part -That's The Good News. What the actual fuck was the point of putting this shit song on this record? Maybe I just don't get it, but what a great way to kill a great album theme. Going from singer-songwriter-esque pianos and guitar ballads, to just absolute dogshit pretend German techno. I get he was trying to be funny, but this shit had me stone faced. It only continues its downhill trot from there, with Supernatural Deliberator. From there, the vibe was just completely ruined and it made a generally good song like Fireflies just seem off-beat.
This was going to get a 4, but That's The Good News & Supernatural Deliberator really fucked it. If you removed those two songs, and trimmed a bit of the fat from the start of the album with the more forgettable songs, you'd have a truly great album. And that's a shame.
3
Mar 21 2025
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Pink Flag
Wire
This record is like Sex Pistols for people without FASD.
Stoked to finally get a real punk album for once on here. I already knew who Wire were and had listened to them multiple times, but never had I actually listened to the whole album through.
This album paces excellently, every song feels different yet familiar to the whole theme of the album, and is just generally a fun listen. No skips. I really enjoy the guitar tones on this thing, the switching from a more distorted sound right back to the classic 'Wire' clean tone keeps everything so fresh. This thing definitely shows its age. I bet I could almost predict to the year what
My favourite song has gotta be Mannequin.
I listened to this 4 times in a row and not once was I uninterested. Really fucking good record.
5
Mar 24 2025
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Rio
Duran Duran
This album is very very good. Although top-heavy. I can't believe I enjoyed Rio so much that I in fact preferred it over Hungry Like the Wolf (a 97.3fm staple growing up). I fucking love this kind of 80's new wave. Really surprising that Rio didn't end up being as big as Hungry Like the Wolf, since I'd argue it's even more of an earworm. Part 2 (in the single of Rio) is also real good, though not relevant to this album.
I think what holds me off from a 5 is the repetitiveness of the songs. Once you get just before the halfway mark through this thing you've really listened to everything it has to throw at you. The singing in one tone the entire album and it all sounded relatively the same didn't gel with me.
Absolutely sick album art though, love it.
Great listen and great vibes all through.
4
Mar 25 2025
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A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
I'm not going to pretend like I know the intricacies of Jazz or that I am musically minded whatsoever; but this rocks. Much like anything Miles Davis touches, this bleeds with quality and soul.
Admittedly I prefer Jazz with /less/ saxophone than this, but it was still a great listen, and with a 30~ minute runtime, it definitely isn't a slog to get through by any means.
I really enjoyed this album, and I really wanted to give this a 5, but I just can't. I don't see myself coming back to this in a huge rush, as good as it was. I didn't even add any of these songs into my Jazz playlist, which is telling.
Definitely one of those albums I want to love, but struggle to. Still, awesome listen, and I recognise the importance of this record and John Coltrane as a whole.
4
Mar 26 2025
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Rapture
Anita Baker
she can definitely sing, but this was boring kmart music and I don't like the 80's era of r&b/soul but mmm.hmm.h;hm.h..... you can see,,,,, her feet..............yes...........
3
Mar 27 2025
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Slanted And Enchanted
Pavement
This sounds like Weezer for people who think Weezer are too mainstream, with a little hint of punk squeezed over the top like the shitty rotten piece of lemon you get with your fish & chips at the local smoko shop.
There was some nice moments on here, but for the most part I found this very generic and forgettable. I'm sure at the time this was groundbreaking, but unfortunately this sound of music has been done to death. In The Mouth Of A Desert seems to be the standout track here for me.
Whilst I enjoyed the very obviously 90's rock, I couldn't get behind the shitty lyrics and the singer isn't too crash hot either.
I probably sound overly critical here, but I will emphasise that I didn't hate this, it was just too generic and ultimately uninteresting for me to go crazy for. I do reckon I'd have a blast listening to this live at a pub or something, because this definitely sounds like a band you'd hear out at your local.
3
Mar 28 2025
View Album
Kala
M.I.A.
Not even the great track of "Paper Planes" can save this shit album from a positive review; though it did save it from a 1.
On a side note, I was completely wigged out seeing The Wilcannia Mob on here, a group of like 9 year old indigenous kids. I've been to Wilcannia, twice, and much like this album - pretty shit.
2
Mar 31 2025
View Album
Disintegration
The Cure
This was my first listen from end to end of this album. I love The Cure, so I wasn't disappointed in listening to this one. I must say, I was expecting more 'hits' from this record, as there really were none to find on here; not saying that's a bad thing, but given I only really know The Cure's hits, it was surprising.
This is not an album to listen to in bits and pieces, so I've discovered. It's such a thorough and enjoyable experience, that a 75 minute runtime really doesn't feel all that bad. Listening to this record is like watching a movie, rather than enjoying an album.
Anyways, enough waffle, this album is fantastic. I'm still yet to listen to a song by The Cure that I don't enjoy. Easy 5.
5
Apr 01 2025
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2112
Rush
I already listened to this on 05/09/2024. I don't have it in me to listen to it again, even if it's short - it was pretty gruelling:
"Weird ass album. I enjoyed the instrumentals, the guitars and drums were great - but the fucking vocals just sounded like a Robert Plant ripoff. Secondly, what the fuck was with the oriental riff in the Bangkok song? What the fuck? I'd give this a 4 if it wasn't for the shitty vocals. It's listenable though."
3
Apr 02 2025
View Album
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis
I've never heard of this Genesis album, and given the fact not a single song on this record has considerable streaming numbers, neither has anyone else. And for good reason, Good God.
I'm not sure why I was expecting the cool 80's sound that I usually expect from Genesis, this album came out in 1974 lmao, but I wasn't expecting THIS.
Unfortunately, this piece of shit is genuinely almost unlistenable. It changes direction almost every second song, not even the FOUR FUCKING SIDES of this trash is thematic.
They tried WAY too hard to be experimental on this thing. Here are some lowlights:
Whatever the fuck that horrible dumb fucking record scratch sounding guitar solo dogshit was on Counting Out Time.
The Waiting Room (possibly the worst song on this album after Count Out Time), pretending to be Frank Zappa, but what I imagine Zappa would sound like if he was on drugs and also retarded, then finishing it with an absolutely pitiful attempt at imitating Pink Floyd
The blatant overuse of keyboards on The Colony of Slippermen, I didn't realise I was listening to a fucking Britpop record by The Charlatans.
I'm not sure what else was after that, because I gave up. This album was fucking torturous. I'd rather listen to Throbbing Gristle. At least THEY were interesting.
I hate this album. Fuck this shit. I thought I'd like it because Phil Collins and 80's Genesis is awesome. I wish I'd never heard this, it genuinely took years off my life in the amount of cortisol that flooded through my body.
1
Apr 03 2025
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Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
Always a great time listening to Ray Charles. I don't have anything ill to say about this album.
An entire album of big band covers of country songs is just what I needed today.
I genuinely don't have too much to say about this. This album is a sure-fire way to get yourself laid if you had this record on vinyl and a nice bottle of Grenache.
Also I can't deny the bias, as this shit reminds me a LOT of Fallout: New Vegas.
Just a lovely listen all round.
5
Apr 04 2025
View Album
The Contino Sessions
Death In Vegas
I had to give this a couple of listens, and I'm still undecided. The concept of this album is cool, and I hate pegging down the very few early electronic albums on the 1001 Britpop and Paedophilic Albums to Listen to Before You Kill Yourself list, but this thing is so lukewarm and plain I don't know what else to give it.
Extremely dull, but not a bad listen. Also, this shit does not even remotely sound like it belongs coming out in 1999. Early 90's at best.
MEH
3
Apr 07 2025
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Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
A contender for possibly the most 80's sounding album ever. Phil Collins really did a number on production back then, huh.
Shout and EWTRTW are such massive songs it almost overshadows the rest of this album. Though the songs that aren't enormous hits aren't too crash hot. They're good, but very forgettable.
Enjoyable listen, but can't say I'd see myself coming back to anything except Shout, EWTRTW, and MAYBE Head Over Heels.
4
Apr 08 2025
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Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
icelandic radiohead but thankfully not nearly as terrible.
A lot of this reminds me of a kind of refined version of Kid A, funny how they came out within a year of each other. For reference, I did not like Kid A. But I like this.
I wasn't even in the best mood for something so floaty and ambient today, but I still had a good time with this one. I definitely would have enjoyed this a lot more as just an instrumental version, it would even be possibly worthy of a 5. Nevertheless, this is still a very good record, and I enjoyed my listen - though, the vocals did get a bit annoying and Radiohead-ey at times.
4
Apr 09 2025
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Armed Forces
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
The more exposure I get to this bloke, the less I care for him and his weird annoying voice.
Moods for Moderns was alright, though. Broken cock gets the worm and all that.
2
Apr 10 2025
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Songs From A Room
Leonard Cohen
I really enjoyed Leonard's first record, but as mentioned in that review; it was just missing /something/. So, I went into this one with really high hopes.
The guitar work on "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes" reminded me a lot of "So Long, Marianne". In fact it sounded almost identical. It was probably one of my favourites on this record, it portrayed a lot of raw emotion. This is a biased take though, because it sounds like "So Long, Marianne" - and I love that song.
Apart from Lonesome Heroes, I really found this record a bit lacklustre musically. It was a bit boring, and I think I'd rather go enjoy a Bob Dylan record instead of this usually. It was still very listenable and I didn't have a bad time; it was just a bit boring at times. This is mitigated by the short runtime, so you don't get "kill me now" bored.
However, what it makes up for in its dull musicianship, is the songwriting. I found the writing on this record to be phenomenal. Stories like The Butcher really gelled with me. The Butcher was probably the best song on this whole thing if we're just talking songwriting.
Do I like this better than Cohen's first record? No. Is it still an enjoyable, albeit a bit dull, listen? Yes. I'd rate this a 3.5 if I could, but I'll round it up to 4 because I had a pretty good time and it had a very good pacing, especially being 35 minutes. I don't think I could have handled an hour or more of it.
4
Apr 11 2025
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Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
This is the DSOTM for nu-metal/rap-rock. If you're between the ages of 26-34 and you didn't listen to this religiously, that is a self report that you had Xx_N0-Fr13nd5_xX.
Perfect album from a shit genre.
5
Apr 14 2025
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The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Holy shit I think the harmonica at the end of Girl from the North Country obliterated my ear drums.
Look, I get the Bob Dylan hate, the cunt has a jading voice (that I love), he looks like he has a twink variant of Downs Syndrome, and that harmonica could be used as a sonar device by the US Navy. All of that, I get; but, every now and then you need to put those facts aside and consider that this album is simply a masterpiece, both for importance of the overall record, and just the song writing quality & general musicianship. Absolutely outstanding.
There's so many classics on this thing; Blowin' in the Wind, Girl from the North Country, Masters of War, and of course Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. All of which are brilliantly written, and the single guitar doesn't dull on me whatsoever.
Hate Bob Dylan all you want, give all his other albums on this list that don't belong here (like the bootleg records) a low rating, but this is almost certainly Bob Dylan's best work and I think it's disingenuous to give this anything but the 5 it truly deserves.
5
Apr 15 2025
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Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones
Wow I thought this album was going to be phenomenal given the two hits. But that's all this was. Two great hits surrounded by mediocre 60's honky tonk imitations. Meh.
3
Apr 16 2025
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Strange Cargo III
William Orbit
I was playing Schedule 1 and I genuinely couldn't tell if this was the soundtrack or if it was the album.
This sounds like a soundtrack to a platforming PS1 video game made in the 1990's. A lame duck of an album but nothing offensive here so it just gets a big average pass.
3
Apr 17 2025
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Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Stereolab
This really reminds me of Astrud Gilberto vocally throughout the record, which was cool to hear, since I love her voice and singing style.
It was a super goofy listen, they don't sound like they're taking themselves too seriously throughout it, and they have a heavy ass 90's tone. Not all of those are positives.
Outside of the first couple of songs, nothing here really 'grabbed' me, and I can't in good conscience give this more than a 3 for that. There's not a lot of substance. Maybe because I kept thinking she was singing in French so I paid no attention to the lyrics.
Still, a fun listen, and not Britpop for once. Which is surprising for an album from 1996.
3
Apr 18 2025
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Dog Man Star
Suede
It's genuinely getting hard to write reviews for Britpop. I've never heard of these bozos, nor am I sure what the "hit" song is on here that convinced our glorious 1001 book overlord to include this.
Thanks for another Britpop album I really enjoy them a lot and think they're such a great attribute to music history.
2
Apr 21 2025
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The Wall
Pink Floyd
I'm probably going to get shot for this, but I genuinely don't care for this album. It's overrated, and dreadfully boring. This album is really carried by the guitarwork and nothing else - I never got why people rave about how this is such a great concept album. The story fucking sucks man. I'm tired of acting like it doesn't.
Roger Waters thinking he can sing (he can't) gets really jading throughout this thing. I just know Gilmour was cringing throughout the recording of this thing. What I find so funny about this, is that Roger Waters' solo record, "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking", is actually a much better concept album. He switches up his singing style to a more goofy tone, to allow for the fact he's shit at singing, which sounds a lot better. And it's at least not an hour and a half long. Oops.
I also got fucking sick of the Brick in the Wall motif splattered carelessly throughout this record. Mate, we get it; it's a concept album, cool, I'm not retarded.
Unfortunately, one of the best songs ever (Comfortably Numb) - which features one of the greatest solos of all time - is included on Pink Floyd's worst post-Ummagumma album. Once you get past this song, you're about ready to wrap up, but NO, you have another 20 minutes of this shit. In The Flesh is at least a great song.
I spent a lot of time thinking if this was deserving of a 2, especially considering giving a band I generally adore a 2 feels wrong. But keeping consistent to my reviews of "this is too long and shit", and also the fact that the writing is mediocre at best, it's getting a 2. Great guitarwork unfortunately can't save this.
tldr; dreadfully long, awfully boring, unfortunately sung by Roger Waters.
2
Apr 22 2025
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Elephant
The White Stripes
Considering this is my second exposure to a Jack White record, AND Seven Nation Army is so massive it wouldn't be surprising to see a one-hit album; but I was pleasantly surprised.
This record is unbelievably fresh, well-paced, and unique. For a 2003 album, it was completely unexpected to hear the heavy blues influence on a garage rock album. The guitar work is just unbelievable in a lot of songs here.
The production on this thing is incredible, too. I found myself not sure if this record was made in 2003 or 2023. I enjoyed the consistent guitar tone, but no songs sounded particularly similar, which is good.
Little Acorns, Black Math, and Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine were my favourites. The only song I don't like is the last one, but I'm pretty sure it's in jest, so I'll let it slide.
I felt like a 4 would be fair here, but considering I listened to this about 4 times on repeat and it felt fresh each time, I'll bump it up.
5
Apr 23 2025
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The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Byrds
That's not jam mate, that's just total fucking marmalade.
Really long, really dated, really boring. People were still doing this airy fairy shit in 1968? I thought the world had well and truly moved on by then.
The phaser on Old John Robertson legit hurt my ears. That's literally the only thing that stood out to me.
I really don't have anything to say about this. It was so uninteresting I forgot I even had music on in the background. I'd probably play this if I was an aged care worker and had just sedated one of my patients after they had a dementia-induced psychotic episode.
2
Apr 24 2025
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Queen II
Queen
This was the very first song I ever wrote a review for, back on July 9, 2024:
"From Father to Son rocked, the instrumentals were great
Love how the songs transition from one to another
Ogre battle was good
Rest of the album felt like regular queen, it was okay - I did like the transition between songs being mostly seamless
I'm still not the biggest fan of Queen, but I'd give this a 3.5 if I could"
Still holds up, can't be fucked listening to it again because I think Queen is so mid and overrated and I just generally don't care for them.
3
Apr 25 2025
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Rings Around The World
Super Furry Animals
I'll be honest here, I was fucking terrified when I saw "BRITPOP" in the tags for this album. Thank Christ it wasn't actually proper Britpop, this shit was so much more tolerable. In fact, not even just tolerable, this album was pretty awesome.
For a band with such a shit name and a style looking like Britpop bands of the 90's, I was pleasantly surprised to note that it wasn't that, at all. I loved how the theme stayed similar yet all the songs differed. 52 minutes really felt like 30.
There was definitely some weird moments, like on No Sympathy. The freaky steps into electronic and fast paced video game music / acid house wigged me the fuck out. I actually enjoyed that song way more than I expected though. Somehow it works.
Rings Around the World and Miniature were probably the favourites here I think. They were super catchy and fresh.
I actually can't believe I went into this thing expecting to hate it, especially seeing Britpop as the genre. But there was something about the weirdness and wackiness of the constant switch between song styles that really kept me plugged in and interested. This album had me focusing on it, I couldn't even get any work done to it because I was just sitting along enjoying the ride. If that's not tell of a great album, I don't know what is. I also really enjoyed the singers voice, it scratched a part of my brain that I didn't know needs scratching. He sounds similar to a singer I know, but I can't put my finger on it. It really annoys me that I can't figure out who. Update: HE SOUNDS LIKE FUCKING ELVIS COSTELLO CUNT THAT IS UNCANNY HOLY SHIT ITS LIKE IDENTICAL
Anyways, brownie points for surprising me so well. This gets a 5. Definitely coming back to this to re-listen a few more times.
5
Apr 28 2025
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Heroes
David Bowie
I've never sat down and listened to this record, despite recognising what is (probably) Bowie's most iconic album cover. Of course, I'd heard Heroes before.
Honestly, I think this record is really overrated. "Low" shits all over this thing. For all the high points of this record - like Heroes, Sense of Doubt/Moss Garden, etc. - there's an equal amount of lows. I'm mainly concerning the start of this record, which gets off to a less than great start. Joe the Lion was a bad song. Not going to sugarcoat that.
Taking the above into consideration, did I still enjoy myself nevertheless? Absolutely. I think it's a very nice piece of art. It's wild to me that there's only one 'hit' on this thing, since Bowie is a hits guy. That's nice though, I don't often want to sit down and listen to an entire Bowie album in one sitting. I definitely don't see myself hurrying back to listen to this one though.
I'm probably looking at a 3 here. Sorry mate.
3
Apr 29 2025
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Aja
Steely Dan
Despite being a Steely Dan fanatic, I've never actually listened to this one. Fuck me, I should have. My favourite Steely Dan album is Gaucho, and this is so damn similar it's not funny. Gaucho is one of my favourite albums ever, and while this isn't quite as good, it's still comparable.
Absolutely incredible listen. I can't state in enough detail how good this record is. Like I said, it's not as good as Gaucho, but that doesn't mean this isn't a damn good record.
I don't have a lot to say that I haven't said a million fucking times about Gaucho. Black Cow was definitely my favourite song, but like with all Steely Dan albums, that will change in a months time and I'll be hyper obsessed with another song off here; probably I Got The News.
Going to go listen to this about 12 more times today. Hell yeah Steely Dan.
5
Apr 30 2025
View Album
The Köln Concert
Keith Jarrett
After reading this guy sued Steely Dan for copyright infringement, and getting this the day after reviewing Steely Dan's Aja yesterday is a coincidence worthy of a chuckle.
This usually isn't my style, but wow, what a beautiful piece of music. I can see why this is the best selling piano work of all time. The story behind this is great, and the fact it's all improvised is unreal. I don't know shit about piano, chords, or music in general; but I do assume that playing piano like this is particularly hard. Fucks knows, though.
It does linger on for a bit long, but that is probably just my inept Gen-Z brain demanding more brainrot Instagram reels since I hadn't gotten my dopamine fix today. I enjoyed every moment of this nonetheless. Truly spectacular. I also enjoyed the audience input for not apparent reason, unless they're in on something I'm not, which is likely.
I spent a lot of time during this record reflecting on all the music on my journey with 1001 so far, and the 200+ albums I've rated thus far. I'm incredibly thankful for finding this site, by sheer coincidence of looking for a random album generator. Unrelated to the record, I know, but I think a good piano ballad really does encourage deep thinking. Maybe I'm just being pretentious, who knows.
Really hard to believe I'd give some cunt just playing a piano for an hour a 5, but here we are!
5
May 01 2025
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Live At Leeds
The Who
Furious I had to listen to a vinyl rip of this on YouTube, but astounded at the quality of both the rip, and the album itself.
For a recording from 1970, I'm immensely impressed with the sound quality. The guitar and drum work on this thing are fucking off the charts. Emphasis on the guitar work. My Generation was absolutely peak and I was genuinely blown away by the instrumentals.
I usually tend not to favour live albums favourably, but this doesn't even sound like one. Just an incredible listen start to finish.
Genuinely this is probably one of my favourite live performances I've ever heard, just from first listen. Fuck me. I had no idea The Who put it on like that.
Currently sitting at a trifecta of 5's. Can't wait for some more Britpop today to even things out!!
5
May 02 2025
View Album
Third
Portishead
My 200th album is..........
borderline unlistenable byroncore shite
I genuinely was fighting the urge to turn it off when We Carry On came on, oh my fucking god that song was dreadful. I had to skip it 3 minutes in.
Every song after WCO I had to jump through and/or skip because of how unlistenable they were. I couldn't stand to listen to this dogshit any longer. I hope this is the only Portishead album on this list.
I thought I'd get something COOL for my 200th but unfortunately I got this.
1
May 05 2025
View Album
Brothers
The Black Keys
I went into this with high expectations, since El Camino was a phenomenal album.
Howlin for You is such a recognisable classic. The amount or movies that feature that song is insane. So recognisable in fact I didn't even know it was by The Black Keys.
There's a lot of quality in this album, and I'd expect nothing else from The Black Keys. I do think there was a lot of unnecessary filler on this thing though. This album ought to had a 30 minute runtime to keep things fresh.
This album is insanely backloaded too. I was really surprised how much I perked up at the last 4 songs on this thing. Unknown Brother was definitely the favourite song on here.
Enjoyable listen. I really fucking hope El Camino is on here as well as this thing.
4
May 06 2025
View Album
C'est Chic
CHIC
I knew within 5 seconds of the intro to the first song that I was going to like this. And I don't even like disco that much; or at least, I never learned how to properly appreciate it.
Every human on the fucking planet has listened to Le Freak at least 30 times. I dare say it's the most well known & generic disco song of all time; next to Disco Inferno & Stayin' Alive. I dare say this may be more recognisable though.
The guitarwork on Savoir Fare was incredible. It reminded me of Zappa's Watermelon in Easter Hay. The guitar tone was near identical. And the beautiful backing track, with the loud, crisp and gorgeous guitar tone over the top. Whoever was playing it was an absolute fucking weapon too. That's genuinely one of the best solos I've ever listened to. I cannot emphasise that enough.
Happy Man was a fresh and uplifting tune after the brevity of one of the best guitar instrumentals you'll ever hear. Straight back to monkey business on the disco dancefloor. Chic. I found this song not as iconic as the others, with a lot less substance to take in than it's predecessors, but I still enjoyed it very much indeed.
I Want Your Love takes you straight back to the radio friendly disco that I was expecting from this record. This feels very similar to an early 80's pop song, with less emphasis on the disco elements. Very remiscent of Steview Wonder & Steve Vinwood (or whatever the Higher Loves guys name is) It was super catchy and I caught my head bobbing along more than a few times. The longer this song went on the more I fell in love with it.
At Least I am Free slowed things down a lot. I didn't gel with this one as much. The singing was obviously great, but otherwise I didn't find this one particularly interesting. I didn't necessarily hate it, but the song just sounded like a stereotypical 80's romcom interlude song. You know the part where the girl comes to terms her love failing? That part. Next.
After the slowdown, Sometimes You Win perks you right back up and throws you straight back into boogie mode. This duet is where the two singers really show off their synergy and talent. It's more of the same disco-ey feel that I've come to expect 7 songs in; which means it's catchy, crisp, and crammed with immense talent. The instrumental solo really broke things up and kept the song feeling fresh, though I do wish it came on a little earlier than the before the last chorus of the song. Oh well, still a great listen.
(Funny) Bone sends you off the album with some sharp instrumentals. I'll admit, it feels like an interlude to the second side of this thing - but it's not. It's the end. I actually really enjoyed the way this thing ended, especially with the Circus and Clown comment.
If you couldn't tell from my wall of text and analysis of each song individual; I fucking adore this thing. I've never heard any song from CHIC apart from Le Freak (who hasn't), but boy am I glad I did. This album is fucking amazing. I was not going into this expecting to give it anything higher than a 3, but alas, a 5 it is. Absolutely fantastic, I'm genuinely blown away, and can't sing this thing's praises enough. This is one of the best albums I've listened to so far out of the 202 or so I've gotten through.
6/5.
5
May 07 2025
View Album
I’m a Lonesome Fugitive
Merle Haggard
K-ROSE staples to fly your Sanchez around the map at warpspeed with 5 stars to.
I imagine this album was fucking enormous when it came out, but alas it's been consumed by time and by the amount of other shit that came out that sounds exactly the same as this.
I found this particularly generic, but in the best way. This album captured all the best elements of country/honky tonk and channelled it into one album.
I really enjoyed this, but once you get through the first couple of songs, you pretty much get the point. That doesn't make it a bad album (I quite enjoyed my listen), it just makes it unworthy of being considered "perfect". It's fairly cookie cutter. Still, I could see myself coming back to this when my girlfriend decides to break up with me in the future.
Highlights: All of Me Belongs to You
4
May 08 2025
View Album
Chore of Enchantment
Giant Sand
Honestly, it wasn't as much as a slog as I was expecting. I think the lead should consider alternatives to music though; gently speaking out of tune and out of time for the backing tracks is just stupid.
The instrumentals were pretty good, and I didn't mind the backing vocals either. The lead singer can piss off.
All the fucking songs sounded the same too I don't get the idea behind this thing.
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HASN'T BEEN SAID BEFGORE ON THIS SITE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
2
May 09 2025
View Album
Fragile
Yes
I genuinely never knew out Roundabout outside of the meme.
Honestly, for every good song on this thing, the next 2 were shit. I didn't hate this record, but I just can't see myself coming back to it. If I wanted to listen to something in the same realm, I'd listen to King Crimson.
I quite enjoyed the laters of Spanish guitar on this thing though. Makes me see where the #1 hater of this album on the global reviews called it "wizard rock".
This thing definitely got better towards the end. Heart of the Sunrise was a banger.
I wasn't going to rate this more than a 3, but the latter half of the album was so damn good I think this is very deserving of a 4.
4
May 12 2025
View Album
21
Adele
Look, I understand how talented Adele is. She genuinely has a once in a generation voice and I won't ever deny it. But it's just not for me. I fucking hate singer-songwriter music that's just a singer and a piano. Pianos suck.
The lazy songwriting on Don't You Remember was pretty fucking lazy and bland. Outside of that, every song - apart from the hits that we were forced to listen to near-daily on the radio for 3 years straight - was fairly bland and the album is obviously themed around heartbreak. It definitely gets jading after a while.
This review may sound critical, but I genuinely didn't hate this as much as I should have. It did get lazy, and a bit boring at times; but it definitely didn't feel like 48 minutes, it felt shorter. I could tolerate this and I didn't even mind listening to it in the background.
I can't give this lower than a 3, despite the fact I will never come back to this album again in my life. Adele is just too talented and her voice is too fantastic to deserve anything less, despite that everything in my core is supposed to hate this. Plus, at least it's something different. Not getting a 90's British rock album is always a blessing.
3
May 13 2025
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Either Or
Elliott Smith
I can see why this is considered his magnum opus, and it's clearly his most popular album therefore. This thing is great. I had my issues with Figure 8, I haven't listened to XO (yet), and Roman Candle has a big list of highs and lows. This thing is just consistently great.
Every song felt unique in it's own way, and the constant change in tone really did well for me.
Pictures of Me definitely the absolute highlight.
5.
5
May 14 2025
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Pictures At An Exhibition
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
PLEASE LISTEN TO ME PLAY THE ORGAN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE ORGAN THEN FUCK YOU
drummer was a fucking monster though which redeems this SLIGHTLY
3
May 15 2025
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Since I Left You
The Avalanches
Man, what a journey this thing was. I really couldn't tell if I liked it or hated it at the start, but as we started rolling through - I picked up the idea of how this album structures itself.
I won't deny the talent, making something like this in 2000 would be immensely difficult. Props to them.
I don't see myself coming back to this thing in a hurry, but I still had a pretty good time nevertheless. I don't understand the raving fanatics of this thing, but I do think it was a generally favourable experience.
Live at Dominoes was my favourite song.
4
May 16 2025
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Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
Amazing listen from everyone's favourite fake blind black guy. It's Stevie Wonder at his best. What else need I say?
5
May 19 2025
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Live At The Regal
B.B. King
I'll admit, I'm getting tired of the live albums. But this is one of the seldom few in this list that HAS to be included here. This album is so insanely important to music, it inspired countless artists and arguably defined blues from thereon.
I'm not going to write a long winded review here, this is so obviously an easy 5 I'm wasting my time to even justify why. We all know why already.
This thing is such a rich listening experience. I went from thinking I was actually there at the Regal, to forgetting this was even a live album. Insanely good quality recording for '65.
Anyways, kinda sad this was a weekend album because I barely needed to even write a review here. Fantastic.
5
May 20 2025
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Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
I love soul. But this just didn't gel with me as much as I was expecting. Maybe it's due to the fact this is my third album in a row of a similar genre, so I could just be fatigued.
Don't get me wrong, Solomon's voice is incredible, but I genuinely couldn't distinguish it from any other soul or blues singer. It feels generic, which in a way, shows how powerful these soul singers are.
Anyways, it was an enjoyable listen, but I can't see myself coming back. Sheer talent does give this credibility worthy of a 4.
4
May 21 2025
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Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
Ahh yes, I remember forcing myself to like this to try and get pussy in high school. The litmus test of any potential mate for a teenage girl in 2012-2015 is how tolerant you are to Frank Ocean. In my case, very. Unfortunately I was too intensely interested playing in Garry's Mod role-play servers in those years to pursue a girl.
Not even gonna bother listening to this for the 1000th time before writing this review. This is the GOAT of neo-soul. A perfect album. This was a staple of year 10-12 in high school, so I'm not even going to deny the bias.
I am shocked that this was included here, usually the writer of this book seems to skip all the important modern albums.
No need for a long ass review, this is the defining album of neo-soul. Even if you don't like it, this album deserves its spot in the history books. I'd argue this album would make it pretty comfortably in the top 150~ albums of all time, objectively.
5
May 22 2025
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Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Great to see ELP's obsession with the organ isn't lost on this record either. In fact they don't even build up to it this time, they just ram you straight into LISTEN TO MY ORGAN CUNTTTT mode.
Anyways, this sounds exactly like Pictures At an Exhibition. Not sure why both of these are on here. This was certainly better and more interesting than Pictures At an Exhibition.
Tarkus is really the only thing we're listening to here, and with a whopping 20 minute runtime, you better hope you enjoy it. Similar to how 2112 by Rush operates, but at least (unlike 2112), this is enjoyable and not trash.
Everything after Tarkus is honestly pretty lame. Just some English guy barking over church organ music. Then a bunch of random shit thereafter, just horrible filler. The last song pissed me off so much, I'm dropping this from what would be a 4, to what would be a 3, until the last song, you get a fucking 2. bro FUCK YOU
2
May 23 2025
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Pieces Of The Sky
Emmylou Harris
Dolly Parton if she was a baddie and not a creature that belongs on r/bimboification
This album is just fucking gorgeous. Within the first minute of the very first song I knew this was getting a 5. I love every bit of this thing. From he vocals, to the instrumentals, to the Dolly Parton imitation. Hell, I don't even really like this genre all too much and I thought this album was incredible. Absolutely no skips.
I have fallen in love with Emmylou Harris in one listen. I hope there's more of her on 1001 albums because this was fantastic. Definitely going to be listening to more of her.
Favourites: Bluebird Wine, Too Far Gone, Queen of the Silver Dollar, and EVERYTHING ELSE
5
May 26 2025
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Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
I understand the importance of this one, but I just don't care enough for it. It sucks to say, because this is up there in top 5 most important albums to the hip-hop genre. I can't even force myself to like this one.
I like Public Enemy, but 60 minutes of them as it turns out is really jading to me. Chuck D is such a one trick pony flow wise, he really doesn't hold his weight across an entire album. Individual songs yes, a whole album? No.
Most of the songs were a carbon copy of the previous, with DJ scratching, repeating samples of the same nonsensical shit (usually some radio jockey voice), and then the same drum machine pumping out the same drum pattern over and over.
I hope there's another Public Enemy record on here, because I really do like them, this album just sucks to me.
Also, Pollywanacraka was really annoying. I had to skip it.
2
May 27 2025
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Harvest
Neil Young
One thing I'm discovering as I churn through albums on this list, is that I actually do quite like Neil Young. Shocker. I hate Crosby Stills & Young though, they can fuck off.
Anyways, this was a pretty damn good album. I really enjoyed the variations of instruments and vocal layering.
This was nowhere near as good as On the Beach, but it was still good and I can see why this has critical acclaim. You can definitely tell this record got all the production value. On the Beach is so much more stripped back than this.
4