2nd time listening
was a 7/10
is still a 7/10
*favorite songs: Enjoy the Silence, Halo, Personal Jesus
Enjoy the Silence is an amazing song, but the rest of the album is a little too dry for me. Still pretty good though.
1st time listening
8/10
Favorite songs: Bone Machine, Break My Body, Gigantic, Where is my Mind?
1st time listening
8/10
Genuinely surprised by how good it was. Could improve a lot if listened to again.
Favorite tracks: dirge, soul auctioneer, lever street, aladdin's story, one more time
Id love to know people who like this album… mainly so i can put them on a list and stay as far away from them as possible.
I’m sorry but I just can’t handle these vocals. Fairytale of New York is really good but the vocals are so painful at the beginning I can’t even sit through it. It’s a shame because a lot of the instrumentation is catchy and fun.
7/10
Enjoyable Green Day-esque music
I mean, I think I’d just rather listen to The Beach Boys. Not bad tho
6/10
Is it weird to like Coldplay in 2024? Probably.
Do I still really like some of their albums? Probably.
6/10
Just a little too hard for me to get into
FINALLY! No more mind numbing music!
9/10.
This kindve feels like a collab album with Kanye, and maybe that’s why every beat is so refreshing.
This album will feel even better after I slog through another 15 albums that go through one ear and out the other.
I have never listened to Fatboy Slim.
— I listened to Fatboy Slim.
I will not listen to Fatboy Slim again.
Napoleon Dynamite is my favorite movie of all time. The dance scene at the end with “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai might be my favorite movie scene ever.
By the way, this album isn’t very good.
6/10
If no one in the world hates British pop after the late 1970’s, then I am dead. Probably killed by a Smiths fan
It started off great, then slowly deteriorated into prince moaning.
From the opening drum hit, I knew I would hate this album. That I would disregard it as 80s trash.
Then, by the end of the first song, I was intrigued. After the second, I was hooked. Such an amazing album that finally made me excited again for this challenge. This is why I do it, to find these albums that I would’ve disregarded that then become instant favorites. It’s the best album of the challenge so far, and the first one that is threatening a perfect 10/10. It’s likely closer to a 9, but I’m so excited I’m gonna give it my first 5 stars.
A lot of nonsense, although the nonsense makes the great moments even greater 5/10
Pink Moon is a hard one. In short bursts, it’s amazing. There are so many great songs, my favorite being “Things Behind the Sun”. However, as an album, it gets a little too samey and repetitive for me. I used to have it at a 7, but it’s gone up to an 8. Maybe it can eventually go even higher, if my tolerance for songs with only an acoustic guitar goes up.
Hating on the eagles is overrated. Relax and stop being annoying.
tracks 1-3: wow that’s a cool sound
tracks 2-6: ok, still the same sound
Tracks 7-10: can I get some variety?
Tracks 11-15: please change something 😭
Tracks 16-18: I am dead inside
Really abrasive and in your face. If you like that, good for you. I don’t.
7/10
Why does it have to sound so unfinished? Definitely disappointing considered how much I like gold rush
Really is something I shouldn’t like, and I don’t. However, I was more intrigued by this than most of these albums, so I’m going to a 7. (And yes I know by now that my ratings seem like they are off a whim, which they are)
I finally got one of my favorite albums of all time. Steely Dan is in my top 5/6ish bands ever, and Countdown to Ecstasy is 1 of my 3 10/10 Steely Dan albums. This album is simply great song after great song. So here’s a quick blurb on each song.
Bodhisattva has some killer guitar and honestly some really underrated drumming.
Razor Boy has some genuinely upsetting lyrics while being an upbeat and chipper; also that keyboard(?) at 2:30 is so good.
The Boston Rag was initially my favorite on the album. When the chorus kicks in with some menace, I’m always blown away.
Your Gold Teeth has some more insane lyrics, but the playing is so phenomenal you forget about that.
Show Biz Kids has my favorite background vocals and has amazing energy.
My Old School is simply perfect; it is such a great pothead (at least for me), and as someone from California, I love it so much (I did not think the girl could be so cruuuuuuel!)
Pearl of the Quarter has really grown on me as the emotional detour from all the cynicism and sarcasm, although that’s probably still in this song too.
King of the World is an amazing ending with some more killer playing while pretty much summarizing the album: “Assassins, cons, and rapers. Might as well die”
Although a lesser Beatles album, it’s still the Beatles, which at worst is really good.
Bob Dylan is easily in my top 5 artists of all time and is even in contention for #1. Bringing it All Back Home is really borderline for me. Every song is good-great, but (for me) there isn’t that elevation into a perfect album. I still love it a lot. 9/10
It has some amazing playing and instrumentals, but I can only take so many whispery vocals. Elliot Smith continues to be pretty good. 8
8/10 gets a little same with the noise but still has some really powerful songs
Love this album. Only reason it’s not a 10 is because there aren’t many standout tracks. But it still has really good energy and is one of my favorite live albums. 9/10
I first learned about this album when I was trying to find that one song from Harry Potter. I was surprised by how great the album was. 9/10
Honestly a slightly disappointing Metallica album. While I thought Ride the Lightning was a perfect balance of dynamic playing and hard/heavy rock, ‘Master’ leans too much into the metal thrash.
Great album, although slightly overrated (I mean come on Apple, the greatest album ever?). So great blending of rapping and rock like instrumentation on some songs and R&B infused rap on others. 9/10
It’s ok, but it feels like an inferior combination of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. 7/10
9/10 Neil Young continues to be great
Really good. An R.E.M album that actually rocks. So much better than automatic.
Thriller is one of the greatest albums ever made. There has been some revisionist history on the album; some people say that it’s not as good as its mega-hits or that Off the Wall is better. Off the Wall is also an amazing album, and I will be happy when I listen to it again for this challenge; however, Thriller is on a whole other plane of existence.
1. Wanna be Startin Somethin: one of the best intros ever with an absolutely stunning groove. I also love the background vocals.
2. Baby Be Mine: A really good song that has some killer funky bass, although it’s probably in my bottom 3 for the album.
3. The Girl is Mine: honestly, when I think about this song, I think it’s the black mark on an otherwise generational album. However, when I listen to it, it’s actually just a really pleasant McCartney and MJ collab that is goofy fun. My only complaint of the album is having these two songs back to back. If it was sequenced a little better, it wouldn’t feel like a lull between these two songs.
4. Thriller: Just perfection. The narration, the sound effects, and most importantly, the music. It is genuinely my earliest memory of music in my life. I remember watching the movie “Michael Jackson’s This is It” and seeing the Thriller section. It scared me shitless. Now it’s one of my favorite songs ever.
5. Beat It: this is probably my most played MJ song ever. The chorus is memorable that you kindve forget that there is a killer guitar solo, and when that comes in, I’m always floored. MJ’s ability to get me hyped is nearly unmatched.
6. Billie Jean: I’m going to say it now, this (4,5,6) is the greatest 3 song run in the history of music. Billie Jean is my favorite MJ song and I know every lyric to this masterpiece (as I’m sure a lot of people do). Also the greatest chorus ever. My favorite vocal performance ever. Phenomenal.
7. Human Nature: Another great song that slows the album down at the perfect time. The
“Why”s are intoxicating.
8. P.Y.T: I absolutely love the funk of this song and it has another great vocal performance from MJ. More great background vocals on the PYTs.
9. The Lady in My Life: I like this song a lot, although I wish the album swapped this with Human Nature; I think it would’ve been a better finish. Still really good.
Passable dance music 6/10
7/10. Great playing, some truly terrible vocals, and middling lyrics (with One being a standout high point)
Just not good at all 4/10
Another great Neil Young album, but he just can’t breakthrough to a 10 for me. 9/10
I have to say I’m shocked. I’ve never been a huge fan of Wu-tang clan, and the solo projects have also been a little underwhelming and same-y. However, this album was so freaking good. Like the Peter Gabriel album earlier, this album is probably a 9/10, but because of how much it shocked me I’m going 5 stars.
Pleasant songs with a few standouts. Bell Bottom Blues is great and obviously Layla is amazing. 7/10
Chill beats to have in the background. 7
My grandma has been wheelchair-bound for 6 years now. I decided to sit down and listen to this album with her; once “Dear God” started to play, she wheeled over to the speaker, picked it up, and threw it on the ground. She then preceded to wheel herself back and forth over the speaker, and, finally, emptied her catheter onto it. She’s never been happier.
Am I being tortured? Back-to-back 80s albums? Really?
For the most part, I thought this was a pretty good album with some cool standouts like “Victoria” and “Australia”.
Then I heard Shangri-La. Since I first heard the album, I have probably played Shangri-La 20 times. It is simply one of the greatest songs I have ever heard. I’m so happy I heard it.
Only my second Joni album ever. I listened to Blue a long time ago and disliked it. I should revisit that album because this is really great.
Only my second Joni album ever. I listened to Blue a long time ago and disliked it. I should revisit that album because this is really great.
Correction for previous album: underwater moonlight sucks. 3/10
ABBA: pretty good. 7/19
Bruce Springsteen combined with Paul Simon. Not as good as either of those, but still really enjoyable
The first song is called satanic reverses. Not an indictment, just an observation. 0/10
Not as bad as I thought it would be considering how much the Cure annoy me, but still not great
Joni Mitchell ripoff trash
Why?? This is exactly what people think of when they think of music snobbery. Actually embarassing
Really disappointing, especially after listening to ‘Be’ again.
This has been a tough stretch of albums.
Simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time.
1. Thunder Road: Is it the greatest intro song of all time? Maybe. I just want to point out how amazing the piano is throughout the entire album. This song has the potential to make me cry.
2. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out: A really good song that never fails to make me happy. I’m definitely not a huge Springsteen fan, and the voice here is on the edge of too much (which is one of my biggest complaints of his), but it succeeds in being a fun jaunt.
3. Night: Just a great Springsteen song. These songs are less than 3 mins, and yet they feel like they are so much longer; and I don’t mean that as a criticism. These shorter songs still have lyrical density that can be exhausting (in a good way).
4. Backstreets: More amazing piano; the intro is killer. Probably my (second) favorite chorus on the album.
5. Born to Run: it’s crazy that this song is only my third favorite song on the album, and yet is still one of my favorite songs ever. It goes to show how great this album is. Some amazing saxaphone playing (obviously) and perfect Springsteen isms that make it so unique and inspired.
6. She’s the One: This used to be my least favorite track and (along with track #7) a skip on the album. I have come around to this song and have come to enjoy its buildup to more crazy sax.
7. Meeting Across the River: Although this song has probably been relegated to least favorite on the album, it is still a great piano ballad that feels like the calm before the storm that is Jungleland.
8. Jungleland: speaking of: this might be the greatest song of all time. Rarely can I get so emotionally invested in a song- on of the only other songs I can think of is Runaway. Both of which use the extended length of their songs to portray powerful emotions. For jungleland, every instrument is unbelievable; the piano, the hints of organ, the sax, and of course the voice. This is Springsteen’s best lyrics and the best piece of Americana music you will find.
I listened to the album 2 minutes ago and I couldn’t tell you how any of these songs go. 5/10
Did not finish. I don’t know if my stomach illness was just a coincidence, but I’m sure this didn’t help.
I honestly don’t want this on my music history, so I’m not going to listen to it. If you have a problem with me giving it 1 star, take it up with the Circle Jerks.
AC/DC is not known for there deep cuts, and they shouldn’t be.
Borderline 10 but the random moans/singing? took me out of it every time
After a lot of snoozes and outright bad albums, I can say that this is neither. Although I’m not really a fan of this type of music, and I wouldn’t really listen to it again, it’s definitely captivating. Man-Size Sextet is one of the most bizarre horror movie like songs ive heard, which is then followed up by a killer Bob Dylan cover. This album in terms of enjoyability is around a 6-7, but I’m going higher for how unique it is (to me; maybe this is common for this genre, but not for me)
Imagine taking the worst part of velvet underground, isolating it, and making an album. Case in point
David Bowie has to have one of the worst production catalogues I’ve ever seen (see Stooges). This is not quit that bad, but it’s definitely not great
Unbelievable
1. Custard Pie: Really good rocker with a great riff.
2. The Rover: I love the crunch of this song. It gets me head-banging.
3. In My Time of Dying: the definitive version of the song in my opinion. One of my favorite 10+ minute songs of all time that builds to an ultimate climax.
4. Houses of the Holy: honestly would have fit perfectly on the album of the same name, but it is still a really pleasant romp.
5. Trampled Under Foot: hot take incoming: this is in my top 10 Zeppelin songs ever. One of my favorite grooves of all time; it gets me excited 👀 every time.
6. Kashmir: While I don’t think it’s the greatest song of all time, I still love it and it’s (top 5) riff.
7. In the Light: My favorite song on the album and in the conversation for my favorite Zeppelin song ever. It’s a testament to their talent and ability that they can dip into Progressive(ish) rock and ace it immediately.
8. Bron-Yr-Aur: A great acoustic refresher on a pretty heavy album.
9. Down By the Seaside: this might be even closer to progressive rock than “In the Light” with its loopy guitar and its distorted vocals. Amazing song.
10. Ten Years Gone: Wait, is this my favorite song on the album? Probably not, but it’s another beautiful song that is up there with “The Rain Song” as one of their most emotional songs.
11. Night Flight: A really underrated song, and (honestly) should have been the last song on the album.
12-15: None of these songs are bad, and if they had been dispersed throughout the middle of the album, maybe I’d like them a little more. However, with this track list, it makes the album finish on somewhat of a whimper.
Still, this is one of my favorite albums of all time and is a big reason why Led Zeppelin is in my top 5 artists of all time.
Somehow I like this more than Heroes. I honestly love all 3 of Bowie’s last albums and consider his last surge extremely impressive.
