I can't believe how different each track is on this album! It's a fantastic sound, with catchy songs and a consistent musical theme. It's a very eclectic group of songs, spanning so many different genres and transitioning between them so effortlessly. 'Locked Inside' is a funky sounding track. 'Sir Greendown' is more relaxed and psychedelic whereas 'Cold War' starts off and you're wondering where it's going to go, and it ends up being a dance track. 'Tightrope' goes back to funky. These four songs all come in succession! 'Come Alive' is my favourite here. I can only describe it as a kind of rock and roll burlesque sound which really shows off vocal Janelle's vocals. She hits and holds a high note at the end of this track for a good twenty seconds before ending it with a great rock sounding "Ow!" 'Wondaland' is a sweet and sparkly pop song with a catchy chorus and the final one 'BaBopByeYa' sounds almost like a modern James Bond track. This album keeps you guessing what's coming next with everything sounding so different genre wise, yet sounding so similar and fitting together so well.

Michael Stipe has an iconic voice. I really like it, though sometimes I find he becomes a bit of an American Morrissey, just warbling and rambling out of time on certain tracks. 'Ignoreland' and 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' is where it's most prominent, though both tracks are among the best on the album. 'Everybody Hurts' is still amazing. A bittersweet sound which is prominent on most of the album but nowhere moreso than on this track. I like the more happy sounding songs too, a fun jangly pop sound. I enjoyed this a lot, but there was something missing. Just that extra piece of the puzzle that would have made it incredible, but I'm not sure what that is.

First album for me and when I saw what it was I was a bit disappointed it wasn't a really really famous one. But this is going to happen more often than not, so just go in with an open mind and see how it goes. I certainly didn't expect it to sound as hard rock as this, particularly given the year of release. I did think the last two tracks were slightly weaker than the rest. From reading other reviews, I think the general consensus is that people love or hate Neil Young's voice, and I am the former. I really enjoyed this album a lot and am looking forward to hearing more, and not just from Neil Young. Cinnamon Girl was the highlight.

Really really enjoy her voice a lot. It almost seems as though if this was any other artist there would be a lot of belting out the tunes, but Tracy doesn't need to do that at all, her voice absolutely carries this album. It dips a little bit for a couple of songs in the middle but ends just as it started. Fast Car is the obvious highlight but I'm glad the rest of the album matches up to it. Across The Lines is the other best song. If I could give it 4.5 I would, but alas, it's a 4.

Waited for the opening song to get going and kick into another gear for 5 mins but it never came. And that was the case for a lot of songs on this album. Pretty boring and repetitive and just waiting for something good to happen. The opener had the most plays on Spotify so thought it would be the best (or close to) but it wasn't anywhere near. Play In The Sunshine was next and was immediately a better song. Side 2 is much better. The Cross and Adore are so very easily the best songs as they have the best vocal performances of the album. The Cross also builds to something pretty damn good, almost heavy metal. Overall it's just a bit wanky for my liking. Which I maybe could have guessed if I were to prejudge what I thought Prince would be like. Really not my thing at all. Half of the tunes sound like they would be okay for background music in an 80s industrial club or something, but to actually listen to, not good. Really like Prince's voice though. The non industrial sounding songs are much better, otherwise it sounds like I am listening to a bad radio station on GTA Vice City.

The title track has the best lick and instrumental and solo section. Prove It is catchy. Torn Curtain also stands out. Doesn't sound like an album released 50 years ago. Great guitar work throughout. Easy 3. A collection of OK to good songs. A few of highlights but overall, just decent.

I didn't want to give out 5's easily, they have to deserve it. It's only my fifth album of this journey and dammit this deserves it! A really lovely opening which sets the tone for the rest of the album. 'Casimir Pulaski Day' was the best, an absolute treat. The Man of Metropolis teases you thinking it'll be more upbeat and it eventually is, as it slips in and out of a great bit of rock guitar. I feel like this is what every wanky, indie, acoustic, breathy artist WANTS to sound like but doesn't get anywhere near. Nothing bad on this album, every song a delicate delight to listen to. The song titles are stupid though.

A fantastic opening 1-2 punch. Probably the best songs on the album. 'Mother' I did enjoy, but I had a moment where it clicked that I was actually listening to something so bizarre and out of place with the rest of the album. Feel as though they gave the guitarist one shot at writing a song and he came up with this and Sting had to include it on the album as it's his only sing writing credit. Must have felt sorry for him or something. Every Breath You Take is obviously a classic, although not my favourite song by The Police. A little too overplayed in my opinion. Still a great tune though. 'Murder By Numbers' has a good groove in the chorus. Almost a bit bluesy. Sting has a great voice and The Police know how to mix pop/rock and a bit of ska/punk/reggae effortlessly.

I don't love Led Zeppelin's folk-y acoustic material as much as their heavy metal/hard rock stuff. Their albums are normally a mixture, so I find them somewhat inconsistent. I find that they venture slightly into 'overly long wank fest' at times and 'In My Time of Dying' is guilty of that. It sounds like they were just jamming in the studio, someone pushed record, and it ended up on the album. Some solid stuff on this album though. 'Ten Years Gone' is great and Robert Plant's vocals absolutely shine on 'Night Flight'. 'Kashmir' is a classic but not the best on the album. That belongs to 'The Rover'. It has a fantastic riff that drives the song forward with such a swagger and attitude. It's a 5 star 45 minute album if you trim the fat a bit. Don't want to give in to the Led Zeppelin tax and there are better Led Zep albums than this so it's getting a 3. A very high 3 mind you.

This type of smooth lounge jazz clearly isn't my thing. Take away the instruments and it wouldn't really make too much of a difference as it all blends into one. 'September in the Rain' and 'Just One of Those Things' are highlights purely because they're upbeat and bouncy as opposed to much of the albums slow jazz tunes. It's not bad music, but it's really not my cup of tea. Sarah Vaughan has a really lovely voice, but it's not enough to carry this to anything more than one star. It's too similar sounding throughout in a sub genre of music that probably already sounds very similar as it is.

The trouble I have with hip hop music is that it's JUST the beat. There's no riffs, licks, instrumental sections, solos, fills, nothing. So if that main beat that will repeat throughout the whole song is weak then you only have the rapping to save the song. And if the rapping is weak, or in this album's case, doesn't appear that often, then you aren't left with a lot to like. I do like that it sounds slightly experimental, like you're in a trance in space a lot of the time - 'To The Moon's Contractor' and 'Airwave Hysteria' are the best examples - but it can't save this album. The beats aren't that interesting, the rapping isn't that good and overall it's a bit all over the place.

Didn't know what to expect coming into this knowing only 'Prince Charming' and 'Stand and Deliver' which are both on the next album. 'Dog Eat Dog' opens fast. 'Antmusic' has the catchiest chorus on the whole record. 'Ants Invasion' has a great riff. I absolutely love Adam Ant's voice and random almost yodels and noises he makes. The guitar can get quite heavy at times which was a surprise. Always a fan of music that makes you headbang even though it's not all out rock or heavy metal. Difficult to say why I love this so much. Glam rock meets punk meets pop meets Burundi Beat (Google it). Just 40 mins of really fun, very catchy, a bit over the top and silly music. Absolutely loved it.

I know he's a legend, I know it's probably blasphemy, but I just didn't enjoy listening to this. Honestly was a bit bored. 8 tracks and one of those is an introduction to the album/band. None of his big big hits. Don't see what is so special about this really.

Only knowing 'The Drugs Don't Work' and of course 'Bittersweet Symphony' I would thought there would be more acoustic stuff here and didn't expect it to sound as psychedelic as it does. Perhaps could have been cut down by 10 minutes. Can definitely hear elements of Oasis and Radiohead. Overall, a long album with lots of spaced psychedelic guitar and I enjoyed it because of that, not despite it. A very high 3. Perhaps Urban Hymns is on the list and is better.

When first released, I wasn't a fan of 'Rolling in the Deep' or 'Set Fire to the Rain' so never listened to them, but having to listen for this review, I've done a 180, they're both really strong tracks, the latter in particular is very good. 'Turning Tables' has a lovely piano 'riff' (if you can call it a riff, that's the metal head in me speaking) 'I'll Be Waiting' has a catchy feel good chorus and is probably the best song that isn't one of the big three singles that was released from this album. Adele really goes for it vocally on 'One and Only', she really does have a phenomenal voice. 'Someone Like You' closes this album, and not only is it the best track, it is, in my opinion, one of the best pop songs of all time, I really do think it's a fantastic song, that I got goosebumps listening to. This album gains an extra star just for this song alone. Overall I debated giving it a 4 because it's quite similar when listening as a whole, but the tracks are easily strong enough to warrant a 5.

I don't know if it's because he's a bit older on this record or going for more of a country vibe, but Neil Young's voice on this isn't my favourite thing in the world, it sounds strained at times. I now understand the hate for it. 'Over and Over' is particularly bad. He doesn't sound in tune in places, like he's just wailing over the music. It features a lot of anthemic singalong choruses, which is definitely one way to get songs to stick in your head. The guitar throughout is really great and is easily the best thing about this album. It's gritty and raw. I'm surprised it sounds as grunge as it does, definitely not something I was expecting. It's actually really heavy sounding in places! I kind of want to be the guy who hates Neil Young, but fuck this was an enjoyable listen. Would have been a 5 if it wasn't for his voice which honestly isn't amazing, and also by the end of the album it does start to merge into one ever so slightly.

I find it difficult to describe and review music. Rap is even harder. Upon first listen it was an easy 2. Maybe I just don't get rap? Then again maybe I just don't like it? But that can't be true. I find myself rapping along to the really famous tunes over the years, knowing all the words and enjoying it. Maybe it's the lyrics. Maybe it's the beat. Maybe it's because it's familiar to me. Or a combination of the three. I decided to give it a second spin, follow along with the words and really listen to the lyrics, and lo and behold, it was a much more enjoyable experience. Kanye is very clever with his lyrics and flows really well. The first two tunes are the best and the quality dips as the record goes on but returns on 'Family Business'. Skits shouldn't be a thing. Minute long waffle that breaks the flow of the album and there's quite a lot on this one. I enjoyed this. Being unfamiliar with his work as a whole, I imagine it isn't Kanye's best and merely laid the groundwork for a future masterpiece. I hope there's another album of his on this list and I look forward to it.

Up until about track four, it sounded pretty similar. Indie. And I know people don't like to use the term indie when it comes to describing music, but you know exactly the kind of sound I mean when I say that. Then 'Cross The Breeze' is up next and what a change of pace. It's fast, loud and raw and really made me sit up and listen. You can hear the punk tinged influence. I can absolutely see why and appreciate that this may have inspired a lot of bands, but for me it was just a little too distorted and messy at times. It goes past the point of liking it and more towards 'just noise' in my opinion. Some really good highlights though. 'Z) Eliminator, Jr.' is definitely leaning into the heavy metal sound and 'Teen Age Riot' and 'Hey Joni' are also very good. As is the case with a lot of alternative indie-esque bands, I just find it all slightly too samey sounding. I enjoyed the heavier and faster tracks a lot, and just wished they would have done a 45 minute album in that style.

Today I learnt that this is the lead singer of Minor Threat's other band and it's clear to see how they're an influence. 'Merchandise' and 'Styrofoam' are the two highlights here. Some of the less heavy, more pop-punky sounding tracks sound like they would fit perfectly on a Tony Hawk, or a mid 2000s WWE video game. Lots of energy and attitude, it was enjoyable to listen to but not really my kind of thing.

I feel like certain bands happened to be playing the right music in the right place at the right time and because of that, certain albums of theirs are propelled to legendary status even if they are good or not. But I suppose that's what this list is. Important and influential albums. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of variety to punk in general. Sure, there's the odd riff here and there that stands out - 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue' has a really cool riff - but if I wasn't paying much attention you could tell me this album is one 29 minute long song and I'd have believed you. If you like punk, you'll love this. I don't like punk that much. I am definitely more of a metalhead and listening to this album has confirmed that to me. It has everything that I SHOULD like. It's loud, fast, raw and high energy, but after 10 minutes I've heard it all and it just does nothing for me.

I was looking forward to this when I saw it was Pink Floyd. Some tracks are so strange, but all of them are boring. It's as if they found whatever objects they could in the studio and started banging them together and whatever noise came out ended up on the record. Is it genius and I just don't get it? Am I taking it too seriously? Or is it just really crap? I actually gave it a second listen and I do genuinely think it's just a bad album. I can certainly hear a lot of early Beatles and Bowie in this, it's just a shame that those two artists do it so much better. Take 'The Gnome' for example. Bowie's 'The Laughing Gnome' is a fun, whimsical tune and he gets away with it because that was his whole shtick back then, it wasn't too serious. However I do think that Pink Floyd wanted this to be taken very seriously, like they thought they'd written a masterpiece and we should all sit up and listen. The lyrics are laughable. Take 'Bike': 'I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like / It's got a basket, a bell that rings and things to make it look good / I'd give it to you if I could but I borrowed it' Then it's all about red and black cloaks, a mouse named Gerald in a house and gingerbread men clans. And then the second half is quite literally 'just noise'. Creepy alarm clock is the only way I can describe it. Genius or crap? Whatever the answer is, I don't get it. Take some hallucinogenic drugs and you'll probably have a better time than I did listening to this. Let's just hope that when they pop up on this list, their other albums are better than this.

For me, when it comes to the UK charts and famous pop/rock singles, you can't get much better than Queen, Robbie Williams (yeah I said it, don't come for me) and ABBA. Quality AND quantity. There's a reason 'ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits' is the second best selling album in the UK (behind Queen Greatest Hits). So how would full album fare? Particularly one with no recognisable tunes or big hits on. It turns out I needn't have worried, it's very good. The two B's of the group, Benny and Björn know how to write a catchy pop song that's for sure. It's slightly darker and moodier in tone than you'd perhaps expect of ABBA at times, but still has its lighter moments too. I feel like they could have released any track from this album as a single in their heyday and it would've been successful. A joy to listen to, an easy 5 stars and I hope there's more ABBA to come.

Run a bubble bath, grab a glass of wine, relax and stick this on for an hour and you'll probably give it five stars. The definition of easy listening. It's pleasant enough, but it's just too similar and honestly a bit dull. I really don't like the slow, breathy tunes of 90's R'n'B. The better tracks are the ones that are more pop, or where Mariah actually shows off her fantastic vocals and belts it out like on 'Whenever You Call'. 'Honey' has a funky beat and 'Breakdown' is somewhat catchy. You know at the end of 90's kids films when they have a slow R'n'B version of a song from the film playing through the credits and you think 'I just wish I was listening to the original'. Imagine that, but for twelve songs. Not for me, and I wouldn't actively pick anything out to listen to again.

The second best selling album of all time, but is it actually any good? Abso-fucking-lutely it is. In my opinion it's the best album AC/DC ever did. There are no bad tracks here. Objectively speaking, Bon Scott is the better singer, he was effortlessly good. But I prefer the vocals of Brian Johnson. I think it fits the music of AC/DC better. On later albums he overdid it and sounded as if he was shrieking, but here he's brilliant. Every single member plays their part. The rhythm section is so tight, Angus is on fire with every riff. Obviously everyone knows 'Back in Black', 'You Shook Me All Night Long' and to a lesser extent 'Hells Bells' but you could have picked any of the 10 tracks as a single and it would have ended up being a fan favourite played on every tour. It's that strong a selection of songs. AC/DC at their loud, balls to the wall peak.

I'm a fan of music that's "weird" or "different" so long as it can still be seen as music and doesn't lean TOO far into weird and different. As soon as I heard the vocals I knew people would either love them or hate them. They are very strange. But I really enjoyed them a lot! It definitely fits with the music. 'Underground' is a thudding plodding opener. Really sets the tone for the rest of the album. The next track 'Shore Leave' he is whispering menacingly. '16 Shells From a 30.6' had me tapping my foot, really grooves along nicely. 'In The Neighborhood' is, dare I say it, quite a lovely song. 'Down, Down, Down' is very rock 'n' roll. The music evokes images of a video game about cavemen but they're travelling aimlessly around an abandoned fairground. That is the only way I can describe it. It's bizarre and slightly over the top at times, but never takes itself too seriously. If it was described to me, it's not something I would have thought I'd have liked, but I'm glad it came up on this list! I wouldn't go as far to say that it's genius (or maybe I just don't get it) but I do know I really enjoyed listening to this a lot!

I never really liked Scissor Sisters when they became big so I was intrigued that this album was on the list and how it would fare. There's not really that much I can say about it in all honesty. It's mostly just inoffensive pop and dance music. 'Lovers in the Backseat' is the best track that wasn't a single and I hadn't heard before. 'Filthy/Gorgeous' which is another highlight, has to be one of the most outrageously over the top songs to ever enter the UK charts. Overall, I didn't hugely enjoy it that much. A few highlights here and there but overall slightly boring.

Was somewhat looking forward to an Eagles album. That was until I found out they're not quite as revered as I thought they were. I just hope 'Hotel California' is better than this. 'Nightingale' is pretty good and 'Take the Devil' has a cool groove and riff in the middle of the track. Overall it's decent enough background music if you're into country rock, otherwise just a bit bland. Not anything too bad, just nothing that I particularly cared for. Just inoffensive, middle of the road, dad rock. Just meh.

Had no idea 'Proud Mary' was originally a CCR track. That was a good one, the opener 'Born on the Bayou' was also very good. The highlight of the album though has to be 'Keep On Chooglin''. It's a foot tapping song that rocks away nicely for all seven minutes. John Fogerty is a great vocalist, his style of singing fits perfectly with the style of swampy rock music being played. 'Graveyard Train' is just a slow bluesy jam session which I didn't like, it was overly long and out stayed it's welcome by the four minute halfway mark. A decent record overall and wouldn't mind another CCR album or two.

You get given your randomly selected album of the day, you read a little bit about it and you see those two words no one wants to see: 'Double album'. It must be hard enough to write a 45 minute long album that is consistently great and stands the test of time. But to write one that's over 80 minutes in length? I'm sure it's been done but this certainly isn't one of them. Each side is something a bit different. Side one is mainly pop music, side two turns slightly more psychedelic. Sides three and four are more rock focused. Quite a cool thing to do but overall there's nothing that grabs me and makes me want to listen to the whole thing again. For an album that's an hour and a half long you want it to be worth it, and this just isn't. Potentially a solid three if you cut the album in half and keep the best tracks. But the odd decent track here and there doesn't save this from the lowest rating I can give I'm afraid.

The Album opens with the title track which is a really great instrumental that I kind of wish would be the sound for the whole album. That's not to say the more weird British quirky and whimsical tracks are bad but the more psychedelic rock tracks are definitely better overall. It was SO close to being a 4 but it's just missing that extra something. That standout track or catchy riff or vocal line. Perhaps it's a little TOO weird and the spoken parts at the start of the tracks on the second half of the album spoil the flow. Glad I listened though and some very good songs to be found here.

Obviously everyone knows the opening track 'More Than A Feeling' but does the rest of the album live up to that? Honestly I think the opener is one of the lesser tracks here. It's full of absolutely brilliant songs. Every track on this album could go onto one of those compilation CD's. 'Dad Rock: Songs To Drive Down the Motorway To' and they would all fit nicely between some Thin Lizzy and Status Quo. The first two minutes of 'Foreplay/Long Time' was so good I went back to it first thing after finishing the album. The fact they wrote and recorded the demo years prior to the album's official release, and when it came to making the actual album they didn't change a single thing tells you they knew the material they had was brilliant. If you're into 70's rock then you'll really enjoy this a lot. Catchy tunes, radio friendly choruses, perfect production, great riffs and solos, fantastic vocals. It's just a hell of a lot of fun from start to finish.

Perfectly serviceable album and if you're into this then great, I'm pleased for you, but it's just not my kind of thing in all honesty. Some tracks have a great energy about them. I think 'Emma Get Wild' is the best offering. It has a cool groove to it. It's a bit different from the rest. I find the vocals to be very all over the place, I don't think he's very good and I'm not a fan. It does all blend together in my opinion, rather indistinguishable. Decent enough to just stick on in the background though if you fancy listening to the genre.

Joy. More grungey, alternative, whiny indie. Wikipedia lists this as 'Noise Rock' which is actually pretty accurate. Just noise, where all the tracks just sort of blend together to create one long 35 minute song. They sound a little bit like a bad high school band trying to emulate their favourite artists. I don't like the singer's voice, it seems very out of tune. Is that the point? I will admit there are a couple of cool riffs here and there ('Yeah We Know' and 'Let It Ride' for example) and the solos are very loud and over the top, I quite enjoyed them. I thought 'Don't' was actually pretty cool. Everything on this track is screaming, the guitars, the vocals, really great. This type of music just isn't my thing. I'm just glad it wasn't a double album and was finished after a little over half an hour. Decent enough background music but nothing more. A generous two stars.

This is not my thing at all but I can appreciate it. I respect the tight playing of instruments and I get why people may somewhat enjoy it. But people love this? I think people pretend to like this sort of stuff so it makes them seem cool. Whether the tracks were two minutes long, over ten minutes like they are here, or even if it was just one long track it wouldn't matter, it all sounds the same. Fela introduces each song and on 'TRACK 3' says he wrote it for Ginger Baker. He wrote these songs? I can't help but feel that you can't write stuff like this. It's as if some talented musicians all got up on stage and just played whatever they felt like. It's an overly long jazzy wank fest of the highest order with occasional decent vocals. To my ears, it's essentially a jam session. Maybe I'm more standard thinking when it comes to music. It should have a catchy melody or a memorable tune. A riff, a vocal line, something to hum or sing along to. This has none of those things, which is fine, if you're into this then great, I'm pleased for you, but I don't get it.

The three hit songs from this album ('Where The Streets Have No Name', 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' and 'With or Without You') are three of the most popular of the band's career so I can certainly see why this is seen as the quintessential U2 album. Those three hit singles also are the first three tracks, and the fourth track 'Bullet The Blue Sky' is also fantastic so it really is such a good opening to the album. I don't really want to call this rock music as it sounds far too soft in my opinion. The track 'Exit' which is quite dark sounding is as heavy as it gets. This album pairs unique rock instrumentation with Bono's soaring sometimes gritty voice to make every track something interesting and unique. It's ever so slightly country and blues influenced also with a hint of Irish roots music. It's U2, and it's cool to hate on U2 so I didn't want to like it, but I (un)fortunately enjoyed this a lot.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. It's sickly sweet, synth heavy, happy, upbeat 80's British pop music. It's quirky, a little funky and also a bit cheesy in places in a bubblegum pop kind of way. Most of the tunes are good with catchy hooks and interesting and pleasant vocals throughout, very enjoyable. The baselines are funky and it's got a hint of disco. It's just over half an hour of fun, which is just the right length of time before it starts getting a little too samey.

I saw the words 'country music' and sighed. I'm not a fan. Luckily though this is actually, more specifically, 'alt-country' which is less southern drawl and more just an alternative rock type sound with country elements. Plenty of catchy stuff to choose from here. 'Walt Whitman's Niece' is a solid opener and I liked the back and forth between Billy Bragg and the backing vocals. 'Christ For President' has a good foot tapping beat. 'I Guess I Planted' gives me strong The Beatles vibes. 'Eisler on the Go' is a lovely tune. In 'Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key' Billy Bragg sings "Ain't nobody that can sing like me" and I do think that's true. It's quite a unique voice, but I'm not a huge fan in all honesty. Not that every singer has to be able to belt, but I find it a little weak and not the most satisfying voice in the world. It's fine. It's serviceable. The absolute best song on this album is actually the only one where Billy Bragg doesn't sing. 'Birds and Ships' features Natalie Merchant on vocals and it's a really beautiful song and it's a damn shame it's only two minutes long. I don't know who Natalie Merchant is, but I'm now a fan. She has a really lovely voice. When I first listened, I gave it two stars. But I actually had time to give it a second listen and decided a three. Would maybe have been a four if I liked Bragg's voice.

I can't believe how different each track is on this album! It's a fantastic sound, with catchy songs and a consistent musical theme. It's a very eclectic group of songs, spanning so many different genres and transitioning between them so effortlessly. 'Locked Inside' is a funky sounding track. 'Sir Greendown' is more relaxed and psychedelic whereas 'Cold War' starts off and you're wondering where it's going to go, and it ends up being a dance track. 'Tightrope' goes back to funky. These four songs all come in succession! 'Come Alive' is my favourite here. I can only describe it as a kind of rock and roll burlesque sound which really shows off vocal Janelle's vocals. She hits and holds a high note at the end of this track for a good twenty seconds before ending it with a great rock sounding "Ow!" 'Wondaland' is a sweet and sparkly pop song with a catchy chorus and the final one 'BaBopByeYa' sounds almost like a modern James Bond track. This album keeps you guessing what's coming next with everything sounding so different genre wise, yet sounding so similar and fitting together so well.

It's another punk album, but this one is on the better side of punk. More pop orientated, more fun, some cool guitar licks here and there. But unfortunately, on the flip side of this, it's still punk. By the half hour mark, you've heard it all. Not too much variation. But it's only a 35 minute album so thankfully it doesn't outstay its welcome too much. 'More Songs About Chocolate and Girls', 'Whizz Kids' and 'Boys Will Be Boys' are all highlights, as are Feargal Sharkey's vocals. They are a lot more enjoayble than most punk singers. A fairly generous 3 stars seems fair.

I only know the most popular tracks from the big hitters of grime so I wouldn't say I'm an expert by any means. I don't know enough to comment intelligently, but I thought that this was decent enough. I do feel like the lyrics and flow has to do a lot of the heavy lifting with grime. The beat can only do so much considering it just repeats throughout the song. Having said that, I do think that British rappers just sound cooler. I prefer the rhythm of the words and - being British myself - the dialect. I also think grime is best when its loud, aggressive and in your face. 'Man', 'Shutdown' and 'That's Not Me' all come in quick succession and are easily the best tracks on the album because of the reasons I stated. I would have preferred if the album was made up of tracks similar to these. Overall though, I'm just not that into grime as a whole. After 45 minutes I was getting a little bored. There isn't much variety in it in terms of musicality and no melodies or catchiness to speak of.

I'm a bit ambivalent when it comes to Linkin Park. Some good stuff, some not so good stuff. This album has three of their most popular singles. 'Crawling' and 'One Step Closer' being two of them and they are easily the best tracks. Could be partly down to nostalgia. They had a lot of airplay in the early 2000's on Kerrang which I watched a lot. The other single 'In The End' contains what I think is the biggest problem about the band. The rapping. I know it's Nu Metal and it's part of the music, but Mike Shinoda is definitely a weak point in my opinion and makes songs worse. He's so basic in his rapping. Chester Bennington on the other hand is a very good vocalist. Less Mike, more Chester please. 'With You', 'Runaway' and 'Pushing Me Away' are the standouts that aren't singles. 'Be Myself' is a bit of an assault on the ears. The guitar just screeches and Chester must absolutely blow his vocal chords to bits with the screams he does. It's pretty good but gets a bit tired towards the end. I always preferred Limp Bizkit anyway.

I didn't like the actual music much on this one. It just didn't really reach out and grab me like I thought it would. It's fairly average rock of the time and I was hoping for something ever so slightly heavier. Janis Joplin has the voice of an angel, if that angel smoked 50 a day. It's rough but it's powerful and very enjoyable. 'Mercedes Benz' is the best track as it shows off her voice with no instruments to drown it out. Shame really, was hoping for more and could have been better in my opinion.

I am sure this is a good record for the genre. But I just can’t get on board. Sure, it's peak 90's R'n'B but is that really saying much? For what it is, it's good. It's just that what it is isn't my thing. This is a genre I just don’t like. There are many genres where I can find something that's interesting. But unfortunately 90's R'n'B/soul I just find so dull. D'Angelo may be a very good singer, but he is also a boring one. No excitement, the same energy the whole way through. The songs are okay but they’re all of very similar tone and they also go on for a minute or two longer than necessary. This album could have been cut in half easily.

I actually groaned out loud when I got this as my album of the day. I had it in my head that Bon Jovi is crap. I went into it thinking I was going to hate it and then the strangest thing happened. I started to like it. A lot. This album is basically just hair metal/arena rock. Big guitars and drums with really catchy riffs, hooks and solos. Singalong choruses, crisp production. Dad rock but with more hairspray. There are a couple of criticisms. Firstly, I would have rather this album lean slightly more towards the hard rock and heavy metal side of things instead of pop, but that's purely just personal preference. Secondly, I still think 'Livin' on a Prayer' is very overplayed, butchered to death on karaoke and probably my least favourite track on here. Thirdly and most importantly. Jon Bon Jovi's voice. It's difficult to describe, but I'll try. It's like he's putting on a "cool" voice, like his upper lip is curled up whilst singing. There's a certain whine to it. It isn't quite rough, raspy and harsh, and it isn't quite as clean as a whistle, it's this really awkward middle ground and despite how objectively good at singing he may be, I'm not a fan. Plus his diction when singing those high notes is pretty bad. Despite this though, it's not quite enough for me to take away a star from the rating. This is a really fun album, just don't take it too seriously. I enjoyed this a hell of a lot, and I hate myself for saying that.

It's a no from me. I feel like I'm missing something, clearly I'm just not getting it. There's a lack of anything interesting. The musicianship is obviously good, but that's all I can say that I enjoyed. 45 minutes of nothing. Saying an awful lot but not really saying anything at all. It just didn't grab me, it was very dull and too repetitive. I don't mind at all when tracks are long, but at least make them interesting or go somewhere. Any song that length needs to feel epic. The last song was 18 minutes long. Fine, not a problem. The first half is Isaac Hayes just talking. Literally just talking over an occasional cymbal. It's not cool. It doesn't make you cool to like this. In fact, I think it's quite pretentious. I will honestly never listen to this album again and I'm absolutely fine with that.

How can you not like The Pogues? They're a perfect blend of Irish folk music, slightly tinged with punk. Makes you want to get up and dance. It's very fun, catchy, feel good music. 'Wild Cats of Kilkenny' almost strays into heavy metal. It's a really good instrumental track that builds nicely and sounds quite dark, despite the jiggy Irish melodies and instruments. There are also some more gentle arrangements as well which still manage to keep the Irish sound. 'Dirty Old Town' is one of their most popular and understandably so, it's a quality track and shows off Shane MacGowan's vocals very well. It's a perfect song for the middle of the album to slow things down a bit after the bouncy and very catchy 'Sally MacLennane'. You can't accuse the Pogues of being boring and they're so much more than their Christmas song. Go into this knowing what you're going to get and I promise you'll have fun and enjoy it.

I can completely understand why people may describe this as boring, and maybe once upon a time I'd have done the same. When I was 16 and was discovering the world of heavy metal, I would have probably dismissed this as utter shit. I wanted more from my music. I wanted it to be exciting, full of huge guitar riffs and soaring vocals. I most likely would have said about this album something along the lines of: "Nothing happens. It's dull. Monotonous". But now I'm older I have to say I like this sound. It's lo-fi, but also adds something a bit more. It transports you to another world. It sounds slightly ethereal. a delicate dream like sound in places, which I enjoyed. I like both the male and female vocalists. they definitely help keep the sound that the music is pushing. At the risk of sounding cringe as I'm now 30 years old. It's vibes. It's pure vibes. Before I knew it, it was over. A short album at just under 40 minutes long, but it seemed to go by quick as a flash and didn't drag at all. A delight to listen to.

My first Elvis Costello album and I happen to know he has a few on this list. I just hope his other efforts are better than his debut. It came out in 1977 so it's nothing particularly groundbreaking for the time. This album is just incredibly okay. Not unpleasant to the ears. Consistent, yes, but only consistently tolerable. He has a very distinct voice and the music is playful enough to get along with. I most likely won't revisit this one or go out of my way to stick it on, but I wouldn't turn it off if it came on. Nothing special whatsoever.

It's difficult to label Guns N' Roses. They're a little too heavy for hard rock, but they're not quite full on heavy metal. It's glam like Mötley Crüe but there's an edge to it. It's got a grittier sound. Everyone knows the three big singles. I think I've been worn out on 'Welcome To The Jungle' by playing it a lot on Guitar Hero 3 and 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is just overplayed in general. Having said that though, I absolutely can't deny they're both very good tracks. 'Paradise City' is the other single and for me is the best song here. The mini epic of the album. Fantastic riff that makes you want to headbang, and when it kicks into overdrive, it's fast and furious with a great solo. 'My Michelle' is probably my favourite from the rest. Really catchy chorus and a gritty riff. Now to what I don't like. I'm afraid Axl Rose is the weak link here. His voice isn't for me at all. He sounds like he's squawking a lot of the time or like he's holding his nose shut. He's so nasally and whiny. Not all the time I have to say, but he's certainly more bad than good. Slash is the star. He plays very well throughout and really is a great guitarist. I can't knock a star off purely for Axl's vocals though, because the actual music is that good. A fantastic debut and from what I understand, they never quite reached these heights again.

This is quite an interesting mixture of genres. It's something that I think could and maybe should work better than it does here, but somehow Cornershop manages to make it quite boring for a lot of the time. The three song run of 'Coming Up', 'Good Ships' and' Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again' are the best tracks. 'Coming Up' is an instrumental which combines Indian music with a cool slow funky beat. It goes straight into 'Good Ships' which is decent enough and the third is my favourite track on the album. It is definitely helped by the guest artist Paula Frazer who sounded really great, but it made me wish the whole album had her on vocals. It's quite a bittersweet sounding song and she adds a lot more emotion in six minutes than the actual singer does for the whole album. Listen to those and the original of 'Brimful of Asha' and the rest you can skip. Could maybe have been three stars if it was cut down by 15 minutes and wasn't as inconsistent.

Over ambitious? A little. Pretentious? Arguably yes. Good album? It's decent. It's prog rock at its best or maybe at its worst. It depends if you like prog or not I suppose. A noodling wankfest which goes off in the random of directions quick as a flash, which is fine if that's your thing. I will admit that it's an interesting album to sit through. It's intriguing and the guitar playing is impressive, and actually, all things considered, is quite enjoyable at times. I guess it would be more enjoyable if you were familiar with the classical piece it was adapted from. It's an album that will pop up randomly in a year or two and I'll remember how weird it was but also how surprisingly decent it was and will happily listen to the whole thing - although I'm glad it's only half an hour long.

This starts off with a -1 star rating purely because of the goofy ass album cover. I joke of course but wow it's awful. Anyway, this is half an hour of songs about the wild west and gunslingers. It evokes imagery of being in a saloon with duelling pistols at dawn going on outside. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but Marty Robbins' voice is like smooth liquid gold and the tracks are just catchy and fun. 'El Paso' swings along nicely. The vocal line actually sounds like a gallop. 'Big Iron' is the most famous apparently and I can see why. This and 'The Masters Call' are the best offerings. They sound very similar, you could probably sing one over the other and it would fit. They both have this rhyming couplet thing going on where the first line ends with a higher tone and the second line ends with a lower tone. It gets stuck in your head. Overall it does start to get a bit samey towards the end, but I can't believe I enjoyed this as much as I did. I'm glad it's on this list and I was able to discover it!

If I really think about it, 'Come On Eileen' is a crap song. Over the years I think I've been conditioned to sing along to it purely out of familiarity and mob mentality. It's not on this album, but whilst giving this a listen, it suddenly hit me that I actually don't like that song. I think it's the god awful vocal style that shits all over a clearly talented band. The vocals work on a couple of tracks, but mostly they don't. He's actually horrendously annoying. 'I Couldn't Help Myself If I Tried' is especially difficult to get through because of the vocals. Just incoherent wailing and warbling all over the place and it ruins the song. Whereas in 'Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply' it actually is so over the top that it actually is an enjoyable track that matches the fun music. It seems to me that Dexys Midnight Runners are a bit of a ska band in disguise. 'Geno' starts off sounding like it'll be something fast and in the vein of Madness or The Specials. But before it even has a chance to get going, it then slows itself down into a pretty average track. It's annoying hearing what this band could be but they fall short, and it's mainly the vocals that let it down.

I try not to read other reviews before I listen to an album as I don't want to go in with any preconceived ideas. I want to form my own opinions. For some reason I read some before listening to this one. I have to say, the singing isn't THAT bad. Objectively it's not great, I'll admit that, but I feel like it fits the music quite well. Speaking of the music, it's quite pleasant listening. Dream-like, sweet, maybe slightly melancholic. Nothing particularly stand out or groundbreaking, but overall just quite a nice sounding album. Only had time for one listen today. Could possibly have been four stars if I had time for another, but my first impression gut instinct tells me it's a three.

Punk, but with more of a rock and roll edge to it. It's a really great sounding album. Iggy kills it, like he's trying to sing from the bottom of his gut. The guitar sound is definitely a highlight here. I would describe it as dirty, scuzzy, filthy. The whole thing is just loud and the production is really raw. A bit of a wall of noise, but some great stuff to be heard here with good guitar work and solos. The vocals I really enjoyed a lot too.

This album started off very well. The first few tracks came and went and I was thinking to myself that this will be an easy four stars at least. Pretty sounding, American soft rock and I was enjoying it. Then the middle of the album was much of the exact same and my excitement started to wane slightly. Come the end of the album I was slightly disappointed. I feel like after listening to this, you would be better listening to a few songs as and when you feel like it. Any of them will do, they're pretty similar. The sum of its parts are better than the album as a whole. Could maybe have shaved off 10 minutes to make it a stronger collection of tracks. If any of the songs here came up on shuffle, I wouldn't skip them. However, listening to the whole thing, it got very samey towards the end and loses a star because of it.

The beats on this album are very jazzy and funk influenced which I absolutely didn't expect at all. It was quite a nice surprise. The tracks have a trippy atmosphere and there is something about the rapping that gets me. They have a smooth delivery. They sound very nasal which is actually fine and not annoying like it has the potential to be. B-Real in particular has a very satisfying flow and sound which I liked. They don't sound overly angry (on most tracks) and it fits perfectly with the beat. I'm not massively into rap, so overall, after three quarters of an hour, it did start to wear slightly thin, but I did enjoy it. 'Pigs' is easily the best track here closely followed by 'Real Estate'.

It's kind of reggae but kind of not. The actual music is quite enjoyable I would say. Don't know what's going on with the vocals though. Apparently Finley Quaye is Scottish so it sounds like a slightly bad imitation of a Jamaican accent. Pretty decent overall. It's a perfectly pleasant album, but ultimately quite unremarkable.

This album is fucking great! Half an hour of really fun rock. There are no duds here, it's all killer, no filler. 'Rockin' Around (With You)' is a catchy upbeat opener. Before slowing things down a bit with 'Breakdown' with an equally catchy chorus. 'Hometown Blues' turns things a bit more country. It's a real toe tapper. A great opening three. 'The Wild One, Forver' is an almost ballad. 'Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)' shows off Tom Petty's harsher vocals. The whole album just oozes classic rock. The reason I started this list was to be able to have more music to listen to and this album is definitely going to be listened to a lot from me.

Brian Wilson may be a genius, but whatever this is, I don't get it. The whole album just blends into one. I could put any track on from this album at random and it wouldn't matter. The whole thing is 'Good Vibrations' (but slightly less good) 17 times. It sounds like when a character in a cartoon or dumb film daydreams, then the weird effect plays on screen. Strange sound effects, warped, dream like or on acid sounding music. That's this whole album. The type of music a 70+ year old would put on and then says that music in their day was so much better. I feel like the whole album suffers from the bad stuff from prog rock and psychedelic music. The weird sounding, dream like, LSD inspired noises. Weird, quirky eccentricity in place of where the actual music should be. One star does seem very harsh considering who it is, but I genuinely don't think I'd go back to any of this unless I had a real hankering to listen to cartoon daydream music.

People may describe this as pretentious, hipster trash, and I can understand why, and maybe it's true. It's definitely a bit wanky and a younger me would have probably hated it. But I think sometimes the question is very very simple. "Did I enjoy listening to this album?" The answer is yes! I really like the abstract songwriting and peculiar delivery. I like the colourful sound. I like the way the layered voices are used and the vocals themselves are very fun and pleasant to listen to. I like that the music is crisp and precise. The music can feel a bit meandering at times, with random harmonies and notes for the sake of it, but I actually like the randomness, like they might go off in another direction at any moment. Have I become a hipster now? Maybe, but I don't care, I loved this.

This is a blues rock album, no way around it. The band is hitting firing on all cylinders and the vocals are great. The playing is really tight and overall I feel like it takes the best parts of blues and the best parts of psychedelic rock and combines them into a great package. I must admit, I find that is starts a little weak, but as the album goes on it gets better and better. The first two tracks aren't my favourite, but the third track 'Been Down So Long' picks things up and chugs along nicely. 'L.A. Woman' which is bluesy rock and roll is tied for the best track along with 'Riders on the Storm' which is a journey. 'L'America' and 'Hyacinth House' are both great but a little weirder than the rest. Overall a fun album, and I enjoyed listening to it quite a lot.

I quite like the weird and wonderful realms of pop but it has to be the right balance. This is slightly weird and different but not ridiculously so. It's a bit of an awkward middle ground. I found it a little boring and halfway through listening I think I worked out why. It's very minimal. There's not a lot going on at all in the background and there's only so far the lack of interesting music can take you. That's not to say it's all bad. The opener is mysterious and 'Lights On' is creepy with a sense of unease. 'Pendulum' is a lovely song, the vocal lines are catchy with some interesting music. 'Closer' is just the right level of weird with a heavenly, angelic sound and the last song 'Kicks' is quite trippy with the best vocals on the album. However, most of these tracks are like the bridges of dance songs. Breathy, glitchy, nice enough vocals, but nothing comes, there's no payoff, it just lingers there for the entire track. It never seems to quite get out of first gear and I wanted slightly more out of pretty much every song. I don't mind if it's lo-fi but it still needs to be interesting, and unfortunately, for quite a lot of this album, it isn't.

I like to try and write a detailed review for every album, but sometimes I struggle to find ways to describe it. This is a psychedelic rock album and it's decent enough, and that's pretty much all I can say about it really. Nothing really stood out and grabbed me. There's probably a reason why this is an album I've never heard of from a band I've never heard of. I imagine it was a lot more influential and cool when it was released in 1966, but in 2024 it's nothing special.

When I heard the opening notes I thought "oh joy, more indie rock" and wasn't much looking forward to hearing the rest. The first track 'I Wanna Destroy You' is their most popular (according to Spotify) and I didn't like it much. I thought the chorus was weak. It didn't bode well. But after a lacklustre opener, it actually went from strength to strength. 'Positive Vibrations' picked things up a bit. 'I Got The Hots' was a slow, bluesy, country sounding song that chugs away nicely with a catchy chorus. 'Insanely Jealous of You' is a slightly frantic track, with an uneasy sound. 'You'll Have To Go Sideways' is a great instrumental. 'Old Pervert' almost ventures into heavy metal territory and the closer and title track is the closest thing to a ballad this album gets. I read that R.E.M. was inspired by the band, and I can certainly hear shades of them in certain tracks here and there. The vocals are pretty good and not monotonous like I thought they would be. The guitar work shines here, there's all sorts of little riffs and licks on every track. I don't really understand how this was "influential on the development of psychedelic rock" according to Wikipedia. I guess in 1980 it may well have been. What I thought was going to be a slog to get through turned out to be a good little album.

This album turns everything up to 11. It's like a perfect middle ground between glam and heavy metal. It sounds really great. It's difficult to explain why, but this just sounds really fucking cool. Compare this to other similar bands around at the time and Van Halen just sound so much cooler. It's a much grittier sound, the guitar playing is fantastic, and the vocals are great. It sounds like everything is being played with such a swagger and why wouldn't it be, with material this good. Everyone is at the peak of their powers. If you're into this kind of music then I don't see any reason why this wouldn't be considered a classic. Very glad this was on the list and I got to listen to it for the first time.

I really enjoyed this a lot. Every track is something different than the last. Jack and Meg just know how to write a great song. Some blues, some folk, some loud alternative garage rock bangers. Jack's vocals, though they may be a bit nasally, are awesome. The way he snarla the chorus on 'I Think I Smell A Rat', he just sounds cool as fuck, as does his harsh sounding, back to basics, stripped down guitar. 'Aluminium' is a perfect example, it's a loud and heavy hitting instrumental. I know people slate Meg's drumming. It's fine. It's simple yet effective and works in the context of the music. 'Union Forever' was my favourite. Really heavy in places, trippy sounding that turns almost into a creepy nursery rhyme in the middle. 40 minutes of music would be a good length if there's 8-10 tracks, but there's actually 16 here which works out to two and a half minutes per song on average. They clearly wanted to pack as many ideas in here as possible. Great album and I hope there is more.

I can't deny that the title track, though overplayed, is a very good song and probably the highlight of the album along with 'Try and Love Again'. 'Life In The Fast Lane' is a catchy song with a really cool riff. A proper toe tapping driving song. 'Pretty Maids All In A Row' is quite a nice ballad. It's not all good though. 'Wasted Time' dragged a bit and the reprise directly after it seemed unnecessary. The next track 'Victim of Love' is thumping with its verses, but the chorus brings it down to be quite forgettable. Overall I would say that it's better than the previous Eagles album I reviewed. It's just better songwriting. But I'm still not an Eagles fan by any means.

Sad music can be quite beautiful, but this isn't quite there. There's something about it that's missing but I can't quite put my finger on what. I thought 'Paper Tiger' and 'Little One' were the best tracks for their use of strings and they build up nicely to an epic ending. I find Beck's vocals to be quite pleasant to listen to. Not bad by any means but it's a bit long for an album where every song sounds very similar to each other. Some good moments, but a little boring in places.

I don't know what the special sauce is, but it's pretty bland. 'Walk To Slide' and 'Shooting Hoops' I could probably add to a playlist, but anything more than that and I would just be so bored. It sounds like it's trying so hard to be cool, and maybe it is to the right person. Maybe it was cooler in the 90's. I have nothing against mixing genres of music together to create something unique, but unfortunately it's a mix of blues, jazz and rap. All of which I'm not particularly fond of so this was never going to be a good album for me.

Considering Lemmy was more into speed than psychedelic drugs, I'm not surprised he left this band to form Motörhead. The tracks are good for about 3 or 4 minutes, but when they're going on for 8, 10, 12 minutes with very little variation, we have a problem. They're much too samey to keep my interest. Its a shame really because the riffs here are absolutely fucking great. If you told me it was Black Sabbath, I'd believe you, it sounds very much like them. They're heavy and catchy. But then you have space noises, overly long songs and awful spoken monologues to contend with. The guitar solos are great and the rhythm section drives the tracks, really thumping away making you want to headbang. It could have been a fantastic 40 minute album, there's some solid stuff here, but unfortunately this is just too much space wankery.

What a truly unsettling album cover. The opening and title track matches it perfectly. It starts off with rain and church bells with ritualistic drumming when suddenly a thundering guitar plays a simple yet evil riff evoking scary images of a "figure in black which points at me" which is perfectly sung by Ozzy before letting out a distressing scream. My dad used to play this when I was very young and I didn't get it, it bored the life out of me. How wrong I was. Despite this being regarded as the first heavy metal album (which I do agree with), it's very much deeply rooted in blues and finding its feet. Whilst the guitar sound and riffs are very heavy in places and the drums bludgeon away, you can still hear the bluesy sound and they wouldn't fully lean into the heaviness just yet. Bill Ward is on the drums who is so close to taking the MVP spot if it wasn't for the guitar work by Tony Iommi. The album is packed with memorable riffs and solos. Ozzy, despite not being the best vocalist of all time, sounds really great here too. Before the rock lifestyle took over he was a very good metal singer and his voice is iconic. His vocal melodies are very catchy and he fits the music perfectly. I think the album quality dips slightly on side two, but the first half is as good as metal gets. 'N.I.B.' has the best riff on the album. It's so distorted and sludgy. A truly landmark album in music giving birth to a whole genre and when Sabbath are good, they are up there with the greatest of all time.

Pretty decent. Nothing special or anything to write home about. Doesn't do anything new, or groundbreaking. It's just an album that you can stick on, have fun with and go about your day, nothing more, nothing less. It's just another 80's glam rock band, and I feel like other similar artists did it better.

Only half of the album was on Spotify. Not a problem, I'll listen to what's available and if I like it, I'll seek out the rest on YouTube. I didn't have to seek out the rest on YouTube. As far as background lobby music goes, it's pleasant enough. Easy listening, chilled out Ibiza vibes. I've probably heard this many times in dentist waiting rooms over the years and don't actually realise. I didn't bother trying to find the other half of the album as it was all very similar to begin with and didn't think I would be missing out on anything special.

Michael Stipe has an iconic voice. I really like it, though sometimes I find he becomes a bit of an American Morrissey, just warbling and rambling out of time on certain tracks. 'Ignoreland' and 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' is where it's most prominent, though both tracks are among the best on the album. 'Everybody Hurts' is still amazing. A bittersweet sound which is prominent on most of the album but nowhere moreso than on this track. I like the more happy sounding songs too, a fun jangly pop sound. I enjoyed this a lot, but there was something missing. Just that extra piece of the puzzle that would have made it incredible, but I'm not sure what that is.

A lot of the tracks are just Johnny with his guitar and vocals. It can be quite haunting, stripped back and chilling at times. There are some very good highlights to choose from here. The cover of 'Hurt' is the most famous and it's good. It's bloody good. I still prefer the original, but this is not far behind at all. The fact that this was his final album before he died adds to the weight of the track. It's like he knew that this was it. 'Personal Jesus' is also a great highlight. The cover of The Beatles' 'In My Life' is my favourite track. By using the same lyrics, the context of it being Johnny's last album and his husky voice, it turns the best love song of all time into an almost retrospective celebration of his life. It's quite sombre but hauntingly beautiful. I must admit it does get a bit samey though. Just under an hour of this is enough for anyone in my opinion.

Finally my first Beatles album. I've never listened to one in full before, I've only ever listened to their biggest hits, so I have nothing really to compare it to. I know that they were more experimental and certainly less pop oriented as they went on. This is good though. It's all just fun, jangly, bubblegum pop, but the absolute best of the genre. Lennon and McCartney are just the best aren't they? Great at writing songs, great vocalists, the harmonies are really good. I know the title track, 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'Any Time At All' but there are some hidden gems on here too. 'And I Love Her', 'Tell Me Why' are both really good, but my favourite song on the album goes to 'If I Fell'. As I said before the harmonies are great, it's a catchy song. I think any of those three could have been released as a single back in the day and would be just as famous as any other Beatles single and would be on greatest hits albums. It's not quite perfect, or anything massively groundbreaking but it's very good.

How the hell has Pharrell managed to get his finger into so many pies over the years? It's a fun album of jazzy rap-rock, but I do feel that after an hour it starts to get a little tiresome. I don't think the tracks are strong enough to carry it for that long. If you like Pharrell a lot you'll probably enjoy this a lot. I thought it was alright.

I didn't know what to expect with this album. I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, that's for sure. It's so 80's. Ridiculously 80's. Possibly the most 80's thing I've ever heard. The sound, the production, the instruments. Not a bad thing necessarily. I like it all. The songs themselves are strong for the most part other than a really terrible cover of Beatles classic 'Help' which was truly crap. It was turned into a slow, desperate sounding ballad and I actively disliked it. Everything else though is really great. Fun, upbeat tracks. The pop and rock genres are perfectly moulded together with Tina's fantastic voice shining through. I really enjoyed the Bowie cover of '1984' and obviously everyone knows 'What's Love Got To Do With It'. I've seen that people dislike the solo on 'Steel Claw' and I couldn't disagree more. A bit screechy to start with but it's great and fits the song well. Overall a really fun album from Tina.

It's another rap album for me today. I can't say I was looking forward to it, but I was at the very least intrigued to hear what it sounded like after briefly reading up on it. Apparently there's 9 different rappers featured. Some I like, some I don't. I'm not sure who's who but one sounded like he was struggling to get words out because he's cheeks were too puffy or he'd been sat in a dentist's chair having work done. One of them who raps first on the opener 'Bring Da Ruckus' I liked a lot though. He rapped with anger and venom in his words and I kind of wish the whole album featured him more. Whoever did the first verse on 'Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'' was also very enjoyable. I'd enjoy the tracks separately I think. Like if I chose a few to listen to and then moved on to something else. But as it is, it's nearly an hour and it's too much of the same for me. Also please stop with the overly long skits.

This is everything that hardcore punk does so well. It's got attitude, edge, energy, it sounds angry and it's shorter than 30 minutes. The fact that it's only 22 minutes long definitely works in its favour. It gets in, shouts in your face and gets out again before you have any idea what happened. It's a lot catchier than other punk albums I've heard which surprised me. I'm still not really a punk guy, but I have to say I can see why this is peak hardcore. It's the best punk album I've heard so far and I can't see it being topped any time soon. A 3.5 which I can't do. Probably a 4 on a good day where I need to listen to something fast, loud and rude, but on any other day it's a 3 for me.

Who doesn't like a bit of ska? It's just great. You can put it on and people just love it, especially if they're of a certain age. The fun jangly bits of reggae and the upbeat energy of punk. The faster tracks get everyone up and moving and the slower tracks you could just put on in the background and people would still love it. There are some really good recognisable songs on this album, but even some of the deeper cuts are really fun as well. I can't imagine how nuts people must have gone for this in 1979. The energy and musicality is fantastic, the vocals I love. The MVP here though is the bass. Bass can sometimes just be there. It's subtle but it gives tracks that extra boost, but on this album it's front and centre, it's all over the place in the best way and the horns make everything sound better.

What is it with hip hop albums being around an hour? You haven't got that much material to record every single time, surely? I thought I wouldn't be able to name many particular tracks that stood out because, as is the case with this kind of music, to my ears it kind of blends into one, but I was surprised when I starting picking out certain tracks I enjoyed. 'I Am Somebody' was probably my favourite and has the best beat. 'Thin Line' featuring Nelly Furtado was up there as well. 'High Fidelity' had a cool beat with what I believe is a flute. It works really well. I will say that I enjoyed this more than I thought and more than other hip hop albums I've had so far. It's a lot more of a laid back vibe than gangsta rap, the beats are more enjoyable and catchier. It's funkier and just has an overall cooler sound. The actual rappers are very good. There's one with a really deep voice who was my favourite, I think it was Chali 2na. They are very tight as well. They stay well within the beat of the track, rarely straying outside of it if that makes sense. Thankfully there's very few skits and it's a cool album cover too. I'm feeling really generous and on the basis that I actually think I'd enjoy this even more if I followed along with the lyrics and properly absorbed them, I'm unbelievably going to give this a 4. Well done Jurassic 5, you're now currently my favourite hip hop artist!

I really enjoyed this a lot. I see a lot of reviews saying boring, and maybe a younger me would have agreed. I would have said it's background music at best, but after absorbing it, it's so much better than that. Soft indie rock. I should hate it, but I actually found it quite an interesting listen. I really like the singer. There are guitar solos scattered throughout and they are very cool such as on 'I'm The Man Who Loves You'. 'Kamera' is a lovely little tune. 'Heavy Metal Drummer' is so damn catchy. There's a lot of atmospheric stuff here as well and a lot of the songs build very nicely. They don't quite explode into anything but that's fine because the build itself is very good. Enjoyed listening to this, and actually found time to give it a second listen and I'm glad I did as I was able to pay more attention to it. An easy 4 for me.

I really tried to like this one, honestly. All of these tracks are fine. Some of them I'd even say are quite good. But this album felt like a bit of a slog to get through and I have no idea why. It sounds like an album full of songs that didn't quite make the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack. They sound like the opening band you have to sit through before you get to the band you paid to see. Decent enough. Would probably stick on a track or two if I was in the mood for it, but otherwise not for me.

I was excited for Brian Eno to appear and wondered how a whole album would sound. Listening to it is like a soothing, surreal dreamscape, with some occasional darker moments. It's ethereal and delicate in places. Some tracks are really beautiful, with 'Becalmed' being the best of the songs leaning towards more ambient sounds than a traditional song structure. That's not to say there aren't any pop songs here. 'Golden Hour' is my favourite out of those. It has a slightly odd time signature and an eerie, almost unsettling sound. It may be "just weird noises" to some people, but whether that's true I guess is down to whether you enjoy this or not. I for one really loved it. I thought it was a beautiful listen and am more than happy to give it top marks and I hope there is more Brian Eno on the list.

I got Automatic For The People a couple of weeks ago so I guess it's only right to compare the two. For me, I think 'Automatic...' had the higher highs, and although 'Document' doesn't quite reach those highs, it is overall a bit more of a consistent record. It doesn't dip in quality slightly in the middle, if anything it gets better with the two well known tracks 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' and in my opinion, the best track on the album 'The One I Love' which has a great riff. These two have the catchiest choruses and I have to shout out whoever does the backing vocals, they're top notch every single time they appear throughout the record. A great listen, very enjoyable, glad it appeared. Still love Michael Stipe's vocals. Prefer it to the other R.E.M. album on this list which I gave a 4, so this one is going to be top marks.

I imagine this is quite a polarizing album. If you like it, it's great. If you dislike it, it's crap. I do think it a little from column A and a little from column B. The production is top notch, I can't complain at that. However, I feel as though there is a lack of any significant melody or catchy hook. It feels as though the band prioritised the sound of the album as opposed to the content of the album. There's some decent stuff to be found here, and I did quite enjoy it, but at 70 minutes long, you have to make sure that you're writing good and engaging stuff to keep people listening. They did very well to get the album sounding good, but maybe cutting the run time in half would have made it a better experience.

After hearing 'Personal Jesus' and 'Enjoy The Silence' so many times in my life, it was great to hear the whole album that those songs came from. The former having a fantastic riff throughout the track which drives it and the latter being the catchiest on the album and almost impossible not to sing along to. The whole thing has a very dark sound. Maybe evil is too strong a word but you'll know what I mean if you've heard it. Even 'Waiting For The Night' which has more of a hopeful vibe, it has an underlying creepy sinister sound of impending doom which I love. I also love Dave Gahan's vocals a lot. Recognisable and commanding. My favourite one that I hadn't heard is probably 'Blue Dress' which is a really lovely track. All of these are the perfect length. Depeche Mode have a riff or hook and they repeat it, that's what they do, but they never outstay their welcome. They get in, grab you, and give you just the right amount. Overall a very good album which I'm very glad was on the list and I can see why this is seen as a classic.

Coffee shop guitar and soft vocals. That's essentially what this album is, and I really enjoyed it. The guitar work throughout the 45 minutes is impressive and the vocals, though they never reach anything spectacular, fit this kind of music perfectly. I found his voice slightly too warbly at times. It was as if he trying to sing as softly as he possible could manage, and the noises that ended up coming out were trembling whispers. I was worried after the first few tracks sounding similar that I would find myself bored by the end, but I found myself liking it more and more. The one-two punch of the instrumental 'Tit Smoking In The Temple Of Artesan Mimicry' (what a strange title) and the title track in the middle of the album were the highlights. This record evokes images of cold Autumn in front of a fire. I think the second half is much better than the first. The tracks become more catchy as it goes on. I would say that this is a bit of a hidden gem, and exactly the reason I started this list. To find music I wouldn't normally listen to, or seek out.

What a bad-ass album. Johnny Cash performs in a prison singing about doing cocaine and shooting people in front of prisoners. Johnny's performance is flawed. There are little slips and laughs here and there but it doesn't actually take anything away, if anything it adds a charm to it. It's all about the atmosphere, the reactions from the crowd, Johnny's jokes between songs, the prison warden's announcements. Johnny has the crowd in the palm of his hands. At the time of recording, he sounds like he's the coolest guy on the planet. A track that stood out to me was '25 Minutes To Go' which sounded just like a countdown to death. At the end of every line, the clock ticks down and Johnny has less and less time left. It's brilliant. I would need to listen to this a few more times to be able to fully differentiate between every track on the album though. As is that case with this genre of music, it can be a little samey, but overall I really enjoyed this a lot.

There's a lot of wankery and noodling on the album. To be expected I guess from a bluesy Eric Clapton record (only found out Clapton was in this band when I got this as my album of the day). But he can't half write a riff or two, and he's a pretty shit hot guitarist as well. That's easily the best part of this whole 75 minutes. It does go on a bit too long for my liking. The material as a whole isn't quite strong enough to carry it for over an hour but there is some great stuff here. I would happily select any of these tracks at random to listen to on its own, but would struggle to listen to the whole album at once.

This was a weird one. I don't want to compare it, but I had a Todd Rundgren album previously and gave that a single star because I found it boring and overly long. This album cuts down then length by 35 minutes so that's a good start. This album also is a lot more interesting with more ideas, so that's another tick. It's still not hugely interesting though. The odd decent bit pops up here and there. Apparently Todd was experimenting with psychedelic drugs at the time and moved away from tradiontal pop song structures and you can absolutely hear that. Unfortunately, for me, it sounds a little bit like he took his narcotic of choice, wrote and recorded a track whilst still high, it ended up on the album without listening to it with sober ears. The album is a little all over the place and not in a good way. It just didn't quite grab me like I hoped it would.

"We are Motörhead and we play rock 'n' roll." What a ride. 40 minutes flies by so quickly. Loads of people say this about loads of different bands and most of the time it isn't true, but the tracks on this live album genuinely sound better than the studio versions. Faster. Louder. Heavier. 'Overkill' sounds particularly fantastic. For me it's one of the greatest rock songs of all time just made even better by the way they play it. It makes you want to get up and move, as Lemmy perfectly sings: "On your feet you feel the beat, it goes straight to your spine / Shake your head, you must be dead if it don't make you fly. Know your body's made to move you feel it in your guts / Rock and roll ain't worth the name if it don't make you strut." If you want 40 minutes of your head being blown clean off by Lemmy's bass and iconic voice and gut busting drums then this is the album for you. I thought it would be an easy 5, but the song selection I don't particularly think is their strongest material. So purely for that, I'll subtract a star. Make no mistake though, this is a band at the peak of their powers and playing like their lives depended on it.

Either there's something I'm not getting or I just don't like this. It didn't click with me whatsoever. It's meant to be a jazzy rap album. But for me that just means it's simplistic, ridiculously boring and very very repetitive. I could barely tell any track apart. Isn't jazz meant to be interesting, melodic and full of variety? It never seems to get out of first gear. This is probably blasphemy to some, but I just don't click with hip-hop at all. A full album with such little variation is obviously too much for me. Didn't enjoy this at all and maybe it's harsh but I'm giving it 1 star. Very cool album cover though.

Generally it seems that people either really love or really hate The Doors. This is my second album from them and I'm starting to become a fan, I thought they have both been great. For all of the rock on this record, I personally think the best track is 'Indian Summer' which is actually quite a beautiful track. Lovely guitar, soft vocals. Very good stuff. A solid blues rock album. I really enjoy Jim Morrison's vocals. I wouldn't say anything particularly blew me away, but this is a solid record if you're into this sort of music.

I went into this with the idea in my head that I hate UB40 purely based on one song. I really don't like 'Red Red Wine' at all, so I didn't think I was going to like this either. After listening to this album I can say that 'Red Red Wine' was a bit more pop whereas this is very much more reggae, and I can confirm that UB40 aren't half bad. The formula doesn't really change. The songs meander a bit much and some tracks are indistinguishable from each other (after one listen) and are just crying out for something to happen at times, but I guess that's just reggae. However, the overall groove was pretty cool, and I was enjoying it more and more with each track. I was really vibing with it come the end of the album. 'Burden Of Shame' is very good and easily the best track on here and the last couple of minutes has a very cool instrumental that I wish was the sound for the whole album. It needed that last bit to make it stand out. It was this track's 'solo.' Why couldn't more of these 'solo's' appear on the album? I actually enjoyed this a hell of a lot more than I thought I would, after audibly groaning when this appeared as my album of the day. I do think I would like it even more after more listens and familiarising myself with it a bit more too, so this is getting a fairly surprising 4 stars.