I appreciate Patti Smith was groundbreaking and this is probably one of those albums that you're supposed to love, but I didn't. I just thought it was alright. I'm not sure I'll ever "get" it. The tracks do tend to go on a bit, at times it sounds a bit like spoken poetry that happens to have background music and I'm entirely convinced Patti Smith is singing irritatingly on purpose just to piss me off. Listen to 'Birdland' and tell me that you don't want to just punch her and her annoying, whiny yodelling voice. Despite this though, I gave it a second listen and enjoyed it slightly more. Regardless of how annoyed I was with Patti's vocals, musically this album had its moments. It's probably not something I would listen to again but I wouldn't say I outright enjoyed it.

The album that broke Maiden in America and it's not hard to see why. It's heavy, it's packed with riffs and loaded with melody. Steve Harris' fingers must be on fire with how quickly he plays bass on some tracks. Clive Burr on drums brings an almost jazzy infectious beat to the rhythm section on his last appearance on a Maiden album. Then there's Bruce Dickinson - for my money the greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time - who replaces Paul Di'Anno from the previous two albums. What Bruce lacks in the rawness that Paul had, he more than makes up for with his operatic style vocals. He certainly earned the nickname "The Air Raid Siren". Every track is a killer. There are some tracks that open with pace, some slower tracks, catchy singalong riffs and choruses that work so well in a live setting. This album has everything you could want in a classic metal album. I've heard the title track too many times but it's still a fantastic song. The scream Bruce lets out is iconic, cool riff, blistering solos. 'Run To The Hills' is radio friendly but to no detriment. How Bruce manages to sing that high is a mystery, the bass is so quick. 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' is the epic of the album. A gloomy, ominous intro with a gong opens the track before the melodic ear worm of a riff kicks in. The back and forth guitar solo duel is one of the best in Maiden's catalogue. The jazzy feel of the drums and instrumental that follows makes you want to head bang before Bruce wails out the title of the track again. Perfection in seven minutes. This is an easy five stars and it's not even Maiden's best. I'd probably put it mid table in the list of 17 studio albums they've made. So if you enjoy this, I implore you to delve deeper into their discography. Up The Irons.

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.

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 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.

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.

I had a really good time with this album. After the first two tracks I thought it would be very similar throughout but it's actually quite varied. The spine of the album is a constant but it branches out into other areas. A little jazz piano in 'Tides', a bit of drum and bass with 'Nadia', some chilled out vibes, some more pop orientated tracks. 'Homelands' is more Indian inspired and 'Pilgrim' is down tempo rap. There is some really weird stuff on here. 'The Conference' is absolutely bizarre and I'm not sure if I like it it's that weird. Some of the pop songs are really beautiful though. 'Nostalgia' and especially 'Immigrant' which I really enjoyed a lot and is easily the best track on the album. I'm not sure who the female vocalist is on it but I need to find out, she's got a beautiful voice. Though there are a couple of duds here, the good stuff far outweighs it. I really enjoyed listening and was looking forward to what genre would be next. It kept my attention and kept me very intrigued and interested.

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.

This is certainly not the Metallica of the previous four albums of fast and furious thrash metal. This is certainly a more hard rock effort, but it's the perfect blend. It's not quite heavy enough for people who hate heavy metal to dislike it, but it's just heavy enough for metalheads to enjoy. It's a head banger of an album. Lars Ulrich’s drums sound like artillery and machine gun fire, James Hetfield sounding fantastic as usual. I've always loved his vocals. Every riff is good, every solo is good. The singles are brilliant. 'Enter Sandman' and 'Nothing Else Matters' being the most popular and for good reason. They are a solid hard rock song and a really nice ballad respectively. 'Sad But True' and 'The Unforgiven' are slow and plodding but in the best way possible. I have to say though, there are a couple of tracks that could have also been chosen as singles and they would have been up there with Metallica's most played. 'The Struggle Within' is very catchy with a great solo and 'Don't Tread On Me' is a heavy one that chugs along really nicely and probably has the catchiest chorus on the whole album. People say Metallica sold out with this album. In my opinion, if you stick with your signature sound, people will call you stale and you write the same song over and over (Motörhead, AC/DC, Slayer) but if you try and change your sound a bit people will call you a sell out, so you can't win either way. You write what you are feeling at the time and this is what came out, and I for one think it's a brilliant album, thrash metal or not.

What can be said about Led Zeppelin that hasn't already been said for the past 50+ years? Robert Plant has not only one of the best voices in rock, but also one of the coolest. Jimmy Page is a legendary guitarist. John Bonham's drums are gut busting. I'd have to listen to all of their albums again to say if this is my favourite or not (off the top of my head, I believe that title belongs to one of the next three releases), but this is still damn good. A perfect blend of the times. Bluesy folk rock with a slight middle eastern flavour at times mixed in nicely with some very early glimpses of heavy metal. 'Good Times Bad Times' is a perfect opener. The opening lines from Robert Plant in 'Dazed and Confused' always gives me goosebumps along with the slightly psychedelic guitar. 'Communication Breakdown' is probably my favourite track. Amazing rhythm section, fantastic vocals, great riff and brilliant solo. A perfect rock song in two and a half minutes. As I've said previously, I prefer Led Zep when they write heavier songs over their more acoustic folk rock, and this album does that in abundance.

We all know Morrissey and we all know what we think of him. Fine, let's move on. What I want to know is, why does he always seem so very sad? I imagine it's quite a polarising opinion, but I actually love his voice. Distinct, soft, airy and pleasant. Good instrumentation and he taps into that melancholic energy. There are some really great tracks to be found here, The opener and closer of the album are probably the strongest two. Enjoyed this a lot and would happily stick this on at any time.

I saw the album title, the artist's name, the cover, the genre of music and even skimmed through a few reviews and I thought 'I'm going to really struggle with this one'. Quite the opposite in reality because this was a delight to listen to. Never heard of Emmylou Harris but I like her voice. It's supposedly country music, but I would barely describe it as such. It's got hints of country, definitely, but it's more folky. The tracks that have a tinge of sadness are the best ones. I don't know if that's a reflection on me or not, but I genuinely think they're the strongest songs on the album. The first two tracks, 'The Pearl' and 'Michelangelo' for example are a great opening one two gut punch. They sound very bittersweet as does 'Bang The Drum Slowly'. I think she just has a voice for the slower, more emotional songs. Overall, a very pleasant surprise and an album I would be glad to listen to in full if it was ever put on.

I have to say that musically, every song on this album is strikingly similar. Yes, I only had one listen through, but it difficult to distinguish between tracks. 'Teachers' was probably the best one as it was a bit different sounding and the guitar throughout does sound quite cool I must admit. It was all very nice and pleasant, but nothing stood out to me and no particular track felt special because they were all very alike. Also a word on Cohen's vocals. Also nothing particularly special and on some tracks I actually thought that it was a very weird middle ground between soft singing and talking. It sounded very low effort from him. In places it sounded like it was building to something, like it was going to get out of first gear but never did. Overall I think I would be alright listening to the whole album ever so often, maybe pick out a few select tracks that stand out after more listens, but I didn't think it was a necessary listen and I didn't need to hear this before I die.

The Boo Radleys? The same Boo Radleys who did 'Wake Up Boo!'? I didn't expect them to sound very much the opposite of that happy, upbeat song. This was a bit of a mixed bag. The more happy upbeat pop tunes were decent, the more rock orientated tracks weren't too bad. But mixed in between was the more shoe-gazey songs. I don't like using the words "just noise" to describe music, I think it's lazy and simply not true, but genuinely some of it sounded like just noise. It often changes tone quickly as well. From one nice pop track to droning, wailing guitars. I'm not against that type of music at all, but on this album it gets very irritating quite quickly. It didn't seem like it was a good fit, it's quite a jarring shift in tone and volume. Listen to 'Spun Around' to hear what I mean. Still, there were some good tracks as well. The more radio friendly it was, the better. Cut the length down by 20 - 30 minutes and you'd have an easy 4 star album, perhaps even full marks. As it is, it's a bit bland and bloated.

I'm really glad this was an older album from Kings Of Leon. I know a few older tracks and I like them all so was looking forward to hearing a full album. I'm glad it wasn't the newer more popular version of the band, with songs like 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody' which I really don't like at all. If I could try and describe it accurately. It's as if you took the garage rock sound of The White Stripes, mixed it up with the faster tunes of very early Bon Scott era AC/DC and sprinkled in some country vibes. It's a great sound and I don't think there's a dud track here. Some people won't like Caleb Followill's vocals but I enjoy them a lot. They sound a lot better with this type of music than they do with later Kings Of Leon stuff. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this but I'm very glad it was on the list and it makes me want to check out more of their earlier stuff.

The vocals aren't my favourite thing in the world. They're pretty aggressive sounding and raspy which is great, but they're so monotonous. The pitch doesn't change, just the volume. When the guitar and drums really get going and turn up their volume, they really drown out the vocals. So overall, it's just a little bit of a mess in that department. That's the bad out of the way. There are some decent riffs scattered throughout though ('Learned It' is a good example and is actually the best track on the album) and I do actually quite like the overall vibe of it. It does sound quite dark, almost menacing in places. 'Get Down' sounds very creepy, like you're being watched. This is a perfectly serviceable noise rock album. Perhaps a bit unremarkable, but I'd be happy to listen to the best tracks here.

Now That's What I Call Fifa Music! I know I'm definitely in the minority but what's the appeal here? It's quite monotonous. It's probably on purpose but the vocals are distorted, mixed so far back and drowned out by the instruments, it makes the words unintelligible at times. There are some decent riffs scattered throughout the album and I really like that the catchy basslines are so high in the mix and you don't have to go looking for it. The problem I have is the absolutely relentless strummy guitar which is a problem for indie music in general (yes I called indie a genre, you know what I mean). The game you can play is "when will the relentless strummy guitar change key"? Count along. The first 8 will always be the same, but when in the next 24 strums will it change? Could be the next 8 or maybe they'll keep it the same until there's 8 left and they decide to change the key and the last 4 notes are a bit different. Part of me wants to give this a three because I know this is a well loved album. But I'm also that miserable contrarian who enjoys disliking things that others love. I wish the cool riffs were the central parts of the songs. The two best songs are the two most popular 'Someday' and 'Last Nite'. I don't know if that's because they're familiar or they are simply the best written tracks. There's not enough variance going on here and by the end of the album I was just wanting it to end. It's a two.

This is a turning point for The Beatles, moving towards a bit more maturity. The bubblegum pop is still here, but less so and the songs are stronger as a whole. It also marks the start of a bit of experimentation. 'Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)' with its lovely sitar riff and catchy vocal lines is a top 5 Beatles track for me. Now we come to 'In My Life'. My favourite Beatles song. I'm not exaggerating when I say this but not only do I think it's the greatest love song of all time, it's one of the greatest songs of all time. I could write a whole review on just this song and the album an extra star for this track alone. A delicate little 'riff', great sped up piano solo, lovely vocals, subtle yet brilliant drums, beautiful lyrics. Two minutes and twenty six seconds of perfection. Of the songs I had never heard before 'Michelle' and 'Girl' were easily the best. The former is a cheesey love song, but let's be honest, it's what this band does best and McCartney sounds very genuine and heartfelt, and the latter has a bit more of a sombre mood but Lennon sounds equally great. 'Run For Your Life' has very serious lyrics for a jangly pop song. The most famous track, the opener 'Drive My Car' is great and 'I'm Looking Through You' is so catchy and that's basically the story of this album. Every song has a catchy little hook, melody or vocal line. Lennon and McCartney harmonise so well together. I have to say that side one isn't as good. The quality dips a little after the first two fantastic tracks before the quality comes right back up with 'Michelle', but side two is as good as any I've heard. I'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be my favourite Fab Four album, but at the minute it's definitely in the lead and will take some beating.

A perfectly fine album. It's from the 60's so I'm sure you can imagine exactly what this sounds like. There's a slight edge and roughness to it though. Some nice melodies and guitar playing throughout. Though there is nothing particularly outstanding about this album, it is half an hour of fun. Just enough time before it starts getting a bit boring and samey. I can't really think of much more to say about it really. It's inoffensive and a good time but doesn't excite me like other albums have done.

I will echo my review on the previous Dinosaur Jr. album I had and say that the vocals aren't great. I don't know if it's the point but they're whiny and out of tune. I will say that I enjoyed this one slightly more though. A little heavier and faster, but still not exactly the type of rock music I like. This is the first time I've said this whilst doing this challenge, but how the hell does this band have two albums on the list? If this band has two, there are a few heavy metal bands out there that I feel could and should have more inclusion and representation for not only making better music, but for being more popular and genre defining. Anyway. My favourite track is 'Poledo'. It starts off as a quiet acoustic guitar track and after about a minute and a half, it's like someone flicked a switch. The vocalist and the guitar are absolutely screaming so loudly which then turns to something quite sinister sounding. The last minute is very eerie. Not enough to save it I'm afraid, as with the previous album by this band, it gets a two.

Why is every single hip hop album over an hour? Have these people ever heard of "leave them wanting more"? This isn't the fairest review as I only gave it one listen. I was debating one or two stars. But I decided to go back through some of the tracks and read along with the lyrics and properly concentrate and focus my thoughts fully on the music which definitely helped a lot. If I had time I'd listen to albums as many times as I could. With other genres, there are vocal lines, melodies, solos, riffs, something catchy to 'grab' onto. With rap, there's a constant looped beat and unless you follow along with the words it's difficult to 'grab'. That's the best way I can describe my personal feelings towards hip hop. 'Juicy' is obviously the best track here. It's got a really funky bass line running through it and actually sounds quite uplifting in comparison to the rest of the album. I wish the whole album was exactly like this track. Biggie really shines on 'One More Chance' and 'Respect' too, they're both very good. He's an enjoyable rapper to listen to. I like the laid back delivery of most of the lyrics. 'Gimme The Loot' however is quite an aggressive track, Biggie and whoever else that is on the track sound great. The skits are probably funny once, and then just ruin the flow of the album. Stop with the skits. These ones were particularly cringe. I would probably enjoy this more with more listens. Really popular stuff like Kanye and Eminem I like because it's familiar and I can follow along with the lyrics that I already know which helps a lot, so this is difficult to rate after just one listen. I'll assume I'll like it more after more spins, so I'll give it a 3.5 rounded down.

I think this album takes the best bits of different genres. The aggressive rawness of punk, the noisy garage rock sound with a slight tinge of indie. Despite it being a big influence on the grunge sound of Nirvana, I can't say I personally hear too much of that though I can see why it was an influence. I like both the male and female vocalists and I think they both intertwine well despite being a bit of a contrast to each other. The male vocalist in particular can shout. scream and shriek very well but I also love the more restrained singing he does, which is quite Jack White-esque. The female vocalist is perfect for the slightly more indie sounding tracks. The drum sound is huge. It powers through everything in its way particularly on 'Cactus' which I thought was going to explode into a loud massive wall of noise, but stayed very constrained which surprised me. 'Vamos (Surfer Rosa)' sounded like a throwback to surf rock from the 60's. Very Dick Dale I must say. 'Something Against You' gets in, screams in your face and gets out again before you know what's happened. I really didn't think I'd like this at all, but it was so good. An easy full marks for me.

Very surprised by this one. Going off the album cover, name of the band and album, I would have put money on it being a loud, fast, noisy, shouty garage rock album. To my surprise, from the first track all the way to the end, it was filled with nice little riffs, jangly guitar, really pleasant vocals. No one track in particular stands out as the best one after only one listen, but it all flows nicely together and it was such a nice surprise of an album which I enjoyed throughout its short half an hour run time, I can't give it less than a four.

I really enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. The sampling is good and the beats are funky and fun. It has a lot of variety too. The opening title track and 'Fuck Tha Police' go hard. The radio friendly 'Express Yourself' is surprisingly upbeat and uplifting and 'Something 2 Dance 2' does exactly what it says on the tin. Eazy-E has the best flow but the worst voice, whereas Ice Cube is the opposite, he flows slightly more basic but has a loud in your face voice which suits the music better. MC Ren is a happy medium. Overall the flow is a little bit simpler than other rap music but it doesn't really matter when the words which transport you into their world are said with such aggressiveness and venom. There's a lively energy about them. I was tempted to give this a four, but there weren't many dud tracks here and it's a hip hop album under an hour! A damn shame they only did the two albums (and their follow up doesn't even feature Ice Cube) because I'd have liked more from N.W.A.

This is the reason I signed up for this challenge. I've never heard of Cocteau Twins and was intrigued, and after listening I'm so glad they were on the list. The vibes are immaculate here and it feels like you're floating on summer air. The lyrics are absolutely unintelligible, even when listening very closely, perhaps on purpose. But that doesn't matter because the actual vocals from Elizabeth Fraser are flawless. Not the greatest of all time territory, but they're so perfect for the music and a delight to listen to. There are some five star tracks. The opener 'Cherry-Coloured Funk' is ridiculously catchy and the title track is phenomenal. It lifts your soul, instantly puts you in a good mood, it's catchy, sounds ethereal and dreamlike. It evokes images of a heavenly paradise. You're content. Bloody superb. Despite the perfect scoring songs, I'd be lying if I said that the album overall doesn't get a little bit samey and difficult to distinguish between tracks at times (after only two listens). I listened whilst driving but I can imagine with a good set of headphones, in a dark room with no distractions that this is probably a better listen.

This album seems to act as a bit of a bridge between the over the top hair metal and glam of the 80's and the heavier rock of 90's alternative and grunge. It's a good mix. The opening one-two of 'Up The Beach' and 'Ocean Size' is really good and sets the album up nicely. The guitar work throughout the album is brilliant and my favourite thing about the record. Great riffs like on 'Mountain Song', blistering solos like on 'Standing In The Shower... Thinking'. The vocals from Perry Farrell are brilliant. Powerful and over the top, though I feel like they are slightly pushed back in the mix and almost sound slightly not real at times? Maybe they're just that good. Really enjoyed this dark, raw and rough album.

I was kind of looking forward to this one. I'd heard of Arcade Fire and how highly regarded they and their albums are but had never heard any of their songs before. I don't really know what all the fuss is about to be honest. Whiny and dull is what I got from this album, and this is meant to be one of three of their holy trinity of work. I just hope the other two are better than this. Nothing really reached out and grabbed me, I was struggling to find a song that really stood out. Maybe 'The Well And The Lighthouse' and '(Antichrist Television Blues)' because they upped the tempo a bit after the slow tunes. I quite liked 'No Cars Go' because it sounded quite similar to the Prefab Sprout classic 'The King Of Rock 'N' Roll'. I wouldn't say I outright disliked this, but I was bored, and sometimes that's worse. At least if you don't like something you have feelings about it. With this album though, I wouldn't care in the slightest if I never listened to it again. I certainly don't think I needed to listen to it before I died.

The opening title track is a classic, and if the whole album followed suit I wouldn't have minded, but it's a melting pot of punk, reggae, ska and pop. It's constantly changing on a track by track basis, but there's hardly a weak song on here. I really enjoy Joe Strummer's vocals They're not perfect all the time but it fits the music very well. Great guitar work throughout. Catchy little riffs and vocal lines. The tracks don't follow a traditional song structure as you would expect sometimes. 'Lover's Rock' for example just goes into this cool little instrumental, repetitive singalong bit. I did really enjoy this a lot, the quality shone through despite the variety of genres on show. I wasn't bored at any point and would enjoy giving it a spin any time, but I wouldn't say it absolutely blew me away considering how highly regarded it is. It's over an hour long and only had time for one listen so I imagine if I listened more and was more familiar with it, I would like it even more. Very easy five.

I can't see how this influenced so many genres including punk, garage rock and indie. I think it sounds too pop overall to be considered that influential on these heavier genres. It wasn't very well received back in the 60's so I don't really know how it becomes more and more popular since then. 'Heroin' is probably my favourite here. A 7 minute dark, loud, attack on the ears. There are interesting ideas here and unconventional song structures particularly when you remember this was released in 1967. I prefer the haunting vocals of Nico than I do the vocals of Lou Reed (I don't think I actually knew he was in this band), even though objectively Nico isn't exactly a 'great' singer. That being said, just because I can't see how it's as important as it is, doesn't mean I didn't like it. I enjoyed this a lot. I normally want to be that arsehole that hates popular things to be different but I couldn't help but like this.

It's that unmistakable Chili Peppers sound. Some variation here and there but you instantly know it's them. 'Porcelain', 'Scar Tissue' and 'Road Trippin'' are all really lovely songs but in different ways, like different sides of the same coin. The first is slow and sad, the second is uplifting and the last one is very sombre. 'Get On Top' is probably a throwback to their earlier stuff and it works, it's funky as hell. 'Emit Remmus' is the heaviest track here and is also very good. Flea is a great bassist and I'm actively trying to pick him out to hear it. Frusciante is so good as well. The solos he does can be short, sweet and subtle like on the title track, but can also be soaring and distorted, and they both sound good. The drumming on 'Savior' is almost tribal. Anthony Kiedis shows off his vocal prowess here too. Speaking of Kiedis, he is somewhat of the weak point. I love his vocals, he's got a great singing voice that I really enjoy. The rapping is slightly hit and miss though. I feel like when it's on funkier tracks and it's very over the top like on 'Right On Time' it works and fits well. On more traditional rock tracks though like the opener 'Around The World' he holds back and I don't enjoy it half as much. Also what the fuck is the "ding ding dong dong" all about? I swear these guys just spout utter nonsense in their songs! That's the only negative I can find though. It's a cracking album. Every song has a little earworm. A catchy vocal line, a singalong chorus, a solid riff. 15 tracks, nearly an hour long and I wasn't bored for a single second.

It's punk. I'm surprised to say it's a little more melodic than usual and the guitar work in places is pretty good, but it's still got it's root in that punk rock sound. Buzzcocks sound a little more fun and joyful than your typical angry punk band. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals either. 'Fiction Romance' and 'Moving Away From The Pulsebeat' are the best tracks here. The former has a great, driving, headbanging guitar and the latter sounds a little less punk and is on the verge of being almost heavy metal. I can't give it more than three stars. Decent album but there are others I've already reviewed that I'd much rather listen to than this.

I didn't know what to expect going in to this album. Who would have thought that African beats and blues rock would mix so well together though? Certainly not me. I was so surprised to like this at all, let alone as much as I did. The guitar work on this album is an absolute treat. It's nothing mind blowing but it's solid throughout. So many cool little licks and riffs. The opener 'Soubour' has one of the best. 'Irganda' is a little more upbeat and sounds almost like an African disco track. 'Al Tchere Bele' has a bouncy beat that makes you want to tap your foot. The quality does dip ever so slightly in the middle but overall this was a delight to listen to. It's not probably something I'd ever seek out to listen to ever again, but who knows. Maybe one day I'll be in the mood for it. Whether I listen again or not, I can't deny how much I enjoyed it so it's getting four stars.

Perfectly fine if you're into this sort of thing but I am definitely not. Very delicate piano over even more delicate drums. Vocally doesn't blow me away. At least Sarah Vaughan has a beautiful voice. Theres nothing to grab onto, no vocal melody, catchy ear worm that gets stuck in your head. It's very nice background music at a fancy dinner party, or when drinking your morning coffee on a summer's day. But to actually sit, listen and concentrate on it, it's 40 minutes of the same, slightly dull stuff. This did absolutely nothing for me and I want a little bit more from music.

Just dull. So very dull. Simple, to the point and lacking any depth or passion. Never once gets out of first gear. The harmonica adds nothing. Musically it's very plain. Country folk rock monotony. No innovation. Clark’s voice is timid though I will admit that on the final track '1975' the vocal lines are pretty catchy, but that's all I could pick out. I have no idea whatsoever how this album has ended up on this list. If I die today with this being the last album I listened to, I'd be severely disappointed.

I feel like reviews of this album will be mixed. It's definitely not everyone’s thing. It’s quiet, casual, and chill. It's slow too. Very very slow. I’d understand if someone called it boring. The soft, melodic and smooth instrumentation sets a mood along with the mellow, wispy vocals which is definitely the best part of the album. Margo Timmins has a haunting, emotive voice which fits the aesthetic of the album perfectly. The best track is arguably the opener 'Mining For Gold' as it's just Margo and no instruments, it's beautiful. The next track 'Misguided Angel' is also very good. After nearly an hour it does get a bit samey, a bit tiresome, wishing someone would just pick up the pace a bit. I enjoyed it a lot, there's not exactly any bad tracks but 53 minutes worth of slow country is definitely teetering on the 'too long' side of things. Would have been a 4 or even a 5 if it was shorter but as it is it's a 3.5 rounded down.

There are parts of this album I like more than their debut which I have previously reviewed and parts of it I like less. Musically it's a bit more mature than their debut, probably a little less fun overall and it's still got really annoying vocals. It's the purposeful up and down shift in pitch and tone, like yodelling but not quite. It really grates on you. I don't know why he can't just sing it straight, and use his voice properly. There's too much talking in places. 'This Is What She's Like' has a two minute conversation to start the track off. The music is slightly overlong and disjointed with the talky bits throughout the album. This is carried by its occasional catchiness but brought down by the irritating vocals and conversations that happen on tracks.

Been a long time since I listened to this one in full and I have purposely been skipping tracks on this album because I knew it would pop up on this list eventually. 'Holy Wars... The Punishment Due' for me is one of the best metal tracks of all time. Opens fast and furiously before some chimes and delicate Middle Eastern sounding guitar lick slows things down a bit but still chugs along nicely. Before you know it it's right back to breakneck speeds with some blistering solos. 'Hangar 18' is another of their best tracks ever. The whole second half is just a back and forth guitar solo duel interspersed with a fantastic headbanging riff. Probably one of the greatest opening one-two punches in the history of heavy metal. 'Poison Was The Cure' opens ominously and then explodes into Megadeth's high-speed thrills. 'Rust In Peace... Polaris' opens with some great drumming before yet another good riff. It's sung from the perspective of a nuclear rocket which is pretty odd yet pretty unique and lyrically menacing. It's probably my other favourite track other than the opening two. It's catchy as hell and surprisingly got a pretty singalong chorus. Mustaine spitting out "I spread disease like a dog!" and "Launch the Polaris! / The end doesn't scare us / When will this cease / The warheads will all rust in peace" is fantastic. Mustaine's vocals, though not perfect or technically fantastic, fit the music so well. It's like you can hear the dripping snarl behind every word. He sounds pissed off and I will always love him as a vocalist. The guitar sound is difficult to describe. Compare this to say 'Master of Puppets' by Metallica. The latter sounds thick and fuzzy, whereas this sounds slightly thin and crisp? Still good, but a distinct difference is sound for two of the most famous trash metal albums. Just something I find quite interesting. There's no fat to trim here, it's the definition of all killer, no filler. There's so many riffs packed into this, the solos are phenomenal. A band at the peak of their powers.

It's exactly what you'd think music from the 1950's would sound like. Buddy Holly does have a very nice voice, I must admit. Of course this was probably influential in the development of rock and roll, but it's nothing more than a historical artifact. An album from a very specific point in time. A comforting sound from a time gone by, but nothing more unless you're a diehard fan of this type of music. The songs are fun to hear once in a while and I'm sure it was better 70 years ago, but there's much more exciting music out now. Thankfully it was under half an hour.

There are some nice jams to be found on this album, but for me personally, this is nothing more than a bit of rock easy listening. The songs are nice as they're happening, but they aren't distinctly memorable. 'Chest Fever' was a highlight. It opens with a nice little keyboard jam and has a cool, slow, groovy riff. There's a cool keyboard solo that I enjoyed, before the cymbals crash and we're back into the guitar riff again. Best track on here. 'I Shall Be Released' slows things down that little bit more. The drums almost sound like they march through the song. It's a quiet, lovely ballad that closes the album really well. Overall, I just didn't really care too much about the jangly jamming and found it a bit boring in places.

Being that this is an album that was made using leftover tracks from recording sessions from the past few years, the material here is understandably a bit all over the place. The opener 'I Love Your Lovin' Ways' is a blues rock tune which surprised me. The next one 'Four Women' is a dark jazz track with a cool little piano 'riff' and is the only original track written for the album. You can tell because it's definitely one of the strongest tracks here. Simone's nasally, unique voice isn't for everyone, but you can't deny she sounds full of emotion. There are ballads, folk songs, jazz tracks. The quality drops in the second half of the album. You can tell that the material wasn't strong enough before and was left on the cutting room floor for a reason. It's a shame that this happens to be Nina Simone's only album on this list because I would have liked to have heard more from her with an album with a little more direction and focus.

I feel like the British press may have hyped this one up a bit too much. It's fine. I wouldn't particularly say that it deserves a spot on this list purely based on the music. I can't really recall many tunes from it and I've literally just finished listening. It just didn't excite me like good albums do. It didn't grab me by the neck and make me sit up and listen. I found it to be pretty generic in all honesty. Feel like I want to say more but can't really think of anything else to comment on. If you like this kind of music, you'll probably love it. I found it alright. Just another 2000's alternative rock album.

I like Coldplay. There, I said it, it's in the open. They get an unfair amount of hate for being "whiny and depressing". Firstly, I don't think that's true and secondly, depressing songs do not equal bad. Granted I only know the singles, I've never listened to a full album so I was looking forward to this. I've always liked Chris Martin's voice. His delicate falsetto in particular sounds very nice. On this debut, there's an unpolished almost rawness to it, like he hasn't quite mastered how to really control his vocals just yet. It's like they did one take and whatever came out ended up on the record (in a good way, I really like it). This is a lovely album overall. It's a lot less pop, and a lot more coffee shop-esque songs and alternative soft rock than I thought. Although it was one of my least favourite singles, 'Yellow' is a shoegaze song in disguise and is a classic. I hadn't heard 'Trouble' for a very long time and forgot how great that track was. The closer 'Everything's Not Lost' is easily my favourite song I hadn't heard before. I imagine the guitarist is probably so underrated in the world of music purely because he's in Coldplay, but there's so many cool, lovely little licks and riffs throughout this album. They aren't trying to go for radio friendly hits on this debut, they're just writing good music that happened to become radio hits. I enjoyed it a lot. There are a couple of duds and bland moments but overall it's a very good album, not a phenomenal one.

This is the dreamy, ethereal, atmospheric kind of music that sounds really pleasant while you're listening to it. But it's also the kind of music where it does slightly merge together at times and you forget what each song sounded like by the time the album is finished. That's not to say it's bad, but this type of music doesn't really lend itself to catchy melodies and singalong choruses. I just know that I really like what I'm listening to. The airy vocals match the carefree laid back music perfectly. I'd describe it as folk vibes combined with electronic pop. Bearing in mind I only get time for one, maybe two listens if I'm lucky enough to find the time (I carved out another 45 minutes to give it another listen today), it may seem strange I'm going to give it top marks considering what I've just written, but this album was an absolute delight to sit through and I know for a fact that the more familiar it becomes to me, the more I'd enjoy it.

I've heard of Joni Mitchell before but never heard a song of hers. I just know that she's a legend. It's definitely a grower of an album, and it will take multiple listens to fully appreciate it but after only two spins, I already love it. It's a collection of some of the loveliest songs sung by someone with one of the loveliest voices I've heard. The title track has a slight south Asian tinge to it which sounds great. An immediate standout would have to be the epic 'Song For Sharon'. It's gorgeously haunting. The bass throughout the album is a highlight but on 'Black Crow' it's so so good, it oozes cool, coupled with the equally good guitar riff and solo towards the end of this slightly heavier sounding track. There's not exactly a typical structure to the songs and I love how loose and open they are. Albums like this are the reason I started this challenge. Great from start to finish.

It's got power, melody and great musicianship. I've always loved Jon Anderson as a vocalist. I think he's got this upbeat, positive, bright tone to his voice, and he can't belt out a tune as well. 'Clap' is a really nice little acoustic instrumental track. A great bit of guitar picking from Steve Howe. The other five tracks have moments of catchiness that you'll pick up on. This album is an ideal compromise. Just enough to please fans of rock music, but also not quite heavy enough that you could put it on in the office at work and no one would mind. I thought this was pretty decent. I'm sure there are better Yes albums and I'm definitely sure there are better prog rock albums (looking forward to finally getting some Rush and Pink Floyd).

My previous Costello album was his debut and this is his second so it's nice that I'm getting them in order so far. In comparison to his first album, this is infinitely better in every way. The songwriting is better, it's a lot more of a fun listen, there are a lot more ear worms and it's catchier overall. His debut got very samey and a bit boring, whereas there's a lot more variety here. This is loaded with little riffs throughout. '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' is very cool sounding and 'Living In Paradise' is a spritely and unusual riff, but again, very appealing to the ear. It sounds almost like a video game type sound. 'Lipstick Vogue' is fast, punky and is vocally a highlight, and 'Pump It Up' is a classic with a solid, riff driving the song forward. I'm still unsure how I feel about Costello's voice. There are times I like it, and times I find it a bit silly parody-esque. But overall I lean more towards like than dislike. A much improved second offering from Elvis Costello. Let's hope he keeps on improving!

Yeah yeah yeah, Nile Rogers is a legend, and I'm sure Chic were highly influential in the world of disco, but fuck me this is repetitive at times. Excessively so. The best tracks are the ones that break up the monotony or are that catchy it doesn't matter too much. For example 'Happy Man' does repeat but it's an effortlessly cool song and a huge ear worm so I can kind of forgive it. 'Savoir Faire' is the best track. There's fantastic guitar solo playing throughout this great instrumental. An easy highlight. These two I'd happily add to a playlist and I wish they were up there with Chic's most popular singles so we could hear them until the end of time. In contrast, the opener and 'Le Freak' (which I've never liked anyway) are ridiculously unvaried. There are good riffs throughout the album but the song lengths are a lot longer than they have any right to be. I get that it's probably the point but it's not for me. It's cool, groovy and funky with great guitar, bass and production, but it gets boring in places and I didn't enjoy this a huge amount.

I'm far from the biggest fan of this band, there are hits and misses, but this is my personal favourite Led Zep album and it's easy to see why. There's no duds and they crank up the heaviness from their debut which was already pretty heavy. Everyone is on fire here. Jimmy Page's great heavy riffs and Robert Plant's effortlessly cool vocals always had the aura - what you would notice first. But the rhythm section of John Paul Jones on bass which is really prominent on this record and John Bonham blasting away on drums yet still playing so tight were the heartbeat which is more evident on this album than any other. 'Whole Lotta Love' is still a classic. Fantastic riff driving the song, the middle section is iconic and the explosion of Bonham's drums into the screaming solos from Jimmy Page and back into the riff to take it home. Brilliant. Pretty much the same story with 'Heartbreaker'. 'Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)' has a great singalong chorus and the cool riff after Plant sings the title of the track 'Ramble On' will be another one you'll be humming for weeks. One of the easiest five star ratings I'll ever give.

Nothing about this album makes me believe it deserves a place on this list other than the huge single 'Sympathy For The Devil' (which admittedly is a highlight) and the fact that it has the name 'The Rolling Stones' on the front cover. How can you open with such a great track and follow it up with such bland crap. 'Salt Of The Earth' which closes the album is the only other highlight in my opinion. It's pretty stale and didn't excite me despite having a variety of music, including rock and roll, blues rock and even a bit of country at times. I forgot it almost as soon as it ended. I also didn't realise until listening to this album that Mick Jagger's voice is very grating and actually just not very good. It just seems like he's shouting over the music at times. I'm not even a fanboy but please, let's not compare these to The Beatles ever again, there's no competition.

I was disappointed when I saw this was my album. I always hated 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody' so if the rest of the album was similar I knew it would be a low rating. How wrong I was though. The opener 'Closer' is a weird almost psychedelic sounding track and the next one 'Crawl' turns up the heaviness but maintains a slightly electronic vibe. I enjoyed them both and think they're the best songs on the album. The next two tracks were the two popular singles I thought I hated. I still detest 'Use Somebody' which I think is just utter crap and annoying, however after giving 'Sex On Fire' a fair listen, my mind has changed somewhat. It's by no means outstanding, but I have to say I did like it. The whole album is filled with catchy choruses, great drumming and appealing vocals (although at times perhaps indecipherable and slightly over the top almost yodelling). A very solid effort and one that I was pleasantly surprised by considering I thought I'd hate it.

I appreciate Patti Smith was groundbreaking and this is probably one of those albums that you're supposed to love, but I didn't. I just thought it was alright. I'm not sure I'll ever "get" it. The tracks do tend to go on a bit, at times it sounds a bit like spoken poetry that happens to have background music and I'm entirely convinced Patti Smith is singing irritatingly on purpose just to piss me off. Listen to 'Birdland' and tell me that you don't want to just punch her and her annoying, whiny yodelling voice. Despite this though, I gave it a second listen and enjoyed it slightly more. Regardless of how annoyed I was with Patti's vocals, musically this album had its moments. It's probably not something I would listen to again but I wouldn't say I outright enjoyed it.

What a voice Otis Redding has. It's surely worth an extra star for being so soulful. The actual songs are a little hit and miss. I like the cover of 'Respect' which is pretty good (I never really liked that song to begin with to be fair). I really really enjoyed the cover of 'My Girl' which I actually think is better than the original, or at least I enjoyed it more. Once again, Redding's voice pushes it to that next level and the horn section is great. Redding's version of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' was very interesting. The slightly quicker speed, his vocals and the horns add a different flavour to the song. I think the Stones version is good as the drums drive it forward, but this is a very very good version and very close to pick between them. I have a huge soft spot for 'I've Been Loving You Too Long'. When I was younger, my parents had a performance of it on VHS and we replayed this track over and over so it's ingrained into my brain. It's a beautiful song, sung perfectly by Redding. The building of the horns into the almost desperate cries from Otis are perfect. The rest of the album is okay, I can't say I've heard of any of the other songs but they're decent. Just upbeat soul. A rating of 3 stars seems fair to me.

There's not a whole lot I can say about this album. It's perfect 80's pop music. Cheesy in places, sickly sweet, perfect production. I guess there's a reason why Madonna is dubbed the Queen of Pop. The title track is a classic. Prince pops up on a track or two which was a surprise. 'Cherish' is the epitome of 80's pop, my god it is so ridiculously catchy. 'Dear Jessie' has some nice classical elements to it and doesn't go in directions you think it will. I genuinely don't think there's a bad track on here. Some a bit "less good" than others (I didn't care too much for 'Oh Father' or 'Act Of Contrition') but overall a very good album.

I wasn't looking forward to this. That dreaded word "jazz". But I think I've had a bit of an epiphany. This is the kind of jazz that I like. I'm not a fan of that slow, monotonous, really quiet and soft, almost dull jazz. The kind of jazz you would hear in a poncy coffee shop or wine bar. This though was really enjoyable. It's more upbeat, it infuses elements of funk and soul. The playing of the bass is great, the cool mini guitar licks and solos are great, the saxophone is great. The vocals on the opening title track - which was the best on the album - were really catchy and are perfect for the song, they really are sublime vocals. Yes it was slightly "elevator music" or "dentist waiting room" or "hold music", but it was all good stuff and each of the six tracks had their own flavour. I feel like I could put this on at any time of the day, no matter what mood I'm in and I'd smile and enjoy it. A really surprising four stars and I'm very glad it was on this list.

There may be some that criticise this album. They would probably say that it all runs together a bit, in tempo and mood. I somewhat agree, but I also think that if I gave this enough listens to familiarise myself with it and be able to differentiate between tracks more that this wouldn't be much of an issue because it's a damn good collection of songs. They may also say it's overly dramatic in places, but I don't personally see that as a bad thing. There's something about his vocals and the way he sings, it's a treat for the ears. He drolls over the music, but it works. Almost Thom Yorke-esque. There's an eccentricity to some of the tracks and it's all a bit theatrical. As I said before, I couldn't really differentiate between songs but I know that I liked what I heard and surely that's all that matters. Would happily listen to this again any time.

I genuinely had no idea that the Bee Gees were releasing albums in the 60's. So this would be a pre-disco sound for the brothers. Vocally, this is as good as you'd expect and is easily the highlight of the album. There's absolutely no denying the vocal talents of the brothers Gibb. The harmonies and falsetto are as good as you'll hear. Musically it's odd. It's like if The Beatles were less good and started releasing folky prog music. 'Whisper Whisper' in particular sounds very Fab Four. A lot of the tracks just aren't that interesting and do sort of merge together. The only highlight I can remember is 'Edison' which I thought was a hugely catchy ear worm. It's not exactly bad, but it is pretty dull in places. Not exactly what the Bee Gees are known for.

The guitar is very good, and probably the high point of the record, some nice riffs scattered throughout the album and surprised me with how prominent it is and how enjoyable it was. The bass is very punchy and front and centre. I enjoy Paul Weller on vocals a lot, an iconic voice. He shines most on 'Man In A Corner Shop'. I really enjoyed the more upbeat punky tunes 'But I'm Different Now' and 'Set The House Ablaze'. 'That's Entertainment' is another highlight, very familiar to me thanks to my dad listening to it a lot when I was younger. This is probably the most three star album I've heard so far. It never dips below that and occasionally ventures into four star territory.

I will start this off by saying that I really really love the guitar tone and sound on this album. It's heavy, chuggy, sludgy, at times pretty psychedelic and sounds really great. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of the vocalist. A bit boring for my tastes and also slightly robotic sounding, like he doesn't sound real. He's also pretty whiny for the most part too. I also don't think the actual songs themselves are all that interesting, they don't excite me, there's not enough melody. Maybe I need more listens, but from my one playthrough and subsequent quick flick through I just don't think the sound of Alice In Chains is for me, which is a damn shame because as I said before, that guitar sound is brilliant. An unfortunate two stars and I wish it was more.

Slade are fucking great. It's just your basic rock 'n' roll. It's meat and two veg, balls to the wall glam rock. I would say they're probably the United Kingdom's answer to AC/DC just with a few less riffs. Noddy Holder has got such a booming voice, and it's such a presence on this album. It's effortlessly powerful and loud, but without sounding like he's screaming without purpose. There's nothing more to say really. If you don't like this kind of music, you'll rate it lower. If you enjoy 70's British glam rock you'll rate it higher. Half an hour is just about enough before it starts to get a little samey, or perhaps grating.

The album that broke Maiden in America and it's not hard to see why. It's heavy, it's packed with riffs and loaded with melody. Steve Harris' fingers must be on fire with how quickly he plays bass on some tracks. Clive Burr on drums brings an almost jazzy infectious beat to the rhythm section on his last appearance on a Maiden album. Then there's Bruce Dickinson - for my money the greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time - who replaces Paul Di'Anno from the previous two albums. What Bruce lacks in the rawness that Paul had, he more than makes up for with his operatic style vocals. He certainly earned the nickname "The Air Raid Siren". Every track is a killer. There are some tracks that open with pace, some slower tracks, catchy singalong riffs and choruses that work so well in a live setting. This album has everything you could want in a classic metal album. I've heard the title track too many times but it's still a fantastic song. The scream Bruce lets out is iconic, cool riff, blistering solos. 'Run To The Hills' is radio friendly but to no detriment. How Bruce manages to sing that high is a mystery, the bass is so quick. 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' is the epic of the album. A gloomy, ominous intro with a gong opens the track before the melodic ear worm of a riff kicks in. The back and forth guitar solo duel is one of the best in Maiden's catalogue. The jazzy feel of the drums and instrumental that follows makes you want to head bang before Bruce wails out the title of the track again. Perfection in seven minutes. This is an easy five stars and it's not even Maiden's best. I'd probably put it mid table in the list of 17 studio albums they've made. So if you enjoy this, I implore you to delve deeper into their discography. Up The Irons.

Marvin Gaye is soul personified, what a voice. It's silky smooth. The actual album itself starts off strong with 'Let's Get It On' which is an absolute classic. It's brilliantly sung, catchy, soulful and Marvin doesn't sound like he's just jamming and riffing over the music like in other tracks. For example 'Keep Gettin' It On' acts as a sequel to the opener. It's essentially a reprise. Musically the same song with changed lyrics that sound loose and free. It's almost a waste of a track in all honesty. The first half is much better than the second. 'If I Should Die Tonight' is the best track other than the opener. Marvin really shows off his vocal prowess here. Overall it does get a little samey, but thankfully it's only just over half an hour long. I'll give it a generous three stars, two for the music and an extra one for Marvin Gaye's voice.

My second Sonic Youth album and I have to say, I do think it was better than 'Daydream Nation'. This record came out four years after and I feel like I can tell. The songwriting is not only a better quality, I do feel like it's a more mature effort. It's seems more focused than before. Still present, but less scratchy, screeching guitars. Not only were there more standout riffs scattered throughout the album, I would say there were more standout tracks too but it can still be a bit of a distorted mess here and there. I prefer it when they absolutely all out balls to the wall, otherwise it's a weird middle ground. Overall a better effort from this band, but I still don't quite get the hype surrounding them.

I do wish that whoever the female singer is would get more time to shine on this album, I find her more enjoyable to listen to than whoever the male vocalist is. She's on 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' which is definitely a big highlight. An 80's vaporwave sounding track which is pretty dreamy. I wish there were more electronic and hard rock tracks. For every 'Empty Room' which is a catchy, upbeat hard rock delight where both singers harmonise well together, there's a dull meandering track. For every 'Month Of May' which has White Stripes or early Kings Of Leon vibes there's generic indie which you could hear from any band from the same era. For every 'Half Light II (No Celebration)' which is another great track, a real foot tapper that builds and builds as it goes on, there's boring filler. I liked this a lot more than the other album I had from this band, 'Neon Bible' and I do think I would enjoy this more with more listens.

After the first two tracks finished, I thought I'd be in for a long slog of samey, repetitive, boring, inoffensive reggae. They were pretty stereotypical reggae. What you'd think of when someone said reggae. But after the third and fourth track, the strangest thing happened. I started to enjoy it. I still maintain that overall, musically, reggae is pretty similar sounding. But tracks like 'No Sympathy' added a little bass line giving an extra bit of a push, 'Till Your Well Runs Dry' has elements of 70's soft rock and even has a pretty cool guitar solo, and 'Ketchy Shuby' is such an ear worm that you'll be singing the chorus to yourself for days after you hear it. Nothing groundbreaking, but a pretty enjoyable, harmless album, that I ended up liking more than I thought I would.

The more Neil Young I get, the more I become a fan. This wasn't quite as good as other two albums I've had already on this list, but still a solid effort. There's a lot less rock on this album than his previous album, and more soft piano ballads. Not that that's a bad thing, he can clearly do both. I don't think Young sounds whiny at all like a lot of people says he does, he sounds great on this album. In fact, on the title track, I think he sounds rather lovely. It's easily best track on the album, and is quite hauntingly beautiful. 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' is another really nice song. A decent effort from Neil Young who seems to be consistently good but nothing phenomenal. This album was slightly "meh" in places but also had some very good highlights.

I can see why people hate this. It strangles and pummels you and doesn't let you breathe for half an hour. But as a metalhead, this is fucking great. There's such a relentless frenetic energy to this album, packed with riffs. The solos, though not technical masterpieces, wail and scream from the guitars. Tom Araya on vocals has always been a favourite, loud and powerful without sounding like he's mindlessly shouting. His scream on 'Angel Of Death' is iconic and genuinely sounds like one of the previously mentioned solos. The band as a whole sound evil. 'Altar Of Sacrifice' has a truly monstrous demonic sounding riff. Obviously the (sort of) title track 'Raining Blood' is a classic. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much after playing it over and over on Guitar Hero III years ago, but it still hits hard. Demonic opening with rain and ritualistic drums, great riff, really heavy headbanging instrumental breakdown in the middle, before exploding into a solo and abruptly finishing with the crashing of thunder and the patter of rain. Brilliant. It's not perfect though. Sometimes it is a little TOO fast. Unless you read along, the lyrics to tracks like 'Necrophobic' and 'Reborn' are unintelligible. Araya sounds almost comical in how quickly he tries so sing which is a trait of not just Slayer but thrash metal in general. It's not quite their best but I can absolutely see why this is the only Slayer album on this list. I personally preferred their next two albums which slow things down (slightly) and sound a bit more of a mature effort and not "look how fast we can play".

I don't know why, but this particular album I really wanted to love. I only know of a few Alanis Morissette tunes and I like most of them. I never cared for 'Ironic' though which is on here. I feel it's slightly hit and miss. Probably more listens needed to fully digest it, but I was every so slightly underwhelmed on the whole. I really didn't expect it to be as grunge tinged as it is which was a nice surprise. I will say that I absolutely adore Morissette's unique voice. Vocally really strong, and an almost yodelling, over-singing quality which I love. She sounds best on the hidden final track 'Your House (Forgive Me Love)' which is an acapella song, and the lack of instruments really do show off her vocals in all their stunning glory. A perfect closer to the album and a beautiful song. 'Hand In My Pocket' is a high point, a great catchy track with a chorus that's fun to sing along to. 'Mary Jane' and 'You Learn' are also highlights. 'Right Through You' and 'Forgiven' show off the grunge vibes. I think a three is fair but because I love her voice so much and I do genuinely think I'd enjoy this more with more listens, I'm going to give it a four and hope that future me agrees with this sentiment.

They're really loading me up with Neil Young aren't they. Though this one seemed to contain some of his most popular songs (according to Spotify), I actually found it to be a little boring in places. Certainly the least interesting album of the four of his I've had thus far. Still some good stuff here though. 'Harvest' is a lovely track, 'Alabama' is solid rock tune, and I still don't think that Neil Young is whining. Not technically the best singer but a certain charm to it. I didn't enjoy this as much as the Neil Young album I had a couple of days ago which I rated a three, so I can't go higher than a two for this one I'm afraid.

Somewhere in the depths of my mind the name 'Skunk Anansie' sounds vaguely familiar, I'm sure of it. The guitar riffs are heavy, the bass is prominent and punchy, but the MVP of this album has got to be Skin. Her vocals are absolutely killer throughout the album. She can do it all and she can do it all very well. She grabs your attention immediately. 'Tracy's Flaw' is a perfect example. They slow things down and it gives Skin the perfect opportunity to sing with a bit more sincerity and sounds more heartfelt. But this track also shows off her powerful belts and raspy, growly shouts as well as her falsetto. A fantastic voice that matches the music perfectly. This was aggressive from the first track and also had its slower moments. Heavy yet melodic. Riff heavy. Such a good album and such a pleasant surprise. The vocals force an extra star out of me, they're that good.

The title track opens this album and it's very familiar to me. I haven't heard it in a long time but it's still a great tune that makes you wanna get up and move to its ridiculously infectious beat. That's pretty much the story for this whole album - infectious, melodic tunes. It's produced by David Bowie and you can tell, it's got his fingerprints all over it. Every little guitar melody that gets stuck in your head you can just tell it has his influence. Overall there is some very good stuff here and it's pretty catchy throughout. The backing vocals are a highlight too. I will say that the quality does take a slight dip in the final third but this is a solid album, more than likely a bit of a grower. A very high three.

My first Bowie album and it's a somewhat contentious one that some like and some dislike. I feel as though this is quite hit and miss. Some decent to very good stuff and also some stuff which is just a little slow, plodding and boring. The title track opens this up and it's catchy, upbeat and cheerful. 'Fascination' for me is the best song on the album. It has a real funkiness to it, the bass is great and the electric guitar has the little frills and licks as well as the saxophone. The backing vocals really add to the song too. The next track 'Right' follows in the same vein. 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' really builds to something great during its six and a half minute runtime. Another really good bit of sax in this one. The closer 'Fame' is another very funky track. So to summarise. Eight tracks. Three very good ones, two decent ones, and three meh ones. Three stars.

I loved the heavy metal surf rock instrumental opener and had high hopes for the rest. The next track 'Rock Music' also didn't disappoint, the singer screaming into the mic, heavy guitars. I didn't find this album as good overall as Surfer Rosa though. It's not as harsh and heavy, slightly more boring, straightforward and almost radio friendly. Much more of an indie sound. Though a quick flick through Surfer Rosa and actually they're more similar than I remember, and perhaps a full five stars for that album seems a little high. It's a mostly traditional rock record with noise and aggression sprinkled throughout.

I never go in wanting to dislike an album. I go in with high hopes, otherwise what's the point? This one I really wanted to like and I really tried, but I just didn't get it. It ticks the right boxes. Breathy, ethereal, dream-like, electronic and atmospheric music. I enjoyed other albums with similar vibes, but for some reason this one just didn't do it for me. It opens well. 'Green Light' is very catchy, and starts off with very light piano and lovely vocals. After nearly a minute the piano gets into second gear along with a bass drum - which I loved - before bursting into the chorus where it picks up again. A great opener that hooks you in with its catchy melody and upbeat dancy piano. Unfortunately the next few songs I found myself bored, and again, I'm not sure why. The quality comes back with 'Liability' which is brilliant. It's just vocals and soft piano and that's all it needs to be. Lorde sounds her most vulnerable and intimate in this song. A beautiful track, beautifully sung with beautifully painful lyrics. And then I'm bored again for the next ten minutes. 'Writer In The Dark' is another highlight in the same vein as 'Liability'. Just vocals and piano. There's a pattern here. Maybe it's the instruments that bore me? I honestly almost gave this just one star, but luckily the final track 'Perfect Places' came in and saved it because it's also a good one. A little more upbeat, cool uplifting chorus and a good way to end the album. Her voice fits the music perfectly, and there's a few songs with actual hooks, but there aren’t enough interesting ideas musically to keep me interested for the duration of an entire record. Two stars. Gutted.

This is definitely more like a pop album with a country twang than it is a country album with a pop twang. I think there's a difference. There is in my head anyway. There's some unique production things going on that make more than a few songs pretty atmospheric and it really tiptoes the line of pop and country. It's a really nice mixture of both and hits a good sweet spot. The added synth and strings really elevate the tracks. Kacey has a really lovely voice with an ever so slight southern drawl that makes it very appealing to listen to. She has some catchy vocal lines and the more pop influenced tracks are ear worms in themselves. 'High Horse' is the catchiest track and also my favourite on the album. It's nothing mindblowing, but it is a very pleasant listen and I would happily stick it on at any time. A generous four from me.

I imagine this was great in 1973. Don't get me wrong, it's not 'bad' but it just did nothing for me at all. It's proto-punk so it wasn't quite fully formed yet. I'm not a big punk fan as it is, so this is just even worse for my tastes. Nothing jumped out and grabbed me, nothing stood out, I couldn't hum you a tune from the album as soon as I finished. I was somewhat bored throughout. Again, it's not bad, but there have been albums that sound bigger, badder, stronger, louder and heavier than this since its release 52 years ago so this is just a bit of a time capsule of a record.

I asked a friend why dance tracks were so long. He told me that it's easier when DJ'ing as you have more time to mix and set up the next song. Fair enough, makes sense, but I didn't think it would be good for a whole album and maybe all radio edit versions of tracks would be better. I was so ready to rag on this album after looking at the length and some other reviews, but I enjoyed it. A hell of a lot more than I thought. There are certainly still a few duds. 'Around The World' is a perfect example of a 7 minute song that could be cut in half, the music isn't enough to carry the repetitive words 144 times, as well as a couple of others. In general though, there are enough iconic hooks and the music and melodies are absolutely catchy enough to carry the songs. It did feel slightly like the music equivalent of edging at times. You just wanted it to move on to the next bit, or build into something and explode into the drop, but I suppose that's not what house music is all about. Repetitive? Yes. To its detriment? Only sometimes. Overall I found this a very fun listen and I'd happily stick it on again any time and it makes me want to listen to more Daft Punk albums. A pleasantly surprising four.

This is literally "Songs that sound suspiciously similar to 'Children Of The Revolution' and 'Get It On': the album". The opening riff of 'Buick Mackane' (which is one of the best tracks) sounds very much like 'Children Of The Revolution' and the next track 'Telegram Sam' is uncannily similar to 'Get It On'. I was actually quite surprised at how alike they were. It wasn't bad, but I found it a slight chore to get through. The title track and 'Chariot Choogle' were the other highlights. Not much more I can say really. If you like T. Rex's most popular tracks, you'll love this album. I was going to give it a three but I found little variance in it and it was slightly boring at times.

Clearly these guys can play, there's no disputing that, but they're not very interesting to listen to. Complex music but can't actually write an engaging song. This is certainly the kind of music I think of when I think of prog rock. Drum fills, a dancing organ, guitar noodling. I think it's playing for playing's sake. It doesn't really go anywhere or evoke any imagery or emotion from me. I have no problem with a song being 20 minutes at all, but it has keep you interested and the opener just doesn't do that for me. The shorter tracks that make up the rest of the album aren't that great either. Plus they're very different. The closer 'Are You Ready Eddy?' is a 50's rock & roll tune. Why? I was going to be generous and give it a two, because I didn't hate this and clearly they're talented at their instruments. But would I ever listen to any of these seven tracks ever again? Probably not. I'll probably start being a little harsher going forward starting with this.

It's the first time I've ever heard the title track, and my God what a beautiful song. Perfect angelic tones by Art Garfunkel. Just when you think it ends, it comes back with more intensity, more percussion and some nice orchestra and builds to a wonderful crescendo. What an opener. 'El Condor Pasa (If I Could)' follows it, and it's a really lovely track. You don't get enough flute playing in songs for my liking! From here it's slightly hit and miss. Nothing bad by any means, but wavering quality. I will say though, you can hear the influence from The Beatles on some of these tracks. 'Keep The Customer Satisfied' and 'Baby Driver' you could absolutely find right at home on an early album from the Fab Four. I personally don't think the rest of the album lives up to these heights of the opening two tracks. It's ever so slightly boring in places, but the dull tracks are worth enduring for the jewels that they surround.

I'm currently four songs in and I'm ridiculously bored. I've heard no change in just over ten minutes. It's very slow, very monotonous, and very boring. Seven tracks done now. There seems to be a slight country vibe on this one. Still bored though. I want this to be over. If I don't finish this review, send for help. Track ten now and the first half is a capella. I fear I might not make it to the end. Last track and I've made it. I feel relief that it's over. In all seriousness, a few tracks did stand out. 'The Ocean' had a nice orchestral sound and built itself up nicely before fading out. 'Tonight' was actually quite a beautiful track and Hawley's voice fits this one the best. 'Last Orders' the closing track is an ambient, atmospheric tune with a lovely piano. This is a bit of a snoozefest. It's not bad and it doesn't hurt my ears, but it's definitely boring. Three tracks out of eleven isn't good enough. I'd describe it as "forgettably pleasant'.

I believe that this is my fifth Neil Young album so far? I still think he's pretty good, and I still don't think his vocals are that bad. The first half of this album is a slower, more acoustic half. The songs do slightly bleed together into one I have to say. All very nice and very lovely inoffensive stuff, but nothing that I would actively choose to pick out necessarily. The second half is where the grungey hard rock comes in, and I like it a hell of a lot more than the first half. Young is a great guitar player. The solo on 'Powderfinger' is great and the fast rocking riff on 'Sedan Delivery' is a proper foot tapper. There's not much more I can say that would add anything extra to my previous four reviews of Neil Young albums. I would have given this a three, but I did say I was going to be harsher in my ratings. First half would be a 1.5, second half a 3. Overall I'm rounding down to a two.

Sometimes decent and other times, slightly worse than that. A little bit of a snoozefest in all honesty. Some pretty okay guitar work. In comparison to Neil Young's 'After The Goldrush' (because apparently all the members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young all released albums in 1970) which I got a couple of weeks ago, it isn't as good, but it's not quite a single star.

Elevator music. Pure and simple. The type of music you'd hear in a wanky wine bar or piano lounge. There's absolutely no meat on the bones of this album. There's nothing to sink your teeth into, and it all sounds like a variation on the same song. It not awful, it's just pretty samey and boring, and for me personally, it's background music at best. After 20 minutes you've heard it all and just want it to end.

Not exactly my kind of thing but I enjoyed this. Psychedelic, funky soul with some great powerful vocals. There's a great energy to this album and you can feel it as you're listening. I'd happily add any one of these tracks to a playlist and wouldn't mind them popping up at any point.

As a huge Maiden fan, I can say with certainty that this is not their best album. I'd put it somewhere around the middle to bottom half. Still five stars, but they've done some incredible records and it's a shame there's only two of their albums on this list. I can see why this would be one though. It's their debut and they came sprinting out of the blocks with a point to prove. Lyrically it's not great. In fact a lot of the tracks just repeat the same verse two or three times. But the music more than makes up for this. Every single track has a very catchy hook, melody. riff or singalong chorus that you'll find yourself humming for ages. The awful production actually adds to the charm of this album in my opinion. It's really rough and unpolished which gives it a bit of a punky vibe along with the vocals of Paul Di'Anno. As I said before with 'The Number Of The Beast' if you like this album, please do yourself a favour and check out their discography. You won't be disappointed. Iron Maiden are the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. Up The Irons.

It's nice to finally put a singing voice to the face of Henry Rollins who I've seen pop up throughout the years in various documentaries and interviews. I like the sound of the guitar. It's rough and heavy. Thick and fuzzy. The notes the guitar is actually playing excited me slightly less. Better than most hardcore punk I would say but still doesn't make me want to check out more of Black Flag. The vocals are your typical hardcore punk vocals really. Loud, aggressive, not melodic in the slightest. Almost shouting. Thankfully, like most punk, it is quite a short listen. I would have started to hate it more and more as time went on. Not quite my kind of music, but good to stick on if you're in the mood for something aggressive.

There's a reason why The Prodigy were allowed to grace the stage at festivals like Download and Sonisphere. This album is a world where dance and metal collide and metalheads took this band in and claimed them as their own. You can see why, it's very heavy dance music in places. There are some cracking tracks here. The three singles 'Firestarter', 'Breathe' and 'Smack My Bitch Up' are easily the strongest ones. The latter in particular is my favourite. It's got a really cool groove and the wailing by whoever the female vocalist is is a cool highlight. Of the other tracks that I'd never heard, 'Climbatize' was really cool. It stood out because it was almost chilled out despite the heavy drums which were prominent throughout the album. It's got a cool melodic hook to it and had an almost Middle Eastern flavour. 'Mindfields' was a cool, Asian inspired almost psychedelic track. Closer 'Fuel My Fire' was also good with its infectious groove and foot tapping beat. I will say that it's slightly one note overall so you have to really be in the mood for it. The tracks really could have done with being a minute or two shorter as well. I don't know how much fat is in this land, but it could have done with being trimmed. I can see why it's a classic and I can see why people love it. I would say I liked it, I enjoyed it but I wasn't blown away. Would have been a four if they cut the runtime down by ten minutes.

I didn't enjoy this album all that much. The vocals, though a bit weird and different, I didn't think were particularly nice to listen to, and definitely got a little irritating when getting through the whole record. There were some decent and catchy enough tracks with a bit of drive and momentum here and there, but the 'sound' of this album does get repetitive and boring after a while. Overall, a moody, slightly creepy album. Nothing I would actively seek out to listen to but wouldn't necessarily turn it off if it was playing.

I didn't enjoy this as much as 'The College Dropout'. Nowhere near. It seems to me that on this album, Kanye decided to do less and less of what he does best which is rapping clever lyrics over clever samples and cool beats, and more of whatever the hell this is. The opening two tracks are good. 'On Sight' is heavy and electronic and 'Black Skinhead' is very intense and threatening and Kanye sounds great on it. A lot of the rest of this album though is really obnoxious. It's filled with these screechy parts that are more irritating than they are interesting or captivating. The two singles are the aforementioned 'Black Skinhead' and the closer 'Bound 2' which I also really like and have done since it first came out. It's weird though, how these two singles, which for me are the two best tracks, sound like they don't belong on this album. They're the standouts in quality and also in sound. It sounds like he wanted to sound bigger and grander but to me it just sounds a bit pompous. I'm hoping the final album of his on this list is better.

There's some fantastic stuff here. McCartney absolutely shines on 'Oh! Darling' with some really lovely vocals. The massive hits 'Come Together' and 'Here Comes The Sun' are brilliant and have stood the test of time and will do so for the rest of time. Even 'Octopus's Garden' which is pretty kooky is a really good, catchy track by Ringo. Most of the other tracks I find slightly dull or they go on for a bit too long. Overall I would say that my feeling towards this album is "unimpressed". There's not much on this album that interests me. This is the highest rated album on the 1001 Albums Generator site. I personally don't think it's THAT good. It's not even the best album by The Beatles. Give me 'Rubber Soul' any day of the week (I've only had three Beatles albums so far).

I knew Mark Knopfler was the guitarist for Dire Straits, but I genuinely had no idea that he was also the lead vocalist. I have to say that his guitar playing is a lot better than his singing. At times it reminded me of that Family guy episode when they meet Randy Newman and he sings everything he sees. Quite dreary and unenjoyable at times. The opener 'So Far Away' get us off to a pretty strong start. Next is 'Money For Nothing' and obviously the riff is iconic, but I really don't think it's good enough to carry it for eight and a half minutes. That's way too long for a track that's so unvaried, which is the story of this album. Any song that's 5 - 8 minutes (two-thirds of the album) definitely could have been cut in half. 'Walk Of Life' is next and is easily the biggest ear worm and my favourite track. 'Your Latest Trick' has some really nice jazzy trumpet and sax which you'll be humming to yourself, but again, it's longer than it needs to be. The second half of the album really steps up the little riffs, licks and guitar melodies. They're sprinkled into every track and they're really great when they do happen. 'Ride Across The River' sounds exactly like a quest through the jungle. 'One World' is a funky bass driven track with more guitar licks. This is probably the best three star album I've had so far. It's really good in places. Memorable, catchy and some really good instrumentation. Unfortunately the vocals and long runtime let it down. It 100% should have been cut by 15 minutes.

I only know the famous classics of Elvis (and love them) but have never ventured deep into his back catalogue of tunes. This is a lot less rock 'n' roll and a lot more of a warbling, soulful, country sound which I didn't expect. 'Only The Strong Survive' and 'In The Ghetto' are the best tracks. I can't fault Elvis' vocals whatsoever. They're like smooth liquid gold and you can practically hear the famous curled lip of his as he sings. Overall, it's not massively interesting, a little boring in places, but Elvis himself is definitely the highlight.