437
Albums Rated
3.34
Average Rating
40%
Complete
652 albums remaining
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1950s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
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US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
41
5-Star Albums
3
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nixon | 5 | 2.76 | +2.24 |
| Brutal Youth | 5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
| Modern Life Is Rubbish | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| Clube Da Esquina | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| Rain Dogs | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| John Prine | 5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
| Crooked Rain Crooked Rain | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| Me Against The World | 5 | 3.25 | +1.75 |
| Sound Affects | 5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
| S&M | 5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | 2 | 4.26 | -2.26 |
| Tapestry | 2 | 3.92 | -1.92 |
| Harvest | 2 | 3.83 | -1.83 |
| Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | 2 | 3.73 | -1.73 |
| Californication | 2 | 3.71 | -1.71 |
| ...Baby One More Time | 1 | 2.67 | -1.67 |
| L.A. Woman | 2 | 3.67 | -1.67 |
| The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | 2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
| Aladdin Sane | 2 | 3.62 | -1.62 |
| Machine Head | 2 | 3.59 | -1.59 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Amy Winehouse | 2 | 5 |
| Tom Waits | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 2 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Depeche Mode | 5, 2 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5, 2 |
| David Bowie | 4, 2, 4, 2, 5 |
5-Star Albums (41)
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Popular Reviews
The Jam
4/5
Really fun and bouncy album. Wanders sometimes into clash territory, some shades of police, sometimes all their own. Nice record
2 likes
John Prine
5/5
There is only one and it's him. Weight and humor in absurd but equal measure. I'm not even a real fanatic but I have so much respect for his ability.
2 likes
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
The f*cking temerity. What collection of troll critics landed this three hour long concept album on this list. I have lots to do today...guess the majority of this Saturday will be spent getting my business accounts all balanced whilst pining for love like a beheaded fowl. It's fine. F*ck. Turns out it's still a really interesting if resentable album.
1 likes
Miles Davis
5/5
Absolutely one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. I used to have an old boss who would play this album at noon everyday. I caught the shot. He loved it. I got to where I loved it too. I still do. Really holds up even after all the listens.
1 likes
The Jam
5/5
Really great album that feels like a perfect synthesis between early new-wave and early punk rock. Tuneful and driving with fun lyricism. There wasn't a single song I didn't enjoy or felt was misplaced in the album order. Not sure if it'll make my desert island albums but it is pretty great. I'll give it a five-star because I simply can't find any fault with it.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (3)
All Ratings
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Absolute classic album but feels roughly made in a way that even its contemporaries did not. Skits are fun and provide some counterpoint to what would otherwise be solidly braggadocious. The man's flow is unmatched when he is on. One of the best rappers of all time but this isn't a perfect album. It is a good album with perfect swaths. I don't mean to seem overly critical but when you have peaks as high as this album goes the low points stand out in stark relief.
Elliott Smith
5/5
An album I've heard several times. I adore Smith's voice and a great deal of his writing. For me he is at his best in faster paced songs such as the opening track "Son of Sam". The album drags in a few spots and feels like background music for a film with something more substantial to say in the moment. The arrangement of the album feels a bit hinky compared to either/or (for example). Pacing is a bit off. Figure 8 is an album that'll always be worth listening to...unless there is a livelier Smith album or compendium on hand.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Sort of like decent Elvis crash landed on Brooke Benton island. Someone To Love Me is pretty great. Opening track (at least on Spotify) is fantastic for the genre. Solomon has a lovely and expressive voice. If you're a fan of modern things like St. Paul and The Broken Bones this will pick your locks without effort. It's a decently composed album as far as track ordering. If anything it suffers from being its own sea of same. Like an Ink Spots record, if you've heard the first three tracks, the rest will simply be more of the same. It gets a 6/10 from me. better than average for sure but not really my game overall.
OutKast
5/5
Well, it isn't my favorite Outkast album but it is the best one of the 2000's! Plenty of good tracks, a couple of hits, and a few misses. Love Outkast and would almost forgive them any missteps as they have tried, consistently, to reinvent what they are and can bring to the people. Really great album that I wish I could put at a 4.4.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
If Tom Waits were less hatefully intoxicated and more Christmassy you'd have this album...which is a pretty good thing. It's not really for me but I feel like it occupies an important place. The man has talent.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I dislike Dylan and this isn't really an exception.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Kind of like if you threw the Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, and Maybe a few quieter Ethyl Meatplow tracks into a blender and then smashed a button marked "super soft weiner". I mean that in the best way. Not quite a five-star but damnably close.
Hole
2/5
Love was, and I mean this, the worst front person for the band Faith No More. This was a couple of months in the later 80's. It was interesting in that the band was post-Chuck Mosley but still sounded like FNM...except Love...who insisted by sheer will on being who she is. Which is a very mediocre artist. Hole sounds like someone doing an impression of grunge/alternative. If it were not for her multiple dalliances she likely wouldn't have ascended to a fair degree of fame. I would have 50+ minutes of my life back. What I will grant this album is that it is very well laid out and quite consistent. Like some artificial nutrient paste shaped skillfully into the impression of a complete supper. The entire album I cannot find one moment of excitement. Big Yuck to this album.
Al Green
4/5
Great album to wake up to in the morning if you can take things slowly. Maybe drags a touch in the middle.
ABBA
3/5
It's pretty conceptual. I definitely am old enough to appreciate what ABBA is without a trace of irony. I guess that I would say it fills the role it set out to perfectly. It is generally uplifting and even when it is sad and contemplative it isn't very deep about it. It is a candy apple but the apple is a granny smith variety. I like it in small doses but it is cloying and ultimately begins to agitate like apple flesh between my molars. Patently well made but not for me...picky fuck that I am.
Moby
5/5
Ye Gods, a 2.5 hour long album is the version I listened to. Gotta say, it is so gentle and groovy and relaxing it just made my day way easier around the house. Even as an extended album every song just flows together so amazingly well. I've been a fan of Moby since I was around 13 and heard "Rain". So, while the beat and effect choices seem a little clunky and dated, the language of the music retains a charming cohesiveness that is pure Moby. Really, I hadn't ever given this (or many) of his albums a full and focused "Dark Side Of The Moon" style listen. I am so glad that I did. I'll come back to this again and again...albeit probably the regular album.
MC Solaar
3/5
Not my bag maybe? I love flowing raps with a nice bounce. Something about the production felt kind of off? It is a good album just not a great one or one that I will ever crave?
Frank Ocean
5/5
Loungey and delicious. I'm four tracks in a it is a simply wonderful album that is outside of my normal sphere of listening. Peeping Tom feels similar. With that album Mike Patton was trying to reveal an alternate world where he was interpreting what he compose for various radio stations. While Channel Orange (so far) isn't as genre-swappy it is extremely diverse and densely packed. Alright, finished now. I'd put this up there as a modern masterpiece. Even the parts I am not fond of work as hallways to the next vista. Palette cleansers.
Britney Spears
1/5
Today's album isn't making it easy on me. I mean, I loathe romantic pop. Aside from my disgust I was surprised at the reggae on "Soda Pop". That is maybe the soul interesting cut left on this whole album. It is mathematically crafted to sell the idea of young sexuality...which, I'm 43. so...no thank you.
It was less awful of an experience than I was expecting on the whole. I was maybe a little surprised that the non-hits on the album were more listenable than their more popular counterparts. "I Will Still Love You" with Don Philip was frankly an 80's ballad. The following track was a super-soft gay dancehall bop. Maybe "Deep In My Heart" is the "best" track on the album.
My life is shorter and incrementally worse but I am wiser for having embarked on this listen. Isn't that just the way of learning.
Pavement
5/5
Great album. Lots of dynamic range in terms of tempo and feel. Rang life, Gold Soundz, cut your hair, silence kid, and heaven is a truck are all winners. There are a few draggy spots but they set the table for the next course. I've been a Pavement listener for years and years but never really listened to whole albums undistracted and pointedly. I think I'll work my way through the catalog now. Very enjoyable experience.
Justice
3/5
Fine album. Drags a little. Had an opportunity to improve on the best work of ratatat but is merely different.
David Bowie
4/5
My favorite bowie album remains in a vast minority. 1. Outside is the tops. This album is really good though. David Bowie always comes in eras. This era is simply not my favorite. I don't care for the Disco swing of it all, the mix feels muddy, and the lyrics feel despondently cynical and clever but just not as pointed as other albums. It's not for me but it's a great album!
Queen
3/5
Not my favorite queen album. Possibly my least favorite. That said it is still a good album with impressive diversity. A bad queen album is still worth hearing at least once deeply.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Great album. Oddly, I don't like the first and last tracks but everything in between is sublime. It isn't perfect but I'm going to give it 5 stars for what it is able to accomplish in terms of renovating my whole mood today. Thanks Bob and company.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
A true modern classic. Haven't listened to the whole thing in order maybe ever. Feel like I've been missing out. Amy was sort of a joke culturally at the end of her life but Frank is at the zenith of her talent and she (and the Dap Kings) are amazing here. No notes. Guess I gotta Five-Star this one.
David Ackles
3/5
Felt a lot like Warren zevon. Very well composed album full of songs that I don't particularly like. Probably was fairly groundbreaking in its era.
Fairport Convention
3/5
It was fine. Warbly hippy goodness. Felt like what my mom liked to listen to when I was growing up.
Lambchop
5/5
Such a good album!
Boston
5/5
Maybe one of the best albums of all time. I'm warm on dad rock. I like a Nazareth, I like some journey...but this album is insane and basically made by one guy and a really wild singer. It's very, very good.
New Order
2/5
If you had asked me yesterday in a list of '80s since we've been if I liked New order I would have emphatically said sure! After listening to this album, I've just got to say that I don't like it. Part of it is that it is just a rudimentary area where people were focused on forcing in new technology that maybe wasn't quite ready for prime time. Part of it is that it is self-centered and kind of weenyish. I just didn't care for it. I'm not going to say it's bad.
2Pac
5/5
A lot of people have made bones about the conflicting views expressed in this album. But I think that Tupac was ineffective luminary for the lifestyle. That was evident at the time. Clean order to live in such conditions, one must accept multiple conflicting truths. The album is a wonderful example of beauty in a low vocabulary. The production values are excellent and, while there weren't any real standout tracks aside from "Old School" and "Dear Mama", The album as a whole is magnificently composed In total.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
This was an album I've heard a few tracks off of already. As a contiguous album. It's wonderful. I've heard a lot of praise over the years for the flaming lips but haven't really been dedicated to setting out a blessing. I will absolutely listen to this album again. Then we'll have to be in the right mood.
Peter Tosh
3/5
As much as I loved Bob Marley's legend, I really don't like this album. Feels too primitive in some ways? Like old punk. I respect it. It's the roots of a genre I adore...but I don't listen to it hardly ever. This album was a little better than I expected it to be. It's engaging. It's hard to be map listening to reggae!
The Jam
5/5
Really great album that feels like a perfect synthesis between early new-wave and early punk rock. Tuneful and driving with fun lyricism. There wasn't a single song I didn't enjoy or felt was misplaced in the album order. Not sure if it'll make my desert island albums but it is pretty great. I'll give it a five-star because I simply can't find any fault with it.
Leftfield
3/5
Oddly boring album
Has it's merits. Great music to work to.
DJ Shadow
5/5
Putting this album contextually in its place in history. It is a true masterpiece. It's not a perfect album for me because I have a little bit of trouble with instrumentals and personal relation. I have no criticisms of the type of material or the way it's deployed. I simply wasn't as moved by it as lyrical or narrative musical pieces. Not to say some of that isn't there or that it isn't evocative. Just not what I am into.
Neu!
2/5
Interesting at first but finished in a repetitive and kind of chaotic place that didn't feel like it paid its dues to the first part of the album. Not for me but impressively modern for 1975.
AC/DC
3/5
I know, I know. It's a classic. But it's really just three different songs in a trenchcoat. I like them but not for a while album.
Carole King
2/5
I dislike carol king. I don't understand why she is so popular with a certain set of people. her voice is not exceptional, her playing is reasonable, It's not like she was out here smashing barriers. Maybe it's literally just me but I didn't care for a single song. This was a very difficult listen. Two stars but I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
Tom Waits
5/5
Amazing album from an alternate universe. Not a bad track. Will spin again.
The Byrds
2/5
Did not like it one little bit. Felt like an a poor apeing of country. The band is quite talented but I'm just not sure what was supposed to appeal here.
Beatles
4/5
What a great album. Not perfect but, separate from it being a Beatles album, it's well built. The tunes are catchy and varied. I do not like the Beatles in general but I have to hand it to them, my toes tapped a few times.
Nick Drake
5/5
Maybe one of the best albums I never heard before on this list so far.
Incubus
4/5
Better than I thought it would be and the singles, while dated, were entertaining.
The Temptations
4/5
Lovely.
Cream
4/5
Solid cover to cover
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Jerry is cool
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
Loved it. Somehow so fresh then and today!
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Just not for me. Nothing to say of it being bad.
Bob Dylan
2/5
If I wanted to like this artist I probably had to have been alive at the time. Lyrically quite talented and realized. Everything else is meh at best. I've seen him live and felt the same way. I wish I could see what so many others do because I have to admit that they seem to find him captivating.
5/5
Have never really listened to more than a few of their tracks. Really fun album. Really creatively punky. Loved it.
Soft Cell
3/5
I liked it even though it was a deeply silly album. A bit amateurish feeling from a popular band somehow? Could be that it was part of the adoption of early synthesis tech into pop music? Could be that their whole thing was kind of being unserious. I'm not allergic to that. It was pretty ok. Not awesome for how many times people have mentioned the album to me. I think it stood out proud simply because it has a song about a sex dwarf.
Funkadelic
4/5
Fun album. Great working music. Soothes my noisy mind by generating all the funk which I require. Unexpected and pleasant.
Frank Zappa
3/5
Really incredible technical album. Can't say I loved it?
The Jam
4/5
Really fun and bouncy album. Wanders sometimes into clash territory, some shades of police, sometimes all their own. Nice record
The Prodigy
4/5
I remember when these guys debuted. I thought they were so avant garde. Now the music feels somewhat primitive...still, it is a wild album and I enjoyed almost every single track.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Nice and bluesy jazz wholesomeness.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Really fun album. Tons of wins.
Metallica
5/5
I've always been a fan of Metallica. Even though they can come across as a little juvenile to me now in my 40s.
Still, this album is absolutely amazing. Was groundbreaking for his time and still feels fresh and interesting. This is one I will listen to again.
Portishead
4/5
I tend to listen in the morning. Not an ideal time for Portishead maybe? Still, what am I interesting band for it's time. Really wasn't anything like it in popular music. Much less a somber group that has four hits on a single album.
Aphex Twin
4/5
So much better than I anticipated. I've always thought of Apex twin as being a bit difficult to listen to. Not that I didn't like it but I had to be in the mood for it. These works were incredible.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Really great. Enthusiastic and candy like while cartoonishly dark and morbid. What a fun piece of history.
Beatles
3/5
It's really groundbreaking but I seem to be on a minority in that I really only like one out of five Beatles songs?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Second Cave album to come up in this process. I liked this one a good bit less. Nick Cave is undoubtedly an important musician but a bit like Tom Waits in that when he's on he's on...when he isn't he's still tom waits. For me, to truly enjoy Cave's music some stars really need to align in a way they didn't really do for abattoir blues.
The Bees
4/5
Fun little detour of low-impact beauty. Really liked it.
Björk
4/5
Bjork is a wild talent. This particular album wasn't what I love in her work but it is still really, really good and interesting and pretty fun. Maybe just a bit more somber than I was in the mood for?
Depeche Mode
5/5
So rich and wonderful. Violator is an amazing album. All the teeth of early NIN but if it were a more well-adjusted person, three-dimensional person.
Massive Attack
3/5
Interesting but not my favorite.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
A weird album, a true oddity by Todd Rundgren.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
A little of this is frankly amazing. Over an hour borders on trying.
Beck
4/5
Surprisingly better than I remembered...though I've never sat down and listened to the whole thing critically. It was rich and sad and weird.
Nirvana
5/5
Zero complaints. Not just a great album but, with cultural touchstones, impossible to listen to and not find yourself contemplating history, what might have been, and what we gained or lost.
Sort of like The Wall in that way but even more accessible. More every-day.
Nirvana did such an impeccable job of never feeling sold out. Always feeling like the throes of a flu fever.
My mother woke me up with breakfast the day Kurt topped himself. My brother and I are came to the kitchen table and then she handed us the paper and simply said: "guys, I'm sorry. I remember how I felt when Lennon died. It's ok to be really sad."
We were.
Aimee Mann
3/5
Not my typical fare. Musically it vacillates between alt country and Beth Orton style tales of the heart. It's a good representative of its ilk and I found myself enjoying several tracks. I recommended it to my wife who actually is a big Orton fan. I wouldn't change the album if I came into my house and it was on but, barring that, I probably won't critically listen to it again. All things considered I'd give it quite high praise aside from my personal preferences. The music is actually quite well realized and not merely an accompaniment to Mann's wry lyricism.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Enjoyed it. Fun album with an almost old-school rap amount of skit flavor. Which is perfect. I love how unserious it is. Her voice is great and the music is fun.
The Style Council
3/5
Not for me. Interesting and fairly advanced for its place in time but maybe a bit too immature in some ways? Felt like fat boy slim as a toddler?
Tom Waits
4/5
Good fun and not nearly as dark as I remembered. Odd for sure and a challenge to listen to in spots.
Fugees
4/5
I've always had mixed feelings in my limited exposure to this group. I heard only the hits. As an album it feels like a true synthesis between Wu-Tang and something more gentle like LL-Cool J's more romantic tracks. It has skits, it has some nice flows, it has great sampling, it's a fantastic and varied album. I don't know that I'll run it back again and again but I enjoyed it.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Solid album. Definitely feels similar to B-52'S in a way but punkier. I listened prior to most of it and I probably will again. I like irreverence.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
Buffalo Stance was the only song that I knew from her. I wish I had kept it that way. Buffalo's dance is a weird little pop song but it's good. Everything else on this album feels tortured and like a sickly representative of its era. Not a fan.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Didn't care for the last one. This album, however, is an amazing classic. Much more composed and a higher caliber of authorship.
Pretenders
4/5
So good! Maybe not my speed entirely but really good.
Bon Jovi
3/5
So earnest it almost can't be parodied. A lot of music of this ilk is just the same. Bon Jovi has a big leg up on its contemporaries in that the musical production is of a really high caliber and that several tracks step away from the mawkish lyricism and end up in sports anthem territory.
I would like to note that the lyrics that made Bon Jovi a total heartthrob today would read like a stalker's missive to his intended victim. This initial thought gave me a few chuckles through the listen.
Not bad. I'll never again listen in its entirety. I will back folks up at karaoke.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I don't care for bob Dylan and I've even seen him live. This album did not deviate. It was not good and I'm a little confused about how Dylan was and remains so highly regarded? It feels like the inversion of the fact that the world's greatest rapper probably stocks shelves at target.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
A great album. Not really what I expected but still really enjoyable. I knew a few Of their songs probably explore other work by them.
Elvis Costello
4/5
What a fun album. Costello is a heck of a lyricist and composer. I don't know much about him, his career, or more than a few of his singles. Most of what I know is from this album. I was surprised that it was released this early. It seems more advanced than a lot of what was available musically at the time.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
4/5
Radiohead and Gorillaz had one baby and it grew up with good insurance and was able to attend therapy and find a decent SSRI to mitigate its tough times. Nice album.
Taylor Swift
3/5
She is inarguably the present pop queen. That said, I don't care for this album or her music. It is built to have broad appeal and, while it is more technically apt than most, I won't let that elevate it for the sake of its sickly breed. It's fine.
Soundgarden
4/5
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Wonderful and chock with irreverence!
Van Halen
5/5
Goddamn hit parade is what it is. It's gonzo and fun and undeniably a drug-fuelled menace.
Metallica
4/5
Great metal album. Orion is a masterpiece.
Radiohead
4/5
I'm in the minority here. Probably greatly. Radiohead has some great songs. Three of them are on here. It is an objectively grand album but I don't really care for Radiohead. I've always been sort of annoyed by them on the whole with songs here and there I really like. I'm giving it four stars because I'm aware the issue is one of personal taste.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
What a weird album. Like, it feels amateurish but wildly complex in the decisions that were made. It's something I will have to listen to again later. But so odd. And that comes from a genuine Mr. Bungle fan.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
I like a few of Will Oldham's collaborations and he doubtless has a place in music. I don't enjoy this album as a whole. I don't think it's very good.
The Killers
3/5
I host karaoke. Have for quite a while at this point. I have to hand it to the killers that they really get crowds engaged when they are in "hit mode". I don't actually think this is a historically great album in terms of composition, narrative, or tone. It is not really fun despite what the disco drums tell me. Guitar, for me, on this album kind of saves it. I've seen a few live videos. That guy is machine precise. Singer is great too. Just theatrical in a way that leaves me cringing as much as I'm enjoying. Not a bad album but maybe too oversaturated with praise. If it was unknown I probably would not be so rough...so 4 stars?
Fever Ray
3/5
Not a fave. Definitely interesting. More, music for a film I would deeply enjoy.
Various Artists
3/5
It's a fine holiday album. Certainly captures the mood.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
Just an astounding well composed album with a very silly and pedantic band name.
Duran Duran
5/5
Great and really fun album. Incredibly rich sound. Surprisingly well mixed for the era.
Kelela
4/5
Really engaging r&b stuff. Lovely, dark, and rich. Feels like it's a pastiche of multiple decades. Nice.
Sabu
3/5
A bit ambient for me. I'm good with instrumental and like a lot of jazz but this was like trance music in a number of ways. Not something that moved me. Perhaps there's a technical thing I am unaware of or a place in history that this snugs into that adds gravity to the album.
3/5
It was an ok album. I like some of her songs but the album dragged somehow as a composition.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Not bad but a bit too proto for me.
Eminem
4/5
Date and juvenile and better than it has any damn right to be.
Solange
4/5
Dreamy and pointed. Really liked it. Nice way to kick off a lonely morning (in a good way).
Beatles
5/5
I really don't enjoy the Beatles. They are varied and explore genre effortlessly. That said, there is still that sound that they have. Their signature. It just never really didn't for me. Pretty sizeable catalogue and I maybe really enjoy 7 songs? I think the problem is me. This is a perfect album. I'm just not the perfect audience for it.
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
The f*cking temerity. What collection of troll critics landed this three hour long concept album on this list. I have lots to do today...guess the majority of this Saturday will be spent getting my business accounts all balanced whilst pining for love like a beheaded fowl. It's fine. F*ck. Turns out it's still a really interesting if resentable album.
The La's
3/5
Fun and easy and kind of odd in a pleasant way. Definitely emulating antiquity in a talented way. Pretty good.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Great but a bit odd for first thing in the morning. Definitely had me brushing my teeth with a bit more flavor.
Funkadelic
4/5
Super weird and fun. Not what I was in the mood for but it made me enjoy it anyhow.
Eagles
4/5
Good lord it's full of hits.
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
Really not what I expected. For being an ambient album of noises and beats it is truly awesome.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
It was fine for me. Not something I'll come back to again. All due respect to Sir McCartney and company but Wings was never my style.
Talvin Singh
3/5
Cool album. It's a really strong flavor so you have to be in the mood. I kind of was and wasn't. Trying to be objective about its place in time I have to critically say that it feels a touch repetitive even in considerations of contemporary artists. Maybe that is the Tabla influence? It is, to an extent, a trance album. That said so is Terrence Mckenna and his works at an earlier time were frankly a tad more stimulating to me personally.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
Great album brimming with fun and energy.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Didn't love it as much as "my aim is true" but still a rad album.
Kraftwerk
4/5
I get that its an early album and kind of aimless in ways but I really, truly enjoyed it. Maybe I was just in the mood for weirdo German ambling this morning? The beeps and boops make for good company while choosing a suitable work outfit and slugging back coffee.
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
The queens kinda of passed me by on the first try. I thought they were fine. After sitting for a compulsory album however I really like them.
Kanye West
2/5
Didn't think it was good. Rhymes were so-so. Production was nice. First Kanye album I've ever listened to but I do trend towards JARV and Aesop Rock and Blackalicious more.
David Bowie
2/5
Not my favorite.
Deee-Lite
4/5
Was totally the feeling I needed today. Discounting that it was still a great album!
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
It's funky bbq music for a lovely moment.
Joanna Newsom
3/5
It's beautiful but it feels like, musically, it's sort of motif heavy. That's a way of calling it repetitive but technically savvy. I won't fault her for it anymore than I fault kraftwerk which I ranked significantly higher than most. I don't really care for her voice? Feels like a bit wilder bjork but over the harp it seems jarring. Really well done lyricism.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
It's a fine album with quite varied instrumentation. I don't mind not being able to understand the lyrics. I love African melody and best choices from this era and maybe even a bit earlier. Still, kinda leaves me wanting a touch on several levels. Feels unbalanced in some way on most tracks.
Boards of Canada
2/5
I know this is a legendary album but I really did not care for a single song. I typically dig ambient, droney, or slower stuff but this felt frankly sluggish.
Charles Mingus
3/5
I like quite a bit of jazz. This isn't great for me. That's just a stylistic preference. It's a really good album. If you're into that kind of freeform music for the night and then it's perfect.
Slipknot
3/5
I don't like Slipknot but they have some fun tracks. I never was into the Nu metal thing and, while they are an actual metal band, that noxious influence is still present. I will say that some of the lyricism is wry and genuinely fun. The beats are undeniable. Maybe I was not in the mood for what is tantamount to an auditory panic attack? I mean, it is a solid greatest hits album.
Orbital
3/5
Interesting and I can see why Orbital fans like this bent of slightly busier ambient techno.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Love the pass the mic style of that bygone era. It's just a really fun album.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Knowing that these cats are from California makes listening to these songs odd. Great music either way. Just a strange feeling.
Richard Thompson
3/5
Neat and more engaging than I expected. Also, given the tear it was made it felt like the production was pretty nice as well.
The Human League
3/5
Kind of twee and fun but somehow not really super interesting.
Parliament
4/5
I genuinely enjoyed this short maxi album. It's p-funk. It's on the label. It does it's job admirably.
John Coltrane
3/5
It's a great work of art. It just isn't to my taste. It does feel almost classical in a way. A bit too much of a good thing somehow? I really like a Coltrane song. I'm just not sure I need a whole album at once?
Finley Quaye
4/5
Fun and light. Just what was required for my Sunday. Maybe a bit pop for my usual taste but, while I was going bonkers playing Enter The Dungeon, it was a lovely counterpoint.
ZZ Top
4/5
Precisely what's on the label.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
I enjoy the earnestness with which the singer does his thing. The music is good. I can never tell if they're lampooning the Elvis/Vegas/Tony Bennett thing or if they're serious?
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Just found it to be way too schmaltzy. Like, it wasn't bad but I fail to engage with it on any level? I usually assume that's a me problem with albums and artists at this level of renown...here I don't think so.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Surprisingly fun and maybe a bit perfect for my day. Always been a fan of melodic political punk. Bad Religion, NOFX, etc. this felt similar if a bit more insane. I didn't mind it. I've heard, like everyone, plenty of tracks from this album but never eaten it whole. It was a delectable and irreverant treat.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
A little odd as this is a part of my "first thing in the morning" routine but it is a wonderful album. I'm not sure who had the more tragic end of life between him and Sam Cooke. On the subject of the music, well, its sublime. The lyrics are a little cheesy but that both to be expected of the genre and he does them credit in his cadence and voice.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Kind of dark and helmet-ish in some ways. Certainly something I would normally like but it didn't really stand out to me.
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Quite gentile. Not really my bag but well done and beautifully made.
Television
3/5
Just Fine. The part I liked was that it felt very talking heads.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Peppy in a way I wasn't expecting.
Air
4/5
Easy to enjoy. Fun. I'll definitely listen to his again.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
I mean. It's Aretha. It's pretty great.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
It's one of the greatest albums for me personally. Some of this is due, not to the album, as much as the stories around it. I am aware that critically that shouldn't have an impact. However, the fact that such an album would come out of the progeny of Tim Buckley and that he would tragically die a few short years later helps to contextualize it. Jeff did his own thing. Jeff had every right to the fame his solo project was gathering. We will never know if we would hear this music without his father. We'll never know if we would have heard more had he not simply walked into the Mississippi river. These facts cannot help but be factored and so I cannot help but allow them into my critical analysis of this album in its place in history. His voice is damn near alien and his lyrics, while heavy-handed, are absolutely beautiful. What a shame and what a gift.
Bobby Womack
3/5
Great music but not for me.
Iron Maiden
2/5
I don't care for iron maiden. I know they were progenitors in a lot of ways but it has never appealed to me. I like a lot of classic metal but not this.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Decently engaging. Not much else to say?
Dire Straits
4/5
It's Dire Straits. Those guys make delicious music. This was a little less mature than later efforts but still so enjoyable.
Pere Ubu
3/5
Weirdo punk stuff. I like it. Feels like a proto Mr. Bungle. Not what I expected? I've heard the name once or twice but that's about it. Pretty solid.
The Temptations
3/5
A little goes a long way. Don't get me wrong. They're all good songs. It just is so achingly arch in places.
The Clash
4/5
Love The Clash. Currently it is 2/21/25 and this kind of energy is precisely that I need in my heart.
Femi Kuti
3/5
It's a really good album but perhaps I was not totally into the mood? Either way, great composition.
Small Faces
3/5
Odd and engaging. Particularly loved the little storybook stings between songs. It was fine.
James Brown
3/5
Adorable.
The Stranglers
3/5
Love the first song. Unfortunately it kind of goes on for the whole album? I found myself wishing for significantly more diversity.
Aerosmith
3/5
A lot harder than I thought it would be. Definitely had more metal elements that I would've expected more from an album a few years later. Pretty good.
The Undertones
3/5
Odd and punky and fun.
Alice In Chains
5/5
Even if you don't care for AiC in a general or genre sense this is a superbly put together album. Every song is varied within the context of the genre. The band sounds fantastic. The talent is there. Jerry and Layne have incredible chemistry together in terms of harmony. Another pair who debatably aren't the best vocal soloists but, like Simon and Garfunkel, are preposterously good together. If you don't mind metal-borne grunge this is pretty much as good as it gets.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
The title track is amazing. Not a bad lyric amongst the songs. That is saying something given how heavy handed Cohen was in general. Here's to Canada's man in black.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
What a wonderful and fun album. I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing consecutively. It's odd to think that come on. Eileen would be one of the weaker tracks in retrospect. Still a great song but not as engaging as several of them.
Willie Nelson
3/5
Great collection of standards. I might prefer more original songs but that isn't maybe what this asl um is about.
2/5
I like Devo conceptually. I am happy Devo exists. I don't really enjoy it though.
Genesis
2/5
Just too bloody long.
The Beach Boys
5/5
One of my favorite albums of all time. I just can't find any real fault with it and there is so much to enjoy. It's so textural and fun.
The War On Drugs
2/5
Felt like it never picked up. Just didn't capture my interest once.
Miles Davis
5/5
Absolutely one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. I used to have an old boss who would play this album at noon everyday. I caught the shot. He loved it. I got to where I loved it too. I still do. Really holds up even after all the listens.
Madonna
2/5
Not what I prefer. A couple of interesting tracks. Felt kind of phoned in?
The Verve
2/5
I like the density of melody but I'm not crazy about the lyricism and vocal style. The mix is very nice and pleasingly rich.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
What a great funk and jazz album.
Chicago
3/5
Great album that I'm not really a fan of? A few real bright spots and I do love the interlude tracks.
Skepta
3/5
Great rhythms and flow. Good beats. Interludes which I always love as a conceit. Maybe some tracks get lost in a sea of same?
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
I liked that the fusion ran more towards African beats than Brazilian dance pop. This is a record I'd leave on if it was randomly playing. I think it's sort of a mood elevator musically. Can't comment on the lyricism as I don't speak the language.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Certainly of an era.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Classic.
Prince
3/5
Upbeat and weird like no one else.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
I never really understood what made Neil Young popular or lauded. This recording sounds like it was taken from the next room over, the music (aside from sedan delivery) isn't wildly innovative for the time, and lyrically it feels only fine. Maybe it isn't for me?
The Stooges
3/5
Slow and heavy and cold. So unusual for the era. A real showcase of style over talent. Fun without being too serious about it.
Garbage
3/5
Great alt rock album.
Talking Heads
4/5
Awesome early work.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Didn't like this as much as the first Nick cave album I drew here. Feels a little more murdery than the last. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood?
John Prine
5/5
There is only one and it's him. Weight and humor in absurd but equal measure. I'm not even a real fanatic but I have so much respect for his ability.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Can't help myself. I love this album.
Rush
3/5
I like rush and this is a classic.
William Orbit
2/5
Decent lil ambient album.
Public Enemy
4/5
Punk rock as all hell and with wild beats for the time. Loved it.
Pearl Jam
4/5
As one gets older one maybe slides slightly away from nirvana and towards the inevitable Pearl Jam.
Deep Purple
2/5
Just a bit to proto for me.
The Byrds
2/5
I remember enjoying this more but I felt it was a little overwrought in several areas. It's nice when a Byrd's song is around. A whole flock can be a bit much.
Depeche Mode
2/5
Violator is one of my favorite albums. This is a lot like listening to violator but in the next apartment.
Peter Frampton
2/5
It is precisely what is on the label. Self-indulgent and fun but sort of loses itself in a sea of same from time-to-time. The bright spots are in the last several tracks for me. As for the former? My feeling are similar to a Silver Jews lyric: "the stars don't shine upon us, we're just in the way of their light"
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Fun on a bun.
Kanye West
3/5
I dislike this man. I don't particularly care for his work. Still, this is a good album. Maybe the best from him.
Talking Heads
4/5
Full of fun lyricism and critiques on "modern" feelings. A great album musically and a wonderful contemplative listen on a workday morning.
Culture Club
3/5
I just think I wasn't in the mood. I'll give it situational credit in that he further broke some boundaries and I know intellectually that the music was good. It's a bit schmaltzy at times.
3/5
Self indulgent as all good prog should be.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Very relaxing.
The Thrills
3/5
Decent lil pop album. Had a bit of pavement in there which I liked.
Laura Nyro
4/5
Really interesting lyricism. Feels like it's from another dimension. Way advanced for the time conceptually. I can see why she was t commercially successful. Still, a shame. She definitely deserves that recognition.
David Bowie
4/5
Solid Bowie album. Definitely like it better than hunky dory and somewhat less than 1. Outside.
Cat Stevens
4/5
An almost perfect album. The songs are nearly all engaging in the lyricism is beautiful.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Noisy and ancient goodness.
Sparks
2/5
If you threw Styx and Abba in a bag and chucked the bag into a river of sweet Brandywine you'd have this. I don't hate it.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
A little too much of the same song the whole time.
Klaxons
2/5
It feels like Ok Go describing their dungeons and dragons game through song.
Pulp
2/5
Decent album.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Normally I'm an 80's guy. I like romanticism in music just fine. This was a saccharine chug-fest.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Absolute classic rap album. Has a unique feeling all the way through. Naive and playful pass-the-mic goodness.
Gang Of Four
4/5
Incredible album. Went to a protest today. This was my album. Delightful synchronicity.
Miles Davis
3/5
For as long as it is it drifts right on by. I got a lot of house work done!
Linkin Park
2/5
I know it's sacrilege to a certain age group but I have never been able to engage with LP's earnest angst rap-rock. I've also never listened to a whole album. I can't say that I enjoyed it. It was a sort of chore today. It all was also sort of a pastiche of repeated themes both lyrically and musically. Lost my attention in a sea of same.
Grateful Dead
3/5
I never understood the stature of the Dead in music history. I grew up with sort of hippy parents who weren't really fans but would put on this album and a few others from time-to-time. I'm not really sure what to classify the music as, I can't seem to tell what I am supposed to be feeling while listening, the tunes aren't super narrative, and I just don't get the hype. I've got plenty of friends who really respond to them as a group and I sincerely wish I didn't feel like I was missing out. I will say that it is a well-structured album and the basic tunes are fine. I do not hate it, but, merely wish I could engage with it further.
Os Mutantes
4/5
I totally loved every minute. Weird interludes, transitions from the nega-verse. Like a Portuguese chamber pop mr. bungle.
Big Star
2/5
Okay album. Felt a bit on the draggy side midway through.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
I'm not sure which is a more perfect album in the annals of prog hip-hop between this and "New Refutations of Space and Time" by Digable Planets...they're both perfect.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
Really well put together album. Can't personally relate to most of the content but I admire how coherent it is. The interstitials are compelling bad argumentation. Production is top-notch and the songs feel varied while still managing to stay in the same general tone and genre mix. I don't know that I'll ever spin it up again but I am gladly surprised by it in general.
Silver Jews
3/5
I love American water and have a great deal of respect for SJ. Bright Flight is sort of a bummer. It's lovely poetry. The music is enchanting. It's just real raw in a way I don't prefer. I had the chance to see them live in there third show ever and was already a fan of American Water and Natural Bridge. They played one song off of this album.
The Prodigy
3/5
It's was okeedokee.
Minutemen
4/5
One of the best punk albums I've heard in a long time. I can see why they had a cult following and why they influenced so many after them.
The Replacements
3/5
Great punk album. Not quite in the sub zone of what I'm into and a bit hard to be fair to it after listening to The Minutemen as yesterday's album. I'm going to hit the three star but it may deserve better.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Man, this poor album. The artists just produced one of the greatest and most heart wrenching albums two years prior and then they have to follow it up? Poor Tusk, they just wanted to make a detox victory lap album and clearly they did. The problem is that folks seemingly wanted more Rumours in a lot of ways. If that album didn't exist this would be just a fantastic and wild journey. So I'm just pretending it is its own thing. I think it's pretty great. Maybe a touch schmaltzy but that's sort of genre appropriate where it rears it's head.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Long and protracted. I've struggled with tour music (which I feel like this is). Groove for the sake of groove maybe doesn't animate me as much as it does many. That said, the last two tracks, are pretty amazing.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
I can't say I relate to the cheese of it all but it's an important touchstone and, giving that a pass, it's pretty fun to listen to.
M.I.A.
4/5
Never listened to the album in its entirety and I feel like I've really missed out. Love how it approaches themes of identity, cultural fear towards immigrants, and the struggle of capitalism from the perspective of refugees. Musically it's fun and stays fresh 18 year later somehow. Just very well done.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Just a fantastic album with so many incredible riffs and solos and moments. Pure mood. A scary dream.
Ozomatli
3/5
Revolutionary and delightful in that way. Not music I enjoy but a message I can get behind. Some of the rhyming is quite nice.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Cool album. I never quote acclimate to Mayfield's voice and that sort of a nice thing. When in in the mood for it there is no substitute. Guy has character in every note.
Death In Vegas
3/5
Pretty solid ambient listening with an edge that doesn't come off as mall ninja.
Yes
3/5
There are definitely aspects of yes that are incredible and really engaging. I guess my initial problem with listening to any album by them is that I feel like I'm waiting for the fun. It's real fun when it's there. It's just a long road sometimes between the fun spots.
The Pogues
3/5
I love Shane McGowan's delivery and writing. It's a great album and my wife loves the band in general. Irish punk isn't my first go-to and Irish folk isn't either...but in a pinch it's a great way to start the work day.
Jeff Beck
2/5
Bit noodly and unfocused. Some of the latter tracks were pretty good.
3/5
Fun enough album.
The Cars
5/5
One of my favorite albums.
Arrested Development
4/5
I've heard it prior and enjoyed it. At a listen back I think it is both surprisingly advanced in its style for the era and sadly still relevant in terms of its revolutionary message.
The Who
2/5
Always feels like a mixture of Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead. Those are two groups I don't really enjoy. The contributions from each comparative item are actually the parts of their respective bands I don't enjoy. There's a lil Beatles in there too. Also, not the good parts.
The Smiths
5/5
Love it front to back. Every song has something lovely to say.
Brian Eno
3/5
I generally love Eno's contributions to others work maybe more than his own solo works. This one is interesting and varied.
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
Super relaxing and nice for my morning.
probably for any time except a pitched gun-battle with pink robots but, then, maybe?
Supertramp
4/5
Lord what an album. How odd and spacey and fun. Technically high-level without being a dick about it. Supertramp in the morning is a rad way to kick off a week.
Spiritualized
2/5
Odd album to be included here. I feel like albums like this get made all the time. Talented but with an outside flavor. They don't get any traction so we never here of them. This one was pretty slick but it didn't lean in a direction I prefer. Maybe I just couldn't meet it where it lives this day.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Not what I expected. I felt like I was going to be suffering through a bass test track album but it turned out to be a really nice little ambient stoner piece. Relaxing and enjoyable enough.
Syd Barrett
3/5
Love the lyrics more than the musical composition.
Miles Davis
4/5
It's the quintessential jazz album for me among a few others my dad used to listen to. It holds both and special place and up. It's a classic piece and it's splendid.
2/5
I feel like the entirety of Bob Dylan fandom is a psy-op. I hear the consensus that he's an incredible writer and lyricist but I don't feel that many of these songs stand out. I don't enjoy his voice or music. I can't understand how folks can laud him so lavishly when someone like, say, a Paul Simon exists contemporarily? Heck, I'm sure Simon like Dylan. I just can't glom onto the thing that makes him enjoyable.
Love
4/5
Really nice album and not what I expected.
Blondie
3/5
Pretty fun album all around. Blondie managed, somehow, to flirt with pop and progressivism on equal measure without coming off as unauthentic. It's enjoyable.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Mans got a lot of Hits but this is maybe the quintessential album.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Incredible pacing. Not too much of any one thing. Corgan's voice works well with their chosen guitar sound (if not too much else in this world). Most folks who bought this album had heard the title track only to get punched in the face by "Quiet" and so forth. The action let's up tracks 5-6 but before you snooze Geek U.S.A. is there. Rinse, repeat, etc.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Likeable and varied for sure.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Classic album that has a wild ass mix of different tracks. Beastie Boys started as a punk band and some of that is in here. Classic pass the mic. Funk and turntablism. Weird world music samples. Really just a fun album despite some anachronistic cultural insensitivity.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
I really like Marvin. The way he sings about everyday stuff in a soulful way. It is really funny when he whines about child support in the middle of a song.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
I don't like this band not the feel of their music. I find it odd that David Bowie was a fan? What do I know?
Janis Joplin
3/5
Fine album. Kind of punk in folks and blues clothing or the other way around. Hard to tell.
2/5
A well known Bowie album and a seismic departure in concept but, aside from a few tracks, it feels like a drone to me.
Anita Baker
3/5
Fun and short little ep that contains the magical sample for one of my favorite rap songs ever.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Probably giving this more than it deserves on the whole but my day was spent in mad dash work mode and this is a. Incredible soundtrack for crossing items off of a list.
Jack White
3/5
I've been lukewarm on his music though I appreciate him as both a cultural force and and as an advocate of music production. This album was pretty solid. When Jack makes music, it sort of feels like a very careful graduate student showing you that he knows exactly how to do it. I guess that's my complaint?
Dead Kennedys
4/5
Personal favorite from my youth. Sadly, it is still relevant tonally if not always topically.
Foo Fighters
3/5
This is a rare case where I really like several songs on the album a bit more than I like listening to the whole album.
The Smiths
4/5
Solid smiths album.
Franz Ferdinand
2/5
This band has always felt like filler music to me? Like, this sort of thing was popular in this era and so this group was shoved in the spotlight. Whether it was their time or they were milked by the machine or both I cannot say that I enjoy what they make.
The Residents
3/5
So avant garde it's almost not music at points? Still, I find it compelling and enjoyable as a detour. Glad they exist.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Fun weird album. It isn't pet sounds but it's still magical on its own terms.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
The best protest album of all time. Sadly still relevant.
TV On The Radio
3/5
Another album where I love the sum of parts more than the whole...maybe I'm just bad at math?
Can
3/5
It's fun.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
I really don't understand the popularity of this band. I understand the technical prowess of the guitar and bass players. They're interesting enough. I guess I just feel like the particular brand of self-aggrandizing lyricism is pretty juvenile...also Anthony can't sing and Faith No More/ Mr. Bungle is better and should have won the war.
Supergrass
2/5
Felt oddly unengaged with this one. Had trouble interfacing with it. It's good enough I suppose. Probably just was not in a space for it.
3/5
Cute and darker than the label.
The Slits
3/5
I guess I expected, by name, album title, and cover art, something more punk? Still, it was fun and interesting enough.
Common
4/5
Great rhymes and production. Common makes good music and knows how to build a good album.
Radiohead
3/5
I just can't get myself to enjoy Radiohead. It isn't that it isn't good but I can't fall into an album. I literally can't enjoy it. Individual moments sure. I think that's a me thing. It's a fine album.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Nice punk album with jangly The Church feelings and such. I liked it.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Nice album with a message that resounds today. Percussion on his works is always a centerpiece which I enjoy.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Points for absurd creativity but it's almost impossible.
The Roots
4/5
Shockingly better than I thought it would be. Maybe not one I'll spin up on a regular basis but great rhyming and melody.
Stan Getz
4/5
Great jazz album. Fun and engaging to experience.
Duke Ellington
3/5
Good, but long, but good.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Nice wee ambient album. Spotify only seemed to have two of the four tracks on the album?
Fine proggy stuffs
The Go-Go's
4/5
Really fun punk album masquerading as pop genius.
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
I've always been more of a dead Kennedy's side of punk listener. Public Image Ltd. is certainly its own thing and I wish I'd heard this earlier? It isn't a revelation of an album but I would have spun it up all the time when I was younger and I'll definitely listen to it again.
Ute Lemper
2/5
Wasn't expecting a German musical in the morning. Would give it a 2.5 for the inclusion of Tom waits if possible. It wasn't bad and there were spots where it was really quite good but...then others where it felt a bit saccharine.
Tim Buckley
2/5
I apparently prefer his son, Jeff by a good margin.
N.W.A.
3/5
A classic album.
David Bowie
5/5
One of the most important attempts ever to write an auto-elegy prior to one's own death. What a wild human.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
This kind of techno industrial was never my deal.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Stevie is always delightful and this album. Is no exception. Lighter and maybe a little dreamy for what I look for in his catalogue but great to clean the house to on a Sunday which is what I was about.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Another great album by them. This one is a bit more energetic and engaging. Maybe a tiny bit more punk on the bass line? Great album.
Beastie Boys
4/5
The whole album is a fun delight.
Manu Chao
3/5
A nice departure from largely English language albums that was fun and lively
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Good album to work outside to. Good album to drive to. Weird album to take a poop to. That's a timing thing though.
Dr. Octagon
4/5
One of the strangest and greatest things to happen to rap. One has to ask if there even would be a deltron 3030 without this? Odd side bar: one night I got a call at my little bar that Kool Keith (also known as Dr. Octagon) needed a holdover place to play a show. I said yes and he played to all of 45 people and rocked the little house and tagged the heck out of my bathroom and handed out old porno mags. Real story.
Oasis
2/5
Oasis is awful. It feels like someone tried to make a joke about AI making a 90's band that was pointlessly bad...except it was real and years before the slop we endure now and somehow folks still compared these noodles to the Beatles. Worst ten letters in the English language as a karaoke host? Wonderwall.
R.E.M.
4/5
Fantastic album by an amazing band. Not my favorite of theirs but still one I will listen to again.
Lorde
2/5
Not terrible but it felt like each song balanced on a single catchy phrase and not too much else.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Didn't really care for it. Was noodly and fun in spots but it just didn't really come together for me.
Eurythmics
4/5
I get why sweet dreams was the hit chosen for this album with that synth motif but 80% of this album probably could've been dominant on the airwaves while still feeling advanced when it came out. Great album with few misses.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Dawn of metal. It's primitive but aye good enough.
Milton Nascimento
5/5
T. Rex
2/5
I wish I liked this band as much as my friends do but I do not. Everytime I listen to t.rex I feel like I'm missing an obvious joke and I'm just sort of mildly annoyed by their juvenility. Not a bad album but I don't love it.
Steely Dan
4/5
It isn't their best album but it's still an amazing album that doesn't really miss on a single track.
Brian Eno
3/5
Interesting but a tough listen compared to other collaborative works with eno.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Solid progenitor metal album with some real high points.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
So soft.
Queen
3/5
This is my least favorite clean album, but it's still a pretty solid album.
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
Fun and sleazy and catchy.
Eminem
2/5
Aside from drug ballad it's tough as an adult who isn't an edge lord stalking the local mall corridors to relate to this album. It's well made. The rhymes are excellent. I don't fault it for what it is. To quote and appropriate episode of Ren & Stimpy: "it's an excellent representation of its sickly breed."
Joy Division
3/5
It's iconic for sure and moody for miles.
Nirvana
4/5
Definitely the finest of the unplugged albums. Alice in chains nipping at its heels. Really a fun series and I'd love to know who engineered it. Fun hearing such a rough act o grew up with put on its first prom suit.
Kid Rock
1/5
Yuck.
Sugar
4/5
Wonderful jangly nonsense. Feels of the era in a good way. I listened to a ton of stuff surrounding this band but never this album...though it is familiar. It isn't a very well composed album? Feels like it doesn't flow well from track to track. Has like 6 or 7 really solid tracks though and I'll likely come back again for another listen.
Neil Young
3/5
Not a bad album. I want to preface that as saying that young is a sacred cow for a lot of folks. I don't care for his voice one iota. I've seen him live. I get that he can write. He isn't for me. Despite all that this is solid.
Lucinda Williams
2/5
Though charming at first I found her to be a little grating towards the end. The mix felt a tad weak somehow?
Sonic Youth
3/5
Fine album if a bit self-indulgent...but then, it made it all the way to this list and there's a lot of that around.
Nas
4/5
Damned fine album of raps and beats.
Ride
4/5
Somewhere between jangle pop and Indy legend's Slint. Really interesting album. Drags a bit in spots and a plurality of tracks are somewhat forgettable. Still, I enjoyed the feel of the album a lot on a cool rainy day in August. Nice.
Can
4/5
Bonkers that this albums arrived like twenty years early...maybe thirty? It's interesting and fun and has twists and turns. I like Can.
The National
3/5
Just a bit too much like Phish and bill Callahan had a drony baby for me. That's mean. There is plenty of redemption here: clever lyrics, solid arrangements, and a nice balanced tone...this National album just feels a bit to samey for me.
Willie Nelson
4/5
Great album. Stylistically as perfect as any ever made. It's in its lane the whole way through and Willie is delightful.
Air
4/5
I'm kind of a sucker for a concept album. This is a really good one. There are places where it feels like it drags or loses cohesion. But in its high spots it is poetic and beautiful. The arrangements are lovely and hauntingly appropriate.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Gross theatrical glam misogyny with just a hint of pedophilia in the background. Musically it's more complex and interesting than a lot of what was occuring in 1983 but all of that prowess was leveraged to then vomit out more bret Michael's-esque nonsense so what was it all for? I'm not sure if this was a joke or who was supposed to be in on it? I don't think it's me?
Arctic Monkeys
2/5
Felt like a continuous stream of riffiness with admittedly catchy lyrics. Maybe I was not in the mood but I felt like the album was kind of just not all it was cracked up to be?
Tom Tom Club
2/5
I like talking heads a good bit. At the start of disc 2 I thought to myself "this is a little like talking heads but includes the elements I don't really love". Like a sugar free version. Now, I love Weymouth's bass work for TH and how deeply nerdy TH is but I just felt like, devoid of knowledge of the provenance of this album, that it felt like French disco off-castings. Imagine my surprise.
Ravi Shankar
2/5
I understand it's influence but it really is much too trance-inducing for me.
Morrissey
4/5
I quote like old even crankier morrisey.
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Pretty much a perfect album and I'm not even really a ballad or country fan. Wouldn't change a note.
3/5
I feel like my twenties were haunted by bands emulating this exact album. Not a bad work but not maybe worth a whole wave of music? Victoria is catchy as all get out.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I mean, I guess bjork had to be in a band at some point prior to the becoming bjork we know? I almost wish, in addition to the more experimental stuff she'd made, that she'd kept on with this kind of weirdo Icelandic pop-punk?
Blur
3/5
Good if retrospectively unexceptional?
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Rich and odd and funky.
Morrissey
4/5
Another lovely morrisey album where he is sad and judgemental. I know I shouldn't fall for it but I like his bitchiness.
Thundercat
4/5
Delightful. There's something wry and sweet and naive about TC as a songwriter that keeps me hooked into the next line.
Elton John
3/5
Rollicking. Like any Elton John album... sometimes a lil too rollicking...
4/5
It's a great, well-rounded album. I don't know how to say this...U2 is pompous in a way I can't put my finger on. Still a grand album.
Tom Waits
4/5
The man can make engaging music with a dumpster. I respect that.
Sister Sledge
3/5
Every song is great until it's about twenty percent too long. I suspect that's because this is dancehall music and there is a length they're going for but, for me, it smears the album somewhat.
The Doors
2/5
I don't really care for the doors on the whole. A few really amazing songs. Generational moments. Aside from that myeh.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Fun and energetic album.
Bad Brains
4/5
Great punk album from that weird timeframe where DC was spinning off so much weird good stuff!
Norah Jones
4/5
Great album and just plain easy to listen to. Had no idea she was Ravi Shankar's kiddo?!
David Gray
3/5
Hypnotic and enjoyable even if it doesn't grab with every song.
Beach House
3/5
Kind of a drone but in a good way.
Neil Young
2/5
I still just don't particularly care for Neil Young. I wish I saw what so many others seem to. He just doesn't grab me and I guess I'm missing out.
1/5
Completely average weiner mall-ninja rage extract with decorative foil skulls allllll over the thing and the tags still attached.
Kate Bush
3/5
I like Kate Bush generally but this was maybe too much of a good thing? Maybe I'm not destined for an entire album? Three songs in I was like "Yeah!" By the end I was smoked.
Blur
4/5
Pretty fun the whole way through! Lots of compelling twists and turns.
Nick Drake
4/5
Not my favorite album of Drake's but still a really damn solid offering. What a shame he didn't have more output or receive the help he needed to right his ship.
Gene Clark
3/5
Fine album.
Cornershop
2/5
I wish I could give it 3 for the interlude musical bits. I kind of find their lyrical composition to be noisome.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Great reggae album with a few lesser awesome tracks. Hard to have a bad day I guess when this is the album I start out with? Maybe that's the point of reggae?
2/5
I know it's a touchstone that kicked off a lot of American punk that I love but I can't get down with it.
Louis Prima
4/5
Not a perfect album but always near and dear to my heart. I'm way to young for this stuff but I always loved the cheesey earnest delivery and the fact that, unlike Sinatra or Crosby, Prima always seemed joyful.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
It's a classic and I remember it's impact in real time. I also remember it being skit-heavy and sort of beyond belief.
Pixies
4/5
When I first moved out with friends this was what was playing on repeat.
k.d. lang
4/5
Well constructed lyricism and a deeply affecting voice to back it emotionally. Interesting how this can slip into a place of feeling a bit like an Americana Sade from time to time.
Dr. John
4/5
Love his voice and the fact that he was, I fact, at least half the criminal huckster he sang about. What a personality. Read up on him.
Sigur Rós
3/5
I like the idea of this band and album more than the actualities. I'm happy they exist and understand why they are lauded. It, for me, is like a soundtrack to a dense indie movie that I also did not relate to or particularly enjoy.
T. Rex
3/5
Catchy and interesting but after a time it does feel like eating a never ending bowl of something.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
I appreciate what she does and she deserves way more credit than she received being stamped, at the time, as a "spears clone". That said the music isn't for me. I appreciate the technical complexity. I just don't cotton to it.
Neil Young
2/5
Can't help it. I do not care for Neil young or his music. I find it enervating spiritually for the most part and the songs I can enjoy modestly are too infrequent.
Elton John
4/5
Wonderful album. Grey seal and Alice are two stand outs that, frankly, eclipse the hits. I don't love Elton John but I respect him and his song writing partner. It can all get a bit much but I guess that is what you sign up for.
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Pretty good album with a nice variety of voicing.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Has some great tracks on it but drags in some places
Elliott Smith
4/5
Great album. Calm and reflective and interesting.
Ian Dury
4/5
I'd call it outsider music if the guy wasn't firmly entrenched in British punk. He's very unconventional in terms of both music and writing. Borrowed from a wide variety of backgrounds. Definitely had more interesting things to say than most at the time.
Throwing Muses
3/5
Interesting to hear the group that would become particles involved with the Breeders and Belly. I dug the lyrics on several tracks. Hard to imagine what this would have been like to see live in Rhode Island in 1981.
Japan
3/5
Woozy fun.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Arcade fire always feels a bit vague to me. Some of that is just stylistic. The lyrics are great but often obscured by heavy reverb and layering for an ambiance that can force the ear to search the mix laboriously. It can get a bit samey. That said, I still enjoyed it and found myself reading through lyrics on a few songs.
CHIC
2/5
Not a great album. Disco is designed for a four and a half minute dance session. Since I am not dancing this was not as fun for several iterations.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
There's something about overly wet riff-heavy tracks on this album that are super difficult to engage with. It's like music meant for a pizza delivery montage. Conversely, the sparser tracks feel like the best of Damien Albarn's output. I like to think that, being reasonable, any album that has 40% tracks that I find enjoyable is pretty good so I'm rating this album at a 3. Which is to say: on the average of really critically important albums.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Great blues album full of horn and moida.
Beyoncé
3/5
Wildly overproduced and a mish-mash of braggadocio pop tropes...still, damn that lady can sing and dance.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
Pretty strong writing and intricate composition for what is essentially pop-ified music. It's a quandary that a lot of albums on this list (respect the more modern ones) are "worth listening to before I die" because they were enormously successful...and this influential. But, they were designed by committee to be that way. Not to say that Lana del Rey isn't a wild talent or that this album is bad. Merely to say that, if this was Wanda Del Reuben without the star power, it'd be fine. It would not be something on this list. About 30% of the albums here feel, I don't know, recursive? Self-referential in their credentialing?
"See, I'm worth it! Says so because of who I am! It's on the label!"
But, I just want to hear great news music I have never been exposed to. This list has also given me plenty of that. This album isn't it. Still good though.
Suppose I'm just a year into this and giving every album a full listen every day is tough some days. I won't give Lana short shrift here though. Even though it's overproduced for my taste her essence still pushes through the caked on industry nonsense and kind of saves it for me. Good album.
Kings of Leon
3/5
All I've ever heard from them was the massive hall effect vocal country-fried alt rock stuff that made it to popular rotation. This is better than that. It's almost punk in spots. I won't say I love it but I enjoyed it.
R.E.M.
4/5
Great album. Poetic and dark and languid. Not precisely as feel-good as some of their music but still a really solid listen through the whole album. Nightswimming is quite nice and beautiful in its imperfection. It's small and human.
Madness
4/5
Man, I can't help it. Early Ska weirdness is just so fun.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Fun album that helped get me through a stressful day. Quite relaxing and mellifluous.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
What a lovely album.
Björk
4/5
It's a great album. Wild that it still manages to sound slightly ahead of its time 33 years later. Freakin' space alien.
Hot Chip
4/5
I like Alexis and the boys earlier album The Warning quite a lot. This album a touch less. Still great fun.
Adam & The Ants
3/5
A lot closer to a cross between queer punk and the beach boys than I would have imagined and I was ok with that.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Nice enough album. A lot of his stuff suffers from droning on.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
All too appropriate.
The Yardbirds
2/5
Just felt weirdly and not fun bluesy sometimes. Not altogether bad but I wasn't enthused.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Lush and otherworldly as always. ELO is one of my faves.
The Stooges
2/5
Legends of old school but never really did it for me.
Green Day
3/5
Fair album with some high spots. It's fun and where it lags it's merely because it is a fun punk album with literal slow spots. I don't want those when I have such fun driving highs.
Meat Loaf
3/5
It's boisterous and ridiculous and I can't fault it for being what is on the tin so fully.
AC/DC
3/5
It's an ac/DC album. What's not to ac/DC about it?
The Only Ones
3/5
What seemed at first like lazy Brit punk belied some pretty complex musicianship. I liked the album but at no point did I feel my toe threaten a tap.
System Of A Down
4/5
I remember when this came out how novel it was to intertwine these sounds. It never was my personal soundtrack but I've listened to it several times prior. It's a good album and ticks a lot of boxes for me. I actually like a song that winces between styles and tempos.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Great classic metal album. Prisoner is a highlight song and a wild-ass show if you have not.
Iggy Pop
4/5
I usually care for the cultural staple of Iggy more than the man himself. For his contributions and his movie soundtrack hits. That said, this whole album is pretty solid. Not great but solid.
Eric Clapton
2/5
I'm all for separating artist from art. It gets markedly harder when overt bluesman is also overt racist but, then, I also don't really care for Clapton.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
Good country that somehow feels disingenuous in its heart? I know nothing of him.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
A titanic classic of an album. Imperfect but really dang good.
Def Leppard
3/5
It's stupid and fun and a total cartoon.
Little Richard
2/5
Infectious in a few spots but maybe the best parts are the parts with the least little Richard.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Fuck it. I own a bar and host karaoke and I should be sick to death of this man...but...damn it he's so smooth.
k.d. lang
3/5
Interesting in that it is sort of genre defying while being somehow entirely in the pocket.
LL Cool J
3/5
Highs and lows. I genuinely do like Ladies Love Cool James. I think it's funny that he plays both the Heel and the Babyface in rap and maybe was one of the first to treat it like a wrestling star in a way? I like his flow for the era. That said it gets to be a little stale in places on this album
Love
3/5
Love is a band I'd maybe heard one song from prior. This is their second album on the list and I'm a little surprised that their sound and name didn't have more staying power in the intergenerational zeitgeist. This isn't as strong of an album as Forever Changes but it's still a good album.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Good album if wildly indulgent in that way that r&b can get at it's extremities. I do like him and have been to see his stuff at Stax. When no one was around I touched his amazing car. I like his style and panache.
Grizzly Bear
4/5
I think I'd give this multiple listens over time.
Pere Ubu
2/5
A big portion of this album feels like if the Talking Heads got too drunk to play a show but went on anyhow after pounding a few more shots.
Rush
4/5
I absolutely adore this album. I don't even really listen to a ton of other Rush but I never had the chip on my shoulder about Geddy Lee's voice. This is legitimately on of my favorite albums. Maybe on my desert island 25 or so.
That said it ain't perfect and my personal bias aside the last two tracks are weaker than the bulk of the album.
It's so damn close to being a "perfect prog album" while still remaining approachable and I don't think I've ever heard anyone give it that due? That's a difficult trick to pull given the nature of the genre.
Red barchetta is the standout track for me. As perfect of a story song as I know of. Totally frivolous and fun.
John Martyn
2/5
Decent music but the muzzy vocal recording really got under my skin for some reason?
The Kinks
4/5
Kind of surprised me that I enjoyed it. I think I tend to think of the cakes as sort of a prototype for the most annoying breed of hipsterism. Turns out the kinks are good and it's the worst of the hipster that are actually annoying.
The Beta Band
3/5
Odd fun album. I feel like this band was somehow familiar but had slipped from memory. A decent amount of variety in the arrangement and an interesting slant on folk and rock.
The Cure
5/5
Overall one of my favorites to just kind of let play through a grey day. Since it was that it was sort of perfect. Not every song is a masterpiece but the whole album is an amazing painting and you need places to rest upon. This album gives you those. Heck, I love it. Maybe I place it on a pedestal.
Elvis Costello
5/5
Another great and consistently Costello album. If you like him it's a treat. If not, you probably won't care for much of it though there may be a few bright spots. I, personally, adore his lyrics and music. Singing is hit or miss but usually on. I enjoyed this effort in total.
Santana
3/5
Santana has some great songs and is a cultural staple...I've never met a Santana fan in my life. Not a statement about this album. Merely an observation. I actually really enjoyed sections of this. I used it as cleaning music. It worked pretty well for that purpose.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Whatever else this album may be it's amazing music to get yardwork done to?
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
When RHCP have a decent song it's because their guitarist wrote it. Otherwise, I can't stand the unseasoned whitefish funk sans John Fusciante's capabilities at the creative rudder.
Merle Haggard
3/5
Charming lil old school country album.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Decent interpretations of standards and, at the time, fairly modern covers. Drags a bit?
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Not my top album of his but still really good.
Hole
2/5
I could never really enjoy this group. At moments in a given song it feels like it'll coalesce into something really worthwhile. Then it just falls back to the samey.
N.E.R.D
2/5
I did not care for this.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Weird but engaging if nothing else! Almost outsider music.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
For me one of the most perfect albums.
Slayer
4/5
Surprisingly fun work album. Great way to get through a tough day.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Great album from an artist I was hitherto unfamiliar with. Love the pro-union stuff. Definitely going to explore more of his work on my own.
Joe Ely
3/5
So e really fun/funny tracks on here. Not really the stodgy country I thought it would be. Maybe not something I'd spin a bunch but maybe every once in awhile?
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
A bit glammy in a fun way.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Had moments of ELO but a few too few. Was a decent enough album.
Tortoise
4/5
Surprisingly pleasant instrumental group. I let this album run on into the next release on Spotify by accident. I felt this one was fine but I think TNT actually agreed more with me.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Spunky and has sax! I'm on board.
a-ha
2/5
I liked this a lot less than I thought I would.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Like my second favorite album by him. Still, pretty amazing work by Stevie.
Neil Young
2/5
I disliked this less than other Neil Young efforts.
Steely Dan
3/5
Has a couple of great songs on it. Not my favorite by them.
Elvis Presley
3/5
More enjoyable and filled with more cloying Americana than even other Elvis albums. Not bad.
The Who
2/5
I could never party to the who. It just never really tripped my trigger. I'm not even sure who it was designed for. I don't resent it flatly but it does nothing for me personally. Something feels off. Unlike with stones or, like, great northern soul stuff I just can't get down with it.
Gram Parsons
2/5
Just not a huge fan of storytime country I suppose. Parsons doesn't scratch an itch I have.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
Easy to listen to Pop goodness.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Just a great album and, while neither of those guys by themselves are astounding vocalists, together they do make a kind of alchemy.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I do appreciate the gimmick here but it was t a thing I really liked.