Beautiful folk. I like the violins. Kurt Wallinger was the keyboardist on the album but he left the band to do more important things, mainly making the Lin’s Bin theme song.

Punk, pop, grunge, garage. And even though this is an hourlong album of brief songs, it remains unified. A real breath of fresh air.

Everyone tells me CCR is a great band, but I don’t give those takes too much credence

This shreds. I sleep on the blues until I come across great albums like this

Prog rock makes for good listening. Not my fave though

Tbh not a huge fan of this one. Little too much murderin for my tastes.

Hell yea!!!!! Absolute beauty from the 70s. Sublime dance music for us all!

East coast rap goes hard. Great, driving, pounding beats.

Wow this is really great! Sort of chill lofi music to study to, but way better.

This is a good album. Radio Free Europe and Sitting Still are my favorite songs. Michael Stipe sometimes uses his ability to sing catchy nonsense, which somehow resonates with us.

I’ve got more flavor than 7-11 slurpees If Magic can admit he got AIDS, fuck it I got herpes

Total rock— I’m not very good at these reviews

Dad music, rad music. The organ sounds like a moog and is brilliant.

Not very good— some of the beats are actually terrible. The beat in the title track, at the end, is used in an Edward the Confessor song from Sleeping Dogs. That later song is much better. A lot of it sounds like Ratchet and Clank background music.

This was some good country— something I could hear on Mojave Radio

Not a fan — too dissonant. The ending couple of songs are pretty good though

I loved this when I was younger. I still do but I used to too

I was surprised by how fantastic this album is. The tv show Psych, with frequent 80s “homage,” gave Tears for Fears special place in their 80s pantheon. I thought that whatever band held that spot would be kitschy and overblown. But I was wrong! Shout and Everybody Wants… are both deserved hits. The Working Hour is my favorite song on the record. Big fan!

I think she was an Avril Lavigne type, but she’s really that Alicia Kets type. Not bad.

Great pop record. Some all-time tracks that are always popular at weddings and parties. We can ride the boogie!

Sooo long and not energizing or inspiring. A lot of it was ambient dance track sounding things. Like Moby

Not bad— kinda forgettable songs that fill up this long album though. A few of them are xrt standbys though which is a plus

Very fun. A bit front-loaded though. Huge hits that are widely beloved, but some pretty meh songs on the back end

Psychedelic folk. The folk half is meh and the psychedlic half is rough listening.

Great lyricism, beautiful twangy voice. 🎶 There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm, where all the money goes

I didn’t expect the album name to be a literal description. I won’t rate it highly because I do not like the lyrics (I’m sure you all know by now that I am staunchly against murder). But the music is kinda fun. And nick cave’s voice is really compelling.

Some fun songs, some xrt classics, but overall I’m not very excited by this record.

Great album - van’s the man! Caravan is a lot tamer in studio, but there’s still a fantastic six song stretch from the And It Stoned Me to Into the Mystic.

Really fun

Great album— tightly written and composed songs. Lyrics that can really be spit out

Really great— who’s the better Wilson?

I got tired of it as the album went on. I do like some songs, but it all blends together

Short but exhilarating. Songs are pretty good but the scene is incredible. “I’d like to thank the warden and the guards for setting this up” (Crowd boos and jeers) “Awwww… you don’t really mean that”

Blue Lines and Be Thankful are Great. The rest is pretty meh. Fiddler on the Roof “sample” sparks joy though.

A great classic and an okay one are on here. But I can’t stomach the idea of listening to this as a full album again.

Brilliantly fun— an exhilarating first listen and a groovy second

I’m honestly not that into this, and I once saw a RZA concert and it was sick

Pretty boring. It’s crazy how popular these songs were. I guess it was just the hippie resurgence of the nineties

Idk kinda bland but not bad

Bad, but not as bad as stagger Lee so it gets two stars

Beautiful folk. I like the violins. Kurt Wallinger was the keyboardist on the album but he left the band to do more important things, mainly making the Lin’s Bin theme song.

Not bad, not really my style

I don’t like it. This could lull me to sleep I spose

Sometimes it’s sick, especially imagining listening in a crowded dark basement. Sometimes it’s dull

I really liked the songs. Music accompaniment for the movie scene where the hero looks at VHS tapes of the family he’s lost

I think Monica is a great song. Animal Farm is good too, tempo and instrumentation, but the lyrics are kinda dumb. The rest I don’t enjoy too much. A lot of the songs are subdued and a bit boring. I also don’t think the theme, the modernization of England, was expertly developed. It all just seems a bit hammy and silly. Do we really need two songs to explore the deeper meaning of photographs?

I get the hype, great album. Very influential to the bands that would be featured on the OC it seems. Much better than those later bands though

This is fun, but not nearly as fun as the pharcyde. The bears are subdued, instead of exuberant.

I agree with Dylan, some pretty good songs on the first listen that deserve a relisten, but overall it doesn’t seem like a great album

The names are so bad it’s crazy. Surrealistic Pillow? Embryonic Journey? Easy on the acid fellas. Music ain’t that bad though. Some of it is 60s schlock, but the blues tracks are fun. My dad said he liked White Rabbit when he was younger, not a huge fan myself

Love it! So fun

Loved this album on my Walkman, but I haven’t listened to it since those childhood days. I really like it! Did anyone else notice the crystal clarity of the tambourine in the Spotify audio?

Surprisingly eclectic, the West Side Story song was a joy

The stuttering madness of the singing is a big turn off. Some songs are worth a relisten

You know what Johnny? I do mind the bollocks and I think we all would feel a lot more comfortable if you put some pants on

I just didn’t groove with a lot of the backend songs. I love some Stevie songs, but these can be dull. Some deserve a relisten, like It Ain’t No Use

It’s alright. Some modern rock classics and some tracks I will never listen to again

I did not care much for this album. I am running out of novel things to say, so I can’t really say anything but that her voice is offputting

Vanilla pudding, not much else to say really

This was really cool and moody. Definitely a consistent album, but there aren’t any standouts.

This is good. Can be really head smashing at times. I honestly don’t think there’s that many great songs on here, but it does deserve a 4

This is tough, Bloody Well Right is such a jam. And, beginning with Rudy, the end is great. Fuck it, gets a 4

It sounds pretty good. I’ve heard, from credible sources, that the guy is a dick though

Pretty good. Not as ecstatic as A Nod is as Good as a Wink, but there all still some keepers on the album, like the first two songs

Very fun, very cool in the pool. The drumming is impeccable on this album. I didn’t care for Oh Lord Give Us More Money.

This is fun, but the covers don’t match the originals and I can’t say this is a necessary album to listen to

I like a few of the songs, but in general this wasn’t that inspiring

Fuhgetttaboutit!

Fun Christmas album, Baby Please Come Home is an all-timer, can’t say that it is a 4 though because it’s just a Christmas album

It’s like Smog, but just the boring songs

Meh— I used to really like a lot of the songs and listened to it often, but I’m just not into it anymore. 3 out of respect

Great rock album. I’ve slept on The Stone Roses, probably because they’re Adam Eget’s fave band

How is this on the list? It is okay, not great by any means. Kinda good I guess. It seems so random and recent to be worthy of the “essential” list

I live John Martyn, but there’s not a lot of great songs on this record, unlike Thin Air. Couldn’t Love You More is beautiful and some of the other songs are alright

This is actually quite fun for a hair metal band— but none of the songs stick out to me as particularly great. Maybe I’ll relisten, but I’m unsure if I’ll give KISS the chance

Some certified xrt classics but I just don’t love it

I just don’t love the songs.

Really fun eighties pop— the bass lines are greasy, the lyrics are a kind of lovestruck funny hysteria.

Not fun at all. In fact, this album was excruciatingly boring. It’s like they wanted to make indie rock music, but decided to replace any edge with the dull twanging of a sitar throughout.

This might deserve a relisten, but I didn’t find it that great the first time. The songs had a timeless sound, kinda like the dead, but nothing really stood out to me. It’s odd to say really, there’s a lot of different instrument interplay in the songs, but it doesn’t amount to a whole lot

My dad is a big Who fan. Me? Not so much. The James Brown cover is good but not as good as James Brown. My Generation is timeless. The rest is chaff.

I also only knew the hits, which are superb, but had never heard the rest. Honestly, the other songs on this album are a bit underwhelming. The masturbating line in darling Nikki is rough. Still gonna give it a 4

Halloween kitsch and rockabilly revival. Doesn’t seem to belong on this superlative list, but hey, what do I know? It was only okay

Wow, Sean’s right! He does sound like Paul McCartney. (Exclamation does not mean surprise by the way). I really like the song Dry the Rain, which I think is from Trainspotting, but I’m less excited about these songs, although the tensing and soothing sensation is still palpable. Eclipse is a good closer.

Great vibes, but I can’t see myself listening to this a lot again— except for maybe a fun cleaning day. Seems like rough judgement, but hey it’s my choice

I agree with Bryan, the hits are fun but every song I don’t recognize doesn’t get me going. Take, for instance, “I’ll be back,” it has some sweetness to it, but it’s pretty boring. Way more cowbell than I remembered

I’m not a fan of the three hits on this album, welcome to paradise, when I come around, and basket case. But there are a lot of other good ones. Coming Clean might be my fave. Not enough to get a 4

Watch that man is a balls to the wall opening track. A lot of the rest didn’t really stick out to me (even the title track) but this deserves a relisten. But a lot of it was just good Bowie songs, not transcendent ones

The Message is an all-timer. The rest isn’t nearly as great but there’s still some fun to be had. The Stevie Wonder track was good and a funny homage. You Are is so similar though, and I have to ask, why are there two Stevie Wonder songs?

I’m really glad live albums are on the list. This is also a great one. I heard it first on xrt fr their Friday night lives (or some shit). The energy just courses through your veins. The Cheap trick hits sound great and the other songs can be pretty good too.

Not bad, just nothing exciting

Tough to rate for me. I think the instrumentation is great… at times. When the songs get into psychedelia I think there’s a big drop in quality. I also find Anthony Keidis’ voice to be annoying and the lyrics can be very bad.

Good, fun punk rock. Deserves a relisten but I’m only giving a 3 on the first time around

New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday are great. The rest is unremarkable.

The unlistenable tracks got to me. Won’t revisit

Comparison is the thief of joy. This is worse than War, even if One and Wild Horses are alright. In generally I just think this album is bland

Didn’t really think of myself as a Neil Young fan before, but this is a great record. Powder finger and Thrasher are both great, and the bookending My My songs are really haunting

The first half is great. Exciting songs with incredible vocal range. Let the Good Times Roll is an all-timer, but maybe not as good as some of the other Ray hits. The second half takes on a sleepy/romantic lounge vibe, which is pleasant but unremarkable.

Muslim call to prayer with percussion, although it is admittedly good percussion

Punk, pop, grunge, garage. And even though this is an hourlong album of brief songs, it remains unified. A real breath of fresh air.

Everyone tells me CCR is a great band, but I don’t give those takes too much credence

She sounds nice but this doesn’t knock you off your feet. Some songs sound like they could be in a Kill Bill movie (a flashback part)

This isn’t bad. It just doesn’t knock your socks off which you kinda need a new album to do if it’s going to earn a 4 or 5.

Her voice is kinda annoying, lyrics come out at a torturously slow pace

This was really pleasant. It reminded me of road trips listening to early aughts indie rock. Not better than a theee though

Incredible live album, certified by my dad as a classic. Infectious energy from an amazing vocalist

LA woman is one of the few doors songs I actually think is great. L’america really sucks

This has a real kooky fun quality to it. It really reminded me of the ABC album we listened to early. Overall, I was lulled to boredom by too many of the tracks to rate it highly. I’ll listen again

Douchebag music

Everyday is Like Sunday is such a beautifully lonely song. But overall, this album is far lesser than its greatest song

Blends together. I would preferred it to be shorter but I really just think the songs don’t do it for me. There are some exciting parts, but I really started to roll my eyes whenever some clip of a speech was in the background of a song

Live Forever is incredible. The others range from pretty good to meh

Sounded a lot like any other sixties American rock band, but with better drums

Yea it’s fun and the harmonies are nice, but this doesn’t strike me as a great, incomparable album

Very groovy, makes me want to shake my butt

My my, how hot and buttery this soul is. It’s over the top. It’s baroque and there are fantastic songs on the record

Quite good. Funky samples mixed with lofi East coast drums. I’ve got the cleanest, meanest penis made me lol

This was really great! The first four songs are sick— Paranoid is close to being my favorite, but War Pigs is amazing. Some days you just need to listen to hard rock and metal

This is a really great album. Funky and bluesy. Please Be With Me is beautifully tender

Really good album— wailing rock songs with spitting lyrics

This audio was kinda off for the first songs, right? Also, what is the real track list of the album? On Wikipedia it says the album is like 20 minutes. A Quick One is my fave Who song but I think I like a different recording. The My Generation medley was pretty good but my socks stayed FIRMLY on. Magic Bus is fun

Really vibed with this one… Bowie Forever!

Not cool! I’ve heard some great drumming on DMC songs but this was so stale. The drum effect was like listening to people clap continuously, unaffected by the changing songs.

An album that I couldn’t find on Spotify? Yeah it’s cool, but it makes you think of the hubris of this list. Was this the holy grail of brown paper bag bootleg recordings before the age of internet music? Is that where that hard-to-pin-down-best-ever quality comes for on this record? Honestly though, it is pretty fun and I enjoyed it, but not ecstatically. How do you pronounce Higgly Piggly as Hig-uh-lye Pig-uh-lye?

Definitely a great album. Reminded me of Pulp. Not much to say, but I find it annoying how Spotify doesn’t have original releases often, only offering a 2 hr + extended addition. The money is sur le table. The palace of excess leads to the palace of access

Honestly not that inspiring— sort of like a very sleepy collection of global coffee house music. I like Why Can’t We Be Together though

Tough to rate, there are some great songs with really great, funky beats. Then there’s a lot that I would have left off the record (skits, sex recording again). I also don’t like Bitches Ain’t Shit

This was pretty meh. I loved the depressive discography of Elliott Smith when I was an angsty teenager but not anymore. Ballad of Big Nothing used to be a fave, but I didn’t care when it came on this morning.

Agree with Sean, too much kookiness — I was thinking I would give this a two, but then a few good sixties songs changed my mind. The voiced lines and recordings talks (like a lot of those 90s rap albums) were silly and annoying

Really good album— lots of different styles. This is the album that broke my left earbud. Was it chance? Who knows? Life’s a gas!

Bluesy, effortlessly cool (other than the effort needed to be this good)

Kinda music you pretend to feel when on a date at the Green Mill

Yo this album sucked dick

Awesome but a pervasive sense of derivativeness comes over you as you listen. But, as an old friend said about lawnmowers…

Some good and fine moments, but wasn’t amazing. The album cover is cool

Tough one to rate— really great highs but my mind was drifting during the rest of the tracks. Those futuristic guitar distortions are pretty sick though

Country folk album with millennial sensibilities. And I’m quite partial to it

Didn’t care

Some classic kinks like Sunday afternoon (which tbh isn’t that great) and some others that I had a pretty tepid reaction too. Overall just ok

The first few albums had repetitive riffs and dull songwriter. I remembered all the great ratings from my bros and felt I had to cut against them. Boy was I wrong. This was awesome. That’s what you get for distrusting your friends, a sexy grimy proto-punk album

Just brilliant, rich soul music. One of my dad’s favorite albums that I heard so often in the car. I also remember that guy singing Let’s Stay Together at karaoke one time and it was great. One of the more universally recognized great albums on this list. Everyone feels the longing and appreciates the expressiveness

America is an amazing song. Mrs. Robinson is a classic— the rest are not inspiring

Amazing country album — sweet and melancholy

Boring and repetitive video game music

This was a great listen— very long and I won’t be listening to it through again (I did it in parts the first time anyway) but I really enjoyed the musicianship and folk while driving on a sunny day

This is a decent album, great band name. My fave radio show, the Hoodoo Party (third Saturday of the month at 11 AM), was talking about this band and album over the weekend