307
Albums Rated
2.69
Average Rating
28%
Complete
782 albums remaining
Featured Review
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
50 Cent • 5/5
Banger of an album! Patiently Waiting, In Da Club, P.I.M.P., and 21 Questions are ones I've always loved. Especially Patiently Waiting, with Eminem's part. Funny thing about In Da Club, some of the lines in the edited version actually seem better. Hadn't heard the rest of the album before, it was a blast. High All The Time had a killer beat, If I Can't was great, Blood Houd was nice (with a good cameo by Young Buck). Back Down had some good music. Don't Push Me was nice, another awesome Eminem cameo. The rest of the songs were all mostly good. I normally don't listen to the extended versions of albums, but I had to for this one. I've always like Wanksta, that should have been on the main album. The others I hadn't heard before, but all of them are 5s. The P.I.M.P. remix with Snoop Dogg and a couple others was insanely good, can't belive I didn't hear it until now. Best song: Patiently Waiting
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
World
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Critic
Rater Style ?
20
5-Star Albums
54
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heaux Tales | 5 | 2.68 | +2.32 |
| Stripped | 5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
| Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) | 5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
| Savane | 5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
| Get Rich Or Die Tryin' | 5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
| Murder Ballads | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
| Talking Timbuktu | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| The College Dropout | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs | 5 | 3.33 | +1.67 |
| Hybrid Theory | 5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kind Of Blue | 1 | 4.06 | -3.06 |
| What's Going On | 1 | 3.94 | -2.94 |
| In Utero | 1 | 3.83 | -2.83 |
| Birth Of The Cool | 1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
| Wild Is The Wind | 1 | 3.63 | -2.63 |
| The Velvet Underground & Nico | 1 | 3.62 | -2.62 |
| Mothership Connection | 1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
| In A Silent Way | 1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
| The Suburbs | 1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
| Violent Femmes | 1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Ali Farka Touré | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Miles Davis | 4 | 1 |
| Radiohead | 3 | 1.67 |
| Yes | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 1.5 |
| Marvin Gaye | 2 | 1.5 |
| U2 | 3 | 2 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Van Morrison | 1, 4 |
| Nirvana | 4, 1 |
| Kanye West | 2, 5 |
5-Star Albums (20)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Saint Etienne
1/5
It's boring, repetitive, and drags on. The lead singer sounds like she has a good voice, but its wasted on these terrible songs. To enjoy this album, you'd have to be stoned, to say the least. Took me several days to get through, and now I have a backlog of like 5 albums.
Best song: Carnt Sleep
4 likes
Sufjan Stevens
1/5
This is the blandest most boring album on the list so far. Most of the lyrics are like "I woke up. I brushed my teeth. I had a bagel for breakfast. Rode the bus to work. Saw a blue car. It was slightly raining." It might make good background music, which normally would land it squarely at a 2, but its just so long and pointless that I can't give it more than a 1. Jacksonville has some good guitar music, and Decatur trots along nicely, but that's about it.
Best song: Jacksonville
3 likes
Christina Aguilera
5/5
Christina Aguilera has an incredible voice. I've been a fan of hers since she first dropped Genie In A Bottle. I like her self titled album better, but Stripped is still great. Can't Hold Us Down, Fighter, Beautiful, Dirty I've always loved. I hadn't heard the whole album before, there were some nice surprises. Especially the slower jams, like Walk Away, Infatuation, Cruise, and Soar. Absolute banger of an album, love it!
Best song: Beautiful
2 likes
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
My first foreign language album! Never heard of Ali Farka Toure before. Great music with a good beat and some wonderful twangy banjo. Not a single bad track on the album, with Yer Bounda Fara, Soya, and Soko Yhinka topping them. Definitely going to listen to more of him. The entire album just made me have a smile on my face, the whole way through. Love it.
Best song: Yer Bounda Fara
1 likes
Eminem
5/5
This is probably going to be my favorite album on the entire list. Of Eminem's albums, I prefer The Eminem Show over this one, but this is still an incredible album. It was released at the perfect time for me. Just before summer, towards the end of my junior year of high school. I couldn't get enough of this album, I've listened to it so many times. This album pretty much defines my senior year.
Eminem's vocal style is just a treat to hear. Yes, the content can be very juvenile and hateful. I don't excuse him for it. But the way he raps is amazing, the rhymes, the wordplay, I just love it.
He has two styles I really love. One is the "I don't give a fuck about anything" voice which is fun to hear just let loose and go off rapping. The Real Slim Shady is a good example of this one. The other one is my favorite. It's where it feels like he's trying to stay calm, but you can hear the rage underneath. The Way I Am and Marshall Mathers show that one off well.
I couldn't listen to this one like I usually do, just at home while working or whatever. Needed to crank it loud in the car. I had such a blast listening to this, brought me right back to high school, driving around with my friends.
Almost every song is a 5. Not a bad song on the entire thing. (I'm ignoring the short skits, they're mostly whatever, not really a plus or a minus). I normally don't write something for every song, but I had to for this one.
Public Service Announcement 2000: 5
Ok, I lied, I'm not ignoring every skit. This one is great, sets the tone for the whole album.
Kill You: 5
One of my favorites from the album, the words just flow so nicely. So much good rhyming and wordplay. A bold one to start off with, the words are a bit, well, harsh. But a solid song.
Stan: 5
Wow, what a song. The story he tells is sad and troubling, and it's something that could possibly happen. The word "stan" is even used today to mean a very avid fan of something. As the verses go on, you can hear the Stan character getting more and more unhinged, and then Eminem comes in as himself in the last verse and finishes it off. Love it.
Who Knew: 5
More good wordplay and rhyming.
The Way I Am: 5
This one goes so hard. The way he has to deal with both fans and critics loving and hating him. And the beat is just so good.
The Real Slim Shady: 5
The song that really blew up from this album. So enjoyable to listen to. Pretty funny as well, this is just pure fun.
Remember Me: 4
The only non 5 song on this album. It's still fairly good, just doesn't hit quite as nice as the other ones. Eminem's verse is great, of course, but the other two verses are mediocre.
I'm Back: 5
Even more good wordplay and rhyming. Nice beat as well.
Marshall Mathers: 5
A slower song, still goes hard. The music and beat are nice, and Eminem keeps up his wordplay. When I first heard it, couldn't get enough, played it on repeat.
Drug Ballad: 5
Great sound, the music and beat are nice and the vocal flow is fun. And the words shed a light on drug addiction and how it can affect your life and be hard to get away from.
Amityville: 5
Another fun song. Eminem's verses are great, more good wordplay and rhyming. Bizarre's verse is also fun, if a bit, well, explicit. Even more so than some of the other stuff on this album.
Bitch Please II: 5
Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg? Hell yeah. Every one of them bring their own style to this track, and it all comes together nicely. Such a good microcosm of West Coast 90s gangsta rap. A lot of fun to listen to.
Kim: 5
This is a hard one to listen to. I heard it when it first came out, and I listened to it this time for this review, but it's the only one I skip when normally doing a listen. It's still a good song, you can hear the pain and anger in his words. The scenario is unfortunately something that can and does happen, and this song is a window into that situation.
Under The Influence: 5
Eminem's verse is excellent. All of D12's verses are good too, each member bringing their style. Fun song.
Criminal: 5
Yet more good wordplay and rhyming. Ending out on a solid song. Like the way he starts off the song talking about how you need to separate the song lyrics from the man himself, but then ends the talk with him going right back into the Slim Shady persona.
Best song was so hard to pick because there are so many good ones. Top three are Stan, The Way I Am, and The Real Slim Shady. I'll give the nod to The Way I Am, but on any given day it could go to any of them.
Best song: The Way I Am
1 likes
1-Star Albums (54)
All Ratings
Parliament
1/5
Extremely repetitive. Every fourth word is "funk". We get it. You do funk music. Don't have to beat us over the head with it.
Best song: Handcuffs
Solomon Burke
3/5
Solid album, good music, good voice.
Best song: You're Good For Me
Nick Drake
2/5
Mostly dull, just kinda background noise.
Best Song: Things Behind the Sun
Arcade Fire
1/5
Dull. Could be fine as background music. Lead singer's voice is sleep inducing. Only song that was decent was Sprawl II, and that had a different lead singer.
Best song: Sprawl II
The Stone Roses
3/5
Not too bad. Some fun guitar work in there. Starts slow, but gets better in the middle, then returns to mediocre by the end.
Best Song: Made of Stone
Julian Cope
2/5
Starts really bad. Pristeen sounds like a kids song. Gets a little better after a few songs. The guitar work is great, especially in Safesurfer. Too bad the lyrics suck. Most of his songs, he just repeats the same thing over and over. Some decent stuff, but oh so repetitive.
Best song: Safesurfer
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Local Seattle artist! Jimi Hendrix is always a fun listen. Obviously, great guitar work. First three songs hit hard right off. May This be Love is a nice slower jam, with some great riffs. Rest of the album is solid, ending with the wonderful Red House.
Best Song: May This be Love
Elton John
3/5
The piano work is, obviously, top notch. Starts off with a banger, Tiny Dancer. Rest of the album is not bad, just ok. It's kind of a let down after the first track, though.
Best song: Tiny Dancer
Common
4/5
Common in always interesting. His songs usually just have a basic beat and a chorus that does little more than tie the verses together. But those verses are FIRE. And of course, GO! is awesome. Love Is... is also a nice chill song. It's Your World was a great ending to it.
Best song: GO!
Super Furry Animals
1/5
Just sounds like a bunch of noise. Can barely hear the words over the too loud music. And like half the songs end in them just giving their instruments to a bunch of monkeys to wail on incessantly.
Best Song: Something 4 the Weekend
LL Cool J
4/5
Gotta love LL. Verses are great, but choruses get a little repetitive. Around the Way Girl is an awesome chill song. Momma Said Knock You Out is always a banger. Milky Cereal is pretty funny. The slower jams are definitely better, but all around good album.
Best song: Around the Way Girl
Steely Dan
4/5
Great guitar work, a lot of fun to hear. Nice and chill. Starts out with a banger, Bodhisattva. Razor Boy and Your Gold Teeth are good chill songs. My Old School is a lot of fun. Pearl Of The Quarter is a pleasure to listen to.
Best song: Pearl Of The Quarter
Yes
2/5
Eh it's ok. British Rock is just not my kind of thing. Some really fun guitar work, though, especially in The Clap and Perpetual change. Starship Trooper is a 3 part song, first two parts were ok, but Part C was a banger.
Best song: The Clap
Radiohead
2/5
Another day, another album where you can't understand a single word they say. I like Creep by Radiohead, so was looking forward to hearing more by them, but this was a disappointment. I like the guitar work, but the singer is impossible to hear.
Best song: The Tourist
Prince
3/5
Starts of with the banger 1999. Little Red Corvette also a lot of fun. Let's Pretend We're Married had some funny lines. DMSR was a blast. Most of the rest of the songs are kind of meh. Biggest stinker was Automatic. It's repetitive and dull and.....9 minutes long.
Best song: 1999
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Haven't listened to much of Guns N' Roses before, but was looking forward to hearing this. Some good fun hard rock, love it! Slash's guitar work is incredible. Welcome to the Jungle starts us of with a banger. Mr. Brownstone was fun. Paradise City is always a classic. Sweet Child O'Mine is a nice slower (comparatively) jam. Rest of the album is solid.
Best song: Paradise City
Tim Buckley
2/5
Tim Buckley has a very interesting voice. The trumpet in Move with Me was a blast. Most of the songs are ok, nothing great. Good music though. Hong Kong Bra and Make It Right were pretty fun.
Best song: Hong Kong Bar
Jethro Tull
2/5
Jethro Tull was interesting. Not really my kind of thing, but I could see the appeal. Aqualung started off dull, but picked up halfway through. The rest of the songs were kinda meh, little bits here and there were fun, but not a whole lot.
Best song: Aqualung
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Started out ok. First few songs had some decent music, but not really anything great. Then it really started to pick up. Higher Ground was fun, Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing was solid. He's Misstra Know-It-All was a great way to end it. But the high point was All In Love Is Fair. Incredible piano music along with Stevie's incredible voice.
Best song: All In Love Is Fair
Tom Waits
1/5
From other reviews, I've read that his lyrics are amazing. Problem is, you can't understand a single word the dude says. I've heard other singers with gravelly voices, but this guy takes it to a new level, almost like wants to be incomprehensible. Jersey Girl was kinda nice, Saving All My Love For You was good. The rest was eh. Music is nice though. WHAT? WHY ARE THERE 5 ALBUMS FROM THIS GUY?
Best song: Saving All My Love For You
Dinosaur Jr.
1/5
Nothing but noise. Every single song incomprehensible. Was hard to pick a best song because I can't understand a word they say.
Best song: Freak Scene
Madonna
4/5
Madonna! Starts off with the certified banger, Like A Prayer. Till Death Do Us Part had some fun music, and then you hear the haunting lyrics, well done song. Spanish Eyes had great music and her voice was beautiful. All in all, a solid 80s pop album, good representative of the genre.
Best song: Like A Prayer
Beatles
2/5
Never really got into The Beatles. Appreciate their iconic status and contribution to music, but not really my thing. In this album, they seem to be going for quantity over quality. Just seems like a lot of the same thing, and a lot of the songs are pretty repetitive.
Best song: Roll Over Beethoven
David Bowie
3/5
Haven't listened to Bowie all that much. Lets see what all the fuss is about. Starts out decently, but then just gets weird. His voice sounds like he's half yelling half crying. It's not bad, but how does he have NINE albums on this list? The instrumentals are decent background music.
Best song: Beauty and the Beast
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
My first foreign language album! Never heard of Ali Farka Toure before. Great music with a good beat and some wonderful twangy banjo. Not a single bad track on the album, with Yer Bounda Fara, Soya, and Soko Yhinka topping them. Definitely going to listen to more of him. The entire album just made me have a smile on my face, the whole way through. Love it.
Best song: Yer Bounda Fara
Radiohead
2/5
First repeat artist. I still can't understand a single thing Radiohead says. Not a fan. High and Dry was ok. The rest were just kinda eh. Nice Dream had him repeating "nice dream" over and over again, but I didn't even realize he was saying that, it sounded like "my string". The music is great, many songs have some nice guitar work. I just can't get into the singer's voice though. Ends on a good note though, Street Spirit is fairly nice.
Best song: Street Spirit
Talking Heads
3/5
Never heard of Talking Heads before, but I'm digging it. Fun songs, good to vibe to. Some bangers, some misses. All in all a solid album.
Best song: Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town
The Velvet Underground
1/5
Started out ok, a solid 3. Then a few songs in I'm like eh, its more of a 2, don't really care for it. Then Heroin played and it grates your ears. The rest of the album doesn't get better. It's literal screeching, like the microphone is too close to the speaker so ever so often you get feedback. And the words are meh. He sounds like such an edgelord. Dump it. I want to go back and bump every other album up one point because at least they're not this.
Best song: Sunday Morning
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Only song I've ever heard before is Pale Blue Eyes, which I absolutely love. So I was excited to hear the rest of this. Starts out nice. Then goes to Pale Blue Eyes. Then it just tanks. The rest of the album is just eh. And then you reach Murder Mystery which is an utter mess. No, music producers, playing two vocal tracks at the exact same time is not interesting and quirky. It's incomprehensible.
Best Song: Pale Blue Eyes
The Sonics
4/5
Starting out, I was like great another 1960s rock album after the same thing the previous two days. Then Do You Love Me played and I'm like yeah lets go! Roll Over Beethoven after that? Rock on! The rest of the album didn't keep the same energy as those two, but they were still solid rock songs. Ends on the great Good Golly Miss Molly. Love it.
Best song: Roll Over Beethoven
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Initially I was excited to hear this. Slow, chill, ballads. Beautiful voice. Spanish. What's not to love? But when hearing it, just didn't really connect with any of the songs. Nothing bad, solid album, but not something I'd go back to. Except Bananeira, that song was a total bop.
Best song: Bananeria
Todd Rundgren
1/5
It's just noise. A couple of the songs start out promising, but then halfway through they just devolve into noise again. A couple songs towards the end are somewhat better, but not enough to redeem this album.
Best song: Just Another Onionhead
The Killers
3/5
Some good hits I've heard before, like Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me. Some good stuff I hadn't heard, like All These Things That I've Done and Andy You're A Star. The latter part of the album starts to drag a bit. Overall a decent album, enjoyable.
Best song: Mr. Brightside
T. Rex
3/5
Standard rock and roll. Some good hits, like Lean Woman Blues, Get It On, and Life's A Gas. Solid album.
Best song: Lean Woman Blues
The Verve
3/5
Always loved Bitter Sweet Symphony, but hadn't heard much else from The Verve before. The rest of the album was kinda eh, though. Not bad, just generic rock.
Best song: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Pentangle
3/5
Celtic medieval folksy music. Something you'd hear around a fire while camping. Great guitar work, lots of fun. Prefer the more folksy songs to the more soft rock. Solid album.
Best song: Once I Had a Sweetheart
1/5
WTF is this? Just noise. The titles don't even make sense. They just slapped a title on it and made random shitty noise. Worst album so far.
Candidate for worst album.
Best song: We Fenced Other Gardens With the Bones of Our Own
Tears For Fears
5/5
Starting off with a banger, Shout is a ton of fun! Good sax music in The Working Hour. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is another great one. Dips a bit for the next few tracks, still solid though. Then the amazing Head Over Heels. Great album, love it!
Best song: Head over Heels
Steely Dan
5/5
Was looking forward to more Steely Dan after getting them the first time. Not disappointed, this one is a lot of fun as well. Great guitar work, fun songs, very chill. Love it. Really feeling the Steely Dan sound, even though I gave the last one a 4, I'm giving this one a 5.
Best song: Kings
Jamiroquai
2/5
Voice is fine, and music is decent, but the songs get really repetitive.
Best song: When You Gonna Learn?
Deep Purple
3/5
Starts off with a banger, Highway Star. Smoke on the Water is also a blast, with that iconic guitar riff. The rest of the album, the songs are solid. There's only one issue. I love live music, and obviously I love recorded music. But I've never been a fan of recordings of live music. Just these songs on an album would have been a 4, but I'm going to have to drop it to a 3, there are parts where the songs drag on. These parts would be great to see live, but they just don't work for me as a recording.
Best song: Smoke on the Water
The Mars Volta
1/5
More incomprehensible noise. Some good guitar work in there, but not enough to help this album. Songs are way too long. Many of them have some good parts, but its mixed into a lot of bad. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed was going pretty good, and then the very ending they decide to just throw their drums down the stairs or something.
Best song: This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed
Ramones
3/5
Ay, oh, let's go! Starts out with a total bop, literally. The rest of the album doesn't quite hold up to Blitzkrieg Bop. It all just ends up sounding like the same song. Feels like they just had the instruments keep going for half an hour while the singers sang whatever they thought of, and then when editing it they just decided some arbitrary points to split it into tracks. Still, it's fun to just jam to, solid 3.
Best song: Blitzkrieg Bop
The White Stripes
3/5
I've only ever heard Seven Nation Army before, and I do like it. But for some reason I never thought I'd like any other White Stripes songs. Based off of nothing really. And totally unfounded, because this album does have some enjoyable stuff. It's a total mixed bag. Little Ghost and White Moon are great. The Nurse is terrible. The rest of the album bounces around ok to good.
Best song: Little Ghost
Dennis Wilson
2/5
Never heard of Dennis Wilson before. You can hear a little bit of Beach Boys influence, but its not enough to give this album much of a boost. Not bad really, but nothing great either.
Best song: Pacific Ocean Blues
Van Morrison
1/5
Another album of live music. Still not a fan. And this time I can't even really say I'd like it all that much if it were the recorded songs. These songs just don't interest me. Many of them are repetitive. None of them are terrible, just nothing worth listening to again. On top of that, this is a double album, over an hour and a half long. That drops this from a 2 to a 1.
Best song: Saint Dominic's Preview
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
At first glance, a two hour long country album? This is going to be a slog. But when that first banjo twang started, I was hooked. The album is still way too long, cutting out a bunch of the instrumental tracks and the talking would have streamlined this into an easy 5. But it did drag at times, dropping it to a good 4.
Best song: Grand Ole Opry Song
Sam Cooke
2/5
Another live album. Still not a fan. The songs are decent, but again, being a live album just drags it.
Best song: Chain Gang
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
Fairly repetitive and kinda dull. Not really a fan.
Best song: Heads Will Roll
Traffic
4/5
Starting out with a nice fun instrumental. Next couple tracks have vocals, but don't hit as well. Stranger To Himself and John Barleycorn Must Die pick it right back up, both are bangers. Ends with a decent rock track.
Best song: John Barleycorn Must Die
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
1/5
I don't mind the instrumental track here and there, but a whole album of it is going to be a bit much. Even if it were really good, I don't think I could rate a mostly instrumental album more than a 4, and this one isn't even that good. It's dull and weird. Just like ambient sounds with a little strangeness thrown in. A couple tracks have some good parts, but then go back to the weirdness.
Best song: From The Colonies
Michael Jackson
5/5
Who's bad? Gotta love Michael Jackson, and Bad is good. What can I say about MJ? The pop, the synth, the VOICE. No bad song on the album, and several total bangers. The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In The Mirror, and Smooth Criminal. Annie, and anyone else hearing this, is more than ok. Love it.
Best song: Man In The Mirror
Jurassic 5
4/5
Never listened to Jurassic 5 before. Not too bad. I'm surprised this album came out in 2002, it has an early 90s rap sound that feels almost a decade older. Still, not a bad track on the album (the last track is a bit of just noise and mess, but by then you've already been through most of a good album). The intro and interludes feel kind of pointless, but they don't really drag it down. Enjoyed it.
Best song: What's Golden
Van Morrison
4/5
After I got his live album (which I did not like), I was waiting for this one. Much better. Starts solid, and then the title track, Moondance, which I've always loved. Continues on solid for the rest of the album. Some songs even remind me of other great songs. Crazy Love has a similar sound to a part of Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud. Caravan and Glad Tidings both seem to call back to Van's own Brown Eyed Girl. Total turnaround from the last one I heard, love this one.
Best song: Moondance
Depeche Mode
2/5
It was kind of ok. Nothing bad, but nothing memorable either. Except for Enjoy The Silence, that one was fun. Most of it is just decent background music.
Best song: Enjoy the Silence
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
I'm not a huge fan of instrumental music, there are some songs I really love but on the whole I would probably rate a fully instrumental album lower. That said, a fully instrumental classical Indian music album? As an Indian myself, I've grown up listening to this kind of music, and the ragas and sounds are familiar in the more modern Bollywood songs I listen to often. This one was a delight to listen to.
Best song: Call Of The Valley
Elliott Smith
2/5
Seems fine as background music. Nothing really breaks out, but nothing bad either. Just kinda dull and slow.
Best song: Alameda
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Loved many of these songs when I was younger! You Oughta Know hits hard, Hand in my Pocket is is fun, You Learn rocks, Head Over Feet is a banger, and of course Ironic is great. Takes me back to the 90s. There are a few songs that drag it a a bit, but all in all this is an awesome album.
Best song: Ironic
ZZ Top
2/5
Haven't really listened to ZZ Top before. This album is kinda eh. Love the guitar works and the beats, but the lead singer seems to just ramble on.
Best song: Master of Sparks
Willie Nelson
3/5
Willie Nelson has an incredible voice. His style of music is not something I really listen to all that much, but you have to love the way he sings. I'm also really enjoying the guitar twangs. Mostly a fun album, with a few duds dragging it down. We didn't really need three versions of Time of the Preacher (I don't think we even needed one). The standouts are I Couldn't Believe It Was True and the title track.
Best song: I Couldn't Believe It Was True
Queen
4/5
Fun album! For the most part. Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon is a lot of fun, Love of My Life is great. And yes, I'm in Love With my Car is pretty bad. Oh right, and this album also happens to have a little known song called Bohemian Rhapsody. I don't think that one will ever catch on. All in all, a solid album. A few songs do keep it from the top rating, but it's a definite high 4.
Best song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Saint Etienne
1/5
It's boring, repetitive, and drags on. The lead singer sounds like she has a good voice, but its wasted on these terrible songs. To enjoy this album, you'd have to be stoned, to say the least. Took me several days to get through, and now I have a backlog of like 5 albums.
Best song: Carnt Sleep
Beatles
3/5
The Beatles are...ok. I would never have an issue if one of their songs comes on, but I wouldn't choose to play it myself. Normally I'd rate that situation a 2, but they are the Beatles, I think their sound does warrant bumping up to a 3. And there are a few good songs on this album. Love You To has some nice Indian music influences (thank you George), Yellow Submarine is always a classic, and Good Day Sunshine almost feels like it could be a Queen song with Freddy Mercury singing.
Best song: Yellow Submarine
The Smiths
2/5
Eh, it's ok. The guitar work is great, especially in The Headmaster Ritual (including a really fun guitar riff throughout) and Well I Wonder. But the singing is just mediocre. With a more interesting lead singer this could easily get a 3, possible even a 4. But as it is, it drags down to a 2.
Best song: The Headmaster Ritual
Ray Charles
3/5
Ray Charles has a great voice and the songs were pretty fun.
Best song: Hey, Good Lookin'
Various Artists
4/5
Merry Christmas, ya filthy albums! Lot of fun to listen to, always love Christmas music. Stand outs were A Marshmallow World, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).
Best song: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Christina Aguilera
5/5
Christina Aguilera has an incredible voice. I've been a fan of hers since she first dropped Genie In A Bottle. I like her self titled album better, but Stripped is still great. Can't Hold Us Down, Fighter, Beautiful, Dirty I've always loved. I hadn't heard the whole album before, there were some nice surprises. Especially the slower jams, like Walk Away, Infatuation, Cruise, and Soar. Absolute banger of an album, love it!
Best song: Beautiful
Nina Simone
1/5
I like her voice, but that's the only positive thing I have to say about this album. Having her voice with some better songs would have been really fun. The only song I really like on it is Break Down And Let It All Out, and Four Women tells an interesting story.
Best song: Break Down And Let It All Out
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Never listened to Nick Cave before. But this was a fun album. Some good songs, some not so good. Breathless and Hiding All Away were a blast. Fable of the Brown Ape was odd, and not in an interesting way. Bit on the long side though, could have been a 4 if they cut out a bunch of the weaker tracks and made a tighter album. A couple songs had some great guitar work, such as Easy Money and Spell.
Best song: Hiding All Away
M.I.A.
2/5
I was excited to hear this because I absolutely love Paper Planes. But the rest of the album was kind of a disappointment. Wasn't terrible, but a lot of it was pretty noisy and repetitive. Jimmy was nice, reminded me of an Indian song. Mango Pickle Down River was fun with all the kids singing. And of course, Paper Planes is still a banger. But the rest of the album is just eh.
Best song: Paper Planes
Throwing Muses
2/5
Good music, decent voice, meh songs. Nothing too bad, just kinda ok. Pandora's Box, Epiphany, and Flying were the highlights. Flying had really fun music.
Best song: Flying
Billy Joel
4/5
Billy Joel is always entertaining. Many fun songs on this one, starts with a banger in Moving Out. Just The Way You Are has some good sax music. Only The Good Die Young is always a classic. Everybody Has A Dream is a nice ending to a great album.
Best song: Only The Good Die Young
Marvin Gaye
1/5
Starts of with the classic What's Going On. Then kinda goes down hill from there. Right On almost got me molested by a duck with the annoying quacking and cooing noises.
Best song: What's Going On
The Black Keys
3/5
Don't know why but liked it more than I thought I would. The music is definitely better than the singing, but all in all its a decent album.
Best song: Too Afraid to Love
DJ Shadow
1/5
Eh, it's a whole album of instrumental music. I can appreciate the influence it had on hip hop, I can even hear the undertones of music I absolutely love. But the album itself just didn't grab me.
Best song: Organ Donor
Roxy Music
2/5
More odd British rock. Eh. I'll pass. If There is Something and Sea Breezes had some nice music, and the music in the rest of the album was fairly good, but the singer was boring.
Best song: If There Is Something
TV On The Radio
2/5
Eh, its ok. Works as background music, but nothing that strikes out at me. Dancing Choose, Golden Age, and DLZ were kinda fun though.
Best song: Dancing Choose
Beatles
3/5
Another Beatles album, huh? Same as the last time, I do appreciate their sound and what they've done for music, but they're just not something I really enjoy listening to. At least their albums are short. Get in, drop a few tracks with their iconic sound, get out. Solid.
Best song: Can't Buy Me Love
AC/DC
4/5
The voice, the music, all iconic. Starts off with the pretty fun Hell's Bells. Next few are solid. Then Back In Black and You Shook Me All Night Long take it right back up. Rest of the album rounded out nicely. Great album, makes you smile from start to finish. Can't help but join in with their energy.
Best song: Back in Black
Spiritualized
1/5
Weird music with tons of noise and repetition. Pass.
Best song: I Want You
The Replacements
2/5
Generic rock, but really repetitive. Really not a fan of the lead singer's voice. Androgynous and Answering Machine were kinda interesting, and Black Diamond was fun.
Best song: Black Diamond
Morrissey
2/5
Heard of Morrissey before, but never listened to him. His voice is decent, but the songs are just blah.
Best song: Certain People I Know
The Police
2/5
It's white people singing reggae, and it sounds exactly like white people singing reggae. Starts off with the classic Message In A Bottle, but then the rest of the album is just dull and empty. Also very repetitive. Someone needs to send an SOS for this album.
Best song: Message In A Bottle
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Never listened to CSNY before. Nice blend of rock and country.
Best song: Our House
Yes
1/5
The guitar work is nice, the singing is decent, but I just don't like the songs. And they're way too long.
Best song: Long Distance Runaround
Kate Bush
1/5
Really repetitive, her voice gives me the creeps, and many of the songs have annoying background singing.
Best song: Night Of The Swallow
The The
2/5
It's ok. Out Of The Blue was kinda nice. The rest were fine but forgettable.
Best song Out Of The Blue
Meat Loaf
3/5
The title track and Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad are both classics, always nice to listen to. You Took The Words.... was also nice. Only criticism I'll give is that some of the songs are just too long and wear out their welcome before they're done.
Best song: Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad
2/5
More dull slow British rock. Eh. You Said Something was nice, and a few of the songs have nice music. But most of the album is just meh. A few of the songs are way too repetitive as well.
Best song: You Said Something
David Ackles
2/5
Interesting album. Some songs had nice stories, but I just didn't really connect with a lot of them. Oh, California is a lot of fun, and Love's Enough is very sweet. The rest of the album is ok.
Best song: Oh, California
Bill Evans Trio
2/5
Instrumental and live. Neither of which I'm interested in. And smooth jazz is pretty much the definition of background music. There is no way this album could possibly get anything other than a 2 from me.
Best song: Jade Visions
The Associates
1/5
And back to British music. Music is ok, singing is terrible, and songs are repetitive. Only ok song is Arrogance Gave Him Up, which is an instrumental.
Best song: Arrogance Gave Him Up
Fela Kuti
2/5
The music is lively and fun. And I can appreciate his contributions to Afrobeat and world music. But more than half of each very long song is music, its almost half an instrumental album. And when he does sing, he has a nice voice and sings well, but it's very repetitive.
Best song: Mr. Follow Follow
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis! I'd heard Juicy and Big Poppa before, love both of them. The rest of the album was mostly excellent raps. A few of the songs got repetitive in the chorus. Gimme The Loot and Respect were two more good standouts. It's not crazy long or anything, but it does overstay its welcome. The last three tracks kind of lose steam, cutting those out would have made this album much better.
Best song: Juicy
The Smiths
2/5
Starts out great with A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours, and I Started Something I Couldn't Finish is a solid follow up. But then it kinds drags. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before is decent though. Meh album with a couple breakout songs.
Best song: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
Missy Elliott
4/5
Missy Elliott's impact on hip hop and rnb can not be understated. This album doesn't have my favorite songs of hers on it, but its still a solid album. Sock It 2 Me, They Don't Wanna Fuck Wit Me, Don't Be Comin, Why You Hurt Me, I'm Talking, and Getaway are all fun. The only problem is that it's just way too long. Knock off a few of the weaker songs, and you'd have a certified 5 album.
Best song: I'm Talking
Rush
4/5
I didn't think I'd like Rush as much as I did. Tom Sawyer and YYZ I've heard before, enjoyed playing those in Rock Band. But the rest of the album was pretty fun too. The Camera Eye was too long, that was the only dud. Otherwise, good album.
Best song: Tom Sawyer
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Jimi Hendrix is such an amazing guitarist. His singing voice is fairly good, and supports the music fine, but it really is the guitar that keeps me coming back. All Along The Watchtower is incredible. And then there's Voodoo Chile. It was going along ok, solid 3 song. Thinking the song was almost over, I look at the screen. Thing wasn't even 1/3 of the way through! Waaaaay too long, and already drags by the 5 minute mark. And then there's A Merman I Should Turn To Be. I was really digging this one. Through the first 4 minutes. Then saw there was still 9 more minutes to go. Jimi, my dude, learn to end your songs. Decent album, but I prefer the other one I've had of his, Are You Experienced.
Best song: All Along The Watchtower
The Beach Boys
3/5
Love the Beach Boys sound. Their harmony and their chill sound are always fun to hear. I prefer their other songs over the ones on this particular album, but still a solid album.
Best song: Sloop John B
Megadeth
2/5
Pretty much every song starts with some epic guitar, then the lead singer opens his mouth and the whole song just devolves into nothing.
Best song: Peace Sells
Metallica
5/5
I've never been a huge metal fan, but Metallica has always been a blast. Especially after yesterday's junk metal album, this was a treat. The guitar work in these songs is incredible, just a total romp from start to finish. Kicks off with the banger Enter Sandman. Continues on to more good songs, with breakouts The Unforgiven and Wherever I May Roam. And then Nothing Else Matter comes on, such an incredible song. Metallica is a great metal band, but if they ever got tired of that, they could totally make bank on power ballads. The rest of the album keep going strong. Not a bad song on the entire thing.
Best song: Nothing Else Matters
Jazmine Sullivan
5/5
What a treat! Haven't listened to many Jazmine Sullivan songs before, and I was impressed. Some good hip hop and rnb songs. And the gimmick with the people telling a story between the songs stayed fresh and entertaining.
Best song: Pick Up Your Feeling
4/5
Good start with Hello. Wonderwall is a classic, great song. Don't Look Back In Anger was fun, great guitar work. The rest of the album goes well, Some Might Say and She's Electric are also nice. Fun album!
Best song: Wonderwall
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Had more fun with this one than the previous Stevie Wonder album I got. Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away was nice. Boogie On Reggae Woman was an absolute blast. You Haven't Done Nothin, It Ain't No Use, and Please Don't Go were also fun. Good album all in all. Stevie has an incredible voice, and the music in many songs is really fun, especially some of the harmonica work.
Best song: Boogie On Reggae Woman
The Cars
5/5
Started out ok, felt pretty generic rock. But as I listened more and more, it got better and better. Just What I Needed is a classic, great song. Other fun songs were Don't Cha Stop and You're All I Got Tonight. They ended the album Moving In Stereo and All Mixed Up, both of which had really good music, great vibe. Overall most songs are 4s, with a few 3s and a couple 5s, but all together, this album just hits the spot.
Best song: Just What I Needed
Grateful Dead
1/5
More live albums. Yay. Never listened to Grateful Dead before. And I wish I could still say the same. The album was boring and didn't really go anywhere. And one entire track was nothing but microphone feedback. Terrible album.
Best song: Turn On Your Love Light
2/5
Its...ok. More British soft rock, yay. River Of Orchids had a great intro, but then the singing started and it was just a random jumble. Easter Theater was kinda fun. Frivolous Tonight rolled along nicely. Greenman had a nice Indian beat with some good flute music. Your Dictionary was an interesting concept, and it had some nice music. The rest of the album kinda falls after that. There are a few good songs on here, but the album as a whole seems to be less than the sum of its parts. Not really something I'd listen to more of.
Best song: Greenman
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
I hadn't heard of Big Brother & The Holding Company before, but Janis Joplin is always awesome. The guitar work on this album is incredible, especially in Summertime and Oh, Sweet Mary. The vocals sound great, but the writing is not the strongest, a lot of the songs get pretty repetitive. All in all, a solid album, easy 3.
Best song: Oh, Sweet Mary
Sufjan Stevens
1/5
This is the blandest most boring album on the list so far. Most of the lyrics are like "I woke up. I brushed my teeth. I had a bagel for breakfast. Rode the bus to work. Saw a blue car. It was slightly raining." It might make good background music, which normally would land it squarely at a 2, but its just so long and pointless that I can't give it more than a 1. Jacksonville has some good guitar music, and Decatur trots along nicely, but that's about it.
Best song: Jacksonville
Talking Heads
2/5
After the first Talking Heads album I got, I was looking forward to hearing more of them. Was kind of disappointed. Talking Heads 77 is definitely a much better album. Most of this album is just kind of there, doesn't really go anywhere. Not terrible, but not really all that interesting either.
Best song: Crosseyed And Painless
Fever Ray
1/5
This is a 10 song album with only 1 song on it. Every single song was exactly the same. A dull repetitive synth beat, and some weird over tuned whiny singing. Triangle Walks had some nice music pick up, but other than that, this was a total slog. Couldn't wait for it to end.
Best song: Triangle Walks
Richard Hawley
3/5
Never heard of Richard Hawley before, but wow he has a great voice! The songs make it almost sounds like a Christmas album. Does he have a Christmas album? Would love to hear that if he does. The songs are nice and chill. Just Like The Rain and Darlin' Wait For Me are nice. The Ocean has some great lyrics. The Waters Of My Time is a really good vibe.
Best song: The Waters Of My Time
Nirvana
4/5
What a fun album! I normally am not a fan of live albums, but this one just totally rocked. Come As You Are is always a total hit. Took a bit of a dip for a few songs after that. Then Plateau brought it back up and it stayed strong to the end. Where Did You Sleep Last Night was a good song to end a good album on.
Best song: Come As You Are
Ray Charles
3/5
As I said on the previous album of his I got, Ray Charles has a great voice. Songs are fun as well. Kind of drags towards the end, the last few songs don't really hold up the energy from the first half. But all in all, a solid album.
Best song: Alexander's Ragtime Band
Neil Young
3/5
Pleasantly surprised, had fun with this one. Started out great, Out On The Weekend was a lot of fun. The guitar work and harmonica sounds throughout the whole album are really nice. A Man Needs A Maid was pretty bad, but then we picked right back up with the great Heart Of Gold. The rest of the album flowed along nicely.
Best song: Heart Of Gold
Kanye West
2/5
College Dropout is my favorite Kanye West album, and there are several great songs on Late Registration and Graduation. I don't think I've ever heard any of the songs from Yeezus though. Well, its....weird. Kanye is a good rapper, but the songs just have weird sounds all through the background. Straight off the bat we have On Sight which is just annoying. Black Skinhead is fairly intersting, good rap. The rest is all a lot of the same. Good rap, but annoying background music. I'm In It has some good rap lines. Blood On The Leaves and Guilt Trip hit pretty nicely. Ends with the nice Bound 2. All in all its just ok, would have preferred any of his first three albums instead.
Best song: Bound 2
The Stooges
2/5
It was ok, fairly generic rock. Decent guitar work, some of the songs were fun. Only real breakout was Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell, that one was a blast. Penetration was really annoying. Death Trip was fairly good too. Rest of the album was just mid.
Best song: Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell
The Offspring
3/5
This album was pretty fun. Nitro started us off with a total banger. Come Out And Play was amazing. Self Esteem was also great. Rest of the album was pretty good. Totally solid.
Best song: Come Out And Play
Green Day
5/5
Great album! Starts off with the banger American Idiot. Holiday is a ton of fun. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams is awesome. Give Me Novacaine is also nice. And then the incredible Wake Me Up When September Ends, which I've always loved. Only duds are Jesus Of Suburbia and Homecoming, both of which start off nicely, then kinda drag on. Overall, love this album, rock on!
Best song: Wake Me Up When September Ends
Culture Club
3/5
Starts off with the always fun Karma Chameleon. But then it kinda drops. The rest of the album is fairly good, except the songs just get really repetitive. Change out the repetitive lyrics for something more, and you'd have a 4 of 5 here.
Best song: Karma Chameleon
Shack
3/5
It's fairly standard easy listening rock. Starts out with Natalie's Party which is quite fun. The rest is all chill and relaxing. Except for Streets Of Kenny, which I wasn't a fan of.
Best song: Natalie's Party
The Bees
2/5
This started out terribly, possibly the worst album on the list. The first three songs are nothing but a slow chill beat, along with the same line repeated over and over through the entire song. Luckily, after that the album starts to get a little better. A Minha Menina comes in nicely, that one was pretty fun. Sweet Like A Champion was also decent, had some great music. Hard to rate this album, its mostly 2s with a few 1s and a couple breakout songs.
Best song: A Minha Menina
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Good old fashioned rock and roll. Solid album. Starts off a bit shaky, but then Dear Doctor hits great. The rest of the album keeps going strong. Factory Girl and Salt Of The Earth close it out with a bang.
Best song: Dear Doctor
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Music is nice, vocals are decent. Songs are just long, drag on. Music is great, points just for that.
Best song: Your Time Is Gonna Come
Caetano Veloso
2/5
It was ok, most tracks were just decent background music. Clarice was good but drags on after a while. Superbacana was pretty fun. Soy Loco Por Ti America was nice.
Best song: Superbacana
Kraftwerk
1/5
German industrial electronic music. It's well done, but not really my thing. Also very repetitive. Each track is also much longer than it needs to be. I'll pass.
Best song: The Model
Lana Del Rey
2/5
The entire album is just a light airy voice slowly singing over a soft beat. Hard to even tell where one song ends and another song begins. Pretty much the definition of background music. Dark But Just A Game has a nice part in the middle, as does Dance Till We Die.
Best song: Dance Till We Die
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
The songs are just kind of ok. Nothing really all that interesting. Moving along.
Best song: Freddie's Dead
Eminem
5/5
This is probably going to be my favorite album on the entire list. Of Eminem's albums, I prefer The Eminem Show over this one, but this is still an incredible album. It was released at the perfect time for me. Just before summer, towards the end of my junior year of high school. I couldn't get enough of this album, I've listened to it so many times. This album pretty much defines my senior year.
Eminem's vocal style is just a treat to hear. Yes, the content can be very juvenile and hateful. I don't excuse him for it. But the way he raps is amazing, the rhymes, the wordplay, I just love it.
He has two styles I really love. One is the "I don't give a fuck about anything" voice which is fun to hear just let loose and go off rapping. The Real Slim Shady is a good example of this one. The other one is my favorite. It's where it feels like he's trying to stay calm, but you can hear the rage underneath. The Way I Am and Marshall Mathers show that one off well.
I couldn't listen to this one like I usually do, just at home while working or whatever. Needed to crank it loud in the car. I had such a blast listening to this, brought me right back to high school, driving around with my friends.
Almost every song is a 5. Not a bad song on the entire thing. (I'm ignoring the short skits, they're mostly whatever, not really a plus or a minus). I normally don't write something for every song, but I had to for this one.
Public Service Announcement 2000: 5
Ok, I lied, I'm not ignoring every skit. This one is great, sets the tone for the whole album.
Kill You: 5
One of my favorites from the album, the words just flow so nicely. So much good rhyming and wordplay. A bold one to start off with, the words are a bit, well, harsh. But a solid song.
Stan: 5
Wow, what a song. The story he tells is sad and troubling, and it's something that could possibly happen. The word "stan" is even used today to mean a very avid fan of something. As the verses go on, you can hear the Stan character getting more and more unhinged, and then Eminem comes in as himself in the last verse and finishes it off. Love it.
Who Knew: 5
More good wordplay and rhyming.
The Way I Am: 5
This one goes so hard. The way he has to deal with both fans and critics loving and hating him. And the beat is just so good.
The Real Slim Shady: 5
The song that really blew up from this album. So enjoyable to listen to. Pretty funny as well, this is just pure fun.
Remember Me: 4
The only non 5 song on this album. It's still fairly good, just doesn't hit quite as nice as the other ones. Eminem's verse is great, of course, but the other two verses are mediocre.
I'm Back: 5
Even more good wordplay and rhyming. Nice beat as well.
Marshall Mathers: 5
A slower song, still goes hard. The music and beat are nice, and Eminem keeps up his wordplay. When I first heard it, couldn't get enough, played it on repeat.
Drug Ballad: 5
Great sound, the music and beat are nice and the vocal flow is fun. And the words shed a light on drug addiction and how it can affect your life and be hard to get away from.
Amityville: 5
Another fun song. Eminem's verses are great, more good wordplay and rhyming. Bizarre's verse is also fun, if a bit, well, explicit. Even more so than some of the other stuff on this album.
Bitch Please II: 5
Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg? Hell yeah. Every one of them bring their own style to this track, and it all comes together nicely. Such a good microcosm of West Coast 90s gangsta rap. A lot of fun to listen to.
Kim: 5
This is a hard one to listen to. I heard it when it first came out, and I listened to it this time for this review, but it's the only one I skip when normally doing a listen. It's still a good song, you can hear the pain and anger in his words. The scenario is unfortunately something that can and does happen, and this song is a window into that situation.
Under The Influence: 5
Eminem's verse is excellent. All of D12's verses are good too, each member bringing their style. Fun song.
Criminal: 5
Yet more good wordplay and rhyming. Ending out on a solid song. Like the way he starts off the song talking about how you need to separate the song lyrics from the man himself, but then ends the talk with him going right back into the Slim Shady persona.
Best song was so hard to pick because there are so many good ones. Top three are Stan, The Way I Am, and The Real Slim Shady. I'll give the nod to The Way I Am, but on any given day it could go to any of them.
Best song: The Way I Am
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Mostly dull slow British rock. Not much interesting. The Jungle Line had an annoying background noise throughout the song. Her voice is nice, and the guitar work can be fun at times. Harry's House comes in nicely though, with a great bass guitar beat and some killer piano riffs. It was a really fun listen on an otherwise forgettable album.
Best song: Harry's House
Eagles
5/5
What can I say about Hotel California? It has one of the greatest songs of all time kicking it off. Such an incredible song, no words I say can do it justice. From the soft guitar intro kicking it off, to the smooth lyrics, to the outro. Just a perfect song. And that outro? It's a full two minutes long, normally I'd say that's too much. The song is over, just end it. But not Hotel California. That outro just keeps up the amazing energy the song brings. If anything, it feels too short, I could hear those guitars wail for a lot longer. I could give this album a 5 star rating on this song alone, even if the rest of the album was terrible.
But it's absolutely not. It keeps going strong with some more good smooth rock with New Kid In Town. Life In The Fast Lane kicks the tempo up a bit nicely. Wasted Time tones it down a bit, but still a nice song. Victim Of Love was ok. Pretty Maids All In A Row was sweet. Try And Love Again moves along nicely. The Last Resort ends it out smoothly.
Great album, loved it the whole way through.
I also love that this album was released on my birthday, 7 years before I was born.
Best song: Hotel California
The Waterboys
4/5
Hard one to rate. All the songs are 2s or 3s, except two. And A Bang On The Ear was great, the story was funny and it flowed really well. The Stolen Child was boring and dull. But taken as a whole, I just had a blast. As the album went on, I kept wanting to hear more and more. Their use of violins and saxophones is just pure fun. Good album, enjoyed it a lot.
Best song: And A Bang On The Ear
The Doors
2/5
I don't know what it is about his voice, but something about it just turns me off. It's not bad, it just rubs me the wrong way. Most of the songs were ok. L.A. Woman and Riders On The Storm were pretty good. L'America was annoying and repetitive. Overall, it's just ok.
Best song: Riders On The Storm
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Liked it more than I thought. Not sure why, but I never seemed interested in Thin Lizzy, but hearing them was an absolute blast. It starts with Jailbreak, which is a lot of fun. Emerald and Southbound keep up that energy. Dancing In The Moonlight, Warrior, and Sha-La-La are also great. Most of the rest of the album is good, only a few duds. Would be great if it weren't live, if the same set of songs were the recorded versions the album would probably have been a 4, but I just don't really like recordings of live songs. Still, a fun time and I'm definitely going to listen to more of them.
Best song: The Boys Are Back In Town
Fairport Convention
4/5
Had not heard of Fairport Convention before, but I wish I had. I had a lot of fun listening to this album. The guitar work is excellent. The lead singer has a nice voice. The album opens with the fun Genesis Hall. A Sailor's Life starts out sounding like it'll be kinda meh, but then it picks up, and the guitar and violin combo is amazing. Percy's Song is really good, great music and a nice story in it. Ends on the fun Million Dollar Bash. After the album finished playing, I didn't realize it was the last song and it moved on to their song Matty Groves. Wow, what a song, absolutely loved it! Wish it were on this album. Good album, will have to listen to more Fairport Convention.
Best song: Percy's Song
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
Nothing but noise. This might be the worst album I've had on the list so far. It's only 46 minutes long but it feels like an eternity. I can't believe these guys have two more albums on the list. It was hard to pick a "best" song since the entire album is garbage. I picked Wonder 2 because at least the album is over.
Candidate for worst album.
Best song: Wonder 2
Alice Cooper
4/5
Another group I discounted before listening to them. Boy was I wrong. Starts with the title track, which is a lot of fun. I love the "we can't even think of a word that rhymes" line. Gutter Cat Vs The Jets was really fun, great music, and the West Side Story part was awesome. Blue Turk dipped into a bit of jazz which was really nice. My Stars is the only dud on the album, the music got kinda annoying. Alma Mater was good, a bit humorous. Great album, looking forward to hearing more of them!
Best song: Gutter Cat Vs The Jets
Van Halen
3/5
Fun times! Starts out nicely with Runnin' With The Devil. You Really Got Me is a classic, great song. I'm The One has some awesome shredding in it. The guitar work throughout the album is excellent. Ice Cream Man is pretty fun too. Only ok songs are Atomic Punk and On Fire. All in all, good album.
Best song: You Really Got Me
Bob Dylan
4/5
The album starts off with one of the greatest songs of all time, Blowin' In The Wind. Throughout the album, Dylan's voice is amazing. The way he blends hopefulness with melancholy, in both his words and the way he delivers them, is just beautiful. The guitar work along with the harmonica popping in occasionally is a treat to listen to. The content of the songs speaks true still today. Other great songs are Girl From The North Country, Masters Of War, Don't Think Twice It's All Right, and Talkin' World War III Blues.
Best song: Blowin' In The Wind
Talk Talk
2/5
Most of it was just plain boring. a couple of the songs were really weird. Happiness Is Easy just goes all over the place. Chameleon Day felt like it didn't go anywhere. Only ok song was I Don't Believe In You, nice and smooth.
Best song: I Don't Believe In You
Leonard Cohen
1/5
His voice is boring and the songs just feel like he's droning on. Winter Lady was ok, So Long Marianne was nice. Everything else was just dull and sleep inducing.
Best song: So Long Marianne
The Everly Brothers
3/5
This was pretty good! Made To Love starts off nice, very cute song. Baby What You Want Me To Do has nice music. The rest of the album is nice, fun to hear.
Best song: Made To Love
The Who
2/5
Songs were mostly ok, but a lot of it was repetitive. The Kids Are Alright was pretty good, of course. The rest of the album was meh.
Best song: The Kids Are Alright
Iron Maiden
3/5
I liked this way more than I thought I would. I always thought there were going to be some crazy scream metal band or something, based on their name and album covers. But they turned out to be pretty fun. Prowler starts us of with a decent song, but some great guitar shredding. Remember Tomorrow is nice and smooth. Strange World also has some great guitar work. The rest of the songs are all right. All in all though, a good time.
Best song: Remember Tomorrow
Don McLean
4/5
The title track is pretty long, but it never overstays its welcome. It's a true classic, a lot of fun to listen to, never gets boring. Also, I can't help but listen to Weird Al's The Saga Begins afterward. I've always loved Vincent, great sad song. Empty Chairs and The Grave were in a similar vein, sad but sweet. Winterwood and Sister Fatima were nice. Everybody Loves Me Baby was fun. Without the title track and Vincent, the rest of the songs would probably score a 3, but those two easily push it up to a 4.
Best song: American Pie
U2
2/5
Starts off with Sunday Bloody Sunday which I've always loved. And then it just goes downhill. Seconds, The Refugee, and Two Hearts Beat As One were mildly interesting, the rest were just boring.
Best song: Sunday Bloody Sunday
Grizzly Bear
1/5
Every single song is boring and repetitive, and waaay too long. Garbage. Very hard to pick a best song because they all suck.
Best song: Fine For Now
Sade
3/5
Can't remember where I heard this, some TV show, they said "Sade is the soundtrack to the greatest sex you've ever had". Her voice is incredible. This would make a good background track for the bedroom, but I can't really see myself playing it any other time. Opens with the always great Smooth Operator. The rest of the songs are just ok.
Best song: Smooth Operator
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
This opens with a dud, Scarborough Fair. The rest of the album was fairly decent though. Patters has a nice beat. Homeward Bound is really nice. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine was fun. Ok album.
Best song: Homeward Bound
Japan
2/5
Most of the songs have pretty good music in them, but the singing is not so great. Very repetitive, and the songs are too long. Biggest dud was Fall In Love With Me which had an annoying background track. Despair had some good piano music. In Vogue was pretty fun.
Best song: In Vogue
Hot Chip
2/5
Hard to rate this one. Bounces all over the place. Motion Sickness starts it out, it's annoying and repetitive. As are Don't Deny Your Heart, Night And Day, Flutes, and Let Me Be Him. How Do You Do, Now There Is Nothing, Ends Of The Earth, and Always Been Your Love are ok. These Chains is pretty good. And then there's Look At Where We Are. If Hot Chip stopped making electronica and moved to RnB, they're crush it. This was fun and smooth, great song. Overall the album is hard to give a single number to, but with so much to slog through to get to the good parts, I had to go with a 2.
Best song: Look At Where We Are
Gorillaz
2/5
I was really looking forward to this one. Ended up quite disappointed. Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite rap songs of all time. Great beat, great rap, love it. The rest of the album really fell flat. Most of the songs were either boring with the same thing repeated over and over, or just hard to understand what they were saying. Rock The House had some good rap too, and Latin Simone had great music. The rest of the tracks were all duds. I want to rate this album higher just because of Clint Eastwood, but the rest of it was a slog.
Best song: Clint Eastwood
Frank Ocean
3/5
Pretty good RnB album, surprised I hadn't heard of Frank Ocean before. Right off the bat, Thinkin Bout You was amazing, great song. The rest of the album hits nice with some good RnB, along with a few ok songs. All in all it was a fairly nice listen.
Best song: Thinkin Bout You
Nas
4/5
Great raps, good beats, loved it! Every single song on this album was good, Nas's raps are amazing. The rhymes, the metaphors, the imagery, all top notch. Every song is a solid 4, really hard to pick a best one.
Best song: N.Y. State Of Mind
Elliott Smith
3/5
This one was hard to rate. I like the guitar playing more than the singing, but the singing is not too bad either. I would give it a 3 based on the great guitar playing, but a 2 based on the mediocre vocals. The whole package was pretty nicely put together, so I guess I'll go with the higher number.
Best song: Junk Bond Trader
Jane's Addiction
1/5
Started out kinda meh with Up The Beach. Ocean Size was also mediocre, but had some good guitar shredding. Had A Dad was also fairly forgettable. Then the album just took a turn for the worse. The rest of the songs were annoying and repetitive. Only one that stands out is Summertime Rolls.
Best song: Summertime Rolls
Brian Eno
1/5
What is this? I heard this album was pretty divisive. First song, Needles In The Came's Eye, I was like this isn't that bad, it's mostly just background music. Then the rest of the album just devolved into annoying music and noise. Especially Dead Finks Don't Talk, the music just cuts to some weird shrilly noise and then goes back.
Best song: Needles In The Camel's Eye
Louis Prima
5/5
What a blast! Some good blues and jazz by the guy that voiced King Louie in Disney's Jungle Book? Sign me up! Starts out with Just A Gigolo, just an absolute fun time. For My Baby and Basin Street Blues were still good, and those were the weakest songs. The Lip, Oh Marie, and Buona Sera are just amazing. Body And Soul is an instrumental, normally I rate those a bit lower, but this was just incredible. Great trumpet music. And then there's the classic, Jump Jive An' Wail, always a great listen. Ending up on the funny You Rascal You. Normally I just listen to the album as it was released, but I ended up listening to the extended version of this one. All the songs are 3s and 4s, but overall the album is better than the sum of its parts. Such fun, I had a smile on my face the whole way through. Loved it!
Best song: Just A Gigolo
Black Sabbath
2/5
The music was decently good, but the singing was lousy. Also in most of the songs, the voice follows music exactly, like beat for beat, which kind of sounds weird. Planet Caravan was nice and chill, and Rat Salad was good because it was an instrumental. A couple other songs had some nice shredding in them, but the vocals just turn me off.
Best song: Planet Caravan
Slayer
1/5
Just noise. He's just shouting words at you, there is zero musicality in the vocals. I'm not even sure they're coherent sentences. The guitarist is not too bad, but unfortunately he's shackled to this shitty singer. Angel Of Death sounded like it had some white supremacist lyrics or something like that. Can't even tell if it was pro or anti, the singing was that bad. Altar Of Sacrifice had some good music, at least. My head hurts now. I'm going to bed.
Best song: Altar Of Sacrifice
Elvis Presley
4/5
Elvis Presley always sounds great, and this album is fun! I've heard many Elvis songs, but not any of these. Had a blast listening to this album. Make Me Know It is a great start. Fever is incredible. The GIrl Of My Best Friend is a cute story. Dirty Dirty Feeling has some fun banjo music. Such A Night is also great. The rest of the album is solid. Good times!
Best song: Fever
The Beach Boys
2/5
I love the Beach Boys sound, but this album was kida weird. Only real standout was Student Demonstration Time. That one was really fun. The rest of the album was forgettable.
Best song: Student Demonstration Time
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Bruce Springsteen's voice, the guitar, the harmonica, it all comes together so nicely. I've heard some Springsteen, but never came across any of these songs. I'm glad I did now. Most of these songs are a little slower, sort of a sadness to them. Nebraska, Atlantic City, and My Father's House all fit that soft melancholy vibe. Open All Night and Johnny 99 were some fun faster numbers. Ends on the fun and chill Reason To Believe. All in all a solid album.
Best song: Johnny 99
Willie Nelson
4/5
Had more fun with this one than his previous album (which was still solid). Love his voice. A lot of these songs were a little slower, sad and sweet. Stardust starts us off, nice and chill. Continues along with the sweet Georgia On My Mind. Blue Skies is a lot of fun. Then it kicks up a notch with All Of Me. And then an amazing rendition of Unchained Melody. Don't Get Around Much Anymore is cute. The rest of the songs are sweet and chill for the most part. Not a bad song on it, it's a really nice listen.
Best song: All Of Me
50 Cent
5/5
Banger of an album! Patiently Waiting, In Da Club, P.I.M.P., and 21 Questions are ones I've always loved. Especially Patiently Waiting, with Eminem's part. Funny thing about In Da Club, some of the lines in the edited version actually seem better. Hadn't heard the rest of the album before, it was a blast. High All The Time had a killer beat, If I Can't was great, Blood Houd was nice (with a good cameo by Young Buck). Back Down had some good music. Don't Push Me was nice, another awesome Eminem cameo. The rest of the songs were all mostly good.
I normally don't listen to the extended versions of albums, but I had to for this one. I've always like Wanksta, that should have been on the main album. The others I hadn't heard before, but all of them are 5s. The P.I.M.P. remix with Snoop Dogg and a couple others was insanely good, can't belive I didn't hear it until now.
Best song: Patiently Waiting
Alice In Chains
1/5
Eh, not my kind of music. Some of the songs had decent background music, but the singer was not my cup of tea. They're all talented, but it isn't my thing.
Best song: Would?
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
Hadn't heard of this group before, but I had a great time listening to this! Starts of with the title track, a total banger. Good mix of rap and country (strange bedfellows, but it works). Passive/Aggressive has some really good rap. The Grave And The Constant was nice and chill. Bombin' The L has some good rock music along with the rap. I Can't Get With That is smooth and chill, as is We Have All The Time In The World. Come Find Yourself has some fun music. Methadonia was really smooth, with a killer harmonica sound. The rest of the songs were solid, some good rap and hip hop.
Best song: Fun Lovin' Criminals
Stevie Wonder
2/5
Didn't like it as much as the other two albums I've had of his. Actually started with a nice one, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life was nice and chill. Then the rest of the album was just kinda ok. A lot of repetition and songs that outlived their welcome. Superstition and Big Brother were also fairly nice, but the rest of the songs were mediocre.
Best song: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
Blur
1/5
I don't want to spend more time on this than I already have. Its whatever. Some songs were annoying, some were eh. Only decent song was Death Of A Party.
Best song: Death Of A Party
Coldplay
2/5
Never really got into Coldplay. They just feel like background music. And this album showcases that. Spies was reall nice, and Yellow is always good. The rest were just eh.
Best song: Spies
Röyksopp
1/5
Repetitive electronic instrumental music. Some of it is ok as background music, but as a whole, hard pass. Poor Leno was repetitive but at least it sounded nice.
Best song: Poor Leno
Wilco
3/5
Started with a total dud. Misunderstood had noisy music and the singer sounded like he was just crying throughout the whole thing (which can work for some songs, but it didn't work here). I was thinking, a whole double album of this? This is going to be painful. Far Far Away was better, but only marginally.
But it started to pick up from there. Monday was moving along nicely. And then Outtasite Outta Mind really broke this album loose. Forget The Flowers was a killer track, the banjos had me smiling throughout. The rest of side one was solid.
Side 2 started out with Sunken Treasure, another dud. Seriously, these guys need to reorder their albums, would make it so much better. But then Someday Soon brought it right back up with more fun banjo. Someone Else's Song had slightly Dylan-esque vibes. They obviously don't have the vocal skills of Bob Dylan, but this was a good song in his style. And then came Kingpin. Wow, I had such a blast with this one, the country sound was pure fun. The rest of the album rocked along nicely. Dreamer In My Dreams was a good ending, with some fun harmonica.
Wilco should have really been a country band, their country is much better than their rock. With a few of the songs cut, this could easily have been a 4.
Best song: Kingpin
Nirvana
1/5
I had Nirvana's live album already, and that was a total banger. This was....not. I much prefer their more polished songs than this noise. First half of the album is ok, except for Scentless Apprentice which is horrid and Rape Me which is decent. Then it just devolves into junk. The ending comes a little back up with the mediocre All Apologies. Can't wait until I get Nevermind.
Best song: Rape Me
Beatles
2/5
I hadn't heard any of these songs before, and it is the (currently) highest rated album on the list, so I was really looking forward to seeing what all the hype was about. The album was ok. It was well produced and well sung, but I'm just not a Beatles fan. I can totally see why people love this album, but I just don't got how it could be the absolute highest rated one on the entire list. It has some good songs, but they're mixed in with a bunch of not so good.
Started out fairly nice with Come Together, but then Something was just weird. The high point of the whole album came next with Maxwell's Silver Hammer, that one was a lot of fun. I Want You was not so terrible, but it just was way too long. Here Comes The Sun was another good one. But the Because brought it right back down. I have no idea what they were trying to do with Sun King, but it didn't work. She Came In Through The Bedroom Window was all right. And the last couple tracks were totally forgettable.
I do like a handful of Beatles songs, but this album just is not my thing. I've had two other Beatles albums so far (With The Beatles and Revolver), gave them both 3s, but this one I just can't push past a 2.
Best song: Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Steve Winwood
2/5
It was ok. Some nice music in there, but nothing that really stood out to me. I love Steve Winwood's Valerie, but this album felt like mostly background music.
Best song: Spanish Dancer
Violent Femmes
1/5
The music is ok but the singing is not. Sounds like he's just rambling on.
Best song: Gone Daddy Gone
The Coral
2/5
Mostly ok, some good music in there, singing was passable.
Best song: Dreaming Of You
Little Richard
4/5
So much fun! The entire album just keeps a smile on your face. Little Richard brings the energy and keeps it going the whole time. Starts with the classic Tutti Frutti. True Fine Mama is a lot of fun. Can't Believe You Wanna Leave is just great, with some incredible trumpet music. The rest of the album keeps it all going. I had a blast. Could have been 5 stars if the songs weren't all a bit same-y, but still a total romp.
Best song: Tutti Frutti
ZZ Top
3/5
Some good solid rock and roll! Enjoyed it. Nice songs through the entire album.
Best song: Sharp Dressed Man
Love
2/5
Most of the songs had good music, but the singing was just ok. Orange Skies was a breakout hit. The rest was just mediocre.
Best song: Orange Skies
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Can I also get paid for my morning poops? One track was just someone screaming while flushing their toilet. The rest of the album was similarly, them just recording some noise while screaming. Just take a microphone and a toddler down to a construction site, and you too can appear on a list of albums to hear before you die! Kollaps was a nice breakout, the beat goes really hard.
Candidate for worst album.
Best song: Kollaps
Billy Bragg
2/5
There's some good stuff in here, and some not so good. It started out poorly, with a couple of repetitive and dull tracks. Then it picked up. The Marriage had some good trumpet music, likewise Honey I'm A Big Boy Now had some nice piano, and Help Save The Youth Of America had some killer guitar. There Is Power In A Union was also a good listen.
Best song: Help Save The Youth Of America
Marvin Gaye
2/5
Starts off with a total banger, Lets Get It On. Then a couple solid tracks. And then Keep Gettin It On just kills the flow, and the rest of the album is just ok. It's mostly the same song again and again.
Best song: Lets Get It On
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Started off promising with Court And Spark and Help Me, but then it started to dip. The songs don't seem to have any structure, she's just playing music and singing whatever comes to her mind. Raised On Robbery was a lot of fun though.
Best song: Raised On Robbery
Koffi Olomide
3/5
His voice is great and the music is really fun. I don't know what he's talking about but I'm happy to be with him. Solid album.
Best song: Desespoir
The Human League
2/5
Quite repetitive. Darkness and I Am The Law were kinda fun though. And Don't You Want Me is always nice.
Best son: Darkness
The Beach Boys
4/5
RIP Brian Wilson
Now THIS is the Beach Boys I wanted. Their previous two albums I had were not so great (Pet Sounds was decent and Surfs Up was weird). But this was a blast through and through. The first few songs are fairly nice, but then Help Me Rhonda hits oh so good, love it. After that the album really hits its stride, the next few songs are great. Dance Dance Dance, Please Let Me Wonder, and I'm So Young are a lot of fun. Wonderful album.
Best song: Help Me Rhonda
3/5
This one is hard to rate. Obviously, it's very well regarded in music history. For me, it goes both good and bad. I find I just don't really like David Bowie's voice all that much. This album starts out with its weakest track, Five Years. Soul Love is not much better, but it has some good saxophone music. Moonage Daydream really picks it up though, the guitar in there is really nice. Starman keeps that energy up. It Ain't Easy is amazing, with a nice western cowboy feel to it. Lady Stardust is soft and sweet, nice and chill. Star is very fun. The rest of the album drops back a little bit, with the exception of the great guitar riffs in Ziggy Stardust. I'm going to give it a 3, but it really bounces a lot among 2, 3, and 4.
Best song: It Ain't Easy
Muddy Waters
2/5
The singing is well done, and its a solid sample of blues. But it does get a bit repetitive and it is a live album. I Got My Brand On You was a good bit of fun. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man was nice and chill. Soon Forgotten had some great piano music.
Best song: I Got My Brand On You
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
After the first Ali Farka Touré album, I was really looking forward to this one. Did not disappoint, it was a total blast to hear. Right from the first track, Bonde, the beat hooks you in. And Touré's voice is so soothing and chill. Soukora was nice and chill. Gomni had a killer beat. Sega was an instrumental but still a ton of fun. Amandrai reminded me of a Western movie, as did Ai Du. Dairaby had some great music. Loved the album all the way through. Really need to listen to more of him.
Best song: Bonde
Scott Walker
3/5
Loving his deep soft voice. The Seventh Seal had a really cool Tex Mex sound to it. Hero Of The War was a good anti war song with very well done lyrics. The Old Man's Back Again had a nice story to it and a great bass guitar beat. Get Behind Me was a lot of fun. Rhymes Of Goodbye was a good song to end it on.
Best song: The Seventh Seal
Peter Frampton
3/5
Why have I never heard of Peter Frampton? Great stuff! Good ol' rock and roll. Love it. His guitar work is a lot of fun. And I had no idea that he originally sang Baby I Love Your Way, I had only heard the Big Mountain version before. The only thing I don't like is that it is a live album. The last track is a good example of why I don't like it. He just goes through a bunch of the instruments, showcasing the band. I'm just it sounded great live, and created an amazing atmosphere, but it just doesn't translate on a recording. It's A Plane Shame had 30 seconds of extra applause at the end. Again, awesome live, but not fun recorded. Would have given this a 4 if it were the studio recorded versions, but it still gets a solid 3.
Best song: Baby I Love Your Way
3/5
My first time listening to Muse. First track comes on, Take A Bow, and I'm thinking this is going to be painful to listen to. Second track, Starlight, was fairly better. Then Supermassive Black Hole just rocks it. A few more decent tracks on the rest of the album, with Invincible, Exo-Politics, and City Of Delusion standing out. Solid album.
Best song: Supermassive Black Hole
David Bowie
3/5
Move David Bowie. This one I liked more than the other two I've had of his so far (Heroes and Ziggy Stardust). Most of the songs were solid. A few duds. Watch That Man had good energy. Drive-In Saturday was nice. The Prettiest Star was really good. Lady Grinning Soul had wonderful music.
Best song: The Prettiest Star
Black Sabbath
2/5
Same feelings as the last Black Sabbath album I got (Paranoid). I love the guitar work, but I don't really like Ozzy's voice. Wheels Of Confusion had really good shredding. Changes had nice piano work. Supernaut and Snowblind were kinda fun. Laguna Sunrise was a good instrumental.
Best song: Supernaut
3/5
Some decent synth pop. Very consistent album, I gave every song in it a 3. Tears Are Not Enough was really nice, as was All Of My Heart. Solid album.
Best song: Tears Are Not Enough
Butthole Surfers
1/5
I was hesitant going into this one. Sweat Loaf started out, I was like ok it's not as bad as I expected. Then it all went to shit. Human Cannonball was also ok. The rest of the album was assaulting my ears. Except Kuntz, that one was insanely fun.
Best song: Kuntz
Sarah Vaughan
2/5
Her voice is amazing, and some of the songs are catchy. Easy 3 were it not a live album. September In The Rain was a nice opener. Thou Swell was pretty fun. Honeysuckle Rose was good. Just A Gigolo was fairly nice, but I had Louis Prima's The Wildest! earlier and his version was a lot more fun. Still, solid album.
Best song: Honeysuckle Rose
Talking Heads
3/5
Started out ok, but it grew on me as I listened through. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel was really repetitive, I was worried the album was going to be a slog. With Our Love was also kinda eh. But then The Good Thing came in and saved the album. From there, the album continued fairly nicely. The Girl Wants To Be With The Girls was pretty fun. Had a lull towards the end with I'm Not In Love and Stay Hungry bringing it down. But then Take Me To The River comes on, so much fun! The Big Country is a nice chill ending. Hard to rate, almost a 2, but it's got enough to pull it up to a 3.
Best song: Take Me To The RIver
Hole
4/5
Starts out with a total banger, Celebrity Skin. Awful was also pretty fun. Hit So Hard and Reasons To Be Beautiful were nice and chill. Northern Star was a great example of that 90s angst, and it was a nice switch to acoustic guitar. The rest of the songs close out the album nicely. I had a lot of fun with this one. The songs average around a high 3, but the album as a whole pulls up to 4.
Best song: Celebrity Skin
Linkin Park
5/5
Love me some Linkin Park! Hybrid Theory and Meteora are incredible albums, I think I'd give a slight nod to Meteora, but love them both. Chester Bennington's vocal chops with Mike Shinoda's rap stylings, this was an unbeatable combo. The album starts out with some excellent rap with Papercut. One Step Closer is so good. Crawling was my first introduction to LP and still one of their top songs. In The End is my favorite song of theirs, listened to it so much over the years. Forgotten and Points of Authority are pretty nice. And Pushing Me Away is a great closer. One of my favorite albums of all time.
Best song: In The End
Rush
3/5
Not as good as the other Rush album I've had (Moving Pictures) but still a lot of fun. Solid album.
Best song: The Twilight Zone
4/5
My fifth Beatles album. Definitely more fun than the other's I've had. The intro is good. With A Little Help From My Friends is a banger. I was looking forward to Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds after hearing so much about it, but it was a bit disappointing. Next few songs were all right. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite had some fun music to it. Within You Without You was a pleasure to listen to, love the Indian music influence. When I'm Sixty Four was a lot of fun, great beat to it. Lovely Rita was also really nice. The rest of the album closes it out nicely. I had fun with this one, I think it should be considered much higher than Abbey Road.
Best song: With A Little Help From My Friends
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Starts out with the alwyas fun Peter Piper. The word play with the fairy tales is pretty nice. I've always loved Tricky, total banger. The remix of Walk This Way with Aerosmith was a really nice surprise, I'd never heard that before, total blast. The rest of the album is solid. Good beats, nice raps. Raising Hell was a nice breakout, with some good guitar work. Overall mostly a 3, but the few big hits pull it up to a 4.
Best song: Tricky
Michael Jackson
4/5
Another good album by the King of Pop. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other one of his I've had so far, Bad, but it was still a blast. Starts out with the total banger Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough. Rock With You was also a lot of fun. Next few songs move along nicely, lots of fun to be had. Girlfriend kicks it up with some great saxophone music. She's Out Of My Life was wonderful, slow and chill. It's The Falling In Love was good too. Fun album, really enjoyed it.
Best song: Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough
Jane Weaver
2/5
More ethereal floaty dreamy sounds. Eh, I'll pass. Not sure if it gets better in the later tracks, or I just don't care as much anymore. Wasn't actively annoying, but nothing much interesting either.
Best song: Valley
Sepultura
1/5
It's the same song 9 times. And it's not a good song either. I just don't really like growling metal. At least the guitar work was fun. Murder had some great shredding.
Best song: Murder
The White Stripes
3/5
After the first one I got, was stoked for some more White Stripes. This one was a bit more of a roller coaster than the other one, that one was more consistently decent all the way through. This one starts with the awesome Seven Nation Army, the only one I've heard before. That killer guitar riff, love it. In The Cold Cold Night is amazing, nice chill loungy music, and I like Meg White's voice. The Air Near My Fingers had some good music. The rest of the songs are some good some bad. And the last track, It's True That We Love One Another, so much fun! Love it, with Jack White, Meg, and Holly Golightly bouncing back and forth. Great ending. Was hard to pick between this one and first one for the best track. At the end of the day, gotta give the nod to Seven Nation Army, with the reach it has.
Best song: Seven Nation Army
Steely Dan
3/5
Steely Dan has been one of my favorite discoveries from the Generator. After getting Countdown To Ecstasy and Can't Buy A Thrill, was looking forward to hearing more of them. This one was still good, but not as fun as the first two. Mostly some chill slow jams. Deacon Blues was a lot of fun though. All in all, decent album.
Best song: Deacon Blues
George Harrison
3/5
Ah, George Harrison. Hare Krishna! Another Beatle's album, sort of. And its a double album. Let's start with the bad. Beware Of Darkness and I Dig Love were meh. And the last few instrumental tracks really drag out the album, especially one this long already. But for the most part, the songs were pretty good, I had fun. My Sweet Lord, is the only one I've heard before, and absolutely love that one. As an Iskcon member myself, I love the Sanskrit verses. Wah-Wah, both versions of Isn't It A Pity, and Let It Down had some great guitar work. The piano in Hear Me Lord was wonderful. Overall, this could easily be split and trimmed into one or two 4 star albums, but as it is, I have to give it a 3.
Best song: My Sweet Lord
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Pretty fun songs, solid the whole way through.
Best song: My Mistakes Were Made For You
Beatles
3/5
Oof, a double Beatles album just two days after getting the double George Harrison album. I'm kind of Beatled out. But lets push through. This one was kind of all over the place, with a bunch of good songs, and a bunch of bad. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da was a lot of fun. While My Guitar Gently Weeps was a pleasure to hear. Don't Pass Me By was nice. Overall it was still a pretty solid album, and could hit a 4 star rating if it were slimmed down.
Best song: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Oh man, I have been sleeping on Amy Winehouse! Only song I'd heard of hers was Rehab and it's a dud, so I never really got into her more. I really should have. Started out shaky with Stronger Than Me, but then it picked up. You Sent Me Flying was very smooth, Fuck Me Pumps was nice and chill. In My Bed had some wonderful RnB vibes, as did Take The Box. And Amy Amy Amy was a total blast. Last few songs kind of die down a bit, but overall it was a fun album to hear.
Best song: Amy Amy Amy
Adele
3/5
A lot of up and down on this one. The good songs are really good, but there are quite a few duds as well. Starts out strong with Rolling In The Deep. Rumour Has It is also pretty fun. Set Fire To The Rain is incredible. Lovesong has some wonderful music. Someone Like You ends on a nice bittersweet note.
Best song: Set Fire To The Rain
Rod Stewart
3/5
Not the Rod Stewart songs I know, but still quite fun. This gives more of a country vibe than the other songs I've heard. Still a lot of fun. Gasoline Alley starts us off with some nice twangy guitar. It's All Over Now is great, the instrument showcases towards the end are a lot of fun. Country Comfort was nice, including a good backing vocal during the chorus melding nicely with Rod's voice. Cut Across Shorty and Jo's Lament were also nice.
Best song: It's All Over Now
Black Sabbath
2/5
RIP Ozzy
Same feelings as the last two Black Sabbath albums I got (Vol 4 and Paranoid). I love the guitar work, but I don't really like Ozzy's voice. The Wizard was pretty fun.
Best song: The Wizard
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
As soon as the music started, I was pumped up. Very high energy and fun. But then when the singer started up, yeah energy gone. He was ok. Next was pretty funny, and The Last Of The Teenage Idols was good. The rest was mediocre. Hard to rate, I want to give it a 2 for the singing but the music was really a blast, so I'll go with a 3.
Best song: The Last Of The Teenage Idols
The Zombies
4/5
Hadn't head of The Zombies before, but I am on board for this! It was a really nice album. Very chill, great vibes. Not a single dud on this album, with Maybe After He's Gone and Beechwood Park really standing out. Then we hit the last track, Time Of The Season. I had no idea that this song was on this album. Always a great song. Hard to pick a best song. Obviously, Time Of The Season is a solid pick, but Maybe After He's Gone and Beechwood Park are also good candidates. I think I'll go with one of the lesser known tracks.
Best song: Beechwood Park
Miles Davis
1/5
Miles Davis is an amazing musician, I'm just not that into instrumental jazz.
Best song: Shhh / Peaceful
The La's
2/5
Mostly just generic rock, nothing bad, but nothing too interesting either. Except for a couple. Freedom Song was pretty interesting. And the best was There She Goes. I didn't even know they sang it originally, I've only ever heard the Tatu version.
Best song: There She Goes
The B-52's
1/5
I was excited to hear this, it has Rock Lobster on it! But yeah, as soon as the first track started, excitement gone. Most of the songs are just a screaming noisy mess. Rock Lobster was great as always though.
Best song: Rock Lobster
2/5
This was a hard one to rate. The songs were all over the place. Started out with some really nice guitar work in the Prelude. Nature's Way was also fun. Animal Zoo was a total blast to rock out to. Then it started to dip. The next few songs were not great. Came back a bit with When I Touch You and some fun shredding on Street Worm. Then it closed it with more mediocrity.
Best song: Animal Zoo
Radiohead
1/5
The other two Radiohead albums I've had (The Bends and Ok Computer) I gave a 2. This one is worse. Can't understand what he says most of the time, and the songs are noisy and repetitive. There was some nice music in I Might Be Wrong, and Knives Out was decent. Other than that, pass.
Best song: Knives Out
The Who
2/5
Another live album. Still not a fan of them. Just look at My Generation to see why. The song itself is a great song. But this live version goes on way too long, with the whole medley at the end. Same with Magic Bus, just keeps dragging on. It would have been a blast to hear live, but not a recording of live music.
Best song: Summertime Blues
The Electric Prunes
3/5
What even is this? Goes all over the place. I Had Too Much To Dream started us out ok. Bangles and Onie were better. Are You Lovin' Me More dropped the ball. The rest of the album mostly goes along ok. Except for Sold To The Highest Bidder, which was pretty fun, and The King Is In The Counting House, which was really enjoyable. And it ended on a good note with The Toonerville Trolley. Hard to decide between King and Trolly for best song.
Best song: The King Is In The Counting House
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Some good solid rock and roll, hell yeah! Starting out with a nice little song about housewives doing drugs, Mother's Little Helper was pretty funny. The rest of the album kept the energy going, good fun all the way through. Roll on, Stones.
Best song: Mother's Little Helper
Earth, Wind & Fire
2/5
Starting off with a classic, the wonderful Shining Star. And then downhill from there. The rest of the album was just kind of ok, fine as background noise, but not really all that interesting. And it ended on a total dud, See The Light.
Best song: Shining Star
Miles Davis
1/5
Miles Davis is an amazing musician, I'm just not that into instrumental jazz.
Best song: So What
Prince
3/5
Ah, Prince. Love that smooth voice. Most of the album went along swimmingly. A bit same-y at times, but still a nice listen. A couple songs dragged a bit, like It and The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker. Cross was some strange Jesus song. It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night was nice, but went on for too long. Starfish And Coffee was a ton of fun, great song. And oh boy, If I Was Your Girlfriend was, um, pretty steamy. Prince evokes quite the imagery in that one. Most of the songs average a 3, +1 for Prince, but -1 for the length. Scaling back a bit would have helped a lot, this could have been two 4 star albums.
Best song: Starfish And Coffee
PJ Harvey
2/5
More dull slow British rock. Eh. You Said Something was nice, and a few of the songs have nice music. But most of the album is just meh. A few of the songs are way too repetitive as well.
Best song: Sheela-na-gig
ABBA
4/5
ABBA is always a blast! Starts off great with The Visitors, and never lets go. When All Is Said And Done was fun, I Let The Music Speak had a nice haunting quality to it, and Two For The Price Of One was interesting. One Of Us was the highlight, really a treat to hear.
Best song: One Of Us
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
Ok, who hurt Dwight Yoakam?
What an album, never thought I'd be into this! So much nice twangy guitar and smooth vocals. You got your fun songs (I Got You), your sad and sweet songs (Home Of The Blues, I Sang Dixie, Floyd County), a ton of songs about cheating, both sad (One More Name and Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room) and funny (What I Don't Know and I Hear You Knockin'). And a random song about Jesus at the end (Hold On To God). Overall, each song is more or less a 3, but I had so much fun listening along, I'll bump the album up to a 4.
Best song: Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room
CHIC
1/5
Yes, we get it. You're chic. Stop beating us over the head with it. Le Freak is the only one I've heard before, and it's a decent song. The rest was pretty meh. Very repetitive. At Last I Am Free was decent, and could have been great, if only they'd just hit the stop button at 4 minutes. They drag it on to over 7 minutes long, just repeating the same line over and over again. And what was with Funny Bone? An instrumental with this weird laughing sound in the background all the way through.... yeah pass.
Best song: At Last I Am Free
Miles Davis
1/5
Miles Davis is an amazing musician, I'm just not that into instrumental jazz. At least Darn That Dream has words. And it was fairly interesting. Can we get more of that?
Best song: Darn That Dream
Jeff Buckley
2/5
Started off really weird. Mojo Pin was slow and dull, with the occasional full on banging on instruments. Grace was ok as background music, except for the random shouting parts. It got a little better after that. Last Goodbye was all right, and Lilac Wine was sweet and sad. The real high point came from Hallelujah, which was a decent rendition of the awesome song. Lover You Should Have Come Over was sweet. Had a couple more mediocre tracks, but then ended fairly nicely with some good guitar work in Dream Brother and Forget Her. Hard to rate this one, the songs are all over the place.
Best song: Hallelujah
John Grant
4/5
Had no idea what to expect going into this. At the start I was worried. TC & Honeybear was pretty meh. But then Marz hit, that one was pretty interesting. Had a bunch of random word lines, reminded me of We Didn't Start The Fire, and it had some great music. Where The Dreams Go To Die had a sweet sad sound. Sigourney Weaver was hilarious, and Chicken Bones is hilariously angsty. Silver Platter Club was funny, Outer Space was nice and chill. JC Hates Faggots was a nice lampooning of homophobes and racists, and Queen Of Denmark ended it nicely. Most songs are 3s, but the total package pushes up to a 4.
Best song: Chicken Bones
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Solid Bruce Springsteen rock and roll. Good album.
Best song: Thunder Road
2/5
The hits are great. The nots are....not. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For has always been great, and With Or Without You is incredible. Trip Through Your Wires and Exit were decent. The rest of the album is ok.
Best song: With Or Without You
Jefferson Airplane
2/5
This album bounces around quite a bit between good and bad. Starts out eh with She Has Funny Cars, not sure what's going on in that song. Then the classic Somebody To Love is a blast to hear. My Best Friend is also pretty good. But then it drops back down for a bit. 3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds was good, White Rabbit was an interesting Alice in Wonderland song. And Plastic Fantastic Lover was fun. All in all it has its moments, but I can't rate it higher than a 2.
Best song: Somebody To Love
Madness
1/5
So hard to listen to. They have this weird cadence thing they do where they stress Ev-Ry-Sin-Gle-Syl-Lab-le. Gets really tedious to hear. How this shitty band came up with the great Our House is a mystery to me, that was the only highlight on the album. And also Madness Is All In The Mind was nice and chill. And it was hilarious hearing the people talking in the background at the end of New Delhi, as an Indian that was pretty funny.
Best song: Our House
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
This is my seconds Nick Cave album on the list (first was Abattoir Blues). Was looking forward to hearing more of him after that one. Was not disappointed. This one was quite different than the first one, but even better. I'd head these kinds of songs before, but hadn't heard the term "murder ballad" before, and I'm totally on board. There is quite a range of song styles on here, but all of them have a macabre quality. Song Of Joy was really interesting and creepy. Stagger Lee was a total blast. Henry Lee was fun, and I enjoyed hearing PJ Harvey on there, she's better here than on her own albums I've heard. Where The Wild Roses Grow was incredible, Kylie Minogue and Cave are just haunting, sad, and sweet. O'Malley's Bar was a fun one, it was long but never felt like it dragged on. Death Is Not The End was a nice, well, end to the album. Hard to rate. If I had heard one or two of the songs (besides Wild Rose) I would probably give them a 3, but the entire album together, along with the whole concept, pushes it up to a full 5. Loved it, can't wait to hear more Nick Cave!
Best song: Where The Wild Roses Grow
Blue Cheer
1/5
It's just loud for the sake of being loud. Every now and then they just bang random instruments for no reason.
Best song: Summertime Blues
Jimmy Smith
1/5
Jimmy Smith is an amazing musician, I'm just not that into instrumental jazz.
Best song: Back At The Chicken Shack
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Started out really bad. Get Innocuous was terrible. Was worried that this was going to be a total slog. But then Time To Get Away was a little better, repetitive though. North American Scum was pretty funny, the highlight of the album (actually the only good song). The rest of the album continued the whole repetitive but ok sound. Wasn't as bad as the first impression, but not great either.
Best song: North American Scum
Q-Tip
3/5
Some solid hip hop. It's from 2008, but it evokes more of an early 90s hip hop feel. I prefer the 2000s sound, but this was still nice to hear.
Best song: ManWomanBoogie
The Temptations
3/5
Amazing voices and great harmony, solid album.
Best song: Runaway Child, Running Wild
Depeche Mode
3/5
Fairly decent album, singing is ok, but the beats are pretty nice. Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove, I Want You Now, and Nothing were all solid.
Best song: Little 15
The Cure
2/5
This is so background music, I had to hear some songs again because they kept fading into the background. And wtf was the title track, that made no sense.
Best song: The Hanging Garden
The War On Drugs
3/5
Chill songs with good music. Suffering had a really good guitar interlude. Eyes To The Wind had some nice saxophone. The songs are too long, tighten them up a bit and this album could easily be a 4.
Best song: Suffering
Sonic Youth
2/5
Some good music in here, but the singer tanks it. Tom Violence really showcases this. Wonderful guitar work, but the singer is just offputting. In The Kingdom #19 was weird, it was just noise with someone talking lines over it. Bubble Gum was pretty interesting though.
Best song: Bubble Gum
Billy Bragg
3/5
Smooth chill album. Started off with the fun Walt Whitman's Niece. California Stars and Way Over In The Minor Key were nice and chill. Hoodoo Voodoo was pretty fun. Great harmonica playing in She Came Along To Me. Christ For President was funny. Some more chill songs with One By One and Eisler On The Go. Hesitating Beauty was solid. And a nice chill ending with The Unwelcome Guest. A couple misses, but otherwise solid.
Best song: Walt Whitman's Niece
Elton John
4/5
Gotta love Elton John. Fun album, much better than the other one I've had of his, Madman Across The Water. A lot of good fun songs. Bennie And The Jets had good music. Jamaica Jerk-Off was a blast. The Ballad Of Danny Baily was fun, as was Dirty Little Girl, good guitar work in that one. Saturday Night's Allright is a classic, great song. Roy Rogers had a fun western sound. I would have picked that one as the best song. But.... this album also has a little song called Candle In The Wind. Such an incredible song, sad and sweet and just a pleasure to hear the piano and vocals.
Best song: Candle In The Wind
Dire Straits
3/5
Solid album, good songs. Down To The Waterline was nice and chill. Water Of Love was great. Six Blade Knife had some wonderful guitar work, as did Sultans Of Swing (the only song I've heard before). Wild West End was sweet. All in all, a fun time.
Best song: Water Of Love
Judas Priest
4/5
Went in thinking great, this is going to be a slog. When it started out with Rapid Fire, I thought that confirmed it. Nothing but noisy screaming. I guess they should have opened with a different song, because it got much better from there. Metal Gods was kinda fun, and Breaking The Law was a blast! Grinder, The Rage, and Steeler had really good guitar work. And Living After Midnight was also pretty fun. Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Really this kind of thing would be a 3 from me, but I was just having so much fun I'll bump it up to a 4.
Best song: Breaking The Law
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
Started out with a song that repeats "Agnus Dei" over and over until you want to throw the record out the window. The One You Love was a little better but not that much. Peach Trees was where his voice really started to drone on. I didn't read the title until halfway through the song and was wondering why he was singing about "umbrella pastries." The rest of the album continues that boring droning sound. Gay Messiah was kinda interesting, but that was it. Each song alone would be around a 2, but I just couldn't wait for this to end.
Best song: Gay Messiah
Ice Cube
4/5
Hell yeah, Ice Cube! I haven't too many of his songs, mostly just It Was A Good Day and You Can Do It, but I do like his style. This album had some really solid rap verses. Unfortunately he hadn't quite got the choruses right. This is a complaint I have with a lot of early rap songs, the rap is great but the chorus just doesn't tie it together as well. The Nigga Ya Love To Hate kicked us off nicely, and AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted followed nicely. That energy kept up through most of the album. A Gangsta's Fairytale was insanely fun, and I'm Only Out For One Thang was funny, with a nice cameo by Flavor Flav. It's A Man's World was a nice duet with Yo-Yo. Solid album, enjoyed it a lot.
Best song: A Gangsta's Fairytale
Finley Quaye
3/5
I've never heard of Finley Quaye before. Sounds like Bob Marley Lite? Dollar store Bob Marley? Bob Marley from Temu? Whatever, this was pretty fun. Ultra Simulation got a bit repetitive, but the chill reggae beat was nice. Sunday Shining had some great music. Even After All was nice and relaxing. You Love Gets Sweeter was wonderful. Sweet And Loving Man was also good. The last few songs kind of lost that energy though. And there were a copule, Ride On And Turn The People On and Red Rolled And Seen, that were terrible. Hard to rate, I feel like the average pulls down to a 2, but all together I feel like Finley deserves a 3.
Best song: Your Love Gets Sweeter
Nick Drake
2/5
My second Nick Drake album, after Pink Moon. Same thoughts, mostly dull background noise. He seems like a male Lana Del Rey. Or, well, since he's from the '60s, I guess that would make Lana Del Rey a female Nick Drake? This album was a little better than the first one. Even though his voice is still sleep inducing, some of the songs had nice music. Three Hours, Day Is Done, Cello Song, and Man In A Shed are good examples of that.
Best Song: Day Is Done
David Bowie
4/5
Are the Bowie albums I'm getting acutally getting better, or is he just growing on me? So far I've had Heroes, Ziggy Stardust, and Aladdin Sane. I gave them all 3s, but I liked each one slightly more than the previous.
Young Americans bounces around between ratings, just like the other ones. Starts out with the title track, which is a total banger. Then it kind of sinks for a few tracks. Somebody Up There Likes Me brings it back up with some killer saxophone. Accross The Universe was good, relaxing with some nice guitar. It was fairly repetitive, which normally turns me off, but I enjoyed this one. Can You Hear Me was chill and fun. Fame kicks off with a great beat, and keeps that energy going throughout. The weaker tracks would bring the average down to, once again, a 3. But I think I overall enjoyed this one enough to push it up to a 4.
Best song: Young Americans
X-Ray Spex
1/5
Music is pretty good, I'm all ready to rock out. And then the singer starts....singing? Yelling? I don't know. She's unintelligible 90% of the time. I have no idea what she's saying. The saxophone is a really nice touch.
Best song: Warrior in Woolworths
Moby
1/5
It's just the same line over and over. South Side was kinda nice though, as were the samples in Bodyrock and Natural Blues. Still, hard pass.
Best song: South Side
Miles Davis
1/5
Miles Davis is an amazing musician, I'm just not that into instrumental jazz.
Best song: John McLaughlin
The Doors
3/5
Some good solid rock and roll. No complaints, but no real highlights either. Decent album.
Best song: Ship of Fools
Isaac Hayes
2/5
What an amazing voice! Unfortunately the songs are just ok. And half the *really long* By The Time I Get To Phoenix is him talking. It's an interesting talk, but I'm here for music not monologe. Would have been a 1 star for the songs, but +1 for the voice.
Best song: Hyperbolicsyllablecsesquedalymistic
Robert Wyatt
1/5
I've never seen an album crash so hard so fast. The first song, Heaps Of Sheeps, wasn't that great, but it was some ok British rock. Then it just took a total dive with the really shitty The Duchess. He's got this really whining voice throughout the whole song. The rest of the album is mostly cacophony. It's pretentious and artsy just for the sake of being pretentious and artsy.
Best song: Heaps Of Sheeps
The Monks
2/5
Some ok rock and roll, nothing mind blowing, but a decent listen.
Best song: Higgle-Dy-Piggle-Dy
Slipknot
1/5
Not into the growling/screaming heavy metal. The music on this album can be pretty fun, but I just don't really like the main singer. Occasionally there's another singer on the choruses, he's pretty good. And Snuff was really good. Which makes sense, as the growler guy isn't on it, it's all the other guy. It's almost enough to push up to a 2, but not quite enough to get past the growling. The extended edition has a few songs without the growler, those are better, would have been a better album if they were on the main release.
Best song: Snuff
Cocteau Twins
1/5
It's not even a real language. Just random noises over a dreamy airy track. The songs are pretty much nothing.
Best song: Wolf In The Breast
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Not really into instrumentals, but this was some solid rock music. Also nice to hear some tunes that have been sampled in later works, especially Twist And Shout.
Best song: Twist And Shout
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Never actually listened to Elvis Costello before. Was a little wary going in, since there seems to be a lot of hate for this guy on the subreddit. But it was pretty fun, I had a god time.
Best song: Pump It Up
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Some pretty fun tunes. Good guitar work, nice singing, great time. The Woodie Guthrie cameo was cool as well.
Best song: New York Town
Pretenders
3/5
Only song I've heard of theirs before is I'll Stand By You, which isn't on this album. But this one was some solid rock and roll, with a few good power ballads. Fun album.
Best song: Brass In Pocket
Johnny Cash
3/5
I've only heard a couple Johnny Cash songs before, but I really do need to hear more of him. The songs were pretty good, just not a fan of live albums. San Quentin was really nice (although I could have done without the same song again, that seemed pointless). The rest of the songs were solid.
Best song: San Quentin
New Order
3/5
Overly synth-y 80s pop, but still pretty nice. Started out great, but kinda got forgettable and same-y after a while.
Best song: Love Vigilantes
MC Solaar
3/5
Some decent hip hop, but it suffers from the same thing a lot of old school early 90s hip hop does. It just sounds so same-y. Similar backing track, with the same style of speaking over the beats. With other early 90s rap albums, at least the words differenctiate the songs. And I'm sure they do here as well, but I don't speak French so it's all over my head. Still, it's a solid album. MC Solaar's has the rap skill. Gets a bit better in the middle, with Caroline, La Musique Adoucit Les Moeurs, and the pair of Bouge De La songs. Then Ragga Jam just hits you with an incredibly fun time. The album closes out all right. Solid album.
Best song: Ragga Jam
The Triffids
3/5
Starts off strong with a nice power ballad, Bury Me Deep In Love. A Trick Of The Light and Jerdacuttup Man were also really fun. Hometown Farewell Kiss was a blast, with some great saxophone music. All in all a fun album.
Best song: Bury Me Deep In Love
Miriam Makeba
4/5
When the first track, The Retreat Song, started playing, I was hoping it was another great find from Africa like when I first heard Ali Farke Toure. But this was no Savane. Still a great album though. Miriam Makeba's voice is incredible, and some of the songs are wonderful. The Click Song was fun to hear, don't often listen to music with clicks in it. Mbube had a nice vibe. The Naughty Little Flee was a lot of fun. She did a sweet rendition of House Of The Rising Sun. One More Dance was a real letdown, it seemed like a fun humorous song, but the male singer laughing throughout the entire track just killed it. All in all, a great album, just short of hitting that 5.
Best song: The Naughty Little Flea
The Clash
2/5
Music is good, but can't understand a word they're saying. This American is so bored with The Clash. Fucking enunciate a word or two sometimes. Only decent songs were London's Burning and Police & Thieves.
The Clash does go on to sing waaaaay better songs. This album is seriously by the same group that sang the excellent Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Rock The Casbah? I Fought The Law? Glad they got better after this.
Best song: London's Burning
Marty Robbins
5/5
Wow! Did not expect this to be as incredible as it was. From the first guitar twangs in Big Iron to the last beat in the repeated El Paso, I was hooked. Marty Robbins has the perfect voice for this country/western style, the music was a treat to listen to throughout, and the storytelling was top notch. There were several highlights on the album. Starting off with a bang, Big Iron is the best track on the album, fun story. Billly The Kid also has a good story going. They're Hanging Me Tonight is sad and sweet. The Strawberry Roan, The Master's Call, Running Gun, Utah Carol and El Paso are all great. No blanks in Marty's revolver, he's firing all shots off. Loved it!
Best song: Big Iron
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Hmm, hard one to rate. I've heard several RHCP songs before, but the only ones on this album I've heard are Under The Bridge and Give It Away. The first one is fully a 5, and the second a high 4. The rest of the songs are a bit of a letdown from that. As expected, the songs have a chill vibe, and his voice is solid. But the songs themselves just leave something to be desired. There were a few highlights, The Power Of Equality, Breaking The Girl, and I Could Have Lied. Average would probably be a 3, but maybe that's just be cause I'm holding it to a higher standard because of their songs that I do know. I think I can be happy bumping this up to a 4.
Best song: Under The Bridge
Crowded House
3/5
Another album that I shouldn't have judged by the album art. I thought it was going to be terrible, but it turned out to be pretty fun. Good soft rock, nice music, and a soothing voice. No real highlights, but no duds either. A solid album all the way through.
Best song: Chocolate Cake
The Go-Go's
4/5
Great beats, fun music, and Belinda Carlisle's beautiful voice? Sign me up! I'd only heard Our Lips Are Sealed and We Got The Beat before, both great songs. The rest of the songs keep up that energy. Lust To Love was a lot of fun. Fading Fast had great music. I really loved Automatic. Skidmarks On My Heard was pretty good, but I just kept imagining poop marks instead of what was obviously meant to be tire marks. Fun album!
Best song: Our Lips Are Sealed
Paul Simon
4/5
Until a few songs in, it didn't click for me that he was the Paul Simon from Simon & Garfunkel. Realized it after thinking his voice sounded really familiar. As expected, he's got a great voice. The songs are mostly good. Duncan had some great guitar work. Run That Body Down was really nice. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard was a lot of fun. As was Peace Like A River. Hobo's Blues had a good harmonica and guitar combo going, and the guitar work continued nicely in Paranoia Blues. Overall a good time.
Best song: Duncan
James Brown
2/5
As with most live albums, too much talking to and playing with the crowd, which is interesting while live but not after its recorded. James Brown has a great voice, and the songs are pretty good, just not as fun live.
Best song: I'll Go Crazy
Ravi Shankar
4/5
Beautiful music by a wonderful artist. As an Indian myself, very proud to see Ravi Shankar on the list. Love the Introduction, where he explains ragas and classical Indian music. Also nice how he demonstrates the ascending and descending basic scale of the raga at the beginning of each song. Thoroughly enjoyed this album.
Best song: Dadra
Isaac Hayes
2/5
Instrumentals are not really my thing, and I'm not that into funk, so put those together and this is definitely an album I'll pass on. Soulsville was kinda nice though, as it had some words. And Isaac Hayes has a beautiful voice. Do Your Thing could have been good if it wasn't 20 minutes long. Good vocal section, and the instrumental part wasn't too bad either. Cut the beginning vocal section apart from the instrumental, and you'd have a much better song. I wouldn't mind hearing this as background music, so I'll give it a 2.
Best song: Do Your Thing
The Darkness
3/5
Started out really worrying. His voice is pretty good, but only as long as he doesn't go into that high pitch squeal he keeps doing. The first couple songs weren't so great, but then Growing On Me came on, that one was pretty fun. Love Is Only A Feeling was really good, smooth vocals and some great guitar. Dipped a bit after that, and Stuck In A Rut had this weird laughing part that didn't really fit in. Friday Night was fun too, interesting lyrics. It's averaging a 3, with a few duds but some good ones to balance it.
Best song: Love Is Only A Feeling
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
I hadn't heard a lot of Kendrick Lamar before this, but whatever I had heard I loved. And this album did not disappoint. Kendrick brings his killer rap style and word play to every song. Sherane, Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe, Good Kid, I'm Dying Of Thirst, and Real had really good flow. The Art Of Peer Pressure and Sing About Me hit on some heavier topics, he does some good work shedding light on that. And the latter has a nonstop flow style that's a pleasure to hear. Several songs have great cameos as well, like Money Trees, Poetic Justice, and Compton. m.A.A.d City had a nice beat, with seperate music sections for each verst. And then my favorites. Backseat Freestyle was just nonstop fun, he just keeps the words coming. Swimming Pools has it all, the beat, the flow, the lyrics, everything works together. It creates an odd balance, where the song is pretty fun to hear, but the words speak about alcohol addiction. Great album, really enjoyed my time with it. Need to listen to more of his stuff.
Best song: Swimming Pools
Soundgarden
2/5
I love Black Hole Sun, so was really looking forward to this album. It was a disappointment. The songs have some nice guitar work, but nothing else really works for me. My Wave starts out ok, but then devolves into this weird repetitive noise section. The next few tracks are mostly forgettable. Then Black Hole Sun kicks in and I'm fully vibing with it, wonderful song. Spoon man keeps that energy going, also a great song. Limo Wreck has some really good music. Then the album dips back down and just loses steam for the rest of it. And its also way too long to be this meh.
Best song: Black Hole Sun
5/5
What an album! I'm really getting into country because of this list. Great twangy guitars, nice lyrics, and a wonderful country voice. This was such a fun album, I had a blast listening to it. Not a bad song on it, every single one was a treat. The title track was really funny, Loretta Lynn is great at telling a story, and it's a fun upbeat number. And then I Really Don't Want To Know kicks in, and she slows it down, giving you this sad, sweet, lovely song. From there on almost every song flips back and forth between a fun lively track and a softer slow jam. And she nails both styles. What a vibe, easy 5 stars. Only negative thing I can say about this album is that she's making it hard for me to pick a best song, because they're all top notch. I'll go with Saint To A Sinner, that one just flows so well.
Best song: Saint To A Sinner
Suicide
1/5
Fuck this shit. Not even going to spend time writing a full review. One song he's having a sad orgasm, another he'd just randomly scream while talking.
Best song: Ghost Rider
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Started out being more mediocre British rock. But then Geno came out and it just pumped me up. The whole album started to pick up after that, and was pretty enjoyable the rest of the way through.
Best song: Geno
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Not usually my kind of music, but I'm really grooving along with it. Starts out with That Lady, love the voice and it has some great guitar work. Don't Let Me Be Lonley Tonight is smooth and chill. The album loses steam for a few songs after that, but then picks back up with a great beat in What It Comes Down To. Sunshine is a really nice vibe. Summer Breeze is great, he sings it beautifully and we get more of that intense guitar. The Highways Of My Life ends on a nice relaxing note, such a smooth flow. I was about to rate the album a 3 as a whole, but the good songs are really good, pushing this up to a 4.
Best song: Summer Breeze
Queen
4/5
To start off, the album art is iconic. One of the greatest album covers ever. The songs are mostly mid. White Queen is pretty nice. Ogre Battle has a fun story. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is pretty good. But man, the guitar work is incredible. They really highlighted the guitar playing in this album. This would be a 3 with the guitar pushing it up to a 4.
Best song: Seven Seas Of Rhye
Elvis Presley
4/5
Elvis is back in the building! Starts off with the classic Blue Suede Shoes. I'm Counting On You is lovely, I love his slower jams. I Got A Woman had some great guitar, and I didn't realize Kanye's "she take my money" from Gold Digger was adapted from a line from this song. One-Sided Love Affair was a fun one, I Love You Because was very sweet, and Just Because was pretty good. And then Tutti Frutti just amps up the energy, what a classic. I'm used to the Little Ritchie version, but this one was a blast as well. Trying To Get To You was very smooth, some good guitar work. The rest of the songs sort of dropped the energy a bit, but it's a great album. Long live The King!
Best song: Blue Suede Shoes
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Mostly, through and through, some solid rock and roll. Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand were pretty nice, and both had great guitar solos, but they were a bit long and could use some cutting up. Running Dry was an absolute pleasure, with a smooth and chill vibe, and more incredible guitar work. Solid album.
Best song: Running Dry
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Great voice, some solid pop songs. Just A Little Lovin' sounds like something you'd hear in a lounge. Son Of A Preacher Man was a lot of fun. Don't Forget About Me and Breakfast In Bed keep that energy going. Just One Smile was really nice. The Windmills Of Your Mind was the real breakout. Starts as a sweet slow jam, and gets slightly more upbeat as it goes on. A treat to hear. The rest of the album ends it out chill and smooth. Really enjoyed this album.
Best song: Windmills Of Your Mind
Wilco
2/5
Didn't like this one as much as their previous album I had (Being There). It had a few decent songs and a few duds. There's way too much random noise in the tracks, seems like they're just trying add it to be "artsy" or whatever, but it just sounds noisy. Kamera was pretty nice, as was War On War. Jesus, Etc. and Heavy Metal Drummer were pretty good, chill vibes. Poor Places gets back to what I was hearing in the previous album, where they get a slightly country sound (I'm ignoring the ending where they have someone just repeating "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" over and over with an annoying loud screech in the background). The album as a whole doesn't show it as much as the previous one, but I still think they'd be better as a country band.
Best song: Kamera
Dolly Parton
4/5
Dolly Parton is a treasure. Beautiful voice, great music, the whole album is just a treat to hear. Coat Of Many Colors was such a sweet story. Traveling Man was really funny, especially the ending. My Blue Tears, The Mystery Of The Mystery, and The Way I See You are really sweet and smooth. Here I Am has really nice guitar music. And it ends on the good fun A Better Place To Live. Fun album, love you Dolly!
Best song: Traveling Man
Kanye West
5/5
I am not going to address anything about Kanye the person, just Kanye the artist and this particular album.
What an absolute banger of an album! This is one I've heard before, many times. It was one of my favorites back in college, so this review is going to be tinged with considerable nostalgia.
As with my review of Eminem's Marshal Mathers LP, I'm ignoring the intros/skits. They don't add anything to the albums, but they're not distracting enough to detract from it either.
We Don't Care starts the album off solid, showcases Kanye's flow. All Falls Down is wonderful, the female vocals really shine. I'll Fly Away keeps it going, great sample chosen for that one. Jesus Walks brings a killer energy, great workout track. The chanting in the background just makes you want to move. Already a great album and we're only a third of the way through.
Never Let Me Down is fun, nice cameo by Jay-Z, and the chorus is also well sung. The New Workout Plan was pretty funny. And then Slow Jamz hits. Oof. Kanye West, Twista, and Jamie Foxx? Sign me up now. Such an incredible song. Kanye West's flow, Twista's speed, and Jamie Foxx bringing it all together in the chorus.
Bottom third of the album, and it does not let up. School Spirit has a nice beat. The "Step" part hits nicely, and the rap is smooth. Oh man, Through The Wire is next. This was the first Kanye West song I'd ever heard, and it totally had me hooked. Such a great song. The story he tells, the lyrics, the flow, everything just hits so well. And Chaka Khan's sample in the background really ties it together. Family Business is kinda funny. Last Call is a good ending. And I love how he tells the story of how he got his deal at the end, it was interesting to hear.
This would definitely go on the list of my top albums of all time. So many full 5s, and nothing I would rate lower than a 4. Incredible album.
Best song was really hard to pick. Top three are easily All Falls Down, Slow Jamz, and Through The Wire, with the top spot bouncing between the latter two. I'm going to give it to Slow Jamz, but Through The Wire could take the top spot any day.
Best song: Slow Jamz
John Cale
2/5
This one is hard to rate. Goes between a 3 and a 2. He has a nice voice, but the songs are hit or miss. The Endless Plain Of Fortune had some good music. Andalucia was nice and chill. Macbeth rocked on. Graham Greene was good. The rest was kinda whatever. Antarctica seemed like it had something going, but he was like whispering through the entire song. Another album that wants to appear more "artsy" than it is.
Best song: The Endless Plain Of Fortune
Aerosmith
4/5
Aerosmith definitely didn't put their best foot forward here. Starts out with Toys In The Attic, which is fairly decent rock and roll, nothing great. Uncle Salty was the low point of the album. Adam's Apple was also ok. And then Walk This Way shows up, one of their best songs. Totally ramps up the energy. And that energy keeps going. Big Ten Inch Record was a lot of fun, some old school rock vibes. And its kinda funny too. Sweet Emotion was also really fun, amazing shredding in it. No More No More is some good times, Round And Round and You See Me Crying end it nicely. I've only ever heard Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion before, but this was a fairly enjoyable album. Rock on!
Best song: Walk This Way
Norah Jones
4/5
Always known Norah Jones has a beautiful voice. I did not know how much I'd enjoy all her songs. This album was such a treat to listen to. Starts off strong, with the great Don't Know Why. Cold Cold Heart has beautiful piano music. Come Away With Me and Shoot The Moon have some delightful guitar work. Turn Me On was really fun. I've Got To See You Again was smooth and a joy to hear, and the violin part was really nice. A good album with some nice easy listening songs. Loved it.
Going into it, I was sure Don't Know Why was going to be my pick for best song. It's the only one I knew beforehand, and it's an amazing song. But then I heard I've Got To See You Again, and it blew me away.
The back end of the album does start to drag a little, there's only so much easy listening I can hear in a row before it starts to wear thin. But overall it was very enjoyable.
Best song: I've Got To See You Again
MGMT
3/5
Reading the artist description on Spotify, I was pretty sure I was going to hate this. Usually when someone says something stupid like "if you don't like this you're objectively wrong" its something obnoxious. So I went in pretty skeptical. But when the first track hit, I was on board. Time To Pretend was a bit noisy, would have likes some smoother music than the electronic mess it was, but the words were amusing. And it was pretty catchy. Weekend Wars had nice music. The rest of the album was a bit repetitive, but not terrible. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters had good guitar work. Overall a fairly decent album in a genre I normally don't listen to much. Solid.
Best song: Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
James Taylor
4/5
What a romp! Fun album from start to finish. Sweet Baby James is, well, sweet lol. Nice chill music. Lo And Behold starts out solid, but then the beat kicks in and it goes into overdrive. Steamroller has a nice blues feel. Country Road has some real good guitar work (as do several songs on the album). Oh Susannah was really fun, hearing James's rendition of the old nursery rhyme. Oh Baby Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me makes you feel like you're sitting in an old western saloon. And then Suite For 20 G just rocks out with killer guitar music. Fun times!
Best song: Suite For 20 G
David Bowie
2/5
It's ok. Nothing really interesting but nothing offensive either.
Best song: Girl Loves Me
U2
2/5
It's ok. Nothing really interesting but nothing offensive either.
Best song: Mysterious Ways