221
Albums Rated
2.84
Average Rating
20%
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868 albums remaining
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2000s
Favorite Decade
Jazz
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32
5-Star Albums
49
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitte Orca | 5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
| Fly Or Die | 5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
| Want One | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| The Rise & Fall | 5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
| Everything Must Go | 5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
| Drunk | 5 | 3.12 | +1.88 |
| Stephen Stills | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| Close To The Edge | 5 | 3.19 | +1.81 |
| Chicago Transit Authority | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| Only By The Night | 5 | 3.23 | +1.77 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transformer | 1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
| The Joshua Tree | 1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
| Highway to Hell | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| The Velvet Underground & Nico | 1 | 3.62 | -2.62 |
| Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme | 1 | 3.62 | -2.62 |
| She's So Unusual | 1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
| Unknown Pleasures | 1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
| Odelay | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| The Band | 1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Metallica | 3 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 2 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Joy Division | 2 | 1 |
| The Band | 2 | 1 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 1 |
| U2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Byrds | 2 | 1.5 |
| Sonic Youth | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Fall | 2 | 1.5 |
| Emmylou Harris | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| PJ Harvey | 4, 4, 1, 1 |
5-Star Albums (32)
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Popular Reviews
Aerosmith
1/5
Round and Round sounds like they're trying to be Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, though less successfully. This album is so hokey at parts during its first half that "Walk This Way" is actually worse in context. "Sweet Emotion" is still cool and I think I liked the closing track.
1 likes
Dirty Projectors
5/5
Really cool. Very strange. This is the first modern one to show up for me here that was never on my radar. Never heard of this group. Loved it.
1 likes
Guided By Voices
2/5
I don't get lo-fi. These are demos. There are some good songs in here but they needed a producer and a pro mixer. I made recordings in my bedroom at 20 years old that had a similar quality. There are some good songs here, and there are some good song ideas here, but basically this feels like what you bring your bandmates when you're ready to make a new album, so you can all start working on it together.
1 likes
Stephen Stills
5/5
Wow this was much better than I expected. I knew Love the One You're With (and thought it was with Crosby and Nash honestly) and I thought the album was going to be really folksy based on what I know of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who I've never cared much for. This album really surprised me. The second song was folksy and the third started as folk before transitioning to a more gospel feel. Then the album got into funky blues rock stuff and I really loved a bunch of it. The second half is so strong, and the end of the album reminds me how Weezer's Red Album ends, which I've always loved.
1 likes
4-Star Albums (46)
1-Star Albums (49)
All Ratings
Wilco
3/5
Got better as it went along. Thought it was too folksy/country at times. Definitely more than what I usually enjoy. I thought it got more artsy in the second half and enjoyed that.
D'Angelo
4/5
Really interesting, almost "progressive R&B" album. I really enjoyed parts of it but it might have been a little long for me.
Aerosmith
1/5
Round and Round sounds like they're trying to be Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, though less successfully. This album is so hokey at parts during its first half that "Walk This Way" is actually worse in context. "Sweet Emotion" is still cool and I think I liked the closing track.
Aside from Beautiful Day and Elevation, there's not a lot to love here. Skipped a couple of tracks.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
You can hear other artists throughout this album, from U2 to Arcade Fire, and radio hits such as Don't You Forget About Me and I Melt with You. This album is very 80s post-punk at its core. Having the orchestra is nice, and there are some interesting ideas, but its mixing and production are so 80s pop that you have to listen too hard to get much deeper than the vocals. Overall, I see why it got mixed reviews upon release.
Kanye West
3/5
There's some really creative stuff here. It's better than I expected, though I know that this is generally considered the last masterpiece before the mess that was The Life of Pablo. I liked a lot of the beats and his flow was really good throughout. I can't stand most of his lyrics, unfortunately. The explicit nature of some pull me right out of the musical enjoyment. I would listen to this album again though.
Simple Minds
1/5
Oof I hate the song I know from this band so I'm not looking forward to this but we'll see!
I am shocked to learn this is not only not a one hit wonder band (the song from The Breakfast Club), but also that song isn't even on this album. I tried to find stuff to like in here but ultimately hated it.
4/5
Loved the surprise of Thom Yorke here, and suddenly realized how much some of these songs sounded like Radiohead. Definitely going to listen to it again. Update: listened again and really liked it despite it getting a little too "imperfect" at times. I can see why this is a classic. Some legitimately beautiful moments on here.
Soft Machine
3/5
Did I find the right thing? There's only 4 songs. Holy shit those 4 songs take up 75 minutes??? What genre is this? Oh freeform jazz. Lol okay. Let's get into it.
The first track takes about 7 minutes to get going. I think the third is the only one with vocals. There's a lot of great stuff in here that's surrounded by literal noise or buried within the vamps of improvisational jazz. This would be incredible to experience at a jazz club/bar. I can see how it informed progressive rock and opened the door for such groups as The Mars Volta (whose song Tetragrammaton is still the best 18 minute long song I've heard, sorry Soft Machine). My experience with jam sessions is to improv them and then find the song within and whittle it down to that. There was no whittling here. I enjoyed this but I don't see myself listening to it again.
Metallica
5/5
Gah this is so cool. A history of Metallica would be incomplete without this. This is not just a live album. This is the biggest heavy metal / hard rock band in the world at the time, the best they'd ever sounded live in their careers to date, working with their hometown symphony orchestra to adapt two hours of their biggest hits for an arena to be played live together with said orchestra, based on an idea from their original bassist, who had died tragically in a bus accident on tour 13 years earlier. He was the one who introduced music theory and more complicated composition to the group and still influences their work to this day. This performance even includes the only recordings of two new songs, one of which became a radio hit itself.
In my opinion, Master of Puppets made them the biggest band in heavy metal, 1991's Black Album made them radio staples, and S&M made them legendary. They could do whatever they wanted after this. And they did, writing the lead single for Mission: Impossible 2 the next year, releasing a garage metal album in 2003 that has aged far better than I expected it to, collaborating with Lou Reed in a double album in his final work before his death, and returning to thrash for 3 Metallica albums, this time with radio polish.
Metallica even revisited the S&M concept 20 years after the original as the first event to open the new Golden State Warriors arena in San Francisco and I got to see that on one of its two nights in theaters before getting a copy on Blu-ray.
I love this album and it's really obvious how it ended up on this list.
Stan Getz
4/5
Never heard of this before. Don't know the artists. Didn't know there was a bossa nova craze in America in the 60s. Thought it was great! A couple times it strays a little close to "elevator music" but overall it's really cool.
Thundercat
5/5
Ooh wow. Always liked "Them Changes" and I remember trying this album out once while searching for something in The Home Depot. It didn't stick with me but I think I might've been too focused on the hardware shopping.
Okay. This is the first legitimately "weird" album we've gotten. And I love it. One of the best bass players of his generation (Esperanza Spalding comes to mind) delivers an album that is uniquely him and is well worth the listen.
Beth Orton
1/5
I really hate folk. This one slipped past the censors because its genre is officially "folktronica" but really only a handful of these falls under that umbrella. I liked maybe 3 of the songs and the rest were just not my thing at all.
Tom Waits
3/5
A very strange album, filled with folksy musings on the narrator's observations of the world around him. The lyrics offer dated descriptions of ethnic groups, delivered in Waits's signature voice that sounds like Bruce Springsteen raked over a cheese grater. Sometimes you can't even tell what note he's singing as he sounds more and more like Cookie Monster. Waits's music is truly eccentric, and I'm glad I listened to this album, though I may never listen again, save for the opener.
The Cars
4/5
I never really "got" The Cars before. I knew 4 of these songs really well and a fifth I feel like I've heard. This album is filled with candy-coated power pop that I always assumed was 80s but a closer listen reveals it's very much rooted in 1970s guitar-based music, played by people with a love for the synthesizer. Having grown up with several songs by this band as a constant presence on TV and in movies, I didn't realize that I'd never truly listened to them. This is an impressive debut album. The "other songs" on the album are really good. In my opinion, this band towers over other acts known as new wave. I'm glad I listened to this album.
Eric Clapton
1/5
It's telling that the best song on this album by far is the one Clapton didn't write. His funk cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" is fantastic. It is surrounded by 6 boring and forgettable blues songs, a country song, and 2 blues rock songs that are also pretty forgettable.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Pretty cool. Definitely feels raw and early but never fails to be interesting.
Dirty Projectors
5/5
Really cool. Very strange. This is the first modern one to show up for me here that was never on my radar. Never heard of this group. Loved it.
Joy Division
1/5
Awful. I will never understand how "post-punk" and "post-punk revival" are supposed to be similar, considering some of my favorite music ever is described as 00s post-punk revival and I've never heard any post-punk that I've liked. It's like this guy literally doesn't WANT to sing on key. But not in a snotty "fuck the rules" way, like punk, but rather like in a "I want to croon like Sinatra and I don't care if you like it" kind of way.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Though on the surface this seems like it would be too folksy for my taste (and indeed it is too folksy for me to have listened to on my own), it is immediately apparent that Joni Mitchell is special. I really enjoyed the jazz influences that can be heard throughout, and when she really leans into the jazzy stuff, thus album is really fun. I will revisit this but it is unlikely to go into my rotation.
AC/DC
1/5
Ughhhh..... not a fan of this band. I only know the title track here so we'll see. Yeah, no. Terrible. Not for me at all.
David Bowie
5/5
David Bowie made such cool music. I only knew Golden Years and TVC-15. Found out he played saxophone. Just so cool, artistically. Loved experiencing this album for the first time.
Paul McCartney
3/5
Really interesting to hear this album with its context. I agree with the contemporary reviews that said many songs sounded unfinished, but still, there's something there. The album has a distinctly Paul McCartney charm to it, and as a recording project, experimenting with instrumentation and being the first record on which Paul played everything, it is fascinating.
M.I.A.
1/5
Terrible. Just noise for most of it. I feel justified being like the only person I knew who didn't like Paper Planes back in the day.
Orange Juice
1/5
I'm learning that I hate 80s post-punk/new wave.
Otis Redding
2/5
A group of songs that don't really make you wonder why you know other versions better. This is unfortunately even the case for Respect, an original to this album.
Lightning Bolt
3/5
This band sounds like if Death from Above 1979 didn't want to have commercial success. Pretty interesting. Something worth studying. Not exactly an album I would play over and over though.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
This is definitely not grunge. You can tell it was recorded live. It's interesting. I was promised this would rock harder than it does, but Neil Young is a folk singer at heart.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Such a talent. The arrangements sound so ahead of their time and her voice is amazing.
Bill Evans Trio
2/5
This would be cool to have been present for but ultimately the songs all blended together and nothing was vibrant enough to stand out as vital. The story is more interesting than the music, unfortunately. Still, not bad by any means.
Suede
3/5
This did not stand out on first listen, but I felt like I definitely needed to listen to it again, and I knew I had the weekend without new albums to do so. I realized throughout the weekend that I wasn't exactly excited to give it another listen. Finally did a little late, and a few songs jumped out a little better on the second listen. I'll try again someday. This is the album that made me confirm my suspicion that the author of the 1001 book is British. I really think a lot of these British works would not have made the cut if the organizer of the list weren't British. But there are groups I never would have heard of without that, so it's okay.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
4 songs in had me feeling like it is no surprise at all why this was my dad's favorite band when he was young. The first half of this album is absolutely ridiculous. I don't like "Tangerine" at all, and the back half gets a little too folksy for me personally, but it's still pretty good (if you remove "Tangerine").
The Cardigans
5/5
Wow what is this. Ever since I first gave "Lovefool" a proper listen as an adult, I've thought it was so cool, and the rest of this album matches that energy. I truly loved this album. It's weird in a unique way that is still accessible. The reference to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" rocks, and the cover of "Iron Man"--a song I've always hated--is amazing. Loved it all.
Jungle Brothers
3/5
This was cool because it was on the way to but it was NOT G-funk. I enjoy G-funk quite a bit but this was more like funky sociopolitical hip-hop. This is a little too early to have the studio polish of the G-funk era. Socially conscious lyrics and really creative selection of samples made this a fun listen, but it wasn't quite commercial enough for me to want to devote multiple listens to it despite it clearly being an achievement for the genre. "Doin' Our Own Dang" was the best one on the album to me.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This was really cool. The decision not to use cymbals is really interesting and inspired a lot of creativity in composition and recording. I really enjoyed this, though it dragged a little at the end.
Elastica
2/5
There's some cool stuff on here but overall a bit too "punk rock" for me. The album felt short and long at the same time. Like each song was short but the album still went on too long.
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
This is the best album I've had so far from this project that was never on my radar before. Never heard of the band or any of its members, didn't know anything about them, none of the songs were familiar to me at all. And I loved it. Singer reminded me of Jim Ward of Sparta. Songs took interesting detours. Just great.
The Byrds
2/5
More folksy than I usually listen to but less folksy than I was expecting. This album makes interesting use of the stereo soundscape, and it's cool to hear their experimentation in instrumentation and sound recording develop throughout. I liked a few songs and will probably listen again.
Prefab Sprout
4/5
I reeeally liked this. First time I've heard of "sophisti-pop." It feels almost like this album is the answer to "what if post-punk and new wave were actually good?"
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
Pretty good, but it didn't grab me like I think it should. It made me think of a more electronic sophisti-pop.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Overall, I love the way psychedelia transforms the underlying blues on this album, but there's way too much rapid panning of guitars and psychedelic sound effects on this album that distract from the songs themselves. The rapid panning immediately took me out of it several times. I'm also not a fan of 18 minute long songs that don't vary their song structure enough to justify their duration. I would listen to this again and skip the overlong songs. All Along the Watchtower and Crosstown Traffic still slap.
Sonic Youth
2/5
The first half of the album is much more accessible. I know Sonic Youth loved to make noise, and that really comes across throughout the album but especially in the second half. I liked several songs on the first half but really thought a lot of the back half wasn't worth listening to.
Michael Jackson
4/5
This is a remarkable achievement. What a huge album. Because most of Jackson's best recognized tracks are from here, if you were born later, it's almost shocking to discover that and the story behind the album. I learned a lot that I didn't know before. For example, I knew that Eddie Van Halen played the famous guitar solo on Beat It but didn't know that basically the rest of the instrumentation was provided by members of Toto. I didn't know that MJ was mostly disco before this album and made a conscious decision to move away from that and avoid the ongoing backlash against disco. I knew 6 of the 9 tracks before listening. The three number 1s, Wanna Be Starting Something, the duet with Paul, and PYT. PYT is one of my favorite MJ songs and I don't actually like The Girl Is Mine. An hour after the album is over, I can't remember how any of the other 3 go, but I think I enjoyed them, it's just that the others totally eclipse them. It's no surprise to see this album here.
Blondie
2/5
It starts off so strong but then kind of shows its age. Debbie Harry was an absolute rock star though. I missed "Call Me" and wished it were on this album. I think I would've liked this a lot more if I'd been around when it came out.
Buzzcocks
1/5
I'm not a big fan of punk rock. Too simple in both song structure and technical musicality while also deliberately avoiding any form of musical beauty. A couple songs maybe stand out but not enough to figure out which ones they were.
The Mamas & The Papas
1/5
Trite 60s pop made by at least one absolutely terrible person. California Dreamin' is a pretty good song and I can see why Monday, Monday was popular.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
God, I love Stevie Wonder. I only knew two of these songs before listening to this as part of this project. I had no idea that Stevie was ever a "one man band" or even that he could play the drums. This is a beautiful album, filled with sonic experimentation. I love that it's described as progressive soul and I love that it's considered one of his finest, one of the greatest albums ever, and highly influential in its genre. It's always so cool to me when somebody's singular creative genius is recognized as such, and Stevie's one of the best ever to do it.
Supergrass
4/5
Terrible album art, which gives a misleading impression of what the listener is about to hear. "Supergrass," specifically with that photo, seems like it's going to be bluegrass or folk or something like that but it was BRITPOP. I really liked it, specifically over the first half. Sounds a lot like the Oasis stuff I like.
Queen
4/5
The first Queen album I've heard in its entirety, this is a great album. I only know the hits but I really enjoyed this.
Jeru The Damaja
1/5
Some of the samples are interesting but he rides almost all of them too long, so they overstay their welcome. None of this really stood out to me.
The Byrds
1/5
Most of the songs sound the same as each other and it's all folk. Just a really boring listen.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
I only knew singles by this band. As I grew up and got older, I understood Rage Against the Machine much better. It is still shocking that this band became such a success with their overtly political lyrics being screamed at you over outrageous and often experimental instrumentation. But the band is so tight, and some of the songs are unbelievably fun to shout along with. Listening to this album for the first time today, it finally clicked in my brain that they are funk metal. This album doesn't have all of my favorite Rage songs (notably Sleep Now in the Fire and Guerrilla Radio were later) but it's hard to believe that they came out with Killing in the Name right out the gate. They sound so fresh and new but also like they've been playing together forever. It's no surprise that the three instrumentalists found further success after Rage with Audioslave. They have incredible chemistry. By the end of its 52 minute run time, I'm definitely tired of being screamed at, but overall, this is a solid album, and thirty years later it still stands out as unique. 3.5 stars
Joy Division
1/5
I hated their other album in this project. I hated this one a little less. Too often, they don't care to stay in key with each other, and I hate it.
Portishead
3/5
A lot of this sounds like it was written as the score for a spy mystery film. There's some really cool sounding songs on here. Not always my thing, but definitely interesting.
Radiohead
5/5
Oh I've been waiting for Radiohead. I love Kid A. Fascinating that they completely reinvented themselves for this. Such a great album, and it's probably only my third favorite by them.
N.E.R.D
5/5
Oh my God. I love this album so much and did NOT expect to see it here. What a great surprise. I didn't know that anybody really knew about this album. Pharrell's funk rock album. It's just awesome. It's cool to see other people recognize it as special.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
Oooh a vocal jazz album! An enjoyable listen, very nice to have on in the background. Rarely calls attention to itself, so nothing jumps out, despite all being very good.
The B-52's
3/5
So weird. So fun. It's inspiring how brazenly they brought their unique styles to the genres they played in. I love them on principle, even if I may never listen to this album again.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Beautiful, beautiful album, which I'd never heard all of before. I was working outside when I listened to this and just loved the whole flow of it. I found myself dancing throughout and singing along when classics I know like "Mercy, Mercy Me" came on. Listening closely, I really paid attention to the doubled vocals and what Marvin Gaye did to perform dueling lead melodies at times and deliver harmonies at others. This album just feels like one where everything all came together exactly the right way. And it just feels good to listen to.
10cc
4/5
Going into this, I only knew "I'm Not in Love" from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. What a fun album. I really liked it, which is no surprise for an album described as "art pop" and "progressive pop." I read the band worked more collaboratively than ever before and stopped recognizing boundaries and I think that really let the songs shine.
Judas Priest
2/5
It's never good if I can tell with a degree of confidence that an album is from the 80s. Breaking the Law and Rapid Fire are cool. Living After Midnight and United are awful. A bunch of this album sounded too much like AC/DC for me.
Guided By Voices
2/5
I don't get lo-fi. These are demos. There are some good songs in here but they needed a producer and a pro mixer. I made recordings in my bedroom at 20 years old that had a similar quality. There are some good songs here, and there are some good song ideas here, but basically this feels like what you bring your bandmates when you're ready to make a new album, so you can all start working on it together.
The Fall
2/5
It all sounds fine, I just can't enjoy this wannabe Lou Reed, laissez-faire vocal style of talk singing. It just sounds like he really doesn't care to sing. And if you don't care, why should I?
Various Artists
5/5
A stone cold classic. Great versions of all the songs plus the original version of one of the best holiday songs ever: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). An incredible roster of talent performing for this peerless Christmas compilation album.
The Blue Nile
3/5
Not bad at all. Pleasant even. Not really my thing though. Got a little bored with it.
Frank Black
2/5
Naked, vulnerably presented, eclectic, and weird, it's interesting, but I wouldn't pick this over Doolittle. Notably, there wasn't a single song on this long album that really jumped out to me.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Almost lost me during the 14 minute blues song but overall really good.
Frank Zappa
4/5
So unexpected. So bizarre. On first listen, I was waiting for vocals for too long and just really thrown by the whole experience, so I needed another listen to form an actual opinion. And it's really great. It's a hard listen if you don't know what you're in for, but if you accept it as more of a score than a soundtrack, you can really enjoy this.
Blur
5/5
Great album. I've known this one about 10 years. From the opening track, "Girls & Boys," the sound of the album stands out uniquely within its genre. For all the discussion of the Britpop wars between Oasis and Blur, this album came out a year and a half before Oasis released anything that could come close to competing with this album. And as much as I love "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," they don't strike you the way this album does, with the addictively weird instrumental accents on "Girls & Boys," the French passages in "To the End," the carnival instrumental of "The Debt Collector," or the upbeat rock of "Trouble in the Message Center." This album showed an eclectic mix of genres and styles that really shines and when you think about it, makes Damon Albarn's transition to Gorillaz frontman way less surprising than if you only knew him from "Song #2" beforehand. Everything they tried on this album feels wildly successful when viewed altogether, and is clearly the best Britpop album I know, if for no other reason than it is immediately and obviously unique.
Shack
3/5
Some of the songs are too poppy and some sound like Irish folk music, which I don't enjoy, but when they play actual Britpop, it's pretty fun. I also really liked the final track, which sounds like it was inspired by Led Zeppelin.
5/5
Wow. I had no idea anybody cared about this band outside of "Low Rider" and "Why Can't We Be Friends," but I just really loved this. Progressive soul man, there's something about it. This is a truly great album.
Steely Dan
4/5
I enjoyed this a lot, and I'm surprised that none of the Steely Dan songs I know are on here. In fact, none of these songs appear in Spotify's top 9 most popular Steely Dan songs, and the tenth was my favorite from this album. "My Old School" is so great, and it's made better coming after the annoying "lost wages" song. I was thinking about Steely Dan recently because I was listening to Field Music, a band I love, and was wondering what you would call their genre. I settled on calling it Steely Dan. I'm glad this album was on here, as it may not have gotten on my radar without this.
John Lee Hooker
1/5
Most of this is exactly the kind of blues that I find super boring.
Sepultura
1/5
This is the first one in this project that I truly couldn't listen to. The singer isn't singing. He's making guttural sounds. Not my thing.
Julian Cope
2/5
My first thought was that the vocals on the first track were abrasive and offkey and his repeated command to "tell me how much you can take" at the end sounded like he was daring me to get through the whole album. I ended up really enjoying the funk of "East Easy Rider," and "The American Lite" also stood out to me. Overall, I enjoyed the album a lot more than I thought I would based on the first track, even though it did sometimes veer into that British new wave territory I've learned I hate (especially in the vocal production). I was surprised by the end by my thought that I might listen to this again.
Sam Cooke
4/5
I don't know any of these songs but you are going to have a really hard time convincing me that anybody was having more fun on the night of January 12, 1963 than Mr. Sam Cooke. Wow. What a great idea to make sure you recorded this man live. His voice sounds great, you can tell he's playing to the crowd and he even coaches them through a sing-along section without missing a beat himself and he made it sound like natural ad-libbing instead of the obnoxious way I've heard other singers basically break up their set to make the crowd play along with their egos. This guy's just having the time of his life and wants everybody else to have a fraction of the good time he's having. Wow. This is one of the best live albums I've ever heard, and certainly the best I've heard where I didn't already know any of the songs. I can't believe they shelved it for over two decades.
Adele
3/5
I heard this album one or two times when it came out and dismissed it as boring, frustrated by the slow tempos I felt occupied the entire album. This hit me now differently. I haven't listened to Adele in a long time. What a beautiful, powerful voice. I'm astonished at her control. I'm not surprised she stood out when I caught an early TV performance. I enjoyed this album a lot more this time than I did 9 years ago. It doesn't have any of my favorite Adele songs on it, but 25 does have the one that got so big it became a joke, even being lampooned by SNL. And hearing it now and really listening to it, I was really impressed by "Hello." 25 is not always my thing, but is impressive the whole way through.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
I liked this album more than I expected to. I hated the last Eric Clapton album in this project. This blues was a lot less boring, which I think comes from it being filled with songs that were already "tried-and-true" classics, but played with a then-fresh loose, blues rock feel. Pretty cool.
Brian Eno
3/5
I was excited for this album when I saw who it was, but then surprised by what it actually was. A cacophony of samples melded together by the ears of Eno and Byrne. The shock of the decision to forgo "traditional" vocals makes this album a little less enjoyable for me as a listener, but academically, it is super cool and interesting. I don't think I would just listen to this, but I want to know more about it and how it was made.
Slipknot
4/5
Wow, Slipknot??? I can't believe it. I remember disliking "Psychosocial" when it came out and my friends were talking about it, and really haven't heard it ever since. I think I liked it this time. I didn't like when this album went into death metal territory but when Corey Taylor (who has one of the most impressively diverse voices in rock music currently) really sang, on top of groove metal riffs that I didn't know Slipknot had in them, it was awesome. I have always preferred Stone Sour to Slipknot, but held "Duality" and "Before I Forget" close. I'm really not a fan of when Taylor screams his way through a track, but had no idea Slipknot had a more musical and groovy side, and I'm glad I discovered it here.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
There wasn't much variety among the melodies and singing style for the first several songs on the album, so they all kind of blended together but more in a way where I was like "Man this song has been going on forever." I wasn't really into it until "Hard Times" came on. I immediately thought "this is the best song on here" and then when he sang "won't admit" I realized... I know this song. It's my favorite song from the John Legend and The Roots collaborative album. They do it very differently than Mayfield and I really enjoyed both. Overall, the album is very chill but there's not enough variety of sound or vocal dynamics for it to cross into impressive for me.
The Stranglers
2/5
Definitely see how this is art punk, listening to it. Album cover and name seem so familiar but I have no idea why. I like what the bass is doing and that you can hear it in the mix. Unusual for punk. Ah Peaches. I know this song. That's why the cover and name are familiar. Good song. Overall the album skews a little too "British New Wave" for me but it's not bad.
Björk
4/5
Whoa what. I have never listened to Bjork before and was not ready for this to be this good. Captivating is a good word for it, I think. I really enjoyed this. Several tracks stood out: "Hidden Place," "It's Not up to You," and "Pagan Poetry" were my favorites. It reminded me a lot of elements I love in Radiohead's Kid A.
Willie Nelson
2/5
I said no country and Willie Nelson is famously country, so... we'll see. Very weird knowing some of these songs. I'm not really a fan of these interpretations but after 5 songs, they're not entirely unpleasant. It's almost jazz country? Realizing now that I don't think I've ever actually heard Willie Nelson before. I would never choose to listen to this album, but it was a lot better than I expected and there are some beautiful moments. Really fascinating that he wanted to make an album of his favorite pop songs from his childhood with Booker T. Jones developing the instrumental arrangements, which quite frankly shine in several songs.
CHVRCHES
4/5
I get excited every time I see an album on here from "my era." I've always liked "The Mother We Share" but never heard any of the other tracks before this. It's really difficult to make a whole album of synthesized sounds where the only organic part of it is the human voice and have it be as enjoyable and engaging as this album. The instrumentation here doesn't pretend to be anything other than synthesizers (no synthbass, no programmed drums with acoustic sound profiles, no guitar solos). It's almost stubborn in its accomplishment of being a "synthesizer album." There are a lot of great songs on here. A really impressive debut album that I enjoyed a lot.
Prince
3/5
Has anyone this openly horny ever been as widely beloved as Prince? I had no idea this was his breakout album. "Little Red Corvette" is a great song, and apparently was the first Prince song most people heard. I liked the album better on second listen but still feel like it's mostly emblematic of the 80s Prince sound that I never really could get into overall. This, for me, doesn't touch Love Symbol, but I would listen again.
James Brown
3/5
I love how the band kicks in after their introduction. The instrumental bridges are so good. I just know how fun it must have been to see this show or a performer like James Brown. Really interesting to hear a horn part I know from Marvin Berry's band in Back to the Future in "Night Train."
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I liked this album while I was listening to it but almost none of it stuck with me for very long. I love their next album, At War with the Mystics, so I hoped for more from this, but there's definitely cool stuff on it and it's absolutely worth listening to. One More Robot is a big highlight.
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
Really great album. I love progressive pop and art rock and orchestral pop/rock and this is such a great example of the genres. An album that sounds both of its time and futuristic, this is just a stellar achievement for Jeff Lynne that still rocks to this day. I remember pumping gas once maybe 10 years ago and hearing Mr. Blue Sky blasting on the gas station speakers, with its full extended instrumental outro. Magnificent.
Scott Walker
2/5
This album really sounds like a parody. Of what, I'm not sure. Music itself maybe? It's filled with some really beautiful orchestrations but I had to skip several songs because I couldn't enjoy the man's voice. He sounds like he wants to sound like Sinatra but also wants to be a better singer than Sinatra so as a compromise, he only recorded vocals when he had a cold. What a weird experience this is. The Girls and the Dogs is great. It feels really cinematic but also theatrical. Man it is weird to hear him croon words like ass and piss. Totally bizarre. Totally parody.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
This is not a style of music that I would normally just put on, but I really enjoyed this album.
The Clash
3/5
I think it says something about this album's influence that for a long time, I thought that the black and white photo with the pink and green text like this was a reference to this, and not Elvis. I love the title track, a certified classic. It's obvious why this album is here, and I enjoyed it more than any of the other British post punk that's been on this list so far. I think it's probably because it was more a bridge between punk rock and post punk with experimentation that could sometimes qualify as ska.
Scritti Politti
1/5
I'm not surprised I've never heard of this band. Christgau is obviously a big fan of this insipid British New Wave stuff considering how much I've heard in my first 100 albums, but I mostly can't stand it and frankly I'm tired of it showing up here. Don't Work That Hard is the worst song I've ever heard that features slap bass.
Django Django
2/5
This is now the most recent album I've had here that I've never heard of. I love art rock, but this album was a little too on the psychedelic side for me.
Morrissey
4/5
It is genuinely startling to hear such overtly political lyrics delivered so clearly. Musically, this could only have happened in 2004. Morrisey's British New Wave croon overtop these guitars and drums... this would never have sounded like this at any other point in time. And it's better for it. His voice is not obscured by layers of densely packed reverb; it's clear, and sounds more in-key because of it. But his performance still recalls the big Smiths songs, which brings a familiarity to anyone who may otherwise have been turned off by the shift in sound.
After writing all of that, I looked at the album's Wikipedia page and saw that it was produced by Jerry Finn. Was there anybody better in the early 2000s??? It feels like everybody who ever worked with him made their best albums of their careers during their time with him. And indeed this was seen as a huge comeback album for Morrissey. And apparently another Morrissey album was the last album Jerry Finn worked on before he died? Guess I'm listening to that too.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
1/5
I really hated this until Firefly Child and the two tracks that followed. Everything else was awful. A lot of it sounded like 80s punk, but not far enough removed to be a revival or homage.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I've never really understood the obsession with this band and I still don't after hearing this album but there were a few good songs in here. Lo fi isn't for me, and shoegaze and dream pop can boring enough with high production values that I especially don't understand the decision to do everything lo-fi on top.
The Killers
5/5
I love this album so much. Bought it in 2004. I will forever right for "Somebody Told Me" supremacy over "Mr. Brightside." This album screamed Las Vegas to me. It was the first time I'd heard a rock band use disco bass lines ("Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," "Somebody Told Me") and I was so hooked. I've blasted this album countless times over the nearly 21 years since its release. Glam rock for the emo crowd.
The Youngbloods
2/5
The band name sounds like they'd be country. The album art looks like it's country. The Wikipedia page lists the genres as folk rock and country rock. Everything was pointing towards me hating this album. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I would classify this album as blues rock with vocals that often lean towards folksy. It was alright, for something totally not for me. Probably won't listen again.
The Beta Band
2/5
Some good songs, but overall not very memorable, and really drags when trying to listen to the whole thing.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Everyone I've known who likes Nick Cave is someone I thought had "cool" taste in music. But I never got into it. Go figure. This falls in that category of albums in this project whose singers don't always bother to sing in key. Not sure why there are so many of those in here. I do think the cinematic instrumentation here keeps it more interesting than the new wave stuff. Categorized as punk blues on Wikipedia, I definitely hear both contributing genres and also think each is improved by being mixed with the other. I've always loved The White Stripes (also punk blues) so I'm not exactly surprised to like something else categorized the same way as them, but I am surprised at this particular combination because I don't usually like punk or blues. This album is definitely cool. Standout tracks are "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" and "Loom of the Land."
The Band
1/5
I would think that by excluding country and folk, it would catch this but I guess not. Man do I hate Americana.
Depeche Mode
2/5
I really wanted to like this more than I did. I enjoyed some of it but a lot of it really droned on.
The Shamen
1/5
Everything drones or rides too long here. Even the fade out on one of the tracks lasts way too long. I liked the first song enough I think but I just can't do a full album of this. They even looped the vocals from Move Any Mountain into two other tracks.
T. Rex
1/5
Fully meh. I just didn't like it. Nothing on this album stood out. I thought it was really boring, and nothing had the glitz of glam rock.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
I've long loved Fever to Tell, and enjoyed Mosquito on release, but somehow never listened to It's Blitz! I really enjoyed this experience. It's way more dancey than the other stuff I know by them. This is a lot more polished than Fever to Tell and a lot more poppy too, but it works. Unfortunately, fewer songs seem to stick than on Fever to Tell and I think maybe that would change with further listens? I hope. There are a couple of real bangers here.
James Taylor
1/5
Awful. Why does this project insist on giving me folk and country when I've said I don't want folk or country? This was about to be irredeemable until its final track.
The Slits
1/5
The obvious reggae influence makes this more interesting than a typical punk release, but not better.
The Velvet Underground
1/5
Really boring songs. Every one of them feels like it goes on too long. I hate the Bob Dylan singing style choices. Awful. I have never understood why this band is popular and after hearing their lauded debut in full, it remains a mystery. I think it's made even worse by comparing to the other music of the day. Break on Through, Light My Fire, and People Are Strange by The Doors. Purple Haze, Fire, and Foxey Lady by Jimi Hendrix. Reach Out (I'll Be There) by The Four Tops. The Fool on the Hill, Strawberry Fields Forever, and Penny Lane by the Beatles. How did people hear this with all that other stuff going on and think it was great?
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Really not my thing at all. Didn't enjoy it.
Carole King
2/5
This album really shows its age. It sounds old, at least partially due to the very folksy vocal performance. I recognized a few songs from cover versions. Overall, not for me.
Tim Buckley
2/5
The production style is extremely 60s. How voice is so clear and ballad-like that it's almost like an opera singer doing pop music. The baroque pop moments of this album are interesting but the folksy moments are not very enjoyable. I wouldn't seek this out or really listen to it again.
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
Another one where the singer doesn't always care about hitting the notes but it musically rocks harder so sometimes it really works? Usually it really doesn't though.
Fairport Convention
1/5
Yeah this is folk. Not the first time either. So I don't think excluding genres from this actually worked. This is really not for me.
Gary Numan
2/5
Synth synth synth synth synth synth synth synth synthhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Bwubwubwubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub
There's some enjoyable moments within the sameness here, and Cars is a banger, but overall it's hard to distinguish between many of its tracks and Numan's vocal performance doesn't stand out enough to help the cause.
Sonic Youth
1/5
Sister has a more ethereal and atmospheric sound than Goo, but there is still plenty of noise here. There were a few songs on Goo that I kept. No such songs here. Not my thing.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
This is another album that works better if you imagine it as a film score than if you're expecting a pop album. The album is filled with long, often repetitive instrumental jams, some songs feel like all they are is a hook, and you can easily imagine the music alongside images of a gritty city drama. I like it all but it's kind of tough to listen through it because it feels like it's missing that visual component.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Sounds more like a score than an album. Listening to it is often deeply beautiful but it feels very much like it's missing the visual component it was meant to accompany. I would love to see this used to score a film someday.
Roni Size
1/5
Yeah I just don't like this genre. Every song is too long. The drums are too high in the mix and very thin, to the point where their sound is annoying to me. I didn't even want to finish this.
Cyndi Lauper
1/5
I think Cyndi's cool but I think this is awful.
Beck
1/5
I feel like I should like this more. It's cool but it's not drawing me in. Jack-Ass sounds like a slightly better Lou Reed. Actually a lot of this sounds like if Lou Reed tried sampling and like hip hop. Not for me, but better than any actual Lou Reed stuff I know.
Donald Fagen
4/5
Really good. Reminds me of Steely Dan but more jazzy. Fun lyrically and musically.
John Cale
2/5
I didn't like Velvet Underground when they showed up and most of this sounds like if you let Velvet Underground flesh out the sound but also infused folk music. Not for me. Macbeth and Paris 1919 are pretty cool though.
Oasis
3/5
There are some good songs on here but overall, I don't understand how it was as big as it was, especially for a debut without a dedicated fanbase. Nothing on here is anywhere close to the quality of Wonderwall or Champagne Supernova or would even lead listeners to believe they were capable of creating songs like those.
Iggy Pop
2/5
I wasn't expecting this to sound like this. Iggy's vocals sound like David Bowie on a bunch of these (and I later learned Bowie produced this album so that might be why). I'm now reading that some consider this the first post punk album and it was a major influence for acts like Joy Division and now I understand why I don't like this all that much, though I don't find it as offensively self indulgent as the work of Joy Division.
The Who
1/5
I was bored by this. Didn't even get the hype of the crowd to contextualize the performance.
Simon & Garfunkel
1/5
Most of this sounds like glorified Renaissance Faire music. There's one song that sounds like Bob Dylan (and even name checks him near the end sort of) and the album ends with Silent Night but as a protest song? I don't know, I didn't like this.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Enjoyable enough background music but nothing caught me. Not a genre I normally listen to.
TLC
4/5
Liked this album a whole lot more than I expected to. Waterfalls was the only song I had heard before and I didn't really care about it. I had never really listened to it. I heard it in We're the Millers and didn't recognize it, for context. Amazing learning this was where R&B evolved, bringing hip hop attitude and beats into R&B vocals and instrumentation for the first time. And it sounds really cool. It's also very clearly put together for an album experience, with "crazysexycool" incorporated throughout.
Kings of Leon
4/5
Before 2008's Only by the Night, I only knew "Four Kicks" and "On Call," and really liked them. Then everything changed with Only by the Night. I loved it, and everyone suddenly knew who Kings of Leon was. The next year, a friend lent me his copies of their first 3 albums, and I discovered that early Kings of Leon is probably the only major exception to my blanket dislike of Southern Rock. I thought these guys were just going to keep getting better and better. They are now instead my primary example of a band who was so much better before they made it big. I am not surprised to see Aha Shake Heartbreak on this list, and it has one of my absolute favorite songs by this band in "King of the Rodeo." Some great songs back-to-back on here referencing the singer's hair loss, which is presented so matter of factly that it's just so unexpected and strange (contrasting with Rivers Cuomo opening 2008's hit single "Pork and Beans" with the immortal line "They say I need some Rogaine to put in my hair" as a part of a larger point that he's unconcerned with haters). In fact, I like the rest of the album so much that I often forget that "Day Old Blues" is also here.
Lou Reed
1/5
I pretty much hate this. Mostly what I dislike has to do with his vocal performance, which I understand doesn't make sense with my status as a big fan of The Strokes, since everyone thinks Reed and Casablancas apparently sound alike? I see it a little bit in the delivery but Casablancas actually legitimately sings. Reed doesn't, even when he sings intelligible notes. I was really surprised to recognize two songs. I would maybe listen to one of these songs again. The only song I truly like his performance on that I've heard is "Some Kind of Nature" by Gorillaz. And after hearing the Velvet Underground and Nico and now Transformer, I'm feeling like that must've been autotuned or otherwise digitally altered. If nothing else, there his voice is surrounded or carried by much more lush instrumentation (and Damon Albarn's voice) than anywhere else.
Eels
1/5
How have I had 132 albums so far, 28 from the 90s, and not gotten a single one of the great rock albums from that decade yet? I haven't seen either of Weezer's first two, haven't seen Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, no Nevermind, no Colour and the Shape, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, or Pearl Jam. No Red Hot Chili Peppers or Stone Temple Pilots. I don't get it.
This often sounds like twee 90s film soundtrack rock. Doesn't sound like anything people would play just to listen to. I'm thinking of like Teenage Dirtbag or In Too Deep, but if they weren't any fun. Other songs sound like they're massive Lou Reed fans stuck in the context of 90s alternative rock. I'm tired of this "conversational" vocal style that really just sounds like they couldn't care less whether or not they hit the notes over uninteresting instrumental tracks. It's boring.
Neil Young
1/5
For as cool as I think Neil Young is, I really wish he made cooler music.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
Sounds pretty much like standard old classic rock and then suddenly kicks into a Latin jazz interlude in the middle of God Bless the Child? You've Made Me So Very Happy sounds a lot like Chicago. I love the horns throughout this album. The horns going into Sunshine of Your Love in the middle of an instrumental break was very fun too. A little too "rote classic rock" during most of it to get a higher rating or enter regular rotation but it has some great moments I will revisit
Leftfield
1/5
I was excited seeing this described as "progressive" house, thinking "progressive meant it would be for me. It is not for me. As someone who does not listen to house music, this was exceedingly boring.
David Holmes
2/5
It's very hard to listen to songs that do not change meaningfully over a 6-8 minute period. If you're building a track over a bass line, great! At least make some variation in the bones, for me at least. The throughline of conversations with New Yorkers was interesting and cool. I enjoyed the new rendition of the Bond theme too. Overall though, this was background music to me.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I only knew this band for Come on Eileen and this album was astonishing. It feels like early ska or at least that it maybe influenced later ska. The story of its making is fascinating too. The vocals are often too British New Wave but the rest of it is so not-that that this is a more enjoyable experience. I love the horns throughout.
The Prodigy
2/5
Not unpleasant to listen to but not a lot to take with you either, Music for the Jilted Generation is filled with songs that ride their riffs for far too long. Now the songs often go on journeys around these riffs, but it's as if they're constructed to be the way they are, rather than orchestrated. There's a lot of industrial sounding percussion and abrasive synthesized sounds. This feels like an album that requires close, active listening to be rewarding. Maybe I'll end up revisiting this, but it didn't ever really call to me.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
She's singing more like a folk singer on this one than what I remember from Court and Spark, and sometimes that's just too much, but I really enjoy the jazzy elements. I hear a lot of random instrumental similarities with the brilliant Emily's D+Evolution by Esperanza Spalding, which is kind of inspiring me to want to listen to this again but really is mostly just making me want to listen to that album instead.
John Coltrane
3/5
Maybe a little too "free" for me but still very cool and a great showcase for Coltrane's sax.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
I liked this album a lot. You could have easily convinced me that this is the same band that made 2004's Porcelain under the name Sparta. There was a lot of urgent guitar work on here, which I really enjoyed. It might be a little too long and samey but I'm planning on listening again and the songs may differentiate themselves better as I hear them more.
Jeff Buckley
3/5
Jeff Buckley sounds sad here as intended, but often is too croony for my taste. His falsetto is paired with instrumentation that is rarely immediate, mainly because the large collection of midtempo and slow songs back to back to back have the effect of lulling you into placing the experience more in the back of your mind than commanding the forefront. There is a lot of beauty here, and the album inspired Matt Bellamy of Muse to create some music I love very deeply, so that is a huge plus.
The National
1/5
I liked two of the songs on here and the rest are just so boring. The singer sounds like he so badly wants to convince you that the lyrics are so important that it doesn't matter that he doesn't sound all that good singing them. Reminds me of 80s British new wave but with significantly better vocal production, which is really saying something after I already said his voice doesn't sound very good.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I think I hate this band. This album starts off with what is unquestionably one of their greatest songs ("Sympathy for the Devil") and then inexplicably surrounds it with a bunch of honky tonk bullshit. In a vacuum, it almost feels like they must have sympathy for the devil because he gave them a good deal for that song. It gets a little better in the second half but not anywhere near redemption.
Minutemen
3/5
They really remind me of Big Boys. There's a lot of funk punk on here. This was cool. I liked it but I think it was a little long and I'm not sure I would listen to it all the way through again. I am interested in listening again, but maybe listening to each of the members' sides separately.
Stephen Stills
5/5
Wow this was much better than I expected. I knew Love the One You're With (and thought it was with Crosby and Nash honestly) and I thought the album was going to be really folksy based on what I know of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who I've never cared much for. This album really surprised me. The second song was folksy and the third started as folk before transitioning to a more gospel feel. Then the album got into funky blues rock stuff and I really loved a bunch of it. The second half is so strong, and the end of the album reminds me how Weezer's Red Album ends, which I've always loved.
Fever Ray
2/5
Her voice reminded me a lot of Bjork's on the album of hers I got on here, but a major difference between these albums is there's not really a standout track on here, though I did think the songs were better near the beginning of this one. It's certainly interesting, but not enough for me to want to spend the time to let it grow on me.
Spiritualized
2/5
It's not an unpleasant listen but it never demands or even requests your attention. It just is. There's nothing exciting or interesting. Very "background."
Portishead
2/5
This frequently reminded me of one side of St. Vincent (though very blatantly missing the guitar virtuosity I love in her music) and even the one song I know by Massive Attack. Unfortunately, this is the only side shown on this album, and it is hard to stay engaged with it through its 49 minute runtime.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
I had to skip the ones that were too country but several songs on here surprised me by being Not Country, and they were very pretty. Not an album I would listen to again though, and I fear this website messed up and didn't include my request to omit country and folk.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Really cool story and very good music if that's what you're in the mood for. I wish I understood the language of the lyrics, but to paraphrase Ry Cooder's reminiscence on making this album, music is a universal language. And the music here is beautiful. I hear a little of Jeff Beal's Monk theme at some points and a little of Randy Newman and Michael Giacchino's Pixar work in others. The vocals and their harmonies stand out throughout.
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
Really cool and refreshing work on this list. I enjoyed it a lot. It's obvious listening to it that it's from a film. The score aspects are fun. The sung musical parts are fun.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
I liked a few of the songs a lot and the whole thing was listenable. This style of rap isn't my favorite though.
Supergrass
4/5
Oh wow I actually knew a song on this one. When I got their second album earlier in this project, I thought they must've been a lesser known group in America, and I certainly didn't recognize their name or anything I read about them. I liked a few songs immediately on here. Listening to this is making me want to revisit their second album. Really liked this.
The 13th Floor Elevators
2/5
This is definitely 60s psychedelic music. The electric jug was truly distracting in its weirdness and for me, took away from what might have been several good songs. Nothing on here is as good as Two Headed Dog.
Ice Cube
1/5
I was really enjoying this through its first few songs until it hit one about getting someone pregnant accidentally that was violent and misogynistic, and the album never recovered.
Machito
5/5
Man I just loved this. What a fun album. I had to see what everyone else on here thought and it made me so happy to see how popular it is with people who've done this project. I had a friend in high school who composed Latin jazz and this brought me back to when he was sending me demos while composing and how that was really my first exposure to this kind of music.
Britney Spears
2/5
Some good songs and you can tell why it was so big when it came out, even if it feels dated and is not really my thing. I have an old co-worker who calls this "teeny-bopper music" and at least in this instance, he's totally right. Britney's voice, specifically the choice of vocal stylings at times, gets annoying while listening to a full album. It's almost too clear that it's a teenager playing at being an adult. It's really interesting to see 25 years on how these songs and others by the primary songwriters on here get new life in the form of Tenacious D's awesome recent version of "...Baby One More Time" and the really fun stage musical & Juliet.
David Crosby
4/5
Man I thought Crosby, Stills, and Nash were a bunch of old lame folk singers. This is cool. It meanders a bunch but it really grooves so I don't mind the scenic routes it takes. Laughing is too country for me, but otherwise this feels like classic rock flirting with psychedelic music, experimenting with new sounds and arrangements and collaborators in the studio. And it sounds like a great time.
PJ Harvey
1/5
I had to check if this was the same PJ Harvey I'd had already twice. I do not like the Celtic folk influence at all. She doesn't even sound like the same person singing. Wow yeah I hate this. I love when artists experiment and encourage it but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
I was worried when this was listed as yet another post punk album, but I was pleasantly surprised listening to it. Others have described it as art rock and dark wave and that makes more sense to me. I didn't like the last song at all, but I would absolutely listen to this again.
David Bowie
3/5
This is an interesting album. I don't like it as much as the other two Bowie albums I know but I did like it. The piano really jumps out, and I read afterward that the pianist was new to the group and really impressed Bowie and he and the producer really wanted to feature his jazz-influenced work. The album is inspired and reviled by America, which is interesting, but Bowie also made a specific effort to make this work sound more like The Rolling Stones, which I feel hurts it. None of the songs really jump out at me, but I did recognize The Jean Genie (never knew it was Bowie). I think this is a solid 3.
1/5
The album starts with 3 songs I've known my whole life, none of which I've heard in years or listened to on purpose in longer but still feel overplayed. The Edge uses delay prominently in those songs, to the point where it became a sort of hallmark of his. Wikipedia says the album was influenced by American and Irish roots music, which I hate, so it's no surprise I find this album uninspiring and boring despite its commercial reputation. Yeah I really disliked this.
Moby Grape
2/5
On the surface, this sounds so old. Recording quality and style is really old. Hey Grandma evokes thoughts of The Beatles. Fall on You sounds fun and could've been the single? Yep looks like it was the lead single. Makes sense. Come in the Morning is pretty good too. None of this sounds earth shattering or even like it would stand out in its time really, and it certainly doesn't sound psychedelic to me. I don't expect to listen to this again, other than Fall on You.
Talking Heads
4/5
I really liked this. Super funky with really interesting instrumental work, particularly from the bass. The first half is stronger than the second and the final track drones on, really putting a damper on what had been a really fun listening experience.
X-Ray Spex
2/5
The saxophone and some of the guitar work make this more interesting than other punk bands, especially older ones. You can hear how this influenced later groups like Sleater-Kinney, and it's cool that this created the Riot Grrrl movement and genre but I don't love the style of music and many songs grated.
Beatles
5/5
An absolute masterpiece. This album is beautiful and amazing, made more so by knowing it was the last album they worked on together. Paul's bass lines are stellar as always, and never more iconic than in the album's opening notes with "Come Together." The album features George's best composition in "Something" and most popular in "Here Comes the Sun." It also contains perhaps Ringo's best composition in "Octopus's Garden" (I would also accept "Good Night" as a worthy answer for him). And then there's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," which is maybe the earliest heavy metal song. The droning riff at the end with the harmonies on HEAVY are astounding to this day and just an exceptional example of how influential they were on genres that didn't even exist yet. The second half medley has an epic musical theater quality to it and is legendary on its own.
This is just an amazing and rewarding album by a group of musicians who would never again be able to let another musician be the star over them. It's incredible that the Beatles lasted this long together. They feel more like a supergroup that gets together as an event or even as a gimmick than a group with the insane level of individual artistry they had and we are all so lucky they collaborated as long as they did. There's a reason the Beatles fascinate the masses to this day and that their popularity has endured for generations.
Queen
5/5
I didn't know any of these songs. I recognized the title of the finale and thought I'd know it. I thought this was really great. I love the progressive experimentation in both songwriting and recording and I love the overdubbing work. I love that they had songs they'd been working on for years and wanted to save for when they were more experienced in the studio and knew how to execute their vision for them, as this is actually something I've done.
The xx
4/5
I really liked this. This is like if 2010s college pop went a little dark and also decided the vocals could be a little imperfect. I know this 1001 list loves imperfect vocals and usually I really dislike those entries in here, but the modern production of this one fully separates it from the muddled 80s new wave garbage I've heard doing this. I really prefer the darkwave vibe I get from this album and while none of it stands alone past the first track, it's consistently enjoyable.
Kanye West
5/5
This is so good. Why is this so good? Why didn't I listen to this 15 years ago? I recommend finding fan uploads of this on YouTube so you don't give this Nazi royalties, but this is well worth repeated listens. This is listed as progressive rap and rap opera on Wikipedia, which makes me feel like of COURSE I would be into this. I'm so annoyed I didn't hear this back when it was new and before he alienated close friends and collaborators like John Legend. I was like 8 years late to 808s & Heartbreak and now I'm 15 years late to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which I remember being released and I remember friends being excited about it.
The Band
1/5
Not really a fan of this but didn't dislike it as much as the other one of theirs I got on this a few months ago. This time, when reading about it, I discovered that they were Bob Dylan's backing band right before recording and releasing this album and that makes so much sense. I like The Weight but I like others versions I've heard better. I'd also heard other versions of I Shall Be Released and meh. I won't listen to this again. Really cool art though.
Emmylou Harris
1/5
Yeah I know I said no country. Emmylou Harris is cool but I hate this sorry.
Metallica
5/5
This is such a fascinating album. It's the last of their classic albums before they transitioned to a more radio-friendly version of metal and exploded in popularity, but it's also their first album without original bassist Cliff Burton, after his tragic death while on tour. Cliff was the band member most interested in music theory and who pushed them to the brink of their ability as songwriters. It's also famously the album where they buried the bass in the mix. James and Lars have said their ears were shot from the tour and they just kept demanding their own parts be louder during mixing and couldn't tell the bass had become inaudible.
The result of all of this is Metallica's most brutal album. They added riff after riff to every song, featuring lots of time changes and unusual song structures. It's a difficult album on first listen but it is truly awesome and only gets better the more you listen to it. I heard it for the first time about a year ago.
I only wish that the vocal performance and production style adopted for their next album (and every subsequent album) could have been done on this one, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. But oh well. This album rocks.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
When it started, I thought "Oh great, another indie folk album I'm gonna hate." But I didn't hate it. I think it's an interesting album. As a recording, it's interesting to study. It's pretty in spells. It's obviously influenced by religious choral music, with the rounds and harmonies and organ accompaniment, but placing those influences in the context of acoustic American folk music makes each more interesting, I think.
Fairport Convention
1/5
I hate this band. Celtic folk meets Creedence Clearwater Revival. Awful.
David Bowie
4/5
I wasn't ready for this. I didn't realize it was conceptualized at least partly as a film score so I had to listen a second time with that in mind so I could understand it better. The film score stuff is beautiful and haunting and interesting. I like the songs in the front half too. I will be listening to this again.
Sister Sledge
3/5
Whoa! The album opens with the source of the main sample in Gettin Jiggy wit It! And of course it's Nile Rodgers. He's a genius. Somebody Loves Me reminds me that I don't like slow songs by disco artists. The back half feels a little too samey. I enjoyed this album overall I think but wish that more songs stood apart from each other.
Brian Eno
4/5
Beautiful. I really didn't expect much of this. It lives up to its billing as something that can exist in the background or foreground depending on however much attention you want to or are able to give it. The way Eno has layered the loops is really satisfying to engage with but the album is also just really pleasant existing in the background of life. I read that Eno created this in response to and in disgust of canned Muzak that was traditionally played in public spaces and man he really knocked it out of the park. It's very calming and ethereal, it has layers and can be analyzed intellectually but doesn't ever demand that of its listeners. I did not even a little bit expect to enjoy this. Ambient is not a genre I've ever considered listening to. I can truly understand why this album is seen as seminal in the genre.
Black Sabbath
5/5
This album is awesome. It features three of the most famous Black Sabbath songs, and their two career-best songs open the album back-to-back. Outside of those three, the album was new to me. Hand of Doom is a major highlight. Planet Caravan is an interesting almost psychedelic song. I can see why this album is considered a landmark of heavy metal.
The Temptations
4/5
Wow. I remember the first time I heard Papa Was a Rolling Stone. My brother and I had stumbled across this TV movie about The Temptations and become captivated by it. There's a pivotal scene in it in which they record that song. I thought then as I do now that it is outrageous that this psychedelic funk song is by the same group that did My Girl, a Motown doo-wop song. This album was really good. Dwindled near the end.
Santana
4/5
Very cool Latin rock music. You can see how something like this could influence a group like The Mars Volta.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
I liked this enough. Their version of Apache is fun and their version of In a Gadda da Vida is amazing. Overall not something I really need to put in my rotation.
The xx
3/5
I think this first song is used in like... Basketball promos? I can't believe that in 2009, we're still getting out of tune vocals on otherwise fully produced tracks. I definitely see the parallels to post punk. Crystalised is really familiar but I can't place it. It's so annoying to hear vocals on studio tracks that sound like they were recorded without monitors, but there's still something here. I think there are good songs on this album. I think they would jump out more if the vocals sounded better. I'm going to listen more. This would get a higher rating if the vocals didn't bug me so much.
Destiny's Child
4/5
The singles obviously are amazing, if a little front-loaded. "People contain multitudes" shows up in this album, which features a song about how sexy their butts are and also an a cappella song about how much Jesus loves them that ends with an escalating round of AMENs. I really liked it.
Chicago
5/5
Love love love the horns on this album. Beginnings is an incredible song. I remember hearing the full extended instrumental outro blasted in the house speakers while eating at Moe's one time, which was awesome. This album is an amazing blend of brassy jazz and soulful rock that I need many more listens of to really digest it. But I will enjoy listening to this for a long time.
Rufus Wainwright
5/5
For some reason, my brain wants me to believe that "Rufus Wainwright" must be a contemporary of Lionel Richie and his voice sounds like Ray LaMontagne's. Wildly wrong on both counts. I really couldn't get past this on my first listen and needed to come back to it. What an unexpectedly beautiful baroque pop album.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Good live album. Probably better if you know the songs. Jailbreak is a great song and a great opener. I loved the unexpected transition to The Boys Are Back in Town, and it was obvious the crowd did too.
The La's
3/5
Very kitschy. Weird to learn this wasn't older than it is. It felt pretty familiar. It's interesting that it's viewed as a precursor to the britpop boom in the 90s, and I can see it. That doesn't necessarily make it great though.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Based on the way my dad thinks of and remembers his experience with Led Zeppelin, I was sure that nobody really cared about their output after the untitled album. I thought it was universally considered to be less popular and less significant than their earlier work. I remember once hearing him actually claim Kashmir was not a good song and being shocked. My suspicions started there.
I see now that he is officially wrong about their later work being insignificant. I got this album and then happened to see Danny Carey call it his favorite LZ album. I didn't know Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir were from this album. It's confusing that Houses of the Holy is from this album and not the one before.
It's interesting how much context can change things. If I had been a teenager when this came out, this album might have been a foundational work for me. As it stands, it's very good, but I'm not obsessing over it. It does feel like some songs are unfinished and I think it runs a little too long, but there are no bad songs (like on LZIII) and the highs are so high.
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
I still don't really like British New Wave, but there's elements of this where the singer has more of a punk edge and the band veers toward ska and I like those moments better. I don't really want to listen to this again though.
Robbie Williams
4/5
Several songs are so obviously influenced by early Oasis and are kind of boring but when the album seems to find itself and turns up the funky pop rock, it becomes very fun.
Van Morrison
1/5
This is obviously a performer who's having a great time and is completely in his element as a bandleader. I just don't like it. It's like he took soul music and infused it with the worst kind of blues. Not for me, though I can recognize how it would be great if you like the music.
Patti Smith
1/5
Ugh I hate this. This makes me wish I gave some of the other 1 star albums 2 stars because they don't compare. Totally unsurprised to find this is produced by a member of the Velvet Underground. Listening on it's overall not quite so bad as I felt from the opening (though some of the songs are that bad). I hear the avant-garde punk. I hear stuff that pretty clearly influenced acts like Sleater-Kinney. Also not surprised to learn that she was a poet-turned-singer instead of the other way around. It ended up not as bad as I was worried it would be but I'm still not ever going to be excited about listening to it again.
George Harrison
4/5
I think the best single word for this album is unfocused. The third album is filled with a bunch of ridiculously long blues instrumentals. There's a lot of good on the first two. I would listen to the first two LPs again but maybe not the third.
PJ Harvey
1/5
I want to like this but I just don't. Minimalist arrangements and an antagonistic style throughout, daring you to admit you aren't enjoying the experience of listening to this. I will.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
I wasn't really into this and don't want to listen to it again. Don't know what Bowie saw in them.
Madness
5/5
I knew Our House but hadn't really listened to it, so I didn't even realize this was a ska band until it was pointed out to me. I grew up with ska punk being the main style of ska so this is wildly different than that and man I really enjoyed this. I thought it was going to be hokey just from the way I remembered the chorus of Our House, but I even really liked that song now. Sonically rich and filled with horns that sometimes border on menacing, this album musically creates a feeling of foreboding, like something is coming and you better watch out, but the vocals are firmly in 80s new wave camp, lending an optimism to the whole venture. It sounds like the world's ending and we're all gonna die but we're in it together and it'll be okay cause it's not exactly like it's tomorrow or anything. Really reminds me of the awesome riff in "Tell Me I Should Stay" by Franz Ferdinand. There were a couple of songs I didn't like but overall this was an album that immediately made me want to revisit it. Lush and FUN orchestrations have me wanting to listen again and again. So I will.
Solomon Burke
2/5
For better or worse, a collection of true golden oldies.
To me, it felt like I'd already been listening for 30 minutes by the time I got to the sixth song, and I checked to find I was only halfway through the album, which has a total runtime of 34 minutes.
I should clarify that none of it is bad. It's just old and sounds old and feels old and all is slow and just not exciting at all.
Kings of Leon
5/5
The first Kings of Leon album I heard in full and in my opinion their magnum opus, Only by the Night is an absolute achievement from which they learned the wrong lessons. This is unfortunately also their last good album. The pitch shifting pedal use on the bass in Closer to start the album already tells you this is different than before. Sex on Fire is a great lead single and nobody saw Use Somebody blowing up the way it did. Just a great rock album.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
There's an undeniable and almost effortless charm to songs like Jammin and Three Little Birds but it's all a little too easy-going and chill, especially after getting a few other albums here recently that feature similar instruments but feel more immediate and attention grabbing.
Venom
1/5
I love rock and heavy metal music but this is mostly kind of boring. Guitar is innovating thrash metal but drums are not doing anything interesting and it's jarring to have those put together like that. The sound engineering is awful, which I assume is on purpose but makes for a significantly less enjoyable listen. I am starting to understand why this era of metal bands was called New Wave (of British heavy metal), hearing how the vocals are performed with little regard for being in tune (in this instance clearly valuing the sound of the growl over the pitch of the note) and then being drenched in reverb, which only lengthen and highlight the imperfections.
Radiohead
5/5
Just an amazing album. My first and my favorite Radiohead album. I figured it had to be on here. Creative and beautiful, while still having really cool guitar moments. Art rock at its finest.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
A nice enough sounding collection of pop rock tunes but are we just glossing past the multiple references to Nazism across the album and his use of the N word in one song? Idk that was really weird and pulled me out of what otherwise would've been a higher tier British new wave album. Still not entirely my thing but not bad.
Aphex Twin
2/5
It's nice enough, it's just really hard to listen to for this long. I just don't get ambient instrumental electronic music.
Underworld
1/5
I'm not into this kind of music. Everything lasts too long with minimal variation. The loops go on and on and it's just an exhausting listen.
Suede
1/5
Really whiny vocals would be forgivable if they weren't paired with forgettable, boring music.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Clearly early blues rock here but there's something more interesting and weird underneath the surface. I'm sure I've heard I'm Glad before. Electricity has a keyboard stomp to it that's reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, especially with the slide guitar stuff on top. I'm reminded of Frank Zappa as well. I liked it enough but I don't know that I need to listen to it again.
Deep Purple
4/5
Really good but it takes way too many detours into instrumental self-indulgence. And these instrumental breaks are often far too long. All are executed really well and the music is great but I imagine meant a lot more to people who knew the songs.
Alice Cooper
4/5
West Side Story!? I knew that Alice Cooper enjoyed stage musicals from an interview back when he played King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar in which he said he was always influenced by the theatricality of it all, but I was still pretty surprised to hear his band covering West Side Story on an album. Pretty cool. Love the title track. The rest is fun too.
Al Green
4/5
An enjoyable classic soul album that's a classic for a reason. I'm surprised I haven't noticed samples from this album, as it seems like it would be great source material for modern updates. Doesn't reach the heights of others in its genre in my opinion but still a worthy inclusion.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Contains Jimi's best 3 original songs in my opinion (Purple Haze, Fire, and Foxey Lady), and surrounds them with a bunch of other great songs. Loved this album.
Tito Puente
5/5
Really fun music. I loved it. Always a fan of upbeat horns and Latin rhythms
R.E.M.
2/5
I know R.E.M. is considered "important," especially in Georgia, but I've never really gotten it. This release is clearly influenced by British post-punk, which I don't like, and folk music, which I also don't like. The album isn't offensive, and even has moments I enjoyed, but overall, it's not for me.
Miles Davis
4/5
I would love to see this live. Reading about it, it's considered a touchstone of "cool jazz," which deliberately eschews the freneticism, complexity, and immediacy of traditional jazz--otherwise known as what makes jazz compelling and fun, in my opinion. I imagine being in the room for this would be incredible. As a recording, it's a pleasant enough listen, but never commands your attention. This is appealing to many, but makes it less valuable to me personally. 3.5 stars
5/5
Simply one of the best prog rock albums I've ever heard, and probably the earliest example of it I know. I love it. The opening of Siberian Khatru is my favorite.
Metallica
5/5
A truly great album. I'm never unhappy when the title track shows up on shuffle. I remember discovering it for the first time with my brother as teenagers and we always loved it. Didn't hear the rest of the album until much later, and didn't give it a good shot on first listen because it's significantly less polished than what I knew of Metallica on the radio. I re-explored their early history when the Blackened Recordings Remasters came out, and I love this. Clearly starting to explore progressive composition before the riff explosion that is And Justice for All. Love this album.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
I just love Stevie Wonder so much. I've never heard any of these songs before and I don't even recognize this album title, despite it being between two I know well and despite it winning Album of the Year at the Grammys. It feels like it should be more familiar. But the fact that it's not at all made for a fun new exploration. And it's true that in listening to it there really is no big obvious single. So for that reason, it's a little behind albums of his that also showcase all-time great songs like "Higher Ground," "I Wish," and "Sir Duke," but with Stevie, that doesn't really matter. Still a 5 star album.
The Fall
1/5
Another boring early post punk album. The obsession this author has with this era is ridiculous. None of this sounds more complex or interesting than what middle schoolers could construct.
Miles Davis
3/5
Beautiful music, but not very exciting. Much like the other Miles Davis album I had on here, I would absolutely love to see this live in a jazz club.
Morrissey
2/5
I don't really like the rockabilly stuff or the post punk stuff on here and none of the rest of it stands out to me
Pink Floyd
2/5
Another album I've never heard of by an artist I consider one of my dad's favorites and with whom I thought I was familiar enough to recognize the titles or artwork of any of their albums. Listening to this, I can sort of see why I don't know it. I'm not a fan of long, psychedelic, structureless instrumentals. This is filled with them.