Fuckin’ Venom! While this record may not sound anything like modern black metal, or even the original wave of Norwegian black metal, it’s still insanely influential. It’s more of a speed/thrash metal record, but it’s got a lot of aspects that really defined the later iterations of black metal. There isn’t a single bad song on this album. In fact, there’s not a single song on this record that doesn’t fucking rip. Deep guttural vocals, tremolo picking, heavy drums, and some of the best satanic imagery of the 1980’s. I can’t say anything bad about this one. Easy 5*. Hail Venom.

What do you get when you cross iggy and the stooges with the Rolling Stones? Nothing good. The vocals are this weird snotty Mick Jagger ripoff sound that is nothing but aggravating. The guitar playing is pretentious and annoying. Everything else is boring and predictable. I really hope to never hear this band again. 1*

I think this album is significant proof that Paul Simon is the superior member of this duo. It’s a beautiful folk record that hits on tons of different styles, but it does so in a way that feels natural and not at all forced. My only complaint here is that it’s not a Paul Simon solo record. Favourite song on the record: “The Boxer” Least favourite: N/A There’s really not a lot left for me to say that hasn’t been said. It’s Paul Simon’s world and we’re just living in it. 4*

Well this is not very enjoyable. I have respect for Jack White and everything he does for the music industry, namely actually pressing decent quality vinyl records, but dear lord is his voice ever annoying. He’s got this weird whiny early Beatles John Lennon style that I just can’t seem to enjoy listening to. Musically it’s.. fine.. nothing groundbreaking. Meg Whites drums continue to be the bare minimum. The guitar riffs are full of boring powerchords and again, very boring. Full disclosure: I had absolutely no idea that “We’re Gonna Be Friends” was a white stripes song. It’s perhaps the only redeeming part of this record. Delightful little folk track that, despite being overused in every indie movie of the era, is still really fun to listen to! I won’t be listening to this again. 2* but only cuz “We’re Gonna Be Friends” is catchy as hell.

Wow. This was a mind blowing listen. I’ve always been rather fond of Fiona Apple, though admittedly only from the radio singles I’ve heard here and there. I’ve never actively sat down and listened to one of her records, and man am I ever glad I did. This is an absolutely gorgeous record. It’s impeccable from top to bottom. The tone is dark and defiant, it’s introspective and sharp as hell, but there’s this overarching softness and vulnerability to it. Instrumentally it’s excellent, you can tell that the musicians working on it really felt the music, and it sounds like it was a very fun album to record. Fiona’s piano work is absolutely fantastic. “Shadowboxer” stands out as my favourite song instrumentally, its slow and driving piano riff is equal parts smoky jazz hall and film noir waltz. It’s such an intensely dark song, and it’s so beautiful in that darkness. Vocally it’s absolutely incredible, Fiona’s voice is so soulful and deep, and every note feels very intentional in the best way possible. The breathy vocalizations on “Slow Like Honey” are enough to send shivers down one’s spine. Lyrically this album is absolute poetry in its purest and most wonderful form. It’s emotional and sad and powerful, it’s deep and brave and confessional. One listen to “Pale September” and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I truly feel richer for having given this album the time it deserves. I’m looking forward to diving further into Fiona Apple’s discography in the future. I’d give this one 6* if I could.

It’s generic rock flavoured Brit-pop. There’s really not a lot more to say about this record than that. It was clearly written with the intent of generating radio singles, and I’m not overly sure if it succeeded. I’ve seen Oasis live and yet I still didn’t recognize a single song on this album. It’s not particularly helpful that they all sounds strikingly similar, and it seems to be a distinctly different style of rock flavoured Brit-pop than the sound they later found extreme success with like “Champagne Supernova” and “Wonderwall” from the album released after this one. I don’t care for it, but I don’t hate it. It’s just generic and boring. 2 stars. Meh.

This is an album that I was surprised about. I’ve heard a lot about A Tribe Called Quest over the years, but I never really took the time to listen to them. What was surprising to me was how awful a lot of the lyrics were. “I left My Wallet in El Segundo” is a prime example of this. Incredibly lazy and super predictable rhymes, a boring story that seems to go absolutely nowhere, I just genuinely hope I never have to sit through it again. There are a lot of positives on this album, instrumentally it’s fantastic. Once you get passed the obnoxious and annoying baby crying, “Push it Along” kicks off with a wicked break beat and a properly groovy bassline. There’s a lot of really good musicality throughout. Unfortunately the rapping in this album really missed the mark for me. 2 stars.

A truly profound piece of Jazz music. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. Full of Coltrane’s signature tenor sax, but he always plays in a way that doesn’t feel overbearing. Every member of the band is clear as a bell, and they’re all equally important to the overall tone and wonderful freedom expressed through music here. This is the sort of suite that one can listen to multiple times, and pick up on different beautiful details every time. I don’t believe the almost avant-garde/free jazz sections are for everyone, but it’s incredible to anyone who finds joy in that smoky post war jazz sound.

This record is just so damn cool. The production quality is mind blowing for the age of the album, and it really holds up in the modern age. I think the opening track genuinely deserves the 12 minutes of run time it was allowed. It’s a beautiful version of “Walk on By” The second track, which I will not attempt to spell, is just cool and groovy and everything you’d ever want from Mr. Hayes. The string section on “One Woman” fits in so nicely, it’s as close to a perfect r&b song as I can imagine. I’m not entirely convinced that “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” needed to be 18 minutes, and I say that as a prog metal fan. It’s a great song, but I did find it a little difficult to get through the entire thing. It’s hard to imagine giving this record anything less than the 5* it deserves. Isaac Hayes at his best.

Green REM’s sixth LP kicks off with the sarcastic and almost snarky “Pop Song 89”, a clear shot at the modern alt-rock of the day. Catchy chorus but not particularly substantive, I guess on purpose. The folky “You Are the Everything” has a particularly unique timbre amongst REM’s body of work, and may be their second best song to make use of the mandolin. “Stand” is a logical choice as a single from the album, Michael Stipe’s clever lyricism is used in full force, almost to a silly degree. “World Leader Pretend” is a great example of the baritone end of Stipe’s vocal range. It lies somewhere between a depressing ballad and a protest song, but it’s hard to dislike such excellent use of a slide guitar. “Orange Crush” stands out, in my opinion, as the greatest song REM ever recorded. The biting political commentary, the brutal wordplay, and the beautiful chorus makes for a song that I’ve spent genuine hours listening to on repeat. “Turn You Inside-Out” is a song I believe could have been successfully released as a single, the minor key grunge drips from the power chords, the shouty background vocals fill space without being overbearing. Good song. “I remember California” is a hauntingly beautiful showcase of not just Stipe’s lyricism, but his arrangement abilities as well. This song creeps into my head occasionally and I’ve never been mad about it. The untitled track to finish the album, in my opinion, captures the helplessness and despair of being far from the one you love. A love song of deep sadness, but hope as well. If not for orange crush, it would be incredibly difficult to pick a favourite song from this record, as just about every track is tied for second place. I would say this is arguably REM’s greatest work. 5 stars.

Listen, Sweden has given the world some truly wonderful things, IKEA, zippers, Bluetooth technology, and the king of automobiles the Volvo 240. Without the Swedes we never would have had Alfred Nobel! Unfortunately, I don’t believe anything they ever do will make up for unleashing ABBA upon this world. This album in particular is an uncomfortable mess of toxic positivity and far too many major chords. The melodies are grating and repetitive, the lyrics often vapid and meaningless. Fernando is the only song that doesn’t entirely suck. I genuinely needed a palate cleanser after this one, and it’s a good thing Graceland exists. I’d give this album 0 starts if I could.

An obviously classic hip hop album that’s inspired countless artists throughout the years following. For some unexplainable reason I still struggle to enjoy most female rappers, this isn’t an exception. Lots of good flow and lyricism, I particularly enjoyed the shot at newt Gingrich out of nowhere. Killing me softly deserved so much better. Three stars.

A legendary performer by all accounts, in my modern perspective a boring album. I understand that this era of early rock n roll was extremely important in the development of the sound, but it really doesn’t do much for me. Lyrically pretty empty, sonically it’s fine. Not something I’d ever go out of my way to listen to again. 2 stars.

Cee Lo has always been an artist I liked in passing, but I never sought out his music aside from a few radio singles. Turns out he’s a lot more than that one Gnarls Barkley song and “Fuck You”. Features from Pharrell, Timbaland, TI, Ludacris and many more add a lot of variation and fun to the album. The Guess Who song “These Eyes” being sample on “the Art of Noise” made my little Canadian heart very happy. “Scrap Metal” is a delightfully brutal diss track, admittedly I have absolutely no idea who it’s intended towards though. “Die Trying” is probably my favourite track on the album, showcasing Cee Lo’s underrated southern rap flow. A few verses are almost reminiscent of OutKast, in the best way possible. Admittedly, a few songs miss the mark, “Glockapella” is almost comedic in its attempt to be hard. I’ll be listening to a few tracks off this album again for sure, but as for an entire album, I don’t think it’ll get played again.

It’s a pop record. I am not the intended audience for this album, nor will I ever be. It’s clearly a good album from a production standpoint. It’s also fun, I guess. That’s about all the nice things I have to say about this album. Its lyrics are unapologetically self obsessed and strike me as being taken straight from the diary of a high school girl, which I guess is half the point? There’s not a single profound idea spoken, but clearly swifties aren’t on the hunt for anything novel. I wasn’t looking forward to the album, but I listened to it with open ears. If I never hear it again, it will be too soon. 1 star. Yawn.

It’s a strange situation when a bands best album is also their last good album. Mark Knopfler is one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, but his song writing chops really shine through on this record. It’s a fun rock and roll album with almost a pop flair to it, incredibly easy to listen to. At the same time, the lyrics cover some heavy topics, specifically the Falklands war, which was going on at the time Mr. Knopfler wrote the title track. “Money For Nothing” is a classic radio rock staple, for good reason. Incredibly catchy guitar hooks, memorable melodies, and who doesn’t love a guest appearance from Sting? My favourite song on the album has to be “Walk of Life”. This track has the ability to make me feel happy almost entirely regardless of my current emotions. It’s equal parts cheerful, nostalgic, and just a generally beautiful song about a boy busking in the subway. This is an album that I will continue listening to in its entirety, and I’m thankful it exists. 10/10

I’ve been noted as a big fan of new wave/vaguely goth synthpop, but I really struggled with this album. I like the heavy use of big reverby drum samples and the spooky synth, but that’s about all the good things I can say about it. The vocals feel cheesy throughout most of the record, and I found it to be lyrically unoriginal and uninspiring. It’s not objectively bad, it’s just a concept that’s been done so much better by so many other artists. This one is best left in 1987. 2 stars.

A French Canadian indie rock band. Huh. I went into this album with very little knowledge of Arcade Fire, having only heard a few radio singles over the years. I found this album to not be unenjoyable to listen to. Sonically it’s pretty standard indie fare, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. My biggest gripe with this album is that Modest Mouse already exists, and makes far more interesting music. A lot of the vocal styles almost channel Justin Haywards work with the Moody Blues, which is in fact a huge compliment to the not actually Canadian, and apparently sex pest, Win Butler. The title track is worth another listen, but aside from that I think most of this almost is generally forgettable. Not bad, but not groundbreaking by any means. I’d give it 2.5 stars if I could, but unfortunately we live in a world where I can only dream of half stars.

Dreamy, almost ethereal post rock. I really enjoyed the experience of listening to this album. I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it even more if I spoke Icelandic, but damn is it pretty. The overarching timbre and soundscape is really something to behold, with quite a few almost cathartic crescendos really driving home a sense of relief. “Hjartað hamast“ stood out as my favourite track, the cool hammondy organ playing throughout is perhaps my favourite instrumentation on the record. The falsetto vocals are really interesting, without speaking the language they almost sound more instrumental than lyrical. I actually fail to find any gripes with this particular album, and I’m looking forward to putting it on during long nighttime drives. 5*

I’m a little unsure how exactly to review this “album”. It’s a collection of too many songs. Between a lot of lazy instrumentation and the kind of vapid, almost meaningless lyrics you get from a guy writing 69 love songs in a row, it was genuinely a real chore to get through them all. This genuinely feels more like a self obsessed art piece far more than it feels like an actual music album created for enjoyable consumption. There’s some catchy hooks here and there, but god it’s few and far between. Hopefully this album will be as forgettable as I think it will. One star.

I don’t like to generalize, I feel most musical projects are subjective and nuanced, but this “album” really just boils down to “weird for the sake of weird”. It feels like the rantings of a sarcastic 14 year old edgelord who thinks they are far more intelligent than anyone else in the world, I guess this is a time when someone who just insults everyone is considered to be groundbreaking? Dunno. But we certainly get it, this guy hates hippies. There’s a lot of jokes in here that continue that 14 year old line of thinking. Occasionally there’s some really interesting psychedelic music, but it’s certainly not densely packed. Parts of this album actually made me consider selling all my hifi equipment and cancelling my Apple Music subscription, it was so unenjoyable. This is not for me. 1 star.

I don’t really consider myself a huge fan of Eric Clapton, but it’s hard to deny that he’s had a hand in making a ton of really good music. From the Yardbirds to Derek and the Dominoes and everything in between. This album is definitely no exception. He shares vocal duties with the venerable Jack Bruce, and they both do a very excellent job of matching vocal styles to the groovy basslines of Bruce, the precise yet still psychedelic style of Clapton, and the tight but funky drumming of Ginger Baker. The classic hit single on the album “Sunshine of your Love” stands out for good reason, the main guitar riff alone is iconic, but it’s far from the only great tune on the record. “We’re Going Wrong” is one that particularly stood out to me, emotional but not cheesy, huge drums, and a really lovely tempo dropping bridge. “Outside Woman Blues” is another track that I really enjoyed. If I had to pick one negative on the album, it would be the song “Mother’s Lament” a weird little cockney jingle that I don’t particularly care for. I’m not confident in calling this a perfect album by any means, but as far as the bluesy psychedelic rock genre goes, it’s pretty damn good.

One would seriously think that I would fall in love with a late 70’s new wave album with an early punk rock flavour. I liked this album, but I certainly didn’t love it. Some fun lyrics, some fun simple music, but it’s really nothing more than that. “English Rose” really didn’t seem to fit the album at all, nor did it seem to suit the band playing it. I’ll take the word play and musical complexity of Joe Jackson and Men at Work over The Jam any day. It’s fine, but boy is it forgettable. 3 stars. Yawn.

I’ve had some longstanding beliefs towards Jimi Hendrix, and I tried to put them aside for my listening of “are you experienced”. I’ve always thought he was a brilliant guitar player for his era, certainly ahead of the times stylistically. There’s legends that his guitar playing live was so incredible that it through Eric Clapton into a rage, which is a hilarious mental image. Beyond that I’ve always found his vocal style to be incredibly stale and one dimensional. His lyricism is on par for the genre and time period, no more, no less, in my opinion. Certainly nothing mind blowing or universe shattering. Upon completion of this album, I really struggle to change a single one of those beliefs. It’s fine. It’s groovy, it’s psychedelic, and the musical style was inarguably influential on thousands of artists. But to me it’s just.. kinda boring. I think the flat vocals are really what bury my interest. “The Wind Cries Mary” would be my favourite track from the record if I was forced to pick, but I can’t see myself listening to any part of this album again if I can help it. I recognize the contributions to rock n roll, I recognize the talent of Hendrix. At the same time, I recognize that this is not for me. 3*

Based on the album cover I was really hoping for some Celtic influenced maritime shanties, unfortunately all I got was run of the mill 90’s British alt rock. That’s not to say that it’s a terrible album in my eyes, but the album art really raised my expectations. The title track, I suppose, was vaguely in the direction I had hoped, but not in any way that I could get excited about. I liked the folky timbre of “Daniella” but the vocals did absolutely nothing for me. This album felt a little all over the place within that 90’s alt rock genre, and not in any particularly good way either. It sort of felt like a group of people throwing shit at the wall to see if they could get a hit single. I honestly haven’t looked to see if they got one, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. 2 stars.

This is definitely split into two halves, and I have separate thoughts on both. The first half is definitely higher energy, big band, and very fun. These hep cats were surely outta sight. Musically I really enjoyed this section, but from a production standpoint I found it left a lot to be desired. The horns were often clipping so bad that they distorted, and the vocals suffered from a similar problem. “‘Deed I Do” stood out as my favourite groovy track here. The second half of this record was really something else. Half a dozen truly beautiful piano ballads. Sonically I felt this half was much more enjoyable, and from a production standpoint it was far better. I struggle to pick a specific favourite track on this half, but “Tell Me You’ll Wait For Me” stood out for a lot of reasons. I enjoyed this album, and it was a fun switch once the second half started. If I could rate them separately I’d give the first half a 3 and the second half a 5, so I think the mean of the two is an accurate rating. 4* will be listening to the second half again.

Oh yeah, this one almost defines weird for the sake of weird. Is it a punk rock album? Is it grunge? Is it a psychedelic rock album? Is it just noise? Nobody has a single clue, and that’s the key defining characteristic of this album. Musically it’s just straight up bizarre. It’s almost the OG edgelord album, but it’s not at all unenjoyable for me to listen to it. It’s almost intentionally controversial, and it’s clearly born of an incredible amount of drug use, but there’s so many references and unique little quips in this album, I’m positive that the majority of them went over my head. It’s clever in its strangeness. It’s not something that I’ll ever add to my regular rotation, but it’s definitely a record that I’m glad exists. 4*

Oh fuck yeah, it’s Limp Bizkit baby! I would have a really hard time honestly saying that Limp Bizkit is a guilty pleasure of mine. But that’s only the case because I feel absolutely no guilt! Like a lot of their records, this one kicks off with a weiiird intro. Not much to say about that one. But then we immediately drop into “Hot Dog” which is an impressive lyrical exercise on using the word “fuck”. It’s also a delightful little shot at Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, so much so that Trent was actually given a writing credit on the song. Wes Borlands signature guitar tone absolutely shreds this tune, and the rest of the album for that matter. It’s hard not to bob your head along with this one. “My Generation” starts a little slow, but pretty quickly slams into that classic Nu Metal sound that we all know and love. Later in the song we get some DJ lethal scratching, which is just delightful. “Full Nelson” is a pretty standard Nu Metal track. I’m not a huge fan of Fred Durts lyrics on this one, almost a hair too self pity for me, but the chorus is catchy as hell. “My Way” is my favourite song on the record. The post grunge vibes hit hard, and you can see the inspiration Fred drew from Aaron Lewis in the verses on this one. Sam Rivers bassline really makes this song what it is, and its further proof of my long held belief that he’s severely underrated as a bass player, far more talented than most root note kings of the era. “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)” holds a special place in my heart as it was used as an entrance theme for the Undertaker during his American Badass era in the WWE. 10 year old me loved this song, and 30 year old me loves it just as much. “Livin’ it up” makes use of a sample of the Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane” and it’s just objectively fun. Another excellent example of Wes Borland’s punishing guitar tone here. “The One” is a bit of a strange track, not much to write home about, perhaps more of a space filler than anything. “Gotcha Groove On” may be one of the most 2000 things I’ve ever heard. Xzibit doing a feature with Limp Bizkit was a bit mind blowing to me the first time I heard this record, decades ago. Yo dawg we heard you liked gettin’ your groove on. “Take a Look Around” is a sleeper pick on this album, super catchy bassline and the little guitar hook throughout is such an ear worm, it’s hard to ignore. “I know why you wanna hate me, ‘cause hate is all the world has seen lately” is one of those lines that ain’t remotely profound, but it’s just as true now as it was then. “It’ll Be Ok” is perhaps a great example of Fred Durst’s more emotional side, it’s a pretty song with a banger of a chorus. Wes Borland’s clean guitar playing here is technically challenging as it is beautiful. “Boiler” is almost haunting, another pretty classic Limp Bizkit track. More DJ Lethal is always more better. “Hold On” is one of my favourite LB tracks, Scott Weiland (RIP) bares his soul here, and the duet between him and Fred Durst is shockingly great. The harmonizing really does it for me. Then we’ve got the most ridiculous remix of “Rollin’” with Method Man, Redman, and DMX. What an insane thing to even exist. We are truly blessed by the nu metal/hip hop gods. The outro is far weirder than you’d expect, which is saying something. Not worth talkin’ about. This album is just absolutely bonkers and I’m so glad it exists. I have heard and I even understand every criticism of Limp Bizkit, and I just don’t care. It’s a fun nu metal album and no one can stop me from loving it. 5 stars.

Well this is not very enjoyable. I have respect for Jack White and everything he does for the music industry, namely actually pressing decent quality vinyl records, but dear lord is his voice ever annoying. He’s got this weird whiny early Beatles John Lennon style that I just can’t seem to enjoy listening to. Musically it’s.. fine.. nothing groundbreaking. Meg Whites drums continue to be the bare minimum. The guitar riffs are full of boring powerchords and again, very boring. Full disclosure: I had absolutely no idea that “We’re Gonna Be Friends” was a white stripes song. It’s perhaps the only redeeming part of this record. Delightful little folk track that, despite being overused in every indie movie of the era, is still really fun to listen to! I won’t be listening to this again. 2* but only cuz “We’re Gonna Be Friends” is catchy as hell.

Arguably the only truly great band to come out of NWOBHM, Motörhead’s third album is an absolute speed-thrash masterpiece. It’s tenacious, it’s fast, and if you’re listening to it correctly, it’s fucking loud. Lemmy's vocal style truly stands alone, and he spends a little more time singing and a little less time yelling on this album compared to the first two. His gravelly vocal fry is unmistakable. Fast Eddie’s rock n roll guitar is an absolute perfect fit to the songs as written, and his live performances are somehow even better. Philthy Animal’s drums are almost pre-thrash metal, but they’re mixed in so perfectly and his fills are always right on the money. The title track off the album is so legendary it’s impossible to say anything about it that hasn’t been said before. Just an incredible song. My personal favourite on the album is “(We Are) the Roadcrew” an ode to the roadies not just that worked with Motörhead, but roadies all over the world. The unsung heroes of the rock n roll world certainly deserve such a great chorus. “Fire Fire” is another song on this fantastic album that really stands out. I can’t say enough things about Lemmy’s lyricism, arrangement, and artistic capabilities. There’s not a single song that lasts a moment longer than it needs to. I’m not sure I could even complain about a single thing on this album if I tried. The most deserving album so far of a 5* rating.

Late 1960’s beatniks. The original pretentious hipsters who thought they were far cooler and more important than anyone else. Slow, uninspired, vaguely folky counter culture tunes. I guess it’s art-rock? Lots of weird instrumentation and noise, but I never found it to be used tastefully or even appropriately. I think the involvement of Andy Warhol is distinctly evident on this album. I’m more interested in the songs lead by Lou Reed than I am of Nico, but neither did much for me. Venus in furs is fine, but I’ve heard covers I like much more. I struggle to find a lot to say about this album honestly. 2*… whatever

Marty Robbins, one of the coolest crooning cowboys in classic country. This album is just wonderful. Big Iron is a song so good that it may be more popular now than it was when the album came out 65 years ago, if that’s not evidence of its excellence, then I’m not sure what is. This record is such a great mixture of uptempo cowboy tunes, deeply depressing western ballads, Spanish guitar, and incredible vocal melodies and harmonies. Easy 5 stars.

This record was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. Not that I had ever even heard of Nick Drake going into it. It’s a very pretty album musically, the fingerpicked guitar is very beautiful, and the orchestral arrangements fit very well. Some of the brass sections in particular stand out to me. For what is essentially a folk album, it gets almost jazzy at points. The lyrics on the other hand are almost verging on total nonsense, Mr. Drake is evidently the absolute king of run-on sentences. As a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to dislike gibberish lyrics, but a lot of the lyrical phrases are written weirdly clunky and awkward. I enjoyed the album, but it would certainly be a strange one to sing along to. Northern Sky is my favourite track off this record, it’s almost reminiscent of Cat Stevens. Solid 3.5 star record, I guess we’ll round up.

When it comes to early heavy metal, I would argue Deep Purple had as much of an influence as anyone, including Black Sabbath. Machine Head is unquestionably the best album they released, which is an exceptional compliment, considering the quality of music they have continued to release into the present day. The album kicks off with what may be the greatest driving song ever recorded, “Highway Star” Big drums, scorching guitar work, and unbelievable organ. The album also includes the first song everyone in the world learns to play on their first electric guitar, “Smoke on the Water” is still a great rock n roll song, despite the overplayed intro riff. Shortly after that we hit the second greatest driving song ever written, “Space Truckin’” As far as early heavy metal/rock n roll goes, in my opinion, this is about as good as it gets. 5 stars

This may be the most vapid, self absorbed, and unenjoyable album I’ve heard this year. I did a quick bit of reading about the album before jumping in, and I was promised “jazz”. I fought my way through the record and was left wondering where the jazz is. It’s soulful, I guess? But not in anything more than a superficial way. It’s really impressive just how much Amy Winehouse loved to write songs about herself. It felt like 80% of the lines in this album contained the word “me”, “I”, or “my”. The only discernible story telling or meaning is how much she loves shitty dudes who don’t give a fuck about her and whining about how hard her life is. I truly believe this albums title is an affront to the legacy of Sinatra. I would say the music contained herein is to Frank Sinatra as Oasis is to The Highwaymen. That is to say, entirely unrelated, yet far far worse. I’ve heard for years how incredible her voice is but I don’t really understand, maybe her other album is better? The vocal delivery on this record is just an obnoxious imitation of far more talented singers like Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and my personal favourite Nina Simone. 54 minutes of my life that I fear I won’t get back. 1*.

This is just so much more than a hip hop album. It’s a true master class in just about every aspect it touches. It oscillates between soul, funk, jazz, and some of the purist rap you’ll ever hear. It almost feels like a fools errand to attempt to reduce this album to a few paragraphs, as there’s nothing one can say that hasn’t been said already. It’s an album with a clear vision that comes together to form one of the most powerful pieces of art in the past century. I could write a lot of words about this record, but nothing compares to the feelings this album inspires in you, and it’s impossible to explain the experience. 10/10

This is a weird one. It doesn’t strike me as the kind of album that I would sit down and put on for the sake of enjoying the music. It also doesn’t strike me as an album that I’d put on in the car. I’m not sure I would ever actually intentionally play this record again. But there is something to it. It almost feels more like a soundtrack than it does anything else. It’s poppy and definitely well produced, it certainly is capable of conveying and inspiring certain feelings, but the almost ambient soundscape of it feels better suited for scoring an indie film. Lots of fun instrumentation, excellent vocals, and they clearly had a lot of fun making it. My biggest gripe is the reliance on a loop pedal, and the seemingly endless repetition therein. I think it’s mostly just not for me. I want so badly to rate this album 5/10, but I guess I will continue to round up. 3*

Wow this is not good. It’s awkward and out of tune, yet weirdly charming? Ute Lemper clearly put a lot of effort into this album, so points for that I suppose. The song partly titled “Tango Ballad” is perhaps the single worst song I’ve ever heard. I don’t even care enough to look up the name of the male singer here, but dear lord, abomination almost comes close to describing that vocal performance. I’m not sure how I can really explain this album, it’s terrible but I don’t hate it. It’s a very conflicting feeling. I’ll never listen to it again, though. 2 stars.

Wow. I’m not sure what I expected going into this record, but it wasn’t this. The opening bassline really surprised me. I didn’t know Pixies were such a surfy band. As a matter of fact, Kim Deal’s bass blew me away pretty much the entire album. Most of the playthrough I was thinking about how much this reminds me of nirvana, and upon further reading, this album was apparently quite influential on Kurt Cobain, which checks out. It really feels almost like a wonderful precursor to the grunge movement. There’s a really neat contrast between soft, quieter moments but they almost always seem to lead into violent crescendos. It’s as punk rock as it is rock and roll, and that’s a balancing act that often ends up cringy and lame, but this album really pulls it off well. This is an album I really want to listen to a few more times, as there’s so many interesting instrumental nuances within the chaos. So far “I Bleed” stands out as my favourite track. 4*

Steely Dan stands alone as the most magnificent rock band of all time. It’s a hill I will happily die on. So much has been written about this record that I feel it’s almost a waste of time to try to elaborate further than the fact that this is a top 5 album ever for me. It’s not my favourite Steely Dan record, but it’s still head and shoulders above everything else on this list. “Kings” and “Change of the Guard” are my personal favourite songs from this album. I’d give it 10 stars if I could.

This is a really interesting album with a really interesting story. A group of fellas so determined to play rock and roll that they are forced to leave their own country due to shariah law. It’s old school blues/rock n roll, but there’s some very clearly defined African influences as well, which makes for a fun album to listen to. I’m definitely more impressed by their story and commitment to the music than I am by their actual songwriting, which is honestly nothing special. It’s a fun album and I think it’s pretty well done, but I probably won’t be listening to it again. 3 stars.

I’m going to put exactly as much effort into reviewing this album as there is quality music on it.

Well I certainly wasn’t planning on listening to Nick Drake again so soon, but I guess this is what the 1001 albums gods have given me. I’d say this album is fairly indistinguishable from Bryter Layter, maybe a little bit darker in both tone and lyricism, but it’s certainly not distinctly different. More beautiful fingerpicking, simple lyricism, almost monotonous vocal delivery. It’s a pretty album, no doubt, but it doesn’t really invoke anything in me. Even from song to song it has this overarching sameness that I don’t find appealing. I’d probably be more apt to give this album a more favourable review if I hadn’t just listened to and reviewed the album he released directly after this one. I would say his music is better enjoyed in smaller doses. Whether or not that makes for a fair review is unclear, but it’s my review so I can make the rules. 3 stars.

It is a universally accepted fact that I do not like the band Queen. Freddie Mercury’s vocals have never done a thing for me. I find their radio singles to be annoying generic musical-theatre style rock music and I think it’s boring. Unfortunately I have to admit that there’s parts of this particular record that I don’t hate. It’s significantly darker in tone than what I’ve grown to expect from the band. “The Loser in the End” stands out to me as actually surprisingly decent rock n roll song. Overall I enjoyed the first half of this record far more than the second half. Upon further reading I realized that side A was not written by Freddie Mercury, but side B was. Maybe it’s not that I don’t like Queen, but maybe Fred and I are just incompatible musically. Roger Taylor’s vocals are actually pretty enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking, but maybe going into this album with a reasonably open mind has helped me learn something about myself, and my relationship with the band Queen. Side A: 3* Side B: 1* Averaging it out gives us my rating.

This is a really exceptional record. It’s almost hard to believe that Mr. Booker T Jones could have written such a legendary song as “Green Onions” at just 18 years old. He was still in high school for goodness sake. The tone he got out of his Hammond B3 organ has been imitated and duplicated ever since, but no one has come close to the soulful playing of Booker T. I’ve always really admired the amount of emotion he can convey through such a simple instrument. I first noticed this when I saw him play an exceptional set opening for Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings at the Saddledome back in 2009. Most of this album consists of covers, but the way he plays them really makes them feel like more than the originals. Everything else instrumentally here is top notch, the drumming is steady and funky, and the guitar playing is almost on par with the emotional power of the lead organ. I own a few copies of this record on vinyl, and it still gets semi-regular playtime. 5 stars.

My love of lemmy might be entirely cancelled out by my dislike of most live albums. This is some kind of scifi proto-punk, but I don’t think I care for it. It feels lazy and uninspired. The recording quality is pretty poor as well. I like the distorted basslines, but that’s about all I can say that’s good here. There’s so many.. noises? Sound effects? I dunno, but it’s very unpleasant. “Space is deep” is about as deep of a sentiment as these lyrics go. I’m sure glad Motörhead exists, because it would be very depressing if this was Lemmy’s only legacy.

This is certainly one of the better albums that Neil Young has released over the years. It’s a bluesy/folky number that’s both catchy, and surprisingly raw. In a time period in the music industry where everything was getting a little more overproduced, this is definitely not. The lyricism is simple, but certainly effective at conveying love, longing, hope, and sorrow. It’s really quite a pretty album. “Down By the River” stands out as my favourite track on the album. 3*

Yeah it sure is ambient. At least the album title is accurate. I have absolutely no idea why anyone on earth would consider this to be essential listening. It’s pretty I guess? But it’s just so boring. It’s muzak and I don’t think it’s anything more than that. More elevators music than airport music. Skilled piano playing, odd vocalizations? Yawn. 2*

I really liked this one. It feels like a really good folk singer trying her hand at country music, and I think it works really well. “St. Olav’s Gate” has a really fun almost bluegrass feel to it. The steel guitar on “Goin’ Gone” is absolutely immaculate. “Love’s Found a Shoulder” stood out as a delightful waltz too. There’s a lot of really talented musicians on this record, and Nanci Griffith’s voice complements them quite well. I will definitely be listening to this one again.

I have really conflicting feelings about this album. “Gimme Shelter” is perhaps one of my favourite songs of this whole era. It’s just immaculate from start to finish. The instrumentation, the vocals from both singers, and everything else about it is incredible. The rest of the album verges on unlistenable. Keith Richards attempts at bluesy vocals are just so annoying. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a decent track to close off the album, but it pales in comparison to the opener. This record is like a sandwich where the first slice of bread is an incredible and soft homemade sourdough, the toppings are nothing but expired hamster food, and the top slice is some wonderbread. Gimme Shelter: 5* Tracks 2-8: 1* You Can’t Always.. : 3* I think that averages out to 1.666666666* so we’ll just round up.

I think this album is significant proof that Paul Simon is the superior member of this duo. It’s a beautiful folk record that hits on tons of different styles, but it does so in a way that feels natural and not at all forced. My only complaint here is that it’s not a Paul Simon solo record. Favourite song on the record: “The Boxer” Least favourite: N/A There’s really not a lot left for me to say that hasn’t been said. It’s Paul Simon’s world and we’re just living in it. 4*

I get that the damned were an influential punk rock band, but listening to this through a modern lens is pretty lame. It’s essentially the first pop punk album. Lazy songwriting that feels more like an appeal to the general masses disguised as punk rock than it does like genuine punk. There’s nothing here that pulls me in the way some other classic punk rock records do. I’ll put this on the pile of garbage brit-punk just barely above the clash and the sex pistols. I’ll stick with wire, the UK subs, and the dickies.

I’ll never understand how the Brit’s can honestly say something like, “oy bruv this new band Happy Mondays is a madchester baggy band innit.” My brother in christ, this is just shitty generic 90’s alt rock. I really have nothing more to say about this album than that. 2*

Wow. This was a mind blowing listen. I’ve always been rather fond of Fiona Apple, though admittedly only from the radio singles I’ve heard here and there. I’ve never actively sat down and listened to one of her records, and man am I ever glad I did. This is an absolutely gorgeous record. It’s impeccable from top to bottom. The tone is dark and defiant, it’s introspective and sharp as hell, but there’s this overarching softness and vulnerability to it. Instrumentally it’s excellent, you can tell that the musicians working on it really felt the music, and it sounds like it was a very fun album to record. Fiona’s piano work is absolutely fantastic. “Shadowboxer” stands out as my favourite song instrumentally, its slow and driving piano riff is equal parts smoky jazz hall and film noir waltz. It’s such an intensely dark song, and it’s so beautiful in that darkness. Vocally it’s absolutely incredible, Fiona’s voice is so soulful and deep, and every note feels very intentional in the best way possible. The breathy vocalizations on “Slow Like Honey” are enough to send shivers down one’s spine. Lyrically this album is absolute poetry in its purest and most wonderful form. It’s emotional and sad and powerful, it’s deep and brave and confessional. One listen to “Pale September” and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I truly feel richer for having given this album the time it deserves. I’m looking forward to diving further into Fiona Apple’s discography in the future. I’d give this one 6* if I could.

This is a fun lil psychedelic record. A lot of the album is sort of Beatles-esque, but given how world-changingly popular the Beatles were at the time, I think most UK bands drew some inspiration. It’s fun but it’s not particular exciting or unique. Obviously “Time of the Season”, the biggest hit single off this album, stands out for good reason. It’s strange in that it doesn’t quite feel like part of this album, when compared to the rest of it. It’s just head and shoulders better than the rest. This song alone definitely adds a star to my rating. If you’re ever interested in the absolutely insane link between ZZ Top and the Zombies, google “fake zombies” and enjoy the rabbit hole. 3*

I’m still not a huge fan of female hip hop artists, and I still struggle to put into words why. But this album was more enjoyable than I expected it to be. You can definitely hear Timbaland all over this record, and it’s certainly something I appreciate. It’s funky, it’s fun, and there’s some really excellent features throughout. Jay-Z’s work on “Back in the Day” is particularly notable. It’s not particularly for me, but I can very much appreciate it as an excellent album thanks to Missy Elliott’s skill in both lyricism and songwriting, and the top tier production value.

The godfather of soul himself, James Brown. This is such a great example of an excellent live album. Every single musician is right on time. The whole album is tight, funky, and absolutely dripping with soul. The instrumental bridges being listed as their own tracks is super interesting too. It’s short, but it’s sweet. At 31 minutes it certainly comes nowhere close to overstaying its welcome, and I found myself wishing it was a little longer. While it’s certainly not my favourite album we’ve listened to on this list, it is undeniably great. James Brown is one of those influential figures in so many different genres of music, a true legend. 5*

Another excellent soul record that I feel is far too short! It’s funky and it’s cool, and it’s almost vaguely psychedelic at points. I really enjoyed this record. I must admit that “Run Charlie Run” caught me off guard a little bit with its lyrics, but the black power movement at the time was a hell of a beast. I don’t even really have a lot to say here, this album really speaks for itself. Excellent all around. 5*

Yay, another Queen album. While “Queen II” had some redeeming qualities, mainly that the first half of the record was decent rock music, this record has really nothing going for it aside from Bohemian Rhapsody. The problem for me is that the only redeeming song on the album is so wildly overplayed that I could go the rest of my life without hearing it again, and I’d die perfectly content. I just don’t feel like the world has ever needed rock operas, and this is a very good example of why. I dislike almost everything about Freddie Mercury’s vocal style. I understand that he’s technically gifted, and has an impressive vocal range, something about the way he sings just really rubs me the wrong way. I really hope I don’t have to listen to anymore Queen after this. 1*

This is a wild album to include on this list. I don’t dislike it overall, and it’s hard to believe someone was making drum and bass like this 30 years ago, truly a very influential album. The opening track is shockingly soulful, and the breakbeats throughout really work for me. I’m not entirely sure it needs to be 21 minutes long, but as a DJ, this would be the absolute perfect bathroom break track. “Saint Angel” hits a little more aggressively, and feels like it would be at home in a goth club, the matrix soundtrack, or an edgy credit card commercial. I dig it though. “State of Mind” is where the album starts to lose me a little bit, it feels more pop than dance music, and I’m not overly into it. The rest of the album is sort of hit and miss, I’m not sure it’s really worth reviewing this one track by track, but it’s got some highs and lows for sure. The piano in “You And Me” feels very Felix Da Housecat’s remix of “Sinnerman” in a very good way. I don’t know if I’d actively listen to this again, but if I was for some reason ever forced to start DJing again, this could be a good album to keep in my back pocket for just the right show. 3*

I don’t think I can overstate how much I love this album. Stewart Copeland’s drumming alone is enough to get this album 5 stars. It’s just so unique and, at the time, there was really nothing like it in popular music. The high hats in “Walking On The Moon” are just unreal. Andy Summers’ reggae influenced guitar licks are both skillful, effortless, and beautiful. His more new wave style playing hits all the right spots in my brain. It’s never overcomplicated, but it’s always impressive. Sting himself deserves more credit for his basslines, songs like the title track are just dripping with the kind of funk you really shouldn’t get from a British white boy in the late 70’s. I already mentioned the reggae and new wave tones this record hits on, but there’s so much more than that too. It’s an early punk record as much as it is a rock n roll record. It has so much depth and so many layers that one really has to listen to it start to finish, multiple times. I could easily go through and do a song by song review of this one, pointing out every little detail that tickles the listening part of my brain, but it would truly be too long to post here. I’m really glad that I got to listen to this record today, as it seems this album has the power to make any day good. This album deserves far more stars than I’m allowed to give it.

This is an excellent soundtrack. Full of funky grooves and soulful melodies. I do not, however, understand why it’s on this list. The vast majority is just instrumentals, and it’s clearly more of a score than it is an album for general musical consumption. I would agree that Shaft should be on a list of 1001 movies to watch before you die, but I don’t think this record fits here. I enjoyed it, and I have a ton of respect and admiration for all the musicality that went into making it, but I am not gonna be listening to this again. 3* I guess???

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting here, more live soul, funk, or jazz perhaps? But this ain’t that. This is proper rock n roll in its purest form. Really incredible live album, it’s hard to believe they waited 20 years to actually release this recording. Sam Cooke is clearly charismatic and extremely talented. I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected to. Musically it’s tight, soulful, and very fun to listen to. 4*

It’s an interesting album, all over the place stylistically, and at times it feels confused about its own goals. I’ve always liked Damon Albarns voice, and that holds true through the entirety of this album. Del the funky homosapian has some excellent rap verses in this one too. “Clint Eastwood” is obviously a classic song, and quite clearly the strongest track on the record. For the most part though, this album feels extremely 2001 to me, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. I vastly prefer the content on demon days. Neat concept, not my favourite execution. 3*

I’ve never been a fan of the Kinks, and listening to this album has only served to reinforce those feelings for me. If I wanted to listen to the Beatles then I would. This feels like a very insincere attempt to capitalize on the insane popularity of the Beatles during this time period. It’s almost identical musically, just without the magical songwriting duo of Lennon-McCartney. I’m not surprised that this album was initially considered a flop, but I have absolutely no idea how it ended up being popular. 1*. No bueno.

I don’t expressly dislike this album or van Morrison on musical talent. He’s clearly a very talented musician and a great performer. His whole schtick really strikes me as profiting off of a music genre and culture that he is very much not a part of. The way he emulates the singing voice of someone that he very clearly isn’t rubs me the wrong way. Further than that, I just didn’t enjoy listening to this record and it genuinely felt like a chore to slog through it. Not a fan. 1*

I don’t know if I would expressly consider this a punk album at all. The opening track, is obviously a smirky, spiked hair, and patch pants adjacent tune, but the rest of this record is really all over the place. From new wave to britpop to ska, and back again. It’s not bad, per se, and I’ve always had a soft spot for a few tracks, but it’s definitely not in my top ten for punk records of the era. Not amazing, but not bad. 2.5 stars.

This is almost post grunge. The vibes on this album are absolutely immaculate, and the perfect lens to view this period in time through. Almost every song on this record is instantly recognizable as Alanis Morissette. There’s also no bad tracks on this album either, in my humble opinion. I’m a huge fan of her voice, and the distinct vocalizations present were definitely both novel for the time and trend-setting going forward. Nothing but good things to say here, 5*

This is a weird record. I don’t expressly dislike it, in fact, at times I find it quite charming and enjoyable. There’s some really neat vocal melodies throughout, which I think is my favourite aspect of the album. There’s also some very interesting synth work that truly feels ahead of its time. It does at times feel quite disjointed though, as if more of a collection of songs rather than one cohesive unit. I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think I care for it. I also do not care for the vocoders on “remember”. Its inclusion feels more abrasive than tasteful. There are some really interesting soundscapes created here, and at times it feels far more atmospheric than it does melody or groove driven. Not something I’m likely to listen to again, but not something I hate either. 3*

Parts of this record really capture some of John Lennons earlier magic that was on full display during his time with the Beatles. Other parts of this album, to put it bluntly, do not. Lots of repetitive lyrics, decent melodies, and some really groovy tracks. How many times can you say the word “well” in one song?! The track that really rubs me the wrong way here is “God”. Boring, contrite, and just entirely self absorbed lyrics that almost come to some semblance of a point, but it’s really just total nonsense. I know this isn’t exactly a hot take, but I think the lack of Paul McCartney really hurt John Lennons songwriting. Not an album I’ll be listening to again. 2*

I just can’t imagine how it’s even possible to make the electric guitar sound so wanky, but here we are. Faux feeling is included everywhere on this album, technically proficient playing but there’s just no true emotion behind it. It just feels so empty and emotionless. Genre wise this album is a bit all over the place, I can appreciate the Latin rhythms, but there’s attempts at harder rock or even heavy metal falls so flat on its face that I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy it. Santanas singing is flat and uninspiring. Will not be listening to this again, as I don’t like torturing myself. 0*

It’s a little less grunge and a little more pop than holes previous albums, but it’s good. Similar vein to the post grungy femme pop rock that bands like Veruca Salt were doing around the same time period. Super catchy title track, and the rest of the record stands up quite well. I’ll leave my personal feelings about Courtney Love completely out of this review. An album I’ve listened to previously and will probably listen to again. 3.5*

All I knew going into this album is that it’s a “salsa album” I had absolutely no idea that it was going to be this funky! This is the first record in a very long time that made me wish I knew how to dance to it. The rhythms throughout are totally and completely infectious. It’s smooth, cool, and very very fun to listen to. The horns on “Dime” really stand out to me. However they were recorded gives them a very cool feel, intangible delight. My only complaint about this one is that I wish it was longer. I can’t overstate how fun this record is.

It’s classic Brit Punk, perhaps the most famous punk band and record of all time. My main problem with the Sex Pistols is that so many other bands have done the same thing, but so much better. It’s not that this album is bad, it’s a classic for a reason, I guess it just feels so formulaic and tame by modern standards. “No Feelings” is and has always been my favourite track on this record, but there’s several live recordings that, in my opinion, are far better than what’s on this album. 3*

I have very mixed feelings about this album. On one hand there are some excellent songs, “the Way You Make Me Feel” is incredibly catchy, the vocal melodies are delightful, and the whole song is written so exceptionally well. “Smooth Criminal” is a classic by every definition(ignoring the fact that Alien Ant Farm covered it and did a way better job). Michael Jackson was such an incredibly talented artist, there’s a reason he was literally the most popular musician on the planet at one point. But on the other hand most of this record just feels really dated. A lot of brutally 80’s synths and drum samples that were rightfully left in that decade. It just feels old, and not in any sort of timeless way. The singles stand out, the rest of the album suffers, I think. I’m glad I had an excuse to dig this record out of my collection of LP’s. 3.5*

I don’t know if I have a lot to say about this record. It felt promising at the start but it’s just.. unremarkable. Some good femme-grungey vibes throughout, but nothing strikes me as particularly catchy or memorable. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t love it either. I’m a little perplexed at the existence of “Indian Song”. That’s a weird thing to write and record. 2 stars.

This is a classic rock n roll record. I’ve always had a big soft spot for Buddy Holly, and this album is absolutely no exception. It’s interesting to me to look at the songwriting credits on this one, I noticed a correlation between my favourite songs on the record and Buddy Holly himself being the writer. “That’ll Be The Day” is a song that I forgot I loved so much. The whole album is really well written and recorded. The instrumentation is all on point, and nothing feels wrong with any of the mixes at all. I really love the way Buddy Holly wrote, arranged, and sang his melodies. There’s something very comforting and warm about his vocalizations. The only popular artist I can think of with similar qualities is Johnny Horton, who I am also a big fan of. Hard to say anything at all bad about this record, aside from the fact that it doesn’t include my favourite Buddy Holly song. 5*

How is this guy more popular than Joe Jackson? It’s that same new wave pop style, just nowhere near as good. It’s not really a bad album per se, but I didn’t find it particularly inspiring. I think my main complaint is that I don’t really care for Elvis Costellos voice. He’s a pretty good lyricist, the music is well written, the instrumentation is perfectly fine, but nothing here blows me away. There’s feeling, but it only ever feels skin deep. I guess that perceived shallowness is my second main complaint. Not something I really care to listen to again. 2*.

This is truly a classic hip hop album. It’s a little more serious in tone and content than Eminem’s first record. It’s introspective, emotional, violent, and aggressive. It’s easy to see how this isn’t for everyone, but there’s a reason this record has sold over 25 million copies, and is one of the best selling albums of all time. There’s a lot of lyrics that certainly would not fly today in the mainstream, but this is absolutely a product of its time, not that it wasn’t insanely controversial at the time. I can understand how one would consider a lot of this album to be childish and immature, but I think it’s far more complex than that. It’s hard to not love the contrast between Dido’s beautiful singing and Eminem’s devastating storytelling on “Stan” I also love Bizarre’s feature on “Amityville”. It’s hard to overstate just how influential and important this record is. 5*

An apparently quite well known album by an artist that I’ve never heard of. This is really excellent traditional folk music. The guitar playing is spectacular, and frankly my favourite part of the whole album. Joan Baez’s voice is really something else too, almost ethereal? I could see it not being some peoples cup of tea, but I found it really enjoyable. My only real gripes with this album are few and far between. I don’t particularly care for the cover of “House of the Rising Sun”, I think it felt a little draggy and too downtempo for what it is. My only other complaint is the relative sameness throughout the record, but I guess that’s part and parcel of this era of folk music. 4*.

I had really high hopes 30 seconds into this album. The instrumental intro on “stolen car” is super post grunge and has a really cool tone. Unfortunately everything is way downhill from there. From then on this album is just so boring. Beth Ortons vocalizations sound to me like she’d rather be anywhere else but a recording studio. Quite the bait and switch, I would say. Nothing really stands out on this album, it’s just aggressively the same the whole way through. Not for me. 2* but only because that initial intro is cool.

Hard to find much fault with this one. CCR and John Fogerty have a really excellent way of blending genres together into one wonderful commodity. There’s so many influences on this record, from old school rock n roll to country and folk, all the way to R&B. It also benefits from having my favourite CCR song, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”. It’s a classic record, top notch instrumentalism and production, combined with Fogerty’s distinct and unmistakable voice. There’s not a single bad track on the entire record. I’d like to give it 4.5*, but I don’t actually know why I’d dock half a point, so we’ll round up either way.

This was another artist that I've never heard of previously. I'm not sure what exactly what I was expecting, but it seems pretty straightforward. It's funky and it's soulful, but honestly I didn't find it to be particularly attention-catching. I genuinely struggled to pay attention to this album, it felt like the whole thing was buildup to some crescendo that never actually happened. I appreciate the vibes, I appreciate the musicality and the talent that went into making it, but I just really wanted something more than this album could give. I really found myself bored by this record. It's not bad by any means, there's no objective negative qualities, it just really failed to strike a chord with me. 2*

Hard to complain about this one. Tons of excellent singles, and a few really great deep cuts. The movie is also pretty fantastic. “Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of my favourite Beatles tunes, the wistful chorus melody is one of the best things to come from the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. I think the only complaint I can come up with is that this album isn’t Rubber Soul. There’s a good reason that the Beatles were far and away the most popular band in the world for a very long time. There’s really not much more to say about this record, it’s just super enjoyable to listen to. 4.5*

Yeah it’s definitely an early punk rock album. It was a groundbreaking piece of counter-culture at the time. Through modern lens I’d call it mostly a snoozefest, honestly. Musically it’s pretty lazy, but it’s hard to fault a punk rock record for powerchords and simple drum beats. I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this record, I’m a fan of a lot of punk rock bands, but The Clash just ain’t for me. 2*. Could be worse.

Strange album. It feels like Beck was so preoccupied with jamming every possible genre, instrument, and sound effect into this record, that he forgot to actually make a cohesive album of good songs. It’s eclectic, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but it feels so random and disorganized that it’s really hard to enjoy it. “Hotwax” is almost offensive in its attempts to capture some kind of backwoods country western sound. I think I can mostly sum this record up as if you took Modest Mouse, made them terrible somehow, and tossed that in a blender with every early 90’s white boy rapper. 1*. No bueno.

Holy shit. I’ve always known of The Mars Volta, but I never actually sat down and listened to them. I am so happy that I did. This feels very different from literally everything else we’ve listened to so far from this list, and this might be the most excited I’ve been after listening to an album to review it. I almost want to consider this album post-hardcore, but it has so many really cool aspects that works so well together. The guitar is frantic and evil and dissonant, but it somehow fits the theme of the album just perfectly. The bass is incredibly funky, and upon learning that the best bassist in the world, Flea, performed on this album, it makes a lot of sense. The vocals are almost as frantic as the lead guitar, but there’s something really beautiful and familiar about them, almost vaguely Coheed and Cambria-esque. I’m a big fan of Cedric’s vocals. There’s a really cool blend of jazzy Latin rhythms peppered into this record too, the brightness of that really keeps the album from being too dreary. From a songwriting perspective this album is almost a master class on concept albums. The story told throughout is as fantastical as it is dark. It’s certainly an excellent reminder to avoid mixing morphine and rat poison, if nothing else. I’m really excited to sit down and listen to this album again, I feel like it deeply deserves multiple attentive play-throughs. This is a very easy 5*.

This was a really surprising album. I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into it, but I found myself having a pile of fun while listening to it. It’s funky, it’s tribal at times, and it’s undesputedly catchy. Bjorks vocals range from soft and gentle to almost violent, but it never feels unnatural or too much. It’s also an incredibly interesting journey of a record, which is something I value quite a bit. Looking forward to hearing this one again.

This is definitely a Black Keys album, I’m not really sure what more there is to say about it. It’s sort of a disappointing departure from their earlier lofi stuff that was a little more aggressive and varying. This album really suffers from an overarching sameness that really makes me not what to listen to it. Every song sounds so similar that it’s a struggle to tell them apart. It’s not that the music is bad, it’s a cool funky blues sound with lots of fuzz, but it’s just so monotonous. I don’t really dislike this album, but I also don’t feel it needs to exist as more than just a couple decent singles. 2*

The first thought I had while listening to this record is that it sounds just like the Arctic Monkeys, turns out it’s the same vocalist, that makes sense. I don’t really dislike this album, but i am getting a little tired of the generic British pop rock that this list seems intent on bombarding me with. It’s fine, it’s catchy and fun, the Beatles influence is very obvious. It’s also just kinda boring? There’s nothing to set this apart from dozens of other bands that sounds exactly the same. Not something I’ll listen to again. 2*

Why did anyone even bother to write a soundtrack for The Matrix, when this album already fit the bill perfectly? There’s some cool breakbeats and some fun music in this record, it’s not something I really care for. I can respect how groundbreaking this record was at the time, but it’s just so boring in retrospect. Electronic music is a genre that has evolved so quickly and so violently since the mid 90’s, this just feels antiquated, and not in a charming way. It’s fine I guess. 2.5*

There’s just absolutely no redeeming qualities here. Brian Johnsons vocals just hit the annoyance nerve in my brain so directly, it’s almost impressive. 0* if I could.

I don’t like Neil Young as a person. I find him whiny, self important, and incredibly annoying. I like a lot of Neil Young’s music, but this album is not a part of that. Neil Young doing acoustic folk music is very very enjoyable, but Neil Young doing this weird rock offshoot is not something I can bring myself to care for. His half singing half yelling schtick on this record is not good. It’s certainly not the worst album on this list, but it ain’t great. 1*

There’s really nothing to say about this album other than it’s full of nothing but absolute Christmas classics. You really don’t need any other Christmas album. Every single song is an easy 5*.

This is just a fun mindless pop record. It retains enough of that NSync vibe to be boy band-esque, but there certainly a little more maturity to be found in this album. There’s a distinct R&B sound that shines through, and it’s hard to complain about it. It’s nothing groundbreaking, nor is it particularly novel, but it is very well produced. The prince of pop killed it with “cry me a river”. It’s easy to nitpick and find faults with this album, but in this particular case, I don’t think there’s any reason to. It was made for the mainstream pop charts, and it succeeded in an excellent way. 4*

This is a good hip hop record. I know it’s a pretty commonly expressed sentiment, but I really do miss the old Kanye. My biggest complaint about this record is its inconsistency. There’s some really top tier singles, a few good songs, and the rest of it feels a lot like filler. As far as the singles go, “Jesus Walks” is clearly the best track on the record, but I personally feel it still pales in comparison to some of Kanye’s later singles. It’s really well produced for a debut record, and you can tell Kanye had a very unique approach and vision when it comes to actually making music. Not my favourite Kanye album, but certainly nowhere near the worst music he’s made. 3/5

The only thing worse than guns n roses in 1987 is guns n roses in the modern day. Axl Rose is the single most arrogant, untalented, and frankly embarrassing vocalist that’s ever recorded an album. He’s a stain on the music industry as a whole and the world is certainly a far worse place with him in it. His singing is annoying and unlistenable. The riffs on this record are boring and predictable. Slash’s talent is entirely just the fact that he memorized a basic pentatonic scale and used it for every single solo. The drumming is absolutely standard and also very boring. The bass is so low in the mix it’s hard to tell if there even is a bass guitar. There hasn’t been a worse album on this list yet, and I really don’t think there will be. Down with guns n roses. 0*.

This is probably my favourite Bowie record, the fact that it’s such an excellent concept album really helps. It’s really well written, recorded, and performed. The vibes are decidedly immaculate. “Suffragette City” is almost a very early punk rock song, and my favourite track on the album. I don’t know if I really have a lot more to say about this record. Catchy hooks, deep verses, and it’s very entertaining. One of those albums that has the capability of holding your attention through the entire run. At 39 minutes, I found myself wishing it was longer.

Man I really don’t like Neil Young’s more rock focused albums. Someone should have taken this guys amps away from him a long long time ago. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Neil Young should only perform or record by himself with an acoustic guitar. I’m not even sure what it is, but the second you put a band behind this guy he becomes almost unlistenable to me. I liked the banjo in “For The Turnstiles”. Didn’t care for the exaggerated off key vocal style. “Vampire Blues” is a hypocritical hit piece aimed squarely at the oil industry, I wonder what Neil would have his records pressed on if we didn’t have vinyl anymore. “Motion Pictures(for Carrie)” and “Ambulancee Blues” are the only redeeming tracks on the record. Much simpler and stripped down music that lends itself very well to Neil’s musical talent, and frankly the forte he should have always stuck to. 2*

Oh my god, this album has absolutely no place on a list of albums one MUST listen to. I disagree with the inclusion of a lot of records so far, but this feels the most egregious, weirdly. Bad Company by Bad Company is the single most generic 1970’s rock album ever made. It’s so so boring. If you asked AI to make the most generic 1970’s rock album, this is exactly what you’d get. It’s not soulful, it’s not funky, there’s no exciting aspects or neat musical sections, it’s just.. straight forward, monotonous, and dull. Hard pass on this one. 1*.

Usually I’m aware of a bands earlier works, and know very little about their modern releases. Liars is the complete opposite. I’ve been a huge fan of their newer stuff since about 2014, but I’ve never ventured back further into their catalogue. I’m glad this list gave me the opportunity and reason to. This record is sort of exactly what I was hoping for when it came to old Liars. It’s slower and less electronic than their newer stuff, but it has the exact same post-goth tinge to it that I absolutely love. The vocals are spooky and ominous, the lyrics ride the line between the occult and nonsense so well. There’s some really cool utilization in this record of the 60 cycle hum that I find really interesting too. I really enjoyed this one. 5*.

Hey this is the bang a gong record, neat. First and foremost I do not like the vocal style employed on this album, the vast majority is this weird breathy throaty speak singing that I just can’t enjoy. Musically I think this is a pretty big standard bluesy rock n roll album straight out of the 70’s. There’s some extremely obvious Beatles influences going on, which doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s fine, but nothing at all to write home about. I really struggle to find anything more to say about this album. 2.5* but I feel so strongly that it doesn’t deserve 3* that I’m going to round down for once.

This is a beautiful and truly heartbreaking record. Adele’s lyricism is just as poetically striking as it is devastating. I really appreciate an artist who is able to bare their entire soul to the world, and this is absolutely that. I feel that musically this album suffers from a lot of overarching sameness, I struggled at times to tell different songs apart. Instrumentally it’s very well performed, and the production value is as high as you’d expect for such a high profile artist. I enjoyed my listen through, but I don’t believe I’ll be listening to this again. 4*

This is the sort of euro-trash bastardization of new wave that really turns me off. It’s weak and bubbly and entirely unenjoyable to my ears. There’s no real unifying theme or sound here, it’s just every stereotypical late 80’s synth sound crammed into two hours of bullshit. I can’t believe I listened to the entire thing, including the remixes at the end. May I never listen to it again. 1*.

Fuckin’ Venom! While this record may not sound anything like modern black metal, or even the original wave of Norwegian black metal, it’s still insanely influential. It’s more of a speed/thrash metal record, but it’s got a lot of aspects that really defined the later iterations of black metal. There isn’t a single bad song on this album. In fact, there’s not a single song on this record that doesn’t fucking rip. Deep guttural vocals, tremolo picking, heavy drums, and some of the best satanic imagery of the 1980’s. I can’t say anything bad about this one. Easy 5*. Hail Venom.

Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that The Go-Go’s were so good?! I’ve heard the singles off this album on the radio and everywhere else they get played, but they’re not even close to the best tracks on this record. This is equal parts new wave, surf punk, and good old fashioned grrl power! As a big fan of Best Coast, I really enjoyed listening to this record, and I also enjoyed discovering how influential this album and band were on a lot of my favourite surf band. I think my favourite track is “You Can’t Walk In Your Sleep(If You Can’t Sleep). The bassline drives the whole song, the lyrics are catchy and witty. I really struggle to complain at all here. I’m going to have to dive further into this groups discography, I think. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this album really blew my expectations away. 5*

This is just the third artist on this list so far that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live in concert. Steve Winwood opened for Tom Petty in the Saddledome back in 2008, and I’m still genuinely not sure who put on a better performance, both were phenomenal. But I’m not here to review live shows, I’m here to review this particular album, Arc Of A Diver. This is a soft yacht rock record that I really enjoyed listening to. Steve Winwoods voice is smooth, slightly soulful, and very pleasant. The songwriting is insightful and shows a clear talent. Musically it’s exceptional, my favourite aspect in that regard is the organ that’s played throughout. There are moments of funk that keep popping up all throughout this record, but there’s moments where it feels like you’re in a disco in 1977, and others where you’re sitting in a lighthouse staring out at the ocean. It’s a really cool fusion of styles and feelings. My only complaint about this record is that it doesn’t contain the song “Higher Love”. Aside from that, it’s truly excellent. 5*.

Another really fun album this week, wow. It feels like the slog through shitty britpop fans might finally be over, or more likely temporarily on hold. Tina Turner was such an incredible vocal powerhouse, it’s hard not to get goosebumps from her singing. This is an album with some really incredible singles, but also some underrated deep cuts that deserve a little more credit. It’s soulful and bluesy, but it’s got that 80’s energy coming from the electric guitar style and all the synths. It’s such a fun sound throughout, it’s really hard to find any fault at all. The way she reimagined the classic Beatles tune “Help” is really quite striking. It’s a beautiful version of an already excellent song. The kind of cover where an artist really makes it their own. This album really earned its 5 stars here.

It’s a synth pop record masquerading as new wave. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely not my thing. Everyone knows the title track, it’s a classic, as an aside though, I think the Marilyn Manson cover is better. But the rest of the album is almost entirely unknown, and I think there’s probably a reason for that. My hypothesis is that it’s because most of the rest of the album is just boring. Regarding the title track, who the fuck pronounced the word “this” as “these” they’re two totally different words and frankly I think the title and lyrics should be revised to read “these”. I probably won’t ever listen to this again. 2*

What do you get when you cross iggy and the stooges with the Rolling Stones? Nothing good. The vocals are this weird snotty Mick Jagger ripoff sound that is nothing but aggravating. The guitar playing is pretentious and annoying. Everything else is boring and predictable. I really hope to never hear this band again. 1*

Holy shit this is the “King Of The Bongo” guy?! That’s crazy. I have no idea why I know this song, but memories of it were buried deep in my subconscious. As far as the rest of this album goes, it’s definitely Latin flavoured, but aside from that it feels fairly generic. There’s a real lack of passion in his voice, which I feel doesn’t jive at all with this style. There’s voice used throughout that feel super out of place and clunky. This feels like the soundtrack that a taco restaurant owned by white guys would play to try to sound authentic. It misses the mark for me. 2*

A beautiful record full of classic blue eyed heartbreak and pining, unrequited love. It’s hard to find fault with someone as influential and legendary as Frank Sinatra. Not the most well known songs of his, but it’s still an excellent album. I couldn’t imagine ranking anything he’s done any less than 5*.