Experimental, genre-bending, playful, and joyous. Easily one of the best albums of the 90s and an all-time classic.
More layered and dynamic than expected, having previously only heard the hits. Many classic late 60s/early 70s studio sounds are present including Chamber strings, Rhodes, tape echo, plate reverb, piano through a Leslie speaker(!), etc. The songs are well crafted and arranged and the album is a tight and brisk 11 songs in 37 minutes without too much filler. Some points off for occasionally sloppy musicianship and a couple songs that don’t really go anywhere. All in all a very good folk-pop album, definitely of its time, and clearly a big influence for later artists.
A solid Afrobeat album of one chord vamps. No changes or song structures to be found, just relentless groove and occasional bursts of emotional vocals. The sound is surprisingly wide and clear for a live album from the 70s. Two songs feature dual drum kits with Ginger Baker, including the monstrously heavy funk of ‘Ye Ye De Smell’. I typically prefer music with more changes and dynamics but definitely appreciate this music and would gladly have it on the in background. The main negative for me was that fully 1/4 of the album is a drum duet with no other instruments which might the most self-indulgent thing to ever exist.
Can’t deny that The Who played with incredible energy which this album captures better than a lot of their recorded material. That said, I find many of the songs kind of corny and some of the tracks like ‘Fortune Teller’ and ‘Tattoo’ were genuinely hard to get through. Pete Townshend’s muscular guitar tone and tight rhythm playing is the best part of this album. The story in the middle about the girl guide seduced by a train engineer was uncomfortable and out of context considering most of Roger Daltry’s banter has a polite English gentleman vibe. Keith Moon was a pioneer but his actual drumming on this album is an endless wall of cymbals and about a million too many sloppy tom fills. Probably won’t ever listen to this again.
This is a mostly relaxing and enjoyable live recording of jazz tunes and standards from 1957 and a showcase of the immense talent that was Sarah Vaughan. Her voice is smoky and immediate with heavy vibrato and perfect pitch and rhythm. You get a sense of how it might have felt in a 50s Chicago Jazz Club. The mistakes are charming and played off with humour and talent. Only 20 years after this, live albums were multi-tracked and often fixed up and overdubbed in the studio, becoming sterile and too perfect. This recording shows that audiences love real human performances, mistakes and all. Would be nice to hear more of the trio but that is typical of the time. Overall 3/5 as Sarah is wonderful but live albums are just less interesting to me than studio albums.
Never got into Elliott Smith that much despite liking similar artists from this time period like Ben Folds, Sloan, Wilco, Ween, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright, etc. This is a solid album with a White Album era Beatles vibe. Lots of subtly interesting chord changes and good arrangements. Varied sounds and instrumentation with Hammond organ, orchestral horns, Mellotron, accordion, ragtime piano, double tracked vocals, and textured guitars. Everything about this is nice and well produced but there is something missing in the songwriting that doesn’t quite elevate it from good to great. Wanted to give it 3.5 / 5.
The Spotify link takes you to an album called ‘Love and Devotion’ which is 12 songs and 1.5 hours long so I recommend using the YouTube link or googling the album for the Spotify link to ‘Devotional Songs’ which is only 6 songs, 45 minutes. This is very beautiful music and there’s no denying the high level of musicianship and the incredible voice of NFAK. However, the production and mix are poor, especially for 1992. Everything is absolutely drenched in terrible digital reverb, Khan’s voice is way back in the mix, and there’s a doumbek front and centre that just plays nonstop. This album would benefit greatly from a remix and despite the beauty of the music I can only give it 2/5 as an album.
I like synths, I like indie-pop, and I like Scotland, so why don’t I like this? I was optimistic after the first song ‘The Mother We Share’ which is really great but every subsequent song until track 9 ‘Science/Vision’ is basically forgettable. The sound is like a mash up of Tegan and Sara / Purity Ring but doesn’t have the former’s quirky charm or the latter’s ethereal beauty and sense of melody. The production is 1980s era drum machines and synths and 2010’s era Ableton vocal glitches, overall decently produced and mixed. The music however is safe, diatonic, and utterly predictable, devoid of any musical complexity whatsoever. Lauren Mayberry’s voice is cute but kind of one dimensional and her melodies are mostly uninteresting. There’s a guy that sings a couple songs and he really shouldn’t. One of the tracks called ‘Under The Tide’ might be a contender for the most boring song ever released on a major label. Outside of 3 or 4 good tracks most of this album sounds like filler. 2.5/5 will bump up to a 3.
Fiery, bombastic, and socially conscious. A groundbreaking album for its time that is a kind of bridge between 80s and 90s rap. Filled with heavy drum breaks, electric guitars, and just so many samples the production is good but sounds dated, as does the rapping style. I would say it’s also overly long at 63 minutes but still an enjoyable listen. Fight The Power is a kick-ass song. 3.5 / 5.
A fun and dense double album that pays homage to psychedelic-era Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Queen. Some great songs on here including ‘Big Wheels’, ‘Across The Border’, and especially ‘Mr. Blue Sky’. Musicianship is very high level. The production is cutting edge for 1977 but also extremely busy with many unnecessary string flourishes, Mellotron choirs, and sound effects that often just take away from the songs. Also it’s just way too long with not enough great songs to justify it. Maybe this is an album that grows on you with repeated listenings but I think I’d like it better at half the length. 3.5 / 5.
I appreciate that this project is exposing people to music like this that they otherwise might never hear. There is some wonderful African and especially West African music out there but this does not seem like one of the best albums the region has produced. It’s a guitar centred album but the guitar playing is decent at best. It’s not a great recording and the acoustic guitars (the main instruments) sound thin and brittle. There are almost no dynamics and the songs become monotonous after a while. I recommend folks check out another Senegalese guitarist called Habib Koité instead and I hope one of his albums shows up on this lists at some point. 2.5 / 5.
Kind of forgot about Killing Joke. I was really into their album ‘Democracy’ as a teen in the 90s but have not listened to any of their other albums. This one is a more industrial / post-punk sound which are not usually my favourite genres but I found it to be pretty enjoyable. Raw and sparse arrangements, the sounds are clean and punchy with lots of space in the mix. The drummer is pretty solid and the kick drum sounds great. Good bass tone though the bass player is rushing constantly. Simple vocals and guitar riffs but suitable for the style. Best song by far is ‘Requiem’, could listen to that on repeat. A solid album overall, glad to have heard it.
Well now. The sophomore album from Radiohead gets overshadowed by its more acclaimed siblings Ok Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows all of which appear on nearly every all time best of list out there. To me though The Bends might be the pinnacle of guitar based alt-rock. At times both gentle and explosive, vulnerable and angry. Layered and dynamic but still raw and not over-produced. Every single song on this album is a banger, just masterful songwriting and arranging. Planet Telex, Just, Street Spirit, Fake Plastic Trees, My Iron Lung, Nice Dream, etc are some of the best songs ever put to tape.
I was excited to check out something by an artist I’d never heard of. Unfortunately this album sounds like it was made by people who never played music before and were just given a bunch of instruments to try out. Atrocious bass playing, random noodly guitar, percussion glitches that they couldn’t even be bothered to make in time, sound effects that sound like children just mashing on toy keyboards, arrangements that go nowhere forever and then just suddenly and unmusically change to something else entirely. Just terrible all around.
Wonderful Latin jazz album. Everything about this is first class arranging and musicianship from the tight latin percussion to the horn ensemble riffs, to the brilliant marimba feature on ‘Hong Kong Mambo’. It’s a great recording and I was surprised that this was originally released in stereo in 1957. The sense of 3D space is superb. The brass is bright but not harsh, the various percussion instruments present as one groove but can all be heard individually, and the vibraphone on track 10 is warm and clear. The various vocal features are passionate but not overdone. Overall just a joy to listen to. 4.5 / 5.
I try to be objective with the albums I already know but this album first arrived at a pivotal point in my life when I was 20 years old. Its affect on my life was profound so it’s basically impossible to separate myself from the feeling of hearing it for the first time. It’s both organic and futuristic; it’s avant-garde post-rock with accessible hooks. There are bombastic horns, gentle synth pads, glitchy vocal fx, and Phil Selway’s brilliant drumming throughout. The sound fx are never too much and the dreamy sound scape pieces never go on for too long. Just superb production and arranging. This album basically announced the 21st century and will stand as an all-time classic.
This album is a vibe but not much else. Most of the songs are just basic vamps and go on for way too long. A lot of the vocals almost sound improvised. Not enough hooks and too much random pentatonic riffing. The mix is a mess, random sax solos and synth parts are way too loud at times. Nothing about this is ground breaking or particularly interesting so its inclusion on this list is puzzling. Decent background music but should be much, much more given Marvin’s immense talent. 2.5 / 5.
I appreciate the attempt at minimalist production and the short runtime but this album just sounds lacklustre and unfinished. A lot of the tracks sound like rough mixes. Nowhere near as good as earlier Kanye albums.
Oof, this album has some of the worst singing and drumming I’ve ever heard. Listening to the drummer trying and repeatedly failing to hit the cymbal on beat 2 in the song ‘Cupid Come’ is physically painful. The only coherent musical ideas were the tracks ‘Sueisfine’ and ‘Nothing Much To Lose’. Pretty much everything else is just incomprehensible noise.
A pretty solid later-era Elvis album. Backing band The Rhythm Boys are the real stars here, especially the phenomenal bass playing of Tommy Cogbill and Mike Leech. Some very tasty rhythm guitar as well. A nice variety of sounds including solo cello, brass, sax, Hammond organ, and dobro though some of the string and backing vocal arrangements get a bit syrupy at times. The album has that hard panned late 60s stereo sound with a big plate reverb present on most of the vocals. The best tracks are mostly later in the album ‘True Love Love Travels On A Gravel Road’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’. ‘Gentle On My Mind’ is great too though not as good as the later Glen Campbell version. Overall an enjoyable listen even if some of the songs are a bit weak. 3.5 / 5.
This album is so crisp with that dry late 70s drum sound and probably one of the best clean guitar tones ever recorded. High class playing throughout. Sultans of Swing is 10/10 but none of the other songs are quite in that league. A really impressive and enjoyable debut album but not enough great songs to be a 5. Call it 4.5 / 5.
A solid and brisk debut album at only 8 songs, 35 minutes. Very straight ahead rock sound, good sounds and playing overall. Nice Marshall guitar tones on Rock Steady. You can definitely hear that this was an influence for 90s grunge bands, especially Paul Rodgers’ vocals and some of the later songs on the record like Seagull. Overall an enjoyable listen but not particularly groundbreaking. 3.5 / 5.
Incredible, one of the best records of the entire decade. This is John and Taupin at their very height. Great backing band including guitarist Davey Johnstone who adds so many signature parts and hooks. Tasteful but interesting production from Gus Dudgeon. So many great songs including Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I’ve Seen That Movie Too, All The Girls Love Alice, and Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. A couple clunkers too especially Jamaica Jerk-off but the album is strong and varied enough to overcome those. 5 / 5 classic.
Hard to figure out why this is so highly rated by critics (9.4/10 on Pitchfork for instance). It is a musically pretty and complex album but suffers from extreme song length, way-too-wordy stream of consciousness lyrics, and ridiculous baby-voice singing. The harp is lovely and Van Dyke Park’s string arrangements are wonderful and would make great instrumentals on their own. Probably would need to listen a few more times to get much out of the lyrics but the singing makes this a chore to listen to. 3 / 5 just for the beautiful arrangements which I appreciate.
I have a feeling this is one of those albums that means a lot to those who first got it as a teenager in the 80s and listened to it a million times. As an adult first-timer it didn’t quite hit that way. Decent songs and playing with a kind of dreamy indie-pop sound and 80s production sensibility. Lots of jangly chimey guitars and gated reverb snares. The singing is very limited and one dimensional and most of the music is ultimately pretty flat and forgettable. Best song by far is Death of a Disco Dancer.
Just a boring album. Nothing particularly interesting or groundbreaking to speak of. The songs usually just have one musical idea and don’t go anywhere. The talk singing might have been okay for an EP but listening to that for 16 songs (30 with all the bonus tracks!!) is just exhausting.
This album is such a banger. Garth Richardson’s production is both minimalist and slick and Andy Wallace’s mix is punchy and huge. The sound is mostly just the band with minimal overdubs and the band is incredibly tight. Tom Morello’s guitar work is otherworldly and one of a kind. This was maybe the first album that successfully blended rock and rap into an entirely new thing and it still sounds fresh and relevant after more than 30 years.
Pre-cursor pop-punk album that obviously apes Nirvana on a few songs, especially Self-Esteem. Really odd track sequencing with the poppiest songs Come And Play and Self-Esteem back to back at 8 and 9 and then most of the thrashy punk songs all in a row at the end. Dexter Holland’s voice definitely grates after a while. Decent album, made me feel 14 again.
New territory for me - I don’t listen to a lot of dance music but this is a good album that I think a lot of people would enjoy even if they aren’t into the genre. Took me a bit to get into the style but there are a few bangers that won me over including Newjack, Phantom, Let There Be Light, and One Minute To Midnight. Some clunkers as well - The Party and DVNO are both ruined by pretty bad vocals. The sounds range from clean and punchy to totally fuzzed out with an interesting mix of different eras of sythesis / drum machine and the occasional acoustic element in there as well. Enjoyed the slap bass that appears throughout. I think I would love this at a festival at 3am but probably won’t listen to it much otherwise. Solid 3.5 / 5 for me.
A psychedelic rock masterpiece, everything about this album is absolutely perfect. The riffs are huge and fuzzed out and the clean guitars are dreamy and beautiful. Billy Corgan’s vocals range from sweet to snarling, while Jimmy Chamberlain’s drumming is both ferocious and jazz-infused. The playing is superb and Butch Vig’s production is stellar. There are layers upon layers of guitars, there are strings, there are Mellotrons, etc but it’s never too much and the raw energy of the Pumpkins blasts through. Alan Moulder’s mix is clean but muscular and somehow both the drums and guitars are loud and in your face. Today and Disarm are alt-rock radio classics but the best songs are Hummer, Mayonaise, Geek USA, and Cherub Rock. 5 / 5 flawless album.
A few interesting sounds here and there but by and large pretty boring and repetitive. The bright spots were songs that had unique instrumental parts or vocals like on track 10 Open Up. Maybe I’m just not super into house music but it’s hard to believe that this album is one of the genre’s all-time best offerings. Well produced but not much more than background music imo.
The most grandiose and expansive alt-rock album ever and one that has aged surprisingly well. On MCIS the Pumpkins sound both more like a band playing in a room together and more like a band drastically expanding its solid pallet. Everything about this album is extra: The strings are big and orchestral, the guitars are muscular and in your face, the heavy songs are metallic and brash, the ballads are dreamy and stretched out, and the quiet intimate songs are weird and quirky. Somehow Flood recorded this album on a warehouse sound stage with a full PA blasting and it actually sounds tight and hifi. Despite its length there is not much filler here. There were 5 hit singles from this album: Bullet, Tonight Tonight, 1979, Zero, and Thirty-Three but there could have been several more including Jellybelly, Here Is No Why, and Muzzle, not to mention classic album cuts like Ruby, Porcelina, and Bodies. Just an incredible feat of songwriting and creativity. Possibly the best double album of all time, or at least in the conversation with the White Album and The Wall. Easy 5 for me.
We have Revolver at home. Pretty generic mid 60s britpop. Some decent songs but mostly forgettable. I know the Kinks have some great singles but they don’t show up anywhere here. It also might be one of the worst sounding albums on this list. The guitars are harsh and tinny, the drums sound like trash cans, and the vocals are distorting all over the place (and not in a good way). Plus the playing is generally subpar. 2.5 / 5.
Tiny Dancer and Levon are 5/5 songs but there is a pretty big drop off in quality after that. Elton sounds great as always though and the band is very tight. Great sounding record, the drums are pretty beefy and there is a lot of low end in general which is not typical for 1971. Very solid production with great string arrangements and some nice instrumental features on accordion and mandolin. Solidy in the Americana Elton period but overall just a lesser album than Honky Chateau and Tumbleweed Connection, my personal favourite from that era.
This album just sounds alive. It’s joyous and expressive in a way that it is somehow unique to African music. At times this recalls earlier west African artists like Ali Farka Toure or Fela Kuli and at times recalls the blues rock of Cream and John Lee Hooker or even modern bands like The Black Keys. Great sounding record, everything is clear and well balanced and the playing is on point. Big fan, 4/5.