Simply a slice of pure joy.

The worst tropes of rap music, without any of the self-awareness. This is an influential album and it belongs on this list because it reminds us why America sucks so much shit.

I don't know if I've ever heard so much hype for an album. Listening was a stressful task, and I often felt as if I must be missing some crucial context. The samples draw influence from jazz/funk/soul music, as many other pieces of music have. Other albums have tackled themes of racism and black urban poverty. Other albums have been introspective, have been introspective regarding fame and the music industry. Maybe I'm jealous of how he can mask his insecurities with machismo. Jealous of how he can use depression to deflect from the angry young man persona. I've never felt like a white person, nor comfortably non-white, and maybe I'm envious of the confidence with which he wields his background and his identity. This album is not for me. (They not like me.) I probably would have given this a 2 or a 3 but the importance attached to this album makes me feel like garbage. If art is subjective, I hated the experience of listening to this. If art is objective, I still hated the experience of listening to this. Even the cover art makes me feel miserable. I'm sorry I don't get it and I'm sorry if I'm too dumb to explain why.

Obviously very talented musicians. The drums are a real treat. Storytelling is belabored but often unmemorable. When I’m in the middle of listening to a song I don’t mind it, but if I remember that it’s supposed to be a large cohesive work I feel like I’m suffocating.

Not as long and drawn out as I feared it would be. Would be a four but I really hate the laughter they inserted into Brain Damage, which would’ve been the best song on here. Money is a silly song.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Still good, really enjoyed the second half this time. Run For Your Life is kinda funny tbh.

A lot of it feels lightweight. I was surprised by how goofy it felt at times. Like the Monkees with more Davy. 'The Boxer' is still incredible. And I liked the Salesman one hearing it for the first time. But a lot of the lyrics aren’t as good as I feel their reputations would have indicated.

Haven't heard this all the way through before. Quick, easy to listen to, solid throughout. Great crafting of songs. I feel like it’s a strong four, four and a half, but being rooted in classic rock and roll, and not being really, well, weird, it might have a hard time standing out in my memory.

Bright, easy music. I’m not a big fan of jazzy, bluesy music, but I think he handles himself well lyrically and vocally. There are moments where the horns have an schmaltzy, almost variety show sort of quality. But it's also an interesting blend of old and modern music.

The best parts for me: the energy, the stompy chanty parts, and the medieval or classical-sounding lead guitar. 'Orion' stood out too me. However, this album feels LONG, and a lot of the songs sound the same, and the lyrics aren’t always memorable. The grunted, strained lead vocals also wear thin.

Obviously very talented musicians. The drums are a real treat. Storytelling is belabored but often unmemorable. When I’m in the middle of listening to a song I don’t mind it, but if I remember that it’s supposed to be a large cohesive work I feel like I’m suffocating.

A lot of this album sounds like it was made by a child. Occasionally some cool use of samples. '20 Dollar' was catchy. 'Paper Planes' was catchy. I hope I gave it a fair shot; I’m not sure I did. But even the catchy songs are self-important, image-obsessed, and arduously humorlessly political. This album came out a year after Kevin Federline’s similarly funk carioca influenced ‘PopoZão’.

I’ve been having some bad days lately but this was much needed. Life can be terrifying and miserable, but it’s so much cooler than being dead. ‘There She Goes’ is the standout from the first half. ‘Breathless’ was good on the second part.

I listened to it while doing a semi-tedious task at work and it was pleasant. Liked ‘Slashers Revenge’ (the dub one) the most. The spoken bits are pretty prominent. Important for the artistic context, and sets it apart from trip hop stuff like Portishead, but kinda dates it.

Good vocals. Lilac Wine was good, did not realize it was a much older song. I’ve heard so much about this album; I was surprised to find it rocked pretty hard. It sounds like the blueprint for a lot of other 90s and 2000s music.

There's a lot of sass and swagger in this album. Not normally my thing. 80s R&B is not normally my thing. But Prince makes it unique and original. ‘Starfish And Coffee’ was a good but strange track: it sounds like a novelty alternative hit from the late 90s. 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' was an instant favorite, and sounds like everything I like in Prince's music, like a counterpoint to 'When You Were Mine'. ‘Forever In My Life’ and ‘The Cross’ were good too, heavy and dark. Songs like ‘Slow Love' and 'Gonna Be A Beautiful Night' simply aren’t the sort of music I like. But the best parts of the album are among the best songs of a truly gifted musician.

Amazing. Energetic, chaotic, creative. How have I not heard this before.

All over the place. The best part is probably the diversity of instruments and arrangements. Sometimes the joke bits feel a bit strained. Sometimes ('Somebody Else's Shoulder') they work. 'Wowie Zowie' and 'You're Probably Wondering' were pretty good too. I’m rating this a 4 because I like stupid things. I do want to make it clear that this is stupid and not genius.

Yeah it’s good, she sounds great, and the record is quick and pleasant to listen to. However I’ve been feeling really depressed lately. (I am writing this on November 7 2024.) Maybe this was a bad time to listen to this. But hearing ‘Respect’ and ‘Change Is Gonna Come’ kinda hurt right now.

Hadn’t heard this one before! Except for Stand and Orange Crush. Man, what a good band. Maybe my familiarity with some of their other work affects this. If I’m looking at just REM albums this might be a 3/5; if I’m considering all albums everywhere ever, probably a 5/5. For this project, I’m kinda feeing a 4.

Despite the band’s clarification that I was in the jungle, I’m not sure where I stand with this one. Rating it a three feels like a bit of a cop-out, since there were some truly delightful parts and some truly idiotic parts, and I want to settle on a two or a four. Ultimately, I must ask ‘where do we go now?’ and then screech a bunch.

Really enjoyed the messy instruments at the end of the first song. Sometimes this album doesn’t stand out since there’s so much good folk music out there. But the really long final song was my favorite. It felt weird and ambitious and over-dramatic and haunting!

I hadn’t heard any of these songs before, even the well-known ones. I don’t think I like this. It’s like a soap opera for hippies. ‘My Old Man’ and ‘California’ I particularly didn’t like. I think there’s something about her style of singing too. I guess I kinda liked ‘River’ but lyrically it still felt cloying.

The album starts off a bit weak, and doesn't really pick up til 'Keeper of Time', but from that point I liked all of it. I have no idea why the Wiki article or the reviews here compare the vocals to Dylan. I like when folk music combines the ordinary with something timeless, something mythical or historical. The best parts of the album accomplish that. 'Wolf of Velvet Fortune' managed to feel relatively large and epic, even though it's under five minutes and the entire album is about a half hour.

People have said they find this album dated, and it's true that the world it depicts has slowly been disappearing. To me, living in the Midwest, a lot of this still feels powerful and relevant. The most dated parts are silly but charming, like looking at a picture of your parents with their 1980s haircuts. This is the Album With All The Hits, and the spaces in between the hits don’t hold back either. It’s a good pop album, good rock album, good saxophone solo album. As a political piece it doesn't feel too heavy or didactic, nor does it feel fluffy and jingoistic. Favorites were Downbound Train, No Surrender, I'm Goin' Down, and the title track.

Fun, listened to it a couple times at work today and it helped me get through a busy day. I’ll definitely go back to it. Mansize Rooster and Strange Ones were really good. This is way more frenzied and off-the-wall than other Britpop stuff, and a good bridge between 70s punk and 2000s UK indie.

The ska/soul/rock influences are there, but it still manages to sound like nothing else before it. His singing is really messy and expressive, pathetic and theatrical, and I think it works well at times. I prefer this version of 'Seven Days Too Long' to Chuck Wood's. That style does start to wear thin by the end of the album. And there were more slow songs than I would have expected. But it was good. The more lively stuff felt outrageous.

Hadn't heard anything by these guys before. It's a well-produced album and I'm surprised that it came out in 1996. It's instrumentally more diverse and mellow than the grunge music my parents liked, and sounds a lot like what I was listening to in the 2000s. Really liked that little baroque bit in 'Sworn and Broken' and then how that song moves onto something harder with 'Witness'. Good vocals.

I don't know if I've ever heard so much hype for an album. Listening was a stressful task, and I often felt as if I must be missing some crucial context. The samples draw influence from jazz/funk/soul music, as many other pieces of music have. Other albums have tackled themes of racism and black urban poverty. Other albums have been introspective, have been introspective regarding fame and the music industry. Maybe I'm jealous of how he can mask his insecurities with machismo. Jealous of how he can use depression to deflect from the angry young man persona. I've never felt like a white person, nor comfortably non-white, and maybe I'm envious of the confidence with which he wields his background and his identity. This album is not for me. (They not like me.) I probably would have given this a 2 or a 3 but the importance attached to this album makes me feel like garbage. If art is subjective, I hated the experience of listening to this. If art is objective, I still hated the experience of listening to this. Even the cover art makes me feel miserable. I'm sorry I don't get it and I'm sorry if I'm too dumb to explain why.

I am listening to this 60 years and one day after it was recorded! This is older than any live concert I’ve listened to, and I don’t always enjoy live albums (I feel a bit left out) but I liked this. It has a warmth to it, and it allowed me to connect more to music and the people involved in it. I think modern blues music has a reputation of being boring, technical, and overwrought, but this doesn’t feel that way. It’s working musicians playing for working people. The singing is clear and powerful, not strained or affected. The solos are talented but not gratuitous. There’s a good energy and this was a delight to listen to.

Had no idea this existed, the concept seems kinda unhinged at first glance. Initial favorites are Blue Skies and Sunny Side. Unchained Melody seemed like a misstep to me but I’m not really a fan of that song to begin with. And Moonlight In Vermont was like doing a shot of perfume. This is really good (in the sense that it’s like sincere, or benevolent.) Like, it’s Lawful Good. Also the only really unusual thing about this album is that someone thought of this idea and executed it in the first place. But I mean overall if you truly hated this you’d have to have a heart of ice.

I like this album, but always thought it was a bit older; it seems dated for 1998. But that's kind of fitting, since it also feels anachronistic, retrofuturistic, electromechanical. An album from an alternate timeline where rock bands have instruments like a saw. Aesthetically I think it fits in with the Elephant 6 bands, or with slower Smashing Pumpkins songs like 'Tonight, Tonight' and 'Thirty-Three'. It feels cold and distant; I think the album artwork fits it perfectly, if that makes sense. I got drunk and high and fell asleep while listening to it a second time, which I suppose is an endorsement, but not necessarily a full-throated one.

First song and title track were standouts. It’s not quite as good as the Beatles or Monkees, but it’s still the sort of music I listened to a lot as a kid and still like. It also does feel rather varied, a bit soulful, a bit psychedelic, and this made for a light breezy listen.

Cool album cover. Makes it look like this is a punk or new wave album and I guess for Fleetwood Mac it is. Nice drums on this one.

Favorites: Jailbreak, Emerald, Massacre, Cowboy Song Thin Lizzy is a legendary band, and a lot of these songs are great. But I don’t think this is a great album. I understand this was pulled from a number of concerts, and overdubbed in parts. So a lot of it sounds fairly good but it doesn’t have a consistent mood or audience relationship. And some songs drag, especially since this is a double album. I think it's unfortunate that this was the one Thin Lizzy album they put on here.

Sympathy For The Devil might be the highlight? Also really liked the fifth track, Jigsaw Puzzle. Sounds a lot like Dylan or the Beatles. I think The Rolling Stones are at their best when they’re not pretending to be American bluesmen.

Rockford’s finest, halfway around the world. Humbling yet unpretentious. I found the crowd’s energy to be genuinely moving, and I’m really happy that Tokyo embraced a band from good old Illinois.

I have fond childhood memories of his greatest hits CD. Didn't have high expectations for this album but ended up enjoying it. Lyrically kind of lightweight but the vocals are excellent and some of the songs ('Father and Son' specifically) have a real emotional punch. 'Sad Lisa' sounds like a Eurovision song. Not necessarily a bad thing. It just does.

More accessible than I thought it would be, but kind of heavy-handed and grim, even for Radiohead. Nothing really stood out.

Musically, it’s like a hypermasculine, hyperaggressive version of some 90s jam band. Lyrically, it’s like … idk, Christian rock for edgelord video gamers. The vocals are turgid. I particularly disliked ‘Spoonman’.

‘We’re Not Right’ and ‘This Year’s Love’ stood out initially. And ‘Sail Away’. Oh, and a lovely Soft Cell cover that I listened to like four times in a row. Great closer.

I had heard about this album for a while but never listened to it; I always wrote it off as the Bruce Springsteen 9/11 album. It is pretty long and the energy flagged toward the end; there were a couple of pretty cheesy songs too. But there were a lot of good ideas and a consistent theme unifying them.

She’s a talented vocalist but I don’t know if that’s what I really look for in music. This is the second Aretha album I got on this site and I liked the first one a bit more. In this one, there were a couple songs (Groovin’ and People Get Ready) that didn’t move me as much as the originals. Also I just don’t like the song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stoke’, is a painting by Richard Dadd, a Victorian artist institutionalized for schizophrenia and murder. Like Dadd’s work, Queen II is strange, whimsical, cluttered with detail, and highly technically proficient. Anyways I have a soft spot for whacked-out heavy metal concept albums, as long as they’re short and efficient like this one.

I always liked ‘Trying Your Luck’ back when I was a lonely callow inchoate loser. Now I’m pudgy and bloated but so is Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. My roommates’ band used to cover Someday and Hard To Explain. This isn’t even my favorite Strokes album but it’s one where every song is like oh shit yeah I love this one.

‘Street Joy’ was good. The flute bit on ‘River to Consider’ felt kinda contrived. Not into extended jams. But this was fun.

Hadn’t listened to this before but I thought I’d like this a lot since Supersonic is my favorite Oasis song. The rest of the album didn’t stick with me as much though.

Loud and repetitive. Apathetic lyrics and vocals.

Good stuff, kinda forgot I was listening to it a few times, however. I liked the opening and closing tracks the most, and Walk Of Life because that’s a great song. 3.5 out of 5.

Fwiw Phil Spector was a visionary, and I think the Wall Of Sound treatment works well on these Christmas songs. But the real star is Darlene Love, who I don’t know anything about except for this album. Merry Christmas, Darlene, and Merry Christmas everyone but Phil.

I listened to this the day after Christmas and found it refreshing. A nice vitriolic attack on hypocrisy and consumerism. The bass and drums sound good and I like the metallic guitar squalls over it.

The best songs on this are really well arranged; they sound powerful and ominous. The other songs are, I don’t know, kind of Ed-Sheeran-y? But hey, I like that too.

I have a love/hate relationship with Britain (particularly England) which I think is mirrored in the content of this album. I really liked this and wish I’d had the chance to listen to it a few more times. I feel like calling it a concept album is kinda facile. Like, is really a concept album about the human condition, right?

This made me laugh out loud quite a few times. And I enjoyed the Method/Red/DMX version of Rollin'. So I suppose I can't rate this a one.

Yeah, it’s Bowie, it’s great. There’s not much that hasn’t been said about this, but I will note that I particularly liked his vocals, and that it felt surprisingly short.

I’m really not a fan of jam bands, and the guy’s singing makes it seem like he doesn’t want to be here. But the lyrics are the low point, profoundly dumb themes addressed in profoundly artless ways. I will say that they come across as reasonably fun, laid back people. I don’t think any of the other bands I’ve rated a 1 give the impression of having a sense of humor.

Pleasant sounding, not particularly bombastic. I liked it but don’t know how often I’d return.

I don't think it's possible to defend Kanye or his behavior. However, this album would be less interesting if it was a defense, or an apology. I'm sure it's frustrating that he's so arrogant and misogynistic and crazy but that's what makes him a captivating and (not sure how else to describe this) well-written character. Musically this is a delight. I like the over-the-top noise on some tracks, and the haunting minimalist piano on others. He makes good use of samples and guest musicians. Even if Kanye himself hasn't aged well, I think the album has, with its bravado and undertone of mental illness. Or maybe the past fifteen years have just been the rest of the world crashing down to his level.

The best possible use for Led Zeppelin’s music.

Excellent 2010s hipster pop. Nothing that stands out quite like some of their earlier singles, but every song is fun - i.e. good background music for a party.

Good guitar playing and a really good cover of “Good Golly Miss Molly”. However there are some longer songs that dragged, and the lyrics here are half-baked. Their next couple of albums are a lot more sophisticated than this, especially the lyrics/writing. (Also, when I need directions to get to the bayou, I use Choogle Maps.)

I find this album cover terrifying and I’m not even a child.

I love the instrumental that opens it. A nice thesis statement of sorts. I might like their first couple of albums more, but this is still some quality stuff from one of my favorite bands. Good loud music, good lyrics, good frenzied apocalyptic mindset.

I was excited when I saw this was today's album. A chance to finally sit down with an old beloved gem (apparently endorsed by no less than Bob Dylan) that I hadn't heard before. Basically, the sort of stuff that makes me look forward to this 1001 albums project. I hated this so much. 'Illegal Smile' is a bunch of the most banal, obvious imagery, contorted into awkward rhyme and meter. Some songs are petulant and myopic, like someone complaining about how the TV news is nothing but sad stories. Other songs like 'Sam Stone' are an over-the-top tidal wave of misery and tragedy. There’s a dissonant mix throughout of praise for the simple rural folk, and contempt for their values. Also 'Pretty Good' has a bit about someone being sexually assaulted by a dog but I'm going to assume that's a reference or metaphor that I failed to understand. This album made me wonder if I hate folk music. I understand this is partly a product of The War, and post-1968 US politics, but that doesn't decode it, doesn't make it click for me. The funny parts aren't funny, and the sad parts are as depressing as you can get without being inadvertently funny. (I didn't like my first Joni Mitchell album either. Is there something about the early 1970s that I don't get?) I feel bad seeing him there on his little hay bale. I don't blame him; it’s not his fault. I hope he found some peace.

Delightfully jarring and glitchy and unpretentious, like an old Grand Theft Auto game. Didn’t care for it at first but liked it by the end. I haven't heard anything quite like it before, but if you asked me to imagine rap music of the future, even today, I might have imagined a less cohesive version of this. I can't believe it came out in 2003, but I was an American kid listening to indie rock so this wasn’t really on my radar. Jus' A Rascal and Brand New Day are great.

There's a frustrating number of different versions and track listings, I did Deluxe Edition (the one shown here) that had 14 songs? Anyways it generally sounded good, like a more punk version of Nirvana. Fav track: 'Need'.

‘Shout’ is a very good opener. A nice listen for a Sunday morning; it’s chill, but there’s a lot of power behind it, even on the more pop-oriented songs.

This is a hard one to rate. I initially thought I wouldn't have a lot to say. The guitar/production on ‘Strange Brew’ sounds like ass, and Clapton and Baker both have irritating singing voices. But I quite liked the songs that, per Wikipedia, were written and sung by Jack Bruce. Liked the goofy music hall kinda song at the end too. It would be sensible to separate this album from the shadow of Eric Clapton.

‘Armenia’ and ‘I Can See For Miles’ and 'I Can't Reach You' are good songs. I don't get the whole commercial thing but overall the album's tighter than ‘Tommy’. I want to mark it down points for the fugly artwork, and because each silly little skit reminds me of the fugly artwork. But man, 'I Can See For Miles' is an absolute classic.

I don’t know enough about the blues to say a lot about this, but it was loud heavy stuff, where you could hear how rock and eventually heavy metal might evolve from the blues.

2008 was the year my wife and I started dating, and a year before I graduated college. I probably heard these songs on Daytrotter's website before I heard the album. It's the sound of a lot of bands I would listen to in my 20s. I really miss that whole scene.

Not as bad as I feared from the low rating on this site. I liked the outdated vaudeville of 'The Minotaur's Song'. Also 'Three Is A Green Crown', brooding and strange, good use of sitar. I try to listen to these things a second time before rating them. This time I just skipped around the songs I like. Or in the case of 'A Very Cellular Song', just the first three minutes. I mostly kept coming back to 'Swift As The Wind', maybe the best thing on here, messianic and apocalyptic. 'Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' is weird and excessive and yes probably drugs. I don't see it as a 1 or a 5, and sometimes this stuff just averages out. It's an inconsistent 3, not a forgettable 3.

It sounds a bit like Roxy Music, which is nice. A moderately pleasant listen, made slightly uneven because it’s a pop album with experimental elements jammed in. ‘Baby’s On Fire’ is good, and the title track at the end.

Kinda spaced out listening to it, nothing stood out. Wasn’t as good as the album title made me hope. ‘Animal Zoo’ and ‘Morning Will Come’ were ok.

Not as long and drawn out as I feared it would be. Would be a four but I really hate the laughter they inserted into Brain Damage, which would’ve been the best song on here. Money is a silly song.

I don't know what exactly to say about this one because it's meant a lot of different things to me throughout my life. As a study of human relationships it's necessarily enigmatic, vague, and complex. Sorry, I guess that's kind of a cop out. But I don't get the general impulse to dissect and mythologize Dylan. (Or to, you know, make a movie about his life.) Anyways, as I listen at the beginning of February 2025, this album is almost exactly fifty years old. However, I don't feel for a moment like it belongs to a single time or place.

Pleasant well-crafted pop music that feels a bit powerless as we travel deeper into hell. These guys are kinda like the Eloi from 'The Time Machine', you know?

For the most part, Bob Mould is the better songwriter on this one. Very long but pretty good throughout. I like Hüsker Dü but I hadn't even heard of this album before it came up yesterday. Weird one to put on this list.

Welp, I guess I like Bruce Springsteen? Mildly surprised. Favorites: Promised Land, Streets Of Fire, Prove It All Night.

A breath of fresh aid after all the prog rock and self-indulgent folk music on the list. I imagine people in the 70s welcomed it too. 'Tumbling Dice' is a good song. I liked 'Torn and Frayed' too.

Long but pleasant. But long. Good background vibes.

Very linear, over-explanatory storytelling. Also has a strange fixation with geography. Idk, this was a weird one. Like if Lawrence Welk was doing Johnny Cash.

Quite liked 'Bottle Let Me Down' and 'Queen of the Silver Dollar'. Guess I like drinkin’ songs.

I generally like this style of music.

Yayyy Mexican music.

I don't want to like this one, but I admit I enjoyed most of it. ‘Misty Mountain Hop' is a fun track. ‘When The Levee Breaks' is maybe their best blues cover, they really bring a lot to it. 'Going to California' is a song that I really dislike.

On one hand, the mishmash of languages and musical styles feels a bit like that yellow/sepia filter you see on American movies set in the Global South. On the other hand, I really like this, not because I'm some fucking hippie backpacker, but because this is a synthesis of a lot of the music I grew up listening to. Every song feels like a lullaby.

Blues cosplay from the Brits. The musicians are proficient, the vocals are weak. Last track (Bernard Jenkins) was probably my favorite. Don’t know why I’d ever listen to this instead of Muddy Waters. Guessing this is like music for musicians or something.

I guess this sounded ahead of its time for 1966. Probably paved the way for a lot of the lame singer-songwriter stuff from the early 70s. There's also some meandering artsy tunes.

Simply a slice of pure joy.

FINALLY SOMEONE LET ME OUT OF MY CAGE TIME FOR ME IS NOTHIN CUS IM COUNTIN NO AGE NOW I COULDNT BE THERE NOW YOU SHOULDNT BE SCARED &c &c

Dumb California Album was recorded in 1974, two years before Clapton's Enoch Powell moment. It features a Bob Marley cover that never fails to infuriate me when I hear it in the wild. I was unfamiliar with the other songs before and after listening to them. They are cheap and disposable like the paper napkin and salt packet that come prepackaged with a set of plastic cutlery. I don't buy the notion that this record helped popularize Jamaican music. This was after The Harder They Come. It was after Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da for goodness sake. And a music as brilliant and vital as reggae certainly would have found a global audience without his 'help'. One time Eric Clapton's son fell out of a window. I can't believe someone was willing to bear Eric Clapton's child.

I liked Dolly Parton's voice, of course. Didn't always care for the harmonies or the parts that sounded like Christian Contemporary pop. Not a bad album but it came at a bad time and I’m not here for it.

Very 80s, but still very modern. Sounds like a lot of your vibes-based 21st century indie pop. Tracks 1, 6 and 7 are quite good. The energy lags at other times. It’s really cool, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart are super cool, and this is a decent album but not great.

Good, but long. Ends with two of the best songs ever but it takes a while to get there.

It's good, but not as good as I think U2 can be… more dance beats than guitar riffs. 'Mysterious Ways', which we already know and love, is the standout. 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' may be the low point.

First two tracks started off great. Then I kinda forgot I was listening to it. Pleasant though.

He seems like a jerk IRL and also I imagine listening to this would suck if you didn't like his voice. I enjoy this; it's sublime, abstract, and repetitive. The random jazz song in the middle keeps you from falling in too deep. I listened to this like four times today.

Good beats, good flow, kind of grim and self-important. This did not cut through the haze of my depression.

I remember hearing a lot about this one at the time, but never checked it out. (For one thing, I thought their band name was kind of dumb.) I like music like this and if I'd heard this when it came out it would probably be like a 5 for me. But as a latecomer I can't help but compare it to a lot of other stuff from that era that sounds similar, so there was less impact.

The worst tropes of rap music, without any of the self-awareness. This is an influential album and it belongs on this list because it reminds us why America sucks so much shit.

Favorite tracks were... honestly most of it. The individual songs stand out, maybe because they’re shouted in your face. I quite liked 'FM' and 'Love Und Romance'. Good cover of 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' too. However, the album cover creeps me out.

Expected this to be really grim and depressing, but it actually felt pretty warm and comfy.

Not as clever as NWA or Ice Cube, but this still aged surprisingly well. It helps that Snoop Dogg is such a charismatic personality. It was a nice bit of dumb fun and I needed some cheering up today.

A weird experience! African folk music mixed with jazz, pop, and even calypso. Might not work for everyone, but I liked that it was all over the place.

There’s some funny samples but none of the big hits like Licensed To Ill. Everything kinda blurred together.

Was complaining about YYZ and then I heard the opening riff from Limelight and I was like oh cool. Also good album cover pun.

“That song doesn't usually last three hours, but we got into a serious thing.” I don't listen to much jazz or funk music but this seemed pretty exemplary. Some serious musical talent at work here. The first track was probably my favorite. Kinda drifted off after that.

Rough recording and sound quality. But I liked the writing; this felt like a collection of pop songs. The covers towards the end were goofy and unnecessary.

I liked quite a few parts, the sound, the playing, the vocals, but it didn't add up to the expected sum of its parts. Just didn't do it for me today. A long album, but the individual tracks went by too quickly; more sloganeering than songwriting.

This to me sounds like an alternate route the Clash could have taken after Sandinista, an anachronistic mix of dub and folk. It’s a distinct and cohesive piece throughout, loose but complex. It aged well, perhaps because we still don’t have anything else that sounds like this, perhaps because it manages to add a beauty to a dreary malaise. (I love the production, which gives an almost tactile feeling to the instruments.) Favorite tracks were ‘History Song’ and ‘Three Changes’.

The UK version of Aftermath leads off with 'Mother's Little Helper' and the US gets 'Paint It Black' instead. Idk why they wouldn't wanna include both, but 'Paint It Black' is a truly transcendent song and one of the best things they ever wrote, so I’m happy to have the US version here. I like 'Under My Thumb' too - I see it as a parody of masculinity coming from self-aware songwriters, like the Beatles with 'Run For Your Life', and so I’m not terribly bothered by it. Also enjoyed 'I Am Waiting' which I don't remember ever hearing before. I don't give the Rolling Stones a lot of love. It took them until 1966 to write a full album of their own songs. And even after listening to and enjoying Aftermath, I'm still going to probably put on a compilation like Hot Rocks if I want to hear these songs. But this was an impressive leap forward for them, and one of those moments where they came close to being as good as the Beatles.

This is an aesthetically cohesive album from a really lurid and inventive group. It's very stylized (the movie clips, the samples, the weird production) but still authentic. It's often absurd and messy and full of obscure references, like real life, and I think that's helped it age better than your more didactic political hip hop from the same era. Favorite tracks were 'Tearz' and 'Protect Ya Neck'.

I like the album cover and the dumb earworm from 'Stop This Crazy Thing'. Didn't like the vacuous peace/love chatter. I can't remember much else about it now; I listened to this for like an hour, but it didn't stick with me.

Another one I've never heard of before now. I enjoyed the South Asian elements. ‘Tides’ was good. ‘Homelands’ was good. The rap and r&b bits weren’t. This is a big-brain concept album with a pretty long runtime and that's not usually what I go for. As with the other instrumental/electronic albums on here, I’m sure there’s a lot for musicians to enjoy, but it’s not something that sticks with me as much.