1001 Albums Summary

Listening statistics & highlights

594
Albums Rated
3.15
Average Rating
55%
Complete
495 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1980
Favorite Decade
Soul
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
112
5-Star Albums
71
1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

Top Styles

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

AlbumYouGlobalDiff
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
5 2.54 +2.46
Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
5 2.63 +2.37
Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
5 2.65 +2.35
Bummed
Happy Mondays
5 2.65 +2.35
Sex Packets
Digital Underground
5 2.66 +2.34
Orbital 2
Orbital
5 2.7 +2.3
Isn't Anything
My Bloody Valentine
5 2.75 +2.25
The White Room
The KLF
5 2.78 +2.22
World Clique
Deee-Lite
5 2.87 +2.13
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
5 2.89 +2.11

You Love Less Than Most

AlbumYouGlobalDiff
The Wall
Pink Floyd
1 4.13 -3.13
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
1 3.95 -2.95
Grace
Jeff Buckley
1 3.74 -2.74
Dire Straits
Dire Straits
1 3.72 -2.72
Boston
Boston
1 3.7 -2.7
Arrival
ABBA
1 3.53 -2.53
The Atomic Mr Basie
Count Basie & His Orchestra
1 3.5 -2.5
Queen II
Queen
1 3.48 -2.48
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
1 3.47 -2.47
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1 3.47 -2.47

Artists

Favorites

ArtistAlbumsAverage
Led Zeppelin 5 4.8
Beatles 6 4.5
The Rolling Stones 3 5
Creedence Clearwater Revival 3 5
Stevie Wonder 3 4.67
Beastie Boys 3 4.67
The Who 3 4.67
Sonic Youth 3 4.67
Marvin Gaye 2 5
Funkadelic 2 5
The Fall 2 5
Johnny Cash 2 5
Pixies 2 5
Bruce Springsteen 2 5
Motörhead 2 5
The Velvet Underground 2 5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse 2 5
Joy Division 2 5
Sly & The Family Stone 2 5
Jane's Addiction 2 5
The Kinks 2 5
David Bowie 8 4
R.E.M. 4 4.25
Neil Young 3 4.33
Nirvana 3 4.33

Least Favorites

ArtistAlbumsAverage
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 2 1
Rufus Wainwright 2 1
Joni Mitchell 3 1.67
Tom Waits 3 1.67
Leonard Cohen 3 1.67
Dire Straits 2 1.5
Bee Gees 2 1.5
Queen 2 1.5
Pink Floyd 2 1.5
Red Hot Chili Peppers 2 1.5
Eagles 2 1.5
Kings of Leon 2 1.5
Can 2 1.5
Miles Davis 4 2

Controversial

ArtistRatings
Metallica 5, 1
The Beach Boys 5, 2
Prince 4, 2, 5

5-Star Albums (112)

View Album Wall

Popular Reviews

The Wall by Pink Floyd

Utter crap. I can't believe there were 26 tracks of this. The one riff in "Run Like Hell" is redeemable. The rest of this can go to hell.

Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones

Probably their peak. Bought a copy of Tattoo You on vinyl this week and while it's a perfectly cromulent album it doesn't even remotely compare to this masterpiece.

Since I Left You by The Avalanches

Unlistenable junk. Definitely made sure to keep a careful eye on YouTube so I wouldn't actually listen to the remixes and bullshit rom the Extended Edition.

Doolittle by Pixies

A straight up fucking masterpiece. No album has ever been more my shit. Fuck it, I'm listening to it for the rest of the work day.

1-Star Albums (71)

All Ratings (594)

Be by Common
Dec 04 2024
Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz
Dec 05 2024

I despise jazz, but this isn't too terrible, really.

The Specials by The Specials
Dec 06 2024

It's alright. Has its place. Ska's not really my bag.

I Should Coco by Supergrass
Dec 09 2024

Seems like the sort of thing I'd have been into but this one slipped right past me at the time.

Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
Dec 10 2024

Nah. This ain't for me.

Fromohio by fIREHOSE
Dec 11 2024

Not for me. Kind of twee (derogatory), I guess?

Tarkus by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Dec 12 2024

I am pre-disposed to dislike prog but this is just unlistenable.

Hail To the Thief by Radiohead
Dec 13 2024

I'd give it 3.5 if I could. It's too noodly, tbh.

The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Dec 16 2024

I'd give it 3.5 if I could. It's too noodly, tbh.

Rocks by Aerosmith
Dec 18 2024

One of the single hardest album openings of all time. A long-time karaoke standard for me.

Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis
Dec 19 2024

Just not my kind of music, but this is less grating than most.

Connected by Stereo MC's
Dec 20 2024

Not really my jam, but a few of the tracks are OK; British hip hop just doesn't land for me.

What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
Dec 24 2024

An absolute classic. Non-stop bangers. He was taken from us much too soon.

Vauxhall And I by Morrissey
Dec 25 2024

He's an absolute fucking wank but his early solo stuff like this was quite good, albeit not as good as The Smiths. Would never listen to his solo stuff voluntarily nowadays, though.

For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music
Dec 27 2024

I'd give it 3.5 if I could. I need to listen to it a few more times. It doesn't seem to quite land for me, but I thnk I need to know the songs a bit more.

Different Class by Pulp
Dec 30 2024

An incredible album and a delight to listen to at anytime. BY FAR the best of all "Britpop" type albums.

Kid A by Radiohead
Dec 31 2024

Not for me. Trying too hard. Liked it at the time.

After The Gold Rush by Neil Young
Jan 01 2025

A stone cold classic. I prefer angry electric Neil to contemplative acoustic Neil, but both are great.

Black Monk Time by The Monks
Jan 02 2025

This goes hard, actually. A nice little discovery. Gonna listen to it twice.

Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones
Jan 03 2025

A classic. Somehow a band both in transition and at their peak. Probably the album with the most Keith.

Jan 06 2025

Absolutely tremendous and probably the coda of P-Funk's prime, more or less.

Jan 07 2025

4.5 stars. Loses 12 a star for Morrisey being an utterly repulsive human being.

Beach Samba by Astrud Gilberto
Jan 08 2025

Nah. Not for me. This is music for happy people who don't hate their existence every single day.

Jan 09 2025

This album goes so hard it actually managed to cut through my anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation for a few minutes.

Since I Left You by The Avalanches
Jan 10 2025

Unlistenable junk. Definitely made sure to keep a careful eye on YouTube so I wouldn't actually listen to the remixes and bullshit rom the Extended Edition.

All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
Jan 13 2025

It's OK, but I kind of want it to go harder. Whole album just has kind of a depressed nostalgia vibe.

Stardust by Willie Nelson
Jan 14 2025

Probably really 2.5 stars, but: (1) this thing doesn't let me give 1/2 stars; and (2) it deserves an extra star for managing to get me all the way to "this isn't that bad" and thus somewhat overcome my lifelong anti-Willie bias derived from my Dad hating him and call him "The Bedbug."

Southern Rock Opera by Drive-By Truckers
Jan 15 2025

Enjoyed it and like a lot of stuff in this genre, but probably requires a bit more of a sit down and listen than a "have it playing while you're at work. Four stars because I automatically support any attempt at reviving the rock opera format with gusto.

Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk
Jan 16 2025

I have tremendous respect for the historical significance of these particular bleeps and bloops but it really just doesn't fuck at all, does it?

1989 by Taylor Swift
Jan 17 2025

Really, it's 2.5 stars. Not for me but a few of these songs at least sound like a blander version of CHVRCHES.

Definitely Maybe by Oasis
Jan 20 2025

Goes pretty hard, tbh. It's utterly mindless and pretty derivative but a good time nonetheless.

At San Quentin by Johnny Cash
Jan 21 2025

Oh fuck yes! I have had a lifelong antipathy to country music (largely due to the racist fake cowboys I went to high school with) but this album absolutely fucks and is a big part of what got me to give some country music a chance.

Ray Of Light by Madonna
Jan 22 2025

Some of these songs go a little bit, actually, especially the title track but it felt very derivative/bandwagony at the time and it's not something I'd ever listen to of my own volition.

From Elvis In Memphis by Elvis Presley
Jan 23 2025

Not a big Elvis guy, really, but it cannot be denied that In the Ghetto/Suspicious Minds back-to-back absolutely slaps. It's really 3.5, not 4, but I'm rounding up on principle because Memphis is one of my very favourite places.

Surfer Rosa by Pixies
Jan 24 2025

I actually like Doolittle better but this is just such a great album. Too bad some of the videos on YouTube are age-restricted because I simply will not log into YouTube.

Dire Straits by Dire Straits
Jan 27 2025

Ass. Noodly ass. Mark Knopfler's got to be the most over-rated guitarist of all time.

Dummy by Portishead
Jan 28 2025

This album gives me an instant erection. Too bad the girl who had this CD in her purse at all times and insisted on me putting it on every time we fucked turned out to be an absolute nutter. Good while it lasted, though. Six stars, really.

New Boots And Panties by Ian Dury
Jan 29 2025

This is some novelty song garbage. Unlistenable dreck, but with naughty words. It will get one listen ever and that's it.

The Poet by Bobby Womack
Jan 30 2025

I just don't really jibe with early 80s R&B that isn't straight-up funk, really. It just sounds way too smoothed out and over-produced. Very sterile.

Rejoicing In The Hands by Devendra Banhart
Jan 31 2025

I can't review this noodly bullshit because I died of boredom listening to it.

Blue by Joni Mitchell
Feb 03 2025

Oh. No thank you. I couldn't possibly. (Just not much of a fan of the half-mumbly/whispery acoustic singer-songwriter type thing, really.)

Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
Feb 04 2025

I loved this when I was made up almost entirely of teenage angst. Now it seems like it's made up almost entirely of teenage angst and much too juvenile.

Rio by Duran Duran
Feb 05 2025

It's alright. Some good tracks but it's a bit . . . whiny isn't quite the right word but the tone is a bit off or something.

The Blueprint by JAY Z
Feb 06 2025

Has some good tracks but can't stand up to The Black Album at all. Really 3.5 stars but you don't gimme my granularities!

Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan
Feb 07 2025

Pretty good 70s grooves. Made me listen to the Dan the rest of the day.

Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
Feb 09 2025

The two-and-a-half singles are great; all-time classics. The album tracks are dreck; unlistenable garbage. Gets you three stars - smack in the middle of the bell curve.

Feb 10 2025

Never realized that this album had a different (and very off-putting) cover in the UK. Regardless, I loved the Big Beat scene at the time and although this has aged poorly it still puts one in a pretty good mood.

Morrison Hotel by The Doors
Feb 11 2025

Peace Frog absolutely slaps and there are a few other decent tracks here. The bluesy tone kind of balances out Morrison's performative weirdness a bit more here than on other albums

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
Feb 12 2025

Awful. Just awful. Basically an auditory war crime. I want to fight them both and their stupid dorky faces. Worst thing I've ever heard. Also what the hell is with the album cover? Why is Paul blocking half of Art's face? What kind of art direction is this?

Back At The Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith
Feb 13 2025

Hitting me with Simon and Garfunkel and jazz on back-to-back days is lowdown and dirty. Cute album cover, though, and I didn't mind the organny bits. Then the saxophone kicked in.

Talking Heads 77 by Talking Heads
Feb 14 2025

"Psycho Killer" rules but the rest of it is a bit meh and David Byrne has always just struck me as exactly the kind of art school kid who'd annoy the absolute fuck out of me.

Cloud Nine by The Temptations
Feb 15 2025

Much more of a Stax guy than a Motown guy but there are just some great cuts here.

A Hard Day's Night by Beatles
Feb 16 2025

I much prefer their later work , but they were really cooking with this one.

War by U2
Feb 17 2025

LOL. I wrote a review for Boy instead of War because it's the same kid on the cover. Love this album, but I really don't think it's aged well probably because it's peak over-the-top earnest Bono - which has become very hard to take over the years. Some great work by Adam Clayton on this album.

21 by Adele
Feb 18 2025

"Rolling in the Deep" and "Rumour Has It" go hard as fuck and then it becomes nothing but intolerable sad-girl-with-a-piano music. The cover of "Lovesong" is OK.

Odessa by Bee Gees
Feb 19 2025

It doesn't really sound at all like what I'm used to the Bee Gees sounding like, which is good. But it also doesn't sound like anything good, which is bad.

Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
Feb 21 2025

Not to my tastes at all, but undeniably has some bops and definitely presses some nostalgia buttons. I generally feel uncomfortable listening to anything from the Jacksons, though, due to all the ickiness. A solid 3, though.

The Yes Album by Yes
Feb 22 2025

We are just on a stinky stinky stinky run of music I don't like right now. All You Good People or whatever it's called is OK, but this is very not for me.

...The Dandy Warhols Come Down by The Dandy Warhols
Feb 23 2025

Just couldn't get into it at all. I think I might like this is I was five days younger.

This is just unlistenable atonal noise. When I say I really hate jazz this nonsense is exactly what I'm talking about. This is getting-Noriega-to-leave-the-embassy level noise.

Feb 25 2025

Just not for me. Obviously Bohemian Rhapsody is ridiculous and fun - mainly because of the Wayne's World connection - but the rest of it is annoying.

Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen
Feb 26 2025

Walll to wall bangers. An absolute classic. I'm not too cool to unabashedly love The Boss.

Germfree Adolescents by X-Ray Spex
Feb 27 2025

This goes hard. I'm generally anti-sax for the most part but for some reason it really works with this kind of punk.

Feb 28 2025

Not quite as intense as seeing them in person at the Commodore in Vancouver, but still about as intense as straight-ahead power trio rock can get.

Machine Head by Deep Purple
Mar 01 2025

I've heard worse. Probably decent for the era in moving towards heavier and kerrangier rock but doesn't really hit like other stuff from back then.

Sunday At The Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
Mar 02 2025

Just absolutely not for me. Not as bad as the last jazz they made me listen to, which was some kind of "punk" jazz but still made me feel like I was at the dentist's office.

Mar 03 2025

I get what he's trying to do, and it kind of works, but it's not something I'd choose to listen to. I might enjoy reading an illustrated book of the lyrics more.

Mar 04 2025

Much more fun and loose than some of their other stuff. You can almost dance to some of it instead of just trying to be cool.

Pearl by Janis Joplin
Mar 05 2025

Janis at her very best. Just one of the best to ever do it.

The White Room by The KLF
Mar 06 2025

An absolute classic in it's genre - whatever that is - or any genre. One of my all-time "need to feel a bit better about life" albums.

Mar 07 2025

I kind of get where it fits in the grand scheme of things historically, but it is - like most prog - very not for me.

Crime Of The Century by Supertramp
Mar 08 2025

A few good tracks in a nostalgic "I remember this from when I was a kid" way, but not a "Oh yeah - this is my jam" way.

Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson
Mar 09 2025

Just insufferable - and that was before all the stuff about him actually being as creepy as he was made out to be coming out. Beautiful People is a good enough track to get a 2nd star, though.

Kimono My House by Sparks
Mar 10 2025

Don't know if I'd buy it or listen to it on my own unprompted but it is crazy how far ahead of its time this sounds. It's like at least 5 years ahead.

Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis
Mar 11 2025

I just don't like jazz. It gives me the heebie jeebies.

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
Mar 12 2025

Definitely a top 10 desert island disc for me. Stevie's absolute peak. A transcendent delight and surefire mood lifter.

The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies
Mar 13 2025

Margo Timmins has a beautiful voice and I fuck with the stripped-down sound. Also, scratches a powerful Canuck nostalgia itch.

Young Americans by David Bowie
Mar 14 2025

A master at the absolute peak of his craft. God knows how many different drugs he was on and this may be one of the albums he has no memory of recording but it all produced magic.

The Wildest! by Louis Prima
Mar 15 2025

This isn't my kind of stuff, but it's actually pretty fun and it's crazy how many songs from this album are covers that I didn't realize were covers. Might actually be 3.5 but I'm in a rounding down kinda mood.

Medúlla by Björk
Mar 16 2025

Never listened to this before. Was interesting and atmospheric, but not as accessible/fun as her earlier stuff. More Sigur Rós than Sugarcubes, I guess.

Mar 17 2025

I have some time for this genre, broadly speaking, but none of these songs would get my ass on the dance floor then or now. Like Jason Mendoza at a Skrillex concert I'll be waiting for the bass to drop. And it, it'll never come. Too bleepy bloopy.

Mar 18 2025

Case in point, re: music I do not like. Annoys me, has always annoyed me, will always annoy me. Probably because I don't do drugs and never have, I guess. Two stars for its historical significance and inescapability, I guess.

Live At The Star Club, Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis
Mar 19 2025

Definitely has its place in history, but his stuff has always felt a bit lightweight to me. Also, you know, the whole "marrying his teenaged cousin" thing kind of casts everything in a dark light.

Cafe Bleu by The Style Council
Mar 20 2025

I get that Paul Weller felt "restricted" by "the rock myth and the rock culture" but while he was restricted The Jam produced banger after banger whereas The Style Council produced twee muck.

Nowhere by Ride
Mar 21 2025

The absolute pinnacle of the somewhat commercially silly but artistically tremendous "Shoegaze" movement. This album presses my very most powerful late teens/early 20s earnest yearning nostalgia buttons and brings to mind the faces of many girls I never asked out.

The College Dropout by Kanye West
Mar 22 2025

It's truly great - albeit with some filler - and was groundbreaking at the time, but wow is it depressing to listen to now. Loses a star because of that.

Go Girl Crazy by The Dictators
Mar 23 2025

I get it and the "California surf punk meets proto-punk" is interesting, but it doesn't really connect for me.

Ace of Spades by Motörhead
Mar 24 2025

The only thing that could possibly improve this masterpiece would be to find a way to play it as loud as they played the title track at that concert I went to at The Commodore in Vancouver in 2002 or so that left me half-deaf for three or four days.

Blonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan
Mar 25 2025

I know. I get it. I'd probably enjoy an all-covers version of this album. But maybe not that much.

Stankonia by OutKast
Mar 26 2025

A masterpiece from a pair of absolute geniuses. ATL at its finest, though it's probably only my favourite album by them about 25% of the time depending on my mood.

Mar 27 2025

As evidenced by the album cover, it's a bit too grandiose for my liking but there is no denying that parts of this go extremely hard. Really 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous enough to round up. Not something that would be in the regular rotation, but might flip it on when I'm in a certain anthemic-needing mood.

Skylarking by XTC
Mar 28 2025

Really enjoy this when I remember to put it on. Some real highlights but some of the deep cuts are a little bit kinda wish-washy/fillerish. "Dear God" is a classic.

Mar 29 2025

Sam's great. A little too much banter in the performance but I relistened to this one immediately because it's a dandy pick-me-up on a gloomy Monday morning while I'm having an existential crisis.

Mar 30 2025

Absolute garbage. I hate jazz on principle for the most part but this is even worse than the norm. Sounds like somebody who just ate a half dozen bean burritos from Taco Bell farting into a microphone.

Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix
Mar 31 2025

Weird the site says "Jimi Hendrix" instead of "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" but it's absolutely wall-to-wall with great tracks. Seem to remember every noted even though I haven't listened to this in ages.

Out Of The Blue by Electric Light Orchestra
Apr 01 2025

Really 3.5 stars but it gets a bit of a bump up because of the GOTG influence from Mr. Blue Sky. Pretty pathetic to be nostalgic for a movie less than 10 years old, but there was at least still some hope for humanity and the future back then. Did listen to it twice.

Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
Apr 02 2025

An iconic genius at her absolute peak. Classic after classic after classic. My only regret is that she didn't record it at Stax.

GI by Germs
Apr 03 2025

This one goes in the category of "I can appreciate it's historical importance in a genre that I like but I just don't really fuck with it." Gonna give it a second listen but I'm just not hearing it.

Zombie by Fela Kuti
Apr 04 2025

Fela's stuff rules, but he was so incredibly prolific that it's hard to keep it all straight. I prefer "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsesnse" but this is great and set me off in the direction of a 55-video Fela playlist on YouTube.

Guero by Beck
Apr 05 2025

His stuff felt tired in the late 90s, tbh. I recognize a couple of these tracks but this all seems very unnecessary to me and an odd addition to this list.

Reign In Blood by Slayer
Apr 06 2025

I recognize the technical quality and some of the riffs are cool but, although I like some other stuff in the genre, Slayer has just never ever connected for me. It's almost felt very sterile somehow.

New Forms by Roni Size
Apr 07 2025

I really liked drum and bass back in the late 90s, but this one just doesn't stick with me. Listened to it a month ago, forgot to write a review, listened to it again. Still doesn't do anything for me like a lot of stuff in similar genres from that era does.

Raw Power by The Stooges
Apr 08 2025

Goes hard as fuck, but not quite as hard as Funhouse. The stuff about how fucked up the mix is was interesting - they used three out of 24 tracks and when they brought David Bowie in to mix it he was like "What do you expect me to do here?"

Dance Mania by Tito Puente
Apr 09 2025

It's OK. Sounds like the music a hack director would play over a scene just to indicate to the less attentive audience members "We're in Latin America now!"

Konnichiwa by Skepta
Apr 10 2025

British people simply should not be allowed to rap.

Moby Grape by Moby Grape
Apr 11 2025

It definitely has a sense of time and space and I listened to it three times to try and see if any of the tracks stood out, but none really did.

So by Peter Gabriel
Apr 12 2025

There are some excellent tracks on here but "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" got so overplayed on both MuchMusic and terrestrial radio that it's a hard listen.

Maverick A Strike by Finley Quaye
Apr 13 2025

Kind of like reggae but very very boring and unmemorable. Another one that I listened to a month ago, didn't get around to reviewing at the time, and had to return to.

White Light / White Heat by The Velvet Underground
Apr 14 2025

Not my favourite Velvet Underground album but tremendous from start to finish. Has always made me wanted to start a band, until I remember I have no musical talent or hand-eye co-ordination.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra
Apr 15 2025

Even though this album is much older than I am it reminds me of being young and having hope. Therefore I hate it very much, but it's still good for what it is.

Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
Apr 16 2025

This album is go damn good I don't even mind that Marvin couldn't even make it to Side B before ripping off the title/opening track with "Keep Gettin' It On." An absolute master at the height of his powers. I don't recommend listening to "You Sure Love to Ball" at work, though.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by The Incredible String Band
Apr 17 2025

This felt like a form of punishment. Went to Wikipedia and "Scottish psychedlic folk" felt like a threat. I want to fight everyone on this album cover, including the small children and the dog.

Licensed To Ill by Beastie Boys
Apr 18 2025

It's the reverse of a lot of artists because swaths of this album are pretty offensive if not downright misogynist, but it's kind of OK because they all matured into awesome dudes (RIP MCA) which kind of makes it tolerable. Also, it goes hard.

Harvest by Neil Young
Apr 19 2025

I love all the various versions of Neil and Harvest has a few great tracks on it but I must reserve my greatest acclaim for Neil for the harder rocking versions of Neil. Alabama goes hard, though.

Exit Planet Dust by The Chemical Brothers
Apr 20 2025

I'm a sucker for the mid-to-late 90s big beat/electronica sound (even though I never did MDMA and found people who did unbearably annoying) and this is one of my very favourite albums in that genre.

Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins
Apr 21 2025

Almost took a star off because this album is another one that brings back powerful feelings of being young and happy and having hope for the future, but I have to admit it's still awesome.

Court And Spark by Joni Mitchell
Apr 22 2025

Having to listen to this felt like I was in trouble for something. It's bad enough when it's all folky and droning but then it gets kind of jazzy as it goes along? Blech.

Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
Apr 23 2025

This album does not fuck. At all. It is entirely possible no album has ever fucked less. Is that a theremin I'm hearing or a glockenspiel? Who gives a fuck. Never ever listening to this shit again.

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
Apr 24 2025

One of five Funkadelic albums (and three Parliament albums) I listened to on the weekend and it's one of their very finest. Some great - and heavy - guitar work on this album.

Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Apr 25 2025

This is, for the most part, the harder rocking version of Neil that I love unreservedly. Powderfinger rules. Shame about the Kurt Cobain suicide lyrics; that guy did Neil dirty.

Boston by Boston
Apr 26 2025

Possibly my most hated album of all time. The songs are fine to good, actually, but Side 1 of it was the warm-up tape for the late 80s/early 90s Richmond Colts and fuck them. They tried to play this during the warm-up to the 1990 BC Final, but Ollie High wouldn't stand for that and there was a big kerfuffle at the scorer's table. Then we beat that ass.

GREY Area by Little Simz
Apr 27 2025

British people still should not be allowed to rap. (Gets a 2nd star because the beats on some of the tracks aren't bad.)

Station To Station by David Bowie
Apr 28 2025

It's a damn shame this man couldn't keep doing cocaine at this heroic level because this is an absolutely brilliant album. His later stuff is good too, but even though he didn't quite remember recording it this might be his best.

It's Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Apr 29 2025

I have heard of this band but never heard it. Had no idea they even had a female singer. I guess it's OK but it seemed like all the songs were trying to be big grandiose anthems without actually accomplishing that.

Apr 30 2025

If this mumbly motherfucker can't be bothered to actually sing I can't be bothered to ever listen to this utter garbage again. This is a desperate "add something new" entry to the list. Gets a second star because it very nearly helped me have a nice little desk nap.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup by Stereolab
May 01 2025

I'd heard of this and I think that - as a diehard 90s alternative music snob - I'm supposed to like this, but I don't. I wasn't at all surprised when I checked Wikipedia and discovered one of them was French.

Savane by Ali Farka Touré
May 02 2025

Never heard of this guy in my life but after one listen I'm now dedicating the rest of my life to be really insufferably into the desert blues.

Abraxas by Santana
May 03 2025

Another one that I don't really vibe with. Get that it has its place in history but I just find it boring - possibly partly because of that terrible song with the Matchbox 20 guy from like 40 years later.

Bert Jansch by Bert Jansch
May 04 2025

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Boring acoustic folk garbage where every mumbly song sounds the same. Not aggressively terrible, but profoundly uninteresting.

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
May 05 2025

I am a long-time confirmed hater of Jazz, but this actually isn't bad. Not something I'd prefer to listen to but nowhere near as grating as most jazz as something playing in the background. Also, the pianist could definitely go.

Exile On Main Street by The Rolling Stones
May 06 2025

A stone cold classic. If a space alien asked you what rock and roll was, this is the album I'd play them. Well, this and Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers. No notes whatsoever. Listened to it four straight times.

Debut by Björk
May 07 2025

Loved it at the time but it feels just a little bit dated at the time. I've always liked the Sugarcubes a bit more than her solo stuff anyhow. Mostly, though, I really want to go out with the cover of this album.

Fifth Dimension by The Byrds
May 08 2025

By the time this album finished I didn't remember having listened to it. I'm sure it was jangly.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body by Country Joe & The Fish
May 09 2025

My colleague just walked into my office and asked me "What the fuck are you listening to now?!" Specifically, it was track #10, "The Masked Marauder." Here are the complete lyrics: La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la

Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & The Holding Company
May 10 2025

Janis was brilliant. She's one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time and it's a shame we never got more from her. Backing band is pretty good too. A lot of late 60s American rock music is over-rated dreck but this is really good.

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
May 11 2025

Absolutely unfuckwithable.

Dirt by Alice In Chains
May 12 2025

The lessest of the Seattle grunge bands. Absolutely has some standout tracks, but a bit uneven overall. Really a 3.49. I would've given it 3.5 and rounded up buy Layne Staley's chin ponytail and wraparound shades STILL annoy the shit out of me.

This Is Fats Domino by Fats Domino
May 13 2025

I appreciate its historical place and gave it two listens but nothing stuck in my brain except for "Blueberry Hill."

Night Life by Ray Price
May 14 2025

Didn't mind this at all. Seems a bit more "authentic" than much of the godawful unlistenable schlock that has come out of Nashville since. Wild that Willie was his guitarist.

Live And Dangerous by Thin Lizzy
May 15 2025

TIL Thin Lizzy had at least 15 other songs that weren't about the boys being back in town or a jailbreak. They're pretty good too!

Arc Of A Diver by Steve Winwood
May 16 2025

I don't actually like this, but I'm giving it four stars anyhow because I'm a sucker for "this dude played all the instruments on this album." Such a weird little guy thing to do. Just puttering around in his basement doing his thing.

The Cars by The Cars
May 17 2025

Listening to "Moving in Stereo" at the office: perhaps the very most dangerous game.

May 18 2025

This was astonishingly unmemorable. Never heard of them before and will likely never hear of them again but this bears a whiff off DEI for white guys playing guitar-based music in the 21st Century.

Private Dancer by Tina Turner
May 19 2025

Tina is an all-time great, but this is some arid and soulless 1980s synthesized slop. Gets an extra star because, even though Simply the Best isn't actually on this album, it was very funny how mad Rangers were when Celtic started singing it at Ibrox.

Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
May 20 2025

Noodly easy-listening dreck. I know Knopfler's supposed to be a genius but this album has just never done anything for me.

With The Beatles by Beatles
May 21 2025

Many are much too cool for them, but I think it's really interesting and enjoyable to hear where they started from and appreciate how far they travelled musically over the next half-decade.

Tommy by The Who
May 22 2025

I have never taken drugs but were I to take drugs I would want to take the drugs that Pete Townsend was on when he came up with this one.

This Year's Model by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
May 23 2025

I like his stuff/this genre generally, but this album has a bunch of his best tracks: "Radio Radio," "Pump It Up," "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea," "This Year's Model." A tryhard nerd icon.

Let's Stay Together by Al Green
May 24 2025

This albums is so good that it's absolutely mind-boggling that it's not a Stax release. Absolutely wall-to-wall and no skips.

Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash
May 25 2025

Jangly crap. "The harmonies are wonderful"; yeah, awesome to hear shitty songs three times over. Useless without Neil, imo.

London Calling by The Clash
May 26 2025

Without question my desert island disc. An incredibly diverse album that effortlessly traverses an absolutely wild range of musical styles. Six stars if I could.

Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
May 27 2025

Good album, but not my favourite of theirs. They sure pumped out a lot of good material in under five years, even though their albums tended to have some serious b-side filler.

Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
May 28 2025

Perfect music to have a nervous breakdown to. New Order was great but Ian Curtis may be #2 to Otis in the "taken from us much much too soon" stakes.

The White Album by Beatles
May 29 2025

I love this album, but it really suffers from the Use Your Illusion syndrome of "You know this would be awesome if you'd exercised a little bit of self-control and kept it to a tight 12 tracks, right?" The madness is kind of what makes it great in both cases, though.

May 30 2025

My impressions of this are probably a bit coloured by his subsequent descent into being a human meme, but it really screams "past his prime, lost his edge, and searching for a new gimmick" to me.

The Band by The Band
May 31 2025

Honestly, I don't really want to hear from Bob Dylan, let alone his hugely boring back-up band or whatever.

Green by R.E.M.
Jun 01 2025

It's not bad for a major label debut/commerical/"sellout" album and "Orange Crush" is one of their very best tracks, but overall it's a steeeeeeep dropoff from their first five albums.

Repeater by Fugazi
Jun 02 2025

I know Fugazi is supposed to be important to the history of punk somehow but after listening to this one three times I have got absolutely nothing for you. It's . . . fine but completely unmemorable.

She's So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper
Jun 03 2025

A surprisingly fun little slice of place-and-time delight. Pretty much every track is listenable when you'd think it would be as "two/three hits and lots of filler as any album going.

Fulfillingness' First Finale by Stevie Wonder
Jun 04 2025

A great album in isolation, but it pales in contrast to the other four albums he put out in this era. It's like being a 5th starter with a 3.00 ERA when the other four starters are all sub 2.00.

The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers
Jun 05 2025

I actually quite like the Manics, especially that one album that's really good whose name I can't remember, but I listened to this twice today and I literally can't remember anything about it. Hope they find the guy who's been missing, 30 years though.

Cypress Hill by Cypress Hill
Jun 06 2025

Ground-breaking production and all, but B-Real's voice annoys the fucking shit out of me (and songs about weed are boring, although there was more of that on their later albums.)

Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
Jun 07 2025

Probably their peak. Bought a copy of Tattoo You on vinyl this week and while it's a perfectly cromulent album it doesn't even remotely compare to this masterpiece.

Jun 08 2025

A master at the peak of his powers. Great songwriting an storytelling with record-breaking levels of raspiness. One star off for being a Tory bastard.

Pyromania by Def Leppard
Jun 09 2025

This album is absolute garbage with no redeeming artistic or cultural value whatsoever. I love it so fucking much.

Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin
Jun 10 2025

This album fucks. Seems like they were much less into Tolkien at the time.

Ctrl by SZA
Jun 11 2025

Modern R&B bores me to tears. This one made it through my eardrums but not a single track made it to the part of my brain that remembers tunes. Pretty sure I already listened to this when I was listening to Rolling Stone's top 500 albums in order.

Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
Jun 12 2025

Every Dylan album should have been required to come out with an accompanying cover album by people who can actually sing. We need to resurrected Otis Redding. Two stars off for the horrible sounds.

Surf's Up by The Beach Boys
Jun 13 2025

Wonder if it's a coincidence that this got served up the day after Brian Wilson died. You can tell that he wasn't as involved in this one because, uh, I dunno, it's just kind of there, I guess? Listened to it twice and nothing stuck. Really weird to hear a huge nostalgia band's album and not recognize a single track.

Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters
Jun 14 2025

I have never listened to this album in its entirety before but I know almost every song on here, entirely against my will. Just derivative beige song after derivative beige song after derivative beige song. I hate it so so much.

Countdown To Ecstasy by Steely Dan
Jun 15 2025

Not absolutely peak Dans but pretty good Dans, all things considered.

Spiderland by Slint
Jun 16 2025

Mumble. Mumble. Mumble. Mumble. Mumble. Mumble. I think I already listened to this auditory ZzzQuil when I was listening to the Rolling Stone 500 Album list in order and it has not become any more memorable.

...And Justice For All by Metallica
Jun 17 2025

I know some consider it the weakest real Metallica album, but I love it. The bit where they turned Newsted's bass way way down in the final mix is hilarious, though.

Music From Big Pink by The Band
Jun 18 2025

I shall be released . . . from listening to this dogshit album. One bonus star for that one song that has the organ bit that's been used in a lot of movies.

Our Aim Is To Satisfy by Red Snapper
Jun 19 2025

I guess it's alright for what it is. I don't mind trip hop type stuff, but this really felt like "elevator music for people who like drugs" or something.

A Northern Soul by The Verve
Jun 20 2025

I forgot how much I love this album. Might actually be better/deeper than Urban Hymns. Loses a star for reminding me of being young and having hope for my life and the world, though.

Catch A Fire by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Jun 21 2025

This is "gritty Kingston" Bob Marley much more than "dorm room poster" Bob Marley and it's all the better for it. Never listened to him in a non-greatest hits format before but it was well worth it.

Haunted Dancehall by The Sabres Of Paradise
Jun 22 2025

Boring bleeps and bloops, but harmless. Never heard it before and I'll never hear it again.

Jun 23 2025

When this first came out I thought it was the worst thing I'd ever heard in my damn life and that it was a harbinger of the inexorable decay of society. I was right.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
Jun 24 2025

It's not quite Rumours but it fucks pretty consistently. Still seem to be a few good songs about how much everybody in the band hates everybody else. Loses one star because USC destroyed the Pac-12.

John Prine by John Prine
Jun 25 2025

This sounds just like Bob Dylan would if he didn't suck quite so bad. "Pretty Good" is an out-and-out banger. He's trying a little bit too hard with the album cover, though.

25 by Adele
Jun 26 2025

Boy oh boy are these ever a lot of songs about feelings. I've killed all those so this does nothing for me. She only has one song I fuck with, and it's not on this album.

Jun 27 2025

Not the worst bleeps and blorps I've ever heard but not really worth listening to again unless I do a dissertation on the history of electronic music and the alientation of the self in our technological age.

Funeral by Arcade Fire
Jun 28 2025

This is probably the last indie/alternative type album I really loved before I became fully formed as a hateful curmudgeon. One star off for reminding me of the last tiny glimpses of hope.

1999 by Prince
Jun 29 2025

Not sure if this is his absolute peak, but if it isn't it's close. Half point off for the title track being over played during Y2K and half point off for too much purple.

Jun 30 2025

He's brilliant and all, but by fuck is this painful to listen to in 2025 (and I could barely tolerate it at the time). A whole album of a guy you just want to tell to shut the fuck up the whole time.

Achtung Baby by U2
Jul 01 2025

At first it aged really well, but now it's really old and some of the low points are really low. I massively respect them for trying something totally different even if it was a bit out of their lane.

Here's Little Richard by Little Richard
Jul 02 2025

This goes pretty hard, actually (once you get past Tutti Frutti and the sub-Flair quality wooing). I'm a sucker for early rock and roll stuff. Really 3.5 but I'm rounding up for historical and cultural reasons.

Rising Above Bedlam by Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
Jul 03 2025

Listened to this twice and literally can't remember a note of it. I think Sinead and Bono may have been features? I know this guy was in PIL at some point? I'm not even sure what genre this is supposed to be.

Goodbye And Hello by Tim Buckley
Jul 04 2025

Seems harmless but did absolutely nothing for me.

Diamond Life by Sade
Jul 05 2025

I really really dislike smooth sax-heavy 80s R&B. Smooth Operator? Much too smooth for my liking.

Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg
Jul 06 2025

I was such a snooty little NME-reading alt rock/indie kid that I actually disliked this stone cold classic at the time, to my eternal shame. Listening to this and The Chronic back-to-back does make me wonder just how much George Clinton made off of Dr. Dre's producing over the years, though.

Peggy Suicide by Julian Cope
Jul 07 2025

I dislike performatively deep male voices like this. It's a poor substitute for being an interesting vocalist. This did nothing for me and I think I listened to the dreaded Expanded Edition by accident.

Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk
Jul 08 2025

I was having a shitty enough day and then this stupid fucking website made me listen to jazz. Unlistenable and insufferable garbage. Damn near threw my computer out the window.

Calenture by The Triffids
Jul 09 2025

Has there every been an album with a blurry picture of a sad-looking white guy on the cover that didn't suck? Heard it once now; will never hear it again.

You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
Jul 10 2025

Me a few albums ago: "I dislike performatively deep male voices like this." Me today: "I dislike performatively deep male voices like this even more when they're whispery." Dude has bars, but I'd rather read it than listen to it.

Parallel Lines by Blondie
Jul 11 2025

Rock solid top-to-bottom. I'm a sucker for all things new wave and post punk and this one is right up there, tbh.

Slanted And Enchanted by Pavement
Jul 13 2025

I have absolutely no idea what any of these dudes are singing about in these songs, but I absolutely love this album. It's an all-time "What the fuck is this garbage?" album from my youth. The jocks haaaaaated it.

Leftism by Leftfield
Jul 14 2025

I absolutely adore the Brit Beeps and Bloops from this era but Leftism is just one notch behind Underworld, The Orb and Orbital for me. Keep in mind that this is the opinion of somebody who's never taken a drug harder than caffeine, though.

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Jul 15 2025

I actually quite like a lot of RHCP stuff, especially Mother's Milk, but this is soooooooooooooooooooo fucking bad. Two stars because there are a few songs where they let Flea remind them this is supposed to be - to some extent - funky and punky.

Jul 16 2025

Slow songs are torture (he shouldn't be allowed to cover Stevie) but the up-tempo songs are tolerable. An extra star for the time I was dancing with an absolutely stunning med student friend-of-a-friend's-girlfriend to Freedom and, after an exchange of flirtatious banter, she two-hand shoved me while I was of my feet and accidentally sent me flying about 20' across the dance floor taking people out like bowling pins. Did I end up hooking up with her? God no, she burst out crying and ran out of the club bawling her eyes out, but it was one of the very funniest of the many many ways I've managed to not get laid over the years.

Jul 17 2025

I just don't like 2Pac and never really have, with the exception of California Love. He always felt super-fake to me, even in a genre of very fake personas. Might just be that people who I knew who were really into 2Pac were super-annoying.

Duck Rock by Malcolm McLaren
Jul 18 2025

I did not need to hear this album before I died or at any other time.

Hot Fuss by The Killers
Jul 19 2025

This CD is buried somewhere in the dashboard of my "champagne"/beige 20021 Honda Civic sedan because I managed to insert the CD between the stereo and the dashboard instead of in the slot where CDs go. Too bad, it's a more than decent album, except for the last song which might be the single worst thing I've ever heard; should have called it a day at 11 tracks.

Pieces Of The Sky by Emmylou Harris
Jul 20 2025

Twingy twangy, something about the Bible. I'm sure it's fine but just not at all my cup of tea, really.

Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf
Jul 21 2025

I always thought my contempt for this was just some residual teenaged snobbery but now that I've listened to the whole album, no, this just absolutely sucks. Musical/opera sounding bullshit with strings and nonsense. Get it to fuck.

Marquee Moon by Television
Jul 22 2025

This has got to be one of the single greatest guitar albums of all time. Nothing else sounds quite like it. Shame they were damn near one and done.

Roger the Engineer by The Yardbirds
Jul 23 2025

I really enjoyed this. I've always known the Yardbirds are historically important, but never knew where to put them. Still don't know where to put them but this is fun.

Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Jul 24 2025

Well, this is absolutely the "One Album a Day" version of a cheap pop and a way to goose the numbers for this album, but it absolutely goes hard as fuck and would fully deserve the 5 stars on any other day as well. RIP Ozzy

S&M by Metallica
Jul 25 2025

Literally no album has ever been less necessary. I'd say it ruined their legacy, but pretty much everything they'd recorded since "...And Justice For All" had already done that. "Nominally speed metal with a symphony" remains one of the single dumbest ideas I've heard of nevertheless.

Hotel California by Eagles
Jul 26 2025

Althought I'd never listened to it I was pretty sure I hated this album based on the singles (except for Life in the Fast Lane, which gets a pass for its use in Fast Times at Ridgemont High). It's actually even worse than I thought.

xx by The xx
Jul 27 2025

Twee, but not insufferably so. Decent enough background music but I'd be surprised if I ever listened to it again.

Devotional Songs by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Jul 28 2025

Enjoyed this, but I'll be damned if it didn't make me ravenously hungry for an Indian buffet. Also the first album I've been served up that didn't have a Wikipedia page.

Music in Exile by Songhoy Blues
Jul 29 2025

An absolutely delightful surprise. An updated take on Ali Farka Toure's desert blues; will be listening to the rest of their stuff now. Also, second album in a row without a Wikipedia page.

The Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden
Jul 30 2025

An album that goes so hard I was able to overcome my decades-long aversion to Iron Maiden caused by Brad Smoliak, the bully who tormented me every day of Grade 5. Until I put his ass in the hospital.

The Doors by The Doors
Aug 03 2025

I would have given this four stars, because I really do like some of these songs (although they're extremely out of fashion), but The End may be the single worst track ever included on a major label release.

Aug 04 2025

There's really not a lot here beyond Tainted Love, which is an all-time great cover. I did like that there was a song called Sex Dwarf, though - not that I remember what it sounded like.

Aug 05 2025

Good mindless fun and a great singalong. Noel Gallagher will always primarily be the Inspiral Carpets' roadie to me, though.

Liege And Lief by Fairport Convention
Aug 06 2025

The more Celtic-sounding bits are close to being good, but nah. It's supposed to be folk rock but there's very little rock here, tbh. Just makes me want to listen to the Wolfetones or The Pogues.

Vento De Maio by Elis Regina
Aug 07 2025

I don't like jazz. I like Brazilian jazz more than some other jazz, but I still don't like jazz.

Fuzzy Logic by Super Furry Animals
Aug 08 2025

I had heard of this band but never heard any of their songs. Somehow, just from the year of the album, the album cover, and the name I knew exactly what they'd sound like. It's fine, but I think 1996 is the dividing line after which all indie-type stuff is for the youths, not me.

The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
Aug 09 2025

A shimmering work of incadescent genius. Listened to it three times straight. I'm like 99% sure I'd find every single one of them absolutely insufferable (and would want to fight Lou reed within about two minutes), but this is the best of the best and the top of the tops.

Joan Armatrading by Joan Armatrading
Aug 10 2025

Just didn't do anything for me. I'd listen to it a second time to see if it hits different on repeat, but I don't want to.

Mask by Bauhaus
Aug 11 2025

It's kind of like Joy Division, but if they couldn't make songs that sound good. Unfortunately, this is not the album with Bela Lugosi's Dead on it.

Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
Aug 12 2025

I love Sad Bruce singing about losers so so much. Way better than The Boss, who is also great. Probably not a great sign for my mental health how much I identify with the loser protagonists in these songs.

What's That Noise? by Coldcut
Aug 14 2025

I like these bleeps and blorps much better. This album fucks, actually. Mindless fun during our current exeptionally grim times.

Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Aug 15 2025

It's alright, I guess. The Young isn't quite enough to make up for the Crosby, Stills, & Nash, imo.

The Genius Of Ray Charles by Ray Charles
Aug 16 2025

Don't like it as much as Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which is fucking astonishingly good, but I listened to it four times in a row, so it must be pretty damn good too.

My Generation by The Who
Aug 17 2025

Damn it. I'm going to have to find a copy of this on vinyl, aren't I? I love The Who, but this is an ever more interesting listen than I'd thought. You can see just a bit of Townshend's subsequent weirdness poking through.

The Stranger by Billy Joel
Aug 18 2025

This album is just Boomer suburbanism in its purest form. A few decent tracks, I guess.

Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens
Aug 19 2025

I generally despise folk rock - plug your fucking guitar into an amp, FFS. This is worse than most, but it gets a bonus star because that one song worked really well in one of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter
Aug 20 2025

Is it "Deerhunter" by Halcyon Digest or "Halcyon Digest" by Deerhunter? I'll never know because this is unlistenable dreck.

Bubble And Scrape by Sebadoh
Aug 21 2025

An absolute masterpiece that I would probably hate if it was something new that came out in 2025 that I accidentally heard.

Youth And Young Manhood by Kings of Leon
Aug 22 2025

The sound of an entire genre of music falling dead on its ass as a meaningful cultural force. Wretched.

Either Or by Elliott Smith
Aug 23 2025

n the immortal words of DJ Hennessy Youngman: "Awwwwwwww! Sad white guy!" Bonus star for a funny bit in the YouTube clip for the song "Pictures of Me" where they cut from a picture of the sad white guy to a blank screen when he says "So sick of pictures of me." I chuckled.

A Walk Across The Rooftops by The Blue Nile
Aug 24 2025

I'm on a serious run of sad white guy music right now. Genre variously described as sophisti-pop, synth-pop, ambient, and blue-eyed soul. Whatever it is, it's not for me.

Aug 25 2025

The algorithm must know I'm a sad white guy these days because I am on a horrible run of sad white guy music and I don't like it.

Moondance by Van Morrison
Aug 26 2025

Choosing to listen to this album voluntarily would be like choosing to sit in the back of my Mom's metallic green Buick in 1979.

Faith by George Michael
Aug 27 2025

I was horribly snobby at the time and though I was too good for this bland nonsense. I was right.

Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds
Aug 28 2025

There are some good songs here but it's all just too reverse derivative of a lot of jangly harmonizing stuff that I used to love but now kind of hate because it seems like happy person music.

Aug 29 2025

I know it's a stereotype for snooty little shits like me who think they have impeccable musical taste to hate on this band/album but, honestly, if I could punch any album in its face this would be the one. Formerly unavaoidable utter crap.

Doolittle by Pixies
Aug 30 2025

A straight up fucking masterpiece. No album has ever been more my shit. Fuck it, I'm listening to it for the rest of the work day.

Heroes to Zeros by The Beta Band
Aug 31 2025

Had never actually listened to this, but it's quite good. Ignored it because "band broke up immediately after releasing this album" albums tend to be a bit shite, but it's closer to The Three EPs and their debut than I'd have thought.

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
Sep 01 2025

I got The Suburbs earlier this week and it still hit, but this one really doesn't hit at all anymore. Weird.

Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
Sep 02 2025

Saw the album title. Thought "Fuck yeah! AC/DC! Five stars!" Re-read the album title. Thought "Fuck yeah! Amy Winehouse! Five Stars!"

Sep 03 2025

I have no idea what we call this genre, where in Africa or the African diaspora this dude is from, or what in the hell he is singing about, but it had me absolutely bopping in my office chair.

Sep 04 2025

I didn't mind the opening instrumental, but the rest of this is a kind of smooth mid-90s R&B I can't stand (probably largely because no girls wanted to dance with me to songs like this).

Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode
Sep 05 2025

A good album, but not quite a great album. They absolutely hit their peak with Violator. This one has a few too many slow/whiny songs.

Stand! by Sly & The Family Stone
Sep 06 2025

Yet another masterpiece I have on vinyl and listened to the other day. Sly was an absolute genius. Too bad he did just a little bit too much of the wrong kind of drugs to sustain his peak for a few more albums.

At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash
Sep 07 2025

Classic for a reason. I still revile modern commercial country music but The Man in Black is the real deal (and quite funny to boot). I also like he went back to the prison concert well repeatedly.

Queen II by Queen
Sep 08 2025

I am a sucker for rock opera but I absolutely hate rock where the singer is trying to sing opera. This albums is absolute dogshit, except for a couple of songs where other people sing.

Dookie by Green Day
Sep 09 2025

Forgot how much I like stuff like this and Rancid; much much better than the subsequent derivative "pop" "punk" dreck it inspired. Denied a 5th star by the idiotic hidden track.

Gasoline Alley by Rod Stewart
Sep 10 2025

Decent Rod but nowhere near his creative peak, imo. Doesn't really hit for me except for "It's All Over Now," which is fantastic.

Sign 'O' The Times by Prince
Sep 11 2025

This has got to be an all-time "Oh no, this genius has too much money and is too famous and the quality of his music is about to go straight off a cliff" album. Love the little purple guy but this is much worse than I remembered.

Brutal Youth by Elvis Costello
Sep 12 2025

Just don't get this one at all. There must be at least six other Elvis Costello albums in the book because this one doesn't have anything noteworthy at all about it. It's a paradigmatic "this guy used to be good" album.

Rubber Soul by Beatles
Sep 13 2025

I think this is their high point. I would say it's "Revolver," which goes a bit harder, but my socialist principles preclude me from giving the nod to an album that opens with "Taxman."

Peter Gabriel by Peter Gabriel
Sep 14 2025

I think I've listened to this album six times in a row now and I still don't know whether I like it or not, but I guess I don't hate it? It probably squeaks a 3.5 and gets rounded up because Solsbury Hill is a great song.

Orbital 2 by Orbital
Sep 15 2025

Had to listen to it all the way through to try to figure out if there was a way to give it six stars (even though I actually think Orbital is their best album rather than Orbital).

Document by R.E.M.
Sep 16 2025

As is so often the case for me, a band's album with the heaviest guitars is my favourite album of theirs.

...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears
Sep 17 2025

Not even remotely my cup of tea, but the singles have OK hooks and in my old age I'm much more amendable to late 90s stuff that's sort of mindless fun . A remarkable lack of effort was put into the non-singles here.

Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
Sep 18 2025

Sunny spring Sunday afternoon music (complimentary). This album consists largely of songs I know but didn't know I knew or know who sang them.

The Slider by T. Rex
Sep 19 2025

Listened to this one so many times, but I just couldn't get my head around whether I liked it. Turns out, I don't. It's the glam rock equivalent of Jason Mendoza's Skrillex concert where the beat never drops.

Superunknown by Soundgarden
Sep 20 2025

Has some good songs, but Louder than Love and Badmotorfinger absolutely blow it out of the water. Yes I know I'm an insufferable "I actually prefer their earlier stuff from before you plebes had even heard of them" guy but in this case I'm entirely right.

Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento
Sep 21 2025

I liked this. No idea what these songs are about but it had kind of a chill vibe. Seems like the kind of thing I'd enjoy listening to while drinking a beer in the sun. You know, if I drank beer or could stand setting in the sun.

Hot Shots II by The Beta Band
Sep 22 2025

Probably their best album, although there are a couple of terrible tracks hidden in there. Still, at least it doesn't have The Beta Band Rap on it.

Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Sep 23 2025

More like Nick Cave and the Bad Songs, imo. I hated this album so much I stayed at the album an hour late just so I wouldn't have to listen to the rest of it in the morning.

Shaft by Isaac Hayes
Sep 24 2025

This album/soundtrack fucking rules, although it's kinda funny they didn't actually cast Isaac Hayes as John Shaft.

Play by Moby
Sep 25 2025

I have a "post review right after listening" rule, so it took me 10 times through to decide whether I still like this or not. I don't think I do. I still really respect what he did here by incorporating samples of old blues tracks into modern electronic stuff, but it doesn't hit.

16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens
Sep 26 2025

I might like this if I was Australian and I grew up with it? All much too jangly and twee and unmemorable for my liking.

Sep 27 2025

My sister and I had a big fight when she derided Side 2 as "some hippy bullshit" and I said Side 2 was better than Side 1. I was right - it really holds up. Loses a star because the Canucks stopped using "Where the Streets Have No Name" as their intro music.

Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman
Sep 28 2025

Boy, I really don't fuck with this kind of folk music at all. A 2nd star because Fast Car has a Dylanesque "if somebody with a decent voice and an electric guitar covered this it might go, actually" vibe to it.

Django Django by Django Django
Sep 29 2025

This was alright, Kind of sounds like The Beta Band but bland. The Beta Bland.

Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Sep 30 2025

I put "Fuck yeah!" in my notes but forgot to finish the review. Upon further reflection, that's entirely sufficient. An album so innovative I'd Mandela Effected it coming out 5-7 years later than it did.

School's Out by Alice Cooper
Oct 01 2025

Decidedly mid and surprisingly inconsequential. Gets a 2nd star for what's his face's use of the title track in the paddling/hazing scene in Dazed and Confused.

Deloused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
Oct 02 2025

I like some of the sounds these dudes make but none of the sounds actually seem to amount to songs.

1977 by Ash
Oct 03 2025

Somehow this one entirely slipped past me even though it's from my era. I liked it. Might listen to it again sometime.

Heroes by David Bowie
Oct 04 2025

Iconic. Legendary. Impactful. A vibe. One of the worst album covers I've ever seen in my life. Looks like a guy who failed out of mime college. Also, I'm pretty sure track 9 was written and recorded by a Canada Goose.

Machine Gun Etiquette by The Damned
Oct 05 2025

I dunno, it kind of falls between the two stools of punk and post punk for me, I guess? Nothing I actively hated but nothing that stuck. I'm probably just too old.

Cross by Justice
Oct 06 2025

First time I listened to this, I thought "this kind of sounds like Dollar Store Daft Punk." Turns out they're also French folks signed to the same label. Thought it was decent, but I'm in the office by myself, so I turned it up as loud as I could and it's quite good.

Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin
Oct 07 2025

Incredibly good considering it's basically just an odds and sods album. It has Kashmir on it. It has to get five stars. That's the law.

Bongo Rock by Incredible Bongo Band
Oct 08 2025

f you love hip hop and you've never listened to this madness you absolutely should. Apache is the obvious one but there are a bunch of other tracks here that have been sampled into oblivion. A the-good-drugs-from-the-early-70s-fuelled instrumental masterpiece.

Bayou Country by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Oct 09 2025

If there's one thing y'all need to know about me it's that I loves me some chooglin'. I might need to choogle on down to New Orleans in 2029.

Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry
Oct 10 2025

Didn't really fuck with this at the time. Don't fuck with it now.

Garbage by Garbage
Oct 11 2025

I'd never listened to this album before. I like Manson as a singer and the singles are decent but I dislike something about them as a band.

Arrival by ABBA
Oct 12 2025

As time has gone on I've really mellowed on some stuff I absolutely despised as a kid and come to quite like some of it as my snobbery has lessened. But not ABBA. Not fucking ABBA.

Le Tigre by Le Tigre
Oct 13 2025

They came in super hot with a huge Peter Hookesque bassline on the first track, then kind of settled down into some fun and kooky stuff. 4th star for getting in super early on making fun of Rudy Giuliani.

Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
Oct 14 2025

Almost gave it six stars by accident. An all-time favourite and I only regret that my desktop doesn't have near enough volume to play this at blindness-inducing volumes.

Phaedra by Tangerine Dream
Oct 15 2025

Best "kosmiche" album I've ever listened to. Will almost certainly be the only I ever listen to but it wasn't bad for this kind of thing.

Ritual De Lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction
Oct 16 2025

I intentionaly avoid understanding anything about music. It's like not wanting to know a magician's tricks. So I don't know why this sounds so awesome and unique, but it does.

The Coral by The Coral
Oct 17 2025

Vocal harmonies aren't a substitute for writing a song that doesn't fucking suck. This band seems like the most annoying kids you went to school with.

The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett
Oct 18 2025

I gather from Wikipedia that this is supposed to be good or remarkable or something. To me it just feels like I'm in trouble for something. This is the exact kind of music you hear against your will at a depressing bar in a huge soulless hotel attached to a convention centre.

Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine
Oct 19 2025

This is just the worst every try-hard, look-how-cultured-and-hip-and-better-than-you-I-am nonsense music ever. Absolutely fucking love it; just wish I could play it loud enough at the office.

Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre
Oct 20 2025

Bleepy and bloopy, but kind of fun in a 70s sci-fi optimism kind of way.

Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder
Oct 21 2025

Wall to wall bangers. A masterpiece. A culmination of a five-album run that's arguably the greatest in the history of popular music - only slightly tripped up by Fullingness' First Finale being like a quarter notch below the other four. Flip it and Songs in the Key of Life and you have a season 5 of The Wire equivalent.

The Score by Fugees
Oct 22 2025

It's a damn shame we never got more from Lauryn Hill; it's also a damn shame we got this much from Pras and Wyclef. Wyclef did seem like a good dude that time we were both stuck at the border, though.

The Who Sell Out by The Who
Oct 23 2025

Totes adorbs, imo. Also, never would have gotten the incandescently ridiculous glories of Tommy and Quadrophenia without this precursor.

Tragic Songs of Life by The Louvin Brothers
Oct 24 2025

This wasn't completely terrible. I mean, I thought it was the first time around, but on the second time through I was paying enough attention to hear In the Pines, which is great (even though I still like Cobain's version better).

Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Oct 25 2025

Utterly unfuckwithable. The amount of great music they put out in literally 2.5 years is absolutely insane.

Rage Against The Machine by Rage Against The Machine
Oct 26 2025

It goes hard as fuck, but it suffers from being an influence on a whole lot of terrible terrible bands that didn't have the redeeming political content.

Killing Joke by Killing Joke
Oct 27 2025

I'm listening to this for about the 10th straight time. It goes so hard. It's like the missing link between late-70s punk and mid-80s industrial

good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
Oct 28 2025

This is a great album and a breakthrough, but I need to leave some room for his future greatnesses even though I don't know if they'll be in the book or not.

Purple Rain by Prince
Oct 29 2025

A transcendent genius at the absolute height of his powers. However, every time I listen to this I wonder was Nikki masturbating "with a magazine" or "WITH a magazine" because the latter sound potentially painful. Or maybe I'm just a bit of a baby about paper cuts.

Dusty In Memphis by Dusty Springfield
Oct 30 2025

A stone cold classic. We all know Son of a Preacher Man, but there are plenty of other great tracks here. Unfortunately, one star off because her final vocal tracks were actually recorded in New York.

american dream by LCD Soundsystem
Oct 31 2025

Nope. Not at all. Not one little bit. Absolutely not. And fuck off with the twee "we put all our song titles in lower case because we're artistes" nonsense.

Imagine by John Lennon
Nov 01 2025

At least it doesn't have as much Yoko as Double Fantasy, I guess? When you know a bit about Lennon's personal history "Jealous Guy" is incredibly offputting/creepy.

Nov 03 2025

I'll never be entirely confident that prog rock wasn't an elaborate and long-running practical joke. Second star because some of this is so absurdly noodly that I chuckled.

Horses by Patti Smith
Nov 04 2025

I don't even get how this is considered punk rock, let alone one of the greatest albums of all time. Like, it's not bad at all but whenever I listen to this I'm like "So, that's it, huh?"

Electric by The Cult
Nov 05 2025

3 absolute bangers and 8 of the most deeply mediocre rock-by-numbers filler tracks you'll ever hear in your life. Can't give it more than three stars in good conscience.

Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos
Nov 06 2025

This is a lot like Kate Bush but if Kate Bush was, like suuuuuuuuuuper boring instead of being awesome. Every note of this is like "I am an . . . ARTIST!"

Nov 07 2025

Fuck. English rap again. I'm a firm believer in the value of diversity but that doesn't extend to letting Brits try to rap. (Review posted 45 seconds into the first track.)

The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
Nov 08 2025

An awesome album, but I'm only giving it 4 stars just in case their two albums I like better are on the list. RIP Phife Dawg.

Here Are the Sonics by The Sonics
Nov 09 2025

Just fantastic pure garage rock with a tinge of proto-punk and maybe deep roots of eventual grunge that came out of the same neck of the woods. And now I'm looking for this on Discogs. Damn it.

Wild Wood by Paul Weller
Nov 10 2025

Listened to this 2.5 times and really wanted to like it but it's just one of those albums where literally none of the tracks can adhere to my brain.

Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Nov 11 2025

Probably their best album, which means it should rightfully be given six stars. However, in silly social media ranking exercies, as in life, I oppose grade inflation.

Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
Nov 12 2025

I'm never sure if my hatred for prog is snobbery or reverse snobbery, but this is crap regardless of that. I tried to give it a chance but it was super-noodly. THEN the guy started announcing the names of instruments. THEN, in Pt. II some guy started growling? Get me the fuck outta here.

At Newport 1960 by Muddy Waters
Nov 13 2025

I like but don't love this, but I love so much music that it obviously influenced.

Car Wheels On A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
Nov 14 2025

Liked it enough to listen to it two more times and it hit on the 3rd lesson. Will probably listen to some of her recent stuff, which seems to consist mostly of covers of interesting stuff.

Figure 8 by Elliott Smith
Nov 15 2025

This entire album is nothing but the "AWWWWWWWW SAD WHITE GUY" drop from CVS Bangers. This is just the guy with an acoustic guitar at a party singing his original compositions nobody actually wants to hear. Not for me. I must be a different kind of sad white guy.

Water From An Ancient Well by Abdullah Ibrahim
Nov 16 2025

Me out loud after literally one bar: "Oh fuck. Not jazz again. I thought it might be something interesting."

Come Find Yourself by Fun Lovin' Criminals
Nov 17 2025

Utterly inconsequential disposable nonsense.

At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
Nov 18 2025

It's OK, but too noodly. I don't like jams; I like songs.

Dry by PJ Harvey
Nov 19 2025

Listened to this like four times through now and, like, the music is good and her voice is fine but I just don't like the songs, I guess? Not terrible, though.

Step In The Arena by Gang Starr
Nov 20 2025

Stone cold classic old school hip hop, but doesn't have any true standout tracks. Hella consistent, though.

Low by David Bowie
Nov 21 2025

I can totally hear how it has tentacles that influenced all kinds of music I love that came out in the following couple of decades but the "experiments" to "songs that go hard" ratio is just too far out of wack to stand up to a bunch of true five-star albums of his from this era.

Thriller by Michael Jackson
Nov 22 2025
Real Life by Magazine
Nov 23 2025

Never heard this (or heard of it) before. Probably not a good sign than I thought they were German. I've heard worse though, tbh.

Maxinquaye by Tricky
Nov 24 2025

I like trip hop and I like Tricky in Massive Attack, but this is just kind of there. Probably one I'd have liked better if I'd heard it at the time. Did make me want to listen to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, though.

The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
Nov 25 2025

If I ever need to be reminded what it feels like to be a moody and troubled youth this classic will always be there for me. One star off because Moz is a wanker.

Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson
Nov 26 2025

For whatever reason, this is the all-time "I know almost all of these songs and absolutely love several of them ("Gotta Get Up" and "Jump Into the Fire") but have no idea who sang them" album. Shame we didn't get more from him.

Armed Forces by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Nov 27 2025

I've always liked Elvis Costello but this one goes off a cliff after the first half of Side A for me. Only Elvis Costello album I own but I literally forgot I had this one until I saw the alternate cover on Wikipedia.

Nov 28 2025

Some of the music is actually not bad and goes a little bit, but I've got no idea what the fuck is going on with the plot. Makes Tommy seems sensible. Also does Peter Gabriel sound like Phil Collins or vice versa?

B-52's by The B-52's
Nov 29 2025

This is a really fun little album. It would be a bit too much to take on heavy rotation but Rock Lobster and Planet Claire are classics (especially because my longest-lived cat was named for the latter.)

Smokers Delight by Nightmares On Wax
Nov 30 2025

I like trip hop but I have no idea how this nothingness could possibly have made the list when there's already been a decent amount of trip hop. It's just . . . there? Not terrible, but completely unmemorable.

Rock 'N Soul by Solomon Burke
Dec 01 2025

Does what it says on the can. A good solid bit of popular music history without any true standout tracks.

Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin
Dec 02 2025

It is literally impossible to listen to this album all the way through since Side 1 Track 1 is "Immigrant Song"; I just enc up listening to that over an over even if I'm not what Ragnarok. I can only assume the remaining tracks also go that hard.

Live At The Regal by B.B. King
Dec 04 2025

It's fine, but B.B. King's songs always sound kind of same-ish to me and there's nothing here that really makes it pop.

Illmatic by Nas
Dec 05 2025

An all-timer from an all-timer. I have no choice but to rate this five stars because: (1) it entirely deserves it; and (2) I'm pretty sure Ladyfriend would kill me in my sleep if I didn't.

Heaven Or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins
Dec 06 2025

Ethereal AF. The kind of music I really liked as a teen but never bought on cassette and kind of forgot about. Album holds up all the way through.

Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix
Dec 07 2025

I love Jimi, but this is definitely his "best-selling author refuses to have an editor anymore after two huge hits and you can really really tell" album. Couple of great tracks but not enough for a double album.

First Band On The Moon by The Cardigans
Dec 08 2025

This sounds like music for people who are happy. I hate it. Nails on a chalkboard. Too twee by three quarters.

Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
Dec 09 2025

An absolute hydrogen bomb of an album. It's either the most fuckwithable album of the most unfuckwithable album at all time. I would take 1/10th of a point off for the female orgasm sounds in Rocket Queen, though; I get caught out by that every time I listen to this at the office.

Dec 10 2025

This is a prank, right? Wikipedia genres: (1) Avant-pop; (2) dark wave; (3) experimental; and (4) post-punk. More like post-music. Get it in the fucking bin.

Opus Dei by Laibach
Dec 11 2025

German (pejorative). Turns out it's actually Slovenian but I stand by my original - and correct - take.

Kenza by Khaled
Dec 12 2025

TIL Imagine is just as terrible a song with the lyrics in Arabic. Started out strong then fell off a cliff with this terrible cover then bounced back a bit. Three stars but for the Lennonization. Probably still going to get shawarma for lunch tomorrow, though.

Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
Dec 13 2025

I truly won't stop 'til I get enough. Listening to it for a 4th time.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Dec 14 2025

I hate the singles but the deep cuts are even worse. Not sure any band has ever had a steeper drop off that the one they had from Mother's Milk to this dreck.

Among The Living by Anthrax
Dec 15 2025

By far the least of the Big 4 thrash metal bands. I was going to say the only good thing they ever did was get a riff sampled by Public Enemy, but that was Slayer.

Vol. 4 by Black Sabbath
Dec 16 2025

This is a damn good album. I clearly haven't listened to enough of Sabbath's catalogue. Changes has got to be one of the most " I owe you an apology I wasn't really familiar with your game" tracks of all time.

Closer by Joy Division
Dec 17 2025

Astonishingly brilliant. Ian Curtis was simply an enormous loss and Peter Hook did some simply incredible work on the bass here.

Dec 18 2025

This wasn't what I expected, but that doesn't mean it was particularly good. It was almost like soft rock, but without any good hooks. Harmless, really.

Meat Puppets II by Meat Puppets
Dec 19 2025

You probably know two tracks on this album from Nirvana's Unplugged (and they're both great here and there) but this is a really good album overall.

Aqualung by Jethro Tull
Dec 20 2025

Who the fuck put flute in my rock and roll? Terrible idea. One song has a decent riff but I'll be damned if I'm going to go back and look up which one.

Chore of Enchantment by Giant Sand
Dec 21 2025

Inconsequential utter dugshite. Terrible Tom Waits-like singtalking but without even having interesting storytelling. An instrumental version would be fine.

In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
Dec 22 2025

I dunno, I used to like some Sinatra but I don't think this is the Sinatra I used to like. Harmless, though.

Dec 23 2025

This album is so damn good I almost willingly listened to the extra 45 tracks on the Super Mega Deluxe Edition. Damn shame the Davies brothers were the proto-Gallaghers and got themselves banned from playing in the US. By far the most under-rated British invasion-type band.

Something/Anything? by Todd Rundgren
Dec 24 2025

This was a fun little album that I'd never heard of and will definitely listen to again if I remember. Got to get through my backlog right now. Steely Dan kind of vibes.

Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Dec 25 2025

One of their best, but not their very best. Actually surprisingly weak relative to some of their other albums after the title track.

Blood And Chocolate by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Dec 26 2025

I guess this is his "no bangers" album? It's alright but far from his best work and a weird choice for inclusion in this book. TIL the movie "Napoleon Dynamite" is named after the painting on the cover here.

We Are Family by Sister Sledge
Dec 27 2025

Not my cup of tea, but for whatever reason the version of the title track on YouTube has the bass turned way the hell up and it's actually funky as hell. No wonder Pops Stargell fucked with it.

Tical by Method Man
Dec 28 2025

A perfectly fine album, but I'm going to lose my shit if Tical's on the list but Only Built for Cuban Linx... and Liquid Swords aren't I'll lose my shit. Hell, I'd put Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version above this too. Meth's great but best in small doses.

Murmur by R.E.M.
Dec 29 2025

One of the very first cassettes I ever bought and still an all-time favourite. Incomprehensible mumbling and a unique sound I much prefer to all the mandolins and whatever that came later on.

Africa Brasil by Jorge Ben Jor
Dec 30 2025

I liked this. Not sure what he's talking about or what's going on, but it seems like Jorge Ben here is having a good time.

Bone Machine by Tom Waits
Dec 31 2025

You will never ever convince me that Tom Waits isn't a decades long practical joke/Bob Dylan satire.

Homework by Daft Punk
Jan 01 2026

My deeply ingrained 90s know-nothing-at-all-about-music-but-snooty-about-it-anyhow brain feels like I should think this album is beneath, but I don't. It's fun (non-compulsory).

Chirping Crickets by Buddy Holly & The Crickets
Jan 02 2026

I'm generally into historically significant early rock and roll stuff, but this one just has way way way way too much "bop bop bop bop" to it.

Jan 03 2026

I had to listen to this album all the way through six times because the abridge nine-minute version of Free Bird is too short for my liking so I immediately go watch the 11-minute version from the Oakland Coliseum in 1977 and then forget to do my review.

Jan 04 2026

This is a truly great album but I can only give it 4 stars in case the far superior A Ghost is Born or Sky Blue Sky are on the list. Most Chicago album cover of all time, though.

Don't Stand Me Down by Dexys Midnight Runners
Jan 05 2026

This is almost good but gets a bit too kinda violiny for my liking; better when it's more fiddly. Also, the suits on the cover give me the ick; better when it's overalls.

Ready To Die by The Notorious B.I.G.
Jan 06 2026

A hood masterpiece. To my shame, when Biggie came on the scene I thought he was literally a novelty act like the Fat Boyz. Still we wish we could excise Puffy from this, though.

Protection by Massive Attack
Jan 07 2026

A couple of stellar tracks on here, but it can't stand up to masterpiece that is Blue Lines and the cover of "Light My Fire" that ends the album just screams "Oh shit! We're 100% out of ideas!"

Music From The Penguin Cafe by Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Jan 08 2026

Wikipedia's best guess at the genre: "Pop, chamber music, minimalism, avant-folk, chamber jazz, modern classical." Yeah, nobody knows what this is even supposed to be. Bonus star for the album cover where the crow is mansplaining something to the penguin, though.

Queens of the Stone Age by Queens Of The Stone Age
Jan 09 2026

This seems like an album I SHOULD like but I absolutely do not. Probably released just a year or more too late for me.

Green Onions by Booker T. & The MG's
Jan 10 2026

By far the greatest accidental "we were just messing about in the studio and came up with something" album of all time. The early 70s collapse of Stax is one of the biggest tragedies in American cultural history.

Jan 11 2026

So harmless I didn't even realize when it ended, tbh. Might listen to it again at some point to see if I missed anything.

Revolver by Beatles
Jan 12 2026

One of the two albums where they were at their absolute creative peak but my socialist principles preclude me from giving five stars to an album that leads off with the putrescence that is "Taxman."

Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
Jan 13 2026

Kate Bush is an absolute genius. I still have no idea what the hell is going on with Side 2 of this album but I love it dearly nevertheless.

Entertainment by Gang Of Four
Jan 14 2026

An incredibly good album. I'm a sucker for clangy post-punk type guitars.

Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi
Jan 15 2026

I can't possibly give this one less than four stars due to the magnificent majesty of the three singles - three of the best yellalong songs of all time - but my god do the album cuts suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Incredibly low effort.

Eagles by Eagles
Jan 16 2026

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" makes me legitimately homicidal. "Take it Easy"? Fuck off. Absolutely not.

The Gershwin Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald
Jan 17 2026

59 "American standards" performed by a jazz singer and a jazz band is incredibly mean to me in particular.

Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service
Jan 18 2026

This is one of those "jam bands" isn't it? Fuck.

Bryter Layter by Nick Drake
Jan 19 2026

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I can never remember if it's Nick Cave or Nick Drake whom I absolutely despise but it must be Cave because this is too non-descript and unmemorable to really get my dander up.

Axis: Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix
Jan 20 2026

Love Jimi and I know this is only his second album but it's got a little bit of a flavour of "can't tell me a damn thing."

Chris by Christine and the Queens
Jan 21 2026

French (pejorative).

Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys
Jan 22 2026

Not quite as good as This is the Sea, but still a masterpiece that is one of my all-time "Why wasn't this an absolutely enormous commercial hit? Hmmm, probably because these people have no fucking taste" albums.

Live / Dead by Grateful Dead
Jan 23 2026

This was even worse than I expected. It's like a sound check. I think they forgot to do songs. Admittedly I have a deep bias against jam band-type nonsense but this suuuuuuucked.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Jan 24 2026

Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, and Cowgirl in the Sand all on one album is absolutely filthy work and more than enough to make up for this album being 57.1% filler tracks.

Stripped by Christina Aguilera
Jan 25 2026

Ma'am. Respectfully.

Fuzzy by Grant Lee Buffalo
Jan 26 2026

Zzzquil in musical form. I guess it's not that bad and maybe I'll listen to it again to see if I missed anything but "fuzzy" is far too good a description of this one:

Songs Of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen
Jan 27 2026

Not as bad as the other Cohen album inflicted on me but still deeply unpleasant. I don't mind terrible singers but terrible singtalking is not my thing.

Devil Without A Cause by Kid Rock
Jan 28 2026

The only possible explanation for this being in a book called 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die is if it is the last album you ever here because it makes you lose the will to continue living in a fallen world.

Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
Jan 29 2026

Insufferably twee. The most "American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002" album imaginable. Like Arcade Fire if they had no song-writing talent. You don't even need to listen to this album to hate it; just read the frontman's quotes on the Wikipedia page.

Pacific Ocean Blue by Dennis Wilson
Jan 30 2026

I was absolutely shocked by how good this album I'd never heard of was; would definitely pick it up if I ever found it in the crates. Also, all the Manson Family stuff is absolutely wild - "OK, uh, you can have my house. I'm just gonna go now."

More Specials by The Specials
Jan 31 2026

I regret to inform you that this kinda slaps, actually. Ska's good sometimes, especially on a Friday.

Future Days by Can
Feb 01 2026

German (pejorative). I can almost see where it's going sometimes but it never actually gets there.

No Other by Gene Clark
Feb 02 2026

Not bad. Pretty listenable and almost Neil Young-ish actually. Probably because I had no idea who he was and feared it might be jazz, but still a pleasant surprise.

Post Orgasmic Chill by Skunk Anansie
Feb 04 2026

Late 90s "alternative metal" at its absolute worst. A nails on a chalkboard cultural wasteland.

Hms Fable by Shack
Feb 05 2026

This is by far the best "never heard of it" album I've gotten from the site and I'm 402 albums in. Listened to it twice. A hidden gem or whatnot.

Logical Progression by LTJ Bukem
Feb 06 2026

This is pretty decent and I like this kind of stuff, but it was damn near impossible to find a full version on YouTube because copyright nonsense. Three stars on the assumption the muted tracks are neither great nor terrible.

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
Feb 07 2026

This is half-decent Dylan, which means I actually like some of the songs but would massively prefer cover versions of the songs. At least it's not the pure folkie stuff.

Kollaps by Einstürzende Neubauten
Feb 08 2026

German (pejorative). It's just noise. Unpleasant noise.

Throwing Muses by Throwing Muses
Feb 09 2026

Can definitely hear how influential this was on a lot of later stuff that I really like but I don't really like this all that much. Heard worse.

Let England Shake by PJ Harvey
Feb 10 2026

Polly Jean had me from the xylophone here. 3.5 stars, really but rounded up because xylophone.

Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch
Feb 12 2026

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Made In Japan by Deep Purple
Feb 13 2026

I don't even hate Smoke on the Water and the main riff in Space Truckin' is pretty good but I just can't with 19-minute version of songs featuring drum solos and "improvisation" and whatnot. Just play the song like you're supposed to.

Porcupine by Echo And The Bunnymen
Feb 14 2026

Musically, this is 100% my jam; I'm a sucker for new wave/post punk type stuff. Singing and lyrics, maybe not so much. Good enough for me to listen to a couple more of their albums for sure.

Violator by Depeche Mode
Feb 15 2026

"Personal Jesus" is pretty much their big song but it's probably my least favourite on this album (and I like it just fine). They're a bit too mopey for my liking at times (I can do that fine myself) but this is an excellent album.

Actually by Pet Shop Boys
Feb 16 2026

A lovely album, though I like the one dude's music quite a bit more than the other dude's singing

Tapestry by Carole King
Feb 17 2026

The singer-songwriter/folk/soft rock/songs about feelings things is just not for me. Bonus star for the kitty on the album cover.

Feb 18 2026

Motherfucker, your debut album (which is the epitome of "entirely mid and forgettable but relatively harmless") does not in any way merit a 12 minute 14 second long outro track. "Shoutout to everybody"? Shut the fuck up, man. Such a weird inclusion for this book.

Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes
Feb 19 2026

Chef was really cooking with this one. Possibly the greatest 4-track LP of all-time.

C'est Chic by CHIC
Feb 20 2026

Nile Rodgers is a genius and whatnot but I wish he'd used his powers for good instead of disco. This is music for happy people who enjoy life, not for me.

Caetano Veloso by Caetano Veloso
Feb 21 2026

Quite a fun little album, though I have no idea what's going on. Goes in the "would grab it if I found a copy in the $2/$3 bargain bin" category but not more than that.

Feb 22 2026

Some more than decent bleeps and bloops here but, much like Jason Mendoza, I was waiting for the beat to drop and it just . . . never dropped. I guess that's the nature of ambient, but still.

System Of A Down by System Of A Down
Feb 23 2026

"Nu metal" may be the worst thing to ever happen to Western Civilization. More singing and less growling, please. Made it 45 seconds into this before reaching this conclusion. Makes Limp Bizkit sound like Mozart.

Exile In Guyville by Liz Phair
Feb 24 2026

An all-time album and probably my all-time musician crush. I really think Liz and I would have a lot in common, tbh. Except that I can't play guitar and have no discernible talents.

Feb 25 2026

I'm a sucker for anything in the new wave late 70s/early 80s English context, but not this. Too many pianos and piano-sounding keyboards.

Blackstar by David Bowie
Feb 26 2026

This album isn't actually, you know, good? I get why it gets lauded so much but it has a deficit of good songs and a surprlus of bad singing, annoying/tinny electronic drums, and damned saxophones. Good on him for running through the tape and all, but nah.

Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley
Feb 27 2026

Smell like cultural appropriation in here to anybody else? Doesn't have "In the Ghetto" or "Suspicious Minds" on it so I'm leaning Chuck D's way here, although I acknowledge Elvis was foundational in the development of rock and roll.

Nevermind by Nirvana
Feb 28 2026

Honestly, has never hit the same since Kurt died. Still great, but unpleasant to listen to now because I'm old and dead inside.

The Libertines by The Libertines
Mar 01 2026

Completely missed this at the time; all I know about them is that one of the main guys has a heroic level of narcotics abuse. Kind of fun and energetic, though. Really probably a 3.4.

Ghosteen by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Mar 02 2026

I think this could end up being album #1001. I think this huge nerd is singing about being sad? Good, hope he's as miserable as I am after having to listen to this. Lower bpm than an Olympic gold medalist marathoner's resting heart rate.

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns by Joni Mitchell
Mar 03 2026

A huge amount of "not for me" on this album. Just thankful it wasn't a double album, tbh.

Want Two by Rufus Wainwright
Mar 04 2026

Absolute garbage. Unlistenable moany dreck. I Want Zero.

Trafalgar by Bee Gees
Mar 05 2026

This is terrible. I can't stand them in their disco mode but them in sad white guy slow jam mode is so much worse. At least you could hypothetically shake your ass to the disco songs. Cool cover, though.

Teenager Of The Year by Frank Black
Mar 06 2026

Rock solid rock and roll. I don't know enough music to understand why but there's something I really like about the rhythm section on this.

Dirty by Sonic Youth
Mar 07 2026

Not quite as godlike as Daydream Nation or Goo but still absolutely fucking awesome. All the noise and stuff is great and right up my alley but they really are great songwriters who more people should cover in different genres, imo.

Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
Mar 08 2026

I mean . . . it's kind of loud and heavy, which is historically important, but it just doesn't sound good and there are too many squeaky organ solos.

Smash by The Offspring
Mar 11 2026

Nah. Not for me (except for the bassline on "Self-Esteem"). Has a lot to answer for in terms of the godawful unlistenable "pop" "punk" that followed, but at least that one song I really hate isn't on here.

The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
Mar 12 2026

It appears Donald Fagen's solo debut goes in the same category of every Steely Dan album: I have known and kinda fucked with some of these songs for as long as I can remember but I had no idea until just now who the artist was or the name of any of the songs.

The Only Ones by The Only Ones
Mar 13 2026

English (kinda pejorative).

Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
Mar 14 2026

Jazz (pejorative) with a shit tonne of string (extremely pejorative).

Beauty And The Beat by The Go-Go's
Mar 15 2026

Wikipedia says this album is largely at fault for the future development of "pop" "punk," but I love it anyhow. The bridge in "Our Lips are Sealed" with the great bassline and Jane Wiedlin singing "hush my darling" is absolutely transcendent. Also, 1982 Belinda Carlisle totally would have been into me if she got to know me.

Vivid by Living Colour
Mar 16 2026

This album absolutely rips and stands up incredibly well in 2026. Cult of Personality obviously sends an electric shock up the spine, but there are 5 or 6 other absolute bangers on here. Shame they never really reached these heights again.

Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
Mar 17 2026

I have made great strides in overcoming my intense cultural bias against country music but Willie will probably always be a bridge too far for me. Mainly because my Old Man absolutely hated Willie Nelson and would yell at the radio every single time "the Bedbug" came on.

Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
Mar 18 2026

Everything I've ever said about jazz is true.

1984 by Van Halen
Mar 19 2026

Literally no album has ever fucked harder. It's a damn shame they broke up immediately after this one but what a way to go out.

Berlin by Lou Reed
Mar 20 2026

Lots of ideas. Zero bops whatsoever.

Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
Mar 21 2026

Not bad. Decent enough up tempo stuff landing somewhere between post punk and poppish punk, but probably not worth listening to again or picking up from the bargain rack at Barnacle.

Sheet Music by 10cc
Mar 22 2026

This is kinda like Steely Dan if Becker and Fagen were more interested in seeming clever than writing good songs.

Your Arsenal by Morrissey
Mar 23 2026

Not even one of his good or memorable solo albums, really. An insufferable toad of a man, but unquestionably a talent.

La Revancha Del Tango by Gotan Project
Mar 24 2026

Slinky (complimentary). Listening to it a second time.

Teen Dream by Beach House
Mar 25 2026

I'd never heard of this but it was somehow exactly what I expected (pejorative).

Mar 26 2026

I didn't completely hate it; I just mostly hated it. It's actually good for the songs that veer away from "folk jazz" and more towards R&B.

Mar 27 2026

I adore Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch but this is the most "1st album after a seven-year hiatus dreck I've ever heard in my life. 2nd start is because presumably there's no other XTX album on the list.

Mar 28 2026

A rock solid album by one of the greatest soul artists of all time, but I have it just behind Roots, Curtis, and Super Fly. Magnificent album cover, too.

Destroyer by KISS
Mar 29 2026

Has anybody ever done hair ballads worse than Kiss? The third star is for the bassline on Detroit Rock City, which is an absolute all-timer.

Pump by Aerosmith
Mar 30 2026

Aerosmith on drugs (complimentary) and Aerosmith off drugs (pejorative) should really be treated as two different bands. "Janie's Got a Gun" and "The Other Side" are fun enough for a second star.

Crocodiles by Echo And The Bunnymen
Mar 31 2026

Solid overall and in my sonic wheelhouse, but no real standout tracks and (without really knowing their discography) I suspect they have better albums. Probably a 3.499, but I'm in a rounding down mood today.

Seventh Tree by Goldfrapp
Apr 01 2026

Look, some of it's OK background noice, but allI can really say about this one is that when I went to check the lyrics for one song on Genius it just said "[Non-lyrical chorus.]" This is just some lady making sounds.

Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto
Apr 02 2026

Some decent bops even if it's not my sort of thing. Bonus star because there's a song called "Bananeira," which is my sort of thing even if it's in Portuguese.

The Rise & Fall by Madness
Apr 03 2026

Another in the range of "not objectionable but also not my jam." Bonus star for "Our House," which is still great after 40 years.

Dust by Screaming Trees
Apr 04 2026

Not really a Seattle band, but if you consider them a Seattle band they're right up there with any of them. 5-star A side; 3-star B side. Meet in the middle.

Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
Apr 05 2026

"Oh, it's cliche and overplayed." Yeah, it's cliche because everybody under the sun copied it and it's overplayed because it's fucking awesome.

Oar by Alexander 'Skip' Spence
Apr 06 2026

This is just some guy with a guitar mumbling incoherently. I did not need to hear this. There's almost something there but in the end, there isn't.

Apr 07 2026

I swear to God I must have listened to this boring nothingness a dozen times but I could never remember if I actually finished it or not. Influential and blah blah blah but it's literally an infinite loop of drone.

The Stooges by The Stooges
Apr 08 2026

Perfect soundtrack for today. "1969," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and "No Fun" are absolute all-time bangers. This is really a six-star album, imo, due to how far ahead of its time it was and the influence it had.

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake by Small Faces
Apr 09 2026

A fun and quirky Britishism that's kind of like dollar store The Who in that way.

A Girl Called Dusty by Dusty Springfield
Apr 10 2026

I own (and absolutely adore) Dusty (Not Actually) in Memphis, but I think this album is even better overall.

Tidal by Fiona Apple
Apr 11 2026

This is almost a perfect 3.5, but I bumped it to 4 because she was horrifyingly Mozartishly young when she wrote these songs. Also, if I ever became a professional wrestler with a Saul Goodmanesque character I would totally use "Criminal" for my entrance music.

Next by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Apr 12 2026

I just don't think it should be legal to name your own band "Sensational." If this was "The Fair to Middling Alex Harvey Band" it would probably be three stars. As it is two stars for the influence on AC/DC.

Imperial Bedroom by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Apr 13 2026

A perfectly cromulent album (really 3.5 stars), but my goodness does this book ever seem to have a disproportionate amount of Elvis Costello in it - this is 5 albums less than halfway through.

Let It Be by The Replacements
Apr 14 2026

A stone cold classic, but they're still a band I wanted so much more from. Always feels like there should have been one more album from them between Hootenanny and Let it Be.

Apr 15 2026

Solid evidence that "influential" and "important" doesn't have to mean "worth listening to." These dudes managed to start 43 songs but finish none.

Survivor by Destiny's Child
Apr 16 2026

The up tempo singles are classics. The ballady slower songs are dreck. The back end of the album has palpable "just ship it" energy.

Black Metal by Venom
Apr 17 2026

Pretty good proof that being "influential" isn't necessarily a good thing. Heavy enough to be in my sonic wheelhouse to some extent but deeply boring.

In A Silent Way by Miles Davis
Apr 18 2026

Unlike most jazz this actually had a few redeeming qualities, mainly a tight band that could probably do some cool stuff in other contexts. Still no actualy songs, though; just noodling, which has interesting bits intermittently.

Floodland by Sisters Of Mercy
Apr 19 2026

"My voice is very very deep and I'm very sad and English." Fuck off. "This Corrosion" is a good song, though.

Hot Rats by Frank Zappa
Apr 20 2026

Figured I wouldn't like this and I was right. Some of the guitar-y bits were OK, albeit excessively noodly, and then a truly horrifying amount of saxophone kicked in.

Teenage Head by Flamin' Groovies
Apr 21 2026

This absolutely ruled. Sounds just like the Stones from this era but Mick himself said this album did it better than Sticky Fingers. Who am I to argue? The first album on the list where I actually intentionally listened to the expanded edition tracks.

Third by Portishead
Apr 23 2026

Decent enough, but not within a country mile of Dummy and I'm really not convinced we needed two Portishead albums here.

Songs From A Room by Leonard Cohen
Apr 24 2026

I prefer actual singing in my songs and actual music in my tunes. I'm sure the lyrics are good and all if you haven't already tied of terminal boredom from this guy's mumbling.

Vespertine by Björk
Apr 25 2026

I could never give our Icelandic queen less than three stars, but there's really not much going on here at all, tbh. I had to listen to the Sugarcubes immediately afterwards to cleanse my palate.

Natty Dread by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Apr 26 2026

Very historically significant and some of the deep tracks are actually pretty good, but if I never ever hear Bob Marley again I'd be fine with that, really.

Suzanne Vega by Suzanne Vega
Apr 27 2026

I have an innate bias against folk rock anyhow, but I don't get this one at all. Would've thought if one of her albums was gonna be in here it would be the one with "Luka" and "Tom's Diner" on it. Harmless enough, though.

Fever Ray by Fever Ray
Apr 28 2026

I cheated and looked at the Wikipedia page before listening to this because I couldn't really figure out what it was supposed to be. Some of the superlatives from reviews were "astonishingly stark," "baleful,"creepy," "claustrophobic," and "foreboding." I don't get it.

Apr 29 2026

Mark E. Smith is a God. This is a stunning debut, even if I much prefer the Brix Smith era.

Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton
Apr 30 2026

I don't get this. I will never get this. It sold how many albus? This is the /michaelbluthher.gif of albums.

May 02 2026

Decent, but kinda a bummer given everything else going on at the time. Would pick it up on vinyl if I found a used copy digging in the crates but it's from the "you'll never find a used copy of this in the crates" era. I'm gonna go listen to L7 now, which was much more my shit.

May 03 2026

An utter masterpiece, but must be knocked down one star due to my seething hatred of Fairytale of New York, a song an old roommate once (intentionally?) put on single song repeat, turned his stereo up to 11, locked his bedroom door, and left for hours and hours.

Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney
May 04 2026

I dunno why I missed it at the time, but it's pretty good (especially the guitar). Also, the Denny's attached to the Super 8 on Sleater-Kinney Road turns into a night club at 10 p.m. and it's the most feral scene I've ever experienced.

Pretenders by Pretenders
May 05 2026

Actually really good. A bit same-ish in parts but the last couple of tracks add just enough flavour to bump it up to the "would definitely buy a copy from the crates" level. Surprised the dudes here aren't in the background and blurry, though, tbh.

Grace by Jeff Buckley
May 06 2026

I know some people absolutely love this and I can see why they would but I absolutely cannot stand this album. I haaaaaaaaaate this guy's voice. Absolute nails on a chalkboard.

Disraeli Gears by Cream
May 07 2026

Stone cold masterpiece, tbh. Fuck it, I'm gonna listen to it again before finishing this. Yeah, it's awesome (despite Clapton being . . . Clapton; fortunately beardless Clapton is unrecognizable).

Bummed by Happy Mondays
May 08 2026

This album makes me want to run through a brick fucking wall. I'm not sure if any album gets me more hyped than this, which is kinda weird because I never listed to it until about three years after it came out. Anyhow, I'm gonna go find somebody to fight now.

Treasure by Cocteau Twins
May 09 2026

Love their sound, but after considerable though I have scientifically determined that it's their later album with Las Vegas in the title that I really really love.

Infected by The The
May 10 2026

I love this album but I'm only giving it 4 stars because (despite what my sister thinks) Soul Mining and NOT Infected is Matt Johnson's masterpiece and I'm skeptical they'll both be on the list here.

Fever To Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
May 11 2026

"Maps" is an incredible song but the rest of this album is ass and a few tracks contain some of the worst signing in the history of recorded music. Guitarist has a cool sound.

KIWANUKA by Michael Kiwanuka
May 12 2026

I think it took me six tries to make it all the way through this album. I didn't dislike it but there was also nothing about it that made it stand out.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen by The Good, The Bad & The Queen
May 14 2026

Too twee by three quarters. They finally decided to rock out a bit on the last track but I'd completely lost interest by then. (LOL, of course the album I found twee and annoying is 100% written by known musical pestilence Damon Albarn.)

Bad by Michael Jackson
May 15 2026

A couple of classic tracks here, some filler, and a few really whiny tracks that, uh, have not aged well at all due to the unpleasantness. Can't deny the hook in "Smooth Criminal," though.

Sister by Sonic Youth
May 16 2026

A bunch of unfuckwthable true geniuses, but I didn't know this album when it came out so it simply inferior to Daydream Nation, Goo, and Dirty for objectively verifiable nostalgia reasons.

World Clique by Deee-Lite
May 17 2026

When this came out I thought it was a disposable novelty gimmick. 35+ years later, it's undeniably a timeless historical document of immense cultural importance.

Moving Pictures by Rush
May 19 2026

Giving this garbage a reluctant second star entirely due to the Von Erichs.

May 20 2026

Whichever one of the two brothers was the talented one is an absolute genius. This album is DANGEROUSLY close to being excessively English, but every note works. Too bad about the whole "banned from the USA for ages" thing.

S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things
May 21 2026

This was pretty fun, actually. The Wiki page is a wild ride of bitterness as dudes nobody remembers rant about label marketing bullshit and this album actually being the first rock opera. A couple of good tracks here. I'd grab a copy on vinyl, but it sold about a dozen copies.

All Hope Is Gone by Slipknot
May 22 2026

I know all y'all think Brian Ferentz's offences were the worst thing to ever come out of Iowa but I assure you that you're wrong. (Did I write this review before listenting to a note? Yes. Was I wrong? Not at all.)

May 23 2026

This is ethereal (complimentary) as opposed to ethereal (pejorative). Even though this is one of the saddest movies ever made the tunes have good vibes, imo.

Paris 1919 by John Cale
May 24 2026

This was not quite what I expected but was worth hearing. Music >>> singing here.

Is This It by The Strokes
May 25 2026

Giving this an extra star because this album (and a few others) were pretty much the end of the road for me with alternative rock. Never realized how much of a Television tribute band they were at the time, though.

Trio by Dolly Parton
May 26 2026

They got Linda and Emmylou in my Dolly! Just really not that much of a fan of three-part harmonizing, I guess. Give me undiluted Dolly, stupid book.

Gris Gris by Dr. John
May 27 2026

Meh. Didn't move the needle for me at all. Sounded like it either influenced Tom Waits of was influenced by Tom Waits.

Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Touré
May 28 2026

Didn't enjoy this quite as much as the other album he's had on the list but it's still excellent. Also, Ry Cooder is a quality "he doesn't even go here" addition because I guess technically Americans can be part of "World Music"?

In Rainbows by Radiohead
May 29 2026

There are some really cool sounds in here but no actual good songs. Sad Thom Yorke became completely hopeless and boring Thom York around this point.

Penthouse And Pavement by Heaven 17
May 30 2026

From reading the Wikipedia article and the song titles I think I like their politics more than their music. Synths are too squeaky without a bottom end like New Order's stuff of the same era.

Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3
May 31 2026

This album makes me want to fight God and I don't even believe in God.

Want One by Rufus Wainwright
Jun 01 2026

Of all the insufferable sad and whiny white boy singers who have ever lived this guy might be the saddest and whiniest.

A Little Deeper by Ms. Dynamite
Jun 02 2026

This was some relatively harmless and tolerable knock-off Beyoncé/Rihanna type R&B . . . until the Britrapping started. Then it became harmful and intolerable.

Sex Packets by Digital Underground
Jun 03 2026

A stone cold classic. A perfectly balanced mix of abject stupidity and stupid fun. This album makes me significantly dumber but marginally happier.

Jun 04 2026

This is peak "these songs are actually good but by God are they painful to listen to" Dylan.

Out of Step by Minor Threat
Jun 05 2026

Didn't mind it too much but didn't knock my socks off. At least it's really short.

Arise by Sepultura
Jun 06 2026

I just don't really like growlmetal with superfast metronome drumming. Very boring.

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive by Merle Haggard
Jun 07 2026

I've learnt to like a lot of older country, but this didn't really hit like Johnny Cash or that Ray Charles country album that rules.

The Wall by Pink Floyd
Jun 08 2026

Utter crap. I can't believe there were 26 tracks of this. The one riff in "Run Like Hell" is redeemable. The rest of this can go to hell.

Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
Jun 09 2026

You'll never ever convince me this man's music isn't a practical joke or some kind, like when Garth Brooks pretended to be somebody else. "Downtown Train" fucks, though (when somebody else sings it).

Tago Mago by Can
Jun 11 2026

Absolutely not.

Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
Jun 12 2026

This has lovely clangy early New Wave guitars. Was gonna give it four stars but then I realized I never noticed when the album stopped playing so it couldn't actually have been that good.

In It For The Money by Supergrass
Jun 15 2026

Missed this one at the time for some reason but now that I've heard it twice I wouldn't say I missed it, tbh.

Beyond Skin by Nitin Sawhney
Jun 16 2026

This album had a lot of interesting ideas but none of those ideas amounted to "songs that sound good and I want to listen to again." The Oppenheimer audio on the last track kinda hit, though.

Only By The Night by Kings of Leon
Jun 17 2026

Very not me. I just find the lead singer's voice super-annoying.

The Slim Shady LP by Eminem
Jun 18 2026

He's undeniably a huge talent but this album is mostly just really really depressing to listen to and I think about 80% of dudes that really loved his album have voted for Trump.

Supa Dupa Fly by Missy Elliott
Jun 19 2026

This isn't her good album is it? Missy's fun but this is kind of . . . bland?

High Violet by The National
Jun 20 2026

Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooone. Surely the album that actually inspired DJ Hennessy Youngman's "AWWW SAD WHITE GUY" drop in CVS Bangers. This album's only redeeming quality is that in the video for one of the songs the guy looks like annoying preppy Bryan Cranston

Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
Jun 22 2026

On the assumption that there's more than one album by The Smiths on this list I'm holding back a star (also because the lead singer is an awful awful human being).

Underwater Moonlight by The Soft Boys
Jun 23 2026

Harmless, but it's probably obscure for a reason.

Sincere by Mj Cole
Jun 24 2026

Listened to this all the way through (including some stuff that may have been Special Edition nonsense because the track listing was a bit messed up) and all I could think was "this sounds like music they'd play in a restaurant with chic industrial decor that charges $70 for a tiny meal."

Sail Away by Randy Newman
Jun 25 2026

Harmless and vaguely listenable but it feels like there's some actual rock and roll in there somewhere dying to be let out.

Ellington at Newport by Duke Ellington
Jun 26 2026

An abomination. Staggering to think people listen to this voluntarily.

Jun 27 2026

An absolutely unfuckwithable masterpiece that 100% stands the test of time. Kurt had so much more to give but at least he put us all onto the Meat Puppets here.

Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper
Jun 28 2026

Listened to this twice and there's really not much there but "No More Mr. Nice Guy," tbh.

Jun 29 2026

Early R.E.M. >>>>>>> later R.E.M. Never like this album. They're brilliant, but I'd take any of their first five albums over this one. Too much piano, mandolin, and warbling.

Ill Communication by Beastie Boys
Jul 01 2026

Lots of good and interesting stuff here but nothing as surprising and ground-breaking as Paul's Boutique or Check Your Head. Also, a bit too much flute and various other noodlings.

Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
Jul 02 2026

An unrepeatable masterpiece. I'm not sure any group has ever made as big a leap from their first to second albums.

Apocalypse Dudes by Turbonegro
Jul 03 2026

This is fine. Loud and fast; might have liked it at the time. YouTube not letting me listen to "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker" but letting me listen to "Rendezvous with Anus" was pretty funny.

Jul 04 2026

It's one step below their creative peak of Rubber Soul and Revolver but I'm throwing an extra star on here because the huge "BONG!" sound at the end of A Day in the Life" may be my favourite sound in the history of recorded music.

Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub
Jul 05 2026

See, here's the thing about SPIN shockingly picking this as their 1991 Album of the Year: they were right. Every track is a straight up banger and it's stood the test of time. None of their other stuff sticks at all, weirdly.

Jul 06 2026

Probably historically important and all but not interesting to me. It's a little too Saturday night for me; I prefer my country to be much more Monday morning.

The Scream by Siouxsie And The Banshees
Jul 07 2026

Saw Siouxsie at Lollapalooza '91 (humblebrag) and did not get it at all. I see it a lot more with this album. It's in the neighbourhood of my shit sonically but not exactly my shit. Extra star because the Helter Skelter cover rules.

Superfuzz Bigmuff by Mudhoney
Jul 08 2026

This is actually an EP not an album so she doesn't even go here, but it rocks pretty damn hard nevertheless. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge goes way harder, though.

There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone
Jul 09 2026

A genius at the near-peak of his powers. Damn shame that perfect mix of drugs Sly came up with only held together for a few years.

At Budokan by Cheap Trick
Jul 10 2026

The worst co-worker I've ever had was the President of the Cheap Trick fan club. I am horribly but unavoidably biased against Cheap Trick as much as I am against Loverboy. Dipshit's a city councillor in Vanouver now, to boot.

In Utero by Nirvana
Jul 11 2026

Solid and has some great songs but parts of it are a bit too, understandably, angsty for my liking. Unplugged is the much more intriguing path tragically not taken. All Apologies is amazing, though.

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos
Jul 12 2026

I regret to inform you that, despite Clapton being a huge piece of shit, this absolutely rips. The secret sauce is Duane Allman's slide guitar. One star off because the last track is aaaaaaaaaasssss.

Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane
Jul 13 2026

I don't like this because this sort of early Hippy psychedelic "we all just need to love each other" hopeful kind of nonsense make me want to stab myself in the eye with a salad fork.

The Next Day by David Bowie
Jul 14 2026

I love Bowie, but nobody seriously thinks this is an album you must listen to before you die. It's fine, but the album cover gives the game away: it's Bowie doing a Bowie imitation.

Jul 15 2026

Yeah. No. Absolutely not for me. Literally couldn't tell when one song ended and another started. Just a drooooooooooooone and me wondering when she was actually gonna start singing instead of whispering.

Jul 16 2026

The Buzzcocks are astonishingly good. They're right up there with The Jam in the this-is-so-obviously-my-shit-why-did-no-one-put-me-onto-this-shit-35-years-ago stakes.

Crazysexycool by TLC
Jul 17 2026

Didn't really fuck wit this then and I'm not 100% sure I fuck with it now, but fake nostalgia is a very powerful drug.

The acoustic half is just awful. 9:17 long version of Mr. Tambourine Man? GTFOH. The electric half that people in the audiene got really mad at is a solid meh, but I get its historic significance. Still not something I'd listen to by choice.

Boy In Da Corner by Dizzee Rascal
Jul 19 2026

English rap again? I thought I'd made myself very very clear on this point, tbh. Nevertheless . . .

Queen Of Denmark by John Grant
Jul 20 2026

Forgot this easy listening schlock was even playing until I heard a lyric about "caramel frappe" and nearly threw my laptop out the office door. "I feel exactly like Sigourney Weaver when she had to kill those aliens." Fuck off. The attempt to include recent albums is terrible.

Coat Of Many Colors by Dolly Parton
Jul 21 2026

This is great. It took me decades to get past "Dolly Parton 80's Celebrity" and actually listen to her stuff from when she was a musician. Also, I'll be damned if "She Never Met A Man (She Didn't Like)" isn't some of the finest hateration I've ever heard.

The Man Who by Travis
Jul 22 2026

This is an objectively weird choice, but I have a soft spot for this album in a nostalgic "dying days of youth" kind of way. Also, Fran Healy's a Tim.

Sound Affects by The Jam
Jul 23 2026

This rules. For whatever reason all but their hits fell through the cracks for me but this album is 100% my shit.

Superfly by Curtis Mayfield
Jul 24 2026

Curtis is a genius. My vinyl copy has a few skips (1) but it's still a no skips (2) album. Also, this reminded me that I have an Impressions compilation I haven't listened to in ages that is also great.

Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Jul 26 2026

South African a cappella is still a cappella. Sucks that these guys forgot to bring their instruments to the recording studio.

Sweet Baby James by James Taylor
Jul 27 2026

I've softened a great deal on some of the more easy listening/soft rock type stuff over the years, but not James Taylor. I'm not saying I'd punch somebody who put this album on in the face, but I'd probably have to go for a walk.

Take Me Apart by Kelela
Jul 28 2026

I liked this way more than almost any other post-2010 album the website has spit up. That's still not that much, but it ain't nothing.

Kilimanjaro by The Teardrop Explodes
Jul 30 2026

This is brilliant but a bit uneven. It's another English post punk/new wave group that is absolutely my jam but I somehow missed until now. Julian Cope appears to be The Most Interesting Man in the World IRL.

G. Love And Special Sauce by G. Love & Special Sauce
Jul 31 2026

This is kind of like the Fun Lovin' Criminals without the fun or the loving but with music crimes. Utterly inconsequential and a bizarre choice.

Basket of Light by Pentangle
Aug 01 2026

"Folk jazz" is not something that should exist.

The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
Aug 02 2026

Painful. "Experimental" is not the same thing as "good."

The Last Of The True Believers by Nanci Griffith
Aug 03 2026

This was OK-ish. Decent in that I had no idea whether it was contemporary, from the 60s or - as it turned out - from the 80s.

This is their official "we're middle-aged now; we give up" album. There's a few decent tracks on here, especially "Beautiful Day," but I think this is the first U2 album I didn't buy. Weird choice unless at least five of their other albums are on the list.

The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
Aug 05 2026

7 stars. Foundational to my personal identity and 1000x more culturally significant than all the derivative "Britpop" nonsense that followed it (except Pulp, who fucking rule to this day). The UK version on YouTube only gets 6 stars, though, because it doesn't have Fool's Gold.

Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction
Aug 06 2026

This album is an absolute ripper and makes me wish I didn't live in a townhouse so I could really crank the volume. Perry Farrell may be an unstable weirdo with a screechy voice but the man can write a tune. Like this just a smidge more than Ritual de lo Habitual.

Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
Aug 07 2026

I am a huge sucker for bands who are notorious for putting on shows at a violently eardrums-splitting volume but whose albums also somehow make for entirely cromulent low-volume background contemplative deskwork music. One notch behind Psychocandy, though.

Lazer Guided Melodies by Spiritualized
Aug 08 2026

Listened to this like six times and I still can't tell whether or not I like it. I'm pretty sure I'd like it if it was only instrumentals. Dude's singing is kind of whispery annoying.

Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
Aug 09 2026

This is good Bowie but not peak Bowie. Cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together" is great, though. All in favour of being over-inclusive with 70s Bowie albums, though.

Aug 10 2026

I'm sure this is important and influential and stuff but I found it boring as hell. The only thing that caught my ear was the absolutely dogshit soulless cover of "You Don't Miss Your Water." So boring I accidentally listened to the Special Edition Nonsense.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
Aug 11 2026

This is a fun album. It's like tragic whimsy or something. Much better than most of the "added to the later editions of the book" album. One star off because the song with a barking dog in the background made me bolt out of my desk chair into the hall in a vain search for a dog.

American Gothic by David Ackles
Aug 13 2026

Actual lyrics from this unlistenable piece of shit: "Born Jamеs McKennon, 1862 Married Leantha, 1884 Two sons born in Montana Praisе the Lord!" This is like listening to an insufferable guy reading aloud from the most boring novel ever written.

Group Sex by Circle Jerks
Aug 14 2026

15 minutes is a single; it's not even an EP let alone an album. A few OK riffs and there might have been some decent songs if they could have been bothered to finish writhing them.

Wordsmith

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Album origins are grouped into three buckets: US, UK, and everything else. “Other” means the artists you rate highest are from outside the US and UK.