Dec 14 2024
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Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
Solid beats and production, good variety in flows and styles, and some entertaining moments. Lyrical content was not to my tastes, and several songs felt too long or uninteresting. Overall, not my style but I understand Snoop's influence on west-coast hip-hop and the genre at large.
3
Dec 14 2024
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Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Nothing grabbed me, but the sound was solid overall. The vocals weren't terribly interesting either. My favorite song was the outro, sans the final minute (which was hilarious).
3
Dec 15 2024
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Rio
Duran Duran
4
Dec 16 2024
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Eliminator
ZZ Top
Not my style and songs sounded much the same. Cool though, no doubt.
3
Dec 17 2024
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Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
Frank has a wonderful voice, making for a pleasant listen overall. The songs are relatively indistinguishable from each other and mostly blend together, however.
3
Dec 18 2024
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is a fantastic storyteller and you can hear the emotion in her voice. The songs were catchy and succinct but overall, I couldn't see myself coming back to this one.
3
Dec 19 2024
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Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
Pleasant ambience - not a fan of Track #2, though.
3
Dec 20 2024
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Dummy
Portishead
Heavily technical and thoughtful production. Only a few songs that I would revisit, but four stars for some high moments and incredibly consistent quality throughout.
4
Dec 21 2024
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Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
Just some good jazz, that's all I've got.
4
Dec 22 2024
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Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
Fantastic album, my #1 out of ten that I've listened to thus far. My favorites are What More Can I Say?, That's All I Ask, and Wild Is The Wind. Simone's voice is incredible, plus I'm a sucker for piano.
4
Dec 23 2024
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The Renaissance
Q-Tip
Incredibly solid record, loving the sample work and flows. Some songs aren't clicking for me as much as others, but I enjoy the vibe overall.
4
Dec 24 2024
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Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
My introduction to Stevie Wonder; what an incredible listen! While the latter half didn't click for me like the former, the quality was nonetheless consistent. No doubt the best album I have encountered on this list thus far. The wide range of styles and instrumentation combine for a whole-package experience that I will most certainly be coming back to.
Favorite song: Summer Soft
Overall, a solid 9 for me, rounded up to 5 stars.
5
Dec 25 2024
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Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
I am a fan of hip-hop and respect the context of this record and DJ Shadow's meticulous sampling. Many of the songs just aren't clicking for me, especially Organ Donor. Overall, I'd give this a 3.5, just barely rounded down to a 3 on this scale.
3
Dec 26 2024
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A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
I am biased because I am not a big fan of Christmas music... but the tunes are familiar and pleasant. They've just been worn out over the years. A solid three stars from me.
3
Dec 27 2024
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Van Halen
Van Halen
Terribly uninteresting, not a fan of the vocals, and Ice Cream Man creeps me out. Still pretty epic at times. Leaning toward a ~4.5/10, rounded up to 3 stars.
3
Dec 28 2024
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Blonde On Blonde
Bob Dylan
I enjoyed the instrumentation, minus the harmonica on some songs. That's it for the positives; Bob Dylan's formulaic song structure, meaningless lyrics, and drone-like delivery left me longing for a majority of the songs to end. Glad to be through with this one.
2
Dec 29 2024
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Chelsea Girl
Nico
Very unengaging and I am not a fan of her voice. It Was A Pleasure Then has one of roughest stretches in a song I've heard on this list. A couple of tolerable tunes, but overall, I just can't get into the monotone, one-note delivery set to a medieval flute.
2