213
Albums Rated
3.14
Average Rating
20%
Complete
876 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
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Rating Timeline
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When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Funk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
48
5-Star Albums
35
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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Ratings by genre
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Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Bottom | 5 | 2.39 | +2.61 |
| Brutal Youth | 5 | 2.82 | +2.18 |
| Goodbye And Hello | 5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
| Ctrl | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| Sheet Music | 5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
| Vulgar Display Of Power | 5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
| You're Living All Over Me | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
| Dig Me Out | 5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
| Hejira | 5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
| Selling England By The Pound | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmo's Factory | 1 | 3.93 | -2.93 |
| Green River | 1 | 3.78 | -2.78 |
| Live At The Regal | 1 | 3.68 | -2.68 |
| Fear Of Music | 1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
| Odessey And Oracle | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| Surf's Up | 1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
| Here Are the Sonics | 1 | 3.16 | -2.16 |
| Solid Air | 1 | 3.16 | -2.16 |
| Youth And Young Manhood | 1 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
| Get Rich Or Die Tryin' | 1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Leonard Cohen | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 2 | 1 |
| Bee Gees | 2 | 1 |
| John Martyn | 2 | 1 |
| Talking Heads | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | 5, 5, 1 |
5-Star Albums (48)
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Popular Reviews
Richard Hawley
2/5
This is fine I guess.
I don’t really get what this album is doing on this list. It sounds like a crooner filtered through British popular music, as if Dean Martin also did a stint with Blur. Deep soothing vocals and soaring string sections. It’s not bad by any means, but nothing exceptionally good or innovative or anything that I could ever say somebody must listen to before they die.
I give it two stars because one star is reserved for truly unlistenable stuff. I think if the artist wasn’t British this would never have been included on the list.
3 likes
The Zombies
1/5
I have a serious soft spot for psych pop/rock with a British accept. Frolicking drums and Beatlesque vocal harmonies, what more could you ever wish for?
Thing is, while I do enjoy the soundscapes, I can't say any song in particular sticks in my memory. Even immediately after listening, it's all very forgettable. Feels like it has the superficial form of music I enjoy, but the songwriting is lacking. I can’t remember a single thing about a song after having listened to it.
1 likes
Metallica
5/5
Oh wow, yeah. Personal top ten. One of the greatest albums ever.
This album just hits top to bottom. Filled with super strong songs like Dyers Eve, One, Blackened. There’s not a weak second here.
It could use more bass in the mix but this is an all time great and an amazing listen.
1 likes
k.d. lang
1/5
I think I heard the name kd lang but up to this point I didn’t even know it was a woman, so I don’t know what to expect.
This is kind of adult contemporary pop. I can’t say I’m a fan. It’s very dull. KD Lang is a strong vocalist and the arrangements do well to showcase her voice. It’s just that outside of that there’s nothing going on and the songs are pretty corny. I find it very hard to get through this thing.
1 likes
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
This was really big in the early 2000s, I never got it.
Repetitive dance music with cringey vocals and a general snarky sense. The music is some mix of Bowie, Talking Heads and a general post punk vibe but without the fun. Disaffected and sarcastic.
I don’t even get the band name. What is an LCD Soundsystem? It’s kinda like the music, tries to sound cool but actually kinda pointless.
Some high points are not that bad (All My Friends, but even this song is twice as long as it should be), but I think you can die in peace even not having listened to this band at all. Two stars.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (35)
All Ratings
Ray Charles
3/5
It’s weird because it’s not what I’d call country now. Has much more of a big band jazz feel.
It's nice, and Ray Charles is a great performer, but it's not really up my alley taste wise.
Van Halen
3/5
Oooh I love Van Halen. Listened to the first two a lot so it would be nice to delve into newer material. Some big hits here like Jump, Panama and Hot For Teacher.
I don't know if it's my headphones but I'd expect it to sound "bigger".
Also, Jump is such a perfect song. Eddie is awesome here, instead of shredding like he can, he gives us tasteful licks that really add to the songs that's driven by keyboards. Solo is shreddy yet short, and it ends like something out of Camel's The Snow Goose.
Dynamics on Panama are to die for. Just great.
It's different from their early stuff. Not as heavy probably. Still incredible.
Drop Dead Legs is not as good. Similar formula. Nice muted riffs. Still very nice dynamics to keep the song interesting.
Hot For Teacher is exciting. The start is kind of a homage to Eruption in a sense, in that it shows off Eddie's skills. Then it kinda morphs to a more bluesy ordeal and then picks up energy again. Gotta hand it to Van Halen for always keeping interesting dynamics in their songs.
I feel like after Hot For Teacher the album kinda fizzes out.
The famous singles are great but the album tracks not as much.
I'll wait is nice, but it doesn't have that VH oomph.
Girl Gone Bad is slightly better, still I feel like after Hot For Teacher the energy is gone.
I like the vocal melody on House of Pain, but the mix is kinda bad making the vocals sit in the background instead of the forefront.
The Keyboards are so 80s.
All in all, a great addition to the catalog but uneven, not on par with VH and VHII IMHO.
I'd call this three stars. Note that I'm rating the 1001 best albums ever here so three stars is a lot, it means par for the course.
This inspired me to listen to other later VH albums. 5150 is so much better.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
wow, went in really not knowing what to expect. This is quite a journey.
I was surprised at the emotional landscapes it got me to. It started airy and light but at some point in the first track I felt claustrophobic and my chest started feeling under tremendous weight. This is really something.
Not sure if I'll listen to it again of my free will, but it's something.
Also, I read that this is jazz improv, but it didn't sound like jazz improv, more like... classical improv?
Anyway this is truly something I'm better for having known.
Easy five starts.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
1/5
I only knew the bands hits. This album is much more bluesy than I thought it would be. Also pretty dull. Feels very samey throughout.
Looking out my back door is not as bad. Energy come ups for a second for running through the jungle but then it disappears and things get dull again.
It’s genuinely hard to just get through this album.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
I never listened to this period Fleetwood Mac. I know Rumors obviously, and recently got into the Peter Green years which are great. This is post Rumors so I never got to listen to it.
Sara is a great song. Also Storms.
Stevie’s vocal performance here is just amazing. Gritty and honest. The album is much sparser than Rumors, took me a while to get used to that but I think it’s great in its own way.
On "that’s all for everyone we get" an interesting vocal performance by Lindsay with a very compelling arrangement. This is very cool.
Sisters of the moon another great song. WOW. Love the guitar on this one.
Brown Eyes is another great song. Wikipedia tells me Peter Green did guitars here.
This album is every bit as good as Rumors if not better, even though it’s much less accessible.
I decided since this list is supposed to have all great albums I need to grade on a curve. So three start means "I get why it's on the list", five stars should be reserved to the best of the best, stuff that's a no brainer for a top 50 or top 100 list. One star is stuff that doesn't belong on the 1001 list. So according to that I'd put this as four stars. It's a great album, don't know if it's in my personal top 50-100 but it's really great.
The Zombies
1/5
I have a serious soft spot for psych pop/rock with a British accept. Frolicking drums and Beatlesque vocal harmonies, what more could you ever wish for?
Thing is, while I do enjoy the soundscapes, I can't say any song in particular sticks in my memory. Even immediately after listening, it's all very forgettable. Feels like it has the superficial form of music I enjoy, but the songwriting is lacking. I can’t remember a single thing about a song after having listened to it.
Cat Stevens
4/5
It’s funny, Cat Stevens is one of these places whose name I obviously know, and I know a lot of people appreciate, but honestly I couldn’t name a single song by them. This would be interesting.
OK I obviously know some of this stuff. From now on if I’ll try to name a Cat Stevens song I can go for Wild World. Oh, Father and Son, that also.
I have to say of all things this reminds me of Peter Gabriel era Genesis. Probably a poppier version but still. It’s not just the singing which is very much reminiscent of Gabriel, it’s also the general composition and production.
After some Googling it turns out I was right, but in the wrong direction. It was actually Peter Gabriel who was a huge fan of Cat Stevens and actually tried to imitate his singing style.
This started good and got even better. Really grew on me. Not sure if this is something I’ll listen to again of my own accord, since I usually like my singer songwriters to be a bit grittier, but it’s really all top tier.
I just put it on for another listen. This makes me want to listen to the rest of the catalog. This is easily four stars. Sad Lisa is my favorite song on here.
Amy Winehouse
2/5
I knew this for its hits obviously. Would never have considered listening to the album.
Many hits on this album, Rehab, Love is a Losing Game, You Know I’m No Good, Back To Black. I think the album tracks are as good.
I can see why it would be considered a good album of soulful hip hoppy pop. I just don’t really like the music. Not saying it’s objectively bad because that’s definitely not the case, I just don’t like it.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
This one’s a real treat. Again a pop album where I knew the hit singles (Monday Monday and California Dreaming), but was surprised by the strength of the album tracks.
This is beatlesque/beach boysesque psych pop at its finest. Beautiful vocal harmonies, tasty guitar and keyboard licks. Very memorable melodies and great songwriting.
My favorite is probably Got a Feelin’.
I wanted to say that this album got very strong Rubber Soul influences, but I see it got released just a couple of months after Rubber Soul, so maybe it’s more of a parallel development kind of thing.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
This is not what I expected. I used to have a lot of family in Brazil (all moved away in the last decade), and we used to listen to a lot of Brazilian music at home. I think I heard the name Milton Nascimento but I don’t remember any music and either way it wasn’t as prominent as say Caeteno Veloso or Gilberto Gil.
I guess my biggest surprise here is how non Brazilian this sounds. I mean, it’s in Brazilian Portuguese and there are some Brazilian influences, but it’s not Bossa Nova or Samba. If I have to peg this to a genre I’d say this is prog rock more than anything. Some mix of Camel, Genesis and Pink Floyd, but on the mellower side of things.
An extremely varied album. Great vocals and interesting arrangements.
Eagles
3/5
This is funny. Of course I know the title track. One of the most famous rock songs ever. Couldn’t name a single Eagles song outside of that. Let’s see.
It’s interesting that the album opens with the title track and its most famous song. It then goes into “New Kid in Town” which is also quite a hit in its own right. I have to say it drops off pretty quickly then. I mean, the songs are still fine, and the playing is great and everything, but it’s not like there are ten hidden Hotel California’s here. There isn’t even one.
The title track alone is enough to merit inclusion on this list, but I wish the album tracks were stronger.
Weather Report
1/5
I… don’t like this. I’m not a big fan of jazz in general, and this type of jazz in particular. I just don’t get anything here, it doesn’t mean anything to me.
I’m sure these are very talented musicians who are all time greats but I would never choose to listen to this again.
Tears For Fears
5/5
Oooh wow. This is one of my all time favorites. Beautiful and intricate eighties pop. Some of the greatest songs ever - Head Over Heels, The Working Hour, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Shout, Mothers Talk. This is just a perfect collection of perfect songs. I’m sure this sounded fresh in the eighties (I was born the year the album was released) and it sound just as fresh today. A great range of emotions and instrumentation. Powerful music that tugs at your heart strings but can also make you dance and even meditate.
It even has great guitar solos! What more could you want. I listened to these songs so many times and it feels like there's still more beauty to discover in them. I just love everything here, the synths, the drum machine, the guitar, obviously the vocals. The songs dynamics are great, the lyrical topics are varied and introspective. It's just so good.
The Sonics
1/5
I mean, I like the aesthetics of this. The screamed vocals, overdriven guitars and rhythms we will later call punk.
It’s just that the songs aren’t all that good, I mean it’s either pretty bad covers of Chuck Berry or pretty bad original songs. I’m sure it inspired a lot of bands I like, but I don’t like the album as is. This only belongs on such a list for historical significance I guess.
Right after this one Spotify gave me The Chocolate Watchband, this really drove the one star home. The Chocolate Watchband were an amazing example of how good garage rock can be, and The Sonics are not such an example.
The Cars
2/5
It’s ok I guess.
I mean, “Just what I needed” is rightfully a hit. Some other good songs like All Mixed Up, but also a lot of filler.
Nice pop rock, nothing seminal.
Jungle Brothers
1/5
The moment I saw it’s hip hop from the eighties I had very low expectations… and after listening to the music I was vindicated.
I mean, I’m no huge hip hop fan, but I can enjoy a lot of it, and really like some stuff like The Roots, Kanye or Dead Prez. Thing is about old school hip hop is that you usually get a very basic drum loop, a rapper that would be considered no good by modern standards, and maybe some basic loop sample.
This is what we get here. It’s all very basic and dull. I can accept that it’s historically and culturally significant, and it could be a ton of fun to dance to in a party, but just as listening material it’s not enough.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is a surprise, I would’ve expected to find either one of the first four albums which are the most critically acclaimed, or Out of Time which is the most successful one. This album is the follow up to Out of Time which was the band’s mainstreaming breakout album. I listened to both a lot in my childhood and teen years.
Some very big hits on this album including Everybody Hurts with its iconic music video, nightswimming, Drive and Man on the Moon.
I am pleasantly surprised. This album is somber but much more dynamic than I remember, many great album tracks like Try Not To Breath and The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight (Wikipedia claims the latter was a single, didn’t remember that). Monty Got a Raw Deal another great song, also Find The River.
I haven’t listened to this album in over a decade, likely two, and I’m surprised at how good it is. I think this is four stars. REM has a very strong discography and this stands out as one of their best albums, even if it’s not my personal favorite (that would be Life’s Rich Pageant).
The Clash
2/5
I love The Clash, though I think they reached their creative peak in later albums such as London Calling, Sandinista and Combat Rock, so I didn’t spend as much time with this one in the past.
This is a good punk album. Rough and gritty yet melodic and catchy. Anthemic yet relatable. It got some very strong songs like What’s My Name and 48 Hours. On Police & Thieves we get hints of their future musical tendencies to involve ska into their sound.
Thing is I don’t it stands up to the rest of their catalog, and if this album was the only thing The Clash ever released… then they wouldn’t be The Clash. I don’t think it belongs on this list and as much as it pains me I can’t give it more than two stars.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
This is interesting. They start by singing “feels good, wanna move” but quickly after a couple of songs we get to “my only weapon is my pain”.
Sly and the Family Stone is a name I’ve heard, but not anything I’ve ever listened to. To be honest, funk isn’t really my type of music and I didn’t know what I’d get and if I’d like it.
Overall it’s been a good surprise. Interesting and varied arrangement, soulful singing and a funky rhythm throughout.
What’s more interesting is the juxtaposition of the musical material and the lyrical themes which sound darker. Some discussing personal struggles, other talking about black liberation. Very cool.
Pavement
4/5
This is one of my favorite albums, love seeing it here! I think their next album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, is even better. But this one’s great.
The ultimate in slacker millennial vibes. Somehow both disaffected and emotional. That’s the nineties paradox, the coolest thing is not to care, so you try to project that image while deep down you’re in a turmoil.
While being their debut, Slanted and Enchanted fully embodies the Pavement sound. Guitars are distorted but somehow not fully in your face. Orchestration is noisy but very spacious. Catchy melodies are sometimes obscured by this general sloppy feeling. This airy sloppy feeling is part of what keeps the songs fresh and varied. Pavement is unpolished and loose, and that makes it feel more honest and personal. They’re not giving you a polished rock star show, but a draft of their feelings. Sometimes it sounds downright silly or unprofessional, shouldn’t they have re-recorded this guitar part? Does the backing vocals really make sense (“shalalala”s on Trigger Cut)? It doesn’t matter, it’s all part of the package.
Styling aside, this is also just a collection or very good songs. A lot of music in this genre tends to be overly introspective and sophisticated but Pavement are just fun. This is just fun to listen to.
Four stars because I like Crooked Rain better.
k.d. lang
1/5
I think I heard the name kd lang but up to this point I didn’t even know it was a woman, so I don’t know what to expect.
This is kind of adult contemporary pop. I can’t say I’m a fan. It’s very dull. KD Lang is a strong vocalist and the arrangements do well to showcase her voice. It’s just that outside of that there’s nothing going on and the songs are pretty corny. I find it very hard to get through this thing.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
This is obviously a classic. It’s crazy to think this was their ninth album, such a huge body of work for the Stones.
This is quintessential stones, bluesy, rhythmic, rough and just super cool. The songs are fun, sexy, sometimes outright jammy (Can’t You Hear Me Knocking). The songs are great and have an amazing range from the balladry of Wild Horses, through the heavy dirge of Sister Morphine to the hard rocking riffs of Bitch. The stone showcase a range of songwriting and playing abilities.
I love the production. It’s so airy and non compressed. Even though the music has an overall rugged feel, you can clearly hear everything and nothing is too in your face.
Timeless classic from all time greats. Easy easy five stars.
SZA
5/5
This is another case of something I’m only vaguely familiar with, so I didn’t really know what to expect.
WOW this is not what I expected at all. It’s so cool. The vocalist is super incredible, an amazing range of expression. The music and production reminds me of trip hop more than anything. It’s like Portishead just a shade less cinematic and a bit more hip hop.
Super catchy music, very soulful vocals, trip hoppy production, hip hop beats, and just an amazing air of cool.
Not sure how all that coolness works with the album being called control. This feels loose and intuitive, not overly done and controlled.
Another thing I really like is how the vocals are used in a variety of roles. I mean sometimes you get the vocals clean as a “lead”. Other times they’re treated with delay to be used as something more of a rhythm instrument. Sometimes it’s jammy and jazzy, other times pop. This is just beautiful.
I also really like how sparse the production is. It allows for really great dynamics within the songs and the album as a whole.
The album closer “20 something” is a real treat. Not exactly folk but it got a folksy guitar, not really soul but it got soulful singing, just something unique and beautiful.
This is an incredible album and an easy five star.
Big Star
1/5
I have a problem with Big Star.
I know I'm supposed to love them. So much of the music I love is supposed to be inspired by them, if it's anything indie rock, power pop, emo, punk. But they just suck. I mean, I love the Replacements, they love Big Star, how come I don't like Big Star?
I don't get it. The production is somehow both empty and muddy. The singing is annoying. The guitar tone is bleh and the riffs are not interesting at all.
The songs are boring, muddling along. I don't know if the band even cares about them. Some of them are even worse then boring, they're downright annoying. What are those weird chicken picking riffs in Femme Fatale? And the weird croon? Is it attempt at a dig against the Velvet Underground somehow? urgh, even the covers on this album are soooo bad, really showcasing how this is just a very bad band.
I just don't get it. It's not even the type of not getting where I can get why other people like them, or why they are good at what they do. I think it's just bad and overhyped for some weird reason.
One star (and not even a big one).
5/5
I’m getting quite an education in funk here. Never heard about this before.
This isn’t at all what I expected. Such a great range of expression, amazing dynamics, songs that are both jammy and catchy. Very intense emotional content.
This is really a revelation for me and I want to explore the rest of the band’s catalog. Easy five stars and this is exactly the kind of album I want to learn about from this list.
The Cult
2/5
Didn’t really know much about this going in. I remembered it’s some classic hard rock band. Indeed that’s what it is. Cool power chord riffs and great heavy metal singing.
Overall it’s pretty good but nothing earth shattering. Bad Fun is a cool song. Outlaw has a cool riff. It’s not a bad album but I can’t see how it belongs in this list, so two stars.
I have to say I gave a listen to their previous album, Love, and I feel it’s much stronger than this one.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
I don't like ELP. I do like some prog rock - Genesis, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Camel but I feel ELP is the epitome of prog rock succumbing to it's self indulgent tendencies over just making good music. I've heard this record before, can't say I remember much over feeling it to be over the top, so I'm definitely coming it with a prejudice.
It starts with the album's namesake. A twenty minute opus, quite obviously a case where the song's length was limited by the length of a record side. And I mean, this song is exactly everything that's bad about ELP. Instead of creating a good song, that's appealing to the listening emotionally, I keep feeling like they're trying to impress me.
I mean, this might be fun for them to play, it's definitely challenging to figure out what's going on, it just doesn't appeal to the listener as much as it impresses the listener with how good of players these folks are. This is like a book in dire need of an editor. It's like an ADHD child constantly tugging at your sleeve saying "here, listen to this cool passage". Yeah it's cool but where is this all going. I mean, the guitar solo at about 14:30 in is cool, you could use it a in a song, but what does it mean in the context of the song? then there's a short interlude and then a harmonized guitar solo. How does that fit with what happened up to now? As a guitar passage they're cool, it just doesn't work as a song.
The second side is a change of pace, with a bunch of shorter songs. On Jeremy Bender we have a keyboard hook, an interesting vocal melody, some hand clapping (which I usually like but here it's just weird) and a much more standard song structure. It's still a weird song but it feels like it has some aim.
In Bitches Crystal it's still a short song, but right from the start we get complicated meters and dissonance and while that's fine to do in music, I don't get what it's trying to make me feel.
The Only Way sounds like a nod to some classical piece. I dunno, the song is just not a good song. I know these are excellent musicians (and as mentioned above, I'm a King Crimson fan so obviously I've hear plenty of Greg Lake's earlier work), I just find this to be an example of all of the worse self indulgent prog rock.
One could argue that this album has historical significance, I just don't want to listen to it ever again. One star.
Billy Joel
4/5
This is again of these thing where I obviously heard of Billy Joel and know his big hits, but can’t say I ever purposely listened to his music.
I was surprised by the cool, almost heavy metal sounding, guitar work. I knew Joel for his piano playing. The title track has really cool guitars apparently being played by a session musician.
After hearing the whole thing, this is just a great pop record top to bottom. Every single song is a banger, great songwriting, Joel’s vocals are incredible, great arrangements and instrumentation, great emotional range. Just awesome.
Only four stars because I’m not a big fan of this type of music and unlikely to listen to this again.
Wilco
4/5
I love this album! Had it on repeat for ages when it came out.
Wilco were one of the groups to usher in this mixing of alt country with indie pop. And they were great at it. It’s a genre defining album for this mix of country song writing and indie production and soundscapes giving us the best of both worlds - honest beautiful songwriting with a host of interesting intricacies to keep surprising the listener.
Four stars, I love this album, it's not a top 100 of all time though.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Anything Hendrix is instant five stars for me.
This album also got what might be the prettiest song ever - Little Wing.
It's hardly a unique take to say Hendrix was the greatest guitarist ever. For me it's for this unique blend he had - he had a modern and interesting approach to the instrument, really taking its expressive powers forwards, while being extremely rooted in blues traditions. He had unique arrangements, effortless technique, while still creating popular songs that a lot of people could enjoy. He's super influential, but nobody can ever sound quite like him. In a sense, he also shaped the image of the guitar hero, the lead guitar legend as the main instrument in a rock band.
By the way, Hendrix was also a tremendous rock-blues singer, full of expression.
The band does so many different things, funky songs, psychedelic swing, it’s all extremely original, inventive and fun.
Talking Heads
2/5
I knew Talking Heads before, mostly their big hits. And I’ve listened to this album before since it’s very highly rated. I never got it.
Listened to it again, I still don’t get it. I mean I’m sure it’s great and beloved by many, I just don’t see how this is fun or interesting to listen to. Incessant beats that are somehow not intuitively rhythmic, just overpowering. Disaffected vocals. Very sparse instrumentation. Feels like some sort of weird sermon. Maybe some folks get some deep emotional connection to this stuff but I don’t.
I give it two stars because I can see how it might be considered a seminal work for the genre, I just don’t like listening to it.
Linkin Park
5/5
This will be hard to judge without prejudice but let’s try. I have to say I liked it when it came out but then succumbed to the popular opinion in the metal scene which rejected nu metal.
This is simply beautiful. Just perfect teenage angst music. Is it overproduced? Sure, are the riffs simplistic? Yeah, is the rapping kinda bad? Who cares????? This connects to the natural feelings of pain and alienation so many of us feel during our teen years.
The album tracks are generally as strong as the very strong singles here (album tracks like Runaway and A Place for My Head could be great singles). This is pure fun to listen to top to bottom. I’m sure this album inspired countless kids to pick up a guitar and start a band, and gave a positive outlet to so many hard emotions. I think I’m inclined to give it five stars.
I actually read through the other reviews saying this is poppy, over produced, and other ways to say this isn’t “pure” or “true”. I agree with all of that, but it’s still perfect. Is it my personal favorite album? No, but it’s definitely a seminal work in the history of rock music.
You can hate on this album all you want, but countless people have and will rock out to it.
Bee Gees
1/5
This is another one of these cases, of course I’ve heard of The Bee Gees and I know their hit songs, but I never listened to a full album, and actually don’t think I ever heard any song in hear. So I gave it a listen without prejudice and…
It’s crap. This is simply awful. The most sappy, corny music and lyrics. Why would anybody want to hear this? It’s so overly sentimental to the point of parody.
I mean yeah they have great vocal harmonies but this is pure dreadful kitsch. One star.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
I know nothing about this. I'm sure I heard the name Isaac Hayes, but can't really associate it with anything.
It starts amazing, the fuzzy intro guitar on Walk On By cuts straight to my soul. This ten minute jam encompasses everything that’s great and beautiful about this album. It’s catchy yet jammy and open. Heart wrenching yet uplifting and danceable.
I think my main takeaway from this project so far is that I’m a latent soul and funk fan.
MGMT
2/5
The ultimate millennial hit album. Heart this a ton when it came out and MGMT were the flavor of the week in indie circles. Interesting to see if it holds up.
I mean, it's a cool album. This flavor of danceable indie pop is cool, but I don't think it's a very strong album when listening to it right now. The Bowie-esque "Weekend Wars" is very cool, but the rest of the album is like a watered down version of Of Montreal.
It's still a fun listen but I'd rate it as two stars because it's definitely not a must listen.
The Go-Go's
2/5
This is nice. It's post punk where you can still hear the punk. Energetic and melodic. Very anthemic. It's good fun music. The lead guitar is very post punk sounding, and the lead vocals are great.
I can't say that I get why this album is on this list though. I mean, if somebody told me they really like Mission of Burma and the Buzzcocks and want something similar I might let them have a listen to this. It's far from a must listen though, it's just nice and cool.
That's what I call two stars.
KISS
1/5
I remember I had a phase a while back where I couldn't believe that Kiss were so popular despite all of their music being so terribly boring. So I went and listened to their back catalog and... found nothing.
This album is emblematic of it. It's trying to fake being a hard rock band but with zero song writing talent. The songs are so humdrum and boring.
I accept that the bands theatrics and stage show were innovative and significance, but judging on music alone it's so boring. The songs are repetitive and there's so little to them, it's really a chore to get through the entire thing.
Compare this with Alice Cooper, where they had the stage theatrics but the first several albums also have incredible music. So you can really have both, and Kiss don't have the music to back up their image.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
1/5
Oh god another CCR. Cosmo’s factory was one of the worst albums I had to listen to on this project. I don’t understand why this band merits more than one entry on this list if at all.
This album is better than Cosmo’s Factory. Songs are a bit more memorable and we got some tasty licks. Still, listening to the entire thing is such a chore. A can enjoy a single song, but at two songs it gets tedious. One star. I think if I’m getting CCR again I might just skip after listening to a song or two. I don’t get the credit they get here.
Eminem
3/5
I obviously know Eminem and his many hits, but I don’t think I ever listened to a full album of his so this would be interesting.
This is vintage Eminem, using his classic sound of fast rapping of comically violent and outrageous lyrics. Beats are mostly straightforward, and the melody lines are simple and effective. This got a couple of Eminem’s career defining hits - Stan and The Way I Am. The other songs in the album are also good. I personally found it got a bit tedious about midway (I’m Back) but I’m sure that fans of Eminem’s style can enjoy this front to back.
This album definitely merits inclusion in this list, being the mainstream breakout of the best selling musician ever. I can’t say that this has become my favorite album or anything. Three stars.
Richard Hawley
2/5
This is fine I guess.
I don’t really get what this album is doing on this list. It sounds like a crooner filtered through British popular music, as if Dean Martin also did a stint with Blur. Deep soothing vocals and soaring string sections. It’s not bad by any means, but nothing exceptionally good or innovative or anything that I could ever say somebody must listen to before they die.
I give it two stars because one star is reserved for truly unlistenable stuff. I think if the artist wasn’t British this would never have been included on the list.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I don’t think I ever listened to this one. I’ve heard plenty of the albums bookending it - Innervisions and Songs In The Key of Life, and they are both masterpieces. So you could say I have high expectations here.
It’s a beautiful album. Wonder has that amazing ability to create music that is sophisticated and interesting but also deeply emotional and relatable.
There’s quite a range here, from almost Bossa Nova bouncy Bird of Beauty to the haunting They Won’t Go When I Go through the rhythmic jazzy adlibs of Boogie On Raggae Woman.
I’m going to give this four stars because it’s a great album. If it was the only thing Wonder ever did then it would’ve been a good career, but I know he did even better.
David Bowie
2/5
This is an interesting choice. I listened to and love many classic Bowie albums like Ziggy Stardust, Low, Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Heroes and so on. Never heard this one. I do have to say I usually dislike "back to form" albums.
I’m having a hard time rating this one. It’s a good album, it just sounds like David Bowie. Is it as good as Aladdin Sane or Scary Monsters? Not by a long shot. Does it have some very good songs? Yeah. I mean, the songwriting is great and the singing is great and the instrumentation is great. This would be the best album on the discography of many artists. I just expect more of Bowie. I expect some new sound, some unique brash weirdness, and this is ordinary.
I’m going to give it two stars. It’s a fine album and it’s entirely possible I’ll listen to it again in the future, but it doesn’t even crack Bowie’s top ten so how can it be on the top 1000 ever.
The Who
3/5
This is one of the greatest rock albums, a quintessential rock opera. It’s still fun to listen to but you can definitely throw out half the songs and end up with something even better.
Janet Jackson
4/5
Wow, this is really cool! This is another one of these cases where I obviously know who Janet Jackson is and I know her nineties hits, but never heard anything from this album.
This is a great selection that runs the gamut of eighties pop, from funk to hard rock. Super cool and makes you want to dance.
The Cure
5/5
This is one of the greatest albums ever. Probably in my personal top ten.
This is the pinnacle of The Cure’s style. Waves of sound, beautiful melodies, sweet and sad. The rhythms can go from flowing to claustrophobic. It’s just perfect.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
This is a masterpiece. Some of the greatest pieces of music ever recorded. It’s funky, soulful, joyous, sophisticated. I remember listening to this for the first time, such a revelation. Didn’t know music can do all that.
2Pac
2/5
I… thought it would be better. I knew Tupac’s hits but this album isn’t it. Tupac is a strong vocalist and has a great voice and delivery, but the songs are sooooooo dulllll uhhhh. I’m willing to give it two stars.
1/5
Liars are another darling of the early oughts post punk inspired indie rock. I remember liking them but not sure if it was that notable to merit inclusion on this list. Let's give it another go.
This is different from their first album, which was much more post punk-y. This is experimental noise rock. I'm not one to shy away from experimental music so I'm giving it a try.
The challenge with experimental music is how to make meaningful and interesting experiments while remaining communicative and engaging. Just making noise that doesn't connect to anybody emotionally is pointless.
I'm afraid this is closer to the pointless side of the map. Compared, say, to something like Neurosis/Tribes of Neurot or Xiu Xiu who take this kind of music to someplace where the listener actually cares. I applaud the ambition but I think the result is unlistenable, and as somebody who does sometimes like music like this, I wouldn't say this is a notable work.
Air
3/5
This is a classic of nineties chill ambient electronica. Definitely not my kind of music, but I listened to this before because it was very popular.
The music washes over you with various electronic and acoustic soundscapes. Sometimes some soft vocals, and a persistent muted beat in the background. Some songs try to add some variation but it’s still pretty minimal.
It all sounds like a movie soundtrack. Thing is with a movie soundtrack there’s the movie to keep you interested and here there’s nothing like that.
It’s all very relaxing but kinda boring. Giving it three stars since it’s good for the genre and I think it's considered an important work and not actively offensive. I just don’t like the genre.
2/5
I don’t know. I tried listening to this album many times. I know it’s very critically acclaimed, I just done jive with it. I mean stylistically it’s very close to what I like, rugged singer songwriter with distorted guitars. It’s just too unaffected, too bored, it doesn’t connect with me.
Sparks
4/5
From the moments I heard the first few seconds of the first song I knew I’m gonna hate it. But then I listened some more.
This sure is some quirky artsy rock of the type this list absolutely loves. But this one actually works! We got weird quasi-operatic vocals, polyrhythmic keyboards and yes-like bass, but it all forms together to a cohesive whole.
This album is fun, emotional and exciting while being downright weird and that’s beautiful.
Stan Getz
4/5
This album is just what it says on the box - jazz samba. We get samba music (at least some of it I recognize) with a jazz interpretation of it. Sometimes we even get some players playing samba rhythms while others swing.
It works really well and it's a great fun listen.
The Band
4/5
This is a great folk rock album. Rooted in blues and country but also rocks hard. Great songs, great singers, great players that weave in and out of jams. This is just great.
Lead guitar on This Wheel’s on Fire is simply delectable.
James Brown
4/5
If there’s one thing I picked up from this list is that funk music is incredible. This list got me to seriously listen to bands like War, Isaac Hayes and Sly & The Family Stone and that became some of my favorite music.
James Brown is the originator of this style of music. The man who single handedly created this musical vocabulary. This show includes the essence of the style. Its jazz origins, the evocative vocals, the rhythmic styling. It’s all there with a great performance to cap it. I’m giving it four stars because I think Funk music has gone on to even greater heights since but this is a great listen.
JAY Z
4/5
Wow such a great album!
I didn’t know what to expect. I know jay zs hits but none of them are here. Some songs like Renegade and Heart of the City are as good as any hip hop.
Great vocal delivery, amazing dynamics, killer beats and varied and effective use of samples and instrumentation.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Another Wonder classic. He was cooking during that era and really couldn't produce anything less than a masterpiece.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
I just don’t get A Tribe Called Quest. I heard all of their stuff, I know it’s highly acclaimed, I don’t get it. Sounds like the superbowl shuffle.
Eminem
3/5
This did not age well.
I mean this is Eminem. Incredible vocal delivery, childishly vulgar lyrics of over the tops violence mixed with moments of deep honesty. In the early album there are a lot of skits which are absolute skips.
It’s Eminem then it should be on the list but I don’t recommend anyone listen to this.
Red Snapper
2/5
Back in the late nineties/early oughts we had stuff like Boards of Canada and DJ Shadow and some of us thought this is how all music is gonna sound like in the future. Instead we got chill lo fi hip hop beats to study and relax to.
This album feels very much of that time. It has all of the same tropes, with the use of acoustic instruments, a lot of variation in beats, some liquid vocals, low fi snares. It’s all there. It’s fine I guess. No idea what it’s doing on this list so I guess this is two stars.
Beck
2/5
This is a surprise. I mean Beck is great but I wouldn’t put him on such a list. The choice of album is kind of a surprise as well. I could’ve seen any album prior to this one really.
This has all the range of a Beck album. Beck’s talky, almost rapping, vocals. Some distorted riffs, some acoustic guitar, some scratchy beats, some all around quirkiness. It’s all pretty cool and everything but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly notable.
Two stars.
Happy Mondays
3/5
This is a classic of Madchester, the scene and style where bands like The Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and The Stone Roses blended rock with rave dance music and a lot of drugs to create this cool, chill psychedelic type of music.
This album is a classic and great example of the genre. Dance beats, female liquid vocals, jammy guitar, and a vocalists that shows you Liam Gallagher’s origins.
Thing is I just don’t like it. The entire genre really. It’s too laid back I just don’t care.
Giving it three stars because it belongs on the list, I just don’t like this music.
Eric Clapton
2/5
I was really looking forward to this one. I don't think I ever listened to a Clapton solo album top to bottom (did listen to Cream obviously), and I was expecting a lot.
Didn't get a lot. I mean, some good songs, nice hooks, but didn't really blow my socks off. Lots of covers, and none of the incredible guitar playing we know from Cream.
I'm debating 2 or 3 starts. It's humdrum but it's Clapton. I think I'm gonna go 2 hoping he gets represented by Disraeli Gears.
Alanis Morissette
5/5
As a nineties kid, this hits hard. I still remember endlessly watching Alanis screaming her lungs out while driving through the woods in the Ironic video.
I’m sure that I’ve listened to this album before though I don’t really remember the album tracks. They’re great though.
This is really a classic of nineties pop rock. Grungey guitars, Alanis’s unique vocals. It’s all so much of the nineties and I love it. It’s super dramatic and big without feeling over the top. It feels very personal and is very easy to relate to.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
I’m not really a big jazz fan, but this is fun to listen to.
Very funky, deeply rooted in blues. This is the kind of jazz that tries to play with the listener rather than challenge and punish him. Great sax, organ and guitar. Many tasty licks.
I can’t judge it on historical significance since I’m relatively ignorant in the genre but the cool music and cover photo is a four for me.
Kanye West
5/5
I know Kanye is a terrible individual but I really love his music.
The production and arrangements are just so great, and I mean what’s better than a rapper sampling King Crimson?
This is just so big and cool and interesting. Kanye is at his best here (I also really like 808 and heartbreak album, but that’s different).
I’m not a hip hop expert but for me this is top 5-10 hip hop albums ever so easily five stars.
Jack White
4/5
It’s funny but I only recently started listening to Jack White’s solo work so I’m really expecting this.
This is really great. Both on brand and an evolution. For somebody who only heard White on the white stripes this brand of bluesy garage rock is immediately recognizable. But here we got a different kind of song writing (and a very prominent piano!). It’s still White but sometimes feels like a western saloon. The guitar is also not as distorted and sometimes goes on more evolved solos than it used to.
It’s everything good for the white stripes but a bit more ambitious and musically open. Being supported by white’s great songwriting this makes for a beautiful album.
I think I’ll give it four stars.
Pearl Jam
3/5
Wow another nineties blockbuster. This is a great album even though I’m not the biggest Pearl Jam fan. Let’s take a fresh listen.
I….. don’t know. I mean I was never a fan of Pearl Jam, finding them dull and tedious. This album is a certainly a Pearl Jam album, dull and tedious. I mean the songwriting and musicianship is fine, it’s just all so samey and boring. It all muddles together and even though you know the songs it just sounds like one song that keeps dragging on.
This can’t be less than three stars since it’s iconic and must be on such a list, but I just don’t like it.
Steely Dan
3/5
Steely Dan is another one these bands where I can get they're very good, I understand they're very influential, I just don't like it.
The musicianship is obviously of a very high caliber, jazzy rock. The lyrics are comically bad with corny rhymes, but who cares. It just doesn't grab my interest. Maybe I'm the problem, dunno.
This is a three star, I agree that it's good and definitely belongs on this list, I just don't like listening to it.
Metallica
5/5
Oh wow, yeah. Personal top ten. One of the greatest albums ever.
This album just hits top to bottom. Filled with super strong songs like Dyers Eve, One, Blackened. There’s not a weak second here.
It could use more bass in the mix but this is an all time great and an amazing listen.
Japan
3/5
Never heard of this in my life. This list is so British leaning it’s comical.
Anyway this is cool. Very curesque, particularly the bass. Some songs are up beat and danceable, others more ambient. Interesting throughout.
Giving it three stars.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I’m a bit torn here. I’m a huge Neil Young fan and I get why they chose this record. My My, Hey Hey, Powderfinger, Pocahontas - these are some of Neil’s greatest songs. The others, not so much. I mean Ride My Llama or Sedan Delivery could just be left on the editing room floor.
For my money Neil has much better works like Zuma, After the Gold Rush or Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.
Rating it three stars because of Powderfinger which is one of my most favorite songs but honestly this can also be two stars.
Flamin' Groovies
1/5
Ever wondered what would happen if we took The Rolling Stones and made them boring? This album apparently.
Iron Maiden
4/5
This is such a classic. This is Iron Maiden’s first album with Bruce Dickinson, his operatic vocals replacing the raspier grittier Paul Di’anno.
With Bruce joining, Maiden’s sound is now ready for the epic heavy metal that became their trademark. It’s all here, the galloping bass, the dueling guitars, and the soaring vocals.
This is a great choice for a Maiden album. To be fair, most Maiden albums have 2-3 very strong songs then a bunch of fillers. Even here the title track, Run To The Hills and Hallowed be thy name stand above the rest, but all of the songs are incredibly strong. The catchy vocal melody of Prisoner, the funky riff of Invaders and the balladry of Children of the Damn.
This is a band at its creative peak and it’s great to experience.
Giving it four stars. Classic.
DJ Shadow
3/5
This was huge in the nineties but I haven’t listened to it in ages. Let’s see how it holds up.
It’s funny how some of the most popular instrumental hip hop nowadays is “chill lo fi beats to study and relax to”, that was so heavily influenced by this album, yet is so different. Yeah this has lo fi beats but it’s not chill. It’s engaging and alive and it tells a story. It does feel dated though. Compared with say Boards of Canada which is still interesting to listen to. This is more of an historical artifact.
I mean it’s a nice listen and definitely merits inclusion on the list, but I wouldn’t put it in any personal favorites list or anything. Three stars.
Christine and the Queens
1/5
Why is this here? Is it to combat accusations of the list being too anglophone centric?
It’s just a standard and pretty dated pop album. Not a particularly good one at that. One star.
Happy Mondays
1/5
What? I already had a Happy Mondays album. I get having one for historical significance but do we really need two?
I have the other one three stars for significance but the music is crap. This one is even worse.
Madonna
2/5
Kind of a weird choice for Madonna. I assume she also has older albums here. This is her 2000 comeback album
As for this album. Dunno, it’s fine? Not really my music. I don’t think it’s particularly strong. Not complete crap but not good enough for the list. Two stars (assuming Madonna has other entries).
Steely Dan
4/5
Another steely Dan? This list needs more variety.
I’ve listened to this album before, and listening to it again it’s clear it’s so much better than Aja. Some might say Aja is more evolved and sophisticated, but this has tight songs and communicative content.
This being Steely Dan’s debut shows that they came in as great musicians and songwriters and then I guess they got bored. I think when they’re at their origins of cool jazzy light rock they make great music.
I’m not a fan of the production, which sounds muted and thin, but the songs and musicianship is top notch. This is not really my kind of music but I really appreciate the lead guitar work so this is four stars but whatever I have given to Aja I’m taking it down a notch or two (I don’t see how I can edit reviews here so I’m not actually doing that but I should).
Goldie
3/5
I’m a bit torn here.
I love Drum and Bass. It’s my favorite type of dance music by far. I don’t really like Goldie and his brand of softer DnB. I also don’t really like DnB as “listening” music because it gets repetitive and boring very fast.
So what it should be?
I’ll give it three stars, but if you want to get a taste of DnB please attend a party or a rave rather than trying to listen to this boring drivel.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
This was really big in the early 2000s, I never got it.
Repetitive dance music with cringey vocals and a general snarky sense. The music is some mix of Bowie, Talking Heads and a general post punk vibe but without the fun. Disaffected and sarcastic.
I don’t even get the band name. What is an LCD Soundsystem? It’s kinda like the music, tries to sound cool but actually kinda pointless.
Some high points are not that bad (All My Friends, but even this song is twice as long as it should be), but I think you can die in peace even not having listened to this band at all. Two stars.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
It’s a good fun listen.
Franz Ferdinand
2/5
Another darling of the early oughts post punk revival indie rock. It’s funny to review something like this with historical perspective.
I mean, it’s fine? Not earth shattering, just nice music. I have to say that I was aware of Franz Ferdinand when they broke out but I didn’t really like them and their contemporaries (I mean some did stand out, like The Strokes or Bloc Party). It’s all pretty derivative and not very interesting.
Dunno, if you like this then go listen to Mission of Burma or Wire or something.
Two stars.
Les Rythmes Digitales
1/5
What is this crap? this is like the most basic craptastic eurotrash dance music. what is it doing here? it this somehow notable? wtf. Sound like a kid with fruity loops.
one star and even that is too much.
Stephen Stills
4/5
I only know Stills from CSN(Y) so this would be interesting.
Some cool songs - both of us, don’t look at my shadow, it doesn’t matter, bound to fall. Honestly just the second side is really great, don’t look at my shadow onwards.
Overall a nice country tinged blues rock album. Nothing earth shattering but overall good. I’m debating three or four stars. I like it and I don’t mind it being on the list. Not a personal top 100 by a long shot though. How would it compare to Tusk? Let’s do four.
The War On Drugs
2/5
I’ve heard this band’s name but can’t say I ever knowingly listened to their music.
Hey siri, play some indie rock! That’s kinda what it sounds like. Somber, with all kind of effects enveloping the songs. Overly serious and humorless as far as I’m concerned. Kind of the same feeling throughout.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
This is incredible. Amazing singing, beautiful instrumentation (love the fretless bass) and incredible songs. It just delivers with this incredible weight. Awesome.
Tim Buckley
4/5
Oh Wow, I love Tim Buckley. His brand of psychedelic folk is so unique and charming, and his voice is amazing. I think Star sailor is my favorite album of his but this one is great as well. Let's give it another listen.
I don't know if "Happy Sad" is the correct title. It's more "Uplifting Sad". Tim's amazing vocals and powerful arrangements are somber yet uplifting.
This is so beautiful.
The Cure
4/5
I’m torn here. I love the cure, possibly my favorite band. But timeless albums that everyone must listen to before they die? Disintegration (on the list) is there, maybe also Pornography and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, but I wouldn’t volunteer any of the earlier albums for such a list.
Trying to listen with fresh ears as much as possible and try to see why the authors think differently from me.
I’ve only started listening but I think I get it. This album has such a unique, iconic, genre defining sound. The dry drums, live yet sound like a drum machine. A bunch of little keyboard and guitar riffs going on at once, going in and out of the frame. Smith’s unmistakable vocals crooning, taking sort of another ambient atmospheric role. Bass is lifted off of Joy Division essentially, melodic and high pitched.
Songs are dreamy soundscapes. Feeling like the end of the night. A bit creepy and alien.
A Forest shows how the cure can turn all of these weird elements into a tight pop song. An amazing talent they will keep expanding further in their career.
Dunno what to say. I mean it’s a great album, the cure have plenty of great albums. It’s not the first cure album you should listen to, but it’s an important part of their catalog and story.
Calling it four stars.
King Crimson
4/5
King Crimson are on of my favorite bands. I’ll assume Red and In The Court are on the list. This album is actually the first album with the third band lineup which culminated in Red.
This is a great example of third Crimson. Heavy metal free jazz jamming and then beautiful lyric songs like Book of Saturday. This album has very prominent violin which lends this classic timeless feel to everything.
This is really a great album. As said above it shouldn’t be your first Crimson, but after listening to those mentioned above (and also Discipline probably) then I think this album (together with Lizard, Islands, THRAK) should be one of the next stops.
Giving it four stars.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
Never heard of this before.
It's nice 80's jangly rock, kinda reminds me of The House of Love.
Not bad or anything but can't see how it belongs on this list. Two stars.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
I love the Manic Street Preachers!
Interesting choice for an album. I would assume it’s their only entry on the list, and while a classic album the holy bible doesn’t have any of the band’s biggest hits on it.
It is 100% on brand manic street preachers. Fast, furious, melodic and filled with righteous rage. I think the manics walk a very fine line. Is their rage over American racism and female body image issues inspiring or is it comical? It’s hard to say, but I’m completely on board.
Four stars.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
How am I supposed to even rate this? From Purple Haze to Red House, these are masterpieces of rock music. Top ten album ever, Hendrix at its greatest. It’s fun, exciting, sexy, dangerous, dark, and just beautiful.
If you have any interest in music played on guitar then this is a must listen. Easy five stars.
Pantera
5/5
Great album. Exactly what is says on the box - powerful aggressive and violent. This is a no skip album filled with strong tracks. 5/5
Mekons
3/5
Uh, hard to tell.
Never heard this before, but it really sounds like kind of the origins of cow punk. I mean, bands like the holy modal rounders were really earlier, but you can find in this band a sort of precursor or a first of a blend of punk and country.
The singers delivery really reminds me of AJJ at times, it’s not just the delivery but also the vocal melody. We get some ill fitting violin, and the guitar distortion seems to heavy for the music playing.
Historical significance seems apparent even though I didn’t know the band, but the music is very tedious. Thinking they’ll get three stars for history.
Oh and Psycho Cupid is horrible.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Interesting choice. I wonder if we’ll get more sabbath here? If expect Master of Reality, Paranoid, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Heaven and Hell long before I’d expect Vol 4.
Vol 4 is a very cool chapter in early Sabbath. After solidifying the heavy evil heavy metal sound they pioneered in their first early album, in Vol 4 Sabbath got heavier and started digging even deeper into heavy sounds. In metal circles Black Sabbath is not only considered as the originator of all of heavy metal, but also of specific sub genres such as doom metal and stoner rock. This album shows why. The music here starts to take more of a wall of sound characteristic, Ozzy sings a bit lower, and Tony adds epic dirge-y solos on top of his heavy riffs.
A lot of the changes in Sabbath’s sound came in the previous Master of Reality album, and here they allow themselves to take it further in songs like Wheels of Confusion, St. Vitus Dance and Snowblind (the intended title track) but also expand their music palate in Changes, a piano ballad or FX with its weird noises.
Overall an important chapter in the history of one of the most important bands in the history of music. Not entirely mind blowing so I’m giving it four stars.
Circle Jerks
2/5
I heard about this band and I do love me some hardcore punk so let’s see what’s in the box.
Well it’s hardcore punk alright. Fast, angry, frantic. Circle Jerks lean heavily on tempo changes to introduce this sense of anarchy. Sometimes we also get chaotic solos, and of course appropriate lyrics like “I’ve got the world up my ass”.
Personally I prefer my hardcore punks with more melodic sensibility like The Descendants or Bad Religion, so this is two stars in my book.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
It’s kinda hard to review this type of records. Oh you think Tangerine is a good song and plant is a great vocalist? What an original thought. I mean it’s a classic among the Zeppelin discography, as are all first six Zeppelin albums. These are shining pinnacles in the history of rock music.
I think this album is kinda thin with “hits” outside of the immigrant song, but it has a great selection of songs that showcase all of the things Zeppelin can do - epic drums, bass that can be both driving and melodic, killer riffs, great solos and Plant’s vocals that can go from heavy metal to blues to soul and everything in between.
What I also love about Zeppelin is how raw and organic the sound is. It’s not sloppy but it’s not what I would call sloppy. It jumps out and grabs you, feels like a live show.
Rightfully a classic.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
I don’t get Kendrick. I’m not a huge hip hop fan but I can appreciate it. I get why people like some rappers who might not be my personal favorite, but I don’t get Kendrick. I’ve listened to this album and to others and it’s just… mid. Ok rapper ok production. What’s all the hype about?
How come this is the #6 most listened artist on Spotify? It’s not offensively bad just super generic. I don’t get it.
I understand Kendrick is big so he can get his three stars but I don’t like the music.
The Beach Boys
5/5
I mean, it’s pet sounds. It can get a five just for historical significance, or a five just for pushing the boundaries of pop music, but I give it five stars for being full to the brim with perfect beautiful songs.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Like most everybody who comes across this entry, I’ve heard Leonard Cohen before, I know his big songs like Hallelujah, First we take manhattan or Suzanne and I mean he’s pretty good. Not my favorite. I think I tried to listen to an album of his before and came away unimpressed.
This one is different. Glancing over the track list I of course know Famous Blue Raincoat and was wondering if I’ll just get that and an album of fillers. How wrong was I. The album starts with Avalanche which kind of feels like one. This rolling intense acoustic guitar and tense vocals. I didn’t delve into the lyrics because I just don’t care to, but the emotional intensity is always there. Dress Rehearsal Rag is incredible, so strong, also Diamonds in the Mine. It feels like this entire album is uniformly strong songs. This air of love and loss and emotional intensity connects all of them through their different stories. Cohen’s powerful vocals lead the way with pretty sparse yet very effective instrumentation supporting him.
This is an easy five stars.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
I’ve heard the name before but other than knowing they performed at Woodstock I know nothing about this band.
The music… well sounds like they performed at Woodstock. It’s psychedelic blues rock. It’s fine. I’ll give it three stars for history but it’s nothing I’ll bother listening to again.
Michael Jackson
5/5
This would be interesting. Biggest selling album ever. I obviously know the three big hits in the middle (title track, Beat It and Billie Jean), but the rest would be a fresh listen.
It’s a cool album, funky and groovy, great playing. I do have to say that none of the songs touch Billie Jean and Beat It, but that’s fine. Five stars.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
This is weird.
Sort of a concept album about the ills of modern society or whatever. We get big orchestral keyboards and a crazy sermon over it chanting mantras, then we got the abbreviated cover “fury”, then a Springsteen cover, wtf? Then we’re going on a stretch of post punk bass and beats. Then some echo laden solo and we’re back to the sermons but about Crisco kisses. What’s going on?
I mean it’s more comical than anything but I think it probably didn’t seem as ridiculous at the time?
Definitely didn’t age well, but I’m willing to give it three stars for historical significance. I’m lacking context but I’m sure it’s there.
Dinosaur Jr.
5/5
One of my all time favorites. Incredible album. Pure raw emotion. J Mascis’s guitar style is so unique, it’s like equal parts punk rock aggression and Neil Young meanderings. The songs are energetic but also somehow detached and disaffected. Screeching lead guitar lines just tear through your heart. Ah, and they do all of that while not really taking anything seriously and keeping sort of a slacker aesthetic.
I’m honestly not sure what this sounds like to somebody who doesn’t know and love the band. For me it’s a personal top 50, maybe even top 20. Love this album to death.
It’s also very influential on grunge and modern indie rock, the lo fi jazzmaster guitar sound is here, the vocal style is here, it’s all here. Five stars.
Digital Underground
1/5
I’ve never heard about this before but I have to say just reading the album description on Wikipedia was worth the price of entry.
Thing is it’s still early nineties hip hop. It’s not the worse of the genre because they have great samples but the rapping and overall production is just cringe.
R.E.M.
3/5
This is the second REM I got here, the first being Automatic For The People. Both great albums.
This is an interesting album, what many consider to be the last early period college rock darling album. This is their last independent label album, and is sort of the start of their transition into stardom, which will be at full swing in Out of Time, two albums later. This album already contains two quintessential REM hits - The One I Love and It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, showing the bands ability to write their own brand of its hits.
Anyway I don’t know. I like it but it’s not my favorite and assuming Out of Time will also be here I think this is a bit too much REM.
Gary Numan
4/5
Synth pop is hard to review in retrospect. We can only imagine the weird alien space voices the artist imagined, but they must ridiculous to a modern listener. So unless new have personal nostalgia for the genre (I’m a smidge too young for that) it’s very hard to judge the merits of such work.
Thankfully there are some really great songs here, regardless of moog synths and robotic vocals. Song like Tracks and Conversation are just cool and interesting without being fully immersed in Numan’s futuristic fantasies.
Four stars for me.
Kid Rock
1/5
Loved this when it first came out then turned my nose at it when I refined my musical palate. Would be interesting to revisit.
OK I liked it because I was a kid and this album is juvenile. I mean, some nu metal survived and remained relevant. Looking back at Slipknot, Korn or SOAD you can really appreciate what they did and what they brought to the table, even if you don’t personally like it.
This, on the other hand, is utter crap. Stupid lyrics and music that is fully based around tropes which were worn out even then.
I don’t think it has enough of a historical importance as well. Hybrid Theory was much more important in bringing this kind of music mainstream, and artistically there’s nothing here.
Radiohead
5/5
I used to be very much into Radiohead, but I always felt like they peaked in the amazing trilogy of OK Computer/Kid A/Amnesiac. For me it’s a rock trilogy as good as any, as good as Rubber Soul/Revolver/Sgt. Pepper even. But after that I remember Hail To The Thief sounded muddy and humdrum. I “bought” In Rainbows when they did the pay-what-you-want thing and don’t remember sticking with it. I did get curious about it recently because I see many people ranking it in Radiohead’s top 2 which seems blasphemous.
It starts a bit slow for me, like the two songs are lifted off of HTTF, but then you get Nude, Weird Fishes and All I Need which really get you somewhere. It has all of the good of Radiohead - the ethereal, dreamlike, painful, dark beauty that’s unique to them. You hear their musical past and you hear them taking their sound forward. From then on it’s just pure amazingness non stop. Ending on Videotape which is one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Comparing it to the big trilogy, I would put it too, but it hangs in there. I think this album is more beautiful than other Radiohead albums. The others are darker, sadder, this is dark and sad but with more than a touch of pure beauty.
Tim Buckley
5/5
I love Tim Buckley, and this album is beyond perfect. Tim’s voice is amazing, and the he takes it from troubadour in Once I Was is incredible, and then the psychedelic rhythmic singing in Hallucinations is jaw dropping. This is perfect throughout and one of my favorite albums.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
I mentioned in some previous reviews that this entire project was worth it for me since it introduced me to soul and funk music, which I now enjoy a lot and explore on my own. I enjoyed Mayfield in Superfly so I’m really looking forward to this one.
Right from the cover art we can see what we’re gonna get. Tales of hardship and oppression, and it’s wrapped in the most beautiful music you can think of. Funky rhythm, call and response between Curtis and the guitar. This is so great. I just love how this both sad and somber and funky and groovy all at the same time. That’s so hard to get right and Mayfield nails it.
Oh the bass tone is also incredible and the trumpet (I think) solos also delightful. It’s like this great musical conversation with the vocals, lead guitar and trumpet trading the lead.
When you see an album that’s tackling social injustice you kinda expect to be big and loud and in your face. This is more of a quiet personal desperation kind of album. Very unique.
Five stars.
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
It’s fine. Not amazing. Pretty bland. A lot of cowbells.
Elton John
5/5
Wow this is incredible. Songs are mostly driven by the piano and Elton’s voice but that can do so much. So much energy and such a range of expression. I thought this would sound dated and corny but it’s just mind blowingly good.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
This is very cool mid nineties British indie rock. I like this kind of music, I’m not sure you have to listen to it before you die if it’s not your thing.
Radiohead
4/5
I’m not sure about this one. I mean, if this album was by any other band I’d give it five stars. It got some incredible high points like Sail To The Moon, There, There and We Suck Young Blood. The thing is it’s Radiohead and I want more.
I mean coming off their incredible trilogy there was a feeling that Radiohead need to come back to form. Release some proper rock. This album does try to be less electronic though not entirely so. It’s also very very very rough on the listener, unrelenting in its negativity. Now it’s not that Radiohead is usually a band with a ton of humor, but here it gets to be kinda too much.
Anyway good album, the band has better ones so only four stars.
Talking Heads
1/5
Another Talking Heads? I can accept Remain In Light in this list, even if I don’t like it, but I can’t see this band meriting two entries for notability alone. Let’s see if I like the music.
Uh
Ok I can respect how true to their artistic vision these guys are, but do I have to listen to this drivel? Again with the tribal drums, weird vocals and bizarre noises.
I gave them three stars for Remain In Light just for historical significance. This can be a one star.
Little Simz
2/5
Dunno. Very British sounding. Kinda samey throughout. Good vocalist but production is pretty dull. Don't know enough about the artist to say if there's some historical reason for inclusion. Let's call it two stars.
Adele
3/5
So this isn't really my cup of tea, but one cannot deny that Adele is an all time great vocalist. Amazing delivery, great arrangements that showcase the lead vocals without feeling like a nothingburger.
The only problem I have with this is treating 25 as if it's some old age where you can look back at nostalgia. Hey girl 25 is young!
Anyway deserves a spot on the list.
The Byrds
3/5
This is an interesting one. Of course I know the Byrds and their hits and I think I probably heard their first two albums in full.
This is an interesting album, it follows their breakthrough albums and without knowing a ton about the band you can feel they’re in a flux, exploring their sound. The beautiful vocal harmonies and folk rock are still there, and even though they don’t cover Dylan here his spirit is still around. You also get explorations into psychedelic rock which are very cool and blend into the band’s core sound well.
Not earth shattering but definitely a good entry on the list. Three stars.
Paul Simon
5/5
I remember first listening to this album, such a surprise. Like everyone got introduced to Paul Simon through Simon and Garfunkel. That taught me about his beautiful voice and fingerpicking and folk arrangements. But Simon can do so much more!
Out of the gate Simon hits you with weird accordion and a bass that’s somehow both funky and somber. If you expected folksy fingerpicking then you got something else coming.
All throughout this album we have Simon exploring different style and ideas, a lot of African influences but we also get eighties synth pop and other stuff. You can hear the joy Simon has in exploring different approaches and ideas and mostly rhythmic variations.
Now I consider Paul Simon to be one of the greatest songwriters ever, so of course he takes a bunch of fresh ideas and makes timeless songs like Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes.
Great album from an all time great. Let’s do five stars.
Beach House
5/5
I’ve heard a lot about this band and faintly remember listening to them ages ago. I remember them as part of the early oughts shoegaze revival which was awesome but I never delved into them.
This album is unavailable on Spotify. Huh. Listening on bandcamp.
This is incredible. Wouldn't call it shoegaze, more dreampop I guess. It does have this meditative aspect shoegaze often has, but it's not walls of guitar noise, it's repetitive vocals or beats or guitars (and sometimes I think I even heard a banjo) that create this wall of... something. It's great. I don't know if it's the band's name but it does feel more "sunny" than shoegaze or other dreampop which is often "rainy". Maybe it's just the name.
Anyway, otherworldy vocals, beautiful repetitive (in the best sense of the world) arrangements. Very cool. Love it. Would spend some more time with their discography now. Five stars as a great album in general and also as a great example of this new generation of bands who got inspired by Slowdive and their ilk.
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
This is a surprise.
Whenever I get a rap album from the eighties or early nineties I cringe. It’s always bad rappers with corny beats and I hate it.
This album slappppspsss sooo haarrrrddd. Run DMC are amazing rappers with impeccable flow and clever rhymes with powerful delivery. The production is thin by today’s standards but extremely effective. I don’t think I ever listened to this album but I’m sure I will again.
B.B. King
1/5
I used to give out three stars for notability even if I didn’t like the music. I don’t wanna do that anymore. I know this is supposed to be important but it’s boring and tedious.
Fugees
5/5
This is an all time classic. Amazing album with incredible range of hip hop, soul and R&B. Each song is a banger, all three vocalists are distinct unique and amazing, production is cool and tasteful.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I’m kinda torn. I love Belle and Sebastian. You should listen to them before you die. I love all of their works, but I think they really developed and matured throughout their career, and would probably recommend a mid career album like Dear Catastrophe Waitress or The Life Pursuit over their debut.
It’s a cool album, and a lot of the trademarks of the band are there - twee vocals, whimsical lyrics about adolescence, hints at their later forays into synth and electropop and even foreshadowing If You’re Feeling Sinister with Expectations.
It’s all a bit raw, especially when compared with where I know they’ll go.
Daft Punk
2/5
I don’t get it. It’s cool dance music. But listening to an album of this? Cruel and unusual.
Fats Domino
2/5
For a second there I thought this was the guy they did the movie about in “Be Kind, Rewind”, but that was swing jazz pianist Fats Waller. Man, folks used to get real creative with nicknames back in the day.
This is an early rock and roll album. Very bluesy and the Spotify version has surprisingly good mix and production. Cool songs with fun rhythmic variations but can’t say any of this really sticks with me.
The Adverts
3/5
This is cool. I love punk and this is what I love about punk. Aggressive attitude, simplistic music but with great catchy melodies and a lot of conviction. Not an expert but I know The Adverts are also considered an influential band.
Worthy three stars. Willing to call it three and a half. It’s great but doesn’t posses the greatness I expect of four stars.
The Blue Nile
3/5
This is interesting. I never even heard of this band. It’s like a cool minimalistic chamber pop. Minimalistic arrangements (kinda reminds me of Talk Talk The Colour of Spring, but much earlier), interesting vocalists that’s somehow both sting and Robert smith and his own thing. Music is somber and dark and dramatic. Not my favorite thing in the world but interesting listen. Three stars.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
I guess I’m just bad with classic hip hop. I know this is a classic. I agree that the various vocalists here have generally good delivery. It’s just extremely dull and uninteresting. The kung fun stuff is just silly. I don’t know…
I can give it three stars because I know it’s important and a classic but I don’t really like it.
Johnny Cash
5/5
Wow, this is something. Not sure what to make of this.
First I have to say I’m not a fan of Johnny Cash. I mean, his deep voice is amazing but the songs are always super simple and samey and monotone and one note and just plain boring.
So judging this as a collection of songs means it’s a mediocre collection of songs by an influential artist, classic three stars.
But this is not what it is. This is such a unique artistic endeavor. Cash is coming out saying “you know how I like singing about outlaw life? Here are the outlaws I sing about, what do you think about that?”. I mean just the setting is such a strong artistic statement. Then we start getting more of that when the crowd cheers for “shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die”, then we start getting the prison warden calling inmates over the PA, then Cash hits us with The Wall. Finally we get the prison warden telling the inmates to stay seated while the artist leaves, giving us a very stark reminder that despite of the unique experience of the show, the inmates are still inmates and the artist is still an artist singing about their lives. This is such a powerful exploration of art, life, and love.
Incredible.
One star for music, three stars for notability, but five stars for the artistic statement.
808 State
2/5
Man this is a lot.
As far as house music (is that what this is?) goes, this is pretty cool and fun. It would be great to go out dancing to this. I don’t really understand how to enjoy this stuff as purely a listening experience. There’s all this energy in the music and the drum loops that needs a physical outlet. Just for listening it’s grating on my nerves.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
I know this one well. It's great to give it another listen.
Great songwriting, incredible vocal harmonies, just beautiful textbook folk rock.
Super influential, super great music.
Wouldn't crack my personal top 100 probably though, so four stars.
Rush
4/5
I never really liked Rush. Couldn’t stand the vocals and the songs never really caught me.
Gave this a fair chance and honestly it’s pretty great. Tight, dynamic, cool rhythms and licks. Complex yet catchy. Vocals are still unbearable.
Four stars.
Frank Ocean
4/5
This took me a while. I remember trying blond a couple of times and never feeling like I got it. Same here for first couple of listens. But I gave it some more.
This is cool. Vocals range from robotic auto tuned through r&b soul then Motown and even some smooth rap. Then the music production is pretty hip hoppy with consistent rhythms and looping melodies and chords, but it’s all with this otherworldly feel. The record kinda feels timeless and modern all at the same time. Four stars for me.
Kings of Leon
1/5
This is from the early oughts garage rock revival. But it sucks. Look, your white stripes from Temu arrived.
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
It’s a real cool funky instrumental album. I have to say I personally find it harder to connect to music without vocals.
Anyway super cool super influential three stars. Crazy to think it was released in the early sixties.
R.E.M.
3/5
Ok I checked and the REM inclusions in this list are weird. Four albums which is a lot, but none of them are their biggest album, Out Of Time?
Don’t get me wrong, REM is a great band and this is a great album.
It’s a transition album. The band’s major label debut. Their “selling out” album. I think the only huge hit here is “Stand”, but I guess the overall sound is more polished and accessible (not that REM were terribly inaccessible at any point). It’s a beautiful album, great late eighties early nineties alt rock.
Dunno, three stars based on my personal taste but I mean I’m not sure it should be here.
AC/DC
4/5
I never liked AC/DC, but let's give them a fair chance.
Ok wow this is incredible. It simply rocks. So much energy. The vocals suck but oh well. Great hard rock album. Four stars.
Hookworms
1/5
Wow this was a chore to get through.
It’s some pretentious crap. Now I love pretentious crap, but when you get all pretentious then the bar is that much higher to make music that is meaningful and connects with the listener.
This is just weak songs wrapped in repetitive noise. Also never heard of them, it’s pretty new, no listens on Spotify, not sure what got them on the list.
One star.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Ok yeah a million stars.
I actually only started listening to Springsteen a few years ago. Perhaps it’s due to me not being American, I kinda assumed it’s some silly super patriot American songs. Oh how wrong was I.
It’s hard to write about somebody like Springsteen since he’s so big. But you can listen to this without thinking about the boss. This album starts so powerful out of the gate with Thunder Road and then gives us such a range from party songs to ballads through Springsteen’s famous anthems. Bruce has such a singing range, rocking on tenth avenue freeze out, crooning on night, belting out on thunder road and the title track. Lyrics about life and the mundane and the itching desire to escape it.
This is an all time classic. Five stars.
Burning Spear
3/5
Nice roots reggae. Wouldn’t call it mind blowing but I’m not an expert at the genre. Willing to assume notability for three stars.
The Teardrop Explodes
1/5
Man, no way this belongs on the list. Post punk with occasional spacey keyboards. Extremely boring. One star.
Another case of a band that’s only on the list because it’s from the UK.
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Cool Cuban jazz. I’m old enough to have watched the film when it first came out. You’d hear this everywhere. It’s like a cool smooth party. Some songs are more improvisational, other more lyric, cool stuff. Three stars.
John Martyn
1/5
This is fucking annoying. Sounds like a midlife crisis. One star.
ABBA
2/5
Can’t fault it for what it is, and what it is it does well. For me it’s impossible to sit through this entire album. So saccharine and honestly boring. Not dropping to one because of notability.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
This is a cool album. Sinatra is not only a great singer, but also a great presenter is music. Sinatra walks a fine line here, respecting the Brazilian songs for their unique Brazilian character, while not trying to Brazilfy himself.
Nice listen, three stars.
Pixies
5/5
Oooooh yeah.
First, this album gets five stars on notability and influence alone. Creating the nineties alternative rock aesthetic.
Now let’s talk about the music. The Pixies quiet loud quiet is in full effect here and it’s great. The quiet is anxious and ominous the loud is unhinged and energetic.
It’s also all so much fun. Cool vibes throughout and you just feel like you’re a part of it. Production is super sparse allowing you to hear everything including the silence. This album retains a lot of rawness of Surfer Rosa, but it tames it a bit to make the songs a bit sweeter.
Also Black Francis’s vocals are not half bad. Anyway listening back to this album is a trip. The songs are just so great, the dynamics are awesome, it’s all great. Five stars.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Another one of these impossible to rate albums. Here, listen to the best vocalist of all time sing some songs by one of these best composers of the 20th century, now rate 1-5.
I mean it’s incredible. Fitzgerald is in my opinion as great a vocalist as there ever was. Not just on technical aspects such as range, pitch or enunciation. She also has a great emotional range and amazing delivery. The songs range from pretty good to great.
I have to say I can’t rate it at five stars though. Five stars are desert island albums. Things I connect with fully and deeply. This is very good music, I just can’t say I deeply connect with it. Call it four stars.
Oh, two comments. Great Gershwin songbook and no Summertime? I actually think the instrumental break in Just Another Rhumba referenced that. Weird choice. The other thing is choosing this album for the list. I mean yeah you must listen to Ella Fitzgerald before you die, she’s an all time great. Do you have to listen to over three hours of pretty samey songs? Definitely no. Go listen to one of the Ella and Louis albums, they’re so much more fun. You know what? On second thought I’m docking it a star for these comments. Not a good pick. Three stars.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
One of my all time favorites, probably personal top 10-20. Amazing album.
The xx
4/5
This is super fun indie pop, intimate danceable and soulful. Deep The Cure influences.
Ryan Adams
3/5
This is much better than gold. Good songs of country rock tinged with Springsteen fandom. Starts with an argument about Morrissey which seems entirely pointless. I enjoyed listening to this one so let’s do three.
Portishead
5/5
Oh yeah wow. Another classic. This album is so good and so timeless and a perfect five. I’m so happy at the opportunity to listen to it again.
What’s interesting about Dummy and Portishead in general is how singular it is. Usually when you have such a seminal album you get a wave of copy cats, some better some worse. This was never the case here. Trip hop was a limited scene and you didn’t really get a wave of Portishead copy cats. You can’t copy what makes this album special. It feels like the end of the night, the after of the after party. Like broken promises and shattered dreams and lost hope and it’s sooo beautiful.
The production mixes hip hop, dance music, cinematic music and an old timey jazz feel. Gibbons’s vocals are beautiful but also beautifully flawed and cracked like they’ve been through all the pains of life. Wabi sabi in a way.
Perfect five in any way possible.
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
I can only imagine myself on my deathbed reaching for just a little bit more of that special sauce…. Nope.
This is one of these albums that could make me buy the book eventually to try and understand the reasoning behind its inclusion.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I’m… not sure.
I love Gabriel-era Genesis but never really delved into his solo work as much. I did listen to Melt a lot which I love but this is different.
Gabriel draws on a bunch of influences here, you get eighties sophistipop sense reminiscent of Sting and Tears For Fears, you get world beat that can sometimes sound like talking heads, you get some post punk of the claustrophobic kind he had in Melt, especially on the last two songs.
It’s a strong record and Gabriel is an amazing vocalist and songwriter, I just don’t think it’s his best work.
Randy Newman
1/5
Is this an album about how much he hates the US south?
Anyway this is weepy and sweepy I hate it.
10cc
5/5
Yowza this is wild. These Guys dont mind getting weird!
This is what Pink Floyd would sound like if they had a sense of humor. Crazy off the wall music with all kinds of style and voice changes and very fun and infectious. Five.
Bob Dylan
5/5
How can you even rate this album. One of the greatest Dylan records, likely the most iconic one. Much more rock and roll and shedding away his folk instrumentation whole still making what is very clearly folk music in the deepest sense of the word. Iconic songs, cool, loose arrangements and delivery. Timeless.
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
Yessss
I never got into Sleater Kinney and I’m not sure why, this is great. They take the harsher parts of the pixies and dial them up to 11. Punky chaotic and awesome.
Minor Threat
3/5
This is hard to rate. I love Minor Threat and their raw energy. Is this great music? No. Would I take it on a desert island? Probably not. Is it a shining example of what it’s trying to achieve? Oh yeah.
Missy Elliott
2/5
Uh.
Dunno, I was never a fine. Kind of boring and monotonous. I don’t know enough about hip hop to say anything about notability, but I’m thinking two stars.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
This is super cool. I didn’t know what to expect but it’s great music. I mean even thinking about west African music traveling (sic) to America and becoming blues then traveling back and becoming this. It’s blues but more exciting with sometimes delving into other territories - sometimes a bit heavier, sometimes meditative (Wayei). Great to have on this list.
Frank Zappa
3/5
I never really got into Zappa. This is a mostly instrumental album, very bluesy, not too jazzy. A fun listen. Don’t know enough about Zappa to say if it’s a definitive piece though.
Genesis
5/5
One of my favorite albums, personal top ten. Also in my opinion top 3 prog rock album.
This album, to me, is what’s best about prog rock. It’s big and sweeping and dramatic and over the top but so so beautiful and captivating and fun.
Boston
5/5
I honestly had no idea what to expect here. I obviously know “More Than a Feeling” but that’s that. I was expecting some generic soft rock kind of thing. I couldn’t be more surprised when More Than a Feeling ended and they launched into the harmonized guitars of Peace of Mind - so awesome! Then they start with the wakemanish keyboards on Foreplay/Long Time. Wow!
This is some progressive hard rock extravaganza!
Great vocal harmonies, awesome varied songs, crazy musicianship. The music is so full of energy and ideas and goes in all different directions while staying focused and powerful and emotional. I can’t believe I never listened to this band, it’s awesome.
Simply a great find, this is what I do this project for. I’ll keep this on my rotation and will look into their other albums. Five stars.
The Slits
1/5
Tedious all girl post punk bank taking down capitalism or something. Unlistenable. Would never be here if the band wasn’t from the UK.
Britney Spears
2/5
This is kinda tough to review. I mean, is it dead simple corny bubblegum pop? Sure, but that’s what it says on the box. Reasonably catchy, a bunch of hits that were as big as anything. Billions can sing along to the singles here.
I have to say Britney’s staying power is a riddle to me. She’s not the best vocalist or anything, and the production was somebody else’s responsibility. Nevertheless she has staying power that contemporaries like Christina Aguilera don’t have.
Call it two stars.
The Beach Boys
5/5
This is so good, showcasing how great The Beach Boys were even before pet sounds. Impeccable vocal harmonies, beautiful arrangements. It all just sounds so timeless.
Solomon Burke
3/5
This is cool. Blends country, soul, rock and funk with great vocals. A good listen.
50 Cent
1/5
This is comically bad. Basic beats, basic rapping, juvenile lyrics.
Steve Earle
3/5
Cool country rock album. Fearless Heart is a great song. Very Springteenish but more twang and country.
U2
3/5
So I'm sure I listened to this entire album before, but probably thirty years ago.
Anyway, I was surprised at how.... ambient it was. Not sure if ambient is the word, maybe atmostpheric? I mean, a lot of this is textures and vibing. Kinda reminds me of Madchester, which honestly shouldn't be a surprise. Not my favorite thing in the world, but honestly fresh and interesting and not that bad.
So yeah, we have bono and co bathing in sea of delayed guitars, feedback and rolling drums. Pretty cool, strong singles. Call it three stars.
Ian Dury
1/5
Maybe I'd have to be more british to understand this. Punk vocals, music a mix of old punk, ska and some post punk sensibilities. It's endearing but not good by any stretch.
Fever Ray
1/5
I remember The Knife trending for a second. That was alright I guess.
This is tedious and unlistenable. Nothing beats with nothing melodies and nails on a chalkboard vocals.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Wow this is really good. Not really my kind of music but Chapman is an amazing vocalist, the arrangements are interesting and effective and the songwriting is impeccable. The singles are crazy strong but the album tracks are also on par with them.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Cool album all around. Psych rock with some bluesy jams. Iconic singles and strong album tracks.
George Michael
2/5
I mean Freedom is a great pop song and Michael is a great singer but the songs and production are overall a bit flat sounding. It just lacks energy.
The Lemonheads
2/5
Kinda generic indie rock sounding stuff. Meh. Two stars. Bad singer.
Travis
1/5
Brit pop was really big when I was a kid. Every band took a different aspect of British life close to heart. With Oasis it was British Invasion rock and roll and Madchester drugs. For Blur it was sophisticated rock with pop sensibilities like Queen or Pink Floyd. Pulp sang danceable working class hymns and Suede went for androgynous repressed sexuality.
Travis, I guess, decided to play out the grey boredom of English life. This is so dull. Even when they try and reach some emotional crescendo it’s done in the dullest of ways. Throw it in the bin.
Janis Joplin
4/5
This is the stuff I come here for. I’ve obviously heard of Joplin but couldn’t name a single song. I knew her harsh scratchy voice but that’s that.
Anyway this is an incredible album! It’s a beautiful mix of psychedelic rock with soul. I really appreciate the lead guitar playing which often plays as a second vocal (and indeed likes to double and harmonize with Joplin). Joplin herself is amazing! So emotional and soulful and such a huge range of expression and deliveries. Definitely a must listen.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
This is gonna be tough to review. Dinosaur Jr. are one of my most favorite bands. Thing is I already had You’re Living All Over Me here which is their definitive work so I’m not sure if this kind of list needs any more.
This is the last album of the classic Dinosaur Jr. lineup, before Mascis made it a solo before they got older and wiser and reformed (and remained awesome just in a new way).
Anyway this is the classic Dinosaur Jr. sound. Hardcore punk aesthetic, Neil Youngesque blazing fuzzy soloes and lead lines, Mascis’s acquired taste vocals and a general hollow atmosphere. I love it. In this album Mascis’s singing actually improves (his singing on “Yeah We Know” is not half bad) and we get one of their few hits in Freak Scene. Compared to their previous album I think the band also ventures out a bit more rhythmically.
Anyway great album personal fav listen if you like the band.
Carpenters
3/5
This is something I never would’ve listened to otherwise. I mean I know about the Carpenters and can maybe recognize a song or two, but would never imagine listening to a full album.
Anyway it’s pretty cool. I mean it’s very much a pop record but it’s not entirely obvious. Karen’s voice is great and actually pretty unique. It’s not an overly sweet pop voice and she also doesn’t try to fake some Motown soul vocal. Kinda Lennonesque I guess. I also love her lower register. The arrangements are also cool in that they usually keep sparse and not try to create this overly lush atmosphere. The last few songs try to be a bit more… more, and it doesn’t work as well imho. Anyway classic songs of heartbreak by a classic duo three stars.
Gorillaz
2/5
I thought this would be better.
This came out when I was a teenager. It was a huge sensation though I have to say the entire virtual band bit seemed stupid back then as well. Did folks really not know it was Damon Albarn? Because it sounds exactly like him.
Anyway outside of the gimmick the album is pretty weak overall. I mean Clint Eastwood is a banger but other than that it’s pretty humdrum. Let’s say two stars.
Suede
4/5
Oooooh yeahhhh
Ok this is one case where the UK focus of the list pays off. Suede probably didn’t break out internationally in a way that’s comparable to Oasis but they were so great.
Dog Man Star was Suede’s breakout and it’s really emblematic of their style. Bowie weirdness, Smiths somberness, pure British.
This album has this great mix of the band’s weirdness and catchiness. This is a mix of bizarre anthems, Anderson’s over the top delivery obviously modeled after Morrissey but not in a copycat way. It’s big but much more affected and dynamic. The guitar licks are tasty and memorable. The album’s general sound is like a dark rainy alleyway at night (or maybe it’s just me thinking of the Electricity video, which I think only comes in two albums).
Unlike other reviews I also really like the second half of the album. Reminds me of Mercury Rev. Very cinematic.
Melodramatic dark and super fun listen. Four stars. God save the king.
Le Tigre
2/5
Ok when that whole disco punk thing happened late nineties early oughts this was one of them. It’s an ok example of the genre with riot grrl vibes. Not particularly memorable or outstanding. Let’s say two stars.
Ryan Adams
1/5
We have two Ryan Adams albums here? I actually never got to listening to the first one I got, but this seems excessive. To me he’s just the guy whose name sounds like Brian Adams. Let’s give it a whirl.
WOW, the drop from this guy’s ego to his actual songwriting skills is huge. This album screams “I Am the new American classic”, from the name, cover art, being 90 minutes long, even naming the first song “New York, New York”. He wants to be the new Springsteen or Petty, sing love songs and working class anthems and be the voice of a generation.
It’s just not that. The songs are pretty weak and one note. Adams’ vocals are pretty good but it’s just not enough. This is basically two stars but I’m docking it a star for lack of self awareness. So one star.
David Bowie
4/5
The title track is one of the greatest songs in rock history, but I don’t think I ever gave the album a good listen though.
Wow this is some candy wrapped in barbed wire. The rest of the album is not nearly as accessible as the title track. Intentionally obtuse with this sense of claustrophobia and weirdness. Pretty awesome. Is it fun? Is it danceable? Is it off putting? Is it getting on your nerves? Do you just love it? You kinda don’t know.
Bowie also has a bunch of distinct voices here, sometimes it’s these chants, other times it’s this weirdo voice, and this make the honest soulful voice that he also uses that much more powerful.
Oh yeah and Fripp’s guitar work is incredible. One of my most favorite guitarists of all time.
Great album four stars.
Elvis Costello
5/5
Can’t say I ever gave Elvis Costello much consideration, so let’s take the chance to do that. Looking at the release date this is much later than the start of his career, so more of a late career effort than an early classic.
Wow how come I’ve never listened to this before. This is all of my favorite music rolled into one. Emotional singer songwriter punk. Punk energy and earnest, power pop hooks and folk rock feel and soul. This is so beautiful. My new favorite musician. Anyway five starts and I’m off to explore the rest of Costello’s catalog.
Robert Wyatt
5/5
This is an all time favorite of mine. This album is so beautiful and sad you can’t listen to it outside because you would have to explain why you’re weeping in public.
This album is famous for being recorded after Wyatt fell out of a window and became paraplegic, and it’s all over the music. He’s capturing the feeling of falling out the window and not yet hitting the ground. The looming pain and despair and complete inability to do anything about it. As the album goes on so does the depth of the fall deepen, you lose touch with reality and just drown in a pool of sorrow.
If you wanna talk music, I’d say this is squarely prog rock which also betrays its latent ambient leaning. Wyatt’s delivery is so great, emotional and rhythmic. Great drums also (unsurprisingly Floydian).
Anyway a complete must if you like prog, art rock or just sad rock. Five stars.
Nick Drake
5/5
Such a string of strong albums recently.
Anyway yeah five stars who cares.
I mean it might be hard to put into words the greatness of nick drake but you should just take a listen. It’s the pinnacle of sophisticated minimalism. On it’s face it’s folk. Minimal arrangements usually it’s just Drake’s voice and a guitar or two, but herein lies the rub - just his vocals and guitar playing makes for an arrangement which is both lush and intimate. He’s singing at you while both of you are sitting at the edge of the bed. He’s singing for himself unaware of you watching him. Super intimate and small and well crafted. It feels simple but Drake’s incredible fingerpicking arrangements are very full and narrative. Drake’s delivery is often almost whisper like but so powerful. It’s like he’s using the minimal amount of strength needed to tug at your heart strings.
Anyway if you want to hear one of the greatest folk albums, or greatest singer songwriters or just one of the greatest albums of all time this is for you. Five stars.
Hole
4/5
Interesting. I remember listening to Celebrity Skin a lot but missed this one.
Yay this is awesome. So much part and parcel of the punkish indie rock of its time. This is in the same vein as the pixies, L7, mid career Sonic Youth. It’s noisy chaotic and beautiful. Also it doesn’t like it’s something that’s just a copy cat of that scene it sounds like a living part of creating this sound. If, like me, you only ever heard Celebrity Skin and felt that was some watered down grunge for the masses… this ain’t it. It’s abrasive punk with a lot of rage and the talent to express it via music. Also very biting feminist lyrics that literally scream at you and very interesting sludge metal influences. Four stars.
Muddy Waters
3/5
I can’t knock the historical significance of Muddy Waters but it’s kind of a doozy for a modern listener. Three stars.
John Martyn
1/5
This guy again? Wikipedia says he’s been on all kind of lists but honestly this is the most annoying kind of acoustic folk singer songwriter I’ve ever listened to. I hate the vocal styling and the arrangements are annoying and the bass lines are stupid. The album actually gets progressively worse adding all kind of ear piercing sound effects. One star. Negative stars.
The Beach Boys
1/5
Wow this is sad. Not to mean the music is sad necessarily, it’s just sad to hear how far the band falls in this stage in their career. Apart from the title track I don’t think there’s any strong song here. The lyrics are juvenile and the production is flat and boring. I mean man this is the Beach Boys I was psychedelic pop extravaganza. This is a very dull record which dos a disservice to the band’s catalog.
One star.
Lou Reed
4/5
Man I love this album. I listened to it a lot during my life. It’s just a bunch of of Reed’s super cool narratives of New York and its art scene. Music is pretty simplistic but he does throw some curveballs like the trombone on Make Up. The songs are great and super varied, with a production that is airy and roomy and lets the songwriting shine.
I’m debating four and five. Let’s do four.
The Boo Radleys
2/5
I’ve seen this band’s name on all kinds of shoegaze laundry lists but despite being a fan of the genre I’ve never listened to them. Wiki says this is supposed to be the album they transcend the shoegaze genre. I didn’t listen to their earlier stuff for reference but this is very much shoegaze, kinda reminiscent of Lush.
It’s fine I guess. The writing is kinda disjoint and the spots where they try to be not-shoegaze are painfully obvious and don’t really transcend anything. I mean just because you worked in a trumpet doesn’t make it jazz. The presumption of the album title is so bad.
Anyway ok shoegaze album. Not top 10 of the genre or even of the genre in the nineties. Two stars.
Sex Pistols
3/5
This is kinda tough, nobody listened to the Sex Pistols for their impeccable songwriting and musicianship. If you wanted Punk and good songs you could listen to the clash, Patti smith or the ramones. The Sex Pistols are just about the scene, the attitude, the show. The songs on the album aren’t all that bad, energetic and anthemic, but that’s not what you’re here for. Anyway three stars for history, probably less than that as a punk rock album.
Love
5/5
Ooh yeah. Easy five stars. This is one of my favorite albums. Easily personal top ten.
Love’s brand of psychedelic rock is just perfect. Songs frolic around between emotions of confusion, fear of the future, melancholy and nostalgia. Lee’s vocals are beautiful and sometimes assisted by great vocal harmonies. The songs have cool dynamics and ideas, accentuated by tasteful string arrangements. This album is just one beautiful dream to drown in.
The Black Keys
3/5
The Black Keys are one of these band for me where… I just don’t like them and there’s really no good reason why.
The Black Keys play really cool garage rock with deep and varied influences from blues, soul and hip hop. They have this great mix of dirty guitar and production with a very clear delivery. It just doesn’t work for me. You should take a listen though.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Cool indie pop dance folkish vibes thing. The vocalist is incredible with more than a hint of Kate Bush. Not my most favorite thing in the world but a great example of this type of music. Three stars.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
This is the perfect pop rock album. Two all time great vocalist in Nicks and Buckingham (and pretty good one in McVie), Buckingham’s incredible guitar work, beautiful and varied songwriting. This is just a perfect ten. So many timeless songs, just pure bangers non stop. Personal favorites are Landslide, The Chain and Never Going Back Again.
I do have to say something’s happened with this album that got it a bit overrated in the public eye in the last decade or so. I mean it’s an easy five and an all time great, but it’s not Pet Sounds or Revolver or Nevermind or anything in that caliber and it seems like recent discourse rates it as highly as those albums, which is a bit too much.
Arcade Fire
2/5
Funeral, Arcade Fire’s debut, burst into the scene with an amazing energy and a feeling of innovation. They took the kind of climactic post rock bands like Explosions In The Sky and Mohawk were making and put it back into rock song form, creating powerful emotional soundscapes.
By this album it feels like they kinda went out of steam. The old ideas sound tired and they didn’t get any new ones to replace them and overall the songwriting is meh and kinda boring. Funeral is on the list and you should listen to it, this one can be skipped. Two stars.
Soul II Soul
2/5
The thing about this list, is that it’s a list of albums. Albums are not the only way to consume music, there are also live shows, parties, streaming. Albums were an important (perhaps the most important) vehicle of music delivery for a period roughly 1960-2010. The album as a vehicle was the primary vehicle of delivery for rock music and became an important one for other genres like jazz and hip hop. For some genres it never really made sense and dance music is one of them. This is an album of soulful dance numbers that makes zero sense as an album. This is a dance party that needs the energy of a dance party. Sitting down to listen to it (or driving/working out/folding laundry to it) makes little sense. The energy is just not there and it becomes tedious. So I guess two stars but through no fault of its own.
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
This album is so great, it’s such a singular work of art. It’s an album about a downward spiral of self destruction, self hate and loathing. It’s withdrawing from society into a world of hate. The music tells the tale with walls of feedback, punishing beats and distorted vocals. This is as good as art gets. You don’t have to like or enjoy it but it’s impossible not to be in awe of the artistic achievement.
Anyway I love it and NIN’s original version of hate is so powerful, so dissonant so painful. I remember seeing it live, it was over a decade ago but the memory is still so vivid.
Five star album if there ever was one.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Oh wow this was big in the nineties. When Block Rockin’ Beats started I remember why. Amen breaks and cool riffs.
Anyway this is a real fun listen. With a lot of the dance music here I get the feeling that if I was listening to them in a club it would be fun. This is the opposite, I feel like it’s taking me to the dark smoky club, even if I’m just listening to it on my train commute. Three deserving stars.
Sebadoh
3/5
So I was into Sebadoh for a while, which makes sense me being a Dinosaur Jr. fanboy (Sebadoh was created by Lou Barlow, Dinosaur Jr bass player). This isn’t my favorite album of theirs but it shows great range for a slacker indie record.
It would be more than a stretch to say you have to listen to this album before you die but if you like nineties slacker indie rock then it’s a great one (also try III which I like better). Three stars.
Giant Sand
2/5
Come on now, really? What’s this supposed to be? Kind of a mid bluesy rock album by a wanna be Tom Waits. It’s not bad or anything but also not a must or a should listen at all. Two stars.
Jurassic 5
4/5
Jurassic Five were part of the whole alternative hip hop thing that was really big in the late nineties - stuff like The Roots, Mos Def, Common, basically everybody who was on Dave Chapelle’s block party. Not really sure why it was labeled alternative but it was generally pretty great.
Anyway this album is a great example of that point in time. A bunch of great rappers with cool flow and delivery, interesting and imaginative musical production, good times throughout.
There are better examples of this genre/scene (Blackstar, Things Fall Apart, Let’s Get Free) so let’s say it’s just four stars.
Bee Gees
1/5
Oof this early Bee Gees stuff is really bad. This might be as awful as Trafalgar but it’s still pretty terrible. Super tedious psychedelic folk pop which sounds like an unkind parody of the genre.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
This list really gave me an education in Leonard Cohen recently. I feel like this is a transitional album. In his first album Cohen went for super sparse super intense arrangements - fast fingerpicking, random instrumentation, lush singing. In Songs of Love and Hate he’ll have a big range of arrangements and songs. In this album he’s experimenting, a country music baseline here, weird springy frogy sounds there (really wtf with that). Never really finding a fully developed sound to define this album. It’s still pretty good but not as good as its successor or predecessor.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Wow some Leonard Cohen explosion recently. I never listened to a full album of his before this project but Songs of Love and Hate was incredible, so expectations are high.
The album starts with Suzanne, quite a hit, but it’s the second song that got me, Master Song. Starts with this frenetic fingerpicking pattern. At the same time intense and reserved. At some point w get very light instrumental layers, but these somehow add to the claustrophobic feeling rather than add some lushness. These instrumentations come and go, feel more like a memory than a part of the song. This song is really Cohen at his best.
This type of frenetic fingerpicking is all through the album and gives a stark juxtaposition to Cohen’s warm vocals, makes them sound ominous and foreboding. I really love the dynamics in Cohen’s delivery, going from whisper, to conversational to a big singing delivery at will.
Anyway this is a great album, Cohen is so great in using his voice, the song structure and instrumentation as very powerful narrative devices. Teachers is another terrific example of this, with the slide (pedal steel?) guitar giving it a strange western air which confuses the listener in the best way. Like you’re watching the song unfold shot from a shaky shoulder mounted camera. Then ending on One of Us Cannot Be Wrong, chills.
This is really an incredible listen. Probably not as strong as Songs of Love and Hate but still five stars. Though, to be honest, I can’t really say you have to listen to more than one Leonard Cohen album before you die (but you should really try Songs of Love and Hate).
Thundercat
3/5
I might have heard the name but I know nothing about this dude/band.
This is…. Something. Hip hop mixed with high energy jazz with a distinct Zappa flavor. Can’t say I’m a huge fan but I don’t really care for this type of music. It is pretty impressive and interesting even if it’s not going to become a regular on my rotation. So if the question is if you should listen to this before you die then the answer is yes and it’s three stars.
Miles Davis
3/5
Well I don’t know much about jazz but I know enough to know this is the most famous jazz record ever. So it’ll get its three stars since it should be on the list. Now let’s see if I like the music.
This is just one of those things. I can accept that this is an important and influential record and the musicians are top notch, I just don’t enjoy this music. First of all I hate the rhythm section, the drums and bass are lethargic and dull, not driving the songs at all. The music has its moments (eg the beginning of Blue in Green) though even at its best it sounds tacky (maybe it’s this album that made this kind of stuff universal and tacky? It actually doesn’t matter). It just drags on and I feel the musical ideas are taken to the point we get sick of them, long after a conclusion has been reached.
Anyway three stars.