A fantastic album that I listened to three times in one day (granted it's easy to do when the album is only 35minutes). A heck of a first step in this journey. My favorite track is "Runaway Child, Running Wild" minus the 10 second portion of a child crying. Truely a timeless album.
An odd album. I either really enjoyed a track or completely zoned out. Listened through twice.
Listening to this in a car with two rowdy kids probably wasn't the intended backdrop for this album. I really enjoyed the drums throughout the album and specifically the track "Please Don't Stay"
Radiohead is a band that everyone reccomeded to me for years, but I could never get into. I'm glad I finally took the time to dive into this album because I enjoyed it a lot - the songs often lead up to a wall of sound that is always satisfying to me. I only went though the album once and I'm exited to listen through again.
I was dreading La Grange coming up on the latter half of the album since I've over played it so much over the years - but once it hit it was still a jam.
Solid Texas blues. "Hot, Blue and Righteous" was the stand out song this listen through.
As someone who pursues neither metal nor cocain, I'm not sure I'm the intended audiance for this one. I understand this is a very early metal album, but it's interesting how tame it sounds in this "modern" era. A certainly listenable album, but not my cuppa.
An album that was enjoyable but kept fading into the background. The organ was fun. I will probably add this to a "background music while I work" playlist.
I've always been aware of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as "Maps" is a bit of a millennial anthem (and the 1000 remixes of "Heads will Roll), despite this I've never listened through an album.
Off the bat Karen O's harsh vocals and the abruptness of the instruments creates a stark juxtaposition from yesterday's jazz album. Fever to Tell is messy and incredibly more chaotic than I thought it would be going in... by song three I'm sold. "Maps" almost stands out by how tame it is compared to the album leading up to it.
I expect more out of a genre name like "Cosmic American Music." The harmonies are nice when they're present.
I enjoyed the production on this one - I'm sure it would be fantastic on a pair of good headphones. A little out of my wheelhouse, but I will say this is the first time I've ever enjoyed a Lil' Wayne verse.
I've always struggled with music from the 80's, probably because my first influential music loves were from the 90's and likely a direct response to the previous decade. I'm trying to keep an open mind and an open ear, but oof, right off the bat not a fan of Cyndi's voice or the music. It's grating and kitschy. I do like the album cover, and "She Bop" was fun with the synth.
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Update, I've made it to "All through the night" and I guess have acclimated to Cyndi's voice. Do I actually enjoy this song? But then "Witness" - what the hell did you just do to reggae? Sorry about your music Gen X.
It's hard to divorce this album from it's digital "pay-what-you-want" drop that happened when I was in college ensuring that it was in all music discourse around campus. It was probably one of the reasons I never really dove into Radiohead during this time - I was just sick of hearing about them (a true hipster at heart). Well I'm kicking myself now, turns out I enjoy them.
What an odd album. The first few songs felt like I was a notch or two off of the intended radio station. It honestly sounded like my headphones went bad. The more I listened to the radio static the more I started to... well "enjoy" isn't the right word... "tolerate" it?
I did actually enjoyed the song "in another way."
Ultimately, I'm conflicted with this album. I think I could be indoctrinated to enjoy it, but on first blush it's not really my jam. A little too much noise and not enough music.
I was listening to this album as I hopped on my bicycle for my commute home last night, then I thought "if I get hit by a car tonight, is this really the last album I want to be listening to?" It's not. I changed it to something else.
Is this "Outsider Music?" I have to be missing some historical context here. It's just sonic goulash that wasn't left to simmer.
Three hours of music is a lot for one day, but I do love Ella. I can say I listened through the entirety of this songbook - how active I was listening is another story. It was a great collection to be on in the background while I worked.
I was once a rap/hiphop naysayer - I never had any exposure in my formative years and adopted an anti-rap tribalism. I could often be heard saying things like "it's just bad offensive poetry behind worse music." That was until a coworker at a burger shop I worked with was flabbergasted that I wasn't open to hearing any of rap music and insisted that I listen to this Tribe Called Quest album among others. The mixture of those albums (and lets be honest, the adult swim bumps dropping MF DOOM, etc. at this time) opened my eyes and made me realize that writing off a whole genre of music is an ignorant take.
I enjoy the simplistic "Boom Bap" samples that come off crisp and timeless.
"Can I Kick It?" is such a classic. Take a walk on the wild side.
ICONIC. The album. The artwork. Wizard of Oz. Truly my favorite artist from this era.
I really don't have much to say about this one. "Money" is probably my least favorite song on the album - it's always seemed grating compared to the journey the rest of the album takes you on.
"On the Run" might be my favorite track, even though it's little more than an interlude. Always a fun headphones experience.
The drums on the beginning of "Time" *chefs kiss*. I appreciate how every track is able to breathe.
I have memories in highschool just relistening to "The Great Gig in the Sky" on repeat.
I guess I did have much to say.
I'm not the biggest fan of 90's gangsta rap. Several verses had me rewinding to listen again - he's extremely talented, and I appreciated the introspective approach to this album. Would I ever put this on again? Probably not, but I didn't hate it.
Not sure how I've missed this band all of these years. Very noisy and a little quirky. I liked the album, but didn't love it. I could see myself bumping up this score on relistens.
Ha, I remember buying this album back in highschool and putting it on in the car and my dad commenting "well.. there's not much to it, is there?"
I'm curious to see his take these years later.
I have a soft spot in my heart for 90's electronic music. This is probably Aphex Twin at his most approachable. It's an album that can easily fade into the background, but rewards active listening. The perfect album to put on headphones, close your eyes and drift.
When this album started my first reaction was bracing for a struggle, by the track "Anyday" I stopped what I was working on to fully focus on the straight jam coming out of my speakers.
Oh no... this is considered "Classic Rock" now.
Moving past that tough pill, "Fell in Love with a Girl" is a fantastic song with a visually striking music video and was my first exposure to the duo. I struggled with rating this album - I listened to it several times throughout the day and really enjoy several of the tracks, but ultimately this would not be the White Stripes I would put on if I was in the mood for their music.
I like the song "Spooky" as much as the next person, but that track wasn't on this album - and I'm not excited to listen to a full album of covers.
If I really concentrated on a song there was always something there - but it was so easy to zone out and just let the music filter by. Blame this over-stimulated existence. Overall I liked it.
Wow. I liked this much more than I anticipated. I'm typically weary of metal due to the guttural porcine singing - but maybe I just have a bias due to more modern metal. I have so very little experience with the genre other than a short stint in my middle-school "edgy" years.
This album just hit today.
One of my favorite aspects of going through this list is listening to albums or artists I know by reputation, but never took the time to really sit down and give them the time they deserve. Muddy Waters is one of those artists. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I also feel that the live format added to the experience (though I typically prefer live albums in general), the whooping and hollering in "Feel so Good" made me feel so good.
What a heck of a first song on a first album.
My fist passthrough of the album started off strong, but then I was kinda over the vibe by the end of it. I decided to listen through a second time and enjoyed it much more on repeat. Some lyrics were questionable at best - which made me look into the meaning behind them. It's interesting how some tracks were old German poems (Alabama Song) and others were covers (Back Door Man).
The the Vox Continental Organ (had to look it up) that meandered through each song was probably my favorite aspect. I'm not sure what to rate this album - ultimately I see myself going back to certain songs, but not the album in it's entirety. It's quite the mood.
I struggled with giving this a 3 or 4 stars. I went through twice and enjoyed Starship Trooper and I've Seen All Good People, but overall the album didn't really make me feel much - it could also just be they day I listened.
Something about this album really struck a chord with me - I finished listening and immediately hit replay. It's the perfect soundtrack to a cloudy day. "Silver Soul" was the standout track.
As much as I'd hate to admit it, I went into this album with some baggage. I had listened to some Led Zeppelin growing up, but mostly associated the band with my peers who fequented such phrases as "why don't they make music like this anymore" and other such "wrong-generationalisms. " Everyone I knew who listened to Zeppelin was a little TOO into Zeppelin.
All that being said, even my salty hipster sensibilities can't find fault in this album. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" was the standout track.
This is a tough one to rate. I've never been a big Kanye fan, even before his current mental health crises (as of the time writing this he's currently on Twitter literally professing his love for Hitler... you can't make this up), but I can acknowledge all he's done for both production in general and hip hop.
Death of an Artist? I still didn't love the album, way too long and too many skits. There were some stand-out tracks: Jesus Walks, and All Fall Down that keep this from a single star.
Fun, a little cheesy. Reminds me of playing Guitar Hero back in college and drunken sing-a-longs. Unfortunately I've heard some of these songs too many times and they're hard to take seriously. This is the kind of music someone would put on the jukebox to prove they have no personality.
This is the most three-star album I've heard on this list. Very moody and had good atmosphere.
What an odd album. I was over it by the end of track 1, but stubbornly listened to the rest of the album. I'm not sure why... maybe to just confuse the streaming music algorithm. There were some questionable tracks. Incredibly not my thing.
This sounds like music that would be in a Wes Anderson movie. (one web search later) Yep. I like Wes Anderson movies... I don't really dig this music. Props to Nico getting on this list with that voice.
I don't even have words for "It Was A Pleasure Then"
These 2-hour albums make it hard to keep up. I'm not the biggest jazz fan, but this was good music to have on the background while I worked.
This album just kept growing and growing. I liked it a lot. "A Case of You" was the standout track.
I can't see this album without thinking of "Almost Famous:" "It's not poetry... they're stoned."
I, like I'm sure everyone else, has heard "Mrs. Robinson" thousands of times by now, and I was essentially expecting that for an entire album. What I got was a pleasant surprise! I think this album will make my future rotation.
"A Hazy Shade of Winter" was the standout track for me.
I like Iron Maiden, but didn't quite enjoy this one. It's obvious they improve from here.
This was an interesting album - reminded me of music that would be in a PS1 menu screen. I didn't hate it, but disliked more tracks than I liked. I had fun dancing to it with my kiddos.
I've mentioned it before: I really struggle with jazz. The musicians all seem to just be doing their own thing - it honestly make me feel anxious. Occasionally it sounds nice and I'll start to get into it... then right back to chaos. I also thought the saxophone was mixed way too loud.
I gave it two listens convinced I was missing something. That was enough for me.
It was fine. Listenable. Unoffensive. I have no strong feelings about this album. Would I seek it out? No. Would I change the radio station if one of these songs was playing? Also no.
An incredibly front loaded album. Survivor is certainly an ubiquitous track from this era, but I don't think the rest of the album performs. I didn't hate it, but don't think this is a must listen *album* just for a few singles.
I dig the harmonies, not so much the random slide whistles.
Full bias on display - 90's alt is some of my favorite music. It was the song's I was hearing on the radio when I was growing up, and I remember listening to this album in particular in that pubescents shift.
I went into this album thinking I would enjoy the hits and glaze over the rest, but it turns out it's hits all the way down. It's interesting to me that 30 years later (oof) no one else quite sounds like Alanis.
"Well time slips away leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories of glory days." Bruce sums up how I feel about his album. Everything sounds so musically uninspired.
I do appreciate the juxtaposition of how "Born in the USA" is used as a patriotic anthem versus the actual lyrics.
I like a lot of things about this album... but I'm just not a big fan of Thom York's singing. I feel that I could listen through this dozens of times and always find something new to appreciate - a different version of myself would be incredibly into this album, but if I'm going to be honest with myself I probably wont be back.
I will say this album is very ahead of it's time. Nothing here sounds 1997.
Maybe listing to this album at work in an office environment wasn't my best choice. I thought it was fine, but it's not anything I would come back to. "One More Try" was my favorite track.
This was a funny album. I started out loving it, then I grew tired of how minimal it was and every song started sounding the same - and then I started loving it again. Crazy I've never listened to Leonard Cohen before this album, and I feel this probably isn't the best first one to dive into his work.
What a funny experience - at the start of my first listen I didn't really like it, but by the end I was sold. On my second listen through I was digging it from the start. I typically don't like cheesy 80's production, but it just works here. Soul Mining was the stand out track for me.
I didn't hate it - this album doesn't justify that large of an emotional response. I certainly don't want to hear it again.
It's The Beatles. I'm sure everyone has heard 90% of these songs on this album without seeking them out. I understand that they changed the course of music, etc. ect.
I think this album fine. Okay. Incredibly listenable. There's not a lot there for me to come back to.
Money (That's What I Want) was the standout track to me.
I liked it - perfect music for a spring day. Reminds me of drinking a pitcher of beer on a back patio with some friends.
I guess I never really gave the Eagles a real listen past their unavoidable "Classic Rock Radio" tracks. This was more country than I anticipated. Not bad.
I truly never know what I'm about to get when I see the "jazz" genre tagged. And here I thought the purpose of genre was so you knew what to expect.
I dug this. A lot. I found myself closing my eyes so I could concentrate on the music. Before today I would have said jazz wasn't for me. Maybe it's the piano? Maybe I just need to be exposed to more jazz? Maybe it's me who changed? (doubt)
Silly and bombastic. I guess this is what I expect out of someone named "Meat Loaf" / Tenacious D's father. A fun enough romp I don't see myself coming back to.
Sounds like southern rock I've heard a million times before. I feel this is another one the context is important for - in 2025 it doesn't sound like anything special. I bet they put on a good live show.
Noisy and Meandering
I'm surprised I've never heard this band before today - they are very much up my alley.
Difficult to find the correct version to listen to, which wasn't ideal. Luckily found a vinyl rip on youtube. A pleasant listen.
I don't know what the difference between "noisy" (something I like in music) and "muddy" (something I don't like in music) is to my ears. The two self-defined elements are close in my mind... but this album is muddy. The singing just drones on, and all the instruments are just kinda simmered in an stew devoid of salt. The sonic equivalent of what I imagine food in the UK taste like.
In 2006-07 I gorged myself on this album to the point I couldn't stand it anymore. I haven't touched it since.
20 years later (or just about) it hits just as hard as it did in '06. An album that surrounds you in its sound - I don't know how to listen without cranking the volume up. Knights of Cydonia alone is an epic journey. I can't believe it's been so long since I put this on. Fantastic.
I'm glad jazz is for someone, but it's not for me. This album just made me anxious.
I like Bob Dylan..... in small doses. He becomes grating over time, and the back half of this album was a slog to finish.
I liked the back half better than the first, it's still not an album I'll find myself returning to.
I liked it - I feel like I would enjoy this more on repeated listens.
I remember when this album came out the discourse among my peers was that Green Day "sold out." This was no longer music for losers: Green Day is popular now - time to go back to Bad Religion, The Offspring, NOFX etc. It's funny the lines you draw in your teenage years.
This is the first time I've listened through the entire album. I, of course, heard all of the singles. You couldn't avoid them - always clogging up Fuse's music video lineup. The sound aged exactly how I thought it would. It's very much of it's time, and I think that's what makes it an interesting listen. I still prefer Green Day's earlier work.
Goofy with some great beats. Not all of the songs/lyrics aged great, but a welcome change from 90's gangsta rap.
The production is fantastic (got some DOOM on here?) and Ghostface can rap. The album is a bit too long.
I listened to the remaster, so I'm not sure how much changed from the original, but I really enjoyed the production on this one. Everything sounded crisp (bordering on saccharine).
Björk, Björk, Björk.
Gotta love Björk. Felt some tinges of trip-hop in here. Overall a very interesting listen. Almost a 5 for me.
I enjoyed the minimalist electronic music "The Man-Machine" and "Space Lab" much more than the pop oriented "The Model" and "Neon Lights." Still a fun album.
Crazy this is the first time I've heard of Nick Cave. I enjoyed the piano on the album. This album really straddles between a four and five... ultimately it was a bit too long. Stand out tracks:
"There She Goes, My Beautiful World"
"Easy Money"
"O Children"
I didn't really like it and I don't have a good reason. Rufus reminds me of other artists I enjoy (FJM, Sufjan, etc.) but I was just waiting for the album to end. His singing was tiresome.
Pleasant. I listened through three times this morning while doing work, but nothing really stuck.
This reminds me of my local rock station growing up. I was in highschool when the lead singer died and remember the compounding angst it caused amongst some of my peers. I certainly went though my nihilistic music phase and it's tough to divorce this album from the feelings of 14-year-old-me. Not a fan. Aptly named album.
It turns out I had listened to most of this album already... covered. I guess a lot of the electro-goth that I got into during "that one phase" wasn't as original as I once thought. A lot of them trying to be Depeche Mode, and sometimes just playing the exact songs.
The album is good, and undeniably influential.
It's funny I never got into this band as they were huge in my college years and I listened to a many AF-adjacent bands, but there was always something missing for me. I can't put my finger on it. Listening through this album gave me nostalgia for the era, but really just made me want to listen to any other millennial alterative album.
It's fine.
I'm flabbergasted this is on the list.
An album I frequented in my "edgy-middle-school-years" alongside Korn's "Follow the Leader" and other adjacent nu-metal. Of all those albums this may be the only one I've returned to. "Sugar" is just a fun song and "Spiders" still makes it on recent playlists. I remember when Toxicity came out thinking that SOTD sold out to be more approachable. I love this weird album, and I would say it's a guilty pleasure - but guilty pleasures are a cop out. Easy 5 star.
>Album finishes
>Hit repeat
>Album finishes
>Hit repeat
At first I thought I would get tired of Mayfield's singing, I was wrong. Incredible album start to finish.
I have never listened to Michael Jackson more than the unavoidable exposure to his music I heard by simply existing. This was a fun listen, I was surprised at how funky some of the songs are. "Workin' Day and Night" is the standout track to me.
A fantastic album that I will never seek out.
You really need to be in the mood for Dylan.
This may be the first album I don't finish on this list. I'm at track four and see that I still have an hour left. I can't even really place what I don't like about it.. it's just boring to a grating level.
Hot damn Janis. Where has this album been all my life? Just beltin' it.
The song "We Are Family" is an undeniable ear worm, but the rest of the album didn't perform to the same level.
Enjoyable, but just drifted into the background.
Did I enjoy this album: yes
Will I seek this album out in the future: no
Reminds me of a lot of punk I listened to growing up, so much so that I was surprised I didn't recognize the name.
I found it a bit boring at first - just unoffensive music to have on in the background, but by the end of the album I was really enjoying it.
My first real dive into Bowie.
It's a good Zep album, but I really feel this could be much shorter.
28 songs in 33 minutes? What is this, music made for the 2020's Spotify Algo? Napalm Death is truly ahead of their time.
Oh hey, it's the song from Rock and Roll Racing.
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Before today I considered Deep Purple a one hit wonder with "Smoke on the Water." Surprisingly "Highway Star" is the standout track for me.
