345
Albums Rated
3.32
Average Rating
32%
Complete
744 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Jazz
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
51
5-Star Albums
9
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Time (The Revelator)
Gillian Welch
|
5 | 3.06 | +1.94 |
|
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (Live)
Motörhead
|
5 | 3.06 | +1.94 |
|
Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
|
5 | 3.12 | +1.88 |
|
The Idiot
Iggy Pop
|
5 | 3.21 | +1.79 |
|
John Prine
John Prine
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
Rust In Peace
Megadeth
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
|
Dance Mania
Tito Puente
|
5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
|
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
|
5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
|
In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
|
5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Stranger
Billy Joel
|
1 | 3.86 | -2.86 |
|
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
|
1 | 3.51 | -2.51 |
|
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
|
2 | 4.46 | -2.46 |
|
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
|
1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
|
The La's
The La's
|
1 | 3.15 | -2.15 |
|
Woodface
Crowded House
|
1 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
|
Planet Rock: The Album
Afrika Bambaataa
|
1 | 2.8 | -1.8 |
|
California
American Music Club
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
|
Pictures At An Exhibition
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
1 | 2.65 | -1.65 |
|
Black Holes and Revelations
Muse
|
2 | 3.59 | -1.59 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 4.6 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 4.67 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (51)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
John Prine
5/5
The damn hay bales on the cover make people think this is a country album, but if it had been a collection of short stories, it would have won the Pulitzer.
3 likes
4/5
This is going to sound really dumb, but I had no idea how good Oasis was. What a fantastic album. No wonder they're so popular.
1 likes
Bob Dylan
4/5
Not my favorite Dylan album, but hey, it's an objectively Great Record and all that.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (9)
All Ratings
Jeff Buckley
3/5
Funny, I've avoided this for ages because I can't bear to hear Hallelujah. But you forget how much of the record sounds like Zeppelin. Also, dynamics-- loud louds and soft softs. On the whole, I enjoyed it more than I expected to, and the Hallelujah thing isn't his fault.
Metallica
3/5
Relentless. Complicated. Joyless. One of those things where I can appreciate how perfect it is, but I can't love it. Is this what goes on in the heads of lapsed Christian Scientists? Is metal the counter reformation to the punk reformation? Can I please listen to the stooges now?
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Another one where it's hard to get past the baggage, but I'm happy I listened. So much rawer than I remembered. And what about those instrumentals?
Adele
3/5
Sometimes, Adele just stops me in my tracks and I have to listen. But then it goes away. More of a Dusty Springfield guy, I guess. You can't deny that she's really, really good, of course. I have nothing but respect, and I wish I liked it more.
Deep Purple
3/5
Never listened to a Deep Purple beyond Smoke on the Water and Space Truckin'. Much more fun than I expected.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Another record I've never listened to... Wow, get some South Africans, tone down the trippy production and that second track could be on Graceland. The old people thing is odd. Maybe it would be more meaningful if I were more focused.
The White Stripes
4/5
This album made me buy an electric guitar. It was like the big fish of rock and roll was in the bottom of the boat almost dead, but with a mighty kick of its tail leaped back in the water to survive another day. And I will always have a crush on Meg.
The Youngbloods
2/5
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
Somehow, I missed this when it was new. It's very much of its time, but that was kinda my time, so I dig it. And mixed in with that are tabs amounts of Neal Young, which is also up my alley. And psychedelia! And Galaxie 500-ish sounds! So where was I in '97?
Kanye West
4/5
Wow. Never been a hip-hop guy, but there's so much to unpack here. And I know that he's kinda problematic, but this is a really good record. I guess it's all about being problematic, in a way, about what it's like to be Kanye, with some thoughts about how he got like that, but how everyone wants to be on his record anyway. Was he forgiveable in 2010?
Aimee Mann
2/5
For me, it's music to do stuff by. Pleasant, but didn't really get my attention. There may have been other factors at work though, and I think I'll give it another try sometime.
Röyksopp
4/5
Look, I am not an electronica person. Not a hater, it just seems like something there's a lot to know about, and I never cared to learn. But I'm going to walk around all day listening to this on headphones.
Flamin' Groovies
4/5
My life was saved by rock and roll.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I wanted to listen to this with fresh ears, but honestly that was too hard. Great songs, a classic, etc. I suppose it deserves 5 stars, objectively, but for my own listening, not quite.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Very cool, though I liked the stuff Spotify played after more, with a rawer sound. Was a pleasure to listen, after a bad day.
Donovan
2/5
Ouch. Kind of unpleasant, except for Season of the Witch.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
I can listen to this. 1001 is a lot of records. I can believe that this makes the cut.
Shack
2/5
New to me. I wasn't put off, but not especially pulled in either. Deserves another chance.
Screaming Trees
3/5
Fine. My friend John liked this band a lot. I wonder how he's doing these days.
The Beach Boys
5/5
So this is what makes this exercise hard. Even though it's not exactly my thing, there's no denying that there is greatness here. This record doesn't sound like anything else, and if I gave another record 5 stars, this probably deserves 6.
Dolly Parton
4/5
Dolly alone can save us.
Steely Dan
3/5
Who doesn't love Bodhisattva and Show Biz Kids? Or all of it, really. Not epoch defining, and tainted a bit by being a favorite of some real douches, but such a lovely thing.
Talking Heads
3/5
Yep, that's a classic. I'd have played this even if it weren't an assignment.
Willie Nelson
3/5
The best songs on this record are amazing. The rest are pretty darn good. A pleasure.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Crazy that there was a time when this was new. And even now, it's kind of magnificent.
Ozomatli
2/5
This is what I always hope Latin music will sound like, and then it doesn't. This always leaves me feeling vaguely racist. So I don't know if this is actually good, but it satisfies my white guy desires for exoticism.
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
The good parts sound like the Allman Brothers, and there's Layla, of course. The question of good artists who are lousy humans hangs in the background, but that's nothing new.
Pink Floyd
3/5
My favorite Pink Floyd album.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Cool.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
I loved this. Different Waylon than I expected, and Billy Joe Shaver should be in charge of everything.
Pulp
3/5
I missed brit pop because we were busy back then. This is great.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Elvis Costello isn't for everyone, I guess, but I admit that strikes me as odd. This works for me.
Sister Sledge
3/5
New Order
2/5
I gotta stop reading other people's reviews. Good record, though not really my thing.
Queen
3/5
Never heard this before, except Killer Queen of course. A pleasure to listen to, satisfyingly rockin'.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Wow. This is fabulous. I had heard of Fela Kuti, but never listened. Not sure if Ginger Baker is bringing much to the party.
Big Star
4/5
I love this record. There's a great quote somewhere about the difficulty of listening to something influential when you have already been exposed to the world it influenced. And that's true, I can't even imagine how this would have hit me back in 1970-something. Thinking about that, remember that Memphis was a pretty dark place in those days, which is no doubt why Stax messed up the distribution so badly.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Not my favorite Dylan album, but hey, it's an objectively Great Record and all that.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Powerful stuff. Dark. Honestly, kind of creepy. I think I've only heard greatest hits collections, before this. And I never caught the scientology references in Famous Blue Raincoat, which adds to the feeling that you've wandered into the wrong club.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
I don't even like reggae.
Mj Cole
3/5
I feel like there's so much to know about dance music and I'm just ignorant. This is pretty cool, with lots to listen to, but not so hypnotic that you couldn't drive a car.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Leonard Cohen twice in a week is a lot of Leonard Cohen for me. This isn't as dark a record as Songs of Love and Hate, but still one has to wonder if Canadians are okay, or if we should bring over a lasagna or something.
Missy Elliott
3/5
So much better than I expected.
Gene Clark
3/5
Good songs, great band. Sounds like it could have been released last week, except that nobody sings like that anymore. I wonder why not?
Sex Pistols
2/5
I didn't make it all the way through. But, hey, without this we'd never heard of the Clash, or any of the other punk bands I love. So thanks, Malcolm, for putting all this together.
Pearl Jam
4/5
What a terrific album. Rock on, dude.
Crowded House
1/5
I went to high school with Tammy Baker. No idea what she has to do with any of this. Maybe she moved to Australia? It was a long time ago.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
I dug this. Found it curious how much it reminded me of the Malian guitar music I have listened to. Then I wondered if this was just an ignorant all African music sounds alike to me thing.
4/5
This is going to sound really dumb, but I had no idea how good Oasis was. What a fantastic album. No wonder they're so popular.
The La's
1/5
This was fine. There are some pretty good songs. 1001 is a lot of albums. Maybe it's easier to make the cut than I thought.
George Jones
4/5
So good.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Elliott Smith just makes me sad. Sometimes that's good, though.
Goldfrapp
2/5
Enjoyable. Atmospheric in the sense that it sounds great while you're doing stuff. I'll listen again.
808 State
3/5
Huh, so that's Acid House.
Arcade Fire
2/5
It's all just a little too much. Like your vegan friend who can't stop talking about chicken farms.
Billy Joel
1/5
I just have bad associations with this. Can't really give it a fair listen.
Ramones
5/5
Amen.
Buzzcocks
3/5
Not my favorite thing. But the whole love/hate punk rock thing on this app is weird.
U2
4/5
I wish I had bigger speakers.
The Saints
2/5
When the Modern Lovers toured Australia, only 4 people went to see them, but they started a band.
Jerry Lee Lewis
5/5
Great balls of fire.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Trying to remember if I ever saw Sonic Youth back in the day. I honestly don't know. I miss those smoky, crowded, noisy clubs. Or maybe I just miss being young.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
I just dig this.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Zeppelin makes rock and roll sound obscene, like it should be.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
I mean, I do like sex more than politics, but I still prefer What's Going On.
Suede
3/5
So I really missed the whole Brit pop thing while I was busy with other stuff back on the 90s. Turns out I kind of dig it.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Weird that there was a time before these songs.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Not something I want to listen to every day, but it feels wrong not to give it 5 stars.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Makes me sad that there's this remarkable talent and these are the stories he needs to tell us. It's a m.A.A.d world.
Ministry
3/5
That's some heavy shit right there.
Fugazi
3/5
Weird to listen to a record that 20 something me would have picked from a deep pile. Things lost, things gained. Mortality. Still a lot of this still gets me. Some, not so much. The part of me that doesn't love this anymore feels treacherous. Lots to think about.
Fats Domino
3/5
Pleasant.
Suede
2/5
Wow. 2 Suede albums in a month? That's a lot of Suede for me.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
Yep, that's pretty much a hardcore record.
Leftfield
3/5
I need an EDM for dummies to help me understand the nuances here. But it's fun to listen to
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
Yawn.
Minutemen
5/5
Mr. Narrator, this is Bob Dylan to me.
The White Stripes
3/5
I was surprised by another White Stripes album here. But it really is pretty good.
Suicide
2/5
Interesting, but hard to listen to. I can get how it was influential. Amazing that this is from 1977.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
A nice reminder of how sometimes classic rock is, in fact, classic.
The Pretty Things
2/5
Well, that's that.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Refreshing.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I liked this more than I expected to. But why is British post-punk so full of spooky vampire music?
Bob Dylan
4/5
I didn't know this existed. I think Daniel Lanois might be my hero.
Frank Zappa
3/5
I was going to skip this one, Zappa being not my cup of tea. But I'm glad I listened. More fusion jazz, less middle school humor.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
We've all heard Take 5 too often to really appreciate it. Good to listen to the rest of the record and be reminded how great these guys were.
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
Meh.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
I don't know why I dig Wu Tang more than other money drugs hoes rap, but, darn it, I just do.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
Interesting and mostly nice.
4/5
I think this is the only Bowie album without any songs I'd prefer to skip.
4/5
If you don't love Loretta Lynn, I'll fight your sorry ass.
Linkin Park
1/5
I listened, just in case it would be better than I thought. It wasn't.
Paul Simon
3/5
I don't know, man. I enjoy listening to this record a lot. But there are things about it that worry me. I've always wondered how the African musicians felt.
Van Morrison
4/5
Just so cool.
American Music Club
1/5
Maybe this is a lesson in why not to read the reviews before you listen. I saw somebody describe this as like going to hear your coworker's band on a Wednesday night and thinking they aren't as bad as you feared. For me, it was like that, except occasionally dipping down into just as bad as I feared.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
When I first heard this album, a long time ago, but when it was already something from the distant past, it was the most amazing thing ever. Like they said on another record, my life was saved by rock and roll.
40 or so years later, it's kind of hard to listen to, probably because it's so intertwined with memories of 19 year old me. I don't regret that version of me (mostly), but I wouldn't want to do it again.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
OK, all these years later, I can see how a lot of this is problematic. And, really, I could see it back then too. But it still friggin' rocks.
Stan Getz
5/5
I kept hoping a neighbor would show up at my door and catch me listening to this cool music.
3/5
Why do people hate this? Or, why do people love this? It's absolutely fine.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I always thought it was"Salisbury Hill". So that's a bit embarrassing.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Mostly surprised that there have been 2 Arcade Fire records in the first 100 or so albums from the list. I do like these songs, but it's hard to believe this band accounts for 2% of the all time greats.
Prince
5/5
This is what Marvin Gaye could have been, with just a little more sexual healing.
Johnny Cash
5/5
In my religion, this is a gospel album. Amen!
Prince
4/5
The first side is honestly kind of meh, but then you flip it over and it's one great song after another, and this is more than enough to redeem this album.
Goldie
3/5
Okay, now I know what drum and bass is.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
The guitar solo in Whole Lotta Love always makes me smile. On the other hand, Robert Plant's 10 minute orgasm is just icky. And Ramble On is just fantastic, until the hobbits show up.
Coldplay
2/5
This is another super famous record I'd never heard before. Seems pretty harmless.
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
Faux French Electronica-- who knew?
The Strokes
4/5
Possibly the last rock and roll album.
Miles Davis
4/5
Everything I like about Bitch's Brew, with none of the other stuff.
John Lennon
3/5
Whoa, intense. Working Class Hero is perfect.
John Prine
5/5
The damn hay bales on the cover make people think this is a country album, but if it had been a collection of short stories, it would have won the Pulitzer.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Undeniably a great record, but not one I'll come back to very often.
Slade
3/5
The thing about this record is that it sounds great on my tinny little Bluetooth speaker. I bet it would sound great on the AM radio in a '71 Olds Cutlass, cruising around Grand Rapids surreptitiously sipping from a 40 oz Mickey's.
Cherish rock and roll that does its job without pretense.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Exile is my favorite, but Sticky Fingers is pretty fabulous. Plus, the zipper.
Jack White
2/5
This is fine. I don't think I'll ever play it again, but if I were at your house and you played it, I wouldn't think badly of you.
Iggy Pop
4/5
It's like hypnotizing chickens.
Blue Cheer
2/5
Heavy.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5/5
The whole thing, of the unwashed hippies playing with the legends of the Opry is a great story. Makes you hope, kind of. And I don't want to hear anything bad about Doc Watson, ever.
Beatles
3/5
Hey Beatles, I know how great you are. Everything you do is just terrific. The problem isn't you-- it's me. I just don't feel anything.
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
I like this record. Back in the 90s, if a radio station played this, you knew it was a cool radio station. Since then, though, I haven't thought about it much.
3/5
Well, that's a lot of Brit Pop. I kind of enjoyed it. Does that make me a bad American?
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The thing about Neil Young is that he bounces so easily from friggin' awesome to cringe inducing so easily and often. We're all prisoners of history, I guess, but even 19 year old me knew there was something wrong about Pocahontas. But then there's Powderfinger. Nothing is all one thing. Good to remember that, in these days when we all hate each other.
The Roots
3/5
First listen for me, and as an old white guy, I mostly dug it.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Wow.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Meanders a bit, but sometimes in a good way.
The Only Ones
2/5
When Television toured the UK in 77, only 4 people heard them, but they all started a band...
Okay, I made that up, but still.
Death In Vegas
3/5
I might listen to this again.
Megadeth
5/5
The other thousand albums on this list are superfluous.
Radiohead
3/5
I listened on headphones while I cut the grass. The mower's battery died sooner than usual. Coincidence?
2/5
Muse is kind of a guilty pleasure for me. At times, I give in to it, but then I wake up feeling dirty.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I should never read the other reviews.
Björk
3/5
There are tracks I'll skip next time, but better than I expected.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
If this album were just 35 minutes of hummy noise and Little Wing, it would still get 5 stars.
Scritti Politti
1/5
Nothing for me here.
Faust
3/5
If I won tickets to a Faust show, I guess I'd go.
N.W.A.
1/5
No love for the police, but even less love for graphic descriptions of rape.
Frank Sinatra
5/5
So cool.
Jorge Ben Jor
2/5
From the description, I thought this would be amazing, but I was not amazed.
Elliott Smith
2/5
Did Elliott Smith's mom make the 1001 albums list? I actually like this album, but I'm marking it down because of Elliott Smith oversaturation.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Back when this was new, I heard it and decided that I would be Cuban by the year 2000. It didn't work out, sadly.
T. Rex
4/5
I would have said Bang a Gong was the best T. Rex song, but maybe it's Telegram Sam.
The Undertones
3/5
I dug this.
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
My wife had roommates who liked this record way too much and she is still traumatized. Marking it down out in solidarity.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
I guess there's just a meanness in this world.
The Sugarcubes
3/5
Fun. Weird.
Louis Prima
4/5
So much fun. I'm not Italian, but I live surrounded by Italian Americans, and when my neighbors hear this, they get all misty and talk about their grandparents.
Pretenders
3/5
Good record.
Dr. Dre
3/5
Remember when Snoop was scary?
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Listening and discussing with a big Springsteen fan, I think this is a mid life crisis album. Great songs, but everything goes so hard and ends up dancing with Courtney Cox.
Metallica
3/5
Better than that other Metallica Album.
The Jam
4/5
Holy Moley, Paul Weller can write a song. And there isn't a better rhythm section anywhere.
Eurythmics
2/5
I was expecting to love this, because the title track is such a great song. There are a couple of bright spots, but a lot of it is just not for me.
DJ Shadow
5/5
Pink Floyd
2/5
Not at all my thing. I guess I don't love where Pink Floyd started, or really where they ended up, but some of the stops along the way were pretty good.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
Interesting. I respect what she's doing.
Underworld
2/5
More EDM. Some parts got my attention more than other parts, and some of those attention getting parts got it in a positive way.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Not something I listen to very often, but undeniably a great album.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Once upon a time, there was was a guy in my dorm who had the best stereo and the best weed and a penchant for medieval weapons. Sometimes I'd get high with him and he'd play really terrible Captain Beefheart albums. I was afraid this would be like that, but it wasn't quite.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
I listened, hoping that wise grown up me would find something here, but nope, young dumb me had it right. Fuck art rock.
Pixies
4/5
Loud, soft loud. Or is it the other way?
Queen
3/5
I somehow made it through life without ever listening to this album all the way through. Turns out that was OK.
Cypress Hill
3/5
This is an inflection point between Run DMC and NWA. Kinda special, that way.
The Beach Boys
2/5
There are songs I didn't hate, but on a day when the president is sending marines to LA, Student Demonstration Time just makes me angry.
Lou Reed
4/5
Baby, you're so vicious!
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Loveable, but it makes me uncomfortable to think that this is what cranky old white men wish hip-hop was.
Nico
2/5
This album has some haunting moments. Some are haunting in a good way, some not.
3/5
Never really noticed that PJ Harvey's voice is so much like Chrissy Hynde.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Groovy, man.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
I had no idea how good this is, and now I feel stupid.
Fairport Convention
4/5
I was expecting dancing hobbit hippy music, which this was, but surprisingly it was really good dancing hobbit hippy music. Richard Thompson, of course, but there's something about Sandy Denny's voice.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
I feel deeply conflicted about being another old white man who wishes this strain of hip-hop had outcompeted the the gangster version, but there it is.
CHVRCHES
3/5
There might be a time when this is exactly what I want to hear, and if I was at your house and you put this on, I would respect your taste. Not my bread and butter, though.
The Thrills
2/5
Not unpleasant.
Talking Heads
4/5
Did I forget to mention Memphis? Home of Elvis, and the ancient Greeks.
The Who
2/5
There are bright spots, but the silly parts are kind of wasted on me.
Tears For Fears
3/5
When this was new, I thought I was too cool for it. But I absolutely was not.
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
I'd rather listen to this than any CSN (and sometimes Y) album. That said, I mostly don't want to listen to this.
Iggy Pop
5/5
I love this record. And then I hate the racism of China Girl. And then I sing China Girl in the shower and feel terrible. Iggy Pop (and Bowie) is a damn genius.
Björk
4/5
I don't know if I'll ever listen to this again, but I'm glad that it exists.
LL Cool J
4/5
What a brilliant comeback album... Oops!
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Nice.
MC Solaar
3/5
When this ended, I started it again from the beginning. Scratches an inch I didn't know I had.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Better than you think it's going to be.
Eminem
2/5
What a talented asshole.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Put your hands in the air like you just don't care.
The Associates
2/5
I really tried. There were moments.
Jeff Beck
4/5
When I was kid, some people would say "Clapton is God". But a few people said that Jeff Beck was better. As time passes, it's clear that the first group was trying to sound cool, and the second actually was.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Fine.
Tito Puente
5/5
My first thought was that I'd better not read the reviews, because some people would hate this music and I would be sad for their tiny little hearts.
Kate Bush
3/5
Weird, but not in a bad way.
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
This is so bad. Not bad meaning "bad", but bad meaning "good".
Kelela
3/5
Kinda like Frank Ocean or the Weeknd's early stuff, except that I guess she did it first, which is cool.
Dire Straits
4/5
Pretty sure I recorded this on cassette one Sunday night when WLAV FM (the rocker) played the album in its entirety without interruptions.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Unexpected pleasure.
Steve Earle
3/5
I remember digging this back in 198-whatever and it's still pretty darn great. Interesting, though, how much it sounds like Born in the USA, which I'd never noticed before. Wonder how that happened. Is that what the record company wanted? Was it just in the air? Was that what Steve Earle was going for? Not my first pick for a Steve Earle album, but it'll do.
Beck
3/5
I did not know that Beck made a Nick Drake album.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
I shouldn't like this, and yet. 3 stars is counting a penalty for misogyny.
Black Sabbath
5/5
You know, everybody should listen to Paranoid before they die.
Fiona Apple
3/5
I didn't get a lot from this, but I learned that my wife listened to it all the time back in the dark days of 2020 and loves it. So that counts for a lot.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Pretty much a classic.
Beyoncé
4/5
Thinking of all the reviews that point out how many writers are credited on this record, which does, on the face of it, make you wonder how personal any of this can be. But the thing is, it really does sound personal. Not like I hang with the Carters, so who knows whether the story she's telling is true, but does this matter? And shouldn't we be impressed that with, or despite the whole big machine, the result feels so real?
The Pharcyde
2/5
I was ready to love this, but then I did not.
The Smiths
4/5
Must admit that I am of the yay Johnny Marr boo Morrissey persuasion. Except that the whole thing just works, doesn't it? In 1980-whatever, I made fun of this record, but old me is somewhat less dumb, thank goodness.
Afrika Bambaataa
1/5
Crazy how hip hop has evolved, to where this is interesting mostly as an artifact. The record is pleasant enough to listen to, but the sexual abuse allegations pretty much spoil it.
FKA twigs
3/5
Kinda enchanting.
The Clash
4/5
What a very good record. These are the songs I sing in the shower.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Right on.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Pleasant. Harmless.
The KLF
3/5
So the original album wasn't on Spotify, but I found the "director's cut", which has a similar track listing and a much worse cover. I was surprised to find it wasn't 3 hours long, and then I was surprised that I sort of dug it. Quirky and clever. But when the album finished and the algorithm took over, I heard the version of Justified and Ancient with Tammy Wynette and now I'm all in.
Steely Dan
3/5
I like to listen to this, but I don't feel quite right about it.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
Yep, that's classic rock.
The Band
4/5
It must have been rough for The Band that they continued together for almost another decade and never even came close to this again.
The Gun Club
4/5
Gonna get religion, gonna join the Baptist church...
Duran Duran
3/5
Duran Duran are the best at what they do, but what they do isn't very nice.
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
Man, this album makes me feel as free as a bird. And this bird you cannot change.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
I was really surprised by how R&B-ish a lot of this is. A whole love letter to Stevie Wonder, which is a sentiment I can get behind, but it does drag on. And then you hit "The Message", which is just amazing.
Big Black
2/5
Bleak. Dark. Hard. Not sure why I like Husker Du so much more.
Beatles
4/5
More songs about birds and monkeys.
Van Halen
5/5
Can't be objective here. Van Halen was there for me when I was growing up, and I feel like I turned out okay. Thanks, guys.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Listen to this before you die. Often.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Not my favorite Stones album, and the misogyny is awful, and there a a lot of tracks that are kinda meh. But it's still a good listen.
The The
3/5
My wife loves this.
Neil Young
3/5
A Man Needs a Maid is a friggin horrible song on so many levels. Which is the thing about Neil Young, since other songs here are pretty much perfect.
John Lennon
3/5
I had no idea how much some people hate John Lennon until reading the reviews. I don't hate him that much. But I do think Phil Spector made this a record that you can enjoy, until you start thinking too much about it.
Bob Dylan
5/5
A long time ago, when I was younger and almost cool, I walked through Greenwich Village in the snow, with my arm around my beautiful girlfriend. I remember thinking, "Hey, this is the cover of that Dylan album." That was pretty great, I tell you.
The Doors
2/5
I wish my name made a cool anagram.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
Lorde
3/5
If you wanted to play this in the car while we were on a long road trip, that would be OK.
Animal Collective
3/5
I was pretty ready to hate this, after reading the reviews. Gotta stop looking at the reviews before I listen. Not going into my regular rotation, I think, but likeable, like a big dog that licks your face too much.
Pere Ubu
3/5
I remember when my cool friend played this for me, and I dug at least some of it. But now it frightens my dog.
AC/DC
4/5
Not fancy. Gets the job done. Addresses the issue of middle men in fancy clothes who sit on the fence.
Tina Turner
3/5
Tina Turner never ever mails it in. Be more like Tina Turner.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Yep, that's how I feel all the time.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
More listenable than expected.
R.E.M.
4/5
Sometimes, it's hard to remember that R.E.M. every happened.
Rush
3/5
I appreciate their sincerity.
Herbie Hancock
2/5
First couple of tracks, I was so excited, thinking I like fusion jazz now. But that didn't last.
The Verve
2/5
Not a bad record at all. If any of these songs came on the radio, I wouldn't change the station. But not special.
ABBA
4/5
Can't get away from it, so you might as well enjoy it.
Joan Baez
3/5
Better than expected. There are other performers who sing these songs better, but they might never have bothered to record them if Joan Baez hadn't made it OK for urban northerners to listen. If that makes any sense. And she plays a mean guitar too, which I didn't know.
Frank Ocean
4/5
The Beta Band
2/5
Might have to be British to get this? I mean, it's fine, but this changes my life not at all.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Poor people gonna rise up eventually, I hope.
New Order
4/5
I don't know what it is inside me that resonates to this, or whether that's a good thing, but there you are.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Usually, when the album ends, Spotify's algorithm utterly spoils whatever groove was happening within a song or two. But not today-- turns out the AI digs 70s funk.
This makes me feel a little less hopeless about the future.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
T. Rex
4/5
Sure, David Bowie is better in every way, but come on, what would you rather listen to while driving at night?
Rush
2/5
More Rush. Still so serious. This is why we had to have punk rock.
Paul Simon
3/5
Tired of people knocking Paul Simon for cultural appropriation. Why didn't I hear this kind of thing about Clapton for I Shot the Sheriff? Or The Clash for Junco Partner, or the Beatles for every song with a sitar? You don't have to like Paul Simon-- I have mixed feelings myself -- but do you have to make it a moral thing?
Nick Drake
5/5
I guess this is just my kind of thing. Possibly, that's not a good sign.
Eric Clapton
2/5
Where did the whole Clapton thing come from? It's really hard for me to find anything remarkable here. I'm glad he kicked heroin, though disappointed he turned out to be such a dick.
The Go-Go's
4/5
What a very fine record.
The Band
4/5
Not every song is great, but the great songs count double.
Gene Clark
3/5
I was shallow frying cauliflower as I listened to this. Overall, it was nice music to fry to, and now and again, there were moments that made me pay attention. I'll give it another try, one of these days.
Chicago
2/5
Hog butcher to the world. Extra star for Freeform Guitar, which is the perfect soundtrack for a sausage factory.
Judas Priest
4/5
Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I think it's a little harsh to shoot your old lady down, even if you catch her messing around town. And sometimes the guitar serves the song, but sometimes it gets to be a little much. But how's this not gonna be 5 stars?
George Harrison
3/5
Cool that he covers that Galaxies 500 song.
Duke Ellington
5/5
Wow.
Carole King
5/5
Song after song after song...
The Monkees
2/5
Well, crap. Now Spotify thinks I like the Monkees.
Pulp
3/5
Well, this is pretty dark.
Soft Cell
3/5
So much better than expected.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Pretty much a mandatory 5 stars. Startled by how fresh the song Exodus still sounds.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
You don't have to like this record, but if you don't, and I meet you, we're gonna fight.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
The bangers keep on coming, like bang, bang, bang.
Beastie Boys
3/5
You can't, and you won't, and you don't stop.
Goldfrapp
2/5
At first, I was drawn in. Then, not so much.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
Paul Weller
3/5
I wouldn't have recognized this as the guy from the Jam. Boy howdy, I do love the Jam, but this is nice too.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Not a jazz guy, though sometimes I aspire to it. Loved this, but I'm always suspicious that there's something wrong with jazz I find immediately satisfying.
Alice Cooper
3/5
When school gets out for the summer, if this is not in your head, we probably don't have much to talk about.
2/5
I always liked that Generals and Majors song.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This album is why I can forgive all the ones that aren't good.
Santana
5/5
5 stars, just because there aren't 6.
Traffic
2/5
This is pretty cool music, and I guess I'm grateful to have heard it before I die, since I might have missed it otherwise. If I walked into a coffee shop and this was playing, I'd think that coffee shop had a pretty cool vibe. I might put it on when people come over for dinner, and maybe they'll think I'm pretty cool.
Steely Dan
4/5
This album would be terrible if it weren't so good.
Queen
3/5
Wow, there's Sabbath meets Genesis with Freddy Mercury. Who knew? None of this is exactly my cup of tea, but I respect the effort.
Fela Kuti
4/5
This hits hard.
Deee-Lite
3/5
If you ate this every day, you'd starve to death, but it's a nice treat every once in a while.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Yay!
Norah Jones
3/5
Starbucks is not Norah Jones's fault. This album creates a cool musical place, that was coopted by real places that desperately wanted to seem cool. Music can be good even when the wrong people like it.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
This is not Harry Nilsson's best record.
Primal Scream
2/5
Huh. Some of those songs are familiar.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Less perfect than Songs in the Key of Life. Still pretty much perfect.
Randy Newman
3/5
He's a sly one, that Randy Newman.
Heaven 17
2/5
Not unpleasant.
U2
3/5
For a long time, I didn't listen to U2, because they suck. And then one day I found myself listening to U2, and they didn't suck. Life is weird.
James Brown
4/5
So, so hot.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Sister Ray is like Roadrunner, if it were about transvestite junkies instead of about driving around the Boston suburbs.
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
Some of the finest people I've ever known love the Allman Brothers. I am not worthy to second guess them.
Justice
2/5
So French.
Stereo MC's
2/5
Not unpleasant.
Stan Getz
4/5
Inspired me to drink a second cocktail. Or possibly a third. But that doesn't mean it should be dismissed as cocktail jazz, because this is just so good.
Massive Attack
3/5
More of this kind of thing. Again, just fine.
Neu!
2/5
I was expecting to hate this. Instead, I barely noticed it, except as groovy background noise.
Doves
3/5
I'll probably listen to this one again before I die.
David Bowie
3/5
I guess I'm a Bowie greatest hits guy. The songs I like, I really, really like, but there's a lot of filler in between. Probably this makes me shallow.
a-ha
2/5
A very fine example of this kind of thing.
Bob Dylan
5/5
So hard to imagine that this stuff made Pete Seeger so mad he was running around with an axe. Sad, because Seeger seems to have been such a good guy. But maybe the tragedy is that the happy anarcho-syndicalism of the folk scene is about to get swept away by a cult of personality. Anyway, I can never tell whether Dylan's lyrics are great poetry, or just rhymes delivered with maximum conviction. It's okay either way, of course.
Radiohead
3/5
I didn't know I like this album. Probably an unpopular take, but it's kinda like British REM.
Ravi Shankar
3/5
I found the explanations helpful.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Dusty Springfield could sing the phone book and I'd stop whatever I was doing and listen.
Brian Eno
3/5
There's some cool stuff here, but I'm one of those idiots who thinks Roxy Music was better after he left.
Al Green
5/5
There are a lot of records like this, but this one is the best.
Aerosmith
3/5
Inauthentic my ass.
The Birthday Party
2/5
Hard to listen to, which I suppose is the point. There's no question that this music is doing exactly what it's intended to do, but it's liberating to be old enough that I don't have to pretend to dig it.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
I think I liked this better than the one with Rehab on it.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
This brings 2 things to mind. First, I guy I know, after college he went west and made himself into a rock and roll journalist. I remember when his story about Jane's Addiction was on the cover of Spin magazine, which seemed in the early 90s much better than the cover of the Rolling Stone. For a minute, my life as a starving grad student was filled with vicarious glamour.
Second, a different guy a know once walked out of a store with a canoe he didn't pay for. I know it was wrong, but I can't help being a little jealous.
Meat Puppets
4/5
Sometimes I wonder what it's like to like in Arizona.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
This is like Green Day, only way darker and without any hooks.
Radiohead
3/5
So that's what the big deal is about. I'll listen again.
Public Enemy
5/5
What is it about Flava Flav that's so compelling? There were actually 3 seasons of Flavor of Love. Yeaaaah boy.
Jacques Brel
3/5
Kind of sneaks up on you.
Mike Oldfield
3/5
Groovy.
The Police
3/5
This was kind of a gateway drug, putting a new (to us in the hinterlands) out where we could find it.
Gillian Welch
5/5
Gillian Welch is really good at this kind of thing.
Circle Jerks
4/5
I, too, just want some skank. These are songs I've sung in the shower for so long I forgot where they came from.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Stones for people who think they don't like the Stones.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Complicated relationship with Billy Bragg. When I first ran across this (there was a girl; it didn't work out), it was during the most ironic of times, and his earnestness chafed a bit. But time passed, and I wanted to believe in something, and the stuff Billy Bragg believes in seems OK. Except for when it starts to sound a little Stalinist. But I really do want to believe there's power in a union. And Levi Stubb's Tears is pretty close to a perfect song.
AC/DC
5/5
They only do that one thing, but damn, they do it right.
Meat Loaf
4/5
Boys will be boys, and don't say I love you unless you mean it.
Nick Drake
5/5
Cloudy Sunday afternoon.
Otis Redding
4/5
Otis.... He did not miss, so far as I'm aware.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
How did I miss this all my life?
2/5
I'm starting to wonder if the 60s were a bit overrated.
Sebadoh
3/5
If you don't love the music you listened to when you were 20-whatever, I suspect your life has not been what you hoped for.
Motörhead
5/5
That's not singing. That's just yelling.
Willie Nelson
5/5
Through the ages, I remember.
Japan
2/5
I had to double check that I wasn't playing Duran Duran at first.
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
I think this is probably a really good album for all kinds of complicated aesthetic reasons, but I listened as I made dinner on a Sunday evening after a generally awful weekend, and it made me feel better.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Possibly over my head, but I enjoyed it.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
I like the African music I hear. Is all African music great, or have I just happened to only be exposed to the good stuff? And is the stuff I like actually the good stuff, or was it somehow diluted for Americans?
The Cure
3/5
Ooh, scary.
Talking Heads
4/5
Not every song is perfect, but Once in a Lifetime should be the national anthem.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Not sure why Kings of Leon were never on my radar back when they happened. I mean, I wouldn't drive for hours to a concert, but if they come on the radio, I wouldn't turn it off.
Janelle Monáe
2/5
I can appreciate how much is going on here, but it's really not my thing.
Wire
4/5
A long time ago I was at a party with a lot of people who were much cooler than me. There were electric guitars and somebody said, "Hey, let's play!" I said, "I don't know how". He said, "We'll play a Wire song. Anybody can play Wire".
Little Simz
3/5
Digging this.
Marty Robbins
5/5
Fever Ray
3/5
A fine example of the sort of thing it is.
Little Richard
4/5
I think he might have worked even harder than James Brown.
The Incredible String Band
2/5
Kind of like The Decemberists, but more like the kids from college who liked acid a little too much.