350
Albums Rated
3.51
Average Rating
32%
Complete
739 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Post-punk
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
79
5-Star Albums
21
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yeezus
Kanye West
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Scott 4
Scott Walker
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Bone Machine
Tom Waits
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Richard Thompson
|
5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
|
The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|
5 | 3.09 | +1.91 |
|
Woodface
Crowded House
|
5 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
|
Soul Mining
The The
|
5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
|
The Yes Album
Yes
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco
|
1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
|
Pump
Aerosmith
|
1 | 3.11 | -2.11 |
|
Ray Of Light
Madonna
|
1 | 2.99 | -1.99 |
|
Reign In Blood
Slayer
|
1 | 2.96 | -1.96 |
|
Come Find Yourself
Fun Lovin' Criminals
|
1 | 2.92 | -1.92 |
|
The Contino Sessions
Death In Vegas
|
1 | 2.91 | -1.91 |
|
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
|
1 | 2.91 | -1.91 |
|
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
|
1 | 2.91 | -1.91 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 7 | 4.86 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.67 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 4 | 4.75 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 5 |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 5 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 3 | 4.67 |
| Neil Young | 2 | 5 |
| The Band | 2 | 5 |
| Pixies | 2 | 5 |
| Kanye West | 2 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4.2 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 4.33 |
5-Star Albums (79)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
It's Absolutely Devastating. It seems wrong to try and pick a favourite track. I pray I never have to experience what Cave and his family did leading to the creation of this music. It sounds amazing though.
5 likes
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Take all the lovely romanticism, hope and freedom of Born to Run, punch it in the gut with a fist of sad reality, then slather it in some of the most anthemic choruses ever recorded, as well as some of the most searing guitar solos shredded, and you end up with this album. This is my favourite album of his, and Badlands is my personal favourite Bruce song so it was never going to get anything less than the full 5 stars, but there's truly not a bad song here in my opinion.
3 likes
Lauryn Hill
4/5
She has a lovely voice, is a great lyricist and songwriter, every feature enhanced the song they were on, and despite being from the 90's, it doesn't sound like it was recorded in an indoor swimming pool. It's probably just personal genre preference for why I won't give this a 5, but this is a very strong 4. I understand why others hold this in such high regard, and if I revisit I could see myself rating higher.
2 likes
Neil Young
5/5
Someone has to study the influence on opinions when you put your best 3 songs on an album at the end. I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. This has got to be the quintessential country/folk rock album. I was floored by the strings on A Man Needs A Maid, and the lyrics on the Needle and The Damage Done. And what a banger Words (between the lines of ages) is. With the exception of maybe There's a World(?), I adored this. Gimme more Neil Young generator gods. 5 Stars.
1 likes
1/5
This album 100% deserves to be on this list. There are so many good albums that i've already got to listen to through this generator, that I needed to reset my expectations of music can sound like. And this steaming pile of dogshit what exactly the palate cleanser I needed. I will treasure all the actually good music I listen to in my life so much more now I had had to force myself through this audio torture. Fuck you, and thank you Fred Durst. 1 Star.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (21)
All Ratings
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Black dog- good
rock and roll- good
the battle of evermore- uninteresting folk
Stairway to heaven- no one is listening to this to hear the first 6 minutes
Misty Mountain Hop- Fun guitar riff
Four Sticks- slightly less fun than misty mountain hop
Going to california- Another folk song
When the Levee Breaks- A great Bonham tune
I'd actually give it a 7 but you can't do half stars apparently. Black dog and Rock and Roll are ideal led zeppelin songs to me, and when the levee breaks and misty mountain hop are fun. They are an objectively skilled band all round, particularly Bonham, probably the best rock drummer of all time. But I hate having to listen to 6 minutes of boring music to get perhaps the greatest 2 minutes in music history on stairway to heaven. I guess the suffering makes the climax better? Anyways I didn't hate it, but if there are more zeppelin albums in this thing (which there are probably bound to be) hopefully they are later albums when they dropped the folk songs. I like folk, but these weren't interesting to me. Even with the Tolkien references.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
double album so less inclined to review every track individually, maybe break its down by sides? Nah i've got time
Side A
Loves in need of love today is very pretty
Have a talk with god- What instrument is that?
Village Ghetto Land- Lyrically strong
Confusion- Instrumental, fun guitar work
Sir Duke- Great Pop song, No notes
I Wish- DITTO
Knock me off my feet- Pretty Love song (stevies bread and butter)
Pastime Paradise- LOL did not not know this was the original (but also serious subject matter)
Summer Soft- another bread and butter stevie ( his voice is great)
Ordinary Pain- Love those female vocals
Side B
Isn't she lovely- It's isn't she lovely, no notes
Joy inside my tears- my favourite ballad so far?
Black Man- Tell us Stevie
Ngiculela-es una historia- I am Singing- interesting
If its magic- cute
As- Banger of course
Another star- Another banger
On streaming there are 4 additional songs from the a something's extra EP but because this is already a double album i'm gonna listen another time. I did just listen to Saturn as I was walking back from M&s, and it's got a great chorus.
Eagles
3/5
First 3 songs are bangers
Wasted time and victims of love are good
Pretty maids all in a row weakest song so far
Try and love again good
The last resort fine
Another album I would actually give a 7
More consistent than led Zeppelin 4, but not the same high points
Easy listening
Elvis Costello
4/5
Fantastic Debut, just listen to those choruses! Power pop and new wave at its best, Costello's mean streak sets him apart
I do think he raises his level once he's backed by the attractions, and there's a few songs like red shoes and pay it back that i'm not crazy about, so this will only be a 4 stars, but still a great album
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I don't know why i'm surprised, but really impressed lyrically by this album. I wouldn't claim that reggae is a genre I'm particularly interested in, but I really enjoyed my time with this. Only complaint is the personal preference of tempo changes, but that's not something to be expected in the genre. Another 7 that I will have to give 3 stars.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
It's a great album with great vocal performances, varied instrumentals, and interesting production, mixing and song writing choices. It's only getting a 4 because I didn't go to the effort to translate the lyrics, so there's potential depth that has gone over my head. But Paisagem da Janela would be a great pop song in any language. Thoroughly enjoyed.
Deep Purple
4/5
Virgin Robert plant vs the Chad Ian gillan
Iron Maiden
3/5
Bit relentless to listen to at 9am, but I enjoyed. Will probably give this a 3, but would actually rate a 7.
On second listen, this slaps. Hard 7
The Thrills
2/5
I was not thrilled. Couldn't even pick a best song cause the guys vocals were so boring. I guess it's competently made and inoffensive so I'll give it a 2. Disappointed because they're Irish.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
The first 3 tracks are the best, but the rest of the album is still really enjoyable. In future, when asked about the post punk or gothic rock albums I like and would recommend, this will certainly be on near the top of the list. Surprisingly accessible, the guitar work is wonderful, as are the vocals. Best track in my opinion would be Into the Light. An easy 4 stars.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
A very stark, psychedelic folk album, definitely sounds like someone who was losing his grip. I thought that Spence's vocal tone was good on some of the more country-tinged songs, and I enjoyed Little Hands, Cripple Creek and Weighted Down, but the rest of the album didn't really do anything for me. The Book of Moses had some interesting production, and Grey/Afro made me feel kind of uncomfortable, which I think was the goal? If I was high maybe I would have liked more. Or tried to kill someone with fire axe. 2 stars.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Bob be spitting bars. Who cares what his voice sounds like when the songwriting is this strong and the lyrics this poetic. Thought it might be a 4 going in because I prefer electric Dylan, but nah, this is a 5. This is exactly what I want from Folk.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
The The
5/5
An absolutely wonderful synth pop album. Everyday that I have gone in my life without This is the Day and Perfect is one I now regret. I can't think of any album that I've listened to before where the concept of today and tomorrow held so much joy and despair, so much promise and threat. This is not the last time I will be listening to this album. An easy 5 stars.
The Doors
3/5
What the hell is a Soul Kitchen??? Honestly, I understand why this blew minds when it released, a Rock band where the lead instrument is pretty much an organ? Extremely cool. Unfortunately, despite Jim Morrison having a reputation as a poet, there were a number of lyrics on the album that were downright bad. Favourite track probably being between Break on Through and Light My Fire, side A i thought was far stronger material. Psychedelic Rock isn't really my cup of tea, so will have to get a 3, but it's probably actually a 7. I don't think I even listened to a remaster and It still sounds immaculate. Influential rather than a timeless classic.
Minor Threat
3/5
Does this achieve what it is trying to achieve? Yes, i think so. Is this made by people under 25 for people under 25 who probably consider themselves angrier and more marginalised than me? Yeah most likely. Is it well performed and produced? I would also say yeah, I think so. Was it brief? Yes most definitely.
It almost seemed to me like the album was recorded in order, and their musicianship improved as they went along, as I thought the final 3 songs were the best. The final song, Cashing In, was probably in my opinion the strongest. I'm not entirely sure what to give this as I probably won't come back to it, but I don't think it deserves a 2. I'm gonna give it a 3, but If I was in the target audience, or a bigger fan of the genre, I could see why others may get more from this.
American Music Club
2/5
I'm about to be a little harsh on this album, honestly I think it's perfectly fine, there were multiple songs on here that I have positive opinions on, the opener Firefly, Somewhere, Bad Liquor, Now You're Defeated and Highway 5 thanks to the guitar work. But that simply meant I thought the songs were 6's rather than the rest which were 4's. Competently made, perfectly listenable, inoffensive,but not interesting. 2 stars.
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
Serviceable 90s Alt Rock. The Mid tempo songs with the acoustic guitar backed verses' followed by electric guitar backed choruses got a little stale by the end. I thought the singer's vocal were quite strong though. I think my opinion was negatively influenced by the cliche album cover. From now on I will be reviewing them as well. 3 stars.
Blur
3/5
The album start off on the strongest foot possible with it's two best songs, Beetlebum and Song 2, the most successful demonstration of the musical styles that Blur will be blending on this album, their classic Beatles and Kinks inspired pop on the chorus of Beetlebum, and the new American lo-fi indie and alternative rock ala Pavement on the fuzzy and loose guitars of Song 2. However I feel this album still falls into the trappings of most Britpop albums of the era- It's simply too long with too many songs. A tight 10 song tracklist would have done this album a lot of good, and the removal of uninteresting tracks like M.O.R, You're So Great, I'm Just a Killer for Your Love and Theme from Retro would make it more focused. There were still other tracks that I enjoyed such as Country Sad Ballad Man, On Your Own and the fantastic Death of a Party. Essex Dogs could stay as well for the great song name. Although I did like it overall, if you turned it off after the second track, and you would have already enjoyed the best this album has to offer (with the exception of the mentioned Death of a Party). I think I just prefer Damon Albarn pretending to be a monkey as opposed to pretending to be a Man. It's getting a 3. I'll never love Blur.
Great album cover though.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Bob be spitting bars, but this time backed by a whole ass band. Take everything great about his folk songs, and make them rock and you get this album. Favourite tracks being subterranean Homesick blues, Mr Tambourine Man and Its all over now baby blue. Great album. 5 stars
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
It's Absolutely Devastating. It seems wrong to try and pick a favourite track. I pray I never have to experience what Cave and his family did leading to the creation of this music. It sounds amazing though.
Arcade Fire
5/5
This is a double album, so i'm not going to pretend that every track on here hit's the exact same, but the highs on this album are so unbelievably high. The Suburbs and Ready to Start is the perfect 1-2 combo to kick this album off, to then be followed by the brilliant Modern Man. City with No Children and Half Light 2? Wonderful. Suburban War and Month of May? Awesome. They can rock as well. We Used to Wait and Sprawl 2? Anthemic as hell. Sure this album is Millenial and pretentious as fuck, but it's so good who cares how seriously it's taking itself. 5 Stars.
Good Album Cover as well.
Elbow
4/5
The good songs on this are truly excellent. Best songs being the Bones of You and One Day Like this. Grounds for Divorce, Audience with the Pope and The Fix are all great. Starlings is a good opener. Friend of Ours sounds like an attempt at the prettiest song of all time, and it's a fair shot. It's just the lesser songs on here don't do that much for me. It all sounds great though production wise, with grand and lush instrumentation, and great vocals and lyrics. Very deserving of 4 stars. Good Album cover as well.
Yes
1/5
Just feels completely devoid of any personality to me. We get it, you're all talented at your instruments, but there wasn't a thing about the playing of any of them that hooked me at all. None of the ideas in these songs feel worthy enough to warrant a 9 minute runtime for half the tracks. The only song that was half redeemable in my opinion was A Venture. The rest I would be happy never hearing again. I can already barely remember what any of them sounded like and I haven't even finished listening to it. A big thank you to them for giving me my first 1 star. Wanky Nonsense. The album cover is shit as well.
Queen Latifah
3/5
The combination of hip hop and dance was enjoyable. It's production is a little dated, sounding like exactly like it's release date, and lyrically it doesn't stray much further than how she is the best rapper, but her voice and flow is really good, and the beats are faultless, so it never bored me or felt painful to listen to at all. Favourite tracks were either The Pros or Ladies First. It really does deserve props for its influence. Weird baby voice on track 2 creeped me out. Probably deserves a 7 but I'll give it a 3. Slightly uninspired Album cover.
The Police
4/5
Feels slightly odd to suggest that this kind of reggae influenced post punk and new wave (made by white guys) is what I prefer to straight reggae (most likely made by black guys), but the variety on this album is what sets it apart from the admittedly very small amount of traditional reggae that I've listened to. A major gripe that I've had with the genre was the sameness of the songs, but this album does not have that problem at all. And Stewart Copeland is one hell of a drummer. To be honest this album would be getting a positive review just on the strength of Message in a Bottle alone, but there's still more here to enjoy. 4 stars.
Pretty iconic album cover as well.
Aerosmith
1/5
Only redeemable song here is Janie's got a gun. The rest are just horny. And not even in a fun or clever way. Just in a pathetic way. And not even in an interesting pathetic way. Just bragging about how many underaged groupies these hacks have shagged. Music for guys who roofie girls. I'm surprised Steven Tyler can even spell. You're not the rolling stones. Gross. 1 star.
The album cover is the funniest joke on this album. That's how bad the lyrics are.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
The New Stone Age is the best song Cure song they never wrote. I loved the bit in Sealand when they started banging on the lid of a metal trash can. And then the two songs in a row about Joan of Arc. Seriously, this thing is magical. Very strong 4.
Carole King
5/5
It's fantastic, worthy of all the praise it has showered on it. Favourite tracks being probably I Feel the Earth Move, You've got a Friend and Smackwater Jack, but honestly it's great front to back. The easiest listening easy listening album of all time, potentially. 5 stars.
I want that cat.
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
If you don't have positive feelings towards this, I doubt the existence of your soul. It's so easy to listen to. Favourite tracks were Chan Chan and Candela, or any of the ones which were piano led. I was probably not in the right environment to fully enjoy the vibe, but vibe I still did. 3 Stars.
Good Album cover as well.
Grateful Dead
3/5
I like Friend of the Devil and Ripple, and Truckin was pretty fun. I'm not a hippie in a field doing LSD though. So once again, an album I can't get the authentic experience of. It was a pleasant listen, but a little lightweight. 3 stars.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
I'm genuinely surprised about how much I like this, one of the best blues rock albums I've heard. Nothing sums up this album more than the switch from the soulful and dreamy vocals of I'm Glad, to whatever the hell those vocals are on the verses of Electricity, and yet it still slaps. Very happy giving this a 4. Actually like the album cover as well.
Coldplay
4/5
Damn, now I'm gonna have to be one of those people who defend Coldplay because their early work was good. But seriously Don't Tell, Shiver and Yellow are all great songs. Genuinely shocked about how much of this I liked, just goes to show you need to give music a fair shot, free of bias. 4 stars. Good album cover as well.
Mariah Carey
2/5
I like 2 Mariah carey songs, and neither of them are on this album. It wasn't an offensively bad album, but I found it pretty boring. 2 stars.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie's most underrated album from his golden 70's run. To shift so easily from the apocalyptic Glam Rock of Diamond Dogs to the plastic soul seen here demonstrates his seismic talent. Helps that the songs are great as well. Young American's, Fascination, and Fame are the standouts, but Win and Somebody Up There Likes Me and Right are all great as well. I also recommend you listen to the song Who Can I be Now which I believe was replaced by Fame on the Album, but arguably still deserved a spot. I went into this already a fan expecting to give it a 4, but it's only a 4 amongst his other works. Against everyone else,this is a 5. Befitting Album cover as well.
Nirvana
5/5
Music that sounds like you're getting jumped down an alleyway. If Cobain wanted to shed some of the new fans the band had made after the success of Nevermind, he should have made the songs on this album worse. If that was the idea, the only song he succeeded on was Tourettes, which is terrible. The rest are great. In the top tier of 90's rock albums. 5 Stars.
Green Day
3/5
This album is single handedly responsible for the creation of pop-punk and therefore the horrors it's at fault for inflicting upon the human race cannot be understated. The album itself is okay though. The strongest offerings were the four songs picked as singles, and I highly doubt there is anyone alive who wouldn't enjoy Basket Case. But I think some of the album tracks are a little lacking in identity. I would give it a 7 if I was able to, but instead it will be getting a 3. I like the album cover, even if it's all one big poop joke.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
I liked this a lot more than I was expecting, at least half of these songs I thought were excellent, the beats were incredible, and the lyrics gross and hilarious. What's marking this down is Snoop selling his soul to the Trump regime. Not gonna be listening again to crystalise my opinion and give more money to this sell out. 4 stars. That album cover is heinous as well.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
Am I the dog, and am I laughing with them, or are they laughing at me? Because I'm dangerously close to unironically liking this. The actual songs here are great, with Human Cannonball being the standout. Because it's a normal song. I doubt anyone is listening to this because Hay or U.S.S.A is their favourite ever song. Quite a big fan of the nonsense gibberish vocals on the O-men, the, what feels to me, tom waits impression on Pittsburgh to Lebanon, and the heavily processed Thai track Kuntz. I never thought I would be giving this a good review, but if I was able to, I would give this a 7. It will be getting a 3, because I thought not every track was worthwhile, but overall I'm glad I listened to this at least once in my life. Even though it makes me uncomfortable as well, I like the album cover.
The Cars
5/5
This album is only 9 songs long, and 4 of them are bonafide classics, and that's not including Good Times Roll, Bye Bye Love and All Mixed Up. Seriously, inject that saxophone at the end of All Mixed Up straight into my veins. Just What I Needed is in the conversation for the best pop song of all time. This is new wave. 5 Stars.
David Bowie
5/5
The future is now old man meme but make it an album. Feels like you could you reach out and touch the Berlin wall. 5 stars.
Giant Sand
1/5
Uninteresting dross
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
It's really good, take me out is obviously a classic, but dark of the matinee feels underrated to me as well. Honestly there's not really a song here I don't like. It just feels like there are albums that do this sort of thing better. Still a really worthy 4.
Fiona Apple
5/5
It's spectacular. Incredible lyricism and storytelling, vibrant instrumentals and the perfect combination of accessibility and experimentation. If I was to pick favourites I'd go for I want you to love me, relay and cosmonauts, but that's only after the first time of listening. Next time I would be listing probably 10 of the tracks here. At least. Thoroughly deserved 5 stars.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
Based on the album cover the music was not what I was expecting. Was seriously impressed by this album. I wish it was available on streaming services so I could give it a more thorough review, but youtube adverts make me wanna throw myself out the window. I'll give a 4.
Talking Heads
4/5
The standout is clearly Psycho Killer, but the rest of this album is pretty good as well. Not quite as revelatory as their next few albums, but still as good a foundation to build on as you could hope. Happy giving this a 4.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
I don't think this needed to be a double album, and some of the songs themselves go on too long (looking at you Keys to the Highway), but fuck me if it isn't worth it when you get to Layla. What an absolutely monstrous song. The best guitar riff of all time? I'm happy to give this a 4. Hell, it would be a 4 if it was only Layla and a bunch of white noise.
MGMT
4/5
The singles are obviously mega, but some of the album tracks are also really great, Weekend Wars and Of Moons, Birds & Monsters. I'm leaning towards a 4 because I don't totally love this, but it is really good.
Neil Young
5/5
Someone has to study the influence on opinions when you put your best 3 songs on an album at the end. I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. This has got to be the quintessential country/folk rock album. I was floored by the strings on A Man Needs A Maid, and the lyrics on the Needle and The Damage Done. And what a banger Words (between the lines of ages) is. With the exception of maybe There's a World(?), I adored this. Gimme more Neil Young generator gods. 5 Stars.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Crowded House
5/5
Chocolate Cake Slaps. Fall at your Feet is incredible. Weather With You is an anthem. Four Seasons in One Day is gorgeous. The rest are so worthy of a listen. 5 Stars.
Nina Simone
4/5
Extremely charismatic vocals all over this album. Nina's range is incredible, captivating on both the heart wrenching ballads and the more up tempo tracks. Favourite songs were I Love Your Lovin' Ways, Four Women, Why Keep On Breaking My Heart, Wild Is The Wind and Either Way I Lose. Really enjoyed. 4 Stars. Love the album cover as well.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
It's sublime. Guy uses more words on one song than some artists will use in their entire career. And he's smarter, and funnier, and angrier. How anybody could fail to enjoy King Kunta, I could never understand. The fact that this is considered one of the controversial albums on this generator is mind boggling to me. I know all music opinions are subjective, but subjectively, some of you guys have appalling taste. This is a 5 everyday of the week. Iconic album cover.
The Who
2/5
Yeah I don't get this. It's a perfectly well recorded live performance. What's so special about it though. The band sound good? They're professionals, what do you expect. Not really impressed. The covers of Summertime Blues and Shakin All Over aren't good. 2 Stars.
1/5
This album 100% deserves to be on this list. There are so many good albums that i've already got to listen to through this generator, that I needed to reset my expectations of music can sound like. And this steaming pile of dogshit what exactly the palate cleanser I needed. I will treasure all the actually good music I listen to in my life so much more now I had had to force myself through this audio torture. Fuck you, and thank you Fred Durst. 1 Star.
Ryan Adams
2/5
Album opens with probably it's best song (not including the opening enterlude?), and then proceeds to not do anything particularly varied or exciting past then. I don't think a lot of these songs are anywhere near terrible, but I'm giving the album a 2 cause the guys an arsehole.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
This album really captures the essence of being horny AF. 5 stars.
Talking Heads
5/5
5 stars. Same as it ever was.
Louis Prima
3/5
The first track is the best, followed by the other medleys, but overall this is a really fun album, definitely worth listening to. I'd give it a 7 if I could, but it will get a 3.
Fairport Convention
3/5
Enjoyed this. More fiddle please. 3 Stars.
Arcade Fire
5/5
White, suburban millennial middle class ass music. Shouldn't be 5 stars but it is.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Unfortunately, this album and Max Verstappen's racing success are proof that sometimes a bit of child abuse goes a long way. Sensational. 5 Stars.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
The Neil Young tracks are the strongest, but on the whole album is really good. Didn't love it as much as his album Harvest, but it's really good. 4 stars.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I didn't love it all, but the bangers are great. Mrs Robinson is a classic. Other highlights were Save the life of my Child, America , A hazy Shade of winter and At the zoo. Thought the second half was the stronger side. 4 stars.
Portishead
3/5
Songs here that I definitely liked, The Rip, We Carry On, Machine Gun and Magic Doors especially, but there were too many tracks that I didn't feel enough for, so it will be getting a 3.
Queen
2/5
Side B is the stronger side. There are Queen songs I like spread across their discography, but none of them are on this album. I don't get them, and I never will. 2 Stars.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Murdering a bunch of people never sounded so good. Curse of Millhaven might be my all time favourite Nick Cave song. This thing is filled to the brim with great storytelling, songwriting and musicianship. 5 stars.
AC/DC
4/5
Everything that sucks about Aerosmith is why this rocks. There's not enough variety on this album to warrant full marks, but it's such a good time, with at least 4 bonafide hard rock classics. By that metric this gets 4 Stars
Marty Robbins
4/5
There's just something about songs about Guys committing crimes of passion then getting captured and hanged that I can't get enough of. This was really good. 4 Stars
The Stooges
3/5
A bit nutty, but at all unpleasant. 3 Stars.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Lowkey Banger after Lowkey Banger. I'm not a Boomer Puritan, but the lack of any kind of crude language on this thing really impressed me. Socially conscious jazz beat Rap? Sign me up. 5 stars.
Tom Waits
5/5
Like if half of Closing time was dropped into a blender with a handful of glass and gravel. I loved it. Goin Out West is a banger. 5 Stars.
Stan Getz
2/5
Can't claim to have loved this. Was not in the right environment, so it sort of began to wash over me. At it's best it sounded like a Pixar soundtrack, which is definitely a compliment. Not that eager to listen again though. 2 stars.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Combine everything that made Springsteen great up until this point, add some huge 80's production, as well as his most accessible songwriting yet, and this is the result. It might not be my favourite from him, but this an incredible album. Cover Me might have the best opening 10 seconds on a song ever. I'm Goin Down is in my opinion his most underrated song. There's nothing I can say about Dancing in the Dark that hasn't been said before. This thing kicks ass. 5 stars. In the conversation for the best album cover of all time as well.
Kraftwerk
3/5
The model is a banger
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Mick Jagger was wrong. This is fine, I liked a lot of the instrumentals, but the vocals were really hit and miss. Mostly miss. I'll give a 3.
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
You definitely shouldn't try and listen to this all in one go, but if you were to pick out 10 or 20 songs at a time you would be in for a real treat. Ella's voice is spectacular, and the arrangements are glorious. Happy to give this a 5, despite the length. It should really be considered a compilation over a an album though.
David Bowie
5/5
5 stars. And it's not the side effects of the cocaine.
The Band
5/5
Might be the best American album of the 60's. Made by a bunch of Canadians. This thing slaps, there's not a bad song. My favourites are The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, When You Awake and Jawbone. This is an easy 5 Stars. Iconic fucking cover as well.
Goldie
1/5
I'm sorry, i don't get it. Nothing that I enjoy about music is on this album that I can latch onto. It's going to have to be a 1.
Syd Barrett
2/5
Here I Go was the best track here in my opinion. This album just isn't my cup of tea, it's just sort of successive acoustic ramblings. I'm not giving it a 1 out of sympathy for Syd, cause his story is really tragic.
R.E.M.
4/5
A really excellent debut album, loads of catchy choruses, jangly guitar work and distinct bass work. Not surprised I liked this so much. I do think Radio Free Europe is the best song here, but still a compelling listen.
TLC
2/5
I can't say I enjoy this kind of 90's R&B, the production just sounds like I'm in an indoor pool. It's certainly not an unpleasant listen, but wasn't for me.
3/5
Hello, Don't Look Back in Anger and Morning Glory are all bangers. I even like She's Electric and Some Might Say. But Oasis are mid. The rest of this album is mid. Wonderwall sucks. I'm English so I get to say all this as an authority. 3 stars.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Proud Mary is such a good song, it probably makes this album good by default. I'm gonna give it a 4.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
It's still really good, but pales slightly compared to the album that follows it, Songs in the Key of Life. Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away and You Haven't Done Nothin' were the standouts in my opinion. A good 4 Stars.
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
I loved the bit where the pretty instrumental Indian music was interrupted by a youtube advert. 2 Stars. In all seriousness, pretty but not to my tastes. I could see how others get more out of this.
Duke Ellington
2/5
If I was actually in the audience for this performance, I'm sure this would be a 5. I wasn't. I can't fault any of the playing, but this shouldn't have been experienced as an album. 2 Stars.
CHIC
3/5
Le Freak and I Want Your Love are the obvious standouts, but the album is a fun time. Made for dancing. 3 Stars.
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
YES ANOTHER LIVE ALBUM!!!
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
My unpopular opinion is that the original version of 'Hurt' found here is actually better than the Johnny Cash cover. I'm not saying his cover is bad, I think the opposite, it's excellent, but there's something much sadder I believe in a young man, as Trent was at the time of writing it, truly thinking that he had already irreparably ruined his life and his only paths were to be someone else, or die, compared with the theme of the Johnny Cash cover, where this guy has had his whole life to do better and kept failing. I mean come on mate you had 3/4 of a century, you obviously weren't doing something right upon reflection.
This album is spectacular, fully deserving of 5 stars, and that album cover is the perfect depiction of the music inside.
Beatles
5/5
Damn, I wanted to be a hater, then every song kicked ass. The 2 George Harrison tracks here, Something and Here Comes the Sun, might be my favourite Beatles songs. There are Beatles albums that I may have lesser opinions of, but not this one. This is the one they should be known and lauded for. 5 Stars. Great album cover.
Bob Dylan
5/5
This album could have just been Like A Rolling Stone followed by 50 minutes of Bob playing random noises on the siren whistle and it would still be 5 stars. Instead he treated us to some of the greatest songwriting of all time. Thanks Bob!
Van Morrison
5/5
Retroactive regret at having not listened to this sooner. This is right up my alley, strong soulful vocals, folk rock backed with horns, I think the first half of the album is stronger than the second, but I felt pretty much straight away after my first listen that this would be a 5, and I've listened to it twice more since then.
Maxwell
4/5
The first half of the album is really strong, with the funk influences shining through along with the classic soul and R&B. I feel the second half was slightly weaker, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it overall, and how I would be happy to revisit it in the future. That makes it worthy of a 4 stars.
Johnny Cash
4/5
I think the strongest songs are on the first side, The Man Comes Around might be in competition for my favourite Cash song. In my Downward spiral review I argued in favour of the original being the more effective version of Hurt, relistening to it here, I definitely believe that it's a fantastic cover and the spin that Johnny puts on it is really compelling. Alternatively, I don't really like the cover of Personal Jesus at all. But overall the album is really good, happy giving it a 4.
Fela Kuti
3/5
It's a really worthwhile listen, others may get more out of it, but I certainly appreciate the historical insight it has given me, and it's influence on some albums that I love. Happy to give a 3.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
I think this is the strongest Jazz album I've been given so far. Full appreciation of the genre still escapes me, but I'm happy to give it a 3.
Beatles
5/5
Another Monday, another Beatles album. You know, they were actually pretty good. But I refuse to take anyone who actually enjoys Revolution 9 seriously. Stop being pretentious. 5 Stars.
Pere Ubu
3/5
This sounds like off brand Talking heads, but there were definitely songs here I enjoyed. The first 2 are probably the strongest. Would be happy to revisit those.
The Young Rascals
3/5
I really enjoy Blue Eyed Soul, so a few of the songs on here were pleasant surprises. But it does feel as if you were to combine The Beach Boys and The Beatles in too many places, rather than establishing its own identity. I would consider it good on the whole, so I'm giving it a 3.
Death In Vegas
1/5
I really didn't feel anything towards this at all, just typical 90's trite.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is really good, but I'm starting to worry i'll never love REM because I'm leaning more towards a 4 for this, even though I enjoyed pretty much every track. But you have to give them credit, I've come across a few albums on here where the artist sounds like they are trying to imitate someone else, but REM have such a strong stylistic identity, to me, they sound like no one else. And that's not just from the distinctive vocals of Michael Stipe, but the entirety of the sound, guitar tones and songwriting, drumming patterns, even after only listening to 2 of their albums, they are uniquely their own. Huge props.
Mj Cole
1/5
Hopefully this was only ever in one edition of this book, and only because they thought this absolutely fucking trash electronic music was going to be the future. I did not feel the vibes. Fuck off.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I think this is a good album, but unlike his best work which doesn't waste a single second, this is too long to it's detriment. Cut off a few of the weaker tracks and this does stand with his 70's and 80's work. Favourite tracks were probably Lonesome Day, Waitin on a Sunny day, Let's Be Friends and The Rising. My City of Ruins is excellent as well. This is a good 4.
Arcade Fire
5/5
That's 3 Arcade Fire albums now, and that's 3x 5 Star ratings. This is my favourite album from them so it was always gonna rate highly. I think My Body is a Cage is their best song along with Sprawl 2. But Honestly I don't think there is a bad song here. Antichrist Television Blues is so underrated. That organ on Intervention is orgasmic.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
The first 2 songs are pretty good, but unfortunately I wasn't hooked by any of the other songs. I understand why some would like this but it's not for me. 2 Stars.
Beatles
3/5
The first 4 songs are surprisingly excellent for early era Beatles, and the cover of Please Mister Postman is good (hard to mess up in all honesty), but yeah the rest of this, particularly the covers,aren't very special. I understand the importance of this album in the grand scheme of the bands development, as well as it's wider influence on it's peers and successors in terms of The Beatles embracing increased maturity and a greater control of their artistic image and creativity, but I'm not sure you need to listen to this before you die. There are far greater Beatles albums, you could stick to those and take away far more, sure you'd be lacking some background on the musical path they took, but the better stuff still holds up. 3 Stars.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
Like Queen if they were actually good.
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
Hot take but Favourite Worst Nightmare has aged better than this. But if you want a comprehensive insight into what being a young adult experiencing Northern English Nightlife and navigating relationships was like in the mid 2000's, this is by far the best album to listen to. Alex Turner is a generational lyricist. 5 Stars.
The Lemonheads
2/5
This is incredibly dull. Not offensive, but I definitely feel like I didn't have to listen to this before I die. Somehow that makes it worse. 2 stars.
Bob Dylan
5/5
What an end to his electric trilogy. I think Highway 61 is probably more focused, but some of the songs here have been propelled into my favourite Dylan tracks. Sides A and B were pretty much perfect in my opinion and Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands might be his best song that I've heard. 5 Stars Bob.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
A really fun album, The title track and Everyday people were my favourites, something that I would be happy to revisit in the future. 4 Stars.
Meat Loaf
5/5
This is the most ridiculous album ever made. 5 Stars
a-ha
3/5
As a big fan of 80's synth pop, this was a little disappointing. The album is held up entirely by it's singles, Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV being the clear standouts. They are good enough to warrant this thing a 3, but if you were just to listen to those 2 songs, you would have a near identical experience. You should watch the music videos as well.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
NFR! but not as good. I don't think it really gets going until Let Me Love You Like A Woman. Wild At Heart and Breaking Up Slowly are the standouts in my opinion. Why this is the album on this list rather than Norman Rockwell I have no idea. This is fine, but that's excellent. Go listen to that. 3 Stars.
Lauryn Hill
4/5
She has a lovely voice, is a great lyricist and songwriter, every feature enhanced the song they were on, and despite being from the 90's, it doesn't sound like it was recorded in an indoor swimming pool. It's probably just personal genre preference for why I won't give this a 5, but this is a very strong 4. I understand why others hold this in such high regard, and if I revisit I could see myself rating higher.
Pixies
5/5
It's both somehow incredibly deranged and a brilliant pop album at the same time. 5 Stars.
Funkadelic
4/5
Immaculate Grooves. Who would have guessed. 4 Stars.
The Band
5/5
Tears of Rage and The Weight make this album a 5 automatically. It helps that all the other songs are great as well. I do prefer their next album, but this might have higher highs. 5 Stars.
Eminem
1/5
I understand that it was released at a time where it wasn't treated with the same condemnation that it would receive in the present, but I found all the misogyny and homophobic slurs absolutely repulsive. Also if you were treating everyone with the same joking contempt as you claim, you would have used slurs about all groups. Because you clearly don't believe that stuff. Coward. It's a shame, because Stan and The Real Slim Shady are good. But I'm glad I didn't listen to this as a 12 years old boy and let it distort my brain. 1 Star.
David Holmes
1/5
Did not feel I needed to listen to this for any reason before I died. Incredibly Dull, no redeeming qualities in my opinion. Can't wait for the next terrible 90's electronica album I can give 1 Star.
Adam & The Ants
2/5
Was excited about this because I loved the song Ant Music before hearing this album. Turns out, Ant Music is the best song here. 2 Stars
Adele
3/5
A beautiful voice, competent lyrics and some good songs, particularly the first few, but here comes another piano ballad. 3 Stars.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
It's great, and could be rated high on relisten. 4 stars.
Gary Numan
3/5
I understand how this blew minds in 1979, but I'm not the biggest fan of Numan's vocals here, or some of the instrumental tracks. But there were songs here I did like, Metal, M.E. and Cars of course. Happy to give this a 3 for it's uniqueness and influence.
Radiohead
3/5
I'm not going to deny it's not very pretty almost all the way through. Or that any of the vocals or instrumentals or lyrics or production were bad at any specific point. But for an album with a reputation like this one, the one that all the nerds go crazy over, I was a little underwhelmed. I've spent years avoiding the band due to a belief that I'd become even more unbearably pretentious, so this was my first full album listening experience, and I obviously needn't have worried. I did really like Bodysnatchers, All I Need and Jigsaw Falling Into Place, so this can get a 3.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
The piano playing was fantastic. The songwriting itself though? Left a lot to be desired. 2 Stars
Lambchop
4/5
What a Delight, such easy listening. Will definitely be revisiting. 4 Stars.
The Zombies
2/5
Pretty Standard 60's affair to me, I liked Butcher's Tale and Time of the Season is a scandalously good song, but I can't say I was very impressed. 2 Stars. Feel like maybe I'm missing some context.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Another Album standard of its decade, this time 90's Alt Rock. There are a couple of really good tracks such as Today and Disarm, and it wasn't' an unpleasant listen by any stretch but 90's rock isn't really my cup of tea. Happy to give this a 3.
Gotan Project
2/5
I won't be saving this, and it's unlikely I'll revisit, but I really didn't have a bad time with this, if i was able to give a 2.5 I would, but based on my criteria of 3's being albums I've saved, I think this will have to be a harsh 2.
Jimmy Smith
3/5
An absolutely fine Jazz instrumental album. All the playing was good and I don't regret using it as background music. But if I was in a jazz club this would have got full marks. Instead it's a 3.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Take all the lovely romanticism, hope and freedom of Born to Run, punch it in the gut with a fist of sad reality, then slather it in some of the most anthemic choruses ever recorded, as well as some of the most searing guitar solos shredded, and you end up with this album. This is my favourite album of his, and Badlands is my personal favourite Bruce song so it was never going to get anything less than the full 5 stars, but there's truly not a bad song here in my opinion.
Blur
3/5
I don't know why but it feels generous to me giving this a 3. There are certainly good songs, Girls and Boys, Parklife, End of a Century, To The End (in other words, the singles), but this is another Blur album that is just way too long. Typical of the 90's. A tight 30 minute album would have had me feeling much more positive. 3 Stars
Deep Purple
4/5
Wasn't expecting to like Deep Purple this much, but holy hell is Ian Gillan a compelling singer, and those Blackmore riffs are sublime. 4 stars.
The Residents
3/5
I'm really leaning towards a 3, its fuckin wild. The Booker Tease, Weight Lifting Lulu, Semolina and The Electrocutioner are all legit good songs, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
I like Give It Away and Under the Bridge. But beyond that, this album didn't impress me. Another 90's album that far overstays it's welcome. 2 stars.
Jeff Beck
3/5
Good Guitar playing from Beck and charismatic vocals from Rod Stewart, but the songwriting left a little to be desired. Still nowhere near an unpleasant listen, it's getting a 3.
Aphex Twin
2/5
I like Pop music. And Choruses. This was inoffensive electronic music to my ears. 2 Stars.
ABBA
5/5
It's a terrific pop album, the singles are obviously the standouts (i'm including Fernando), but the album tracks, particularly on side B are also worth a listen. Dancing Queen is such a banger on it's own, I'm very happy I can give this a 5.
Justice
4/5
It's a bit too long in my opinion, but Genesis, D.A.N.C.E, both Phantoms, Valentine and One Minute to Midnight are so excellent, I'll be giving this a 4.
The Jam
4/5
Really good New wave/ Punk pop album, Start! and That's Entertainment are both brilliant songs, but other album cuts like Set the House Ablaze and Man in the Corner Shop are great as well, there's not a bad song on here in my opinion. Happy to give this a 4.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
This is such a great album, so different from Murder Ballads which preceded it, with achingly beautiful instrumentals, and great songwriting from Nick Cave. If I was to pick a couple of favourites, I would lean towards Into My Arms and West Country Girl, but the album is wonderful all the way through. Another 5 stars for the band.
Queen
2/5
A few good ideas surrounded by proggy nonsense. At least this album has a good song on this time (Killer Queen). It's still a 2 though. Also, why the hell am I listening to a Queen song where Freddie isn't singing??
Steely Dan
4/5
I prefer their debut, but this is still really good, Show Biz Kids is probably my favourite track here. 4 stars.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Not enough distortion on the guitars. 3 Stars.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I prefer the Lou Reed Songs over the Nico fronted ones, but I really enjoyed this. Can understand why it blew people away in 1967, and with a few more listens it could go up in my estimations. 4 stars.
Cornershop
1/5
I didn't even like Brimful of Asha that much, so what hope did the rest of this have. Proof that weed produces bad albums. 1 star.
The White Stripes
3/5
Don't really understand why this is the White Stripes on this list, but Blue Orchid and The Denial Twist are great songs, among their best. 3 Stars.
Moby Grape
3/5
Surprisingly better than I was expecting, good playing and songwriting, never overstaying it's welcome. Happy to give it a 3.
The Beach Boys
5/5
RIP Brian Wilson, this is a production masterpiece with a couple of the best songs ever recorded. 5 Stars.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Feeling generous today, this was an incredibly easy listen, and I could see myself returning to in future, or taking an interest in his future releases. Hero was in my opinion the strongest track here. 4 stars.
White Denim
3/5
I'm gonna be nice and give this a 3 because I did like Street Joy and Is and Is and Is, but most of it was just fine, nothing special. Not sure you must listen to this before you die.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
There She Goes My Beautiful World, Breathless and Supernaturally are some of my favourite Nick Cave songs. The chorus to Easy Money will just randomly pop into my head every now and then it's so pretty. |They make the music more accessible than albums like Murder Ballads, but without losing any of it's brilliance. Another 5 Stars for the Bad Seeds.
Garbage
4/5
An actually good 90's pop rock album, what a miracle. The singles are the standouts, but this is really listenable all the way through. 4 stars.
Scott Walker
5/5
I'd give this a 5 just for The Seventh Seal. What a banger.
Michael Jackson
5/5
It might not be as good as Thriller, but that doesn't make it not a 5. Smooth Criminal might be my favourite MJ song. And no, the Alien Ant Farm cover isn't better.
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
It's obviously too long. There are good songs here, but Billy Corgan's voice isn't pleasant enough to listen to for 2 hours. 3 stars.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Thriller-Beat It-Billie Jean has got to be the best 3 song run on any pop album ever. He was a dodgy bloke but an incredible musician. This deserves to be one of the biggest albums ever. 5 stars.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Maybe this would require a few more listens, but I'm leaning more towards that I respect this rather than loving it. There are definitely good songs here, Dry in particular, so I'm gonna give this a 4.
Lorde
4/5
It's good, filled with great choruses and pop songwriting, I just can't quite bring myself to give it a 5. It's a 4.
N.E.R.D
2/5
What a fucking weird album. I didn't give this a fair shot I'll admit. 2 stars.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
Entirely inoffensive, but slightly too long for it's own good. The vocals were a little weak compared to how lush and varied all the instrumentals were. Once Around the Block is the strongest offering here. i think it should get a 3.
The Beach Boys
3/5
A step towards Pet Sounds, but not as essential. 3 stars.
Violent Femmes
4/5
Way better than I was expecting. 4 stars, but could go higher on relistens.
Django Django
3/5
It was an interesting listen, but probably not worthy of being on this list. 3 stars.
Donovan
2/5
This was dangerously close to becoming a 1, but the end of Bert's Blues and Season of the Witch saved it. Doesn't push it above a 2 though, too much of this is 60's psychedelic nonsense. George Harrison, I love you, but you did tremendous damage to music by introducing the west to the sitar.
Kanye West
5/5
He fucking sucks. And it sounds like 2010. But this is 5 stars.
Linkin Park
3/5
It's a dumb early 2000's rock album, with all the usual dated production, but I understand why a bunch of teenagers love it. And I love Transformers. 3 stars.
3/5
This a well recorded live album. And the band can fucking play. But it's not an essential listen. 3 stars.
The Fall
4/5
This Kicks ass. 4 stars.
Willie Nelson
5/5
Really enjoyed this, the storytelling was some of the best i've heard on an album. Favourite songs would have been Time of the Preacher, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain and Can I Sleep in Your Arms. A 5 in my eyes.
Jerry Lee Lewis
2/5
A white nonce playing a bunch of deranged covers of songs by black artists. It's well recorded, and the playing is fine, but not sure you need to listen to this. 2 stars.
Mudhoney
2/5
I thought Move Out was good, but the rest didn't do much for me. 2 stars.
The Cure
5/5
These might be the best drums on any album ever. And the band invented goth girls. Easy 5 stars.
Morrissey
3/5
Was debating whether to give this a 4 because there are a few songs here that I really like, but then I remembered that he's a cunt and I love beef burgers, so it's a 3, fuck you Morrissey.
Richard Thompson
5/5
The title track is so good, I'm giving it a 5 after only 1 listen.
Culture Club
4/5
In a surprise to absolutely no one, I rate an 80's pop album highly. Not top of class, but really fun and listenable. 4 stars.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Doesn't matter what language he's singing in, the music is so joyous anyone could enjoy this. 4 stars.
The Go-Betweens
4/5
Really good Jangle pop record, Was There Anything I Could Do? was probably my favourite track on first listen, will definitely revisit. 4 Stars.
Buzzcocks
3/5
A solid late 70's punk rock album, I think I Don't Mind is the strongest track here, so I'll be giving it a 3.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Should be a separate list called 101 live performances you wished you were at, or something. This is really well recorded, all the playing is great, I can't really fault it. But I'm giving it a 3. Would be a 5 if i was there.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
4/5
Really fun little 80's jangle pop record, nothing mind-blowing, but one that i'll definitely listen to again. 4 Stars.
Khaled
3/5
This was fun as hell. I was about to give it a 2 after the first couple of melodramatic tracks but then he dropped an english cover of Imagine and I was on board. Maybe if I looked at the lyrics it would rate higher, but the vibes were great. 3 Stars.
Tom Tom Club
2/5
Genius of Love saved this from being a 1. It's missing David Byrne's charismatic autism. 2 stars.
Sade
5/5
Restored my virginity so it could take it again. 5 Stars.
R.E.M.
5/5
Another really good R.E.M. album, my favourite so far. Pop Song 89, You Are The Everything, Stand and Orange Crush, Turn You Inside Out and Untitled are all brilliant songs. They're getting their first 5.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
"Hey Tom, that guitar riff is awesome, can you play a solo as good on this track?"
"No"
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
I've never been but I'd like to go. 5 stars.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
A fever dream of an album. Not without it's merit, but this wasn't for me. 2 Stars.
The Byrds
3/5
A really pleasant listen with varied instrumentation and pretty vocals. It worked just fine as background music, I might get more out of it if I revisit and focus on the music with some better headphones, in a better environment. 3 stars for now.
Klaxons
4/5
I was semi familiar with some of the singles on this, but had never given it a proper listen, and honestly, I wonder why I waited so long. This really surprised me with how fun and energetic almost every song on here was, I would suggest the singles are the best tracks, but I think this was a really worthwhile. 4 stars.
Depeche Mode
4/5
A good album, the singles are the strongest tracks here, I do prefer their 90's albums though. 4 stars.
Pretenders
4/5
A really good album, there were a few songs here which didn't do much for me preventing it from full marks, but the playing especially was fantastic. Kid was the song I liked most on my first listen. 4 stars.
The Vines
3/5
Standard early noughties garage rock album, with lead vocals from a guy that clearly only owned Nirvana albums. The singles, with the exception of Homesick, which is naff, are the best songs here. A pretty mid 3.
Blondie
5/5
There's 4 bonafide classic songs here. Unfortunately, 3 of those are the first 3 songs on the album, but that's not to say there's a single bad song here. I have listened to this before, and I was going in expecting to give it a 4, but having listened, I think this is a 5. Just an incredibly fun catchy album.
Bon Jovi
4/5
A dumb fun 80's hair metal album and probably in contention for the best album of the kind along with 1984? Anyways, there are some absolute classics here obviously, along with serviceable album cuts, so it's getting a 4.
The Sonics
3/5
Included for it's importance as an influence, rather than the actually quality of all of the songs. Still an enjoyable listen, the originals are all good, and a few of the covers are really fun through this distorted garage rock lens. This is the definitive Have Love, Will Travel as well. Doesn't overstay its welcome either. I'll be giving it a 3.
Ian Dury
4/5
Understandably nonsense to anyone outside England, I thought this was hilarious and musically great. 4 Stars.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Shockingly good, Lodi and Wrote A Song for Everyone are the 2 tracks that I hadn't heard before that stood out to me, I will be listening to this in full again. The title track fucks as well. 5 stars.
The Human League
4/5
80's pop albums got me in a chokehold, it's getting a 4. Not a guitar in sight.
Madonna
1/5
I love Madonna's 80's work. I hate late 90's electronic music. I didn't like a single song here. 1 Star.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
I Like Jamming and One Love enough to give this a 4 at least without hesitation. I think I can't connect with the genre enough to give it a 5, but still a very good album.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
It was a solid 80's pop album, I liked the singles, but I wasn't blown away. 3 Stars.
Black Sabbath
5/5
RIP Ozzy. Maybe the greatest Side A in music history. 3 10/10 classics. The guitar solo on Paranoid is one of my favourites of all time. i'm giving it a 5, maybe just out of sentimentality.
Traffic
2/5
I can hear it's influence on future artists, and I appreciate all the playing and performances, but it's really not doing much for me. I think Stranger To Himself is the song I liked the most. 2 Stars.
Beastie Boys
4/5
This could 100% be rated higher on relisten, favourite tracks first time around were Shake Your Rump, Hey Ladies and Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun. Incredibly fun album, 4 Stars.
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
I didn't like this at all. I appreciate I had to listen to it to understand which genre combinations to avoid. 1 Star.
Radiohead
4/5
Maybe I'm starting to get Radiohead. There were 4 tracks here I actually liked, although the more ambient songs I didn't have much of an interest in though. I don't think I'll ever love them because of Thom Yorkes voice not being my thing, but I at least thought this was good. 4 Stars.
4/5
Jump scared by Thom Yorke, but i actually liked This Mess We're In. Big Exit and The Whores Hustle were the songs that stood out most to me on first listen. Much more accessible than Rid Of Me which I've already had on the generator, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Happy to give the same rating, 4 Stars.
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
Late 60's Psychedelic Rock. Whatever you imagined in your head when you read that is exactly how this album sounds. I'm not a fan of the genre, so it didn't do much for me. It wasn't unpleasant I guess. 2 Stars.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Pretty thrilling Post Punk, I think the first 2 tracks are the strongest, and the rest all feature a driving drum beat which could be seen as a bit samey, but honestly I really enjoyed it. Would definitely revisit. 4 Stars.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Some of these songs are downright nasty, but as an intentionally more edgy alternative to the Beatles, they've absolutely nailed it. The temptation may be to listen to the US edition of the album due to it's shorter length and the inclusion of one of the bands greatest ever singles, Paint It Black, but you'd be missing out on some of the UK originals best tunes, like Mothers Little Helper and Out Of Time. Under My Thumb is one of my all time favourite Stones songs, even if it is incredibly misogynistic. Honestly, in terms of the mid 60's era of the Beatles and the Stones, this might be my favourite album between them, although I think the rest of the decade belongs to the Liverpudlians (The Stones best albums released in the 70's). 4 Stars.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
It's absolutely joyous. Such easy listening. Favourite tracks first listen was Shining Star, Yearnin' Learnin' and Reasons. Would definitely revisit. 4 Stars.
The KLF
2/5
At least there's some vocals on these electronic tracks. Not that I need them to enjoy music, but electronic music is mostly so boring to me that they at least help me differentiate between tracks. This wasn't an offensive waste of time like some of the other 90's and early 2000's electronic albums that have been on here, so it's getting a 2. I did listen to the director's cut though, so maybe that changed the original? Who cares.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
It's an incredibly pretty piece of work, but I didn't fully connect first listen. Maybe on relisten, I might rate this higher. 3 Stars.
Pink Floyd
4/5
There are some fantastic songs here, but it's just too long, with too many disposable tracks. And I get that it's a concept album, and they're required for the narrative, but they could have at least been more memorable, and sung by the better vocalist in Gilmour. I don't care if the idea was Waters, there's too much of him here. In The Flesh (both), Another Brick In the Wall (all parts), Young Lust, Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell are all spectacular, and I will 100% listen to this again, but I'm only giving it a 4 on first listen.
Kings of Leon
3/5
3 Kings of Leon albums on this generator, and not one of them is their best album- Because of the Times. This one is just fine, Slow Night, So Long and The Bucket being the best tracks, but do you really need to listen to it before you die? Doubtful. 3 Stars. Onto the next two.
Hole
4/5
The title track is the strongest track in my opinion on first listen along with Northern Star and Boys on the Radio, and some of the other songs are a little too 90's alt rock for me to love, but I feel a 4 would be fair. None of this is anywhere near bad.
The Waterboys
5/5
Like seeing your hometown band down the local pub, and they're your dad and your dad's mates, and they're crammed together on the smallest stage you've ever seen, and half of them are pissed and playing instruments you've never seen, and you're drinking a guinness, and sharing a dance with the local lass you fancy, and sharing a laugh with your mates, and life is good. 5 Stars.
And This Is The Sea should be on this list as well.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Favourite Tracks on first listen were Down By the River, Running dry and Cowgirl In The Sand. The playing is all fantastic, sounds really loose and fun. Young again proves that if you put a great song at the end of your album it raises the entire project, not sure whether I think this is as strong as Harvest, so leaning towards a 4 on first impression, but I'll be revisiting.
Bill Callahan
4/5
What a curious album, one that can be slightly challenging yet radiates warmth. Favourite songs first time through were Eid Ma Clack Shaw, Too Many Birds and All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast, but that could change on another listen. I was gonna give a 3, but writing this now while the last track plays, I'm giving it a 4.
King Crimson
2/5
A smattering of good bits amongst a bunch of nonsense. Typical Prog rock. 2 stars.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
Would have been awesome to be there and experience. I wasn't though. 2 stars.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
There were a couple of songs I didn't mind, and I overall didn't hate this, but it's not for me. 2 Stars.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
1/5
I was gonna be nice and give this a 2, but 50 minutes of the snooziest and least charismatic vocals of all time have dragged it into the lowest score. 1 Star.
Talk Talk
5/5
It's somehow both sprawling and yet incredibly restrained pop music. Favourite tracks first time around were Life's What You Make It, Living In Another World and Give It Up. I will definitely be revisiting, an absolute 80's gem. 5 Stars.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
There's a couple of tracks here I'm not crazy about, but overall the highs are really high, Without You and Jump Into The Fire being classics in 2 different genres. The variety on the album is really impressive, the guy knows how to write a pop song. Happy giving this a strong 4.
The Coral
4/5
This was never at any point boring or uninteresting. For that alone I'm giving it a 4. it helps though that a bunch of these songs kick ass and Dreaming Of You is a classic.
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
I'm just a sucker for Americana and Rock Opera's. Help's when you've got all this great lyricism and perfect dirty guitar tones. I won't claim to love it on first listen, but this is definitely one that I want to revisit. I just think its brilliant that this exists. Strong 4 Stars.
Björk
3/5
She has an absolutely wonderful voice, and there were a couple if tracks here I did really enjoy, but i may respect this more than I like it. In terms of being a 90's pop albums, it's one of the best I've heard, but that's because I don't like 90's pop. It's definitely interesting, which is more than a lot of the albums on here can claim. If i could give it a 7 i would.
The Birthday Party
3/5
Almost entirely unpleasant to listen to. 3 Stars.
Gang Starr
2/5
IGN ass take. I just didn't really connect with the beats or the vocals. This one wasn't for me. 2 Stars.
Marilyn Manson
1/5
The lyrics are all just for shock value, the vocal performance is one note, the instrumentals are like if you took all the interesting bits out of Nine Inch Nails. The only challenging thing about their music was challenging me to make it through to the end. 1 Star.
Prince
4/5
Don't get me wrong, it's a good album, I'm just a bigger fan of Dirty Mind and Purple Rain. If the rest of the album was as good as 1999, Little Red Corvette and International Lover, it would stand alongside those 2 for me. 4 Stars.
The Monks
3/5
One of those 60's albums I can't truly appreciate because of how much has built upon it since its release. I had a pleasant time listening to it though. 3 Stars.
Beyoncé
3/5
She's a terrific singer and a world class performer. and from the book length wikipedia articles about this album and her next, Lemonade, she clearly means a lot to a lot of people. But I just can't get on board. It's much funnier to imagine the dozens of people on the credits of these songs crammed into the studio at the same, cheek to cheek, fighting over the controls on the console, or the 1 pen. It's much less funny to realise that all her horny songs are about having sex with ugly ass Jay-z. 3 Stars.
Steely Dan
4/5
I'm a white man, so this a 4 at least.
The Charlatans
2/5
An even midder Oasis rip off. If it was possible. 2 Stars.
Faust
2/5
It was interesting, but not for me. 2 stars.
System Of A Down
2/5
With the exception of Spiders which I liked, this wasn't really for me. Think I prefer my metal sludgy and stonery, rather than thrashy. I do respect what it's going for though. 2 Stars.
Van Halen
3/5
A solid hard rock album propped by the one two combo of Eruption and Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love and Eddie Van Halen's incredible guitar playing. 3 Stars.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
A really terrific 80's pop album, not really a bad track on here. I'm giving it a 4 for now, but could go up on re-listen.
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
A really easy listen, I ended up enjoying a lot. I'm gonna give it a 3 on first impressions, but it could go up if I revisit.
AC/DC
4/5
A couple of standout bangers in the title track and Touch Too Much make this album a guaranteed 4 Stars. Rip Bon Scott.
Nas
4/5
This is a really strong album, great flow, great beats, really catchy hooks, at 39 minutes it's nowhere near overstaying it's welcome the way so many 90's albums do. I can understand why people from New York would absolutely love this. right now I'm feeling a strong 4, but if I revisit could become a 5.
Brian Eno
3/5
Live footage of the inside of David Byrnes head.
Donald Fagen
5/5
Music for white guys who ask "who's ready to rock and roll" when they want to leave somewhere. It's me. i'm that guy. 5 Stars
Ray Charles
4/5
It's excellent, great playing, great singing, well recorded. Could go up to a 5 in the future.
Missy Elliott
2/5
Another hour long 90's album. I liked Sock It 2 Me and The Rain. But this wildly overstays it's welcome, and is not interesting enough to warrant the length. I also enjoy when 90's albums are described as pioneering or futuristic in terms of production, when actually nothing in the modern day sounds like them because we all collectively agreed 90's albums sounded like straight ass. Timbaland's 00's output is infinitely more fun, and sounds less like it was recorded in an indoor swimming pool. 2 Stars.
King Crimson
3/5
I Liked 3 of the 5 songs, so 3 Stars seems apt. Although Moonchild was close to bringing this down to a 2. Here's an idea, don't make the worst song on an album the longest.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
She's got such an incredible voice, and all the choices made to support it on this record are the correct ones. A really good listen. 4 Stars.
Mylo
2/5
I assume this is on this list solely because of Drop the Pressure, because honestly this isn't very special. Even it's best tracks just take the good bits out of better songs. I'm being generous with 2 Stars.
Willie Nelson
4/5
It's a really excellent album that was so close to getting a 5 on first listen, but that cover of Unchained Melody just didn't do it for me. I understand that the album is made up of covers, and maybe if I was more familiar with different versions of these songs, I might feel different, but that one specifically felt a little undercooked. I will be relistening though. 4 Stars.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
Probably the best live album I've got on here so far. Let's hope it's the last and we can end on a high. I'll probably give them all a 1 after this out of spite. This is pretty good though. Her voice is lovely, it's well recorded, and has personality that i feel the others miss. Still would have been infinitely better had I actually been here. Like standing outside a party you weren't invited to, looking in through the window showing you what you missed. 3 Stars.
The White Stripes
4/5
This is their best album, but I'll never love them. 4 Stars.
Nico
1/5
Her voice isn't very good and the music wasn't very interesting. Also just read about her life and she was described as Nazi-esque. Fuck off Nazi. 1 Star.
Le Tigre
4/5
Really surprised by this, went in expecting it to be a bit one note, but pretty much all the songs here are really distinctive, really fun pop songs. Will definitely revisit. 4 Stars.
Public Enemy
3/5
Nowhere near a mid album, but really not for me. I just couldn't get attached and it was a bit too long. 3 Stars.
The Isley Brothers
5/5
This shit is straight fire. 5 Stars.
The Cardigans
4/5
The high points are high enough to warrant giving this a 4. I don't think it's great throughout but the strong opening couple of tracks, the great finish and the weird cover of Iron Man made this memorable.
David Bowie
4/5
Finally a Bowie album I'm not going to give a 5 to. People see this as the beginning of Bowie's hot streak, and based on the high points on this album, I can sort of see why, but there's too many tracks here that I don't really feel anything about, which I can't say for the album that follows it. Sure, Life On Mars is one of the greatest songs of all time, but I feel people we just impressed that Bowie was finally putting 4-5 amazing tracks on an album, as opposed to just 1, maybe 2 at best. I am giving 4 Stars though. Changes, Oh You Pretty Things, Queen Bitch and the Belway Brothers all deserve the praise they receive.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
You could give this album a 4 just for Little Wing. Definitely doesn't hurt having If 6 was 9 and Spanish Castle Magic on here as well. 4 for now, could go up.
Nanci Griffith
3/5
She has an incredibly pretty voice, and all of these songs are really pleasant listens. I bet if I was to sit with this a bit longer, the rating could go up, but right now it's getting a 3.
David Bowie
5/5
This is a downright excellent rock album. Although it might not touch some of the high point of Bowie's 70's and early 80's work, I think it is strong enough to stand aside most of it. The fact he was able to make albums this good this late into his career/ long after whats considered his peak just demonstrates what a mega talent he was. 5 Stars.
Johnny Cash
5/5
The greatest live album of all time. The song choices are perfect, the crowd interruptions and announcements actually add to the listening experience, it's basically a concept album. This is how you do live albums. 5 Stars.
The Bees
2/5
Just kind of aggressively mid to my ears. That makes it unworthy of the list so it's getting a 2. I like the album cover though to be honest.
Happy Mondays
5/5
I could list a handful of british bands who listened to this and made ripping it off their entire identity. This is an excellent album, one that I am leaning towards giving a 5 straight away.
Sparks
4/5
Good theatrical fun. I'm rating this after just one full listen, so I actually wouldn't be surprised if my rating went up on relisten. It's a 4 first time round though.
Ray Charles
4/5
Yeah, it does seem like he was a genius m, another really good album. 4 stars
The Auteurs
3/5
This is a really solid album. I really enjoyed How Could I Be Wrong and Housebreaker, but I wasn't really sold on the vocal performance the first time round on a lot of these tracks. I liked it enough though that I plan to revisit. 3 Stars on first listen.
Guided By Voices
3/5
I'm giving this a 3 on first listen. There were a handful of tracks I really enjoyed, but the project is a lot to digest in one go. I plan on revisiting though. Some really catchy hooks filtered through lo-fi production, which may take some getting used to.
Elliott Smith
3/5
The soft boy vocals aren't really doing it for me. All the arrangements are nice though. And I can't really fault the songwriting. 3 Stars.
Kanye West
5/5
He's a cunt but this fucks. 5 Stars.
Adele
5/5
This is excellent. I don't live under a rock, so I've heard many of these songs before, but together they add up to an exceptional album. I think she is so much more compelling when she isn't doing sparse sad girl piano ballads. There are a couple here, but they remain compelling rather than overwhelming, which is how i felt listening to 25. I'm giving this a 5.
Machito
4/5
Delightful listen. Each track felt distinct, and had something to make it memorable. Really great fun. 4 stars.
Pixies
5/5
Somehow the album is almost as good as that pair of tits. 5 Stars.
Nitin Sawhney
1/5
Boring late 90's electronic music but make it Indian. Just to be clear, I'm giving it 1 because it's terrible, not for any more nefarious reasons.
Jane Weaver
3/5
Really interesting listen, lots of vintage synth sounds and ethereal vocals. Not sure how often I would revisit, but I liked. 3 Stars.
ZZ Top
4/5
Run's out of steam a bit by the end, but 5 or so of these songs are stone cold classics. I love Legs. 4 Stars.
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/5
I suppose I can see how this might have blown people's minds in the 70's, very futuristic and Sci-Fi. Didn't blow me away though. 2 Stars.
Elton John
5/5
There's not really a bad song here. The first four in particular are classics, and a great demonstration of what Elton John and Bernie Taupin were capable of at the height of their powers. One of the greatest albums of all time. 5 Stars.
Boards of Canada
1/5
Straight ass. 1 Star.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Can I kick It? is obviously a banger, but the rest of this album is such easy listening, great beats, good use of samples. 4 Stars.
Deep Purple
3/5
The songs and performances are good, but it's a live album. 3 stars.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
The title track and The Boxer are both 10/10 songs, so the rest of these tracks could have just been white noise and it would have still got a positive score. Luckily, it's a brilliant record all the way through. 5 Stars.
The Beach Boys
4/5
It's no Pet Sounds, but it's actually a really good album, I had a good time with it. Doesn't overstay it's welcome. 4 Stars.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Easy listening, Big Band Jazz. Totally acceptable, don't really have much more to add, I may revisit if I need music to soundtrack something. 3 Stars.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Great fun, easy listening. 4 Stars.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
The performances are so good I don't care it's all stolen. 4 Stars.
The White Stripes
3/5
I like Dead Leaves and Fell In Love With A Girl, but I can't love any of their projects all the way through. 3 Stars.
Slayer
1/5
Devoid of any sense of fun or any kind of catchiness, or any prettiness. I know that's what it's going for, but I didn't like it at all. 1 Star.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I've actually been putting off listening to this album for a while, I've had a lot of Dylan on this generator, and the idea of another of his double albums felt slightly overwhelming. Well I've finally got round to it, and talk about the perfect album for the perfect moment. I was absolutely blown away by this, and Standing In The Doorway might now be my favourite Dylan track. I am going to revisit this, but right now, I'm feeling an immediate 5.
Portishead
2/5
I really don't think this was bad at all, and I thought it ended on it's strongest track with Glory Box, which is an excellent song, but this just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with it. 2 Stars.
Lou Reed
4/5
Well that was incredibly depressing. But also really great. Could go up in the future, but for now its a strong 4 stars.
SZA
4/5
Great vocals and great song writing, I particularly think it picks up with Drew Barrymore, the best song here, but I also really enjoyed Prom and Broken Clocks. Maybe not one I'll revisit often, but certainly a worthwhile listen. 4 Stars.
The Only Ones
3/5
kinda mid. 3 Stars.
Judas Priest
4/5
Terrific hard rock album. An extremely easy listen. 4 Stars
Frank Zappa
4/5
This shit fucks. 4 Stars.
Neil Young
5/5
He just didn't miss. 5 Stars. Will definitely revisit.
4/5
George, please I beg you, drop the Sitars, they're not cool at all. Probably Lennon's strongest crop of songwriting contributions to a Beatles album in my opinion. 4 Stars, whats comes later is better.
The Killers
5/5
5 Stars for a perfect run of 5 opening songs. Hot take but literally only Thriller by MJ has better singles than this album, and even then it's close. This isn't even my favourite Killers album either.
The Adverts
4/5
A surprisingly fun and catchy punk album. Standout tracks were One Chord Wonders, New Church and Safety In Numbers in my opinion. Would revisit, so it gets 4 Stars.
The Youngbloods
3/5
I think Quicksand alone has been enough to earn this album a positive review, that's not to say any of it was particularly bad, but there wasn't a lot that stood out to me. I may have to revisit. 3 Stars.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Perhaps the dumbest album of all time. 5 Stars.
Joy Division
5/5
This really captures the feeling of living in the North of England. 5 Stars. Shadowplay is a banger.
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
Luckily I don't speak Fr*nch, so I was only mildly unsettled by the noises of the grown woman pretending to be a 14 year old girl. The music behind the lyrics though was pretty great. 3 Stars.
Guns N' Roses
2/5
The 2 Stars are for Welcome To The Jungle and Paradise City. I don't like Axl Rose's voice at all, and Sweet Child Of Mine bugs me. The rest of the tracks I felt nothing for.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
2/5
I enjoyed Kicks, There's Always Tomorrow and Steppin Stone, but the rest did very little for me. 2 Stars.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
This is lovely. I'm gonna have to revisit because the score may go up. 4 Stars.
Lupe Fiasco
1/5
A fiasco would have been more interesting, instead this is an overlong, uninteresting 2000's rap album. I'm gonna give it a 1. Might be slightly harsh, but I didn't connect with it at all.
The Pogues
5/5
It becomes a little exhausting once you get to about track 9 but how extremely fantastic all the songs up until that point are makes this deserve a perfect score. Fairytale of New York is an all timer.
3/5
A lot less psychedelic than I was expecting, which works out in its favour. Mr Skin was the strongest track on first listen, although I also enjoyed Morning Will Come. Think I need to revisit, but for now I'll give it a 3.
Justin Timberlake
3/5
As usual it's an early 2000's pop album which is way too long for it's own good, which is a shame cause a tighter track length, with the four fantastic singles, and I'd be giving this a higher score. Plus Justin Timberlake has a really punchable face. 3 Stars.
Beatles
4/5
Yeah I bet Tomorrow Never Knows was mind blowing to someone on LSD in the 60's, but now it's just underwhelming. There are a fair few bangers here though, the singles Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine being the highlights in my eyes. I just don't buy the hype surrounding this one, pretty much all the Lennon songs are with the exception of I'm Only Sleeping are kinda mid, Mccartney and Harrison carry. Just about 4 Stars.
U2
5/5
I don't think every track is great, but songs like One, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, and Ultraviolet are close to perfect. Other such as So Cruel, Until the End of the World and Even Better Than the Real Thing are so solid. It's one that I should revisit more than I do. 5 Stars.
The Specials
4/5
A good way to weed out the yanks. 4 Stars.
Arrested Development
2/5
If I appreciated the genre a little more my review would have lent more positive, instead this is a fairly long album that I found uninteresting. I didn't find it offensively bad at all, just not for me. 2 Stars.
5/5
One of, if not Bowie's best album, which not only makes it one of the best rock albums of all time, but also in contention for the best British album of all time. The only song i'm not that keen on is Star, but other than that I think pretty much every other track is a classic. 5 Stars.
Supertramp
4/5
Maybe the first ever prog rock album that I've actually enjoyed. Breaking news, making it catchy and memorable rather than noodly nonsense makes it much better.
Taylor Swift
4/5
A really good pop record with a couple of fantastic tracks, and a couple of absolute stinkers (Shake it Off and Bad Blood, clearly). Can't deny she smashed this career pivot. 4 Stars.
The Smiths
4/5
I've never really been a fan of The Smiths, mostly because of Morrissey, but Johnny Marr absolutely cooked here. By far their best album in my opinion. 4 Stars.
Tracy Chapman
2/5
I understand that people liked this as an alternative to the kind of music that was popular in the 80's, but I like the 80's. My favourite track was Baby Can I Hold You and I really liked Mountain O' Things and Why?. I've never really felt anything towards Fast car. 2 Stars.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
Some truly excellent songs like Wail, Chicken Dog and Rocketship, surrounded by literal shit. This might be the most confounding album I've ever listened to. 2 Stars.
50 Cent
3/5
A solid rap album elevated by it's singles. It's an early 2000's album so it's obviously too long for it's own good, but I had a perfectly fine time with it. 3 Stars.
Jethro Tull
3/5
Other than the sick flute, a pretty solid early 70's rock album. I'd rather listen to this than Led Zeppelin. Locomotive Breath was my favourite track here. 3 Stars.
Digital Underground
1/5
Boring, too long. 1 Star.
3/5
Nothing mind blowing here, but it's certainly an easy listen if you can appreciate country. 3 Stars
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
A really good album, The title track and Jet are classics, I also really enjoyed Let Me Roll It and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five. An easy 4 Stars.
CHIC
4/5
Good Times and My Feet Keep Dancing were standout tracks for me, but the entire thing was such fun easy listening, without overstaying it's welcome. I was shocked how quickly it was over, and the fact I considered pressing play again to listen from the start straight away, means this is getting a strong 4 Stars.
Baaba Maal
2/5
I liked Gidelam and Olel, but I struggled to really get into it. I appreciated listening to it, even if I felt that it was too long, it's a 2 for me.
Elvis Presley
5/5
His performance is so strong across the album I feel i have to give a perfect score. There might not be a standout song on the original tracklist, (with the exception of In the Ghetto), but the vibes are so immaculate throughout. Plus I listened to the extended edition with Suspicious Minds on, which is his best song. This has to be his most essential album in terms of quality. 5 Stars.
George Harrison
5/5
It's magnificent, the only album on par with Abbey Road from any of the artists formerly known as the Beatles. I would be listing at least half these tracks as standouts, but What is Life is a personal favourite. It's so so good. 5 Stars.
Stereo MC's
2/5
On the list because of the title track and Step It Up. 2 good songs, 2 Stars. It's just too long without enough to be worth listening to all the way through.
I don't think it touches their best stuff, and why on earth they chose once again to put all the strongest tracks at the start (I enjoyed New York) I have no idea. I doubt they'll ever learn their lesson though, as this was another huge success. It is a solid album, I really like Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, I'm giving it a 4.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
There are 4 excellent tracks here, Sympathy For The Devil, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues and Salt of the Earth, the rest are listenable depending on your enjoyment of white guys singing the blues. I don't think this is their best, but it's certainly a worthwhile listen as the first clear example of the sound that would define them, and a sign of the greatness about to come. 4 Stars.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Really great album, lyrics and Vocal performance are spectacular, backed by smooth jazz and lovely piano. Just wish it was on streaming, nevertheless, a really worthwhile listen, and one that I would revisit. 4 Stars.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Knowing this is the lowest rated of any of the albums on this generator, I came in with an open mind with the hope that I could find something to like. However this is pretty indefensible. Most of it is just noise with the banger that is the title track. It honestly wasn't offensive though like some of the albums i've given the minimum score to, and I chose to only listen to the 38 minutes of the original tracklist, no bonus recordings, which meant there was no excessive suffering. For that, I'm giving it a 2.
Lou Reed
4/5
I think the album is weaker after Satellite of Love, barring the jazzy Goodnight Ladies, but the first half is so good that this was never getting a middling review. Perfect Day is one of the greatest songs ever, this album is a 4.
Santana
3/5
An easy listen, good playing, no standout poor tracks. I didn't completely connect with it, but I don't regret listening and i may revisit. 3 Stars.
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie's final gift to us. So jazzy. Where the fuck did Monday go? 5 Stars.
Sebadoh
1/5
It's like a Guided By Voices album without the charm or great songs. So you're just left with mediocrity. I'm giving this a 1. 90's indie rock trash.
The Kinks
4/5
I quite enjoyed this, will definitely revisit. I think Last Of The Steam Powered Trains was the strongest track here, although i also liked the title track, Animal Farm and the final song. I can hear it's influence of 90s Britpop, which is a strike against it in my eyes, but I thought it is worthy of a listen, an unapologetically british album. 4 Stars.
Rod Stewart
3/5
A solid, but unspectacular folky rock album of it's time. I don't think there was any problem with any of the performances, and I can stomach Rod Stewart's voice, but I wasn't blown away. Only a Hobo was the song I liked the most. 3 Stars.
Pink Floyd
4/5
From Time to Us and Them, it's perhaps the greatest 4 song run on any album ever. The rest of the album I've always been pretty indifferent to. But those 4 songs, wow. The Guitar solo on Time is a strong contender for the GOAT. I'm giving this a 4.
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
Okay, so this was a banger. I admittedly went in with low expectations, having not given many really high reviews to World albums, but this was so varied and fun that it's getting a 4.
Elton John
3/5
I wasn't blown away by this. Tiny Dancer is good, and I enjoyed the title track and Indian Sunset, but not much else here stood out. I'm giving it a 3.
The Slits
3/5
Think this is unique solid post punk. But I appreciate it more for it's influence rather than the quality itself. It wasn't really for me. 3 Stars.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Their best album in my opinion. The first from them that I've listened to where I didn't think that a few of the tracks could be dropped, or felt indifferent to. I like every song here. 5 Stars.