Sounded weirdly raw and tame at the same time. A pleasant surprise though. Looking up their history, they seemed to have influence a lot of good bands that I've listened to and love including B&S.

I was pretty ready to give this a 1 or 2 expecting the album to be super cheesy from start to finish, but some pretty big nostalgia kicked in. Love Bites really got me feeling like Johnny Lawrence reminiscing about the 80s. It was so weird to hear Ronald Reagan clips in "Gods of War" because it sounded so dated but so close to home in the horribleness at the same time.

This sort of reminds me of disco in that, are they serious? When they sing about hell and satan and songs like "Raise the Dead" is it meant to be a bit tongue in cheek? Or does it just seem that way because it's so dated sounding. The last track is the perfect example of this. It's a spoken word track about satan: "At War with Satan." It all sounds very dramatic and when I take a look at a picture of the band I get the sense they probably are serious. Cause they kind of look like ren fair people who would get real into the acting part of it. There is some metal I like and will listen to, but this isn't it. Maybe this is too proto-metal and not quite refined enough in style and substance.

Oh my god... Torture. How did anyone ever listen to this? It sounds like joke music. And it is extremely sad to me that 10X as many people listen to this than Belle and Sebastian.

Are these albums really randomly generated? Because the first track on this album seems like the perfect starting track for a daily album challenge... "Monday, Monday." Always have love "California Dreamin'" and have heard other various Mamas and Papas songs over the years, but this was a first time I sat down and specifically listened to them in one big chunk and my reaction is kind of "meh." The end of the album snuck up on me and all of a sudden Spotify was playing "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. I guess it just because background noise. All of the songs just started to sound the same.

First track feels very lo-fi. Due to my lack of knowledge of this era I always mix up Janis Joplin and Joan Baez. And sometimes Stevie Nicks even though it doesn't make any sense. I felt myself grooving more to this album than the Mamas and the Papas (my previous album). Felt powerful at times... especially as opposed to the Mamas and Papas. Maybe that the difference between rock and pop? Me and Bobby Mcgee was the most familiar track thanks to Rock Band and LPS. Also Mercedes Benz. Other stand-outs: Cry Baby, A Woman Left Lonely, Buried Alive in the Blues (super groovy instrumental)

Stand out tracks: "Four Women" (powerful with great vibe), "Lilac Wine," "If I Should Lose You," and "Either Way I Lose." I haven't listened to a lot of Nina Simone before, but enough that I shouldn't have been surprised by how amazing her voice was. I was still blown away. The instrumentations were so interesting and had a lot more variety than I expected in terms of style. I particularly enjoyed the use of male voices as a sort of bass line in "Either Way I Lose"

Yeah... not my cup of tea. Not much of a gunfighter or in need of a trail song. This seems to be the kind of music that rock and roll rose up as a counterpoint to. The only situation I could see liking this music would be in Frontierland at Disneyland.

Excited to listen to some Queen, but I am entirely unfamiliar with this album. Didn't know a single track on it and it turned out to be a bit to concept-y for me. Weird juxtaposition between the country rock sounding song "The Loser in the End" and "Ogre Battle." "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke......." Really??? And ends with a sort of sea shanty? Feels like Queen trying to figure out who they are.

My first true classic. This is probably in the top 50 albums one should listen to. Even so, I was not familiar with a number of the tracks and it was fun to hear them in the curated order they were intended among those I know very well. "Changes" and "Life on Mars?" are the types of tracks that are played all the time but don't get old. Particularly enjoyed "Fill Your Heart," "Andy Warhol," "Queen Bitch" (found myself bopping to this one), and "The Bewlay Brothers" was a excellent end track. Really felt like a conclusion.

Not a huge Neil Young fan, but I do generally enjoy his songs when I hear them. I found this album surprisingly enjoyable. "Powderfinger" was a stand out for me--couldn't help but bop to it. The lyrics got to be a little much at times. A little too "clever." Is that Neil Young's thing? "Sedan Delivery..." s it meant to be sort of psychedelic?

This is the first album I am intimately familiar with. I didn't love it when it first came out, but have come to appreciate more over time. I really loved his previous album "Midnight Vultures" and practically wore that CD out I listened to it so much. This album was so much of a departure I was disappointed at the time. Perhaps "Sea Change" wasn't just a clever name. In retrospect the whole album feels like an interlude between "Midnight Vultures" and "Guero." "End of the Day" was my favorite track back then and was the one I enjoyed the most during this listen as well.

There are a few Talking Heads songs I will enjoy listening to, but those are mostly from a little bit later in the 80s. And part of the enjoyment comes from the sort of quirkiness that this album lacks. It just feels like they weren't quite there yet with their sound. I didn't hate it but it--it was just kind of "meh." Not surprisingly, the song I dug the most was the one with the most listens on Spotify and also the only single from the album, a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River."

It was almost jarring to get such a current album and also nice to get something that is in a major musical blind spot for me. Awesome production and a really great voice. With the dialogue interludes it reminds me of a modern day version of The Chronic. "Put it Down" was a highlight and the Anderson.paak track "Price Tags."

The instrumental opening of the first song had some promise, but his voice really ruined it for me. Not just the quality of it, but it seemed badly mixed or something. Badly EQ'd. Sounded too present. Just looking him up on wikipedia apparently he was know for this lo-fi sound... recording tape albums on a four track recorder. The songs bled into each other so much I didn't even realize it was over until I checked how much longer I had to endure this album and realized it was already over. The songs were self-indulgent too--way too long and just annoying. "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" may be one of the more annoying songs I've heard recently. This was supposed to go with the Steely Dan "Pretzel Logic" album: Eek. I had to look up what sub-genre Steely Dan was to confirm what kind of rock I really don't like. And the answer is jazz rock. The song "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" was an instrumental that was somehow worse than the title would have you expect. Just looked up that that is a Duke Ellington track... doesn't make it less annoying to have to listen to on this album. "Through With Buzz" was the only song I found myself semi-grooving to.

The first few opening notes had me worried, but this is actually the kind of jazz I like. Reminds me of a CD I bought because it was playing in a record store in SF and I played it all the time: The Bob Brookmeyer Small Band, which I think was essentially the same line up except it had trombone. There was something pleasant about a trio of only piano, drums, and bass, although maybe could have used a horn at times--it got a bit monotonous and faded into the background at times. Still, it wasn't bad.

I can't tell if this kind of music is aware of its silliness or if disco took itself seriously back then. Because music can be repetitive and the lyrics can be strangely basic. "At Last I am Free" might be the most monotonous song I've ever heard. 7 minutes of the same line being sung over and over in slightly different ways. "(Funny) Bone" was also bizarrely monotonous with the same repeating few measures over and over with little variation.

Always get excited for bands I am familiar with and legitimately like, but this is not the album I would choose for Velvet Underground. Which I thought might be a good thing! And the start was strong with the title track, but the 8 plus minute spoken word annoyance that followed put a real damper on the enjoyment. "Lady Godiva's Operation" was a little too out there for my liking as well, but the rest of the tracks (all 3 of them) were more enjoyable in that garage band Velvet Underground style. Well... the last track was 17 minutes long with basically 10 minutes of noise to end it and the line "She's busy sucking on his ding dong."

The moment this popped up as my album I dreaded listening to it. And while I didn't care for the music itself so much, I was fascinated by how good it sounded for a live recording of the time. When I looked up this album evidently a big part of the positive reception the album received when it was released was the audio quality, with people surprised by the simplicity of the microphone setup. Also what was interesting was where it was recorded--Hamburg, the city where the Beatles essentially got their start--because evidently when Lewis's career went south due to his marriage controversy his people thought a comeback was imminent with a particular song only to be usurped on the radio by the recently invading Beatles.

I don't know... this just isn't my cup of tea. Just from a production standpoint I feel like it's all too over produced. And I don't think I can separate what I know about what kind of person Kanye is from his music. Not sure he can be separated though because who he is really comes through in his lyrics. Sexist, megalomaniac. I enjoyed "Runaway" because I once used it in a Bud Light spot and the Bon Iver track was ok.

What did I just listen to? The songs were all long but they seemed even longer than they actually were. Weird homophobic lyrics in "Stagger Lee" were offensive and the song devolved into something real annoying. This must have been Nick Cave's Leonard Cohen era. Between his voice and the style of the songs it might as well be Cohen but way more annoying. Did I mention annoying? Wow, that 14+ minute "O'Malley's Bar" was a slog. The one song that was worth the list was "Where the Wilde Roses Grow" not surprisingly the most popular song on the album based on Spotify listens.

I really vibe with this era of Hip Hop music and this album flew by. I knew a few of the tracks, especially "Oh Shit" which I have on a playlist I play a lot.

For whatever reason I listened to a lot of grunge in the 90s, but I'm not sure I ever owned a Soundgarden album. Was there a Soundgarden/Nirvana rivalry? Because if so, I was definitely on team Nirvana. But I have come to appreciate them over time and really enjoyed listening to this album. I mean, it does have one of the top 5 seminal songs of the 90s on it. And I don't mean "Spoonman."

This sort of reminds me of disco in that, are they serious? When they sing about hell and satan and songs like "Raise the Dead" is it meant to be a bit tongue in cheek? Or does it just seem that way because it's so dated sounding. The last track is the perfect example of this. It's a spoken word track about satan: "At War with Satan." It all sounds very dramatic and when I take a look at a picture of the band I get the sense they probably are serious. Cause they kind of look like ren fair people who would get real into the acting part of it. There is some metal I like and will listen to, but this isn't it. Maybe this is too proto-metal and not quite refined enough in style and substance.

This album just sort of washed over me unnoticed. Seemed like pretty generic 90s music that just didn't stand out in any way. Eventually a song came on and I thought to myself "now we're getting somewhere" but it turned out the album was done and it was a Pulp song that was playing.

I really loved it. Surprisingly so. Reminded me a lot of Animal Collective, so probably ahead of their times. Highlights for me: "Don't Stop," "Elizabeth My Dear" (such a Simon and Garfunkel sounding thing), "Made of Stone" surf rock-y, Pulp Fiction-y, "Shoot You Down" had an awesome vibe, and "I am the Resurrection."

What an unusual album... all instrumentals with the first track "Green Onions" being well known and used to this day in commercials and movies--almost timeless in a way. And the rest of the tracks are reaaaallll dated sounded. It's the keyboard sound that dates it the most. It makes it feel like a joke song. They feel like songs I would use in a spot that something silly is happening in. Like the spots I did a long time about about a guy whose roommate is the Earth and he is being a douche to the Earth.

I've heard this album a million times and I still enjoyed listening to it. Not much more to say than that.

I could see why, as their Spotify bio says, "they only achieved the huge success of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys for a brief period in the mid-1960s." They had a good sound and I enjoyed the album. What the fuck was going on with the end of the song "C.T.A. - 102?" It wasn't too hard to figure out which of the songs was written by Bob Dylan. Not only was it the best one but it was easy to imagine him singing it.

I was beginning wonder if I wasn't going to get any of an artist's most noteworthy albums or if it was all going to be the more obscure ones. Because that was the case with the first few big name artists I got, including Queen, David Bowie, and Beck. But within 4 days I got Van Halen "1984" and this one. I'm sorry to say, but much like back when it came out, there are a few songs on this album that I really love and the rest I could take or leave. The track I dug the most that I wasn't previously familiar wot was "Through the Never."

This album was a lot more theatrical than I expected. Almost like songs from a Sondheim musical. There is a very specific mood for this album... not exactly sure what it would be but I wasn't in it.

It's amazing how some artists just resonate with people and have staying power. Bob Marley has an insane number of monthly listeners on Spotify... 23+ million. I was familiar with a lot of songs on this album, like I think most people would be. But the ones of the ones I wasn't, nothing really grabbed me. It was mostly a "meh" experience. Although to be fair, I was familiar with almost every track. Kind of amazing for an album I have never specifically listened to that almost all of the tracks were universally known tracks. Also... not sure what was up with the fidelity, but some of the tracks felt like karaoke versions. Like "Three Little Birds." The production didn't sound very sophisticated.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was this was worse. Really sounded like a joke album. The singer reminded me of the old man in the bar scene of Back to the Future Part 3/Disney Sheriff of Nottingham guy. It is mind-boggling to me that this band has 2 million more monthly listeners than Belle and Sebastian. When I turned some on Baked Tours Departing Daily the music got a little better, especially when he was walking around Main Street and Frontierland. It even had me bopping to "Black Mountain Rag." Didn't work as well in Galaxy's Edge. Had some strangely sharp turns to being super Jesus-y.

I am really only a fan of 90s Radiohead. And even that I am sort of sick of. This album went by with barely anything that stuck out to me.

Oh my god... Torture. How did anyone ever listen to this? It sounds like joke music. And it is extremely sad to me that 10X as many people listen to this than Belle and Sebastian.

I really knew a lot less about blur's music than I thought. Being mostly familiar with "Song 2" I wasn't expecting the 80s vibes of this album. I had heard the song "Girls & Boys" plenty of times but I would have sworn that was a Depeche Mode song or some band like that. It turned out to be an interesting combination of songs that sounded like that and some that felt like punk. I enjoyed it overall.

I knew a lot more of this album than I expected. And I really enjoyed it. I've never been a huge Wu Tang fan like a lot of people seem to be, but I don't think it's because I didn't like them. Just not that exposed I guess.

Non-disco Bee Gees is weird. Are they trying to be the Beatles (a bunch of songs sound like Ringo songs)? Or The Band? What's up with the song about Edison?

Loved it. Way more than I expected to. It was funny to hear a 40 year old BB King sound so youthful and spry compared to what I was used to, yet still referred to as the "Legendary BB King." The recording quality was exquisite. It sounded better than studio albums of that era somehow.

As I've heard numerous other "early" albums, I was expecting this to be very different from what I consider to be Tom Waits music. Like the early more folk-y Bee Gees album or more prog rock-y early Queen album. If anything it was sweeter and more melodious than later Waits missing some (but not all) of the grittiness. "Jersey Girl" was a surprise. Did not realize Bruce was doing a cover. Tom sounded quite a lot like Bruce too. "Til the Money Runs Out" was a standout for me. Loved the surf rock vibes.

It was fine. A bit more Tori Amos-y than I would have expected.

This is definitely the most unique album I've gotten so far. A one hour, 4 track modern solo piano concert it was not necessarily outside of my wheelhouse, but I did not connect with this music. Felt too "contemporary" in that sort of messy kind of way. It actually kind of hurt my head. Especially Part 3. Or rather part 2B. The 4 tracks were Part 1 and Parts 2a, 2b, and 2c. "2c" was the least offensive. Even pleasant at times. And not surprisingly by far the shorter piece at 6:56 and that includes over 90 seconds of applause at the end. A Duke Ellington song came on after and it was similar, but so much easier to listen to.

I do enjoy Eminem when he shows up on a Dr. Dre track and he is definitely talented, but I'm just not into the whole joking about kidnapping and abusing women or homophobic schtick. And it got more and more disturbing. The song "Kim" is going to give me nightmares.

Wasn't feeling it at first... it felt a little overly produced in the first half of the album, but I found the second have to be more enjoyable.

Is this country? Folk? Both? Whatever genre it is, I don't like it. Every song sounds the same and I don't find any of it very appealing. At one point I thought to myself, how did this get worse? And it turns out Dave Matthews showed up on one of the tracks.

Interesting listen. They were definitely trying something... had a political message similar to many other hip hip of that era, but presented in a very different way. The more disco-y/electronic sound sort of watered down the message in my opinion. Although not nearly the most listened to track on the album (on Spotify) "Renegades of Funk" was the only one I recognized. Elements from "Planet Rock" were stolen by Sal the Stockbroker in his rap.

This music really took me back to a specific time and place. And I have to say that while I would never put this album on by choice, it sounded good. A lot of stuff has sounded very dated, but this didn't somehow. Maybe because it was sort of retro sounding when it came out in the 90s it's given it a bit of a timeless feel.

Ray is remarkably talented, but this era of music just isn't my cup of tea. I did enjoy hearing this rendition of "You Don't Know Me" which made me thing of "Groundhog Day"--one of my all time favorite movies.

I am very familiar with the song "Chameleon" because of Joey. I enjoyed this album as a whole. I like this style of jazz it seems. Loved the keyboard part in "Sly."

While I don't see myself putting this album specifically on very much, it was a great listen and obvious why Beyonce is the queen. Powerful voice, powerful lyrics, and great, catchy beats. She deserves all of the accolades.

I love this album. And as much as I listened to it in high school, I haven't listened to it in a while (except when we saw them play the whole album live last year), so there were actually some pleasant surprises/re-discoveries.

There is clearly a lot of talent involved in the making of this album, from the song writing, lyrics, singing, musicianship, and production. It also has a powerful message. I just didn't fully connect with it. Enjoyed it, but I don't see myself listening to it again. The best comp I could think of was Arrested Development.

Yeah... not my thing. The one MIA song I know "Paper Planes" was not on this album and I didn't recognize any of the songs. It all felt too much. Like my ears were being assaulted. Take that back... I had heard the song "Galang" before because someone wanted to use it on a Honda spot I once cut but it was either a cover or a different mix of the song. Because this version was too aggressive for what the spot was. In doing some research... it does appear it was used on the spot but there were other mixes that we must have used.

What in gods name is this? Reminds me of fake music from a weird SNL skit or a Christopher Guest movie. The end of "Cool in the Pool" in particular. Learning more about him and his influence on electronic movie makes it more impressive, but still feels like a mockumentary.

Sure, Michael Jackson was talented, but knowing everything we know it is really hard to listen to his music.

Funny to get this album the day after I was conflicted about listening to Michael Jackson "Off the Wall." It was nice to be able to enjoy Prince's genius (which, let's face it, blows Michael Jackson out of the water) unencumbered by the baggage of the whole sexual assault of children. This album feels equally very much of its time and way ahead of its time in equal measure.

This was fine to listen to although I don't foresee ever needing to hear it again. Funny how sometimes an artist just hits on a song. "Son of a Preacher Man" is on such another level than the other songs it's easy to see why it has about 650million or more listens than any other song. The other highlight was "The Windmills of your Mind."

Before I started to wonder if the album has held up well. If it still sounded raw and new or out-dated. Within the first 10 seconds I had my answer--pleasantly surprised it still sounded awesome.

Maybe I'd appreciate this album another time but I don't think I was in the right head space for it. I found it to be a slog despite being on the short side (42 minutes).

I was not surprised to see Spacemen 3 listed among Panda Bear's influences because I can hear a lot of Animal Collective in their music. Regardless, I don't think I was in the right head space to fully enjoy this album (i.e. on drugs) as much as I could have.

This was an exciting one to get after a few clunkers and I enjoyed it ever more than I expected. A bit more folk-y than the Simon and Garfunkel albums I prefer, it was a great listen. The song where Paul is clearly doing an homage (or mocking?) Bob Dylan was among the more interesting on the album.

I guess I really enjoyed it because once the Spotify autoplay song came on after the album ended was jarring and disappointing. At only 34 minutes one of the shortest albums I've gotten so far and of course one of my favorites.

Sounded weirdly raw and tame at the same time. A pleasant surprise though. Looking up their history, they seemed to have influence a lot of good bands that I've listened to and love including B&S.

Yeah... well... I'm not much of a jam band kind of person. Especially the kind with a jazzy organ. That 23 minute jam to end the album is 23 minutes I will never get back.

Better than I expected! I thought I might have a similar reaction as I did to the Allman Brothers, but there were some stand out songs for me and "The Weight" was pretty brilliant--might have been the first time I really listened to it carefully. "Lonesome Suzie," "To Kingdom Come," and "I Shall Be Released" were some of the other ones.

She has an incredible voice and it was pleasant enough (albeit a bit repetitive) to listen to the mellow tunes. Glad I heard it but don't see myself ever putting this on again.

This falls into the category of a band that I listened to a lot in the 90s but haven't listened to once since and honestly, can't imagine ever being into it. I know people love Aerosmith, but it just feels so cliche.

I knew nothing about this band going in and was not expecting much only to be pleasantly surprised. Particularly by the instrumental tracks towards the end.

Started off feeling pretty dated... I don't know if I just got used to it or that it got better, but it jumped from a 2 to a 3 for me about half way through. Still sounded dated regardless.

So good! I used a TV on the Radio song on a spot I cut a while ago and really liked the track, but never listened to them after that much. Don't know why. This album was a bit different than that track, but looking at their Spotify bio (which is kind of humorously braggadocious) apparently they are known for constantly evolving their sound. There weren't many clunkers but highlights for me included: "Crying," "Stork & Owl," "Shout Me Out," and "DLZ"

I feel like some albums in the project get the short end of it if they happen to pop up at a time when the mood isn't right. Well this album came at just the right time. A little bit high, enjoying an old fashioned, and at the end of a long weekend in need of some chill. Was really vibing with the last track "Attached."

Enjoyed it more than expected. Sometimes it's easy to understand why someone is considered a genius even if they're not completely your cup of tea. This was one of those times for me. I could really hear the genius in this album.

Sometimes you learn things when you get an album. This time I learned who Robert Wyatt was... not surprised that he is a British artist (the project tends to be heavily weighted toward the Brits)... and read about his interesting life story. A curious album, the title Rock Bottom makes sense when you learn that a year prior to the recording of this album he suffered an accident that left him a paraplegic and unable to play his main instrument of the drums. He took on other instruments and went solo after this and seems to have had a fascinating career.

An interesting blend of 90s indie and 80s pop. Sometimes had a Smiths vibe, sometimes a dash of George Michael, I liked more tracks than I didn't, with the stand outs being "Quiet Heart," "The Devil's Eye," "Streets of Your Town," "Was There Anything I Could Do?," and "I'm Alright."

Like other albums from this era, with this kind of legend, I appreciate the artistry, but it felt very repetitive. I don't see myself ever putting this album specifically on, but it was pleasurable to listen to.

Fast and furious, nearly every song on this album is a banger. It holds up. Period.

I had my brief Beastie Boys era when "Check Your Head" came out in high school, but besides that I've had little stomach for their music. It just comes off as a bunch of shouting of this guy to that guy and back again and honestly it gives me a head ache.

Surprisingly enjoyable. This was completely new to me... don't think I've ever heard of this group and I found myself grooving throughout the listen. And I would have never thought I would enjoy a song about John Gotti.

Ugh. You know you're in for a long one when the homophobic slurs start 1 minute into the first song. "Spaceship" was one of the few songs I liked.

This albums falls into the category of something I would not listen to specifically but thoroughly enjoyed. And also falls into the same category as Neil Young and Bob Dylan and some of the others I've heard in which the genius is very apparent. I loved how the songs felt spontaneous and raw but also rehearsed and slick at the same time. It went by so fast I wish there was more.

It was interesting to listen to because I was pretty much only familiar with the "Humpty Dance" so I imagined the rest of the album would be sort of joke-y. And while there was plenty of humor, it was more balanced.

This CD was practically melted to my CD player when it came out I played it so much, but I haven't listened to it much in a long, long time. And honestly, it doesn't quite hold up. Sounds very dated and so many songs feel are forgettable. Probably could have been a much tighter single disc album rather than a double. The songs that resonated with me most were the mellow ones especially towards the end of disc 2. "Lily," "By Starlight," and "Fairwell and Goodnight," the last 3 songs, were my favorites in addition to "1979."

It was fine until "Blue Condition." That's where it lost me. And I learned that was the one song written and sung by the drummer. It really had that Ringo song feel. But really, this just isn't my kind of music. I don't like music that heavily leans into guitar solos.

I was excited to listen to the album, but it was kind of meh. Amazing how one song can sound so much different than the other ones in terms of production and all around quality and then it not be surprising that that is their most well known hit.

A couple of great songs on this album, but I'm not a big fan of David Bowie's soul era. Much prefer the glam rock side of Bowie.

I appreciated this album but it wasn't my favorite. The blend of jazz and orchestral elements was interesting, but I prefer a more gritty jazz.

It was so promising for the first 30 seconds until the vocals came in. I dug the 60s kind of raw, surf rock inspired style, but the shrill vocals and bizarre lyrics were a turn off. I am happy I listened to it, but was also happy when it was over.

Concept albums are funny to me and that's probably the only thing that drags this one down from a 5 to a 4. Giving it a theme and having that weird Voices of Old People track. Otherwise, enjoyed listening to Simon and Garfunkel at the height of their powers.

I didn't know much about them before listening to this album, but it seems like maybe they don't the credit they deserve? The album was a pleasant surprise--seemed ahead of its time--but based on their low number of listeners on Spotify (only about 175k) they don't appear to have nearly the following some of their contemporaries still do. The first three tracks were my favorite, but there were quality tracks throughout the album.

Understandable why this album is probably considered one of the best rap albums of all time. It had everything: powerful messages, good beats, great sampling, some humor, and Chuck D might have the best voice in hip hop. Awesomely entertaining.

I had never heard of this band before and like a couple of others that were entirely new to me, I was quite pleasantly surprised. The first half I give a 5/5... the songs were unique and interesting and had a good range of styles. The second half fell off a bit for me. In a weird way it seemed like they were taking their music too seriously. But overall, a banger.

Great album when look for music to cut commercials to in the early to mid 2000s. Or maybe good music to write to, but not a great album to listen to from start to finish as a music exercise.

The very definition of a 3 for me. Shocking to see how popular they are on Spotify in terms of listens. Sure, "Sultans of Swing" is a fine song, 1.4 billion listens? Is it that good?

Much like many Spotify artist bios I've encountered, Mudhoney's contained a lot of undeserved bluster. Based on what was written you might be led to believe that Mudhoney was the seminal grunge band of the early 90s. I hate to break it to them... they weren't.

It was fine, but mostly forgettable. Enjoy the mellow last song "Slide Show" the most I think. Did not like the songs that sounded the most like Radiohead. When it ended nothing played next... then I realized 'hidden track!' In the most 90s CD possible way with like 5 minutes of silence on the last track and then another song. I liked it! Not just for the nostalgia reasons, but it was a good song.

I found this whole album very grating. This reminds me of the type of music that much better bands (like Nirvana, for example) point to as inspiration but don't really deserve the props.

I went into this one with majorly preconceived notions. I liked REM a lot in high school and college but have sort of gotten over them. I really thought the album was going to annoy me, especially considering this is a super early album I wasn't even familiar with. Turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Maybe it's time to give REM a chance for a renaissance? Highlights included: "Laughing," "Shaking Through," "We Walk," and "West of the Fields."

Why are the most challenging albums to listen to always double albums? Any patience I had for this prog rock nightmare was lost when I heard the lyric "Erogenous zones I love you."

A rough one. The only word that comes to mind is "cheesy." There have been other albums I haven't liked but could understand why they were included. This is not one of them.

I don't know... maybe I'm not in the right state of mind for this, but it was just fine. Kind of too whiny for my tastes. Of the songs I've heard from this album I've heard them all too many times and the ones I hadn't didn't really grab me. I enjoyed Rust Never Sleeps and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere much more.

Another surprise! Sort of a proto-pop punk sound. I was sad when it ended so fast.

This definitely is the current title holder of most random record I've gotten. It was a fine album for what it is but not sure why you must hear this before you die.

This is one of my all time favorite albums and the uncontrollable glee I felt when it popped up only reaffirmed that. Such catchy tunes that have a sort of timeless indie sound. Knowing the backstory of the album, which was essentially funded by a public Scottish arts fund for out of work musicians, only adds to its genius because of how improbable its existence is. My favorites as always were "The State I Am In" (which amazingly endures as one of their best songs despite being the very first song on their very first album), "Expectations," and "Electronic Renaissance."

Meh. The couple of hits still hold up but the rest of the album is pretty repetitive.

Feels like Todd was trying to change up the genres on this album. Some of it was yacht rock, some straight up adult contemporary/soft rock, and then out of nowhere a doors sounding track or two. And none of them worked for me.

I guess it's karma that after getting one of my all time favorite albums ("Tigermilk" by Belle and Sebastian) I've gotten a series of clunkers. This one falls into the category of "did I REALLY need to listen to that before I die?"

I don't listen to Kendrick often, but whenever I do I'm always blown away. Which probably means I should listen more. This album was an opus, blending all sorts of musical styles with powerful lyrics. Not surprised to learn Rolling Stone named this in the top 20 albums of all time.

There is a new leader for worst album I've gotten in this challenge... and possibly worst album I've ever listened to from start to finish. It was difficult to stop myself from puncturing my own ear drums.

I haven't listened to a lot of latter day Bowie, but this album reminded me a lot of other aging rock stars' post-90s records. You can hear a bit of their signature style with a bunch of experimentation with and end result that is rather bland.

If there is something I learned by being on this musical journey, it's that my appreciation for punk music is broad, but it does have its limits. There is definitely a limit of too poppy for me on one end and too raw on the other. The Sex Pistols are pretty close to the limit on the raw side, but far enough away that I really love this album.

It's funny when music artists have distinct periods like painters, but this era of Paul Simon's music can definitely be defined that way. And I can understand how making this shift is considered when Paul Simon got his song writing mojo back after suffering from writers block for a while. The album is a masterpiece.

Liked it a lot better than expected! I thought this was going to fall into the generic, yet iconic classic rock--I'd appreciate it but sort of feel "meh" about it. But this really hooked me. My main criticism is that at times it got a bit lofty. Particularly on "Little Wing." Highlights were "Bell Bottom Blues" and the "Layla" outro.

I found this album to be surprisingly enthralling. But it may have just been that I got this album on 4/20. That being said, the music seems pretty niche. Makes it all that more amazing what a big hit "Luka" was.

Not a fan of prog rock in general, but find it especially torturous when it gets theatrical and this album went there. It wasn't even that long of an album and I kept checking how much time was left only to learn I was on the 3rd song.

I don't know... reminds me of Will Smith rap albums. Too positive or uplifting which just makes it feel bland.

There were a couple of tolerable songs but for the most part this was a pretty forgettable compilation of pseudo-intellectual crap with "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes" epitomizing that.

It wasn't at all what I expected. I guess pretty much the only Amy Winehouse song I had heard before was "Rehab" so I was surprised by how jazzy the album was. And it was a good surprised... I really enjoyed it. I can now understand why there is so much love for her music.

Meh. Mostly forgettable.

I thought this would be good writing music, being jazz and all, but it was way too chaotic. The whole making the trumpet talk thing towards the end of Track B was particularly jarring. Perhaps I didn't experience this one in the right state of mind, but I found it grating.

This is sort of my wheelhouse adjacent. The instrumentation was cool but the voice was a little too operatic at times for me.

I came into this as a skeptic. I mean, I know it's towards the top of many best album of all time lists, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away in a "how could it possibly live up to the hype" sort of way. And I supposed it didn't live up to the hype but it was a lot better than I expected. I expected it to sound more dated (kind of like the track "Contusion"), but it was quite timeless... -ish. Summer Soft" had me vibing the most. The second part lost a little steam for me and probably took it from a 4 to a 3.

I believe this album has fulfilled my falsetto quota for quite a while.

Seems like this was on the cusp of Brian Eno pioneering the ambient music scene... it was a lot more jazzy than I expected. Even chaotic at times. Maybe it was because of preconceived notions but I didn't care for it.

Had its moments but in the end didn't really distinguish itself from other indie/pop rock albums I've listened to and enjoyed more.

Well this was a delight. A CD that I wore out it high school but haven't listened to much recently aside from the more popular songs. It was fun to experience some of the deeper cuts again for the first time in a long time. "Silverfuck" and "Soma" in particular transported me immediately to the past in a much needed escape.

I wasn't expecting to like this based on the people I know who get excited about Sonic Youth and I was right. The music I enjoyed a lot, but the lyrics and the singing really ruined it for me. They really got me with the first song... their most popular song and all. It's funny how that's the only song I really liked from start to finish--guess that might explain why it's their most popular song.

I had never heard of this before and based on the weird name and weird beginning I thought I was in for a long night that would inevitably end in a 1 or 2, but it hit a groove and was definitely more listenable than I expected.

I've been exposed to a lot of Bruce Springsteen and it's just never hooked me. I can appreciate it for what it is but I don't know if I ever had or would specifically put Bruce on to listen to.

Possibly a top 5 all time 3 song start to an album. Just one banger after another. It plateaued a bit after that with a little bit of filler but really, it would be impossible to expect that level of epic to be maintained throughout the whole record.

One of the most unforgettable albums I've ever listened to. Made absolutely zero impression on me.

Most of this album didn't do much for me, but I did find myself enjoying the songs that skewed more electronic better than the others. "Stars All Seem to Weep" had a nice 90s groove but songs like "Devil Song" dragged the album down for me.

It was nice to be presented with something truly new. Not just a band I haven't heard of, but I'm not sure if I've ever listened to any music that originated in Mali before. So I appreciated it from that standpoint--the opportunity to be exposed something entirely unexpected. The downside was the music itself really didn't grip me. The strong blues influences were obvious and unfortunately that kind of music just isn't my jam.

Really dug this album. Leonard Cohen is one of those artists that I enjoy but want to get more into and was thrilled that this album popped up. It was only 35 minutes long but still it flew by and I was sad when it was over. It was especially disappointing after the last track "Tonight Will Be Fine" because it was a delightful song.

I remember the song "Wishing Well" from this album from whenever it came out and even as a kid thought it was cheesy. And time did not de-cheese it. Had a hard time finding anything about this record that warranted its inclusion on this list.

I had a feeling I was going to get a great album today and I could not have been more wrong. Prog rock is just a no go for me. This album epitomizes my confusion with prog rock... is it serious? Is it sort of a put on like professional wrestling or are the members of Rush the biggest nerds on earth? Mercifully this album was only 36 minutes long, which was surprising to me because prog rock bands tend to be enormously self indulgent in my experience.

I'm not good at naming sub genres of music so I had to look up what this album is considered. In doing so I learned that this is considered to be indie folk/soft rock and now I know what one of my least favorite sub-genres of music is. I imagine this is a divisive album. I can see someone thinking the lyrics are deep and meaningful but I found them to be pretentiously simplistic--a giant swing and a miss in an attempt to capture Leonard Cohen's magic of making lyrics seem spontaneous yet extremely profound at the same time. Lowlights were "Sigourney Weaver," "JC Hates F*****ts," and "Leopard and Lamb."

This is an era of music that I just can't connect with unless I'm in a very specific situation and unfortunately when listening to it I was not at a live sporting event.

And continuing my current trend of 1 and 2 star albums, I get my 3rd Kanye album before getting any Beatles albums. The constant barrage of delusions of grandeur and self adulation was insufferable even before he became a Nazi. Mercifully, it was relatively short.

This album (and the Who in general) are a major blind spot for me. They've sort of gotten grouped (maybe incorrectly) with the Rolling Stones in my mind and I just don't care for the Stones. So I was happy to get this album to be "forced" to listen to it. And it was more enjoyable than I would have expected. Don't see myself listening to it again any time soon, but it was a pleasant experience.

I was pretty ready to give this a 1 or 2 expecting the album to be super cheesy from start to finish, but some pretty big nostalgia kicked in. Love Bites really got me feeling like Johnny Lawrence reminiscing about the 80s. It was so weird to hear Ronald Reagan clips in "Gods of War" because it sounded so dated but so close to home in the horribleness at the same time.

This falls into the category of "not the vibe of music I was expecting and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be." I evens out to be solid 3.

Delightful. For me, nothing beats the combination of raw sounding music that is also whimsical and airy and this album is maybe the epitome of that.

I was not expecting to get so emotional listening to this album. The combination of nostalgia and the lyrics really got to me. It was as if George Michael was writing about today. In "Praying for Time" when he says "And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate, hanging on to hope, when there is no hope to speak of" might as have been written today. The album is pure perfection and I would have listened to it twice if I didn't think it would totally depress me.

I was a big fan of Beck in high school and college. After Midnight Vultures getting worn out in my CD player, I was highly anticipating this album. And the feeling I had listening to it this time was the exact same as the first time I heard it. The first 3 tracks had promise and then it fell off a cliff. A bit of a disappointment all around.

Half of this album was somehow more sophisticated than I expected. And the other half was just as, if not more, cheesy as I expected. Putting it square in the “meh” category.

I've noticed that there are some bands that are known for specific songs that you hear over and over again and you think that is just what that band sounds like. That was what I was expecting here and sort of dreading because I'm just not into that Doors vibe. But it turned out, some of the lesser known tracks on the album were quite a different feel and I like them. In the end an average experience.

This was a very forgettable album. Very "meh" and left little impression on me other than wondering what other more interesting album might have been left off to make room for this one.

I really didn't feel this one... especially once it got into maybe homophobic lyrics? It was the definition of what I consider a 2 star, I wouldn't necessarily get up to turn it off, but I would ask.

I'm not that familiar with specific Bjork songs, but this album was exactly what I expected.

I don't know if his music has gotten more sophisticated or what, but this album was pretty cheesy and dated and I was happy when it was over. Another baffling choice for this list.

Wow. It's amazing how some albums (not even ones that old) can sound so dated and yet something that was made over 50 years ago sounds like it was made yesterday. The music had a magical mix of pleasant and haunting. Very much in the same vein as Elliott Smith--not surprising I suppose considering their tragic stories.

Love this album. Solid from start to finish.

I have fondness for 90s Radiohead, but this is where they sort of lost me.

How I reacted when I heard the lyric "There goes god... in his sexy pants and his sausage dog" perfectly encapsulates my reaction to this album. "Huh?"

I'm not as familiar with the first couple of Pixies albums so it was delightful to experience this. I loved every second of it and hope this indicates that more of their stuff will be on this list.

I've been waiting for the day I could write something positive about a prog rock album... and today is not that day.

Listening to this album made me extremely nostalgic… and kind of sad. It was so good and it reminded me of when it first came out and I basically wore the CD down. And how great Coldplay were when I saw them live at the Hollywood Bowl. The rawness and indie vibes of this particular album really hold up after 25 years. What made me sad was how their later music, so much more slick and poppy sort of turned me off to the band. After listening to it again though I may have to put it back into the rotation.

It was remarkable how much this album sounded like a collection of Ringo songs. Between his voice, the style of music, the lyrics (there was even a song called "Octopus") I was getting real strong Ringo vibes. Unfortunately I think Ringo songs work best when they are 1 to an album... not all 13.

I was not familiar with this particular Elvis Costello album and after listening to it I was surprised to find out it was from the mid 80s. It was raw and original and really felt like something more from the earlier parts of his career. Lots of highlights for me especially "Home is Where You Hang Your Head," "I Want You, " and "Battered Old Bird."

Ok, Bob. I get it. You're a genius. Do you need to rub it in our faces? This album is so solid and emotional and rich and complex. My partner told me it was written after his divorce and you can really feel it. Especially in tracks like "Idiot Wind" which was already brutal before knowing the divorce context. Yikes. Favorite tracks... "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" and "You're Gonna make me Lonesome When You Go" but I really loved it all from start to finish.

Not what I was expecting... is that category that this album fell into. Similar to other artists that are known for a few major hits that have a very distinct vibe, I was expending this album to sound ultra-80s. But it was more nuanced and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Surprised, but not surprised by how theatrical this album was considering Neil Hannon works a lot composing for TV and film, including writing the songs for Wonka. Funny to see he was a performer in Stuart Murdoch's "God Save the Girl" movie because Stuart mentioned him when we met as a person his wife wants him to be more like--because he's getting paid to write songs for movies. That all being said, I can appreciate why this album is on the list, but just wasn't my cup of tea.

There was a lot of meandering on this album. Didn't feel it.

So I had never heard of The Thrills before so I immediately figured they were from the UK or thereabouts based on the skew of this project. Then I doubted myself because the music was so reminiscent of the 60s/70s Laurel Canyon vibe. Then I noticed the lead singer's accent and realized both things were true. It was an Irish band that was sort of doing an homage to that era of music. Aaaannddd... I think I'd rather just listen to that music.

There was a lot of meandering on this album. Didn't feel it.

This is a Beach Boys album I was not familiar with and it wasn’t my favorite. Such a weird collections of songs about the environment that reminded me of songs from an after school special or something. I could picture the rudimentary animation that would go with it. Had to listen to pet sounds immediately after as a palette cleanser.

Great music to code to. Love this vibe/instrument combination.

Not as bad as I expected. When I saw husband and wife fold duo from the 70s I feared the worst. But it wasn't the worst. Maybe the UK slant made it a bit more palatable. The Bob Dylan influence was strong.

Meh. Didn't really grab me and then lost me totally when Kanye showed up.

Like a lot of bands who maybe veered into the cheesy territory later on in their careers (REM, U2, Aerosmith) I was not expecting to enjoy this album as much as I did. The same thing happened with REM when I listened to their first album. There must be something about the rawness of their beginnings that comes through and speaks to me.

I'm sure this album is important in the evolution of rock music, but I found it to be a bit of a slog and not as good as I was hoping.

Well talk about a mood swing. When this artwork popped up for me I thought for a split second that I finally got my first Beatles album. Sadly, I was wrong. I guess I'm happy in a way that I've heard this record (and never will again), but it really was a slog. I know Frank Zappa and Howard Stern had mutual respect for one another, but I never know how much Howard had to have been influenced by this album. It seemed more like a comedy album than a music one. And unfortunately it wasn't all that funny.

This was another head scratcher and an album I'll be remembering when I get to the end of this project and certain excluded albums come to mind.

As much as I have listened to the opening track aptly titled "Intro" and think it is a great song to write or code to, I didn't know much about this band, but I had high hopes. Sadly, the album did not live up to the expectations at all. The music was so stripped down I thought my audio balance was off and I was missing a channel.

I suppose this is an album worth listening to once. And now it is done.

This is right at the moment when I lost interest in Radiohead. Like, literally the first track is so good and then it all changes and I've never been quite into any of their albums after this after wearing out my CD player with OK Computer, Pablo Honey, etc.

It's amazing how some bands can have music that is such of a specific era yet their music has a timeless quality... like Nirvana's Nevermind, a bunch of Beatles albums, the Postal Service, etc. And then some bands can have music that essentially sounds the same as these timeless albums but they come off as so dated. This album is one of the latter.

Loved it! So solid from top to bottom.

I’ve heard of this but never listened before. And it’s a no from me dog.

This mix of punk/new wave and country was... interesting. Not surprisingly I was more drawn to the songs that leaned more into the punk than the country, but in the end it was a mish mash that just didn't work for me.

Brilliant from start to finish and over way too quickly--perhaps a fitting analogy for the man himself.

I love being surprised by this list and this was one of those times... Not quite as mind blowing as my experience hearing the Stone Roses for the first time, but pretty close.

Two early/mid 90s surprises in a row!

Pure brilliance. Constant groove. Didn't want it to end. Not surprising that practically every track was sampled as the basis of some classic 90s hip hop song or another.

I love a good surprise. And Mott the Hoople was one of them. I had no knowledge of this bad and enjoyed their Bowie-esque style. And interestingly I learned that they were championed by Bowie and even recorded the first version of "All the Young Dudes." Not sure I'd search this out again, but I'm glad I've heard it.

My first reaction was disappointment and dread and that was proven to be the right expectation. Obviously I've heard the typical James Taylor songs but never really delved into his catalog. When a "cover" of Oh Susannah came on I thought it was a joke or it was going to someplace else, but no, it was just James Taylor singing about a banjo on his knee. Excruciating.