Huh, they have multiple albums. Who knew? (apparently lots of people) First 30 seconds: ooh some interesting vocals. This could be a more interesting approach to post-punk(?). Yeah this album is fun and fresh. Love so many of these songs: California waiting and Joe's Head are a blast. Like the Modern Lovers with less grating of sensibilities. This is a great artist discovery; how did I never listen to these guys?!? Huge.

Oh man, I love this album. An easy 5 stars. My only nitpick is that it's long and the tail end doesn't quite have the highs of the start. London Calling, Clampdown, Guns of Brixton. Joe Strummer's sort of dazed vocals just kill this entire album long. And it rocks.

Great album. Kashmir and in my time of dying both killer songs. Some of the lesser songs drag a bit along the way.

This was really good. Not really a big Willie Nelson guy typically (but maybe I should be?). Just very pleasant, mellow jams. On the other hand, this album doesn't have a ton of tonal contrast, but it was pleasant as I did my work. Highlights: Blue Skies Georgia on my Mind--Is this an original take? I don't think so, but its a great standard performed well Don't Get around much anymore and someone to watch over me is a very strong finish for the album

Uhh, this is fine? Kinda unremarkable 80s pop vibes. I’m guessing it was added to the list because it started the 80s sound or something historic. Nothing wrong with this album, but I find it pretty forgettable. Though I guess I always like albums less on a first listen.

-1 for sounding like off-brand Pixies, but without their distinctive weirdness and humor--like what if you sucked their soul out and replaced it with horny teenager energy. Not very original. I guess heart-shaped box is pretty good, but if it's the hit meant to redeem this album, it's woefully insufficient (All Apologies is also good, but better when covered by others). But in "rape me" (a dubious song to begin with) they quote the "smells like teen spirit" riff--which they already stole from Pixies U-Mass! Makes me wonder if Nirvana really just put everything they had into Nevermind, with no ideas left for the rest of the work

Huh, they have multiple albums. Who knew? (apparently lots of people) First 30 seconds: ooh some interesting vocals. This could be a more interesting approach to post-punk(?). Yeah this album is fun and fresh. Love so many of these songs: California waiting and Joe's Head are a blast. Like the Modern Lovers with less grating of sensibilities. This is a great artist discovery; how did I never listen to these guys?!? Huge.

I've encountered War before, but a different super-funky album. This is a mellower offering from them. City, Country, City is is extremely pleasant. The melding of funk, jazz and the twang of harmonica is great. Still, feels like something is missing here. But I don't know what, and my revealed preference (listening to this album 3 times this weekend) suggests I'm a fan.

Discovering that I actually loved Bruce Springsteen in 2019 after years of making fun of him was an early lesson in backing off of my pretension. Compared to later albums, this is a very tight album, and more thematically consistent (though Nebraska has it beat there). But when they let it all out in Jungleland it's cathartic. It's a great album, and a sign of the wonders to come.

I like the darker vibes of the album (I'm the one of us who likes Depeche Mode), but I'm not really getting thing out of the lyrics, and the sounds are dissonant without my really getting much out of it. Compared to, say, sisters of mercy or Siouxsie and the Banshees, which are goth, but feel like there is intentionality behind it. It feels like the post punk era people know they have a new genre on their hands, but haven't quite figured out what to do with the sound. That said, I could see myself coming around on this if I listen more. But that seems unlikely.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Sounds good. I don't have an ear for jazz at all (also I had to listen on youtube, so it was interrupted by ads, because one song isnt available on spotify). But this felt like it had a meandering tone that didn't really go anywhere (somewhat true of all jazz), which didn't help. And Jazz without words is harder for me to get into. But anyway as far as Jazz goes, I find I like Esperanza Spalding and Dave Brubeck more than this for reasons I can't describe. This was fine though. I liked The Wedding and the second half better. 3 stars.

This was real fun. Pretty straightforward (to my modern ears; I guess they were revolutionary in their time probably) indie rock. Almost a power pop sound.

Great album. At times a little schmalzier than my standard fare, but Stevie keeps it a little more grounded. And the integration of gospel into this funkier stuff is good. You Haven't Done Nothin' for some reason doesn't bother me with its very Superstition-y riff like other cases of very similar sounds. Probably because he's doing something different with it instead of hopelessly trying to recapture past glory (ahem, Nirvana). Initial listen was maybe 3, Second listen pulled it up. Plausible that this is a five star album once I know it, but pretty likely I never get more familiar with it.

An all-time great A-Side. Big enough to admit that high school me didn't listen to the full length album enough to be as sure about the second half. The quiet start rising into the full dynamic contrast in the first 2 minutes: ooh you know it's gonna be good! And the start to Neigborhood #3--oh man. Update: 2nd half is very good. Not quite as good as the first, but this is good stuff, folks. Oh am I a pretentious hipster for loving this? Don't care this is exactly as good as its reputation suggests.

As an irritating partisan of George Harrison in all thing Beatles internecine fighting, I was prepared to hate this. And... it's okay? He's kinda doing a Bob Dylan impression in the first half, but without the cleverness and nuance. But the vocals are okay (note that Yoko does not sing on this album). And then it's like a store-brand Beatles for the second half. Now, the Beatles are one of the great bands of all time, so store brand is still passable, but it's just like if you took the best Beatles stuff and replace it with somewhat bland platitudes. "god is concept by which we measure our pain" o.k. pal. "I just believe in me, Yoko, and me, and that's reality" wow this is ground breaking. Still, musically defensible.

In general this album is very soft. My primary complaint is that van Morrison doesn't have quite as much edge to him--a little too smooth. Some Ray Lamontagne vibes on this album, which is a good thing. This album's hits--Into the Mystic and Moondance--are a lot of fun. And the rest are pretty passable pleasant folk/soft rock. Rounding a 3.5 down just because that feels right.

I really liked this. The combination of minimalist synth and bluesier stuff was a lot of fun. And it feels different that pretty much anything I've heard. Kraftwerk+Arcade Fire or something? Anyway, I doubt this is everyone's cup of tea, but this was great for me. I've never heard of this band and their significance is completely lost on me, but I'm glad to have been introduced.

Wow. Supertramp is one of those bands that has always been on the periphery of my interests but I’ve never given them a real shake. A ton of really cool sounds and pieces. I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the whole, but the musical ideas with which they play are all very interesting. Adding the musical complexity of prog with the more relaxed tone of something poppier? Excited to see more of them on later albums!

This album is nice. Gimme Shelter is obviously a perfect song. You got the silver is underrated and midnight ramble is very solid. I'm at like a 4.5 on this. Imma take the over.

Fairly unremarkable 60s era britpop. Looking this up, I guess it's "one of the first rock operas," which is neat. But the thing about rock operas is that I don't get them until listen several times, and it's unclear why I would do that here. Plenty of good riffs (balloon burning is fun musically) and some really nice transitions between songs (really cohesive album!), but the competition in this genre is intense, and this doesn't rise above.

I didn't know we were doing live albums here! I'm a fan of Ain't That Good News, but don't know any of his other stuff. This was nice. I've never been a huge soul person, just because I feel like it is too soft and smooth and I'm a little taken aback by such straightforward earnestness. But if you want smooth soulful earnest love songs, Sam Cooke does it about as well as anyone.

So, Take Me Out is an all-time banger. Would probably make a list of best tracks of the 00s, though I'd have to think about it. I was happy to see the album listed for today: "Oh I love that song, but have never listened to the album. Wonder how the rest is" And, uh, Jacqueline is good too. Darts of pleasure has a memorable last 20 seconds. But the rest of this album leaves much to be desired. And as I understand, we're rating albums not the best song on each album. And I doubt I'd ever listen to the album again.

Oooh early metal! As someone who likes metal but never really understood it's classic era, I'm always excited to learn more about this stuff. But this one is more a historical curiosity the anything that gets me really going. Several of these songs have stuff going for them, but they never come together quite right. The end effect is that I was a bit bored. 2.5 stars rounded up because of historical import.

I only knew Under my Thumb and Paint it Black beforehand, and everything else is fine, but unlike Let it Bleed, I think the non-hits are more filler here. 3.5 Stars, rounding down. A lotta misogyny on this album (even though Under My Thumb is a great tune), so, not sure what to do with that...

I initially thought this 1001 albums thing would be mostly albums I knew, because I'm reasonably into classic rock and interested in a wide range of genres, but when you do the math, it's 143 albums per decade (merging all pre-60s music as one decade, since the 50s were a little light and the 20s/30s/40s/ were pretty much just Jazz and Blues). That's a lot so I guess I should stop being surprised to see artists and albums I've never heard of. Anyway, here's another. I really enjoyed this. I listened to it on background (twice) so I'm not able to give specifics as to what I liked. Good solid well-built indie rock. Cohesive album that has tonal variation and yet sticks to a theme. Anyway this is great, but I wouldn't say anything in particular stands out such that it would be a 5.

I did not expect Slipknot on this list. Unclean vocals are good but in metal I generally prefer a mix of clean and unclean vocals, and I think they take a while to get to any clean vocals. Okay sulfur rocks. By vendetta, though, I'm just a little bored. Maybe its just my power metal fan coming out, but I thought the album could do with more range. Like, transgressive for the sake of transgressive only gets you so far. I love good metal, but they're just a little corny. And I typically like corny in metal. I'm a power metal fan who likes songs about Blade Runner. But something about this doesn't do it for me. It's much harder for me to articulate what I like in metal and what I don't like but this isn't it. Pass some Judas Priest or Sabbath, please.

Uh, Guilty Conscience is... a lot. I know that Eminem is famous for his transgressive style but, gee I dunno. This album ain't it. I like many of his singles, but I don't know why this album was chosen, nor do I like it very much. And the domestic violence on '97 bonnie and clyde. I know murder ballads are a thing, but it's too much for me. 2 stars because it's musically impressive at times, but it's just too much.

I really liked this! I usually gravitate towards music I "get" which this isn't quite. But this is excellent long Sunday afternoon vibes. 4.5 stars; I guess I'll round up because it's very different from other stuff which is a plus.

Soft sad boy music. I'm supposed to know Elliott Smith because he's a progenitor of everything I love in music. But I'd never at listened to him until now. This is very good. Ballad of Big Nothing is great. My own tastes usually prefer a grittier voice, but this is really solid stuff. Damn this whole thing is great. might pull me into softboi indie jams again

This isn't super "my genre", but Can't hold us down is pretty good. We'll see how this goes. Feel like its important to acknowledge that her vocal range and general vocal talent are off the charts, but I don't really think what she's doing with them is that interesting. The beats feel uninspired, the lyrics vapid, but at least she has pipes.

The first track is very centrally used in Russian Doll, which is a time loop show, so you hear it about a million times, so that was slightly jarring. Anyway this album is fun and light. Some great thematic contrast: Down was a lot of fun and very different from the rest of the album. Coconut was totally frivolous in a good way. I initial said three stars, but on a second listen I've convinced myself up to a 4.

Old rap is always a really cool vibe. Stripped down a little relative to the baroque stuff we get today (which is also nice). I would almost say it has jazzy vibes. Can I kick is a lot of fun. I am terrible at writing about music, but this laid bck vibe is really pleasant. Why does no one do anything like this now (or do they)? I can't really put my finger on what here is different: the beat is a simpler track, it's less produced? Something like that. It feels more down-to-earth. But long-story short this old-school album is great and I enjoyed it a lot. Did think it was a little too long. 3.5 rounding up.

I was initially excited about Black Keys, maybe the most straight white millennial man band of all time (in this respect I am typical for my demographic). And they're very good. but this album does less for me than El Camino and it's, again, badly in need of an editor to tell them to shorten it up. Especially because these songs want for variety in the first half. That said, this a pretty great garage rock. Tighten up? Banger. Too Afraid to Love You? Banger. Ten Cent Pistol? Banger.

I'm not gonna justify 5 stars because I think it's pretty self-evident--this is one of the greatest albums of all time. But Alex told me I should still write some thoughts. One thing that occurs to me is that this album works on so many levels. King Kunta is a fun top 40-friendly song, but it has enormous depth for those who want to plumb it. The interludes, backed up by jazzy something or other (I think Kamasi Washington), are clever and add a lot. On a lesser (but still great), the more philosophical stuff would be more separated from the broader experience. This is the perfect album to illustrate how far hip hop has come from Tribe Called Quest. Both great albums, but the minimalism of ATCQ stands in contrast to the over the top production of this album. Thundercat on bass, Kamasi Washington on brass. Every piece of this album is clever, thought through, and perfect. And the central poem as a organizing device for the whole album is inspired. I won't pretend to understand the full work. But this is what music, at its finest, is capable of, and it communicates something for which words on their own are insufficient.

I confess to not having listened that closely, but I don't feel like relistening, though I liked this. This is an interesting album--I don't think I know anything about intrumental (if that's the right word) hiphop. Cool beats, interesting compositions. This was definitely too long. No further analysis. My gut says 3 stars, but it's definitely a high 3.

I like the vocals here a lot. The instrumentation is very simple, but as yet, I'm unsure if that's good or bad. This is mellower than my standard stuff but it's put together well. I feel a little bad because I think he has a reputation as a lyricist, but I'm too busy to listen carefully to the words. Anyway, I liked this. Good relaxed folk. 3.5 rounding down, just because that feels right.

I, uh... huh. Lyrics are very superficial--unless someone else can point me to something interesting they're saying. Worse than that, they're trying way too hard. Beats are boring. To the extent this is rock rather than rap, the guitar riffs display real signs of talent, but nothing really special. It wants to do funk but others have done this so much better. 1.5 rounded up--this wasn't offensive to my ears.

Because of it's meme status, I think Free Bird is often underrated as a song. Simple man is country-southern ethics in a less offensive presentation than it often has. In general, I think the album tracks are quite good. I'm certainly not a big Lynyrd Skynyrd person, but if you're gonna make the case for them, this is the album to use (Sweet Home is trash).

Oh damn! I know their other albums a little, but I was ready for how nice this solid, blues rock would be. Think I like this more than the others of theirs I've heard. That said, the first two tracks set a standard the rest of the album did not live up to. It just mellows out a lot more than I'd like. Energy in the middle is a little lighter than ideal.

Didn't do much for me. Mostly didn't find it memorable. I could listen again and see if that changes things, but it's pretty meh 90s post-punk, I'd say. First song is good. 2.5 rounding up.

"Oh, fuck! Giuliani! He’s such! A fucking jerk" is a take that ages extremely well. Deceptacon is awesome. A good reminder that as much as I like the clash, I'm not a real punk. I know the amateurish approach lo-fi recording is a conscious stylistic choice, as well the kinda grating vocals, but they're not for me. Editing on my second listen: think this is true for Hot Topic and Cassavetes, but the rest of the album is not this way (But the "shout single words non melodically" technique on cassavetes very rarely works for me--not on Dude yr. so crazy!!! either). Guitar is pretty cool here though. The The Empty rocks pretty hard. Liked Phanta So okay, I liked this more on a second listen. Not sure it really would ever make my regular listening though. I really want to like riot grrrl. Maybe someday.

Well put-together album with good use of interludes. Feel like I'd have to listen a bunch more to really *get it*, but in principle, I like this a lot. A little mellower than my standard stuff, but maybe has a place in my listening. 3.5, rounded up.

So, first: the title track is one of the high points of rock history. Otherwise, this album is long but none of the songs are bad. I wouldn't say it drags, but I don't know that it's well served by it's length. The rest of the album is good to great blues rock, but the songs don't really stick so well. But Clapton is among the best guitarists so everything kinda works out. 4 stars.

Feels like the Beatles discovered some great new sounds but haven’t figured out what to do with them yet. Some all timers like Eleanor Rigby but uneven

Really like this album. Not sure why it never made the jump from "I really like thirteen and ballad of el goodo" to "album I regularly put on in full". It takes some classic rocks songs, but imbues them with almost childlike wonder that that the BritRock bands and the sarcastic/cynical/stoned other acts.

As I long-time reggae hater, it pains me to admit that this is really great. Don't know that it's gonna redeem the genre for me, but the one love/people get ready mashup was awesome, Natural Mystic was good. Just had a great time with this.

Dang. I've put out like 5 4-stars in the last week (only broken up by yesterday's 5-star). I guess I'm a kindly reviewer. And I'm not stopping now :( Loving the use of instrumentation on this. The horns are really fun, the beats are inventive and fresh. This album is a little long, but I don't really feel like it drags.

Oh man, the hits keep coming. Paranoid is an all-timer, War Pigs is great. All metal is at least a little corny, but this is so damn good.

Nice, laid back chill 60s vibes. Beatles before the Beatles got super innovative. And a little less talented. Easy to imagine this playing in the background of a chill spring day, but there's nothing here to elevate it above the mass of 1960s music. Hung up on a dream is aight

There's a lot to like here, but I don't know that it comes together as well as I'd like. I don't give bonus points for being from Ohio, but it is neat that we've got these folks. 3.5 stars, rounding down because I'm self-conscious of how many 4s and 5s I've given

I want to love this because I love their self-titled and many of the tracks, but it’s just a very uneven album. The weight and I shall be released are excellent pieces of the Americana tradition, but this album spends a lot of time with somewhat uninspired takes on classic tunes. Highs are there, but lows are very mid. 3.5 rounded down

In general, was pleasantly surprised by this entry. It rocks, pretty well. That said it starts slow, and never rises above pretty good. A little too much punky shouting , some of it kinda repetitive. My following of the lyrics was not super astute, but I’m gonna say 3 stars

Johnny cash’s preoccupation with death and execution has always been fascinating to me. He grew up in 1930s backwoods Tennessee, by all accounts a pretty grim world. Think he just really hails from a different world. Anyway, this is the best case scenario for a voice aging. Many of these songs (hurt, in my life) take on a wholly different meaning from an old man staring down his death. I can’t endorse all of the song choices (desperado and Danny boy are both a little tired), so I think 4 stars is about right.

No, I can explain what the difference is between good-corny (Paranoid by Black Sabbath) and bad-corny (Guns 'n' Roses). But this is bad. I thought maybe the classics would redeem it, but welcome to the jungle is just kinda gross (only Sweet Child is any good). 1.5 stars, thanks only to the strength of sweet child. But Imma round down because I did not enjoy this experience.

80s (and earlier) bands were horny in a way that I frankly don't really get. Like half of these songs are this way. Anyway this wasn't very good. On occasion I might listen to Jump but honestly not really. Everything else is corny guitar that, while probably technically impressive, doesn't really move me.

Someone will inevitably bully me for giving every Bob Dylan album 5 stars, but it will probably happen and I have come to terms with it. This is a perfect album that jumps effortlessly between serious personal introspection, bravado, and absurdist comedy. Subterranean Homesick Blues: The speed of lyrics here. This is the album where Bob Dylan went electric, and I'd say pre-Dylan folk was pretty much out of ideas. Maggie's Farm: What a way to say you're better than the music scene which birthed you. Love Minus Zero: Up there among the most underrated songs he wrote. It has this perfect way of contrasting attributes that aren't in opposition--"Some speak of the future/My love she speaks softly" Bob Dylan's 115th dream: "He said his name was Columbus, and I just said good luck" also "he gave me his card/said call me if they die" Mr. Tambourine Man: The most famous song from the album, does less for me than for many, but emblematic of the enormous range of this album It's Alright Ma: Nothing to add, just a perfect song. It's All Over Now Baby Blue: Bob Dylan can get into really heady philosophical stuff, but he's so good at writing simple songs about breaking relationships too. A neat thing about great music is it says so much more than can be unpacked in twice as many words.

I always say that it's too bad white listeners mostly know Marvin Gaye for Sexual Healing and Let's Get It On, giving the impression he's mostly about shallow sex jams. This album is mellower than my vibe has been of late, but it has a great backing music, really nice fusion of jazz and soul, and neat introspection about love and the disintegration of his marriage.

All really great arrangements of great songs, with a great voice to anchor them. I wouldn't exactly say anything *innovative* is happening here, but it's all good and very well done.

Before listening: When I first got into Parliament/Funkadelic, I tried to listen while studying. It was my first encounter with music that was too dancey to work to. Ever since then I've loved the *idea* of P-Funk, but my actual listening is rare. Also I'm sour I had to play this on youtube (especially because for a few minutes I hit play on my computer which didn't recognize youtube and played Otis Redding on top of it--me: "I don't remember them being so dissonant"). Anyway, I worry that my (and this group's) having listened to this while working will impact our ability to fully appreciate it. It's not work music Okay, now I'm listening: Less bombastically funky than other of their stuff, more mellow more a fusion of rock and funk, with some great extended riffs that are just jamming. Really cool mixing in of crazy rock-style guitar solos. A little too much aimless jamming for 5 stars, but a worthy entry nonetheless.

Love the backing track on the intro. This is kanye on production. I'm never really sure what to attribute to production v. the musician (i.e. how much of uptown funk is Ronson, how much is Mars?), but I guess you can see Kanye's fingerprints here, though common is a lot more restrained. I'm liking the duet on the second song. This is a nice middle between the maximalism of Kendrick and 2010s hiphop and the carefree laidback sounds of ATCQ. I thought Faithful was lyrically pretty engaging: the "what if god was a woman?" approach has been done many times, but I think Common does something neat with it. There's nothing transcendent about this album that would get it to 5, but this is a well put-together album that reminds me how good Kanye was at producing, among many other things. Common sounds pretty good (which is funny; I think of him a parent-approved rap vibes)

Some pretty great punk here. Also a lot of alcoholism. As a political program, this feels less like strident punk and more like primal shouting. As primal shouting though, it's pretty solid. Guitar is solid ,rocks pretty hard. You can't the lyrics that well, but you get enough, and they're often semi-coherent shouting anyway (complimentary). Runs out of steam on the back half a little. And TV party stinks. And the counterculture of the late 70s/early 80s was cooking. The way the pop art and angry-bitter art of this era separate is something to think on further

I gotta say: youtube with ads, really damages the music listening experience. Initially was worried this would be too soft-key for my vibes, but the instrumentation builds really nicely across the album. Minor place builds really nice. By the end of the track we're ready to roll. And we do! Title track kills it. Lots of other good stuff. Grim & pensive for the win. 4.5 rounding up Note: To anyone who endorsed Johnny Cash covering lots of songs. His "I See a Darkness" is absolutely worth looking up. American IV was in this program, but III, V, and VI are all great (people like Unchained, which is II, and American Recordings, which is I, as well).

Can't hear the Eagles without thinking of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlmvtAHhnc Anyway, the title track suffers from its success, but unlike Paranoid or other heavily-played tracks, it's harder for me to see its virtues. Dunno why. Still okay, but it wasn't starting from high bar. Don't think I've heard the rest of this album. Don't think I like it much. I'm not opposed to dramatic schmalzy stuff but this really doesn't do it for me much. This is just very boring. They take the most boring of country and fuse in some of the most uninspired rock. 1.5 stars, rounding to 2. This was bad in a nothing way, rather than the offensively awful GNR. But this and Van Halen have similarities in quality.

Herbie Hancock is a name I of course know, but I'm not sure I could have identified anything else about him before todays listen. Really good funk vibes. That's always a win in my book. That said, 5 minutes into the first track, I am slightly concerned it's going to run out of musical runway. This is a great riff, but do I want it for 15 minutes? After the rest of the album, yeah it's fine. Maybe if I was a jazz head it'd be really exciting. But I guess I don't really get it. We had a funky one, then got progressively less funky and more jazzy, but I can't say I understand. 3 stars--I would never mind this playing in the background, but I don't really have much to get out of it in the foreground.

This genre (Hard Rock? Metal?) is one where I definitely have strong preferences, but I can't articulate what makes me like some things and dislike others. But this is doing nothing for me. Nothing here seems obviously incompetent. But I just found it a little empty.

Awesome. Has a modern lovers-esque edginess that fits smoothly relaxed vocals and weird off-kilter lyrics. Instrumentation is varied and well-done. Love giving 5 stars to a band/album I've never heard of. That's the best case scenario for this program!

Getting started. Song 1: a little too poppy and smooth. Vapid? Maybe. We'll let 'em cook. Alright, getting better on this second track. This album feels super uneven. Half the time it's the most boring radio-friendly rock, but then its got these wonderful interludes like East St. Louis Toodle-Oo. Basically, any time they're singing, it's worse, but intrumentals are solid. Bizarrely, all the most popular tracks are the worst ones (thought Night by Night is good and pretzel logic is okay). 3.5 Rounding down

Very nice, well executed soft music. Really impressive fingerpicking guitar. 4.5 rounding down, because while everything was very well done, it didn't blow me away.

Fine. Nothing here is bad, doesn't do much for me. I don't really have much more to say.

I find Joni Mitchell's voice too ethereal to to get into her lyrics. It just sorta sits on top of you like a light dusting. This makes it boring. And very soft instrumentation doesn't help.

This is really good. Super Rich Kids is a standout. I wish I could spend more time with the lyrics, but I couldn't pay that much attention on this listen and spotify hates working properly while playing this album for some reason.

I feel like a big part of the Byrds success was repackaging Dylan for people who wanted music to be more boring. Starting this album with an uninspired Dylan cover did little to allay these concerns. Now I realize their thing wasn't so much repackaging Dylan as it was watering down distinctive music until it had no edge to it at all. Astonishingly empty album, now that I'm deeper in. What if we had the softest most boring band try to half-ass country for an album?

Meh. I like alt rock. The bones here are all good. I just don't feel like anything here was super impressive.

James Brown is just always gonna be so much fun. I feel like they could have gotten more mileage out of this being a live album; more audience banter, more interludes, even a little more clapping; I just wish we got a little more of the James Brown energy--they do this, but for whatever reason it just doesn't quite have the energy I'm accustomed to with him. So 4.25 rounding down, I'd say.

Ugh, All in the Family is musically intriguing but I think we've got a little too much of the Eminem shock value shit. I guess some of the music here works. I like the guitars and instrumentation (I mean, it's nothing to write home about, but listening while I work, it's kinda neat). But we may be at some of the worst, most irritating lyrics of the whole thing thus far. 2 stars.

My standing issue with these metal albums is that they seem to establish one sound and then ride it way longer that it has any need. The screechy growly unclean vocals are fun for a little bit, but they need contrast to really say much. While the soaring guitar solos all feel about the same by the end. I don't understand music well enough to know why this just doesn't hit like Judas Priest, but it doesn't. This Love is good because it changes the style of music for the first time on the album, which I think demonstrates my complaint precisely. Was gonna round up to 3, but I feel like I've been waiting on this to end for a while so Imma round this 2.5 to a 2.

On a first listen, this was good but pretty generic. On a second listen, we're up to a 4.5. Could be a five with time. Hard to say. But the laidback electronic sounds is really nice. VHS is a great song. Wish I could give the album more attention but busy times. 4.5 Rounding down because I want to get to know it better before handing out a 5

I was wobbling between 4 and 5, but this albums hits are all great. Title track is somewhat corrupted by its (mis)use as a patriotic anthem. But I love goin down, love I’m on fire (yes it also has the “little girl” stuff this group hates so much but it feels more intentionally villainous.) Of his big albums, this is maybe the least cohesive though. Just feel like more of a collection of (great) singles. But there’s some thematic link. I’m gonna round up

Lexi’s takes: generally positive. Wasn’t paying much attention at breakfast. There was one song that made me think of the movie shark tale specifically the whale wash because don’t you worry about a thing plays in that scene and the background instrumentation was reminiscent of that song. Premise of Shark Tale: main character fish’s dad owns whale wash. They’ve borrowed money from the shark mafia (they are fishes). Puffer fish is the enforcer. Main character fish has a crush on receptionist. He is pretty discontent but likes this girl fish. He finds out about mafia debts and is filled with defiant pride about standing up to the sharks. Meanwhile the son of the leader of the shark mafia feels bad about the family business. But his dads makes him do this job, threatening with cutting him off financially. Then the two sons decide to work together, both getting blackmailed by the sharks all the while. “There’s like this sexy fish” (a lady) voiced by some celebrity who has no business being in this movie. She works for the mafia and she’s sent in to try to get the son pulled into the mafia (weirdly seductive). There’s some big fight (no details remembered) and the head of the mafia gets stuck in the whale wash. And then he’s like “oh my gosh I’m squeaky clean”. Everything turns out fine except the puffer fish has something happen and he inflates and drifts away. And then at the end of the movie the son gets together with the receptionist fish (whose heart had been broken earlier because she saw the son with the sexy fish), and the shark son happily works for the the whale wash. Anyway that one song made me think of don’t you worry about a thing, which played at the start at the whale wash. My takes: good album. Patti Smith has a really nice grit to her voice. In the 70s women vocalists are often put into a pretty singing box and not able to do more interesting stuff and Patti smith really goes for weirder and better vocals than most. Gloria is such an excellent start to the album. Lexi wants to add: “I think the main character fish’s name is Oscar”

This was fine. Several songs on this have been covered by artists I like and those covers are all good. The vocal styling here is not my favorite. And in general this is a little too mild. But it’s hard for me to understand the deep dislike so many people seem to have for U2

I love this album. The overly schmaltzy vocals are a bit much, but this simple, earnest album is pleasant and works with it. Big Iron is a riot. Only major complaint is that it’s too long. But it also doesn’t quite rise above the masses, so it’s a solid 4 stars from me.

I liked this. Just kinda jammin out for 47 minutes. Some very cool sounds. I’m trying to catch up so not gonna be more in depth. But this was a vibe. More lyrics would have been nice for me. 3.5 rounding down to 3.

Oh man, I love this album. An easy 5 stars. My only nitpick is that it's long and the tail end doesn't quite have the highs of the start. London Calling, Clampdown, Guns of Brixton. Joe Strummer's sort of dazed vocals just kill this entire album long. And it rocks.

This is very good. It's funny to hear early Beatles, because they are cool, but just very old-timey rock. I said earlier (for Revolver) that it was like the Beatles had discovered a bunch of new sounds but didn't know how to use them yet. Here, they have not discovered as broad a vocabulary, but use a narrower range of sounds very competently. I'll say I think if I were making 1001 albums, this wouldn't make the cut--there are many Beatles albums, and this is neither the best, nor the first, nor particularly trailblazing, nor the best of its era. 4 stars. That said its better than albums that I absolutely think do belong.

I got really into this a few years back, but I find it a bit more grating these days. The overplaying of the first 15 seconds of blister at sports games does not help. But a lot off the back end of the album that people mostly don't listen to is quite good. And there's some pretty innovative stuff here. To The Kill, Gone Daddy Gone, I think they'll round it up to 4 stars.

This was better than I expected. At its best, adds a really pleasant twang to 60s style rock. Good lyrics, well put together. Missing whatever it is that would get them 5 stars, but very good.

lol at this title. Language truly is malleable and ever-evolving. My prior that Frank Sinatra is fine but generally boring remains. Such dulcet singing for such limited payoff. The lyrics are pretty shallow, the vocals are as conventional as they can be. This album feels really long because all of the songs are roughly the same. 2.5 rounding down. Every time I was listening to this I'd be like "okay that was fine", then I'd check and it was only half over. How can a 45 minute album feel so long?!?

Hmmm. This is good soul. If we hadn't already had some funkadelic and other similar stuff, it'd probably be more exciting to me. But as it is, it's some seriously funky soul that I quite like. But I guess I just don't see it standing out from a lot of other motown and soul, so it gets a 3.5 from me. The big standout hit doesnt do as much for me as for others, so I'll round it down.

Ohio Mentioned! (Or at least an Ohio City) Well, the lost cause ideology in "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down" is really too bad, because it's their best song. My general approach has always been to appreciate the song for what it is, while keeping in the back of my mind that the Arkansan view of the Civil War is mythological at best. But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, this is the high point of southern rock. This album is fantastic. Much better than big pink, which I was disappointed by (I remembered loving the band, but that album had only fleeting glimpses of greatness). My love for the Band must be mostly tied to Dylan and this album.

Shoutout to Alex for making me give this a second listen. I liked it quite a bit more. I don't know what value the lyrics are supposed to have when they're completely indecipherable from the vocals we're given. But also relistening gave me more appreciation for the instrumentation and drums here. Pretty good. Pre-second listen, 1.5 rounding up. But on a second listen, I've revised to 3.5 rounding down.

I absolutely love Hunky Dory, but I've never branched out much beyond that for Bowie, so it's fun to be pushed to expand my horizons. The hits are absolutely fantastic, but the guitar is varied and great on all songs. The album has great range, and cleverly uses a variety of instruments to enable that range. David Bowie's vocals at once complement his songs and are totally unique. I loved this listening experience.

Maybe my strongest contrarian opinion is finding Queen boring. I can't really articulate why, but I just don't find this album compelling. It's the beginning of the sort of stadium rock that is occasionally good for a song, but never translates well to full album. And this isn't them at their best either. That's not a very good articulation, I confess, but I don't like queen and can't articulate why any better than that.

This was a bop. Cloud 9 was especially good but all of these jams were fun and made me want to dance.

I mean, this is a perfect album. We start the sort of smooth vocals that I sometimes feel is boring, but the dynamism in mood and energy solves the problem that e.g. Frank Sinatra has. the sounds on the first three tracks are each totally different: from the earnest prettiness of the title track, to the latin-inflected songs alongside equanimity, to the almost raucous sound of cecilia. Distinct, and yet cohesive. Perfection. Some standouts: Keep the Customer Satisfied, The Boxer, The Only Living Boy in New York.

I did not listen to this in one sitting. It's way too long! And I got bored! But otherwise, it's pleasant on the first have. It slowly devolves into barely coherent rambling on the second half--like those prog rock bands with insanely indulgent solos that go on forever, except these aren't musically interesting either. Was gonna give 3 stars but the last 15 minutes cost it the third.

The screeching that opens this album is a pretty rough first impression. It is cool to see the thru-line here: a sort of missing link between punk of the 80s and blues rock revival that would follow in the form of White Stripes and Black keys. But the space between is pretty rough. Lots of extraneous punk style screeching and distortion that is jarring rather than, you know, good. If there's an artistic purpose to it that justifies the surface-level unpleasantness, it eludes me.

This is pleasant country. Nothing groundbreaking or anything, but pleasant enough. 3.5 rounding down.

This album goes so hard. Obviously all of the hits are winners, but Twentieth Centruy Fox is also a banger. I love the sound of Alabama Song but it's pretty obviously gross. Frankly break on through is such a banger of a start less than 4 would be criminal. Some of the slower songs drag a little (the end is good, but 11 minutes? I dunno), so 4.5, but I'm rounding up because Alex will hurt me if I don't.

"Sharp Dressed Man" used to be my pre-date psych up song. Still a 5/5 banger. But I never listened to the rest of the album. And now that I have, it's pretty good. Good guitar work, unique-ish vocals. Good stuff. 3.5 rounding up.

Good varied use of musical textures. Really good start two songs in. Less out there than I might have hoped given their reputation, but this is so early and the ways it prefigures a lot of popular music to come is noteworthy. In general, I really liked this. A lot of interesting ideas, just a bit too disjointed for me to give it the full 5 stars.

As electronics goes this is fine. Hard for me to see anything special in it. And voiceovers really detract. The most interesting stuff feels pretty unoriginal tbh. But I maintain that it’s broadly fine electronic music. 2.5 rounding down.

Start of the album: loving this combo of vocals/intrumentals. I can rock with this. Shout rock isn't generally my favorite (see: my black Flag review or my le tigre review), but when the band really knows how to use their instruments, maybe I can be convinced. First song is so good, but things go downhill a little from there. This is a 3.5, rounded up.

The smiths are always really good. Morissey's approach to vocals is dope. The instrumentation is totally distinctively them. Unfortunately, this album sounds a lot like less memorable versions of their other (better) stuff imo. So it's a 4.

Jeff Buckley does a nice job of introducing intentional strain into his voice when he wants to. This is very good. For whatever reason it doesn't move me in quite the same way 5-star albums do, so we'll round down to a 4.

Okay, first, this album is too long. Next, I do not think the genre blending works well here. To the extent he is incorporating what seems like rap (maybe it's just talk singing), it sounds poorly developed and childish. The incorporation of distortions that other musicians (White Stripes) sometimes pull off is not pulled off here. Uh, High 5 kinda pulls it off, but it honestly the whole album feels disjointed. The album starts okay. Devil's Haircut is a serviceable opening track. But each subsequent song drags on an album with no broader vision. I'm thinking 2.5, but I'll round down, because that's how I feel.

Wow, credit to 1001 albums for picking an album I never would have picked out in a million years. A revival of 20s communist cabaret music from Weimar Germany was not expected. But did I like it? It's certainly the type of music I'm prone to convince myself I like when I don't, so I'm trying to be careful here. But yeah, this was cool. My Germanophile tendencies make this (I expect) a hot take. The vocals are a unique blend of intentionally grating and pretty. I found this stuff pretty interesting. Reading about it, it's got some intriguing aspects. Hans Eisler is a contemporary of Bertolt Brecht, who was notable as a poet (I find most of his work to be heavy-handed, but his writing on exile is quite good). Also 1920s Germany is an absolutely fascinating era to me (though the refusal of communists--like these writers--to collaborate with social democrats to prevent totalitarianism rankles). Anyway, I'm glad to have listened. 3 stars

Okay, first three on this album are really great. I'll go to bat for them any day. Lyrical simplicity, even elegance, varied instrumentals, an interesting an appealing voice. he's got it. After ragging on the Byrds (which I will keep doing), I was surprised to learn that this musician who had something to say was at some point associated with them. But in the middle Clark seems to run out of steam. We get long, winding ballads that don't really seem to be saying much. "Some Misunderstanding" really costs this album so much of its momentum. It gets back a little of its mojo towards the end, but never really regains it's brilliant start. 3.5 stars, rounding up because of those first three songs.

Pretty solid. Marquee Moon is very good. I feel like I should have more to say, but the albums all kind of blur together. Uhhh. vocals are pleasantly grating without overdoing. Instrumentation is simple yet effective. Good stuff. Not sure if any of these songs stand out in a big way other than the title track, but cumulatively its a solid album. 3.5 rounding up

I knew two songs going in, and coming out, they're still the only memorable songs on the album. Not that anything else is bad, per se, just that it's generic and doesn't do much for me. Poppy, fun, simple. Catchy. But tbh after I've heard the big hits, I not sure how much this adds as an album. I'll always be on a wedding dance floor for Dancing Queen, but does adding 10 replacement-level tracks make this a great album? Two songs have to pull the weight of the whole album essentially. Abba can put some great pop out there, but they're not an album band, just a "collection of immortal singles" band. That said, Dancing Queen and Money Money Money are good enough to save this from a worse fate.