286
Albums Rated
3.45
Average Rating
26%
Complete
803 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950
Favorite Decade
Jazz
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Curator
Rater Style ?
47
5-Star Albums
6
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ctrl
SZA
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
Vento De Maio
Elis Regina
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
|
5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
|
Raw Power
The Stooges
|
5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
|
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
|
5 | 3.33 | +1.67 |
|
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
|
5 | 3.33 | +1.67 |
|
Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
|
4 | 2.35 | +1.65 |
|
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
|
5 | 3.36 | +1.64 |
|
There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
|
5 | 3.37 | +1.63 |
|
Blunderbuss
Jack White
|
5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
|
1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
|
Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
|
2 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
|
Space Ritual
Hawkwind
|
1 | 2.69 | -1.69 |
|
Pictures At An Exhibition
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
1 | 2.65 | -1.65 |
|
Follow The Leader
Korn
|
1 | 2.65 | -1.65 |
|
Penthouse And Pavement
Heaven 17
|
1 | 2.61 | -1.61 |
|
Morrison Hotel
The Doors
|
2 | 3.58 | -1.58 |
|
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
|
2 | 3.55 | -1.55 |
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
2 | 3.47 | -1.47 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
1 | 2.46 | -1.46 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 5 | 4.6 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 2 | 5 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5 |
| Steely Dan | 2 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 2 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Rush | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (47)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Pink Floyd · 1 likes
2/5
how is this not a parody of itself?
"I want to tell you a story
'Bout a little man, If I can
A gnome named Grimble Grumble
And little gnomes stay in their homes
Eating, sleeping
Drinking their wine"
fuck you
5/10
1-Star Albums (6)
All Ratings
3/5
I'm not the kind of person that hates the Beatles just because they are popular.
However, I can't help but think that if this came out today it would get lukewarm reception. There are some really great moments, particularly with A Day In The Life and Within You Without You, but as a whole it just feels boring and bland retrospectively. There are way better Beatles albums, and honestly way better albums from '67 (Are You Experienced? AND Axis: Bold As Love in the same year?? Those are way better psych-rock albums IMO).
I appreciate the classical infusions through the whole thing and the production is solid as usual, but it falls flat for me overall. 7/10
The Temptations
4/5
I'm not very familiar with the material The Temptations were putting out in the '70s, but this is pretty damn good. Songs like Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, Run Charlie Run, Mother Nature, and I Ain't Got Nothin' are absolute highlights. When the group leans into the funk and soul side of things they really shine, and it's wild that they thought this record would flop since they were straying from their typical ballads and do-wop.
This album feels so confident and powerful, and I respect the hell out of them for their bravery in trying something so different from what they were known for at the time.
It's not the most groundbreaking record, and there are definitely more competent soul and funk records from the time, but this has some great songwriting, performances, and production - making it a highlight of The Temptations' discography.
8.5/10
Beatles
5/5
One of the best albums The Beatles ever put out, but still bogged down by some significant bloat. That’s not surprising since it’s their first double LP, but songs like Revolution 9 are enough to drop this a point or two. 9/10
MGMT
5/5
This album is, without a doubt, a modern classic. It's not perfect, but most of these tracks are genre-defining. It's an incredibly forward-thinking record, feeling far beyond its time while simultaneously being the perfect encapsulation of what was to come for the remainder of the '00s and the 2010s.
From the production to the songwriting and performances, MGMT really tapped into something special. 9.5/10
Fatboy Slim
3/5
A fun dance/electro album that goes on for way too long and meanders on the same loops far too often. 7.5/10
ABBA
5/5
Arrival is to Disco what Nevermind is to grunge. A truly genre-defining masterpiece, chock full of absolutely fantastic songs.
From Dancing Queen to Money, Money, Money and everything in between, Arrival struck gold on every front. The whole record is so well produced, performed, written, and structured.
For me, music is all about the feeling it evokes. I dare you to put this on and not feel absolute joy. Yes, it's pop. Yes, it's kitchy, campy, corny stuff. But good lord, this is POP.
10/10
Grateful Dead
2/5
I'm not a jam band hater, and I would never dismiss music because it chooses to improvise for extended periods. I love bands like KGLW and my first concert was Dave Matthews Band (lmao). Jazz and avant garde have always been genres I gravitate to as well.
However, the entire 73 minutes of this feels so unnecessary. These are essentially basic, soulless blues songs, extended way past their welcome, meandering for far too long. The musicianship of the Dead is a highlight, but the compositions and vocal performances leave so much to be desired.
I can feel that there are supposed to be those big jam "moments" on the album, like the slow blues on Death Don't Have No Mercy, or the extended solos on Turn on Your Love Light, but each of them fall so flat for me. I did not enjoy this at all.
4/10
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
The Low End Theory is genuinely one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and it's still a toss-up between this and Midnight Marauders as the best Tribe album, somehow.
A Tribe Called Quest were really on to something special. Every track they put together during their run (even on the later albums when tensions were higher between Phife and Q), feels like they're discovering something new. As true pioneers to the genre, it feels like they push boundaries at every turn and craft something truly unique in the process.
The production on this is as crisp and interesting as possible, Q is in his prime form, and somehow Phife rises up to meet him right where he is. The tracks are unique, diverse, and expertly crafted. This, in my mind, is the real first Tribe album. It was the start of something incredible, and it's put together damn-near flawlessly.
10/10
The White Stripes
3/5
This is an interesting album that I think ultimately is reflective of its time and not much more. The garage/blues boom of the early 2000s was clearly kicked off in part by this, but there are few tracks here that work.
Jack White is an incredibly accomplished and talented songwriter, and you can see streaks of that on this album - but it falls short of impressing me in any way.
Songs like Fell in Love With A Girl, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, or We're Going to Be Friends are classics surrounded by mundane songs (Aluminum, I Think I Smell a Rat, The Union Forever, The Same Boy, Hotel Yorba, etc.)
5/10
Led Zeppelin
5/5
This has got to be in the top three of Zeppelin's discography, right alongside IV and Physical Graffiti. This record is so good - they are all so clearly in their prime, starting to move into the more experimental/psychedelic sound, but still just playing as loud as they can.
I am a die-hard Zeppelin fan. This was the best band of the late '60s - '70s and nobody can change my mind on that. There is not a single skip on this whole album!!!
10/10
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Aretha is amazing. This album is full of really solid blues/soul songs, but what really makes them shine are her performances and energy. No real low points on this for me, other than a few stretches where things felt a bit same-y.
8.5/10
M.I.A.
3/5
Fun, slightly-experimental hip-hop that becomes pretty repetitive about halfway through. There are still some great tracks, and Paper Planes is obviously a classic, but the rest of the album doesn't really live up to that highlight.
6.5/10
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Really fun, boundary-pushing pop music highlighted by Janelle's vocals and excellent composition. I think some fat could definitely be trimmed, (especially the track with Of Montreal), but the highlights really stand out for me.
8/10
The Black Keys
3/5
I used to be the worlds biggest Black Keys apologist, and this album in particular was so important to me.
Brothers was the first vinyl I bought as a 13-year-old. The video for Tighten Up was the coolest thing I had ever seen and inspired me to start learning guitar. I had all these songs on my iPod Classic and listened to them constantly. The song my high school girlfriend and I claimed was "ours" is Everlasting Light, for fuck's sake!
I still have so much love for those songs, as well as Howlin' For You, She's Long Gone, and Never Gonna Give You Up. But the whole thing doesn't hold up quite as well as I hoped.
This is clearly the Black Keys at their most commercial-seeking. Songs like Sinister Kid, Black Mud, Next Girl, The Go Getter, and basically the rest of Side B just aren't at the same quality as the first half.
I still have love for this album, but man, their earlier garage-leaning stuff was so much more fun. Maybe I'm just a Rubber Factory enjoyer.
Nina Simone
4/5
A very beautiful album with a really palpable emotional energy to it. Nina is fantastic throughout, and her lyricism is always something to behold.
This is a super mellow album that didn't quite keep me engaged through the whole thing, but the moments that grabbed my attention the most really pulled me in.
Highlights: If I Should Lose You, Either Way I Lose, Lilac Wine, Black Is The Color of My True Love's Hair, Why Keep On Breaking My Heart, Four Women
Least Favorites: Break Down And Let It All Out
8.5/10
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
This album is great if Come On Eileen is your favorite song. The rest of the tracks that make up the nearly hour long runtime outside of that song, are pretty much doing the same thing.
Still, it's fun and well produced. It's just way too long and way too similar.
Highs: Come On Eileen, Let's Make This Precious, Liars A to E
Lows: Old, Plan B, I'll Show You, Until I Believe In My Soul, Reminisce
7/10
Metallica
3/5
This era of Metal has always been the epitome of "I want to be a cool guy" music in my mind. When the spandex and leotards of Hair Metal stopped being cool, the cool guys wanted to be tough and flocked to Metallica. When Hip Hop became thoroughly mainstream, the dorks who were masquerading as tough guys suddenly tried to bite that and made the mistake of Nu Metal.
This record, (aside from Limp Bizkit maybe), is the pinnacle of faux-cool-guy-music. I'm sure in its time this album was super cool. But, listening to it now, I only see PUG sunglasses, spiky hair gel, Tapout t-shirts, and my friend's weird dads that reeked of cigarettes and cheap beer.
I don't dislike metal by any stretch. I love bands like Sabbath, Death, and a lot of death metal and hardcore of recent years - currently, I think the genre is in one of the best states it's ever been.
This record has some solid performances (except for Lars) and good songwriting. However, the whole hour runtime just feels like a joke. They're playing characters, trying way too hard. It's pop music in black leather and chains pretending it isn't pop music.
In conclusion, Lars sucks. 6/10
Beastie Boys
3/5
Ill Communication has some really fun moments, and a few all-time great Beastie Boys songs, but the album as a whole is so bogged down by filler that it's hard to think of it as a classic.
Tracks like Sabotage, Flute Loop, and Get It Together are fantastic, but I can't see a scenario in which I'm throwing on B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak, The Update, Futterman's Rule, Do It, The Scoop, or any of the instrumental tracks.
Maybe if they had trimmed this down by about 20 minutes, it would be a better experience. As it stands, it's just a fine one.
6.5/10
Sade
4/5
So smooth, so jazzy, so sensual, so Sade. I really enjoy the '80s production on this thing. Those synth and drum sounds are the perfect amount of corny, and help to make the whole thing feel like love in an elevator or something.
My only gripe is that the tracks get a little too same-y and tend to meander for a bit too long. With an average track length of nearly 5 minutes, I'd expect each one to be doing some fun things composition-wise, not just repeating the same phrases.
It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun and sexy and sometimes that's enough.
7.5/10
Death In Vegas
2/5
I'm confused as to why this was on the list in the first place.
This entire record screams Nine Inch Nails rip off, right? The production is fine, if a bit stale - the song structure doesn't do much interesting, the performances are decent, but that's it.
The entire runtime of The Contino Sessions feels like playing a random, edgy PS2 racing game that no one has ever heard of. I genuinely fail to see how this is a groundbreaking, definitive record of music history. I guess the British writers wanted to include "The UK's answer to NIN".
This is boring, bland, and repetitive.
4/10
OutKast
5/5
Outkast's fifth studio album might be their best, even though it was always intended to be two solo records.
I think that concept is what makes it so strong. Speakerboxxx envokes a constantly moving, thumping, funky/jam feeling. It sticks mostly to hip-hop, but jumps all over the place under that umbrella. There are some club, electro-dance, and early trap beats, and it never feels like any time is wasted. Each performance and feature adds something interesting, and there are some real classic Outkast songs on this side like GhettoMusick, Bowtie, and The Way You Move. Side one is well-rounded and balanced perfectly.
Side two is where things get truly genre-bending, with tracks equally at home in pop, R&B, jazz, soul, and funk as they are in hip-hop. Just look at the three most popular tracks - Roses, Prototype, and Hey Ya! There are fewer features here, and Andre 3000 chooses to sing more than rap, which really makes it stand out. The production itself is also more experimental than expected, playing with all sorts of different sonic textures, sampling, and live instruments.
Each side of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below explores interesting lyrical themes like parenthood, politics, religion, fame, war, sex, relationships, and philosophy. They're strokes of genius respectively.
All in all, this album feels like 2 separate records, but that's what makes it work. Listening to the whole things feels like a testament to why the duo worked so well together. You get the sense that Andre 3000 was always pushing boundaries, while Big Boi kept things grounded and consistent. it's a yin and tang of diverse cohesion and eclectic eccentricity.
This is one of the greatest hip hop albums of the 2000s, one of the greatest hip hop albums ever, and possibly the greatest Outkast record (though I still think I prefer ATLiens, somehow).
10/10
Guns N' Roses
3/5
This is the "music for guys who think they're cool" final boss.
Everything besides the singles (Sweet Child/Paradise City/Welcome to the Jungle), is just fine. It mostly feels like music from a fake band in a movie like Wayne's World or School of Rock.
That said, it is exceptionally well produced and the performances are really solid. The songs are pretty standard rock/blues fare with not much more going on. It feels like the final nail in the coffin for Hair Metal before Grunge could really bear fruit.
It's an album with some obvious talent behind it that somehow ends up feeling overtly stale.
7/10
Jack White
5/5
This is Jack White in his top form - diverse songs, solid production, and great performances. This might be the best album he was ever involved with, and I can't believe how many of these tracks I recognized.
It's really refreshing to hear a record with jazz/blues/rock influence that isn't just ripping off existing artists. It feels like Jack brings his own flavor to everything, and it makes the record that much better as a whole. It's white boy blues, but done right.
However, my only complaint is that some of the tracks towards the end leave something to be desired, tending to grow stale after a bit.
9/10
The Specials
2/5
Incredibly repetitive ska music to start off my morning. I can't believe how long this went on for, being the same song in different keys over and over again.
A Message to You Rudy is probably the only track that stands out, the rest are just pretty mediocre. It's cool to see how this set the stage for a subgenre to come, but there's not much more to say than that.
5/10
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
This left me feeling mostly bored. There are some good moments, but overall it fell flat.
6/10
R.E.M.
4/5
Murmur is a really cool, forward-thinking record with some fantastic tracks on it. I think within just the first few tracks, I really understood the R.E.M. "sound". Unfortunately, I think that hurt the rest of the experience, and by the end of the record I grew pretty tired of what they were doing.
It's clearly post-punk and pop inspired, with hints of Television, Wire, and a heavy sprinkling of The Smiths. All of the performances were solid, the songwriting was tight, but the tracks started to blend into each other in a negative way.
I still really enjoyed my first R.E.M. experience, but I can't help but wonder if they have records that are more diverse than this that I would enjoy more.
8.5/10
Pere Ubu
4/5
This album is the first time I really feel challenged by anything I've listened to from this list. Dub Housing is a weird experience full of strange sounds awkward performances, unconventional songwriting and structure. But all of that comes together as something greater than the sum of its parts.
By the end of the record I felt like I really understood it. It's challenging and boundary pushing on purpose, but not in a pretentious way. It feels like the music understands what it is and finds freedom in that understanding. Everything in its right place by extension.
I really enjoyed my time with this and I feel like I'm going to enjoy it even more on a second listen.
8.5/10
The Stooges
5/5
This album is insanely fun. It feels like one of the first steps past the line between rock and punk, and it nails just about everything in the process. This was my first time listening to the Iggy mix, rather than the Bowie version, and I think I enjoyed it even more.
This isn't my favorite Stooges record, but it's such an incredibly fun, balls-to-the-wall experience, that I can't help but love it.
My only complaint is the same as every other time I've listened to Raw Power - I can do without Penetration. That song is just fine, but gets outshined by the other 7 tracks around it.
9.5/10
Bob Dylan
4/5
This record feels like very typical Bob Dylan fare. It doesn't do much of anything that is new for him, so it feels very middle of the road to me. It makes me wonder why this record, above any other Dylan, was chosen. It's just sort of average, even in his discography.
There are some good tracks, but nothing really stands out for me.
7.5/10
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Mysterious, sporadic, and weird. It just doesn't feel like it's going anywhere half of the time. There are tracks on here that are really fun and interesting, like Jigsaw Feeling/Carcass/Nicotine Stain, but it makes the rest feel like bloat.
I really appreciate the post-punk vibe on a lot of these, I've just known the genre to be done so much better that this falls short.
7/10
Fleet Foxes
5/5
Exceptional. This has to be the best thing to come out of the 2000s indie/folk boom. Incredibly well produced, fantastic performances, great songwriting. I'm also bumping this up a few points for the fact that without Fleet Foxes, we wouldn't have Father John Misty. That reason enough is to be grateful that this exists.
9.5/10
Eagles
3/5
Maybe my opinion of Eagles is skewed, but I've never fully understood why they're on such a pedestal. There are some really great tracks in their discography, Life in the Fast Lane, Try and Love Again, and Hotel California being a few of those, but everything else is soooo stale.
This is a super talented group of musicians, produced exceptionally well, refusing to push the letter at all. It is incredibly straight-forward pop music, and I guess that's enough sometimes.
I see the novelty in this, I get why people enjoy it - I'm just not one of them.
7/10
Rush
5/5
The thing I admire most about Rush is that they were never afraid to try new stuff. You get such a fresh twist on typical dad-rock music with all the added synth textures, guitar effects, genre infusions, and incredible technical songwriting.
I think that's what really makes this record shine. You get these three amazing musicians, all pushing the boundaries, and creating something far greater than the sum of its parts. It feels new, and ultimately timeless.
Did anybody else ever play All-Pro Football 2K8? No? That's where I first heard Rush. Tom Sawyer has been one of the greatest songs of all time since then. It's a rite of passage for all 10-year-olds in my book.
Listening to this, I was just absolutely captivated once again when that first synth stab hits. I've heard most of these songs before, and they still were so fun to revisit.
10/10
Marty Robbins
5/5
I think the most important thing I'm figuring out with all of these albums is to consider what they are by themselves. Comparing this record to basically anything else in its list is a moot point.
This was never going to be the best album on the list. But that doesn't matter at all. Let's consider the facts: Is it goofy? Yes. Is it a bunch of similar tracks? Absolutely. Is it fun as hell? Definitely.
This record is not groundbreaking by any means. It is fairly standard country fare, with very little else going on. But for 44 straight minutes, Marty conjured images of cowboys and bandits on the trail and made me yearn for my own mustang and ten gallon hat. That, in and of itself is an achievement I can admire.
Marty's voice is fantastic, the recordings sound great (especially for this time period), the songwriting and storytelling is ridiculously fun, and I can't help but love it.
There's not a single skip to be seen on the whole runtime, but there are a ton of gems (Big Iron, They're Hanging Me Tonight, Billy The Kid, The Master's Call, Running Gun, El Paso, The Little Green Valley, The Hanging Tree).
Yeehaw. 10/10
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Has some fun moments, but overall falls short. I really appreciate the early foundation this set for hip hop, but it doesn't do a whole lot that feels fresh or interesting.
However, it is cool that the group is clearly made of talented musicians. There are some fantastic performances on this thing. The songwriting and structure just leaves a lot to be desired.
7/10
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
The Waterboys
3/5
Did little to nothing for me. Feels like very generic folk/pop in every sense.
6/10
Bob Dylan
4/5
Bob Dylan as stripped back as possible, and it works. I think his strength has always been in songwriting, and that's what I tend to pay attention to most. This is just really good folk music that doesn't do much more, but don't think twice, it's alright.
8/10
Joan Armatrading
4/5
This whole record felt like typical '70s singer-songwriter stuff, but with some fun twists that kept it fresh enough. The production was far better than I would've expected, and the songs are fun.
That said, it didn't really leave much of an impression on me. I finished listening and didn't have any sort of desire to go back to it. Overall, it's a fun record with some unique takes on this style of folk, but it doesn't stand out much.
7.5/10
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I didn't need to listen to this for the 40th time to know it's a 5-star album, but I did and it still is.
This is one of, if not the greatest psychedelic rock album of all time and ironically, I think the other strongest contender is Axis: Bold As Love.
Are You Experienced is a whole plethora of feelings encapsulated by incredible performances from Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchel, and Jimi himself. The production is fantastic, even with the limitations at the time (like an entire drum kit being recorded with one or two mics and panned completely to one side). The songwriting is fantastic and fully formed, but I think the strongest attribute of Jimi's music is the atmosphere. At times, it's a strange, no-holds-barred, sexy trip, and at others it's got a moody, dark, almost haunting vibe. He pushes the boundaries of rock music into metal in some places, and R&B or soul in others.
Hendrix was, without a doubt, a musical genius. One that was gone from the world far too soon. THe music that he left behind should be cherished that much more.
10/10
Arcade Fire
3/5
Did I decide how I felt about this before it started? Yes.
Did it end up being exactly what I thought it would be? Yes.
This is my second Arcade Fire album now, and I listened to Funeral by choice (unfortunately). This band birthed the millennial folk-pop of the 2000s-2010s that we now look back on shame, but about 40% more pretentious.
Arcade Fire wants to be Tom Waits, Bowie, New Order, and The Cure, but never quite gets the easy, almost effortless execution those artists have/had. Everything about this feels forced, like the guy with an acoustic guitar at a party.
With that said, let's talk highlights - the production is good, the first two songs are far better than the rest, the performances are fine. I see the allure that this band has for people, it's just not my thing.
6/10
Dion
4/5
I've never heard of Dion before now, but this was actually more fun than I had expected. The record deviates a bit in mostly good ways from typical folk/blues singer/songwriter stuff at times, which I enjoyed. I think the only thing really holding this back is the length - by about 40 minutes in, I really got what he's going for here. Overall though, it's a decent album I could see myself coming back to.
7.5/10
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Some absolute classic, genre-bending folk tracks on this. It really feels like what the cool kids were listening to in the ‘60s without being too pretentious. The songwriting is great, the production is solid, and the performances are good for the most part. There’s not much to dislike about any of this.
9/10
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
This is one of those albums that really made me love music, and started an obsession with finding more music like it. Some of the first songs I learned to play on guitar were from this record! That's why it pains me to listen to it again with more seasoned ears.
In hindsight, I feel like this just doesn't hold up very well. It feels like very straightforward britpop pubrock - almost a step backward from where british music had been heading before this. Much of the songs are very similar, there's not much diversity among them beyond faster/slower, louder/quieter.
With that said, the performances are solid, the production is great, the vibe is there. It just has a sense of immaturity to it that doesn't help its case at all.
7.5/10
The Byrds
4/5
Country music is in such a weird state currently. You have artists who have devoted their entire careers to country music starting to fuse other genres into their work, resulting in some truly abysmal stuff, as the rest of the industry begins to experiment with the twang in turn.
A lot of it is good and deserving of praise, like Cowboy Carter, but a lot of it is really fucking bad (I'm thinking of things like Yippe-Ki-Yay by Kesha). However, the real sin is that a lot of the country-fusion stuff you can find in modern music is utterly soulless.
Every Friday, I go to Pitchfork's website to see what the new releases are and then I spend the rest of the week listening to them. 9 times out of 10 there is some new country-fusion thing - all the way from singer-songwriters and rappers to emo bands and pop stars. At this point, it feels like a coin toss to determine whether or not it will be dog shit.
This era of genre experimentation feels just as bad as it was with hip-hop in the '90s - '00s. We're getting some truly terrible, pandering, "just-stick-with-what's-popular" music as a result. It's likely this will be just as much of an embarrassing footnote as Nu Metal.
So, coming into a country-fusion record by a psych-rock band like The Byrds had me worried. But of course it's good. It has soul, it has passion, it has a palpable love for the music it's emulating. That's largely due to Gram Parsons' contributions, but that feeling carries this record beyond a tired approximation of a genre into a genuine country album. Maybe that's the key to making this sort of thing work.
This is a well-produced, performed, written, and conceptualized album. It's fun, even if it gets a bit same-y and somewhat stale towards the end. I wish this album would have tried to color outside the lines a bit more, but I also appreciate the efforts to stay true to the vibe.
8/10
Suicide
1/5
I get the significance of this album and its impact on electronic/industrial music. In a sense, Suicide walked so NIN could run. However, the entire runtime of this is insanely obtuse. The tracks are nearly identical, and they leave a lot to be desired. I can't think of many instances where I'm left laughing at an album, but the random screams on Frankie Teardrop took me out every time.
I try not to think of this albums in terms of relistenability, but holy shit - i will never sit down with this again. The funny thing is, I've already listened to it once before during the No Dogs in Space series on Suicide, and even then I didn't feel impacted by it at all.
It's an interesting case when the argument for something's significance is the effect it had on its successors - but in this case of Suicide, I can't bring myself to appreciate it as it is.
3/10
Quicksilver Messenger Service
1/5
After listening to Live/Dead, I can't condone this white boy behavior. An entire 20+ minutes of a shitty Bo Diddley cover/jam? No fuckin' thanks. The rest of the album outside of that isn't even good to help bring the rating up a bit.
The audacity of these '60s jam bands to be so boring while simultaneously thinking they're cool as hell is the only impressive thing about this.
If I saw this live I would demand a refund.
3/10
The Who
3/5
I really appreciate the lengths that the Who went to with this album, but it just did not click with me. I can see how much effort went into this thing - from the songwriting, to the arrangement, production, and performances. It's a shame that most of the songs feel like snippets of longer, more boring tracks.
Any sort of rating I have for this comes entirely from an appreciation for the effort and love that went into this album by the band themselves, and a little appreciation of my own for Pinball Wizard.
6/10
Ramones
5/5
I've said it before, but a lot of the albums I've listened to so far from this list seem to be on here just because of their influence. This is not one of those cases.
Ramones were the blueprint for American punk. It's easy to write them off now, but keeping in mind the time that this record was released, they were still pushing boundaries. They brought punk to the forefront of music conversations, and for that, we should be forever grateful.
The production on this record is solid, the performances are great, the songs are fun. What more is there to ask for? Sure, it gets a little bit repetitive and not every track sticks. But that's not the point.
9.5/10
SZA
5/5
An absolute modern classic of an album. SZA's sound is so unique and singular, it's immediately recognizable in the best way. Everything here is executed so well - from the production, to the performance, to the songwriting and lyrics.
SZA is making raw, emotional music where she reflects on her own life, and it somehow stands the test of time. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that the angry old white dudes of this platform think it's "trashy".
If your takeaway of this record is that she's making "heavily auto-tuned trap beats about pussy and booty", you're a fucking idiot. Go read the lyrics, go read a book, go listen to something other than The Beatles. Nerd.
10/10
Johnny Cash
4/5
I wasn't expecting this to be so interesting, but it really was. This has got to be the best live album I've heard so far on this list.
The performances are very raw and real, which just makes Johnny's personality shine. The setting and the crowd obviously add a ton to the recordings, and helps lift everything even more.
The songs are pretty fun too, even if many of them are sort of joke-y, typical country fare.
8/10
The Modern Lovers
2/5
I thought this was just okay. It feels like The Doors attempting post-punk, to varied levels of success, and I don't like The Doors.
Post-punk is a genre with a ton of variety - some of it (like Talking Heads, Wire, Television) fucking rules. A lot of it sucks. This is right in the middle for me. There are some very fun tracks, like Roadrunner or Pablo Picasso, but everything else falls short of that quality.
5/10
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
This was a fun way to go around the house and do my chores this morning.
I've never been the biggest fan of swing jazz, but this was a really diverse, fun example of the genre. I am incredibly impressed with how great the recordings sound nearly 70 years later. There is some fantastic talent on this album, and I'm very glad to now be familiar with Mr Basie.
8/10
Arcade Fire
3/5
Arcade Fire is a band that does the same thing over and over again with some slight tweaks. It's a strategy which really works for fans, and really doesn't work for me.
That said, this is probably the strongest effort of theirs I've heard so far. It's just the kind of thing I can't get past - it's a weird amalgamation of Strokes-ish indie rock fused with freak-folk and a twist of '*stomp* "hey!"'. I respect the lengths to which they go in being artsy, but it ends up sounding like it's trying too hard.
7/10
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Dead Kennedys
5/5
A perfect punk album, I will be taking no notes. In Jello we trust.
Bob Dylan
5/5
This is Dylan at his best. I will take no arguments.
I love how this incredibly tame, barely rock-n-roll folk album is what upset all those dorks in Newport. 5 stars for that alone, honestly.
10/10
David Bowie
5/5
It's insane to think that Bowie still had so much to give even after all of his success and artistic output.
This album is as fresh as anything he had put out in his career. The fusions of jazz and art rock work so well on this album, and I get the sense that Bowie was always inspired by current music. These tracks have a lot of hip-hop, soul, and funk influence.
Blackstar is the ultimate swansong to an absolutely storied career, even without the context of Bowie's health during its recording. It's the culmination of everything he did before.
9.5/10
Violent Femmes
3/5
I know that one song from baseball
The rest is pretty mid
Stephen Stills
3/5
Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but I think I get it now -
Stills is Salieri to Young's Mozart.
He's still a great songwriter in his own right, but you can tell much of what he's attempting to accomplish is to keep up with Neil. They're doing similar things with a similar mindset, but Stills doesn't have "it".
I enjoyed the first half of this - well, the first four songs. It immediately became derivative after Hendrix's solo on Old Times Good Times. By the time Black Queen rolled in, I was itching to skip the rest.
It is a somewhat fun, mostly by-the-books 70s folk record. 6.5/10
Heaven 17
1/5
Genuinely one of the most boring listening experiences I've had. This album had nothing of substance to offer me. Every part of my body wanted to skip every single track.
2/10
The Adverts
2/5
Ludicrously boring. I can't believe that this is grouped in with the rest of the early punk bands.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Such a poignant, thoughtful album. Curtis Mayfield is one of the greats - not only in soul music, but in songwriting and composition.
9.5/10
The Cure
5/5
One of the best albums of the '80s, period. I yearn to be dressed in full goth regalia, dancing to this record in the club.
10/10
Motörhead
3/5
There are some really fun songs on here, but by the end of the record, it's completely derivative of itself. I like the production and the performances for the most part - Lemmy's voice is definitely an acquired taste. But the lyrics - holy shit. I don't know if the "it was a different time" argument can save y'all here. Good lord.
7/10
Gillian Welch
3/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
So ahead of its time. So sexy, so scary! Just like a '90s horror movie.
8/10
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
One of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, with absolutely no debate attached. I can not believe how incredibly fresh and well-crafted this is. Every time I listen to this album, I am still taken aback at how solid it is. If you don't like it, you just don't get it, idk.
10/10
Nas
5/5
I barely have to listen to this one to know it's a 10/10. One of the most classic hip-hop albums ever. I must've listened to this record a hundred times as a kid.
Nas is one of those lyricists who seems so natural in everything he does. He was born to do this and shows it on every single track. This album perfectly captures East Coast hip hop, from the beats and production to Nas' lyrics and performances. It's also impossible to ignore how absolutely CLASSIC so many of these lines are. "I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death", "Life's a bitch and then you die", "i'm out for dead presidents to represent me" ??? All have been referenced countless times, decades later
10/10
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This isn't Jimi at his most concise, but it is Jimi at his most experimental. All of Axis: Bold As Love is just fun. You can tell they're having a good time, trying out new things, getting properly weird with it. I don't think it's the best Jimi Hendrix album, but that's a very high metric.
9.5/10
Elliott Smith
4/5
9/10
The Associates
2/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
The Clash
4/5
9/10
Elbow
2/5
an album that tried to do a little bit of everything it had heard on the radio in the 2000's, and did none of it very well. Incredibly stale
5/10
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
This is what people are talking about when they say they hate prog rock. Borderline unlistenable
2/10
David Gray
3/5
There's nothing wrong with this record, but there's nothing about it that makes it stand out to me. As soon as I stopped listening, I could feel my brain discarding it to make room for something else. It's like listening to a commercial - incredibly mid
Pink Floyd
4/5
a really good album that suffers from the fatal flaw of concept albums - way too much filler. probably would've hit harder if i had some of that weak shit they were growing in the '70s
8.5/10
Garbage
3/5
fun in parts, but definitely repetitive over all. I really respect the band's ability to try new things and stretch out into other genres, but you can see where every song is going ahead of time.
Lou Reed
5/5
Genuinely a perfect album
10/10
Hawkwind
1/5
The moment I saw yet another live album from a psychedelic jam band, I let out a long sigh. How the fuck is this over 2 hours long
1.5/10
Kate Bush
4/5
Sex Pistols
4/5
Frank Zappa
4/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Pulp
3/5
walked so Panic! could run, which is a cardinal sin.
6/10
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
Pink Floyd
2/5
how is this not a parody of itself?
"I want to tell you a story
'Bout a little man, If I can
A gnome named Grimble Grumble
And little gnomes stay in their homes
Eating, sleeping
Drinking their wine"
fuck you
5/10
Iron Maiden
2/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Beck
2/5
Neu!
3/5
The Undertones
3/5
David Ackles
2/5
Ray Charles
4/5
Funkadelic
4/5
Steely Dan
5/5
Talking Heads
5/5
5/5
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
De La Soul
3/5
The Cramps
3/5
Doves
3/5
Van Halen
3/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Frank Black
2/5
Steve Earle
2/5
Björk
4/5
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Otis Redding
4/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
Motörhead
3/5
Paul Simon
4/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
Missy Elliott
3/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
American Music Club
2/5
Massive Attack
3/5
Adele
4/5
Blur
3/5
50 Cent
4/5
Slayer
2/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Elton John
4/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
The Police
3/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Elis Regina
5/5
Cocteau Twins
5/5
John Grant
2/5
John Coltrane
5/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Meat Puppets
3/5
Magazine
3/5
Metallica
2/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Amy Winehouse
3/5
3/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Fatboy Slim
3/5
David Bowie
5/5
Jurassic 5
4/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
The Bees
3/5
Marvin Gaye
5/5
N.W.A.
4/5
George Harrison
5/5
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Fugazi
4/5
Miles Davis
4/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
The Smiths
3/5
Foo Fighters
3/5
Fever Ray
3/5
Beastie Boys
3/5
3/5
Metallica
2/5
Tina Turner
3/5
Charles Mingus
3/5
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Public Enemy
4/5
System Of A Down
3/5
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
The xx
2/5
The Doors
2/5
Mike Ladd
3/5
Rush
2/5
Iron Maiden
3/5
Eminem
2/5
Blondie
4/5
Primal Scream
2/5
The Who
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Kanye West
5/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
Mike Oldfield
3/5
The Cure
3/5
3/5
Bon Jovi
2/5
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
The Smiths
2/5
Linkin Park
2/5
Hot Chip
3/5
Minutemen
4/5
Steely Dan
5/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Parliament
4/5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
The Byrds
4/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Korn
1/5
The Damned
4/5
New Order
3/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Joy Division
3/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Small Faces
4/5
Bauhaus
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Beastie Boys
2/5
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Tom Tom Club
4/5
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
Tracy Chapman
3/5
Tim Buckley
4/5
Bee Gees
2/5
SAULT
4/5
Pixies
3/5
Supergrass
4/5
Miles Davis
5/5
Sheryl Crow
2/5
Various Artists
3/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Public Enemy
4/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
Big Black
3/5
Neil Young
3/5
Al Green
4/5
Queen
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Adam & The Ants
3/5
Brian Wilson
3/5
Herbie Hancock
5/5
The Who
3/5
The Pogues
4/5
Tortoise
4/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Alanis Morissette
3/5
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Genesis
3/5
Tori Amos
3/5
Thelonious Monk
5/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Def Leppard
3/5
T. Rex
4/5
Madness
2/5
Van Halen
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Kelela
2/5
3/5
Björk
3/5
Air
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Carpenters
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Talking Heads
5/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
John Cale
4/5
Patti Smith
4/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
George Jones
4/5
Traffic
3/5
The Kinks
3/5
Iggy Pop
3/5
Pearl Jam
4/5
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Skepta
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Oasis
3/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Mercury Rev
3/5
Alice In Chains
3/5