The good points of this album are great, but I'm not sure that they are enough to lift this above some of the cheese here to make this to a truly great album, one that I'd go back to. At least for me, it's more likely that I'll keep songs like Perfect Day and Walk on the Wild Side on general playlists and leave much of the rest as forgettable. There are a couple hidden gems--Vicious perhaps, Hanging Around and Andy's Chest. Others like Satellite of Love are flawed, while Wagon Wheel, Goodnight Ladies, and NY Phone are straight cheese. In fact, if this were a five song EP that ended at Walk on the Wild Side, it would have been a much better product.

This soft rock album is pretty even in tone, and I can see it's strengths for the kind of people that like this stuff. It's a little whiny for me, too much high treble, and generally a perfect example of the kind of rock around in the late 90s/early 2000s. It's funny that this is the second album in this list I get, right after Lou Reed's Transformer. It seems like this is almost a spiritual successor to that album. That being said, it's probably less cheesy overall than Transformer, and maybe a better, more even-toned album. So overall, not for me, but I appreciate how some people may like this. It's well done for what it is. I could see myself sipping quiet tea listening to this at a coffee shop and not being totally annoyed.

I haven't listened to this album forever--I used to like Zappa and the Mothers a lot when I was teenager. This albums starts off as a psychelic trip with Peaches Regalia--I always found it astounding that Zappa didn't do drugs based on their sound. Like many Zappa albums, this is often instrumental, like a rock orchestra. I'm not sure if it's the best place to start on Zappa--he has dozens of albums. But it's certainly one of the better ones from what I remember. I didn't like it as much as a teenager--I preferred Joe's Garage back then. But it's great to relisten to this as an adult--I think my appreciation has grown for the sounds.

Seems like their classic album, and it's pretty well done. I'm not a cold play fine, so it's a little whiny for me--this list is heavy on the whiny soft rock album for me so far. Kind of depressing as well, but it fits right in there with Radiohead for suburban soft rock depression masterpieces.

Super classic jazz album, and one of the ones I listen to the most after probably Kind of Blue. I don't have the jazz savviness to write a more in depth review about how good this is--I'm just an amateur passing fan in this category, but about as near to perfect as you can get for this style. Wild and frenetic but controlled in some chaotic way. Awesome.

Classic big band jazz. Everything you'd expect to get. Just surprised this was released in the late 50s and not like 3 decades earlier.

This album is all over the place. Raw rock riffs, ska-like beats, and some high treble early oughts sounds mixed in, though not enough of the latter to make this a complete write off for me. The album definitely stands above its era, though that isn't saying much. They certainly have energy. I may go back to this album.

A classic of mid-90s punk. A lot of people looking at this album, and probably Dookie by Green Day, may blame them for the subsequent watering down and pop-ification of punk. In other words, would there be any Blink 182 if it wasn't for these albums? I'm not sure what the answer to that is, but the answer doesn't change the fact that this album is rock solid, with banger after banger. It holds up from my teenage years--I've actually listened to it quite often in recent months after probably a big break. I'm not as familiar with their albums after this one, but none of the Offspring stuff I've heard gets near this album as a complete package. Raw energy, great melodies, social commentary.

Starts off with a total classic, and ends with a grunged up better version of it. I love a ton of Neil Young songs, but have always found his discography daunting. This is supposedly the birthplace, or precursor at least, to grunge, the second half of the album. It's a good album, though I may prefer After the Gold Rush myself. Also impressively raw for the era in mainstream rock, which had gone in another direction. I'll definitely go back to this one.

I have mixed feelings about this album. In a sense it's a pretty good album. But it also represents peak new Chili Peppers, basically the type of sound that started with Under the Bridge has nearly completely dominated their sound. The funky rifs are all but gone at this point--only maybe Purple Stain and Around the World have that old Chili Peppers sound. I don't love Scar Tissue or Californication, they sound too generic, like just worse remixes of Under the Bridge. Other Side sounds like that too a little, but the haunting melody in that one gives it a little more merit for me. So all in all, this is great for people who began listening to the Chili Peppers because they liked Under the Bridge. Not so much maybe for the fans of funked up rap-punk OG Chili peppers. It kind of reeks of sell-out in that sense. But 25 years later, I'm sure they don't care, the Scar Tissue side of them is what defines most of their career at this point.

Hmmm, new wave. I've hated this era of music for most of my life. Goofy vocals and sounds effects, goofy styles--it always seemed so affected and forced. This album has all of that, but that being said, it is listenable, probably good for the people into this genre, and the songs sometimes manage to rise about the genre's inherent cheese--especially the last song, Giant. New wave typically doesn't age very well, though I can see that many albums like this one laid the ground work for bands post-2000.

I'd heard these guys' names back in the day but had never really listened to them before. A strange but sometimes soothing mix of early 90s house and rap. Not really unlike a lot of house that often had a verse of rapping, only this lasts a whole album, and the album is consistent rather than just one or two radio singles then a bunch of filler. It definitely has a kind of Lost in Time type feel to it. But it's definitely unique.

I got this one right after Rust Never Sleeps on this list, so cool to compare them in that way. I didn't think I'd like the latter more than this album, but I have to say that after a full listen of each, Rust Never Sleeps is more consistently good, whereas After the Gold Rush has some slow bits that come off a bit whiney for my liking. Perhaps that's why I've always seen Neil Young as an amazing song writer, but not necessarily as a great album maker. The high points are super high--Southern Man, After the Gold Rush. Then lots of forgettable filler.

Most post punk, whatever that means, but I haven't really heard of these guys other than the name. Much better than The The, which I just had before this. This is a rawer sound, and doesn't have the goofiness of new waves. Some really good songs on here. Dumb Waiters is a banger. Hot drums on It Goes On. There's a lot more here to like that I didn't hear on a first listen. I'll probably come back to this album, good discovery.

Classic foundational French hiphop album. Funky, great word play, great beats. MC Solaar sits somewhere between a Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip and Guru in terms of style, flow and wordplay. Great to revisit this album, it's been a while. Worth listening to even if you don't speak French, as the beats are great, representative of the 1991 sound. Great album.

This is wild, experimental, visionary, groundbreaking, and close to unlistenable. I can appreciate that this is important for the development of jazz, and looking this guy up, I see he collaborated with thrash metal dudes, which kind of makes sense. But I probably won't be listening to this album ever again. And I typically like jazz and even some thrash metal. Maybe if I developed a meth addiction I'd listen to this at 4am. Ecars was pretty good, all that being said, and the closest thing to a track with melody on the album.

A lesson in smooth. Cool to see how Getz started getting into samba before the Girl From Ipanema, collabs with Jobim and Gilberto. You can still hear some of that "getting to know the style" type vibe in this, like experimenting. Also, as far as jazz goes, this is like the polar opposite to the John Zorn Spy Vs. Spy that I had on this list immediately before this album. Short sweet and pleasant.

I tend to prefer John Lennon written songs when it comes to the Beatles, and post drug albums. But listening to this album made me realize there's such a thing as too much Lennon and too much drugs. Maybe the other three guys tempered John's excesses. In any case, there are a few good songs here, Imagine obviously and I really liked How do you sleep? but I'd never go back and listen to this album as a complete package. How? Is also OK. Kind of just shows you the start of the decline more than anything. Keep in mind when I write this, I'm only a passive Beatles listener, not a massive fan. I enjoy some of the best later stuff, but not crazy about them.

A strange but soothing album. I don't exactly know what it is, but it might be something I'll listen to again when I'm in a kind of zen need to relax mood. Or at least mostly soothing. It has some very strange breakdowns here and there, odd solos, strange instruments or sounds that come from I don't know what. But it works.

For the longest time I thought the title song was actually made in 1999 because they played it so much on the radio that year. I always wondered why the sound was so dated and clearly not 1999 at the time. Anyway, having learned it was released in 1982 makes sense. Probably right at the beginning or in the thick of the synthy 80s sound. Listen, I know prince is incredibly talented, and I've even grown to like some of his hits like Red Corvette and When Doves Cry over the years. But the sound just doesn't speak to me as an overall rule. So it's tough to appreciate a full album. Songs like Delierious are just straight goofy. Then again, there are some slept on funky gems here like DMSR that I might add to a playlist at some point. I just can't see this as an album I'd groove to on the regular, not my scene. Prince songs are best enjoyed here and there on the radio for me.

Raw and lots of power here. I can see why this is called proto punk, you can kind of draw a pretty direct line from here to the Stooges and such. This album is decent, and is certainly something I tend to like. I just didn't find it that memorable. I'll probably give it another listen at some point though.

Kind of exactly what I expected to hear. A lot of strange, kind of dark 80s synth. The darker edge of this makes it a little better for me than a bunch of the goofier 80s synth pop stuff. Almost premoniscient of Nine Inch Nails in some ways, though nowhere near that dark, obviously. Especially the sounds of tracks like "I Could Give You a Mirror." The song "Sweet Dreams" is obviously a pop masterpiece, but surprisingly that's the only one I've heard before. "This is the House" is a little cheesy, but that's about the only real 80s-style pop cheese on this album. I'm surprised to find this so palatable for an era and genre I typically don't like.

I just listened to this two days ago after pulling the Hot Rats album on this website. It had been like three decades since I'd last heard it. This time I at least knew what I was in for--as a 16 year old kid expecting something in the lines of other rock at the time, I had no idea what to make of it. Back then the only song I really loved was Trouble Every Day. Upon re-listen, it's easy to see why. That's definitely the most accessible traditional rock song. But then again, you get the sense that he just does songs like that to prove he can before delving back into weirdness--his bread and butter. Another example of this is Anyway the Wind Blows, which is a solid doo-wap kind of early 60s rock song. Other songs like Hungry Freaks have promise, but then why the wazoo? I guess the wazoo is one Zappa's things. Outside of that, the album is all over the place. But that's kind of Zappa's thing. In some ways, it fits in with acid rock of the era, like Jefferson Airplane or Love. I Ain't Got No Heart is decent... I just don't love many of Zappa's choruses. It's like many of the songs that have promise go off into strange choruses, bridges or breakdowns, which is pretty consistent through much of Zappa's work. I didn't find this album as good as Hot Rats, which seems to have polished some of the concepts that Freak Out began. Frank Zappa is always like this though. When he's on, it's really good. But you also never know what kind of spaced out stuff you're going to hear on a given album. A genius for sure, but one who often gets lost in weirdness. And this album is probably among the less weird of his vast discography. In any case, it's fun to listen to Zappa again after all these years, but I can't say I'll go back to this for another decade or two.

Dylan goes electric. Classic album, lots of classic tracks like Subterranean Homesick Blues and Mr. Tambourine Man. But this isn't just a few hits and a bunch of filler material. Lots of slept on tracks here, like Gates of Eden, which I love, 115th Dream and It's Alright Ma. It's when he went partly to crossover to rock, but there is still plenty of classic folk here. Might not be my favourite Dylan album, but certainly top five, maybe top three.

Pedro Navaja is the obvious biggest hit here, but there are a lot of other good tracks as well from these two Fanias members. I guess this is the top selling salsa album ever, which kind of makes it an odd inclusion on this list, which I've found so far has tended towards experimental and innovative rather than just plain good and universally liked. Anyway, back to the album. It starts off super strong, with a lot of the salsa dura type stuff I prefer, and none of the whinier type of "corta veina" salsa I don't like. For that alone, this rises above some of the other Fanias classic albums that I don't find as easy to listen to all the way through. Many of the latter just seem to have more filler. Ojos is a solid track, and Siembra super solid. Only seven songs and no faults here.

I'm surprised I've never listened to this album, or really familiarized myself with these guys. I've certainly heard Message to Rudy. I guess these guys are among the first of the ska revival, which is probably why this album is here. So cool to hear on that level, as I'm a fan of later punk ska bands that built on this like Sublime, Operation Ivy. The sub-meta text on the fact that Little B*** uses a sample from the Stones' Brown Sugar, adds an additional issue to an already mysoginistic brutal song that I'm not sure people picked up on.

Album starts off with a bang, almost circus like. But not completely unpleasant. Driving along kind of goofy. Third track, Early in the Morning, is solid. Coconut is odd but cool, and I'm sure I've heard that one before. Jump into the Fire is another great track. End track definitely on the weird side, and lots of other filler that sounds kind of dated. But I guess this album sounds like it fits the required experimental chops to make the list.

Strange mix of milongas and jazz. Kind of cool in many instances. Others seem to go off on tangents a bit. It's soothing background music for the most part. Like afternoon literary coffee shop type music.

A very soothing album in a way I didn't expect. My mom used to love these guys when I was like eight, so I can of have a vague recollection of it. Certainly not something you want to listen to all the time, but it has a definite appeal. The Sweet Jane version is awesome, and the songs following that are good too. Might go back and listen again at some point.

Not super amped about this, but then again I don't really love the Smiths either, so go figure. It's a little poppy for me, and a little too mainstream 80s. It seems like a decent album for people into that kind of thing, just not my schtick.

More new wave. This list should be titled "900 new wave 80s albums to listen to before you die, plus 101 bonus tracks that aren't new wave." Anyway, despite being sick of new wave, I liked this album better than I thought I would. I always seemed to think of Depeche Mode as one of the main villains of 80s synth rock. These guys are a lot darker than I envisioned they were. I may listen to this again in the futrue.

So the Byrds go from a Bob Dylan cover band that apes the Beatles sound to a real band. Or that's how the wikipedia entry seems to describe them. I don't know much about them other than that David Crosby started here before Crosby, Stills and Nash. Definitely psychedelic elements here that sound like they probably inspired Jefferson Airplane, which is cool. Just not quite as polished or epic in the songwriting. More like fourth dimension, where Hendrix, the Doors and Jefferson Airplane are the fifth dimension... May listen to this again though, parts definitely give me that "worth coming back to" vibe.

Country is certainly not my thing. This is sometimes more folky than country, which makes some of it tolerable, but still. Hard to get into this on any level.

Newest album I've had so far on this list by a long shot. This one is pretty interesting, and something I'll probably go back to. First song is refreshingly epic. Kind of reminds me of Apache or something. The songs are pretty original and also very good. Not just typical rock themes here--you've got soul, acid rock, 70s funk and other elements. Getting introduced to stuff like this is what I hoped for from doing this list in the first place.

This is a pretty good album by Simon and Garfunkel, though not sure it's their best. Scarborough Fair is a classic and I wasn't familiar with most of the other tracks in here, but found some good gems. A Simple Desultory Philippic is a banger. There are a few tracks like that which sound a little more rockin than S&G typically sound. A harder sound that is a nice break from their normal quiet type harmonizing.

This reminds me a lot of the White Stripes in some ways, especially in the first few songs. It is also much different, what with use of horns and such--stuff that departs from your average rock trio. It's pretty good, from an era that I don't know much about and mostly hate the rock I do know about, at least for the first half. It gets a little on the cheesy side on the B-side of the album. Not sure how well the country crooner elements work, for example, in the last track.

Finally I get an epic grunge masterpiece from this generator. The funny thing is, growing up I was a huge Soundgarden and Alice in Chains fan, and Nirvana to a lesser extent, but only really knew the Pearl Jam singles. I've gotten more into the latter in the years since, though. Four of these are genre defining, and for me Even Flow and Alive are transcendent grunge classics. Jeremy and Black are merely excellent. But the album as a whole is not just the four singles. There isn't a dud here--the other six tracks are slept on for sure but still good. Porch and Garden are really growing on me over the years, for example. Release is a great kicker song.

I'm not an Elvis fan in the least but this one sounds better than most of what I hear. Bluesy, lots of crooning, but it works pretty well. Seems on top of his game here. I don't really listen to Elvis, but if I ever feel the urge, I guess I'll go back to this album.

Wow, holy trebble on the intro there, Batman. Certainly not a fast way to my heart. Second song is just goofy--the computer buzz solo sounds like a discount knock-off of Daft Punk. Baby's On Fire, slightly less dumb, but still dumb. Driving Me Backwards.... skipped halfway through. On Some Faraway beach is the first tolerable song. Then a bunch more skips basically. This was the first album I was struggling to even finish. And the first 1-star I've given out.

A classic Johnny Cash album. I'd only heard the original release of this, but I listened to the Legacy edition this time. It was perhaps a little too long--it could have done without the outtakes at the end. But it does add some flavour that the regular one lacks. But anyway, the original is great, and is Johnny Cash at his prime. I'm not a country fan at all, but Cash is the man.

I remember listening to this years back and thinking it was better just as a few singles than a complete album. And it Stoned Me is classic, and the track Moondance. Coming back to it is good, more stuff to appreciate that I probably glossed over the first time I heard this. Overall good but perhaps not among the greats of this era.

I really had no previous knowledge of Yes other than Owner of Lonely Heart, which I always got mixed up and thought was by Boston anyway. Starts off pretty cool, the first track, very prog rock. Lots of almost bluegrass-like breakdowns. Very southern rock in some moments, even though they are English. Singing is very early 70s. A little heavy on the organ in some tracks for me. In other senses, I get some definite Rush vibes.

This is a solid Marvin Gaye album, perhaps his second best after What's Going on. Perhaps the best thing to come out of a divorce settlement, ever. I remember giving one of my exes What's Going On as a present once. I should have given her this CD when we broke up. Thematically, it's really a cinematic album, with the "When did you stop loving me" weaving in and out of the tracklist. Super soulful track too.

Solid DJ Premier work here in the early platinum age of rap, in a year full of absolute classics in the whole genre. It's been a minute since I listened to this album. Da Bitchez is the best known classic and Can't Stop the Prophet, but there's tons of great music often slept on here, like Mental Stamina, Ain't the Devil Happy, My Mind Spray. And underground producer-nerd-out tracks like Come Clean, with water drop sound... "You want to front, whatttt?"

I remember listening to this a decade or so ago when I was trying to get hip to indie rock or whatever this is. Back then I used to think all Indie rock of the mid-zeros was basically high treble songs about spatulas. This album pretty much confirmed my prejudice. Listening again didn't change this impression overall, but it did reveal some nuance. Some good tracks, some stuff worth going back to. Sprawl II is a pretty good track, but it also kind of sounds a lot like MGMT. Not an album I'll go back to, other than to maybe harvest a couple tracks for a "best of the zeros" rock playlist. (That playlist is pretty short).

I'd never heard of this guy, but glad to finally get another rap album. The album starts off strong, hard funky type beat on title track. Ladies hit squad pretty good. Not sure I love the rest of the album, but it's not bad for sure. Better than much of what's out there in rap these days, at least. Perhaps worth another listen. Base lines hit pretty hard in some tracks, but for others the beat is just more irritating than anything. Some tracks the lyricism sounds a little on the lazy side, like delivery on chorus on Numbers, for example. Shutdown is a pretty solid track, and That's Not me. Last trackis pretty tight as well. 3.5 stars.

Pretty good electronic album. I didn't recognize the guy's name, but some of the tracks rang a bell. Sonically this is a nice journey, and something I'll probably come back to. Solid album, that really doesn't have any duds. Very listenable.

Ok, just doesn't really sing to me much. Kind of generic, but at least better than the terrible rock from late 90s. We're not supposed to a little on goofy side--sounds like the Chipmunks on helium.

Peak 90s R&B album produced by rap producers era. Some Q-Tip, Mobb Deep, Bad Boy, etc. Production is good, lots of hits. Features by Bone, Thugs. Despite all this, I can sometimes stomach Mariah, but just like honey, a spoonful is usually easier to take than a whole jar. A full Mariah album is the jar. Aside from the fact that I would never listen to these kind of diva balladeer albums, the problem for is that while there are a few decent upbeat dance tracks that most would recognize, most of the rest of the album is vein-cutting whiney schlock. It's just not consistent. But then again, who am I. I'm clearly not the market for this stuff.

Not really my kind of music, but not totally unpleasant. Her sounds do sound a little repetitive after a while, but it's also kind of hypnotic, I guess.

Starts off normalish on the first track then the second track kind of takes off. A little silly for my liking, even though it has an interesting cinematic concept. My problem is with the execution, not necessarily the idea in the first place. Of course Kinks fans would love this. I enjoy some of their singles, but this album doesn't do it for me. Australia and Shangri-La are both pretty good tracks for example. In general the second half is better than the first half. Well, at least until Princess Marina... ughh.

Peter Gabriel. Ya, well, I tried. Not really my thing, and can't even see how this holds up in any longer sense. Just seems data rather than avante garde. And not super exciting.

These guys sound like what would happen if you removed all the best parts of Primus, Frank Zappa, and maybe Kool Keith and just kept the weird junk. It's like they militantly reject harmony. And any time they have some cool element like the drum beat on the second track, or the base line on the third track, they ruin it with random annoying noise. On that note, I feel like this album would serve best in a hiphop producer's record collection, as a repository of random samples that nobody would ever track down to the original album. But it probably wouldn't be a good producer using them. Blue Rosebuds sounds like a witch's spell, told with annoying cackle and everything. Albums like this are why I'm starting to lag behind on my listening list on this generator--I've had too many lately. The song "Bach is Dead" is funny because the poor guy's probably rolling over in his grave listening to this. The last song isn't entirely unpleasant, which means it's a highlight here.

Synth pop. Ya. Well, I didn't dislike it as much as I imagined I would, but I still didn't love it. This list seems to have every single synth pop album ever made.

Fascinating Rhythm is a great song I'd never heard before. But a lot of these are wonderful. They have that hypnotic quality of voice. Great album, if long, but you feel like you emerged from a flashback trance from decades ago.

Not sure I've ever heard this whole album, but great energy here. Also some gems I hadn't heard in a while and forgot about like Young Man's Blues and Substitute. Maybe this isn't such a work of art as Quadrophenia, Tommy or some of the other studio albums, but great energy and driving rock power. Basically a greatest hits album. Also a good refresher from the type of experimental schlock albums I've been getting on this list recently.

I remember when these guys came out I kind of thought they were a little gimmicky. I was into 80s and early 90s metal, Megadeth, Metallica, Pantera, Slayer etc., but these guys' costumes kind of threw me off and never really listened to them much. Hearing this years later, they have a lot of energy, tons of thrash and a little groove. Nothing really stands out to me on this album as a track though, seems more like a jam band.

Orbital at its best. This album invokes that sense of wonder overlaid with the harsh industrial type samples that make for an amazing contrast. These guys are great for invoking a special mood, always go back to them. I prefer Insides a little to this one, but this is still great, and some classic Orbital on this.

Groovy album. Soulful rendition of Change Gone Come, Wonderful world, and My Girl. Lots of Sam Cooke tracks there. Other solid tracks like Shake. It's a good overall listen, but I'm always hesitant of getting behind cover albums like this. I nearly always prefer original material.

Great, noise rock. Why the hell did we need this category of music. Another one of the few albums on this list where I couldn't bear to listen and skipped some tracks, especially early on. It's kind of like industrial but bad, takes out any of the melody etc. of say Nine Inch Nails or something. It does get a little better as the album goes on--the first three tracks are just like a warning. Last track is kind of cool on a sailer shanty/industrial/Tom Waits level.

Decent mid-70s rock. Not totally my thing, and don't love Frampton, but this was better than I thought it was going to be. I like his acoustic instrumentals. Funny that his original version of Baby I love you way is definitely worse than the Big Mountain cover. Probably won't go back to. Definitely not something that should be one of biggest selling albums ever, but then again, I've never really had mainstream taste.

The title of the album pretty much says it all here--you get exactly what you came for. Classic cowboy movie soundtrack plunder on this track list.

One of my favourite albums of all time, and probably my favourite Hendrix album. Everything comes together here in peak performance, from the heavy wawa use to the rampant psychedelia. The album listens like a glorious acid trip, and is sonically something else. Hendrix is incandescent here, making his guitar talk via wawa glory on Still Raining, Still Dreaming, which picks up on where Rainy Day Dream away left off a few tracks early. Then there's the ornate riff of Burning of the Midnight Lamp--a masterpiece of psychedelia. The riff on Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) and the muted intro that predicts hip hop scratching and the solo on All Along the Watchtower, one of rock's alltime greatest solows. And it isn't just the guitar work here--this is a band effort. Noel Redding's Little Miss Strange sounds like the Beatles on more acid than usual while the drumming on House Burning Down and Gypsy Eyes drives the amazing rhythm of those tracks.

I listened to this for the first time not too long ago as I saw it on a list of some of the best of Cohen's albums. Definitely a little more contemporary in sound, though this is mostly due to recording techniques--his sound is typically kind of timeless. The title track is amazing, vintage Leonard Cohen. Treaty is great writing. Traveling Light, Steer Your Way and It Seemed the Better Way are awesome. It's a great, complete album, and though I'm really only familiar with his earliest albums, this one definitely holds up. 4.5.

Darker than I thought the cure was. I always kind of associated them with somewhere between New Wave and Synthed up pop rock, neither of which I like. Understated vocals and dark guitar tones. It's not bad at all. 3.5

Solid Dylan album all the way through. I think this was my dad's favourite Dylan album. A lot of timeless classics like the title track, Like a Rolling Stone and Tombstone Blues. And some lesser known great tracks like Desolation Row and It Takes a Lot to Laugh. For whatever reason, I've never much liked Queen Jane that much. The rest of the tracks are pretty good as well, there isn't really filler on this album, though it's probably not in my top 3 for Dylan. 4/5

Starts off sounding like the intro song from a James Bond movie in feel. Well, at least until the spooky solo comes in. From there it pretty much stays spooky. I remember not being into the songs I heard when these guys first came out, but I was 19 back then. Now I can see the appeal. Kind of cool in a throwback way. Definitely unique. 3.4.

Not bad, but not super exciting. Wish You Well is a pretty good track. I'm not sure I'll go back to these, just not interesting enough.

The Beatles start doing Acid, and become a truly great band. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, and mostly prefer their post-drugs albums to their early poppier stuff, so this one is for me. Starts off strong with Taxman, and stays strong. Eleanor Rigby is a song that I didn't initially like years ago but it's grown on me--now I think it's a great tune. A lot of sleeper songs that I'm not as familiar with but that are pretty solid songwriter as well, like I'm Only Sleeping with the backwards guitar solos, and Love you To with the tranced out sitar and Indian drums. Doctor Robert solid. I hate Yellow Submarine--mostly because of the stupid sounding polka like jangle--but that's mostly the only fault I have with the album personally. The rest of the tracks more than make up for it. Then by the end, Tomorrow Never Knows takes you off into space. 4.5/5

Jesus, second noise rock album in 2 weeks. I'm not sure I'm up to the task. At least it's better than the Liars. There are more riffs, for examples, and less of a sense of just industrial pots landing on the ground. At least this kind of sounds more punkish. Even if the singer just kind of sounds like he's having a seizure, but hey--that's something. Anyway, there are moments of greatness, like the final solo of 2 Towers is pretty cool sounding. Starts of grating like most of their songs, as if even your noise rock CD is skipping, then turns into something pretty epic. Anyway, listening to these guys makes me think somebody needs to make a mockumentary like This is Spinal Tap, or even maybe just a hilarious documentary, about this movement. Just thinking about the studio decisions here makes me laugh... "No guys, that's not the crash I was hoping for... could you bang less tea pot and maybe smash a wok or something? And maybe turn up the fire alarm. I'm not feeling it yet..." 2.3.

I remember when I bought this when I was 15 even the jacket cover on the CD was epic--it looked more like an old vinyl album cover than a CD. This was one of those I bought back in the day before I even heard any of their music--music life before the internet--so I really didn't know what I was in for. I remember laying on the floor in my bedroom and listening to the whole thing through. Now, 30 years later it's a gloomy day and I'm in the perfect mood to listen to this masterpiece. A masterpiece in production that basically rewrote the book on industrial rock. Trent Reznor's rage perfectly synthesized. One of the great things about this, among many I haven't gotten into, is the hard to soft and back again balance that NIN achieves so fluidly in this album.

Kind of a novel sound. Taking some of the goofier punk elements and sending it straight into rockabilly. I'm not sure if it was an influence, but I feel like Jello Biafra and Dead Kennedies took a bit of this into making their sound--maybe not this album as they DK was already around at this point, but maybe earlier stuff? Not clear on timeline there, but some affinity. The raw, screechy guitar sound really works for this kind of punk. I'm not sure I'll listen to this a lot, but may go back to in the future. 3.4

I like Rumours but am otherwise not a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. This album starts off with a few forgettable tracks before Sara, which is a solid one. "What makes you think you're the one" isn't a great track, right after. Storms has a certain hypnotic quality. Maybe I just prefer Nicks songs to Buckingham songs, which is generally true of their other albums as well. "That's All for Everyone" is a decent track though, then "Not that Funny" is just kind of goofy. "Sisters of the Moon" a solid track as well, so ya, I'm mostly a Nicks fan. "That's Enough for Me" is a dumb jangle. Then "Brown Eyes" is pretty cool lowkey sleeper track. "Beautiful Child" is pretty good. "Tusk" is a great track to close out the album. Overall, the whole album is kind of a mixed bag for me. But that's mostly how I feel about Fleetwood Mac in general. Their best moments are great, but there is a large amount of forgettable material in between. This certainly isn't quite the album that Rumours is. 3/5

Just not into this glam rock, and this isn't even a great example of it. Just like a Bowie side project. Gives me the vibes of like, when rappers make it big then try to put their less talented buddies on. Helping Iggy Pop get his career going was a great move. These guys, I dunno. When this album isn't outright annoying, it's boring. Randomly, the book these guys based their name on kind of sounds interesting.

A lot of this sounds like some wannabee schlock that sits somewhere between the Beatles and the Beach Boys. There were plenty of super great things happening in rock in 1968. This wasn't one of them. Then again, the story of this album is crazy, having just learned it. And the Time of the Season really is something else, rises above the rest of the material. Still, one good song and a bunch of other average tracks does not an album make.

Fatboy is f**ing and f**ing and f**ing in heaven.... Epic album. Takes me me back to grade 12. And then the Big Beach Boutique II concert, while I was living in Brighton, just around the corner from Norman's studio. This album, along with Dig Your Own Hole, Homework and Orbital's Insides are what first got me into electronic music, which was initially a hard sell as I was mostly into rock and rap. Love Norman's rap and funk sensibilities. The high points are super high on this album, aka Funk Soul Brother, Praise You, and really the first few tracks. There is some filler in the middle though, which is why I dropped this down to a four.

I'd never heard of this guy. Pretty interesting album, both in lyrical content and in terms of the guitar work. Definitely sounds punkish in the sound of his voice, and then folkish in his kind of cadence and subject matter. Like electric folk punk. This is probably one I'll go back to at some point. 3.4/ 5 4.5

Die hard Floyd fans may love this, but while I love Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and maybe Wish you were here, this album is a little liminal for me. There are some decent moments, but it's not something that really shines like a crazy diamond, pun intended. Late Night is maybe the most interesting track for me. 2/5

I know some of these songs from the radio. Or the first two anyway--the first track is pretty decent, and Rumour Has it is excellent. From there it gets pretty whiney for the next two songs. But some rhythm and soul comes back in Set the Fire and He Won't Go, the in I'll Be Waiting. Take it All, unsurprisingly, more crying. I guess the surprise here was that the album wasn't all crying, and not as depressing as I assumed an Adele album would be. Someone Like You was the track one of my exes sent me a few months after dumping me. 3/5, higher than I thought I'd be rating an Adele album for sure. It's mostly just not my thing.

I listened to this a few months ago for the first time out of curiosity about the Kinks. I really only knew a few of the hits, but heard they were good so listened to a couple of their more highly esteemed albums. I kind of forgot about this after listening. On my second listen today, this really came off a pretty solid album. Five tracks in and they are all bangers, then it keeps on strong. Animal Farm is a great track. Too bad some of this stuff doesn’t get much radio play anymore, they kind of stayed underground I guess. Anyway, I’m glad this came up, and that I listened to it again, because I’ll probably come back to this one.