This is seriously an awesome album. I'd never heard of these guys, but definitely getting early Jefferson Airplane vibes in songs like Tam Lin as well as the lead singer's voice. There are also really cool folk elements throughout. This is definitely a complete album, and something I'll put on my list of stuff to go back to. That rare 5/5 that I'd never heard or even heard of.

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.

Solid Jonny Cash late in his career. Cool to hear him do songs by Nine Inch Nails, Paul Simon and others. You can definitely tell this has Rick Rubin's touch on it. 4/5

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.

The greatest funk soul album of all time. I first heard of Curtis Mayfield from the Dead Presidents soundtrack, which was a solid intro into funk/soul when I was a teenager. Then my good buddy gave me a copy of this album on vinyl--each of his parents had one apparently, and his father had passed recently anyway. Solid gift from a great guy. So where to start. I guess with the album itself--I'm not sure many new fans to this have heard of the movie first, but I later bought it on cheap VHS. The intro with the white caddy made that like a dream car for a while for me. This album has absolutely everything. Hard social commentary, amazing music and great falsetto. The horns that Mayfield has are harder than almost anything short of Fela Kuti, and even that's debatle between legends. The percussion... basically this album's only weaker points are Cocaine, and even that song's grown on me. Pusherman, Little Child, Freddie's Dead--I have those on multiple playlists. In fact, nearly every song here is on a playlist somewhere. I wish they never remade this movie, mostly because the remake has such a garbage soundtrack. Clean 5/5 as one of top 5 soul albums of all time, and likely my GOAT.

A classic album, both in execution and the back story behind its making. I remember watching the documentary about its making in a Latin American studies class in university. All these musicians, super popular decades before, were apparently working odd jobs to make ends meet before they were all brought together for this album. Given the fact that many hadn't been playing for so long adds to the timelessness of the sound. Almost like they picked up where they left off rather than having modernized over the decades. Easy 5/5

The OG of OGs. The originator OG. For some background, this album came out in 1991 when gangster rap had begun to pick up real steam for the past few years with groups like NWA, the Geto Boyz and others. But Ice T, along with Schooly D on the East Coast, were probably the the first two gangster rappers--the former with 6 in the Morning that was released in 1986. So half a decade later, this is Ice T declaring that he has always owned this shit. It's been a minute since I heard this album, but the stand out tracks are New Jack Hustler and the classic title song. But it stays consistent all the way through. Mind Over Matter, Mic Contact... classic. It's also probably the predecessor of metal rap, with the Body Count track. 4/5

Bollywood movie soundtrack! Ok. Starts off with some chase scene type music then Indian Cha Cha Cha... Already know I'm in for a journey here. Sitar Cha Cha Cha that makes fun of itself. There are a lot of just orchestral tracks -- some very Ennio Morricone via Sergio Leone sounding -- and a few actual songs, which are pretty decent. But at the same time, I'm not sure how to rate this as it's way out of my experience. Naag Devta has some appeal. Baby Let's Dance Together is kind of funky. Not exactly full on Bollywood, some of these songs, which I guess is why it's unique in that genre? 3/5 because I don't know how else to compare this.

I've never listened to this whole album, and probably really never another song besides the title track. My impression was McLean was a one-hit wonder. Listening to the album kind of confirms that, unfortunately. Basically there is the one song, then a bunch of whiny soft rock schlock. Not my scene. Winterwood is decent, I guess. I'd give this album a 1 out of 5 if it wasn't for the one classic track. 2/5

I'm not a Willie Nelson fan--he's typically too country for me. This one is a little better than most of his other stuff as it has a folkier feel. Probably still not something I'd go back to, but better than other Willie Nelson stuff I've heard, for sure. 3/5

This is a pretty industrial sounding techno album from back in the day. That being said, it still has groove. I'll always prefer Dig Your Own Hole to this one, but this still has its moments. Chico's Groove is the standout for me. Kind of has that slightly wistful sense that Chemical Brothers came to be in later albums.

I'm not super familiar with this album other than the Del track. Being more of a Del fan than a Blur fan, I kind of gravitate towards that side of things. Interesting that this album came to be in part due to Deltron 3030--a truly epic album I hope is on this list. And in some ways you can draw a direct line from Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon album to this project. There are definitely a lot of hiphop sensibilities beyond just the tracks with Del rapping on them here. Anyway, all that being said, I've never really been a huge fan. Relistening doesn't really change my opinion on that. 3/5

As well as I know most CCR singles, I'm not super familiar with their studio albums, so this is a great opportunity. Opens with a classic track, then followed by a great one I'd never heard in Bootleg. Third track a blue deep cut. Also Proud Mary, and a solid jam track to bring this short album to a close. Classic, short and sweet. Not a five but rounds up to a five. 4.5/5

Jurassic 5 is the classic answer to the terrible state of most commercial rap by the late 1990s/early 2000s, the so-called bling or jiggy era. These guys were underground, true to hiphop roots, and talented. I'm pretty familiar with Quality Control, but had never heard this album before--a definite oversight. Highlights for me on this first listen were I Am Someboy, and A Day at the Races--awesome to hear Percee P and Kane. Every rapper on that track goes hard, but man, Percee's flow and rhyme schemes... wicked posse cut. Thin Line is the one track I think I've heard before, and a great beat. Chali 2na is on point rapping throughout with his distinctive delivery and baritone voice and some tracks showcase the wordplay of the other MCs. Full props for dropping the hilarious Kool Keith freestyle in the middle. Anyway, there are definitely some filler tracks that could have been left off this album, but it's mostly pretty good all around. I'm not a huge J5 fan but always respected them. Rounds up to a 4 probably. 3.7 or 3.8 in reality.

I used to have this idea about the kind of artist Lou Reed was based on some of the singles I'd heard before, then I heard Transformer and I was pretty sure that I mostly didn't like Lou Reed. Or at least at his albums were slow, depressing and boring. This album has restored some faith. It's also depressing, of course--kind of Reed's vibe--but there is a lot of character here, and it doesn't get too cheesy like Transformer. I don't know any of the songs on this album, but it was a pleasant overall listen and concept album. 3/5

Not really my style, but her voice has a hypnotic quality and the beats are pretty good. She doesn't delve into complete whining either like some divas. I'm not sure what else to say about this. 3/5

Some of these tracks give me a Pink Floyd vibe, others something like a MGMT vibe. It's not unpleasant, and kind of a cool consistent vibe all the way through. Some psychedelia. 3.4/5

As soon as I saw this I was like FML, another bloody Eno album in the same month. While that sentiment wasn't entirely proven wrong, this album is a little more palatable than Here Come the Warm Jets, which was a solid 1 star for me. This one is at least inoffensive ambient music with some weird ticks, which is a huge step up from the other one. Progress, right? I just read that this guy produced Bowie and U2 at some points. Well, to quote the poet and philosopher Oshea Jackson, "stick to producing." Two lofty stars, which is pretty solid for Eno.

Produced by Johnny Winter--now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. My dad used to have one of his albums on vinyl, and several Muddy Waters album. Anyway, this is solid blues. 4/5.

I had a couple Rush albums back in the day, and always had an appreciation for this musicianship, but I'd never heard this album for whatever reason, or even most of the songs. It's a pretty solid rock album as a rock album, forming kind of a bridge to their earlier Zeppelin-esque sound and their later super synthy progressive stuff. I like it because it still has enough rocking in it. Geddy Lee is still on his shriek level on vocal delivery, which I kind of prefer to his later delivery. A Passage to Bangkok is sweet--love the riff. Slayer must have loved that song. Not so sure about Tears. 3.8/5, rounds up to 4 stars.

I love Curtis Mayfield, but not super familiar with this album, so this is a great listen. It's certainly not up to the epic level of Superfly, but that's maybe the greatest funk/soul album of all time--it's incomparible. First two tracks are solid, and So in Love is a decent love track. The gospel track 4 is pretty iffy, but it's not bad musically, I guess. Just a little much for me. Hard Times is the standout track here--deep funky groove. Also the sample for a Ghostface or Raekwon track--I can't remember which "There's no love to be found..." Love to the People is a great finisher. All around short but sweet album. 4/5

Have never really listened to her music, but this album is kind of cool in a unique, and different way. There are a lot of good tracks to listen to here, and this is something I'll probably listen to again. Solid songwriting here. 4/5

All I can think about when listening to these guys is Fred Armisten and Bill Hader's knock of in Documentary Now. What I didn't expect is that the the real band sounds even sillier than the mockumentary band. Really not my thing--I can't get over the goofy vocals. Not to mention the lyrics are stupid and nonsensical half the time, even on a rock level. And I don't love the music backing tracks, so it's not even like it's just the singer. As others have mentioned, Psycho Killer is the high point here. But not something I'd want to listen to more than once every half decade. 1/5

Lots of energy in this album, as you might expect. I haven't heard this album, just a couple of their later ones. This one seems more even on tone than the others. Kind of cool to see the reggae cover of Police and Thieves--punk and reggae were hand in hand right from the beginning I guess. 4/5

As soon as I saw this was post-punk, my eyes rolled back in my head because most things described as post punk end up being some nerdcore high synth new wave junk like the Talking Heads. This is not that. This is really just punk. Or maybe a bridge between early punk wave and the skater punk of the early 90s. This is great album full of good tracks that I'll probably listen to again. 4/5.

The loss of the World Trade Center on September 11 was terrible. But so is this album, for the most part. It almost just sounds like he's trying to stay relevant well into his career by doing a tribute album to the tragedy. Worlds Apart is pretty decent. But even at that point, I'm feeling like do I really have to listen to 8 more tracks? I just don't get the argument for including this album on this list--especially as I'm sure the list lacks of ton of great stuff 100% more deserving from anybody who isn't an absolute die-hard Springsteen fan. Seems like they included it out of a feeling of guilt--like "It's about 9/11 so we better include it." Anyway, there's a difference between dated and classic. He has older stuff that doesn't sound dated, but classic. This 2002 album sounds super dated. 1/5 not because it's as bad as some of the other art rock albums on this list, but because I see absolutely no reason it's relevant on any level.

Seriously solid album. I've never heard a ton of Aretha beyond the few singles. This album starts off with the biggest of those. But there are a lot of good deep cuts here. Love Save Me especially. Love discovering Pete Rock samples by accident too, speaking of the latter track. 4/5

Haven't heard this whole album, just the singles for the most part. The first track is a great progressive metal track though. And the album is mostly good into Seaside Rendezvous, a goofy lowpoint that singlehandedly is bad enought that it almost negates the positive impact of You're My Best Friend, if not Bohemian Rhapsody. Luckily things pick back up in The Prophet's Song, which is a solid one. Love of My Life is a little soft and whiny for me. Good Company is kind of a dumb song as well. Anyway, I'm not sure where this album stands among Queen's discography as I'm by no means a superfan, but I'm not sure it stands up as a truly great album, though its high points are certainly high. 3/5.

The only track I recognized right away was Every Breath You take. Walking in your footsteps is alright, and O My God. King of Pain is probably my favourite track on this album. Murder by Numbers is OK. Otherwise I'm not really a huge fan of this. Not sure if it's just that I don't love the Police or that this isn't their best album--I don't mind Roxanne, Message in a Bottle etc. 3/5

This is album is kind of a vibe. Not really my usual vibe by any means--I've tried to get down with country but can't. This is kind of like folk flirting with country though, so I can tolerate it. My mom really likes this kind of stuff, so it kind of reminds me of her music. I'm not sure that I can pick out any individual tracks, but the whole thing sounds pretty evenly done at least. 3/5

This wasn't bad, but I actually enjoyed the other Cure album, Seventeen Seconds, a little more. First few songs were decent then it kind of sounded all the same. Not terrible, just not very interesting.

Cool album from a band I'd never heard. They certainly sound similar in some ways to early Jefferson Airplane, though the songs aren't quite as good it has that same early psychedelic rock feel. I'll probably give this one another try--there were certainly a few tracks I liked. A high 3.

I feel like I probably heard this as a kid since my mom listened to this stuff, but it's hard to tell these songs apart from just Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt solo. I tried to give this a chance in her honour, but this is all a little too croony and whiny for me for the most part. I don't feel a burning urge to feel lonesome. Little Darling is a solid solid though.

A great album, and Beck's high point by a long shot, where the stars align on all the eclectic musical interests he has. The album isn't even of course--you wouldn't really expect a Beck album to be. Minus is a minus, for example, and High 5 is a little grating. But the high points of the singles--Devil's Haircut, New Pollution, and Where it's At--as well as deeper cuts like Hot Wax, Novocane and Jack-Ass, far outweigh the misses. 5/5

I've only heard this album a couple of times and didn't remember it well. My problem with many of Stevie Wonder's albums is there are a handful of solid hard funk/soul then a lot of whiny songs that lack that hard funk edge. So most of the first disc doesn't suffer from that, it's best moments are transcendental--I Wish is my favourite, but Sir Duke and Pastime Paradise are obviously absolute classics as well. Have a talk with god isn't the kind of track you'd think would have a deep funk groove, but it definitely does. Second disc opens with a longer album version of single Isn't She Lovely which made me think my baby daughter was talking before I realized it was the track. Joy Inside My Tears... pretty whiney. Black Man is a solid funk track. Then the latter half of the second side gets a little slow for a while, with some high points. As is good, then Another Star solid. 4/5, would be a five if not for some filler--could have been shorter. Probably Stevie's best album.

Tons of hits on this album like Cecilia, The Boxer, and El Condor Pasa. There are also many slow points on this album--though I get Simon and Garfunkel are kind of known for being slow, you get what I mean. Keep the Customer Satisified is a pretty bad track, and the title track isn't great. In fact, outside of those three tracks, and maybe a couple other decent ones like Bye Bye Love, the album isn't stunning as a complete piece. Most of their albums are like this. It's just that those singles--especially Cecilia and the Boxer, are generational hits. 3/5.

Among the two Lou Reed solo albums I've heard on this list--Berlin and Transformer, this is far super and much more listenable. Transformer was the worst, and Berlin was just kind of OK. It seems like the Velvet Underground somehow managed to rein in Reed's goofier and more "experimental" urges for the most part and just made low key soft rock that mostly works. The only song I'd heard before here was Pale Blue Eyes, but most of the rest is pretty even. I'm Set Free is a good track. Murder Mystery is a pretty good song, and something, randomly, that sounds like it would be a great System of the Down cover. 3/5

It's tough to see Kanye for what he was based on everything he's become. Kind of one of those situations where you hate the artist but can't hate the art. Anyway, this is definitely a great album, among his best--I don't listen to his albums enough to say for sure whether it's better than the three early albums. But it's solid all the way through. Beats are on point, he raps well. And his inner mania and psychosis doesn't get as annoying as it can be on other albums. But it's also the beginning of the end. It's not a clean 5/5 like some albums on this list I've rated, but it's close enough to round up.

This is seriously an awesome album. I'd never heard of these guys, but definitely getting early Jefferson Airplane vibes in songs like Tam Lin as well as the lead singer's voice. There are also really cool folk elements throughout. This is definitely a complete album, and something I'll put on my list of stuff to go back to. That rare 5/5 that I'd never heard or even heard of.

I remember first listening to this whole album years ago after my dad played the title track for me, on vinyl. Back then, I didn't love a lot of the songs on this album, other than the obvious one. And I've tried again a couple times over the years, but still--it's just not there for me. I feel like the sound here isn't as groundbreaking as the Clapton's stuff in Cream, and the album overall isn't as good as Cream's best albums. A little too southern rock sounding perhaps. Some bland blues. Anyday has its moments and Tell the Truth, but Derek and the Dominos--taken as an entity--is really just a one hit wonder. His Little Wing cover should put people to rest on the fact that Hendrix is a better guitar player, but I suspect that argument will never die. 2/5 because I really can't justify the 3 even despite how good the title track is. This list is supposed to be about albums, not singles.

I've never heard a full Elton John album, and this one is pretty good. Bennie and the Jets and Yellow Brick Road are classic hits. I literally didn't know the latter was Elton John. Anyway, aside from that much of this album is pretty rocking, and not as slow-paced as I imagined Elton John to be for some reason. The only real terrible song is Jamaica Jerk Off, which is not only goofy and bad but near offensively bad. 4/5 but I could see how fans of this era would give it a full five. It's a pretty complete album--my only qualm is I'm not fully into Elton John in general.

I've never heard of these guys, but this list seems to have every single synth pop album ever made while having nothing but a dim notion of genres like rap, so I guess that's not surprising. Anyway, it's weird as most synth bands are, and goofy, also like most synth bands. Not the worst synth pop album on this list--there is too much competition on the crap end of that formula--but pretty close to it. The first song is OK. Much of the rest sounds a little too heavy on the experimental side and low on the listenable side. Like "hey, we discovered electronic beeps and whizzes. Cool, let's put them all on the album at the same time." At least this album is short. 1/5

Sometimes it's hard to say why I don't like something but this really doesn't appeal to me. And it should, it's not like I dislike punkish ska and rock. It just seems all a little goofy for me. Like, too much of the goofy side of the 80s. I also like funk, but not cheesy 80s funk. Slow Bus Moving is kind of cool with the Clint Eastwood style. The last track, Change is pretty good as well. 2/5

I typically hate country, so this review is going to be coloured by that. The first track has a nice jangle to it at least though, it isn't as soulless as most of the genre. I don't mind the slide guitar here and there, and the guitar work in general elevates this above your average country rock album though. 3/5

Starts off pretty high energy with Rapid Fire. Breaking the Law is a classic, obviously, probably the song I know best by JP. Well, and Living After Midnight. The singing on Grinder sounds like it inspired Dave Mustaine from Megadeth. This is probably one of those albums that will get better on subsequent listens, but not sure I love Judas Priest as much as some of the other OG metal bands. 3/5

I'm not sure if I've ever listened to this whole album, and it's definitely an oversight. I may have when I was a teenager and been annoyed that every song wasn't a full on hard rock riff song like Mr. Cab Driver or Are you Gonna Go My Way. Anyway, now that I'm over that, this stuff definitely holds up on a lot of levels. Lots of good soul tracks--even the slow stuff is well done and not too weepy. Mr. Cab Driver is still a rocking song, among Kravitz's best.

Raw power is the perfect title for this album. Just scratchy, distorted energy all the way through. I first heard this album a couple of years ago, and it's too bad--I'd only every heard a couple of singles from Iggy Pop before. Short, full of energy. Great stuff, and consistent all the way through. High 4/5 rounds up to five.

First ska like song is a little odd. Duncan is a classic 60s Simon and Garfunkel type track. The next couple of tracks are pretty good as well. Other than the first track, the album starts off pretty strong, and mostly stays strong. I'm not sure I'd go back and listen to it a bunch, but I'm sure Paul Simon fans would love it. Maybe I'll throw some of this stuff on a playlist.

I don't know whether this is early emo, crossover punk or what. I can see why it would end up on this list as it's fairly experimental. Definitely seems to have made a lot of influence on 2000s rock bands. "You're still in a dream" seems to anticipate the Foo Fighters. All that being said, it isn't something super easy to listen to. Kind of grating at some points. Like the first track, where the weird noise seems off beat. "No More Sorry" and the next track after are like tripped out noise, Velvet Undergroundish. "Several Girls Galore" is a cool-sounding track. "You Never Should" is decent as well, also reminiscent of Foo Fighters--Dave Groll must have been a fan. So I guess this is shoegaze music? Just learned about the existence of this trend. I don't really feel like I missed much there. That being said, it's a decent album. Better than some of the indie rock it seems to have inspired in the 2000s. It has a lot of energy at some points, and I guess that's something. 3/5

This is a pretty decent album for a band I'd always heard of but never really listened to back in the 90s. But it fits pretty well into that era, and appeals to me as a lover of grunge and alternative from early 90s. 4st 7lbs is a solid stand out track on first listen. Might throw that on a playlist. The Intense Humming of Evil almost sounds like a NIN song. 3.5

I first listened to a Nick Cave album about a year ago as I'd heard a lot of good things. I guess I was expected something different from what it was the first time around--like he has a more punkish or hard rock kind of name, and it came off very slow and weepy. Kind of like if you took all the slowest stuff from Tom Waits and mixed it with some Leonard Cohen. It sounds like drinking alone at a hotel bar kind of music. Anyway, now that I know what to expect, it's not unpleasant at all. Definitely a big Leonard Cohen vibe. There are quite a few good songs on the album, and it listens pretty well all the way through. I can't pick out individual tracks as they are not numbered/named on the Youtube full album version I listened to. The best bit is just after halfway through. I might go back to this. 4/5.

This is a monster of an album, and really one of the first rock albums I leaned to love back when I was like 14. Really one of the first CDs I bought, after seeing kids with Led Zepellin t-shirts in the 90s. This is probably the most rocking, high energy of LZ's albums, with very few slow moments beyond maybe the Lemon Song. Even that is a chill blues song, just kind of overshadowed by the monster tracks around it. Whole Lotta Love and Livin' Lovin' Maid used to be my favourite tracks, though over time I've come to favor Ramble On and What is and What Should Never be. Easy 5/5.

I haven't listened to thrash metal in years, but I can still tell this is a great album. Solid energy all the way through. Like the groove in Orgasmatron, a little different from the rest of the tracks. There are a couple of other standouts as well.

When I saw this come up I kind of dreaded it, and put it off a couple of days before listening. I don't what I remembered from the 90s when she came out, but I was pretty much into more hardcore metal, rap and grunge back then. Anyway, this isn't at all bad. Definitely has a groove to it, and a hypnotic personality. 3/5

A pretty chill album. I didn't realize these guys invented trip hop. Definitely an album ahead of its time. It's a good album, and I can see why people like it. Kind of like lowkey background music though. Not sure it draws much emotion from me, though it's definitely a mood. 3/5

Jesus. I must be the only person on the planet that his listened to a whole Abba album other than just the singles. And it's every bit as bad as I imagined it would be. My sense of duty to actually listen to all these albums is bordering on masochism at this point. It starts off bad, then there's Dancing Queen, which is also bad, but popular. Then there's Dum Dum Diddle. My god. This trash reminds me of when my parents dragged me to see the play Chess when visiting me one time--an Abba play. Knowing me knowing you is the only tolerable track, and just barely so. I dont even hate all disco--some disco is funky, decent, even dark. But this? Cotton candy garbage. Money tries to be dark, but just ends up vapid. Anyway, solid 1/5.

I'd never heard of this guy. First track starts off a solid folk ballad. Carnival Song is a little odd but the third track, Pleasant Street, picks up right where the first one leaves off. Hallucinations is great too, and at this point in the album I'm predicting another solid find here. Hopefully enough to balance out the Abba album I've been procrastinating listening to for several days now. The rest of the album pretty much continues on this solid note. Somewhere between rock and folk. Really Carnival Song is the only real weak point. 4/5, perhaps would be higher on further listens.

This album is about half noise, with a few high points. Like angry teenager music. Several Sins is a great track though, and there are a couple more like that, though I wasn't paying close enough attention to the track list to say which. Probably wouldn't go back to the album, though might grab a couple tracks for a punk playlist. Release the Bats has a great drum beat--I feel like Green Day borrowed from that in their track Lonview. Just learned that this is Nick Cave's first band, and it certainly sounds more like I thought Nick Cave sounded like, rather than the later stuff with the Bad Seeds. You can start to see the elements of the more folk-like sound he has later, but just with lots more noise. 3/5.

Solid album with some serious groove. I'll definitely go back to this one. Great listen all the way through. I'd heard of him before but hadn't really delved very deep. 4.5/5

This is decent in a kind of slow rock, down tempo folk way, but not super memorable for me. I liked On the Road to Find Out as well.

Kind of a funky electronic album. Might go back and listen to this. Still not quite a 4 but maybe a higher 3/5. Never heard of this guy in the 90s.

Starts off strong, with one of their classics. The only other track I know is Walking on the Moon from this one, another good one. The other stuff is sonically similar--you can imagein what you are going to get with this album. That said, there aren't a lot of other memorable tracks for me outside the hits. I like the Bed's too Big Without You, which I also feel like I've heard before. The album is decent, but not sure I'd buy the album based on this, and the other Police album I've heard on this list so far--Syncrhonicity. Not sure which I prefer of these two, probably this one. In any case, I'd proably stick to the greastest hits album with these guys based on these two albums. 3/5.

I'm not a huge REM fan, and this album just kind of solidified that. Randomly, I got the sense that the Tragically Hip's first album borrows from these guys though. Otherwise the Gin Blossoms kind of sound like this, and those bastards made the Friends theme song, which gives them a special place of hate in my heart. Boring and twangy. And the singer is half mumbling gibberish anyway--more like mumble than murmur. 2/5

This album fits somewhere between Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. More industrial elements though, and some slightly trance-like notions, also reminicent of Orbital in some ways. It's decent, but not sure I love it. 3/5

I Want to Take you Higher was the first Sly song I heard, on the Woodstock album version. Everyday People is also a classic, and Stand also very good. Second track is pretty solid funk. Some of these guys' albums have a lot of filler, but this isn't the case with this one. I'll definitely go back to this. 4/5

Never heard of these guys but this is a pretty cool album. This is kind of the stuff I feel like I missed ignoring rock for the 2000s, that makes me regret completely writing the genre off. Definitely a unique sound. I like the psychedelic sensibility they have without sounding too much like a 60s acid rock wannabee band. Time Travel is a great finishing track. 4/5

I've never understood the Grateful Dead. I love acid rock--groups like the Doors, Hendrix and early Jefferson Airplane, who often toured with the dead have always been among my favourites. So I always thought I should love the Dead. But man, I struggle even to get through these albums. They just sound like twangy near country rock without much soul. I've been told that their live albums are much better, and have tried some of those as well, but still don't get it. Or the crazy following. The Dead aren't bad, they are just underwhelming. And I mostly love everything else around the late 60s culture, music, books on and about Kesey etc. Anyway, back to this album. It's twangy, bland, and the singing sucks on almost any level. Like not even good on the Dylan "bad voice" level. These guys just sound like lazy, under qualified musicians. I really don't get how people go apeshit over this stuff. 2/5 not because it's terrible, but because the blandness is overwhelming.

I was really only familiar with Son of a Preacher Man. She kind of sounds like the female counterpart of Tom Jones. This album starts pretty strong with the first track. Windmills of Your Mind is great too. Has a very OG James Bond theme song type sound to it.

An OK punkish alternative album that probably played a role in the development of 90s alternative. I can see some of these influences in some groups, but mostly ones I don't love, like the Gin Blossoms and others that kind of softened up the harder grunge and other alternative of the early 90s. That being said, these guys aren't quite that soft and don't have as many songs in major tones. I just don't find it super compelling or original, though. 2/5

There's a lot of foundational techniques here that are cool to hear for me as a hiphop head. And a Melle Mel verse is always welcome. Overall, I'm not sure how listenable this is, even to me, an old school rap lover, though. The place this plays in rap is very important, which boosts it above what it would be just for straight listenability. Though of course, that legacy has been ruined by all the child abuse allegations. 2/5

Not a bad folk album from a guy I've never heard of. Some of it veers a little on the country side, but never so much that it becomes boring or monotune. There's also some blues elements and more rock-like songs as well. Plenty of Jesus as well, enough to notice but not so much that you start to get the feeling you're listening to a Christian rock album. Not sure if I'll go back to this album, but might save a song or two for a playlist. 3/5

This album has a lot of energy but I guess I was expecting more from The Who. Really on one huge hit here, the title track. There are some other good deep tracks here, and the closer is a great drum-driven track. But not sure this stands up as well as their later albums. Kind of just shows them in their early development. 3/5

One of those classic rap albums that seeks to offend anybody and everybody easily offended, and boy did it ever succeed. But outside the singles, you've got a great view of what made Eminem not only a hero for teenage white kids, but also the lyrical acumen and attention to rhyme schemes that gained him respect among other rappers. Today his place as a lyricist is nearly uncontested, but his appearance on the world stage at this time paved a rocky road, spawning a number of rap feuds with others in the game like Canibus and Everlast. The album itself is obviously well-produced, with Dre overseeing the beats and lending street cred and belief in Shady that was critical to his success. "Some people only see that I'm white, and ignore skill..." It also is part of the reason for Dre's second wind, coming out just months before the Chronic 2000--it was basically Aftermath Record's first huge success. Anyway, on the surface you've got the major singles, My Name is and Guilty Conscious, both excellent tracks. But underneath this there are a bunch of tracks that showcase Eminem's battle rap roots and lyrical strength. Brain Damage, Creative songwriting is on display here with tracks like If I Had, My Fault, and 97 Bonnie and Clyde. The skits are generally funny and keep the album moving along. Bad Meets Evil is my personal favourite on the album for its lyrical excellence, and for introducing Royce da 5'9, one of the few MCs who can sometimes outshine Eminem on tracks. The chemistry between the two is amazing. 5/5

Very nostalgic sounding. Under My Skin is the classic one I know here, and Anything Goes, though I'm sure I've heard a lot of these other ones--Sinatra just kind of always sounds the same to me. I can't really say if good or bad, he's just an institution from a bygone era. This stuff all sounds pretty on point I guess, so Sinatra lovers wouldn't be disappointed. 3/5

Nice to get this right after a Frank Sinatra, as they are kind of comparable, from the era at least. I much prefer this album to the Sinatra one. More personality and variation in the songs. I recognized a few of them from movies. Plus, it's not just a focus on his singing, there are good horns as well. 4/5

I tried to listen to this with an open mind. I get that it's probably better than your average pop album made by a former Nickolodean kids star, but at the end of the day, it's still a pop album made by someone who might as well be a Nickelodeon kids star. Plus, she's a Florida Panthers fan, and that is unforgiveable.

So as mentioned in my review of American Beauty, I've never got the Dead, even though I've definitely tried as I love other acid rock banks like Jefferson Airplane, the Doors and Hendrix. The Dead's usual twangy near country sound has always just seemed kind of bland for me. And I've even listened to some of their live albums and still wasn't sold. Their sound just didn't seem to match their whole marketing and legend for me. This is all to say I went into this album with low expectations. I even procrastinated it on my 1001 albums list--I got this one like a week ago. I'm happy to say that I finally found some Dead that sounds pretty decent. At least the first live segment, Dark Star, sounds psychedelic and spacy rather than boring country rock. Maybe they were on the right drugs for this show. Turn on Your Love Light is great as well. 4/5

The last studio Doors album represented something of a recovery to form, building from the momentum of Morrison Hotel and further distancing from the mess that was the Soft Parade. Some seriously classic Doors songs--the title track and Riders on the Storm rank among their best. Those two are boosted by the very good Love Her Madly, and the more underground banger the WASP, which is reminiscent of Five to One. Now, all that praise being said, there are quite a few filler tracks on this album. Nothing completely terrible like the majority of Soft Parade, or from the lowest points of Morrison Hotel, but just boring. The Changeling and Been Down so Long are decent blues tracks. L'America tries to capture some of the fire of Not to Touch the Earth but doesn't really succeed. Cars Hiss by my Window is just boring. Hyacinth House doesn't really capture the eery wistfulness of tracks like Crystal Ship or Moonlight Drive. All that being said, the high point lift this album into something special. The Soft Parade is their real only dud for me. The first three albums are nearly flawless, and Morrison Hotel is a little worse on average. Even if there are a few more truly good songs on the latter, Morrison Hotel has a couple truly terrible songs as well. And nothing that matches the LA Woman's two standouts. I'm sure other Doors studio albums will pop up on this list, but I'll lay out the ratings all here just in case. I could see arguments for WFTS at 3/5 just as MH at 4, but this is my current thinking: The Doors: 5/5 Strange Days 5/5 Waiting for the Sun 4/5 Soft Parade 2/5 Morrison Hotel 3/5 LA Woman 4/5

I first heard this album at my cousin's place when I was 13 or 14 in the 90s. Back in the day, this album got a lot of hate as it seemed to represent Metallica softening up for a wider audience. While it certainly started off a trajectory that ended up in a terrible run of albums in the 90s before they got back to some semblance of form, I'm not sure that the criticism of this album holds up over time. Looking back, it seems to fall more on the side of the previous albums, with the dividing line between sell-out 90s bad Metallica coming right after this and before Load. The Unforgiven and Enter Sandman are classic tracks. Wherever I may Roam is classic Metallica thrash, and for me, the best on the album. Sad but True is just OK for me, but Nothing Else Matter is a decent track. Many of the rest are mostly forgettable, but that was always true of Metallica albums--there is nearly always filler. Nothing here still hits the high points of the previous four albums, but it's still a pretty complete piece. Even the softer ones are good songs, even if pure thrash fans hate on them sometimes. 4/5

A lot of the big electronic albums of this era kind of sit in the same realm, where the tracks vary between absolute bangers and repetitive experimental noise. It's the reason why most of the time, when I was bigger into EDM, I preferred listening to DJ mixes rather than producer albums back in the day. This is true of even the best of the mainstream producer albums, whether Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim or Crystal Method. Homework is an exception to this rule, for the most part, though there are still a couple tracks that are just annoying noise, like Rolling and Scratching, Oh Yeah, and Rock n Roll. The high points lift this to greatness though. There are the singles, Around the World and Da Funk, then a bunch of great deep cuts like Revolution 909, Phoenix, Fresh and Indo Silver Club. In fact, Fresh kind of provides the blueprint for the Stardust Track "Music Sounds Better with you" that came out a little after this. Teachers, High Fidelity excellent as well. The whole album is one I often come back to--it's a defining album for the French deep house sound of this era, although others like Dmitri From Paris were more foundational. 5/5

This album kind of foreshadows the grunge movement in a lot of ways, with the some of the darker themes you see in Soundgarden, Nirvina and Alice in Chains. It doesn't have the heaviness or energy though--this is pretty depressing. That doesn't mean it's bad, some of the songwriting is pretty good. I just don't think I'd listen to this a bunch.

There's not much you can say about this album that hasn't been said. Generational, transformative, everlasting... Clean 5/5.

The Beatles start doing drugs and become a way more interesting band. Norwegian Wood is the take-off point. But there's more to this than that. I listened to the non-North American version first, a pretty big difference since they basically changed three tracks on such an album that runs a little more than half an hour. Although I like Drive my Car as a catchy pop track, "I've Just Seen a Face" on the North American release is a better track. On the European release, What Goes on is a bit of a dumb jangle. It's Only Love on the North American is much better. The only real loss on the North American version is If I needed Someone, which is a great track. Otherwise, the North American version is better. So Not being a massive Beatles fan, there are some sleeper tracks I wasn't familiar with on both versions, but really liked Think for Yourself, Girl, and Michelle. Overall, it's a very good album, but perhaps not as baroque in the acid rock as Revolver afterwards. 4/5

The stars align for Kool Keith on this album, where his weirdness, off kilter flow and swagger perfectly align with Dan the Automator's production. It also started off Automator's virtuous cycle, which led to Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030, and the Gorillaz. It's hard to gauge all the influence Kool Keith has had on rappers--everybody from Eminem to a whole genre of horrorcore. The weird concept behind this album ultimately opened up space for Deltron, Czarface, and probably MF Doom's phoenix-like rebirth from Zev Love/KMD. There is a lot of folklore and rumours surrounding Keith at this time. Some I've heard were that he had been clinically diagnosed as insane, or that he spent all the money he made from this album on porno cassettes and locked himself in a hotel room in California somewhere, eventually leading to the Sex Style album that came out after. What is clear is that after leaving Supermagnetic MCs and embanking on his solo career with this album, he began releasing a huge amount of material, of varying quality, under a variety of personas that often never mentioned Kool Keith himself. None are quite as good as this one, though Dr. Dooom, Sex Style, and especially Black Elvis all come close. Now, for the rapping, which deserves it's own treatment. Keith is off kilter, rapping often syncopated with the beat in a way that sounds like he almost misses it sometimes, but just hangs on enough to give you an eary feeling. He perfected this strange rhythm. Rhyme schemes are complex, up to the standards of his late-80s early 90s golden era pedigree. But of course it's the unhinged insanity, subject matter and wild imagination that really makes this unique. It's definitely one of those insane or genius questions. Probably both. "Amazing that they included this on the list. This is the first real underground, but nonetheless super influential, rap album I've seen on here, and it's a doozy. The stars align for Kool Keith on this album, where his weirdness, off kilter flow and swagger perfectly align with Dan the Automator's production. It also started off Automator's virtuous cycle, which led to Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030, and the Gorillaz. It's hard to gauge all the influence Kool Keith has had on rappers--everybody from Eminem to a whole genre of horrorcore. The weird concept behind this album ultimately opened up space for Deltron, Czarface, and probably MF Doom's phoenix-like rebirth from Zev Love/KMD. There is a lot of folklore and rumours surrounding Keith at this time. Some I've heard were that he had been clinically diagnosed as insane, or that he spent all the money he made from this album on porno cassettes and locked himself in a hotel room in California somewhere, eventually leading to the Sex Style album that came out after. What is clear is that after leaving Supermagnetic MCs and embanking on his solo career with this album, he began releasing a huge amount of material, of varying quality, under a variety of personas that often never mentioned Kool Keith himself. None are quite as good as this one, though Dr. Dooom, Sex Style, and especially Black Elvis all come close. Now, for the rapping, which deserves it's own treatment. Keith is off kilter, rapping often syncopated with the beat in a way that sounds like he almost misses it sometimes, but just hangs on enough to give you an eary feeling. He perfected this strange rhythm. Rhyme schemes are complex, up to the standards of his late-80s early 90s golden era pedigree. But of course it's the unhinged insanity, subject matter and wild imagination that really makes this unique. It's definitely one of those insane or genius questions. Probably both. "Octagon oxygen, illuminum intoxicants..." Despite all this unhinged weirdness, the lines are often hilarious, where he's almost making fun of himself sometimes: "Now my helmet's on, you can't tell me I'm not in space..." All of this and I haven't even mentioned DJ Qbert's turntablism, which adds a frenetic kind of eeriness as an appropriate backdrop. Amazing that they included this on the list. This is the first real underground, but nonetheless super influential, rap album I've seen on here, and it's a doozy. I had been thinking they just chose a few of the most universally accepted and lauded rap albums but otherwise didn't look too deeply at the genre. Anyway, groundbreaking underground album, years ahead of its time. 5/5