Jan 27 2025
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Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3.5, some decent tracks in there, need a bit more experience with the genre to appreciate it
3
Jan 28 2025
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Van Halen
Van Halen
the well established radio songs on this album were of course great and lots of fun to listen to, can only imagine how innovative the instrumental work was at the time. Most of the other songs are pretty rough lyrically but I had to kind of laugh at the performative swagger.
Rating: 2.5
3
Jan 29 2025
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
This one wasn’t really for me in instrumentation, musical texture or lyrics. Bit of a lack of diversity in the songs for me.
Rating: 2
2
Jan 30 2025
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Seems like the pinaccle of boomer albums. Claptons ego is on full display. These are some pretty silly lyrics. I felt like the run time was too long for me, but I enjoyed many of the instrumentals and a lot of the guitar work.
Rating: 2.25
2
Jan 31 2025
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Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Great album, loved the high energy production and amazing performance. The lyrics are top notch and have sadly held true as our society continues to get dumber and more bigoted. But art like this album gives me hope that voices like Public Enemy can continue to reach the mainstream and educate.
I loved the texture of the production, gave the whole album a raw and immediate edge. This is one I’ll keep coming back to, there’s great depth here.
Rating 4.5
4
Feb 01 2025
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You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
This was a truly visceral emotional experience, sparse and simple keeping a perfect length for this retrospection on life. It’s an album I can see myself coming back to periodically to take in its genius.
Rating: 5
5
Feb 01 2025
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At Budokan
Cheap Trick
4
Feb 02 2025
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At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash
Pretty fun, can see why this is a seminal live album.
Rating: 4
4
Feb 03 2025
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The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
When this came out 15 years ago I was a highschooler and I could not have been bothered, but listening now was a bit better than expected. There's definitely more compelling and timeless similar albums from this time, such as Helplessness Blues. With all that being said it does deserve at least another play.
Rating 3.5
3
Feb 04 2025
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Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
3
Feb 05 2025
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Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
This wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be, I think most people find to cool to dislike Bob Dylan since everything he did here was aped to oblivion by plenty of other popular musicians in the intervening years.
I preferred the solo set, with its minimalist hypnotic vibes. I didn't really get much from the electric set, it just felt so generic.
I started to finally understand and appreciate the vocal delivery near the end of the album.
I do feel vindicated in knowing that I too can tunelessly dick around with a harmonica.
Rating: 3.0
3
Feb 06 2025
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Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield
Excepting the rote Exorcist passage this was quite compelling for me, just pretentious enough in that special prog rock way. This is nice long form music to soundtrack your day.
Rating 4.0
4
Feb 07 2025
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
Yeah, what else can be said, this was amazing. Been a while since I listened to a full album from LZ and gladly, this is front to back bangers. I’m in awe of the performances across the board, and there’s such a great variety of sounds throughout the album.
Rating: 5
5
Feb 08 2025
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Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
I’ve always found FF to be a bit generic for lack of better word, but there is catharsis here for Dave Grohl in getting out of the shadow of Nirvana. This album overstayed its welcome a tiny bit for me with a lack of diversity in songwriting. However, I believe that this is another case of fatigue due to Dave’s outsized influence on what would later be considered generic, radio friendly accessible songwriting. While this may not be a master work, it showcases a talented musician who changed the face of mainstream rock in the 90s and 00s. The album is solid with some standout cutting edge radio rock tracks.
Rating: 3.25
3
Feb 09 2025
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Exit Planet Dust
The Chemical Brothers
This was pretty good, my experience with Chemical Brothers is that they usually have 2 or 3 real standouts per record and a lot of repetition. I’d say this album follows suit, with the first three tracks establishing a great energy. Listened to the record twice and can’t really remember too much else about it, but I will certainly return to it again.
Rating: 3.0
3
Feb 10 2025
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McCartney
Paul McCartney
3
Feb 11 2025
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American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
Really enjoyed this one, and I’ll be returning to it, just a masterpiece.
Rating: 5
5
Feb 12 2025
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1989
Taylor Swift
People will hate Taylor Swift and 1989 on principle and while I went in with said stance I will concede that the album is completely fine.
This is tightly designed pop music that is showing its age 10 years on. Ultimately the album references for me a time in popular music which I am not positively nostalgic of. 1989 targets a young audience and leaves a saccharine impression but at the end of it all you cannot completely deny the sweet tooth for catchy, massive choruses.
Rating: 3.5
3
Feb 13 2025
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First Band On The Moon
The Cardigans
4
Feb 14 2025
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Dookie
Green Day
Dookie held up pretty well honestly, this was a fun listen and more detailed than I remembered it to be.
Rating: 4.25
4
Feb 15 2025
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Odelay
Beck
4
Feb 16 2025
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Blur
Blur
3
Feb 17 2025
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Safe As Milk
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Wasn’t quite as wacky as I expected, and there’s some decent tracks on here. Beefhearts performances are amazing. The instrumental back half dragged a bit for me.
Rating: 3.75
3
Feb 18 2025
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We Are Family
Sister Sledge
This slapped what else is there to say
Rating: 4.0
4
Feb 19 2025
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Live At The Regal
B.B. King
It was fine. The performances were next level.
Rating: 3.0
3
Feb 20 2025
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Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Generic psych mindlessness. This is a much worse grateful dead
Rating: 2.0
2
Feb 21 2025
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Night Life
Ray Price
The introduction monologue was so hilariously bereft of confidence that I was started on a good foot. The first track was really great and holds up well. As the album progressed it slowly became apparent that every song would feature identical instrumentation, singing and lyrics. I can see why this didn’t make it on the fallout soundtrack.
Rating: 1.5
1
Feb 22 2025
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Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
This was a fun romp, this feels like it is a foundational album for future rock and even metal. There’s some nice heavy riffs in here that allude to the parallel sound of black sabbath or the later on High on Fire. This album will stay in rotation when I want something fun and immediate.
Tasting: 4.25
4
Feb 23 2025
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Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Hüsker Dü
I don’t know what to say about this one, it barely held my attention. Not to be completely unfair as I could tell there were some diamonds in the rough but finding them would require me to relisten which I have no desire to do.
As a band unit they definitely shone but the repetition in songwriting and production was too fatiguing.
I hadn’t listened to the band before and I will give them another chance with their earlier, more seminal work.
Rating: 2.0
2
Feb 24 2025
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Abraxas
Santana
Solid groovy album, this is what virtuoso playing should be instead of unfounded wankery.
Rating: 4.0
4
Feb 25 2025
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Queen II
Queen
Yeah plain and simple, Queen cooked with this one. I like that I didn’t know a single song here but could feel the reverberation of influence up to current prog music. The jacked up guitars and vocal harmonies were sick and I loved the heavy staccato riffing that’s all over this thing.
Rating: 4.5
4
Feb 26 2025
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Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Lots of great groove to like here. Without being a complete coward I couldn’t get into the vocals due to the language barrier.
Rating: 3.5
3
Feb 27 2025
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Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
Got about halfway through, everything I heard was pretty interesting, I’ll have to come back to this one.
Rating: 3.5
3
Feb 28 2025
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Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
This was great, and kept getting more poignant and enjoyable as the album went on.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 01 2025
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Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
This is the best album I’ve yet heard from the list. Haunting, sorrowful and beautifully idiosyncratic, Nina clearly has been a persistent influence on a wide range of current music. This is one of the most personal feeling albums I’ve heard in a while, with capstone performances that stare directly through you.
Rating: 5.0
5
Mar 02 2025
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Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
On Janis’s singing alone this gets a 7.
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 03 2025
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Kala
M.I.A.
Pretty interesting album, just got locked in to the dense hypnotic layers. I’ll return to this one.
Rating: 8
4
Mar 04 2025
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Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
3
Mar 05 2025
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Faust IV
Faust
This was pretty great, I was fully onboard for a lot of this. In true krautrock fashion there were so many echoes of music to come in the 90s and on, really enjoyed that component.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 06 2025
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Beautiful Freak
Eels
1
Mar 07 2025
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Guitar Town
Steve Earle
3
Mar 08 2025
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Definitely Maybe
Oasis
This one didn’t do much for me, since I kind of got lost in the drawn out repetition of the album around the third track. It is pretty sonically enjoyable so I can’t roast it too much.
Rating: 2.5
2
Mar 09 2025
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Low-Life
New Order
3
Mar 10 2025
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Basket of Light
Pentangle
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 11 2025
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Melodrama
Lorde
Rating: 2.5
2
Mar 12 2025
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Ys
Joanna Newsom
This was a challenge for me, and I appreciate the artistry but doubt I’ll seek it out again.
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 13 2025
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Vento De Maio
Elis Regina
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 14 2025
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
This was pretty fun, not gonna lie.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 15 2025
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Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
4
Mar 16 2025
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Immigrés
Youssou N'Dour
It’s nice to get an album that solidly grooves, and with an overall bright tone. The more you lock in with this album the better it gets.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 17 2025
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Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
The funk tracks singularly lift the rest of the filler out of the muck.
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 18 2025
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Brothers
The Black Keys
3
Mar 19 2025
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Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Mudhoney
Pretty solid, actually felt like this lifted far above the ‘influential’ tag that everyone on here is using as an insult. Felt more like modern rock songwriting than 90s grunge in a way.
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 20 2025
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Fisherman's Blues
The Waterboys
4
Mar 21 2025
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When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
This just kept getting better the further I got into it, I appreciate how this wasn’t really limited by genre.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 22 2025
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In Rainbows
Radiohead
This is an album I have a lot of nostalgia for, and am very familiar with. There was definitely a time when this was my favourite album and it certainly reaches very high to this day.
Rating: 4.5
4
Mar 23 2025
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Dry
PJ Harvey
I liked it, it’s nice to have a grunge era album that actually tries to push against the dogmatic strictures of the genre.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 24 2025
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If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
This album was a little too corny for me. With such a focus on the vocals you get these amazing harmonies and performances but are forced to suffer through the cornball hippy platitudes. The lyricism and production texture of the album just makes me think this was cooked up in a lab for maximum profits.
Rating: 2.5
2
Mar 25 2025
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Dirt
Alice In Chains
Really solid nostalgic album for me. Dirt is a radio album that, for once isn't shit. It is chock full of harrowing vocals and epic riffs.
Rating: 4.5
4
Mar 26 2025
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Phaedra
Tangerine Dream
If you ever wanted to enter the sewers with Mario for an hour, this is the album for you. It didn't resonate super emotionally for me, but I can appreciate how sick of a soundscape this is.
Rating: 3.5
3
Mar 27 2025
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Since I Left You
The Avalanches
This was really fun and delightful to listen to, a good mix of many genres, per its plunderphonic origin.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 28 2025
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Young Americans
David Bowie
Great album, can't really go wrong with Bowie. Top notch production and performances.
Rating: 4.0
4
Mar 29 2025
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Are You Experienced
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi is goated for this one, that is for sure. Let's talk about the sound of this album as a whole: out of this world guitar and drum work that continues to be cheaply imitated to this day. This is a touchstone of modern rock as a genre, and a gem of an early psych album.
Rating: 5.0
5
Mar 30 2025
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3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
3
Mar 31 2025
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Closer
Joy Division
So fucking bleak, but compelling. A portrait of absolute darkness, in a way a pure state.
Rating: 5.0
5
Apr 01 2025
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Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
Damn. this is actual trash.
Rating: 1.0
1
Apr 02 2025
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GI
Germs
Wasn’t that bad, pretty definitive sounding early hardcore record. It just didn’t push the envelope for me in this day and age.
Rating: 2.5
2
Apr 03 2025
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Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
2