Bowie does his best attempt at soul without abandoning his glam/pop rock sensibilities. Relative to all music, Young Americans is fun, short, and inoffensive. Bowie takes a back seat in favor of the music, and to his credit the instrumentation/orchestration is well done. However, I think Bowie's contributions get overshadowed by the other vocalists and performances. It is nowhere near the best that the genre has to offer, and, frankly, what Bowie has to offer. Can't be a hater if this is an album you really enjoy, but I was largely unmoved. A+ album cover though. 3.5/5

Not my jam, but I see why a generation loved it.

A lot more intense than Judas Priest, and for that, it gets a bump. With a genre like metal, the intensity and extremity are to its benefit. While I am always a fan of genre blending, diversion from the core ideas begins a tightrope walk that few artists successfully traverse. This is bread and butter heavy metal. Flirtations with glam rock begone. Still not my jam. Across the board, terrible album art. 3.5/5

An album full of so much life. Emblematic of the time and the psychedelic movement. Backed by great, blues-based instrumentation, Janis absolutely owns the album. I never doubted her place in the pantheon of vocalists, but she really is phenomenal. I could feel her physically owning the space in the concert of my mind. This is especially incredible considering how vibrant the genre is. A lesser performer would have been washed out by the music. Really only held back by the fact that I'm not the biggest psych rock guy. Nevertheless, they're undeniable. Favorite Track: Ball and Chain 8/10

Too jangly. I know there's a dad out there that gets transported to the peak of his 20s listening to this. Favorite Song: Forest Fire 5/10

The prog bois just fuckin around. Don't know how I feel about it being keyboard driven. Interesting concept but flawed, boring execution. Feel like it should be harder to make prog rock boring. 3.5/10 Favorite Song: Blues Variation

Experimental and inaccessible. If your only reference point for Kate Bush is Hounds of Love (which was the case for me), this is certainly a jarring record. Haters are understood. However, I really enjoyed the soundscape. It was like a dream with nightmares waiting around the corner. Maybe more accurately it felt like one of those really weird dreams where you're not necessarily scared, but you are disturbed and largely confused. Certainly not better than Hounds of Love. I mean, generally, speaking there are few albums that are. However, I appreciate when an artist lets their wildest ambitions run wild in spite of accessibility, particularly when it's this theatrical. Flawed? Sure. Difficult? Perhaps. Authentic? Absolutely. 7.7/10 Favorite Song: Suspended in Gaffa/The Dreaming

I feel like I'm missing something. It may just be the lack of context, but outside of a handful of songs, this felt like nothing particularly groundbreaking. Not to say it's bad by any means, but I don't get why it's so lauded. I've never found Mick to be particularly captivating on records and the songwriting doesn't compensate for me. Good, not great. Rating: 7/10 Favorite Song: Monkey Man

I'm sorry this either needed more PCP or more black people. It's music like this that makes the exorcisms at Elvis shows make sense. Pleasent layered vocals and some catchy hooks, but if I'm going to listen to something white from this era, why not just throw on Rubber Soul or the Beach Boys. Like can you imagine watching Jimi Hendrix open for these jingle jangle, step side to side and snap mfers. Nothing bad about the music, but I'm just like this is what y'all listened to when you wanted to have a good time? Rating: 6/10

Floydian with distortion. Kinda insists upon itself, but I'm not offended. I would rather listen to its component sounds/genres than listen to their synthesis. 7/10 Favorite Song: Cop Shoot Cop...

You know I can't say I'm surprised. This is the first album we've gotten that has any black people involved, and I went to check the top reviews. Lo and behold they're fairly negative, which is fine on its face. Then you see its "technically music" or that it "shows its age." Yeah, that's almost all music you dumb cunt. You're telling me you listen to Vivaldi and you're like "did this come out in 2018?" Fuck off. Art is stealing. Color me surprised that there's music now that sounds similar but "better." Unless I hear them say a bunch of slurs, I'm not going to take "it sounds like when it came out" as a serious criticism. Shoutout the review saying it "shows its age[,] could only be from 92-95." Reading skills are preferred but not required I suppose. I'm not saying this is a paragon of quality, but why do you have to question whether its music all of a sudden. I don't even particularly love this album, but I will go to war for it. A fun synthesis of sounds from African, Carribean, and African American culture. Just great vibes. Not do coke vibes (shoutout Belly), which may have been expected from a dance album in the 80s, more like keeping a good groove going in the dance hall vibes. It's a marathon not a sprint. And suck my dick, this has a timeless quality. 7.8/10 Favorite Song: Back to Life (I mean what else could it be)

Get it twisted. You will never become a generational singer-songwriter. Your talents and efforts mean nothing to a cold, indifferent universe that will send Joni Mitchell to mog the ever-living shit out of you. You think you're safe, hiding in your genre. Sitting there thinking to yourself "I don't make folk rock; she can't hurt me." Then out of nowhere, like she's serving a warrant, Joni kicks in your door and says, "I learned jazz bitch." She proceeds to give you a tight, all killer no filler project. Just spitting hot lead for 37 minutes. Pay attention folks. This is how you blend genres. Sad to see it didn't win AOTY, but if you're going up against peak Stevie, I get it. Joni and Stevie battling it out in '75. Can you imagine? In the year of our lord 2025, I've got to seriously consider if Jacob Collier is going to win a Grammy. We used to be a country. 9/10 Favorite Song: Free Man in Paris/Trouble Child

A chill vibe incorporating sounds largely abandoned in the 70s mainstream. A revival if you will. Mark Knopfler has interesting vocal moments on the album paired with punchy riffs and some fun solos. Setting out for good vibes, not to reinvent the wheel. However, I can see how the schtick got stale. At some point we must clap for the piano playing dog because he's good at playing the piano, not because he's a dog. Also, I must say it is funny hearing Brits play roots rock. What's a polar bear doing in Arlington, TX? Favorite Song(s): In the Gallery/Wild West End Rating: 6.8

It's 1997. Tony Blair, head of the Labour party, was just elected PM. Britain and the rest of the western world are welcoming a new age of globalism, advancement, and technology. Fears of these are present, but they are exclusively the thoughts of a minority. Hope is in the air. Within the same time, Radiohead is coming off the heels of The Bends. A commercial and critical success that cemented Radiohead as a band with more to offer than one hit song. True artists who can move the masses, both figuratively and literally to the music store. The label was perfectly happy to be in a position to push another grunge/alt rock followup and rake in the cash. An act to place alongside other great bands like U2 Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Hope was in the air. In the face of all this optimism and excitement, Radiohead secluded themselves in St Catherine's Court and recorded a defiant piece of work, leaving behind a singular masterpiece. A cold, anxious, and dejected synthesis of alt rock and their electronic era to come. Musically it is dense, layered, and practically epileptic at moments. Lyrically, through somewhat elliptical storytelling, Radiohead predicted the quiet horrors neoliberalism and globalism would wreak on society. A culture of apathetic worker drones propped up by opiate technology and anti-depressants. Even to this day we are seeing Thom Yorke's words come to life. A torchbearer of postmodern thought in popular music, capturing a moment that only exists in retrospect. When only the jester could see Hannibal at the gate. Truly one of the most moving things I've ever listened to. It perfectly captures the feeling of the 00's politics and the dawn of the Internet Age. It provides an artificial ice that encapsulates my feelings about the 21st century. An illusory projection of feeling. The ghost of human society trudging about. I can't say much more that hasn't already been said. A basic answer, but it's my favorite cut from Radiohead. A desert island album even. Favorite Song: Let Down Rating: 10/10

You ever get so horny you start layering sting instruments with electronic production? Bjork solidified her place in the Asian-looking but not Asian HOF with this one. I prefer Post but can appreciate the interesting genre combinations on Vespertine. Intimate in a very peculiar way. It's certainly your favorite artist's favorite album, but I'm not your favorite artist. Rating: 8.4 Favorite Song: Frosti

A case of where context drives a lot of the assessment. As the first hardcore LP, it cannot be understated how important this album is. As the sub-genre began populating various scenes across the US, one has to assume the first long form recording played a role in such propagation. If you want a good idea what the hardcore is, it certainly delivers the core concept. Freneticism. Even as a fan of the sub-genre, I find myself wanting more. I really can't stand Crash. I can't really explain why. With plenty of bands following shortly after, I can't say this album is my first choice. Maybe a little too much Johnny Rotten for something that should be more intense, or maybe I've been spoiled by the guttural vocalists that followed him. For better or worse his vocals certainly serve as standard punk fair. It's the rest of the band that really carries the album for me. Pat Smear shows why he became a seasoned performer in the alt-rock scene and Lorna Doom deftly executes bassline after bassline. All of this topped by an incredible studio team. I mean Joan Jett, props. This is how you record and mix bass. Rating: 7.8/10 Favorite Song: Lexicon Devil

Wouldn't have learned it without this album generating, but kinda crazy he's responsible for the basic set up for a band (two guitars, bass, and drums). With everything going on kinda spooky we got a singer plane crash victim. A fun album, but there's plenty of music I'd rather listen to. Shoutout Buddy though. We wouldn't have gotten so many cool whites without him. Rating: 7/10 Favorite Song: That'll be the day