Reggae is a genre I've never been totally hot on, but this is very listenable. Was already very familiar with 'No Woman, No Cry', but it doesn't overshadow the rest of the album which surprised me. Probably helps that its sandwiched by two good songs in 'Lively Up Yourself' and 'Them Belly Full' which helps set the tone for the record.

It's been a long time since I last listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but I can't help feeling like its shine has dulled a little since its release. There's undoubtedly some great tracks in here, but I was never a big fan of audio skits and dialogue that was so prevalent in this era of Hip Hop and RnB, as I find it just breaks the flow of the music.

Reggae is a genre I've never been totally hot on, but this is very listenable. Was already very familiar with 'No Woman, No Cry', but it doesn't overshadow the rest of the album which surprised me. Probably helps that its sandwiched by two good songs in 'Lively Up Yourself' and 'Them Belly Full' which helps set the tone for the record.

I've always had a bit of mixed relationship with Pink Floyd in that whilst I love Dark Side and a fair chunk of The Wall, they've never properly clicked outside of that. Wish You Were Here kind of exemplifies that for me as across the 5 tracks there are some really strong moments, but equally there's stuff in here that just doesn't quite land for me. For me Wish You Were Here really shines in its opening and closing tracks. I really love how these tracks meander between genre, opening the album in a more ambient mode before shifting into prog-rock and building anticipation for what's to come. There's a really great sense of progression and narrative that I think is lacking from stuff like Have a Cigar and the title track (which honestly I've always found a bit dull compared to other Pink Floyd tracks)

Actually surprised by how much I liked this. Feels like it's pulling in a bunch of different influences (jazz, folk, rock) and flows really nicely.

The singles loom large on this one, and whilst Surrealistic Pillow is listenable I think much of the album pales in comparison to 'Somebody To Love' and 'White Rabbit'.

Just a really big, fun album. Feels almost cruel that this was picked for me on a Monday, because it really should be heard at maximum volume, at around 10pm after a succession of strong drinks

Just found this to be quite dull and one-note. Not bad, but also not especially good

Really not sure what I make of this. Feels quite backwards looking for a 70s rock record. Some decent tracks scattered across it (such as 'Waiting for the End of the World') but doesn't feel like its really deserving of a spot on this list outside of being Costello's debut

My familiarity with Santana is pretty much limited to 'Smooth' and a bit of a reputation as middle class dinner party music. And whilst, yes this album features that song from the M&S food ads (Samba Pa Ti), Abraxas surprised me by being closer to hard rock than I expected. Overall I thought this was a pretty good time. A decent variety across the tracks and some really groovy numbers.

This album still has so much energy despite being almost 70 years old. Really, really fun record

It'd been a long time since I'd properly listened to this album in full. Whilst there are some really great, even iconic songs on here, I do think it's a little let down by being a bit overlong and with a few too many tracks that just don't hit. I admire it's ambition, but probably one of the more inconsistent Beatles records (especially from this period of their career)

Don't think I'd ever heard this before. My main interaction with Goldfrapp is the album Black Cherry, which leans much more towards electro-pop. Was surprised how this felt much more in keeping with trip-hop with a far mellower, laid back sound. Unfortunately I think that does kind of show it to be a bit lacking compared to the more chill electronica acts of the time. Felt Mountain is a nice, pleasant album, but it doesn't feel remarkable when you consider the likes of Air, Portishead, etc

Surprised I'd not come across this before. Really fun jazz record with some great grooves. Time just flew by listening to this and I was honestly tempted to just put in on a second time after listening.

Despite considering myself a fan of Springsteen, The Rising was a disappointment. Felt like a pale imitation of his better work. I do appreciate that maybe at the time this was a record that a lot of people needed, but I can't help but find it lyrically quite inert and musically dull.

Heavily front loaded with the big singles. Was surprised by how much this petered out by the end as it shifts completely to downtempo chill. Also feels like every song is twice as long as it needs to be. By the time you've heard half of a track you've pretty much heard everything it has to offer. I can't deny it's impact and influence (both positive and negative) which certainly earns it a spot on this list but returning to Play was kind of eye-opening in how empty it actually is

It'd been a while since I last listened to Lost In The Dream and glad that it still holds up as a lovely, vibey record. Great for just putting on in the background and letting the music wash over you, but not noticeable enough to ever surprise. I do understand why some people really love this, but I do wonder if it's quite distinct enough to really earn its spot here

Could not finish this. The production on this is dreadful. So many songs are just a muddy wall of noise with the few bright spots being when the bass cuts through, or they strip everything back to maybe one of two instruments.

This is one which might grow on me given time. As it stands there's some interesting ideas here and I appreciate the band trying to synthesise a bunch of different influences into their work, but it doesn't quite hang together as well as I'd have liked. Some good stuff in here, but it's definitely a little inconsistent.

Whilst I prefer Dylan when he goes electric, I can't deny that this is a really fantastic album.

I've never been a particular fan of Nile Rodgers' particular brand of disco - but it's deployed really effectively here. A really fun record with some very catchy, memorable tracks. There's a really infectious energy to the album and it just breezed by for me.

A genuine surprise this. My familiarity with early Warp records is pretty low, but I thought this was great. Experimental without being inaccessible. Able to grab attention and also serve as decent background music.

Starts strongly, but quickly trails off as it hits a run of quite baffling covers. Ferry Cross the Mersey?! Born to Run?! An absolute pace killer

I'd never heard anything outside of the disco hits, so this was interesting, if not fully appreciated. I quite like the big, symphonic pop numbers, but there's some real misses here. 'When Do I?' was distracting with how odd the vocal performance is, and I didn't find it that interesting lyrically.

Was familiar with Them Bones due to it's inclusion on the GTA San Andreas soundtrack. Unfortunately that was never one of my favourite tracks and listening to Dirt has not won me over to Alice in Chains. A couple of interesting moments on here, and I can't deny there's something nostalgic about how painfully 90s it is. But it's all so one note and just becomes a bit of a slog to get through. After about 20 minutes I felt like I'd heard all I'd needed to.

Dinosaur Jr have always been a bit of a blind spot despite their connection and genre similarities to other bands I love. I thought this was a pretty cool record. Good, fun noise. I liked it.

I've never really been into U2 and to be honest War did little to change my opinion on them. It's fine

Thought this was a pretty good synth pop album. Sweet Dreams is the obvious standout here, but there were a few other tracks that I really enjoyed

I feel like this one needs a couple more listens to really get into. Some really interesting moments on this, particularly where it descends into noise - whilst the vocals I remain undecided on. Could see how this might be someone's obsession though

Honestly maybe it just hit at the right time, but this album was a real gateway for me into noisier, more experimental music. The first time I heard 'Venus in Furs' it was electrifying.

Probably one of my all time favourite records. For me this was the Bowie album that properly cemented my love of his music. My intro to Bowie was through a friend lending me the CDs one by one, and whilst I liked the earlier records I wasn't in love with them in the same way my friend was. Until Station to Station. That opening track hooked me immediately and the rest of the album was just a perfect continuation

I can imagine for die hard fans these "sketches" of songs are interesting as a suggestion of what Paul McCartney would do as a solo artist, but for me this felt a little bit too inconsequential. A couple of decent melodies, but nothing here feels like it stands up as being amongst his best work.

I was mainly familiar with David Sylvian through his work with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Fennesz, so this was a delightful surprise. Definitely feels like a step towards an 80s synth pop sound, but not quite fully formed

I've only ever heard a few Black Sabbath singles as outside of Led Zeppelin, I've never been that into this style of 70s hard rock. However, I really liked this. Some great riffs, with a surprising amount of melody. That said it suffers from being a early (the first?) metal album in that it feels quite quaint in comparison to how heavy the genre has become in some places

Just love the sound of this record. Has that warm, yet melancholic production that feels so tied to the 60s and towering above it is a wonderful vocal performance.

Thought this was decent, but maybe lacking in standout moments

I generally really liked The White Stripes. They had an interesting take on blues rock that really sounded quite distinctly them. Blunderbuss, Jack White's debut solo record, feel like something of a regression to me. Blunderbuss feels like it could have been made by any contemporary blues artist, which isn't to say it's a bad record, just not a particularly interesting or exciting one.

Was surprised by how well this album flows from one track to the next. Despite the skits (which on other albums really disrupt the flow) Doggystyle maintains a pretty consistent vibe throughout. And whilst there are probably rappers from this era I like more, I can't deny that Snoop's style is probably the best fit for that G-Funk sound. Smooth, playful, and irreverent in equal measure.

Maybe this hit a lot harder back in 1972, but listening for the first time in 2025 I found it to be quite dull. A lot of the tracks just kind of blended together

Still the absolute best version of The Flaming Lips psychedelic sincerity. Beautiful, grand and weird in equal measure.

Maybe a bit overlong for what the album is - but I guess it is in reality one record with some bonus instrumentals. I quite liked the longer instrumentals, but they definitely feel a bit tacked on in the era of streaming, sitting awkwardly at the end of the tracklisting rather than being their own vinyl disc. But the rest of this album is just great. I listened to the 2020 version and the production is immaculate. Really highlights the music and Harrison's lyrics and makes you wonder what the Beatles missed by not having more songs written by him.

I couldn't finish this one. A weird mish mash of punk and country that just doesn't hang together with some quite muddled production and what I thought to be pretty awful vocal performances that.

Just a great listen from front to back. Don't think I've ever skipped a track on this. There's a reason why this album (and so many of its songs) are iconic

I generally prefer Eno’s ambient work, but I really like this as an example of a bridge between his different musical explorations