I got Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere fairly early into this adventure and when that blew me away, I took it upon myself to dig into some of Neil’s stuff on my own. That included On the Beach, Harvest, Harvest Moon, and admiring how fucking good his score is for Dead Man. The research also included this album, which knocked my damn socks not only off but down the block. Every song works, the lyrics are substantial, and it’s short enough that repeat listens are accessible enough — undoubtedly a favorite musical discovery for 2025, including Mr. Young’s discography in general. Guy rules.

Something I’ve circled many times in my musical lifetime yet never fully sat down to listen to, until now. Vastly prefer the instrumental stuff to the stuff with vocals, as it feels like a stand-in for a movie score (hello Sofia Coppola’s Virgin Suicides) as opposed to some adult-contemporary, ‘90s French neu-pop (hello track 3, “All I Need.”) I do realize that this record is a big deal and I’ll be spending tonight digging into the context of “why,” but it didn’t gel with me overall! I can still get it being on an essential list, but it’s not on mine.

After the first few songs the rest of this became fairly forgettable. Hard to pinpoint what it is about this one that makes it essential, though I do like the proto-Talking Heads pieces sprinkled throughout.

I’m pretty casual on Nirvana but it’s common knowledge that Cobain’s voice was a defining piece of musical history and will probably never cease to inspire anyone who decides to put their lips to a microphone within the rock genre. The way Kurt’s vocals are used on this acoustic (and final) outing is as such a smart and undeniable centerpiece that gave entirely new context to songs that are now considered classics but at the time were all fairly deep cuts. It was described as the band’s way to show fans who they were via an almost mixtape-esque presentation, and it works!

A classic. Every song is so precise and aware of what it’s trying to do. Stevens has a voice like no other - first time I heard Father and Son I cried. I cried every other time, but I cried then, too.

Never heard this one before, and was shocked to find an album majority-produced by Kanye appearing in front of me now of all times - modern-day context (Kan-text?) aside, Common has a good project here! The intro track is a banger way to start, with the way it all comes together with the strings. Whole album works, no skips. Not a Common fan but I’ve really mostly only seen him as either a feature or an actor. I’ll return to this.

Not super familiar with Stipe and co. but enjoyed this album, especially in the back half. Standout was probably Sitting Still, but 9-9 and Perfect Circle are strong contenders.

I had heard the big Sabbath singles and all of Masters of Reality prior to this but I had no idea their debut album was cooking this hard. Instantly went out and bought the vinyl today, so that’s evidence enough of how much I dug it. Maybe 2025 will be the year I get really into heavy metal, the genre formerly known as “bummer rock.” (We should reclaim that genre name!!!)

Hrrrm. Only ever knew that one big Elvis Costello song prior to this - never loved that one, and don’t really love this. Feels like he’s filling a boomer-sized hole long left vacant by Buddy Holly and soon-to-be-recently left vacant by The King (who died basically right after this album released, coincidence???) and while I love both of *them*… this nostalgia fuel is… not my thing. Highlight: The melody in Alison’s chorus when he goes “Alisooooon, I know- this world- is kill-ing you.” I like the way it sounds.

The UK release (the intended release? not sure!) features a ten-plus-minute track of Mick Jagger just riffin’, and boy did it get old! The US release has “Paint It Black” right at the top, which, sure, that works - I like the track but prefer the UK’s opener “Mother’s Little Helper” as an introduction to the album. Album is a little too long and aimless in either release, but there are some undeniable classics such as “Out of Time” and “Under My Thumb” - I’m going to go with “Lady Jane” for my standout since I prefer the strings-first cut of “Out of Time,” and “Lady Jane” was a solid discovery from this exercise.

First listen left me mostly shrugging this off as a 3 but there were some melodies and musical choices that stuck with me so I revisited and ended up looking into the companion album, and nearly watched the Pitchfork minidoc on the band and album. I’ve never been a huge Lips-head but grew up loving Yoshimi, and “Do You Realize??” is a song my mom showed me that has always stuck with me due to its existential lyrics. Not saying that The Soft Bulletin is going to start me off on my expanded FL journey but *this one* is an album that will stick with me.

So achingly 2013 - all that’s missing was some Bastille playing alongside it. Not for me, even with the Scottish accents slipping through, and it’s not by fault of the musicians. They’re competent and the music is well-made, but I just couldn’t personally latch onto any of it.

The beginning of this album didn’t really grab me but once it was a third or so through, something clicked and I found myself really enjoying PJ Harvey’s raw lyricism and tightrope of genre trends that came with the new century. Some stuff is very ‘90s - it rules. My standout track is “The Mess We’re In” because I’m a Thom Yorke shill, but this is an album that blooms when listened to in whole. Never gave PJ Harvey a try before this but I enjoy the vibes this one gives off.

Amnesiac popping up right after I typed out my review for PJ Harvey and said I was a Thom Yorke shill was funny. I guess it’s hard to be a shill and not have Radiohead’s discography at 100%, so fair enough album generator - this was a blind spot! What a nice surprise! This thing is grimy and filled to the brim with jazz. Really dug it and it wasn’t anything like I expected. “Knives Out” was a blast, “Pyramid Song” was spectacular, and what a finale with “Life in a Glasshouse.” Should be a 4.5, but alas.

“D’ya like jazz? 👈😎👈” Weird listen! The production was frozen in time, in all its 1999 glory - not really my thing but I can respect it. Back half is far more acid jazz and intriguing than the front.

I think this is good! Love a big band sound, love that this was his seventh album since debuting two years earlier. Not something I can see myself returning to consistently as the covers are only able to reach the heights of being well-done covers, but Ray Charles’ career overall has a substantial amount of hits that I love and this album showcases his ability to match several different energies across its runtime.

Not a fan! The lead single “Don’t You Want Me” is fun for what it is, but this genre isn’t sustainable for an entire album, at least as presented here. “Everybody needs love and adventure / Everybody needs cash to spend / Everybody needs love and affection / Everybody needs 2 or 3 friends.” When I was listening, I was constantly put off by the shallow lyricism, but that might just be personal taste.

There is no denying the power that is Ella Fitzgerald; there is, however, at least inside of me… denying the length of a three-hour album. I went with the condensed Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook and got a far better, more streamlined experience. If I’m wrong for it? Only Ella can judge me. We really had the best of it all with Fitzgerald, Armstrong, Ellington, Coltrane, and so many more from that period… unimpeachable works of art that deserve to be put in museums and cherished. In my heart, Ella Fitzgerald is a 5-star artist but this album as is can’t be a full fiver, mainly due to accessibility. Nobody’s sitting down on a Sunday and clearing a massive chunk out of their day just to listen to music.

Yeah, yeah, Johnny Rotten, we get it — protest rock and anti-rock albums with 9-minute opening tracks are very cool and anti-establishment, and all. Good for you, you helped pioneer post-rock! I actually really respect what Lydon was going for here and think the album isn’t half bad, compared to some of the reviews I’ve read here. It’s as much performance art as it is post-punk, and there’s something here that I can gel with.

Perfectly fine! It didn’t stick with me as much as I thought it would from the start, and faces the same problems I have with a lot of indie music from around the same time.

I mean, c’mon. It’s really good! BUT… Not even B-tier Beatles if I’m being critical (fine, it’s lower B-tier.) Still, With The Beatles *was* one of the first Beatles records I really grew on to as a teenager. Remember loving the stretch from “Till There Was You” to “I Wanna Be Your Man” growing up, in particular, but there isn’t a bad output on the thing. Best original composition probably goes to “All My Loving,” but typing this out I’m already second guessing myself. These guys aren’t half bad!

Another one of the albums on this list that has me reevaluating how I’ve gone this far with so little Neil Young in my musical oeuvre. For a 24-year-old Canadian former member of Buffalo Springfield, this is legendary stuff. Seven tracks, all killer, and he saves the best for last with “Cowgirl In the Sand,” an eight-minute guitar-fueled epic that he wrote in one day alongside “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down By the River,” all while stricken with a fever. Cool stuff. Undiluted rock’n’roll for the ages.

Just about as influential as they come, more or less perfecting a sound that would define a decade. Very fun album, will be checking out his discog more closely! My standout for this is “M.E.”

I love her vocal inflections; equal parts Bob and Paul Simon, and yet this music feels like an entirely new experience. For an album pretty much standing against the idea of a song having typical song structure by fully rejecting choruses, each song still stands on its own with some of the most beautiful lyrics I’ve ever heard.

Perfectly fine if not a little dated. Don’t really love the opening track or “Only Happy When It Rains” but the rest is a bit more cohesive. It does all kinda blend together by the end, though.

What a voice! Not generally my thing to just throw on, but this debut record has something special to it.

The raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops, the raindrops. Anybody else, or is it just me? “Sail To The Moon,” “Backdrifts,” “Where I End and You Begin,” “A Punch Up At A Wedding,” “Myxomatosis.” So many bangers!

Enjoyable rock that was abrasive and edgy, but ultimately hasn’t stuck with me! Will have to dig deeper into Captain Beefheart’s bag of goodies and revisit this.

Let’s goooooo - Tribe is a group I love, but I haven’t ever really dug into this debut record. It was (shocker!) an incredible first outing for the group who already had a rock-solid foundation to build and riff off of. There’s something really special about this era of hip-hop that groups like ATCQ perfected, and the albums are as timeless as ever all these decades later as a result. Wanna give this a 9/10 but again, no half stars, so this is gonna snag the often-wanted, rarely-achieved 5/5 from me.

Fun music to listen to while you do homework or something!

Pretty sure I’ve never heard a full Doors record prior to this but I know all the big singles and enjoyed the songs I didn’t know. For a debut to contain “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” and “The End,” that’s a crazy accomplishment!

Classic country is a formidable beast, and this album is a perfect showcase of why. Waylon brings the thunder, and like the best explosive thunderheads, it’s on and over before you even have time to wrap your head around it.

Something I’ve circled many times in my musical lifetime yet never fully sat down to listen to, until now. Vastly prefer the instrumental stuff to the stuff with vocals, as it feels like a stand-in for a movie score (hello Sofia Coppola’s Virgin Suicides) as opposed to some adult-contemporary, ‘90s French neu-pop (hello track 3, “All I Need.”) I do realize that this record is a big deal and I’ll be spending tonight digging into the context of “why,” but it didn’t gel with me overall! I can still get it being on an essential list, but it’s not on mine.

Never heard a full Jimi album but this didn’t disappoint! A lot stranger and full of consistent deep cuts than expected, and great enough to prompt me to check out the other JHE albums. Nobody could wield a guitar quite the way Jimi did!

This is fun and novelty and the name is cute, but it’s not my particular tempo. Can see it growing on me but it doesn’t have the immediate grip that, say, Waylon Jennings on Honky Tonk Heroes has. Not at all what I’ve lived my life expecting the Flying Burrito Brothers to sound like, might I add.

Woulda been crazy to be a fat guy in the past. Your name Harold? But you’re fat? Nah, you’re not Harold you’re Tubby Rollins. Fats Domino and Fatty Arbuckle really cornered the fat guy market, gotta respect it. The album isn’t streaming so I made it out of a makeshift playlist of Domino singles, and that did the trick. These are some high-grade ‘50s tunes. I do love that he had this album in 1956 and then released an album called This Is Fats literally a year later. Guy’s an absolute legend and one of the main driving forces behind the music we have today - no Beatles or Elvis without Fats!

Technically well-made but it didn’t stick with me; I’ll revisit and see if anything sticks with me further in the future.

It’s The Smiths! Not my favorite record from them but this is a 9/10 either way. Beautiful, and never overstays its welcome.

As much as Britney basically revolutionized pop music, an album musician she is not. I get why it’s an essential listen but… not much going on here just yet in the Spears career.

This was crazy! A little bit of Brian Eno, a little bit of early prog rock in that eleven-minute masterpiece. Scratches an itch I didn’t even know I had… love the weird experimental textures and beautiful musicianship working together in harmony.

As far as concept albums for a never-made TV film about a carpet-layer go, this is one of the better ones. (Magnificent. The biting cynical pop lyrics and song structure unwinding into impromptu jam sessions, and that late-60s rock instrumentation mixed with the brass section, chef’s kiss.)

Pretty good! I didn’t love it on the first listen but I came back to it, and the second listen helped me focus more on the production and harmonies than Simon’s lyrics, which can sometimes be a little goofy. The instrumentation is pretty good! Album is pretty good! “Cars Are Cars” is not!

Pretty good! Not as remarkable as the solo NY records I’ve heard but it’s nice for folksy rock, and offers a different side to what I thought Buffalo Springfield sounded like.

After the first few songs the rest of this became fairly forgettable. Hard to pinpoint what it is about this one that makes it essential, though I do like the proto-Talking Heads pieces sprinkled throughout.

Crazy stuff from the far off land of 1997. Not my typical beat but The Prodigy has a place in my heart, even if I’ve maybe aged out of it. Time is a flat circle, after all.

Why does music have to be so political these days??? 😒

Much more into the Sabbath doom side of metal than I am the Maiden flourishes but there’s no denying the influential nature of this particular release - it has a little bit of everything. My favorite flavor on display here is “Phantom of the Opera,” but it all works really well as a cohesive and coherent rock album front to back.

That track “Intro” reminds me of car commercials. This whole thing feels like something a YouTuber or podcaster would have adopted to be their channel’s theme music. I like the production on some of the tracks (“Crystalised” has a good drum sound, for instance) but the lazy vocals can only do so much in 2025.

Not really my thing!

*AJ Soprano voice* So what, no “Eminence Front”??? I kid. I went through a massive, massive phase with The Who when I was in middle school so I’m quite familiar with these guys. Never heard this live album, though! Did the original track listing here with six tracks clocking in at almost forty minutes, and it is far better at showing off why the band was held as highly as they were compared to the familiar studio cuts. Really love the extended jam sessions, love hearing those rollicking Keith Moon drum hits, that raw Daltry wailing. Now, do I think a live album should be on the essential list? I’m not sure… BUT I think there are certain live records that completely re-contextualize the original subject matter, such as Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell live album, and I think the same can be said here. There’s something special about hearing The Who in their original state, right at the start of the 1970s, absolutely raring to go. Good band. I’ll allow this to be considered essential.

Really easy to talk at length even just about the crown jewel on this album ("Papa Was A Rolling Stone") but I'm trying to keep it brief; I love The Temptations, I prefer the wall-knocking funk they would show off compared to their '60s bubblegum pop, and this album is a good balance of both. It's a quick one, just over 35 minutes long with an 11-minute epic placed in the middle, and it works extremely well!

Had to find this one on YouTube; first song is three minutes long and has a minute and a half of preamble before the song even starts so the Ramblin’ namesake tracks. Overall, kind of a perfect example of what makes acts like Guthrie and Dylan so unique in a sea of friendly folk-singin’ faces. The music is good enough but the character isn’t really there and that was almost half the battle to get established as a crucial folk act, at least for me.

It’s fine! It’s dad rock, well-made dad rock.

Gonna be a perfect addition to my karaoke playlist. Hang on, I’m seeing here… A classic album that encapsulates everything I love about the early ‘90s when it comes to the music scene. It’s iconic, beautiful, and endlessly listenable — super difficult to choose a single standout track off of this one.

Really don’t like the weird ‘50s nostalgia thing this guy keeps doing. Second of his albums on this list and I’m still thinking non-essential!!!

Love some classic hip-hop; album is definitely top-heavy with hits but it’s still good across the board and has enough great tracks to make up for the weaker one or two.

One of those albums you know about before you even really know what music is. There are some incredibly great songs on here but the sequencing is something I wish I was more into. I think “Don’t Stop” is mostly just fine and kinda sucks the steam outta the engine between two stone cold masterpieces. “The Chain” is by far the best track on the album… might even be Fleetwood Mac’s best song, in general. Last third of the record after “You Make Loving Fun” is what knocks off a star for me. I’m a Tusk boy, is that gonna be on this list?

Cyndi Lauper is good! The album is a little front-loaded but I can’t hate on anything that has “Time After Time” on it.

One of the most talented voices in pop music history, with albums full of songs that don’t really shift dynamic from one to the next.

The musical whiplash of going from Mariah Carey to Ali Farka Toure is exactly why I love listening to albums off of this list. An astonishing spotlight on a side of blues that I had never heard previously!

I’m neither for or against prog rock, and I’ve never been out to the Czech Republic to check out their music scene so I’m not sure how I feel about Prague rock but… Was ready to just put “No.” if I ended up not liking this album but, unfortunately for my predetermined reviews, this is more of a “Yes.” Well, not a full “Yes” but perhaps a “Maybe?” Feels like 1971 in a can — groovy bass, deft guitar, lyrics about… science-fiction, or fantasy, or… something? Fun!

Some of the most danceable songs in the world here! Stevie Wonder is responsible for a majority of the world’s best songs, who knew!

I got absolutely nothing out of this album, sorry Steve!

I like Tina Turner, nothing but respect for my Acid Queen/Aunty Entity, but this music just doesn’t do anything for me — very 80s, but not in ways that the 80s sound has held up.

MGMT is one of my absolute all-time favorite bands so seeing this pop up on here was a nice surprise! I’m surprised to see this over Congratulations, but maybe that’s still yet to show up! OracSpectac is a pretty flawless album that helped the entire soon to be 2010s indie rock sound go mainstream, and while it isn’t a fiver in relation to the rest of the MGMT discography, it’s gotta be a fiver in relation to this list.

Great dinner party record that night grow on me with repeat listens. Love a sad cowboy!

I mean, c’mon — it’s just vibes! A great album with massive historical significance, and one I can see myself returning to plenty.

It is definitely a little long and stuffed with songs but the varied production and flow keeps things interesting throughout. Ghostface is always a welcome surprise!

Sorta feels like background music from the Soderbergh Ocean’s Eleven trilogy, but… it’s missing the Ocean’s trilogy.

I knew the singles and I knew Chris Cornell from pop culture and Casino Royale, but I had never really given Soundgarden much attention in full before today — loved this! The weird bass-strumming, off-tuned, meticulously articulated reckless abandon is something hard to encapsulate but it’s all here. I dig Nirvana, etc., but this album was quite possibly the first time “grunge” has fully clicked for me as a genre. Don’t tell anyone!

*on my fortieth listen of the day* you guys are so fucked up for making me listen to (What’s The Story) Morning Glory I love this album and I love Oasis. I don’t think this is their best work, I *do* think “Wonderwall” is a beautiful track, and when I met Noel and got this vinyl sloppily signed by him, I accepted that this band would forever be a part of me. Anyone who hasn’t, check out “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday” to hear what might be the best Oasis song ever. That’s all!

Not quite at the same level as the previous Kinks album I had heard here but I like the variety!

Album cover looks exactly like a series of shirts from the early ‘00s where nasty-looking guys would be driving cars with their eyes popping out. It wasn’t No Fear… I can’t remember. Was it a skateboard brand? I remember seeing them all around SoCal and Google isn’t helping me. Somebody let me know. Oh yeah, album was not my thing. Surf-rock but the ocean is made out of motor oil and the surfers are all on amphetamines.

Fun! I like ELO’s hits quite a bit and I’ll never really tire of “Mr. Blue Sky” so hearing the album it spawned from was a treat.

Feels extremely one-note, uninspired, and doesn’t move the needle at all for me. Nice grunge to disassociate to while driving, I guess?

one of the stronger Swift efforts — big fan of her Lover -> Midnights stretch, wasn’t a big fan of Tortured Poets or this re-release thing she’s polluting her discography page with (yeah, yeah, i get why she’s doing it but it still looks clunky). definitely think Folklore is the stronger album so if that’s not on here and this is… i’ll be mostly apathetic but a *little* perturbed.

Could the Zutons have been killed… if they never lived in the first place?

Essential building block of the modern-day Patrick, down to the fact that the first music video I ever made was to “Debaser.”

Good! I kept thinking this was Pablo Honey prior to this and definitely underrated it in my memory; finally going back to it made me realize it’s like a more straightforward OK Computer, or at least a blueprint. My preferred R-HeD is still bleeps and bloops with The Kid King A-mnesiac of Limbs approach, but I enjoyed this.

First listen, not my thing as a whole but parts are incredible. I’ve got today off so I’m set to dig back in once I get some more context behind the album and Sonic Youth as a band. Edit: Did not have time to get that context, my bad. Album’s gonna be a 7/10 for me, at least for now.

I got Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere fairly early into this adventure and when that blew me away, I took it upon myself to dig into some of Neil’s stuff on my own. That included On the Beach, Harvest, Harvest Moon, and admiring how fucking good his score is for Dead Man. The research also included this album, which knocked my damn socks not only off but down the block. Every song works, the lyrics are substantial, and it’s short enough that repeat listens are accessible enough — undoubtedly a favorite musical discovery for 2025, including Mr. Young’s discography in general. Guy rules.

Ah, it’s the “There She Goes” guys. This was the only album they technically ever released? Noel Gallagher lists it as one of his favorite albums… interesting. It’s not bad! Might deserve more listens, I like the sorta ‘60s throwback feeling it has at its core. Some of the songs would benefit from shorter runtimes, but the album is still a pleasant enough listen throughout.

Well, this is absolutely outside of my usual wheelhouse but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued — the album wasn’t on Apple Music so I had to resort to YouTube for it, and I had a good time with it! Khan has a pretty cool biography, and a list of heavy-hitters as collaborators, too. I wouldn’t say I can see myself throwing this on at random, but the music is mesmerizing when you’re in the right headspace for it.

Tom Waits scratches my sea shanty itch and goes above and beyond — not my favorite Waits album but he’s still my flavor through and through, maybe because I like the taste of black coffee while eating nails for breakfast with a side of cigarettes that were tap-danced on by a depressed Broadway clown whose show just got shut down. 1992, same year as Night on Earth, and he won the Grammy for this? Deserved, nobody makes music like Tom Waits and I’m happy to learn he got the recognition he was owed. Album flows pretty well! This is like a 9/10 for me.

Oh joy, it’s the “Roundabout” album… This music doesn’t really do a whole lot for me, I’ll be honest; I like the boisterous bass guitar, the early ‘70s organ keys and synth, and some little spots here and there but as a whole… forgettable, not my tempo.

Not really for me!

A perfect example of this list’s strengths. Wouldn’t have found this without it, likely, and it carries a good variety of familiarity and newness in its tracklist.

It’s Jimi’s debut and features some of his most iconic hits so what’s not to like? I’ll be controversial and go against the straight-up 5; it’s a soft 4.5 for me, mainly due to the length. The sequencing makes the album feel a little stretched out. I’m really nitpicking, though, just because… I have to try to be more critical, someone told me recently!

A very strange, goofy, eclectic piece of punk rock history - will be returning to this!

I get that they’re being satirical and intentionally ripping off the cheap sound of bands like KISS and Twisted Sister… but ripping off the cheap sound still requires having the cheap sound as the main entree, so… It’s fine!

some fun CCR mixed with some overlong non-standouts; might warm up to this more in the future.

Love the idea of Gorillaz, love the singles they’ve put out their entire career, and the albums are generally pretty darn good, too.

Getting this between a Gorillaz album and Blood On The Tracks is… yeah. I was initially unfairly hard on this, impulsively giving it my first 1-star rating, but it’s better than that. Would be a 3 if it was less focused on clean vocals, honestly. It’s not bad.

Not only is it Bob, it’s top 5 Bob.

I’m still an outsider when it comes to Joy Division overall, but this album has been one I’ve been trying to crack this year and, still, it eludes me. It’s a massive building block of a project for a genre that would become timeless, and it’s a puzzle piece I love fiddling around with in my pocket - running my fingers over the grooves and divots and thinking about how it all fits into the bigger picture, as I hold it in my clenched fist. Monumental.

They could have called this It’s Fine! and that would have also worked. I own the most recent YYYs album on vinyl and remember liking this and Fever to Tell, with ambivalence towards Mosquito — revisiting It’s Blitz!, I think it’s okay! It’s listenable but not something I’ll ache to revisit.

Very ‘80s! I enjoy the big hits and Red Rain is a great opener but the majority of the songs ran together for me… not a resounding success for me but Peter Gabriel has a great voice and Sledgehammer’s about his penis so I have to assume he also has a great penis. Great song.

I enjoy the bizarre spaciness this album has, in comparison to some of the more known VU records. Feels very much like something I would have had on while munching on an edible in college, the lyrics are affective.

Feels like the first album from SY I’ve tried that has clicked with me the most on first listen. Not sure I “get” their thing still but I like how goth and dissonant this album feels overall. Makes me want to fully dive into their discography front to back… EVOL, what a good-ass piece of weird music. “I’m the boy that can enjoy invisibility.”

I’ll respect it if you’re someone who says they can’t get into The Pogues but I don’t have that problem, and I’m superior as a result. I can’t help it! Great music, especially “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.”

It’s fine! Has some good songs! Enough of The Who, though!!

Who the HELL are- hey, hang on. I kinda like this. Oh, wait, this second song rules. Alright, Grant Lee Buffalo, I’m listening. (one album later) Okay, rest of the album didn’t stand up to the opening few tracks but it was still a nice discovery. 3 stars!

Austin Butler isn’t half bad here.

People apparently get rubbed the wrong way with the vibrato ANOHNI uses in her singing style on this album but I thought it was pretty elegant and raw; y’all wouldn’t have lasted in the Regina Spektor-shaped crater I was raised in. Album is good! Not necessarily my go to but it’s performed well, executed well. Definitely a weird follow-up to the Elvis Presley s/t, but that’s what this list is for.

Incredibly fun to listen to with enough musical diversity from track to track to keep things fresh front to back.

Could have given this a 4 if I was to put it in direct comparison to the s/t (still one of my most favorite discoveries from this list) but as it stands, Paranoid is an incredible second 1970 TKO from Black Sabbath that further cements their place as legends. Wish it was a little more doom, but my boys in bummer rock are still capable of laying down solid gold.

I love Cash, and while this isn’t as major as Orange Blossom Special or Folsom for me, there’s no denying the power he still had up until the last album in his career.

as cool as a Vampire Weekend prequel can be!

Although it’s intense both in runtime and content, making it veer away from everyday listening, there’s simply no arguing against Bitches Brew an essential piece of music history. Also, it rules.

Not psyched, not Fur me.

I’m pretty casual on Nirvana but it’s common knowledge that Cobain’s voice was a defining piece of musical history and will probably never cease to inspire anyone who decides to put their lips to a microphone within the rock genre. The way Kurt’s vocals are used on this acoustic (and final) outing is as such a smart and undeniable centerpiece that gave entirely new context to songs that are now considered classics but at the time were all fairly deep cuts. It was described as the band’s way to show fans who they were via an almost mixtape-esque presentation, and it works!

“Me Ship Came In!” as a title is good. That’s about all I’ve got to say about this one, but if anyone wants to tell me why this album is considered essential… by all means.

It’s fine! Probably a 3.5, it has some great stuff and then some less stuff!

Some tried and true grand slam bangers mixed with a bunch of non-songs.

It’s Talking Heads! Not my favorite from them but it’s impossible for them to make an album that’s bad. Yeah, even the monkey album rules. This is like a 9/10.

Not bad! Not incredibly memorable on first listen but I can see what a lot of folks are getting out of it.

Prince was such a weirdo. I love it.

I’ve spent my entire life thinking Tori Amos is Tori Spelling, and the thought of Tori Spelling having an album on here gave me an aneurysm so I skipped it for a while. Imagine my surprise when I started this and found the bridge between Kate Bush and Fiona Apple’s careers! Good stuff!!

Cool album. Probably the best of that early Beatles era… probably. Gun to my head, probably.

I mean, it’s basically a perfect record but I can’t give it a 5 until I find out how much Coltrane and Davis is on this list.

After a brief absence, back to your regularly scheduled programmin’ (of “what’s-next?-I-don’t-know!” jammin’.) In that week off, Brian Wilson passed and this was the album that appeared on the day of his passing. It is also now my favorite Beach Boys album. A complete and total surprise. Brian Wilson, you’ll be missed — loved listening to this bizarre, aggressively political, anti-beach party Beach Boys record. “I'm a leaf on a windy day, pretty soon, I'll be blown away. How long will the wind blow? How long will the wind blow? Until I die; these things I’ll be until I die.”

I’m a huge Modest Mouse fan, and this reminded me of Sad Sappy Sucker in a lot of ways. It’s even comparable in tracks-to-runtime ratio (SSS has 24 in 31 minutes, Alien Lanes has 28 in 41.) The lo-fi production and raw energy is great! There are some incredible pieces here, and I’m glad GBV has become more than a band on my list of bands to eventually get to. All that said, it’s not an album I feel the need to go back to in full, but that could change.

Never should have smoked that shit, now I’m stuck in the never-ending ambient soundscapes of Can’s 1971 masterwork Tago Mago.

One of the best pieces of anything ever recorded. Fireside chats, who?

‘Oops! All Saxophone Always Forever All The Time’ isn’t as good a title, but it’s what i’m pitching. i grew up playing sax, practicing safe sax, and eventually graduating to unprotected group sax — album plays like sensory overload gangbusters for me! absolutely belongs on this list.

Not only did you make me listen to RHCP, you made me listen to 70+ minutes of RHCP…

Sick. Didn’t know the 1970s had a jazz movement that blended funk and psychedelia, but here we are.

I like the weight of this thing!

More iconic in its general existence and the idea of itself than in actuality, so not a fiver for me compared to other Bob records. Probably a five compared to other albums, though.