First time I read the reviews of an album to understand why it made the list. I get that in context it helped bridge between psychedelic and the country-folk movements...but as a standalone without that context in 2025, it was kind of just...there. Nothing really to note. I think the B side picks it up from a 1 to a 2 star for me, but barely.

Good production for an old rock album. Probably would have listened to this in high school during the era when I was listening to classic rock more. Fits right in. Some slower almost Velvet Underground sound on one or a couple tracks, but mostly just standard pretty good rock. Last song (Rip Off) was distracting and was really the only miss.

Blah. Not for me. Double album of suck.

Went from 1 to probably 3.5ish. It's like I've just left a FIFA menu screen open for an hour. Actually pretty good for work background - there's a chaos to it, but it's driving not distracting. I don't think I want to put it on 'just to listen to' though. I don't need to be in a Mission Impossible movie soundtrack.

One banger (Alright), and a number of tracks on the B side that remind of White Album Beatles or something like that. A good mid-90's alt/punk/indie and makes sense that they were contemporaries of Green Day.

I feel like I'm supposed to like the Police...but I don't really think I do. I don't get pumped up by their frantic movement. It's not something that I ever find myself wanting to put on, and in fact, most of the time, would rather turn it off.

I mean. Good stuff. If it was on I wouldn't change it. It's probably a 3.5 in my book - not quite a 4, but 3 feels too low.

Unfortunately I feel like the Boss never quite hits for me unless it's one of his big hits. Title track is a 5 star banger. Everything else I would probably turn off.

Really rock opera. A familiar sound but unfamiliar songs. Hard for me to get into because if I wanted this sound, I'd pick the familiar.

Didn't connect with the majority of the album. Like the 2 songs I know, was quite bored with the ones I didn't.

Surprisingly good to just leave on and let roll.

So many great tracks on this. Can put it on and just let it spin, although have to take a break between the orgy and Me Myself and I, but then it's back to hitting.

So overplayed at the time, but listening to it intentionally after [a long] time away from it, man, this is solid. One of those 'this is the sound of a time in my life' albums, even if I didn't listen to it on purpose - and couldn't even escape it - at the time.

It's fine. I could imagine myself listening to a couple tracks off this maybe in early college thinking I had found an obscure band and convincing people to like it, but in the end...it's just fine.

First time I read the reviews of an album to understand why it made the list. I get that in context it helped bridge between psychedelic and the country-folk movements...but as a standalone without that context in 2025, it was kind of just...there. Nothing really to note. I think the B side picks it up from a 1 to a 2 star for me, but barely.

Very much a moment in time album for me. Tons of great songs, but when listening to the album straight through, the outros can be distracting or sometimes unnecessary. Still so solid all the way through.

Nope.

So much excellence - pretty close to 5 stars.

Some great songs, would be easy to put on and just have on in general, but not always something I'm super drawn to.

Some nice new finds on this beyond the hits. My Best Friend, How Do You Feel, JPP McStep B Blues - shockingly Mamas and the Papas sounding. But several slow dribblers kind of bring the album down on the whole for me.

Some iconic stuff on here. A couple skips for me though which brings it down from a 5.

I mean. I'm fine with it. It's a beat poet time capsule of late 60's New York, which is really cool, but it's also not the music I'd put on just to listen to. I'd put it on because I'm supposed to and because it's important - but obligation doesn't make me fall head over heels for it beyond the couple of songs that I already knew.

20 albums in and this is my first pleasant surprise. This feels like a tv show that you have to watch the first couple episodes that aren't that great before you start getting into and you're like, 'yeah, actually, i'm going to keep watching' and it grows on you. Ends up being a really familiar without ever having heard a song before. Really enjoyed the majority of it.

I don't know when I would put this on. It's not compelling enough for me to want to listen to intently, but it's also not driving enough for me to want as ambient background. It's like - if I want to zone out I could put this on and not pay attention to anything around me, including the music. That may be a little harsh - a couple tracks do light up a little bit, but just not enough throughout the album as a whole.

Easy to listen to all the way through. Love the history and thinking about the guys cheering and jeering along. Think I enjoy San Quentin a shade more though.

From a forgotten era before we knew he was batshit crazy. Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips. This album is undeniable.

Ok 90’s beats but not ok enough to hold this up as something I’d be inclined to put on again.

This. Is. So. Good. I could put this on any time and just de-stress. Relax. I need more of this.

It started out ok - pretty fun in fact. But it wore on me as the album went on and ended up being pretty tiring.

I feel like this is kind of unremarkable R&B. I’m amazed that this was album of the year for NPR in 2021. I perked up when I heard Anderson Paak come in, but that was about it.

Classic country, easy listening, lovely harmonies, and a nice discovery in general.

Listened twice fully through. Their are a number of moments where I think, ok, it's gonna kick in here and be great. But then it just...doesn't. Samples are good. Messages are good. But as a complete musical package, it feels underwhelming and overly repetitive, with many tracks that don't go anywhere.

Good grief.

Didn't even have to listen to know it's a 5...but I listened anyway because it's so good. Personal connections to music can easily outweigh the quality itself, but in this case, it's just so solid. What a way to announce yourselves to the world.

Doesn't quite connect with me. It's kind of a 'if I'm not paying attention and it's playing I wouldn't turn it off' but it's not something I can see ever actively putting on beyond a track or two. Horns and strings are nice backing on some of the songs. I'm probably a 2.5 on this. 3 feels generous, but 2 feels harsh.

If Game of Thrones had a spinoff series that followed Tyrion Lannister around as a bard, this might be the result.

I mean. I guess it's fine. It's still Joni and her lovely voice, but I don't think I'd ever really be in the mood to put this on over something else by her.

Doesn't hit me the way the critical acclaim made me think it would.

Definitely feels like an 'album you should listen to before you die' - and I hadn't beyond knowing the hits from this. I am definitely not a psychedelic guitar fan at this point, but this is really quite good even when it's not my everyday taste.

Chill. If it was a shade more chill, I'd probably bump to a 4, but as it stands, I'm in the 3.5 range. I like her voice sometimes, but other times it gets a little to piercing and takes away from the vibe.

It's albums like this where I wish we had 1/2 stars. For me there are some fantastic tracks - Withered and Died is an all time favorite, but I only knew a modern cover (Kate Rusby). The original is marvelous as are a number of other of Linda's songs. That said, I get a little underwhelmed by Richard Thompson's solo songs. In the end, I'm at a 3, but I wish I could give that extra half star up to 3.5 just for Withered and Died on it's own.

Some huge hits and some huge misses. I can't deny the power of the first 3 tracks, and several others on the album are great compliments. I feel like it would at least be a 4, but the misses really miss - so, wanting to skip close to half the album feels like it brings it down.

So easy to listen to the whole thing straight through and then feel like you should do it again. B&S was one of my very first introductions into 'indie' music in the late 90's and these tracks were literally some of the very first that opened my ears to what else there is beyond radio. Glorious.

Not super plussed by any of it - nothing really stood out at all during the listen. I enjoyed the last track, but only because Bill Murray sang it in Lost in Translation.

Surprisingly good - some real bangers - good production and beats for '92. Just had Fear of a Black Planet (Public Enemy) from '90 a couple days ago and this feels like night and day better - fuller sound, more complete tracks, just more fun in general. Enough stuff to listen to that if it's on, I'd usually be good to leave it on.

Some great stuff, some a bit more forgettable. That said, some really timeless and compelling social statements that feel all too relevant today. I'm probably at a 3.5 on it, but the social commentary bumps to 4.

There is a LOT of good stuff on this. Blending R&B, Disco, Jazz, Pop, Soul, Gospel...big boppers to iconic ballads.

There are times when I might like an album like this. Today doesn't feel like one of those days. A great vocalist who I've never listened to, but I'm not connected with any of the songs - they seem like they should be nostalgic like Barry Manilow, but they are unknowns to me and really fall into the background. Hard to identify anything noteworthy or memorable.

Hadn't heard this album. Didn't look at the tracklist before putting it on and figured it was time to listen to some lesser known Creedence. Track 1 was new to me - so, it seemed par for the course - it was fine. And then...the rest of the album is literally just a CCR Greatest Hits album - I literally couldn't believe that hit after hit after hit just kept playing. It's shocking that you can have this many great songs on a single regular release album.

As with every album in this project, I listened all the way through. I don't connect with this on any level - the rage, the deep dark frenzy, the music (or lack thereof). It's an assault. Hard pass, never again.

Some of the lyrics are quite powerful - relevant - timeless, but too often everything feels a little aimless and ambling. I guess spoken word doesn't really draw me in enough to have the content overcome the approach.

There are moments of relief while listening to this, but that's not what I'm putting an album on for. 90% of the time I'd rather take this off than keep listening.

The only tracks I'd actively be happy to put on are Sushine of your Love and Take It Back. Beyond that, it doesn't feel like it's worth the time.

I can hear the appeal on more than just the hits. I may not reach to put it on, but I can leave it on if it's already spinning.

There are times when I like this, there are other times when it makes me anxious. The last track feels like the intro for a band walking on stage, and the intro music stops right when the band hits the first chord of their first song and the crowd goes wild...but...no one was that interested in the intro walk-up music - it was just there as filler to create a little bit of energy and anticipation.

Art Garfunkel barricaded himself into a honeymoon suite in Hutchinson, KS in May 2004. He dislocated the fire alarms and smoked his brains out and wouldn't leave. I know this because my cousin got married and had that very suite booked, which, was to be used for a bridesmaid 'getting ready' room, and ultimately for my cousin and his new bride to spend their wedding night. However, upon prying Art from the room, the hotel staff had considerable work to do to make it habitable and were forced to put my bridesmaids elsewhere to prep for the wedding while they aerated the room. Thankfully, my cousin and his new wife were able to stay in the suite, so all was not lost...except for maybe a little dignity for good ole Art. All that said, this album is a 5 every day of the week.

Listened a couple times before I felt like I could actually put some thoughts down. It feels completely familiar without ever having heard it before. A good chunk of the album is an easy listen - if I had known this at the time, mid-90's teenage me would have been happy blasting this in my '85 Honda Civic. I was never into the Pixies - never even explored them, but in looking Frank Black up, realize that he's their lead. I don't know if that plays into this album or not, but just an interesting tidbit. Probably a 3.5 for me - would listen again.

I was going to give this a blind 5 - objectivity out the window. But then I was like, no. I need to listen to this intentionally and critically. I think I'm at a 4.5. Side A is a 5 without at doubt, but I feel like the B side falls off a bit and lands me in the 4 range if I have to pick whole stars.

This was fine to have on - I don't feel strongly either way about it - would be as happy to leave it on as I would to pick something else.

An album of bookend bangers. A bunch of flyover states in between. I'm fine to leave it on after the opening track - don't need to put it on particularly - but as it gets going through, may as well leave it on for the closer.

A drum circle singalong in the bayou with chaotic instrumentation at times and growly vocals. Oh - and flute. A little to gritty, dark room, late night 'hey what if we did this?' and the stoned guy in the corner is like 'yeeeaaahhh mannnn!'. A couple tracks are listenable and a little more organized.

This is terrible. Old man whispersinging. I really feel like there is nothing redeeming about this album. Why is this here?

Would be a solid 5 if the stopped at 12 tracks but it kind of wanders after that and I get a little tired.