I grew up on this album and it is firmly in my top five favourite metal albums. It is always a toss up between Puppets and Lighting. RTL title track wins best solo. Puppets wins best overall cohesive album. Burton was an absolute monster and he is properly showcased on Puppets. Orion being the overt testament to his skill. As a whole though, composition and harmony peaked on this album and that is his doing as well. Justice was tight minus the stupid bass butchery, but a marked decline from Puppets. Who knows what could have been (no shade to Newsted who was a rock for years). Alas. This has been a staple in my rotations since 88 (ish) and isn't going anywhere any time soon. Solid from front to finish. Thrashterpiece.

I loooove Motorhead! Jam packed with raw, knuckle dragging, rock and roll goodness.

Talking Heads are our official family band. A common interest which formed a bond with a new girlfriend who eventually became my wife. She even incorporated some of Byrne's lyrics into her vows. They aren't the reason we got married.....I like to think I had a little bit to do with that. However, that is how we get to "official" status. 77 is a great pick. I hope there are more albums on this list as they never released anything less than amazing. I would love if the stars would align to allow a reunion tour, but that is likely never going to happen. While we wait for the impossible, we have 77.

Man, I wish I was at this show. Guessing I would have woken with a hangover and the knowledge that I experienced something great. The pacing from the band throughout is fast, and the energy in the room is fantastic.! The crowd is clearly stoked. Super fun record. I honestly didn't know what to expect and it appears I slept on Sam Cooke. Good stuff. I will spin this again.

Stellar album by my favourite Beatle. I don't think I had listened to this album in it's entirety prior to this and especially in one sitting. Daunting with the number of tracks.

About 15 years ago, I almost got into a fist fight with a guy outside of a bar. I recognized him from another city. Dude sold poems on the street for a dollar a piece. I appreciate hustle so I bought a few. They were not particularly good, but art is relative I guess. I later saw him in this other town and said, "Heeeeey, I recognize you" and made the poetry connection. He was super rude and basically said who gives a f**k. In retaliation, I told him his poems weren't worth the dollar I paid him and should reconsider his business model. He proceeds to tell me that I was full of it, and that he was on par with Leonard Cohen. I took great umbrage to this (had been drinking) and the situation escalated to near fisticuffs as I tried to make him see the error of his ways. Anyways, there was no street fight that night and the issue remains unresolved. This is a solid record and I do enjoy the poetry and lyricism from one of the best Canadian artists of the genre/era, though though some of the faith content doesn't really resonate. The busy finger picking on several tracks is also pretty dope.

I find it baffling that this album made this list. IMO this record doesn't crack the top 10 for 2002, let alone warrant inclusion an an all time best/must listen selection. Beige is an apt descriptor for this perfect soundtrack for Starbucks, a mall, or an elevator(probably in a mall). The kind of album that people would choose to put on at the end of book club when the red wine has been flowing and it's time to get a little wild. No disrespect to book club shenanigans. To each their own. Credit is due to super clean production and tight, arrangements. I am giving it two stars as I am confident I will find something in this project that I like even less than this.

I am a victim of the popularity of The Police's overly common hit singles. You can't escape them and I would be fine never hearing Roxanne, or Every Breath you Take again. As such I was kind of turned off from exploring the deeper catalogue. Pure over saturation. This album is great and I am glad I gave it a go! and Copeland lights up every track.

I love Trip Hop. Massive Attack and this album in particular arguably kicked the whole thing off and definitely set a vibe for the 90's. For that I am grateful.

I loooove Motorhead! Jam packed with raw, knuckle dragging, rock and roll goodness.

All the bangers.

I love Tribe and was very happy to have this one popped up in my list. An immaculate hip hop classic and a contender for the GOAT record in the genre. Possibly Busta Rhymes best verse ever in Scenario as well. I could listen to this all day every day. RIP Phife Dawg. "A man of the fame, not a man of the people. Believe that if you wanna but I tell you this much, Riding on the train with no dough, sucks."

My all time favourite hip hop album. Dark and gritty story telling and GZA at his apex. Probably peak RZA production (93-96 IMO) as well. I have been lucky enough to see GZA tour this album twice and I will go again as many times as he comes around. Can't stop, won't stop.

Stand! is also on this list and that record is pretty much perfect. As such, I had to give this one four stars. There are some great tracks on here (Runnin Away and Family Affair are personal highlights), but all in all this one hits with a little less power. Still great!

No Fela Kuti means no Afrobeat, and what a gift that was! Fela Kuti was maybe one of the best bandleaders of all time. A charismatic and outspoken (very) dude who made a life of speaking truth to power, while changing the face of music. This is not my favourite Fela album, with Expensive Shit forever holding that spot in my heart, but how cool is it to see Tony Allen and Ginger Baker doing their thing? A delightfully percussion heavy record, and not to be replicated again in this lifetime.

Smooth brain rhyme schemes from a hopelessly befuddled man, so utterly defeated and exploited by the nuances of love that he occasionally must appeal to the divine to help him get up to speed with the basics. All of this wrapped up in a fantastically dulcet package. The backing tracks are always dope. I bet every time he wandered up to a stage or into a vocal booth and picked up a mic with a martini in his hand, someone would say, "Uh oh, ol' Frank is at it again. Should we get someone to drive him home?" And someone else would say, "Nah, let him cook"....and thus, a star was born. Frankie is the man.

I grew up on Graceland, and it formed some core musical memories for me. As such, I am clearly down with this record. In my opinion, Simon and LBM are best experienced together but this record has an amazing vibes all on it's own. Super.

OK man, but how do you REALLY feel about weed. Aside from the lyrical content which I bet rang a bell in the 70's, this album felt pretty "samey" and I can't make it stand out from others that I have heard in the genre. Mid but good? I would give it a 2.5 if I could. That said, legit legalize that shit. Canada has had legalized weed since 2018 (I think) and we are doing fine. Safe supply is nice. Not tying up cops with stupid catch and release protocols for possession of something so (relatively) benign is nice. Social norms otherwise remained basically status quo. The war on drugs was a misdirected fail from the start. Just move on already.

An impeccably crafted album that influenced much of what followed for the next decade. Bound to be considered a classic.

I know this album note for note and line for line and my love for it runs deep. One of the hardest hitting mainstream records of 92 and a trendsetter for many acts that followed (for better or worse). Single-handedly responsible for wanton over use of harmonics, worn out pickup selectors everywhere, and the sociopolitical awakening of many a teenage kid. Tight mid tempo grooves, technically proficient playing and dynamic shifts that perfectly highlight the vocals, which bring all the angst and anger you can handle. Good shit.

About as classic as it gets. Some of these motifs show up in other artists work all over the place. Jazz reminds me of rain and coffee. Love it.

Tiny Dancer is great. A pub classic forever more. I tried but failed to get into the rest of this album. Elton is hugely talented, but I can't seem to click with his vibe aside from a handful of hits.

1993 might be the golden age of the golden age of hip hop. So many strong releases that year. This one was the stylistic antithesis to all of them. Dark and gritty east coast vibes, and a deep roster of incredible talent somehow coming together in the right time. IMO, this is Wu's strongest group album, paving the way for more than a few immaculate RZA produced solo efforts over the next five years or so. Got to check Wu on their last tour with Nas and De La Soul, and that felt like a gift.

I feel this could have been trimmed to an EP, or better yet a two sided single. Miss me Blind or Church of the Poison Mind for a B Side. The rest feels pretty bland, missing the mark on nods to Gospel and Reggae on several tracks. Also how the F did Black Money make it to whopping 5:19. Geez. I 'm sure this hit different in 83'.

Weird week this week. Two Elton John albums and one from Culture Club. Elton wins the flamboyant front man comp hands down. The other album was Madman Across the Water which I gave two stars for a bunch of filler wrapped around one hit. This one on the other hand is packed with goodness. I am glad I got them both in close proximity. GYBR gets out there, much more experimental and this record has a lot more swing to it, making it altogether more palatable. Elton also gives his supporting musicians more room to breathe this time around and that makes for some really stellar moments. Two years of coke cracked that egg, and inside the egg was classic jams.

I grew up on this album and it is firmly in my top five favourite metal albums. It is always a toss up between Puppets and Lighting. RTL title track wins best solo. Puppets wins best overall cohesive album. Burton was an absolute monster and he is properly showcased on Puppets. Orion being the overt testament to his skill. As a whole though, composition and harmony peaked on this album and that is his doing as well. Justice was tight minus the stupid bass butchery, but a marked decline from Puppets. Who knows what could have been (no shade to Newsted who was a rock for years). Alas. This has been a staple in my rotations since 88 (ish) and isn't going anywhere any time soon. Solid from front to finish. Thrashterpiece.

Oasis: A Rock and Roll bland. I really dislike Oasis. Absolute arrogance, shitty takes on pretty much all aspects of music, and an endless trail of obnoxious and delusional quotes and petty infighting. Bigger than the Beatles? In what universe? Claiming to be a punk band, and particularly with this album? My god. Separate art from artist? Can't do it. Especially when the offerings are so tepid.

75-84 is IMO Springsteen's best vintage. I know this omits Tunnel of Love, but........get rekt. I said what I said. Five solid albums in nine years is incredible. The records from this era come across as truly authentic to his time and place and that resonates with me. This one in particular also has a bit of "rawness" to it that I dig. A product of a troubled production perhaps. Regardless, the vibe is solid.

I dig Big Black. Abrasive and not always the easiest listen. Very unique and true to it's vision.

I once had a dream that I was at a fair ground with my wife and daughter. We were standing in a line and chatting while waiting for one of the rides. All of a sudden, the drum intro from Hot For Teacher was playing, but inside my body/head. It was pervasive and dominating. I slid to the ground and realized that the beat was my heart going crazy. Like I was having a serious jammer. I wasn't surprised by this for some reason. I was more so kind of embarrassed to have everyone looking at me and worried for my family who had to witness it. The looks were of concern and panic. I though, was calm with the exception of the frantic heartbeat. The beat eventually slowed and became a regular heart beat pattern, but this slowed down too and eventually stopped. I couldn't see faces anymore, but the sunset sky was peaceful. Anyways, that was fucked and I woke up wondering if I had some sort of cardiac event in my sleep. Thanks, brain. There would be worse tracks to go out to. This album is awesome. Pure rock and roll swagger from maybe the best iteration of the band. So many classics crammed in here. Occasionally the guitar is overly technical seemingly just for the sake of it, but 95% of the time, the composition is spot on. Some great 70's prog stuff going on in some tracks. The synth opening for I'll Wait could fit nicely in a Fabio Frizzi arrangement, and the drums are just excellent in every track. Good stuff

Foundational rock and roll. I love the Beatles, but not this particular era.

Smoooooooooooooooth

There are a couple of generic blues/bar rock tunes on here, which make it all the more interesting that this album also produced Under my Thumb and Paint it Black (included in the version I listened to as opposed to original UK release). The Stones really gather steam here, moving ahead into the 64-71 era that resulted in Hot Rocks, which is my all time fav...basic take there, I guess. Good stuff.

I am a “First Four” purist and love this album. Metallica was my first real concert at 14, with friends and without parents, thus sealing a special place in my heart. Thanks mom and dad for somehow letting that happen. They were touring the Black Album at that time and I knew every riff and line of every album up to that point. The set list was amazing, including their Justice Medley and One as a standalone encore track. Too many years later, I can still imagine the feeling of the pyro hitting my body. Pure magic. Fun fact: One of the dudes behind me pissed himself, and it was early in the show. Mixed with that love of AJFA though is also a healthy helping of disgust. The production, while still not the worst in their catalogue (St. Anger is the king of the trash pile), is still an absolute and objective embarrassment. They have gone on record with some pretty weak explanations around the stripping of the bass from the album (we were tired, our ears were wrecked from tour, the guitar was super scooped so they had to turn it up, the bass tracks are similar to the guitar tracks so turn them down), all the while stating the intention wasn’t to fuck over Newsted. All of this comes across as disingenuous and unprofessional given the ability to successfully compose and participate in the production of RTL and MOP. These accounts are also contradicted by engineers and producers working on the project who note the omission was very much purposeful, to the point where one of the engineers wanted his name removed from the project because he knew he was going to suffer for it. Also of note is that Newsted basically recorded his parts in isolation. No feedback on structure or sound from the band. Just him and his engineer trying to make it work. It is hard to believe that grief and hazing might make it to the final mix of a record of this calibre, but here we are. The composition is tight, the execution is great, the final mix is lacking, and it is gross. If you are so inclined, you can listen to a version of “And Justice for Jason” on youtube or Sound Cloud. I also would not categorize that as a perfect mix as it is slightly too bass forward at times and the tone could use a tweak, but man, what a difference. Much more full and powerful. Give it a go. All that said, the bass shenanigans aside, monumental as they are, are still not enough to tank a masterpiece of an album that will deservedly go down as one of the best of the genre. 10/10 would complain again.

Can't go wrong with the Beastie Boys. Snotty, smart, and funny, and always on point with bars and beats (Minus the blatant misogyny of the early years). This is a sampling masterpiece. A whopping 100+ tracks sampled, providing a sense of familiarity on every track while combining to produce something fresh. Johnny Ryall and Hey Ladies are going to be living rent free in my head for the next few weeks. Happens with every spin.

IMO, this is the first truly great Beatles album. I like the pop stuff.....Rubber Soul is really good, but this transcends exponentially. Experimental Beatles are the best Beatles. They pretty much cook from here to the end. Multi-tracking is mastered at this point, the basic pop stuff has dropped off, the drugs are flowing, and experimental mindset is in top gear. I sometimes wonder it what it must be like to be in a fully immersed mindset and scenario that allows you to just fuck around and find out. No one tells you no, everyone says how can I help, and you are....just kind of free to make it how you want to make it. You release a bomb at this point and you are still good. It is not like they were constrained before, but this sounds like freedom to me.

Smooth big band vibes. The talent is clear and Ray has such a good voice. Some truly great moments in here but for me, this is a moderation is the key to success kind of thing. Small doses are welcome any time. An entire album basically lulled me into a trance while walking the dog today. Thankfully I didn't walk into traffic. Phew!

First band on the list where I had no clue what to expect. Essential listening? No, and I can't understand why this album is on the list. Good vibes and an easy listen? Indeed. I may spin this one again.

I found this pretty bland. The story of the production of this album is far more interesting that any tracks found within in it.

It was ok. Highway to Hell is an an obvious classic. I found the album all a bit samey. The one note is a good one, but one note nonetheless. I could probably reach across the entire AC/DC discography and compile one truly kick ass record...maybe a double even. I guess those are called greatest hits records, aren't they.

Beautiful voice and an album of interesting contrasts from a tragic and polarizing artist. This is not particularly my jam, but it is solid. Any time a track from this album comes on, my wife will inevitably tell us about how she did a family Euro trip in her teens and this was the only tape she had with her, basically soaking in the angst on repeat for three weeks. I can't imagine this experience but is sounds grueling. She turned out OK. Haha.

I had no idea what this was prior to this. What a super surprise! I loved this album and went through it a couple of additional times. Great bars and the beats are very well done. Some nuanced nods to NYC hip hop from a couple of different eras in there which is a big plus for me. Well composed and executed. I look forward to checking the rest of the catalogue.

I love Maiden, and what a debut! Perhaps one of the most influential initial albums ever. That said though, while most of the ingredients are there, the band still needed time to cook at this point. IMO, Bruce's arrival for Number of the Beast unlocked the full potential that Maiden had to offer. I hope Powerslave is on this list, because that is perfection.

This was a Friday listen for me. Monday night has rolled around and I have played this through another 3-4 times. I was hooked by the first couple of notes from "You Ain't the Problem" (my favourite track by far), and I was pleased that the album stayed interesting for the remainder. Nice experimental soul grooves with nods to the master's who came before. Made for sunny weekend mornings with coffee in hand.

This is an essential album. It is also clear on listen through that many other bands think so too. You can hear the influences on Blur, Mission of Burma, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Q and not U in here. They also cross pollinate with Television on the jangly bits. I could list to this all day every day.

I have a hard time clicking with REM. Always have and apparently always will. Each album will have a couple of stand out pop hits, one dark track ("I Remember California") and a bunch of filler. None of it is bad, it just never strikes me as consistent. 2.5 stars for a neutral offering.

Your favourite band's favourite band. This has been a long time staple in my rotation. This album still sounds fresh and unique in 2025 and it's fingerprints are everywhere. I can only imagine what it must have been like in 70's NYC with Television and Talking Heads out there flipping everything on it's head. Marquee Moon is obviously well known enough to make a list such as this, but I feel Television is a criminally under rated band. Perfection.

At first I was like, "Ooooooh no", and then I was like, "Ooooooh yeah!" Incredible harmonies and soft jams that remind me of being five years old (This album was old at that point), hanging with my mom and playing on the floor with some daytime AM radio on the go. Warm fuzzies. IMO though, this album gets better in the second half. Some proto dream pop goodness. Mr. Guder is basically begging to be sampled into and EDM break, and The Carpenters let the band loose for some left field fusion to wrap it all up on Another Song. That one was a surprise.

Three stars for killer pedal steel. I could take or leave this album though. Some of the later stuff is a touch better. Just not my taste I guess. If you want to hear Sneaky Pete really shine, check out Zappa's It Just Might Be a One Shot Deal. One of my all time favourite solo's. Zappa train wrecks it at the end as expected, but man, what a vibe.

Typical 90's vibe but Ilincredibly boring. I had the sads the whole way through.

I am a sucker for good vocal harmonies I guess. Carpenters, Zombies, Beach Boys, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, etc. There are some well played classics on this album, but despite this, I feel like The Zombies are a criminally underrated band. This is interesting stuff and the album is consistent from start to finish. I am sure some of this was cutting edge in the day. Got lost in the shuffle of the British invasion maybe. There was a lot going on..

There were sooooo many good punk records released in 77. IMO, this one doesn't crack the top ten. That said though, I am a big punk guy and do love this album. Snotty, brief, and full of fuck you's. Just as it should be. One of the best qualities of this album is the accessibility. You aren't going to pick up your guitar at 14 or whatever and jump into The Clash, or The Damned. You are going to bang out Sex Pistols and feel great about it. They kind of kicked open the door for a whole up and coming generation. Lastly, John Lydon grew up to be a big ol wanker.

One minute I am listening to Roundabout, the next minute I am transported to a medieval time where I am drinking mulled wine while I await the commencement of the grand jousting match. The king and court are dressed in their finery, smiling upon the gathered crowd who have been given a reprieve from their toils in the fields. All is merry this day. Or maybe that was a dream I had when I fell asleep listening to Cans and Brahms, which could serve as the soundtrack for a cable access puppet show, also about royal courts and such. There are a couple of great moments in here, but a bunch of yuck too. A couple of tracks throw squawks and bloops over unusual time signatures, incorporating some of the worst aspects of free jazz. Each member going on a separate 32 bar quest, assured they will bring it all together at the end to make it semi palatable. Not a fan of prog for prog's sake. Two stars for Roundabout.

Not even good in the 90's

Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison walk into a bar, hit it off, and made a K.D. Lang. Lots of talent, but ol timey country styles just aren't for me. Props for moving the bar on several social fronts and repping Canada in a time where, in my perception, there wasn't a whole lot of recognition for Canuck music.

One, I hope this list stops trying to make me like REM. Two, this is my third REM album....and I kind of like it. Mission accomplished I guess. My selections have been reverse chronological and this one is the best by far. It sounds fresher and more urgent that anything that followed it. Such is the case with many a debut. I also like the production a little more. It packs more punch, particularly the drums. The whole things seems more on point and to the point.

Wow! What a surprise this album was! I had written off Chicago as purveyors of inane AM soft rock, and never would have chosen to listen to this record on my own. Jazz influences abound and the technical prowess of the band shines here. I was particularly impressed with the rhythm section as they have it on lock for much of the album. Some nice sizzly guitar tones ride on top of it all. There are a couple of cheese moments in there, but maybe that is just the passage of time.

Talking Heads are our official family band. A common interest which formed a bond with a new girlfriend who eventually became my wife. She even incorporated some of Byrne's lyrics into her vows. They aren't the reason we got married.....I like to think I had a little bit to do with that. However, that is how we get to "official" status. 77 is a great pick. I hope there are more albums on this list as they never released anything less than amazing. I would love if the stars would align to allow a reunion tour, but that is likely never going to happen. While we wait for the impossible, we have 77.

This album opens with lyrics about the Illegal aliens, stripping of civil rights, tightening control on all fronts from government, deteriorating global relationships, and the Panama Canal. These guys were on the money on most every front. This album was written in the dial up era. For all they got right, they had no idea how much things were going to slide from the 90's onward. It was actually a little chilling listening to this in 2025.

An easy 5 stars. At the time, It felt special and intimate to have predominately electric acts strip down to acoustic sets. This particular show made a big impact and set a whole vibe for a while. There is a reason it makes all the top 10 best live album lists. The covers in this set are also immaculate, serving to freshen up Bowie for a new generation, and revitalizing the Meat Puppets who remained under rated then and now.

Four stars for Headache. Three stars all around. Pixies>Frank Blank....except for post Deal Pixies in which case, Frank Wins despite himself. They should have just hung it up at that point rather than try to recreate that magic.

We probably all have a small handful of memories from our earliest childhood that forever stick with us. I hope yours are good ones. One of mine is being put to bed by my dad at the age of four(ish) as my mother worked evenings at that time. I was often unable to fall asleep, as after he tucked us in he would go downstairs and turn on the stereo and proceed to crank up the tunes, probably thinking we were already fast asleep. Nope. Zep, The Cars, Sabbath, BOC, and Deep Purple, were all nocturnal regulars. One of the tracks that always stuck out for me was Smoke on the Water. I can still sense it clearly 40+ years later. The sound of the music, the visual of downstairs light creeping up the stairs, the smell of the house in summer. Everything. I think about this often and credit this experience as centrally formative to my musical being. I can’t remember a time in this life when I wasn’t constantly surrounded by music and that remains true today. I foster this with my child as well, minus the keeping them up past bedtime…because what kind of maniac does that to themselves on purpose. I sometimes wonder what her Smoke on the Water will be. This album also hit on a very important day as that, then young dad who is not so young any longer, goes in for some major medical intervention today. It has been a time of deep personal contemplation and processing and this literally arrived just in time. Five stars for a stellar dad, probably reveling or railing at the passing of his youth at the hands of kids who came young, and five stars for positive core memories that shaped everything that came after.

One of the very few non Anglo albums to pop up on my list so far. Very refreshing as this list seems to have some inherent biases. Do I know what they are on about? No. Do I care? Not really. This was a fun record. Starting out with an incredible disco vibe and evolving into some very interesting Salsa. The horns and bass were great. I see a lot of comments on how it all sounds the same, but that makes me wonder if the album was listened to at all as there is some significant (within genre) diversity between tracks which makes each stand on it's own.

Can't deny the quality of Dolly's voice, but I also can't deny that this brand of country is not for me. This album feels sleepy with the exception of a couple of tracks that dip into a gospel vibe or edge into something a little more contemporary. I won't be spinning this one again.

Give me a Beastie Boys album and I will give you five stars.

This is a great album! Sophisticated and cool. My jazz tastes typically run more to Adderly, Astake, and Coltrane, so this was a nice discovery for me. I will spin this one again.

I hated pretty much every minute of this inane nonsense. Vapid rhyme schemes, dull backing tracks, and cringey AF lyrical content. How did this even get made? Never again. This list honestly puzzles me sometimes.

Another easy five stars for this one. I still remember picking this up when it came out. 100% expectation that it was going to be amazing, but worry and wonder about how was it going to stack up against Nevermind. I wasn't old enough to appreciate the nuance in production value at that time, and was more concerned on how it hit. It hit hard. This album is edgy and raw (Thanks Steve!) but is also the most sophisticated and varied album to date, displaying the promising evolution of Nirvana's songwriting. If it was a meatball, it would be sweet and sour. I would have loved to hear what came next....

Radiohead is one of those bands I feel that I should like more than I do. *The Bends is super. These guys are immense songwriters and I truly appreciate the musicianship, but never feel a need to put them on. Cerebral and depressing is how it comes off for me. Medicating in a post surgery, opioid kind of way. Dragged under while still floating on a cloud. There but not there. Is this a positive review, or a negative one? Too out there to tell.

Another I album I feel I should like more than I do. I come back to this one every five years or so for a temp check, but the end is always the same, free form jazz get's under my skin. I could leave Disc 1, but found Disc 2 to be more palatable with some moments I could sink into. I do like Miles. The Blue Note stuff is killer.

How this album generated a number one track is beyond me. I disliked most every second of this forgettable offering. I know it is all a matter of taste, but sometimes I feel like this list is a product of CERN turning on particle collider and sending us into an alternate timeline. This one will not to be played again.....WTF

What a great album! I grew up in the disco sucks era and basically swallowed that dumb sentiment without question. I eventually gave my sad little head a wobble and now have paved a rhinestone highway through my heart. On that highway runs.....disco. There is a lot of vapid and derivative shit out there (as with any genre), but this is not that. Sister Sledge is in fact an apex offering for the era. There are some obvious bangers on here that will live for ever. No need to talk about those. A nice surprise for me though was the slower, "Easier to Love". I have repeated this one about a dozen times since yesterday. This track is gold and I am really looking forward to to throwing it into my sampler to see what I can cook up with those flutes, smooth vocals, and that unique marching/staccato/sidechain compression vibe (hate on that if you must).

I dig this album. I avoided it for a very very long time. The hype around these two was nauseating at the time. Did it live up to the hype? Not for me. Was it good? Definitely. I appreciate the raw analogue vibe. I extra appreciate the kind of primitive/minimalist drumming of Meg White. Pound pound pound through the album. Most evident on Seven Nation Army obviously. The whole package comes across as sloppy (in a good way), organic, and sincere. This album also stood apart from the surge of "Indie" stuff that was coming out at that time (bit of a golden time for that genre IMO), revisioning more 70's era blues based classic rock and breathing some fresh life into that tired spectre, having exhausted itself in the the peak of the grunge era a decade before. This will never be a regular play for me, but I am always entertained when it comes on.

I am not sure it needed to be on this particular list, but this was a fun listen. Strange Boys Play Weird Openings is right! I can see influences on GNR, Skid Row, and maybe even a little Turbo Negro. I hear hints of Stray Cats, and Adam Ant in there with some of the percussion choices. A hodge podge of things melted down into an interesting early glam effort before LA homogenized the whole thing.

One of the sadder stories in music family history with immense talent lost very early in both Jeff and Tim Buckley. My first introduction to Jeff back in the day was Hallelujah. No surprise there as it is masterfully done and was famous even on release. This is probably my preferred version. I am guessing Cohen would have been proud of the effort. The lyricism and songwriting are tight throughout and the production is clean. Maybe a little too clean. I occasionally wondered if some of the vocal gymnastics were sincere emotive channeling, or a more calculated exercise, which strips some of the appeal for me. All in all a decent Sunday listen.

I am definitely not a prog rock fan and this album again confirms that. The whole thing comes across as self important, self indulgent, and masturbatory. The last may not be the most apt descriptor though as, with even a little proficiency, this is certainly not a 19:11 affair. You will also most certainly be arrested for performing in public something which probably would have best stayed in the bedroom......and these guys made a record of it. There are some pockets of really interesting music in here and I dig some some the left turns, but IMO, these moments are too few and far between to save this record from itself. Next.

I love 70's Bowie. Anything up to Let's Dance really. Smack in the middle of this prolific period, Young Americans takes a swing at American funk/soul....and only kind of gets there. Bowie himself noted this record as plastic soul and that sounds about right. It gives off a kind of an uncanny valley effect if you are trying to listen to a soul record. Whatever it is trying to be though, it is a good solid effort. The backing band is stellar this time around. The tracks are well layered and some of those funk jams are tight, giving of Stevie Wonder vibes. Also contained within is possibly one of the worst Beatles covers ever put on record. Yikes. We will blame that one on the coke....

This was fun. Essential? Not so much aside from Groove is in the Heart, which is starting to feel eternal 35 years later . That said though, this album is unique and feels like a good cusp record, bridging the pop/dance acts of the 80's and 90's respectively and in a positive way. It is also pretty impressive to have Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, and Q-Tip on the roster !

This was a fun album. It wasn't really on my radar in 95. Too much Brit pop/rock at that time and I probably lumped this in with the rest which was pretty mediocre IMO. In retrospect, Supergrass dominated their peers and I wish I had given it more attention back then. This has Buzzcocks stamped all over it and I am down with that. There are a couple of whatever tracks on here, but overall this is solid. I appreciate the faster pacing of some tracks. I will spin this one again.

Short and to the point. Classic Bowie in my favourite phase of his career. Extra kudos for a killer, 10 min opening track that doesn't feel like 10 minutes.

Some absolute, world level tracks that made a huuuuuuge splash and still resonate today....but surrounded by relatively mid content. This album feels like it looses steam on a front to finish play-through. Trim the second half and you might have a five star EP. 3.5 stars.

Next Gen, dark side Cohen vibes, with a splash of Tom Waits, and a dash of Lux Interior. Humorous and sophisticated in it's murderous musings.

Amazing voice. Amazing range. Mostly average tracks drag down the couple of standouts. Shook Ones sample was unexpected! 2.5/5

Getting this album one day after Brian passed was a strange vibe. This guy had the gift, with no doubt left after the masterpiece that is Pet Sounds. A master of song-craft and harmony, whose legacy will probably live forever. His fingerprints are all over modern music....I can't listen to a Panda Bear record and not think of Brian Wilson. This is a good record. He kind of makes you work for it at times, and that is ok. At times, it does feel incomplete. A likely product of the huge gap from conception to completion, which included a re-visioning. There is also a nagging feeling of competing headspace for McCartney's work at that time. I could be imaging that one though. All in all, a super solid album with some truly beautiful moments.

Troubled souls often produce amazing art and that is the case here. This dude was a conduit for pain and he wears it on his sleeve on every track. Raw, emotive, ethereal. XO is my personal favourite, but I can get down with Figure 8. Smith encapsulated an interesting and honest singer/songwriter space that seems to have disappeared by the mid aughts. You have to wonder what a healthy Elliot Smith might have evolved into. Alas.

Jingle, check. Jangle, check. Excessive jingle jangle, check. Dylan/Byrds/Beatles, who influenced who? Round and round it goes. Where it stops, no one kno..........1973.

Big yuck for this one. The music is very well put together, if depressing. Like, time to end it depressing. There is nothing wrong with that though (the world needs sad) and there is a lot of beauty here. I just didn't need a ticket to bummer town today. The lyrics are fucking terrible. I guess the point for Greg Dulli was to illustrate himself as one big, toxic, red flag. He succeeds and wallows in it, track after track. Congrats, I guess? He has stated that the idea of these lyrics is to paint himself as the bad guy, but the portrayal of the female counterpoint does not come off any any kind of positive way. I feel music journalism has tried to steer this away from misogynistic waters, but if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...... 3/5 if this was instrumental.....

The sound of grief on "tape". It is my understanding that some of this content was written or conceived prior to his sons death, however the execution, tone and content lay a powerful grief out on the table for the world to witness. Sparse, brooding and melancholy. Often depressing. Occasionally uplifting. Beautiful synthscapes lay the foundation for crystal clear lamentations and musings on life and death. I felt conflicted listening to this as I walked my dog in the sunshine. I was fully engrossed and felt like a stranger in a strange land. Detached and unrelatable as I sharpened my focus on the music. Next time I spin this will be alone in the house with the shades drawn. Haha.

In the last week or so I have had Murder Ballads, Ghosteen, and now this. This gospel According to Nick was welcome the day after Ghosteen. Still dark, weird, and abstract, but also with some energy that has a a little more bounce instead of making you want to sink into your couch. I needed that. Solid offering from a dude that never stops living his genuine life as an artist.

Deerhunter has been a regular on my playlists since this album came out. Five stars for Desire Lines and He Would Have Laughed by them selves. Desire Lines itself is a masterpiece. Perfect rainy Sunday morning soundtrack this weekend.

I don't dig country, but I do dig Johnny Cash. I feel he changed the face of country for the better....now we slide back into the muck with shit like Morgan Wallen all over the place. Back to my punk rock I guess. I didn't want to focus on Hurt, but I am going to. The NIN original was a masterpiece that somehow got elevated by Johnny. Stripped down, brooding, and a powerful final offering from a man who knew he was at the end of it all. There is such incredible power here and it triggers a strong emotional response every time I hear it. Watch the video if you want something even more visceral. Five stars for Hurt 3.5 overall. RIP to the Man in Black.

Does the title track belong on a list of songs to hear before you die? 100%. Does this album belong on a list of albums to hear before you die? Not so much.

Man, I wish I was at this show. Guessing I would have woken with a hangover and the knowledge that I experienced something great. The pacing from the band throughout is fast, and the energy in the room is fantastic.! The crowd is clearly stoked. Super fun record. I honestly didn't know what to expect and it appears I slept on Sam Cooke. Good stuff. I will spin this again.

I don't Stan for Beck, but always enjoy it when it is on. Every album has a couple of standout tracks and the rest is usually good to very good. That said, I rare to never play an album through so this was a fun listen for me. I actually went through it twice. Beck seemed to be on a bit of a hip hop kick on this one, with some significant Beastie Boys influences present from the Paul's Boutique and License to Ill era. I love that. I also love Bosa Nova, so was pretty stoked to hear that present on a couple of tracks. I found this album really did deserve a close listen. Top 1000 record? I am not sure about that, but it was a good time.

I was a little confused when this one came up. Based on it's presence I fully expect S/T and This is Happening to pop up. Otherwise, the world makes no sense. This is a decent album, though comparatively it feels like a phoned in regurgitation of ideas that were better executed on literally every album that came before. Earns stars for gnarly synth bass stabs. Even more stars for Oh Baby, which sounds like the theme from Reading Rainbow.

Mid. The skits get obnoxious. 2.5 stars

These guys took the good parts of other better bands and made them less interesting and good.

Quintessential Grunge album that brings me straight back to some really good times. Angsty and very well written. Cheers to old friends who didn't make it to 2025.

I liked this! Hints of Smog, which is great. Maybe a little splash of David Berman minus the depression (RIP to a maestro). Stylistically varied while maintaining it's chill regardless of the direction the tracks take. It definitely hits like a 2000 indie album, and that is not a bad thing. 3.5 stars.

Docked a star for putting an album that eats 12.5% of an entire day to consume on this list. Beautiful and well crafted, but a little much.

I love all the early Dino Jr. stuff right up to Where You Been, and have been listening to these dudes since Deep Wound *probably not on this list :( These records are key components to the soundtrack of my youth. You're Living All Over Me has all the signature elements of those albums. It is scratchy, raw, and frantic, and noisy. The composition is sometimes scattered, probably the musical equivalent to the shit heaps of paper on my desk which compromises my "filing system", and all make sense to me. The whole thing is topped with an emotive vocal melancholy which is kind of the magic ingredient. These are perfectly imperfect recordings with enough fuzz to cover up the blemishes. Four stars as Bug and Green Mind are next level.

I was pretty bummed when I checked my phone to realize I was only half way through track one. I decided to end that misery and found myself well engaged for the remainder. This album is meandering and weird, with many left turns, some of which introduce feelings of minor discord, some of which feel more sublime. It has a Zappaesque feel in that regard, minus the technical superiority....but that isn't the point here. Regardless of where it was going, I always found myself ready for it and wanting to see what came next. Good stuff. 3.5 stars.

This is the soundtrack for your mom taking you to the mall to buy new skate shoes from some franchise retail store. On the way home to your playstation, you ask for McDonald's and she says, "We have burgers at home". Offspring is the punk equivalent to burgers at home, a potentially tasty but non-authentic alternative that doesn't fully satisfy. I don't want to gatekeep, but with the dearth of actual punk albums I have encountered so far on this list, I am not about to validate this one. That said though this is a good record. The songs are hella catchy mid-tempo nuggets that stand the test of time based largely on the Holland's unique nasaly voice and lyricism. Otherwise, the riffs feel like things you have heard many times before. That lack of innovation though, does some with a sense of familiarity which makes the whole thing pleasant and accessible. Any solo's and fills are very linear with heavy picking, which also strike my ear as appealing. Is it punk? Not to me. Is it good? It is.

I always skip over this band. Waaaaaaay too much hype for the sexy fire song. I also have a jarring memory of walking through this absolutely massive beer fest in Berlin. It spanned several train stations worth of city and had 20 stages or something ridiculous like that. Anyway, one of those stages had a cover band, and they were playing the above sexy fire song. It was really not what I wanted to hear in Berlin, and introduced nagging thoughts of homogenization of culture which equals big bummer. I did have an amazing Austrian cherry beer though, and holy hell are "Christmas Market" mushrooms the best drunk street food ever. Beats currywurst IMHO. So, this album was very solid. Track one directly riffs on Joy Division, and Peter Hook in particular. That gets you a star in my book. I was particularly impressed with the bass player throughout actually, and it appears the band is too as they let him run on a lot of the tracks. It is a record of easily digestible, good time jams that would be perfect out on the boat deck when you are in the middle of the lake on a hot day, swimming and crushing cans. It did have a weird tinge for me though. Right from track one, Adam Sandler crept into my head, and for pretty much the duration of the record I could only think about him singing every track. Haha. 3.5 stars

It is too bad that Morrissey is such a piece of shit. He tarnishes everything he has ever done at every possible opportunity. That includes this incredibly well crafted record. Smiths>Morrissey.

I remember buying a copy of this on vinyl for four bucks around 2002 and getting the shit eye from the hipsters behind the counter, and one was like, "seriously, bro?" Now that same hipster trash has aged out, bought the same record for 40.00 and also has a big boner for the Boss. You know it's true. Boss boners for all. I said it on another review (so many Springsteen albums on here....) that I am down for anything up to 87 or so and this obviously falls in that range. I feel that pretty much every track on this album is a classic and recognizable in it's own right. The production and delivery (which seems to rub some people wrong) is direct, and punchy. Much more in your face. Probably driven in large part by that iconic verby snare. I don't know....this album just hits right. Best track: I'm Goin' Down. All day, every day.

South African music? All day please. Appropriation of South African music from wanker, Malcolm McLaren? No thanks :(

Obvious five stars for this one. That said, Badmotorfinger will have to get a 5+ if if comes up on this list. Potentially the best album of 1994 with strong nods to AIC and Nirvana. This album is dark and brooding, and sometimes heavy (almost Melvins level on 4th of July) as one would expect from Soundgarden. It is also experimental, poppy, and polished in a new way, that shows the signs of growth from band with time and space to execute their vision. The layered vocals are superb and I am not sure anyone in the era did it as well as Cornell. I feel this album picks up steam as it goes on dropping the gloss and pop for dig into some darker weirder content ala BMF, which I love.

I obsessed over this album when it came out. I wore out multiple copies on tape before I managed to get a cd player. I must have listened to it hundreds of times. Too many times maybe as I put it down for decades, with zero desire to revisit it. It was done. It was kind of nice to have a forced opportunity to revisit this absolute classic gem. More polished and safe than contemporaries of their time and drawing heavily from a blues based, classic rock cannon produced an album for the ages and questionably the defining album of the grunge era. I may have to give it another spin. Maybe in my room with the lights out, minus a lava lamp and the ember of burning incense. Make my 14yo self proud.

I like Reggae, but honestly I don't know enough to give any kind of analysis. I know some of it sucks. I know this does much better than not suck. Four stars for some super reggae!