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.

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.

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.