At first I thought that I was going to buck the trend and actually enjoy this album because I do have a soft spot for the UK Garage sound. Unfortunately, as much as I might have enjoyed the odd track as a throwback, as a whole album this is almost intolerable. I like electronic music but I find the beats in this are just too simple and repetitive and fail to build to anything interesting. Once you have heard the first few bars of a track you have heard it all and have to sit through another three minutes. The vocal samples are also basic, repetitive, and often just intensely irritating. I have previously given two stars for albums I haven't enjoyed but that I feel have an enduring influence to popular music. I don't hear that with this album and I am genuinely surprised to see it on this list. I don't see how anyone can claim you must hear this before you die and I don't think it was especially influential at the time or since.

I went in completely blind and was really intrigued by the first track. I enjoyed it although it was an unconventional listen. I liked the ambient nature of it and although unpredictable, it created a congruent atmosphere. At the second track I suddenly realised I was listing to a Jazz album, and perhaps the most interesting one I have listened to so far on this project. It has elements that wouldn't be out of place in prog rock of the eighties, or even some alternative rock from the naughties (I can imagine these sounds on a post Kid A Radiohead album). Impressive for its date. Unfortunately "Moon in June" was a real low point for me, I just found the vocals too weak and annoying. Then the final track continued to ramble on, seemingly forever. After 75 minutes I had traversed my usual Jazz pathway, from "Wow this is interesting" to "Dear god will this ever end?!".

Too heavy for my tastes with a frenetic rhythm guitar that tends to match an impressive high rpm drum beat. The effect of this is a wall of noise that makes a repetitive, uninteresting ear assault. I enjoyed the intro of most songs but found I lost interest after the first drop. Welcome Home (sanitarium) is a pleasant mid-album interlude and there are a few great moments in Orion which I really enjoyed. Also, there are killer guitar solos throughout. In general, highly skilled musicians creating a sound that I don't particularly enjoy. The album finishes with the alluring intro of Damage Inc, luring you into the false sense of security before giving way to the ear pounding which I guess is "Thrash metal" - not a fan.

My opinion on this one will be biased. Released when I was 17 it became part of the soundtrack to my university days, particularly Kids which was played in every club night I can remember during my first year. After what is probably my first critical listen, the album is more varied than I remembered but just sings to me of the noughties, an optimistic time pre-financial crash and pre austerity, where me and my fellow millennials were coming of age. It still feels like a youthful and fresh, but if I'm honest, there are probably some tracks that I would find fairly average out of context. However, I will never hear electric feel, kids, or time to pretend without being transported back to that time.

First ever critical listen of any Depeche Mode. This album felt like an uninteresting slog with a cool 80's vibe. I found the music dull and vocals contrived and pretentious. At its best moments I was reminded of Morrissey but without the humour or the brilliance. Generally found the album very boring and I doubt there will be a repeat listen.

First listen to this album although I had heard of TVU as I'm fan of Lou Reed's Transformer. First impressions were really positive, a varied and interesting album that encourages repeat listening. Some vocals like Sunday morning sounded Dylanesque, then others with Reed's cool delivery. I listened blind then looked at the date and couldn't believe this was made in 1967. I can totally see how it has a reputation as being ahead of it's time. I can see myself getting into it even more after multiple listens. A win for this project from my perspective.

Any single track was an enjoyable, if formulaic, rock track but altogether the album became an amorphous chain of "rock noise". Quite enjoyable but nothing special. Floaty was a highlight in that it had more variable rhythm and vocals. It struck me during the guitar solo in Oh, George that there were very few instrumental breaks or guitar solos in the album, further adding to the feeling of simplicity. Not a bad album but lacking depth in my view.

An interesting mix of bougie cafe music with rambling guitar solos, blues and latin vocals. Why don't we utilise the bongos in rock music any more? Am I supposed to light a spliff, play air guitar, or dance the salsa? All questions I was pondering before being distracted by an electric organ solo. I enjoyed the album but I can't decide when I would listen to this. Maybe I'll throw a house party, make some punch, a prawn cocktail, vol-au-vents, and fire up a cheese fondue (car keys in the bowl please).

One of the first thing I noticed about this album is the excellent production quality. I am a real fan of a natural and live sounding production and this album gave me that "in the room" feel whilst still providing good isolation of the wide range of instruments. Musically I found it pleasant and pretty but not groundbreaking. A nice blend of folk and indie with quite simple and intimate songs. I'm more likely to use as inoffensive background music rather than a deeper listening. That being said, I probably will mark this for a repeat listen.

A great listen. Apart from the unexpected lyrics of Run Charlie Run, the album was a funky delight. Upbeat and soulful vocals. The style seems to leap around all over the place a bit and at first I thought it was very short but I've now realised that Papa was a rollin' stone was missing from the album in Tidal (weird/annoying!) which accounts for it's shortness. I enjoyed it like taking a funky little journey back in time.

I feel like this is quite context dependent. I can imagine enjoying this live, on a hot humid night, in a outside bar under corrugated iron roof, dancing around plastic chairs and drinking cheap rum. As it is, I quite enjoyed listening out of interest but can't ever imagine myself listening to the album again. I think it deserves more than 1 star on the basis of artistic merit and being an interesting historical recording of folk culture. Personally, not my thing though.

Quite a cool groove and still sounding surprisingly fresh considering how hip-hop sounded generally in 1990. I have always liked how rap sounds in French, the flowing nature of the language suits flowing verse. The problem is, despite the best efforts Miss Onslow, I don't speak French. I feel like understanding the lyricism is 80% of all rap music. My typical British ignorance of foreign language limits this to a 2 star album for me, I'm afraid.

What an absolute banger. I was instantly into this album that begins with almost punky vocals, chaotic rhythms and dissonant guitar riffs. I can hear influences on Tropical Fuck Storm (a favourite) that can't be coincidental. The album mellows out in the second disk into some gentler tracks but still with lyrics that raise eyebrows and a grin. It is a great mix of musical complexity and variety, organised chaos, humour, and lyrics with occasional beauty that doesn't take itself too seriously. An instant favourite for me.

I often think Dylan is overrated, particularly if you let recent performances cloud your appraisal of him. Listening to this album has been a great reminder of why he deserves his acclaim. It's raw, soulful, politically challenging, simple but beautiful. Like all good folk music, it somehow makes me feel nostalgia for a place I've never visited in a time 30 years before I was born. My advice to skeptical listeners is to try to listen to this album in isolation, putting aside preconceptions of Dylan and ignoring the subsequent hero worship. It's a truly great album and probably his best.

I remember the hype about this album. I don't mind a bit of sampling and looping but this has the feeling of someone experimenting with a new technology for the first time and people liking it just because it's novel. I find the first 30 seconds of each track is ok, bit of a groove, 3 mins later I'm bored stiff from hearing the same looped rhythm and lyric samples for the thousandth time. This album might have seemed fresh and interesting once but I don't hear any long term musical merit and I don't think it will stand the test of time.

To me slipknot has always been "metal for the mainstream". I remember them being played on music channels like Kerrang! at the time alongside Nickleback, which says it all. Listening as objectively as I could manage, I didn't hate it. There were some good moments and tight musicianship although I didn't enjoy the vocals at all. I still think it sounds contrived and too refined, maybe too commercial? I just can't get the image of those uniforms and silly masks out of my head.

Very enjoyable listen. Reminded me of my Grandad. I can't say I'd ever listen to this on my own though. As much as I appreciate the music it's not to my taste.

Firstly, I love Joni Mitchell's Blue which might even make my top five of all time. Then a lot of her later stuff I find a bit bland. That runs true with this album, vocally still great but the music is somehow less raw than her earlier stuff and sounds a bit schmaltzy. Dare I say "middle of the road"? I am reminded of my primary school music teacher shamelessly playing over-sentimental tunes on the school piano for singing assembly. An average album from a great artist.

Although I can't understand the language I liked the vibe of this album and there was enough going on musically to engage me. Definitely a fun listen with a good spectrum of sounds but not something I can see myself ever listening to beyond this project, just not a genre to my taste.

Listened to this one blind and first impressions were that it was pretty cool. Quite Bowie esque.. as the album progressed it sounded more and more like Bowie and when I got to China girl I finally caved and read the overview... The problem I have with this album is that although it's quite a cool groove, with gravelly but not entirely unenjoyable vocals, David Bowie exists. So I'm left asking "Why don't I just listen to some Bowie".

Incredibly underwhelming. For the most part the lyrics were contrived and shallow (dare I mention Shanghai Lil?) but then there were a couple of tracks that I thought were surprisingly well written, only to find out they were covers along with half the album. Maggie May is an enjoyable classic but can't carry the whole album. The only bit that turned my head was the instrumental intro to Amazing Grace at the end of "That's all right", then Stewarts quavering vocals kicked in and I nearly spat out my coffee through cringe.

I really liked the bluesy tracks on this album which began with 'Been Down So Long' and was a recurring theme throughout. The production quality is excellent, great isolation but still giving the feel of a live performance. Things got a bit weird with 'L'America' in a way that I've come to expect from the doors and I'm never quite sure I really enjoy. The album finishes with "Riders on the Storm" which is a really cool track and further cements my opinion of the Doors as a band that lurches from cool to weird and back again. A decent album but not one that I'll return to.

I am a Jack White fan so was keen to get into this and fully expected a 4*+. Unfortunately, although there are some decent tracks, as an album this doesn't really excite me. I have the Later Album "Lazaretto", which in my opinion is superior. Maybe this one is on the list purely because it is his first solo album... You can't deny the musical ability of Jack White but too much of this falls into the category of "underwhelming modern country music".

It's glam rock whilst it was still cool. A bit of slow rock and roll, a bit of blues, and all the bells and whistles of Bolan Glam. Every track is a banger. Such an infectious groove throughout just dripping with cool, camp sleaze. I was slightly surprised to be reminded it was made in 1971. Other than the old school production quality (which I love) it sounds 15 years younger than it is. Great album and nice to see an old favourite on this list.

I considered marking this one down on the basis that I need to leave headroom for Pink Moon which I think is one of the best albums ever recorded. Bryter Layter is my least favourite Nick Drake album because think the backing instrumentals detract from the rawness of the songs making them less visceral. I don't think Drake's style is suited to sweeping expansive string accompaniment in Hazey Jane, for example. I think it's still worth of a 5 star rating though, if I pretend it exists in isolation of his other albums. I'll just enjoy this one today and save my full gushing opinion of Nick Drake for another day.

So this album was way more politically challenging than I was expecting and I really dig the no-holds-barred approach. Musically, I initially liked the old school beats but in 2025 they are quite simplistic and get pretty repetitive. Mr Cube also has quite a repetitive, one rhythm rapping flow which at times felt like a bit of a low RPM plod. The album is really about the lyrics though, which were great; moving from social observation, political protest, and entertaining obscenity. I will take a second point out the rather clumsy challenge to misogyny with "This is a man's world" but I try to take these things in context. Overall a decent album that sets the scene for they hay-day of the American rap scene in the late 90s.

I thought the music was pleasant but uninteresting and the vocals were breathy and monotonous. Apart from "between the bars" the whole album slipped by without me noticing any particular song.

I hadn't heard of this band before today but I was pleasantly surprised. They seem quite ahead of their time and probably deserve to be more well known. Nice find.

Seventeen Seconds feels like it has all the elements of Disintegration but in a rawer state. Rhythmic with a prominent killer base line and ethereal vocals. The vibes of The Cure aren't always congruent with my everyday life but there is a sense of existential despondency lurking somewhere deep within me that I like to occasionally indulge and their music provides a perfect sound track for that. I thought the album had a bit of a dip in interest in the middle with "Three" and "The Final Sound" feeling like a bit of unnecessary atmospheric filler. Then it picks up again with "A forest" which is a signature Cure track. Definitely another album for the collection.

Didn't connect with this album at all. I don't mind the eclecticism in principle but in practice I didn't think the hodgepodge of different styles really worked. Similarly with satire or cultural observation, good if it resonates with you but I didn't find any of this did. Being kind, I could see how this could hold some cultural relevance to a certain demographic in the US but it didn't feel that way for me.

So unfortunately my issue is that I just can't stand this much of Neil Young's voice. It's a shame because a lot of the tracks on this album are well written, excellently performed, and stunningly recorded and produced. Case in point: "southern man" which is a great track but by the time I got to it I'd already had enough Neil and still had ⅔ of the album left to go. Hardest one to rate so far because I think it's a good album, I just don't like it.

Perfectly pleasant music but nothing I found too exciting or likely to pull me back for a repeat listen. Unusually for me I found I preferred the more more poppy tracks like 'Stars all seems to weep'. It still had some 90's vibes and I could imagine it being played in a cool coffee shop or art gallery-come-cocktail bar.

Funky start then some jazzy elements creeping in. Listened to this in the car and it faded into fairly pleasant background music but nothing that I was particularly moved by.

The album has some great vintage British rock sound, some slightly more experimental tracks, and then 'Seaside Rendezvous' and 'Good Company' which were like some weird cabaret. An eight minute rock epic, 'The Prophets Song', with it's weird interlude that sounds like an acapella choir warm-up. Of course I need to mention 'Bohemian Rhapsody', a classic track that represents a microcosm for the whole album. I didn't enjoy everything but respect the effort to experiment and make something new and different. A few misses in there but also some great moments. I'll probably be back for a repeat listen.

Some good, if formulaic, old school rock and roll. 'Breakdown' had me nodding my head at the start of the album and fooled again was another good one towards the end. I've never listened to this album before but it feels like I have. Whether that's because of it's influence or because it's derivative is difficult for me to tell.

Listened to this album on the A6 from Derry to Antrim. It was an absolutely beautiful journey, chilled out with an easy beauty around every corner. Sweeping vistas of desolate upland and some pretty farmland. The quiet majesty of the Sperrin hills followed by the impressive expanse of Lough Neagh... Oh the album's finished. It was fine.

It was good to have an opportunity to give this album a critical listen because it's already a favourite. It's a collection of some incredibly well formed tracks where Pixies showcase their ability to produce perfect-for-radio nuggets. "Hey" is an absolute gem and my highlight of the album. I love the Pixies' sound and the recording and production are both excellent, capturing all the musical details but still sounding raw. My only criticism is that the album does feel like more of a collection of individual tracks than a fully coherent album. Sometimes the next track feels like an abrupt change of pace. I missed Pixies in my youth and now really wish I had discovered this album in the nineties instead of the twenties.

Listening to this is a good reminder that sometimes you need to revisit old assumptions. I have always identified as someone who doesn't like Metallica but now I actually listen to a whole album, I'm unsure where I picked up that opinion. This album rocks! Kicking off with 'Enter the Sandman' which is an absolute banger and a classic of the genre, the album has a good balance of heavy guitar riffs, solos, and also some more melodic motifs and softer tracks like 'Nothing else matters'. I sometimes found the vocals came across as a bit overly stylised, but I think some of that is the American accent which he can't reasonably be criticised for. Highlight of the album was 'The Unforgiven' which contains the variety of the whole album in one track. So yeah... It turns out I'm a Metallica fan and this will be added to my collection.

It's difficult for me to rate this album fairly because I grew up listening to it and Dire Straits were an influential band in developing my musical tastes. Although 'Money for Nothing' remains a banger, a lot of the album now sounds a bit schmaltzy and over-sentimental. What can't be denied is Knopfler's signature guitar playing greatness. Still a good album and a classic, with added nostalgia value for me.

Another good Pixies album. It has a simpler and a more mainstream pop/rock sound than Doolittle. More like Pixies just doing the basics really well. The recording is also really good, mixed so you can hear all the detail but still manages to retain a raw feel.

Can't deny the quality of the song writing but this album is just a bit too slow and plodding for me. It's more poetry recital than music album and I daresay Nick has given in to a bit of self indulgence (He is teetering on the edge of this at the best of times). It picked up towards the end of the album from 'West country girl' onwards and there were plenty of tracks that I would enjoy in isolation, but I can't see me relistening to the whole album.

I am transported back to childhood holidays in the 90's where the people that listened to this kind of thing when they were young were still going on all inclusive coach holidays to Tenby. An aging Welsh crooner is the hotel's evening entertainment, I'm sitting as a 7 year old with an appletiser and a packet of walkers cheese and onion crisps. Two old couples are slow dancing on the parquet floor and the rest of the old biddies are sitting around the edge of the room slowly clapping along with glasses of sherry on the table. Not an unpleasant genre but it instantly feels dated and, for me at least, it doesn't have the much impact left in 2025.

I've had a real soft spot for the offspring since manually adding 'Splinter' to the radio on GTA 3. They are a bit of a one trick pony but they do it so well with such an infectious energy that I always find myself smiling along. No different with this album which sounded exactly as I was expecting it to but I enjoyed it from start to finish. 'Self Esteem' was a highlight and I thought it was more slightly more nuanced than the rest of the album and I liked the scar sound of 'What Happened to You?'. I accept that they aren't defining any genres or breaking new musical ground, but it's a fun and energetic poppy punk-rock album and for some reason I can't help but enjoy it.

Enjoyed this album (the Bowie mix) as a passing moment but can't see myself listening again. This sort of thing makes me think "Cool sound of it's time" but I don't connect any more deeply. If I was there at the time and saw this live I imagine I would have enjoyed it. I can see how it could have influenced punk rock later down the line and so deserves it's place in the list.

This album sums up my mixed opinion of The Doors. It contains a set of musically accomplished and varied, if rambling, tracks which do seem to have captured a moment in musical culture. However, the overuse of the electric organ sounds dated and irritating, case in point 'Alabama Song' which is like a nightmare about being trapped in a old fashioned funfair. Then there are the lyrics which feel contrived, self-indulgent and pretentious, delivered with a smug sense of artistic superiority. I guess I just don't "get it"...

At first I thought that I was going to buck the trend and actually enjoy this album because I do have a soft spot for the UK Garage sound. Unfortunately, as much as I might have enjoyed the odd track as a throwback, as a whole album this is almost intolerable. I like electronic music but I find the beats in this are just too simple and repetitive and fail to build to anything interesting. Once you have heard the first few bars of a track you have heard it all and have to sit through another three minutes. The vocal samples are also basic, repetitive, and often just intensely irritating. I have previously given two stars for albums I haven't enjoyed but that I feel have an enduring influence to popular music. I don't hear that with this album and I am genuinely surprised to see it on this list. I don't see how anyone can claim you must hear this before you die and I don't think it was especially influential at the time or since.

Its a well produced album but not my genre of preference. I daresay I'm not the target audience and I find it very difficult to find anything in this album to relate to. My issue with this genre is that it is musically incredibly simplistic, formulaic, and not being played on live instruments so the sound of the album relies almost entirely on the production quality. Really the only things left to judge the musical merit is the quality of the singing (good in this case) and the lyrics, in which I found absolutely nothing that moved me. Best song was "20 Something" which is rawer and the only song I can imagine enjoying live.

Nine inch nails... On a chalk board. Very much disliked the sound of this album and it didn't stir any emotional response from me other than boredom and a mild anxiety. Music for angsty American teenagers with a preoccupation with "pigs" and their non-existent girlfriends.

An iconic album including some really excellent and genre defining tracks. The album as a whole is longer than I remember and has some more experimental tracks in that way common to sixties albums. Hendrix's guitar playing is excellent and unmistakable and he creates a sound that is not only great to listen to but now defines a moment in cultural history.

Nick Cave can be a bit hit-and-miss for me and this one is more of a miss than a hit. Some great song writing and often dripping with cool, but then a few slower and schmaltzy tracks that Cave seems quite partial to and I don't enjoy. Quite often I find listening to Nick Cave is like listening to really good music that I'm not sure I really enjoy. I think this album has relistening potential though so I may rethink my opinion after repeat visits.

It's a very listenable funky pop album and a testament to it's quality that I really enjoyed listening despite it not being my genre of choice. I much prefer the upbeat funkier tracks to the slower romantic stuff. It's an undeniable classic and the only thing excluding this from my collection is personal taste.

This performance slams! It's a raw and soulful blues record with some tight musicianship and banging vocals. It's amazing that this was recorded live, King makes the guitar sing and then his vocals are bang on and so expressive. Listened to this twice through back to back, just wish I could have been there to see it live.

First surprise was learning that 'Walk on by' wasn't an original a stranglers track. Second surprise was that it's twelve minutes long. Generally this album has a cool, funky, soul sound but the tracks just ramble on for too long and by the end seem quite repetitive. I'd rather be left wanting more than find myself waiting for the track to start or end, especially when nothing much is going on except three minutes of noodling or eight minutes telling you how deep the tune is about to be.

First impressions were really good with 'I Wanna be Adored'. I really like the really ethereal rock sound that seems to be ahead of it's time. The album then seems to foreshadow the Brit pop of the 90's but still has elements that throw back to older English rock groups, 'Waterfall' reminded me simultaneously of the lightning seeds and XTC. The album faded into the background a bit after my initial impression, but all of it sounded pleasant then some upbeat poppy sounding tracks at the end turned my head. Definitely warrants a repeat listen, an interesting album that seems to balance on the threshold of the 80's and 90's styles.

Elvis Costello is an artist that I respect without being a massive fan of his music. I always find the lyrics are the best element and can be unexpectedly challenging. They are politically hard hitting but wrapped up in such a palatable presentation they can sometimes run under the radar. Undeniably an influential album but not one for my personal favourites list.

Not my favourite offering from Jack White. Some decent rock tracks but also has a tendency towards quite cutesy songs that sound like they should be in a children's programme. Also some tracks where it's a single hook that gets over repeated.

Quite enjoyed the vibes of this whilst driving but it sort of all merged into an amorphous hip-hop sound without really ever turning into anything more meaningful. To me it lacked the edge of a great hip-hop album and presented as a softer, family or maybe radio friendly hip-hop. Ok if you are into it but not one to remember.

An undisputable classic of the genre. I listened to this album semi-ironically at uni and it definitely has some decent tunes. I think my tastes have changed with age and maybe also this type of toxic misogyny is now less entertaining and a bit of a relic. Still a couple of points that made me smile but actually found I was a bit tired of the hyper violent, hyper sexualised lyrics and repetitive beats by the end. One to relegated to the archive and not for active listening as far as I'm concerned.

Great opportunity to listen to this album critically in it's entirety although I already know many of the tracks. First disk absolutely rocks and is banging from start to finish. A real microcosm of Led Zep. I was reminded at how rhythmically complex a lot of led zeppelin tracks are, where phrases seem to overflow the bar and give a frenetic energy. The second disk I found to drag a bit more and by the end of it was ready for it to finish. Still a classic.

Funky music but I find the vocal mix a little off-putting. Curtis sings in such a soft crooning tone that it doesn't really cut through the music in the way I'd like. Maybe a little too understated. It's like a little quavering mouse trying to not wake the neighbours. Good example from the 70's funk/soul scene but not an album I'd listen to outside of this project and isn't one I'll be coming back to.

There's no doubt that this is a great recording. I loved the live feel to it and the conversational approach from Cash really helps put you in the room. I started listening thinking I wasn't going to enjoy the country style and the album would feel a bit outdated. Actually I found myself quite engaged by the humour of the lyrics and the presentation. Not my genre but enjoyed the listen.

The beastie boys... Definitely a defining band and totally deserved of a spot on this list. Almost any given track on this album would be a fun, enjoyable throwback, but I found it tough to listen to the album as a whole. Pretty samey, call and response early rapping. It's quite unrelenting and full on. I can't say I disliked it, but I don't find it very moving beyond it's historical cultural interest.

First impressions were that it's quite soft rock and the vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. You can hear some funk influences running through the album but it's generally just some uninteresting 70's American pop rock. Doesn't do much for me and there were no stand out tracks. Have to admit the production quality is excellent though.

I really don't understand this album. It listens like a bunch of college mates just went to a recording studio and fucked around for an hour with a drum machine. I've come in blind so I might be missing some cultural significance but it sounds like a complete hodgepodge of simple, repetitive beats and one tempo raps with some in-jokes and teenage humour. On a plus note it's quite joyful and they seemed to have a good time.

What an album of two halves. Kicking off with one of the best tracks ever recorded, the first few songs assure you are in for a banger of an album. Unfortunately the album falls off into some generic slow county rock, finishing with an unenjoyable dirge. The balance on this as an album is too much towards the the uninspiring which is a shame given it includes such an iconic and culturally significant track.

Listening to this album made me think of listening to a good support band. You are mainly just happy they aren't totally shit and therefore quite enjoy the listen, then the main act comes and they are promptly forgotten. Not bad, just "meh". Can hear some early Brit pop and the first few tracks made me think of Elbow. Fine but unexciting.

Another unexpected win. Never heard of this band but they have a really listenable early 90's vibes that puts me in mind of Pixies with some Velvet Underground influences thrown in. I could criticise the album for being samey and having no standout tracks on first listen, but it was a good noise all the way through and I will definitely be relistening.

I found this album intriguing. It didn't jump out and grab me instantly but it's very much within my genre of choice and had good variety. I could sort of sense the quality but it feels like more of a grower than a shower. I'll definitely be coming back for repeat listens.

Upbeat music with some spirited vocals but I was struggling to keep interested by halfway through the album. I prefer a heavier rock music and this is just too poppy for me. 'Memories Can't Wait' was a fairly decent track in the middle of the album and I momentarily hoped the second half might improve. Instead I thought it felt a bit jumbled and formless towards the end. There may well be some hidden depth to the lyrics but I will never uncover them because the music won't inspire a repeat listen.

This is possibly the most annoying album I've ever had to listen to. I've probably heard worse albums, but not many that were thumped into my head with so much energy and eagerness. To add insult to injury it even includes a mangled Pixies track. 'Paper Planes' started and I suddenly realised how it got on this list. One really great, infectious track that I have liked for a while but never knew where it was from. Sorry though, one decent track does not a decent album make.

I can see why people like this, it's good pop music. I found this a difficult album to finish because it's so long and not at all to my taste. I think the overuse of the drum machine and synths just gave every track a monotonous, repetitive feeling where the music held no interest. Prince puts in a great vocal performance but I find the music too boring to appreciate it. Quite like 'Cross' towards the end of the album and 'Adore' has some great moments but goes on too long (much like the album and probably this review...).

Weird, unexpected, quite good(?). Definitely challenged me with this one and left me feeling weirdly conflicted. This is musically top notch and recorded impeccably. It has an awesome warmth and depth of sound. But also wtf is this?? It has the feeling of an artists pet project where they have given up on any commercial considerations and have just thought, "Fuck it, I'm recording what I want". I'm here for it, but equally I'll never listen to this again off my own bat.

I love the concept of this album. It's so Bowie and a fitting end to his life and career. As with most Bowie, I blow hot and cold with it. Lazarus is a great track but otherwise the album doesn't really grab me. It's dark and uncomfortable (both good things) but I find a lot of it a bit derivative and sounds a bit middle of the road. The main attraction comes from its story, a swansong from an undisputable cultural icon. Worth a critical listen but not an album I'll have on repeat.

The album kicked off well with 'Children of the Damned' and kept the same level throughout. It's a classic heavy rock sound which I can get on board with. Loved 'The Prisoner' but a lot of that is to do with the classic intro (great show). Musically, I think this album is awesome, my only criticism is the presentation of the vocals which I find a bit stressful and frenetic. Not quite melodic enough for my tastes. Otherwise great.

The sound of this album puts me in mind of an early 90's optimism, the start of Brit pop and "Cool Britannia". I was interested to find the vocals in the first half of the album sounded almost like pop-punk. The second half was more laconic. My issue with Blur is that they are just a bit bland. By halfway through the album I felt like I'd heard all it had to give.

Meat Loaf... I can't help but quite like the more upbeat tracks, 'Bat Out Of Hell' being the classic, of course. The slower tracks like 'Heaven Can Wait' don't work for me, I just can't take him seriously enough. Apart from the frustratingly long tracks, it was an enjoyable listen just for the sake of it but once is enough for me.

For any fans of hip-hop I can see the value in listening to the early albums of the genre. I always find with these early hip-hop albums that they now sound quite simplistic and very repetitive. That said, the energy and lyrics are great and it's interesting to hear how far rap music has come since this sound of the late 80's. Also, this album is just more fun and positive sounding music than a lot of it's derivatives. A fun listen but not an album I'd listen to for anything other than academic reasons.

I accidentally misread and listened to Chronic 2001 first so I've just had a Dre fest. I was half expecting to write a mature review about the racial slurs and rampant misogyny, but I listened to this album and enjoyed all of it. Was it a semi ironic enjoyment? Yes... But it had me bouncing and made me smile. I think 90's Dre captures the best of the genre and is the moment American hip-hop peaked. This first album still has some of the sounds of the rap music of the late 80's but it has already become a more intricate, polished production. Turn it up, light a spliff, and pretend you aren't a bald white guy who lives in the South of England works in IT.

As usual with The White Stripes, I like the heavier tracks but find the slower, more stripped back tracks less interesting. The band sounds it's best when it's rocking hard but they have a tendency to slip into something that puts me in mind of the soundtrack to a children's TV show. What can't be doubted is Jack White's musical ability which here is paired with a naturalistic production quality that makes for interesting critical listening.

Not a great start to this album with the trite "The Old Gold Shoe" which I was bored with after the first minute. The music is low energy and uninteresting and I was just thinking the vocals couldn't get more bland when the awful falsetto started and took it from bland to irritating. This is beige music for beige people.

The album starts with a couple of classics so I was intrigued to hear whether the rest would stand up to their quality... Surprisingly it did. The 80's beats, the synths, the outstanding vocal performance. The great thing about Kate Bush is that she manages to fit perfectly within her time (part of the definitive sound of the 80's) whilst also bringing something new and unique. As usual I'm less interested in the slower tracks like "And Dream of Sheep" but even that didn't make me cringe as much as I usually would. I feel like KB has come in with something truly expressive and original with this album and even though it's outside my usual genre, I'm here for it.

Fine for what it is. Well produced, well played, well sung. My issue is with the genre. Boring, predictable, one dimensional music that drawls on and never comes to anything interesting.

Amy Winehouse is a great singer but this album doesn't put her voice to good use. The album doesn't flow, the accompanying music sounds robotic and overproduced, and the lyrics are shallow and one-dimensional. Also I quite quickly started to find her voice a bit grating, largely due to the style of the song writing which constantly pushes her up into a higher register. Based on her reputation, I was expecting to like it more so I'm slightly surprised.

I enjoy these live albums because they really capture the atmosphere of the venue and the essence of Cash's showmanship and sense of humour. For music of this genre, this has got to be nearing best in class and I think the live recording is a great way to experience it. I love the gall of openly sledging the venue and it going down so well he does it again. This is a tough one to review because as a piece of cultural history it's top notch, but it's not the music that makes it what it is.

I don't have any opinion on this beyond "Good rap album". All sounded fine but didn't elicit any emotional response and faded into the background of my gym workout.

This album is funky. It's funky from start to finish. And if you were ever at risk of forgetting how funky it is, it reminds you every song that it's really funky. I enjoyed it as a passing interest and pretty sure I can hear lots of bits that I have heard sampled in various pop mixes since. I accept it's relevance but not my genre.

Angsty grunge for teenagers stewing in their bedrooms. I guess fairly interesting that it was quite an early example but if you are looking for this sound in the late 80's just listen to The Cure who are actually good.

I can tell this is good hip-hip. It feels well thought through, delivered, and produced. A few tracks in there I recognise and then obviously some classic reggae influences throughout. I think it just takes itself a bit too seriously. It listens like an album trying to sound deep and meaningful. It is also a bit of a mash of different styles and I was never quite sure what I was listening to.

Was hoping that I would enjoy this but I just didn't get it. Just sounded like endless formless noodling. Fairly pleasant to listen to but nothing I could really grab hold of. It illustrates my lack of connection perfectly that when the album ended and Tidal automatically ran onto some Jazz by John Coltrane, I didn't even realise the album had finished let alone that I now was listening to a completely different track and artist. Genuinely all sounded like nondescript Jazz noises to me.

Cool recording of some interesting music. Can't really fault the performance but it's slow, morose, and I'm afraid I found a whole album of it quite boring. Solid example of great musicians coming together, making skillful music, and producing something impressive but dull.

I know I dislike this album so I tried to turn the listen into something productive and work out why. Firstly, the voice isn't great, but then I like many bands where the singing isn't objectively excellent. The music is derivative, but then I like lots of bands that are rehashes on old themes and that is very much the nature of guitar based rock music. I think it comes down to a perceived lack of authenticity, a feeling of being overly commercial, crowd pleasing, and inoffensive to the point of banality. Ultimately I have no emotional connection whatsoever when I listen to his album, but fair enough for those that do.

Enjoyed this album quite a lot. They sound sort of like a grungy late 80's or early 90's band which is crazy given the release date. It was a bit samey and didn't have any tracks that lept out and grabbed me, but I ended up listening to it twice and enjoying it nonetheless. Cool band and interesting listen, wouldn't make my top tier but definitely on my B list.

A pretty classic 80's pop sound from a classic 80's band. I can't quite work out what makes this a cool sound. Some bold rhythms (although sometimes a bit robotic in nature, presumably due to using drum machines), synths that now simultaneously sound nostalgic and futuristic, and why is saxophone so neglected in pop music nowadays? I didn't exist in the 80's so there is an added historical interest for a decade I've only seen through old photo albums and documentaries (the soundtracks to which are probably where I've heard the singles from this album). This isn't something I'd listen to out of choice but it was a fun listen and definitely feels like a big and relevant album.

I remember listening to this album near it's release which is rare for this project. The first two songs are iconic from the era and probably sold most of the copies of this album. The rest was classic Blur noise which is fine but uninteresting. I did think you can hear some proto-gorillaz in here though in hindsight which is cool.

At first this sounds like a fairly standard singer/songwriter setup, albeit with lyrics that sound like someone put a random word generator in the common room of an insane asylum. "It's Easier" has more interesting, dark but satisfying melodies and was the only song that I connected with in the album. Then we come to "JC Hates Faggots" for the first WTF moment. Does anyone really enjoy listening to this? Then for some more folk rock interspersed with some soaring synth riffs which add interest to otherwise boring songs. The lyrics remained the ramblings of a madman, peaking with "That's The Good News". Someone close to Mr Grant needs to gently let him know that weird does not equate to good or interesting.

I immediately liked the harsh and gritty sound of this album. The sounds are abrasive but it's simple rhythms hold together what initially sounds like chaos in quite a pleasing way. Listening to "There's Always More Space On The Broom" I found myself wishing the vocals were stronger, more forceful, and forward in the mix. I think this was the difference that made "We Fenced Other Gardens..." feel like a more complete and accessible track. By the end of the album I was already planning a repeat listen. It was an interesting and stimulating listen from start to finish and exactly the type of "weird shit but good" I was hoping for when I started this project.

I'm hit and miss with jazz but the album opener is accessible enough that I could get into it. In "Track B" I was struck by the quality of the recording of the awesome brassy tones, but it did listen more like a soundtrack than a stand-alone piece. I think that sums up the album. Well recorded, cool jazz sounds that sound more like a soundtrack than a finished article. Generally faded into the background as I find with all jazz. Shout-out to the flamenco segment on the B-side though.

I listened to the Steven Wilson mix and I thought the production quality was really good. A detailed and well balanced mix. Generally I thought the album was very listenable. I liked the mix of acoustic and electric sounds and the folk vocals. I didn't feel a deep connection to the music beyond "Interesting British 70's Folk Rock Album" though.

Kid A marks the departure of Radiohead from their 90's grunge and alternative rock into a more avant-garde sound and from a great band into something truly special. It feels moody, complex, sometimes chaotic, often beautiful. It pulls on multiple musical influences from jazz in "The National Anthem" to electronica in "Idioteque" which are all held together by Radiohead's intricate rhythms and Thom Yorke's ethereal vocals cutting across the whole album. Despite it's diversity, it flows as a complete album. It's like Radiohead managed to create a perfect microcosm of my musical taste and I'm sure I'll be listening to it for many years to come.

The album starts ok but just had me thinking "great... More jazz". Actually this album is easier to get into than some and I thought "Strange Meadow Lark" was a good listen, maybe I prefer piano to the usual horns. Turns out "Take Five" is a track I have heard many times without knowing what it was which shows that this is so influential it can be recognised by a non Jazz fan. For me, the interest in this album comes from the rhythms. There were a couple of moments where the time signatures of drums and piano seemed to weave in and out of phase with each other which was cool. Can't say I was particularly excited by this though and, as usual, my interest was largely academic.

I was really glad to dive into this in tribute after Ozzy's death. This album rocks and it's influence alone bumps it up a level. I was surprised by the quality of his voice which cuts through the music perfectly but also the guitar performance which is fantastic. The distortion has a rich and nostalgic tone on the solos which put me in mind of Hendrix. I was starting to think that structure of some of the verses were perhaps a little simplistic, but then as a counterpoint there is the 10 minute rock epic of "Warning". I'm really getting into my metal at the moment and this was a great listen.

This seems like another example of an album making the list on the basis of one very popular song and potentially a severe lack of decent music being made that year. This felt like forcing down fifty four minutes of rocky road ice cream: lots of random, sweet bits and bobs that don't actually taste very good.

Another interesting jazz album where I fully appreciate the musical merit whilst also finding no visceral connection at all. I listened to this on a long car journey and it swiftly demoted itself to pleasant background music, I'm afraid.

Billy Joel was played a lot in our house growing up. He is a great songwriter and this album has a few examples of perfectly crafted songs. "Moving Out" and "The Stranger" are particular highlights. Joel manages to make songs simultaneously feel personal and like a piece of social history. Unfortunately the album cycles from superb to uninteresting and ends with "Everybody Has a Dream", a song that sounded trite, weirdly out of place, and not up to the usual lyrical interest. Overall, the album has some great song writing and strong nostalgia, it's on the threshold of great but I can't quite push it into the higher marks.

I went in completely blind and was really intrigued by the first track. I enjoyed it although it was an unconventional listen. I liked the ambient nature of it and although unpredictable, it created a congruent atmosphere. At the second track I suddenly realised I was listing to a Jazz album, and perhaps the most interesting one I have listened to so far on this project. It has elements that wouldn't be out of place in prog rock of the eighties, or even some alternative rock from the naughties (I can imagine these sounds on a post Kid A Radiohead album). Impressive for its date. Unfortunately "Moon in June" was a real low point for me, I just found the vocals too weak and annoying. Then the final track continued to ramble on, seemingly forever. After 75 minutes I had traversed my usual Jazz pathway, from "Wow this is interesting" to "Dear god will this ever end?!".

Jazz albums have become the Jehovah's Witnesses of this project. I keep gently saying that I'm not interested but they still keep knocking. This album was gentle and easy to listen to. I had it on during a long drive and it was a pleasant companion. I particularly liked the mix of horns and piano taking the lead on melody. As usual though, the album all sort of blurred into one and sounded pretty homogeneous, apart from a bit of "Ingoo Pow-Pow" at the end which was a positive change of pace.

I don't like the style of essentially reading prose but in a funny little sing-song voice. It reminds me of very early prog rock and just sounds like a poorly written song delivered with weak vocals. The music is also a little thin and rambling. Another album that sounds like someone's self indulgent pet project, great if it happens to chime with you but difficult to find enjoyment in it if you don't.

Its barely worth writing a description of the album because it's Abby Road. All I say is that I think the Beatles made some great songs but not great albums. There are some absolutely iconic singles on this album but then you have some crap like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" or "Mean Mr Mustard". That said, it's Abby Road so the album's impact is obvious.

It was a slow start albeit it with some proto-glam-rock sounds which I really enjoyed. Then bang: into "Moonage Daydream" followed by "Starman" which are absolute peak Bowie, the latter must be up there with the best tracks ever recorded. The album dips again from its lofty heights, "Hang on to Yourself" being conspicuously mundane before the run of excellence to see out the album. It really is amazing to hear so many truly great songs in one album. Bowie was brilliant. I wonder if the formula for a great music album is to create something that sounds totally fresh whilst still blending influences from great music before it. It's hard for me to imagine how this sounded to people in 1972 but to me it sounds familiar and brand new at the same time. Simultaneously futuristic and nostalgic.

A fairly nice sounding album but its too long and not ground-breaking in any way. I didn't find it grabbed my attention at all and although I quite liked the first few songs, it never brought anything new and I had grown to resent it by the end.

I went in blind and immediately disliked the vocal performance. Unusually, I was moved to immediately jump to the reviews where I discovered it was another stealth dose of Rod Stewart. On the plus side, it shows my dislike of Rod Stewart's voice is a visceral reaction and not based on prejudice. I quite liked the rock-blues vibes but the slower songs, for example "Ol' Man River", were horrendous due to Stewarts throat cancerous vocals. Interesting to hear "Hi Ho Silver Lining" at the end which seemed an incongruous addition. Overall, good but not great music ruined by the addition of Rod Stewart.

Two tracks in and I was enjoying the vibes but I thought the recording was strangely distant and weak sounding. I'm no music technician, but somehow this was a feature of the production in few of the tracks on the album, like they were playing in a hole. Other than that, I really enjoyed the majority of the album. It's like a blend of The Cure, The Smiths, and a touch of Blur, "Pantomime Horse" exemplifying this Brit-Rock cocktail. Although a solid album, I found myself asking whether they had created anything new. Its more like a pleasing amalgam of other great band's sounds. Definitely an interesting listen from a historical perspective, but doesn't tip over the threshold of great album.

I had an image of Duran Duran that didn't really survive listening to this album. This is very good pop music. It's upbeat and poppy but has sufficient complexity and musicality to hold my interest. There is also an added historical interest from the quintessential 80's synth sound. Quite outside my genre of choice but easy to appreciate this is a very good album.

I discovered Sigur Rós during my covid lockdown musical revival and I have listened to this album countless times since. Sigur Rós create a soundscape through which the album floats, sweeps and soars. It's sometimes pleasantly ambient but then there are moments, like the string section in "Starálfur" that demand attention. The Icelandic (or "Hopelandic") vocals remove the clutter of specific meaning and forces the non-speaker to make their own interpretation. Although referring to specific tracks seems inappropriate because the whole album flows so congruently I can barely bring myself to listen to any part in isolation. Musically, they often get referred to with the catch-all of "Post Rock", but this has never felt suitable. There are obvious rock music structures but in long, prog-rockesque tracks that have classical orchestral accompaniment, jazz horns, and even some occasional blues harmonica. This is a great album to just put on some headphones and melt into.

It's dark and moody and Oozes atmosphere and cool. The lyricism is brilliant and I like the stripped-back production style. I do find Cohen's voice, or more specifically his singing style, is the main barrier to my full enjoyment of the album. I think the songs are brilliant and I get that its a stylistic choice, but I often wish they were being delivered by a more melodic voice. Cool album and an interesting swan song from a great songwriter, but not one that will find its way onto my regular playlist, despite finding it strangely compelling.

This album felt like doing drugs and then watching children's television. Although there were some pretty cool sixties psychedelic rock elements when it got going, musically I didn't bring anything that I hadn't heard before. The USP of this album seems to be in it's weird, whimsical concept which at points I found quite cringeworthy and annoying.

It's very difficult to dislike this album, its well written and does have moments of brilliance. "Grounds for Divorce" and "One Day Like This" are great tracks and real ear worms. Listening to those in isolation and I would be confident I was listening to a four star + album. The problem is that there is too much filler. Too many middle-of-the-road tracks that are perfectly fine but tend to fade into the background and are instantly forgettable. It's regrettable because the potential is there but it just doesn't quite meet the threshold of a great album. One to see live at a festival at the time.

A solid album of American blues tracks being drawled out by Mick Jagger. Some cool naturalistic recording giving the impression of how great this must have been to see live. "Sweet Virginia" was a really cool track, but it was at this point I started to have thoughts heretical to hardcore Stones fans: Aren't they just trying a little too hard to sound American? Through this lens, it started giving me vibes of a novelty tribute act in a themed restaurant. I was imagining a bunch of English lads all dressed up in Stetsons, high heeled boots, and leather tassels and the whole thing suddenly seemed faintly ridiculous.

My first reaction to the album is that the mix is quite murky. There is poor instrument separation and a lack of clarity on the vocals which are not as forward in the mix as you would expect. An amorphous wall of noise is not my favoured production style. That being said, there is a rawness to the sound that is reminiscent of grubby live venues in small towns which I quite enjoy. The album isn't bad, but it swiftly faded into a background buzz of nineties noise that I was pretty bored with by the end. I think if you want mid nineties britpop/rock there are plenty of better alternatives, so I would question why this should be a bucket list album.

Its another very 80's pop album. They really did have some great music production back then, the album sounds so clean. Musically, this definitely has something going for it. There's an interesting variation to each track and a satisfying cool rawness to the vocal performance, interesting lyrics and an engaging mix of sounds. Certainly nothing wrong with the album, probably the most interesting 80's pop band album I've heard (I'm not including Kate Bush in that category). It misses out on the higher marks purely as a matter of taste. Too camp and poppy for me.

Inoffensive porridge that I feel like I have heard a thousand times before. Like porridge, I started off finding it dull but perfectly pleasant but by the end of the 50 minute bowl I was finding it hard to stomach. There is absolutely nothing special about this. The music is bland and her voice isn't particularly great. Generic American singer/songwriter album from the nineties. Another "why is this on this list?" moment from me.

Such a prolific artist that has written some truly excellent songs as well as some whiny fluff. This album has some great tracks, highlights being "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Ballad of a Thin Man", but it also slips into the whiny rambling now and then. Recording the album with a full band takes away some of the intimacy of earlier albums and overlaying rhythm guitars and keyboard with shrill warbling harmonica is sometimes wince inducing. Some greatness but just a little bit overbalanced towards what makes Dylan annoying in this album to give top marks.

I enjoyed listening to this because RHCP were part of the soundtrack to my youth. It's a lot more funky than I remember it, the lyrics are fun, and most tracks get your head nodding. Is this a good album, though, or is it just getting an easy ride on the nostalgia ticket? There are some genuine tunes on there which are quintessential RHCP and have stood the test of time. On the other hand there is a lot of quite annoying filler and this is a long album. Too long. At it's worst, the vocal are grating, the lead guitar is basic, and the music lacks the nuance to hold my attention for the 74 minute runtime. It's sad because I think there is a 4* album hiding inside there, but as it is presented I can't bring myself to score it that high.

Its fun, lyrically interesting, funny, clever. I loved the 90's nostalgia hit (at first) and I thought I was in for a banger. Not sure when things changed but at some point in the second half of the album I'd had enough. These old school beats are very repetitive, and the flows consist mainly of shouted call and response rhyming couplets that also get repetitive. Probably the most accessible of all the early 90's hip-hop we have had so far but still a middling album when compared to others on this list.

I tried hard to be open minded after the listening to Kala some weeks ago... I took a deep breath, started listening and the first song sounded like it was written and performed by a special needs Tellytubby. At 36 seconds, this was my second favourite track on the album. If you really want to lose some brain cells, do as I did, get the lyrics and read along. I kept an eye out for a particularly stupid verse to include in this review but there are so many laughably terrible ones I couldn't possibly pick one. The majority of it is utter nonsense: "My mum plays bingo, I'm watching Pingu, gimme that thang, yo. This is my gecko" (In case you go looking, I made that one up). I don't know what the process is for inclusion on this list, but I can only assume that someone was trolling when they managed to sneak not just one, but two M.I.A albums on this list. Fair play to you, you got us.

Really enjoyable album. I might be over-excited after a run of mediocre listens, but this caught my attention from the first track. It's high energy, fun. She has a great voice and, although it feels a bit poppy, it has enough rock to get behind. It's interesting that there is no bass guitar, with the basslines being picked up by the keyboard. I think this mixed with the female vocals gave the whole album a light and airy optimism. There is good variety in the album with some dancy tunes like "Heads Will Roll" but also some expansive, soaring tracks like "Skeletons" with ambient backing keyboard. Its a coherent album that sounds great all the way through and it will definitely be getting repeat listens.