Rattus Norvegicus is cock rock done right. I've always loved it because, in a time where every punk took itself seriously, these guys made an album that pokes at those who thought being a punk was akin to being the second coming of Christ. And it's not like these guys were all bark but no bite. These guys could back up anything they say with an artistique brand of swagger whose backbone is the rhythm section, which is coincidentally (or not) in the forefront of the cover. They give songs like Peaches, Hanging Around, and Get A Grip On Yourself something highly memorable, an infectious beat to thump my restless legs to. Vocally, Hugh Cromwell's growl and sneer perfectly fit the M.O., and his way of expression is something many tried to emulate. But just as they could poke fun at the punks by being vulgar, codeless, and sexual, they could also poke by incorporating musical styles that punks swore to hang publicly, blues on Princess of the Streets, and even prog in Down in the Sewer. It's a favorite of mine in the punk genre, mainly because the mocking emulation of punk done by these 30-something year olds is done better than some youngsters who are "fed up" with society and "punk at heart". ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It rips. Combining the San Francisco psychedelic sound with the flavor of country and folk, and with the fertile, picturesque fields of the singer-songwriter genre proved to be a good idea, since this album was the result. The whole album has this fuzzy, hazy quality that's unique. It isn't full country, but it's also not psychedelic rock. Psychedelic country? Sure. It's full of spiritual allegories and old, folk inspired narratives, like the existential "Silver Raven", and the and "Strength Of Strings", the latter which has that George Harrison vibe of going epic and spiritual on us. But it's not all story here. Look At "No Other", which evokes a raga-like trance, and the longest track "Some Misunderstanding" that really gives you an appreciation of the gospel-like vocal harmonies, if done right (and here, they are). It has more to it, like the funk influences of "Lady of the North" and the straight-up commercial shooter that's the opener. I could go on about this album. It has a timeless quality you can see in a lot of today's artists in different genres, like alt-country, indie, and even some stoner and post-rock at moments. ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

So far, im not seeing why Joni is so reveered. ⭐⭐⭐

I imagine this is what Connie Francis sounded like to people in the 50s.

Decent and surprising, considering it's Radiohead. 3/5

This is a soundtrack to a 30-minute elevator ride. It's quite similar to Getz/Gilberto, so why did I enjoy it, but not this? Simple, Astrud is on the former, and this is just cool jazz jamming. É luxo só is dope, with an upbeat dance rhythm, and the opener Desafinado is really lush. It's definitely worth checking out. If anything, it's worth as background music.

It's my fav Dylan album. So beautiful in its execution and storytelling 5⭐

Lou Reed really outdid himself here. Probably his most emotional album album ever. So intimate and powerful ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I bet this was amazing in '68 when it first got released, but in 2025, its a dusty remnant of the past. Summertime Blues is still cool, but the rest is a product of a time and didn't age that well. 2⭐

12 songs, 12 dreams. If you take the dreams and you divide them by the four seasons, you get three dreams per season, which is oddly related to the amount of stars I'll give to this album. ⭐⭐⭐

As 3/5 of an album a 3/5 album can be. Musically great with a lot of talent, but just not my thing. Asylum and Crime of the Century stand above the rest, though, but not enough to carry, sadly. The cover is majestic, tho. ⭐⭐⭐

The twee aesthetic still sucks ass. Also, None of them are named Belle nor Sebastian. ⭐

Alright. The highs are good, but the lows are boooooriiiiing ⭐⭐⭐

Uuuuuh, one of the best metal albums of all time. Amatzing musicianship + great atmosphere. Plenty of space for improvisation, which they did live. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eeh, I think Ryan's fallout lingered around far longer than it needed to be, which may or nay not be due to his own actions as a musician (spoiler alert: it's due to his questionable ideas and ethics as a musician). He started his solo career off well, with a collection of melancholic and introspective songs that are broken off with a few rockers here and there. Some characterize this one as overindulgent and a bit egocentric, but let's face it, who hasn't been a bit over the top when it comes to heartbreak? The songwriting is decent to good, and the atmosphere is overall a net positive, but where he fails is the engagement aspect. You'll start the album, doze off, think its the fourth song, only to see you're at the back end of it. Definitely not bad, but God, does he sometime feel like a broken record on this one. ⭐⭐⭐

Uuuuuuh, okay? Gotta start somewhere, I guess. ⭐⭐

It's good, but I'm trying really hard to find something specific to cling onto. The Foo Fighters debut is that prototypical alt rock album everyone would go on to copy in the 00s. ⭐⭐⭐

Uuuuuh, moving on I guess? Decent, but nothing spectacular ⭐⭐⭐

This is the epitome of a fun album throughout. Sadly, front-loaded with great tracks like the anthemic Girls Just Want to Have Fun and When You Were Mine (which has Prince's hands all over), but losing track by the end. Not bad, but definitely not amazing. Still, if this somehow found itself in my collection, I'd probably keep it and spin it sometimes when I just want to let my feminine side free. ⭐⭐⭐

Dude Repeater is such a banger of an album. I've widely dismissed it for some reason, which is a crime in itself, but what's even worse is that I DID listen to it a while back and STILL stood by that opinion. At its core, rudimentary and angry punk, so to say, with some very passionate delivery, and tons of inspiration in each song. Turnover and Repeater have a memorable riff to them, with a great rhythm backbone, and songs like Blueprint and Shut The Door evoke the emotional side of punk. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Booooooring. ⭐⭐

Uh, really does nothing for me. Can't deny that there's passion in her voice, though. ⭐⭐⭐

Mmmmm, the sweet sounds of the desert. If you're out here looking for some flashy playing, over-the-top singing, and theatrics, you've come to the wrong place. Tres Hombres is a laid-back odyssey and a homage to the desolate American highways, featuring simple rhythmic playing and alternating sparse arrangements, like on " Hot Blue " and " Righteous, " or some heavy, rousing tracks like the first three songs. Side A blows it out of the water with the infectious compositions, while the other side is a bit more meandering (even if it has La Grange). Still, a really great album. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Curse you Prince for creating some maestral pop composition and then following them up with a crap ton of dance fillers. ⭐⭐⭐

Weird how the algorithm decides to recommend this: a) Just a few days after Shaka Zulu, the music that inspired Graceland, and b) Just days after I left for college, and by extension, my record collection at home, which had this LP Anywho, this album was my father's childhood, and he often told me the story of how he worked on local fields (omladinske radne akcije, za moje balkance) whilst listening to this cassette on the deck, so I always felt obliged to write at least SOMETHING about this one, yet it never materialized until now, partly because it came and went so many times and I just had to sit down and write something. Obvious historical snippets aside, this is a nice pop album that's very easy on the ears. Combining something that's relatively boring like indigenous South African folk with Paul's ability to create some worthwhile and timeless melodies is a recipe for success. Probably a weird analogy, but this one feels like the process of urbanization of a once rural outback area, where the body of modernization is rampant, but the rural spirit is still among the brick and the mortar. ⭐⭐⭐

I find this boring to the moon and back. As if these guys don't have the talent and knowhow on how to craft a proper 3-minute song, so they just make each song sound like the sounds coming from switching channels until you see there's nothing on, so you turn it off. Maybe if it was an EP of a few songs, but even then, it would be shoddy. ⭐

A tale of two sides, or so many would point out. The A side is full of punk masterpieces, with the first three tracks being infectious guitar driven bangers that are essential pop songs with a punk edge, and capping it off with a 10-minute storytelling of epic proportions that details the nightlife of New York (but honestly, any town fits) with instrumental passages that avoke a lot of different feelings and that helped a lot of people like myself get over a tough period in life in a surrounding that didn't kindly treat the artistic kind (and still doesn't). Side B is where most people find the flaws of the thing, and beside the opener it's usually regarded as the lesser part of the album. While yes, I'd agree with the sentiment, it's not that bad. It's still a lot better than most stuff that is peddled under the post-punk umbrella. Sure, Torn Curtain is typical pansy-rock that is maybe too long for it's own good, but the rest is very good. Prove It keeps the infectious edge with its guitar work, and Guiding Light has that intimacy factor that really works in its favor. But still, even with all of its flaws, this is a very nice package of punk that I'd recommend to anyone, and am very proud to own. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A beautiful thing about the "1001 albums you have to hear before you die" book is how you'll see an album and think "How did this manage to make its way here?". I think the rating speaks the rest. ⭐⭐

Define it however you want, but that was the sound of the 2000s. And lord could it be cringe sometimes. ⭐⭐

God bless Cat Stevens for making this album. It has both great hits like Father and Son and Wild World, while also having some beautiful deep cuts like Sad Lisa and But I Might Die Tonight. Cat has such a warm voice that cradles you through the instrumentals of this peaceful odyssey. I think this is his peak, as the next album, while having some great songs, shows cracks of fatigue, while the previous one shows of artistic insecurity. This one perfectly walks the line of a calm journey through themes of love and life's questions without getting too philosophical. Maybe it's a bit paradoxical too: it's both intimately fragile, yet confident in its stride. I'm glad to have this in my library. I have the greatest hits, but this one has a lot more meat than usually stated when talking about Cat's musical portfolio, which is always great in the musical journey aspect. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jesus Christ, he really did write the same song 11 times and concluded by playing one more. ⭐⭐

Rattus Norvegicus is cock rock done right. I've always loved it because, in a time where every punk took itself seriously, these guys made an album that pokes at those who thought being a punk was akin to being the second coming of Christ. And it's not like these guys were all bark but no bite. These guys could back up anything they say with an artistique brand of swagger whose backbone is the rhythm section, which is coincidentally (or not) in the forefront of the cover. They give songs like Peaches, Hanging Around, and Get A Grip On Yourself something highly memorable, an infectious beat to thump my restless legs to. Vocally, Hugh Cromwell's growl and sneer perfectly fit the M.O., and his way of expression is something many tried to emulate. But just as they could poke fun at the punks by being vulgar, codeless, and sexual, they could also poke by incorporating musical styles that punks swore to hang publicly, blues on Princess of the Streets, and even prog in Down in the Sewer. It's a favorite of mine in the punk genre, mainly because the mocking emulation of punk done by these 30-something year olds is done better than some youngsters who are "fed up" with society and "punk at heart". ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Uh, good for vibing I guess. They still haven't found their place in the funk genre, so it feels kinda unfinished. ⭐⭐⭐

Weirdly... awesome! Comparing this to his later opus would probably place this at an unfavorable position, but as a standalone compilation, this really bops. Really effortless to listen, with a great easy quality to it. Everyone is on top of their game, and they really bring out the cool in it. The only bad thing is that nothing stands out, but the plus side is that everything is good. ⭐⭐⭐

At one hand, it has some decent beats, while on the other, the rapping technique of just spewing out stuff with no flow or anything decks it down a few notches. Ehh... ⭐⭐

Annoying with its bombastic ass sound. Their previous two albums are much better and nicer sounding with sparser arrangements, and with songs that are present here, but done much better. Literally, Jerdacuttup Man is a leftover track from In The Pines, albeit more rockish, while the former is more melancholic and desolate, like the outback of Australia where they based their sound from. And much better. Especially sad that this is in the 1001 albums list :/. They have better releases, people! ⭐⭐

Despite what some people say, Bruce Springsteen is great, and he shows it here. Such a mature display of song craftsmanship and energy. It's hard to hate this one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was thinking between a 3 or 4 stars, but the album starts falling off by the end, so 3 stars it is. Still, a lot of good songs here, but a bit too long. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Safe. Too safe. Also bland, and predictive. The only nice thing is the uncommon time signatures, and if that's the only part of an album that actually raises an eyebrow in surprise, then sheesh. Not my style. EDIT: Well, I admit I was a tad bit wrong about this album. I'll bump it up a star because I find it to be very good study music and Take Five and Three to Get Ready is good, but that doesn't give it more than a 3-star rating. ⭐⭐⭐

I've already listened to this, but I'm giving him a relisten since I like some of his later stuff. Yep, it's still meh. ⭐⭐

Surprisingly good, honestly. Love the flow of most tracks, even if sometimes it can get a bit tacky, unnecessary, or just plain bad. Still, a good experience overall. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Good album, but tedious to get through. ⭐⭐⭐ Best track(s): Mr. Blue Sky

The epitome of blowing your brains out with cocaine. But y'know, it's Bowie, so he took it ten notches above what any regular person could do strung out on coke. Bowie took the sound of Young Americans and put it under a microscope and dissected it to such lengths, that he made a new dystopian sound with vigor and power of a charismatic dictator. The opener is marvelous, with its multi facetted suite approach that gives some progressive rock tracks a run for their money, but I want to talk about my favorite track off here, the cover of Wild is The Wind. It's probably the first track where you can feel Bowie's mutilated personality come off and reveal the detached genius truly struggling. Everything in between is nothing short of amazing in a haunting, concerning and frightening way. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best track(s): Station to Station; Wild Is The Wind

Benign as it gets, but that's exactly why it's so revered and enjoyable. This is exactly how I love my jazz: calming and charming as fuck. None of that phallus waving, virtuosic, instrument jerking stuff. Just pure mind wandering with great musicianship, as it's displayed here. Its approach can be enjoyed by those who dislike the instrument jerking that jazz can sometime be, but can also be approved by those into more intricate stuff due to its simple nature and how much it conveys with just a few simple licks. Best track(s): Girl From Ipanema ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh, for the love of God, please shut the fuck up. ⭐1/2

This one surprised me. Coming in here, I thought this one would be a slight detour from Blue Lines, and also act as some kind of prelude into Mezzanine, but honestly, after listening to it, it at points it might be better than both. The sound is lighter, and more pop oriented, with good vocal work on most track. The trippy hip hop instrumentals are on par with some of their best work, and their style is more refined into a well oiled hit-making machine. The only gripe I have is the closing cover of Light My Fire, which should have never seen the light of day in any circumstance. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

This is really Something Else! And it's by the Kinks! Which makes it Something Else By The Kinks! Splendid and straight to the point. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Being historically important can only get you so far, kid. ⭐⭐1/2

Oh, this one is boring. What a great start to the year. To me, this has nothing amazing, and only a few real standouts. Tommy is a double LP rock opera with a story about a kid gone blind and his life and challenges he faces. The story is a weird way of getting Pete's thoughts on enlightenment and youthful alienation, and ultimately, like a bad movie, it's full of something that's mostly nothing. The songs are also really inoffensive, which is the Who's studio motto. They're cut from a different cloth than their hard rock colleagues, obviously, but everything here is far from good, other than maybe Pinball Wizard. No song has that oomph or fire that makes me want to return to the album. It also doesn't help that, being a rock opera, having good standalone tracks is a hard task in itself. The instrumental -tures are a showcase of their ability to play, which are good, but what is their ultimate purpose? Overall, anemic and bleak, despite its size. ⭐⭐1/2

Ogden's Nuts is one of the albums where a song appears that's decent and catches your ears, so you perk em up, listen a bit more, go through 3 mid songs, forget about the album, only for another decent song to appear. Rinse and repeat. ⭐⭐1/2

Being historically important can only get you so far, kid. (but slightly better) ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Very good one, but suffers from Led Zeppelin-ism: Few great songs, and a bit of filler inside. Glad I found it for 2 bucks on vinyl tho. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

A rollercoaster. I've already heard this, and in my remembrance of it, it's a bit overrated. But listening to it again, I find more parts of it to enjoy. Obviously, the lyrics, but also the gritty guitar work and the commanding drum sounds, are immediately apparent. But as it goes on, the quality starts to falter a bit, and we arrive right where we started: a 3.5 album, that borders on 3.75, but cant quite make it. Maybe some day. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

At least they're having fun eating. ⭐⭐1/2

Okay, but the falloff from their debut is noticeable. Still, there are a few good songs in here, the hits. ⭐⭐⭐

Not really a huge step down from their debut, more so a metamorphosis. Still good, but long beyond that it needs to be. ⭐⭐⭐

The album your mom likes and thinks it will make her hip with the current generation. ⭐⭐1/2

Great music, but not my thing. Still, I'll keep the LP for the occasional spin ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Weak stuff ⭐⭐

Good vibes, and nothing more. It just cements my thoughts that PSB is a great singles band. ⭐⭐⭐

Decent, but nothing to write home about. Overall, nice sounds, but nothing over the top. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Decent, but no cigar. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

It rips. Combining the San Francisco psychedelic sound with the flavor of country and folk, and with the fertile, picturesque fields of the singer-songwriter genre proved to be a good idea, since this album was the result. The whole album has this fuzzy, hazy quality that's unique. It isn't full country, but it's also not psychedelic rock. Psychedelic country? Sure. It's full of spiritual allegories and old, folk inspired narratives, like the existential "Silver Raven", and the and "Strength Of Strings", the latter which has that George Harrison vibe of going epic and spiritual on us. But it's not all story here. Look At "No Other", which evokes a raga-like trance, and the longest track "Some Misunderstanding" that really gives you an appreciation of the gospel-like vocal harmonies, if done right (and here, they are). It has more to it, like the funk influences of "Lady of the North" and the straight-up commercial shooter that's the opener. I could go on about this album. It has a timeless quality you can see in a lot of today's artists in different genres, like alt-country, indie, and even some stoner and post-rock at moments. ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Good, but for me, not as amazing as many put it out to be. That's mostly due to how uneven it sounds. The first half is blurry, with only the opener and maaaybe Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber that go hard, and then you have the second half from 6-11 which are a collection of songs that put to shame most rappers careers. Because of that disparity of quality, I find it hard to love the album, but easy to like it. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Another 70s 5-star album! I kinda swore into the whole idea that Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is the superior era for the longest time. Might just be my middle finger shaped brain doing the rounds, but I genuinely thought that no way some pop was to dethrone the prince of blues. I still do think they're neck and neck, but Rumours surprised me quite a lot when I heard it in its entirety. Of course, the songs everyone and their grandmothers know like Dreams, The Chain, and You Can Go Your Own Way are instantaneous classics that took personal turmoil and turned it into catchy hooks and great guitar solos, but the other tracks on here stand high among them. Songbird and You Make Loving Fun are examples of deep cuts (if you can call them that, in an album every track is famous and well known), that I'm always in a mood to listen to, especially the latter. The funky bass line with the intimate, uplifting and optimistic feeling is a recipe for a great melody. It's an essential. This is what a pop album should sound like: diverse, simple sounds with a lot of thought put through them, and the emotion presented in such a way that it does feel like a document of a tough period, but does not feel like airing of dirty laundry, which is a quality I think is ofter overlooked when talking about this album. ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Huh, who thought Radiohead could be decent. ⭐⭐⭐

So far, im not seeing why Joni is so reveered. ⭐⭐⭐

What do people see in this band that gives them such acclaim? ⭐⭐1/2

Besides the openers on both version, something about this album never managed to snatch me. No aspect of it bothers me, but nothing sticks out. It also doesn't help that Goin Home is 11 and a half minutes long, and turns into an unnecessary jam session. The rest is decent RnB. Maybe the US version, which is more condensed (at least that's what they tell), is better? ⭐⭐⭐

I like ELP when they're more rock than classical, so his one is meh to me. ⭐⭐1/2

What's the reasoning behind this being here? Absolutely nothing noteworthy. ⭐⭐1/2

I just cant go higher. It's good, but it doesnt move me like some of his other works. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

It's AC/DC. What more do I have to say. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

I listened to this one when it first released. I didn't quite like it. On a relisten, I respect it a bit more. Still not a huge fan, however. The idea is there, but in execution, it lacks. Maybe it's the overall raw production that hinders it for me. ⭐⭐1/2

This one might be better than their debut. Much more refined sounds. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Much better than I anticipated. Still, a bit lacking for a higher grade. ⭐⭐⭐1/2

As great of a continuation of a great debut can get. Nice maturation of the sound. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Historically significant, musicaly... not so much. Still ok tho. ⭐⭐⭐

meh the tags had all the things going for them to make me like it but i listened to it, and its nothing special its like listening a combo of LIza Minelli, Carole King and Joni Mitchell vaguely present, but forgettable

In one ear, out the other

The lack of bass kills most enjoyment I get from this otherwise amazing album

Good stuff

Good!

I wanna know how much he paid to be in this

Putting aside the at the time, "avant-garde" production, the Brahmaputra Eastern influence, the forward-thinking instrumentation, and the discovery of ...weed you're left with... not much really. It's an above-average album when you see what people put out even today, but it's not an album that stands the test of time as much as people would make you believe. When they actually try to write songs, they're amazing. When not, they're just... meh. Rating is subject to change though. Listen to: Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, She Said She Said, For No One, Dr. Robert, I Want to Tell You, Got to Get You Into My Life, and Tomorrow Never Knows for a good experience, and skip the sunshine pop.

Biggest shrug in the history of shrugs

Wherez the uuuh, hip hop? All I hear is edgy industrial wanking

Sadly, it falls off towards the end. The first few tracks are bangers tho.

I kinda forgot that this one falls off a bit past the beginning.

I wanted to love it more, but I couldn't.

Decent, but nothing overtly special. Some songs bang, others not so much

The melancholy is amazing here!

Cheesy, dated and bad.

Really good!

Would be a great EP

Third tier boring Nirvana

Booooriiiiing.

His peak, maybe? Even if dont agree, it still bangs.

Music feels like an album that's not necessarily a miss, but rather an album that's geared toward surface-level listening rather than immersion. It more so feels like an obligation to follow up a hit like Ray of Light, as all the songs on here follow early 2000s tropes of trippy electronic beats and autotuned vocals. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. If Madonna stays faithful to the sound that made her famous, she risks being labeled a one-trick pony, but keeping up with the trends, like here, makes the album soulless and uninteresting. Just listen to the opener and that weird sexual energy combined with a lack of sense of direction, or Nobody's perfect where Madonna uses gimmicky autotune even if she has proven she has the vocal chops to deliver. Breathy vocals and recycled slow beats are tailor-made for the masses. Maybe suburban moms will like it, but not me.

Boring and annoying

My father isn't a person who likes to talk about music a lot, which may be a product of our dismissive avoidant personalities, but hearing him say something nice about an artist (or person in general) boosts my thoughts on that person or album. Bat Out Of Hell is not anything special or out of the ordinary, but it does the simple things well. It's theatrical and fun, and really accessible.

Oddly soothing, considering how monotonous and bland it is.

I imagine this is what Connie Francis sounded like to people in the 50s.

The moody atmosphere hits like a truck, but I find it hard to return on an individual track level other than the first few ones. Definitely a great night listen front to back, especially on my record player with a few crackles here and there, but past that, not really.

Decent, but most of it sounds dated.

It falls off after the first two songs. but picks up near the end. Worse than Thriller, but still ok.

Much better. The funky production still sounds fresh, with the massive load of plunderphonics not sounding gimmicky and the raps sounding like a delicacy.

Barely just misses the mark for me. It's good, but its missing a key factor that makes other jazz albums more memorable to me.

Their singles are top-notch, but the entire album gets boring after a while

Uh, no.

Simply Red being simply meh and simply redundant.

You add the good and the bad and you get a 2/5

It's ok. Like any rock album from the 90s: 3-5 minutes of rocking + solo + chorus and whabam, you get a 2 star album.

Not my jive.

Music for the masses, but it sounds like music from the asses.

This one clogs up my intestines.

The first track is 5 stars. Rest is 2

Being a pioneer means diddly squat when the music you made sounds like donkey balls.