I’ve never heard a single Big Black song until today. I am absolutely blown away! I think everyone will agree, it’s obvious why they didn’t have more mainstream success, but I’m not sure why I don’t hear their name come up more often when influences are being rattled off. I hear a heavy Big Black influence in ChatPile which I’m really excited about. This album is so sonically unique. The driving, incessant rhythm makes me want to fight or fuck or both. The musicianship is second to none; as tight as any top 40 studio session band I’ve ever heard. Ironically the despair I feel in the terse, pointed lyrics give me a sense of hope because it feels like it can’t get any lower. Up and out of the pit is the only way to get free from the grinding nausea of the every-day mid-America small-town nightmare. I loved every minute of this album and I can’t wait to go down the Big Black rabbit hole. Atomizer is by far my favorite, never-heard-before album in this journey so far and it just might be my top album of 2025, and it’s 40 years old!

Fucking amazing album! First time listening to The Replacements. Not sure I’ve heard anything like it before. New fan here. 🖐️

Not what I was expecting. Of I’ve heard Lust for Life and The Passenger but the rest of the album is very cool. Tonight is probably my favorite track. Iggy is so soulful. And probably the best album cover art ever!!

This one didn’t really work for me. It didn’t resonate with me at all. I had to listen to it twice just to be sure. On the second spin I rather enjoyed The Drugs Don’t Work and One Day, however the album feels disconnected and lacking cohesiveness overall. It seems to me they were trying too hard to make an eclectic album - one for the ages, but couldn’t pull it off due to lack of synthesis. Many of the songs sound like they have overly complex instrumentation and feel over engineered, resulting in kind of a muddiness. I enjoyed the two aforementioned songs because of their simplicity. My take is that The Verve was trying to be the next Oasis with more dynamism but created kind of a scrambled mess. I enjoyed the journey, but was dissatisfied with the destination.

That was the fastest 48 minutes ever! What an easy listen!! Did I like every song? No. And definitely not my favorite genre. But it’s easy to see why this album is a chart-topper. Even though I’ve heard Hello a million times it still gives me the “feels” - something about the chord progression. I’m probably going to rip it off and use it in a punk tune. Send My Love sounds like she’s trying way too hard to meld with adjacent genres - sorry Adele, but Lorde did it way better and she’s waaaay cooler. I Miss You is by far my favorite cut on this album… again, she’s trying to crossover with a rock edge but this one feels more natural to me. And finally When We Were Young, don’t even get me started on this one - so contrived. Clearly when she wrote this song (or rather, when it was written for her) it was written for the sole purpose of inserting into a feature film, commercial, tv show, etc. The writer of this song clearly set out to create a song that someone else would buy. In my opinion it’s complete garbage; does not speak to me at all. Overall solid album just not really my cup of tea. That being said, the more I listen to I Miss You the more I like it and will probably add it to one of my playlists.

ZZ Top rocks! This album was a huge part of my early MTV music video memories. I Need You Tonight is definitely my favorite track - so sexy and soulful. I’m really looking forward to more ZZ Top on this journey. While their overall sound is recognizable and similar throughout the years, I’m looking forward to hearing the subtle differences between the various ZZ eras. And one more thing… God Bless Billy Gibbons. What a legend!!!

No words

Still holds up. My favorite hip hop group of all time and my second favorite Tribe album. RIP Fife

My review won’t fit in this text box. Too much to say and not enough to say it with.

A lot of fun listening to this one. I thought I had heard more songs on it but most of this was new to me.

Groovy album. What a talent Beck is!

I liked a couple songs Summer Breeze and The Highways of My Life.

So so. Love Outtathaway but the rest of the album left me feeling empty.

That’s gonna be a nah for me, dawg. I don’t know what it sounded like when it came out, but it certainly didn’t hold up over time.

Amazing album, not familiar at all with this era of Bob Marley. Love the vibe coming from his dance hall stuff into his modern stuff.

Really enjoyed listening to something completely new. I have never heard of before. But this was just a little bit too experimental for me. It did sound way more modern than 1973 however. Glad I got to experience the Faust.

Damn so many jams!! Iconic albums from the 2000s.

My favorite ZZ Top album. I could listen to this one every day of my life.z

Awful album.

Fuck!!! So good! They broke the mold when they made Johnny Cash. An absolute legend.

My favorite rap album of all time

One of those times when I wish there were half stars in this journey. I think San Quentin just edges out Folsom by a half star. Way too short,sloppily produced, disjointed, tense, fun, and drunk. I loved every minute of it, all 24 of them. The Statler Brothers absolutely killed it on this one.

Love the gunslinger/crooner genre. Fun stories, but the songs became a little redundant and monotone after a while. Still pretty cool album.

I’ve never heard a single Big Black song until today. I am absolutely blown away! I think everyone will agree, it’s obvious why they didn’t have more mainstream success, but I’m not sure why I don’t hear their name come up more often when influences are being rattled off. I hear a heavy Big Black influence in ChatPile which I’m really excited about. This album is so sonically unique. The driving, incessant rhythm makes me want to fight or fuck or both. The musicianship is second to none; as tight as any top 40 studio session band I’ve ever heard. Ironically the despair I feel in the terse, pointed lyrics give me a sense of hope because it feels like it can’t get any lower. Up and out of the pit is the only way to get free from the grinding nausea of the every-day mid-America small-town nightmare. I loved every minute of this album and I can’t wait to go down the Big Black rabbit hole. Atomizer is by far my favorite, never-heard-before album in this journey so far and it just might be my top album of 2025, and it’s 40 years old!

Wow! How did I miss Solomon Burke this whole time. Perfectly balanced, soulful voice. Great instrumentation, well written songs, amazing backup singers. Excellent production on this album. One of my new favorites. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never heard of him before.

What a talent Black Francis is!! The sheer volume and variety of songs is amazing. I think this album could have been broken out into two records. Great listen!

Fucking amazing album! First time listening to The Replacements. Not sure I’ve heard anything like it before. New fan here. 🖐️

Good listen. I haven’t listened to too much organ dominant jazz so that was new. Felt like I was at a really funky Dodger game. As cool as Jimmy Smith is, I thought Stanley Turrentine stole the show on this piece of wax. 🎷

I have never been a big fan of 70s era Rolling Stones. I think it has something to do with the slide guitar, too much piano, saxophone, harmonica, Mick constantly screaming, the black female back up singers, etc., etc. Each element on its own might be fine but all together and it’s too much. At times it seems all a bit too cacophonous. And frankly some of their songs give me a headache. This album, however, has me thinking differently about them. Some of those elements also exist on this album but more than anything I find them to be really just rocking the fuck out on this one. I feel like it’s part homage to American soul, R&B, gospel, blues, funk. And part middle finger to the American music status quo. Like they’re saying, hey fuck you we can do this too and even better than you! Again, another classic album that I have never heard before. In fact, I think there might’ve been only one song on this album that I had heard before (Tumbling Dice). 18 songs on one of the most famous Rolling Stones albums and I only know one song, I’ve got some work to do. I can’t wait to give this one another listen and really get into it. *loved: Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Sweet Virginia, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, Ventilator Blues, Shine a Light

Beautiful People is still a dope song. Much of the album was rather unremarkable to me. I enjoyed the riff in Tourniquet.

Great soulful album. I’m ready to make love.

Fantastic album! Feels like a greatest hits record. I’ve never really listened to Def Leppard except for the hits on the radio and MTV so this was a treat for me. I’m not being at all hyperbolic when I say the pre-chorus on Photograph with the cowbell is in my top five all-time rock ‘n’ roll song parts. I can’t help myself from making an evenly timed striking drum motion with my right hand every time it comes on! Super cool musical structure. Nothing cheesy about this album (we’ll save the cheesy review for Pour Some Sugar On Me), just really good medium-rocking early 80’s rock-n-roll / heavy metal. Def Leppard’s sound is very welcoming, not brash or off-putting in any way. This is one of those albums where I wish we had half stars, it’s a really solid 3.5 stars for me but I’m giving it an extra half star because it’s the first record my buddy Jim ever got. Oh yeah, and Joe Elliott…. 😍😍😍

Good album. Orange Crush will always be one of my favorite songs. Never get tired of it.

Damn!!! What an amazing album. Another gem I’ve never heard before.

The opening to Stay hooked me right away. The more I listened to the album the more I thought it was starting to get corny. And then the more I listened the more enamored I became with it. I’m not familiar with the genre so I have no frame of reference to rate it against. Overall I kind of enjoyed the whole thing, some songs more than others. And at only 27 minutes or so, it wasn’t terribly bothersome. I will definitely check out some more Samba down the road.

This one was easy. Nearly a perfect album. Listened to it twice and it was as good as it’s ever been.

Lamr album. Felt really lazy to me. Completely uninspiring. Weird, out of context sound bites. The cover was probably the best song.

My second time listening to a Clash album for the first time. This one is much grittier than London Calling. I actually went back and listened to London Calling after listening to this one. You can really hear how they matured tonally in two years. In one of the reviews I read while exploring London Calling the writer said it sounded “effortless.” I can’t think of a better description for both of these Clash albums. They’re either really really good musicians or they just groove really well together. Either way, every song sounds like they’re in the pocket and it truly sounds effortless. Can’t wait to explore more Clash. Viva The Clash!!!

19 fucking eighty fucking seven. They were the first to do it. 28 songs in 33 minutes. As difficult as the vocals are to listen to the album was not. Actually really loved some of the riffs. Great seminal album.

Totally unfamiliar with PJ Harvey. Vocals had me questioning this one at first but I eventually found the album to be kind of addicting. Ended up listening to it four times in a row and really loved it. One of those artists that I’m not sure I’ll explore more but I really liked this album. It was just so… interesting, different.

I really enjoy exploring jazz and learning about the history of it and all the key players but it’s just not a style of music that I find myself putting on and really enjoying. An album like Kind of Blue is one that I could have on in the background while I’m working in the garage, but it’s not something I’d put on for a road trip. It’s not something I’d go see live, I don’t know it just escapes me. I recognize the talent, maybe I just need to get going down the jazz rabbit.

Can’t really put my finger on it but this album didn’t do it for me. Felt like maybe they were trying too hard to be creative and different; touching on multiple genres. Iblistened to the album twice and both times it seemed like noise in the background, nothing caught my ear. There were a couple of cool chord changes in Beetlebum and of course Song 2 is awesome but beyond that this album did nothing for me. It’s a one star album in my opinion but I’m giving it an extra star because the Blur boys wanted to fight the Gallagher brothers and I think that’s pretty fucking rock n roll.

I think I could fall in love with this album. It’s gonna take a few more spins but it’s speaking to me.

I liked this one better than Let England Shake. This one was way more raw and rockin. Still had a few songs that I was dying to skip but overall solid album.

Forgot how good this album is. Really enjoyed the flashback.

Nothing here for me.

Love it still.

Art is in the eye of the beholder so who am I to judge, but this one ain’t it.