337
Albums Rated
3.28
Average Rating
31%
Complete
752 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1980
Favorite Decade
Latin
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
39
5-Star Albums
15
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Infotainment Scan
The Fall
|
5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
|
The Contino Sessions
Death In Vegas
|
5 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
|
Dog Man Star
Suede
|
5 | 3 | +2 |
|
Who Killed...... The Zutons?
The Zutons
|
5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
|
Lost Souls
Doves
|
5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
|
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
The Incredible String Band
|
4 | 2.15 | +1.85 |
|
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
|
5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
|
Close To The Edge
Yes
|
5 | 3.19 | +1.81 |
|
Countdown To Ecstasy
Steely Dan
|
5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
|
Pornography
The Cure
|
5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Superunknown
Soundgarden
|
1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
|
The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
Dirt
Alice In Chains
|
1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
|
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
|
1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
|
The La's
The La's
|
1 | 3.14 | -2.14 |
|
New York Dolls
New York Dolls
|
1 | 3.12 | -2.12 |
|
It's A Shame About Ray
The Lemonheads
|
1 | 3.12 | -2.12 |
|
Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
|
1 | 3.06 | -2.06 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 5 | 4.6 |
| David Bowie | 6 | 4.33 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.67 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 |
| The Cure | 2 | 5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Arcade Fire | 1, 4 |
| The Rolling Stones | 4, 3, 1 |
5-Star Albums (39)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Yeah Yeah Yeahs · 2 likes
2/5
I did not dislike everything on this album, but most of the time I was extremely confused as to why you would listen to it when literally anything else exists.
The Mamas & The Papas · 2 likes
4/5
This felt like a really generic, mid-60s album with some nice harmonies on my first listen. On my second listen I was able to appreciate the instrumentation and how it compliments their voices. I also am a sucker for two singers overlapping with different lines like in Hey Girl and then coming together. Honestly, this could be a 5 with time.
Black Sabbath · 1 likes
4/5
Their most solid offering to me. Doom and gloomy in a way their later stuff is not, I wish they had leaned into the spooky stuff more instead of becoming what I feel was a more generic band over time.
Goldie · 1 likes
3/5
Good album but these artists need to check their ego at the door. Disc one is excellent and totally sufficient. Hard pressed to think of a band that really has me wanting to listen to two solid hours of their content at once.
Fats Domino · 1 likes
1/5
This is the jazz that people who say "I don't like jazz, it's boring" are talking about
1-Star Albums (15)
All Ratings
The Cars
4/5
Great album. Such a classic and truly one of the best debuts ever, I think. Highlights are Moving in Stereo and Just What I Needed.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Surprisingly good! I avoided this album for years thinking I didn't like it for whatever reason, but on this listen I really appreciated it. Only slightly too long. Really kept my attention.
Stan Getz
5/5
This album was absolutely fantastic. I have never listened to bossa nova and it is way outside my usual listening but I cant believe how enchanted I was. I listened to it three times. Magnificent.
Louis Prima
5/5
Absolute fire. Usually not a fan of this type of jazz and a little bit of a slow start but I just loved the energy and I do appreciate what they were trying to do (make a live album in the studio). Iconic release.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Good album but did not have the magic of others for me. I think i would have enjoyed more if I could understand the lyrics. Intriguing but did not change my life.
Björk
2/5
Did not care for this at all. While I see how people could enjoy it, I have always had a love hate relationship with her voice and this was just not doing it for me. Couldn't understand what she was saying and everything kind of blended together. Wouldn't listen again.
Steely Dan
5/5
All time classic for me. This is one of those albums that grows in quality every time I listen to it. On this, my third listen, I was finally able to appreciate the back half of the album and I can say it was truly a 5 for me.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
She is truly the greatest to ever do it but as an album it is just too long without enough variety.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
I honestly do not have much to say about this one. It was fine. It didn't really leave an impression on me in any way.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
I just love this album. My journey with it has been so interesting because I didn't understand it at first, but after spending a lot of time listening to other music I came back around and really appreciated it. For me this is one of those milestone albums that doesn't really invite comparison.
Cornershop
3/5
I really feel like I understand and appreciate what they were trying to do with this album, however, it is pretty disjointed. I really appreciated a second listen. I don't think I would ever go out of my way to listen again or add it to my rotation. Many strong moments, but as a whole it's missing something for me.
Soundgarden
1/5
Hated it. Out of all the stuff we've listened to so far this one i could not listen to twice. I was never able to understand the appeal of Soundgarden and this did not change my mind. Every single song sounds the same (except Black Hole Sun) and is just Chris yowling over the same churning guitar. Forever.
3/5
This album was very complex for me. At first, I really liked it. I thought the first half was extremely imaginative and weird and I was ready to give the whole thing a 4. However, the second half took a sharper bend into convention and it reminded me unfavorably of Pet Sounds or the Paul McCartney baroque Beatles stuff, and that was a 2. So I settled on 3.
Fever Ray
3/5
I thought the first four tracks and the final one were extremely promising, but it did slacken off in the second half. However, I would listen again in the future.
N.W.A.
4/5
This album really does it all for me. It has (light) political commentary, humor, anger, and the interplay of the different NWA members on the tracks is excellent. Best of all - no skits!! I do feel it is slightly too long but always a great listen.
Santana
5/5
This album was difficult for me to rate, but on my fourth listen (which is significant in itself, in my opinion) I realized what I was doing wrong. This album demands your full attention. When listening while driving or working, I couldn't appreciate it. When I sat down and did nothing but listen, it was like an entirely different album.
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
This was initially a 4 for the witty lyrics and excellent songs, but on my second listen I did realize the album contains a lot of filler and is not as strong as I initially thought. The highs are excellent, but there is too much dead weight.
Suede
5/5
FANTASTIC. I heard everything, I appreciated everything, and I love the layers put into the music. What a journey! Three listens really helped me enjoy this one. I did not notice any of the pretentiousness in the reviews. The producer deserves a medal.
Fats Domino
1/5
This is the jazz that people who say "I don't like jazz, it's boring" are talking about
New York Dolls
1/5
Bad. I can definitely hear how this was influential on later punk but every album on this list was important in some way. Got the impression of the same song over and over again and nothing left a mark on me. The fact I made it through this album TWICE without liking a single song is really unusual for me.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
One of the easiest 4s ever. This album so clearly sounds like people having a fantastic time and I love it. Good balance of slower and faster songs and my compliments to the guy playing the upright bass.
The Who
4/5
I wasn't sure where this was going as it is a little weaker at the beginning, but The Who are solid as always. They do a good variety of song types on this album, but they are always st their best with the harder rock stuff. Not their best, but I liked nearly every song.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
I have to respect that Otherside is a generationally good song and one that is stuck in my head all the time. However, other than that, Californication, and Parallel Universe, I really did not like any other songs on this album. If it were instrumental I think I would have really enjoyed it, but Anthony Kiedis ruins everything yet again.
Soul II Soul
4/5
Started as a 3 for me but quickly became a 4 on an appropriate sound system. So funky and I will definitely be dancing to this while cleaning the house or cooking in the future. I love the sampling.
3/5
Listened to this album a long time ago and hated it. Gained new appreciation this time. Is it a muddled mess, absolutely, but I feel that I can hear a social movement starting in it. I can never knock someone for going onstage and having the time of their life.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I love their exploration of different instrumentation on this album. The piano really ties it all together but you can tell they were interested in trying new and exciting stuff. There are one or two awful songs on here but I think most are good.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
If we did not fetishize mental illness when it produces art (Van Gogh etc) this would not be on this list. There were occasional flashes that I appreciated but otherwise I found it self indulgent and rambling.
Pink Floyd
5/5
The classic. The almighty. An all time favorite. The slickest, crispest production. The themes, the storytelling, the atmosphere! My god I have been listening to this album for ten years and I'm still enjoying it. I hear something new every single time. Sometimes I think "Maybe it's not as good as I remember" but then I listen to it and it's even better than that. Something for everyone on here. So special to me.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This is like your middling Rolling Stones album imo. They dont do anything terrible, but they dont do anything cool either. The interesting instrumentation from other albums is gone etc. The last few songs are very good.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Great album! It starts out crazy and definitely never slows down or stops. The energy is maximum the entire time. The social commentary is on point. As always I love an album where everyone is going hard as hell. This was very nearly a 5 for me but I can't quite justify it.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
Perfectly average album that did not leave much of an impression on me either way. Basically all of the first side sounded the same.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
I did not dislike everything on this album, but most of the time I was extremely confused as to why you would listen to it when literally anything else exists.
The Rolling Stones
1/5
I'm not sure if being harsher on this because it's my third Rolling Stones album in ten days, but this is pretty awful. I think High and Dry might genuinely be one of the worst songs of the 1960s and even Paint It Black/Mother's Little Helper can't save it for me. The songs on here sound very similar and they are not good.
Ramones
3/5
Every song on this album is the same but in a good way. They sound like they're having a great time. As an album to just have on in the background it really works. Don't try to listen too hard.
The Hives
2/5
We had Ramones yesterday, and this is a lot like Ramones for me but without the magic. Did not really stick in my mind and actually somehow overstayed its welcome despite being under 30 minutes long.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Rock the fuck out!!! This doesn't need a review ffs
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
I love Echo and the Bunnymen but this is not their best. Flipped between 2.5 and 3, especially on second listen, but the really good songs are good enough that I bumped it up. I think a lot of them will make it to my Playlist, but I dont see the album as a whole becoming regular.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
The vibes on this were immaculate but it didn't stand out to me too much. The middle part kind of faded into the distance. There were definitely good highlights on this, but I dont think I would add to my rotation.
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Was not sure if I should give this a 3 or a 4. Excellent sampling, and some really good lyrics on here, but I have never really liked the pre-Jay Z East Coast hip hop library and it just isn't for me (except Illmatic - obviously)
Miles Davis
4/5
Had a hard time rating this but decided to approach it like an auditory landscape painting. He's creating different soundscapes for you to step into. Not my favorite style but he does it best.
John Martyn
4/5
Ugh this was so good. Loved the alternating of straightforward folk tracks with more experimental cross genre stuff. Despite what a lot of people said I loved his voice. I will return to this many times.
3/5
This is a really good album but it didn't hit at as a 4 for me yet. I think if I am listening to it next week still I will bump it up. It has a lot of great highlights but it wasn't as cohesive as a 4 should be. But I do appreciate it.
Fatboy Slim
5/5
Man this album rocks. It is blistering, fast, and merciless. Very rarely do i think it's ok for an album to be over an hour, but I honestly found myself looping it and wanting more.
Madonna
3/5
This is such great stuff from Madonna that gets bogged down by a lot of filler. When it's good, it's great, but it never really becomes fantastic and it does have a bit of a samey feeling overall.
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
Great album of extremely talented people doing their thing. Reminded me positively of some musical styles from Cowboy Bebop, which is always a plus. However, this album basically requires headphones or you will not be able to enjoy it to the fullest! They are very quiet.
Big Star
3/5
This album is a weird combination of slow, atmospheric stuff and more poppy, peppy stuff. What i liked is that even the peppy stuff sounds like someone slowly losing their mind. I think it is the most 3.5 album I've ever heard but I do have to round down because it's a little uneven.
The Cure
5/5
This album changed my fucking life. The atmosphere they create is so unparalleled. Warm synths and the bass, the way they layer different instruments. The Cure is the only band I listen to where they give you three 7-minute songs in a row and i wish they were longer. I have listened to this album probably 15 times and I discover something new each time. Easiest 5 ever.
Meat Puppets
2/5
This album was trying to do several different things at once and I dont think it was successful at much. I wanted to like it, but it didn't leave an impression on me.
The Who
2/5
Man, this album really let me down on second listen. I remembered enjoying it a lot and I could barely get through it. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood but it left no impression on me whatsoever. Could not see any of what I enjoyed before.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
When it's good, it's absolutely perfect. Dense storytelling, complex instrumentation, and great vibes. An excellent album for road tripping. However, it is way too long and drops off considerably in the back half.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Nothing strong to say about this one. It is definitely an Elvis Costello album. There are some good songs and some I didn't like. I don't think I would listen again, but I didn't dislike it.
Method Man
2/5
There are going to be ten thousand Wu Tang Clan solo albums on this list and I just don't enjoy that era of 90s East Coast rap.
The Triffids
4/5
There are some crappier songs at the end of this one but the run of songs at the beginning is so good I didn't care. Trick of the Light is fantastic. I love how they stuck the little piano piece at the end. Felt like I was on an adventure.
David Bowie
4/5
Love the hallmarks of Bowie on this. The theatrical vocals, the weird chords, the discordant sounds, and the energy. It's a shame to hear how his voice started to degrade, but I don't think it takes anything away from the album. A great ride back to front.
David Bowie
5/5
I love an album that doesn't overstay its welcome. You have tight, interesting songwriting on the first side that is just weird enough to keep your interest. Then the GORGEOUS second side which is like Bowie showing up to take you on some kind of adventure. This is easily my favorite album of his. It could have turned into a plodding 80 minute mess, but it works.
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
They are obviously extremely talented at doing their thing, but their thing is mostly not for me. This is a 3 and not a 2 because there were some real standouts on the album.
Garbage
4/5
What a fantastic album! I can see the influence on other bands like Wolf Alice in this album. There is definitely some filler, but the album stays fresh while keeping it cohesive. I think I will listen again and again.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
Strong influence on The Beatles here but did not stand out to me too much. I think most of its value is in being able to say that it was influential on other artists, not that it's particularly good by itself.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Man, what happened here? Having only known So I thought this would be great. There were some very good songs but most of this album passed right by me without noticing even though I tried really hard on second listen to form an opinion on every song. I feel like he was trying very hard to distinguish himself here and ended up not landing.
Brian Wilson
3/5
I like this album a lot but once again it is way too long. I'm happy Brian Wilson got to do his masterpiece but a lot of the stuff on here would be happier as bonus tracks on a second disc. Nothing is bad, just mildly off putting.
Black Sabbath
3/5
This is fine. There were a few really great songs on here but I don't think it measures up to their debut. Really had to think hard about how I would feel listening to it in 1972 and that did make it a 3 for me when accounting for cultural impact.
The Lemonheads
1/5
This album sounds unfinished and not in a good way. It's like a demo reel got pushed to production without anyone picking the best songs, or polishing them, or arranging them in an order that makes sense. Most of them are indistinguishable from each other. The cover of Mrs. Robinson is not good and sounds exactly like every other song on this album which makes me wonder if they just threw darts at the wall and said whatever, we'll do this one.
I wanted to like it because it reminded me of a very specific type of mid to late 90s band I enjoy, but it wasn't nearly as good. Ended up making me frustrated instead.
Dirty Projectors
2/5
The second half of this album was great. The first part of the album was like a "worst of Arcade Fire" compilation.
Frank Ocean
3/5
When this album first came out, I was in middle school. It was like nothing I usually listened to, but everyone was telling me I absolutely must give it a try. At that time it washed over me without leaving an impression.
Listening again, I was definitely able to have a greater appreciation than before. Several tracks were real standouts and I especially enjoyed the addition of John Mayer. However, I still don't understand the heaps of praise showered on this album and I don't think Frank said or did anything profound here.
Sugar
3/5
There are some songs on here that made me think 4 and other songs that made me feel 3. If every song on this album did something cool and engaging like Hoover Dam it would've been an easy 4, and some of them do. However there are a few too many songs on here that blend together without leaving a strong impression on me, so 3.5 rounded to 3.
Baaba Maal
4/5
Very hard to rate this one. There are some absolutely exquisite tracks on here. Stuff that really just makes you feel amazing. Then there is some stuff that fades into the background. But when I finished up with Minuit, I realized that the fantastic stuff is so good it cancels out the less interesting bits.
Neil Young
4/5
It took me a long time to get into Neil Young but I'm glad I did. I think he's at his best when he's raging at society, but I prefer his music when he's lost and disaffected rather than angry.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Hmmm. I appreciate their game, and listening to this in 1978 would have blown me to pieces, but I think this is an album best enjoyed in small doses and not 40 minutes at a time.
Mudhoney
3/5
This album intrigued me and I think deserves more consideration. I wasn't into it at first, but the farther I got the more interesting ideas they had, especially the last song. I might like more of their music better in the future.
The Pharcyde
4/5
Love this album. They really are top class storytellers and their use of humor and wordplay is unparalleled. This is one you really need to listen to with the lyrics out to appreciate it.
Van Halen
4/5
It rocks! The first half is an undeniable 5 but it slows down enough in the second half that I had to knock it down to a 4. The run of the first five or so songs is one of the best in rock.
The Zutons
5/5
What a great indie album. Every song sounds different but is interesting in its own way, and it never lets up or gets boring. Really enjoyable to listen to and I could not believe that I have never heard of this band before. Would listen again and again.
The Fall
3/5
I was very interested in the beginning of this album but it started to fall apart a little bit after. It went into chaos, but it did not become interesting chaos at any time which disappointed me a bit.
EDIT: Having listened to a bunch more post punk in this challenge and more of The Fall, I understand better what they were going for. However. It is still too long. Bumping to a 3.
The Specials
2/5
It's possible that I just don't "get" it, but in my mind this is an album that doesn't know what to be. I feel like it never settles on an idea, but instead of being a cool album with a lot of experimentation it feels confused, lost, and like a bunch of people throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. There was a lot of really annoying instrumentation and vocals going on here and it definitely felt too long. With all the great music out there I can't imagine picking this up again.
Charles Mingus
5/5
Mingus is so awesome. His music both demands and rewards your undivided attention. Very rarely do i listen to an album without getting distracted, checking my phone, or cleaning, but I sat down and enjoyed this one uninterrupted. So many interesting ideas and you never know what he'll do next - and in my opinion, this isn't even his best album.
Kraftwerk
4/5
Previously I've had trouble enjoying a Kraftwerk album in one sitting, but this was a real treat. I can definitely hear signs of the bands they inspired in this. It's also just groovy as hell. I do think some of the songs are a little long to the point of getting annoying, but it wouldn't be Kraftwerk without repeating the same sounds for several minutes, would it?
Iron Maiden
2/5
A really okay album. Probably a 2.5 for me that I must round down. The production is really bad and I felt like I couldn't hear the words, not that it added anything when I could. For the type of music I felt it lacked energy. Frequently found myself bored but thankfully a guitar solo would usually start.
DJ Shadow
5/5
Man....this is an album you can really appreciate not just by how it sounds, but by the work it took to get there. I don't think every song on here is perfect, but I have to appreciate the craft of putting it together. Artistry at work. Making humor out of samples deserves some recognition, too.
The Byrds
4/5
Tentative 4 for me but I feel like it lost steam at the end. Stunning production and gorgeous harmonies as always for The Byrds. Their attempts at psychedelic sound effects did not charm me much, but there was enough other good stuff that I didn't mind. They do excellent covers of Bob Dylan which I always appreciate.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Starting this to say in my defense I love Cosmo's Factory but I don't think this album is very good. You have two hits and then the rest is really not distinguishable. It felt like one continuous but ultimately disappointing jam. Couldn't see myself listening to this again.
Wild Beasts
3/5
I really wanted this to be a 4. I feel there is a 4 star album in here, but every time I was really vibing they would do something silly. Hooting and Howling is legendarily bad and I can't believe that was their single. The less said about When I'm Sleepy, the better. But I could see myself listening to this again a few months later and bumping it up.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Elvis doing his thing here. Which is not my thing but I respect the game. He keeps such incredible energy although I will never forgive him for his mangling Tutti Frutti the way he does. Truly a landmark album and probably one of the most historically important on this list.
5/5
This album, in a vacuum, is a 4 for me. However, it is not in a vacuum - if I hadn't picked up this album when I was 11, I wouldnt have been able to enjoy Pink Floyd, or King Crimson, or a bunch of other bands, and I think that's true for many people. Each song is like an entirely new idea, with a new recording technique being explored. Still fresh after all this time and I should appreciate it more.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
2/5
This is a guy monotonously reading his manifesto over some of the best beats I have ever heard in my life. I agree with literally every political point he is making but as a music album this sucks. I'm sorry.
Beck
3/5
There are a lot of good songs on this album, but i think it starts to blend together and congeal, if you will, in the second half. The first four or five songs are excellent and I wish he had kept that energy the whole time!
Muddy Waters
4/5
Hard to believe something as polished as this could be a live recording, but the energy is unbelievable! 3 for the songs but 4 for the incredible performance. My mojo was going.
Queen
3/5
Queen is a real greatest hits band. There are great songs on this album but in my opinion they never really made a great album and this is no exception at all. It's uneven and there is a lot of filler that could be trimmed out. However, the great songs like Prophet's Song, Bohemian Rhapsody, and 39 are still great.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
I did not expect to like this but I really did! Incredible album texture. I love the use of the different instruments and the guitar tones are absolutely luscious. I feel like I discovered a lot on my second listen through and I would easily enjoy this over and over. Fantastic.
Alice In Chains
1/5
I know this is objectively a bunch of very talented musicians but as an album it is excruciating. If it was 30 minutes long I would have been thrilled. However, it is almost twice that long with nothing justifying its length. Definitely felt like I was in the Angry Chair for this one.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Loop zoop! I love the blend of heavy and acoustic songs on this album. The storytelling on songs like Misty Mountain Hop, Battle of Evermore, and Stairway to Heaven is fantastic. Closing on When the Levee Breaks after leading in with Going to California is a great idea. I love the songwriting, the production, and the craft that went into picking the track listing as well. This was the first "heavy" album I ever listened to and will always have a place in my heart.
The Modern Lovers
3/5
Pretty good! I love the instrumentation here. The violins and organ are so lush in contrast to the vocals. The singing and lyrics did not do anything for me and this will not be entering my rotation, but I appreciate the production and variety.
Miles Davis
4/5
Love this album and it is perfect for a rainy day (or any day, for that matter) but my heart belongs to wilder, weirder jazz than this.
The Cure
5/5
In my mind, this was an album I already knew and it was 100% a 4. After finding myself listening to it four times yesterday I had to change my mind. I was really able to appreciate the background stuff, like the bass and the low end sound effects, in a way I feel I did not before. Gained a new appreciation for this fantastic piece today.
Elis Regina
2/5
This album honestly did not have much to recommend it for me. I was interested at first but overall I felt like it lacked variety and was too long. She is a gifted singer but maybe this is more of a singles artist.
Joy Division
2/5
Man, I just don't think Joy Division is that good. Two albums and this is not the better one. You can literally just put on Substance instead and enjoy that, because New Order took every good idea that Joy Division had and improved upon it. The endless doom and gloom just doesn't do it for me.
Pretenders
3/5
Very solid album with a fantastic, unique singer. Had listened to this album before and it really did not move me, but it's a ton of fun. I just can't give it a 4 because I've never sat around thinking I need to put this album on. But it's pleasant to discover once in a while.
Gene Clark
4/5
Great album! This was perfect for driving around in the country. Good variety, beautiful lyrics, and a Bob Dylan cover are really all I ask from a folk album. I will certainly be listening in the future.
The Beta Band
3/5
This album had the potential to be a 4 but they never stuck with any good ideas. It is more like a collection of unrelated songs that are good, not great. Gone is a truly awesome song but it's just one song.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Truly a GOAT live album. Good mix of upbeat and tragic and fantastic and the prisoner cheering gives it good atmosphere. This is a perfect intro to country or intro to Johnny Cash album too.
Slade
3/5
Perfectly respectable dad rock album from this period. Definitely needs headphones so you can enjoy all the pieces but not something I see myself ever returning to.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Their most solid offering to me. Doom and gloomy in a way their later stuff is not, I wish they had leaned into the spooky stuff more instead of becoming what I feel was a more generic band over time.
Depeche Mode
5/5
Obvious 5. This is what every album in the 80s that touched a synth was trying to be. Tight, doesn't overstay its welcome, the track listing makes sense and they flow well into each other. Any album that can make me feel sorrowful and reflective and then have me shaking my ass is a win for me.
The Police
3/5
I had a strong memory of liking this album before but I definitely didn't enjoy it as much this time. The normal songs on here are great, but their attempts at novelty did not land with me and weakened the album rather than strengthening it, in my opinion.
Björk
4/5
I think this is a really good album and strikes a good balance of her unique voice while also giving the backing instrumental some time to shine. It would be a 4 but I think it is about two or three songs too long and could use more variety. An interesting journey.
EDIT: Nah, after putting my headphones on this was a magical ride through the spirit realm. It's a 4.
Slipknot
1/5
I now know what the guys who asked me out in high school were listening to when they punched a hole in the door after I said no, and it reaffirms my decision to move away from home.
U2
4/5
Really enjoyable! A solid album all the way through that has a great core idea but switches it up enough not to be boring. I really enjoy Bono going hard as hell on this album, especially compared to their other efforts. I listened to this three times today.
Fiona Apple
4/5
Probably one of the most intimate albums ever, listening to Fetch the Bolt Cutters feels like having a conversation with a friend or looking into their mind. It is no small feat to get this personal. I also saw she did the album on GarageBand and am blown away by how good it sounds.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Bumped to a 3 after consideration. I really don't find his thing to be very interesting but it did grow on me when I started listening again. I didnt even feel like it needed a second listen all the way through. It does feel like I am on the character select screen in a 90s Sega game. I have to put respect on it for being the foundation of some of my favorite albums.
Goldie
3/5
Good album but these artists need to check their ego at the door. Disc one is excellent and totally sufficient. Hard pressed to think of a band that really has me wanting to listen to two solid hours of their content at once.
Wu-Tang Clan
2/5
This is a style of rap I have never really enjoyed. The beats are lackluster and that is what usually makes up for the dated style for me on these older albums. I feel like this album began all the trends I dislike in east coast 90s rap.
Pavement
2/5
Critically acclaimed band i have never been able to understand. I think Wowee Zowee is definitely a stronger album if only because there are some songs I like on it. This is another one of those albums where I can't distinguish a single song from another and it just feels messy and derivative.
Hole
4/5
Very important album. I think all the best grunge was performed by women. If this album kept up the steam of the first 3 or so tracks it would be an easy 5 for me, but even though it slows down I am always surprised how much I enjoy it.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Really agonized over this because I know I should be raving over it. The only song on here I was really vibing with was Paranoid. I want to die admitting this but I think that Cake's version of Masters of War is better than this one. Kanye improved Iron Man by sampling it. This album left absolutely no impression on me and I couldn't even hum a single song from the B side if my life depended on it. The book compares what they did to Led Zeppelin, but the vocal is average and they have no craft in their lyrics.
Skepta
3/5
Definitely a fun album with great beats and extremely slick production. Needed a second listen from me because I was not prepared for the accent and it was extremely jarring. I was disappointed in his lyricism as I felt like he always went for the easy rhyme. There were no lines that stuck out to me as particularly creative or interesting. I enjoyed it, but I can't imagine picking this album up again.
Common
4/5
Great rap album, great production. While some of the lyrical content makes me cringe today, his social messaging is still relevant. Any album that can make me laugh, ponder the unfairness of society, and tap my foot is a winner for me. I just think it would've benefited from a little more editing.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Springsteen is a great storyteller and has been appropriately recognized for that, but the way he expresses the despair of so many different people in so many ways never ceases to amaze me. He does it all - ballads, outlaw songs, dirges, and it's all good. This album has really grown on me over time.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
This was like the world's easiest 4 on my first listen. I liked almost every song and it was a good time. Then I listened again and it felt bland, uninspired, and I didn't care for more than a few songs. Very weird and this has not happened to me yet.
Patti Smith
4/5
Great album. This ages like fine wine for me. I like it more with each listen. I don't usually tap my foot to this type of music but I found myself GROOVING. Never knew what she'd do next. What a gifted artist.
The Band
2/5
I hate doing this to such a respected album in the Canon, but I have never really been able to figure out why it gets the praise it does. If you listen to their work with Bob Dylan I feel like that is proof they are amazing in collabs but I don't think they are anything special on their own. The album is too long and in my opinion, lacks variety.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
Holy hell, what a surprise! When I saw we were getting a 66 minute improvisational piano album i thought I would have to tank it at least a little bit. Absolutely not, it is amazing. What a journey. I don't think a piano album has ever held my attention like that. I will be listening again and again for sure.
Brian Eno
3/5
It is really hard to rate an album like this because it is such a departure from other things on the list. It's great at what it does, but is it as good as, say, The Wall? Hard to tell. Enjoyable but i don't think I'll queue it up regularly.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Tremendously enjoyed this on the first listen, but on the second listen it wore out its welcome and got a little stale. I would absolutely not consider this a shoegaze album by any means. I think it could benefit from a little more variety, but I enjoyed the contrast of the more melodic vocals with the grinding wall of sound effect.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Some great songs on here, with Help Me and Raised on Robbery being two of her best ever. However, I have trouble paying attention to an entire album of hers for whatever reason and they are generally pleasant listens that eventually become background noise.
Van Morrison
2/5
I always try to give every artist on these lists a fair shake but I think van Morrison must have some insider info on whoever compiles these because he is so boring.
The 13th Floor Elevators
1/5
Rating this lower than perhaps it deserves becausd it just disappointed me so much. From the description I figured this would be something I would really enjoy, as I like psychedelia overall. Sometimes they sounded like The Doors, sometimes they sounded like The Zombies, and sometimes they sounded like the Flying Burrito Brothers, but it was never good.
Also have to shout out the production on this is terrible and the album overall just sounds like shit.
Jane Weaver
2/5
Did not care for this. Really struck me as a sludgy, boring indie album where all the songs sounded the same. I was waiting for it to develop into something greater, or for a theme to emerge, but it just kept on keeping on.
Talking Heads
3/5
I know objectively that this is a good album by a great band, but they range from "mildly annoying" to "pretty good" and spend more time on this album at the first end of that range. Their schtick has always worn a little thin on me and this album is missing the great bass from Remain in Light.
Nanci Griffith
2/5
Perfectly solid country album that is not my thing at all. Not too much variety here and it is a little too 70s soft rock for me. It felt much, much longer than it actually is.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
Very solid album i never would have listened to without this challenge. Definitely not my "thing" but I appreciated the variety and the skill of the artists. I have definitely heard some of these songs before so the context was appreciated.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
This is obviously an all time great album. The production is fantastic, the storytelling is complex, and the way he maneuvers with the narrative on songs like The Blacker the Berry is unbelievable. However, I do think it is a little too long (for a guy who is already known for doing long albums) and would've benefited from a little trimming.
It is really hard to say that about something so personal without feeling bad, but GKMC is almost as long and never drags, in my opinion. I also think that this is an album for the more hard-core Kendrick fan who knows all about him - as a more casual listener I would have to do so much research to get the entire picture.
Still MUCH better than most of the albums on this list.
Eminem
4/5
It makes me really sad that Eminem became known as the soundtrack for guys punching holes in the wall because they were obviously not in on the joke.
What makes this album work is the way Eminem goes immediately from bragging to self deprecating over and over. On "My Name Is" he seamlessly goes from bragging about women screaming for him like he's Usher to saying "I ain't had a woman in years/my palms are too hairy to hide"
Imo that sets this album apart from all the other albums with rappers bragging about raping pregnant women, beating hookers and committing other atrocities. Eminem knew how ridiculous it was and was funny at the same time.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
I wanted this to be a 4 so badly, but 3.5 rounded down. There are some amazing tracks on here, like Charlotte Street, that could have been the blueprint for the entire album. However, they have only 35 minutes and there is some wasted time in my opinion that could've been used on things like more interesting instrumentation. Solid effort.
American Music Club
3/5
Totally normal, regular album. There was definitely stuff on here I enjoyed, but I didn't feel that they did anything really adventurous or interesting. Perhaps bland but I did enjoy it for what it was.
Michael Jackson
3/5
The album starts out as an absolute riot with Don't Stop Til You Get Enough and Rock With You, but slows way down in my opinion. There are really no bad songs on here, but I think there is a bit of a slow, less interesting part in the middle. I'm not a big disco fan so this is not an album I would return to, but it sets up better things.
David Bowie
5/5
Instant sex, just add water. This is such a great album that I wish he made more of them with a few long songs rather than a lot of shorter ones. Golden Years is one of the most danceable songs ever, and his use of the piano on this album is absolutely out of control. I find something new to enjoy every time.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Great soul album. I think half the population conceived that year was probably to these songs. However, not my favorite overall and could use a little more variety. What's Going On is head and shoulders above it.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Nothing quite like an album that makes me think and laugh at the same time. The satire is so pointed and just excellent. It really blew me away that this came out when it did. I thought it might be a 5 on first listen, but I do think some of the "bits" go on a bit too long. I also read that Zappa was not able to do everything he wanted to on this album, which makes sense.
Blondie
4/5
One of the most solid new wave albums ever. Their producer called them the least talented band he'd ever worked with but I think in hindsight this was such a blueprint for the rest of the 80s. I remember not liking it too much but I am extremely confused why.
Stan Getz
5/5
This album was absolutely fantastic. I have never listened to bossa nova and it is way outside my usual listening but I cant believe how enchanted I was. I listened to it three times. Magnificent.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Pretty solid but not very memorable. Not to pit two greats against each other but it doesn't hold a candle to Superfly, in my opinion.
Radiohead
5/5
This is an amazing album, but one of my favorite things about it is listening and realizing how many great albums we wouldnt have without it. There would be no Showbiz (and by extension, no Muse), no Rush of Blood to the Head etc. I don't think it is quite a 5, but it's enjoyable as hell to listen to and keeps me entertained.
EDIT: After considering how much I've enjoyed this over the past few weeks, it's a 5.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Solid album that gives us a glimpse of the even better music she would make later.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This is such a good album to me because she really had massive success on Court and Spark and then said "You know what? I'm changing the formula" and succeeds. The first time I heard this i didnt like it because it was too weird and far from what I thought she should do. Now I appreciate her daring.
Moby
2/5
Very confused. This is like multiple albums all confusedly trying to make a unit but the parts don't fit. Nothing is really bad, but he only has two tricks - blues with a looped beat over it, or ethereal piano tinkling. That's a lot to stick with on 18 tracks.
ZZ Top
3/5
Solid album that is really fun and I can't think of anything else that sounds like it. However it is a bit one note and once you notice the trick of the quick tempo and pounding guitar it makes my head hurt and has me ready for the album to end.
The Isley Brothers
2/5
I know this is objectively a good album but it is not my scene and it just bores the shit out of me. I am sorry :(
U2
3/5
Man, I remembered this album as being awesome and equal to The Joshua Tree but I feel a little embarrassed now. On this listen I felt it waw plodding and bloated. There are some amazing songs on here like The Fly and Mysterious Ways, but you could gut half this album and be better off.
Prince
3/5
Not my favorite of his. I see the genius, and it definitely makes me want to get up and dance, but I have always been a little confused by why this album is in such high esteem. Waiting for Purple Rain!
Bee Gees
2/5
Not good. This is on the level of a much lesser Elton John composition or something. I am usually a contrarian but I can honestly say I have no idea why this is on the list. It does nothing interesting and the singing on Lion in Winter is very jarring.
Beatles
5/5
Fuck, this album is so good. It was so groundbreaking in 1966 and it still sounds fresh today. This is the able everyone spent the late 60s trying to replicate and failing. The production is crisp, the variety in songs is amazing, and all four Beatles are popping off here. Their second best at least but possibly best album.
The Streets
2/5
Man, I love the concept of this but I despise the execution. The idea - getting into the head of a regular guy who also happens to be a huge piece of shit - as he goes about his day is very interested. I would be willing to forgive the wack-ass flow or lack thereof if they pulled this off.
However, I have two major issues with it. My first is that he goes for the easiest, most obvious rhyme every time. You are never wondering what he will say next. You are never surprised by an excellent couplent and you will never find yourself going OH SHIT as he makes words fit together. Instead, you will find yourself slowly applauding when he makes a sentence come out without interruption. This is a big weakness because he is trying to deal with complex emotions using the vocabulary of an eight year old.
My second problem is that we are ostensibly listening to someone's interior thoughts, but he spends the majority of the time talking about things that are happening. For example, in Such a Twat he is mainly focused on his actions but not his feelings. Dry Your Tears hints at it a little with the chorus encouraging the protagonist to give up and walk away, but the verses are really preoccupied with telling us where everyone's hand is and where they are facing. Lastly, on Empty Cans, he spends more time telling us there are fifteen screws on the back panel of the TV than letting us now how the money could be back there.
A great idea ruined by poor execution and focusing on the wrong stuff.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
I wish they had just let Grace Slick do her thing but this is still great. The guitar work is excellent and the transition from Embryonic Journey into White Rabbit is one of my favorites by anyone. Not everything they do works, but it's far better than their other albums.
Eels
3/5
I liked this album a lot on second listen because I felt like i was appreciating things I had not heard before. I would have liked a little more variety, as songs like Mental and Rags to Rags split it up nicely and there were a few spots where it dragged. However, this is an easy 3.5 I could see becoming a 4.
Air
4/5
An album i REALLY like, but i still wish more of the songs were like Sexy Boy. I frequently forget about this album for months but it always feels fresh and new when I pick it up again.
Steely Dan
4/5
Was not thrilled on this on my first listen because it seemed a little meandering and pointless, but I spent more time on a second listen enjoying the piano in the background and the song structure. Willing to call this a tentative low 4 because it kept my ear interested.
The La's
1/5
This album is kinda ass.
There She Goes is a good song with great guitar effects so of course they immediately decide to never make anything that sounds like it again. They try to do many things on this album, all badly. There is some weird foot stomping bluegrassy garbage, some odd ragtime crap, and a lot of tortured moaning. This is the rare album I genuinely could not finish.
Adele
3/5
One of the most inescapable albums of the early 2010s and by far not her best work, this is still a pleasure to listen to. I think it is hurt by its length and overall lack of variety. She really stretches her abilities on the singles, but there are a lot of songs on this album that sound the same.
Wire
3/5
What is the sound of punks having fun?
This might be the best of the vigorous, angry, 90 minute song albums that will pop up on this list and I have no idea why. It taps into something primal in my lizard brain and gets me headbanging. It's a lot to handle but rewarding to enjoy.
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
What a fucking vision! She does it all on here. We've got party songs, ballads, comedy, covers, and it never gets old. She has a really unique voice and uses it to her full ability here. This is absolutely one of the most stunning debut albums ever.
King Crimson
3/5
This is an album that does a lot of really cool stuff but has never left too much of an impression on me. There are a lot of pieces I like but as a whole I have never found myself coming back to it. My opinion didn't really change on this listen either.
The The
3/5
VERY conflicted about this one. Loved it on first listen but wasn't as interested on the second round. Currently a 3 because I appreciate their vibe but I don't see it entering regular rotation. Could easily become a 4.
Rush
3/5
An album that is less than the sum of its parts for me. The 20 minute piece is amazing, but the songs other than The Twilight Zone (and maybe even including that one) are not nearly as good and drag it down. My main problem with Rush is that I feel they are uneven and this is a big example.
Heaven 17
4/5
Ok don't kill me here but on a second listen I thought this was great. On my first listen it was a slog, but I figured they had to have had serious hits for a reason so I listened again and gave it my full attention. While listening closely I got the full effect of what initially sounded like the same somg over and over - this time I could hear the bass variations etc. By paying attention to the lyrics I really enjoyed the bleak condemnation of society and disillusion. Turns out, it pays to pay attention to what the artist is doing.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I'm almost hesitant to write this because so many of the bad reviews on here are nakedly misogynistic and I think she has at least three great albums, which is more than most artists will ever make.
However, I don't think this is a great album or even a very good one. Your enjoyment of it depends entirely on whether you think Taylor Swift is a truly great lyricist or not. Her writing is front and center on this album, which makes sense because this and Folklore were both promoted as being written, essentially, in isolation in the woods with some popular indie artists.
Unfortunately, knowing what a canny businesswoman she is (not saying that's a bad thing) it always struck me as less "Taylor Swift is evolving as an artist" and more "Lover was a failure the same year that Lana del Rey released Norman Fucking Rockwell and that was a smash hit." I think that everything she does on here has been done by other artists already, and better, but a lot of her fan base doesn't listen to other artists. So one benefit is that maybe this album will make the fans branch out to other, better efforts.
Every song on here sounds pretty much the same. We do get a more upbeat murder ballad (waste of the HAIM feature btw) which I just found so silly as to be ridiculous which breaks it up a little, but overall it feels painfully long. Her lyricism was not doing it for me, as she has her favorite awkward metaphors on display here and some very clumsy, forced rhymes (naming an entire song Dorothea just so she can rhyme it with "We all wanna be ya.")
This isn't an irredeemably bad album or anything, just a boring one, and it reeks to me of a fake reinvention to start selling albums again, which worked! I feel a little bad for her because everyone ripped Tortured Poets' Department to shreds but that album has all the same problems as this one, which was critically acclaimed. She was probably confused.
The Pogues
5/5
What an amazing surprise!! I had no idea what to expect at all but instead got this incredible album of talented musicians going hard as hell. What a pleasure to listen to. I was so impressed by how they made different genres their own while the original effort remained recognizable. Definitely going to keep this in the rotation and enjoy more of their stuff.
The Stooges
2/5
Definitely listening to this in the wrong decade at the wrong age. I understand the influence, and it's really cool that there are two versions that sound completely different, but I don't like The Stooges and I would never listen to this again.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Very solid album that influenced basically every white man playing rock music in the early 60s. Buddy Holly has an earnestness that is really unbeatable and doesn't overstay his welcome.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Had to give this the second listen (which was actually my third) to really vibe with this. It is a really heavy, dark album. Siouxsie is using her voice like both an instrument and a weapon. The drums are amazing and the guitar is delightfully weird. It's very atmospheric and I agree with my colleague that it reminds me of shoegaze for sure (Tinderbox is still my favorite though)
Beatles
4/5
I love this album. I think it's one step down from their truly great stuff, but seeing the blueprint for what was to come is amazing. Their songwriting is more mature, the instrumentation is complex, and it stands the test of time. While I feel like their more psychedelic stuff sounds firmly dated to the late 60s, Rubber Soul still feels fresh to me despite not having any hits.
The Cars
4/5
Great album. Such a classic and truly one of the best debuts ever, I think. Highlights are Moving in Stereo and Just What I Needed.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Great album. This is not the type of album I usually enjoy (I do not like East Coast hip hop pre-Illmatic) but this was awesome. The sampling is incredible and I love the political conscious stuff and female contribution. What a hidden gem.
Ozomatli
4/5
Instant classic. There is nothing I love more than a group of very talented musicians going hard as hell on a variety of instruments. Not every song on here did it for me, but I rarely feel like I'm having this much fun with an album. Catch me shaking ass to this in the future.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Immaculate vibes but based on the rules of our group challenge I can only really give it a 3. The interplay of her voice with the instrumentation is really interesting, but it's not a regular listen for me. More of a nice background album.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
This was a little bit of a letdown because there were ideas I liked within songs, but at no point did I feel like the album was winning me over or had a consistent theme that I could appreciate. It felt very messy and scattered.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
An extremely solid rock album that I enjoyed with some cool extra flair, but it's not enough to enter the regular rotation.
David Bowie
4/5
Very difficult to pick 4 or 5 here but had to go with 4 as I feel like he is unfocused at times. If he spent more time banging around on the piano I would've liked it more. This was actually an album I didn't like when I first heard it, but I like it more on every listen, so perhaps it'll grow into a 5 in the future.
Stephen Stills
3/5
This is much better than I expected but boy it's too long. I was very excited at first but it did turn into a big of a slog and I had trouble finishing it. It reminds me a lot of CSN (duh) so I feel like I could just enjoy one of their albums instead and listen to Suite Judy Blue Eyes.
Doves
5/5
One of those albums that felt like a 4 to my brain but when I found myself listening to it three times in a day I knew what I must do. It loses steam a little in the middle but the back half of this album is an absolute tour de force. The soundscapes they have going on in the background are so rich and lush but also a little troubled and mysterious.
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
A very dark and atmospheric album from a group that specializes in atmospheric (and sometimes dark). My favorite thing about Pet Shop Boys is how they pair moody lyrics with happy, danceable beats, but this album is much grimmer. Thankfully, you can still dance to it. It's slick production and the guys at their best.
Dire Straits
2/5
There are some good jams on this album but I was really disappointed that they didnt seem to develop their ideas much over the course of the album. It all felt very samey throughout and I unfortunately found myself bored and struggling to finish it.
The Jam
2/5
Did not care for this album. I did try to read up more on the mod revival of the 70s to see if I could get more context, but mod seems to be like new wave in the sense that you can label anything you want with that name.
Seemed pretty one note to me and I didn't care for their attempts to do a genre shift (English Rose) because it just felt very jarring and strange. Not my cup of tea.
The Incredible String Band
4/5
This was hard. This is not party music or tailgate music so I am not going to judge it for not being danceable or whatever. This demands your whole attention.
On my first listen I wasn't really sure what to think because I had no frame of reference. On my second listen I decided to handle it similarly to Mothers of Invention. When I started listening closely to the lyrics I was really impressed (MOST of the time....there is some questionable writing on here). However, for everything that confused me or made me shake my head there were three things I appreciated.
I loved the instrumentation, which I thought was rich and varied. Most of the songwriting was thought provoking and there were some lines that really made me say hell yeah. I think they are better suited to the long and intricate songs than the short ones, which sometimes felt like they had more to say. Overall, I really enjoyed this, but i do think it is more of an "event" album than a casual listen.
The Stone Roses
4/5
3.5? 4? What do i do?? This album occupies an odd place for me in that when I look at it on Spotify I added almost every song to my liked songs but as a whole it left no impression on me. Low 4? Who knows??
Lightning Bolt
3/5
This album is kind of sick as hell.
Was expecting to grit my teeth and suffer after reading the description, but honestly, I was buying what they were selling. It goes hard. It says what it needs to, refuses to elaborate, and leaves. I appreciate that. No bullshit lyrics, just yelling.
Cee Lo Green
2/5
Did not like.
This album is way, way too long and desperately needed some editing. The beats and the features were overall fantastic, but Cee Lo does not have the chops to carry a long album like this by himself.
There were definitely lyrics and flow that caught my attention and that i appreciated, and I got the impression he was having a good time on here. But it overall left no real impression on me and started to blend together. Found myself wanting it to be over.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Very solid but disjointed as only an album written by three people who refuse to speak to each other can be. The Neil Young parts are my favorite.
Duran Duran
4/5
Such a solid classic with surprising depth. Having Rio, Save a Prayer and Hungry Like the Wolf on one album is stacked enough but they still find the space to do slightly weirder, darker stuff like The Chauffeur. This album has really grown on me over the years.
Arcade Fire
1/5
This album is so boring.
I think it is really telling that more than half the five star reviews on here are talking moreso about nostalgia and how listening reminds them of being young than they do about the actual quality of the music. I really never met anyone who got into Arcade Fire as an adult, only people who listen to albums like this and are confused about the hype.
I do admit I have a special hate for this album as it is one of those albums you are SUPPOSED to enjoy if you have good taste. I had never actually finished it before getting it for the challenge, and I knew once I struggled through it I was not giving it my usual second listen.
This album is like a large bowl of unflavored oatmeal. It just keeps going and going. You may sometimes get a random piece of fruit, or a chocolate chip, but it only lasts a minute and you're back to oatmeal. How can a band with like 15 people and every instrument in the world be so boring?
I have seen people compare the writing on this album to Springsteen. Springsteen was singing about people whose lives were destroyed. Laid off workers, people who lost custody of their kids, alcoholics and drug addicts, lost souls, individuals who never lived up to their potential and whose best days were behind them without even noticing. The biggest dilemma tackled on this album is "the suburbs are gross and boring and hard to escape from." Oh boo fucking hoo. "I have mixed feelings about the woman in this song.' It's not compelling or interesting. It's childish and whiny.
If you are looking for over an hour of the same track repeatedly over the most self-pitying, masturbatory lyrics, punctuated by an occasional interesting idea, you should just give this a 5 now. Fuck.
Neil Young
4/5
Gorgeous. Melancholy. Neil Young is at his best when he's reminiscing about days gone by. The line about bullets in the mirror floored me. This definitely demands your full attention but you will be rewarded. The best tracks are the ones that give an impression of him composing by himself, in a room somewhere.
Talking Heads
3/5
I feel really weird about this album because I definitely like and appreciate it, but I have never in my entire life said "I'm going to sit down and listen to Talking Heads." Not sure why. I appreciate it from a distance but it has no staying power in my life. I think theyre missing something small and I don't know what it is.
Talking Heads
4/5
I think i finally found a Talking Heads album I really like. I always understood what they were doing but this is one I would actually put on to listen to any given day. It had me both dancing and feeling nervous about the state of society which is always a great combo.
R.E.M.
3/5
Very frontloaded album that I started enjoying less and less. Right around Orange Crush I felt like it began falling off. This is definitely a much more pop album than I would expect from R.E.M., but they start turning into their old selves at the midway point. I listened to this twice and both times I made it to the end realizing I had zoned out 20 minutes ago.
Sepultura
3/5
Is this one of the finest examples of death metal ever? I'm not sure. I can appreciate it, but an hour of this is a lot. Genuinely have no frame of reference for this album at all, but hopefully we get more metal in this challenge and I might adjust my rating later. 2.5 rounded down by the rules of our challenge.
EDIT: I was informed it is not actually an hour long and I was fooled by bonus tracks so I upgraded my review to 3/5.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
I do not care for these guys without Neil Young. Without him, they're like Simon and Garfunkel but without the crisp production, thoughtful lyrics and interesting instrumentation. Dull, dull, dull.
Jeff Beck
2/5
There's some shredding on here for sure, but I was disappointed how often it was pushed into the background. I didn't really feel like this album was a showcase for Jeff Beck and it didn't hold my attention much.
The Band
2/5
I was listening to this while driving around without cell reception today, so Spotify only loaded half the album. I was very excited and thought it had way more punch and energy than Songs From Big Pink. Unfortunately, I listened to the second half later and it wasn't very good.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Love love love this album, but knowing Bridge Over Troubled Water and Paul Simon's solo work, I don't think they were on a 5 level yet. The front half of this album is a little weak for me, especially compared to the fantastic back half. However, this is still head and shoulders above most other albums from this time period. I wish I was an English muffin about to make the most out of the toaster *falling down stairs noises*
System Of A Down
3/5
This really benefited from a second listen. I feel like it's a bit samey but I enjoyed it, especially the back half. I think Toxicity is a way better album but this is a solid effort.
Haircut 100
3/5
Very breezy, fresh, and inoffensive, this album would be an ideal beach listen. Despite the fun instrumentation and cool bass I felt like they could've done a lot more with this setup, so I don't think they're a 4. But they are a well enjoyed 3.
Radiohead
3/5
I DO like Radiohead, so I'm not going to write a nasty review about how they're a bunch of pretentious dicks. However, I think this is one of their weaker efforts and I never really understood the universal acclaim it received over many listens across multiple life stages. There are songs on here I really like, but it's a bit too downtempo whispery for my overall taste.
The Specials
2/5
Eurgh. I like reggae, for the record, but I realized after the OTHER album by The Specials that popped up that I don't like ska. I definitely eased in more on my second listen - I was ready to say fuck it and give it a 1 the first time. However, there are some truly abominable cuts on here. The one two punch of Stupid Marriage and Too Much Too Young almost took me out.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
The premise of this album is so good but it let me down so hard. The first three tracks are amazing and then they devolve into some of the dumbest shit I have ever heard in my life. Scooby Snacks, Smoke Em, and King of New York are just a guy repeating the same lines over and over, over a very lame beat. None of the flare of the guitar solo from Passive/Aggressive, etc. They had a good idea but not enough to fill out an album.
Primal Scream
3/5
SOLID album. I think as an album it is a bit confused with what it wants to do, but the beginning and end are good (I did think it fell off a bit in the middle.) If the whole thing sounded more like Long Life it would've been a 5. A really pleasant difference from Screamadelica.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
This is a good album but I wish it had a little more variety. Ruiner, Closer, Hurt and A Warm Place are such standouts that I would've liked to see more of that stuff. This album is a lot of Trent Reznor screaming over heavy distortion, and while he is the only one I could take seriously while doing that, this album is hard on my mind and body.
Elbow
4/5
What a surprise! Never heard of this band or this album but it blew my away. There was some of what I felt was dead space on the album which lowers it from a 5 but I was intrigued with what they were doing here. It was like Bright Eyes meets Doves.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
This is one of those albums that's so good it makes me sick. It has everything. You have the inexplicable dance track, the classic Springsteen working class misery, the highs, the lows, the melancholy reflection on a life passing by you...the only thing I hate is the really ugly snare drum on there. This album is like a whole town distilled for your listening pleasure. I enjoy this album every time I hear it and I always discover something new.
John Coltrane
3/5
This is a good jazz album but this type of jazz doesn't really do it for me. It's just not weird enough. His talent is undeniable but never in my life have I sat down and said "I'm going to listen to John Coltrane."
Nas
4/5
This is through album where I start liking east coast hip hop. His flow is amazing and the beats are so sharp. I just wish there was more variety between tracks. I start to zone out and lose my place.
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
This album is like a testament to man's arrogance. I can't think of a single artist I like enough to sit through three hours of their music at once and it certainly isn't this one. I honestly do not think there is even enough good material on here for a single album. I have no idea why critics viewed this so favorably because I did not perceive any of the creativity or cleverness.
I thought the lyrics were embarrassingly bad on a lot of these and they never got better. Maybe it's all supposed to be overdone on purpose or ironic? If so, why am I spending three hours listening to someone's inside joke?
The only reason this album appears on this list and the Rolling Stone list is because people go wow big album.
The Undertones
3/5
Kind of left no real impression on me. Not aggressive enough to be punk but not interestingly instrumented enough to capture my attention. Totally fine.
Elliott Smith
3/5
A very good album with a super strong start that faded off in the second half/back half of the first imo. I loved the first two or three tracks but I felt like the later ones lost the instrumentation and arrangement that made them so interesting. It was never bad, but I got my curiosity piqued by something that then went away.
TV On The Radio
3/5
Ehhhh. At times I was really into what this album was doing, but when they started harmonizing a capella like the Beach Boys it really took me out of the album and was hard to get back in. It felt a little confused and scattered.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
I wish this was better than it is. I love the song Love My Way but this is very samey. Adored the song All of This and Nothing but otherwise I don't think I could distinguish any of these tunes from each other.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
This album doesn't grip me as much as Born in the USA, but the saxophone and piano on here are so crisp and the storytelling is so on point. I haven't appreciated this album enough before. Really good shit.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is their best album, in my opinion. They have the jangle, they have the lyricism, and they never fall off midway. A pleasure to come back to this one and enjoy it again. I wish the rest of their catalog was this good.
Donald Fagen
3/5
Good album but lacks the magic of Steely Dan. I'm not sure what exactly is missing. Maybe it's a little too polished or maybe it doesn't have that bite of social commentary, but it's solid enough.
TLC
3/5
Never been a huge fan of R&B and this is not the album that will change my mind. It's pretty long and the interludes don't add much. To me, it's fairly samey throughout too. There are some really good songs on here but I wasn't too interested.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
One of the greatest, angriest albums of all time. The guitar is immaculate also. RATM is such a cultural institution and Wake Up kills it at the end of The Matrix. It's only not a 5 because I almost never find myself listening to it on my own, but every time someone reminds me I enjoy it again and again.
Def Leppard
3/5
This is certainly one of the albums of all time. While I have no doubt it would blast my face off in the live setting, it's very long and samey. I honestly got very tired by the end of it because no song on here is distinguishable from any other. Definitely a time capsule.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Very solid. It reminds me of the best stuff by The Velvet Underground but somehow it has less sauce. Not exactly sure what this is missing to elevate it for me, but it's still super enjoyable.
Yes
3/5
Not a bad album and definitely nice to hear Yes before they started sniffing their own farts. However, this is about on the level of one of the less good Rush albums to me. It's fine. Was kind of weird to learn what the one song I've heard on the radio for years was on here.
Elliott Smith
2/5
This is just not my thing. It's brooding, it's morose, but it's not very interesting.
XTC
4/5
This was a hard one to rate. It interests me more than Apple Venus, but as with that one I feel you could trim the end and lose nothing. However, I found these songs to be a little less silly and a little more engaging. The first five or six songs are an absolute 5/5. The production is extremely crisp as well.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
GOOD album. This might be my favorite album in this style. I really think the bass elevates it above other albums of its time and I appreciate the wordplay and humor a lot. I was almost a little bored at points but then they switched it up for me.
Judas Priest
4/5
Metallica is in debt to these guys! Had no idea what to expect, not being a huge metal fan, but this was amazing. I think if they took out the slower tracks it would be a 5 but they lost my attention there. Just constant rocking the hell out.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Very good shit, but I don't think it's better than Songs of Leonard Cohen. I think it drops off a little in the second half but does return to form in the closing track. Song for Isaac especially is amazing. Ethereal man.
Dexys Midnight Runners
1/5
I try really hard not to fall into the trap of why is this on the list blah blah blah. However, this one broke me. Not every commercially mauled album is le hidden gem and listening to this guy try to sing like Talking Heads for 45 minutes was pretty rough. Why are we having spoken spits on here. Bad.
Doves
4/5
Genuinely really good but nothing quite hooked me like Lost Souls did. They get a little more into the Coldplay sounding stuff but it still has fantastic atmosphere. Very warm and a lot to get from repeated listens.
Portishead
3/5
Groundbreaking album that, for me, has been superseded by its successors. It always grips me at the beginning but I lose interest by the end because it feels like they ran out of tricks in the first half. Still monumental.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
Confession time - I only knew about her from her work with Gorillaz on Kids With Guns. Previously tried to listen to her music but it never caught me. Unfortunately, it still didn't. Buffalo Stance was good but every other song on this album sounded the same and I had no desire to give it the customary second listen.
Carpenters
3/5
Perfectly acceptable and cute little album but unremarkable.
Carole King
4/5
One of the most solid albums to ever do it, Carole King is just a super talented woman whose songs have such staying power. There's no belting, no crazy production, just her telling you how she feels.
Arcade Fire
4/5
I like this album a lot, which makes me hate The Suburbs even more. It was the first LP I ever purchased. I feel like they really make the most of the number of people they have in the group here, keeping the instrumentation interesting. The desperation on some of these tracks is palpable.
Rod Stewart
2/5
Some of the okayest music ever.
EDIT: There is a reason I always listen twice because on my second listen I found this to be without merit.
Metallica
2/5
Blehhhh. This feels like a really generic, one note, sloppy album to me. Felt like I was listening to the same riff for over an hour and the production is really weird. I'm not a Metallica hater by any means, but this is certainly not their best work.
The Beach Boys
3/5
This album confuses me. There are times that I listen to it and I enjoy every single song, but more times that I listen to it and I think it's silly and pretentious. Is it the second best album of all time, like Rolling Stone says? Absolutely not.
However, I do think there is something that has made me appreciate this album despite so many fruitless listens. There are a lot of albums I have disliked and consigned to the trash bin, but I've listened to Pet Sounds seven or eight times.
Steely Dan
5/5
Fuck it's so good. Not a wasted second on here. Love when an artist is able to mix it up song by song but still keep a consistent sound. Yeahhhhh
Sonic Youth
4/5
This was really good and I think i like it even more than Goo. Talk about atmospheric. And I love how lush the sound got on tracks like Sugar Kane and Wish Fulfillment.
George Harrison
3/5
Long album with some very high points but still imo too long. I definitely understand why he did it, because parts 1 and 2 were literally all material Paul and John didn't like and this was his big fuck you to them. I just don't think there is quite enough variety for this to make my regular rotation.
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
This will definitely get upgraded to a 5 if I keep coming back to it. Feels like this album was made specifically for me, although I also feel like it is kind of like The Cure but a bit less good. Definitely a headphones album because there is a lot going on in the low end.
Khaled
2/5
Sorry, I just don't like it. I can tell there is a lot of talent on this album, but it never caught my attention. I occasionally found myself grooving but it would quickly become background noise again and the length quickly wore me out.
Richard Thompson
4/5
Fantastic album. They do so much on here in a fairly manageable amount of time. You've got a party song, you've got social satire, you've got melancholy reflections on life's meaning.....and their voices are so gorgeous together.
T. Rex
3/5
T. Rex is one of those bands, like Big Star, that gets splashed all over these best of lists but, to me, seems like album after album of indistinguishable songs in one mass.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I love Curtis Mayfield but I think he is constricted on this one by it being a film score. The main theme is awesome but the rest doesn't feel up to what I usually imagine from him based on his other work.
David Bowie
4/5
Going to do something I don't usually do and rate this slightly higher than I think it deserves as an album on the strength of the singles. It definitely slackens in the middle, but his command of the piano is amazing throughout.
Coldplay
4/5
Judging this album using The Bends as a yardstick because the influence is undeniable. It's good, but it's not as good as The Bends. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by an album that I have mainly seen about in reviews of A Rush of Blood to the Head, which generally call it derivative and embarrassing. Really found myself appreciating it for what it is and enjoying it.
Big Star
2/5
I'm going to be a little mean to this one. Perhaps meaner than it deserves. However, I have never been able to figure out why every list like this feels we need all three Big Star albums. I don't hate Big Star, either. There are many songs on Third/Sister Lovers that I like.
This is the worst of the three for sure. Every song on here sounds the same and it feels much longer than 36 minutes.
John Lennon
4/5
This is a hard album to listen to but it is truly one of the rawest, realest looks inside someone's mind that exists in music. Put Abbey Road on and then listen to this album and tell me it's not an experience for the ages.
Röyksopp
3/5
This album is good at what it does, but it's missing something for me. I found myself appreciating a lot of segments of songs, but rarely an entire song. There was some great stuff on here but I thought the album was oddly back loaded as well.
The Smiths
2/5
I hate using the term overrated but someone please, please, PLEASE tell me what there is to see in this album for someone who did not grow up listening to it. First and last songs got my attention and then it was like I spent 30 minutes listening to the same song over and over in between.
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Jerry Lee Lewis was a pedophile who murdered at least one of his wives.
HOWEVER, this also has to be one of the greatest live albums ever. I cannot imagine what kind of drug cocktail he must have been taking to play the piano and sing like this for over 30 minutes. If I was a teenager in the 60s I would be hiding this record from my parents.
He rarely offers the best interpretation of any of the covers on here, but his intensity is unmatched.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
This was honestly pretty boring. It started out encouraging and I thought it would end up being some cool punk shit, but it actually got tamer and less interesting as it went.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Perfectly cromulent album that is pretty good with some highlights here and there but definitely not the best album of all time. Stevie Wonder did more interesting social commentary during this period imo.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
I really wanted to like this because I love hard bitten country with a dash of tragedy, but all of these songs really sound the same and it was hard to finish.
The Mars Volta
4/5
Great album but does not earn the length, in my opinion. I feel like they don't have quite enough ideas, so while I spend the entire first half buying it, I'm a little worn out by the end. Very promising for their other material and their singer has a gorgeous voice.
Various Artists
1/5
God I hate Christmas music. This is your typical album of limp holiday standards that are all so vanilla that I couldn't even really tell the artists were different. They don't do anything new or interesting with any of these tunes and this is destined to be thrown on in the corner of your grandmother's holiday party and forgotten. Waste of a spot on here.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Great album but not as magical as his next work, Highway 61. That is where he perfects everything he does here. However, this album is bolstered by having Subterranean Homesick Blues and It's Alright, Ma on it. Even the throwaway songs are pretty good, but I do feel the length on this one a bit.
Beatles
5/5
Impossible for me to be normal about this album. This album was in my dad's car for about ten years. It was the soundtrack to every trip to a restaurant, or the mall, or to run errands. I could probably play this entire album note for note in my head if I had to. The meaning it has for me is indescribable.
In my opinion, this is The Beatles at their peak. No psychedelic weirdness, no cover versions, just beautiful original creations. You get two of the best George Harrison songs ever. You get Paul screaming on Oh! Darling. You have John guitar rocking out on I Want You (She's So Heavy) which is the best Beatles song ever, hands down, in my estimation. I even love Octopus's Garden. The guitar is so crisp and I loved it so much as a child. Genuinely the only blemish on here is Maxwell's Silver Hammer but the rest of it is so strong and it's not the worst thing ever.
The medley at the end is sublime. The way they bring back the musical motif from You Never Give Me Your Money is perfect. I am so genuinely grateful this album was made and I think everyone should get to listen to it at least once.
Mike Oldfield
4/5
I really liked this album and it was a 5 until I got to four and a half minutes of grunting and snorting in Pt. 2. Genuinely a baffling decision on an otherwise great piece and I can't defend it.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Pretty ok album but god damn this does not change my opinion that most double albums need a hatchet taken to them. The entire second half of this album has completely passed by me without making an impact on two separate listens. Just let Stevie Nicks do her thing and give us 12 good songs.
Slayer
2/5
Sorry but this shit is just silly. This whole album sounds like something Cartman would compose on South Park to be as transgressive as possible but it's also ridiculous. We open with a song about the holocaust and then spend slightly under half an hour listening to what sounds like the same song over and over. I felt so much secondhand embarrassment listening to this.
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
This album really challenged me. As an album that I would enjoy listening to....this is not it. It was honestly painful at times and I was struggling to psych myself up for a second listen. however, as a work of art by someone who is trying to make a statement....I can't deny it. I can't deny how immensely influential this obviously was. While he was screaming Annalisa over and over I couldn't shake the feeling that he was communicating something important that flew over my head. Straight down the middle.
James Brown
2/5
If you're going to beat your wife with a pipe you need to be at least as interesting onstage as Jerry Lee Lewis.
I know this was groundbreaking at the time but I'm not sure what this has to offer in 2026.
Rush
5/5
Forgive me, father, for I did not think this album was a 5 in the past. It was always missing something for me. However, on this listen, with good sound and my full attention, I was much better able to appreciate the bass and the low end that really flashes things out. I agree that The Camera Eye is probably the weakest part, but they are relentless before and after and this album overflows with iconic riffs and tracks.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The front of this album is a 5 to me and the back is a 3 so we meet right in the middle with a 4. I enjoy the guitar distortion and effects for the novelty, but I'm more Thrasher and Pocahontas than Powderfinger.
MC Solaar
3/5
I really appreciate the density of words he gets on here and his flow is immaculate. Also enjoyed the social commentary. However, it was a bit one note for me and felt really long.
Radiohead
4/5
Very solid effort by Radiohead that is mildly hampered by being a teensy bit long and not really having a signature, unique sound to anchor it in their catalog.
The Pretty Things
3/5
Solid with a lot of super cool and interesting sounds and ideas. Since it's a rock opera I have to say the premise doesn't necessarily come across and it definitely requires some serious legwork to get it all. I also felt that it ended on an anticlimax. This may be taboo to say, but it really just made me want to listen to Tommy.
Ryan Adams
3/5
There is a solid album in here somewhere but this is just too long. The first half is just not very interesting and they wasted Gillian Welch. There are some good, long, experimental tracks on the second half and they could've just made the album like that. Also, this guy sounds like a huge piece of shit anyway.
The Cardigans
3/5
Some mildly intriguing stuff going on here. Felt like a huge letdown on the first listen but I did warm up to it the second time. However, I think their "thing" is a little thin for a whole album. Also nothing on here sounds like Lovefool.
The White Stripes
3/5
I feel like this has to be the weakest White Stripes album I've ever heard. I see the experimentation and I appreciate it, but it comes off as more unfocused than genius.
4/5
This was never one of my favorite Bowie albums, but on a careful listen I found many things on here I didn't notice before. Will it be a constant rotator for me? Not really sure, but there's a lot to love. Not too much wasted time on this one although you could probably lose one or two songs without breaking a sweat.
TV On The Radio
3/5
I really wanted to like this more, but it strikes me less as an album and more like a random collection of mildly related songs, none of which really struck me.
Metallica
3/5
Is this a good album? Obviously it is pretty good but once again for some reason they put all the really good songs on the back. Would I ever choose to listen to this of my own free will? Never.
Mekons
3/5
Really interesting album and I did not realize i had an interest in punk, but with fiddles. Didn't stick around enough to convert me and ends super abruptly but I could see myself listening again.
Frank Zappa
4/5
VERY strong 4, I just feel that it gets a little unfocused. However, this has made me really interested in Frank Zappa and very interested to enjoy more of his music in the future.
5/5
I was really afraid this had fallen into the trap of "Album you liked at 13 that is bad now" but I was pleased fo say I enjoyed it as much as ever. This is the album that truly got me into theatrical stadium rock, and while I no longer think it is their best album I can't deny the effect it had on me.
Seeing Assassin performed live, along with many of the other songs on here, is always a treat. They put on a great show and this album is no different. I love the variety of instruments and styles they use, and the way the album ebbs and flows from quiet to loud.
This album definitely set up a lot of the big pits they fell into later - too many conspiracy theories and computers - but they strike a balance here that they were not really able to find again.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Thought this was an instant 5 from previous listens but unfortunately I believe it is actually a 4. There is a spot in the middle of the album that I think is fairly weak and I actually found it feeling a little samey in places. Still great.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Solid album but this is early in his career and he builds upon everything he does here on Born to Run and Born in the USA, so it gives me the impression of a master who is still learning.
Death In Vegas
5/5
This album is so good I feel like it was made for me personally. I love the swirling darkness and the guitar tones in use here. The atmosphere is incredible. There are a few missteps here and there but every time I found myself doubting this album I plunged right back in.
B.B. King
3/5
This is great, but unfortunately it was not as much heat as I felt like I remembered it being.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
I felt really positive about this album from the first two tracks but it lost my attention after and started blending together. He gets overshadowed by Santana and Bonnie Raitt and the feature by Los Lobos was wasted in my opinion.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Normally I would give this a 3 but it disappointed me so much I had to take one star away. This is your big comeback album? You go on hiatus for 7 years and you release an album where you are riffing off of popular 80s bands? He does Talking Heads multiple times, New Order, The Cure, U2 and The Smiths at least.
Pretty sad that almost a decade after you throw in the towel you'd come back with an album that just sounds like other people. Gross.
Dire Straits
4/5
Man, I listened to this album before and I remember hating it. Could not believe how much I enjoyed it this time. I suspect maybe I was listening to it on a speaker where I couldn't adequately hear the bass, which really brings this album to life. I do think you could easily trim here and there but it never got annoying.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Good album and a monumental achievement but still could have benefited from a little trimming here. There are enough all time classics that this would be an easy 5 with only 12 songs on it.
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
Had no idea what I would be getting here but I loved it. They are built around a very consistent sound but there is enough variety to keep me enjoying it, especially around the ends. The opening and closing tracks are serious highlights for me.
Paul Weller
3/5
Solid album that could've been a 4 but was ruined by being altogether too fucking long. Trim almost half these songs and you would have something amazing.
The Smiths
4/5
Fuck Morrissey. BUT....
I can't figure out why everyone is always salivating over The Queen is Dead when this feels better to me in every conceivable way? I found myself wishing they did more long, atmospheric stuff like Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me. It took two listens but this grew on me a lot. I felt like they had their own distinct sound for the first time.
Queens Of The Stone Age
3/5
There were parts of this album i was really jamming with, especially the weird crunchy sounding stuff at the end. Unfortunately the entire first half of this album left absolutely no impression on me at all and is destined to fade into the many similar sounding albums of this time period.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I had no idea what to expect from this album and I tentatively assumed it would be a really sad example of someone past their prime trying to recapture the old magic in the wake of a national tragedy. VERY PLEASED to say that is not the case!
The Boss still has the sauce here. He inhabits many different personas on this album and his storytelling is just as good as ever. He takes such a thoughtful, nuanced position when that was certainly not the thing to do at the time. While it does dip into cornball territory occasionally, it's really clear that he means what he says.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Really solid album that I do not think is the third best of all time. River is one of the best songs ever though. California is Joni Mitchell at her absolute peak and I think she really perfects her more conventional sound here.
I wish I had a river I could skate away on!
Blur
3/5
This album was honestly a crushing disappointment for me, which made me really sad. I love Parklife and I love Gorillaz, so I'm very familiar with Damon Albarn and his creative content. Unfortunately, this felt like another overly-long, bloated alt rock album. Can't count how many times I thought it was almost over and there were still several songs left. On a few tracks, like M.O.R., Death of a Party, and I'm Just a Killer For Your Love I felt like they were really doing something cool and experimental. The rest felt very generic and forgettable.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Pleasantly surprised by the britpop vibes of this album. It reminds me positively of my favorite stuff by Suede and Pulp. Could be a 5 in the future but right now there are a few extraneous tracks on there for me.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
This felt like a really generic, mid-60s album with some nice harmonies on my first listen. On my second listen I was able to appreciate the instrumentation and how it compliments their voices. I also am a sucker for two singers overlapping with different lines like in Hey Girl and then coming together. Honestly, this could be a 5 with time.
5/5
It's easy to make fun of U2 for being dramatic and bombastic, but this is really the pinnacle of that style. They try so many genres while keeping their own flavor and the production is absolutely immaculate. Unlike many albums of the 80s, it doesn't sound dated at all. You can listen to this one again and again.
Sebadoh
2/5
Another album that unfortunately had md looking at the clock despite one or two songs I really enjoyed. Did not see the vision for this one and a lot of it felt very unfocused and random which was probably at least partially deliberate.
The Vines
3/5
I really wanted this to be a revelatory experience and understand the vision people had with this album, but it just ended up being a totally average rock album in my mind.
Spacemen 3
4/5
Extremely solid ambient stuff, perfect for piloting your spaceship into a black hole or drifting on a raft in the ocean.
Eagles
3/5
Listening to an Eagles album always includes two of the best, most enduring songs in the American music canon and then ten completely forgettable songs you're never going to hear again.
Alice Cooper
3/5
Unfortunately this album doesn't live up to the experience of seeing Alice Cooper live, and i was disappointed by the seeming difference in energy between that and this. However, I did enjoy the really crisp production and the use of instruments and sound effects. Wasn't totally on board with what they were doing but they accomplished their goal of making a dark but funny and theatrical album.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
I really like this album but it is definitely missing something that Heaven or Las Vegas had. Even Blue Bell Knoll is a little better to me. I think it could explore so many more ideas than it actually does. However, what it does do is so interesting and unique that I think my hesitancy on this album is more about missed potential than a critique of anything on the album itself.
Bob Dylan
5/5
This album is so special to me I'm not even sure how I can write a review, but surely this has to be one of the rarest albums ever laid down. Bob Dylan looks frankly at his failed marriage from every possible angle and his pain is so visible. We also get some of his best lines ever on this album and the instrumentation is so good. For once, they mastered the harmonica so it doesn't feel like a dentist's drill in my ear. Masterpiece.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Great album but for once I actually wish it was longer so he could show off more stuff!!
David Gray
3/5
I really liked what was going on here, but struggled to stay interested as it felt like he used up all his interesting ideas in the first half.
Devendra Banhart
4/5
Did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did since White Ladder let me down a little yesterday. However, there is a mildly sinister dimension to this album that I love. It's so intimate. It has the unsettling quality of someone performing almost on top of you in the same room and there is something almost lurking underneath. The production is crisp and the instrumentation is so fun.
Beatles
4/5
So solid. A 5 for anyone else but damn, it's The Beatles. Crazy that they could make an album for a movie solely capitalizing on their popularity and both the film and the album are really good. The humor on songs like I'll Cry instead really sets this apart from other albums of this time and the songwriting is very solid. Things We Said Today is peak McCartney before he discovered carnival instruments.
1/5
Pack it up guys, I found the cause of the "male loneliness crisis".
In all reality, this album has some really good bones it and it makes me mad that Fred Durst is on it at all. The drumming is generally great, the bass is interesting. There were even two or three songs on here I might listen to again. BUT
I can't stand how much of nu metal is self pitying trash about how no one understands me, mom. They could've gone reflective and after pairing a bunch of songs about fuck the world and wrecking shit with songs asking why am I so alone, tried to bring those two ideas together and you know, say something.
People make fun of Linkin Park but I believed that Chester was suffering. I think Fred Durst is the type to kick himself in the ass and cry that his foot hurts.
The Shamen
3/5
Solid! I can't see this becoming part of my regular rotation, but it's fun, if not a little repetitive.
Cream
2/5
I never really liked Cream. Out of all the CDs I plundered from my dad's collection, they were the most disappointing. Even their best of collection awakened nothing in me.
This album is boring as shit. The production also sounds terrible. I can barely hear anything and a few highlights do not do enough to keep my attention.
Aerosmith
3/5
I like Aerosmith a lot. I know that's silly but I have been listening to them longer than most bands in my repertoire. They are absolutely a greatest hits band but this is a very solid album, possibly their best. I just wish they had a little more variety, but I can never blame anyone for going hard as hell.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
This album has a vibe to it that I've never come across on another one before. I love the Enrico Morricone-style arrangements and this was rapidly cruising to a 5 for me but unfortunately it fell off on the back end. Super enjoyable.
Elvis Presley
4/5
This is probably the most exceptional example of this early 60s style on this list and while it isn't really something I would listen to all the time, the crisp production is gorgeous.
Linkin Park
2/5
Argh.
This is the first time I ever listened to this album front to back because I was always shutting it off after a few songs. I could probably make my own album of about 12 songs by Linkin Park that I adore, pulled fairly evenly from across their albums. But their schtick is so grating over the course of 40 or so minutes.
Flamin' Groovies
2/5
On second listen I was actually able to appreciate some of the country, bluesy, honky tonk style stuff at the beginning of the album but it falls apart so fast.
The United States Of America
3/5
Hmm. Definitely some really interesting and bold choices in here but it feels unfinished. The first three songs or so are pretty dull but there's really great stuff like Garden of Earthly Delights and the last track. Can't say I enjoyed it, but I appreciated it.
Little Richard
2/5
Solid for the time and absolutely the backbone of basically all rock music we enjoy today. However, it is genuinely all the same and it wears me down so fast. Great for dancing, just maybe not for me at home.
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
I only knew Rufus Wainwright as the guy who did the silly cover of Hallelujah in Shrek but I was blown away by his vocal talent here. I usually run screaming the other way when I see "chamber pop" but he nailed it, and one or two dull thuds near the end did not diminish my interest at all.
The Fall
5/5
Holy fuck, this album must have re-wired my brain or something. We had This Nation's Saving Grace on this list already and I did not like it all, but listening to their album The Wonderful and Frightening World Of made me more open to their sound.
This is just awesome. I can't really put into words why I like it so much, but I feel like all the parts of this album fit perfectly together. The riffs wouldn't work with a more conventional singer and the voice wouldn't work with different background. This album really picks up at It's A Curse and I haven't been able to stop listening to it.
Gillian Welch
4/5
Such a solid bit of Americana. Gillian Welch feels like a world weary observer who is both imparting stories to us about distant people we don't know and will never meet, as well as personal reflections on herself.
Fela Kuti
4/5
This is really good! I was sleeping on it a little on first listen but I think this is one of those albums that keeps on giving, where you have something new and interesting to enjoy on every listen.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Extremely solid blues stuff, but without the live element of Newport 1960 I think it's missing something. Not a repeat listen for me, but I appreciate it.
N.E.R.D
2/5
I wanted to enjoy this! It is very obvious to me that they understood and appreciated what Outkast was doing around this time, but they were not able to reproduce it themselves. Outkast has a fresh sense of humor and relentless pace that this doesn't have.
This still would've gotten a 3 if it wasn't for some of the lyrics. Lowlights include "Her ass is a spaceship i want to ride" while someone squeaks "She's sexy!" In complete earnest, along with the disastrous verse later in the album about banging a mermaid.
Supertramp
3/5
I am not sure what sauce this album is missing, but I cannot abide by Breakfast in America being excluded from this list when it is obviously their best work. This is just missing something. There is a dead zone in the middle of this album and it is strong at both ends. Also, why is the volume level so low?
Goldfrapp
3/5
Objectively a very good album but I don't think it has enough depth to become a repeat listen for me. I feel like I already know all its secrets already, but the production is beautiful and I did enjoy it a lot.
Michael Jackson
5/5
This is my personal favorite Michael Jackson album, and while I think dark/evil Michael Jackson is hilarious as a concept it works musically. There is such a unique sound for him on here and the track list is absolutely stacked. It helps that Dirty Diana, my favorite MJ song, is on here. I am always somehow surprised at how good this album is.
Sam Cooke
4/5
This is my favorite live album ever. The energy is so relentless and I love how he's almost playing one continuous song that incorporates crowd work and spoken word as well. Can't imagine what it would've would've like to be there.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Extremely strong 4 but yet another point in my column that your album does not need to be over an hour long. The fast songs are absolutely relentless and I would argue everything up to Come Alive is perfect, but the slow songs don't add much and start to stack up in the second half.
The Monks
2/5
The first time I listened to this and was enjoying it, thinking that the organ stuff distinguished it nicely from all the other guitar man bands on this list. Second time I was just very bored. Sad.
Massive Attack
4/5
So good. I will join in the chorus of voices clamoring to know why Mezzanine isn't on here, but Massive Attack never had a bad album and this was a pleasant surprise for me. Could see this becoming a 5 but that cover of Light My Fire kind of sucks.
Yes
4/5
This album is good but it lacks the cohesion of Close to the Edge and I feel like a lot of the middle is kind of soft and forgettable. The ends are perfect.
5/5
This album is just really good and I like it. The piano is so perfect and I adore everything. I can't really describe what it is but there is not a wasted second. Fantastic shit.
Megadeth
3/5
This is a cool album for sure and I did not expect it to snag my attention the way it did, and then I spent 40 or so minutes waiting for it to do something else and it didn't.
Bill Callahan
4/5
Damn, I really liked this and it could easily become a 5 but I can't describe why that is at all.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
I know this is objectively a good album but it does not hold my attention other than a few standouts like Shining Star and Yearnin Learnin.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Some great little instrumental bits on here but overall pretty average.
X-Ray Spex
1/5
Sorry I hate it. This is one of the only albums I didn't finish on the Rolling Stone list.
Jethro Tull
3/5
Shocked to say this about Jethro Tull, a group I always thought was sufficiently "out there" because of the flute playing, but this was pretty conventional and large swaths of it made no impression on me whatsoever. Wind-Up and Aqualung were standouts, but that's a lot in the middle that didn't impress me much.