My 1001 Albums Journey

Album	You	Global	Diff
Kala M.I.A.	5	2.91	+2.09
Very Pet Shop Boys	5	2.95	+2.05
Throwing Muses Throwing Muses	5	3	+2
Germfree Adolescents X-Ray Spex	5	3.06	+1.94
Under Construction Missy Elliott	5	3.15	+1.85
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space Spiritualized	5	3.15	+1.85
Solid Air John Martyn	5	3.17	+1.83
Dry PJ Harvey	5	3.24	+1.76
Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters	5	3.24	+1.76
Winter In America Gil Scott-Heron	5	3.26	+1.74

Album	You	Global	Diff
Hotel California Eagles	1	3.59	-2.59
The Number Of The Beast Iron Maiden	1	3.58	-2.58
Blunderbuss Jack White	1	3.39	-2.39
Get Behind Me Satan The White Stripes	1	3.38	-2.38
Smash The Offspring	1	3.36	-2.36
C'est Chic CHIC	1	3.34	-2.34
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs Marty Robbins	1	3.33	-2.33
Pornography The Cure	1	3.32	-2.32
The Beach Boys Today! The Beach Boys	1	3.26	-2.26
A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse Faces	1	3.22	-2.22

Artist	Albums	Average
David Bowie	6	4.5
Miles Davis	2	5
Prince	2	5
Nick Drake	2	5
Amy Winehouse	2	5

Artist	Albums	Average
The White Stripes	3	1.67
The Beach Boys	3	1.67

Kate Bush

4/5

The Smiths

2/5

Distinctive sound: Bright, hazy guitars with low & emotional vocals. Nice as a vibe for particular moods. The whole thing kind of runs together. No standout individual songs. Enjoyed listening while driving for the most part - hated the last (and unfortunately title) track.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

4/5

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Beatles

3/5

Like the Sgt Peppers framing. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. A Day in the Life was new to me & really good.

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin

4/5

Don’t think I’ve intentionally listened to Led Zeppelin before, certainly not a whole album at once. I truly enjoyed this and was surprised by the versatility, the range of instrumentals, and how, well, interesting it was the whole way through. Absolutely loved Since I’ve Been Loving You. Other standouts were Immigrant Song, Gallows Pole, and That’s the Way. Could have done without Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. Otherwise a really solid record I’ll probably come back to.

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

5/5

Really lovely, never gets old, always right for whatever the situation.

Liquid Swords

GZA

3/5

Abbey Road

Beatles

4/5

Best Beatles album

Exile In Guyville

Liz Phair

3/5

Solid, fun album - can see how it lays the groundwork for a lot of other 90s/2000s female artists. Liz Phair is a super talented songwriter; less great as a singer herself though. Enjoyed listening.

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

3/5

Highlights: - I Zimbra - Memories Can’t Wait - Air Animals was silly fun. Entire record was light, funky/pop/rock? Seemed like the band was having a good time and playing around with their sound which is cool. Didn’t always bring me along though.

Ananda Shankar

2/5

The covers and the last song with the English intro and the chanting were gimmicky and trite, although I assume there were pretty valid commercial reasons to include (and bookend the record with) them. Metamorphosis was a five star track, with Sagar (Ocean) close behind. Overall the sound feels kind of dated, which is a little odd for fusion music. I read the Wikipedia summary which noted this was originally intended to be a collaboration with Jimi Hendrix - that made me resent the moog synthesizer that took his place more than was probably fair. Not mad I listened to this album, but I am a little surprised it made this list.

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

3/5

Destroy Rock & Roll

Mylo

2/5

Was fine

Under Construction

Missy Elliott

5/5

I really enjoyed the clips of her talking at the beginning and between some songs - the whole album felt like a time capsule to 2001-2, and it was cool to hear from Missy about what she was thinking at the time she was recording & releasing it. Work It obviously is a classic for a reason but other standouts for me were Gossip Folks, Nothin Out There For Me, and Slide. Pussy at was by far the weakest track, but everything else was so good, whatever. Joyful and fun, with real depth and an artist who’s not afraid to take risks while giving it 150%. Loved listening, will play it again many times, AND I feel like I got an education on a very particular moment in hip hop history. Thanks Missy.

Hotel California

Eagles

1/5

I did not expect to particularly enjoy this but I also didn’t expect to actively dislike it even more after listening the whole way through. Listen, I get why it’s on this list; it was and remains ubiquitous. And technically, yeah, these guys seem like good musicians - particularly the guitar work. But that almost makes it worse, because everything about this record is slick and soulless. In its best moments it’s like the opening music they do for Sunday Night Football on tv - obviously designed to get you amped up, smooth & distracting enough for you to not think at all about how it’s turning your own human emotions against you for someone else’s commercial gain. So much of American culture is this now - it infuriates me to learn that we checked in here all the way back in the 70s. I want us to leave! Having now actually listened to them sort of on purpose, I guess I also hate the fucking Eagles, man.

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

2/5

God Save the Queen was okay, the rest ran together, and I found a lot of it very repetitive sounding. Maybe groundbreaking or edgy when it came out? But without that history/nostalgia factor it didn’t do much for me.

G. Love And Special Sauce

G. Love & Special Sauce

2/5

Best way I can describe this is - I bet Ted Mosby listened to it a lot in college. Vocals were annoying, lyrics immature, no particular standout tracks. Not for me.

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

3/5

The Go-Betweens were totally new to me. Enjoyable record with a consistent pop/rock/indie vibe. Nice on like a bike ride or something.

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

4/5

Green Onions

Booker T. & The MG's

3/5

The Poet

Bobby Womack

2/5

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

3/5

Calming, pastoral acoustic. You can zoom all the way out to background sound or all the way in to close, close listening and quietly enjoy it everywhere on that spectrum. Homeward Bound was new to me and good.

Winter In America

Gil Scott-Heron

5/5

Beautiful, human. Jazz/blues/funk/soul - really smooth, exceptional musicianship. Very political and of its time but still feels relevant today. Easy five stars. Wish it wasn’t so hard to find, but glad to have been introduced.

Pretenders

3/5

Solid. Some interesting, excellent moments and some not great bits where they lost me. Standout for me was Space Invaders. Did not like Stop Your Sobbing or Private Life.

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

3/5

Had never heard of this band before. One of the reviews quoted in the Wikipedia article said "Imagine a technically imperfect band that has the art of free-form fusion mastered,” and I think they nailed it. I liked this - fun to listen to. The instrumental tracks in the middle and the two drum solo bits made me feel like I was just hanging out with the band or at a really small show of their friends or something. Highlights were Vastopol, The Softest Hammer, and Understanding

Hunky Dory

David Bowie

5/5

What’s the best pop song ever written and why is it Life on Mars?

Wonderful Rainbow

Lightning Bolt

2/5

Blunderbuss

Jack White

1/5

Everything about this felt off-putting, hollow and soulless. Based on other reviews this is clearly not a widely held opinion but Jack White just seems kind of shallow and juvenile to me - music, lyrics, themes, vocals, all of it. Particularly stark on this solo album.

White Blood Cells

The White Stripes

2/5

I just had to listen to Jack White’s solo album yesterday, curse this algorithm. I know this was so popular but I just can’t, never could with this band. I didn’t get the appeal in the 2000s and if anything their sound and lyrics and vibe have gotten even more cringy with age. Not for me.

Logical Progression

LTJ Bukem

2/5

Early 90s low-budget soundtrack for a montage scene where some wiz kid is hackin’ the ‘net Faded to the background so fast, - didn’t really mind it, but couldn’t focus in enough to have more of an opinion or a desire to come back to it.

Parallel Lines

Blondie

4/5

Extremely versatile lead singer - she’s so strong the whole way through! Super energetic pop punk. Highlights: - Fade Away and Radiate - 11:59 - Will Anything Happen - Heart of Glass - Just Go Away - Once I Had a Love

No Other

Gene Clark

4/5

Surprised to really like this. I want someone to go make some absolutely banging covers of each song - felt like each one would be unforgettable with just a little more drama and power. First half was strongest but enjoyed the whole thing. Standouts:Silver Raven, No Other

All Directions

The Temptations

4/5

Standout: Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Worth all 11 minutes

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash

3/5

Not really my genre but I do appreciate the energy of a live album. I bet it was a hell of a show.

Darklands

The Jesus And Mary Chain

3/5

Never heard of this band. I liked it! No particular songs stood out good or bad, nice vibe throughout. Listened while driving which was great.

Oracular Spectacular

MGMT

4/5

Super nostalgic and still very fun

Murmur

R.E.M.

4/5

Oh, ok this is what all the indie rock bands are trying to sound like. Thought it might get old quickly, but imo the album actually picked up momentum as it went - some of my favorites were towards the end. Standouts: Perfect Circle, Sitting Still

Eternally Yours

The Saints

3/5

Solid and above expectations - a rare combo of punk band and seemingly actual good musicians. Enjoyed the incorporation of the horns

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Merle Haggard

2/5

Violator

Depeche Mode

4/5

Pornography

The Cure

1/5

Wow this was not for me. Just nothing to connect with anywhere, and I think I’m a pretty generous listener.

2/5

Tres Hombres

ZZ Top

2/5

A Walk Across The Rooftops

The Blue Nile

3/5

Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this! Surprised in a good way mostly. The arrangements were really interesting with some great bass playing and unexpected sonic elements popping up all over the place. I enjoyed that aspect of this album most. The production also seemed exceptionally clean. I was less enamored with the lyrics and vocals, and in spite of everything mentioned above about being interesting and unique it also managed to sound very eighties - for me a negative. It stretched itself out, and although there were things to like along the way it did start to feel like a slog midway through the album (and even partway through some individual songs). Tricky to tally where it gains and loses stars, so I’ll just land at three. Felt like I really explored something today though, which is largely what I want from this project.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

2/5

Didn’t hate it but kind of felt like the soundtrack to a cartoon?

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

4/5

Lovely classic jazz. What’s not to like?

Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

3/5

Each of these songs is fascinating, beautiful, compelling, haunting - and all of them are absolutely screaming for a more capable vocalist + better instrumentals. If he’d let someone better pick them up and run with them, this album would be incredible. As it is, meh. And frustrating because greatness is like, right there.

Yeezus

Kanye West

3/5

I’m not an expert but this seems like just about the point where Kanye the ego(massive) & overall trash human overtook Kanye the musical talent (also massive). Still pretty good here but with the benefit of hindsight you can clearly see where he’s unfortunately headed.

Close To You

Carpenters

2/5

Saccharine almost to the point of creepy. Like the soundtrack to a very earnest kids show and/or the songs a cult sings sitting around in a circle. The one exception was Help, which sounded quite different from the rest and which I actually liked.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

2/5

Ok folk/rock - the whole album was a lot, maybe better in small doses

Bright Flight

Silver Jews

1/5

Do they even like these songs? Unclear - such low energy, like nothings there. Could’ve been a two but the lead singer also can’t carry a tune.

Purple Rain

Prince

5/5

Come on

Shaka Zulu

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

2/5

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

5/5

The perfect album does not exi—

Dusty In Memphis

Dusty Springfield

2/5

Saccharine, breathy and insubstantial. Something about this whole record feels regressive - like she’s a grown woman happy to be considered a silly shallow secondary being. Glimpses of better things that maybe could have been in Son of a Preacher Man and the Windmills of Your Mind; wish the rest wasn’t so buttoned up and sanded down. I hope someone else has since done incredible covers of those two songs.

Arise

Sepultura

2/5

3 + 3

The Isley Brothers

4/5

Vibed the whole way through

Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

Spiritualized

5/5

Lush, expansive, rich, generous. Like floating in the warm ocean or driving through the mountains on a clear beautiful day. Loved this.

All Mod Cons

The Jam

3/5

Smile

Brian Wilson

2/5

Can appreciate why this is meaningful for many but just, not my thing

In Utero

Nirvana

3/5

Ghosteen

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3/5

Moving and atmospheric but very very very heavy

Live At The Witch Trials

The Fall

2/5

Aja

Steely Dan

2/5

Phaedra

Tangerine Dream

3/5

Sounds much more recent than it is. I don’t usually feel like I really get electronic music, but I enjoyed this. Meditative.

Back to Basics

Christina Aguilera

3/5

1977

Ash

3/5

Very 90s, lots of noise - I enjoyed it but don’t think it will really stick with me.

Africa Brasil

Jorge Ben Jor

3/5

Would listen again!

The Last Of The True Believers

Nanci Griffith

3/5

A lot of this was overly sweet and cute for my taste, but I did find it kind of refreshing. Probably wouldn’t listen again but I liked it more than I thought I might. The Last of the True Believers and Fly By Night were the bright spots here for me.

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

5/5

Timeless and essential. Simone’s voice is so powerful even down through the years and over a recording - anytime I listen to this album I think how incredibly spellbinding it must have been to hear her live. Easy easy five stars.

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

2/5

Listen I’m tired of Bob Dylan, it is what it is.

Copper Blue

Sugar

2/5

Axis: Bold As Love

Jimi Hendrix

4/5

The Specials

3/5

Loved the prominent basslines & the horns

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

2/5

Dire Straits

2/5

Guitars were the best part. The rest, not really for me - particularly the speak singing.

The Stranger

Billy Joel

3/5

Can’t help but love some solid pop piano. What’s good here is really good (Movin Out, Vienna). Other parts get overly schmaltzy, but overall an enjoyable classic nostalgic record.

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

4/5

Love the sound - relaxed and fun to listen to.

Oxygène

Jean-Michel Jarre

2/5

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

Can understand why this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but idk, there’s something charming about this record for me. It has heart. Geno has “come on Eileen” vibes, and I enjoyed the horns etc throughout. Listening to this made me want to go to a show, I bet this was a lot of fun live.

Hot Buttered Soul

Isaac Hayes

5/5

Listened to this while cooking on a weekend - it was so so lovely. Might buy this album. People complain about the length but I loved how each song just kept building and building.

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

3/5

The Bones Of What You Believe

CHVRCHES

4/5

Franz Ferdinand

3/5

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

3/5

Not a country fan generally but I like the energy of these live prison albums

Sound Affects

The Jam

4/5

Stood out a bit from the typical “British band from the 70-80s I’ve never heard of”. Highlights for me were Monday and That’s Entertainment, but would happily listen to the whole album again.

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

3/5

I feel like I *almost* really like this. A lot to love but then something just doesn’t quite gel. Asylum and Crime of the Century were my favorite tracks. Knocked from four to three because it was also annoying to listen to - the quiet parts were too quiet and the loud sections were so loud. I was constantly fiddling with the volume the whole way through.

Out Of The Blue

Electric Light Orchestra

2/5

This was a weird one - every song comes out swinging with a unique and different and cool opening. I’m intrigued and primed to like what’s coming. But then as soon and the vocals kick in it devolves into like, idk, The Beach Boys? Super bland and boring falsetto vocals. And then even the instrumentation which was cool a minute ago is now super boring and basic. Idk this baffles me and I didn’t like it.

Live At The Regal

B.B. King

5/5

Could listen to the is all day. Love that it’s a live album, you can feel how thrilled the crowd is to be there.

Two Dancers

Wild Beasts

4/5

The androgynous vocals really worked well for me. I liked this less for particular standout songs and more for the feel of the album overall. Some of the lyrics are a little pretentious/odd, but they meld into the music well enough that I didn’t find it distracting.

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

4/5

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

2/5

Generic background music. Kind of cozy, nostalgic-ish but not something I’d remember or return to.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

3/5

What I like I like a lot, but the rest is hard.

1999

Prince

5/5

💜💜💜💜💜

Lam Toro

Baaba Maal

3/5

Engaging and interesting in lots of places; unfortunately kind of synth heavy and like, smoothed out & Disney-fied(?) in others. Favorite tracks were Daande Lenol and Sy Sawande, which I would happily revisit. The rest of the album, probably not, though I’m glad to have heard it.

Morrison Hotel

The Doors

2/5

I’m going to assume these guys have other better more compelling records than this one? Which was like, fine.

At Fillmore East

The Allman Brothers Band

3/5

This project has taught me that I love a live album.

Vol. 4

Black Sabbath

4/5

Totally captivated by the multipart opener and closer, as well as Supernaut and the instrumental Laguna Sunrise. This was my intro to actually listening to Black Sabbath - I really really liked it.

Heroes

David Bowie

4/5

The Wildest!

Louis Prima

2/5

Exit Planet Dust

The Chemical Brothers

2/5

Fine? Not my thing

From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley

2/5

Bossanova

Pixies

3/5

Clube Da Esquina

Milton Nascimento

4/5

Never would have found this but really liked it - particularly track 8

Warehouse: Songs And Stories

Hüsker Dü

2/5

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

4/5

Should really have cut Indian Summer and Rotten Peaches out. Oh well. Great album if you know which tracks to skip.

The Band

2/5

Melody A.M.

Röyksopp

3/5

Soothing electronica I guess

Like A Prayer

Madonna

4/5

Like a Prayer is a perfect pop song. The rest of the album is also solid.

A Night At The Opera

Queen

4/5

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/5

Honestly loved this. So fun, good range and depth. Can’t believe I’d missed it!

John Prine

3/5

Not my thing at all but I can understand why others might love it.

Dry

PJ Harvey

5/5

What an awesome surprise. This was fantastic

Skylarking

XTC

3/5

They kind of sound like the Beatles, but also kind of sound like little kids music? Cutesy for my taste, but still fun to listen to. Doubt I’ll come back to it, although I did like “Dear God”.

Transformer

Lou Reed

4/5

This was a fun ride all the way through. Perfect Day and I’m So Free were the best tracks.

Bluesbreakers

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

2/5

No thanks

Supa Dupa Fly

Missy Elliott

4/5

The Velvet Underground

4/5

Quite liked it with a couple exceptions (Jesus). What goes on probably the favorite.

Blackstar

David Bowie

5/5

Haunting and beautiful and just as interesting as you’d expect from Bowie. I somehow hadn’t heard this before but really really loved it. The end of life as performance art. Everything about this was incredible.

Bummed

Happy Mondays

2/5

Vaguely eighties general mishmash with nothing really standing out - not my thing.

Pyromania

Def Leppard

2/5

The first song is actually terrible, didn’t hate photograph. The rest kind of felt like a parody? Maybe it just reminded me of Spinal Tap.

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

2/5

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Richard Thompson

4/5

Never never never would have listened to this without this project- it was wonderful. Really moving in many places; it makes me want to grab a guitar and jam along. I’d love to hear some modern covers honestly. The low point for me was “Does He Have A Friend For Me”. Otherwise an unexpected really good album.

Fleet Foxes

3/5

Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield

2/5

Dust

Screaming Trees

3/5

Just kind of sounds like generic 90s “teen”

Now I Got Worry

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

1/5

No

Moondance

Van Morrison

3/5

Django Django

3/5

Solid Air

John Martyn

5/5

Surprise five stars. Had no idea what this would be - it was eclectic, interesting experimental…acoustic folk? It sounded much more modern than it is as well. Great chill record in the background or for a close listen. Loved it.

Harvest

Neil Young

3/5

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse

3/5

Scissor Sisters

5/5

Fucking loved everything about this. So so gay, so glam, so fun, so eclectic. I don’t know how to help the lost and confused and presumably straight people leaving 1s and 2s and honestly I feel a little sorry for them. This is an absolute unserious masterpiece.

Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby

Girls Against Boys

2/5

Smash

The Offspring

1/5

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

5/5

Abraxas

Santana

4/5

Great guitars, fun listen.

In Rainbows

Radiohead

4/5

Just like I remember it.

The Hour Of Bewilderbeast

Badly Drawn Boy

4/5

It’s 2001. Cold, drizzly, early morning grey. I board the bus, on my way to middle school. CD player out, headphones on, hoodie up. Knees against the seat back, head against the window. This sounds very specifically like that to me.

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

3/5

Deep Purple In Rock

Deep Purple

4/5

Surprised to like this a lot

Ramones

2/5

Low-Life

New Order

4/5

Some really great tracks on this! - Love Vigilantes - Sunrise - Elegia - Sub-Culture - Face Up

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

1/5

Third

Portishead

3/5

Strange but mostly alright. Best track was “the rip”. Had to skip through “machine gun” because it was actually painful to listen to, but otherwise different, unexpected, okay.

Another Music In A Different Kitchen

Buzzcocks

2/5

Peter Gabriel

3/5

No way of knowing what was coming from one song to the next - kind of like he was just throwing really different things at the wall, most of which didn’t work for me. Solsbury Hill and especially Here Comes the Flood were great tracks.

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

3/5

Jack Takes the Floor

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

2/5

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

4/5

Superfly

Curtis Mayfield

4/5

This was great! Fun and funky - more than holds its own as a concept album without the movie (which I know nothing about). Standouts for me were Little Child Runnin Wild, Pusherman, Freddie’s Dead, and Superfly. That said, the instrumental tracks are also amazing, definitely not to be skipped.

Dare!

The Human League

4/5

Very 80s. Very very 80s. When I was able to put that aside, though there’s some really really solid pop songs on this record. Bumped from 3 to 4 by imagining like lady Gaga or someone like that doing modern, better produced covers - I think they would slap.

That's The Way Of The World

Earth, Wind & Fire

3/5

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

4/5

I liked this when it came out and it still holds up and sounds good (if very obviously if it’s time). Love how simultaneously grandiose and intimate the songs feel on this album. Some great tracks: Keep The Car Running, Intervention, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues), No Cars Go, My Body Is A Cage. Was never a rabid Arcade Fire fan like others I knew at the time, but there’s a lot to like here.

Get Behind Me Satan

The White Stripes

1/5

The one nice thing I can say about Jack White is that he’s a good guitar player. Unfortunately on this album he chose to play the marimba instead. Blue Orchid was a decent track, otherwise there’s nothing here for me.

Nowhere

Ride

4/5

Unexpectedly really liked this. The vocals were a pleasant surprise, and the whole album just kind of carried me through. What a vibe.

Beauty And The Beat

The Go-Go's

4/5

This Year's Model

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

2/5

Horses

Patti Smith

5/5

Wow! This blew me away. Truly glad I did hear this before I died.

Justified

Justin Timberlake

2/5

Alright so this album has one actually perfect song (Cry Me A River, obviously) and Pharrell sure knows what he’s doing. Otherwise it’s probably the worst era of Justin Timberlake and feels kind of shallow and slick.

m b v

My Bloody Valentine

4/5

I guess I’ve learned that I really like whatever this style is. The fuzzy noise is immersive and enveloping. It’s rich and textured and layered but it also washes right over you. Listened to this album for the first time driving to work in the cold while the sun slowly came up - it was beautiful.

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

4/5

Sex Packets

Digital Underground

3/5

Ragged Glory

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

1/5

Station To Station

David Bowie

4/5

Sincere

Mj Cole

2/5

Snivilisation

Orbital

3/5

Techno isn’t really my thing, but even so I could tell there was some interesting stuff happening here.

White Light / White Heat

The Velvet Underground

3/5

Noisy and feral. Experimental and transgressive. Very strange and almost anti-commercial; doesn’t care.

Dummy

Portishead

3/5

Trippy and dreamlike. Would listen again.

Let It Be

The Replacements

4/5

Bert Jansch

3/5

Aladdin Sane

David Bowie

4/5

Don't Stand Me Down

Dexys Midnight Runners

3/5

More Specials

The Specials

2/5

Superunknown

Soundgarden

3/5

If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian

4/5

System Of A Down

2/5

Illmatic

Nas

4/5

Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star

3/5

The Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks

2/5

Brothers

The Black Keys

3/5

Synchronicity

The Police

3/5

Violent Femmes

3/5

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

2/5

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Fatboy Slim

2/5

Killing Joke

2/5

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

5/5

Incredible live blues!

Roger the Engineer

The Yardbirds

4/5

This was a fun listen. Sounds like the 60s but the production is really nice and sounds much more modern. Guitar playing is the highlight here by a long shot - it’s Jeff Beck and he’s excellent throughout.

Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake

5/5

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

If I Should Fall From Grace With God

The Pogues

4/5

The Rolling Stones

2/5

Reggatta De Blanc

The Police

2/5

Kick Out The Jams (Live)

MC5

3/5

I like a live album. Cool and crazy that this one is also a debut! This band is a mess do sure, but I’m gathering that’s the point, and it’s part of their charm?

Highway to Hell

AC/DC

3/5

Destroyer

KISS

1/5

Tellin’ Stories

The Charlatans

4/5

Maybe this just hit me on exactly the right day, but it really really grew on me as I listened through. Great soundtrack for driving around on a sunny crips fall afternoon.

Achtung Baby

U2

3/5

Low expectations going in because I already know I don’t like “One” or especially “Mysterious Ways”, which were the only two songs on this album I recognized. But I didn’t hate listening to it, alright? I genuinely liked “Acrobat” and “The Fly”, and the thing as a whole was a good ride.

Goodbye And Hello

Tim Buckley

3/5

A rollercoaster. I almost quit at Carnival Song, but then Pleasant Street came out of nowhere and was incredible. Worth a listen for that song and “Once I Was”

Cafe Bleu

The Style Council

1/5

Fuzzy

Grant Lee Buffalo

4/5

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

2/5

Jazz Samba

Stan Getz

3/5

The Stone Roses

4/5

The Holy Bible

Manic Street Preachers

2/5

Dig Your Own Hole

The Chemical Brothers

3/5

Frank

Amy Winehouse

5/5

Always loved this; always will

Dookie

Green Day

4/5

With The Beatles

Beatles

2/5

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco

4/5

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

3/5

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

5/5

There's A Riot Goin' On

Sly & The Family Stone

4/5

Joan Armatrading

5/5

Can’t believe I’d never heard of her!!

Deja Vu

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

2/5

All Hope Is Gone

Slipknot

2/5

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse

Faces

1/5

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

2/5

I thought we were going somewhere cool from the first track but most of the rest just kind of dragged along…

Real Life

Magazine

4/5

This is the kind of experience I’m hoping for every time I get a new album. Completely new to me, never would have stumbled upon it myself, kind of weird, totally enjoyable.

The College Dropout

Kanye West

5/5

Too bad I can never just listen to this album again. It’s fantastic.

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

4/5

Legalize It

Peter Tosh

2/5

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Eurythmics

4/5

Surfer Rosa

Pixies

3/5

25

Adele

4/5

The Man Who

Travis

3/5

I probably could have died without hearing this, but it was alright *shrug*

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

3/5

Safe As Milk

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

2/5

At Budokan

Cheap Trick

2/5

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

2/5

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

5/5

This has been on my desert island list since the first time I heard it. RIP Amy 💔

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned

Liars

3/5

Noisy and jarring, but if you relax into it the album starts to carry you along just fine. I’m not gonna just throw this on again for fun anytime soon, but when I sat back and let it do its thing it was a cool experience.

The Coral

4/5

Eclectic and odd but fun. I liked it; would play it again.

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

5/5

Janelle Monae is a true artistic genius and we do not deserve her. Can I give six.

...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears

2/5

Caetano Veloso

3/5

Space Ritual

Hawkwind

3/5

Psychedelic and weird in a trippy 70s way…I surprised myself towards the beginning by liking it, but unfortunately as it went on, turns out I didn’t live-double-album like it. Usually for me the energy of a live album increases the appeal but here I think it was too long and stretched out - maybe I’d like their studio albums more, idk. Thought it would be an easy 4 but it lost enough steam for me to go back to a 3.

Black Monk Time

The Monks

2/5

OK Computer

Radiohead

5/5

I wish people would be less annoying about Radiohead but damned if they aren’t actually really great. I think this is my favorite of their albums, and I’ve always particularly loved Exist Music (for a Film).

Triangle

The Beau Brummels

2/5

Kala

M.I.A.

5/5

Tough to be objective here - I think this album actually rewired my brain when I first heard it back in the day, just totally exploded my horizon for what music could be. AND it has Paper Planes, arguably one of the best tracks released during this millennial’s lifetime. Pretty sure it would still be 5 stars regardless though.

Rejoicing In The Hands

Devendra Banhart

3/5

A few good spots, a couple really annoying tracks (Poughkeepsie, This Bears Is For Siobhan…), but overall fine.

Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin

5/5

Glorious, iconic. A regular album that plays like a best-of. It’s a classic for a reason and I’ll listen to Aretha any day. Obviously she’s one of the strongest vocalists in history, and doesn’t disappoint here - but the instrumentals on this album were also really great!

Pieces Of The Sky

Emmylou Harris

3/5

Didn’t hate it, country is hard for me but I can see how someone could really like this.

good kid, m.A.A.d city

Kendrick Lamar

5/5

Even this early Kendrick is incredible. Whether you want to just ride along on top and enjoy the music or dive deep into the lyrics and the themes, he doesn’t disappoint. Loved this from day one.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

2/5

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Genesis

2/5

Found this weirdly hard to focus on; my mind kept drifting away.

Heaven Or Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins

5/5

Had absolutely no concept of what this was going to be - but it was fantastic! Want to crawl into a nice warm bath and listen to this on repeat. Relaxing and heartfelt atmospheric pop. Loved it, will definitely listen again.

Born To Be With You

Dion

1/5

Really dragged - not for me at all

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

4/5

Delightful

Let's Get It On

Marvin Gaye

5/5

Classic for a reason

Eli And The Thirteenth Confession

Laura Nyro

3/5

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

C'est Chic

CHIC

1/5

The Sensual World

Kate Bush

4/5

The New Tango

Astor Piazzolla

4/5

Pleasantly surprised; had no expectations here. Would put this on in the background if I wanted something interesting, lovely, unique but not distracting.

Opus Dei

Laibach

2/5

War

U2

2/5

Music for the Masses

Depeche Mode

2/5

B-52's

The B-52's

3/5

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Devo

3/5

Bad

Michael Jackson

3/5

Stand!

Sly & The Family Stone

3/5

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie

5/5

Throwing Muses

5/5

A Date With The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers

1/5

Selling England By The Pound

Genesis

3/5

Sunshine Hit Me

The Bees

3/5

Surprised again by one I’d never heard of. Summery and gentle - great for a sunny chill day outside.

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

4/5

The Score

Fugees

4/5

Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)

Loretta Lynn

3/5

Mask

Bauhaus

2/5

The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow

4/5

Really liked this! Especially One Day Like This

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco

4/5

Want Two

Rufus Wainwright

4/5

Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches

Happy Mondays

4/5

I think I’m not British enough to really get this album but man was it a good time. Fun, dancy, smart and musically very solid but not self-serious at all. Loved it.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys

4/5

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

4/5

Nixon

Lambchop

3/5

Blue

Joni Mitchell

5/5

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

Charles Mingus

4/5

Kenya

Machito

3/5

Untitled (Black Is)

SAULT

4/5

A Short Album About Love

The Divine Comedy

2/5

Vulnicura

Björk

4/5

Tidal

Fiona Apple

5/5

American Pie

Don McLean

3/5

Appetite For Destruction

Guns N' Roses

3/5

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

3/5

Tigermilk

Belle & Sebastian

4/5

Home Is Where The Music Is

Hugh Masekela

4/5

Juju

Siouxsie And The Banshees

5/5

Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)

Bob Dylan

3/5

Thriller

Michael Jackson

4/5

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

4/5

White Ladder

David Gray

2/5

The Real Thing

Faith No More

3/5

The Beach Boys Today!

The Beach Boys

1/5

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

3/5

Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons

2/5

Nevermind

Nirvana

4/5

Homework

Daft Punk

3/5

Seventh Tree

Goldfrapp

4/5

Marquee Moon

Television

5/5

Was totally unprepared for this; it was fantastic. And maybe I’m just hopelessly millennial, but if you had told me this was a 2010s record I would have believed you - sounds very ahead of it’s time to me. The guitars are great and the overall sound just coheres so well. Could listen many times in a row easily.

Cypress Hill

3/5

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

5/5

Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson

3/5

This Is Fats Domino

Fats Domino

4/5

New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)

Simple Minds

2/5

Black Sabbath

4/5

Paul Simon

3/5

Superfuzz Bigmuff

Mudhoney

4/5

Never heard of this band and still know next to nothing about them but this was noisy, grungy, and fun.

Pretzel Logic

Steely Dan

2/5

All That You Can't Leave Behind

U2

3/5

Surf's Up

The Beach Boys

2/5

Catch A Fire

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

5/5

Pink Moon

Nick Drake

5/5

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

4/5

Murder Ballads

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

2/5

Welp that sure was a whole album of Murder Ballads. Best track is the Bob Dylan cover at the end. Second best are the two duets. Idk I feel like I should have liked the campy over-the-topness of this more than I did but it couldn’t shake a feeling of self-seriousness that made it hard to actually enjoy.

Palo Congo

Sabu

2/5

Blur

2/5

Sunday At The Village Vanguard

Bill Evans Trio

3/5

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

2/5

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got