Of all days to get this album, of course I have a headache! Seriously though, this is a really cool addition to this list, even if at the end of the day I didn't really love listening to it. It's nice to get an album here to really take you out of the mainstream rock/pop world, and really challenge your ears. I could make an argument that a list like this should consist ONLY of albums in this kind of category; not well known, something you'd never hear on the radio or walking through the supermarket, really challenging the traditional notion of what "music" is. It's been years since I first was exposed to more experimental and avant-garde stuff like this, and I've since grown to truly love music with a similar approach, so this left turn doesn't come as a massive shock to me. Here is an artist I was not familiar with before, so I definitely didn't know what to expect, but I had a feeling we were going to be venturing more into the "weird" territory. Lots of metal clanging here, that's for sure! Overall a bit less musical to my ears than a lot of other avant garde kind of stuff, but I ended up enjoying it a bit more than I initially expected. If nothing else, I really do appreciate music like this that really sticks its middle finger out to the status quo/mainstream/what people expect from music, and it is truly refreshing to hear something different from this list. I wouldn't say I'm chomping at the bit to explore more or revisit, but I wouldn't be opposed to more exploration. I think overall I'd really like to give this a 2.5, but since I've gotta stick to the scale, I'm going to round down to a 2. Despite enjoying listening to it, I think its easy to say a lot of the enjoyment was just in the fact that this was something drastically different thrown at me. So it's less of a hateful 2, and more of a 'that's neat' 2...if that makes any fuckin' sense.

I'll admit that my biases are definitely not going to help me fairly review this album. I cannot stand Beyonce, her husband, or most music that requires 12 songwriters and 32 producers on each track. I guess in a way this album was a lot less annoying than I thought it would be, but I kind of feel like it has more of a mellow, laid back, and maybe even darker vibe than most of her other music. I don't really plan on listening to more to prove this, just a speculation. At the end of the day, it's just soulless pop that I really cannot stand. It just feels entirely manufactured to make money vs. being a true artistic expression. It appears that Beyonce only contributes vocals. Well this is totally fine, I just really appreciate musicians (especially those who go by their name and not a band/group name) who branch out and try other things. Look, I'm not expecting her to become a talented pianist, guitarist, whatever, but I mean can't you contribute ANYTHING other than just your vocals? Play around with some instrument and have your producers make it sound perfect in the mixing stage. Clank around on some keys, whack away at some percussion that can be put barely audible in the mix. It's your damn album with your damn name all over it, why wouldn't you want to have more of a part in it?! And how much of this songwriting is actually yours when you share credit with a dozen other people on each songs? It's just so contrived and fake to me that I cannot really truly judge this music for anything other than a product to sucker lazy and uncreative people into giving their money away. I mean, aren't Beyonce and Jay-Z practically billionaires? I picked up some line in a song about "working a 9-5"...as if these people have absolutely any clue what that's like. It's just all so fake. The stuff I found myself enjoying the most (see: not very much) just sounded like a really crappy pastiche of something Prince has already done a million times better...and likely ALL BY HIMSELF...all instruments, singing, production, songwriting, etc.. Not a million producers and co-writers. Not modern recording technology to fix every mistake. Just the polar opposite of an artist to me. In that same realm, this album is just way too horny, and if anything it's more hilarious to my ears than anything I could call sexy. Cringey, lame, and basic lyrics everywhere. Doesn't feel like there is much of an attempt to poetically weave these concepts and feelings into the music in any way, they're just all seemingly expressed point blank and as simply as they can. Make it as easy for your audience to "get it" as you can, don't require any real thought or challenge your listeners in any way. I'm really hoping there aren't many more of these kind of modern, overproduced garbage-for-the-unthinking-masses type albums on here.

One word can describe my experience listening to this album: meh. It's fine, there isn't really anything offensive about it; the songs are fine, the playing is elementary but fine, the singing is fine. I am struck by how simple the recording sounds, but on further reading it sounds like that was very much on purpose. 3 mics on the drums is pretty impressive for a more modern album, but overall the mix just sounds too thin and empty to my ears in a lot of songs, particularly in the front half of the album. I guess you could say I'm asking myself...'Is This It'? Again, I get that's the point, and it was supposed to be a modern take on more simplistic garage rock of the 60s and 70s, but it just doesn't really do much for me. I do certainly understand the impact it had on music at the time. I mean, you couldn't go anywhere for freakin' years without hearing the singles from this album, along with countless other and equally boring copycat bands. I can't really talk much shit about this album, it just doesn't really vibe with what I'm into. The Strokes are your favorite band? Cool, that's great, I probably won't roast you for it. Compared to most other pop music of the era, or even today? Yeah totally, I can get down with listening to this, no problem. But that's a pretty low bar I don't care to set. So these songs will likely only continue to be heard by me in hipster bars and other public places, where it's perfectly fine and acceptable background music that won't worsen anyone's public experience. Certainly won't enhance it much, either.

A classic! Likely the first Jethro Tull album I listened to, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite, maybe number 3 behind Thick As A Brick and Heavy Horses. I may have listened for the first time late in high school, but more likely it was early on in the college years, as that's when I was really having my 70's progressive rock awakening. I enjoy the folky influence here, but there is still a lot of great guitar riffs and of course the legendary flute playing of Ian Anderson, adding up to an unmistakably Jethro Tull sound. It's a pretty varied album overall as the sound weaves back and forth between previously mentioned textures, and overall does it with great success and plenty of replay-ability. Not quite a 5 star album for me, but a solid 4 stars, and a well deserved place as an all time classic album, particularly for 70s rock/prog rock. Also reminds me, I'm WAY overdue on a Jethro Tull deep dive! I believe I've at least covered all albums up through the 70's, but much more to listen to beyond that.

I can't say I was consciously aware of this band beforehand, but after doing a little reading I see it was fronted by Kathleen Hanna, who I am relatively familiar with. I recently did a very big grunge/Seattle scene deep dive, and touched on some of the riot grrrl bands, such as Hanna's Bikini Kill, but I can't quite remember my opinion on them, as I think I only touched on them briefly. At first I thought this was going to be a bit of a long, dragging listening session, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. KH's vocals can be a little shrill, but the varied mix of vibes on this album made it an enjoyable listening session. The band weaves from punk sensibilities to more mellow tracks, but all of it feels like it was a result of a really great period of creativity from the band. I read that they were influenced by hip-hop for this album, and it definitely shows in the numerous sample based "beats" and musical elements throughout the album. I can't say I've ever heard quite a blend of punk and samples like this before, and the result is really interesting and keeps you engaged. There are plenty of elements to shift your focus to if the vocals or more upfront elements aren't your thing. A really unique album to my ears that I'm glad I was exposed to. I'd love to give this a 3.5, but I think for the sheer reason that I really don't gravitate towards punk or this style often, I'll round it down to a 3. Either way, I'm sure I'll revisit in the future, and give another look at Kathleen Hanna's output as well.

An album I've probably listened to well over 100 times, and one which I credit with making me want to pick up the bass guitar (which eventually lead to playing guitar.) It was the first rock music I can recall where the bass guitar was just as prominent, if not more, than the guitar - really opening my eyes to how the bass guitar could elevate rock based music. I still remember getting this cd for christmas, probably around 2001/2002, and I'd guess it was one of the first 15-25 cds I ever owned. Still a great listen, but these days I might enjoy By the Way more. Back in the day Californication was easily my favorite RHCP record, and still probably ranks in my top 3.

Looking at the cover alone I would have never told you I recognized this as a classic album, showing my amateur status as a hip hop listener. I have scratched the surface of 90s hip hop, Eminem, Beastie Boys, Tribe Called Quest, and of course the rap rock of the 00s. After scoping out the track list, of course I realize what a beast of an album this is, with multiple instantly recognizable hit tracks. Certainly the first time listening to some of these songs I'm already familiar with on good speakers, which gives them much more depth than I recall. Definitely an enjoyable listen, even if it's not a sound I'd likely revisit frequently.

Another one I'm already very familiar with (who isn't??), and understandably is considered an inner circle all time great album. While it's not my favorite Beatles album, its impact on rock music going forward, and the listening experience itself can't be understated. Learning more recently how The Beach Boy's Pet Sounds album greatly influenced this album (and The Beatles Revolver was a significant influence to Pet Sounds) was really cool to read, as I'm now a very big fan of The Beach Boys. The Beatles have always been in my musical DNA thanks to my mother, and they have played a pretty large part in influencing my musical interests and explorations over the years.

My review on this one got screwed up, so going back a couple weeks after the fact to rewrite. I don't think I had actually listened to this one before, although it definitely was one I was familiar with. I listened to The Who pretty early on in my formative music years, but never really expanded out beyond Tommy and Who's Next. What stands out to me here for an album of its time, is of course the musicianship, but also the more hard edged, punk-like approach than many of their contemporaries. This is definitely the sound of a band confident in their abilities and with significant potential, which I suppose is easy to say in retrospect. Thankfully for the rest of us, they continued to hone their talents and put out fantastic music for years.

Another well known all time album I hadn't listened to before. Feels like a pretty smooth transition in some ways from The Who album yesterday, albeit 12 years later. Tracks are short, snappy, catchy, and full of swagger and attitude. I do very much appreciate this album's impact on the music world at the time, and it still holds up listening for the first time in 2025. I still don't find myself gravitating much to punk music, especially when the musicianship remains rather pedestrian on a skill level, in no disrespect to the gigantic accomplishment and impact on music this album was. Of course, I'm a band geek, so I've always gravitated towards the chops rather than the swagger of a musical performance, but I will say that ratio has leveled out a bit as time goes on. Punk rockers would probably kick my ass for saying it, but I prefer the "punk" sound more through the lens of bands like The Police and early XTC, and the punk influence on the thrash metal of the 80s.

This is the first time I've sought out music by The Band, but of course I'm familiar with the band (heh, redundant much?), namely Levon Helm. The only other band member name I recognize is Robbie Robertson, but I couldn't have told you a lick of what he was all about before the revelation of this evening that he was the principle songwriter in The Band. I've entirely avoided Bob Dylan to this point (maybe mostly on purpose, guilty as charged), so my only significant existing connection to The Band is Levon Helm's work with Neil Young, which I enjoy. This album has a really cozy feel, great songs and really convincing performances. It definitely makes sense as to why this is such a universally loved album. Whispering Pines stood out to me as a really good ballad that I hadn't heard before. I get Grateful Dead vibes from a lot of the music, a band I'm already much more familiar with. It was an enjoyable listen, and while I'll likely revisit as well as check out more from The Band, nothing earth shattering or life changing for me at the moment.

I believe I've listened to this at least once, when I did a half-hearted listen through of the first handful of Blur albums a few years back. Can't say I'm too well versed in Britpop-related music, but I do certainly enjoy the sound. Reading how XTC's Andy Partridge was initially tapped to produce really helped me see Blur in a fresh light. Listening with that connection to XTC, even though Andy ultimately did not produce this album, I think makes clear the influence from and the similar style to XTC, some songs much more than others. I'm not sure if I was an XTC superfan when I did the Blur album listens before, but it certainly is opening up my interest in revisiting more. This is probably the first album that has come up that isn't a "slam dunk", obvious all time classic album, but I certainly am not challenging its inclusion on this list, it's a great record. Providing a little kick in my arse to keep exploring Blur's catalogue, maybe sooner than later!

Really enjoyable listen, I think my recent enjoyment of power-pop type artists such as Todd Rundgren and XTC has really widened my horizons as far as revisiting artists I never cared for with surprising results. Elvis Costello is another whom I never sought out, and really didn't find myself gravitating towards the sound whenever I did hear anything of his. This is a really solid album and I definitely feel like I "get it" a lot more than before. Good, hooky songs, slight bit of a punk attitude with driving instruments, and certainly not cookie cutter pop sensibilities. Will have to explore his catalog further!

Super cool to see this one early on in this journey, and I'm really glad and almost a bit surprised it was included on this list. I feel like it is one of the more underrated albums of Neil's classic era, but it is easily my favorite of his, and absolutely deserving of the recognition. The songs and album flow are very strong and overall it has a very relaxed, late night kind of vibe to it. Reading about the album certainly supports this, as Neil has frequently mentioned the influence of "honey slides" on the sound...a marijuana and honey treat the band was constantly consuming during the recording, which certainly helped bring a more mellowed out and hazy sound. My favorite track is probably between "On The Beach" and "Ambulance Blues", but I feel like I could almost make the argument for any of the tracks to be a favorite. Just a wonderful album for which my love grows on each and every listen.

A classic! Likely the first Jethro Tull album I listened to, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite, maybe number 3 behind Thick As A Brick and Heavy Horses. I may have listened for the first time late in high school, but more likely it was early on in the college years, as that's when I was really having my 70's progressive rock awakening. I enjoy the folky influence here, but there is still a lot of great guitar riffs and of course the legendary flute playing of Ian Anderson, adding up to an unmistakably Jethro Tull sound. It's a pretty varied album overall as the sound weaves back and forth between previously mentioned textures, and overall does it with great success and plenty of replay-ability. Not quite a 5 star album for me, but a solid 4 stars, and a well deserved place as an all time classic album, particularly for 70s rock/prog rock. Also reminds me, I'm WAY overdue on a Jethro Tull deep dive! I believe I've at least covered all albums up through the 70's, but much more to listen to beyond that.

Something a bit different, finally! I'm sure I subconsciously heard this album often when I was younger, since I'm sure my sisters played it a lot, and of course the very popular singles you would hear everywhere for years. I've definitely come to really appreciate and enjoy the 90s r&b sound, and I think I've probably even listened to this album once or twice on my own in my adult years given its significance. Now that I'm a big Prince fan, I realize that "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is actually a Prince cover, which is pretty sweet! Great song. "Creep" is an ear worm that I've definitely enjoyed hearing over the years, and of course "Waterfalls" is a classic. And now I realize that it was strongly influenced by a Paul McCartney song on his II album, pretty neat! While I don't seek out this style of music all that often, I will never complain when it's on. So much more interesting to my ears than most pop/r&b type stuff on the radio these days; as the years go on looking back on the 90's gets better and better, especially in comparison to today! It's refreshing to hear music of this style not entirely overproduced and over-processed.

Man, I haven't listened to this album in maybe 15+ years, which is pretty crazy to think about. I'm not sure if Tommy or Who's Next was the first album by The Who I heard, but I did buy this on CD, probably sometime in high school. It was likely one of if not the first concept album I had heard. I definitely did enjoy it and gave it frequent listens, although maybe not quite as much as Who's Next. Not long after I started college I moved on from most of the "classic rock" type stuff I dabbled in, and have hardly looked back on The Who since, as I talked about when reviewing their debut. Still a great listen, and kind of wild to think how I almost completely abandoned this band, not because I didn't like them anymore, but more because I was just overwhelmed with other new stuff that I considered more interesting, or at least different/newer/more exciting. As I said before, I definitely am overdue on a deep dive of The Who. This is yet another understandably classic album, and I definitely enjoyed hearing it again after all these years. While I credit Bowie's Ziggy Stardust with first opening the door to progressive rock concept type stuff for me, this album may have actually preceded Ziggy back in my formative listening years, and it is far more "progressive". Honestly, a bit of a mystery as to why I basically abandoned listening to The Who so many years ago.

One word can describe my experience listening to this album: meh. It's fine, there isn't really anything offensive about it; the songs are fine, the playing is elementary but fine, the singing is fine. I am struck by how simple the recording sounds, but on further reading it sounds like that was very much on purpose. 3 mics on the drums is pretty impressive for a more modern album, but overall the mix just sounds too thin and empty to my ears in a lot of songs, particularly in the front half of the album. I guess you could say I'm asking myself...'Is This It'? Again, I get that's the point, and it was supposed to be a modern take on more simplistic garage rock of the 60s and 70s, but it just doesn't really do much for me. I do certainly understand the impact it had on music at the time. I mean, you couldn't go anywhere for freakin' years without hearing the singles from this album, along with countless other and equally boring copycat bands. I can't really talk much shit about this album, it just doesn't really vibe with what I'm into. The Strokes are your favorite band? Cool, that's great, I probably won't roast you for it. Compared to most other pop music of the era, or even today? Yeah totally, I can get down with listening to this, no problem. But that's a pretty low bar I don't care to set. So these songs will likely only continue to be heard by me in hipster bars and other public places, where it's perfectly fine and acceptable background music that won't worsen anyone's public experience. Certainly won't enhance it much, either.

Early on in my music discovery I got my hands on the complete Led Zeppelin box set, containing every studio album. I think I got a wicked deal from Columbia House or another 'buy 1 CD get 10 free' type mail order company, which was a godsend to help build my early collection. In a way, getting the box set was kind of a preview of what was to come with streaming; getting instant access to an entire band's discography. I got real cozy with these CDs in my high school years, and grateful for the early exposure to the entirety of their studio output. They were never my favorite band, or really even that close to it, but those albums certainly influenced me quite a bit at the time. On Physical Graffiti, I think I was more impressed with many of the individual songs rather than the album as a whole, compared to other Zep records. It is a great album, no doubt, but sort of lacks cohesion because of the addition of so many outtakes from years prior. The second half does lag behind the first as well, so it's really not a great double album when it comes down to it, despite having some really strong songs, and overall being an enjoyable listen. Besides the brilliance of "Kashmir", the songs that I gravitated towards the most were "Trampled Under Foot" and "Ten Years Gone". I'm sure my actual favorite Zep albums will eventually appear on this list (Houses of the Holy, IV, I), or at least they certainly would belong. I don't have a problem with the inclusion of Physical Graffiti on this list, because it is still a very solid and of course influential album, but it just doesn't feel like as much of an "all timer" like the others I mentioned.

Well, after a lifetime of avoiding seeking out Bob Dylan music to listen to, here we are. And of course they throw me a double album to start! Look, I get it, Dylan is a legend and massively influential. I know there is a reason, and he's not a completely talent-less hack. But lets be real; to my (and many others') ears, his voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Same can be said for his harmonica playing. My understanding is that his biggest strength is in his lyric writing, which may explain part of why I've never really understood the appeal, as a self described "lyrics last" kind of listener myself. I did not consciously follow along to the lyrics while listening, and while I understand that it might not be the best way to try to understand Bob Dylan...again, I don't listen to music primarily for the lyrics, I listen for the MUSIC, including vocal melodies over lyrics in a lot of cases. Well, another strike on Dylan for my ears, because whatever melodies he may be singing are just far buried under his absolutely awful, effectively tuneless, and distracting voice. Look, I listen to plenty of singers who aren't traditionally good, but there just really aren't any redeeming qualities to his voice that make me want to hear it. And then comes the music. The entirety of the instrumental playing on this album just feels so far in the background because Dylan just never. shuts. up. And again, I get it, its the style! But just really, really not for me. Any break he gives us from his nasally croaking usually is accompanied by some shrill and almost equally annoying harmonica playing. I forget the song, but early on in the album he holds out a single, shrill and obnoxious note for like 15 seconds, but it felt like a god damn eternity to me. I was literally yelling at my speakers "Fuckin' get on with it!!! Christ!!!" I just didn't find much of anything of interest in the instrumentals backing him to redeem my severe distaste for his vocals, but its clear that they're just support characters for his words. If I were to review this album for the public, I might be more kind or reasonable, once again fully understanding his significant impact and influence. But since this is just for me...sorry Bob, to the 1 star pile you go. I'm sure we'll meet again here, and I'll do my best to give you another shot, but I'm not really holding my breath about coming away any differently than here.

I'm going to take this as a reward from the universe for tolerating the entirety of the last album I got here, a damn double album from Bob Dylan. Here I am rewarded with a fantastic double album from Can to cleanse the palette! This might be my favorite Can album, or at least probably is the one I've listened to the most. Of course with Can, you get drumming far ahead of its time and the the frequent mantra-like repetition of Damo's vocals, in front of driving and upbeat instrumental parts, all very much welcomed and enjoyed by me. Lots of cool experimentation on this one as well, and I find myself sort of in a trance when getting into albums like this. Maybe it helps that the more experimental portions of the album come after you're able to get cozy with more structured songs, but I don't think even the weirdest parts ever really turned me off. I do understand how someone who doesn't ever listen to experimental or avant garde would be really turned off by a chunk of this album, but thankfully that isn't me! Really I'd probably call this a 4.5 star album, but I think I'm okay with rounding up and calling it a 5 star. There are a couple other Can albums I think are worthy of inclusion on this list, so here is to hoping they pop up sometime later on!

I'll be honest, I thought I might get into this one more than I actually did. Other than the 3 singles that were everywhere back in my college years, I don't think I had heard anything else off of this album. I suppose I never hated the singles, but in part due to their popularity, and definitely not really being my kind of "sound" at the time, I guess you could say I didn't really like MGMT. I feel like I've heard some random songs of theirs pop up on streaming radio here and there since then, and was actually kind of impressed that I was into them. Again, I think any dislike I had for them was more of me being a contrarian than actually giving them an actual shot. Now, what I do enjoy is hearing the old school keyboards and electronic influence, but what I don't really enjoy is the songs themselves. Nothing really stood out to me while listening, and I guess part of me was expecting more of an outright synth-y assault compared to what I got. I guess its hard to truly judge since I've heard them a million times, but it does seem the band (or more likely the label) got it right with the singles they chose, they do seem to be the strongest songs here. I bet if I gave the album a handful more listens I could probably find some other stuff to enjoy, but overall not much to grab me on a first listen. Much like The Strokes album I reviewed recently, there also wasn't much offensive to my ears to really turn off from the sound. So we'll just throw this album in the pile of "hipster-haunt background music that I don't mind."

Another first time listen after hearing bits and pieces from Love over the years. I do enjoy this era of music for sure, but to be honest there wasn't a ton here to really grab me and leave an impact. I figured there would be a bit more psychedelic influence, but instead I'd say the album is a varied mix of mid-60's garage/psyche rock with a tinge of exotica influence/vibe. The biggest standout to me was the singer's voice, which is very strong, but at times almost feels out of place for the era, for a reason I can't quite put my finger on. I listened to a few other Love albums after this one, and while I feel like there was more on other albums that grabbed me, overall I'm not a huge fan of the sound, and definitely prefer more full blown psyche acts of the era. The B-side of Da Capo was a bit long and plodding, without too much excitement to justify its length, which definitely isn't helping my opinion of this album. I'm sure I'll revisit this band and album, but there are plenty of other acts from mid-late 60's who interest me a lot more than Love has thus far.

Ah, The Kinks! Another band I'm way overdue on a deep dive, and can't say I recall ever listening to any of their albums front to back. Seems like a good place to start, I definitely enjoyed this. A nice, varied, and very british album. It felt like it kind of ended quickly, so I will definitely have to go back and take my time for this album to be absorbed. I did also listen to the two preceding albums after finishing this one, and overall I really think I'm going to enjoy digging deeper into The Kinks' catalog, and I'm especially curious now about how their sound evolved on the albums after this one. I know they have a shitload of albums to check out!

I can't say I was consciously aware of this band beforehand, but after doing a little reading I see it was fronted by Kathleen Hanna, who I am relatively familiar with. I recently did a very big grunge/Seattle scene deep dive, and touched on some of the riot grrrl bands, such as Hanna's Bikini Kill, but I can't quite remember my opinion on them, as I think I only touched on them briefly. At first I thought this was going to be a bit of a long, dragging listening session, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. KH's vocals can be a little shrill, but the varied mix of vibes on this album made it an enjoyable listening session. The band weaves from punk sensibilities to more mellow tracks, but all of it feels like it was a result of a really great period of creativity from the band. I read that they were influenced by hip-hop for this album, and it definitely shows in the numerous sample based "beats" and musical elements throughout the album. I can't say I've ever heard quite a blend of punk and samples like this before, and the result is really interesting and keeps you engaged. There are plenty of elements to shift your focus to if the vocals or more upfront elements aren't your thing. A really unique album to my ears that I'm glad I was exposed to. I'd love to give this a 3.5, but I think for the sheer reason that I really don't gravitate towards punk or this style often, I'll round it down to a 3. Either way, I'm sure I'll revisit in the future, and give another look at Kathleen Hanna's output as well.

It's been a while, but I'm sure I've listened to this one once or twice. I've always enjoyed some stuff by Oasis, but never really had anything click when going through their first few albums, and find myself enjoying the singles the most. I will admit I haven't given their early albums more than 3-4 listens, but again, just didn't really have much to really grab me, and the same can be said for this album. I suppose the Gallagher brothers' reputation of being hall of fame douchebags probably hasn't inspired much more digging into their music by me, for what it's worth. The music is fine and totally tolerable, but as far as the "britpop" sound, I'm much more likely to gravitate towards the early Radiohead albums first and foremost amongst others. It is interesting to make note of this music being released towards the end of Seattle's grunge influence, and it couldn't be further from the Seattle sound. Of course this is a very influential album maybe in part due to this contrast, and I wonder if it would have made the same waves if released a few years earlier, before people started to get a bit tired of the grunge sound. While listening this time around I was kind of struck by the album's dull production; even listening to the most modern remaster it's just not a good sounding record. It is interesting because it sounds like they tried to record with a couple producers they weren't happy with, describing the sound of the first attempt as thin and lacking life. Either the Gallagher brothers were full of their usual brand of bullshit, or that session sounded REALLY bad.

So it turns out that Mama Cass didn't actually choke to death on a ham sandwich, but what is certain is that John Phillips is an absolute monster. I suppose leading with that isn't really fair for a review that's supposed to be about the music, but it's hard not to think about how the main songwriter of the group is such a colossal waste of oxygen...so like it or not, it's going to inform my opinion here for better or worse. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, onto the music. California Dreamin' is a fantastic song, no doubt, but beyond that (and maybe Monday Monday, but we're mainly going on recognition here) there wasn't much else that stood out to me as being on nearly that same level. Overall, the sound really isn't my thing...I can appreciate the faux hippie vibes as much as the next guy, but most of these arrangements are just far too syrupy for me. The harmonies are great, of course, but some of the excessive arrangements actually seem to take attention away from their vocal talents, which should absolutely be a constant focus. Maybe its being informed by my understanding about how a lot of the hippie movement was kind of a facade, but I get a kind of "manufactured" vibe from a lot of the music, and I don't hear much all that much genuine conviction in the performances. Or, maybe it's the knowledge of John Phillips being a piece of shit that gives me that impression. Either way, another album who's impact I certainly understand, but the music for the most part just doesn't do it for me.

Now we're getting a bit farther off the beaten path! This was a great listen, and very much welcome to mix up things a bit around here from mostly predictable (but understandable!) selections so far. The artist name didn't ring a bell for me, but after listening, I couldn't shake the fact that his voice sounded incredibly familiar to me. As I moved on to listen to another of his albums, The Lion, I discovered it was co-produced by Peter Gabriel, which lead me to realize I've heard and seen performances of Youssou guesting with Peter Gabriel live. So there you go, I did have some light, peripheral familiarity of Youssou N'Dour after all. Anyways, this was a really fun listen, and while I am very unfamiliar with African music, I do have quite an appreciation for it. In college I took an African drumming class (twice!) which was so much fun and so different from any music classes I had ever taken. I've never really picked up on listening to African music casually, but the influence of that class was significant on my sense of rhythm. Listening here certainly brings back memories of that class, and also provides a subtle reminder for me to do a little more work to branch out into African music! This is a great start and I'm sure I'll explore his discography further before branching out. His voice is incredible and so very unique, and I can almost feel the joy of the players coming through the speakers as I listen. It was a bit more pop-centric than I was expecting, with traditional rock instruments like guitars and a drum set utilized in addition to the percussion, but no mistaking this with any western music, despite the influence. I know the synopsis of this 1001 albums list states it contains mostly music from the anglosphere (see: white as fuck), I sure hope there are more curveballs like this one coming my way! I don't think I'd call this any lower than a 3 star album for me at worst, but I'm fine bumping this up to 4 stars, in part for being unique here so far. Really though, I did seriously enjoy listening to this the first time around!

Of all days to get this album, of course I have a headache! Seriously though, this is a really cool addition to this list, even if at the end of the day I didn't really love listening to it. It's nice to get an album here to really take you out of the mainstream rock/pop world, and really challenge your ears. I could make an argument that a list like this should consist ONLY of albums in this kind of category; not well known, something you'd never hear on the radio or walking through the supermarket, really challenging the traditional notion of what "music" is. It's been years since I first was exposed to more experimental and avant-garde stuff like this, and I've since grown to truly love music with a similar approach, so this left turn doesn't come as a massive shock to me. Here is an artist I was not familiar with before, so I definitely didn't know what to expect, but I had a feeling we were going to be venturing more into the "weird" territory. Lots of metal clanging here, that's for sure! Overall a bit less musical to my ears than a lot of other avant garde kind of stuff, but I ended up enjoying it a bit more than I initially expected. If nothing else, I really do appreciate music like this that really sticks its middle finger out to the status quo/mainstream/what people expect from music, and it is truly refreshing to hear something different from this list. I wouldn't say I'm chomping at the bit to explore more or revisit, but I wouldn't be opposed to more exploration. I think overall I'd really like to give this a 2.5, but since I've gotta stick to the scale, I'm going to round down to a 2. Despite enjoying listening to it, I think its easy to say a lot of the enjoyment was just in the fact that this was something drastically different thrown at me. So it's less of a hateful 2, and more of a 'that's neat' 2...if that makes any fuckin' sense.

I'll admit that my biases are definitely not going to help me fairly review this album. I cannot stand Beyonce, her husband, or most music that requires 12 songwriters and 32 producers on each track. I guess in a way this album was a lot less annoying than I thought it would be, but I kind of feel like it has more of a mellow, laid back, and maybe even darker vibe than most of her other music. I don't really plan on listening to more to prove this, just a speculation. At the end of the day, it's just soulless pop that I really cannot stand. It just feels entirely manufactured to make money vs. being a true artistic expression. It appears that Beyonce only contributes vocals. Well this is totally fine, I just really appreciate musicians (especially those who go by their name and not a band/group name) who branch out and try other things. Look, I'm not expecting her to become a talented pianist, guitarist, whatever, but I mean can't you contribute ANYTHING other than just your vocals? Play around with some instrument and have your producers make it sound perfect in the mixing stage. Clank around on some keys, whack away at some percussion that can be put barely audible in the mix. It's your damn album with your damn name all over it, why wouldn't you want to have more of a part in it?! And how much of this songwriting is actually yours when you share credit with a dozen other people on each songs? It's just so contrived and fake to me that I cannot really truly judge this music for anything other than a product to sucker lazy and uncreative people into giving their money away. I mean, aren't Beyonce and Jay-Z practically billionaires? I picked up some line in a song about "working a 9-5"...as if these people have absolutely any clue what that's like. It's just all so fake. The stuff I found myself enjoying the most (see: not very much) just sounded like a really crappy pastiche of something Prince has already done a million times better...and likely ALL BY HIMSELF...all instruments, singing, production, songwriting, etc.. Not a million producers and co-writers. Not modern recording technology to fix every mistake. Just the polar opposite of an artist to me. In that same realm, this album is just way too horny, and if anything it's more hilarious to my ears than anything I could call sexy. Cringey, lame, and basic lyrics everywhere. Doesn't feel like there is much of an attempt to poetically weave these concepts and feelings into the music in any way, they're just all seemingly expressed point blank and as simply as they can. Make it as easy for your audience to "get it" as you can, don't require any real thought or challenge your listeners in any way. I'm really hoping there aren't many more of these kind of modern, overproduced garbage-for-the-unthinking-masses type albums on here.

Solid listen! I'd say my favorite part is Chuck D's voice, which is just super smooth and buttery to my ears. I actually hadn't realized that Public Enemy basically had only one primary MC in Chuck D, and then of course hype man Flava Flav. I had thought there were more members, but I'm probably just confusing them with some of the other hip hop groups of the era like Run DMC and N.W.A. Flava Flav definitely feels like comedic relief at times, not sure if that was the intention, or whether its just my bias based upon his presence in the pop world, and sterotypical " YEAHHHH BOIIII". I don't hate it but sometimes I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take it seriously or not. The beats consist of layers and layers of samples, they're definitely pretty dense at times, but overall fits the vibe pretty well.

Second of what I'm guessing is quite a few Zep albums on this list. Of course it's part of the classic first 4 releases, and might be my second favorite next to IV. The band seems like they're really starting to branch out from the early heavy blues sound to try out some new textures. A Megadeth cover of "Out on the Tiles" years back tuned me into how great of a song that one was, it had kind of hidden itself from me compared to tracks like "Immigrant Song", "Celebration Day", "Tangerine", etc. Definitely loses a bit of steam on the second half, but overall a really solid album from their classic early era with teases of some more variety to come in future albums.

I had been familiar with Fishbone and the things that made them stand out from other rock based bands at the time, particularly their horn section. I had always associated them with a bit of heaviness, but as it turns out that didn't really fully kick in until the album after this one. Although there is some heaviness here and there, there is also a lot more ska and other influence here than I had realized there would be. I had never consciously sought to listen to them before, I definitely enjoyed this album. I also listened to their debut, and the heavier album released after this one, The Reality of My Surroundings. Tight grooves, tighter horn section, and just some refreshingly different vibes than I'm generally used to from bands of the era. Although I think I prefer when the band has a heavier approach, i'll definitely still be revisiting and digging deeper.

Certified 90s/grunge classic! It always blew my mind that AiC only actually released 3 full length studio albums in the Layne era. Of course the EPs are sufficiently strong enough to consider alongside the LPs, though. Dirt is relatively unanimously considered their best, and I can certain respect that. This album is a front to back killer, showcasing the significant talents of this band and in particular the incredible voice of Layne Stanley, and signature vocal harmonies supported by Jerry Cantrell. Their self titled album is still my favorite of theirs, because I really appreciate how dark and gloomy it is, but there is still no shortage of those things here, either. There really is no bad song here, and some of the deeper cuts, such as "Sickman" and "Junkhead" are almost as strong as the well known and loved radio cuts. Would absolutely be an appropriate pick for a desert island grunge disc that I don't think many grunge fans would be upset being stuck with, myself included. Again, it's not my favorite AiC record, and probably not my favorite 90's album, but I would certainly not challenge anyone who wanted to put this one on top of the pedestal.

Pretty sure I had heard this one once or twice, probably back when the Straight Outta Compton movie came out. Definitely a lot harder edged than similar output from similar acts like Run DMC and Public Enemy, and I think for that reason I'm into it a bit more than those. Definitely not a big fan of a lot of early hip hop that is really sing songy and kind of goofy in comparison, so I guess it's not a suprise I'm more into an album considered to have ushered in the era of even harder edged, hardcore rap. Fuck the Police is an absolute classic and a mantra I couldn't agree more with. I can absolutely see how shocking this album would have been when it first came out, with how intense and direct some of the messaging is like. I found it interesting how Dr. Dre actually really doesn't like the album because it feels like it was rushed. Story goes they wanted something to sell out of their trunks at gigs and whatnot, so they put this album together in 3 weeks, which didn't offer as much time as Dre wanted to really polish the sound. To my ears the album doesn't sound like its rushed in that sense, and maybe the short period of time to record it was a blessing in disguise, because clearly this album blew up and is still considered one of the best hip hop albums of all time.

I've done a decent bit of jazz exploration from some of the greats, such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, etc., but I actually have yet to really spend any time with Charles Mingus. This album is a joy to listen to, there is a lot going on and it's relatively unpredictable which direction the songs will go. I do appreciate that each piece flows into the next, which gives it even more of a cohesive listening experience. I don't think I've listened to anything that touches on avant garde jazz with the size of this horn section, so it's really interesting to hear some more experimental jazz with a big band type sound. It's a great sounding album with a nice wide sound stage. Will certainly revisit along with additional exploration, but if we're being honest that was always the plan!

I believe this is the first time I've ever listened to The The. I remember on one my Telluride gigs, Brent mentioned their band name when we were talking about goofy band names, but I never went out of my way to check them out until now. I had seen a few things here and there about them in the time since I first heard their name, and what I saw (not heard) gave me an impression that they were a punk band. I suppose I might have seen "post-punk" and just forgot about the "post" part, because this is far more accessible than I was expecting. A lot more synth poppy as well. Good stuff though! There are interesting arrangements, and I like the singer's voice. "This is the Day" sounds a bit familiar to me, but it might just be that it kind of reminds me The Office theme song, with the prominent accordion and overall fun and bouncy vibe. Also, there was a percussion part in "The Twilight Hour" that sounds almost exactly like one used in Porcupine Tree's "What Happens Now?", so I wonder if Gavin (or Steven) might have been influenced, because this definitely sounds like something SW at least would be into. Overall the album is a lot more fun and upbeat than I was expecting when I thought I was about to listen to a niche punk band. A bit surprised they aren't more popular, because a lot of these songs sound like they could find their place on the radio. Pleasantly surprised with this one, and while I didn't love it, I am definitely open to listening to more of their music, and certainly wouldn't complain if someone put this album on in my presence.

Not even going to bother with this garbage from a piece of shit human being. 0 stars, next.

Another cool detour here! While I did enjoy this one, it didn't grab me in the same way that the album from Youssou N'Dour did. There was less that stood out to me, and overall the music sort of faded into the background more. Maybe it was the dated 90s keyboard sounds and instrumentation, maybe it was because his voice wasn't as unique, or maybe for some other reason. I don't recall much focus on any individual instrument, so maybe the lack of 'solos' or other features is what it was missing for me. The album certainly isn't bad, but it just didn't bring the same excitement and energy while listening as the Youssou N'Dour album did. I found it interesting that there was at least one vocal/musical part that would repeat every couple of songs, without the context to understood what was being sung, I wonder if it might be some element to create cohesion in the album, whether from a lyrical/meaning standpoint, or just simply a repeated musical motif. Happy to have listened but not much reason to come back to this, as I'm sure there is plenty of other African music that tickles my fancy more than this one.

This is the first time consciously listening to Belle & Sebastian, but I've been aware of them as indie darlings for some time. Since that kind of indie that I associated them with wasn't really my thing, I never had any reason to seek it out. What I heard was more or less what I was expecting, and I can confirm that this isn't really for me. At first his voice reminded me a little but of Colin Blunstone of The Zombies, but as the songs went on I realized I didn't like it nearly as much as I like Colin's voice. Very possibly because the songs and the music behind the voice didn't really grab me, but more realistically I just don't think I like his voice. It's not annoying, just...wimpy. Sure, it suits the music well, but again more realization why this isn't really my thing. It is definitely impressive realizing how young he was when this was recorded, and I'm pretty sure I thought they were too "new" of a band to have released an album in the 90's. At the end of the day, there just really isn't much here that makes me want to revisit. I suppose I'm a bit more interested in how the band evolved after this debut, but who knows if and when I'll ever check out their other output. Not a bad album, just not for me, so we're gonna have to go with 2 stars here.

Fuck this asshole, not listening. 0 Stars