234
Albums Rated
3.17
Average Rating
21%
Complete
855 albums remaining
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When do you listen?
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Jazz
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
22
5-Star Albums
10
1-Star Albums
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Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeless | 5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
| Larks' Tongues In Aspic | 5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
| Shaft | 5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
| Wonderful Rainbow | 4 | 2.28 | +1.72 |
| Siembra | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| Channel Orange | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| The Köln Concert | 5 | 3.39 | +1.61 |
| Aja | 5 | 3.46 | +1.54 |
| The Wildest! | 5 | 3.54 | +1.46 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Generation | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
| Led Zeppelin IV | 2 | 4.36 | -2.36 |
| Raw Power | 1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
| Vespertine | 1 | 3.16 | -2.16 |
| The Who Sell Out | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Fever Ray | 1 | 2.99 | -1.99 |
| In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida | 1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
| Psychocandy | 1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
| I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | 2 | 3.94 | -1.94 |
| Pet Sounds | 2 | 3.93 | -1.93 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 4.67 |
| Miles Davis | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| The Who | 2 | 1 |
| Björk | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (22)
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Popular Reviews
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Bluesy, country-influenced rock.... Flashy guitar passages..... Visions of Mick Jagger..... Much like all past Rolling Stones, this album was sadly doomed to a 2....
3 likes
American Music Club
2/5
I checked the wiki hoping to get some context for this album's inclusion, and what I found might be the most hilariously non-descriptive write-up I've ever read. It simply calls California: "the band's definitive statement".
....Definitive statement of what??!! Because I swear I might as well have been listening to brown noise with how little stood out.
1 likes
ZZ Top
3/5
A bit too dad rock for my tastes. Sick riffs and all, but there's really not much substance past that. Sick album cover tho
Standouts: I Need You Tonight • Legs
1 likes
The Fall
1/5
What the hell was that??? Straight garbage from beginning to end. The vocals are a drunken, mumbling mess, with "L.A." being a highlight in how annoying Mark E. Smith's singing can be. The backing instrumentations aren't much better - at their best they're basic and repetitive; at their worst they're competing with the vocals in being as annoying as possible (the harmonica on Couldn't Get Ahead somehow wins that one). I didn't pay attention to the lyrics, muffled and slurred as they were, but I don't think I'm missing much if Spoilt Victorian Child is anything to go by.
Dogshit. Just pure, concentrated booty.
1 likes
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
A surprisingly strong example of politically conscious rap. It does dip into #im14andthisisdeep territory now and then, but I suppose his heart is in it, and it's a rawness and honesty that I can respect - if nothing else, at least the pen game behind it all is consistently impressive.
The album does also benefit from great production, not just from the excellent jazzy beats, but also its storytelling through the use of samples. On that note, my personal highlight on this album is the intermission track INS Greencard A-19 cleverly evoking some of the alienation and red tape immigrants face through sound design alone. Sad to say that the hysteria on illegal immigration has only gotten worse since.
Overall it's far from perfect, but I think it treads ground that not many hiphop albums do, and I think that does deserve some recognition.
Standouts: Satanic Reverses • Language Of Violence • INS Greencard A-19 191 500 • Music and Politics
1 likes
4-Star Albums (68)
1-Star Albums (10)
All Ratings
The Beach Boys
2/5
FIRST LISTEN - Vocals really didn't gel with me, and they stopped me from appreciating the instrumentals. Might have to listen again just for that.
Standout tracks were LETS GO AWAY FOR A WHILE and PET SOUNDS, precisely because there were no vocals. These reminded me a lot of Masayoshi Takanaka, in that tropical summer dreamy vibe. Other than that, kinda meh for me. 2/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Classic
My least listened to album of his from that era
The synths are on point on this one
Liberian Girl is still a standout to me
Louis Prima
5/5
Louis Prima somehow has a different style for each song, from a call-and-response big band track in The Lip, to some slower but still fully jazzy tracks like Body and Soul.
This came out of left field as a type of music I rarely explore, but it absolutely delivered.
This album is so much fun, and on top of that the musicians behind it are GOOD.
Giving this 5 ⭐ because of the listening experience
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Nutty guitar all the way through
Wish I could dive deeper into some lyrics
Petit Metier stood out in particular
Björk
2/5
The vocals constantly distract from some legitimately banger arrangements 💀
-Standouts-
Venus as a Boy was genuinely pretty, reminded me of a Little Dragon song
Come to Me: the instrumental really shines here. Felt almost nostalgic for some reason
2⭐ only because these two songs did make me go back a few times. The rest of the album was a hard listen tho
Steely Dan
5/5
Good fuckin album
The bassline on Josie is 🤌✨
Very strong 4⭐ - nothing life changing, just some banger music
EDIT
3 days later and just about every song is on loop in my head. This is more than a banger
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Listened to it while cooking and had a fun time.
Once my food was done, I still had 1h30 left. At that point I tapped out, it was too much of the same.
To me then this album is great in adding a classy, old-school soundtrack to life. But as front to back, critical listening deal? I couldn't even do it for the challenge.
In the end though, my carne adobada came out delicious as fuck, and maybe I have Ella to thank for that.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
👋 Jazz 👋
This whole album feels heavy in experimentation - no minute goes by without a total switchup in the song structure. Maybe this is the zoomer in me, or maybe it's just a style of jazz I'm not used to, but as an album experience it felt absolutely disorienting.
With so many different ideas every second, though, you do end up with a lot of very cool individual moments. Standout track was Bemsha Swing
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
This album fucked me up. My ass is not made for noise rock.
Standouts: When You Sleep, Soon
Cornershop
4/5
The first two tracks were okay, but had me thinking this was going to be a bit of a generic rock album. I'm so glad I was proven wrong - everything that followed was weird, psychedelic, funky and fun.
Some instrumental tracks (such as Butter the Soul) had me thinking, "this would go hard with Damon Albarn vocals and a guest rapper" - well damn if Candyman didn't deliver on that exact vibe later in the album🔥🔥 Lots of different genres at play here, but all around it was an enjoyable listen
Soundgarden
3/5
An overall cohesive and energetic listen, but not much stood out to me. Certainly a refreshing listen in this challenge.
Standouts: The Day I Tried To Live, Kickstand
3/5
I really dug the instrumentals, most tracks have a lot of layers to them.
Other than some fuckass lyrics here and there (the dictionary song has straight stinkers from line 1) there really is a lot to enjoy here. 2.8 ⭐
Fever Ray
1/5
Keep the Streets Empty For Me has a cinematic atmosphere that I enjoyed.
As much as I tried to appreciate the album's production, I cannot give it more than 1⭐ when I actively despised the singer's voice on every single track.
N.W.A.
3/5
As a big fan of hiphop I was excited to finally see some representation in this list.
This album was a first listen for me, but being familiar with the members' later work, it was super fascinating to hear them at this very early stage of their career - notably Dr Dre's production and Ice Cube's rapping.
Unfortunately, I don't think the album has aged terribly well, and don't see myself coming back to it much. Definitely a prime choice for this list nonetheless, and I appreciate its huge influence on everything that would come after it.
Santana
5/5
Absolute banger from beginning to end. Layered, jazzy, funky, with some fresh latin flavor and a dash of psychedelic.
Easy 5⭐on first listen.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
I found the vocalist to be really grating on first listen, but the rest of the band sounded really fuckin great so I gave it a few more tries over the course of the day.
Eventually I warmed up to the vocals and everything clicked. Today, the British won.
Suede
3/5
I see the potential in Dog Man Star. This album had a couple of outstanding tracks (highlights: We Are the Pigs, Asphalt World), however they were usually followed by one or two duds that took me out of the album.
Fats Domino
3/5
Some good jazz tunes, the vocals have some oldie recording quality that really adds to the charm.
Standouts : Blueberry Hills, Blue Monday
New York Dolls
2/5
It was..... Okay. Decent instrumentation throughout, but nothing that stuck with me. Sounded like background bar rock.
One track did stand out as pure garbage, and it was ironically not "Trash" but rather "Frankenstein" with horrendous vocals that go on for 6 minutes??? Not all of the album is like that, but it IS just about the only thing I can recall about the album by the end of my listen.
Actually, no, "-Ah, how you call your loverboy? -TRASH" did stand out as a great line. Perhaps I was too harsh.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
From the moment I saw the album cover I knew this would be a fun one, and it did not disappoint. Every song has a different mood, the slower moments feel classy, and they always pick right back up with some type of fun and energetic (dare I say 💥 explosive) swing.
This is some of the best jazz we've had on the list. Bravo Mr Basie 👏
The Who
1/5
Nothing clicked for me on this album. The very last track had some interesting drumming, but that's about it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
I have many memories with RHCP, and always enjoyed their bigger hits but never really bothered to sit down with their albums.
This record has an insanely good run from tracks 1-8, and proceeds to shit the bed for the rest of its runtime. I'm fairly used to the band's questionable lyricism, and yet I Like Dirt still stood out as particularly awful writing.
The last song, Road Trippin', is at least a real breath of fresh air to close the album, genuinely good song.
Overall this is a bad album with some absolute banger tracks. Even the bad songs have some great instrumentations that are soured by Anthony Kiedis' weird-ass singing/rapping.
Soul II Soul
3/5
Now I'm a sucker for soul and disco, so I was very easy to please with this album. Some of the sounds are pretty dated by today's standards, and from a critical listening standpoint, a lot of the songs overstayed their welcome by 1-2 minutes.
None of this stopped me from 🕺 BOOGYING 🕺 though.
The 6-minute pan flute track hit me by pure surprise, and was ironically one of the few songs that never got old/repetitive - banger the whole way through.
Highlights: Holdin' On, Feeling Free, African Dance
1/5
Ehhhhh *muffled guitar noises (Live)*
The Rolling Stones
2/5
A lot of rock with country influence which I personally am not a fan of, but I wouldn't totally discredit it just for that. I at least appreciated the variety here, with every track trying something a bit different.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
On first listen, this was pretty horrible. The music is messy and the singing sounds like rambling.
It was once I read up on the album's context that I saw it in a new light. A close friend of mine was once admitted under very similar circumstances to Spence's. He's better now, but visiting him on those days he was unlike himself in ways that I see reflected here, on tracks like Weighted Down, Broken Heart, and Grey/Afro. Isolation, confusion and spirituality are prevalent throughout.
Of course, I can't possibly claim to truly know what they were going through. I did however end up approaching and reflecting upon the album in a way I didn't expect.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Going in blind for this one was a bad idea. I did two first listens without looking up lyrics and was very confused, as this is a VERY narrative-focused concept album. This took me by surprise since my only true experience with Pink Floyd beforehand was Wish You Were Here, a much more straightforward, instrument-forward album.
I could tell I was missing something though, so I sat down and did a full dedicated third listen with lyrics and a cold one in hand--- All I can say is DAMN. What a hard-hitting cinematic experience. The Trial + Outside The Wall was an incredibly cathartic ending (somehow even when I didn't understand the lyrics!).
To truly give it a 5 I'd have to warm up to some of the songs a bit. Especially during the middle I felt that the pacing was a bit slow, though it did make for a great buildup to bigger moments like Comfortably Numb.
4.5⭐️
EDIT - 3 days after this review, The Wall has remained on constant loop in my head. The depth of this album is unbelievable. Now being familiar with the songs, the production and details stand out a lot more. Absolute cinema - 5 star experience
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Another bit of a miss from the Rolling Stones, for me personally. At least it had some interesting moments like Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Moonlight Mile!
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
FUNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK ( 益 )
Iron Butterfly
1/5
The first half of the album was forgettable.
Every review was revering the final track, the 17-minute legend, the one and only title track, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
....Shit, I think everyone gets misled by the runtime into thinking it's a masterpiece. I waited the entire duration for something interesting to happen and it just *never came*. It's all a series of instrumental noodling sections - if you were to separate each section into its own track, nobody would talk about this. It's just not that good
I'll give it its props - Termination and Are You Happy were very decent, and the bass guitar throughout the album was pretty fucking great!
With that said, maybe it's my fault for getting baited by the reviews, but my disappointment is unmeasurable. This is not an album I'd come back to either way, so for that reason I exercise my right to be a hater 😭
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Pretty good music! Some of the earlier tracks were a bit on the weirder side, but the album really picked up after Tick. I especially enjoyed the singer's voice, I'd be interested in exploring some of their other material in the future.
Standouts: Black Tongue, Maps, Y Control
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Against all odds, the Stones have rolled in for a third time this week, and I am once again underwhelmed. 3 tracks out of the first 4 were pretty decent, but everything that followed was ehhhh.
Special mention to the bad trip that is Gone Home: the 11 minute experience of Mick Jagger grunting.
Even if I were to rate this by the US version, which has Paint It Black (🔥) and an all-around tighter tracklist, this is once again a miss from the Rolling Stones.
Ramones
3/5
With such an iconic opening track, I felt a bit let down that the sound never built up or shifted in any surprising way. Instead, it’s *ei o let's go* on repeat, and nothing particularly revealing or adventurous past that.
Still, it's certainly impressive how consistently fun this album is all the way through.
The Hives
2/5
Very talented band, but the vocalist got on my nerves by the end of the album with constant voice cracks and angsty delivery
Standout: The Hives Are Law, You Are Crime
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
First Hendrix experience here. As daunting as the runtime was, this album offers so many bangers that I can't quite complain. Phenomenal guitar playing all around that makes you wonder if this is even from the 60s - by this point in the challenge I thought that era was all roots and blues. No wonder this guy's a legend!
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Once again an album where the vocalist gets massively carried by a phenomenal band. At times the singing sounds like bad karaoke underneath layers of reverb. This put me off enough that I can't *quiiiiite* justify a 3. Solid project otherwise!
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Talking Timbuktu was very refreshing at this point in the challenge. Laid back and full of warmth, it had me in a good mood with just its first few songs.
Although some of the middle tracks felt a bit drawn out on first listen, the overall vibe was strong enough to briefly make me consider a 5⭐️. Definitely one I will keep in the rotation and could see growing on me with time.
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
It's funny, the beats here are heat, the flow is acrobatic, and anytime I checked the lyrics I was impressed by Jeru's skill with the pen.
And yet, I feel like it somehow fails to stand out much compared to other similar albums from this era. As technically impressive as it is, I don't see myself coming back to it much, though it is some good fuckin boombap.
Miles Davis
5/5
This is some jazz that anybody, from the turbonormies to the jazzheads, can enjoy 🔥 Bravo Mr Davis
John Martyn
4/5
A couple of times I thought to myself, "perhaps this is the album that gets me to enjoy the folk genre". Songs like Over the Hill were very enjoyable, and mixed with some more jazzy elements on other tracks consistently kept it fresh.
Ultimately I'm not quite there yet with the genre, but this was one of the better examples of it I've had. Not a bad listen!
2/5
I was expecting something groovier and more latin influenced from the band that brought us Low Rider. Heartbroken to say that this fell flat for me.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Hella funky, hella groovy, tons of variety from song to song.
I don't quite see this one making it into my rotation, but for the purpose of the challenge it was a banger.
Standouts: Rockafeller Stank • Gangster Trippin
Madonna
4/5
What surprised me here was the production, which absolutely SHINED and complemented Madonna's voice beautifully. Lots of musical details - like the little guitar riffs all throughout Skin - make this a very fun and textured album that will be great to revisit.
Standouts: Skin • Nothing Really Matters • To Have and Not to Hold
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
One must not be fooled by the name "Cowboy Junkies"; this defied my expectations of what country music could be. It's slow but never boring, with beautiful instrumental work and a very pleasant singing voice. Super chill 52 minutes.
Standouts: Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis) • Dreaming My Dreams With You
Big Star
2/5
This one wasn't really my thing. The slower songs to take up most of the album, and I felt they didn't do anything very interesting in that time.
At least when the pace does pick up, on songs like You Can't Have Me and Till The End Of The Day, it does get pretty good.
The Cure
3/5
Excellent basslines and synths. They are really good at setting an ambience!
The run from Fascination Street to Disintegration was absolute 🔥 on my first listen.
Somehow that enjoyment dwindled past that first experience though, and that same run of 5-9min tracks was feeling a tiny bit stretched out by the end of my second/third listen.
I respect the talent so much, but I don't think it quite makes it into my rotation!
Meat Puppets
3/5
Short and sweet listen. Bangin instrumentals. I can see how the singer's voice could be polarizing, but it never took me out of the songs too much.
Standouts: Oh, Me • I'm A Mindless Idiot
The Who
1/5
The concept behind this album is pretty interesting for its time, I'll give it that. I liked some of the humour and lyricism here and there.
Musically, I don't think I enjoyed a single song. The commercial jingles were the high points on here, ironically enough. I suppose it's an era of Rock that continues to elude me. 1.5/5
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
The arrangements here are so so so gorgeous. "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" was so beautiful on first listen that I had to take some time to process it. And then once more after "Chicago".
The storytelling is another of Sufjan's strengths, though it does take some digging on Genius to fully understand it. Still, it made Casimir Pulaski Day one of my favorite songs here.
With such high highs, what does end up bringing the album down a bit is its 74min runtime. It feels harsh to say because the Illinois concept is genuinely so fun and unique, and every track an important contribution to that.... it just ends up diluting itself a bit by the end.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
A 1986 album that mostly sounds 20 years older than its contemporaries. Elvis puts a "modern" twist here and there, but when it's riffing off the worst era of rock music to begin with, it's just not very appealing.
Method Man
3/5
"En garde, I'll let you try my Wu-Tang style!"
RZA's production is a fucking treat - dark, grimy beats that get your head bopping, as it should be for this sort of rap. And the use of martial arts movie samples? Absolute peak 🔥
This is, however, a Method Man joint, and good production only gets him so far. His energy and delivery are great, but his flow and rhymes are nothing mind-blowing or deep.
The Triffids
3/5
This gave me occasional flashes of The Cure, but poppier. It's a bit weird that a 2005 album sounds 15 years older than it is, but it's pretty alright.
David Bowie
3/5
First Bowie experience. He has an uniquely theatrical vocal style. The accompanying instrumentals are very layered, very fun. Dirty Boys has a sax and guitar combo that goes pretty hard.
It would probably take more than a few listens to really get this album. Nothing has me immediately coming back to it, though I doubt that an album this late in his career is an appropriate entry point for a first time listener.
Still some solid music tho
David Bowie
4/5
Bowie does two sides really well: the all gas no brakes first half, and the slower, provocative, soundscapey second half. There is no transition between the two. What context calls for an album sequenced like this? .....I don't have an answer. I'll instead choose to see it as two very different but delicious cakes, and in that sense this is an excellent music experience.
Highlights: Sound and Vision, Subterraneans
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
PRIMAL, ENERGETIC, MENACING, NOISY, MATHEMATIC. MUSIC TO RAM THROUGH A FUCKING BRICK WALL 👹🐂
Standouts: Luau, New Intro, Sinews
Garbage
3/5
Pretty good grungy textures and atmosphere all through the album, contrasted with Shirley Manson's absolutely beautiful voice.
I think my one gripe is that at a certain point, all of the tracks start to feel the same. They're all technically good, but even the standouts don't have very memorable moments. Solid experience nonetheless!
Standouts: A Stroke Of Luck • Fix Me Now
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Now, I considered myself a Certified ’60s Hater, having had a rough time with other classic albums from that era (Pet Sounds, My Generation, etc.).
Somehow, The Everly Brothers totally sidestep that hate and deliver something genuinely fun. In concept it's laughably basic - all of it's just kind of dated songs about love and girls - but it manages to be really charming in its simplicity. By the end of the record I was ready to go out and buy my girl some flowers.
Very unexpected 4 from me, in a rare W for the 60s.
Standouts: It's Always You • Donna Donna
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Lots of weirdness but none of it sounds very good. It's so dramatic and flamboyant it makes me want to set myself on fire
Brian Wilson
2/5
Pet Sounds was my very first album on this challenge, and my feelings toward Smile are much the same - I love the production, but the cotton-candy sweetness of their singing wears thin real fast.
It feels really silly to dislike something so cheerful and whimsy in sound, especially given the sheer ambition on display. It's all the more a shame to not fully enjoy the project in light of Brian Wilson's passing yesterday.
Try as I might, though, I just can't seem to vibe with the music.
Standout: Heroes & Villains
Black Sabbath
4/5
Fat fucking riffs
Standouts: The Straightener • Changes • Snowblind • Laguna Sunrise
The Lemonheads
2/5
Sort of bland... I somehow expected this to be a quirky '90s alt-teen experience. Instead the whole thing just kind of came and went.
Standout: Hannah & Gabi
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Did Bitte Orca NEED to be on the list? Questionable... I didn't fall in love with the album, but it's a unique, quirky experience and a welcome breath of fresh air through the usual early rock stuff on here.
I put this on the speaker, and looking past the sometimes overbearing vocalizations, it was a decently fun vibe.
Standout: Useful Chamber
Frank Ocean
5/5
What can I say, this is one of the R&B GOATs. The songs are ear candy, with some incredibly evocative storytelling if you care to dig deeper.
And I just have to mention my love for the ending track, the sound design just puts you straight into that scene, and there's something about it that makes it a comforting, if bittersweet, end to the album.
I remember it taking me a while to get into his music, so had this been my first listen, it might have been rated lower. By now though, I have had many years and memories with it, and it deserves nothing but the fattest of 5s.
Standouts: Sierra Leone, Sweet Life, Pyramids, Lost
Sugar
3/5
I want to say I liked this, but at the same time almost nothing stuck with me. A lot of it sounded like a other stuff I've heard before. Maybe that's a testament to its influence? I don't know. It was fine.
Standout: If I Can't Change Your Mind
Baaba Maal
4/5
You can never know what to expect on a foreign album with a language barrier, but the vibes completely won on Lam Toro. These guys know rhythm!! I also noticed some remarkably clean production, and I highly recommend listening to Sy Sawande with headphones on - it's a simple track, but the way the guitars were recorded is ear candy.
Had a lot of fun with this one!
Standouts: Hamady Boiro • Daniibe • Sy Sawande • Ndelorel • Minuit
Neil Young
2/5
Neil Young was sadly not the vibe today. Now, the instrumentations and atmosphere were actually pretty great! I just don't think they were unique enough to warrant tolerating Young's singing style, which felt more like rambling than anything else. For The Turnstiles was an especially rough listen.
I'm sure I could eventually warm up to this album and enjoy it, because it certainly had some cool stuff going on. Maybe a future Neil Young project will win me over, who knows.
Standout: On The Beach
Kraftwerk
3/5
These German dudes were fucking around with synths in 1977 and truly ended up in the future - a lot of this sounds like electronic music from much later that I enjoy now. Now that's cool and all, but the listening experience here is just ok. I didn't totally vibe with the robot voice.
Mudhoney
3/5
The energy was on point from track 1, but it was only until No One Has that I really started ROCKIN.
There's some very good stuff on here, but there's also a lot of ehhh which holds it back from a 4.
Standouts: No One Has, If I Think, In 'n' Out Of Grace
The Pharcyde
4/5
This album is fun as hell. It's super goofy - there's a 4min track of yo mama jokes; at one point they smoke a blunt with a 4yo kid - but the beats are good and they're all rapping their ass off. Just don't mind the dated lyrics here and there.
Van Halen
4/5
Van Halen cooks some absolute guitar riff wizardry here. If Electric Ladyland hadn't come up earlier on the list, this is what I would have imagined Hendrix to sound like.
I debated giving this a 5, but I'm not sure how well it's gonna stick with me long-term. I'm 3 listens in, and I can only really recall You Really Got Me.
That said, I do know what to put on when I want to hear some sick riffs in the future.
Standouts: You Really Got Me • Jamie's Crying • On Fire
The Zutons
3/5
The first listen was very fun. Zuton Fever is an instant earworm and sets up the vibe of the album pretty well - a kind of wacky vibe that's also present in the cover art. I liked that every song feels very different from one another, while staying coherent with the sound of the band.
Unfortunately a lot of the weirdness and wackiness that was fun and interesting the first time around, got real old on further listens. I found myself skipping a lot. It's a tough one to review then, because I truly enjoyed it a lot at the beginning.
Standouts: Zuton Fever • Havana Gang Brawl • Not A Lot To Do
The Fall
1/5
What the hell was that??? Straight garbage from beginning to end. The vocals are a drunken, mumbling mess, with "L.A." being a highlight in how annoying Mark E. Smith's singing can be. The backing instrumentations aren't much better - at their best they're basic and repetitive; at their worst they're competing with the vocals in being as annoying as possible (the harmonica on Couldn't Get Ahead somehow wins that one). I didn't pay attention to the lyrics, muffled and slurred as they were, but I don't think I'm missing much if Spoilt Victorian Child is anything to go by.
Dogshit. Just pure, concentrated booty.
The Specials
3/5
There's a bit of everything on this album, lots of different moods and genres. It's clear the band was having a hell of a time, so even though I didn't love all of it, the vibes were consistently good. Fun listen!
Standouts: Do Nothing, Holiday Fortnight
Charles Mingus
5/5
What a freaking journey, man. This album takes you through so many moods, at times switching them up all rapid-fire like, but with a real sense of narrative behind it all. I could not tell you exactly what the intended story about - all I know is it's a ballet with a black saint and a sinner lady somewhere in there - but the emotional beats, the musical callbacks, the cathartic fuckin ending, they're all pretty evocative even without any lyrics. Hell, I'd consider the Spanish guitar as its own character the way its appearance (and later reappearance) had me hyped the fuck out. Incredible stuff that goes beyond just jazz here. Love the way everything comes together.
It'll need a few more listens to fully digest, especially the more cacophonic parts, but I feel good about a 5 given the peaks it had on these first two listens
Kraftwerk
2/5
Oof. I think my appreciation for Kraftwerk starts and ends with admiring their role in early electronic music. Some of the sounds here reminded me of classic video game soundtracks, which is pretty cool. But man, the actual listening experience is *rough* by today’s standards. Most tracks feel like 90-second ideas stretched way past their welcome. Their robot voice I didn’t love on The Man-Machine is back, and I still don't care for it much. It was only until Frank Schubert that I really started vibing… and of course, that’s right about when the album ends.
Overall, it's far from being bad, but I didn't care much for it. Much respect for their appreciation of public transport though 🚆
Standouts: Frank Schubert • Endless Endless
Iron Maiden
4/5
I'm a very visual guy. Metal albums tend to put me off because of their cover art looking like dick. Ironically, I do usually enjoy the genre a lot, so I'm aware that this dumb prejudice has kept me from experiencing many great albums.
I'm glad, then, that Iron Maiden popped up on this challenge, because I know I never would've checked them out with this ugly-ass ghoul thing on the cover. And I would have missed out on some sick fuckin shredding and nonstop bangers. The songwriting caught me off-guard with how melodic it gets at times.
Goooood stuff.
Standouts: Prowler • Phantom Of The Opera
DJ Shadow
4/5
Great variety of beats, with the bass and drum selections being a frequent highlight across the album. The low end on Changeling had my apartment shaking, it's so fire. Overall it's an album that I'm sure to revisit for the vibe.
Standouts: Changeling • What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 • Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain
The Byrds
3/5
This has to be among the most interesting '60s rock albums we've had yet. There's a lot of experimentation and effects that sound ahead of their time, like the reversed guitars on Thoughts and Words. It's still a 60s rock album though, so 3 is the best I can do.
Shoutout to Glorp on track 3.
Standouts: Thoughts and Words • Time Between
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Bluesy, country-influenced rock.... Flashy guitar passages..... Visions of Mick Jagger..... Much like all past Rolling Stones, this album was sadly doomed to a 2....
Wild Beasts
2/5
The falsetto voice suuuuuucks, and the lyrics aren’t helping. Right from the opener, you’ve got bad lines like “disowned us daddies like the poopers of the party,” delivered with an off-putting cadence that plagues a lot of the album.
Thankfully, tracks 8-10 save this from being a total disaster. This Is Our Lot actually cooks, and the transition from Underbelly into Empty Nest was genuinely a cool moment.
Standout: This Is Our Lot
Elvis Presley
3/5
None of these songs were in lilo & stitch 🤔
3/5
I was wondering when the first Beatles album would show up on the list. As unfamiliar as I may be with them, I know how iconic and revered Sgt. Pepper is, and I’m glad to have gotten the chance to hear it and learn about its context.
Historic importance aside... it’s fine. Some of it’s catchy (I like both title tracks), and I totally see the vision with the big ending. But honestly, the meat of the album was only OK for me, aside from a few standouts. Definitely an album to hear before ☠️, but not one I’d return to.
It’s far from '60slop, I’ll give it that!
Standouts: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (both versions) • With a Little Help from My Friends • When I’m 64 • A Day in the Life
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
A surprisingly strong example of politically conscious rap. It does dip into #im14andthisisdeep territory now and then, but I suppose his heart is in it, and it's a rawness and honesty that I can respect - if nothing else, at least the pen game behind it all is consistently impressive.
The album does also benefit from great production, not just from the excellent jazzy beats, but also its storytelling through the use of samples. On that note, my personal highlight on this album is the intermission track INS Greencard A-19 cleverly evoking some of the alienation and red tape immigrants face through sound design alone. Sad to say that the hysteria on illegal immigration has only gotten worse since.
Overall it's far from perfect, but I think it treads ground that not many hiphop albums do, and I think that does deserve some recognition.
Standouts: Satanic Reverses • Language Of Violence • INS Greencard A-19 191 500 • Music and Politics
Beck
4/5
The front half of the album is EXCELLENT - near 5⭐️ territory. But starting with Round The Bend, the album shifts into a more ambient-oriented sound that sort of loses me, although I can see the thematic significance behind it. Idk, maybe I'm not heartbroken enough for it.
Tentative 4 because the front half is that good. It might need to grow on me some more.
Standouts: The Golden Age • Paper Tiger • Lonesome Tears
Muddy Waters
3/5
Great energy, I loved the live ambience with the brief spoken transitions between tracks. Giving it a 3 because much like an actual jazz fest show, I don't think it quite makes it into my rotation, although it was a good experience and I'm happy to have listened.
Queen
4/5
Even before Freddie starts singing, the guitar is so Queen in sound, it's awesome. INSANE production quality. The songs are full of theater kid energy that would normally put me off, and yet....
If there's one complaint I have, it's that it's really not structured like an album, more just a collection of songs. Thus, as incredible as Bohemian Rhapsody is, it comes out of nowhere in the context of the album. At least it has a cute outro in God Save The Queen.
Standouts: Death On Two Legs • I'm In Love With My Car • You're My Best Friend • Seaside Rendezvous • Bohemian Rhapsody
The Flaming Lips
2/5
Felt a lil nostalgic sometimes, but mostly generic...? Idk, I don't think I'd return to it. I kept thinking about the Queen album the whole time.
It had some cool drum and guitar parts though!
Standouts: Race for the Prize • The Spark That Bled
Alice In Chains
2/5
These guys are insanely talented at playing the same song for 57 minutes. Sometimes they would have an interesting idea at the start of a track to have you think it's finally gonna be a good one - and then they go back to the exact same sound you've heard for the past 7 tracks.
Not terrible, not enjoyable.
Standout: the sick nasty bass groove at the start of Rain When I Die (that got promptly replaced by some bland shit)
Led Zeppelin
2/5
For such a revered album this was kind of a dud... Without nostalgia, the acoustic songs did nothing for me, and the rest sounds like sports bar music -- "boomer anthems", as one reviewer put it. Stairway To Heaven is good but really doesn't live up to the hype, or even to its 5 minute buildup.
I haven't lost hope for Led Zeppelin though. This last track is awesome.
2.8/5
Standout: When The Levee Breaks
The Modern Lovers
3/5
GREAT instrumentation and variety, the energy is great, and although it often has some rambling and slightly off-key vocals, it somehow kinda works. Good!
Standouts: Pablo Picasso • She Cracked • Modern World
Miles Davis
5/5
The one and only. The classic. The blue-tinted masterpiece. Moody atmospheres. Motherfucking John Coltrane? Can't get any classier. Bravo Mr. Davis!
The Cure
3/5
Compared to Disintegration, the shorter runtime on this makes it a lot more palatable. The instrumentals are once again fantastic and set a dark, dramatic, and texturally rich atmosphere. I really like that side of it!
Robert Smith, on the other hand, sounds tortured and depressed as always. I get that that's the whole point, but musically I just find him kind of grating, and three listens in I still can’t seem to appreciate the vocals. It’s hard to go higher than a 3 when I struggle with the most central part of the band.
Great album, just not going into my rotation.
Standouts: One Hundred Years • The Hanging Garden • Cold
Elis Regina
4/5
Beautiful collection of songs, I think this is exactly my type of vibe. It's got a bit of every mood, slower songs work great with Elis' beautiful voice, and when the rhythm picks up you just wanna 🕺
It's got some parallels to City Pop as one reviewer noted, but that Brazilian flavor really makes this its own thing. Great vibes 🇧🇷
Standouts: Só Deus É Quem Sabe • O Trem Azul • O Medo De Amar É O Medo De Ser Livre • Aprendendo A Jogar
Joy Division
4/5
It started off weak with the first two tracks, but everything that follows is absolute GAS. The instrumental side is so fire that I don't even mind some grating vocal performances (due apologies to the late Ian Curtis).
Standouts: Passover • Colony • A Means to an End • Heart and Soul • Decades
Pretenders
3/5
I vibed. This is peak "live band at the bar" music, maybe even a notch above that. Love Chrissie Hynde's vocals and attitude. No real standouts to speak of, but everything's pretty good.
Gene Clark
2/5
This did nothing for me other than a couple of nice harmonica and twangy guitar solos. I've heard better folk albums on this challenge, and I'm usually a certified folk hater. Not offensive or anything though.
The Beta Band
2/5
So the Gorillaz comparisons aren't entirely wrong, and I was excited whenever some trip hop elements popped up here and there.... But it's mostly pretty bad in execution. Lots of blandness and repetitiveness.
Standouts: Human Being • Gone • Alleged
Johnny Cash
3/5
Country is such an easy genre to trash, and yet I can't imagine anyone actually *hating* this album. Johnny Cash is charismatic as hell, has the least twangy voice in the game, and is giving a heartfelt performance to an audience that is having the time of their lives. That energy is absolutely contagious. This won't really go into my rotation, but I had a good time and I'm sure even a Country hater could appreciate the live atmosphere here.
Standout: 25 Minutes To Go
Slade
2/5
There's 0 chance I listen to this again, but to their credit I could see this going crazee hard in '72.
Standouts: I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen • Gudbuy Gudbuy • I Don't Mind
Black Sabbath
5/5
How is this a DEBUT from *1970*? It holds up so incredibly well! There's less songwriting variety than later albums, and yet I could listen to this one over and over again. Constant transitions between parts and variations in the grooves keep the music fresh and moving. Also, you know, fat fucking riffs.
RIP Ozzy.
Standouts: Black Sabbath • Bassically • N.I.B. • Wicked World • A Bit Of Finger
Depeche Mode
4/5
Kraftwerk walked so Depeche Mode could fly. Much respect to the German dudes for their experimentation, but it's successors like THIS album that really make their electronic sound shine. DISGUSTING synth instrumentation with Gahan's iconic voice -- this is the blueprint for the 80s-90s synthwave aesthetic that's still inspiring artists today.
Standouts: Personal Jesus • Halo • Enjoy The Silence • Policy Of Truth (!!)
The Police
3/5
Absolute curveball of an album. You go in expecting some 'Roxannes' and 'Message In A Bottle's, but instead they keep hitting you with experimental cuts that don't always succeed in being super interesting. Sting randomly unhinges on 'Mother' which sounds straight out of Disc 2 of The Wall, except that without any narrative buildup, it's just kinda jumpscares you for no reason.
When 'Every Breath You Take' finally shows up it's a breath of fresh air, finally a familiar sound out of these guys.
idk, this was honestly a fairly enjoyable listen, but I AM disappointed that their deep cuts really don't hold up to the strength of their greatest hits.
Standouts: O My God • Every Breath You Take • Wrapped Around Your Finger
Björk
1/5
I have nothing nice to say about this album. Here goes a low-effort joke instead:
The Horse of Shock and Astonishment when Pagan Poetry comes on : 😳🐴
Slipknot
2/5
Man, the music isn't bad but who is this rage directed at? "Society"?
These edgelord lyrics are just so painfully corny, and give off the same vibes as the terrible Joker memes you might see on Facebook -- "don't mess with me I'm so sick and twisted" type shit.
Slipknot's masks only double down on the 'why so serious' energy.
This might have resonated in 1999, but hearing it fresh today...... 😭
U2
3/5
Everything sounds solid, with standout trumpet moments and killer bass throughout -- but other than that, it somehow kept slipping into background music for me. Maybe it just needs a relisten, but for now it lands as “pretty good” and not much more.
Also, Bono weirdly sounds like Robert Smith from The Cure. I can't explain it.
Standouts: Like a Song... • Two Hearts Beat As One • Red Light
Fiona Apple
3/5
This was a challenging listen as someone who usually prioritizes vibes/instrumentals over lyrics. Fiona demands full attention here, and while I usually find it distracting to read lyrics while listening, here it felt essential (and rewarding!). Her delivery is so erratic at times that if you can’t follow by ear, you’ll miss the core of what makes this album work: the storytelling. And that storytelling is great! The production complements her voice beautifully, with little musical details that feel like responses to what she's saying.
I won’t revisit this album often, but it did make me reflect on the value of lyricism in a way few albums do, and I have to appreciate that.
Standouts: Ladies • Cosmonauts
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
Absolutely brilliant set of funky and hypnotic beats, full of texture, and consistently engaging, even in the longer tracks. The basslines are phenomenal. This could be a 5 on production alone! What holds it back slightly is that it doesn’t reach for much beyond being a great collection of beats, though it's absolutely entering my regular rotation. Just great music to vibe out to, and does great justice to the title.
Standouts: Nights Introlude • Pipes Honour • Rise • Rise (Reprise)
Goldie
5/5
I thought, “No way I'm listening to two hours of DnB, I’ll stop when the remixes and bonus tracks start.” Well, goddamn. When the album “ended”, I was still craving for more.
This genre has a hypnotic quality that has you fully locking in to whatever you’re doing while listening, so it's straight up perfect background music -- but Timeless goes well beyond that, because it's also properly structured as an album. Tracks flow well, stay pretty varied, and offer cinematic moments like on "Sea of Tears", where we're transported to the oceanside for a little breather in-between drum and bass barrages. It just does an excellent job at keeping the sound fresh and bangin the whole way through.
If you're looking for a tight and focused album experience, stop at Jah the Seventh Seal and it's peak. If you're hungry for *more* restless drums and funky bass by then, Goldie's got you! Keep listening for 2x the runtime of exactly that.
It's got bangers. It's got atmosphere. It's got structure. If it accomplishes everything a DnB album strives to do... how can it *not* be a 5-star?
Standouts: Timeless • Sea Of Tears
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
ahhh as much as I enjoy the Wu-Tang concept and personas, 36 Chambers wasn't the all-time classic I was expecting. The Low End Theory dropped two years earlier, and to this day feels like a way more cohesive and timeless NY album.
My enjoyment here comes mainly from RZA's production, plus the charmingly lofi recording quality typical of early 90s east coast rap albums. That raw sound, plus the group's energy, make for ideal workout music -- so I guess it DOES have a place in my rotation. In the broad hiphop landscape though, it's far from my fav pick.
Standout: CREAM
Pavement
3/5
A lot of the album has "we have Nirvana at home" energy, but to their credit they do a pretty good job at it! The drummer especially is locked tf in.
Standouts: Zurich Is Stained • Our Singer
Hole
2/5
The way she erratically switches between singing and screaming is really grating, though I'm sure it's awesome for the fans. Mind you I do like the attitude and respect the themes that she's singing about -- even the repeated 'milk' bar works in context -- but I think I'm just really not a fan of grunge.
Black Sabbath
5/5
God, what an album. Obviously the megahits here are incredible, but the deep cuts are what really surprised me -- the album does not drop in quality for a single second, and every track is strong in its own way.
My personal standout is Planet Caravan, a meditative bass and bongo groove and perfectly placed breather in-between the face-melting Paranoid and Iron Man.
I THINK I still prefer the rawer, darker atmosphere of their debut album -- but who are we kidding, this is a 5 star all the way.
Standouts: War Pigs / Luke's Wall • Paranoid • Planet Caravan • Iron Man • Hand of Doom • Rat Salad • Jack the Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots
Skepta
4/5
Don't expect any conscious rap here -- the focus is all on vibes, production, and the rapid-fire flow of UK Grime. Said style is easy to dunk on as a first-time listener, but very fun if you can get used to it.
More importantly, Skepta pulled off something rare here: a full-on genre innovation, putting Grime on the global map, and defining a style for the UK in the greater rap landscape. It's a shift I didn't even notice consciously at the time, but looking at it now, it's clear Konnichiwa was the turning point. You don't often get to see genres evolve in real time like this.
As for the album itself -- there's only one true stinker in the tracklist, and it's Ladies Hit Squad. It goes for a Hotline Bling-style hook that was all the rage in 2016, but has aged terribly. It's followed by one of many phone call skits that really should've been separated into their own track. But what I find ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL is what comes after: the most beautiful beat on the whole album, completely buried after the skit....... and it lasts all of 30 seconds. What was Skepta thinking??!
Standouts: Corn on the Curb • Numbers • Man • Shutdown • That's Not Me
Common
4/5
I've always liked Common! On this album he finds himself with some BEAUTIFUL production, on top of his usual flavor of conscious rap. He tends to opt for a more peaceful attitude, and that never stopped him from having good rhymes!
..Wait, what was that slur just now?
Standouts: Cold Blooded • The Light • Funky For You • The 6th Sense
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
One of those albums where you really have to pay attention to the lyrics to appreciate it. I don't really care for this flavor of stripped-down acoustic folk, but the storytelling is just something else with Bruce. Even with just two listens I kept finding little lyrical callbacks and connections between the stories that felt pretty rewarding.
Musically, I want to point out how he makes the harmonica SING whenever he pulls it out.
Standout: Johnny 99 • Used Cars • My Father's House
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
For every good idea this band has, they somehow have an equally annoying part to balance it out. Tell Her Tonight achieves the perfect split of great and awful within a single song!
My takeaway is that Franz Ferdinand is best enjoyed in moderation. They have some excellent songs, but as an album it gets old real fast.
Standouts: Take Me Out • Auf Asche • This fffire - New Version (technically not on the album, but it's way better than the original)
Patti Smith
2/5
I can actually see the vision here? The instrumentals are fire and perfectly match her dramatic delivery and storytelling. Birdland and Land:Horses were certainly unique experiences, feeling almost like full-on theatre plays.
..Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of theatre, and nothing was particularly engaging outside of that novelty.
Standout: Free Money
The Band
3/5
A fairly enjoyable album from the 60s? Crazy! Very fun piano and organ parts on this one, which give it an almost jazzy feel. I had a good time.
Standout: Lonesome Suzie
Keith Jarrett
5/5
What an absolutely stunning performance. I was constantly floored by how much depth and variety Keith Jarrett can achieve on improvisation alone, under a heap of shitty circumstances, for an entire 66 minutes.
Bravo Mr. Jarrett!!!
Brian Eno
4/5
Ambient music relies very heavily on the setting you listen in, which makes it a bit tricky to review. It’s not ideal for full, attentive listening, but it's also very easy for any distraction to break the atmosphere it’s creating. If you can strike the right balance and give it the space it needs, though, Music for Airports offers some gorgeous soundscapes to completely sink into. I could imagine this pairing well with a chill Minecraft session, or some fully locked-in solo office work.
Looking forward to keeping this in rotation!
Standouts: 1/1 • 1/2
The Jesus And Mary Chain
1/5
I'm not a fan of shoegaze or its adjacent genres, but the production on Psychocandy feels particularly harsh and sloppy.
For most of the album I was willing to set that aside and give it a 2 for innovation and creative merit, but it truly managed break me in its final minutes with 'It's So Hard', with distortion clipping into oblivion and incoherent rambling vocals that would make Mark E. Smith proud. It's as if The Fall discovered reverb and feedback noise, and I mean that in the most insulting way possible.
To its credit, this band did make me see My Bloody Valentine's Loveless in a new light -- I still don’t “get” it, but it sounds like heaven compared to this bullshit.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I have been Jonipilled!!!! Who knew having vodka at 3 years old could make you such a genius
Standouts: Help Me • Car on a Hill • Down to You • Trouble Child • Twisted
Van Morrison
2/5
I can tell there's some heartfelt material here, but outside of some nice instrumental passages the record feels very bland overall.
Unluckily for Van Morrison, it also happened to show up on this list right after Court and Spark -- where by pure RNG, Joni Mitchell mogs this man with more variety, sharper instrumentals, harder cover art, and infinitely more charisma as a folk/rock singer-songwriter with jazz inflections. I have no clue why Moondance is the one with the higher rating, because this really ain't it.
Standout: Crazy Love
The 13th Floor Elevators
2/5
60slop and some jugs
Standouts: Roller Coaster • Reverberation
Jane Weaver
3/5
Pleasant listening with some nice instrumentals, aaaand that's about it. I struggle to say much more about it.
Standouts: Slow Motion • I Wish
Talking Heads
4/5
Consistently fun with some TIGHT grooves, and just the right amount of weird in the vocals to match the funk of the band. As a first time Talking Heads listener, I can say that there was not a single miss on this one. Great stuff!
Also surprised to see Brian Eno here doing songs about buildings and food? I thought he only made music for airports 🤔
Standouts: Found a Job • Artists Only • I'm Not In Love • Stay Hungry
Nanci Griffith
2/5
The whole thing just kinda puts you to sleep, doesn't it?
I can't hate it too much, Nanci's voice is actually quite pleasant. It’s appalling, though, that Montreal’s first mention on this list comes in a song about how much she would rather be in the US than here. Heartbreaking.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
I never would've expected Willie Colón to show up on this list, but he's SUCH a deserving candidate. "Best-selling salsa record" is no joke! His songs are still getting played at latino functions half a century later, despite it being more of a "conscious salsa". You just can't help but dance to these thoughtful narratives and social commentary.
To that point, Pedro Navaja -- a catchy tale about street violence in New York -- was a staple of my years growing up, and it’s awesome hearing it here in its original context, within an album that manages to maintain the same level of brilliance the whole way through. Hearing him call to every Latin American country at the end of the first song was a very special kind of hype -- both thematically fitting and especially powerful given the rarity of hispanic entries in this English-dominated list.
Overall, it's a stellar piece of music with enduring cultural relevance and deep personal meaning to me. This is as strong a 5 as I can give.
Standouts: Plástico • Pedro Navajas • Ojos • Dime
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
A hiphop record that remains unmatched to this day, every single element of it is executed so goddamn perfectly.
Kendrick's pen game is obviously excellent, and the narratives and themes are nothing short of brilliant -- but to me it's the instrumental side that truly elevates TPAB far beyond any other hiphop record I know of. That 'For Free? Interlude' is such a target for hate is wild to me, because musically that's some of the most impressive fusions of jazz and rap I've ever heard.
Narratively, the jazz, funk and soul arrangements are more than backing tracks, and serve to tell a story just as much as the lyrics do. The most powerful example to me is in the final moments of Mortal Man, where the beautiful backing part accompanying the discussion with Tupac swells and abruptly cuts off with Kendrick's final "...Pac?"
I've been listening to this album for 10 years now and I'm still finding new details and meanings on every listen. I appreciate that Kendrick has gone in different directions since, but to me this is still his magnum opus and one of hiphop's most important albums.
In short,
🐐
Standouts: Wesley's Theory • For Free? Interlude • These Walls • u • For Sale? Interlude • Momma • Complexion (A Zulu Love) • i • Mortal Man
Eminem
3/5
You know, I was never a fan of the horrorcore angle, but I've come to appreciate the Slim Shady persona as a way to deliver unhinged rhymes that wouldn't otherwise exist in the English language. He's clearly always been crazy talented, and combined with Dre's golden touch production of the era, I can see how he made it big with this one (though I kind of prefer the more refined MMLP).
Unfortunately, over the years, that same shock value has made him an easy idol for the worst people you know. By way of the butterfly effect, Eminem gave us Tom MacDonald, and there is no music that is worth that price.
Standouts: My Name Is • Guilty Conscience • If I Had • Rock Bottom
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Pretty decent 80s sound, enjoyable but nothing too mindblowing.
Standouts: Perfect Skin • Speedboat • Patience • Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
American Music Club
2/5
I checked the wiki hoping to get some context for this album's inclusion, and what I found might be the most hilariously non-descriptive write-up I've ever read. It simply calls California: "the band's definitive statement".
....Definitive statement of what??!! Because I swear I might as well have been listening to brown noise with how little stood out.
Michael Jackson
5/5
The king of pop for a reason. Even if later projects like Thriller are more cinematic and polished, this remains his most consistent album to me. There is simply not a single bad song in sight!!
Is there something super dated about the word "boogie" being sung unironically? Absolutely, but this record earns it because it never fails to MAKE you boogie. That's a 5 in my eyes: just great-ass music, an escape into good vibes.
Standouts: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough • Rock with You • Workin' Day and Night • Get on the Floor • Girlfriend • It's the Falling in Love • Burn This Disco Out
David Bowie
4/5
Banger. This might be my favorite Bowie project yet, its shorter tracklist with longer songs make the album feel more focused, and they're all just incredibly fun. The Bowiepill starts to take effect!
Standouts: Station to Station • Golden Years • TVC15 • Stay
Marvin Gaye
4/5
my clothes flew off as soon as I hit play. I can't believe this album starts with THE babymaking song
I will say, it's great when you get an album that really opens your eyes to where modern artists get their inspirations. I swear I could hear some Anderson .Paak on some of these songs.
Standouts: Let's Get It On • If I Should Die Tonight • Keep Gettin' It On
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I know it's a satire, I get what it's going for, but man is this a *rough* listen if you're not part of its exact target audience. Not a fan of 60s rock? Well this is straight 60slop with a shitload of kazoos and absolute vocal fuckery! On the lyrical side there's quite a bit of depth, I can tell this Zappa guy is based, but again his sense of humour is so wacky that the album falls apart entirely if you don't vibe with it.
It gets a 2 star because I do see how this could be a great album to the right people, but I'm personally very far removed from Zappa's wave.
Blondie
3/5
Ohhhhhh, Heart Of Glass, THAT'S what the song is called!!
Frankly it's unlikely that I'll come back to this, the songs are all good on their own but quickly blur together as an album. Enjoyable in the moment though!
Standouts: One Way Or Another • 11:59 • Heart Of Glass
Stan Getz
5/5
Immaculate. Soulful. Laid back, yet groovy. I closed my eyes for a sec and it felt like the seaside, sun rising in the horizon. Made me appreciate life a little more as it played. Is that not the mark of great music? What a wonderful pull. 🏝️
Isaac Hayes
5/5
BANGER record dripping with sex, funk and soul. I did watch the movie to get the full context, but this soundtrack cooks just as well on its own, especially the longer cuts that don't get to fully shine in the film. I honestly wouldn't have minded a scene of John Shaft shaggin' and ass-kickin' to Do Your Thing's full 20 minutes, because that's where Isaac Hayes *really* busts the funk faucet wide open.
– What'd you get, Shaft?
– I got *laid*.
Standouts: Theme From Shaft • Café Regio's • No Name Bar • Do Your Thing
Radiohead
4/5
The cover art had me fooled for the longest time -- this is super accessible for a Radiohead project! Everything is pretty good, with some tracks I'd even consider spectacular, but overall it doesn't quite feel like a 5. I might have to let it simmer a bit for that. Into the rotation it goes!
Standouts: High and Dry • (Nice Dream) • Just • Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Aretha Franklin
2/5
I guess even Soul isn't safe from the 60s' Curse of Slop 💔
It's good when it sort of deviates into other genres, like the bossa nova-flavored Don't Let Me Lose This Dream. Outside of that, as soulful as it is, I can't say it does much for me. I like her voice though!
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Very solid record! I love what she can pull off with these instrumentals, but it feels like Joni ends half her lines on the same drawn-out, sustained note (the closing track is especially egregious). This sameness in delivery drags the record down a lot, imo, though she does have a beautiful voice nonetheless.
Standouts: The Jungle Line • The Hissing of Summer Lawns • Harry's House / Centerpiece
Moby
2/5
Weird album. Half of these tracks are just sample loops that don't really go anywhere. I actually recognized two on here from later reworks (Porcelain sampled in A$AP Rocky's 'A$AP Forever', and 'South Side' covered by The Knocks & Foster The People). That made me realize Moby does know how to build a solid foundation, and his production really shines once fully fleshed out by these other artists.
In the context of this album though, these songs mostly feel like unfinished ideas that I don't want to revisit. I suppose it makes sense that it gained popularity as music for commercials, where it's not the sole listening focus.
ZZ Top
3/5
A bit too dad rock for my tastes. Sick riffs and all, but there's really not much substance past that. Sick album cover tho
Standouts: I Need You Tonight • Legs
The Isley Brothers
4/5
This is more a flavor of soul I can get behind. Funky fresh with some criiiispy guitar work.
U2
3/5
I came back to this twice because I genuinely enjoyed some aspects of it a lot, certainly more than I did 'War'. Unfortunately it didn't impact me much, nor do I see myself returning to it enough to warrant a 4 star. We've had worse though!
Standouts: Until The End Of The World • Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses • The Fly • Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
Prince
4/5
I was constantly floored by these instrumentals. He’s pulling out guitar solos, FUUUUNKY synthlines, and monster basslines that make your head explode.
I gauge funk by how much it makes me want to tear my shirt off, and by the time The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker came on, that shirt might as well have been through a shredder.
Purple Rain might be his more focused project, and it's an all-timer for sure -- but this one had me in awe at how consistent and cohesive it stays despite 1) the double-LP runtime, and 2) Prince switching from freaky, to hilarious, to funky, to conscious from track to track.
4.5/5
"Shut up already, damn!"
Standouts: Housequake • The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker • Hot Thing • Forever In My Life • I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man • It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night - Live
Bee Gees
2/5
The only reason I see for this being on here is to show how a band can evolve from making Beatleslop in 1971, to making iconic disco jams post-reinvention. This was a terribly forgettable listen.
Beatles
3/5
I respect the Beatles a lot more since this challenge started. Through so many 60slop albums, it's clear to me how much these guys ran circles around most contemporaries, and the varied experimentation on this particular album is a breath of fresh air on that front (the sitar parts are especially cool).
With that said, this is still a type of rock that doesn't much appeal to me, and aside from the historical interest, nothing really wowed me in the way even Sgt Pepper did with its big finale. Good album nonetheless.
Standouts: Taxman • Good Day Sunshine • And Your Bird Can Sing • Tomorrow Never Knows
The Streets
4/5
It's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' meets 'The Wall'!
It did take my full attention to keep up with the UK accent and flows, but it was worth sticking with it to the end -- the payoff on the money stash storyline left me with an absolute GRIN on my face. The Kendrick fan in me also couldn't help but get hyped when the closing track pulled a narrative trick reminiscent of the way DAMN. loops back on itself.
Honestly, I'm very pleasantly surprised here -- especially after seeing both anonymous reviewers and even my own associates tear it apart.
The Brits win this one!!
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
I really don't care for the vocals here, but when an instrumental track came up it made me realize that this band has some really impressive instrumentation. Love the subtle, surf-y guitar playing throughout, as well as the not-so-subtle guitar solos in the blues tracks. Decent 60s joint!
Standouts: My Best Friend • Today • Embryonic Journey • In The Morning
Eels
3/5
it's a testament to how samey this all sounds that, as I went into this album knowing exactly what Shrek song was on here, three songs made me go "this is the one!" before My Beloved Monster actually showed up.
In the context of the 1001 it's actually a decent record, but I don't see myself throwing it on again anytime soon.
Standouts: My Beloved Monster • Mental
Air
4/5
In a cheeky way, this sounds like if Persona 5’s OST had been composed by Daft Punk -- a gorgeous blend I never knew I needed, and somehow predating Discovery's release! I guess the French electronic touch was just that good at that time.
Gorgeous stuff overall, and all of the instrumentals are immaculate. It juuuust misses the 5 because a few vocal tracks don’t quite stick with me as much as the highlights.
Standouts: Femme D'Argent, La • Sexy Boy • Ce Matin La • Voyage De Penelope, Le
Steely Dan
4/5
This is one of those flawed albums I can't help but love. I don't think anything here is as technically impressive as Aja, and it does hit a bit of a slump in the back half. Despite that, the high points more than make for it with how fun they are. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo stood out as a shining highlight, haters be damned -- Steely Dan is based as hell for the Duke Ellington nod there.
Standouts: Night By Night • Any Major Dude Will Tell You • Barrytown • East St. Louis Toodle-Oo • Monkey In Your Soul
The La's
2/5
A 1989 album emulating 1960slop would normally be an auto-1⭐, but to their credit the instrumentation is solid enough to be engaging through most of this. Unfortunately that just makes it a bland experience -- whereas The Fall was so bad it makes me shudder anytime I think of Mark E. Smith, The La's existence will simply be forgotten in about two days.
Adele
4/5
Wait that was kinda great! I don't have much to say, except that I unexpectedly enjoyed a lot of the deeper cuts on here, and that it has aged pretty damn well after 14 years.
Standouts: Rolling in the Deep • Don't You Remember • Set Fire to the Rain • He Won't Go • I'll Be Waiting • One And Only • Lovesong
Wire
2/5
The riffs here are solid enough, but nothing really mindblowing coming from this genre. Certainly not good enough to carry the off-key shouting-style vocals that really put me off the whole experience. I still found myself nodding along here and there though, so I guess a 2 star is fair.
Standouts: Mr Suit • Mannequin • Champs
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
My favorite part of this was rediscovering the songs I've heard all my life, and truly listening and admiring their production for the first time ever. The hits have always been catchy but this is the first time I notice these IMMACULATE synths.
Through all the Rock stuff on here, albums like these are a reminder that Pop can, in fact, go hard.
Standouts: Girls Just Want To Have Fun • Time After Time • She Bop • Witness • Yeah Yeah
King Crimson
5/5
One hell of a disorienting first listen, but I started picking up on that delicious prog rock goodness on the second one. This is one to truly unpack over the coming days and weeks; for now I'm content with a 4, there is a lot of interesting drumming and riffing through rhythm changes that kept me very engaged, especially on the back half. Weird, heavy, fun!
Standouts: Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part I) • Easy Money • The Talking Drum • Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part II)
The The
4/5
The vocals took a bit to warm up to, but I think they work really well with the rest of the ambience. It helps that I actually listened to the lyrics for once and found them surprisingly real (if a bit depressing). What really elevates this to a 4 is the consistently excellent synth work, complemented from track to track by guitar riffs, piano solos, accordions, and other really cool experimentations. I loved it!
Standouts: I've Been Waitin' For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) • This is the Day • Uncertain Smile • The Twilight Hour • Soul Mining
Rush
3/5
Plenty of strong riffs and cool ideas here, and I respect the ambition of opening with a 20min sci-fi epic… at least in concept. In execution, it's too heavy on the cheesy arena/dad rock sound. That's not a knock on their talent -- they're clearly great -- but it's not something I see myself returning to often.
Standouts: The Twilight Zone • Tears
Heaven 17
3/5
Weird album. They're really good at the funky, danceable tracks they open the album with, but they gradually shift into some Kraftwerk-style, almost industrial synth experimentations.
There's an ironic touch I enjoyed about the final track -- they're singing about dancing their way through collapse, meanwhile all of the danceability they had at the start of the album has crumbled away by this point.
The entire B-side was a rough first listen, but there’s something strangely infectious about it that kept pulling me back. I think I’ve come around on it now, I think it's a solid record, though not one that's going into the rotation.
Standouts: (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang • Play To Win • Soul Warfare • Let's All Make A Bomb
Taylor Swift
3/5
I found the songwriting to be lovely to be quite honest. I hear her lyrics range from ok to straight stinkers; personally I have a bad case of lyric deafness so I didn't really notice that problem (though I guess I'm also missing out on half the appeal of her music lol)
I'm at least glad to finally have a sound to put to her name!
Standouts: gold rush • evermore
The Pogues
2/5
Look, there might be a context where I jam my ass off to a couple of songs on here, but I gotta rate this as an album, and this is just too much Pogues!! I tapped out around track 14/19.
Mind you, they're very good at what they do, and individually these are all pretty fun! I did also enjoy the genre fusions they threw in here and there. I would not see myself revisiting it as a personal listen however.
Standouts: Metropolis • Fiesta • Sketches of Spain
The Stooges
1/5
There's just so much going on at once, it's like every instrument is trying to overpower (lol) each other.
As for Iggy Pop, I don't know what's worse, his howling or his mixing. I found the Bowie mix to bring some much needed clarity here, though even that doesn't do much to salvage the record.
In truth this wasn't as offensive as other 1 stars, but as I sit and write this I can't think of a single element I enjoyed about this album. To the banished realm it goes. 🥀
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
That's some rock n' roll alright. I got flashes of Elvis on a few songs; these boys may not have his swag, but they could still make a fun record.
Standouts: Oh Boy! • I'm Looking For Someone to Love
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Lots of cool things going on, I don't think we've had any other album that sounds quite like this, almost like a very early shoegaze. If I have one complaint, it’s that the record can feel a bit aimless at times -- most notably on the 7min closer Voodoo Dolly, which kind of builds up and peters out into nothing. Still, very interesting and distinctive listen.
Standouts: Monitor • Night Shift • Sin In My Heart
Beatles
4/5
We've gotten other Beatles albums on the list, and I haven't been much of a fan. The reason, I thought, was that despite their admirable experimentations, at their heart they still had that 60s rock sound I didn't much care for.
Tell me, then, why this album -- with no hits and as pure in the 60s rock sound as I've heard them -- is the one that truly gets me bopping?? Every single song here is a slapper!
Fantastic album!
Standouts: You Won't See Me • The Word • Michelle • In My Life • Wait
The Cars
4/5
Front to back banger. The Talking Heads vibes were so strong at certain points that they indirectly got Psycho Killer stuck in my head for an afternoon.
Standouts: Don't Cha Stop • Bye Bye Love • All Mixed Up
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Now this is a flavor of east coast hiphop that I can really get down with. Absolutely immaculate production on these beats. It's funny, I found them to have a similar sound to Tribe Called Quest, and I kept being thrown off by the De La Soul references without any Plugs appearing. Turns out they were all part of the same collective, which is a delightful discovery and makes total sense!
What I don’t get is why the Jungle Brothers never ended up as widely celebrated as Tribe or De La Soul. The quality here is absolutely on par, and it feels like they deserve just as much recognition. A fantastic record.
Standouts: What "U" Waitin "4"? • Acknowledge Your Own History • Belly Dancin' Dina • Good Newz Comin' • Tribe Vibez • J. Beez Comin' Through • Doin' Our Own Thang
Ozomatli
4/5
This one's just filled with great energy. I love the variety of genre influences on display. It does lose a bit of overall cohesiveness as a result, though that doesn't make the music any less enjoyable. I had a blast!
Standouts: Street Signs • (Who Discovered) America? • Saturday Night • Dejame En Paz • Nadie Te Tira
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Now that's soulful! A wonderful mix of many genres I enjoy, from jazz to bossa nova, anchored by Dusty's enchanting voice.
Standouts: Son of a Preacher Man • Don't Forget About Me • Breakfast In Bed • The Windmills of Your Mind
Dennis Wilson
4/5
This one took me a few listens to truly warm up to it, but it somehow kept me coming back each time. The arrangements are honestly gorgeous and set a very uniquely melancholic mood -- one that reminds me a lot of Beck's Sea Change album we got earlier in the list (one that I also loved!)
One special mention to Holy Man, which despite being a bonus track is one of the most beautiful instrumentals we've had on this list. Go listen to it if you stopped at End of the Show!
Standouts: Friday Night • Dreamer • Time • Pacific Ocean Blues • Holy Man
Jane's Addiction
4/5
Yeah this bangs. Always a fan of a band that lets their bassist shine every once in a while.
Standout: Been Caught Stealing
David Bowie
3/5
Lots of elements to like here, but they don't quite add up to a very memorable album in my opinion. It just coasts as a decent 3 the whole way through.
I will say that I'm starting to appreciate how unique Bowie's songwriting is, there's truly nobody who sounds quite like him. This one just doesn't reach the same highs Low and Station to Station do.
Standout: Drive-In Saturday
Stephen Stills
4/5
Side 1: I'm grooving. The transitions between songs are crazy good.
Side 2: Sneaky switch into Country, but it's really not too bad.
Side 3: Back to grooving and there's some cool space synth action happening.
Side 4: Grooving harder -- they are playing their ass off and completely win me over with Treasure - Take One. I'm a sucker for longer instrumental joints.
I do see the vision behind the 4-side concept, and I think it's part of why even the Country one worked for me. There's a real sense of progression throughout these parts, with each of their respective sounds evolving and merging together towards the end.
Although I'm unsure of how often I'll come back to it, there's so much cool stuff happening that I can't help but bump it up to 4. Unexpectedly great.
Standouts: Jet Set (Sigh) • How Far • Move Around • Right Now • Treasure - Take One
Doves
3/5
They're really good at what they do, a sort of dark and moody flavour of Rock that's reminiscent of Radiohead. To me it all felt a bit one-note by final few tracks, though none of it's bad by any stretch.
Maybe I'll try listening on a night walk and see if my opinion changes -- this does seem like a very good album for such a mood.
Standouts: Sea Song • Catch The Sun
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
A few songs on this are incredible, and had me FLOATING on vibes. The rest of the album, although it's pretty good too, does sound a bit dated at times and doesn't quite scratch the itch of what I'm looking for in synthpop.
That's not a knock on these guys -- they were making the synthetizer SING for the time -- but it's not an album I think I'll revisit much. To me they're a lot like Kraftwerk in that regard.
Standouts: Being Boring • How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? • My October Symphony
Dire Straits
4/5
These guitar riffs are an absolute treat, this guy manages to shred for the whole album without ever feeling too flashy or stealing the spotlight.
In fact, the whole band feels perfectly locked in, in a way that I can only compare to Steely Dan's Aja. I'm sure there's a more technical way to explain it..... All I know is that it makes for Groovy Jams all around 🎸
Standouts : Down To The Waterline • Sultans Of Swing • In The Gallery • Wild West End • Lions
The Jam
3/5
Another one of those albums that's actually pretty good but fails to stand out as a whole. With that said, I do love their energy, and these highlights are definite bangers.
Standouts: In The Crowd • The Place I Love • 'A' Bomb In Wardour Street • Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
The Incredible String Band
1/5
Man, I’m not enough of a Fantasy fan for this. It feels like pesky gnomes and goblins are trying to enchant me with kazoos and sploing instruments for 49 minutes.
I recognize that there’s more artistic merit to the record than the haters give it credit for… but that also goes for any 1-star rating given on this list, and I can say with certainty that this goes straight to the bottom from a personal enjoyment point of view.
Standout: Three Is a Green Crown
The Stone Roses
3/5
I imagine this record sounds awesome to fans of reverb and mellowed-out vibes. To me this all sounds fine overall with only a couple of really great tracks, but I wouldn't see myself returning to it in full. Not bad though!
Standouts: She Bangs The Drums • Shoot You Down • I Am the Ressurrection
Lightning Bolt
4/5
I’ve had bad experiences with the noisier entries on the list, so I dove into this one fully expecting to detest it. Turns out, I actually kind of love it???
I think the key difference is that this is basically a math rock album in disguise. Beneath all the oppressive instrumentation, there’s these meticulous rhythms that you can really latch onto as the noise washes over you. It's much easier to appreciate the chaos when it actually feels purposeful. An excellent pull!
Standouts: 2 Towers • On Fire • Wonderful Rainbow • 30,000 Monkies
Cee Lo Green
4/5
Incredibly imaginative beats and flows on this one, I guess I had never been properly introduced to Southern Hip Hop’s game. Agreed that the runtime might make a full future listen a bit daunting, but track for track, just about the whole thing made it into Liked Songs, so....
”Damn CeeLo, what can't you do??
Fuck arouuund 🤪🥁🥁"
Standouts: The Art of Noise • Living Again • I’ll Be Around • The One • My Kind Of People • Childz Play • I Am Selling Soul • All Day Love Affair • Glockappella • Let’s Stay Together • Die Trying
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
60slop, O
60slop
Standouts: Expecting to Fly • Good Time Boy
Duran Duran
3/5
Pretty cool that they sound so 80s but in their own unique style. I was excited to hear more stuff on the level of Hungry Like The Wolf, but I guess nothing really blew me away like that. The Chauffeur was pretty damn fun though!
Standouts: Hungry Like The Wolf • New Religion • The Chauffeur
Arcade Fire
2/5
I see the themes of nostalgia, of growing up in the decade they did -- and truthfully, the experiences told are human and relatable. But the music really doesn’t do a very good job of supporting it.
It breaks my heart to be hating on a Montreal band, but the whole album feels bland, forgettable, and at times a little whiny. Perhaps such tortured songwriting can only come from someone who’s experienced the suburbs of Longueuil. Nevertheless, outside of Modern Man's time signature, and The Sprawl II's synthy production, not much managed to stand out to me in this hour of 2010 indie rock.
Standouts: Modern Man • The Sprawl II
Neil Young
2/5
Still don't really get Neil Young. I like the mood set by the stripped-down instrumentation and harmonica parts, I'd say it's fairly pleasant, but that's not even the point or focus of this album as I understand it.
People describe the songs on here as powerful and devastating, and I just can't relate.
It could be that I'm just not used to engaging with folk music this personal. I think back to Springsteen's Nebraska, though, and that one hit me pretty hard on several occasions. By contrast, this one failed to grab me in any meaningful way.
Standouts: Mellow My Mind • Roll Another Number (For The Road) • Albuquerque
Talking Heads
5/5
Wonderfully weird. The rhythms here kind of blew my mind?? They have a way of digging into your ear with one groove and leave you headbopping, wanting more after 6 minutes. The back half is more spacey and meditative, a big departure from the rest of the album to be sure but I appreciate the variety in moods.
It's the front half that carries this straight to 5 though, the energy is just so gooooooood!!
Shoutout to Tina Weymouth, I had to look her up because these basslines are absolutely bangin.
Standouts: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) • Crosseyed and Painless • The Great Curve • Listening Wind
Talking Heads
3/5
I dove into Fear of Music right after giving Remain In Light a 5 on first listen. Still riding that high, I was excited for more Talking Heads! This one sadly underwhelmed me though? All the pieces are there, they're still doing weird and funky jams, but it feels like the truly memorable moments are few and far between. A lot of the grooves kind of blend together.
Still a decently fun listen, but it doesn't reach the highs the other Eno albums did.
Standouts: Air • Heaven
R.E.M.
2/5
Not quite what I expected from R.E.M. Their material does mostly sound like their hits but without any sauce -- ending up as mostly bland, uninspired rock with a few mild acoustic cuts I didn’t care for.
To his credit, Michael Stipe’s voice keeps the band recognizable, but he barely ever changes it up, and by the end of the album his delivery really starts to grate.
Standout: Stand
Sepultura
3/5
I was dreading a death metal listen, and my first reaction WAS to hate it... But my constant headbanging proved otherwise. This is fuckin awesome actually, kickass drums and guitar shredding nonstop. It's just shy of a 4 because I don't think it's entering the rotation, but I'm certainly more open to this genre now. Slipknot could never.
Standouts: Dead Embryonic Cells • Desperate Cry • Altered State
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
Ahhh, 60s rock, my bane on this challenge.
It's a pretty chill listen, I didn't hate it, but as usual even the best of this era is just kind of underwhelming to me. I enjoyed a lot of guitar passages and drumming here. The singing did kinda nothing for me.
Jeff Beck
2/5
It only took 2 songs for the shtick to get old. But Greensleeves was cool.
Standout: Greensleeves
The Band
2/5
It's always these fuckass 60s albums that have you wondering why they're on the list, until you dig a little deeper and find out that they inspired basically every artist in their generation.
I can't argue with history, I suppose, but the yodeling goes too far for me personally
Standouts: Whispering Pines • Jemima Surrender • King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Mostly forgettable, but tracks 5-8 are magically heartfelt and had me slowing down, taking in everything they were putting down.
Then the Kellogg's Cornflake song came on. I sort of get why people like it, but it completely took me out of the spell the previous tracks had me under, and the rest of the album never caught back up.
Rating this as an overall album experience. Those four tracks genuinely had me feeling something beautiful, but the rest was comparatively a slog.
Standouts: Voices of Old People • Old Friends • Bookends Theme - Reprise • Fakin' It
System Of A Down
4/5
It's an incredible debut, and to my ears the band at their most unhinged (which is one of their greatest strengths). Just a wild, brilliant ride from beginning to end.
Now, is it perfect? No, that would be Toxicity. And it blows my mind that the editors included *two* Shitknot albums on the list while giving only one slot to SOAD, one of the most poignant, politically charged, and timeless metal acts of their era.... and it's only their comparatively raw debut.
And still, Slipknot could never.
Standouts: Sugar • Spiders • Mind • Peephole • P.L.U.C.K.
Haircut 100
4/5
What the hell?? The Brits win this one. Unexpectedly wonderful sound full of jazz and funk.
Standouts: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) • Lemon Firebrigade • Milk Film • Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle) • Fantastic Day • Calling Captain Autumn
Radiohead
5/5
This is an album I can confidently reach for whenever I find myself with a good listening setup. There's just a ton of musical detail going on at all times and the atmosphere is a treat to get completely lost in. I will say that even the best pair of cans won't help to understand what the hell Thom Yorke is saying, but to a certain degree that works in favour of the album's aesthetic.
Standouts: 15 Step • Bodysnatchers • Nude • Weird Fishes / Arpeggi • Reckoner • Jigsaw Falling Into Place
The Specials
2/5
I tried to have fun with it but this singing is seriously so bad. I think it's the infusion of punk that kills it for me.
Standout: A Message To You Rudy
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
It IS fun, I'll give them that! There's a lot of misses though, and even at its best it fails to leave much of an impression, which is a shame when on paper this album should be right up my alley.
Standouts: Passive / Aggressive • Smoke 'Em • I Can't Get with That • Methadonia
Primal Scream
3/5
This one's all over the place. When it's good it's great, but then they also take the experimentation too far at other points and don't really hit the mark. I consistently enjoyed the longer instrumental cuts on here at least.
Standouts: Burning Wheel • Get Duffy • Star • Motorhead • Trainspotting • Long Life
Nine Inch Nails
2/5
I see the vision but it's really not for me. I understand that it's not supposed to be a 'pleasant' listen, and as a concept album about the life of a tortured man it's excellently executed.... but to me the music itself was thoroughly unenjoyable the whole way through.
Standouts: March of the Pigs • A Warm Place • Eraser
Elbow
3/5
A very appropriate and enjoyable listen for a long autumn evening walk. It's quite nice to get a slower paced album, though it does feel a bit bloated by the end of its 54min runtime. Trim the fat, and there are some beautiful gems in here.
Standouts: Starlings • Mirrorball • An Audience With The Pope • The Fix
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
It's not quite a style of music I enjoy much, but damn if he doesn't drop some heat here and there. Love to see the same excellent storytelling that Nebraska had in a more lively context.
Standouts: Cover Me • Bobby Jean • Dancing In The Dark
John Coltrane
5/5
sup it's trane
Nas
4/5
I just wonder what it would feel like to hear this album for the first time as an NY native, with Nas' rhymes and references being so rooted in its street culture. I will say that you get a vivid picture of it from the lyrics and beats alone -- this album is grimy, bassy, hard as hell. Everything boombap should be.
Classic record, though far from the greatest ever by today's standards.
Standouts: N.Y. State of Mind • Life's a Bitch • The World Is Yours •
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
This is hard to rate because it's not an experience I want to revisit anytime soon, but for today I had a lot of fun with it.
...Well actually, I hated it at the start, and thought that the music's quality did not warrant 69 songs or 3 hours of my time. But as I started paying more attention to the lyrics, I came to realize that each song is a self-contained story about love, from a pretty wide variety of perspectives. Gradually I found myself being charmed by these little snippets, and as each song ended, wondering what they were going to come up with next. There's a lot of humor and tongue-in-cheek mixed in with these heartfelt and emotional stories, and it does help in keeping the whole thing fresh.
My highlight is Yeah! Oh, Yeah!, a joyful-sounding song about a couple resenting each other to the point of murder. As a standalone it wouldn't be very remarkable, and would perhaps be a bit disturbing -- but here it takes on a new meaning only possible in the wider context of this project. Suddenly it's a weirdly fun window into this darker aspect of love, and when it's over we just move on to the next.
Again, I don't think everything holds up quality-wise, but I definitely see the vision and as a whole it's one of the more unique projects we've had.
Standouts: A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off • Parades Go By • Nothing Matters When We're Dancing • No One Will Ever Love You • World Love • Washington, D.C. • Long-Forgotten Fairytale • Underwear • Acoustic Guitar • Yeah! Oh, Yeah! • Meaningless • Love is Like a Bottle of Gin • I Can't Touch You Anymore • How to Say Goodbye
The Undertones
2/5
I've never felt more neutral about an album. It somehow failed to leave any sort of impression on me, be it positive or negative. It was mild fun while I listened. Is that the perfect 3⭐? Well, it feels like an insult to lump it together with other 3-rated albums that DID leave an impression on me, so I must bump it down to 2.
Standout: Jump Boys
Elliott Smith
3/5
What a tragic background behind this one. There's a deep melancholy present throughout the album, though that surprisingly doesn't make it a depressing listen at all. A lot of it's actually quite beautiful. I just wish I vibed more with his vocal style, which is why I can't *quite* justify a 4 here -- but my god, the closing track left me speechless. An incredibly haunting way to end the album.
Standouts: Junk Bond Trader • Stupidity Tries • Better Be Quiet Now • Bye
TV On The Radio
3/5
These guys have a fascinating and unique sound, but they make you wait way too long to get to it. A lot of these tracks spend 3+ minutes building up to an idea that doesn't always land. You've heard of 'trust the process', well these guys only DO the process.
Standouts: Dreams • Poppy
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
This guy's singing straight up blows. There's some decent energy going on with the rest of the band, nothing spectacular, but he keeps ruining the music with his off-key singing. It's mad. Get rid of Richard Butler and give the sax guy more airtime -- that would fix all my problems with this record.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
There are surely a number of stories and lyric interpretations that I missed while listening here, but that just means I'll be happily revisiting down the line. Musically, more than a few tracks floored me; Springsteen does the grandiose piano-and-horns sound so freaking well it hurts. The sheer emotion with which he sings on tracks like She's The One and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out is remarkable, and Jungleland is just about the perfect closer to it all.
Very high 4 for an album that might just have made Springsteen click for me.
Standouts: Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out • Born To Run • She's The One • Meeting Across The River • Jungleland
R.E.M.
3/5
R.E.M. still isn't making my favourites list or anything, but this is a MUCH better showcase of their style than Green was. Quite a fun listen, and with all the sauce I expected from the band that brought us Losing My Religion. High 3 for me, could be a 4 on a good day.
Standouts: Laughing • 9-9 • Shaking Through • We Walk
Donald Fagen
4/5
It's not quite on the level of Aja, but it's got the same jazzy production that got me hooked on Steely Dan (and which was missing from Pretzel Logic). Very fun and layered record that I played twice in succession -- at a tight 38 minutes, it's all gas no filler.
Standouts: I.G.Y. • Ruby Baby • New Frontier • The Goodbye Look
TLC
3/5
Funky, fresh, danceable album. I was sensing a heavy Prince influence in a lot of these tracks which I enjoyed; hearing them straight up cover If I Was Your Girlfriend later on was a highlight for me. Unfortunately, as an album there's not a lot of substance or variety that would have me coming back for a full listen. Lots of solid tracks to bump ass to though.
Standouts: Kick Your Game • Creep • Diggin' On You • Red Light Special • Waterfalls • If I Was Your Girlfriend
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Powerful, powerful album. It's music to ram through a concrete wall to, and the chanting vocals succeed in articulating pressing issues that are still very relevant today.
That's the key that makes bands like Rage and SOAD stand out for me -- 'anger is a gift', and they manage to meaningfully channel it towards subjects that deserve every bit of that energy. That's on top, of course, of the incredible instrumentation on all fronts (I'm particularly a sucker for the aggressive bass).
High 4 for me, though it's very much a 5 in the right listening context (such as a concrete wall standing before me)
Standouts: Killing In The Name • Know Your Enemy • Freedom
Def Leppard
4/5
Wasn't expecting to be liking glam rock today. Especially not for over an hour. This kinda rooooocks though 🎸
Standouts: Animal • Love Bites • Pour Some Sugar On Me • Gods Of War
Iggy Pop
3/5
From a songwriting perspective, this album is hella fun. The highlights are incredibly catchy. It's no surprise that Bowie did some production work on it!
But why, oh why, must the audio quality be so bad?! We saw this with Raw Power as well, and I just don't understand the appeal -- such incredible talent and instrumentation, and then they go and mix it all to sound like a crunchy JPEG. It's baffling to me.
Standouts: Lust For Life • Tonight • Success • Fall In Love With Me
Yes
4/5
Some parts of this blew me away with their progginess. On three occasions I had to rewind to re-experience the peak that had just happened: the opening riff on Yours Is No Disgrace; the ending part of Würms; and the panning effect at the 5min mark on Perpetual Change.
The rest of the album is very good too, though a bit uneven -- there are certainly stretches where it meanders a tiny bit.
Extremely solid record overall!!!
Standouts: Yours Is No Disgrace • Starship Trooper: Life Seeker / Disillusion / Würm • Perpetual Change
Elliott Smith
2/5
I was already not a huge fan of Elliott's singing on Figure 8, but the instrumental variety on that one made it a very interesting project. That is not the case on Either Or. Every song blends together here, with his intimate, sad boy singing at the forefront.
It fits pretty well on Good Will Hunting's soundtrack, I guess, but for a personal listen the more acoustic direction he takes is really not my thing.
XTC
4/5
Corny lyrics are the bitter taste of the XTC pill. Once you get past that first unpleasantness, there’s a lot of meaning to appreciate, and the excellent songwriting with its layered instrumentation really starts to shine through. The lesson for today? Sometimes it pays off to let a guy get a lil goofy with it.
Standouts: Summer's Cauldron • Grass • That's Really Super, Supergirl • Ballet For A Rainy Day • Big Day • Another Satellite
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
A shining highlight of 90s east coast hiphop. Every part of this album, from the flows to the production, is so goddamn smoooooooth!! (like butter, baby)
Best enjoyed on some beefy speakers with the bass cranked way up to get the intended head-nodding effect. What a timeless classic.
Standouts: Buggin' Out • Butter • Verses from the Abstract • Vibes and Stuff • Check the Rhime • Jazz (We've Got)
Judas Priest
3/5
For an album described as heavy metal, I wasn't expecting it to sound like an early Def Leppard joint (without the glam charm that makes them unique).
I think they have good energy overall, and even a couple of bangers, but this is not a style of metal I'd return to.
Standouts: Grinder • The Rage
Leonard Cohen
4/5
This isn't a style of music I'd normally enjoy, but something about Cohen's singing really drew me in here. The whole thing is deeply contemplative, and despite the very minimal instrumentation, his strumming manages to add a lot of emotion to these stories. My personal standout is 'The Partisan' -- the subject matter and the beautiful French choir at the end genuinely gave me chills.
Very nice to get some good Montreal representation!
Standouts: A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes • The Partisan • The Butcher • Tonight Will Be Fine
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I thought this was pretty decent! The pointless chatter does detract from the experience, but it's fairly sparse all things considered. When the band is just jamming and having a good time, that's when the album is at its best, and it did make for a mostly fun listen.
Standouts: This Is What She's Like • One Of Those Things
Doves
3/5
As I learned with Lost Souls, Doves has a very unique, well-produced sound that's just not quite for me. I thought this one would be different because it starts off with a VERY strong couple of tracks, but they lose me once they're back to their regularly scheduled indiepop programming.
Standouts: Words • There Goes The Fear • Pounding
Portishead
3/5
I can't say anything really hooked me, though I recognize that the production is phenomenal. Great use of samples overall, notably 'Wandering Star' which I noticed flips the same War song De La Soul uses on 'Pass The Plugs'.
Not much to say about Beth Gibbons' vocals -- I found them somewhat reminiscent of Björk's singing style, which I'd usually hate but weren't much of an issue here. Still not something I'd seek out myself however.
Standouts: Sour Times • Wandering Star • Roads
Neneh Cherry
3/5
This is a fun peek into pre-90s hip hop, but it really hasn't aged very gracefully -- it's downright cheesy listening to it today. It blew my mind going to her artist page after listening to this, and seeing Kids With Guns as her most popular feature. I would never have made the connection!
Standouts: Inna City Mamma • The Next Generation • So Here I Come
Carpenters
4/5
These are some very fun, slightly cheesy love songs that sound like they belong in a classic ’90s rom-com. For some reason, that was enough to hit me right in the nostalgia bone (despite not recognizing any of these tracks) and made the whole thing a really warm, enjoyable listen. Add in the surprisingly incredible instrumental part in the closing track, and the album lands at a comfortable 4 in my eyes.
Standouts: (They Long To Be) Close To You • Another Song
Carole King
3/5
Lovely little ballads!
Standouts: You've Got A Friend • Where You Lead • Smackwater Jack
Rod Stewart
3/5
I hated Rod Stewart on Jeff Beck's Truth, so he really surprised me on this one. I expected the raspy voice to get old quick, but he manages to not be overly present, and to balance it out with excellent instrumentation for the most part. Pretty good record overall, despite a few misses here and there (You're My Girl's bassline is so freaking good and would belong on a much better song than this 🥀)
Standouts: My Way Of Giving • Country Comfort • You're My Girl (I Don't Want To Discuss It)
Metallica
4/5
I love Metallica in bursts, but as one listen this might have overstayed its welcome by about two tracks. Still all hard as hell individually, and it blew my mind how tight the guitars sounded with the drums. Great stuff.
Standouts: Eye Of The Beholder • One • The Frayed Ends of Sanity • To Live Is To Die • Dyers Eve
The Beach Boys
4/5
I first heard this album 234 days ago, and kind of hated it for its overly-sugary sweet vocals. Ever since, I've kept seeing it praised as one of the best albums ever, heavily disagreed, and so I kept returning to it trying to see what everyone sees in it.
I think by sheer exposure over that period, I've come to really like Pet Sounds -- though I still fail to 'get' it in the way its devotees do.
So for my rating here, at this point the album has technically entered my frequent rotation, and I imagine that no music I truly dislike would keep me coming back so often. Maybe I should just fully embrace the 4.
Standouts: Wouldn't It Be Nice • Don't Talk (Pour Your Head On My Shoulder) • Let's Go Away For A While • Pet Sounds