I don't like country music on the whole but there is something about Johnny Cash that I make an exception for. He's both serious and fun at the same time.
Stars to recognise the quality of his musicianship but this style of music doesn't do it for me.
More hillbilly than expected.
Soporific
Bit of a nostalgia trip for me. I recall it coming out and not long after I visited California myself. I've not listened to it since though and today I find it bland and soporific. Not sure how it made it into this list - was it that influential?
Short and sweet.
Zzzzz
That they went to art school is the least surprising fact about this band.
Critically and commercial successful in the Netherlands. What are they smoking?
Morrissey is problematic but I love the sound.
Had no expectations - pleasantly surprised. Dark, electronic, very atmospheric. The artist is one half of The Knife who made Heartbeats.
Prefer his work with Garfunkel. Julio is a highlight but quite middle of the road otherwise.
Pretty decent grunge-like sound. Need to listen to again really.
Tough one - there are too many artists that fit into the category where I like the music but not the artist (grim allegations against him). Rating based on the music. It was good, albeit a tad long.
Not my style but I liked her attitude. Definitely not background music.
One of my favourite albums. The themes still feel depressing relevant today.
Very decent electronic dance music. Some great bass lines. Suffers in this challenge from hearing it at home rather than out at the discotheque.
I don't like country music on the whole but there is something about Johnny Cash that I make an exception for. He's both serious and fun at the same time.
I know Jack White is not the most technically gifted guitarist and that the band is hardly doing anything that original, but I like the songs and the sound.
I still recall a lot of the words from the hit singles on this album over twenty years later. It's a pretty decent pop album but of its time and doesn't feel like it was much more than a commercial endeavour.
I usually like the post punk sound but I wasn't really feeling this one so much. I felt it would do well with repeat listens. The songs didn't feel distinctive enough from each other with the result that seemed like sets of noises giving way to other noises.
Listened to this a few days ago and can't recall it at all which hardly speaks volumes. New wave in style?
Great opener. Great close. Some songs in the middle don't do very much but I enjoy the overall sound.
Started strongly. You can hear their clear influence on 1990s pop punk. Around song five (Ice Cold Ice) you could also hear similarities with REM. Was going to be four stars initially but it's far too long an album. Over an hour. The album lost any sense of coherency as it went on and the energy dwindled.
Relatively enjoyable late 60s psychedelic rock. Looking album though. Would get a higher rating if listened to while on acid.
Beautiful voice and music although I found it quite slow overall without much variation.
I don't like jazz. I don't really know why, it just doesn't appeal to me. I get the impression that these are all talented people. Her voice is good. The songs are well crafted and performed. It's just not my thing.
Great album. More bluesy than one might expect.
I've never liked the main single from this album (Epic). I find the vocal can be hard to listen to at times and sometimes the music is ... silly? However, there were some songs that I really liked, especially towards the end of the album. Woodpecker from Mars I really enjoyed as an instrumental, middle Eastern influenced metal piece. The War Pigs cover is very competent and Edge of the World had a chill vibe.
This is one of those albums I grew up listening to. I still remember all the notes and lyrics. I was really into Coldplay as a teenager and bought each of their first four albums. After Viva la Vida I stopped. Never really gave much thought to why. My tastes became heavier in general and Coldplay didn't feel particularly interesting anymore. Parachutes brings back a lot of teenage memories. Don't Panic was one of the first songs I learnt on the guitar and it's one of the few songs I still remember how to play all the way through. Shiver was one of my favourite songs, speaking to my teenage angst about girls I liked. Mostly it's a slow and chilled out album and if I came to it fresh today I might dismiss it as lacking in energy but in the end it was pleasant to hum along to familiar tunes and this album at least holds up well I think.
Has a few recognisable tunes but is quite dated. One of the issues with simply listening to albums is that they end up removed from their context. This is especially the case with dance music I think but I felt that was the case here too. You can hear how it was made for 1950s dance halls and it doesn't have quite the same impact almost 70 years later when at home. You can also hear how the early elements of rock and roll and developing - there are short guitar solos for instance, but compared to what happens in the 1960s it lacks the technical skill and imagination of what comes later. Not his/their fault of course but in the end it's like listening to a museum piece.
It's a long album, being a double. Perhaps too long. A real epic. I don't find it drags though as it's quite experimental and there is quite a lot of variety - from heavy songs with distorted vocals to ballad-style pieces with piano and strings. This is the album that got me into the Smashing Pumpkins. I prefer their earlier offering (Siamese Dream) but I think it gets five star for vision alone. I think the second side (Twilight to Starlight) is better, but there's not much in it. It's also one of those albums where I think many of the album tracks are as good if not better than the singles that came out of it.
Love this sound. Metal/grunge. I'm not sure what would get it a five. Listening to the album a bit more might help but as it is a strong four.
Lots of hit singles. Strong three or low four. Bit samey overall but a nice smattering of soul, reggae, jazz, pop.
Didn't hate it. Didn't love it. Very jazz. Occasionally I enjoyed a little passage of music. Mostly out felt like an extended jam session and directionless. At one point I thought I'd accidentally turned the kettle on but it was just an unusual instrument being introduced on the second song.
I'm not that familiar with their work but this album was very much in keeping with the little I do know. I generally enjoy the wall of sound approach although given that this album was released in 2013 I do question how this adds anything to their catalogue.
Loved the first song. Turns out I do want it darker. Will need to listen to again but I liked what I heard. I don't generally get on with singer-songwriters. I tend to find them slow and a bit boring but there are a few who buck that trend. There's just something else about them that elevates the music. I've not listened much to Leonard Cohen but he seems like that kind of musician. I wanted to know what he was saying and it felt important. Also, lots of dark sounds riffing with religious themes is something that appeals to me.
Seems like the kind of music cool people listen to. I also quite enjoyed it to be fair. Not sure how I'd describe it but experimental indie pop?
Both more 80s sounding and more punk sounding than I was expecting. It was okay. Would probably grow on me but I much prefer The Stone Roses.
There's a fuzzy boundary between blues, rock, and country. This falls the right side of all three for me.
Really enjoyed the opening track but didn't feel much grabbed me strongly after that. Had a lot that I could get into (post punk sound, Manchester accents, and so on) but I think it would take a few listens to really appreciate.
Some great tracks on here but a very long album. Would need to listen to again to judge the consistency.
First wave punk. Art school. Short songs. Short album. I liked it.
Great voice and lots of great songs.
Okay. Indie music that feels of it's time. On the more Avant Garde end though so not many songs in a typical sense. More musical notes in a void.
Long. Eclectic. Listened to this one shortly after Pink Flag by Wire and there are similarities but there's a greater range here. Would benefit from repeat listens.
Jazz.
Some excellent songs. Tad too long though.
Another long album. On the whole I liked it, some classic songs. Got that Manchester (adjacent) sound.
Not familiar with the genre but it seemed to be somewhat experimental African blues. I enjoyed it.
I preferred the album after this one as this one seemed to be more straightforward gangsta rap. There were some tracks that sounded good and from what I read it seems to be a satire of culture that I grew up in. Worth listening to again.
It's okay. 90s dance music. A bit of a hard edge at points which I like but felt like there was little variation. Around halfway through I couldn't see how anything was going to change and most songs had sounded the same to that point.
Much derided but I really enjoyed it. A couple of very famous songs that I remember hearing growing up and a lot of good songs on the rest of the album.
Quite enjoyable if you like the sound. I think I do. Hard to describe offhand.
Combines elements of their career to date, both the rockier sounds and the electronic experimentation. Not perfect by a long shot, some dirgy parts but usually interesting and inviting of further listens.
Need to listen to again. Liked the opener a lot, didn't seem to do that much afterwards but I wasn't paying full attention. Kind of soul funk I guess.
A 1970s prog rock album that sounds like ... a 1970s prog rock album. Very long. Whale noises. Lots of other noises too. It went on and on.
Used to listen to this a lot in my late teens. Take Me Out was a huge hit of course but there's a lot of either fun or good songs on here.
A long, double album. Felt self indulgent at times. A couple of excellent songs that really stand out but unless you're following the concept closely a lot of the rest of the songs feel a bit like filler. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt 2 and Comfortably Numb elevate the whole affair.
Pretty decent all throughout, with a few standout songs (mostly the singles which are mostly famous).
Okay. Lots of very 60s sounding pop songs.
I used to like this more than I do now. Joshua Tree feels like such a complete album and every song fits into a cohesive whole. Achtung Baby feels more like a collection of songs made at the same time with little that links them. There's a few very good ones on the album, and some others. A generous four.
Curious album. Hard to describe. I liked elements of it. Some interfering songs, a unique sound, however his voice sounds like he's not trying and about halfway through I found it getting to be too much. He literally drones on and on.
Pretty decent. A couple of famous songs on it. Not exactly pop but on that spectrum. Probably between a three and a four for me.
Fun and funky
Didn't know them and thought they were going to be a completely different genre than what they were, which was a 90s pop punk band with less of the pop and emphasis on the punk.
I had low expectations of this and was very pleasantly surprised. I thought it was going to be one of those 90s dance albums but it was something entirely else. I'm not exactly sure what, mind, but something else. A bit hip hop, a bit experimental, a bit ... sounds. Some tracks wouldn't feel out of place on the soundtrack to Alien, and to me that's a good thing, so this album was a good thing.
One of the best jazz albums I've listened to, but then I don't like jazz. Two songs, 40 minutes, very relaxed. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. 3+
I don't generally like acoustic singer-songwriter music as it tends to be a bit dull and soporific but you can't level that criticism at Elliott Smith. He's more interesting musically and lyrically than most and has a unique quality and sound that sets him apart.
Another album on the longer side. The famous song Mr Blue Sky stands out and the rest felt very similar so going for a generous four which could stick or go down with subsequent listens.
Wasn't sure what to expect. Quite liked the sound initially, but felt too samey over the course of the album. 80s alt rock with ethereal female vocal.
More eclectic than I was expecting. There's some rocky numbers, of course, but some more experimental pieces too and even rap/hip hop elements in places.
I've generally been finding Bowie underwhelming in this challenge. Ziggy is a great song but a lot of the others felt very forgettable.
A crooner. Not generally what I'm into but some of the songs were really well done.
So many great songs.
Just a lot of fun. It's almost all the same song over and over again. But what a song it is.
If I was sitting in a café in Paris, drinking wine and talking about Sartre then this would be the perfect accompaniment. But I'm not. I quite liked the first two songs. After that everything trailed off a bit. I'm sure the lyrics are very deep but the music is very meandering and the vocals are almost identical to Thom Yorke of Radiohead. At least with Radiohead the music is interesting so there's more to balance out the whiney sound of his voice.
One of my favourite albums. There's musical variety but centred around a unified theme of ostracism. There's a lot of sadness in the music and being an outsider to society amplifies it but it's beautifully executed. There's hope shining through.
I enjoyed this. Fun and upbeat. The guitar work was very good. Malian blues.
Okay. Bit dull. Man and guitar singing softly.
Lots of energy. Short songs for a short album. No excess.
Some classic tunes.
Very eclectic. I'm still not sure what to have made of it all. One moment he's a crooner, the next he's shredding his guitar like the best of them. A very long album.
Pretty decent. Some songs sounded a bit country but overall enjoyed the vibe.
Punk.
So many hits. Such good tunes. Wasn't expecting to give a 5, but here we are.
Had not heard of this band. A very early 80s punk sound but elements of country/Americana showing up on some songs.
First 1 star review after 159 albums. I find the music dull. The singing irritates me. For a change I decided to look into the lyrics to see if I was missing something, but it's all prayers to god and beating up women. I will happily never listen to this again.
Energetic. Rousing choruses for drinking.
People who I know who aren't keen on punk rate this band which I find curious as it sounded very punk to me. Which I'm fine with.
Found this a bit dull to listen to. Probably need to listen to the lyrics more.
Eclectic. Some Bollywood numbers on her but a fair few western songs with an Indian twist too. Not sure what to make of it really. I think it's the soundtrack to a film so watching it might help.
Quite proggy. Jazz rock to some extent. I find it hard to take seriously but this was more enjoyable than some of the others I've heard in this genre.
Okay. Didn't make much of an impression on me. Wasn't quite what I expected either.
Long been a fan of R.E.M. but only through their most famous songs via compilation and greatest hits albums. I had Monster on CD, which was the only album I'd fully heard and even then only in passing. I was interested to find that this was their debut album, back in 1983. Several songs were familiar, the opener (Radio Free Europe) is great. The rest, well it varied. On the whole I enjoyed it, some songs had some interesting aspects however it was a bit drab overall.
I suppose you could call this chill out music. Sexy Boy is a very famous tune although not necessarily reflective of the rest of the album. Probably a bit slow for me. Four stars for it's quality but three for enjoyment.
I like the Coral. Dreaming of You is one of my favourite songs. I wouldn't say the rest of the album was quite on the same level but it had something about it. More ska influence than I was expecting.
I remember when this came out. I wasn't into it at the time but "My Name Is" was a huge hit that you just couldn't escape from. I kind of liked the album. He's got a lot of skill and there are interesting references to pop culture being used but the Slim Shady persona is very puerile one. The sexism and misogyny may be part of the image but it's an unpleasant one and he doesn't do much to undermine or subvert it that I could tell. He seems to revel in the outsider status, coming along and wrecking the way things are done. A four for impact and importance (maybe even a five) but a three for enjoyment.
Lots of famous tunes on here although the audio quality wasn't great. Enjoyably 60s pop rock I guess.
Really enjoyed this. Liked every song. Going with five although that might be too generous. Will need to listen to again.
It was okay. A bit too country adjacent for me. Friend of the Devil was familiar and good. The rest was a bit middle of the road for me.
Sultans of Swing is a classic. The whole album is pretty good.
Potential five. Will need to re-listen. Four for now.
Enjoyed this. Quite a few hits on it.
What's Going On and Let's Get It On sound similar. I had Let's Get it On a few months back but listened to What's Going On instead. A bit embarrassing, but there we are. Listening to What's Going On at least assured me that I didn't like it very much on a second listen either. On the contrary, Let's Get It On was more enjoyable. I think it ultimately came down to the songs. I like the songs when they are distinct songs with structure, I do not enjoy his music when he goes in a more free-flowing, unstructured direction. After the first couple of songs, this is what happens on What's Going On and I just found it hard to get into. It meanders and feels like an extended jamming session that would be fine if you were watching it live or just into the music but it didn't do it for me.
Classic album. The sound of Cobain's voice on some of the tracks is so emotive.
Decent album. Not stand out but very solid.
I kind of like this but it's hard to tell. It's very repetitive and electronic. I can enjoy this sound but I think I prefer other artists who do similar things but with something else going on.
It's okay. A bit retro. 1950s kind of style but with a modern twist.
Good album. Some songs I did not expect on it.
This was the first time I had ever listened to Elvis Costello. I have yet to make up my mind on him. I think he could grow on me, but I am not there yet.
Generic country music?
Seemed decent. I have listened to this album once before (30 year anniversary in 2024). Would listen to again.
Quite a cohesive concept album. Pinball Wizard is famous and was the best song on the album. The song before was unpleasant. Leaning to Four, but maybe too generous.
More country.
It was okay. Mostly electronic. It would probably grow on me with repeated listens.
Enjoyable. A few classics songs.