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.

Fun and funky