What happened here? I genuinely found the first half of this almost unlistenable, and was almost content just giving this a 1 and moving on. Then the album hits you with Maps and Y Control. If the whole album sounded like Maps, this would be an easy 5.

Banger

This was a good album, but I couldn't help but find it was all over the place, some real bangers alongside some rougher listens. I may have to give it more listens to really appreciate it, but I don't have a strong desire to return to it yet.

I don't think this one was for me. I think Bjork's voice is very interesting and I can see the influence of this album rippling through the next three decades, but I found the tunes uninspired and the lyrics kinda terrible. Sorry Bjork!

This is an album I'm going to have to return to later in the challenge - I could appreciate a lot of what was going on, and didn't find myself disliking any aspects of the album, but nothing about it really stuck with me.

I couldn't give this one the attention it deserves, just due to its length, but what I did hear I liked. Definitely the type of album I'm glad this challenge showed to me, otherwise I may never have listened to it.

Challenging, gripping, I listened to this while making loaded potatoes and spent the entire time bopping. I can immediately understand why this isn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it

This is another one that's going to require more listens from me, but as of right now, I've really enjoyed it and plan on returning to it soon.

This one grew on me as I listened to it - I was originally going to rate it as a 2. There's a lot of great songs and brilliant ideas on here, but I found that, as an album, it fell short and felt too disjointed to be as enjoyable as I would've liked.

The temptation to rate this one higher than I am was strong, but I recognize that a lot of my positive feelings about it are tied to either liking Black Hole Sun, or reminiscing about listening to a lot of these songs with my dad two decades ago. That being said, listening to it now, a lot of it didn't quite click with me. I would rate this a 3.5 if I could.

This is the first of the albums where I found myself immediately wanting to dive back in and listen again. Earnest and whimsical.

I really didn't like this one. It felt boring, flat, and I really didn't understand why it even made this list at all. :(

I liked it, but I don't think this is one I'm planning on diving back into any time soon.

I don't think this was quite a five for me, but it was damn close. Something that's been a pretty strong indicator for me so far has been the desire to return and listen again - and this one successfully pulled me back in, twice. Not an album that I'd say changed my life, but it's still a phenomenal collection of music.

The Arctic Monkeys are phenomenal - but this is far from their best work. Even beyond AM. Favorite Worst Nightmare AND Tranquility Base both deliver more well-rounded and experienced performances. That being said, this is still the sound your Monkeys are known for, and it does still deliver those sweet sounds I crave.

Easily the best of the albums I've listened to as part of this challenge so far - made me feel disappointed that I hadn't listened to this band before. Songs like We Are The Pigs, Daddy's Speeding, and The Asphalt World were all standouts to me. Bust out a nice pair of headphones if at first it doesn't quite click with you!

This feels like the type of album where I would've much preferred it in a different setting, maybe a bar or a restaurant, or listening to it live. As if right now it didn't resonate with me

I could barely make it thought more than a few songs and found this extremely unappealing. Sorry!

Now this is jazz. Great listen, I loved this.

My immediate impression of this album was that it didn't sound like The Who I knew. Reading into a bit of its history, it didn't surprise me at all to learn it was mired by shitty band dynamics, the worst of the music industry, and the desire to chase the next Beatles-like hit. The Who has some great music - this isn't really that.

I've listened to this album a lot growing up. There are some real hits on here for sure, but every song starts to melt together into a pretty boring mess of sound and vocals who's novelty wears off pretty quickly.

This album lives up to its name. I was very, very tempted to give this a 4 - there's a lot here that I think is phenomenal, and I can mayyyybe see myself returning to it in the future, but it's just not quite there. I hope to see more like this on this list in the future.

Definitely a fascinating album, and ahead of its time, but much like a lot of things that are ahead of its time, it's a very unrefined mess. Every so often, there would be a glimmer of something awesome shining through, but it never really transcended past the sound of a live rock album performed by a group of pretty okay musicians.

This was bound to happen with a large number of these albums - but I didn't feel particularly strongly about this album one way or another. There were some decent songs, and it was largely inoffensive, though the vocals do start to lose some of their appeal by the latter half of the album. I would rate this a 2.5 if I could.

Very authentic, raw album. Unfortunately I don't think a lot stands out from it, but Alexander Spence is clearly a talented musician considering this is a solo work. There's a charm to it I can't shake.

There isn't a question in my mind that this is one of the best albums of all time. I wouldn't be surprised if this was in my top 5 albums of this whole list. Some of the songs present are phenomenal pieces of work, but even the "filler" present is top notch. I don't know what else I can say about this one.

This is certainly a better album than Beggar's Banquet. The sound palette the Stones went for here is imo much better with Mick Jagger's voice, and a few standout songs like Wild Horses really hit well. That being said, his voice really isn't for everyone.

I wish I liked this one just a bit more! I like funk, but nothing about this particular album really stood out to me.

On my first listen, I found myself liking this one - but in hindsight, I don't think I can give this more than a 2 in good faith. There isn't really a single track on this one that I want to return to any time soon (yes, even the title track).

What happened here? I genuinely found the first half of this almost unlistenable, and was almost content just giving this a 1 and moving on. Then the album hits you with Maps and Y Control. If the whole album sounded like Maps, this would be an easy 5.

DNF. Genuinely, I thought this sucked. Jagger grunting in my ear about how badly he wants to go home and screw his woman for ten minutes is not how I wanted to start my morning. Just go and listen to Wild Horses.

I really didn't get anything out of this one. In the end, every song blended together into one big mess and the singer's accent wasn't helping. That being said, I can see its influence.

The musicians in this band are extremely talented. As much as I want to like garage punk, "Howlin' Pelle Alqmvist"'s vocals made me wish my head would explode and take me out of my misery. The talent on display here can't trump my personal taste in the end.

I really deliberated on this one for a while. But I can't help but give this a five. I was listening to it in the shower and couldn't help but feel alive. One of the greatest songwriters of our lifetime for sure.

Really not sure what to make of this album. It's cromulent, has a bunch of interesting moments, but nothing really stands out to me. It feels like an odd choice to include on a list like this. Overall pretty neat though!

I can understand that the repetition of the same drum or bass line throughout each song is a very explicit choice from the style of music this is - but it made me feel impatient and frustrated more than anything, waiting for a chord change that was never going to come. Really wish I liked this, the talent on display is strong.

This one caught me completely off-guard and I adored it. It's nice to hear this type of sound without it being parodied into the ground.

I could listen to Miles Davis play the trumpet for 12 hours

Having a really hard time rating this one properly. I loved it all the way through but nothing specific grabbed out at me, and the vocalist - despite having a very lovely voice - was completely gibberish to my ears for most of the way through. I'm excited to return to this one eventually.

I keep returning to this one. Every song is a vibe that's really resonating with me - I think I'm learning that I love soul.

This one was a lot of fun. Funk and soul brothers for life. But besides a few great moments I just don't see myself returning to it any time soon.

Wanted to like this one so bad but I think I just can't match its energy. Madonna does so so many cool things on this album but it far overstayed its welcome both in album length AND frequently song length.

The last thing I expected this to sound like was Mitski. A phenomenally crafted vibe the whole way through, and the perfect album to show someone who "doesn't like country".

Nothing stood out to me, but for once, I'm more than okay with that. This feels like the type of album you want to let wash over you as it carries you down its river for an hour. I wish it were a bit more gripping, but it was still lovely.

Impossible to rate this album without first addressing the elephant in the room - this feels like they stuck two different albums together. The more country sound does them a huge disservice. Their punk and psychedelic sound is incredible. If this was an album where all the songs were like Plateau, Aurora, Teenager(s), and The Whistling Song - this would be an easy 4. But Split Myself In Two was one of the worst songs I've heard in this challenge.

Better than My Generation, but you can tell The Who still haven't found their sound. "Our Love Was" is an incredible standout track, and the concept is pretty cool.

If this album has one downside, it's that it can't be enjoyed through singles. A meticulously crafted masterpiece through and through. There's genuinely nothing else like it.

Elvis Costello sings with the confidence and style of someone who loves the sound of their own voice - which makes the fact that he sounds like your friend's overconfident dad performing at the summer barbeque even more grating. Even the best song on this album ("I Want You") falls apart at the first scrutiny of its lyrics, which seem to be about being cucked?? What's up with that??? I wish I could concentrate on the music at all to give a real opinion but it's completely overwhelmed by Costello's squawking. Did not enjoy!

Failed to click with this one, though that feels like it could be a skill issue on my part, not the album's. Nothing really stood out to me though!

Unfortunately this one didn't really make much of an impact on me. It was okay, and probably the best "no-name" random rock group from the 80s or so that I've heard from this list so far - but that doesn't mean much.

There were a few tracks on here that I thought were lovely but I'm having trouble feeling particularly locked in. I'd rate this one a 3.5 if I could. Definitely need to return to it!

The first half of this one deceived me. I didn't have a lot of context about David Bowie as a person going into this one but I could tell this was a tumultuous time for him and his creative process. That being said, the second half of this is different and incredible. While I can't see myself revisiting this whole ride, I'll definitely have the back half as something to return to.