I had only heard Paper Planes by M.I.A., and this album is a radical departure from that. I like that song, and I also really enjoyed this album. The musical range that M.I.A. shows is cool and fun to listen to. The uptempo energy carries the album. Great stuff!
Whispy vocals, cool rhythms. Very indie sound. Not the kind of music I normally gravitate towards, but overall a pretty enjoyable album.
Overall a really fun listen. Ambient electronica but with enough interesting bits to keep it moving.
It started really strong, but became sort of generic over the course of the album. The high pitched vocals weren't my favorite
Soaring vocals, electronic tracks underneath. There are a few bangers on the album. Overall it's enjoyable but I wouldn't listen to the whole thing again. I'd pick the singles and listen to them.
Sinatra's voice is smooth and really quite amazing. Great compositions by Jobim. Overall a very enjoyable album.
Good album. Diverse vocals and a cool musical style
Absolutely awesome album!
Seems like a great example of the genre; late-sixties Brit-Pop. Overall an enjoyable listen.
Interesting sound. Very 2000's indie rock
Great album! I had never really listened to this kind of old timey country before, but the minimalist sound (one guitar, one mandolin, two singers in harmony) made for a really catchy, beautiful album. The duality of the voices, one twangy and high, the other in a lower key, made for an Appalachia meets Simon and Garfunkel vibe.
Whispy vocals, cool rhythms. Very indie sound. Not the kind of music I normally gravitate towards, but overall a pretty enjoyable album.
Whispy vocals, cool rhythms. Very indie sound. Not the kind of music I normally gravitate towards, but overall a pretty enjoyable album.
Not the kind of music for me. Very '70's prog but not in a fun way, just in a Frank Zappa or Mr Bungle kinda way. I had a hard time getting through this one.
Funktastic
I am a straight man in my 40's, so I almost skipped listening to this one just because I didn't think it was going to be for me. But in all honesty, this was a pretty good album! The beats were solid and the vocals were on point. TLC's radio hits don't do them justice.
It was ok. Solsbury Hill is a classic, but the rest of the album was kinda forgettable
Being on drugs doesn't make your music good to people who aren't on drugs. Exhibit A: this album.
R.E.M. at the height of their powers. This album shows a lot of musical chops. The bass is forward and obviously heavily influenced by funk music. The sax solo is a nice touch. And Michael Stipe's haunting voice is perfect. Overall a very enjoyable album!
Surprisingly fun and catchy. This was a sleeper hit
Absolutely fantastic album! Bert Jansch's soulful vocals along with his masterful guitar work made for a really wonderful listening experience.
Great overall album. Just really enjoyable throughout. The gravelly voice of John Fogerty along with the catchy tunes carries it through. I could listen to this one over and over again.
This is a rock album for theater kids, as some of the other commenters have said. Honestly, not for me. It felt a little too over-the-top, though I get that that's the point. Meat Loaf's vocals were certainly the highlight of the album, as his range and vocal power is undeniable. If you like Rocky Horror or that kind of thing, I imagine you would really like this album.
A great album by R.E.M. Michael Stipe's vocals really drive the album, and his use of layering is unique and haunting. The drums are an omnipresent force. My favorite song was Orange Crush.
This one felt like Willie Nelson doing his best Frank Sinatra impression. Georgia On My Mind was an absolutely perfect cover and I think the best song on the album. Most of the others were forgettable, with a few head scratchers. Some of the songs seemed to be simply Willie singing random notes within a major scale for no apparent reason. Going into this one, I was excited because I generally like Willie Nelson, but this album was a meh for me.
Overall a really fun listen. Ambient electronica but with enough interesting bits to keep it moving.
Never really a Bowie fan, but I liked this album overall
Surprisingly good album. Lauryn Hill's vocals were soulful and soaring, and the beats were solid. The classroom interludes of the teacher and students talking about love were a little corny, but worked to tie the album together in a very '90's way.
Classic Summer of Love album. The musicality was tight even with the psychadelic stuff mixed in. The vocal harmonies were pleasant to listen to. Sort of a Beach Boys meets the Beatles vibe. It felt a little unpolished at times, like they were sort of figuring things out, but as a whole the album was pretty good.
Pretty good! Parsons and Harris make a nice vocal duo, with his rich baritone and her twangy southern twang balancing each other nicely. The lyrics are melancholic and sad, which is about what one would expect from an album called Grievous Angel.
Doesn't sound like what I imagined a Beach Boys album sounding like. I usually think of them as saccharine '50's-early '60's pop or "Good Vibrations" pop-psychadelic rock, but this was a different. Certainly darker in a way, with way less of the falsetto vocals usually associated with the band. Disney Girls and Surf's Up were the highlights for me. Overall not bad.
An ok album overall. Most of the album kind of felt like filler except for Bohemian Rhapsody.
Boring
Driving vocals, good ol' fashioned in your face rock/punk music. This album was like eating a really good burger. It wasn't trying to be anything more than it was, but it was cooked perfectly, well balanced, and very satisfying. The influences on later pop-punk, new wave, and alternative music were obvious. Great album.
It was ok. Kinda cheesy, but in an earnest way. I've never been a big Springsteen fan, and this album didn't change my mind.
Good post-hardcore punk by Fugazi. I enjoyed this album very much!
I had never heard of this artist or really this style of music before. I really dug this album! Monae's musical style draws from funk, soul, electronica, jazz, hip hop, new wave, synth pop... It sounded a bit chaotic at first, but as the album settled in the sound became more composed and Monae's soaring vocals carried the whole thing throughout. Definitely deserves another listen.
Great album! Soulful, powerful vocals and catchy tunes.
Funky
Great album! Tight grooves, solid vocals, just an overall enjoyable listen.
I've never been a huge fan of Talking Heads, but they're ok. This album exceeded my expectations. The music was innovative and catchy, and the vocal style became less annoying as the album went on.
Fantastic album! I never thought much of Thin Lizzy. Their radio hits always seemed pretty ok, but nothing special. The energy and rock-ness of their live album showcases their talent much more effectively.
Funky music reminiscent of Herby Hancock. The vocals are all in Portuguese, but the singer is strong and the lyrics are rhythmic. Overall a really enjoyable listen
Based on the other reviews, I expected to hate this album. I was pleasantly surprised! Overall, the songs hit a groove and stay there, while the band plays around, sometimes melodically, sometimes with noise or other rhythmic sounds (insects, water dripping, etc.) But the effect is fun and groovy.
Elton John's vocal prowess is obviously well known, and his songs are generally catchy and sometimes powerful. This album started really strong but kinda lost steam halfway through. Overall an enjoyable listen, but the best songs were definitely the hits.
Great album!
Great album!
It felt very generic 90's pop. I've heard that this guy is popular in England, but as an American, I don't see what the fuss is about
This album started out a little bit too experimental for my taste, and I almost abandoned it early, but I stuck it out and it got better as it went on. The layering of instruments on top of the main groove felt a little awkward at times, but the vocals were pleasant and the music was interesting and unique. Not one I'd revisit, but glad I listened.
There are some albums that are a collection of songs, the order of which is unimportant and thematically they don't necessarily match. This is not one of those. American Idiot is an album meant to be consumed as such. In a way, the album could be seen as one long song, which, given the popularity of many of the individual songs on the album, is a testament to Green Day's songwriting and craftsmanship. This is very much a time capsule of post-9/11 America. It is a protest album in the most literal sense. It's easy to forget now but Green Day's cultural relevance had faded almost entirely before American Idiot came out and brought them roaring back to the fore. While it isn't a perfect album in a vacuum, it was the perfect album for this band at that time, and its musical snapshot of the time and place it represents is profound.
This might be the worst album I've ever heard. Seriously. How did this end up on the 1001 albums list?? The rapping is arrhythmic and the rhyme scheme is awkward. The beats are rudimentary. The story line is childish. What am I missing? What does anyone see in this?
The backing music was pleasant in a semi-melancholy way. Sort of reminiscent of Lana Del Ray. But the vocal style was absolutely brutal and very off putting. I couldn't finish it.
Bowie is clearly a talented vocalist and songwriter. The title track is a classic. The rest of the album is heavily influenced by the jazz and funk of the 1970's. Overall, a nice album but not really my favorite.
Metal is a genre best enjoyed live. Much like seeing an action movie in the theater vs seeing it at home, the experience is much best enjoyed when it's big, loud, and overwhelming. My wife doesn't listen to metal recreationally, but she'll go to a live metal show because the thunderous double-bass drum, the shredding guitar, the smell of sweat and beer, the taste of blood, the bruises, and the energy of the mosh pit serve to create the perfect atmosphere for the controlled chaos of the music itself. I imagine ravers who listen to EDM in the car have a similar experience. That said, Reign in Blood is a masterpiece. Raining Blood is an amazing song, but the whole album overall is a master class in thrash metal. If a great grindcore/slasher film were made into an album, this would be it.
A lot more twangy and country style than I expected from the Stones, but overall an enjoyable listen
Whoever mixed this album deserves a Grammy. Beautiful job. The guitars are clean and bright, and Mark Knopfler's gravelly vocals provide a great counterpoint to the rest of the band. The musicians are world class, and the songwriting, while seemingly straightforward, shows a lot of technical grace without getting in its own way. I really enjoyed this one!
I had only heard Paper Planes by M.I.A., and this album is a radical departure from that. I like that song, and I also really enjoyed this album. The musical range that M.I.A. shows is cool and fun to listen to. The uptempo energy carries the album. Great stuff!
Great bluesy folk album by James Taylor. The guitar work is superb, and his voice is angelic. Fire and Rain is a classic for a reason, and it still resonates, while many other songs on the album are composed, played, and sung beautifully.
Fun album! I saw "psychadelic" and 1968 and thought 'oh god, here we go again.' But this wasn't that at all. It was sludgy, jazzy, voodoo cosplay fun! It felt very underground, and that certainly added to its appeal. This is the kind of weird, fun album that I started this project to find!
Pretty standard cafe jazz. It's fine background music, but not really exciting or innovative or anything. I don't really see why this album would be included, but I'm also not a jazz guy, so...
The album title says it all. It is very Elvis, and it is very Memphis. Overall I enjoyed the album, not really having listened to much Elvis Presley aside from a few of his hits.
Absolute masterpiece. I didn't realize that Changes was a Sabbath song until after I had heard the Big Mouth version. Ozzy performs it beautifully. Snowblind is a classic, and Supernaut is a banger. FX is also a beautiful interlude. Great album!
The album was largely forgettable. Pretty much exactly what one would expect from late '60's pop-rock. Not bad really, but not an album that is transformative or really even that distinguishable from others of its time.
Iron Maiden without Bruce Dickinson is a different band. The soaring vocals are replaced with a more growled, workmanlike sound. I like it!
What a great album! The ultimate concept album, I've listened to this one a hundred times and I'll probably listen to it a hundred more.
This album was fine. Not spectacular, but not bad either. Very '60's. I'm realizing that this list leans very heavy on the '60's rock, and I don't think I agree that the cultural relevance of these albums today warrants their outsized influence on it. It's albums like this that make me consider abandoning the project.
Soulful vocals and lyrics. Less aggressive and subversive than I expected from Fiona Apple, but in a good way.