Solid record. I like the alternate recordings and live versions better than these, but a good snapshot of this era.
The middle sags a lot, but this is a solid record. Win Butler's voice can start to grate on you after a while. Smart orchestration, some really fun time signatures.
All-time great record. The first half of this album absolutely cooks. But it does have a sequencing issue - after the certified stadium bangers on Side A, Side B almost feels like a different album. It may have been a deliberate choice, or a casualty of the cassette era's "you have to assume they're not flipping the sides" mentality. Still, either way, it feels like starting the meal with dessert before serving the vegetables. It's a landmark record, and both sides have their merits, but side B fades with a whimper.
A few decent songs (Thrasher, Pocahontas, Powderfinger) and utterly forgettable ones (Ride My Llama, Welfare Mothers, Sedan Delivery) sandwiched between an absolute banger cooked two ways. It's fine.
This album is a masterpiece.
Not necessarily my cup of tea, but the musicianship is great. This band is absolutely locked in, and the vocals are crisp. The production is a little muddled, and unlike most albums, the backend of this record is MUCH better than the front. Solid stuff.
This album is insane. It’s a work of art. It’s unabashed in its intensity, its craftsmanship, and its explosiveness. Funny, wry, sardonic: everything about this album is deliberate. Fiona redefined herself on this as a singular artist of her time. Damn near perfect.
Missy is the best. So much fun, so engaging. I’m sure I’ll return to this, but I don’t know if it’s exactly legendary. Really good, though.
I didn’t care for this at all. Too over-indulgent, too self-important. I always wondered where the worst metal bands got their inspiration. Now I know.
I was not in the right mood for an hour of someone claiming to be the king of soul when Al Green is still alive.
Legendary record. Absolutely the best thing The Who ever did, and some of the best songwriting Townshend ever produced. The middle sags a little bit, but it's literally impossible not to have some sag when the bookends are some of the most epic anthems ever produced.
The best album by a former Beatle of all of them. This album is great cover-to-cover. I'll even tolerate some of the indulgences because the rest of it is so good.
I LOVE Willie Nelson, so this album is right in my sweet spot. Is it his best album? No, but it's a top 3 choice. The late 70s production comes through here, but his voice and guitar playing are crisp and dead on. No missed notes, no hair out of place. It's impossible not to love these songs, and the arrangements here are ideally suited to Willie's voice and style.
A snapshot of the year when rock and folk collided. Dylan is the reluctant hero of this, which spawned thousands of bands. This set is great. The playing is free and loose, and Dylan’s vocals sound great. This is a quintessential moment in rock history, preserved in wax. Reverence in the highest order.
This is good. I wasn't in the mood for jazz, but it was a nice introduction to Hugh Masekela. It's a decent enough jazz album, but not a ton to return to here.
I put this album in a very small set of albums that may have absolutely no skippable songs on them. This album is iconic - a bridge between where rock was in 1995 and where it would go. "Fake Plastic Trees" is a perfect song. Honestly, this album and the two that follow are all unassailable.
Not exactly in my wheelhouse, but I appreciate it for what it is. Some of the production was VERY 1992, which really threw me off.
First off, this album contains certified BANGERS. "Clint Eastwood" may be a top 10 all-timer for me. Putting Del in anything elevates it. And yes, this album was groundbreaking, and Damon Albarn & Co. moved the needle for popular music with this album. BUT. A solid one-third of this album feels like good ideas that were never fully developed, which contributes to the "Damon Albarn is too decadent" narrative. Three stars, but throw another in for the sheer presence of Del The Funky Homosapien.
Absolute classic. I love Springsteen, and there are timeless songs on this. This marked the beginning of his transition from his "bar band era" to his "troubadour era." The results are fantastic, even if some of the songs don't resonate as much as the others.
It’s fine. Not great, not bad. Just… fine.
Disco is not for me. Nile Rodgers is though. This is fairly solid. The production is slick, and the instrumentation is well done. It's just not a thing I'll return to.
Total classic. Knowing the background on the album does help, especially that this was the first time a folksinger had transitioned to "rock," and how revolutionary that was. It's probably one of the most "important" albums ever made, and the fact that it sounds so loose makes it more accessible. In the top 3 Dylan albums, I have nothing bad to say about the album as a whole.
I like this album. I wouldn't rank it in the top Costello records - the back half sags a bit, but he's just a brilliant wordsmith. Good, not great.
This was not for me. I can take the Beach Boys in small doses, and I can recognize just how transformative a songwriter Brian Wilson was, but these songs are just SO old-fashioned and quaint. I get that it's the era they were produced in, but this is overwhelmingly "aw, shucks" and broadly insincere. Looking forward to "Pet Sounds" coming up, though. This is just not a great record.
Pretty good! Not the best Who record, but for the era this must’ve felt pretty revolutionary. Good stuff.
It's the Clash, man! Love this band. Great, great album, if not a little longer than it should be. I wasn't prepared for just how much the album tracks stand out among the more popular cuts. "The Right Profile" and "Death or Glory" are fantastic songs that get very little acclaim. I will return to this.
This was a great introduction to this style of songwriting. As a historical document, I found it to be compelling. The production was surprisingly crisp for the era, even if this isn't my favorite type of music. Tough to say I'll come back to this, but I appreciate it for what it is.
I love this album - have since it came out. It's inventiveness, it's production - everything. It falls off a little at the end, which is fairly common for concept records of this era and ilk, but that doesn't stop it from being an absolutely awesome listen. So happy to revisit this.
This was not for me. At all. I appreciate it, and I appreciate Nick Cave, but this is not my cup of tea.
This is good. Very high-concept - very reminiscent of Odessa by the Bee Gees, or Tommy by the Who. Great songs, very late-60s production. I could return to this, for sure.
A top 3 for me. Perfect in every way. The songwriting, the instrumentation, and the sound are simply fantastic. “Mercy Street” is incredible. I can’t love this any more than I do.
This was slightly better than I thought it would be. A few decent songs, but the sound wasn’t for me.
Look, I really like Talking Heads. This album just doesn't land for me the way others do. No question they're brilliant, and no question that David Byrne is one of the best "true artists." In fact, on paper, I should adore this. I just... don't. "Pulled Up" slaps. The rest is... good? Some of this will find its way on mix tapes. The rest will likely never be revisited.
I really like this album. Adele can sing the damn paint off the walls, but beyond that, the production is big where it needs to be, and sparse where it doesn't. Some of the "not massive" songs drag a little, but not enough to detract from this being a fine listen.
I liked this for a while. Then it just...kept...going. In brief intervals, this would be fine, but it felt more like music played in a Gap in the early 00s. It's fine. Just not for me...most of the time.
Really good. I forget how much these guys veer into prog rock. The back half of the album feels almost like a different project completely, which I dug. It grates on you after a while, but I liked.
There is nothing bad I could possibly say about this album. It’s perfect. Aretha will forever be the greatest female vocalist of all time. Automatic 5 stars.
Wondeful album - one I've returned to a LOT. It's like Paul Simon's mini-world tour, mixing folk, African, Zydeco, rock, etc. It's a ton of fun to listen to, even though its themes are all over the place.
I really like this, surprisingly. Some of it feels repetitive, but he has a great voice, and the beats are awesome. Oddly, I liked the French versions better than the English. I'll definitely check out his other stuff.
A really good album… that could have been two spectacular albums. I know the Beasties always create really eclectic albums - hell, “Paul’s Boutique,” anyone? But this album does not mix the bangers and the more avant garde pieces well at all. That said, I love this album, but it falls off a cliff in the 2nd half.
This is a perfectly pleasant album, but not my favorite style of jazz. It's sleepy, and a little too "safe" for my liking.
Interesting. This really provided me with a lens into "how did Adele come about" more than anything else. Perfectly fine. The "wall of sound" production style has always been lost on me. I just starts to grate on me after a bit, and I want to hear individual instruments. The production does nothing for her voice, which has always been tremendous. It's... fine?
I hate this album. Remember those pretentious goth kids who hung out behind the mall smoking cloves? This is the album they really wanted to like, but wasn't even listenable for them. The air of "art school dropouts" lingers on this album like a thick fog. Borderline awful.
I like this album. The VU is one of those bands that is hugely influential, and has heaps of praise foisted upon them, but to me? They're fine. More than fine - they're good. But "legendary?" I have never felt that way.
I will say that having Nico sing a solid chunk of this record works to its benefit. It's got some interesting production and feels extremely loose. Some absolutely iconic songs here, but I rarely ever return to this. Maybe I will now?
Gotta knock it down a full star for the needless cacophony in "European Son." I have a headache.
Go on, try to make me say something bad about P-Funk on a Friday. I’ll wait.
You can really see all of their potential just ready to burst out of them. Great production, playing, and the vocals are spot on. Not my favorite Beatles record, but… well, it’s still a Beatles record.
This is pleasant enough as background music. It sounds like it could just play on a loop in a boutique clothing store in the early 00s. Honestly, I'm not sure how this is on the list, but it was... indeed a thing I listened to once, and will likely never again.
SUPER-prog. At times, it's almost classical music. The musicians are amazing. Tony Levin is the man. I never really spent time with this band, and the barrier to entry is quite high if you're not expecting it. This album weird. Good weird, but not super accessible. I would listen to others by them, but likely won't return to this.
RIP Ozzy.
This is fine, but clearly not Sabbath's best album, but all of the elements are there - tight drums, awesome guitars, crisp bass, and a very charismatic (and fucking NUTS) frontman. They were a little too high-concept for their own good, but it's Sabbath. Sabbath rules.
This is extremely reminiscent of a TON of other English bands (and INXS). I don't know who came first, but I really didn't love this. The whole of the album feels VERY 1986, and I don't mean that in a good way necessarily. I'd be compelled to listen to some of their other stuff, but not anytime soon.
This is a fantastic album. It absolutely rocks. I have listened to this a lot, and will come back to it.
8/10
I like this. I like Eno's ambient stuff a lot more, but there's a prog bent here that is kind of cool. I'll return to Eno's other stuff, but some of this may make its way onto a mix tape. 6/10
This album is terrific. I didn’t expect this to be as good as it was, but the band is tight, and I can hear a lot of threads that other bands picked up from them. A definite return listen. 7/10
This is a 10/10 album. It's perfect. Prince is a genius. He's immortal.
This was fine. Decent background music, but nothing I'll likely return to. Some of the stuff was repetitive, but overall... fine.
This is a good Temps record. It kind of falls off after the first half, but I'm never going to rate a good middle-era Motown record low. 6/10.
Second album by Fela Kuti, and yeah: I’m officially a fan. 7/10
This is one of Joni's best records. It's beautiful, meandering, and definitely jazzier than her other works. It's no "Blue" or "Hejira," but it's a classic, nonetheless. 8/10
It's strange for a band to have their first album be their best, but here we are. It's a really solid record. 7/10
Eh... This is fine, but again, I question why an album like this is represented over some other albums. This feels very "This was MASSIVE in London, and fell flat everywhere else." 4/10
I really liked this album. Very British, but I can see what the hype is about. Defintely sounds like the era it came from, but really solid overall. Will return. 7.5/10
This feels like listening to a foundational text. Judging it on whether it's actually "good" by today's standards feels somewhat irrelevant: Afrika Bambaataa was never an "album artist." It's all about the club tracks. "Planet Rock" is a bedrock song for all hip-hop to come. The rest? It's ok. I'm glad I listened to it, which is more than I can say about a lot of these. 5/10
This is good. A little too “mock psychedelic” for me, but it’s well produced. 6/10
This was better than I expected. It's not always the best hip-hop I've heard, but I can appreciate it. I mean, I couldn't understand a word, but... yeah. 6/10
I really wanted to get into this. I love the song “Kick Out The Jams.” But, the rest of the album paled in comparison to that one song. Maybe if I listen to it again REALLY LOUD, I’ll get it, but as it stands, I likely won’t return to this one. 4/10
I remember this album being MASSIVE in 1994, which was a historic year for music. Listening to it now, it feels very dated. It's ok - I like some of the faster stuff on here. It feels like a very sanitized version of punk, which was good as an entry point for better punk albums. But, for me, this feels very conventional and overly slick. 4/10
Damn, this album is better than I remember. What a monumental talent. These songs are so damn strong, and the playing and production are out of this world. Did we need the Noel Redding song? No. But, this is so good. 8/10
Some songs here are really good. I'm a sucker for lo-fi production and experimental song structures. Some of the more... weird songs didn't quite hit for me, which is fine. But it was good to get to listen to this, even if I may never come back to it. 6/10
A bunch of decent song ideas and fragments presented as complete songs. Not for me. But ok. 5/10
I really like this album. The production is VERY "1980s Rounder Records," but the songwriting is so solid. I've never sat with a ton of Nanci Griffith, but I will definitely check her out. 7/10
This album sizzles. The production is outstanding, and Isaac Hayes has such charisma. Great, great stuff. 8/10
I really enjoyed the back half of this album. Truthfully, their next album is the best of their catalogue. This mixes some good with some very middling tracks. It's fine. Good "heads-down-coding" music. 6/10
This was interesting. Not familiar at all with Senegalese music, so this was a nice introduction. Didn't care for the production, but good music for concentrating. 5/10
Look, it's fine. It's not my cup of tea. She's got a great voice. I just don't see myself ever returning to this. 3/10
This is really just one “note” played several different ways. That’s not a bad thing if you like what they’re selling, but you REALLY have to be bought in.
I like this album. I get why people love it, but it’s just ok for me. The vocals grate on me after a while, and the lyrics are pretty dumb. For what it is, though? A big dumb rock record? You could do worse.
6/10
I didn't care for this at all. 2/10
I love the Dead, but I'm not sure why it's this album, and not Europe '72. That said, the version of Dark Star and St. Stephen on this are terrific, even if it ends REALLY spacy. 7/10
The band is excellent here. Does that mean Van Morrison sounds good? No, it does not. I can take his vocals for about 15 minutes before I need to turn him off. Astral Weeks and Moondance are probably the peak for what I can stand from Van. This? Just didn't hit. But again: the band is terrific. 5/10
Terrific and WEIRD record. I love Big Star, and as far as Big Star records go, this is one of Alex Chilton's great ones. 7/10
I didn't think i would like this. I was nicely surprised though. Very tight album, good songs, VERY early 2000s. I'll come back to this one when the mood strikes. 7/10
Good album - great songwriter. I little sleepy for me, but I love Leonard Cohen on most days. 7/10
Love this album. Nick Drake is one of the architects of modern folk, and his phrasings, tunings, and attack are some of the most gorgeous in acoustic players. 8/10
I like this as mix tape fodder, but a solid hour of it? That grated on me after a while. Still, I get the relative hype around The Fall. 6/10
"Theatre Nerds Are Horny, Too: The Album." I had a soft spot for this album when I was a teenager, but that seems to have lessened as I've gotten older. The instrumentation on this album is terrific, the dynamics and song structure are on-point. But there's a schlocky desperation that permeates every note, and that is just too much to make this one I'll return to. 6/10
This is a good album. Not sure I'm the right demo for dream pop, but this has some really good bits to it. Might not return, but glad I heard it. 6/10
I love Muddy Waters, and I'd never heard this album. It's a good set, but I prefer him to sound a little grittier. This felt very polished, but it still absolutely cooks. 8/10
I literally just saw Elvis Costello play live last night, so GREAT timing. This album is an absolute classic. His early era stuff is pretty unassailable. It's an easy 9.5/10. Banger after banger.
I am such a sucker for this album. I loved Mike Skinner's first album, and this album just hit me in the right way. A lot of it is pretty dated, but with "Blinded By The Lights," "Dry Your Eyes," and a masterpiece like "Empty Cans," I can deal with some relative early aughts cheese. 8/10
I like this album. I've heard it a bunch in my childhood. I don't know if I'll ever listen to the whole album again, but some of the songs are stellar. 7/10
This is good. I've never been drawn to big band / jazz, but the compositions are well-made. 6/10
I really like this album. Funny thing is, I've owned this for years and never really listened to it. The second half is much stronger than the first, which is rare for the 70s, but the guitar playing and songwriting are on the money. 7/10
Right up my alley. Gets a bit monotonous at times, but Common is a master. 7/10
I honestly forgot how brilliant this album is. So well thought out: personal, but couched in a state's history. A wildly original concept record that serves as both a biographical narrative as well as a love letter to his home, "Illinoise" is an eclectic and self-contained masterpiece. Reminds me of Badly Drawn Boy's "The Hour of Bewilderbeast" in all of the best ways. A solid 9/10.
I like this. Monk was a legend, and has done some amazing work. This is not his best, but him, Sonny Rollins? Can’t go wrong. 6/10
Repetitive and droning. Some of it's OK, but it's not for me.
I really like this album. It's not his best work, but between the songwriting an dthe craftsmanship, Paul Simon is an absolute master of his craft. 7.5/10
I've never really listened to Marianne Faithfull. I stand by that decision. 3/10
It’s The Stranger, man. All killer. Is it my favorite Billy Joel record? No - that’s the Nylon Curtain. But it’s a REALLY solid album. 8.5/10
Adding Neil Young to any group is the musical equivalent to adding sriracha sauce to apple pie. Is it a good spice? Sure. Does it belong? Nope. Most of this album works almost despite Neil Young. That's not to say that the Young songs aren't good - they really are. But there are competing styles here that keep it from being a cohesive set. All in all, it's decent. A solid 6.5/10.
I've never gotten SUPER into the Stones. They've always been "fine" to me. Nothing special... just fine. Their early 70s work is excellent, but this album is shaky. Some of it feels incomplete, and the production is muddy on certain tracks. Again, not good - just fine. 5/10
Talk about an album I wanted to like more than I did. It starts off strong. Awesome early 90s production, very British craftsmanship. And then, it devolves into half-baked ideas, strange club beats, and very "we made this music for very stoned individuals" choices. Not a terrible listen. Just a disappointing one. Extra point for a GREAT album cover, though. 4/10
I was "today years old" when I noticed Earth and the moon, poorly Photoshopped into the sky, on the album cover. Don't know why that bums me out. Anyway.
"Let's mix ELO, My Chemical Romance, U2, Radiohead, 'A Night at the Opera' and... just see what happens." It's gutsy, it's overly dramatic, and it's EXTREMELY 2000s.
I really like this album. It's a ton of fun, and it doesn't get weighed down by too much filler. 8/10
The SUPER-1980s-ness of the production is almost too much to overcome. I skipped quite a few songs on this one because they were too grating. I get why people of this generation liked this - it sounds very... futuristic. But the production is so muddy. The vocals are grossly undermixed, and the effects used overshadow the instrumentation. I won't return to this. It's a thing that exists, but it's not for me. 3/10
I like this album - I thought it was good for 2 songs, but there are some really nice songs on here. Do any of them hit the heights of "Vincent?" Well, no. But it was a perfectly pleasant record. 7/10
This is... ok? It's interesting, but it's super theatrical. Too much so for my liking. It sounds like Neil Diamond and Gordon Lightfoot got together and made an early America concept album. It's... a lot. I won't come back to this one. 3/10
Really like this record. Not my favorite by Miles, but up there.
The voice, man. The voice. "Grace" has always been a stone classic in my mind. It's moody, dynamic, and lovely. The 1-2-3 punch of "So Real" - "Hallelujah" - "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is S-Tier great. It's a solid 8.5/10 album, but only because the last 1/3 can't come anywhere near the first 2/3.
God-tier. Almost a perfect hip-hop album. Thing is, I'm not sure what I would cut. A pinnacle album that would lead to one of the most significant rap careers ever.
And look: I get the bad reviews in here. Rap isn't for everyone. But this one is such a pure snapshot of a culture that seems so foreign to a lot of folks, but is so important.
Also, that Halftime show was a work of art. Go Birds.
9/10, ya bish.
This is REALLY good. I'm a sucker for traditional British/Irish music. It definitely drones after a bit, but Sandy Denny's voice is tremendous, and I love the late 60s production that utilizes stereo in nice ways. Also, Richard Thompson is a tremendous guitarist. I will return to this for sure. 7/10
I got hit by a car in early 1993, and I was in surgery for 14 hours. When I came to, my aunt visited me and asked me what I wanted as I recovered. I asked for 3 tapes:
• The Joshua Tree by U2
• Pocket Full of Kryptonite by Spin Doctors
• 3 Years...In the Life of... by Arrested Development
I was on some pretty... strong painkillers.
Anyway, as I laid in a hospital bed for months, I had my mix tapes, and then these 3 tapes. I remember really liking this album, even if I didn't quite comprehend it at the time. Truthfully, I just wore out side A of The Joshua Tree. I also remember being somewhat upset that "Tennessee" wasn't on side A with "Mr. Wendal" and "People Everyday." We've been spoiled by streaming. There: I said it.
33 years later, I re-listened to it and was shocked by how little I remember of this album. And, here's the thing: it's really good. I have spent a ton of time with the "classic" early 90s hip-hop records, and this one never registers as being part of that set. Maybe because it's not of that "ilk." Maybe because Arrested Development seemingly fell off the face of the Earth after this record. Either way, this reminds me of early Tribe, or VERY early Roots. It's crisp, joyous, and EXTERMELY early 90s. I imagine this album being on constant rotation on the set of "A Different World." THAT 90s.
A good walk through a weird time in my life, and a really interesting time in hip-hop. 6/10.
I can't slag an album for not being "Parklife," which is, by far the best Blur record. I came to this album pretty late in my discovery/re-discrovery of Blur. It's good. It's spacey and weird, and fun. But a classic? I don't know. 6/10
It gets a 6/10. Look, prior to him revealing himself as a Nazi-sympathizer and a bigot, the man made some decent music. And usually, I'm pretty good at separating the art from the artist. But I can't give this dude any more streams. He's a royal piece of human garbage.
FWIW - "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is a masterpiece. I'm sad that I can't listen to it anymore.
I found this album interesting, albeit very tedious. It's as innovative as it is overly indulgent. I can't tell if they're overly clever, or if there was a singular "vision." Either way, it's not for me. 4/10
I surprisingly liked this album a lot. Very "Clash-centric" in its approach, but it's funny, wry, and just rude and self-assured enough to be compelling. I will return for sure. 6.5/10
This is witty, sardonic, and EXTREMELY "Father John Misty." I really like it. Some of it feels somewhat unremarkable, but it's got a ton of surprising moments. 7/10
Good stuff. Move Missy. This album falls off a cliff when she literally starts saying "I'm so good at rapping." Could have been a near-perfect 40-min. record. But it's a solid 7.
