1001 Albums Summary

This is a surprisingly diverse album. Maybe I shouldn’t be stunned since there is 25 tracks on it, but I liked that there was a mix of styles in this. Some ballads, some rockers, a bit of Motown influence mixed in. I had heard a few of these songs before, but picked up some new ones for my own personal library which I really liked, such as Black Maria, Couldn’t I Just Tell You, Wolfman Jack, and It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference. Giving this a 5, even if every track on here isn’t amazing for me, because of the variety, his obvious talent, and the fact that you can tell that he had a lot of fun making this album (the Intro song was such a cool add). Definitely worth the listen. Fun listen for the first one on my quest (1,000 to go!).

I know that Paul McCartney is one of the great artists of all time, but frankly I found this album to be pretty bland. The two popular singles, Band on the Run and Jet, are alright. I liked Mrs Vanderbilt and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five the best. The rest of this is very average. An ok album, but certainly nothing special and not anything I would come back to.

I have this but it is has been many years since I have listened to it, so I was excited about revisiting. It’s an excellent album and is indicative of what made the Unplugged sessions great when approached correctly. A chance to represent yourselves differently musically, and Nirvana certainly did that. The coolest aspect is that they took some songs from other bands (the Vaselines, Meat Puppets) to bring into this session. It wasn’t just their original tunes. The best example: Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World is a definite highlight of this set. What keeps this from being an 5 star album for me personally is that there are some songs on here that just aren’t that good, such as Pennyroyal Tea or On a Plain. As a result, the middle of the set wanes a bit for me. But I had forgotten about how cool some of these songs come off like Oh, Me. That all said, while I have never been as enamored with Kurt Cobain as many others (despite totally loving 90s alternative music), he is undeniably excellent throughout this set. Strong and straining (in a great way) in certain parts, restrained in others. Meanwhile, Grohl shows he can strip down his bombastic drumming style and settle in the background amazingly well. A fantastic performance from both of them.

I really enjoy a ton of 80s and 90s rock bands that are contemporaries of Def Leppard, but admittedly have never really been as big a fan of DL as a lot of others. But results are results and it’s hard to argue with a series of things: - Very few bands have sold 20m albums in their careers, let alone selling 20m copies of one record like DL did with this album. - Very few albums have a consecutive song run of hits like songs 2-6 on this album: Rocket, Animal, Love Bites, Pour Some Sugar on Me, and Armageddon It, all of which made the Top 20. - Rick Allen’s ability to adapt to playing drums with one arm is pretty incredible, and you would never know it on this album. Half of this record is still played on the radio (some more than others) so it wasn’t hard to burn through those and enjoy them. The non-singles I hadn’t heard before and each one of those was a bit of strange listen for me. They would all have parts that I enjoyed and started heading in directions that had a chance to be great, but they would all take turns that I didn’t really like as much, often into very generic choruses. As a result, I didn’t really find anything new that I have to come back to. Still, the sheer sophistication that DL creates at various points on this album and the hits that it generates sets Hysteria apart from most other albums of this age. And, to be honest, the hits hold up after all this time. So despite my lack of DL fandom, surprisingly, this album gets 4 stars from me.

I met Little Richard back in the mid 90s, so when Here’s Little Richard popped up as my next album, I must confess that I already was predisposed to wanting to like it. And maybe that brings some bias into my review, but I can’t adequately put into words how much I enjoyed listening to this record. Little Richard’s voice is infectious and makes this a truly fun listen. What’s amazing is how much energy he brings to these songs - for example listen to him basically run out of breath with 30 seconds left in Jenny Jenny. Beyond that, the piano work on various songs is great, especially at beginning of True Fine Mama and Slippin’ and Slidin’. Lots of great early rock songs on this album that delivers from beginning to end. It, like Little Richard himself, is a true force of nature, one that is well worth the listen.

Admittedly, I am a big fan of 90s alternative. There is a ton of great albums from this genre in the decade, from Pearl Jam’s Ten to Live’s Throwing Copper to Soundgarden’s Superunknown and Nirvana’s Nevermind. Lots of great music. That said, admittedly, I was not a fan of Alice In Chains when they first came out. It took me a while to come around on them, so I’ve never owned this album. Upon my first full listen to it, I realize I have been missing out all these years. The opener, Them Bones, really sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s just in your face right from the jump. Lane Staley’s vocals are great throughout and the harmonies with Jerry Cantrell are excellent. Of course, the songs that everyone has heard like Down in a Hole, Rooster, and Angry Chair (saving Would for later) are highlights, but others like Rain When I Die help this record hold up from beginning to end. And as for that ending track, Would? is one of those songs that just defines this era of rock. A killer track that is one of my favorites of the decade, and a great end to what I found to be a tremendous album.

I love the 80s and I love rock music, which should have made this a perfect match for me and my tastes. Unfortunately, though it's a good record, I found this album to be a bit below my expectations. Certainly, this is ZZ Top's most commercially successful effort and one that appeals to the masses. It didn't hurt that their long beards made for a very original look that was best captured in the MTV video age. But chalking up their success with this record solely to that novelty would diminish what they had accomplished musically with this album. There are undoubtedly a series of catchy hooks on here. Gimme All Your Lovin, Legs, Sharp Dressed Man, and Got Me Under Pressure are all rightfully still played on radio today, which is a testament to their sound and songwriting. I looked up the chart success and this album only made it to #9 on the charts and yet, despite this, they sold 10m+ copies of it. That doesn't happen because of a flash in the pan, it happens because the songs have staying power. That all said, the rest of this album was pretty generic to me. There are a few other good tunes like I Got The Six and Thug (what they do with the bass early in this song is very cool), but then there were songs like TV Dinners which left me asking “what the hell?” That song shouldn't even be a B-side on any record. It was like the label said "we need X number of songs" or "we need it to be long enough" and the band said, "sure, let's throw that one on there." To be honest, I waffled between 3 and 4 starts because the highs are pretty high, but the lows are very low. I even gave this a couple of listens to see if it would impact my thinking either way. I ultimately landed where I did simply because while the hits are great, it is not a complete album for me.

There is certain metal bands that I like, but I have never really sought out Pantera. So I was coming into this album totally fresh, not really knowing any of these songs. There are some definite highlights here, but overall it was kind of a mixed bag for me. Walk is pretty cool tune. I guess it's their most played song on Spotify, so theoretically it's their most popular song. Does that equal the best? Not necessarily, but it can be indiciative, and if this is the best it gets, I quickly realized this wasn’t going to be a 5 star album. I liked Rise as well. I'm usually very amazed by how guitarists/drummers can play as fast as they do in certain metal songs. Rise is one of those tunes at different times. This song reminded me of Helmet's Unsung at points, which should be obvious to anyone who knows both (released around the same time). That's a tune I love, so I was drawn into Rise in a similar fashion. Meanwhile, Hollow was a cool closing track. It kind of blows me away that the album just goes along kicking you in the face the whole time, and then we get to Hollow, whose first half is a complete departure from everything else you just heard. It gives me a bit of a One by Metallica feel, even if it isn't nearly as long or as epic. Regardless, a great closer to this album. All the same, I see how people would predominantly only have two ratings on this - great (5) or truly horrible (1). With bands like these, there is limited middle ground, though perhaps amazingly that's where I landed. Some good songs. But remember when I said I’m typically amazed by really fast playing? That happened on the vast majority of these tunes, which led to some boredom, as most of this record ended up sounding pretty homogenous to me. I see how people could be into this, it's just not my thing other than in small doses. That said, it was worth the listen and I picked up a few new tunes for my own library, which means it wasn't time wasted.

This group wasn't that popular here in the US, other than I remember their song Missing being big in the early 90s (good tune). And after listening to this album, I kind of know why on both fronts. Let’s just say that the dance infusion into Missing is probably why it was a hit. The first thing that struck me on this album is that Tracey Thorn is an excellent singer who has a really nice tone to her voice. She reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant, though Merchant's voice has more character to it while Thorn is a bit more breathy. Ben Watt is also a good signer, though not as good as Thorn, and his best moments on this album really come when the two of them are harmonizing together. The opener to this record (original release), Love is Here Where I Live, is a decent song. Breezy in some ways, though Thorn brings some nice emotion to it. As I listened further though, a lot of these songs just kind of floated along for me. They were easy listens, but they didn't really reach me that much. Many times, the song would just drift off at the end, causing a "really, that's it?" reaction. Frankly, as I listened to this album, I found myself longing to listen to Johnny Hates Jazz, British contemporaries of Everything But The Girl. Turns out I wasn't wrong for that, as evidently they both could be categorized as sophisti-pop, a genre I've never heard of before. Anyway, JHJ songs are just better, as they have more weight and are superior constructions. I would encourage anyone reading this to go find their Turn Back the Clock album, which blows this one away - Shattered Dreams, Heart of Gold, I Don't Want to Be a Hero, Don't Say It's Love, What Other Reason, and Turn Back the Clock are all better tracks than anything on this record. All the same, there are a few songs on here that I did like, such as Blue Moon Rose and Lonesome for a Place I Know. Also, their cover of I Don't Want to Talk About It, which was added to the re-release of this album, was decent. Some nice instrumentals in it. Maybe if this was the first song I heard from them, I might have really enjoyed it. But after listening to the rest of the album that sounded very similar, I just didn't care. A pretty weak album for me and probably not worth seeking out by most people. Off to listen to Johnny Hates Jazz . . .

My first experience with music was effectively just before the start of the MTV era, right around the turn of the 70s into the 80s, which means my earliest memories of Rod Stewart are Infactuation and Passion Rod (even Da Ya Think I'm Sexy). So what I heard on this album is a very different artist in certain ways. I had not found any of these songs before and this album had a pretty strong folk feel, not one of the flashy artist I am used to. A lot of this, frankly, reminded me of what I might hear on The Lonesome Jubilee album from John Mellencamp (who inexplicably is missing from this list), which is a great record. What stayed the same is Stewart's great, distinctive voice. The combination of his stellar vocals backed by a different approach (I recognize I'm the one who's not familiar with his older, less commerical stuff) makes for a very fun listen. It's far from a perfect album - It's All Over Now, very ironically, goes on for way too long - but there's a lot of great stuff on here and it's diverse enough to keep me listening. The title track and opener is a cool tune. The way his voice and the guitar compliment each other on this track is fantastic. Only a Hobo gave me a Gordon Lightfoot type of feel. The end of My Way of Giving reminded me of the beginning of Whiter Shade of Pale. Cut Across Shorty drives so well throughout that you don't realize it is 6+ minutes (unlike the afore mentioned It's All Over Now). Finally, the closer You're My Girl was a song I really enjoyed because of its great groove. What's astonishing about this album more than anything is that it didn't find a broad audience. His voice is so cool and considering that he found a lot of success just a year or two later (both solo and with Faces), it’s a bit surprising that this didn't translate commercially. As for me, I am happy to have found it this late in the game.

I've never listened to much of Earth Wind and Fire. I know the hits like September and Let's Groove, and they are good songs, I just never really dug into their catalog. Super glad this popped up as my next choice, though. This record was a very fun listen. Maurice White and Philip Bailey both have excellent voices and that alone would have made this really enjoyable, but the musicality of the group makes this great. I enjoyed different songs for different reasons on this record. Shining Star is a really catchy song with tight, good harmonies. That's the Way of the World has a nice groove to it. All About Love is a well constructed ballad. Reasons has some great vocals. Africano felt like an exercise in "how fast can we play and still sound musical" - like listening to great jazz musicians, just pure talent. Two things keep me from rating this a 5: Yearin' Learnin' I didn't really care for and I didn't think See the Light was that great a song as a closer. 6+ minutes and it felt longer. That said, the rest of this album was great for me and a fun find.

Going through these albums always makes for an exciting time. Sometimes it's an album that you have and can't wait to hear it entirely again. Sometimes it's an release with a few songs that are on the radio and you are curious about the rest of the record. And sometimes it's a record and a band that you have never heard of before, which allows you to explore something completely new. This one fell in the last camp for me. The best way I can describe this album is diverse. From it's songs to the theming to the way I felt about it. It was all over the place. A microcosm of this experience for me was Filthy/Georgeous, which is rather aptly name considering my take on this album. This is straight out of the 70s and the lead singer's voice could have fit very nicely on any of those disco records of the time. This song is totally different than anything else on the album. Fun and cool at times, and yet totally derivative and plain at others. Simultaneously georgeous and filthy, much like different parts of this record. Some of the highlights for me were songs like Mary, a song that felt a bit to me like Robbie Williams was leading it, which is a testament to the lead singer's voice. He demonstrates a lot range on this and hits all the right notes. An excellent tune. Take Your Mama is a bit of mix of Better Than Ezra and Neon Trees (Laura gave me some NT feel too). It's a well constructed song, and demonstrates that they actually have a good amount of talent. On the other end, the inclusion of Comfortably Numb on this is a really strange choice. It's not that their take on this is awful, per se, it has some interesting elements. I guess it was a big dance hit in the UK (equally as strange). However, given how epic a song Pink Floyd's original is, their version massively pales in comparison, effectively making it nothing more than filler and it an instant skip on this record for me. Meanwhile, Tits On The Radio is just a bad song, with lyrics that are pretty dumb. My daughter and I got a good laugh out of it though. Music Is The Victim is a better song, but again their lyrics are just very inferior and relatively meaningless. You can see how they think they are being cheeky with this, but it comes off as very poorly thought out. I imagine them in a room thinking "what rhymes with shotgun" and then celebrating when they finally come up with . . . "dog run"! Yes, spectacular. In addition, bringing in various cities comes across as pretty trite. To be honest, I was thinking of making this album a 2, but the record is diverse, their talent is decent, and the lead singer’s voice is interesting. Also, the fact that I grabbed a few songs for my own personal library pushes it up for me. Can't put it higher than 3 though, as this compilation is a roller coaster, with some pretty high highs and very low lows.

Second album in a row from a band I have never heard of. I guess this band is more of a folk band but had moved closer to psychedelic rock for this album. For my money, they pretty much failed. Only 29 minutes long, this is an album did not translate commercially nor does it appear to have influenced anyone. All on top of it being from a band barely anyone has heard of. I am really struggling to understand how this was included in a list of albums I must hear. Not that it’s terrible, it’s just sort of there, serving no obvious purpose. Only Dreaming Now is the highlight of the album for me. It at least heads in the direction of the intended genre. But that’s about it. A very substandard inclusion, a true head scratcher.

This is my second consecutive album which has been basically been at 30 minutes long. While the last one was from someone I had never heard of and really not good, that certainly wasn't true for this one. Tom Petty is one of the great rockers of all time. Saw him back in the mid 90s and it was a great show. That said, I don’t own much of his catalog, and I have never listened to this album at all. While I am very familiar with the couple of hits on this record, the rest of this was uncharted territory. The opener, Rockin’ Around (With You) is a great way to kick off the record. Breakdown follows and is a great tune, best one on the record for me. I wasn’t a fan of Hometown Blues, but the album picked back up with The Wild One, Forever. I quite like Petty’s voice, even if it isn’t the most technically amazing one in the business. And he’s great on this song, including in the harmonies. The yo yo continued for me as Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll and Strangered In The Night were just average for me, though I liked the flipping of the guitar between speakers on the former. Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It) was a step back in the right direction, a definite highlight for me. I started listening to Mystery Man, and almost instantly it gave me an Into The Mystic feel. Since the theme is somewhat the same, and the titles aren’t that far apart, I wonder if Van Morrison’s tune inspired this one. Regardless, I really liked this song. Luna has some aspects that I liked, especially the flowing portions of this song, but the repetitive keyboard sections brought this down for me. Finally, American Girl is one of those classic 70s rock anthems and a truly great way to close the album. In summary, lots to like in this tight 30 minute set, but it’s not an album that is great from front to back. Frankly, I am surprised that this is Petty's only album on the list, either with or without The Heartbreakers. At least one of Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, or Damn the Torpedoes warrant inclusion, if not all of them. Still, happy to have visited this album for the first time.

I've heard of the Flaming Lips but never really knew anything by them, so I was interested to see what this was like. The best way to describe this is one of two ways: 1. A crappy carnival with a few good rides, but it all started to melt. 2. A jack-in-the-box which was low on batteries. Anyway, a couple of things stood out: - They have a very interesting style, one that takes a lot of risks, which is very cool. Occassionally this is to their determent, though I generally liked this, except . . . - The singer is terrible. I'm betting he is revered by a few for some strange reason, but his voice is very inadequate. Strained but in a bad way, with limited vocal range that stays in a very annoying spot. - The lyrics might be worse. Singing fly in the air, comb your hair over and over again? Completely uninspired. I take that back, the vocals are worse. Definitely. If you want to get the gist, listen to The Spark That Bled. Some weird chords at the beginning, terrible singing, then some cool instrumentals in between more terrible singing. Unfortunately, the redeemable qualities are well outweighed by the lack of good vocals or excellent song construction. Very confident that some people love these guys, mainly because they are looking for something different. Sadly, in this case, different = very bad. Still, giving them a 2 because of the risks they take (respect). Edit: Essentially all of the 5 star reviews I have seen are from people who already love the band and/or have seen them a series of times. None from someone discovering them for the first time, which I find very interesting. This is definitely a band that you either love or hate, there really is no in between. For me, I can't get past how bad the singer and lyrics are. This album would have been much better for me as an instrumental.

I've heard of the Pixies, but I don't know a giant amount of their music and I wouldn't have been able to tell you that Frank Black is/was their front man. As a result, this ends up being another totally new album and artist for me, though this comes from an era of alternative rock that I love. First thing that struck me is that he is a pretty adept vocalist. It seems like he has toned down his voice a bit vs. what I think I remember of the Pixies, so kudos to him. There’s lots he can do with his voice, and he does a cool job of adjusting to the tone of the song. Interestingly, at certain points (e.g. I Could Stay Here Forever) he sounded like Julian Lennon to me. At others, he has a refined Bob Dylan feel (The Hostest with the Mostest). And then in other songs, he felt a like Mark Knopfler type of signer (e.g. Calistan). Bottom line is that I liked how he moved around his style. Beyond this, has a penchant for rhyming strange words with each other. I could see how people might find annoying, but I thought it really worked for this album. The album is only just over an hour, but with 22 songs, there’s a lot of variety on it. Some highlights for me were White Noise Maker, Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band, Headache and Calistan. A really solid album which I unexpectedly liked a lot.

Getting this album as my selection the day that Brian Wilson died is likely to make my review a bit more friendly. That said, objectively, this is an excellent album and I loved listening to this today. There’s a lot more depth to these songs than I would have expected. I’m so used to hearing their huge hits on the radio and they are good songs, but they all have a consistent high energy, positive vibe to them. This album shows how much more versatile as a band they were vs. what I had thought. Sure, there are the hits like Sloop John B, God Only Knows, and Wouldn't It Be Nice (all good songs), but this album hits higher notes for me on these lesser known songs, predominantly because of their depth. Songs like I Just Wasn't Made for These Times and That's Not Me are thematically and tonally a departure from the Beach Boys I am used to, which is a lot of fun to discover. The title track is like something an orchestra would conduct for a movie, which makes it a strange but pretty cool part of this album. The vocals on You Still Believe In Me are excellent, especially the way they layer at the end. All in all, an excellent record, way better than I would have anticipated.

Neil Young is an acquired taste. At least that's the true for me. Sure he had some songs that instantly struck me, like Rockin in the Free World. But his voice, however distinctive, wasn't really something I sought out. I've never listened to a single one of his albums straight through, so I wasn’t sure how I’d view this. It helped that this album started with My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), an instantly recongnizable song and a classic. Thrasher is an interesting song, love the theme of it, but it just kind of sits there and then fades out. Other than the lyrics, it didn't really move me. Similar reaction to Ride My Llama, though I liked the music more and the lyrics less. Pocohontas is just a weird song - singing about the plight of the indians and then end up singing about the Astrodome and Marlon Brando? Just really strange lyrics. Sail Away I liked a lot better. I could see some people not liking this, but I thought it was just a more well constructed song than the previous few. All in all, though, an uneven first half. It's interesting how this album shifts from solo acoustic to electric with Crazy Horse for the second half. Unique and I liked the construct. Powderfinger is a cool tune, loved the lead guitar work on this. I was less a fan of Welfare Mothers, it's fine but it felt pretty basic to me. Sedan Delivery picks back up, a straight rocker with an interesting viewpoint. The highlight of this album is the dichotomy in styles from the first half to the second, underscored by the different versions of My My, Hey Hey. It's hard to say whether the Blue or Black version is really better (the distortion in the guitars at the beginning of the electric version is very cool), both are great, despite the repetition. To be honest, just focusing on the songs, I'd probably be at a 3 for this. However, given how this album has two distinct halves and the fact that he could take the same song in My My, Hey Hey and make it sound considerably different depending upon whether he goes acoustic or electric? This combines to elevate it for me, making it deserving of a 4. It's far from a perfect album though.

I have to admit that I started listening to this while mowing the lawn, which was a mistake. I couldn’t really get a good feel of it, I just knew it was different. Upon a re-listen, I will also admit that I had low expectations. What got me early on was not the creativity of what they brought into the recordings. Frankly, we can call that ingenious or innovative, but if it really only influenced future electronic music and nothing in the pop or rock realm, does it really matter? What I did like and ultimately drew me in to give this a fair shot was the rhythm of some of these songs. Sure there were some early misses like Help Me Somebody. Ok, a lot of early misses, with random screaming / narrative that might have had a place for others, but was totally lost on me. That said, songs like Regiment and Mea Culpa had something about them that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, as the album progressed, those pounding rhythms fell by the wayside, in favor of more and more randomness, which made this an opportunity wasted in my opinion. For those who might rate this a 5, I’d ask two questions: is this something you come back to repeatedly and is it close to a no skip record? I highly doubt you would find anyone to say yes to both. Anyway it’s very, very different and while different can be good, in this case it’s not. Interesting for sure, but I’m confused by why I had to hear it. Again, if it led to something that was huge, or if it was really influential on the direction of music, I could accept its place. But since it appears to have done neither, it’s just a departure that adds up to little more than noise save for a couple of highlights. Worse yet, its inclusion in a list of albums I had to hear at the expense of some tremendous records is really baffling. If you want instrumentals, do yourself a favor and go listen to something more influential and innovative that’s actually musical (and incredibly high level), like Joe Satriani.

Rap isn’t something I listen to an overwhelming amount anymore. High school and college is when I listened to it the most, mainly guys you would hear on the radio - LL Cool J, Dre and Snoop, Young MC, and later on Eminem. Never listened to Raekwon and though I’ve obviously heard of Wu Tang Clan, I’ve never listened to them much either. So I didn’t know what to expect from this, though the rampant explicit ratings certainly gave it away. To my surprise, I kinda dug this, even if I am probably a bit removed from the target audience. There were a good amount of songs I liked. Criminology felt like something off of a Public Enemy album (who I really like). Incarcerated Scarfaces had a LL Cool J type of beat to it. Guillotine was excellent. Beyond this, it has a bit of a movie type of feel to me, which tied it all together. Enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

Hilariously, my first experience with George Clinton and Funkadelic was when they, as Parliament Funkadelic at the time, popped up in PCU (a great underrated movie). Never heard anything from them before that, nor have I listened to them since. This album was totally new to me and while I’m not surprised that I liked it, I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The solo that is the title track is a wild way to start an album - the way it bounces back and forth is killer. I guess this album is known for this solo, though the fact that it goes on for 10 minutes is a bit of overkill. All the same, a cool way to start off the record. The next three songs are, for me, the real high point of this album. Can You Get To That has some awesome vocals, especially the way the harmony works with the low and high voices that come in at different points. I loved Hit It and Quit It. This song just drives all the way through. Awesome. You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks sits in a great groove. Though it felt like a large departure from the prior song, I thought the contrast totally worked. At this point, I was totally sold on this album. Unfortunately, things waned a bit from there for me. Super Stupid is better than the title, but I didn’t connect with this as much as the last 3, even if the guitar work in this was great again. Back In Our Minds is best described as a very bent song. It’s psychedelic in nature and while it wasn’t my favorite, I could appreciate the musicality of it. Meanwhile, Wars of Armageddon bookends this album with another roughly 10 minute track and though I liked it more than the opener, it goes on a bit too long too. Still, a good jam. All tolled, this wasn’t something I would listen to over and over again front to back, but it was still a great listen with a series of songs I really liked. Fact is, I have been missing out all this time.

I know that U2 is beloved, but I have never been a huge fan of them, at least not nearly to the level of a lot of my friends were. I liked a decent amount of their songs (New Years Day, Angel of Harlem, etc.) and have seen them live (Innocence + Experience tour, great show), but I've never owned a lot of their music, nor do I ever find myself saying that I feel like listening to some U2. That said, I've listened to most of this album before. Everyone's heard One and Mysterious Ways, both of which are excellent songs. The Fly was a cool single as well. Some of the other singles - Even Better Than the Real Thing and Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - I was less enamored with. The rating on this album from me was, as a result, always going to come down to the non-singles and how they hold up. Zoo Station is kind of a sleepy opener in my opinion. It just kind of sits there and never really diverges too much from the same centrally located notes. I did listen to it a few times and it did get better with different listens, but it's yet to register with me as a great song. Until the End of the World is a lot better. Lots more range, lots more heft to this tune. Really good. So Cruel and Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World I liked as well. Neither is truly amazing, but both change things up enough to be interesting. Ultra Violet (Light My Way) had some cool lyrics and I loved the guitar sound in this one. I liked Acrobat for similar reasons. Finally, though this album's closer, Love Is Blindness, starts out pretty slow, the guitar work on this really carries this home. This song is almost haunting in some ways and it builds well. It doesn't quite pay off in the way that I would hope, but it's still an excellent tune. All in all, this is a really, really good album that has a lot of interesting aspects to it. Probably better than The Joshua Tree in total, but it's been many years since I listened to that album. Regardless, this is a worthy listen for anyone.

I have a much more recent Traffic album, but nothing from their earlier catalog, so I was interested to explore this record. The main thing that stood out to me was Steve Winwood's amazing voice. Dave Mason is a decent singer too, and a pretty good writer, but his voice pales in comparison to Winwood's, though most do if we are being honest. Still, having both of them on this album makes for an interesting contrast. Beyond this, throughout this album, I enjoyed the lead guitar work and the keyboards. And then there's that flute! Ok, seriously, you don’t often hear flute on a lot of songs (unless you are a Jethro Tull fan), so that was unique. A few songs which were highlights: I loved the way guitar bounced back and forth in Pearly Queen, great listen with headphones on. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring almost had a bit of a Motown feel to it, though this really soars because of Winwood's distinctive voice. Feelin' Alright? is a great song. No surprise it is one of their most recongizable, even if it was really made popular via the objectively better Joe Cocker version (speaking of distinctive voices). I thought 40.000 Headman was a great, great song, again carried by Winwood. Medicated Goo gives me an Almann Brothers kind of vibe. Very cool tune. Not everything on this album is great - You Can All Join In is a strange opener - but there's a lot to like. This is an excellent album.

Nu metal is division of rock that I like to a point. I was more interested in the bands which nu metal spawned from - I.e. Faith No More - vs the bands that are really in the genre at its height in the late 90s / early 2000s. Sure, bands like Linkin Park, Deftones, and Evanescence are excellent, very talented artists with really interesting mixes. Staind has some cool music and even Korn was a decent band for me in pockets, I just never listened to any of them on repeat back in the day. And on the less talented, less listened to side comes Limp Bizkit. Where to start? Maybe here: I’m still scratching my head about how Hot Dog ended up with an explicit rating. Were there any bad words in it? There were some ok songs - My Way is well constructed even if it is somewhat basic in the lyrics. But more often than not, they steal from better bands. Beyond this, when you are limited in the musicality, you really need something important to say or sing about, and LB fails massively on this front. In listening to this, three words come to mind: derivative, unoriginal, and uncool. Swearing has never bothered me in songs, I listened to plenty of metal, hard rock, and rap back in the day. But I much prefer when it is used limitedly and, more importantly, for a purpose. These guys just throw it around aimlessly and because they think it makes them seem hard. Instead, it just makes them hard to listen to.

Evidently, Nick Drake is influential to a variety of singer songwriters in the 80s. I suppose if I listen to this through that prism, I can kind of see why this album was included. In absensce of that, someone who has sold a few hundred thousand albums in the UK and was never popular in the US, simply singing and playing guitar, is pretty unremarkable. There's nothing inherently wrong with this album, it's just kind of there. Decent voice, good guitar, but just that. In listening to Nick, I found myself thinking about Jack Johnson, who has somewhat of a similar sound, though I would much prefer to listen to a JJ record. That's not to say there weren't any good songs on this. Things Behind The Sun was an excellent listen. Some of the cadence of the singing in this reminded me a lot of a song I love by Jars of Clay called Truce, so this one I really enjoyed. Others were fine, but not much more. Amazingly, though only 28 minutes long, this sounded very monotonous to me. An average album from an unremarkable artist.

I might not have appreciated this as much a few years ago, but since my son has taken up jazz band, I enjoyed this a lot more than expected. The playing on here is impeccable and in true jazz form, everyone gets to have their time in the sun. This was a great album to listen to with headphones, where you could better hear the nuances of some of the playing. It’s not just about the notes played, it’s the mood that is set, and the way they can go solo or blend together. It all sounds perfect. Love me some stand up bass. The saxes were amazing on this. The underlying drums and the off beat stuff was very interesting. And Miles Davis is a truly great player. So What was my favorite of this excellent album.

Another English artist I had never heard of. It’s interesting to me that Tricky is a rapper, but he paired up with a female singer, Martina Topley-Bird, to release his debut record (and a couple of others). This proved to be a very wise choice, as what resulted was a super intriguing album with a variety of different layers to it. I loved many of these tracks, including the instrumentals and Topley-Bird’s voice over the top on numerous songs. Right from the jump, Overcome is a great starter. It has a seductive, almost sneaky feel and it was an instant add to my library (joining Live and Better Than Ezra as the third “Overcome” in my playlist). The next two were totally different from Overcome and each other. Ponderosa has a basic but pounding rhythmic feel. Black Steel is driving rock based. Both were excellent in their own right. Hell is Round the Corner steals from Glory Box by Portishead (took my daughter to help me place it) and has a great groove to it as a result. Pumpkin felt like something off of a moody 90s alternative record. 5 songs in, all totally different styles, but all really cool songs. Amazing start. After this, the album wanes a touch for me. Aftermath is a bit of a sleepy track and is 3 minutes too long, but it’s the front part of the track that should be cut, as the random distorted guitar and flute (?) was cool. Having the two leads layered on top of each other in Abbaon Fat Tracks was great and it had an excellent groove, I just didn’t like some of the lyrics. Brand New Your Retro was similar for me in that I thought the song was interesting except for some of the lyrics. Suffocated Love was cool, gave me a bit of a PM Dawn type of feel for some reason. You Don’t had a reggae base, yet another style on this album. Good tune as well. The last three, You Don’t, Strugglin’, and Feed Me were all decent but somewhat unremarkable. What makes this record such a fascinating listen is the variety of styles. At times rap, at times sultry R&B (a la Silk), and on occasion one on top of the other. Other times it has electronic and harder rock alternative elements which borders on a Nine Inch Nails type of feel. Still others it is experimental in its sound and construction. On this effort to get through all 1,001 albums, there have been times when I was excited to dive into an artist or album I was familiar with but I hadn’t yet fully explored. In other cases, there were brand new artists which I’d never heard of, but they mostly have been underwhelming. This is the first time that an unfamiliar artist got me excited while I went through the record. It was a very cool experience. Still, some of the songs on here aren’t great, keeping me from making it a 5.

When I thought about what might make this project exciting, it wasn’t about trying to make it through 1,001 albums. It was about hearing music like this that I never would have found on my own. This is an astonishing recording. In fairness, I am a big fan of artists who are piano players. While everyone always thinks of Billy Joel and Elton John, there are plenty of others who are every bit as talented as them, such as Bruce Hornsby or Sara Bareilles (who has undoubtedly the best voice of the group too). But almost regardless of who it is, some of my favorite music comes from acts featuring lots of piano. The point is that I'm predisposed to any great piano playing and I'm bound to favor it more than others. That said, what makes this truly unique from anything I have heard before is not just that it is solely piano playing (no singing, no band), it's that it is nothing but improvisations for over an hour. With that as a backdrop, what results from this is truly jaw dropping. To know that he had something else planned, but completely shifted when the piano he requested did not show up, and then had the confidence to just play whatever came to him in that moment? And to have it come out as incredible and melodic as this does? It really speaks to Jarrett's masterful ability and ear for music. While there were a lot of highlights in this, my favorite part was from about 7:20 to just past 12:00 into the first song. I have to have listened to this part at least 10 times by now. It’s incredible to hear what he effectively created on the spot, just by focusing on the middle of the piano. Really an amazing album.

I find it interesting that I am about 30 albums into this project and this is the second UK rap / R&B / hip hop artist that I’ve received to listen to. That’s more than what I’ve received for similar US artists! That’s not inherently a bad thing, it’s just that when you consider what the US has to offer from Sugarhill Gang to Public Enemy to Eminem, East Coast to West Coast rappers, Motown to New Jack Swing R&B singers/bands, etc. there so many more influential US artists I would have been expecting to hear more of. The UK just doesn’t have much to offer from that scene to warrant a ton of inclusion in a list of albums anyone has to hear. That said, MIA’s admittance in this list is fair. Her infusion of rap, hip hop, Asian and African influences, and electronic music is interesting . . . to a point. Unfortunately, this album has a too many songs like The Turn and World Town which drag on aimlessly. Xr2’s name dropping was nostaligic but equally somewhat pointless. What’s interesting is that if you really think about her biggest hit on this record, Paper Planes, it’s reasonably different than what is on much of the rest of this album. She’s better when there’s more singing and melodic elements. Jimmy is somewhat in that vain as well, and it was one of the other songs I liked on this. Unfortunately, these were few and far between. Not that there weren’t other interesting elements at different points on this (eg Bamboo Banga), it just wasn’t strong enough throughout for my liking. All the same, credit given for all the different layers and elements she brings into this album. It’s not bad, it’s just not consistently great.

This was just an average album for me. I enjoy older rock, but there was too little here that I really loved. White Light / White Heat was a decent starter. Cool little jam song. The Gift being spoken the entire time proved to be a waste of almost 10 minutes. Lady Godiva’s Operation was one of the highlights for me and was well worth the listen. Here She Comes Now had a chance to be good, but managed to be pretty repetitive despite being only 2 minutes long. I Heard Her Call My Name reminded me of a Beatles song. Good tune. Sister Ray started off strong but just went on for way too long. So for every hit, there was a miss. I did like that this had a punk feel to it though. That’s enough to make this a 3.

This album did not get off to a good start. Admittedly, I’m not a country fan, but it wasn’t that. It’s that the opening 3 songs were all pretty sleepy and a bit slow for my taste. Low Down Freedom is when this album picked up from my perspective. The phrasing and cadence gave me a Gordon Lightfoot type of feel, even if it was a true country song. Omaha followed with some good harmonies in another well constructed song. Then came You Ask Me To, which might have been when this album peaked. Builds really well with tons of interesting guitar work. And Jennings voice really stands out on this one. An excellent song. The rest of this album is uneven. Ride Me Down Easy wore me down quickly. A boring song that’s just sort of there. Ain’t No God In Mexico picked back up and had a lot more energy to it. Same went for Back Rose, which had some cool guitar and harmonica work. The closer, We Had It All was better than some of the other slow songs on here, but still just wasn’t that great for me. Solid album, just nothing that exciting.

Fleetwood Mac is one of those bands where I haven’t owned much of their music, but when they are on the radio, I generally don’t turn away. So when this album popped up, I was genuinely excited, as I’d only heard a couple of these tracks before. This proved to be an excellent album with tons to like. I already knew Sara was an excellent song, but for the first time I really paid attention to the drums, and I just loved what Mick Fleetwood did throughout this track. Their voices blend amazingly well on many of these songs, but the harmonies on Beautiful Child and Think About Me really stood out. Other songs like the title track or What Makes You Think You’re the One were straight angry, making them interesting to hear for other reasons. Sisters of the Moon was one of the highlight for me in the tracks I hadn’t heard before. For some reason, this reminded me of Isn’t It Midnight, which might be my favorite Fleetwood song, but that could just be because it’s not one of those songs you hear on the radio from them. Even a tune like Storms, which I didn’t love, is inherently interesting because of the dichotomy between what Stevie Nicks is singing about and how amazing her voice sounds while singing it. The point is not everything on this is perfect by any means, but even when it isn’t, it’s always an interesting listen and well worth your time. A great selection.

Queen has always been an acquired taste for me. They undoubtedly have a lot of great music and are an incredibly talented/gifted band, but they’ve never been one of my favorites. What’s super interesting Queen II is that it is very much a metamorphosis album. You can hear all of these pieces which are representative of what the band will become, but they are not fully there yet, leading to a fascinating mix of straightforward rock and theatrics. For me, it’s the former that actually is a lot more appealing. All of this album was new to me, and I have to admit that it was a very good listen. Their songs are really intricate which I do appreciate. And some of the things which happen on this recording (shifting where the sound is coming from, changing of keys or even styles) are really cool. A microcosm for this album is definitely March of the Black Queen. It has all of these amazing parts, but it also has some bombast too it, much like the rest of the record. Other songs on this record were better than some of the more standard Queen fare. For example, White Queen was interesting because, frankly, parts of it didn’t sound like Queen at all. It was very much a song that fits in the middle of prog rock, which I generally love, and it was nice to hear them not be so bombastic. Some Day One Day, Funny How Love Is, and The Loser In the End were similarly non-traditional Queen - I.e. more straight forward rock songs. It was great to hear the band in this fashion, as it was much more about the musicianship as opposed to the show. Seven Seas of Rhye was a fun listen: at times Billy Joel-esque, at times straight guitar rock, still other times vocal mastery. I enjoyed this one a lot and a definite highlight. A quick additional note, it was amazing to hear how quickly the songs changed, both within songs and when moving to the next one. You almost never knew when you were on the next track, unless you heard the theme of the song change or actually looked at what was playing. In total, I enjoyed this way more than anticipated because while this was distinctly Queen at points, at others you wouldn’t know it was them at all. Meanwhile, the fact that you can start to hear what the band is going to become … it’s like listening to the teenage years of Queen as they move from boy to man. And to be honest, when it’s just about the songs and not about being over the top, as incredible as those theatrics can be, I personally like them much better. That all said, there’s no doubting the true talent and musicianship of this band, which is displayed throughout this album. For that, they earn a 4.

I know who Issac Hayes is, but I really haven’t listened to him that much. And he’s not really on the stations I listen to other than very sporadically. Well, at least the radio stations. I did know that he has a very cool voice though (trying not to state the obvious). This album was excellent. I loved Walk On By, just such a great groove, which is a consistent theme throughout this record. His baritone voice (perfect for voice acting, but we’re not talking about that) really soars on One Woman, which is another great tune. Loved the balance between his voice and the backup singers. Hyper… was another cool song, for totally different reasons. This is just down in it. Everything fits together so well (like a perfect recipe… no, don’t go there). The remake of By The Time I Get To Phoenix was my least favorite on this record. I don’t mind narration in songs, but this just went on too long and there wasn’t nearly enough to get me interested. In total, an excellent album that just didn’t finish off great. But, he gets a bonus half star because he’s Chef!!!! Damnit! I tried. The fingers were willing, but the mind was weak.

The Band. You could read that one of two ways. It could mean “that’s THE band”, as in a group who is truly great. Or it could be more like “who’s playing? I don’t know, the band”, as in “I have no clue who that is.” While I know who The Band is, this album is decisively in the latter camp for me. There is nothing that is interesting about this album. Even the hit, Up on Cripple Creek probably should have an “a” where the “i” is, because it’s an average song at best. There’s just so little here to really be that excited about. I guess at points like on The Unfaithful Servant, I could hear something that pre-dated early Counting Crows, but even that had me thinking, I could go for listening to August and Everything After right now rather than this. Evidently this is a concept album, though I would much rather listen to Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime album. Just a below average album from a below average band that is unremarkable on both fronts.

Steely Dan is just an offbeat band. Their songs are generally pretty strange when compared to contemporaries. Sure there are songs that I love like Do It Again or Reeling In The Years, but a lot of their stuff is simultaneously interesting yet different enough to keep me intrigued, but not a big fan. This album proved to be no different. Really gifted musicians producing music that seems like it is slightly bent. There were some high points, no doubt. The Boston Rag had some very cool elements, including the way the guitar and piano worked together, the fact that this borderline turned into a march, etc. The closer, King of the World, also has some great guitar work, though the keyboard in the middle is aimless and sounds like something you would hear at Tomorrowland in Disney World. Surprisingly elementary given the what Steely Dan is known for. I really dug My Old School, especially the horn section. Surprised that this song was released as a single and barely charted. This is an excellent tune and happy to have found this one. Yet, the problem with this album is that this song is followed with a song like Pearl of the Quarter (both on the album and as the B side on the single release) which was just a sleepy tune and has little to offer. The guitar work was ok, but this was an instantly forgettable song, much like too many of the others on this record. And that inherently the problem with this collection. It might be technically sound, but few of the songs really grab your attention. I think this is part of the problem with this band and how they are viewed in many circles. They have a clear sound that is often an audiophile’s dream (e.g. the A’ja album), but what gets lost is that the songs aren’t inherently great on a consistent enough of a basis for them to be viewed as highly as they are. In short, they are inflated by people who want to believe they are cool, when all they are is just eccentric. This album is another example of that: an ok album with too many misses to be rated as highly as it is.

This is a direct quote from Apple Music: Though it was a bigger hit in the U.K. than the United States, 1995’s Scream, Dracula, Scream! remains a pivotal work of '90s rock 'n' roll. With the exception of Nirvana’s In Utero, no other album succeeded more in translating the sounds of late-'80s American indie rock to a modern radio rock setting in the '90s. In “Born in ’69,” “Young Livers,” and “Burnt Alive,” RFTC kept the spirit of Squirrel Bait and Dag Nasty for a generation that missed those bands. And despite John Reis’ cheekiness, “Used” and “Come See, Come Saw” are as rousing and inclusive as any songs by Springsteen. Let me translate: this album which didn’t chart at all in the US is evidently as important as an album from perhaps the most important artist of the 90s, brought to you by a band that neither you or me have ever heard of, keeping alive the tradition of another couple of bands that neither of us have ever heard of, fronted by a guy creating songs that are supposedly as great as those created by arguably the most important US rock singer of the last 40 years. Got it. With that as backdrop, I think I can sum this up more quickly. It was neither great, nor influential. In fact, it was repetitive and not good. And I, or really anyone, didn’t need to hear it. What a waste of a slot on a greatest of list. There is nothing about this album which provides any inkling of a reason as to why we had to hear it.

At first, it thought this album was ok. But the more I listened to it, the more it was the same thing over and over again. Worse yet, the singer lacks any type of range or strength to his voice. His falsetto is inferior. And their choruses are totally repetitive and uninspired (eg American Guitars and Starstruck). I’ll say it again, like I did on my last review for Rocket From The Crypt, there is no discernible reason why this album is on here. This band never did anything in the US, never had a top 20 UK album, top 40 single anywhere, nor did they influence anyone or anything. I don’t understand why this is included, and while it might be good enough to give a 2 (it’s better than RFTC), it gets a 1 because it does not belong anywhere near a list of top albums you need to hear. Go find the early albums from Live, Tonic, Toad The Wet Sprocket, or Vertical Horizon instead.

I could see some people not liking this, but I thought this was a fun selection. Curtis Mayfield has a cool voice and this album is best when the funk is present. Billy Jack was a great opener, loved the groove throughout this track. I was less of a fan of When Seasons Change, just a sleepy song that didn’t do much for me. You could make the same argument about So In Love - that it was a bit sleepy - but I liked this one so much better. It was just a much fuller song, sung with more emotion. An excellent track. Next up was Jesus, decent song with interesting lyrics, but again there wasn’t much to this song. So I liked others better. Blue Monday People was another ok track, but not great. Hard Times was much better, again because of the funk within. Love To The People was a good closer, elevated by the guitar and horn work in the song. Definitely not a complete album, but it had a series of highlights and was a good listen.

An old time Western on a record! I had limited time to listen to this but it was worth a spin. Big Iron, El Paso, and Cool Water were my favorites. A tip of the hat to Marty for being a surprisingly good singer too.

Another album which isn’t inherently bad, but shouldn’t be anywhere near this list because it is neither great nor influential, but is included solely because they are from the UK. If you listen to this album, it sounds like something straight from the late 60s with some later punk elements. Unfortunately, it’s the late 70s by the time they released it. Yes, an album that came a decade too late and the results, or lack thereof, shows. Sure, there are some highlights, such as the guitar work in the middle of Another Girl Another Planet, the construction of City of Fun (very interesting throughout). Sadly, the singer’s voice is very below average, like one of those 80s new wave bands, but without the interesting moments. And the lyrics are substandard too, eg the beginning of The Beast, which ruins what could have been an excellent song. It just isn’t, because everything about the signing is bad. When this happens, I openly wonder if this band knew that they were being held back by their front man? Then it occurs to me obviously not, as otherwise some of us might have heard of these guys before.

I had an old basketball coach who said he was front row at a Sly and the Family Stone concert and he had a terrible time because he had to hold the stage up so it wouldn’t collapse the entire time. That has nothing to do with this review and that’s 15 seconds you are never getting back. Though I will say, as I listen to this record, I would imagine S&TFS put on a great show, presuming you weren’t stuck holding up a stage the whole time. As for this album, I liked it. Stand is a high energy opener, good tune. The second song? Uhhh yeah, not touching that with a 39.5 foot pole. As this album progressed, I really liked a lot of the sonic elements, with different instruments or singers in different spots, and the overall sound of certain songs bouncing around from ear to ear. Everyday People is a genuinely great song. Short but powerful. Of course, that’s followed by the longest song on the album, Sex Machine, which was an ok jam but it just goes on too long. This is one of the lowlights, though those were few on the record. All in all, a good record and worth the time.

Another English band that I’ve never heard of. Awesome! Too many of these on this list, so maybe I went into this with some inherent bias based on the last 5+ I’ve listened to that weren’t that good. Let’s start at the beginning. Calling your band The Zutons, naming your album Who Killed The Zutons?, and then starting that record with a song called Zuton Fever? Trying to be cheeky? Making a statement? Whatever the intent, it failed. Bad song, and it barely got marginally better from there. At least I can say this, unlike the last few of these bands I listened to, the lead singer has an interesting/good voice. The band is pretty good too. Unfortunately, the song construction is terrible. Too many songs about nothing, that are aimless, with bad choruses, or all three. Havana Gang Brawl is a perfect example. When this started, I thought “finally something I can get into” only for the chorus to come up and deliver…nothing but repetition. So, Who Killed The Zutons? Sadly, no one fast enough. Anyone with a (much) quicker trigger would have sufficed. Instead, no one did the job and we ended up being stuck listening to this album. I will give a second star to this though, solely because they managed to hurdle the very low bar that is the other no-name English bands I’ve already listened to, and lumping them in with those others seems wrong.

This hasn't been a great recent run of albums for me. In the last week: The Zutons The Only Ones The Auteurs Rocket From The Crypt Add in Curtis Mayfield, Sly & The Family Stone, and Marty Robbins, that's 7 straight days of albums where I have heard a grand total of 1 of these songs before. That can be a good thing, as I like discovering new music, but for those four bands above it really hasn't been good. When this popped up, all I could think is "here we go again". But much to my surprise, I kind of liked this record. Not that it was amazing, and I expect that a lot of people will not like this (my hunch is the average rating is less than 3) since it is a bit of a bizarre listen, but at least it was different. Frankly, it's like listening to a Broadway musical album. What's interesting about it to me is that some of these songs come off as light, but they actually have a good amount of depth to them. I don't think this group takes itself too seriously, but it's not a farce, nor are they just mailing it in. There's a bombast that is reasonably enjoyable to me. Through a Long & Sleepless Night was a highlight for me, lots to this song and well constructed. 3 stars for the effort, even if this isn't normally my type of thing.

The Doors are a band that I would never seek out, but I do enjoy them from time to time when I hear them on the radio. I've never listened to a full album from them, so I was interested to see whether I would like this entire record. This is an excellent album, even if it's not a cover to cover truly great record. Certainly, there are the songs that we all know: Lover Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, the title track. All classics and these alone would be enough to make this a worthy listen. But it wasn't just the hits, there were others on here that I enjoyed as well, The Changeling most notably. I liked the way this song just drove throughout. On the flip side, there were a couple of tracks on this which weren’t that good: L'America and The WASP chief among them. I can, at least, appreciate that they brought some variety to the album. That said, they do drag this record down from being truly great for me personally. All the same, a good listen. Four stars.

I was stoked when this album popped up. Never listened to it, though I had heard a few of these songs a number of times. What really stood out to me was two things: 1. The way this album never really seemed to break, at least up through Mercy, Mercy Me. Everything just flowed into each other. I thought that was very cool. It did lead to the first part of this album sounding relatively homogenous, but since that sound was great, that didn't end up being a negative. 2. That this album has a really distinct and serious viewpoint, very pointed, and yet was light in it's approach at the same time. Excellent dichotomy. Mercy, Mercy Me is a song that I absolutely love. Admittedly, I am more used to hearing the Robert Palmer version, but the original is awesome. Great tune. Of course, everyone has heard this one and the title track too, which is a great song as well. But there were a bunch of other ones in this which were excellent like Flyin High. Right On was the one track that I wasn't really enamored with. This seemed to go on too long and wandered a bit aimlessly at times. The theme is good, no doubt, but this could have been much tighter. But that's nitpicking. Inner City Blues is a great tune, excellent way to close this album. Really great album.

Dusty Springfield isn’t typically my thing, but this album was undeniably great. Her voice is so pure, and the songs are really well constructed. Love the orchestral backing on a lot of these tracks. Highlights: The Windmills of Your Mind - This sounded almost like a Bond theme to me at the beginning. Love the way her voice moves through this song, soft and subtle at the beginning and more strong at later points as the song grows. Don’t Forget About Me - This could have easily been a song that Aretha Franklin was singing. Just a very full song, with some cool guitar work in it too. Son of a Preacher Man - the biggest song off this album and for good reason. Very soulful with a great blend of different instruments hitting at just the right points opposite her voice. The closer, I Can’t Make it Alone, is another excellent tune. Dusty’s voice is pitch perfect on this one. This was a revelation. Exactly the type of thing I hoped to get out of this project. While I wouldn’t say I loved every song on this, there are no bad ones. A truly great album, which I never would have expected to say prior to listening to it.

He’s called the Outlaw for a reason. Imagine having the balls to perform and record a performance in a prison. Then go and do it again. I haven’t listened to this album previously, or its predecessor from Folsom. I did read some say that Folsom was better, and if that’s true, I definitely need to check that out because I thought this was great. Wanted Man was a smart way to kick this off. It is a straight forward song, but it instantly connects him with the prisoners. They are already way into this by the time he plays San Quentin. Twice. Amazing that he just wrote it the day before, and then he goes and includes both on the recording. Awesome, mainly because of the reactions from the inmates. And that’s really what makes this great. It’s not a massive feat in intricate songwriting. Quite the opposite, actually, but that’s not the point. The prisoners wanted someone just like them up there, someone to recognize them, and that’s exactly what they got. This is great because of the simplicity and all the interaction with the crowd. A must listen for anyone

Neil Young has always been a political activist and regardless of your position about his views, it's undeniable that this has generally resulted in a lot of great songs. Whether it is Ohio, Rockin In a Free World (my personal favorite), or Alabama, he's had a ton of impact through his music. That alone has also meant that Neil is rarely boring. Unfortunately, rarely doesn’t equal never, as is very evident on this album, as much of it played out as very dull for me. The dichotomy of his two protest anthems on this is really a microcosm for the rest of this record. Yes, Southern Man is a great song and impactful, but that's balanced out by After The Gold Rush, which is less on both fronts. Of course, the latter might be worse simply because he sings in his higher register the entire song and that's where is voice is the weakest when it's not supported by others in a harmony. Regardless, I just didn't like that song at all. There were other high points on this album. Most notably, I loved Don't Let It Bring You Down, which was backed by some great acoustic guitar and piano. A song I was instantly drawn to. But these great songs were too few and far between. I had previously listened to Rust Never Sleeps, and that's a far superior album to this one. This was average at best for my ear.

Whew, what can you say about this album? They killed it! This album slays!! Imagine the sacrifice that went into this record. Ok, I’m done. Ooh, one more. The execution on this was amazing! This was, how shall we say it, an interesting album. At first, I just didn’t think I was going to get through an album full of songs about murder. But the more I played this, the more I appreciated it for the storytelling and how the songs were built. Is this something I would pick up and listen to over and over again? No. But taking it for what it is, this is a solid effort. Not sure I need five Nick Cave albums on this list, but at least this one got me intrigued to hear the other four.

I love a lot of Lenny Kravitz’s stuff. Whether it’s huge hits like Are You Gonna Go My Way or Again, to other stuff like Low, there’s so much of his music that I like. When this popped up, I was excited to listen to it front to back. But I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with this. Not that it’s a bad album, per se. It’s just not nearly as good as I hoped. To be sure, there are some good tunes. Let Love Rule is great and I really liked Rosemary. And the whole vibe of this record, along with Kravitz’s voice, is very cool. Too often, though, the choruses in these songs were very basic and repetitive. It’s like the ideas for the songs were there, but he didn’t know how to flush it all out. For that reason, this ended up being just an average album for me. Would love to give him more, but can’t give it more than 3 stars.

It's interesting to me that REM is categorized as Alt Rock which took off in popularity and was the music I loved in the 90s, but REM kind of predated that and really first hit it big in the late 80s. They are a talented band, they've just never been my thing. I do like tunes like Losing My Religion, Nightswimming, Driver 8, but they have just as many songs that I don't really care for like Man on the Moon, Stand, or Orange Crush. It's very hit or miss for me and I think I've only ever owned Automatic For The People. That's a roundabout way of saying I've never experienced this album. Like anyone else, I've heard It's the End of the World As We Know It a bunch (Tommy Boy!). And because our middle school cafeteria got a jukebox installed in 1987, I am super familar with The One I Love, as that song was played basically every day by classmates at lunch. That means this album was already +2 on the love REM / hate REM count, which probably helped. That said, I actually enjoyed this record more than I anticipated. The first thing that really strikes me is how great the recording is. King of Birds is a perfect example: you can really hear all of the nuances built into this, whether it's the tweaked guitar, the varying drums, the overlapping vocals, etc. Beyond this, there are some cool songs beyond It's the End of me naming this song and The One I Love. Welcome To The Occupation was had some great harmonies throughout and is the type of song I generally really like. Oddfellows Local 151 was a cool closer, and just something a bit different, even for REM. It started to border on a harder rock song with the more prominent bass, which I don't think is the isn't super typical for their songs. Not everything is amazing on this record, and the quality of the songwriting wanes for me at times, but there's more than enough on here to warrant it's inclusion on this list.

This is a great album. When it popped up, my daughter screamed “you’re gonna love it” and she was right. Her smoky and rich voice, along with some great piano playing make for a great combination. Of course, I love piano in songs, and one of my favorite modern artists is Sara Bareilles. Apple’s voice isn’t nearly as great as SB’s, but it’s perhaps cooler and certainly strong in its own right. I already knew that Criminal was an excellent tune, but there’s a lot more which is great on this record. Sleep To Dream was released as a single before Criminal, which is too bad, as that probably would have built on or at least consolidated the success of Criminal if it was released afterwards. I loved Pale September too. Her voice sounds excellent on this tune. There’s a series of other well constructed songs as well. Bottom line is that this is an excellent album, especially for a debut. There’s an amazing sophistication about this album for how young she was when she recorded it. Really a great effort.

Not sure how to feel about this album. Randy’s a superb songwriter. This has been proven over and over again. Unfortunately, his voice is just subpar and listening to a whole album of him is clearly not for me. There’s some decent songs on here: Last Night I Had a Dream for one. Political Science is very cheeky, as is You Can Leave Your Hat On. Memo To My Son was cute and well constructed. But his voice!!!! Ugh, I don’t need to listen to 40 minutes of songs that sound like the bears from Splash Mountain. Just not my thing.

Anyone who listens to classic rock hears some of these songs on the radio regularly. And some of you are undoubtedly like me: while I don’t go seeking them out, I find myself singing right along when they come on. What was interesting is listening this album front to back, as it’s actually quite good. Paradise By The Dashboard Lights is always so much fun. That they including the Phil Rizzuto part always kills me (even if he didn’t know what it was for, which actually might make it better). But the way this track moves through different parts and phases is the true genius that drives this song. Truly great. There’s so much to like on this beyond that tune though. Right from the jump, the title track is an epic tune that’s just in your face, over the top, and really lets you know what you are in store for across the rest of the album. A great way to open. Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad is another fun song, as is You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth (even if the opening is super strange). The low point for me was For Crying Out Loud, which I thought was a bit boring at times. Even then, Meat Loaf’s voice is great and the orchestral backing soars at numerous points. The roll up is that this was way better than I anticipated. Meat Loaf’s voice is great and there are a lot of intricacies to these songs which make them interesting. Is it bombastic and exaggerated? No doubt, but that shouldn’t diminish how well constructed this album is.

We all know that Elton John is one of the most accomplished artists in history. I've always liked certain songs (I'm Still Standing, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me) and his catalog is astonishingly large, but he's never been one of my go-to musicians. That said, I am very drawn to many piano playing artists, whether it's Bruce Hornsby, Billy Joel, Sara Bareilles and others. So, I figured I would like this, but I had no idea how much. This is an incredible album. Candle in the Wind is an iconic song, not much more needs to be said. I know that Bennie and the Jets is one of his biggest selling songs, but I've never really understood why. It's a good song, but there are others that are much better. For example, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting is a much more fun song. I would rather listen to the latter than the former. The title track is another excellent tune, especially the sweeping chorus. It's almost whimsical but it simultaneously has a lot of depth. Other highlights for me beyond the hits: Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding: Yeah, the first 3:30 of the opening track is a waste but after that, it's a great way to kick off this album. Never knew that Elton had prog rock in him! An excellent song with tons of cool layers to it. Grey Seal: reminded me of Billy Joel's Miami 2017 for some reason, though it predates Joel’s by a few years. Something about the speed of the playing that felt similar. It had a smidge of a disco feel, which it also predated (at least mainstream disco) by a few years. All the Girls Love Alice: reminded me of I'm Still Standing in the non-chorus parts, really liked this one. Your Sister Can't Twist: I think Bernie and Elton sat down and said, "what if the Beach Boys were on unlimited stimulants?" Lots of fun to listen to. I was totally struck by the fullness of the sound and diversity of these songs. From front to back, it's abundantly clear how great a set of writers Bernie Taupin and EJ are. You do not get cheated on really any of these songs. An amazing effort.

Yes, the Beatles are the biggest band of all time and for good reason, but this album wasn't an amazing record for me. The good: There’s actually a lot of diversity in the sound of a lot of these songs, at least more than I expected at this stage in their careers. And that sound is really quite great, if we look at these songs through the lens of the time in which they were written. Also, they are excellent singers and the songs are generally fun and catchy. The bad: Where there wasn't diversity? The theming. I'm going to get the girl, I am going to call the girl, I'm going to kiss/love the girl, I've lost the girl, the girl is far away, I'm with the girl . . . even where's my letter from my girl? We were halfway through the album before something different finally came on with Roll Over Beethoven. Oh and then right back to the girl: please hold me, she has a hold on me, I want to be with her, she loves me but she's the devil, I'm not giving her another chance. Mercifully, a song about money to close the album. Sure, not the greatest theme ever - I just want money - but at least it wasn't being used to get a girl! This will undoubtedly be well rated because it is the Beatles, but this really didn't get a hold on me (yes, I did just bend one of their songs). It's good, but not great.

Not surprised to see this show up today. My daughter got it too on the day of Ozzy Osbourne's passing. I've heard a lot of Black Sabbath's music, but I've never listened to this album in its entirety. I’m guessing when this came out it was unlike anything else that was out there at that time. The dark and twisted picture it paints is very cool, actually. Speaking of cool, Ozzy's voice has always been one of the greatest in rock history. Not technically speaking, of course, there are others who have greater range for example. But it's just so different from other amazing voices and perfect for their group and this album. The title track is unique and just a great song. Nothing like announcing yourself to the rest of the world with that song. As a side note, I loved how Ozzy’s voice bounced back and forth in my headphones on Wasp (etc). The rest of the tune was excellent as well, much like a lot of this album. Just a fun record to go back and visit. It’s hard to imagine that it came out over 50 years ago. RIP Ozzy.

Getting KD Lang the day after Black Sabbath is almost unfair. Sabbath brings an amazing force to their records. KD Lang is almost the exact opposite. This record has a very laid back feel. Sadly, it never really departs from that until the very end, and it ends up making this record pretty lackluster in my eyes. Save Me saunters along, almost in a very slow southern type of way. A pretty basic chorus, but there is something about this song that crawls along with just enough interesting aspects to keep me engaged. A decent start. Unfortunately, she follows this up with a series of very sleepy songs that barely hold my interest. At least until Season of the Hollow Soul, which has some nice layers to it. Frankly, this had a similar feel of the types of songs that Sting was writing around the same time (the cello helps, the la la las do not). Of course, it's then back to more laid back songs . . . Until the closer, of course. Constant Craving is, by far, her best known song and for good reason. This is a very well constructed song which shows off KD's voice really well. But this was about it for selections that are memorable. The rest of the time KD's vocals are backed by a bunch of lackluster songs that have a bit of character, but not nearly enough to hold anyone's attention.

I was really unsure of what to expect from this album. Never heard of Michael Kiwanuka and, to be honest, most of the artists they have included who are only popular in the UK have had no business sniffing this list, let alone being included. This one, however, has been a welcomed change from those other inferior musicians. It's cool to listen to artists you have never heard of IF they are deserving of being on this list, which Kiwanuka definitely is. This album has a really interesting blend between soul and rock. The best way I can sum it up is that there is just a cool atmosphere throughout this record. Frankly, as I listen to this, it feels like a toned down Lenny Kravitz with the volume lowered a notch or two. Highlights for me: - Piano Joint: Awesome, awesome song. Just loved the feel of this. - Living in Denial: A throw-back to songs from the 60s / early 70s. This could have easily fit on some of those old Marvin Gaye albums. - Hero: starts simple but grows really well. Another great tune. To be honest, I am smack dab at 4.5 stars for this, as it’s not a perfect album, but I am giving it 5 for three reasons. 1. By using that picture on the cover and self-titling this, it's as if he is saying "this is me, take it or leave it." Note: You should definitely take it. 2. Finding stuff like this is exactly what I hoped to get out of this list. 3. Something happened to me on this album which rarely happens: I got chills listening to Piano Joint the first time through. Well deserved rounding up.

I just don’t understand how there are so many Nick Cave albums on here. I get that he is unique. And no doubt that this one is cool in concept, first album is from the perspective of the children, the second from the parents. Great way of constructing. Unfortunately, the broad brush does not create a complete painting, and the individual constructions that are each song are not that good. Beyond this, Nick’s voice is not that interesting to me. This is one of those classic cases of the “experts” loving something (ie critics) while the customers don’t (ie the listeners). This is widely critically acclaimed, and yet the people on this album journey have voted this as under 3 stars. The simple fact is that this is just pretentious and boring, and it’s why it’s less than average with fans of actual music.

I like Depeche Mode. They are definitely a different sounding band, but they are accessible enough to be pretty popular. I own a good amount of their stuff around the turn of 90s, but I’ve never listened to this album, so I was intrigued about listening to this. It’s interesting in that you can definitely hear the sound that they hone in the coming years, but this is certainly a bit rawer. That said, I have to say that putting this on the list instead of Violator is a crime. This album doesn't have a whole lot of great songs. There’s a few, but those pale in comparison to World In My Eyes, Personal Jesus, Policy of Truth, Enjoy The Silence and others. Violator is vastly superior in just about every way, and I would encourage anyone reading this to go find that album. It’s a much more complete sound and listen. As for this one, an average effort at best.

Another Doors album! Good band, not my favorite though. LA Woman was an excellent record, so color me interested. This record gets off to a great start with Roadhouse Blues, a tune I've heard a bunch of times. Super fun with tons of energy. Love this song. The rest of the album doesn't live up to the opener, but in fairness that's a pretty high bar. There's still some good stuff on here, and Morrison's voice is very cool throughout. That said, it's not as good an album as LA Woman. A solid effort, but definitely an inferior album to others.

This strange album requires a bit of a different review than I normally give. The good: the instrumentation is solid throughout, the nod to Quiet Riot in the album title, the song Chicago. The bad: the singing is very substandard - airy, limited range, just no weight, adding nothing to the songs - and the lyrics aren't that good either. The ridiculous: The names of some of these songs. I do think that when an artist does what Stevens does - e.g. the theming without a real point, the extraordinarily long song titles - it’s a form of compensating for the fact that the songs aren't that good. When it takes longer to read the title than to play the whole, something isn't right. In this case, it's the songs. Not a total waste of time, but pretty close.

I remember when I first heard Green Day, I thought “yeah this is ok but they will be gone soon.” I never thought Green Day would stick around as long as they have, let alone be super popular. What I underestimated is how catchy some of these tunes are. Yeah, it could be classified as punk, with all of these short, fast-burn songs. But there's a certain appeal to their music that hits closer to mainstream rock in a way that a lot of other punk rock bands do not. Things I liked about this: - It's full of fun, well-constructed songs. I liked how some songs blended into others (e.g. Chump into Longview) - Billie Joe's signing has never been great to me, but given the style, he certainly adds to the songs. - There were a lot of things I heard while listening to this on headphones that I never picked up on the radio, especially in Welcome to Paradise. - The lyrics are good and not random / aimless like some of what I have heard from their contemporaries on this list from the other side of the pond. BTW, All By Myself was just a disturbing closer. That's all I'll say! Their still not going to be a band I really turn to regularly, and until today, I've not had any of their music in my own personal library. That said, this changed today after listening to this album, as there is no doubt that they have some fun/cool songs and that this is an excellent record.

British folk rock. Meh. This genre really produced very little music that you hear today, which should tell you about its importance in the annals of music. That said, it might have helped to spawn Jethro Tull, so bonus points there. This album is fine, though nothing spectacular. The lead singer's voice is very good. There's a touch of Grace Slick in there. Grace was certainly more powerful and rock oriented, while Sandy Denny's voice is more melancholy at times, even haunting. Really technically sound. Both are pretty distinctive. The songs here are decent, many of which are old English folk songs. Interestingly, I actually much preferred what the band created themselves (especially the harmonies on Come All Ye, Crazy Man Michael) vs. what they covered. I also liked the guitar work throughout this, better than most. Not amazing, but good enough for a listen and worthy of inclusion on this list, at least more so that some of the British bands which were included that shouldn't have been. 3 stars.

I was really looking forward to listening to this when it showed up as my next album, but I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. Let me start with the good. Eminem has a great rapping style. I like how bounces around his rhythm a bit, but it always feels right for the song. Beyond this, he tends to have a good song construction behind his raps, even if they are simple at times. It all just fits together really well. Meanwhile, the song Stan has always been a favorite of mine. A great, great tune. What I didn't like was a few things. Let’s start with the swearing. This doesn't bother me at all, except that because it was nonstop, it made it seem like he lacked for other ideas (incredibly) or that he was trying to sound tougher / harder than he really is. Also, the song Kim is terrible. Just hideous. Finally, it’s fair to knock him down a bit for the homophobia and misogyny. Just too much of it for me. Right now I am sitting between a 3 and a 4 and, in truth, if I could give this 3.5 I would. But I am moving to a 3 because, by the end of this album, I was tired of listening to it.

I am not an Amy Winehouse fan. I find it strange that people lionize her, when her one hit was about not going to rehab, and then she died from alcohol poisoning just a couple of years later. Is it too bad that she died? Of course it is. But people make her greater than she was as a result. Admittedly, when I started listening to this album, I knew it would be hard for me to get past my predisposition, especially with Rehab being the first song on the record. I openly hate that song. To me, it represents a life wasted (seriously no pun intended). I will say, as I listened to this, it is easy to admit that she has a cool voice. Relatively distinctive. She reminds me of a rockier version of Norah Jones. I’ve seen some compare her to Adele, which is downright unfair because AW pales in comparison. But it was a good instrument that she had. This album has a major throw back feel. Not sure if I like it or not, to be honest. It is fascinating that she stuck to this style throughout, so I give her credit for holding the line. There a few good songs on this, the title track among them. For my ear, that’s probably the best song on the album. Beyond this, I was pleased to see that she diverged from the Rehab type of material. Of course, that was until she closed with Addicted, which is another song I didn’t like. And ultimately, that’s the problem with this album, too many songs about how bad she is. I openly wonder if she succumbed to the pressure of trying to live up to this persona. As for this album, it ultimately felt disingenuous to me and for that reason, I would put it at 2 stars. If there’s a bright side, that’s one more than I thought I would give coming into it.

I liked this album a lot. If I recall correctly, GF&TFF were early pioneers to use turntables to manipulate sounds like scratching, and it's cool to hear this at an early stage on this record. But they are bringing a lot more than just being pioneers on this front. They have a lot of great grooves and the commentary is excellent throughout. The song dedicated to Stevie Wonder - Dreaming - was an interesting departure from a lot of the rest of the album. Cool song. The piano and singing on You Are was awesome, really complimented each other. The highlight here is definitely the title track. The Message is a great song, powerful in its message. Loved the way the rap changed rhythms throughout. I know this has been sampled a bunch of times, but beyond this it's been very influential in setting a new direction for rap. A truly important song in the annals of music. And for that reason, this album is a must hear for anyone. Really great.

I'm a long time PinkFloyd fan and am very familiar with this album already. It's a classic. The songs on this are amazing. And though it's easier to have no bad tunes when you have a lower number of songs, this album doesn't have any missteps. It's great from beginning to end. Personally, I've always liked the way they have bookended this album with Shine On You Crazy Diamond. In my opinion, none of it is as good as the three songs in between, though that's a super high bar, and it's always interesting to hear all of the different layers in those two halves of the song. As for those tracks in between: Welcome to the Machine is probably my favorite song on this album. It's far from a traditional rock track, no doubt, and the lyrics are very ominous. But I love how all of this comes together to paint a pretty dark picture. A great, great tune. Have a Cigar is more of a traditional rock song in some ways. Love the lyrics to this, especially the "by the way, which one's Pink" line. Even if they are brief in nature, still really well written. Wish You Were Here is quintessential Floyd. A great song that couldn't have come from any other band. This is what really strikes me about this album, is how well constructed it is. Frankly, I've always preferred David Gilmour as a singer to Roger Waters, though Waters is undoubtedly the better writer and the more meaningful stuff has come from when he was in the band. Wish You Were Here as an album is a great example of this. A 5 star album, no doubt. Amazing songs, powerful, great playing, and a complete album.

This was a throwback for me. I liked a lot of late 80s early 90s rap, and though I was never into these guys, it sounded like a lot of stuff I enjoyed back then. They have a simple, straightforward style but the lyrics were strong and the package was good enough to where this was worth a listen. Reminded me a bit of A Tribe Called Quest, Eric B & Rakim, or De La Soul at different times. I really liked Step Into the Arena and Take a Rest. There’s a few other good songs on this album too. Not a great record overall, but definitely solid.

Trip hop!!!! Yes!! Ok, so I’d never heard of Trip Hop before I started blazing through these 1,000+ albums. I got Tricky earlier and enjoyed his album, so I figured I might like this. It was good, though far from amazing. It did get off to a great start with Safe From Harm. That was an excellent song. Unfortunately, they threw all that momentum away with One Love, which desperately needed to be sped up a few notches. I found this one to be very boring. Most of the rest of the album was up and down. I have to say, I kind of get why Tricky decided to go solo. He’s the most interesting voice after the first song on this record. I like the vibe of this album, and it has some diverse sounds to it, but the individual songs aren’t that great, and it’s far from complete. A solid effort all the same.

Another Queen album that I was pleasantly surprised by. We are so used to the bombastic Queen that can be heard on the radio all the time. This had a more straightforward rock feel to me, even a harder edge at times in numerous songs, and I much prefer this version of Queen. Killer Queen is an excellent song, but there’s a lot more on this record that is worth staying for. Brighton Rock is a cool opener, though I much prefer the guitar solo in the middle of this tune than any of the vocal parts. Tenement Funster is more of a traditional rock song too from the band. Liked this one as well. To be sure, there’s plenty in the “this is what we are used to” category for Queen. The two In The Lap Of The Gods songs are good examples of this. Very rock opera-ish and fun listens. I really enjoyed Misfire. This reminded me a lot of Don’t Treat Me Bad by Firehouse for some reason. Just a bunch of different styles throughout this record. Really good.

First Zeppelin album on the list for me, though I have heard a lot of these songs before. An excellent record, no doubt. Tons of great songs. Immigrant Song, Tangerine, and Gallows Pole have always been favorites from me on this record. All excellent tunes. There’s so much more to like on here though, whether it’s Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Friends, and others. The way they all blend together is incredible, one of the great bands of all time and an amazing record.

Sorry, but this is when I get pissed. 1,001 albums is a lot, but there’s a massive amount of great music out there. Way beyond a thousand albums. And these English writers put this crap on here? It serves no point, drives no emotion, is ineffectual . . . I could go on. So let me. It has inferior production quality, poor song construction, the singing isn’t good, nor does it influence anything. If only the Sunshine hit this band and gave them an ounce of musical talent or originality. Instead, they tried to recreate a Beatles album circa the early 60s. In the 2000s. With no talent, and nothing upbeat. There have been some bad English albums on this list, but this is the worst. Why? In short, it’s boring. Shame on the authors of this book, taking a spot with this useless record. Nothing worth listening to and it certainly shouldn’t be anywhere near this list.

This album was such fun. I was lovin’ this! It’s criminal that I hadn’t listened to it before! You see what I did there? Yeah, that was about as subtle as this album was. I had actually totally forgotten about these guys. Then Scooby Snacks came on and I was like “Oh yeah, I remember this!” It’s fine. That song is cool, and there are some other good grooves on this record. Nothing that is winning any Grammy’s, but it was fine. A solid 3.

This is a weird one for me. Yes, the signing is generally subpar. The acoustic guitar and drumming are pretty basic. It wants to be punk but doesn't truly get close to that level. But that bass! And the fact that they don't seem to take things too seriously ("and your happy, this is only a guess"). It all just kind of works. To a point at least. This isn't an amazing album, but I kind of dug it for some strange reason. It's like a movie that sucked at the box office in the theaters but then achieved cult classic. It takes a while to find its audience, but when it does, that audience stands fiercely by it.

The Beastie Boys are one of those bands that probably should get more credit then they already receive. Yeah they've sold tons of records and I believe they are part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (whatever you think of that), but they really are pioneers in different ways and have been pretty influential on many others including Eminem. This album is a prime example of what they are capable of. We've all heard Sabotage and for good reason. That's one of those songs that just hit on all airwaves, whether it’s rap, rock, alternative, or pop. It was just huge in the 90s and arguably one of the best songs of that decade. But there's a lot more to like on this record, whether it is the other song you sometimes hear on the radio (Sure Shot), a collaboration with Biz Markie (Do It), other great back and forth raps, and one cool instrumental (Eugene's Lament, which I loved). I would give this a five, but two things hold me back: 1. Though it's a way more refined sound on this record, this album isn't as good or as complete as Paul's Boutique. 2. There are too many instrumentals on here (Eugene’s Lament as the exception). All the same, a very good album.

Though I never owned this album, I remember when the various videos from this came out and were all over MTV right at the turn of the decade. But I must admit I had forgotten how many really great songs were on this record. I think I recognize no less than 7 singles off of this album, if I am counting correctly, which is pretty incredible. Personally, I have always liked Come Back to Me the best. There's something about this song, whether it's the groove or the despair / vulnerability of Janet's voice throughout, it definitely moves me more than anything else on this album. That said, the other singles are really excellent songs. And if you think about how she made huge hits out of Escapade, Love Will Never Do Without You, Miss You Much, Rhythm Nation, and others all within months of each other? Consider how different some of these songs are from each other, whether it's tempo, tone, complexity, etc. It's really quite an amazing effort, and a testament to the writing. Of course, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have worked with so many different great R&B artists, but I think Janet wrote (or co-wrote) a lot of the big hits on this record, and she's the one that really makes them come alive. There's some other songs on here that are excellent as well. The best of these to me is State of the World. Though the theming is a ton different, the sound of this one reminded me a ton of Johnny Gill's Rub You the Right Way - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis probably borrowed from themselves, since they wrote both. I was instantly drawn in by this one. While this album has 20 tracks, that's a bit of a misnomer since 8 of them are just interludes. The core 12 songs on here individual and collectively are great. This is easily a 5 star album for me. Frankly, this is one of the few complete albums I have listened to so far on this list.

Never listened to the Boo Radleys before and I can’t say I have been missing out all this time. This has some good aspects to it and they sound reasonably talented. I also like some of the distortion they used throughout and this is somewhat similar to other stuff I like. The problem with this is that basically every song devolves into an instrumental ending full of the same notes over and over again. This happens right from the jump with I Hang Suspended and is a running theme throughout the album. It’s almost like they had no clue how to finish songs. For that reason alone, this gets a major downgrade for me.

I think we all recognize that the Beatles are one of the great bands of all time. But this is the second time I’ve had a post Beatles album from one of the band members that I have been disappointed with. Imagine is a great, great song, but the next few on this album are really subpar. It’s not until I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier Mama that this album picks back up. After that, it’s better but still far from great. I did think How Do You Sleep was excellent and I actually somewhat enjoyed Oh Yoko. However, that was counterbalanced by Oh My Love, which is about as elementary a song as I’ve heard in a while, which is saying something given the amount of shitty not-even-a-hit-in-the-UK English bands that I have heard on this 1,001 album list. Overall, this record was not terribly inspired other than Imagine and the few politically driven tracks. It is, at best, average for me.

Van Morrison has a series of excellent tunes. Brown Eyed Girl is one of those songs that everyone loves and I have always been a big fan of Into the Mystic. Sadly, nothing on this album remotely comes close to either of those tunes. Frankly, a lot of this comes off as the same song over and over again, becoming a repetitive bore.

Crap English Band Alert!!! Another entry from a UK act that doesn’t belong on this list. This album has very little going for it. The one song I liked was Everybody’s Stalking, mainly because it sounds a bit like Alice In Chains’ Got Me Wrong. Everything else was very bland. This guy’s voice is below average and the songs were not well built out. Better than a couple of the others who sucked on this list, but still getting 1 star out of spite.

I’ve never really listened to the White Stripes, but know a series of people who like them. And since Seven Nation Army is an excellent song, I was interested to see how this was. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed with this album. The songs are pretty simple with limited hooks. The singing is below par. I read that it cost less than $10k to produce this record and it shows. A subpar effort.

Have you ever been to Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom? That's what this album is. It's like listening to the Country Bear Jamboree or the music on the old Splash Mountain. And as enjoyable as those can be, I don’t want to listen to that for two hours straight. That's not to say this doesn't have merits. The guitar, violin, etc. playing is excellent, as are many of the harmonies. I just don't need 2 hours of this sound. Add in that it is a bunch of remakes and not original music, leaves this one towards the bottom of the barrel. Still giving it a 2 though, because this isn’t a band that is devoid of talent.

I I get that some people might not like this, but I really enjoyed listening to this album. Of course, I was pre disposed to liking this, as Connected is one of those one-off songs from the 90s that I have always loved. But there’s a lot more on here than just the title track. Ground Level, Sketch, Fade Away and others all hit for me. Interestingly, I wasn’t as big a fan of Step it Up, which was bigger than Connected in the UK. I just think there are much better songs than that track on this record. It’s not amazing throughout, and front half of this album is definitely better than the back half, but the songs generally hit a good groove for my ear. A worthwhile listen.

I really enjoy alternative music and this album is right at the start of when that genre had shifted away from punk and college rock, into what it would ultimately become in the 90s. This is a bit before alternative truly became popular though. It isn't a complete record, but it’s very good. No doubt that there are some definite highlights on this album, such as the back half of Ted, Just Admit It. The playing on this is excellent. Mountain Song and Idiot's Rule are similarly very good, the latter of which gave me an early Red Hot Chili Peppers vibe. That said, all of these songs have a bit of a problem. That problem is Perry Farrell, if we are being honest about it. His has an inferior voice, almost whiny at times. In short, his singing just isn't that good. It's too bad, because Dave Navarro's playing on this is excellent, even amazing at times, as is the rest of the band. They are just held back at this stage by Farrell. The sole song where I thought he truly added to the music is Jane Says. Other than that, he is generally a detractor from the sound, rather than enhancing it as a great frontman should. All the same, there's more than enough meat on the bone on this record for anyone to give it a spin, especially given that it is at the forefront of the alternative movement.

I've been a fan of the Chili Peppers since the 80s with Mother's Milk came out, as I just loved Knock Me Down and their version of Higher Ground. And then they followed that up with the amazing Blood Sugar Sex Magik record, which just reaffirmed my love for this band. They had so many great songs in the 90s and beyond. I would encourage anyone to go find Go Robot and Dark Necessities off of The Getaway album, two great tunes. Back to this record, as this album was a punctuation mark on their domination of the 90s. When you listen to it, you understand why. Personally, my favorite tune on this record is Parallel Universe, a song that just drives throughout. A great, great tune. Really, though, all of the singles from this record are excellent, from Otherside to Scar Tissue to Around the World to the title track. These five are all part of the first six songs on this disc, which is an incredible start. Yes, the record wanes a bit from there, but it would be nearly impossible to match that amazing front half of the album. Even then, there’s still a ton of great music in that back half. These guys have a massive amount of great tunes, but this record is probably their best, most complete one. A five star effort.

Meh. This album was just meh. Wanted to like it, as the playing wasn’t bad. The singing was just not good.

It’s Eminem! He’s cool! We have to love this! Right? Well, not really. Rapping style is cool. The background music can be good. And that’s about where it ends. There’s just a ton of subject matter on here which is stupid. “Hey daughter of mine, why don’t you and I go to the beach while I tie a rock to mommy’s foot so she can lie on her bed at the bottom of the ocean.” “Hey girl, I might have accidentally killed you with too many mushrooms.” Huh? Don’t even get me started on the 15 year old girl song. Saying this hasn’t aged well is a cop out, as it’s the same back then as it is now. Some people would call this edgy. Or even say it’s meant to be a dumb character / funny. But it’s just dumb.

I generally enjoy listening to these old jazz albums, especially now that my son does jazz band at his school. This one proved to be no different. Take Five is one of those songs that you have definitely heard, whether it is in some show or an old ad. I feel like this was in an ad for some luxury item or an old Apple commercial. It's very cool and well constructed. Definitely the highlight of this album. But stick around for the other tunes as well. Excellent playing, both individually and together. Love to hear actual talent like this, seems like that is kind of lost these days.

This is the second "solo" McCartney album I have gotten, after the Wings Band on the Run album. Like that one, I am very disappointed with this. Having quickly perused the backstory for this record, I have a theory. Paul knew John was leaving the Beatles, the Beatles were breaking up, and he wanted to announce that he was going solo before that all became public. That's the only reason I can see for insisting this come out before the Let It Be album. It also makes sense when you listen to this record, which clearly has limited effort put into it. It obviously was rushed by an artist who was lost at the time. The Lovely Linda has potential, but it was more of a concept than an actual song. A strange way to start, effectively announcing "hey world, I'm on my own . . . but I only have half flushed out ideas." I think That Would Be Something sounds cool. It's a borderline Led Zeppelinesque type of song. However, if you measure that against LZ, it pales considerably in comparison mainly because the lyrics are limited and repetitive. It does, however, hurdle the low bar that was the first track. Of course, we are right back down in the valley with Valentine's Day. A short instrumental that serves no purpose. Fortunately, the yo-yo bounces back up slightly with Every Night, a relatively tame song which sounds alright and has some decent guitar work. And then down again with Hot As Sun / Glasses . . . a 35-minute album with this many instrumentals? I thought McCartney was an incredible songwriter? We are 5 songs in, but we have yet to truly hit a complete song. Junk was pretty much that. 6 songs in now. Man We Was Lonely must be a metaphor where the "Man" = other lyrics, as of the 30 lines in the song, 12 have "we was lonely" in them. Oo You I kind of dug, mainly because I think Paul FINALLY gets into a song. The energy is much better on this tune, making it one of the highlights of the album. Yet another instrumental with Momma Miss America. This one is a bit better because it the tune comes together pretty well in a borderline psychedelic type of vibe. Teddy Boy felt more like a complete song, though I found it kind of boring. And then a 4th instrumental with the poorly named Singalong Junk. Thankfully, we finally get to the highlight of this album with Maybe I'm Amazed. This is an excellent song that rightfully has a strong place in the annals of classic rock. Unfortunately, I wasn't amazed by anything that preceded this track on this record. Lastly, like the start of this album, Paul takes a strange approach to closing this album with Kreen-Akrore. Yeah the drums are ok, and the limited guitar is decent, but what was the point? An aimless track that just doesn't do anything but put a stamp on an underwhelming effort. Also, 5 instrumentals? On a 13-track album? Only 35 minutes in length? If I look at this through an incredibly narrow lens, I can maybe see the point. It's Paul experimenting with going solo, with different sounds, different approaches, etc. Perhaps there's some value in this to him, but to the listener it's pretty limited. I can't help but guess that many people felt like they got ripped off when they bought this record. It's a very underwhelming effort where Paul appears to mail it in.

Whenever I listen to something from thus far back, I think I have to take it in the context of the time when it was made. With that as backdrop, this proves to be an excellent record. Yes, the background singers aren’t that great. It’s true that the songs are simple and straightforward. But there’s still a lot to like about this. The tunes are catchy. Buddy Holly’s voice is excellent and he shows a ton of character, well beyond what you would normality hear on most any record from his contemporaries. And some of the guitar playing is pretty different from the sounds of that them. That makes it a record which stands out vs. it’s peers, which makes it a 4 for me.

This is an excellent album. Yes, 90's alternative is right up my alley and I remember when this came out while I was in college. Maybe NIN are a bit harder than I might usually like, but not egregiously so. And while I could see where some would be turned off by this record, eventually by the end of it, I loved it. The way that Trent Renzor constructs song, especially alternating between aggression and a softer tone, I think is very cool. Closer is a great song, as is Hurt, but there's lots more to like on this record, whether it is Piggy, I Do Not Want This, Eraser, or others. It's not a perfect record, but it's still really good and one of the best of the decade.

This is the third time I have had Neil Young in some form on this list in under 100 albums and this is probably the best record of the 3. Harmonies have always carried CSN(&Y) as a group and the same is true with this album. Right from the start, two great songs in Carry On and Teach Your Children have excellent harmonies. But there’s more to this album than just that to like. Carry On was interesting in that it had almost a Doors like feel with the organ late. Almost Cut My Hair is harder than typical CSN music, but I think that’s what makes this record so interesting, is it feels like a much more diverse sound than other CSN work. What takes this album to another level is Young’s guitar playing, which adds an extra element to CSN’s already great sound. It’s true that not everything is amazing on this album. Helpless features Young’s trademark voice, but that’s not really a good thing, as it’s probably the weakest part of the record. Woodstock picks back up, the playing here is very good as it is on Deja Vu, the latter of which had some Yes-like vibes to it. Liked that it sounded pretty different than other stuff on this album. Our House is an instantly recognizable tune. A classic rock staple. 4 + 20 not so much, an instantly forgettable track. Country Girl was much better than the last. Liked the piano on this and, as usual, the harmonies. Young’s voice as lead here works because of the backing CSN vocals supporting. Finally, the closer Everybody I Love You was a good way to wrap up what proved to be an excellent record. All in all, an energetic and really good effort from CSNY.

Never been an overwhelming fan of CCR, just haven’t been that interested in them. Yet, I can admit that John Fogerty has a super cool voice. This album was good. Not amazing, but good. Born on the Bayou is a rock classic. Excellent song and a great way to kick off this album. I liked Bootleg. Good tune, felt like a fast blues song. Graveyard Train is where I start to have a problem with this album. 8 minutes? Long songs aren’t inherently a problem, but this was very repetitive to me. Combined with a remake of Good Golly Miss Molly and the fact that this album is only 34 minutes, it leaves the impression that these guys just didn’t have enough creative spark to create a full record. Which is too bad, as songs like Penthouse Pauper and especially Proud Mary demonstrate some excellent song writing and playing. I enjoyed both of these tunes a lot. Also, creating a word for a song like Chooglin’? That is certainly original. This is a 3.5 star album for me. Just too short with some holes therein to be considered amazing and a 5 star record. Rounding up because Proud Mary and Born on the Bayou are truly great songs.

The first thing that has to be said about initially listening to this album, I was very disappointed no one came out and sang “Meet George Jetson! His boy Elroy!” So you have to take this at the time and place when this was made, which is essentially right before rock became popular. Given that lens, it’s a good album. All the same, I found this a bit boring. It gets a bit slow at times and while the band is good throughout, it just wasn’t amazing for me.

If Salvador Dali paintings had a soundtrack, this would be it. The best way I can describe many of these songs is “warped.” There is a strange sound to many of these tracks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, that’s kind of the power of Radiohead, they create such interesting tracks. This isn’t an amazing, 5-star album for me, but it is very good. Highlights include Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong, Dollars & Cents. Even some instrumentals like Hunting Bears I liked (this reminded me of The Right Side of My Mind by Queensryche). An excellent, unique record.

I really enjoyed this album. Is it a bit repetitive at times? Sure. But the energy, feeling, and passion are excellent throughout. Mannish Boy was an excellent way to start. This reminded me a lot of Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood, which undoubtedly borrowed from Muddy’s song. I Want To Be Loved #2 was another highlight for me. A couple of great songs that have been added to my library. Nothing else truly stood out to me, but that doesn’t mean they were bad songs. It was all just very solid with these two significant highlights and really no low lights. All in all, a very fun listen.

This is my 100th album reviewed and I was so excited that I got the Emperor Tomato Ketchup album! If you believed this, you obviously haven’t heard this record. In truth, this isn’t as awful as some of the Britpop albums that have been included. But like those albums, this is another record of no consequence from a group I’ve never heard of. There’s a couple of songs on here that aren’t bad. The Noise of Carpet I kind of liked. And there were a few others which weren’t half bad. Some of the sonic elements are interesting. But most of this is repetitive and the singer’s voice is very weak to me. In short, it shouldn’t be included.

I love 80s music and Human by the Human League is one of my absolute favorites of the decade. Even though that isn't on this album, I was excited to listen to this. Don't You Want Me is definitely the highlight, a song that feels like it is more from the mid 80s rather than the early 80s. It's a bit ahead of it's time for me. Sadly the rest of this album doesn't quite live up to the closing track. There are some other decent songs on here, but a lot of this is very average, so it gets an average rating.

A lot of the fun of running through this list is hearing a songs, albums, or even bands that you have never heard of before. There's always something cool about discovering new music. This one doesn't fall in that camp in 2025, but it definitely did back in '91 when it came out, and it instantly grabbed me. I wore this album out when it was released right at the forefront of the 90's alternative movement. Even if over the years, I have grown tired of Pearl Jam and a lot of their more recent stuff vastly pales in comparison to me, I still am amazed by this album, as it is great from cover to cover. Tons of singles that hit like Alive, Jeremy, and Even Flow, but songs such as Garden, Porch, Once, Why Go, or others are every bit as great as the singles. Amazing that this was a debut album, as it’s truly a 5 star great record.

This album was an excellent listen. School’s out is a great tune, as is My Stars. Public Animal #9 lyric’s were very fun to me (aside from the repetitive end). Alma Mater was another cool one. Cooper’s always had a theatrical edge, what liked more was how he wove the story through the album. A great record.

Unlike the overly represented series of “we’ve never heard of you” UK bands we have had on this countdown, this band actually has talent and constructed a good album. There’s an early Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men feel in this record which I dug. The signing is passable, not great. The musicality of the album makes up for that though, and the lyrics are decent. I really liked that the guitars were a bit harder than many which focus on a lot of acoustic playing. I see this band compared to Nick Drake, which I get to an extent, but the sound here is so much more full and complete, with a much better song construction. This was definitely worth the listen. I quite liked it.

Meh. It’s sad when someone dies way too early, no doubt, but I do think the industry tends to lionize people like this as a result for no other good reason. Perhaps people really were influenced by Smith, or maybe they just use his name or cover his songs because they are trying to be cool. Regardless, if you listen to this album, there’s not a whole lot on here that is great. The guitar work on this was decent. Not a whole lot else here. Singing was lackluster. He used overlays to get a richer sound, probably because his voice wasn’t that good to begin with. Angeles was a decent song. The rest was just meh.

Man, that was interesting. I listened to this on the way into work. I also cut off 38 other drivers on the way in. These might or might not be realted comments. With songs like Forward to Death, Let's Lynch the Landloard, Stealing People's Mail, and Chemical Warfare, how can you go wrong. And they don't. Bonus points for throwing Pol Pot into a song (laughed when the threw one last "Pol Pot" into Holiday in Cambodia). Punk at it's finest.

I generally like Stevie Wonder. I don’t own anything, but there’s a good amount of his songs on the radio that I like when they come on. But I’m not actively seeking him out. This album was better than expected, but that’s not a big surprise to me. I’ve always known that Stevie was talented and makes interesting music. It was just more interesting than I anticipated. I thought the way he bounced around unexpectedly in Visions was great. It was a series of unorthodox changes that he made in the song, but it was always in tune, which had to have been very hard to pull off. This song reminded me of Safe by George Michael, though I’m not quite sure why, as the tenor of the song is not close to the same. Higher Ground I’ve always loved, though I have to admit that I first heard this song when the Chili Peppers did it and I still prefer their version. There were others like Living For the City or the closing track which were excellent as well. Not an unbelievable album for me, but it was very good record.

Very cool to go back and listen to Queen Latifa when she was first starting. I’m guessing this has to be one of the earliest female rap albums. I remember Salt N Pepa coming out around that time and MC Lyte, but I wonder if this was first female fronted one. I enjoyed this record; her style was interesting to me as it wasn’t always linear, Queen of Royal Badness is a good example of this. Dance For Me was a strong opener, one of the best tunes on this album. Ladies First was another good one, especially the interplay between her and Monie Love. A great blast from the past.

I was never a massive fan of Depeche Mode growing up in the 80s and 90s. They were fine, I never really cared much one way or the other. Eventually, I started to enjoy their music more, predominantly this album, as it is a tremendous one. The main singles - Policy of Truth, Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus, and to a lesser extent World In My Eyes - are all great songs which definitely could carry this record. But there are other very good songs on this as well, such as Halo (my favorite of the non-singles), Waiting for the Night, and Blue Dress. At only 9 tracks, it's a cover-to-cover listen. And while DM has other albums/songs that are worth exploring, this is definitely their peak and certainly their tightest record. A 5-star album.

I know that we tend to lionize people who overcame drug addictions or other bad situations, and in some cases that’s totally fair. But in other cases, we make it more than what it really is. That feels like the case here. She reminds me a bit like Stevie Nicks, but she vastly pales in comparison for two reasons: 1. Her voice is inferior and not nearly as interesting. 2. Her songwriting is not good. This album was pretty bad as a result, leading me to wonder, if she wasn’t a drug addict and lived on the streets for a while, would anyone really care?

This album was fine, nothing spectacular. Decent playing and decent singing. Some experimental parts, which was cool, but nothing really stood out as spectacular or terribly memorable. The true definition of an average album.

Never realized this was on Bad Religion’s independent label, though it makes sense when you listen to it. There’s obviously a lot of similarities to BR, though The Offspring have a more accessible sound and Dexter Holland is a better front man. When they first hit more mainstream radio, I thought they were a bit of a novelty act, likely to be a one hit wonder. But man was I wrong. Gotta Get Away, Self Esteem, Come Out And Play all rightfully had a ton of airplay. Excellent songs, and pretty diverse from each other as well as the type of band they evidently were before Smash, which speaks to their talent. And bonus points for them working dweeb into a hit song. It’s still amazing that they sold over 10m copies of this when they didn’t have a major label to push the record. That’s how good this album is and the hits they put out. A great listen.

This is alright. Some songs were cool like Release Yo ‘Delf which stole from I Will Survive, and Bring the Pain was good. Decent grooves, decent rapping, just a solid album.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this album. Frank brings his always great voice. Jobim is a good player and has a cool South American flair. I just don't care too much for bossa nova, evidently. This is just boring to me. Not a whole lot more than that to say. It's very average.

I've barely heard any of Kanye's music before. No, I'm not living under a rock. I love a lot of rap and R&B, but it's 80s/90s music (Janet Jackson, Jodeci, LL Cool J, New Edition, etc.). More recent stuff is just not my thing. This album proves I have been missing out. In short, this record is great. Some rappers come out and drop heavy beats with strong lyrics, but limited musicality behind it. What's here is so much more flushed out than what other artists can bring. There are tons of excellent songs on this. My favorites: Power - A crescendo about the personal issues and different views in Kanye's head. Awesome. All of the Lights - Yeah, it's a contradiction, but the underlying message is great and the chorus around lights here is amazing. This song is an incredible composition. The bonus is Rhianna on here, who brings her great voice to a tremendous track. Runaway - At first, with the single piano note, I was thinking this is stupid and how is this going to be 9+ minutes long. Then the track built and I actually think it's amazing how this song is constructed around that single piano note every few beats. A really, really cool track. Lost In The World - There's a celebratory feel to this tune. A bit repetitive, but I liked this. There's plenty of other tracks on this that were cool, these are just the ones that stood out to me. Is he crazy? Maybe. But he made a really complex record that was a complete and great one. 5 stars.

So you have to look at this through a specific lens: 1. Yes, we know that music has come a long way. 2. Yes, we know we even have singing in music 3. Yes, antiquated music can still be interesting. And so this is worth a listen. It’s not amazing. Relatively simplistic even. But it has a certain charm.

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

This album never really captured my attention. It's not bad, per se, not great either. It's just kind of there. There were some songs that I liked, such as Road, River, and Rail. This sounded very Depeche Mode-like, but maybe that's because I just had DM's Violator album a few days ago. Heaven or Las Vegas reminded me of a Cure song (Pictures of You, maybe), so I liked that one as well. But nothing was terribly original or outstanding. A pretty average album.

As tired as I am of the abundance of no name English bands that are on this countdown, there is something about this record that I dig. Not that this is amazing, because it isn’t. The singers are average at best, especially the male one who is mediocre, while the songs and production are pretty basic. But they do have something interesting about them that made this a worthwhile listen, even if it is best categorized as a slow burn. When the album first began, l was instantly buying in with Intro. Yeah it’s an instrumental, but it was a great start. Unfortunately, they never seemed to get appreciably better than that, as backed up by this being listed as the only top song from the album on Apple Music. That said, the song constructions are generally good and it has a certain vibe about it that is cool. Not great, not bad. Pretty average, which is way above a lot of the other English acts on this list that no one has ever heard of.

It’s amazing when you listen to music made these days, everything is programmed, refined, and mixed to “perfection.” What’s lost in all of that is the rawness that makes many albums great, and that unrefined nature is certainly in abundance here. Credit where credit is due. The Clash were one of the first bands to bring punk into more of the mainstream. This album has a lot of punk classics on it, but it’s really that raw energy which makes this excellent. Great to go back and listen to.

Scott Walker has a very good voice and there were a few songs on here that I actually liked a good amount (eg Hero of the War). I just can't see myself coming back to this album over and over again. I would rather listen to Gordon Lightfoot, who constructs better songs and isn't as reliant on trying to create things that are too bombastic or sound so loungy. Still, this is a decent album, carried mainly by his voice.

This album reminded me of Traffic at a lot of points. Mayall's voice pales in comparison to Steve Winwood's (most do), but he was a good enough signer and his harmonica playing is excellent, really adds to the album. Clapton's playing on this is the real highlight though. Just tons of great work throughout. It's an interesting choice for him to join this Mayall and his band for this, but it really works. The blues have always suited Clapton and they do here as well, even if admittedly I prefer the songs with a bit more of a rock bent to them on this record. An excellent listen. Favorite tracks were All Your Love and Little Girl.

Didn’t think this was a great album. I was listening and when it finished, I couldn’t believe it was already over. Yeah the energy was decent throughout, just as you’d expect from Brown. But that’s about it. Just not a whole lot to it for me. Pretty average.

This was a cool album, a great psychedelic rock record. Grace Slick has such a cool voice and the two main hits, Somebody to Love and White Rabbit are great, great songs no doubt. But I really enjoyed the ones where she co-led with Marty Balin every bit as much, such as She Has Funny Cars. Fun to discover this in this list. A fun listen.

I enjoyed going back to listen to this record. It's easy to forget how Ice T started, as we are all used to seeing him on the thousands of episodes of SVU, and he never was a close to as successful as a rapper as he has been acting. But back in the day, he was one of the pioneers of gangsta rap, and a great one at that. I remember New Jack Hustler coming out in the early 90s and though that was an excellent song, so it was cool to go back and revisit this. The rest of the record wasn't quite as great as this, but it was still very good. Especially liked Midnight, including Ice T sampling Black Sabbath! A blast from the past. Happy this was on here.

This isn’t a bad album per se. It’s just not great. I feel like if I went back and listened to this a few more times, I might be able to get into it, I just don’t feel the need to go back and listen to it. They have some potential, it just feels like they haven’t reached it yet. Some good songs, some bad songs, kind of the very definition of an average album.

Second Sabbath album, with the first one coming the day after Ozzy's death (much like many others who got an Ozzy/Sabbath album that day). This album is good, and while it's close, it's not as great to me as the original Black Sabbath album. There are some excellent songs on this, no doubt. Snowblind is a great rock song. I'm sure many might consider this metal but that's solely because Ozzy is fronting it. In truth, it's much more of a straightforward rock track. What made this album different for me, though, was how they showed more musicality on this, mixing in cool ballads like Changes and Laguna Sunrise amongst all of the very powerful tracks. A testament to how talented the entire group truly was. Meanwhile, Ozzy's voice just is so amazing, it really soars throughout this record. I do think it is a more complex, more refined, and more diverse record, I just happen to not like it as much as the initial Sabbath album, probably because the original was so raw, and yet, still completely beyond what anyone else was doing at the time. Nevertheless, a 4 star record for me.

Back in the mid 90s, I worked at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), which was an apitheater in upstate NY (really great place). The Eagles came one summer and I distinctly remember them being the first act ever to charge over $100 for tickets inside the ampitheater (seats on the lawn were less). Then they proclaimed they wouldn't take the stage until all of the ampitheater seats were filled, even though it was their fault that they weren't since they were charging so much. The SPAC staff was literally going to people on the lawn to give them tickets to go into the ampitheater seating. So while they might be a really talented band, it's safe to say their egos bother me. What follows might have a bit of bias, no doubt, as a result. This album is fine. Cool that they had a couple of big hits from this record, especially when they were just starting out. But it's far from a mindblowing album, especially when you hear songs like Chug All Night or others that are mediocre at best. The fact is they have written a ton of great songs over the years (Hotel California, I Can't Tell You Why, Life In The Fast Lane), but this album contains only a few songs that are worth listening to, and really only one that is great in Take It Easy. It might have been a vital album after the challenging 60s, but it doesn't sound like it has stood the test of time for me. Pretty average.

First time listening to this album, and I’ve gotta say I’m surprised I haven’t heard more of this previously. This is the exact type of bubblegum ear worm pop candy the kids normally dig en masse. This should’ve been on every pop radio station, all across the nation, all the time. OK, so this isn’t normally my type of thing. I do love hard rock and even a bunch of metal, but this is a touch outside of what I would normally listen to. That said, I think it’s easy to hear that these guys are actually pretty talented. Most of the songs are in your face (understatement) but really not bad. When they went a bit less aggressive, such as with Spiders, they reminded me a lot of the Deftones. An excellent album, all in all. Not something I would come back to, but it was worth a turn. Now I’m gonna try and resist the urge to swear at strangers and punch babies. Maybe I’ll opt instead to listen to some Yanni and Christopher Cross to regain my equilibrium.

I quite enjoyed this album. It’s not phenomenal, and some of it sounds a bit homogenous. There’s more than enough meat on the bone here for this to be listened to though. I’ve always been a huge fan of Into the Mystic, I think it’s probably his best song outside of Brown Eyed Girl. The title track is good as well, and there’s a few others that are keepers. All in all, fun to go back and listen to

When this popped up, I had no idea what I was in for, even if the album cover kind of telegraphed it. I was guessing this would be all new, but to my surprise, I’d actually heard a couple of these tracks before. Admittedly, those two songs, Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch, are cool tracks. One of the other endearing things of albums like these is that you can hear all these imperfections and not be bothered by it. That said, the rest of the record is just ok. Not great, not bad.

When I first started listening to this album, the songs were a bit interesting to me, mainly because Willie's voice was carrying them. He has a cool voice, very sound, not amazing. But once we got to Unchained Melody, it was clear that his voice, or at least what he chose for the notes, was inferior. I'd equate it with a crappy band with a decent lead singer at a wedding with limited to no energy. Just an inferior album, less than average.

This album is amazing. Yes, the Thriller album is better, but MJ shouldn't be downgraded simply because he made another album that is arguably one of the top 5 albums of all time. Bad sold $30m+ copies for a reason. Front to back, this record is packed with hits. 5 #1s, 6 Top 10s, 7 Top 20s. Crazy. And this all holds up. Even the non-hits are good tracks. Liberian Girl is a smooth tune. Speed Demon is excellent. Leave Me Alone, which was released outside of the US but not a single domestically, might be my favorite song on the record. But back to those hits. Think about the diversity of these songs. A true dance track in The Way You Make Me Feel, A street anthem in Bad, A ballad about self-reflection in Man In The Mirror, a rock song (as much as MJ can do) in Dirty Diana, an R&B / rock mix in Smooth Criminal. And all of them bangers. Truly incredible stuff. A 5-star album

I was hoping to like this more, as a lot of the old R&B I have listened to on this list has been great, but this was just average to me. The title track is a great song and Al's voice is smooth and good to listen to. I just found a lot of these songs to be pretty homogenous and unexciting. This pales in comparison to anything from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and some others.

Whenever I see one of these no-name, never done anything of consequence English bands pop up as my latest album, I always cringe. They rarely, if ever are worth listening to. Generally, they are amongst the worst albums on this list, and I always wonder how they got included on a "must hear" list (yes, I know the answer is the bias the English authors have towards English bands). However, I try to listen with an open mind and I have to admit that this was one of the best of those bands that I have tried. Not that they needed to be included on this list, as they are check none of the boxes that they should for inclusion: innovative, great, popular, or influential. That said, they are interesting and have some decent songs. The signing is not amazing, to be sure, but it is solid, especially in some of the harmonies. However, right when this album started with Introduction, I found myself intrigued. This blended into Hail Bop and I was even more drawn in, especially when the guitars came in on this track. It was a bit warped, but that only added to the tune. I see that Default is the most popular song and it was fine, though it's carried by the various effects they have going on, including the bouncing rhythm at various points. Absent those pieces, it's not that great a tune. Firewater had a catchy intro. Kind of sounded like what we might have gotten if the Beatles went full hippie. On the fence about whether this is a keeper or not. The singing holds this back, as it is so basic. Might add it just to see if I keep listening or skip it when it pops up on my personal list. Waveforms is also not great, though there is a fullness to the sound at certain points in this song that I somewhat dig, especially with how they have different vocal arrangements on top of each other. Zumm Zumm might be the worst song on this record. Very repetitive with limited to like the first time I heard it, let alone over and over again. Hand of Man had some good harmonies and I liked the limited arrangement, though that did make the song a bit sleepy. Love's Dart reminded me a bit of a Mumford and Sons type of song, mainly because of its pace. That said, I was longing for some fast guitar playing on this as a result. Wor's back half isn't bad, it just takes too long to get through the front half to really care. Storm was a solid track, not much more to say. Just kind of there. Life's a Beach was fun, mainly because it had a bit of a Beach Boys tinge to it. Sky's Over Cairo was cool until it went into the Indian vibe, which I just wasn't crazy about. Even if the overall sound of this track is consistent with the sound of the band, this particular song didn't seem to fit with the rest of the album. Silver Rays was a good closer. Trippy in similar ways to other parts of this album, builds in good spots. Felt like it could have been an anthem kind of song, but it does fall short of such a lofty goal. Still, a cool track to end with. Is it an amazing album? No. It's far from a cover-to-cover listen. But there is enough here to give it an average rating and a bonus star for hearing something completely new and getting a few new tracks for my own library.

Everything But The Girl nothing but mediocre songs. Why is this band on here, let alone twice. The female singer's voice is nice, but far from amazing or super interesting. The only track that was somewhat intriguing to me was Single, but only because it reminded me of George Michael's Safe, though even then the latter is a superior song to the former. Just another waste of a spot on this list.

I love the Police and was stoked when this was my next selection. That said, this album pales in comparison to Synchronicity or Ghost In the Machine. Even Zenyatta Mondatta is a superior album to this record. Yeah, there are definitely some highlights. Message in a Bottle is an all-time classic, a truly great track. Walking on the Moon is excellent as well, though nothing quite reaches the peak of the opener. There are others as well which I like, including Bring on the Night, The Bed's Too Big Without You. But there are others like On Any Other Day and Contract which are just inferior songs. Overall a good album, but not great or complete. What you can take from it is the fact that you can start to see what the Police are going to become, and that’s is a very good thing.

This album is decent. Not amazing. There are some cool tracks on here, no doubt. I loved Free Money, great song. Admittedly, Birdland was an epic tune, even if I didn’t care for it. Gloria was also good. But a few others were not as great. Land in particular, I found pretty derivative. Still, there’s a cool vibe about this album and Smith’s voice is great. Nothing I’d come back to over and over again though.

This was decent, not amazing. I do like the beats that he dropped and the rapping was very good, but it was a bit repetitive for me. Duel of the Iron Mic was my favorite on this album. Solid. Not great.

I've never heard this record before, and I have really been missing out. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. It stands in stark contrast to the McCartney solo/Wings and Lennon's solo albums that have been on this countdown for me so far, which by and large have been considerable disappointments. It's amazing how much praise (rightfully so) the Lennon/McCartney partnership gets for the songwriting, given how Harrison demonstrates here that he is better than either one of them as a solo writer. My Sweet Lord is a great, great song. I get why everyone praises Imagine by Lennon which does have a great message, but I would rather listen to My Sweet Lord. It's a touch repetitive, though that doesn't bother me. Really well constructed. But there is so much more on this set. The title track, Art of Dying, What Is Life, Let It Down, The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp, and Isn't It a Pity were my favorites, the last of which is a sweeping track with some excellent lead guitar work. Frankly, the playing from both Harrison and Clapton on this record is great. At 1:45, it is super long which could be a bad thing if the music wasn't great throughout, but it was. Just tons of great tracks throughout.

Steely Dan has some excellent music but I really didn't think this was that great an record, especially the back half. It starts out strong with it's first 3 songs, no doubt. I had never heard Night by Night before, but I really dug that track. That's bookended by a couple of songs we've all heard before in Ricky Don't Lose That Number and Every Major Dude Would Tell You, the former of which is superior to the latter, mainly because of the harmonies and offbeat vocal choices that really work. That said, after that it steadily goes downhill. There are some poor tracks on here, especially With a Gun and the title track. Rare to name a record after a song which is clearly inferior to some of the others, but Steely Dan always have been different. Just an average album.

That was a cheery record! It's generally not a great sign when you are looking at the time on the first song, thinking it has been going on for 5+ minutes and it's barely been 2. That's kind of how this album was for me. Short in nature but felt much, much longer and not for a good reason. Is it interesting? Sure. Is the song construction decent? Maybe. But the singing is painful. it’s like listening to the bad parts of Neil Young's voice but even worse. Don't get me started on the "harmonies". I saw someone say that this is like listening to a 3rd grade choir, but I actually would say it's more like a couple of middle school boys who are going through puberty. Still, I get why it is included. The title track reminded me of something I would hear on a Ben Folds album. Madeleine-Mary was a cool song, mainly because there was a lot more to it than just depression like the other songs. All summed up, though, I just didn't really care for it. Below average, but not bottom of the barrel bad.

This should have been right up my alley, as I love 90s alternative music. I just found it to be ok. All I Know and Dying Days were both excellent songs. There were a few others that were alright. Nothing was terrible. But overall it was just an average album.

When you hear Talking Heads and David Byrne, you expect something offbeat / strange and this didn't disappoint on that front. But that alone doesn't make it great, and that certainly holds for this album, which is just average. There are some good tunes on here. It got of to a very interesting start with I Zimbra, which I thought was a decent song. I downloaded it to my own library, not sure I will keep it though. Life During Wartime is a song most people have heard and it is solid. Heaven was another good one in my book. But others didn't hold up and were just inferior recordings. Worth a listen, but nothing I would come back to again.

69 songs! What a novel concept. Sadly, the execution of this was significantly inferior to the idea. Not that this album doesn’t have some interesting parts to it, the playing is alright, and the voices are interesting. The depth of the one singer’s voice reminded me a lot of the Crash Test Dummies. I probably would give this a one, cause they really aren’t any standout songs, which is incredibly hard to do when you have 69 attempts. But I’m giving an extra star for effort.

This album was a lot more interesting than I was expecting it to be. Admittedly, I love 80s music. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I kinda like this. To be honest, these guys gave me a lot of early U2 vibes, especially the heavy bass line. They’re not nearly as good of course, there’s a decent amount of similarities. Not an amazing album, but not bad either.

This album was a touch of a letdown for me. I've always thought Sade has a gorgeous voice, and was excited when this popped up as my selection for the day. As I listened, I found that there wasn't an overwhelming amount to these songs especially early in the album. Smooth Operator is a great song, no doubt, just a tremendous way to kick off the album. As the record progressed, though, a lot of these songs lacked a certain something for me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, as I listened to Your Love Is King, Hang On to Your Love, and Frankie's First Affair, all of which I found pretty boring. But then When Am I Going to Make a Living and Cherry Pie came on, both of which were great tracks with a ton of interesting elements, especially the former of these which I really enjoyed lyrically. These two were the highlight of the album for me, even beyond Smooth Operator. Unfortunately, the album closed with three more songs I couldn't care less about. All rolled up, a couple of really great tracks, sandwiched around a variety of duds. Makes this a 3 for me.

This album is truly incredible. Carole's voice is excellent, but the songwriting is just outstanding. Not only are the version of her songs on this record each great listens, think about all of the people who have covered songs on this album. This list includes a series of massive artists: Michael Jackson, Mary J Blige, Alanis Morisette, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, and Barbra Streisand, just to name a few. Taylor's version of You've Got a Friend won a Grammy, as did King for the songwriting. I've never listened to this record fully before and I am amazed that there is not a bad song on here. It gets off to a great start with three very recognizable songs in I Feel the Earth Move, So Far Away, and It's Too Late. Later on we have other songs we've all heard in some version with You've Got a Friend, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and A Natural Woman, but even the others I'd not heard before like Beautiful and Where You Lead are great tracks. From beginning to end, this is a masterclass in songwriting. A true classic and clearly one of the best albums ever made. 5 stars.

Ironic that I got this album from Don McLean following right after having had Tapestry by Carole King yesterday, when this album follows an album called Tapestry in Don's catalog which was released around the same time. Certainly, this album pales in comparison to King's great recording, but in fairness that is a super high bar. In truth, this album is still good, even if nothing on here is terribly surprising. We all know the song American Pie, one of the great tunes of all time. Personally, I like the original version, as opposed to the shortened radio track you hear occasionally. Just a great listen. What follows are a series of songs which are similar sounding, though nothing nearly as great or epic. I've heard Vincent before, but none of the others. All of them are decent: not great, but not bad either. I did enjoy The Grave the best, as it represented a bit of a departure from the others. Babylon was interesting in that it sounded like a church hymn in a way. Makes for a pleasant listen, though I might only go back for the title track. That said, given that we have a solid album with a truly great single song, this is really a 3.5-star album for me.

This is a great album. I'm not a massive Radiohead fan and there were bands around that time that I liked a lot better. But it's hard to deny their impact and how cool a listen this album is. From the very jump with the very different drumbeat in Airbag, it sets the stage for a bunch of really fascinating songs. My favorites on this included that track, Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Electioneering, and Lucky, all of which were excellent songs. It's not a perfect album to me, but it is super interesting, and it definitely was influential. For that reason, I am sitting squarely at 4.5 stars, but I am going to round up because this is my daughter's favorite band. Really a must listen for anyone.

First Who album of this list and I was excited to see it up next. The Who have always been a band I've enjoyed, albeit from afar. Not my favorite and I don't really seek them out, but I won't turn them off when they come on the radio. Undoubtedly, they have some great songs, with Eminence Front being my personal favorite. With this being their debut, I thought it would be interesting to explore how they started. I made the mistake of looking at other reviews before this and I was really surprised to see how many people rated this a 3, but after listening to it, I kind of get it. There's not a giant amount here to get excited about. It's not bad, per se, just nothing spectacular outside of My Generation.

Ska! Punk’s fun little cousin. Good to listen to, normally doesn’t have much weight to it though. This album might be a bit of an exception, which actually makes for a bit of a strange listen. Ska with a message? These guys have talent, no doubt. Had some stuff that I liked. Other songs were like, huh? Puts it squarely at a 3 for me.

Interesting but not really my thing.

This was an excellent listen. Never been a Tribe Called Quest fan, but there’s no doubt that they are really talented. Right from the jump I was hooked into this album. Really great album.

I have found the inclusion of those non-name English bands to be a series of terrible artists with bad music. Interestingly, the exception has generally been in the R&B and rap categories, where there has been some excellent stuff like Michael Kiwanuka and Tricky. Unfortunately, this fell into the former camp. It was just awful. Very derivative and unoriginal, with lyrics that were incredibly subpar.

Meh, I expect I might come down in a similar camp to many others on this one. It's not that the sound isn't good, or even iconic at times. I just don't understand why we need this album in the mid 2000s, given what's on it. There's some good songs, no doubt, but we heard it all in the 60s and music had progressed well beyond this at that point. That's not to say that this vintage sound isn't cool, it is. It just had its time, and that time wasn't in the 21st century. 3 stars, which might be generous.

It’s fine. Solid. His sax playing is excellent no doubt. Some cool guitar work. Just not much else to the songs in my opinion. That said, given how long ago this was made, it holds up well.

A lot of ska is fun, but this was just boring. Not a fan.

This is not a great record. Not even sure why this is on here, as there’s nothing terribly special about the album or the artist.

Fun? Sure. But nothing terribly exciting. A lot of the choruses were very repetitive and the songs kind of blended together. Pretty average.

Another in a string of albums I have had recently that I just thought were ok. Yeah there's some things to like here. Both singers are good and Clapton's playing is great on anything. However, I found a lot of this rather mundane and not terribly intricate. Even Sunshine of Your Love, which is an excellent tune, I think we can all admit is not a terribly challenging song to play. Given all this, an average rating, as little really stood out to me.

Man am I on a string of mediocre albums. This adds to that pile. That this is in French doesn’t bother me. It’s just that it sounds like music I could hear in any cruise ship in the world. Boring and repetitive.

My run of less than great albums continues. It's been basically two weeks of average or worse albums that I have received, save for one 4-star record (thank you A Tribe Called Quest). Not that this is truly horrible, as it's not. There is something here. It reminds me of Meatloaf without all the drama/theatrics, perhaps even an early Alice Cooper. I could even argue that this is somewhat similar to Bad Company, except that the songs aren't nearly as good. Just more average stuff.

I have been on a run of very average and uninteresting albums. For this one, at least I can say it was not the latter, as it was a very interesting listen. All the same, it was still just average to me, as I found a good amount of it to be pretty repetitive. Having songs which are exceedingly long is not necessarily a problem, but if there is no real diversity in the song, the question is: what's the point of extending this? The answer is still unknown. Best I can give this is 3-stars, and that's being generous.

Another in a long line of albums that are just ok. Did I enjoy this? Yeah. Would I ever come back to it? Probably not. Some interesting songs, but not enough here to be fascinating.

Refreshing, mainly because the last two weeks of albums I have received have constituted a huge slog. There’s a massive difference between what is on this album and many other recent entries on this list. Though they are steeped in punk, there’s a sophistication to this album that moves them way beyond their contemporaries. The songs are generally catchy, but more importantly, they certainly are well constructed. I really enjoyed Lost In the Supermarket and Train In Vain the best. An excellent album

Pointless. I don’t mind electronic music, but it needs to build to something. Over and over again, this really did not. Also, every song doesn’t have to be 7+ minutes long when you are going to be this repetitive. Don’t even get me started on the last two which are each over 1 hour long. Why is this on here?

I remember when this dropped in high school and it was just markedly different from any rap that was in the mainstream. And with it G-Funk had arrived. The groves on this are great and the record's impact cannot be understated. Also, I forgot how Snoop was all over this. He really elevates so much of this album. Nuthin' But a G Thang is a great track, while Let Me Ride sets the stage for Warren G's amazing Regulate to come just a year or two later. Dre Day is another highlight. An excellent record.

This was not an amazing record, but I at least get why it was included on the list. The rapping style is cool and the beats had some originality to it. In other words, it wasn't mundane. I liked Fix Up, Look Sharp the best - the sampling of Billy Squier an unexpected twist. Overall good, not great. Worth a listen.

I love all kinds of 80s music, but I was not expecting to like this nearly as much as I did. When it showed up as my next album, my instant thought was "not another no-name English band!" I've grown tired of a lot of these bands that have no business sniffing this countdown, let alone being on it. And while I am not sure this belongs here either, I at least really enjoyed their sound. Yeah, the singer is that typical New Wave voice, which struggles to hit all of the notes but it sounds like it was supposed to be this way. The band is solid and the songwriting is good, even if some of the lyrics are a bit basic. While I enjoy New Wave music, it's not my favorite subgenre of the 80s, but this was a welcomed addition that I had never heard before. Stuff like this makes plowing through this list fun. 4 stars.

This album kicks off with a bang. Survivor and Independent Woman Part 1 are two excellent anthems. Both are really well constructed tracks Unfortunately, what follows just pales, not just in comparison to those two songs, but also to a lot other similar groups like TLC, En Vogue, SWV, etc. So while this album is decent, it’s obvious from the start that it could have been a lot better.

Steely Dan is always a strange listen for me but this had more than enough good songs to keep my interest, making this an excellent album. First, I’ve always loved Do It Again. It’s far and away my favorite SD song. Like many, I had heard Reelin’ In The Years and Dirty Work before, though the former is much preferred to the latter. Both are good tunes though. What surprised me is how much more I would like on here. Of the songs I hadn’t heard before, Midnight Cruiser was definitely my favorite, but Kings and Change of the Guard were also good. They are an offbeat band, I almost think of them in the same way as I do Weezer from the 90s / early 2000s. Talented band, some interesting song writing, but neither are my favorite. Regardless, this was fun to go back to listen to. 4 stars.

This is a very good album. Tons of interesting songs and while reggae has a definite sound, I felt like there was a good amount of diversity on this album. Some excellent songs in No More Trouble, Concrete Jungle, and Stir It Up. A worthy inclusion.

I've never listened to any of Kacey's catalog at all, as I am not a country fan, so color me surprised when I really liked this album. I get why some would be turned off by this, in part because it is a country album at heart, or the fact that if anything it is bordering on adult contemporary music, but I found this pleasant to listen to. The first half of this album is packed with good songs, including Slow Burn (which was my favorite), Lonely Weekend, and Butterflies. Even Mother, which was a bit of a throw away given how short it is, was a decent tune. The second half isn't quite as good to me, though I think it is more diverse - e.g. wouldn't expect a dance song like High Horse on here. What keeps this from being a 5-star album to me is that I think the song writing lacks at times. It's just too simple and/or disconnected in the lyrics for me to think this is an amazing album. That said, the song structure is solid and the songs are generally catchy, even if they are a leisurely stroll. I see in Wikipedia that she is credited for throwing in yacht rock, electronic, or disco elements, but if anything this feels like a mid 90s album that calls back to something that could have been created by Sarah McLaughlin or Natalie Merchant. All in all, I understand why this was so well received and it's included here. A 4-star record.

It's Bowie, which means it has to be great, right? Except for when it isn't. This was a mediocre album. Interesting in that there were two distinct sides to this record, but the front half was vastly superior to the second half. He was pretty experimental on the back side, but this didn't really hit at all for me. Just long, drawn out tunes that didn't have a whole lot to them. Frankly, I found them all to be wastes of space. The actual songs on the front of this record were decent, but nothing was spectacular. Pretty average. So 1/2 X 3 + 1/2 X 1 = a 2-star record. He's made much better music than this.

Meh, this wasn't that great to me. I get that Joni Mitchell is an excellent songwriter and there was a clear intent with this album to be experimental in different ways. It just didn't hit with me at all. A lot of the songs were too convoluted to actually be good listens and tunes I would come back to. Still, hard to deny her talent for writing. 3-stars.

Amazing album. As if this isn’t great enough with epic tracks like Time, Money, and Us and Them, this packs so much more into this incredible effort. So many different colors, from the trippy On The Run, to the gospelish The Great Gig in the Sky, to the tight bow at the end which is Eclipse. And yet it all just fits together amazingly well. A true masterpiece and easily one of the top few albums of all time.

This was decent. I'm not an overwhelming fan of electronic music, but there was something here that was better than other e.m. albums I've listened to. It was more diverse, less repetitive, more melodic even. A solid effort.

I just don’t like Amy Winehouse. And nothing on this album really changed my mind. In My Bed isn’t bad, nor is What Is It About Men, but the rest of this album is poor. What makes Back in Black as an album at least somewhat redeemable is that Amy’s voice is filled out and has a ton of character on that record. Here it is not as mature and, frankly, whiny. Never really understood the appeal of this very overrated artist, and this certainly didn’t change my opinion.

I’m not a fan of electronic music, as I find much of it pretty repetitive. But this album was decent enough and worth the listen. Not bad, though not amazing either.

Decent. Not amazing. Early on, I thought this album was pretty boring. Some nice harmonies and decent music, but nothing spectacular by any means. Later on, I though this picked up a bit. Heard Them Stirring and Blue Ridge Mountains were my favorites off of this. A good record, worth the listen. Not anything I would come back to regularly though.

I kind of dug this. Yeah, the fact that it is Spanish means that I don't understand a lot of what they are saying (ok, most of it), but that doesn't take away from the excellent musicality / playing that is on display and the general feel of the album. Worth a listen

Do I love 90s music? Do I especially love 90s alternative? Did I own this album? Did I already have a few of these songs in my personal library? All yes! I was predisposed to liking this, but on going back to listen to it, I had forgotten how excellent an album this was. Solely "Surprise You're Dead" is a disappointment to me, but even that has some campy charm to it. As for the rest, Epic is exactly what its name says. Falling to Pieces is anything but. Already loved those. But I ended up picking up others like From Out of Nowhere, Zombie Eaters, and the title track for my personal library. Their version of War Pigs is excellent as well, though any remake is never going to be good as the Black Sabbath original. All in all, a welcomed blast from the past in what is a tremendous album.

This was fine. Not amazing. Kind of sleepy at points, which you wouldn’t expect from ZZ Top. La Grange is an excellent song. A few at the front were decent. Nothing else really that great though. Pretty average.

I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this right from the jump when, 1/3 into the one song that is the most downloaded, there was a bunch of random aimless playing that sounded made up on the spot with no forethought. It set the stage for the rest of this album which was, by and large, aimless.

Not bad. Some excellent beats. Good lyrics and cool rapping. Not anything I would come back to over and over again. Get why people would love it though.

This was an excellent album. We’ve all heard the title track, which is a great, great song. And certainly Express Yourself and Cherish harken back to younger Madonna and her upbeat pop brilliance. Both are very good songs, even if I wouldn’t seek either one out. There’s a lot more to like on here. For me, the best of the rest is Keep It Together, which is a great tune that reminds me a lot of those late 80s / early 90s jams from groups like New Edition. There’s some other more mature songs on here, which Madonna has always had in her bag (starting with songs like Papa Don’t Preach), and frankly I prefer to the more poppy songs. Excellent back to front. Not amazing, but really good.

Bob Marley is a great artist, reggae just isn't my thing. Lively Up Yourself is a cool tune and No Woman, No Cry is a great one. The rest of this just didn't hit for me.

I've always been a fan of Simon and Garfunkel so it comes as no surprise that I would like this. It's not a perfect album, far from it actually. Songs like Cloudy and the closer really did nothing for me. However, there are a lot of good tunes on this, including Scarborough Fair (though I am very used to listening to the Queensryche version), Patterns, Homeward Bound, and The 59th Street Bridge Song. A better than solid album.

This is a strange one for me. I am actually going to give this 5, even if I didn't love every song on this album. In fact, there were a series I thought were good, but not amazing. However, what I did love was the way he blended throw back elements with modern music to create something that I found to be pretty original. In short, I was intrigued enough by all of this to listen to it three times and found that the more I heard a track, the more I liked what he did. Definitely a worthy inclusion. Rare for music of the last 10-15 years.

Phew, that was a trip. I love a lot of hard rock, but thrash metal is a bit beyond what I typically like. That said, this album has some meat to it that I enjoyed. There's a level of musicianship / musicality that is better on this record than most of their contemporaries. Mustaine’s voice is unique. That doesn’t make it great, but it’s not bad either. Just different. He is hard to understand though, and that hurts some of the songs. The solos in here are really good, which makes up for some of the other issues with this record. In the end, not amazing, but it was good, especially for the genre.

I know that Joni is revered, but I just didn't care for this album. There are some interesting parts to this, but too often I would start to like a song and it would change tact towards a direction that wasn't nearly as good. Beyond this, while Joni's voice is excellent, the lack of a melodic approach hurt many of these tracks. It was just all over the place for me.

I enjoyed this, but it wasn't amazing. Considering that it is his debut, the sound that is already coming through is great. That said, it was a very short album and while there are a few really good songs on here, there are a few not so great ones too. Pretty average to me.

Good record, not amazing. I really like Aerosmith, always have. They have a ton of great songs and a few are on this record in Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way. There just wasn’t enough on the rest of this album to make it amazing. Still, it’s solid and worth the listen.

The very definition of an average album. Good voice, not great. Decent songs, nothing amazing. Average length even. Just average. Right down the middle. Nothing special.

Yes, Steely Dan has always been a bit of an offbeat band, and this is a very good album, though not blow-me-away amazing. There's so many layers to these songs. I listened to it a few times and I seemed to hear different things each time, which is really a testament to what they constructed. I know audiophiles love this album and I get why. That said, none of the songs are incredible and the collection is not unbelievably great. Very good? Yeah, I'll give them that.

This was a good album and a fun listen. Not the most amazing thing ever, since there were some covers on here. However, it was cool to hear his take on these songs, and the originals were interesting. Really liked Respect before AF did it.

If I were to read negative reviews, I would expect them to say this is a bloated, overproduced record, full of songs that are repetitive and/or go on too long with some unnecessary covers. And they'd be right. But I loved it. The first time I listened through to this, I thought the title track was just overblown and never ending. However, after having listened to the album, I could come back to this track and realize that it was an amalgam of everything that was about to follow, which turned it from stupid to intelligent for me, making it a worthwhile listen. Relax is a great song. Fun, driving, energetic. Excellent. After that, nothing ever comes quite as close to this, but that doesn't mean there aren't some other cool tracks on here. Two Tribes, Black Night White Light, and The Power of Love led the way for me. Diverse from each other, but all excellent songs in their own right. Wish the Lads Were Here was something I could have found straight out of the Oingo Boingo catalog. At times furious with slapping bass and fun horns. Excellent. Their takes on War and Born To Run were fun, as was San Jose. Not as good as the originals, but those are high bars and they performed admirably against any of the standards. Summed up, this was a great listen for someone who loves 80s music but wasn’t familiar with anything beyond Relax. Lots of good stuff on here.

Decent album. Well produced, maybe over produced though. Her voice is great, I just wasn’t blown away by anything on it.

Decent album. The singers voice was just too blah for me. The whole thing seemed a bit heavy handed, if I am being honest. That said, it had some good qualities to it. Bonus points for Shadowplay. I heard that track on Killers live album and had no idea it was a remake until now.

This started out great, but I just found that it lost steam towards the end. Got a bit monotonous. Still, some good stuff on here. Take Me Out is a great song, some others hit for me as well. Liked it, better than average, not amazing though.

This has a very late Beatles feel to it, which probably isn't a surprise given when it was made. Some of this is decent, but mostly I didn't think any of it was amazing. Really didn't grab me at all. But not bad. Pretty average.

I liked this, it was pleasant. Didn't blow me away by any means. Dolly has an excellent voice, great person, easy songs to listen to, etc. Lots to like. But there's nothing special about it for me. Decent.

There's a lot to learn about in these 1,001 albums, whether it's about different styles of music you might not have listened intently to before, how certain albums came about, etc. One new thing I have learned in this musical journey: I think Brian Eno is massively overrated. Is it neat that he was experimental? Sure. But to me, it either came at the expense of, or was the byproduct of his inability to, constructing/construct actual good songs and music. Nothing on here is really any good. And just like his album with David Byrne that I listened to earlier, this was substandard.

I've never been a massive Pet Shop Boys fan. Decent group, like some songs, not seeking them out. This album proved to be very good, not amazing. It's a Sin is a great song, and I do like What Have I Done to Deserve This. There were a few others on here which were very good as well, such as Kings Cross which I really enjoyed. Still, there were others like Shopping which were not close to the level of some of the others. A good listen, fun to go back to, not incredible.

Neil Young is at his best when he is angry and that angst comes through in the songs, and I didn't hear nearly enough of that on this record. Revolution Blues was an excellent track, but that was about it for me on this record. Many of the softer/slower songs just weren't that good. Part of it is that Young's voice is so unique, which can be a cool thing at times, but I found it just off putting on this record.

Not sure how to feel about this. This record got off to an amazing start. When You Want It Darker came on, I was instantly drawn in. Cohen is not a great singer, but how this song was constructed and the mood to this track was just so unbelievably amazing, especially considering how Cohen felt at this life, that his voice fit this perfectly. Side story, I knew my daughter would like this, so I get her in the car and start playing it. She starts freaking out, as I guess she heard this for a trailer for Assassin's Creed Origins but didn't know what the song was or who did it, and was looking for it (yeah, I know, she could have figured this out from YouTube, undoubtedly). Anyway, the rest of the album did not live up to that incredibly lofty beginning, but that would have been really hard. It was great to hear some of these tunes given the background of what Cohen was facing at this point. Not that any of the rest were great songs, but this is everything that one of those Nick Cave albums strives to be (and fails to live up to). 4 stars

This was an excellent album. Christina can really sing, no doubt. Some great songs in Beautiful, Stronger, and a series of others. Waned a bit in the end for me, but lots of diversity in the tracks which really showed off her range. Great stuff.

This album was just OK to me. Started out decent enough. The suburbs was a good song and a couple of tracks that followed were alright. But after that, wasn’t a whole lot here to get terribly excited about. I ended up finding a lot of these songs repetitive, and by extension the overall album repetitive. In the end, it was just an average album from a relatively average band.

The Stones are inarguably one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and that was on display on this record. There were a series of different layers to a bunch of these tracks and it all added up to what is a very good album. Loving Cup was a big hit for me. Loved that track. The rest of this had a bunch of tunes that were fun, which was the general vibe of the whole record. Excellent listen

This was such a fun listen. Jump, Jive, An’ Wail, Just a Gigilo, Be Mine, The Lip, I could go on. They were clearly having a great time making this record and it comes through in the music. Some really great playing on this too. Great, great stuff.

I found this album to be a bit boring, at least until a few songs at the end. Clapton is a great guitarist with a ton of excellent music. And I liked I Shot The Sheriff, Mainine Florida, and Steady Rolling Man on this. But much of the rest of it was pretty slow and, in my opinion, uninspired. Expected more and got less. 2 stars.

This album’s OK. Yeah, it’s fun to hear a bunch of Christmas songs on Christmas, and the sound is full and interesting. But to me, this is nothing spectacular, and Phil talking at the end of silent night was just kind of creepy to me. Fun to get on Christmas Day, but I’ve heard so many different variations of these songs. These weren’t consistently any better or worse than the others I’ve already heard.

I don’t really understand a lot of the infatuation with Elvis Costello and listening to this album just reaffirmed my position. Yeah the playing on this is good and there are a few decent songs like Pump It Up. But too often I think the songs have choruses that are really lacking. Worse, I am forced to listen to Costello’s voice which is just inferior to a lot of others in music. It all adds up to a subpar album for me. Nothing that is really that exciting or even interesting.

An interesting listen but this really wasn’t my bag. Clearly they were talented, but I really didn’t get into it. Still, giving 3 stars out of respect.

Points for being very talented, I just didn't care for the songs that much.

I used to be a fan of a lot of the Def Jam artists back in the day, whether it was LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Warren G, Onyx, or these guys. But this was the first of their records that I owned and it is great. I remember hearing this back when I was growing up and thought it was so different from what I had heard before. Is it sophomoric? Yes. Does it hold up? Debatably. Do I still love it? Absolutely. So much to like about this album, whether it's No Sleep Til Brooklyn, Paul Revere, Brass Monkey, Girls, She's Crafty, Fight For Your Right, or others, this has a bunch of bangers from front to back. A great, great record. Debating 4 or 5 stars, but going with 5, given what it kicked off in terms of the Beastie Boys career, what it did for Def Jam, the fact that it was the first rap album to top the Billboard charts, etc.

I had another album from The Band which I just hated, so I had low expectations coming into this record. But surprisingly, I liked this one much more. There's an enhanced musicality to this record, with more soul into it. That’s not to say that it is the most amazing album ever, because it is not. But at least this one was worth listening to and there are some cool songs on here - e.g. The Weight. An excellent record.

The beats are interesting and good on this album, but the repetitiveness of it all just wears on me. Not bad but certainly not great.

I had never heard of Beth Orton before, so I was intrigued by what I would hear. This started out well with the lead track, but after that I found this relatively pedestrian. Orton has an interesting voice, but she never quite does enough with it to consistently be great. The songs are pretty much just there as well, hanging in the ether. It's pleasant, but nothing outstanding or anything I would come back to other than the first song.

I've known about The Isley Brothers, but that knowledge was limited. This album was a trip to listen to, not just because there are a series of songs on here that are good, but also because there were a bunch that others had made famous which I had no idea they had written. Things like Summer Breeze and Listen to the Music, both of which were cool in their original form, even if we are all used to the Seals & Crofts / Doobie Brothers versions. I really enjoyed You Walk Your Way, which was a really good. Others were excellent on here as well. Lots of great songwriting, lots of good performances, well worth the listen.

I understand that this list has to be a "worldwide" list, but here's a partial list of artists with 150m+ records sold who are nowhere to be found on this list: Garth Brooks Phil Collins (solo) Drake Celine Dion Ed Sheeran And we get this shit, instead? Just listen to One Two Cha Cha Cha and it gives you all you need to hear about this album, which shouldn't be near this list.

This is a hard one for me, as I am squarely between 4 and 5 stars. When I was growing up in the 80s, I was not a U2 fan. Tons of my friends were and I just didn't get it. Over time, I've grown to appreciate them much more, even saw them in Chicago for the Innocence + Experience tour back in 2015, which was undeniably a great show. All the same, they are not a go to band for me. This album gets off to an amazing start with the three lead singles, followed by Bullet the Blue Sky, which I might like even better than those hits. The problem I have is that after this, the album wanes a bit for me. Sure, Running to Stand Still has some good soul to it (even if a lot of the song is quiet), In God's Country is a good one too, but most of these songs are far from great. This is why I am stuck, as it is a great record with some tremendous songs on it, but it is far from perfect. Given this, I think I have to go with 4 stars. It's just not consistently amazing for me.

I've been wondering when this might hit for me. I have always liked Fleetwood Mac, but I don't worship them. Really talented band (playing, singing, and songwriting) and very complicated. It's the latter piece that helps them stand out in many ways, and it's really what makes this album so amazing. This record, front to back, is a no skip one for me. When the worst song on here is a track that would be one of the best on any given artist's solo record (Songbird), it speaks to how strong the band is as a collective. Tons of hits on here, including The Chain, Don't Stop, Dreams, Go Your Own Way, You Make Loving Fun. But the other tracks like Gold Dust Woman, Oh Daddy, Never Going Back Again are just incredible in their own right. 40 million in album sales can't be wrong, and they are not. An incredible record. A clear 5 stars.

Hadn't heard anything off of this before besides In Da Club and I really liked this record. The grooves on this and 50's rap style is excellent. Liked that Eminem was on this a few times. Some excellent tracks, including IDC, Patiently Waiting, Poor Lil Rich, Gotta Make It To Heaven, and others. 4 stars.

I guess I just don't get it. I don't know why we have so many Nick Cave albums on here. Is he interesting? At times. Murder Ballads was ambitious and intriguing, a worthy inclusion. That said, he is very far from great. Want proof? He is revered by a good amount of critics (mainly English), as evidenced by having 5 albums on this list. And yet, here in the States, he has had one album that has sold more than 100k copies. One. That's incredibly hard to accomplish. Is he a complicated artist that is just misunderstood in the US? Perhaps. Or maybe, just maybe, he's a relatively uninspiring/bad signer, who is a lackluster song writer. Some examples, just from this album: "We'd buy the Sunday newspapers and never read a single word." "I don't believe in an interventionist God but I know, darling, that you do." "In a colonial hotel, we fucked up the sun and then we fucked it down again." He's incredibly trite throughout this record. Him trying sing layers about a "twinkling cunt"? Huh? Worse yet, this collection of songs are very basic with zero real musicality to them. The only bonus is that I've now burned through more than half of his albums on this countdown. Only two more to get rid of. While he hasn't supplanted Amy Winehouse as my least favorite artist on this countdown, I realize now I would rather listen to her than him. At least Amy had an excellent voice and talent, even if she totally wasted both. This dude is predominantly just a waste of time.

I shouldn't like this for the same reason I don't like a lot of EDM, it was pretty repetitive. That said, I couldn't help but enjoy this. When I first started listening, this felt a lot like "what if The Doors met punk before it was even a thing?" Strange, no doubt, but oddly fun to listen to. Just a bunch of guys getting together to jam and suddenly they are making a record, with no clue what to do. And yet, it works. Is it great? No. Is it a worthy inclusion, given the back story and how this was effectively very early punk? Yeah.

The 90s had some incredible music and I am a big fan of the alternative rock of that decade, but not a big fan of Green Day. This record has a lot to like about it, but it isn’t a cover to cover listen for me. Yeah, there are some great songs on here. You still hear Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and the title track on the radio today, and all are excellent tracks. I really liked Jesus of Suburbia as well, sprawling with a lot of different pieces to it, this really speaks to what Green Day was capable of. That said, there were songs on here that didn’t work for me at all, chief among them was Are We the Waiting, a song that so desperately wants to be an anthem that it comes off as incredibly cliche. There were a few others which miss as well. All rolled up, it’s hard to make this anything other than a 4 star album for me. The highs are undeniably very high, even if I am not seeking them out at any point. But with a few holes in the album, it can’t be a five star record.

Fun to listen to what Chicago was when they started vs. what they have become. This record had some fun stuff to it, including the variety of styles throughout the album, but nothing that grabbed me instantly and significantly. There were some low notes as well - Free Form Guitar was just poor playing, in my opinion. Good, but not amazing.

R.E.M. has always been one of those bands like U2 for me. Loved, even revered by a lot of people, but growing up I didn't really get it. But while I have grown to appreciate U2 through the years, I can't say the same about R.E.M. Do they have some cool songs? Sure. I could easily go listen to Losing My Religion, Nightswimming, The One I Love, Driver 8, and a few others. But they are never a band that I say "I have to go listen to them." Stipe has an interesting (not great) voice, they are good players, but far from incredible. Sometimes I think they appeal to people because they are offbeat, which is fine, but that's not really a reason to consider them great, it just means they are different. This album is another example of me diverging with a lot of people on R.E.M. I see a lot of 5-star reviews on this, and when you think about all the great records that exist in music (e.g. I just had Rumours), this one vastly pales in comparison to those masterpieces, both in playing and in influence. Take Stand on this record, for example. Arguably the most popular song on this record, but when you listen to it, you realize that it is pretty basic, especially the chorus. "Your feet are going to be on the ground, your head is there to move you around." Ok. That's basically like saying the grass is green (no pun intended) or the sky is blue. They are saying nothing. There are some decent tracks on here, but as an overall record it's a bunch of average music from a decent band, nothing more. I will say, though, I've heard Orange Crush a bunch of times, but I can't say I've listened to it with intent like I did this time. And I have to say that I quite like that track. An excellent song, with lots of layers. Unfortunately, this type of greatness was few and far between from this record and this band, at least for me.

It would be easy to listen to this and chalk it up as another metal band that sounds like the rest, but that would be doing a massive disservice to Iron Maiden and what they brought with this debut effort. Is this for everyone? Decidedly no. But I happen to like hard rock and metal and there is zero doubt about how talented these guys are. That they are not in the R&R HOF is incredible to me, given their impact on many of the bands that followed (e.g. Metallica, Alice In Chains, etc.) Yeah, the band is better with Bruce Dickinson leading it, but Di'Anno is no slouch and he is solid on this record. This is an excellent album and a fun throwback.

As someone who appreciates jazz more than I used to, I did enjoy this but I also found it a bit rambling and repetitive. There are some highlights no doubt. Watermelon Man is a fun song, but even at its shorter 6+ minute duration, there isn't as much variation as there could have been on this track. Smack dab between a 3 & 4 for me on this one, but moving down to a 3 because it wasn't as fun as I thought it might be and there's nothing here that I would come back to numerous times in the future.

Rock the way it was intended. Motorhead are not a great band, but the one thing they can do consistently is deliver driving music and that's what they do with this live album. This was great to listen to, especially as someone who is not a fan of their music. The energy is just fantastic. Loved this.

The funny thing about this randomizer is that it feels ever so slightly not random. We all know there is some control over it, that's why everyone got an Ozzy/Black Sabbath album after he died, or a Beach Boys record after Brian Wilson passed away. Beyond this, there are times when things go on runs that seem more than just coincidental. That's where I am at right now, as in the last 4 albums I have had Iron Maiden, a live Motorhead album, and then this one. All early 80s metal and, chronologically, I think these albums are within 20 of each other in the countdown. Kinda strange. Unfortunately, for JP, that means they are being compared directly against contemporaries which I had just listened to and this record, while good, pales in comparison to the other two. There are some highlights, Living After Midnight is an excellent track. The Rage was a great one for me. But another listen to Breaking the Law and others on this record just feels like it is lacking a bit of something. Maybe best said, I think this felt a bit more formulaic than organic for me - i.e. Iron Maiden's debut album and the live Motorhead had more raw energy and power to them. In addition, Rob Halford is a good frontman, I just found some of his abilities a bit lacking on this. All in all, good to go back and explore this album, but nothing that really wowed me, and maybe some inherent bias down because of recent listens which were considerably better.

I’ve heard Fast Car a million times and as great as that song is, I've never thought about listening to this album. I've been missing out all this time. There's so much to like about this record. The melodic feel despite the simplistic approach. Chapman's cool, dare I say great, voice. The earnestness of many of these tracks. It's just an incredible debut effort. Right from the jump, Talkin' Bout a Revolution demonstrates how she is different from other artists, especially when you consider the sound that dominated the late 80s (hair metal, rock, synth pop, etc.). What she was doing just didn't fit the scene of the time, and yet she ascended to massive heights, which speaks to her talent and especially the reach of Fast Car. Even after these first two tracks, there's so much feeling throughout this record, but she proves to not be just a one-trick pony. Take a song like Baby Can I Hold You, which was the only other track I had heard before. An excellent love song, on a record full of protest, hardship, and inequity anthems? Amazing. A true singer songwriter when the scene had mainly moved on from them. Selling 20m records from a debut? A truly astonishing feat. Really it was a very modern feel on stuff that would have felt right at home in the 70s. 5 stars.

I get why this is on here. There’s a certain charm to Devo and especially this album, given the music at the time (or let’s face it, any time). That said, it is very strange and really not my thing. I’ve heard people say that this is the beginning of new wave, and I sort of understand that, though new wave has a lot more depth to it. This is more or less nerd frat rock, and there’s a reason that really no one else followed it. I read that Bowie said that they were the band of the future, but that’s just based on how they looked. Devo never proved to be a harbinger of music of the future. Smack dab between two and three stars, going with three because it’s so different, new and interesting. And that’s despite the fact that Brian Eno produced this and I really don’t like him. Maybe it’s because the cover looks like Tom Brady. Hey, maybe they were the band of the future…

There's a definite vibe to this album, just not sure if I like it. There are some cool songs. Lovesong is certainly more accessible than some of the other songs on this album, a great track. I also really liked Lullaby. As for the rest, they proved to be pretty similar to each other and that wasn't necessarily a great thing. It's not that it's bad, but moodiness throughout? Also, some of the songs at the end were way, way too long. Take Disintegration for example, it's got a cool riff to it, but playing it over and over again for the first 1:30 doesn't need to happen. Could have set the stage in like 30 seconds or less. It's all just a bit heavy handed for me, even if I can see where people would love this. So it's far from a 5-star album for me. Debating 3 & 4, but going with the former as this album could have easily been 45 minutes and not its bloated 1:10+.

I've never been a big fan of the Pumpkins, but this album is undeniably great. My last album was a Cure album which, at over 1:10, I was calling bloated. And here I am praising an effort which is over 2:00. The big difference is that while the Cure set a mood and stayed in it the entire time, that made the album feel more like a slog than it should have. Meanwhile, the Pumpkins come right out and give you energy and manage to carry it in many songs throughout the record, while at the same time providing more than enough diversity in the songs to keep your interest. The beginning of this record is tight with the first 5 songs after the title track (which is just an intro anyway). Tonight Tonight, Zero, and Bullet With Butterfly Wings are an especially tremendous way to kick things off. After that, it's not as great, though there's still a lot to like about this record. Giving this 4-stars. I get that it's an epic effort, but it's not unbelievable from beginning to end.

I had a weird experience listening to this. I loved Tidal. I loved Fiona's voice. I loved her sophistication. Evidently, the least 25 years didn't do her favors. She can still sing and she has a lot to say, but she doesn't do either, at least not nearly enough. There's a lot of musicality here, but it never is used to accentuate what she should be showing off, which is her capable songwriting or her voice. Instead, there's repetition, trite lyrics, and more talking than singing. Shameika is a perfect microcosm for this album. She constantly repeats "Shameika said I had potential" and I can't help but think that the implication is that she never reached it, which is really how I felt about this record. The title track, ultimately, proved to be pretty aimless, especially at the end. I was excited when this showed up in my queue, but was left disappointed. Not that it was awful, but it was not nearly as great as it could have been and she can be. It was like she was trying to do a Brian Eno impression. Unfortunately, I hate Brian Eno. Too much experimentation and not enough actual forethought leads to an inferior effort.

This was a blast to go back and listen to. Beastie Boys have always been a band that I have liked, even if I didn't own a ton of their stuff. I knew a lot from this record, including Hey Ladies, Johnny Ryall, and Shake Your Rump, the last of which is one my top 2 or 3 favorite songs by them. I forgot about Egg Man, which is a super fun song to listen to. There were others as well that were great to check out, as I don't remember many of the rest. That said, this album has the unfortunate circumstance of being less than a month removed from me having listened to License to Ill, which I think is their best record. This just isn't quite as good, even if it is considered one of the landmark albums of hip hop. While I am squarely between 4 and 5 stars on this, much like I was with L2I, I am landing on this at 4 stars, as it doesn't quite hit as high as the raw energy of that record, even if it is a move towards a more sophisticated sound with stronger beats.

A little more than 20% into this list and I have had a good amount of albums from the Beatles and their former members. 1 Lennon album, the sole George Harrison record, both McCartney records (w & wo Wings), and now my second Beatles album, which I believe puts me exactly halfway through the combined catalogs on this list. This is definitely an excellent album, especially when you see how far they grew as artists vs. their first record included (With The Beatles). That said, though it is critically revered, it doesn't quite reach the levels of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass album for me. There's a lot of great tracks on here, no doubt. The Title track, With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and my personal favorite A Day in the Life all are tremendous songs, going a long way towards showing how much more sophisticated their sound became as a band. There are multiple layers to all of these songs, tempo and key changes, etc. Really demonstrates how good a set of songwriters they were as well. 30m+ people can't be wrong, of course. Still, there are points on this album which aren't close to the highs of some of the rest of it. Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, Lovely Rita, and Fixing A Hole being chief among the songs which aren't that great. In the end, while great, this doesn’t sum up to an amazing 5-star album for me. Still, it’s very good and a worthy inclusion.

Decent, not amazing. King can really play and his voice is good. I found this a bit monotonous though. Just not my thing I guess.

I've read some of the most liked reviews on here, and it seems that people are blaming them for the summary saying that it's the best album to come from Manchester since Definitely Maybe. First, that's a pretty finite compliment. How many albums really came from bands from Manchester in that time? Second, it's not the band's fault that someone else feels this way. Listening with an open mind, I thought this was quite good. And this is coming from someone who has truly hated a lot of the Britpop albums which should not have been included on here. It's not blow you away amazing, mind you. The lyrics are sparce, which leaves some of the songs lacking. The band, however, has some very good musicality to them. There is definitely something here that was worth exploring. I particularly would point people towards Rise and The Man Who Told Everything, both of which I thought were great. The former almost has an ethereal feel to it that made it excellent. A lot of the English albums the Brits have included on this countdown have been massive letdowns. This one certainly was not. An excellent inclusion.

I get that this is a pioneer album for rap, and though I like a lot of rap, I just found that this album doesn’t hold up. It’s not bad, it’s just not amazing. The raps are decent, but the beats are simplistic and repetitive.

Another album from 1956, after I got Louis Prima's The Wildest about a month ago. This one isn't quite as good as that one, as Prima's record had a lot more energy to it. Take Just a Gigolo, which is interestingly on both records. Compare the two and it’s not even close, as Prima’s clears easily. That said, it's amazing that this still holds up after 70 years, mainly because Vaughn's voice is really great. That makes it at least worth the listen, though not much more.

My instant reaction to this is, "suck it Brian Eno." Eno is often credited for his experimentation, but I have always found his work to be very poorly constructed. And when I think of what really good experimentation could look like, I finally have an album that I could point to as a sound example. This record is manic, crazy, ludicrous, insane, and any other adjective you could think of. But it manages to work. It's far from the best thing ever and, frankly, I am not sure I would come back to it much. However, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting listen and for those reasons, it gets 4 stars from me.

I was hoping this would be better than it ended it being. It started out well, to be honest. I haven't heard a lot of Van Morrison's music, I know the hits but not much else. The first few songs on this were fun to listen to, which got me excited for Into The Mystic which was next up in the queue. It is my favorite VM song, after all. But what a disappointment that was. Really ruined his own song with this live version which turned out to be a major let down. And so it went for the rest of the album. Some good, some bad, never really great though. A very average record.

I really didn’t get wowed by this. There’s some stuff on here that’s interesting. The title track I really enjoyed, but after that it wasn’t nearly as great. Some of the later songs had little to them, in my opinion. Average album.

A very average album where everything sounded the same to me. Good playing, but nothing stood out to me.

Yeah, this album isn’t that good. Singer is terrible. Not sure how this was ranked as one of the top albums of its year, or how it’s on this countdown. Below average for sure. Not unbearably bad though, so going with 2 stars.

I’ve been on a weird run of albums, 6 straight from the mid/late 70’s including this one. None of them have been that great, to be honest. This isn’t amazing either but it’s way better than the others I have recently had (aside from the Jeff Buckley album I got). There’s a lot here and they are tight as a unit. I’ve grown over the years to appreciate jazz much more, and we can add this album to the pile. 4-stars

Finally, a break from my string of 6 straight mid-70s albums. Yeah, we are going further back in time, but for a good reason. This is my first Dylan album, and it's a good one. I know a lot is said about Dylan's voice and perhaps it hasn't aged very well, but at this stage of his career it fits really well with the songs he has crafted. Like a Rolling Stone is obviously the highlight here, but I enjoyed Desolation Row quite a bit as well. In between, this record wasn't quite as great, but it still had a lot to offer. 4-stars.

I know it can be hard to appreciate foreign language albums, but I though this was a good listen. Amazing that I am only four songs into the album and he's already sung in three different languages (maybe more). There is a bit of a minimalist approach to a lot of these songs, but they don't seem to suffer as a result, which is a testament to what he has constructed. Bongo Bong is a perfect example of this, a catchy track that has a relatively limited background sound, allowing for an accentuation of the rhythm he creates with his lyrics. That this then folds into Je ne t'aime plus was very cool. Same basic structure, even the same background music, but a totally different song in a different language. Very creative. A good record.

This was enjoyable but repetitive. This was enjoyable but repetitive. This was enjoyable but repetitive. This was enjoyable but repetitive. See how annoying repetition can be? On an initial listen, this definitely has a bit of a late 80s bent to it which I kind of dug. However, I found a good amount of these songs were pretty repetitive, going on a minute or two longer than they should. Truth be told, I would rather listen to Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mark Knopfler, and even John Hyatt and some others than this. It's ok. Not great.

The title of this album is very much a harbinger for the music it contains. Two words that don’t fit and are nonsensical together, just because the band thinks it can sounds good. This record is filled with exactly that; the band trying things to be different. But different isn’t always good. Have you ever heard the phrase, “even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while?” That’s this album in a nutshell (pun not intended). Sure, in trying to be unique they very sporadically stumble into something good, but way more often than not it’s just strange and not good at all.

This album is very different. I happened to see a review that said albums like this are what this countdown is all about, and I have to agree with that sentiment. The atmosphere on this record is excellent. I loved the sampling, the beats, the throwback feel, etc. That's also what makes this a bit disappointing, as it could have been even better if these were complete songs and/or went somewhere. Too often, though, they weren't and/or didn't. Not that it makes this a bad album, as it doesn't. It just left me wanting.

I'm just not a fan of Elvis Costello. The songs are bland and his voice, while interesting, isn't that great to me. Just not a great album.

Driving hard rock / metal is something I generally like, so I should have appreciated this. And to be sure, the playing was good. I just couldn't get past how bad this dude's voice was, along with the lyrics which were not that great. It was a very mediocre album to me.

I've had a lot of 70s albums recently and while I like a ton of classic rock, not many of the albums I have had over the last two weeks have been very good. This was, however, I fun album to visit. I hadn't really heard any of these songs before so this was basically all new to me, though I am sure the title track has been used in commercials previously as there were some sense of familiarity with this track. I really enjoyed listening to it fully for the first time, just a fun track of a dude rollicking through the world. Great stuff. Sixteen was a good track, just not as good as the title one. Things kept moving in the wrong direction with Some Weird Sin, but then picked back up with the Passenger. This was bordering on something you might have heard from a Jim Morrison, it had that type of feel. Really liked this one. It kept going with Tonight, which had an excellent flow to it. I have to say, for someone known as The Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop really had more of a melodic bent to him, at least on this album. Success was probably more of a return to the punk type of style, or at least got closer to it. Not my favorite, probably because I am not a punk fan. But this wasn't bad though. Turn Blue . . . yeah. Not sure how to react to this one, as it was a considerable departure from others on this on this record. It's totally crazy, but it works somehow. Neighborhood Threat is another song not like others on the album. Frankly, this could have fit very easily into mid-90s alternative, which is a space that I love. Translation, I dug this song, making it the 4th one I captured from this record for my own personal playlist, which is probably 4 more than I expected. Fall In Love With Me is back to that Morrison type of feel, at least for me. Another good track and an excellent closer. Make that 5 in the library now. What's funny is that, as I have listened to this, I have had this nagging feeling that this sounded like something Bowie might have done in the 70s. Frankly, I thought I was crazy for thinking this, since Bowie is so revered. But now, I am seeing that he collaborated with Bowie on this record, which makes so much sense now (and reassures me that I am not insane). Never knew, as I've never bothered to listen to or explore anything that Iggy Pop had done. All summed up, this type of album is the type of thing I was hoping to find in this journey - i.e., something I never would have heard anymore, but was original and enjoyable. It certainly elevated my appreciation for who Iggy Pop is and what he is capable of doing. And I ended up downloading more than half the album. While I am stuck squarely between 4 and 5 stars, I am moving to 5 despite it not being a cover to cover listen for me, mainly because of how totally unexpectedly great this is.

The Boss! This album has so much to really like on it, especially for someone like me who likes a lot of heartland rock (ala John Mellencamp). What's interesting to me is that there is more variety than I was expecting. The title track is a great, great song, even if it is often a misunderstood anthem. Regardless, the driving nature of this song is fantastic and a great way to kick off this album. That's quickly followed by Cover Me, another excellent tune that has a ton of energy, which best reflects who Bruce is. The album then wanes a bit for me with Darlington County and especially Working On the Highway. Wasn't a big fan of either of these. Both felt a bit like filler to me. Back on the right side though with Downbound Train, one of the songs on here that I hadn't heard before which I really enjoyed. Interesting dichotomy between how this song is constructed (generally up tempo) and the theming (more depressing). I'm On Fire is different than just about everything else on this album and really shows some of the diversity I quickly mentioned earlier. Another great track. No Surrender, Bobby Jean, and I'm Goin' Down are all solid rock tracks. Nothing amazing, but all good tunes in their own right. Wouldn't seek them out separately, but also wouldn't skip them as I listen to the album in totality. Glory Days is an amazing nostalgic track that we have all heard tons of times. What's amazing is how well this holds up, which can't be said for some songs, especially from the 80s. It's every bit as good as the first time I heard. An excellent listen. Dancing In the Dark, for me, is Bruce's best song. Yeah, I know, others will pick various others from his catalog for different reasons, all probably more reasonable than what I think. I just love how this is constructed: the driving drums, the energy he brings to it, Clarence Clemons sax at the end, all of it. Is it relatively simple? No doubt, but that's what makes it great, as it allows more room for Bruce to dominate at the front of it. My Hometown is an interesting way to end, given what had preceded it. It's a bit somber, but it still hits. Frankly, this isn't a cover-to-cover listen for me, which means I am squarely at 4.5 stars again, like I was for the Iggy Pop record I just reviewed yesterday. That said, going with 5 because of the impact this album had on the music landscape, how successful it was (30m+ sold!), and the fact that I ended up downloading more than half of the songs into my personal library.

Paul Simon's crafted one of the most amazing catalogs ever. Whether it's his work with Garfunkel, albums like Graceland (a masterpiece), or individual songs such as Kodachrome, there's just so much to love about what he has brought to music. I'm afraid that becomes a double-edged sword for me, as when I listen to this debut solo album, I just find that it is lacking vs. a ton of his other work. Yeah, there are some good songs on here. I really liked Peace Like a River, which is a track I have never heard before. Also, Mother and Child Reunion and Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard are good songs, but neither is amazing for me. The rest of the album felt very average, or at least it pales in comparison to things like Graceland. This means it's a 3 star album for me, nothing more.

I enjoy acoustic guitar and folk music, but I really didn't care for this album. Welch's voice is relatively pleasant, but she doesn't really ever stretch it and the album generally slogs along as a result. This is also true of the songs as well which aren't very challenging. They generally stay centered and that leads to an overall boring feel throughout this record. Just nothing terribly interesting in any of the tracks.

Excellent album. Hendrix playing is amazing; and a lot of the songs are excellent. I’ve always, always loved his version of All Along The Watchtower the best, it’s just an amazing take on it. Crosstown Traffic is a great tune too, very fun. There’s a ton more to like on the album, such as Voodoo Child and others. Hendrix has a very cool voice too. It’s long, but that’s not the worst thing like it can be on some albums. 4-stars.

Lynn's voice is fine, but I found these songs very homogenous. Just not a lot of variety, made for a relatively uninteresting album.

This is the second of the 2 Doves' albums on this list that I have had, both of which have shown up in the last month. I didn't like this one quite as much as Lost Souls, as though they had clearly matured a bit as a band (e.g. more lyrics), I didn't think their sound on this was as great as on their debut. The short story is that this album started and ended very well, but waned quite a bit in between. When Words first came on, it reminded me of the Futures album by Jimmy Eat World, which is a record I love. There was almost an atmospheric quality to this track. In short, Words was a winner for me. There Goes The Fear followed, which evidently is the most popular song on this album if the Apple Music dot means anything. It was just ok to me though. Pretty straightforward song, nothing terribly interesting though. M62 Song was another step in the wrong direction. Stripped down is not something this band does well, mainly because the singer doesn't have a great voice. Meanwhile, Where We're Calling From is just filler, no need to comment. N.Y. is a sweeping track, which was cool. Nothing amazing though. The back half of this album was better, at least to my ear. Satellites might have ran a bit long, but that says more about the beginning of the song than the end, as I thought it built well. Friday's Dust appealed in part because of the symphonic nature, including the clarinet (which my daughter plays), which is incredibly atypical to hear on a rock album. Enjoyed this, especially through headphones. Pounding was a good driving rock song. It is let down by the lead singer's voice, which is a touch weak on a track that is otherwise solid. The title track didn't do much for me, but it wasn't bad. The chorus was at least interesting. Meanwhile, The Sulphur Man is easily the worst song on the back side of this album. A bit of a letdown given everything else that preceded it. The album closes well though with Caught By the River, which might be my favorite track on this record. While I've felt the lead's voice has held certain songs back on this album, I thought his vocals fit great on this one. For the first time, I kind of heard almost a Coldplay level of potential in them. In short, if you've made it this far into the album (and this review), at least they finally paid it off with something that was excellent. All in all, not an amazing album. However, as I said in my review of Lost Souls, given how many shitty no-name English bands are unnecessarily on this countdown, Doves are miles better and are at least worth exploring.

This is the second of Elton's two albums on the countdown that I have gotten, after having Goodbye Yellow Brick Road previously, an album which I thought was just amazing. EJ is an incredible artist, no doubt, and I have a significant affinity for piano driven artists (Billy Joel, Bruce Hornsby, Sara Bareilles). I just didn't think this album was quite as good as GYBR. It gets off to a great start with Tiny Dancer which might be my favorite Elton John song outside of I'm Still Standing. Unlike I'm Still Standing though, this is more of an epic track than a straightforward pop track like ISS. Amazing to read about how it wouldn't get played in various regions for different reasons (too long, certain lyrics). Hard to believe it took so long to gain the level of popularity that it did, as it is truly excellent song. Levon is really good as well, with a bit more of an impassioned approach from Elton than we hear on Tiny Dancer. Two great songs but pretty different from each other, at least to my ear. Speaks to how great Elton truly was, he could make a series of different styles sound tremendous. Razor Face was decent, not amazing. I did like the how the piano, organ, and guitar blended on this track, each taking their turn in the sun. Well constructed, just wasn't my favorite song. The title track was maybe as close to hard rock as Elton John is ever going to get. It's not Black Sabbath, by any means, nor is it close, but it was interesting to hear that he had some of this in him. I know that there is orchestral backing to a lot of these songs, I just thought it stood out as being a great touch on this track. Indian Summer took me a few listens to appreciate, but I grew to like this song. It's hard to wrap your head around Elton signing about Indians, but ultimately it works. Holiday Inn was so interesting to me with the mandolin, which made this track for me. Another good song. Unfortunately, the album didn't finish as strong as it started. Rotten Peaches was decent. Typical fare for EJ, it just didn't do a lot for me. Also, I wasn't a huge fan of All The Nasties. The first half of this felt like he was trying to fit a bunch of the sounds of some of the earlier songs together in this one and it just didn't work. The back half was very repetitive and rather uninspired. Goodbye is just filler, so no real comments about this. All in all, a very good record, carried by what is on the first 2/3rds, let down by the last 1/3rd.

If any of you have coached youth sports in the past, such as youth basketball, you know that there are the kids who are the stars of the team. The ones who are just more talented and get it. There are still others who are good kids and decent players - call them the rest of the starters. They can dribble, pass, and shoot, but are nothing spectacular. From there, you have others who are average to mediocre, those who understand the game but have limited talent for it. That's all fine, it's part of the game. Then there are the kids who try really, really hard but just don't have any handle on the game at all. Sure, they get in and hustle. And they repeatedly call for the ball. When they do finally get it, they shoot a shot that rarely goes in. More often than that, it's an airball. That last kid is who this band is. So, 2 stars. One for being in the game. One for giving it effort. But no more, and certainly none for being any good at it.

There was something here, but I couldn't quite tell if I really liked it or not. It's a weird combo of a mid-90s alternative sound with almost a new wave singer. To be honest, not sure it worked. There were some songs that I dug like The Asphalt World, which clearly demonstrated that they had talent. I just didn't find it consistently great, or even good. An average album, worth a listen, but not much more.

I get why people like Beck, I just never have. Is he interesting? Yes. Is it very surprising he has hung on for so long and the amount of fans he has? Also yes. I just listen to him and find there weird isn't always good, it's often just weird. Add in that his voice isn't that good and it generally leads to mediocre music, at least to my ear. This album is more of the same, I am afraid, though there were a few bright spots. Hell Yes was kind of fun, certainly had some interesting parts to it. The lead track was good as well. Unfortunately, most of the rest of this was just no bueno.

This was a fascinating album. My brother saw them live about a decade ago and said it was amazing, and I get how that could be true. It didn't blow me away like they might do if we saw them live, but there was a lot to like about this. Among the highlights for me were Svefn-G-Englar (which I feel like I have heard before), Ny Batteri, and Hjartao Hamast, all of which had a ton of cool elements to them. Overall, this album has a great atmosphere to it. Very ethereal in nature. 4 stars, really cool find in this countdown.

I’m just not a punk fan. There’s a select group of punk that I can actually enjoy. This squarely fell outside of this camp. Still, giving 2 stars as they aren’t completely devoid of talent.

This album was really strange to me. I see how it would fit with the time, being psychedelic rock at all. That said, I found this album extra strange, with a series of elements that didn’t all seem to fit together. It probably didn’t help that I didn’t understand what was being sung, but there are other albums I’ve even had recently that I didn’t understand and yet could really appreciate. This didn’t fit into that category.

I enjoy music like this, to a point. This felt very homogenous to me though. When you only have 10 tracks on a record and 4 of them are different takes of earlier songs, that felt a little strange to me. In the end, I just wasn't that thrilled with this album.

36 minutes, 8 songs, every song must be about 4 minutes, right? Not so much! Only a couple are around 4 mins, the rest are pretty short and then we have a 12 minute epic, making this an interesting construction. This album waffled between excellent and decent, basically song by song. Loved the opener, which has a great funk element to it. Run Charlie Run, which followed, wasn't nearly as good. Horns were decent, and that's about it. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone is a great, great song. Is it too long? Maybe, but I really enjoyed it throughout and, let's be honest, it's a pretty iconic track. That was followed by Love Woke Me Up This Morning which was a let down by comparison. Things picked back up with I Ain't Got Nothin'. Simple lyrics in some respects, but it sets up the point of the track well. Excellent tune. However, once again, this was followed by another song that wasn't as good in the The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, which was just drifted along poorly for me. The yo-yo went back up with Mother Nature, another really soulful track with some great vocals. Fortunately, things stayed up with the closer with Do Your Thing. All in all, tons to like on here with a few duds. Makes for an excellent album overall.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this album. Never heard of Prefab Sprout and a lot of the never-heard-of-you English bands on this list haven't been great. That said, the Rattlesnakes album by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions from the 80s was great, so I had some hope coming into this one. This record didn't hit me like that one, though there were a few definite highlights on it. The opening track is decent, not amazing. Bonny started much the same, but then a little over a minute in, it kicked in a different direction that I really loved. This, to me, was the best song on the album. That was followed by Appetite which was also excellent, though not quite as good as Bonnie to me. The rest of this wasn't as good, so it was a bit of a let down after the first three tracks set up for a very good listen. All in all, though, it was worth the trip and I got a few new tracks for my own library.

This was a decent album but not great. I've always liked the harmonies they can produce and the musicality they have is excellent. That said, while many slobber over them about their songwriting, I find that their lyrics are too heavy handed at times (and this is coming from someone who absolutely loves Don't Dream It's Over). That's the case on this record, where the highlights are what they construct musically much more so than what they are signing. To be sure, there are a few excellent tracks on here, including Fall at Your Feet, Weather with You, and There Goes God. But more often than not, these songs just fail to deliver. Adds up to an average album for me. Their debut would have been a much better inclusion on this list.

This was a great, great album. I've heard of PJ Harvey, but she is really not played on the radio that much, so I had no idea what to expect. I'd equate it to Fiona Apple, but more guitar than piano based. I ended up with more than half of these songs in my personal library. So many great tracks. Good Fortune, A Place Called Home, One Line, The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore, This Mess We're In (bonus having Thom Yorke), You Said Something, Kamikaze, and We Float were all excellent songs. 5 stars. Way, way beyond what I ever expected.

I had his other live prison album previously and rated at a five star album. In some respects, since this one came first, I almost feel compelled to do the same here. However, I didn’t find this as interesting, simply because I felt like the reactions of the prisoners weren’t as great. Also, the songs weren’t either, at least to me. Still, four stars. Totally novel and since it came first, it’s worthy of at least this.

It's always interesting to hear what Genesis sounded like before they, as well as Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins individually (and even Mike & The Mechanics), became what they were as a trio in the 80s. You couldn't escape them on the radio during that decade, but these earlier versions of the band just don't get played on the radio at all. That certainly doesn't make this an inferior record, though it is an interesting dichotomy between where they ended up and where they started. You could say that it was Peter Gabriel's influence, as his solo work most sounds like the early Genesis stuff vs. any of the various Genesis, Phil Collins, or M&TM work that followed in the 80s / 90s. However, Gabriel wasn't a principal songwriter back then. It's simply that Banks, Collins, and Rutherford changed towards more of a pop sound later on and away from their progressive rock roots. Back to this album. It has a ton to like about it. The sweeping tracks, most moving through various phases within the songs. The drums on this are pretty incredible. PG's front work is great. It's all just so interesting, even if I understand how some wouldn't like or appreciate this record. This type of music is not for everyone, though I quite enjoy it. I've seen some say it schizophrenic and that's true, but it's not a bad way. That they can mix various moods, sounds, etc. and create something original and melodic is a testament to the talent of the band. Highlights for me were the first three tracks: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like, and Firth of Fifth. After that, this album wanes a bit for me. But it is a really great start. It's far from a perfect album to me, even if it was great to go back and visit. 4-stars, given in part because the people in this band deserve more on this list. As an aside, that nothing from 80s Genesis or Phil Collins is included is really criminal (I'd even throw the debut Mike & The Mechanics album on). At least we get some Gabriel records as part of this list.

This album is amazing. Back in the 80s, when I heard TFF on the radio, I was never really into them. Across time, I learned to like them more, really becoming more of a fan starting with the Elemental album. Certainly, there have always been a few really big songs on this record in Shout, Head Over Heels, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. I was always partial to Shout, personally, though a buddy of mine recently said he thought the last of these was one of the top 10 songs of the 90s. As I think about it more, I think he is really right. That song just hits differently, even if Shout was more appealing to my ear across the years. Either way, these two tracks in particular are iconic songs from the 80s, which elevates this album to one of the most important of the decade. Beyond these three, there's more to like on the album. Broken, both separately and connected with Head Over Heels, is excellent. Mother's Milk is a nice bridge from who TFF were prior to this record and what they had become at that point. The Working Hour was a track I had not heard before, but I found myself instantly enjoying it. Listen was a unique way to close the record. Just very different. The sole song I didn't think was at least really good was I Believe, and even that has some value to it, especially in how the vocals play out. It strikes me as something very similar to what you might find on a George Michael record. All summed up, given that it is basically a cover-to-cover listen and has two of the best songs of the decade, this rightfully is a 5-star record.

Woof. Didn't think this was great. Maybe I was predisposed to thinking this would suck, since the note above says that the guitarist found fame with his band Rocket From The Crypt in later years. I had one of their albums earlier on this countdown and it was terrible, so I didn't expect much from this. What bothered me was that a lot of this was repetitive, both in the lyrics and the riffs. If either were good, this could have been tolerable, but neither were. Add in the fact that it was basically the lead singer yelling over a bunch of poorly constructed songs, this leads to where I thought it would, a 1-star album. Just to round this out, I would point people towards early Sponge records, such as Rotting Pinata or Wax Ecstatic which were released in the mid-90s like this record. Listen to the two back-to-back, and you will hear how a band (Sponge) can actually play fast / be loud but actually be melodic and create much better music. This, on the other hand, was abysmal.

I get why this is squarely between two and three stars. These guys are not devoid of talent, they just never really put it together. Take a song like Nighttime, which has a lot of interesting and gorgeous sounds to it. Should make it a great song, right? But it just falls short as it is never complete, nor is it better than the sum of its parts. Pieces fit together poorly, and it leads to a track that is something which should be better. Also, lyrics like "get me out of here, get me out of here, I hate it here, get me out of here" are uninspired and underwhelming. 2 stars, as they have some talent. They just never hit upon a single great song and that leads to a poor album.

When this showed up for today, I was excited to listen to it. I've heard Connection a ton of times and it's a cool song. Just wasn't sure what the rest of this would be like. The short answer is "more of the same, but a bit worse." Connection is the best song on the record, to be sure, and while there isn't anything inherently wrong with the other tracks, none of them really stand out either. Makes for a pretty average album. The sound on this is cool, but it's not terribly outstanding.

Decent album. Firestarter was a cool track, as was Breathe, which still gets played on radio these days. A few others I dug. EDM just really isn’t my thing. This was better than a lot of other stuff I’ve heard as it wasn’t just strong beats. All the same, not amazing.

You know how in your email you have Junk or Spam folder. This album is the equivalent of what goes into that box. It should be ignored right upon arrival. 1 star, only because I can’t give it zero.

I understand how someone would like Morrissey, or potentially have him as their favorite singer. But for me, it’s all a bit boring. To be sure, there are a few decent songs on here. I enjoyed Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself the most. The rest of this kind of floated along, not really affecting me much either way. Underwhelming, if I'm being honest, but not unlistenable.

R.E.M. is just one of those bands that I have never thought was that great. That said, I did kind of like this album. Much like the early sounds of Live on Mental Jewelry and Toad The Wet Sprocket on Pale, there is an unrefined, less produced sound on this record which I quite like. They aren't the overwrought R.E.M. that they will ultimately become. It's more stripped down, less quirky, which makes it better than a lot of their later stuff. To be sure, this is far from a cover-to-cover listen, and not much more than an average album to my ear. But there was enough here to take it for a spin. 3-stars.

This album was better than expected. Of course, that was hurdling a bit of a low bar. Nothing on here is spectacular. Griffith has a nice voice, pretty. The songs just weren't amazing. Average album.

This was actually a fun album to listen to. It reminded me some of the old Jefferson Airplane albums, even if the singing wasn’t nearly as great. It had a lot of that same vibe, and some of the musicality was pretty similar. Grabbed a couple of these songs around personal library, this was much better than anticipated. Bonus points for being at the front end of psychedelic rock, and for the use of the word psychedelic in the title. Also, for the use of the electric jug, made for a really interesting sound.

Mediocre. Sometimes bands are revered and I just don’t quite get it. Sure Blitzkreig Bop is a lot of fun. But the rest of this album is pretty monotonous. If you listen to the middle of this album in order, the songs all start the exact same way. Just limits the whole album for me. 2 stars

This is an excellent album, especially for a debut. So many great tracks on this, from Hey Joe to Manic Depression to Purple Haze to Fire. Just tons of stuff to love on this. Jimi is amazing. This album is amazing.

This is a strange one for me. Solange has a nice voice, even if it is relatively unremarkable. She probably is good enough to get a record deal without her famous sister, though she undoubtedly gets elevated company support via that relationship. That’s not her fault, of course, take advantage of it when you can get it. That said, this is far from a great album, certainly not worthy of inclusion on this or any other best album list. This is evidenced by this having exactly a 3 star rating across all users as of the time of this review. I can’t help but think that its inclusion is because people want to seem like they are cool by listing it. When you listen to it, really listen to it, there is nothing here that is different or special vs. what countless others could produce. I could name 100 female singers who are better than her off the top of my head. I think my problem is what she sings about and the lack of real character or pain her voice just doesn’t jive. Add in the interludes which are just dumb. If she was doing them, fine. But other people making the atatements they are, when she is getting as favorable treatment as she possibly could? It just doesn’t track at all. It all adds up to someone trying way too hard to be anything other than ordinary, which is all that she is. Not that this album is horrific. Again, she is a decent singer. I like piano based tracks but all of the playing sounds pretty homogenous and a bit sleepy. Don’t You Wait was probably my favorite on this. 2 stars.

More EDM! Yeah this was fine. Just like the other Prodigy album on here. But nothing amazing. Average.

Excellent, excellent album! Radiohead are my daughter’s favorite band, and though they are not mine, I do appreciate what they construct. It’s always so complex and different, while still sounding good. This one has a lot of cool tracks on it, I took down about half of them to my own library. Four stars. A great listen.

There is a cool vibe to this album, but that’s about it. It’s kind of bland, just sort of there. Not much too it, to be honest. Underwhelming. Would rather go to a Destiny’s Child, Salt N Pepa, or SWV album. 2-stars.

This is an excellent album. I happen to be traveling right now, and haven’t had much time to listen to it, so I am excited to give this a really good listen at a later time. For now, I will just say that this seems like the type of album the Beatles could have made later in their careers if they branched out even further away from their meat and potatoes straightforward style. Bowie was such a great songwriter, lots to like about this.

This was a trip to go back and listen to. Love the soul of this! I’m learning, as I barrel through this countdown, that this type of mid 70s funk is something I really dig. Mayfield’s voice is excellent, but there’s so much more to like about this album than just his vocals. I really liked Little Child Runnin’ Wild, set the table perfectly for what was to follow. Also totally dug Give Me Your Love and No Thing On Me, a couple of great tracks. There’s just such great musicality happening throughout, so many things blending amazingly. 4 stars. Going to revisit this when I am done with my vacation, to see what else I get into. Might eventually change this to 5 stars.

This album might have been good, even novel in the late 60s, or very early 70s. That this came out in 1980 shows how behind the times they were. Stripped down can be good, but this is just uninteresting. This band has an extra M in the name.

This is new wave and that’s never totally been my thing. Sure there are some bands that are in this era, especially ones that matured beyond it like Tears For Fears that I really enjoy, but most of the time it’s stuff like this that just isn’t fully developed, or at least constructed well. This has a lot of elements that I should like, fast paced, guitars, slapping base, saxophone, and brass section, hell even the drums aren’t that bad. That said, it never really fully comes together to create something special or even significant. Two stars

This was an interesting one for me. It did not get off to a good start at least to my ear, The Combination of Two was just kind of an aimless track with a bunch of manic half singing half yelling. Things picked up with I Need A Man To Love. A better overall track with more of a point. Most of the rest of this album was not great, save for Piece Of My Heart which is a classic. All this album demonstrated is why it was so smart for Joni Mitchell to go off on her own.

Man does this album take me back. I've never been consistently into rap throughout the years, though I have appreciated it enough across time to listen to it a decent amount. This was never more true than in the late 80s / early 90s, especially with the Def Jam artists like LL, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys, all of whom I loved. This record is great, though not a cover to cover listen to me. The title track is amazing, as is Around The Way Girl, Jingling Baby (remix), Mr. Good Bar, 6 Minutes of Pleasure, and others. Hell, I even like Milky Cereal, which is kind of different for LLCJ but is intelligently constructed. The reality is that rap started to become popular because of artists like LL Cool J, whose style, grooves and rhymes helped launch rap into the mainstream. Given this, this album is super important in the music landscape and it surprises me that it is rated below average, as this record is anything but average. 4-stars. Well worth the listen.

Never been a big fan of The Cure, and this album is very much what I might’ve anticipated hearing from them earlier in their career. To be sure, there are some good songs on here. The album got off to a great start with One Hundred Years, and I really liked A Strange Day. But outside of that, a lot of these songs just didn’t hit for me. That’s especially true of the title track, which was just bizarre. Overall, a three star album

Very good album. Neil’s voice wears on me a bit, but his playing ability, song structure, and themes are generally great. This album has a lot of songs I ultimately liked on it, including White Line, Fuckin Up, Mansion on the Hill, and especially Love and Only Love. A fun listen. 20+ years into his career and Neil Young still has it. 4 stars

Excellent album. Personally, I prefer the Back In Black album, which is a masterpiece, but this is very good as well. Lots to like on this record, including the title track, Touch Too Much, Girls Got Rhythm, Night Prowler and others. Fun stuff and four stars.

Relatively mediocre album. Not sure why people seem to like this, the singer’s voice is not that great or interesting. Some of the song structures were decent, but overall I never found anything that great. 2 stars

This isn’t as bad as people are saying. There is something that’s not bad with this. The lyrics and beats are decent. There’s a bit of Speech from Arrested Development or Eminem in here, even if it never approaches anything that good. It all just never adds up to something incredibly amazing or terribly interesting. 2 1/2 stars, but rounding down to 2 because it’s a little bit less than average. Hey, I guess this is as bad as people are saying.

Never would have found this album if it weren't for this list, and that's what makes this journey fun. This was great to discover. Lots to like about it. Amazing back story. Very cool jams and it was interesting how the lyrics came in very late to really each song. Totally different and fun. 4-stars.

This was a challenge to find, but eventually I got to it on YouTube. The title track is excellent, loved it. After that, it wasn't as great, though I did enjoy Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock and Cholly. Both of these were good tracks. Not as good as Maggot Brain was by Funkadelic, but still solid. 3 stars

When I first started listening to this, I didn’t really think it was that bad. But then the first song sounded so repetitive. And that blended into the next song which just sounded exactly like the one I had just heard. Maybe there was a spark of originality in how this sounded back in the 70s, but that has: 1. Not worn well 2. Diminished its own value by the repetitive nature through the album. That different lists consider this one of the great albums of all time astounds me. Just terrible.

Just average. Nice voice, but didn’t really do anything for me. Songs were just sort of there. Nothing stood out.

OK, so Michael can blow. He is an amazing singer, and has such an incredible catalogue of music. The Bad and Thriller albums are masterpieces. This, however, I was less than thrilled with. I’m just not a fan of disco, and this album would’ve been so much better if there was a lot more funk to it. Frankly, there’s not a whole lot on here that blows me away. There are some good tracks, no doubt, but far from his best.

This album was a lot better than I anticipated. Whenever one of these no name English bands pops up, especially if from the 90s / 00s, they generally are terrible. This one, however, demonstrated a lot of musicality throughout this record. At times, it reminded me of some of the stuff that Mark Knopfler was doing around this time. To be sure, his Sailing to Philadelphia album is better than this record, but there are some parallels to me which drew me in. I particularly liked Comedy, Pull Together, Captain’s Table, and Daniella. All in all, an excellent album.

This was much better than anticipated. Some of the songs started slow but picked up well by the middle to where I enjoyed most of the tracks. Even when the songs were relatively simple, things blended really well. Liked a lot of this. Not sure I can even draw a parallel to anyone else. Different, but excellent.

This is just ok. The Kinks are always best when they are writing fun, upbeat songs. Whether it's Lola, Come Dancing, or You Really Got Me, they are all relatively similarly constructed and truly define The Kinks at their best. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a ton of that on this album. Not that it is slow, but it wasn't a super fun listen to me. Pretty average album to my ear.

This wasn't amazing, but it was better than anticipated, mainly because it had a bit more rock bent to it than I was anticipating. Starts out great with Move Over, which was my favorite song on the record. After that, it wasn't quite as great, though it had some cool tracks throughout. She can really sing and there's so much character to her voice, that's what really makes this potentially special. I just didn't really connect with a ton of the songs for whatever reason. 3-stars.

Another interesting album by Fela Kuti! I had his other album on this countdown (Zombie) like two weeks ago and both of them were excellent listens. This one had a bit more of a hard edge to me, though, which I actually quite enjoyed. The only drawback was the 16 minute drum solo at the end. I love a good drum solo (E.g., Phil Collins with two other drummers at the start of his First Final Farewell Tour), but I found this one to be inferior. The rest of the record was very good though.

I really enjoyed this album, but it's far from complete for me. Hello is an incredible song and a tremendous way to start out, though it's undoubtedly the peak of this album. There are some other great cuts on here, no doubt, including When We Were Young, Water Under the Bridge, and River Lea. And Adele's voice soars throughout, it's such an amazing instrument. All the same, this isn't a cover-to-cover listen. There are a few missteps in here, imo, such as Million Years Ago, which felt like an inferior version of some of the songs that appeared earlier in the album. 4 stars, as Hello is incredible and there's enough here to hold that rating. But far from a 5-star album.

I had an interesting reaction to this album, almost immediately as a started listening to it. I instantly started thinking about Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker album which I had earlier in this countdown, maybe because there was a bit of a deeper tone to this than I anticipated. Turns out, like it was for Cohen with his Darker album, this was the last one for Johnny Cash, so there are definitely some parallels. Certainly, Cash has always been a superb storyteller in his music and that comes through here, even if many of these songs are remakes (some of which he had done before). Take a song like Hurt, which is a Nine Inch Nails classic. The NIN is undeniably better, but there is something that Cash brings even to this track that makes it uniquely his own. More pointedly, he just sings in a way that is relatable and forces you to really listen to the lyrics, which makes him so much more effective than others at weaving a given song's tale. There are a series of highlights on this, including Hurt, In My Life, The Man Comes Around, and Personal Jesus. I also loved how he was able to get artists like Fiona Apple, John Frusciante, and Don Henley, which are really across the spectrum of rock. Speaks to how large a figure he was in music that such a diverse group of people would be willing to work with him, even at this stage of his career. I've already had the two other albums from Johnny Cash on this countdown, both of which are live prison performances. It's unfair to compare this to those records, as those two are just incredibly unique in the music landscape. That said, despite this being full of covers, it has a nice place in his discography, serving as a nice epilogue to his career. 4 stars. Far from unbelievable, but an excellent listen all the same.

This was just shit. Nothing there. Random noise. Just bad.

I love a ton of mid-80s music and have heard a few different bands on this countdown that I have never listened to from that era that I ended up enjoying. This proved to be no different. Skipping the intro song, which was a bit of a throw away for me, the album got off to a strong start with The Whole Point of No Return, which had some cool muted guitar work on it. Me Ship Came In was a fun instrumental that many would praise if it were sitting on a jazz album. Feels a bit out of place here, but I still enjoyed it. Wouldn't come back to it though. Similar story for Blue Cafe. The Paris Match was solid. Tracey Thorn's voice sounded good on this. My Ever Changing Moods was a cool song, though there was something about the signing on this which seemed a bit over the top to me. It didn't stand in the way of me enjoying it though. The next few songs, I thought, were reasonably forgettable. Then came You're The Best Thing, which was one of the best songs on the album. The chorus wasn't quite as good as the rest of the track, which reminded me of something you might hear from a George Michael type of artist. The next two tracks I found pretty similar to each other. Quality songs, nothing amazing, but well beyond just filler. Almost like big band songs without the over-the-top brass. Frankly, a bit different from the sound of the time. Council Meetin' wasn't a great closer for me. Just kind of there. All in all, a solid album. Some really good tracks, others that were misses. 3 stars.

I understand that ABBA is not everyone's thing, but if you objectively listen to this album, it's actually quite good. The record gets off to a solid start with When I Kissed the Teacher. People would probably go ape over a song like this these days, but in truth, it's just lighthearted and fun. What follows next is the big one. There are three unavoidable inevitabilities in this world: Death, taxes, and anyone 20-65 belting out the chorus of Dancing Queen anytime it comes on. Sorry, I don't make the rules, I just abide by them. This song is an absolute classic, unbelievably catchy, a just generally a great time. If you really listen to it though, it's actually quite well constructed beyond its hook-filled nature. Just a great, great track. The rest of this album waffles between good and very good. Highlights for me include Money, Money, Money and Fernando. A blast to go back to, worthy of inclusion. 4-stars.

This album is best summed up as Bruce trying to do his best Johnny Cash or Neil Young impression. Unfortunately, it's not as good as what they can bring. Not that Bruce is a bad storyteller, he has so many great songs with amazing writing and subject matter. This just didn't hit for me, in part because it felt reasonably homogenous throughout. Beyond this, Bruce is at his best when he is belting out, with his rasp and emotion. He has so much character to his voice, and all of that was muted here. It was like someone neutered him. This isn't awful and there are some cool songs on here. I loved Open All Night, while Atlantic City was good. But there was just not enough for me to think this was a great album. Far from his best.

Decent album. Had some elements I really liked, but it ultimately proved to be reasonably repetitive within many of the songs. That said, it wasn't terribly repetitive to me ear across songs. Ok listen, not amazing, not awful.

Never heard of these guys before and many of the artists who I was completely unfamiliar with on this countdown have not been great. This album proved to be on the opposite end of the spectrum for me though. The record gets off to a very cool start with Under the Pressure. Is it a bit too long? Yes. Frankly, the last 2+ minutes didn't need to be there. But the first 2/3rds of this track were really strong, especially the rhythm and base lines. This was followed up with another strong tune in Red Eyes. The drums drove throughout this track, pounding and building to a couple of cool crescendos. Excellent. Suffering follows and it's a bit sleeper than the first two, though it has some moments that are cool. Decent track. An Ocean In Between the Waves is a step back in the right direction. The baseline on this really reminds me of some of my favorite songs from Anberlin, a band I really love, or the middle part of Scenic Route by Jars of Clay. It's pulsating and setting the stage at just the right pace. By the time Disappearing comes on, it's pretty easy to settle into who this band is. They very much like longer tracks where they let the instrumentals do the talking, which doesn't bother me at all. One of my favorite artists of all time is Joe Satriani and almost all of his catalog has zero signing. This track doesn't disappoint either. 5 for 5 so far. In listening to Eyes to the Wind, I can't help but feel like there is a bit of Dylan in the lead singer's voice, I just can't really decide if it is Bob or Jakob. Anyway, another sweeping tune that I really enjoyed. Oh, and that sax which comes in late out of nowhere? Well played! At this point, I am astonished I've never heard of these guys, though I get why they aren't on the radio much. These tracks aren't exactly radio friendly, though I am thoroughly digging them. The next track is just kind of filler first one that’s a smidge, disappointing, but not much expected from a song that short. Burning came on and once it dug in, it gave me Young Turks by Rod Stewart vibes, so I instantly liked this as well. It’s not as good as YT, of course, but still very solid. The title track was the only let down for me on this album. It's not unlistenable, but it just didn't do anything for me. That said, we picked back up with In Reverse, which was a very good closer to the record. There's something almost nostalgic to this song, not sure what it was. I can't think of the song it reminds me of, but I know I like it. When it was all said and done, I had taken 7 of the 10 tracks off this record to my personal library and I will definitely come back to this record. Very surprisingly, a 5 star effort.

I remember when these guys were at the height of their career, though I really didn't truly start listening to them until a couple of years later when I was in college. This album was a trip to go back and revisit. First things first, Chuck D is amazing, full stop. Yes, rap has always had a strong voice, but it has never been stronger than with Chuck at the mic. His style, his rhymes, his message, all of it. Just the pinnacle, way better and more important than Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and others will or could ever be. Want proof? Listen no further than Welcome to the Terrordome, one of the great raps of all time, driven by the strength of who Chuck D is and his message. Just an all-time great track. But there's a lot more on here than just WttT. Brothers Gonna Work It Out is excellent. 911 Is a Joke is probably Flavor Flav's best track. Burn Hollywood Burn drives so amazingly well (and featuring Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane doesn't hurt). Power to the People and Revolutionary Generation are both great. It just goes on and on. Yeah, rap started to get into the mainstream in the late 80s with artists like Run DMC, Queen Latifa, Rakim, and others. But it didn't really fully explode until the turn of the next decade and it was Public Enemy at the forefront who set the stage for so many who followed like Ice Cube, Tupac, Notorious BIG, etc. Every one of those artists owe so much to Public Enemy, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of them as a group and this record in particular. 5 stars, no doubt.

I've been waiting for this album to come up, as I wore this out when I was younger. It is just so much fun from front to back. I get it, Aerosmith can be polarizing. But there is zero doubt about their imprint on music. In short, they are one of the top US rock bands of all time - it's really them, the Eagles, Van Halen, and Metallica. They have 11 studio albums that have gone at least platinum for a reason. Stephen Tyler's voice is incomparable. His writing partnership with Joe Perry has produced so many great songs. And the band is full of great musicians. Do they have better songs earlier in their career? Yeah. Sweet Emotion and Dream On immediately come to mind (as does Kings and Queens for me). But for my money, they don't have a more complete, cover-to-cover album than this one. This album gets off to a driving start with Young Lust, which kicks ass from the jump and doesn't let up. You are just instantly drawn in. It's followed up by F.I.N.E. which is compiled in a strange way but it all comes together and just works, which is a testament to Aerosmith's talent. We then get to Love In An Elevator which is such a fun song, just an instant classic. That's followed by Monkey On My Back which I honestly had forgotten about. Janie's Got a Gun is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of this album and one of their finest compositions. A song about a woman who kills her sexually abusive father that they turn into a monster hit? Crazy! The Other Side bounces back closer to what the rest of the album had been prior to Janie's. Starting with the chorus? Yup. Another interesting song structure, and an excellent Joe Perry solo to boot. We are now 6 for 6 in excellent tracks, all of which I have in my personal library. My Girl and Don't Get Mad Get Even are as great, but they are both fun tracks all the same. They are just a bit more simplistic than what preceded them, that's all. I can see people not liking Voodoo Medicine Man, but I dig it, in part because it feels a bit different than the rest of the album. The guitars really drive in this one. What It Takes is an end of the night, bar's closing type of classic song. Really well constructed, more great Tyler vocals, call backs to other tracks on the album. It just hits all the right notes as a closer. A no doubt 5-star record. My third one in a row, after one that I never expected (Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs) and one that is totally different than this both in tone and genre (Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy). I knew I would end up at this rating, a relisten just affirmed my thinking. A great, great album.

I always run through this countdown on a month-by-month basis - i.e., what was the average rating this month, how many 5-star albums were there, etc. This was a strange month for me for the first 3+ weeks without a single 5-star album. Nothing really hit for me, and then a deluge came. From the unexpected (Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs), to the undeniable (Fear Of A Black Planet by Public Enemy), to the underrated (Pump by Aerosmith), it suddenly was a series of tremendous albums. This record continues that trend. I get that Radiohead isn't for everyone. Some, like my daughter, think they are the best band ever. Others just don't like their sound. While I sit in between, they are undoubtedly an incredibly talented band who make the take risks which almost always pay off. This album is very much in the "it hits" category for me. The first five songs on this are all great tracks. I've always been a fan of High and Dry, but Fake Plastic Trees is every bit as good. Nice Dream is good as well, it just isn't as good as what precedes it, mainly because it just floats along until we get to the strange guitar later in the tune. Meanwhile, Just fits squarely into that mid 90s alternative sound that I really like. My Iron Lung is all over the place, but I kind of dug it. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was ended up being a solid track. Nothing amazing though. Black Star might have been the highlight of the back half of the album for me. This reminded me of something I might hear from Our Lady Peace. Really liked it. Sulk wasn't far behind. A bit more of a straightforward angsty alt rocker. Sounded excellent. Street Spirit was an excellent way to close this album. It almost had a Metallica type of feel to it to begin with. Actually, upon a second listen, this might be my favorite song on the back half of the album, surpassing Black Star. All wrapped up, tons of tracks to really like on this. A great, great album. 5 stars.

I've been on a string of albums which have been great, 5-star records. Thankfully, Neil came along at just the right time to crush that momentum. Ok, that's unfair. This is a fine record, even great itself at times. Old Man, Alabama, and Heart of Gold are all excellent tracks, especially the last of these. But too often this album has a touch of bore to it. Worse, songs like A Man Needs a Maid just seem out of place for ol' Neil to be singing about. Hey, I'm insecure, maybe I don't need an actual relationship, maybe I just need a maid. Some would say this is just him being honest, others think it is chauvinistic. Me? I just think it sounds stupid. Some hits, some misses. The peaks are great, but the valleys are just as deep. Adds up to an average album.

I understand Nirvana's place in music history. They were widely recognized at the genesis of rock's move towards alternative in the early 90s. It's hard to overstate their place at the forefront of this shift. That said, it doesn't mean that they are rock gods who can do no wrong. This album is very representative of the duality of this band. There's a lot to like here, but just as many tracks which don't hold up. Certainly, tracks like Heart Shaped Box, Rape Me, Dumb, and All Apologies demonstrate who Nirvana truly can be. All excellent songs in different ways. But for every one of those, we get songs like Very Ape or Milk It which just aren't great tunes. Beyond this, the dirty little secret is that they aren't amazing musicians. Cobain's voice, while distinct and with a cool rasp, isn't amazing in the way that contemporaries Layne Staley's or Chris Cornell's voices are. Dave Grohl is an average drummer (even he would tell you he's not great). Kurt Novoselic is an excellent bassist, on that we can agree. Collectively, they were better than they were individually, which is a testament to what they built with Nirvana. It's just that their greatness is a bit overblown, and this record is a demonstration of that. Upon relisten, it's pretty average.

I've never been a big Beatles fan. I recognize that their spot in the annals of music history is well earned, they have had so many hits and just dominated for over a decade. I just felt like their earlier stuff was pretty basic, even if it was well crafted. This record is a nice departure from that. There's a good amount of complexity to this album. Of course, everyone will rightfully talk about the Lennon McCartney writing partnership and appropriately so. That said, I have always liked George Harrison the best and it's no surprise that I find While My Guitar Gently Weeps to be the best track on here. There are plenty of others to like though. Back in the USSR, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Blackbird, Birthday, Yer Blues were all highlights for me, which speaks further to the diversity on this record. All in all, this is the Beatles at the best. A great, great album.

This is such a fun record to listen to. Like Little Richard or Louis Prima, a few 50s/60s acts that I previously had ranked as 5-star records, this album has such a great energy throughout. But it would be unfair to stop there with this album (or either of the other ones from Richard or Prima), as the songs themselves are almost all great. Chain Gang, Cupid, It's All Right, Twistin' The Night Away, Bring It On Home to Me, and Having a Party are all legitimately tremendous songs. That he wrote all of them and then delivers them so well in front of a live audience gives you just a taste of how amazing Sam Cooke truly was. It's awful that the world was deprived of such a talent so young. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to check out what early 60s R&B / Rock could sound like when it is done really, really well. 5-stars.

Just don’t understand the infatuation with this band. They are fine, but it is all pretty average.

Do you remember that scene in How I Married An Axe Murderer when Mike Myers doing spoken word in front of small band. This album is like an hour and 20 minutes of that, but not nearly as interesting. Kind of just bad

Second album in a row is just mediocre. Don’t really understand how something like this gets on the countdown. It really doesn’t have a whole lot to offer, songs are slow and sleepy, and the lyrics just aren’t that great. Yeah, Gram Parsons is a cool artist but there’s just not much here. Amazingly bland.

This was another fascinating album by Bowie. I just really like that he was effectively able to recreate himself this late in his career, all while being reflective on his musical journey. Lots of interesting tracks on here, with an eclectic mix of rock, electronics, and jazz. Highlights included the title track, 'Tis a Pity She Was A Whore (loved the way this song drove), Lazarus (which I personally thought was the best song on the record), and I Can't Give Everything Away. It wasn't all perfect, but that he came up with this so late in his career is a testament to how great Bowie was as an artist. 4 stars.

Being a child of the MTV generation, I have fond memories of the music of the 80s and bands like Duran Duran. While they were never my absolute favorite, I distinctly remember watching their videos / hearing so much of their music during the decade. So, going back to revisit this album was a lot of fun, even if I ultimately didn't think it was a complete record. Certainly, the highs are very high. The title track and Hungry Like the Wolf will make any comprehensive list of the best songs of the decade. Save a Prayer might be better than both of them, even if it never was as popular here in the States. Beyond this, there were others outside of the hits which are quality tracks. I really liked New Religion, it reminded me of something you might hear from a band like Midnight Oil. Also, I thought it was great that they closed the album with The Chauffeur, as it was such a departure from what preceded it on the record. That said, there were a few tunes on here I wasn't crazy about. Also, knowing how they refined their sound in later years with such great stuff as Come Undone, Ordinary World, Notorious and others, I actually ended up being slightly disappointed with some of these tracks. That keeps me from making this a 5-star effort, though it certainly is still an excellent record. 4 stars.

While this album was far from blowing me away, it had enough aspects and layers to it to keep me interested most of the time. The Cisco Kid had some cool funk to it, so the record got off to a good start for me. That continued with Where Was You At, which felt like an early (almost lo-fi) song from Funkadelic. City, Country, City is really drawn out, much longer than it needs to be. That said, the battle between the slower, more drawn-out harmonica and the faster saxophone really captured the country/city contrast they were going for. It just didn't need to be 13 minutes, even if there was a decent musicality throughout. Four Cornered Room might have been my favorite song on here. Yeah, it's a slow crawl at times, but it sets a mood that I really enjoyed. The title track had some excellent solos in it and bounced around enough in different styles to be worth the listen. Felt a bit let down by the later parts of the song though. Had a strong message earlier, but they struggled late to convey it lyrically (that sax though!). Beetles in the Bog was a solid closer, just didn't do a lot for me either way. Solid album. Had more potential than it really paid off, at least for me. Worth the spin. 3-stars.

I was never a big fan of Bowie, even if there are certain songs that I just love by him (e.g., Let's Dance, China Girl, Suffragette City). And when I had his first record from this list, Low, I didn't think it was all that special, only reaffirming my position. Since then, surprisingly, I've really changed my tune. It started with the Ziggy Stardust album, which had incredible songwriting. Earlier this week, I had Blackstar, a fascinating album with heavy electronic and jazz bents. That he was able to recreate himself that late in his career was astounding to me. This album is only further entrenching my new position and that recreation theme could really apply to this album as well, as he moved away from glam rock and towards more of a R&B / soul inspired rock sound. The title track has a great sound to it, including from some of the support players (Luther and David Sanborn, most notably). I liked the way his vocals offset vs. the soaring background singers. Nice toss to A Day In The Life by The Beatles too. Win answers the question, what if George Michael was around in the 70s. The breathy points of this make it for me. A cool, sultry track. Fascination is a great song. This starts with a strange combination of early 70s funk and some early disco types of sounds. It's bass heavy approach reminds me of Shaft a bit. You can just picture him getting into singing this. This song is the best find I've had in the last week on this countdown. 3 for 3 and an amazing start to this record. Right wasn't quite as good for me, but it was a solid track with continued good base work and more David Sanborn, neither of which are ever bad things. Somebody Up There Likes Me had some of Bowie's best impassioned vocals on it, along with a series of gorgeous harmonies throughout. Totally dug this tune. Listening to Across the Universe, I can't believe a song like this wasn't part of any of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as it would have fit perfectly. Cool, sweeping track. I was wondering why it sounded like a Beatles song and then I read that it was a Lennon-McCartney tune, which made total sense. I'm just ignorant to many things Beatles, as I am not a big fan of them. Can You Hear Me was a somewhat subdued track compared to some of the rest of the album. Liked the soul bent to this and I have mentioned that I am fan of the David Sanborn work on this record yet? Yeah, more of that is a good thing. Also, the a cappella ending of this was great. The closer, Fame, is a track that we have all heard a bunch before, but admittedly I've generally just let it sit there when it's on the radio, not really paying too much attention to it. Upon actually listening, the funk, the syncopation, the movement between various vocal parts, all of it is great. A really well constructed track. Blown away by how excellent this album ended up being. Even the couple that I didn't think were excellent songs are still good listens. Basically a complete album. 5-stars.

This was an average album to me. There are some cool aspects to this band, but I find the lead singer relatively uninteresting and had a tough time getting past that aspect of it. I did really like Dull Life, thought that was a great track. Heads Will Roll was decent, but not amazing. The rest of this was relatively forgettable for me. Not that it was terrible, it just wasn't that engaging. 3 stars.

I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than I anticipated. Never heard of Gene Clark before, so I had no idea even what type of music to expect. I didn't care for opener on this album, but after that it got a lot better. It reminded me a bit of the Eagles, even if it didn't have the same harmonies. It just felt like a very similar style. Highlights included Silver Raven, Strength of Strings, and Some Misunderstanding, all of which I thought were excellent songs. Beyond this, I enjoyed Gene's voice and his guitar playing on this. A very good album. 4 stars.

Not sure how Rolling Stone could call this album a masterpiece. To be sure, the band has some talent and the song construction is very good. Sounds a lot like what would ultimately become the sound of bands like Oasis later in the decade. That said, if you ever wondered why you never really heard of this band - the latest in the string of name English bands who belong nowhere (put fully intended) near this list - look no further than the lead singer. He is inferior in just about every way. Not only does have zero range with a pretty monotonous sound, but his voice is terribly uninteresting. I just couldn't get past it. At least I got to listen to "one of shoegazing's enduring moments", whatever the hell that means. 3 stars and that is being generous.

I was very excited when this came up. I really like what I hear on the radio from Lorde, I've just never gone an explored this record. She has a relatively different style, which makes her a fun listen. Amazing how she can blend ballads into dance music almost seamlessly. Her voice is cool, even if it's not an amazing instrument. Still, the way she approaches songs is fun and interesting. I could get why some might say the moodiness might be a bit heavy handed, but this didn't bother me at all. At times she has a pretty staccato style, reminded me a touch of Ed Sheeran who can do something similar. That said, she's totally unique, which makes her very engaging. It's incredible that she can be somewhat minimalistic but still create a cool, full sound. I've always liked Green Light, really excellent track. Plenty of others to like on here, including The Louvre, Perfect Places, the reprise of Liability (better than the original, albeit shorter), and Hard Feelings/Loveless. An excellent record. 4-stars.

Bob Dylan is an amazing songwriter but he's not always a great listen. This album was pretty up and down for me. Rainy Day Women was far from my favorite, even if it is one of his bigger hits, mainly because I found it repetitive. It's funny because I thought this sounded like a bad carnival song and I guess the intent was to make this sound like a demented marching band. So I guess they hit the mark, I just didn't find it pleasing at all. To me, I Want You was a much better tune from this record. The interesting characters made this a more fun listen for me. Visions of Johanna was excellent as well with some very cool bass work. Just Like a Woman was a very good track as well. Overall, though, I just didn't think this was amazing. 3 stars

Rap is at its best when any/all of the following are true: - The message is powerful - The beats are sick - The rhymes / wordplay are intelligent - The flow / timing is tight This record has none of that. That means, this album should be appropriately rated as a 1-star record. Just bad.

I have to admit that I was a bit let down by this album. One of the thing that drives me bonkers is repetition in music, and I felt like a lot of this album, both within songs and across them, felt a bit homogenous. There were some good songs on here, all the same. I thought Can You Forgive Her and Dreaming of the Queen were excellent tracks. Beyond that, there was just too much that just sat there and never really did a whole lot interesting. Pretty average to my ear. 3 stars.

Metallica is a great band and Metal has actually been my highest rated genre so far in this countdown. But I wasn't amazed by this. Certainly, the title track is a cool song. I also liked Orion. Instrumentals don't bother me at all, and I would encourage anyone who likes that track to go check out Joe Satriani's catalog, as it is a lot like this song but more melodic and with (much) better guitar work. Beyond this, the only other track that I thought was very good on this was Welcome Home (Sanitarium). It has a bit of that One feel to it. The rest of this was very average to me, and this record pales in comparison to And Justice For All or the Black Album. 3 stars.

The Talking Heads have never really been my thing. I know some people will say David Byrne is a genius, but I just find them to be slightly annoying. To be sure, they have some excellent songs, but too often those are few and far between. There were some fun aspects of this record. Psycho Killer is an excellent song, though it’s the clear highlight of this album. No Compassion was another track that I really liked. As for the rest of the record, however, it all just kind of blended together. As a debut, it’s good. That said, it’s overall pretty average. 3 stars

This was unexpected. His take on a few rock classics was actually pretty good, and a cool way to kick off this album. Personally, it had me interested, and that led to me listening with more of an open ear for the rest of the record. Snow Flower and Mamata were both cool tracks, and Metamorphosis had it's moments. I would say that later stuff in the record wasn't as great for me. All the same, a decent listen. 3 stars.

This is the 5th of 6 Radiohead albums that I have had on this countdown and they continue to all be excellent records, even though I wouldn't proclaim myself a fan of theirs at all. The others have all been 4 or 5-star albums and, in truth, I am squarely between those rankings again. There are a series of great tracks on here. 15 Step, Bodysnatchers, Weird Fishes, and All I Need are excellent tunes, but my personal favorite on this record is Jigsaw Falling Into Place. This might be my favorite one from Radiohead ever (it happens to be my daughter's favorite song all time by them too). The musicality, the way it drives - especially the base and drums - the lyrics, it all comes together so amazingly well. A truly awesome song. To be sure, there were others on here which weren't as great for me - e.g., Faust Arp. That said, I just really enjoyed this record and have continued to realize what I have been missing all these years. 4-stars.

This album was strange for me. When it first started out, I thought I was going to hate it. As I went through the songs though, I found that I was starting to dig what they had to offer. There was a worldbeat aspect to it that just reminded me of what Enigma put out in the 90s. This band is definitely harder and there is more of an alternative bent to it, less of a pop one. But there are enough similarities here. Also, as I was listening, it felt like it was a father daughter duo as the lead singers, though I guess it is just one person doing this? If so, that's pretty incredible. The female vocal styling is much better though. My favorite tracks from this were definitely Triangle Walks and Now's the Only Time I Know. Really interesting sound, definitely worth the listen. Not sure I would come back to it a ton though.

This album started off excellent. Unlike his father's albums, which were also very good but somewhat repetitive, there's more diversity built into these songs. Just layer after layer which all fits together extremely well. The beats drive so well, whether it is bongos, other drums, the brass section, or even a syncopated solo sax. By the end of this, though, it felt a bit repetitive across songs. Generally liked it though. Wonder Wonder and Frustrations were the best tracks on this. 4 stars.

I used to think I liked punk music. What this journey has taught me is that I like a certain type of punk - ala The Clash, Bad Religion, etc. There needs to be a certain musicality incorporated for me to like it. Just bashing away at the drums and guitars furiously doesn't really do it for me. So, it should come as no surprise that I find this record/band to be underwhelming. Not even sure why they are on the countdown, other than Pat Smear appeared to be rather influential on Nirvana and Curt Cobain specifically. But is that really enough? Not really. The lead singer here is pretty terrible and the band isn't much better. I didn't find it very funny that they had 15 songs which were 3 minutes or less, most of which were under 2 minutes, and then they close with an almost 10-minute track. I do wonder if they came up with this last and decided to throw it on for the hell of it, or if they came up with this first and then said "we've done enough, put anything else on the record." Regardless, the dichotomy is objectively hilarious. They get an extra star for this album structure, but nothing else than that. 2 stars.

I like moody music. Things that are a bit heavier, both in theming and playing. More melodic. Layered. This, theoretically, could fit into that. Also, The Smiths have been pretty influential on a lot of the alternative 90s bands that I love. It all adds up to something I should love. The problem is I just find Morrisey to be un underwhelming singer. While the band might be very good, he drags it down. It's why I don't understand how so many people consider The Smiths amazing. To be sure, there are parts of this album which are worth it. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is an excellent song and there are a few others which are worth listening to. More often, though, the tracks don't go to great heights, mainly because of how limited a range Morrisey signs in. 3 stars and that is being very generous.

R.E.M. has never been a band that I seek out. They are far from my favorite and I generally think they are revered more than they should be. That said, they undeniably have carved out a place for themselves in rock history, and this album is a very good one. I know that Everybody Hurts and Drive are two of the hits off this record, I'm just not a fan of either one of these tracks, as they are both heavy handed for me. They're fine, just not amazing songs for me. In fact, I find the whole front half of this album to be just ok. It's fine, just sort of there. The back half of this album, however, is great, starting with Monty Got a Raw Deal. This song builds well is very strong after the whole band is in it. Ignoreland and Star Me Kitten are both good tracks as well. Man On The Moon and Nightswimming are where this album really soars though. The former is such a well-constructed track about Andy Kaufmann with a great chorus. The latter might be my favorite R.E.M. song ever. The way the piano and orchestra come together is just outstanding. The closer, Find The River, is another excellent track and brings to a close a final 6 songs which are way better than the first 6. An overall excellent record, probably the best of R.E.M.'s career. 4 stars.

Another excellent record from Bowie, although I didn't find this as great as a couple of the others. At only 6 songs, everything needs to be a banger to be truly amazing and that's just not the case here. TVC15 was a miss for me. Golden Years is a good song, but not a great one for me, as it is a bit to repetitive. The rest of this record is very good to great, however. Stay and Wild Is The Wind were both tremendous, they were my two favorite tracks on this record. I loved the guitar work throughout the former. Meanwhile, Word on a Wing and Station to Station were good as well, the latter of which sounded a bit like a later Beatles song. An excellent effort, just not a complete album. 4 stars

I find that it is often very interesting to go back to 80s records, an era of music I absolutely love, to see whether certain records hold up or not. In the case of She's So Unusual, the answer is "kind of." Let's get the easy part out of the way. Girls Just Want to Have Fun is objectively a great song, even if it is far from my favorite. It's catchy and energetic, almost like it is trying to be a fun song... That said, Time After Time is a superior track. Lauper's voice, which is very underrated, soars on this one. She really demonstrates her excellent range. All Through the Night and She Bop were both moderate hits and rightfully so. Good songs, not amazing. There are a few others on here that are decent but occasionally, the non-hits are painfully clearly songs from that mid 80s age, and they just don't age terribly well. Not talking about the lyrics, even if some of them are pretty simplistic, it's that synthesizer driven approach that just doesn't sound great. It sounds like an early Atari game and just is very outdated. I'll Kiss You is the prime example of this. That makes this far from a complete record. Nevertheless, there is more than enough here to enjoy and appreciate it and the peaks on this album are very, very high. 4 stars.

It's a bit disappointing that this album wasn't on Apple Music, as it made it hard to find / listen to and I can't download any of the tracks to my own library. It was solid, not spectacular, and I think that bears out in the ratings we have seen for this album which is basically right on a 3 average. That said, there were a few songs on here which I liked. Listening to these guys reminded me a touch of De La Soul and a bit of Arrested Development. I like their style, it just didn't really blow me away at any point and I would much prefer to listen to either of the bands I just mentioned. All the same, a good listen. Relatively enjoyable. 3 stars.

Not sure how I feel about this album. The band was good, I enjoyed a good amount of the music, I just wasn't crazy about the lead singer at all. Reminded me of some early The Cure work, but Robert Smith is a much superior lead man. We've all heard Pretty In Pink, which was obviously received much broader play in the States when the movie of the same name came out. Personally, I liked Mr. Jones and All of This and Nothing better than that track though. The rest of the album was just average to me. 3 stars.

This is my 6th of 9 Bowie albums on this list and I am not even a year in! Though I have found through this journey that he is a tremendous singer/writer/artist and have typically been really positive in all of my reviews of other records, I am afraid this album didn't reach the same heights as the others I have already listened to. There are a few good tracks on here, most notably The Stars (Are Out Tonight). The sound on this was great, especially the lead guitar and the way different layers were built into the track. The other one I thought was very good was Love Is Lost. Much of the rest of this record was decidedly average. Take the song Boss Of Me. There are some good instrumentals, but it is let down by a very simplistic set of lyrics and repetitive chorus. What baffles me a bit is why this album is included in the first place. Yeah, I know the writers have a very obvious affinity for Bowie. He has the most albums on this countdown for a reason. They love him. We love him. That said, there were already 7 albums on this list from the original book, do we really need an 8th album from him which was this straightforward and inconsequential? I mean I understand why Blackstar was added as his 9th album. At least that record was very original and to hear Bowie effectively recreate himself that differently, especially so late in his career, was fascinating. I just wonder in the 2016 version of the book after hearing Blackstar if they didn't regret adding The Next Day, as it is inferior to all of his other albums on this list. 3 stars

I’ve found myself really liking the jazz records on this list, but this one didn’t really hit for me. It’s not awful, it’s just not special. Average album. 3 stars.

The Rolling Stones are hit or miss me, but I really enjoyed this album. I’ve always thought of them as a very straightforward rock ‘n’ roll band, and what I liked about this album was how different some of these songs were. Brown Sugar is a great track that everyone knows, but I like Wild Horses and Can’t Touch Hear Me Knocking better. This album showcases them at their bluesy best. Lots of great playing on this record. Loved it. 4 stars.

This album answers the question, what if jimmy Buffett did country guitar rock, but didn’t do it well. Mediocre at best. 2 stars. Not sure why this is here.

I don't necessarily think Van Halen was better with David Lee Roth than Sammy Hagar, as I much prefer Sammy as a singer and they had some great songs with him at the lead. But VH was definitely more raw with DLR at the front and this album threads the needle between raw and refined amazingly well. It is, no doubt, a good part of the reason why this is their best selling record. Let's start with the hits, as there are four absolute bangers on this album. Jump, I believe, is there only #1 (Hot 100) single ever. It is a fun song to listen to, but to me, Hot For Teacher and Panama blow that away, mainly because neither is as refined as Jump (or as pop oriented). They are really well constructed songs that have a pretty raw sound, and both have amazing guitar work from Eddie which alone makes them well worth the listen. I'll Wait is a bit closer in sound to Jump with less of that raw energy than Panama or HFT, and while it wasn't nearly the hit that Jump was, personally I like it much better. The lyrics/theming are superior. Beyond the four hits, there are a series of songs that are excellent in their own right, the best of which is Drop Dead Legs which is more of a throw back to some of their earlier style, again with some excellent guitar work from Eddie. All in all, this is a great, great album. Loved it. 5 stars.

It's been a year! Hard to believe I am 365 albums in, been a fun journey (mostly). This record was another good listen. Muse is a band I have never really sought out, even if what I have heard on the radio I have generally liked. This was the first time I listened to any of their albums front to back. And I have to say that this was a fun record. It wasn't the best of starts though, at least to my ear. Take a Bow just kind of dragged along for me, at least for the better part of the song. Starlight appears to be an attempt at an anthem type of song and it just didn't hit for me. After these two, though, the album picked up. Supermassive Black Hole, Map of the Problematique, Exo-Politics, City of Delusion, and Knights of Cydonia were all excellent tracks that I really liked. Even though they are a considerably different band, it felt like there were echoes of Queen in some of this. Not quite half of the album, but close. They have an interesting sound, well worth the listen. 4 stars.

The most interesting thing about this album was in the notes of it on Apple Music. These read, "Mick Jagger noticed similarities between this album and The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers and thought The Flamin' Groovies did a better job of merging rock-n-roll and pure blues." Well, since I just had the Sticky Fingers album less than a week ago, I'm here to tell you that one of these belongs on this list and the other one doesn't, and it isn't the Stones that we should be excluding. While the Stones album hits all the right notes and provides a series of classic tracks, this album left me thinking "why are we bothering listening to this." There was only one track on here that I found decent which was Whiskey Woman, and because of that, this is not an irredeemable collection. But it's close. Two stars, and that's being generous.

Simon & Garfunkel are rightfully considered one of the great duos of all time and it's easy to point to Simon's writing ability, which is undoubtedly great. But the way they harmonize has always been the highlight for me and many others. This is certainly true on this album. There are a ton of excellent songs on this. The title track is one of the great songs of all time, but it goes beyond just that timeless classic. Cecilia is great, as is The Boxer. Both really well written songs: one catchy, one more emotional. There's also El Condor Pasa, Baby Driver, The Only Living Boy In New York. Even Bye Bye Love is good on this album, even though it is not a Simon composition. So much to love and appreciate about this record. I know some will not like it because it feels dated, though I love it because it is timeless. A great album. 4 stars.

This album did not get off to a great start to me. Subterranean Homesick Blues is evidently one of the two songs people most on this album, but I just found it boring. The same playing throughout and Dylan just rambling on? No thanks. She Belongs To Me wasn't any better, too slow and aimless. And on and on it went. Fortunately, the back half of this album is much better than the front, starting with Bob Dylan's 115th Dream. It's as if he had room to breathe and do more interesting things on the longer tracks which dominated the latter part of this record. This was followed by Mr. Tambourine Man and Garden of Eden, which are the two best tracks on here. Things weren't quite as great with the last two songs, but at least there were some significant highlights to make this worth listening to.

Totally loved this album. Actually had the time to listen to it four times and with each listen it got better and better. There's a bit of Allman Brothers in there, and the flute had me thinking of Jethro Tull a bit as well. Back at the Farm was a great jam song. Street Joy almost the exact opposite of Back at the Farm but every bit as good, which speaks to the talent of the band. They aren't just a one trick pony. Drug was another great track, while Is and Is and Is was excellent as well. Burnished and River to Consider also made their way into my personal library. What was fascinating about this album was how diverse it was. Yeah, it had some throwback elements, but it had a very modern rock sound and the band delivered on each and every song. 5 stars. What a great find.

I expected a lot more from this album, but it was pretty inferior. Interestingly, I got this a day after I had another of their American rock contemporaries - the D album from White Denim (though I had never heard of them before). Both albums were reasonably early in their respective careers, but if you listen to James Petralli's voice on the White Denim record (btw, go try Street Joy or Is and Is and Is), it's really robust. Meanwhile, here, Caleb Followill's voice lacks just about anything you could want from a front man. I mean, he eventually gets there. If you listen to Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, or some others from a few years into Kings of Leon's career, Followill sounds great. He has a ton of energy and a lot of grit/rasp and emotion . . . all of which he completely lacks on this record. Yeah, the band is decent (though interestingly, they too pale compared to White Denim), but it's not nearly enough to overcome the lack of anything in the vocals. It's not unlistenable, but it's close and, frankly, a strange choice for this series. They have much better work later on.

I started listening to this and really didn't think it was any good at the beginning. The first three songs were pretty bad and my instant thought was, "I've never heard of these guys and now I know why." Then Alright came on and I was like, "I've heard this song!" And it was almost like the album changed at that point from being terrible to having some value. The songs just got better. Not that it was ever amazing, but Alright, Lose It, Time, She's So Loose, and Lenny were all solid tracks. 3 stars.

I was driving around today listening to this album and I stopped at a drive thru to get something to eat. When I went to pick up my order, the worker said to me, "are you listening to the Penguin Cafe Orchestra?" I was stunned. I couldn't believe they knew who they were! How? Just then, the worker took off all of their clothes and put on a penguin mask … and I woke up in a cold sweat. In truth, if I went up to someone and said, "I'll give you 10,000 guesses to name the artist I am listening to right now and if you get it right, I will let you slam me in the ass with this largest dildo you can find," let's just say I'd feel very confident that I wouldn't have needed to stop off at the Diddy compound beforehand. With that, a quick look at a few albums released in 1976 not on this list: Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot Night Moves by Bob Seger Turnstiles by Billy Joel Agents of Fortune by Blue Oyster Cult Let's take first album on this list, which has one of the great songs of all time in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Let's presume the rest of the Summertime Dream album is crap. I mean just down in it awful. The worst shit has ever been shat. Like, you are sitting in the stall next to someone who is taking the wettest, most painstaking crap of their life. So bad they are loudly moaning and can't control it. Maybe even whimpering a bit. I mean, so foul and noisy that you exit your stall as quickly as possible, in fear of catching whatever the guy next to you has. So awful that you hold your breath as much as possible while washing your hands as hard and with as much soap as you can manage until you are ready to pass out. Finally making it out the door, with barely enough air to warn the dude ready to go in there to go to another floor to do what he needs to do. So hideous that the two of you decide to call for an ambulance and when the EMTs arrive, they walk in for about two seconds, turn around, come back out and say, "we're just going to let him die." What was my point again? Oh yeah, let's assume the rest of Lightfoot's album is that level of shit. I mean, take away his recording contract bad. Arrest him if he picks up a microphone ever again bad. Kick him out of Canada bad (and think about how nice Canadian's are). Even then, that album, with the Edmund Fitzgerald on it, would be better than this. Which begs the question, why is this here? Also, while I am at it, I get that some people love Brian Eno, but I just don't get it. Everything he touches is like the prep work for a colonoscopy. No substance but leaves you trying to get everything out of your system that you have just taken in. And that cover. "Yeah, I really am a penguin. I promise. That fur down there? It's just a minor thing I am seeing a doctor about. No big deal. Speaking of small things, you wanna get out of here and play with what's inside that hairy patch?" Somewhere, someone thought, "we need something that will catch people's eye and really bring them in, maybe we go with beastiality?" Don't do drugs kids, don't do drugs. I mean with all of that, there is no other possible rating. P.S. - The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and it Doesn't Matter was pretty cool. A bonus star. 2 stars.

This is a hard one for me. There were spots on this where I thought certain songs or even the whole album were going to be great. But it never quite lived up to what I was hoping. Portions of songs were very good, and just when I thought it might soar, it just didn't. There's elements in here that are similar to other artists I like such as Marc Cohn (especially All the Pictures On the Wall), John Hyatt, or Jack Johnson. I just didn't feel like it ever was as complete as I was hoping. Still, a solid effort and worth listening to.