Amazing I haven’t listened to this through with any concentration, ever. Blur-ey.

Smithsy. Very sameish. Thin production. Cult stole the bass for SDC and Dreamtime. Nothing to come back for. The cow sounds are annoying and so heavy handed.

So Beatley in parts. Did George provide the foundation for some of the Beatles' most swelling beds and choruses or did he learn this from being a Beatle? Overall, as I thought it would be. Some decent tunes but way to many that are uninteresting. A big old vomit of songs written over the years. I didn't find the magic. But better for trying.

How have I never heard of this. Funky AF for the first three then drops down to traditional Motown. Good anyhow.

This is where U2 got really interesting again. I bought it one of the first weeks I lived in Spain and it scared me. I thought they had sold out when really, I had no idea what that meant. I sold the record to a friend the next day. But I kept hearing "The Fly" though shop windows and it always entranced me. When I got to college, it was everywhere. I told people I was a fan of their "old stuff". Then, a couple of albums later, I bought Pop and went back and made up for lost time with this and Zooropa. I felt like a fool and, it was good to learn that I was. From then on, I never discarded another album after the first listen or bought into the sellout trope. Achtung Baby changed my mind, my life and my record collection - forever.

Good album. Solid outing. Missed it the first time ‘round.

Sorta sounds like the cover. I have a feeling this wasn't intended for 51-year-old retired dudes. Not terribly offensive but mildly annoying.

A juggernaut of an album. That unrelenting groove you hear? That's the sweet sound of the wheels falling off the best era of the band. They would reach pop success after, but this is their pinnacle for me.

It’s Kraftwerk. Reminds me of life in Germany.

Seriously? Today? A masterpiece.

I must have seen this 1,000 times. Each time, it got harder to believe I hadn't listened to it. Then, when it showed up here, I initially skipped it and circled back. Listening to it now, I hear how it influenced some of the lesser bands that I like and how it was influenced by some of the greater bands that I like. But I come away not thinking I missed a ton. It's got a self-important 90's vibe that I might have been into in the time. But listening to it now, it sounds too clever for its own good. It sounds like a big album from a guy that started playing in a cafe in the East Village. And it is. I might give it another listen. But I might not.

Where it all started. A flawless debut.

A fun foray into Cuban jazz. I played this at countless dinner parties back in the day. In fact, I got tired of it. Still, a great album from an era locked in time.

As a white kid from Nebraska listening to U2‘s, The Joshua Tree for the 858th time, this one passed me by when it was first out. That said, pieces of this music did not. The sounds you hear, as well as a certain cadence of rap, seeped into the musical culture. However, this was the first time I’ve listened to this album straight through and I must say it’s pretty damn enjoyable. Even for this white kid from Nebraska. But did everything in this genre derive from this or did this derive from everything? It's an honest question that I hope I'll discover on this journey.

Oh, geez. This often sits atop my list of favorite Velvets albums. The softer side of Lou Reed. Probably their best period.

I read about these guys a lot during the time this album came out. They were sort of in the orbit of some of the other bands that I listened to. But listening to it now, it just sounds like pretty frantic, coked-out music from some Brits. Maybe I would’ve liked it in another life but today, it just kind of grates.