193
Albums Rated
3.1
Average Rating
18%
Complete
896 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Electronica
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
20
5-Star Albums
10
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
|
5 | 1.9 | +3.1 |
|
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
|
5 | 2.32 | +2.68 |
|
Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
|
5 | 2.52 | +2.48 |
|
LP1
FKA twigs
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
|
5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
|
Fred Neil
Fred Neil
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
John Prine
John Prine
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
The Stooges
The Stooges
|
5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
|
The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
|
5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Arrival
ABBA
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
Achtung Baby
U2
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
The College Dropout
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
|
1 | 3.01 | -2.01 |
|
The Libertines
The Libertines
|
1 | 3 | -2 |
|
Sheet Music
10cc
|
1 | 2.96 | -1.96 |
|
Aha Shake Heartbreak
Kings of Leon
|
1 | 2.96 | -1.96 |
|
Stripped
Christina Aguilera
|
1 | 2.87 | -1.87 |
|
Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
|
2 | 3.82 | -1.82 |
5-Star Albums (20)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Black Keys
2/5
This is the sonic equivalent of that wood textured paneling people would put up in their basements instead of drywall. Like a veneer of a facsimile. I feel like the singer is doing an impression of something. I can't articulate why I hate it so much but I do.
2 likes
The Rolling Stones
5/5
This might have gotten rated higher because I was coming off of the prog nonsense of 10cc but it was refreshing to have something that just rocked the whole way through. I'm not well versed in this history of the Stones but being a British Invasion band means that by 1972 they should have been doing terrible concept albums or spending a million dollars in studio time over a snare sound. Instead they just rocked. I love Tumbling Dice
1 likes
John Prine
5/5
Doing the 1001 album generator has me questioning my listening conditions and how it will affect how I receive different albums. Like what kind of speakers, is it streaming vs physical media, am I in the car, etc. I put this on over my 3M worktunes while I push mowed my yard and wherever I was at mentally this album just demolished me. I love it.
1 likes
Nick Drake
4/5
I'm one of those people who learned about Nick Drake when Pink Moon was played on a commercial in the mid aughts. I'm guessing that album is on here too. This album is really great and it's interesting to hear the more diverse instrumentation but I think I just prefer the more solo guitar/piano songs. I wouldn't be opposed to Nick Drake having multiple entries on the 1001 list.
1 likes
The Libertines
1/5
Another in the pile of 1001 mediocre British turds Robert Dimery heard
1 likes
1-Star Albums (10)
All Ratings
The Clash
4/5
Janie Jones is one of my favorite british punk songs so coming out straight from the jump makes this album an easy listen. 1977 was an impactful time for music I can easily see why this is on the list
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Obviously going to occasionally just saying "C.R.E.A.M get the money" for the next 3 days now.
"Can It Be All So Simple" and "Da Mystery of Chessboxin' " stuck out on this listen
Jeff Buckley
3/5
Already recommended by a friend so I had given it a listen before.
I don't know what I'm talking about but I feel like this album has way more dynamic range than most things that get recorded at least in the contemporary days so listening to it with headphones makes it feel like there's something that was done really well to mix these songs. I don't really put these songs into any rotation but I appreciate it what for it is which is a singing-chops focused album.
"So Real" gets to my speed at like 2:20 for a brief time
"Corpus Christi Carol" completely stops the inertia and is the point I want to turn it off
Earth, Wind & Fire
2/5
First 3 tracks keep me in a groove. 'Shining Star' only suffers from the fact that it was used in so much media that I was bombarded by it as a kid. I would like to have heard it for the first time in 1975 because I'm sure it would have been in rotation a lot for me.
'All About Love' makes me want to listen to something else but I kind of like the meandering spoken word part
Honestly while this is well recorded and not bad at all it doesn't stand out as something that should be one of 1001 albums to hear before I die. As more music comes out this should probably fall off the bottom, no disrespect
OutKast
3/5
Standout tracks: Unhappy, Knowing
It might be because I just listened to the whole double album in one go but The Love Below was way less interesting than Speakerboxxx in general. Unsure if as an album/double album it would go on a "1001 to hear before you die"
U2
1/5
This doesn't stand out to me in any way.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
2/5
Had songs that remind me of childhood. I like 'Teach Your Children'
'Ohio' is hitting different in June of 2025
CSNY is something I can take in small doses but a while album of the vocal harmony thing gets tired
The Beach Boys
3/5
Brian Wilson just died yesterday, I love Help Me Rhonda. Most of the other songs don't really stand out as far as something someone 'HAS TO HEAR BEFORE THEY DIE'. The next few years of Beach Boys has some bangers so I'm not sure why to include this one. It's like the adolescent middle between Surfin USA and Pet Sounds
R.E.M.
2/5
My personal feeling is if I've heard one REM album I've heard what there is to hear. I'm guessing they have like 4 albums on this list since they've had a bunch of successful albums. There's nothing wrong with this album but almost 40 years later the impact of it is very diffuse
ABBA
1/5
I feel like this album was on here because Robert Dimery liked 'Dancing Queen'. There's nothing interesting to say about it
Christina Aguilera
1/5
This is challenging for me to get through. It is so very much a product of that very specific era. She's obviously a very good singer but it's all buried under pretty weakly produced tracks that just are bombarding my ears. The guitar solo on Fighter cannot have been a choice that Christina Aguilera made. I don't know enough about her to know if she ever actually did a 'Stripped' doen recording but that's the one I would rather hear
Radiohead
5/5
Its hard to overstate the impact this album had on my life.
Christina Aguilera
1/5
My rating reflects the purpose of the exercise which is to hear 1001 albums before I die. I already had to listen to 'Stripped' two days ago via the generator. She can sing very well. Great. I get it. Why did I have to hear literally 3 hours of it across 2 double albums before I died? This isn't any different to me than having to hear 3 hours of someone who is 'very good at saxophone' doing saxophone solos to uninspiring backing tracks
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
I don't know enough about the history of jazz to identify this as significant or not but it's an easy listen and I will probably come back to Jade Visions when I'm in a jazz mood
Living Colour
2/5
not significant
FKA twigs
5/5
I thought this was fantastic and I had never heard it.
David Bowie
3/5
I like his albums before and after this one a lot more but its Bowie
Richard Hawley
2/5
Kind of just feels like a trite throwback croooner stuff. Why not just put the obvious influences on the list
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
I only really know the hits but listening to this all of the way through I really enjoyed the drum machine featured on some of the tracks. Seems like a big deal for 1971. I googled and found out its and MRK-2 and it just had preset rhythms. It fits in really nice with these tracks, I especially like the songs that have the drum machine combined with a real drummer.
The Saints
3/5
Like all of the classics that came out of this era that fall under the 'punk' genre there's some samey-ness but the interesting parts are what they did differently than their contemporaries on the the other distant areas of the planet. Definitely a worthwhile listen and might occasionally make it into punk rotations. I'm biased because I love a lot of what was happening between ~1975 and ~1982.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Its Frank Sinatra
John Grant
2/5
Not for me though I did enjoy the lyrics about Sigourney Weaver fighting aliens and Winona Ryder in the vampire movie not getting the accent right
The Bees
3/5
Without reading the wikipedia Im going to say this band is comprised of jazz band kids that really liked Pet Sounds and Toots and the Maytals when they made this. It's easy to listen to but probably not going to be a repeat listen. It gives me a 'try hard eclectic' feeling
3/5
Victoria is a great song, a lot of the post-WWII England rock opera concept is kind of lost on me as an American listening in 2025
Emmylou Harris
3/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Hearing Bonnie Raitt from this era is hard to separate from my childhood memories. Some of the instruments in the recordings have a distinct late 80s early 90s sound that I associate with being kind of cheesy. Her voice is great and some of these songs could be great if they were arranged/recorded differently. Also I'm going to guess that Luck of The Draw is going to be on this list somewhere because after listening to Nick of Time I went to go listen to 'I Can't Make You Love Me' because I think that's probably her best song.
In an alternate version of the mid 90's she would have done a duet with Paul Westerberg and I would pretend that I don't like it but then listen to it all the time
Depeche Mode
4/5
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Pixies
5/5
Definitely belongs on this list, had a huge impact on my life. I don't listen to all of it all of the way through anymore but the tracks I still love: Tame, I Bleed, Gouge Away.
Neil Young
2/5
It kind of just came and went I was listening to it. I'm not that familiar with Neil Young's entire output but I don't think this particular album belongs on this list and the rating reflects that stance. It's not particularly bad sounding to me but it doesn't stand out.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
Worth being on a 1001 albums to hear before I die list, more accessible than Trout Mask Replica and has some songs that can work their way into normal rotation, there's only a few on here I would skip on a normal day.
Sebadoh
3/5
There's good little bits sprinkled in here and there, I've been meaning to go through Sebadoh's whole discography because 'Spoiled' from III is a powerful song. I think this would have resonated with me more when I was younger.
Paul Simon
2/5
I don't have much context on this album but I don't think it should be on this list.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Some great tracks on here its hard to believe it was 1972.
Doves
2/5
Competently created and executed but it just doesn't do anything for me personally. 2 stars to reflect that I just don't think that this belongs on a list of 1001 albums to hear before I die. I'm left the same as before I heard it.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
I'm glad this is on the list. I never gave LCD Soundsystem a fair shake and this album has some interesting parts. I had it in my head for no real reason that LCD Soundsystem was just some super accessible dance music or something but that was clearly a wrong take. I like 'blackscreen' the most I think
Prince
2/5
There's no real standout tracks on here. I also personally find something very bland about the drums on a lot of the tracks. I'm surprised by the general popularity of these Prince albums given some of the almost lethal cringe I get from the lyrics. I feel like there's always self prescribed music nerd waiting in the wings to tell me trivia about why Prince was a genius and they could be right but I don't enjoy listening to this.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Its interesting and I respect the big swing taken here. It does make sense as a whole album how things flow together but I don't think I'll be doing a lot of repeat listens. This is the kind of music for someone who will say "did you hear what they did there with the major 9th". For 1972 it just makes me want to go listen to Big Star
Morrissey
2/5
I just like the Smiths, anything after that just feels like more of Morrissey doing his same thing. It just had a time and place and it doesnt need however many solo albums after that
Love
3/5
'7 and 7 is' is great
I don't have the patience for filler jams like 'Revelation'
Kraftwerk
5/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Its okay not really for me
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Got some classics on here, the samples are great and the lyrics set Tribe apart from a lot of their contemporaries. I think Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are better
Dr. Dre
2/5
Timeless beats on here but listening in 2025 I don't have the patience for all of the adolescent diss track stuff that preoccupies the whole beginning of the album
Dolly Parton
2/5
Not sure why this needed to be on the list, each individual artist probably already have albums on it and when joined together for this album it doesn't have any real change on the outcome.
I liked Wildflowers which is just a straight up Dolly Parton song.
'Telling Me Lies' could potentially be better if it didn't have the mid-80s production.
I'm like ~40 albums into this list and one trend I've observed is there seems to be an emphasis on albums that have focus on vocals and specifically vocal harmonies. Personally that's not what I'm looking for all the time so maybe that's why I bristle when they seem to be overrepresented as albums I need to hear before I die.
Black Sabbath
4/5
I love 'Supernaut' and 'Snowblind' but listening to the album all the way through made sure I listened to 'Changes' and that's been stuck in my head for the past day. I'm not sure if that's a mellotron in the back but it was done really well. Some of these slower songs from albums in the mid to late 80's just suffered from how they were recorded and this is in obvious contrast showing how it should be done
The Black Keys
2/5
This is the sonic equivalent of that wood textured paneling people would put up in their basements instead of drywall. Like a veneer of a facsimile. I feel like the singer is doing an impression of something. I can't articulate why I hate it so much but I do.
Stan Getz
3/5
An easy listen, I dont know enough about samba or music history to know how important or groundbreaking it is
Portishead
3/5
I like that this one is on the list. It is certainly something distinct to listen to. I remember when 'Machine Gun' was going around on the music blogs so I was sort of familiar with that song from 2008. I don't know how often I will revisit these tracks
Black Sabbath
4/5
There's nothing I need to say this is a must listen
Green Day
2/5
I like Green Day, everything they put out in the 90's is quintessential for that era. From all accounts they are the realest dudes. On the same day I did this review I saw an old video of Billie Joe Armstrong in 1997 jump kicking someone that was bullying people at a concert and that is awesome. I personally just don't love or enjoy rock operas or concept albums. I lived through the era being described in American Idiot and I think if we weren't living in an even dumber era I could almost look back and think "phew yeah I remember those days". It applies just as much today but it doesn't make me want to bop along to a rock opera concept.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
This was pretty standard stuff for the mid 90s. I don't see a reason to have it on this list. I didn't enjoy it, just commit to singing or don't.
The Kinks
3/5
Some great songs on here, not sure if it needs to be on a list of 1001 albums to hear before I die. It's kind of a continuation of the british invasion sound
Sisters Of Mercy
2/5
I really wanted to like this, a drum machine and reverb is a winning combo for me usually but there just aren't any real standout tracks for me. I gave it another listen for this list and still wasn't grabbed by it.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
The music is okay but I get distracted by the lyrics that seem like very specific and personal recountings of things that happened. I don't know why that bothers me but it does
10cc
1/5
I dont have patience for this self indulgent horseshit
The Temptations
4/5
Can't go wrong with the Temptations
The Rolling Stones
5/5
This might have gotten rated higher because I was coming off of the prog nonsense of 10cc but it was refreshing to have something that just rocked the whole way through. I'm not well versed in this history of the Stones but being a British Invasion band means that by 1972 they should have been doing terrible concept albums or spending a million dollars in studio time over a snare sound. Instead they just rocked. I love Tumbling Dice
Sepultura
2/5
There probably is a chug chug album somewhere that I need to hear before I die but I don't know if it was this chug chug album. It felt so long
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Its got block rockin beats and great samples but sometimes the vocal samples are too much.
Kate Bush
4/5
Really stands on its own in that era of music, lots of interesting unconventional tracks
Kanye West
1/5
Nah fuck Kanye
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
It was an inoffensive listen, that was the determination my family made when we were making the drive to the grandparents house conveniently a half hour away. I think that it may have been notable in 1975 for the electronic nature of it but so many other synth heavy albums have come out in the past 50 years I don't know if this necessarily meets the criteria for 'must hear before I die'. Mort Garson's Music For Plants would come out the next year and I would put that on this list if it isn't already.
Fiona Apple
2/5
I like Newspaper that's about it. I don't know anything about Fiona Apple other than her big hits in the 90's when she was super young. This comes off as a self produced sort of journal which for me when it works, it really works. In this case I didn't really find much to grab on to. Elements with seemingly different recording fidelity sit weirdly in the mix sometimes. And improvised percussion has a sweet spot where a novel sound can make the song but if you're just gonna beat on an old suitcase with a zoom h4n or something when you can hire a drummer just hire the drummer
Queen
2/5
This one starts out pretty good as just a solid 70s rock album but then after Ogre Battle it starts to do all of the Queen stuff and loses me. So I'm going to remove a star for tricking me into thinking I had missed something about Queen for about 6 songs and then hitting me with all of the choir hooos and staccato stuff
Rush
3/5
I'd heard Tom Sawyer and Limelight and a few of the other songs on Moving Pictures before. I don't know someone couldn't if they have been alive during a time where classic rock radio was playing. Usually bands that have a focus on being technical and virtuosos are gonna get a thumbs down from me but Rush keeps it in the spirit of making the song what they want it to be. They are their own distinct thing and it's not always for me but I appreciate them.
CHVRCHES
3/5
I enjoyed this a good bit, it can start to get samey after awhile. Standout track for me was Lies. The Mother We Share was the one song I was familiar with before listening this time.
Portishead
3/5
There's some great songs on here and the concept just needed to happen. It is a product of it's time in some ways and I'm really glad it exists. I would have gone for 4 stars and it's kind of painful to admit that I just kind of got tired of it during this listen after I was almost to the end.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
If this only had the last two tracks I would give it 5 stars. Voodoo Chile Slight Return is one of the most rocking tracks ever recorded full stop
X-Ray Spex
4/5
I like anything from this era. I appreciate some of the differences between X-Ray Spex and other punk bands of the era like keeping the saxophone in there. It can be difficult here almost a half century later seeing that the world these bands were lashing out and rebelling against won out. I will reappraise in 2078
The Residents
3/5
This is one of those albums that gets labelled as a 'challenging listen'. I'm not sure people all mean the same thing when they say that. There are probably a lot of bands I love that would point to The Residents and say they were a huge influence. In 2025 when anyone anywhere can release endless volumes of self-indulgent 'I'm-A-Silly-Goose' recordings it doesn't really stand out. 'Hello Skinny' is at least worth a listen.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I think overall I still enjoy Exile on Mainstreet more but Street Fighting Man is just one of my favorite songs so bonus points for that. 'Sympathy For The Devil' suffers from the fact that it was used in so many things in the past half of a century and it drags on too long. Still a good listen, maybe in terms of music people should hear before they die it would be good to find the sources of inspiration in American blues music as there was some well executed borrowing here.
Black Sabbath
4/5
The Wizard is just such a great track. I think they got better in the next couple albums but this still rocks hard.
Parliament
5/5
When I want the funk it has to be the p-funk
George Michael
2/5
Not for me and I don't really see a place for it on this list
Nas
3/5
Good rhymes and beats but I've gotten a lot of mid 90s rap lately and it shows how there was almost a rap parallel to how every alternative band had to sound like Pearl Jam to succeed
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
This kind of juvenile hair music is a dime a dozen
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
Two stars for the toan. And zero stars for everything else. It borrows so heavily from American blues that it comes off as 'what if some white British guys did it instead?'. It's like when Phil Collins re-did 'You Can't Hurry Love' and just did it the exact same way but with just him singing. This list should point listeners to genre defining albums which would be whatever these guys ripped from.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
I found out about this album because of the story of the piano and the concept of creativity being bourne of constraint. I'm not a solo instrumental piano listener but this album changed me and I love that it exists. It is a perfect artifact of the moment. This is a required listen for sure.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I like the synthesizer components to the songs, interesting songcraft. Probably won't often go in circulation but I enjoyed it.
The Stooges
5/5
Just legendary theres nothing else to say
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
Not really needing to be on this list and not to my taste.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Just that guitar tone on Chain Of Fools gets 5 stars from me. And it's Aretha Franklin. This has got to be on the list.
Ray Charles
3/5
Good big band style stuff for the era but it all kind of sounds the same for me.
Paul Simon
2/5
There are so many strange production choices going on here I have to assume it is some sort of deliberate thing. I can't imagine mixing down those weak tinkly guitar or bass tracks and thinking "yep this is the one going on that people are going to hear". Another thing that I couldn't get past when listening is how many of they lyrics are stating who said something.
"He said"
"I said"
"You said"
"She said"
I know it's just a personal issue of mine that I can't stand song lyrics with "You said".
Michael Jackson
3/5
There was a time in my life where I was ignorant as to whether or not I was able to keep up with the force. This ignorance meant that I was unaware that the force had a lot of power to it. Thankfully Michael Jackson made me aware of the force and that it in fact had a lot of power to it and additionally it made him feel like 'HOO'.
The Libertines
1/5
Another in the pile of 1001 mediocre British turds Robert Dimery heard
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Kind a lot of the same thing but I did enjoy a few of them
The War On Drugs
3/5
Red Eyes is a great song, I appreciate this band for being what it is. This album is an easy listen but it didn't leave as large an impact as just seeing them do Red Eyes on KEXP
The Doors
4/5
Got some all time great songs on here, its the more straight forward 12 bar blues stuff that kind of detracts from it
Neneh Cherry
3/5
I love the beats on this album and it has some hooky refrains like on Buffalo Stance. I don't love all of the raps which drops it one star. I think this is worth hearing for a great collection of beats from this era
John Prine
5/5
Doing the 1001 album generator has me questioning my listening conditions and how it will affect how I receive different albums. Like what kind of speakers, is it streaming vs physical media, am I in the car, etc. I put this on over my 3M worktunes while I push mowed my yard and wherever I was at mentally this album just demolished me. I love it.
Kanye West
1/5
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
Getting an extra star for I guess historical significance. I didn't really have any patience this playthrough so everything just rubbed me the wrong way from the many kazoo fills to the accent/impression that Frank Zappa does I just think this one is overrated. I don't think there's some extra smart secret layer to it.
Air
3/5
Kind of just the 2 singles and then some other listenable but not super impactful tracks. It's a good background album after the first two tracks but I don't know if its worth having on the list
Laibach
3/5
Had never heard this before, I think it's worth knowing about. I have issues with it. I'm not a German speaker and so a few songs in I looked up the bands wikipedia page because the music sounded like idolizing 19th/20th authoritarian aesthetics over top of 80's industrial beats. I guess that was their shtick but the motivation was intended to be ambiguous or unimportant. There have been many 'edgy' bands that run up against the issue of whether or not the wrong type of people are going to 'not get it' and become their fans. I could see that being the case here, I don't really know.
Outside of all of that, it's not that great. I like the drums and if there was a version of the album that was just that it would be great. Some of the instrumentation has 1987 cheese oozing off of it and the latter half of the album has some sampling/looping sins that are just irritating. So like taking a second whiff of a weird smell, I guess this warrants three stars for being at least worth hearing once.
George Harrison
4/5
The version I listened to (2014 remaster ob spotify) had too many instrumental jam b sides I dont know what the original track listing is. George Harrison was great. 5 star toan. Wrote great songs.
Soul II Soul
4/5
Not to give away too much about my demographic but I grew up loving Streets of Rage for Sega Genesis and my mom was a step aerobics instructor in the early 90s. This music was part of my DNA before I was even able to know the artists and titles.
Jethro Tull
2/5
I don't like Aqualung the song so I've never listened to the whole album. In my ignorance Jethro Tull seemed to me like a token band boomers would cite to indicate they were real music heads. Now I have listened to it in its entirety and I can say with confidence I don't like it.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
I didn't listen to this under the best circumstances just trying to get through during the workday. It didn't stand out as much to me as I would have thought. I will have to try it again another time
Laura Nyro
2/5
I did not enjoy this at all. Hearing it over spotify in my car was probably terrible listening conditions but I just don't care for her vocals.
Michael Jackson
4/5
This album is strange to me because it has just straight up classics mixed in with just some real turds. The one wil Paul McCartney just sucks. I honestly want to drop a star just for that one.
The Who
4/5
Definitely worth a listen for maybe the historical significance of British Invasion music. The opening riff to 'Out In The Street' is my favorite part of the whole thing, a great opening to an album. The cover of 'I Don't Mind' makes me hope that James Brown is at least somewhere on this list. I'm a little over 100 albums in and haven't gotten one yet. Also the last track is kind of just an instrumental 12 bar blues thing which kind of detracts. So many of the albums of this era seemed to pad out the length with things like that.
Elton John
3/5
It's okay, it's not my favorite but I don't hate it. When I found out Benny and the Jets was not live but was engineered to sound like that, I thought less of it for some reason. Maybe its the added in cheers? I like the way they did drums in this era.
The Undertones
3/5
This doesn't really stand out to me. By this point there was the Clash, Buzzcocks, The Jam etc. This didn't tread on any real new ground. The songs arent abysmal but I probably won't put these songs in any playlists
The Police
4/5
Really at a loss for words on this one. It is all over the place. I had heard several of these songs on the radio or in one-off contexts. That almost dilutes them down a little bit. This was the first time I put it on for a full listen in order. It's just completely insane the transitions from a song just THINKIN' ABOUT DINOSAURS to a song from the perspective of someone tortured by the fact that he feels every woman he dates becomes his mother. There's like an inflection point at Synchronicity II where the insanity calms down a little bit and then like every song after that is a well known hit.
I'm not a huge Police fan, listening to this didn't really change my mind and I had heard probably 60% of the songs in different contexts but I will definitely be recommending people put this on end-to-end at least once.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I had bought this on CD in high school around when it came out and would listen to it occasionally. I hadn't really listened to it since then. It has some decent tracks but the one I enjoyed the most this listen was "It's Summertime". It would be interesting to hear it reinterpreted as a more straightforward song without Flaming Lips typical electronic flourishes because I think it stands on it's own as a song, there's probably a cover or version somewhere.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
This is a pretty solid and cohesive recording. I enjoy this version of Hard Times but it doesn't quite hit as good as when Baby Huey did it. This is one that could go between 3 and 4 stars for me personally. I don't have any real nits about it but I will have to put it on a few more times.
Mercury Rev
2/5
I really did not like this. It felt like the whole thing was the initial part of a rock opera or concept album and then it would just stay there. The singers voice was grating which normally I can move past if everything else is enjoyable. I don't see a place for this on the list
Elis Regina
3/5
It was listenable but it just passed right on by me and I barely remember it from yesterday. I feel like it musically it was similar to what would have been the contemporary American music of the time. I had to read the wiki page for Elis Regina because I didn't know her music but I think I would have rather heard more bossa nova or samba music.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Almost 4 stars but the last track drags on a little too long. Walk on By is a classic though and I would say at least listen once.
3/5
I like Horses in My Dreams and Beautiful Feeling because I'm kind of sucker for that kind of guitar. In general I'm not the biggest fan of PJ Harvey's music and I'm glad this exercise forced me to at least listen all the way through once.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
I think Religion I, Public Image and Low Life are worth hearing at least once. I'm removing a star for Fodderstomph since the lyrics admit that it's a zero effort waste of time and I'm trying to find music worth hearing before I die.
The Cure
3/5
A Forest is just a bop, I had it on a greatest hits album when I was a teenager so I'll always enjoy that. It doesn't really have too many other standout tracks on there but as a whole album it is ok. Maybe that is the issue I'm having in some of these albums, that I had the greatest hits spanning multiple decades and so I don't maybe have the patience to actively listen to the full albums. I will listen a few more times but I am ambivalent about the rating.
Beatles
3/5
There's a few decent Beatles tracks on here. I think I enjoyed 'You Won't See Me' the most on this listen. 'In My Life' is a top tier Beatles song as well. I'm not totally sure I would put this in my top 3 Beatles albums and I don't know how many slots they should occupy on a list capped at 1001.
Yes
3/5
Three stars for being not outrageously obnoxious like a good bit of the 70's prog on here. It doesn't grab me as particularly remarkable, it's just on here because of Roundabout. The cover is cool.
Einstürzende Neubauten
5/5
My reason for giving this five stars is I'm glad I listened to Einstruzende Neubauten before I die which is the objective of this list. They forged a path for dozens of artists that I love and I think what they did was important for music.
My only real personal gripes relate to either the recording quality or mastering I'm not really sure. I listened with lower-end headphones just streaming on spotify but I'm not sure the problem lied there. I wish it had been captured at a higher fidelity at the time.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Bad Brains
4/5
I loved Banned in DC and I hope it's on this list. This is a bit of a backslide from there
Frank Ocean
3/5
I had never listened to Frank Ocean before. There's a broader genre bucket this falls under that is not really the kind of music I like or listen to and I just put it off for a long time. But the way this is produced and all of the choices made were actually really fun and interesting for me. Things like the kind of hypnagogic/nostalgic lofi recording of the playstation turning on or the almost Swans like sample loop in Pink Matter. Frank Ocean didn't make the whole thing strange and gimmicky which probably made this all the more successful but those are the parts I liked the most and I respect that they are there.
Also I liked Earl Sweatshirts lines in Super Rich Kids I wish there had been more like that.
Deep Purple
3/5
Pretty solid rocking, I'm not sure how many early 70s heavy rockers everyone needs to hear before they die but maybe this one can stay on the list. There were no real stand out tracks for me personally.
Faith No More
2/5
I don't understand Faith No More, the recordings always sound like I'm hearing it through somone elses speakers as theyre walking by. The guitar tone is bad and it's like they want they keyboard to be as loud as the drums. I don't know anything about recording but they should have fired their engineer and producer
The Only Ones
3/5
I should really like this. I love Television and the Replacements and acts that are soincally tangiential to this but there just aren't any standout tracks and the vocals were just utterly grating to me.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I had never heard of this artist before now, I put it on my normal headphones streaming from Spotify and I think it is a good album. I personally don't know if it qualifies for hearing before I die. I didn't really hear any tracks that just grabbed me outright. I give it 4 stars because it is a competently made and cohesive full album that was an easy listen even with an almost hour run length. I usually end up doing 3 stars for albums that meet all of these qualities but there's something about the quality of this one that I think puts it slightly above.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
I resisted listening to this for some bad reason I don't remember. The first three tracks are great. John Wayne Gacy Jr loses me and then the rest just feels a little too simultaneously earnest and gentle but in a way that feels saccharine to me. I like the recording quality and instrumentation and how it is cohesive without being strictly a concept album.
Common
3/5
I listened to this split between my bad car stereo and then my headphones for the later tracks. The tracks are all pretty listenable there isn't anything that is just difficult to get through. I don't think it treads on any new ground as far as hip hop it's just a competent production of the hip hop of the time.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
It's a good album but it's not going to be in my rotation. Mistra Know It All is my probably my favorite and Higher Ground is a classic.
Sister Sledge
4/5
This album is pretty great. It just grooves all of the way through and it has probably been sampled countless times. Obviously 'We Are Family' gets played endlessly but there are other great songs on here I have never heard that are just as good if not better.
Method Man
4/5
I liked this. I don't really have any insight other than there have been several hip hop albums from this era on this list. Wu Tang and Wu Tang adjacent stuff has been consistently good.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I feel like the music that inspired LCD Soundsystem is all my favorite stuff but when it is synthesized this way it leaves something to be desired. I don't know what it is that doesn't land for me.
Nick Drake
4/5
I'm one of those people who learned about Nick Drake when Pink Moon was played on a commercial in the mid aughts. I'm guessing that album is on here too. This album is really great and it's interesting to hear the more diverse instrumentation but I think I just prefer the more solo guitar/piano songs. I wouldn't be opposed to Nick Drake having multiple entries on the 1001 list.
Patti Smith
4/5
I think this belongs on the list, I think Patti Smith was influential for a lot of other groups that came after. I didn't have the patience for it when I was younger. I listened to it again and found things to enjoy about it. I probably won't listen to it end-to-end often but I enjoy the Gloria-based track the most.
Brian Eno
5/5
Important for me personally and I would argue important for music history. An interesting story, a unique perspective and a wonderful artifact.
The Young Gods
5/5
I had never listened to this before and I'm really glad I did. There are some elements in common with Godflesh that I really enjoy but it is entirely it's own. I really enjoyed it and it should be on this list.
Björk
5/5
Timeless classic with a great opening track. I usually just skip to the tracks I like the most like Big Time Sensuality but I think it is also a cohesive album worth hearing for anyone and so I'm giving 5 stars.
Raekwon
4/5
Robert Dimery really liked Wu Tang, that's what I'm getting from this list. This is a good album I always enjoy the kind of off kilter samples all of the Wu Tang members used. The interlude conversation skits went on too long and some of the lyrics are a little juvenile but it is what it is.
Elliott Smith
5/5
This is a biased 5 star but I love Elliott Smith. I'm more of a fan of the more sparse instrumentation of the albums that precede this one but I particularly enjoy 'Stupidity Tries' and 'Easy Way Out'.
The Pharcyde
2/5
I'm breaking my own rules for the generator which is that I have to listen to the whole album end to end with no skips. I'm only 1/10th of the way through at this point and I've had to listen to so much hiphop from the early 90s already. I'm not saying there can only be some set amount of any genre but if the list is going to be curated over time there are so many albums on here with so much homophobic and misogynist content over dime-a-dozen beats. I'm not the values arbiter or tone police but I don't have the time or patience for it. TL:DR its mid for the era
Harry Nilsson
3/5
This is okay, I really don't understand the Harry Nilsson hype. 'The Point' concept album started autoplaying after and I actually enjoyed that more than this.
Kings of Leon
1/5
The only thing that sucks more than the way this was mixed was the singer of this band. Taking terrible lyrics and taking them to the absolute extremes of grating. I couldn't wait for this to end.
Nina Simone
4/5
I'm guessing there will be other Nina Simone on the list. I think it is important that she be on here but I don't know enough to say what albums. This one was alright it's got a bunch of staple covers on it which are probably less important than Old Jim Crow and Mississipi Goddam
Pulp
2/5
This might have gotten the British boost from Robert Dimery. I did not enjoy listening to this. It has some single worthy stuff on here but nothing really stood out musically. The singers kind of pervert perspective as far as lyrics and delivery were so offputting to me. I wasn't sure if it was tongue in cheek or earnest and honestly I don't really care as the listener I just hated it regardless.
LTJ Bukem
5/5
I love LTJ Bukem. I listened to this album as individual tracks and both continuous mixes with and without vocals. I am biased by nostalgia for this time but I see younger kids enjoying this music even without the nostalgic context and I think it's an important listen.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
I think this is probably pretty essential listening. It is the foundations of so much music that came after. It still holds up pretty well as a listen
Tori Amos
3/5
I never really listened to Tori Amos in the 90s or 00s so listening to these albums fresh they just kind of pass by. There aren't really any standout tracks for me. It isn't offensively bad or terribly produced or anything I just cant connect with it.
R.E.M.
2/5
Yeah this is really a stinker. I don't enjoy it at all and I don't think it needs to be on a list of music to hear before one dies.
Lou Reed
3/5
There's a few pockets of great music in here but they are few and far between. I like Velvet Underground but this was not really for me. 3 stars for that bass in Walk On The Wild Side, the last minute of Perfect Day and the guitar toan on I'm So Free
Adam & The Ants
3/5
I'm ambivalent about this. It's probably essential 80's new wave but this listen just didn't grab me that much. I feel in this case that listening in another context might leave a greater impact.
Foo Fighters
4/5
This is a great album and I remember fondly the time the singles were on the radio and they were a breath of fresh air for that time. I don't have anything novel or interesting to say about this album and I think it's trite to constantly call things underrated but 'Alone + Easy Target' and 'Good Grief' are incredible songs that weren't on the radio at the time. 'Alone + Easy Target' could almost be a Nirvana song and I don't mean that in a negative way, it would have been awesome to have a separate Albini/In Utero version of it kind of like how New Order had an Ian Curtis/Joy Division 'Ceremony'. Not that it could have happened but I can hear how great it would sound in my head. Good Grief also just defied the era it was coming out in and it did it in the best way. It's just a driving track and I love that kind of stuff.
The xx
3/5
There's brief moments in this album that the overall vibe is working for me but then I usually have some nit that takes me out of it. It's usually related to the vocals. There's some kind of like clumsy attempt at a specific vocal affect that comes off inauthentic to me. Some of the melodies kind of circle around a specific sound that almost sounds like someone not realizing they want to recreate the feeling they get when they hear Chris Isaac's Wicked Game
Elton John
3/5
Classic rock radio stations drilled the first two tracks into my head for the first half of my life and maybe that gave me a bit of an allergic reaction to the rest. It's just kind of a specific sound and you're either on board for it at that moment or you're not. I wasn't having any fun until around 'Holiday Inn' and 'Rotten Peaches'.
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
It's alright but 2 notes:
In 'Kick Push' he mentions he is 'married to aerials and varials' while the rest of the song implies mostly a street skating context. Some people shorten 'varial kickflip' to 'varial' but Lupe ALSO mentioned aerials. The original 'varial' was a front side air that was early grabbed roastbeef and then the board was turned 180 by the grabbing hand. Because Lupe Fiasco mentioned 'aerials' prior I like to think he was skating vert or doing OG vert tricks in the street.
Then also, seriously a 12 minute outro that's just all the shoutouts? In some ways I respect that he makes sure everyone is included but like have more stuff going on musically it just loops over and over.
Beatles
4/5
Given an extra star for just the nostalgia of listening to these earlier Beatles albums with my parents as a kid. Listening now 30 years later it's less enjoyable to listen to these earlier albums knowing about the later albums and also just how much else was going on at the time in music.
Ride
4/5
I enjoy it, I had 'Vapour Trails' on a shoegaze playlist but other than that there aren't tracks that stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. It's pretty consistent throughout and fairly suitable for background listening.
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Kind of just competent 50's rock revival but I don't understand it's place on the list.
Soundgarden
4/5
It's alright it is a product of its era.
Carpenters
3/5
I wish I could rate this higher. This isnt a unique sentiment but I love Karen Carpenters voice and she deserved the best songs and arrangements. I don't love the music as much.
Ian Dury
2/5
It gets better towards the end with tracks like 'Blockheads' but I was really not enjoying the first few tracks except for 'My Old Man'.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
This is, I think the third Joni Mitchell album I've gotten in the generator and I'm at less than 200 albums so far. For the most part these albums don't diverge too much from each other and I wasn't in a great headspace to listen to it. That being said, this album feels like it goes nowhere. I was barely perceiving when one song ended and another started. Joni Mitchell seems to write lyrics like she's going to do some spoken word but then at the last minute decides to sing it. It's just a flurry of probably personal and unrelatable statements. Not that that is an invalid approach but it doesn't resonate with me
James Brown
3/5
I like the studio recorded stuff more because there was definitely something of a visual spectacle to see The Hardest Working Man in Show Business that is missing here
Donald Fagen
1/5
When I'm criticizing music I try to keep it based on my subjective taste such as "I didn't care for that" versus "it sucks". Donald Fagen had access to some of the most talented musicians and recording technology of the time for his work on Steely Dan and I assume he did here as well. How he manages to generate a work that can illicit absolutely no feeling in me at all is astounding. This album goes by like a long semi-loose shit. Donald Fagen and Steely Dan are music for philosophical zombies. To reiterate, I cannot put into words how much this absolutely sucks shit.
Travis
3/5
Obligatory statement that this is very much one of the 600 or so albums that are on this list due to being released in the UK between 1995 and 2015 because Robert Dimery.
I'm hearing the first track and I think to myself "They took just the first 3/4ths of Wonderwall here and then the audacity for the lyrics to say "what is a wonderwall anyway?".
Then I hear the track 'As You Are' and am thinking about how this came out only two years after OK Computer. Come on now.
Maybe it's a personal hangup that I expect bands on the list to occupy their own discrete space, like expectation that there is no redundancy since the real estate of 1001 is so limited.
This album is very competently constructed and engineered but it just gives off vibes of 'We Have Radiohead At Home'
Deep Purple
3/5
Yep, that's Deep Purple alright. It's fine but I had already gotten their album before this one on the the list. Do we need two? They are kind of the same thing. Is there really nothing out there that didn't get added to the list because we needed 2 Deep Purple or like 500 Donald Fagen albums?
Fred Neil
5/5
I had never heard this before and I loved it. I am now a Fred Neil fan and honestly I prefer his original version of Everbody's Talkin'.
Mike Ladd
4/5
I had never heard this before. I actually enjoyed it a good bit. The lyrics to the Animist about listening to 'bootlegs of the Fall' was making me laugh it was all very unexpected. It was refreshing to hear rhymes that didn't revolve around the same 3 subjects and the beats were alright
Sheryl Crow
2/5
Imagine being Bonnie Rait in 1993, she's been working for like 20 years and then she hits gold with 90's divorced moms and then this young whippersnap comes out of nowhere with 'Strong Enough'.
I don't know how I feel about Sheryl Crow, I don't know if I needed to hear her music before I died. I just happened to hear it because of the years that I lived.
The lyrics on the 'na na song' were pretty good in the microgenre of "songs where people just unleash a flurry of topical stuff that rhymes". I'm somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
This was an easy listen but it didn't stand out to me and I don't think I would put it on the list
Jacques Brel
3/5
It was nice to get something that wasn't distinctly American or UK music though as non-French speaking American I couldn't understand any of the lyrics. I feel unqualified to speak to the significance of this. In my personal life I have connected more with Francoise Hardy and Edith Piaf which hopefully have some entries on this list.
Boards of Canada
5/5
I'm giving this 5 stars for Olson. I would otherwise probably put it at 4 stars. Boards of Canada have some certified classics and this as a cohesive album is pretty solid though there are some samples I get tired of.
U2
2/5
I just absolutely cannot connect with this band. I don't have any explicit reason why. When I was younger they were kind of in there later stages where 'The Edge' was doing infinitely looping tinkle-riffs that would often be used for software conference plenaries or product launches. Steve Jobs forcing everyone to have a copy of 'Songs Of Innocence".
I'm not looking for ammunition to be a hater, I'm doing the opposite when I go through this list. I try to listen with ears focused just on what is intrinsically there and none of the other context and I just don't like this. There are times when it almost seems like it's approaching The Cure but in an off-putting way. I've already had to listen to Joshua Tree or some other album on this list. I hope this is the last one for the love of all that is good.
The Smiths
2/5
I've been inconsisent between 2 and 3 stars but my rationale for 2 here is:
-There are probably other Smiths albums on this list that are better.
-Morrissey is a wanker
The Verve
2/5
It's got that one song on it and the rest is just pretty forgettable 90's Oasis-adjacent songs that are apparently catnip for Robert Dimery
Eminem
2/5
Fatboy Slim
2/5
I dodnt expect to hate this so much. The samples are utterly grating
Wilco
4/5
I wasn't able to hear this under the best conditions, I had a bose bluetooth speaker playing while trying to wrangle my young kids. It may have been 5 stars but I wont be able to go back and change it later. Regardless from what I could hear I really enjoyed and think this is worth being on the list. It plays to my predilections for kind of melancholy rock with noisy interludes
Gorillaz
3/5
This has a couple okay singles on it that got plenty of airplay at the time. I remember hearing 1999-2000 in Project Gotham Racing and that was the first I had heard of the Gorillaz. Clint Eastwood is fine. Otherwise not really worth hearing and I would not put it on this list.
Adele
3/5
The tracks from this album are so overplayed in so many venues and media that I have almost an allergic reaction to hearing them. This album was so successful in it's time the entire planet probably has heard at least 4 of the songs on it. I don't personally think that qualifies for being on the 1001 list but it's probably just my bias. Of all of the tracks I really like 'Rumour Has it' the most because it is the only song that seems to really dare to get a little strange. The hook in 'Rolling In The Deep' is good too with the kind of BeeGees backup singing. I cringe a little at the unmuffled bass drum stomp clap because it veers into the 'stomp,clap,hey' genre of that era.
I don't think I'm an Adele hater. She's a real talent and I think her Skyfall theme is one of the best Bond themes, up there with the Shirley Bassey ones.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
Never had heard this before. I like the concept. It was certainly interesting to hear it in 2025 more than 30 years later and none of the issues in the lyrics seem to have really changed for the better. Between that and Gil Scott Heron I don't know if the cliches of history rhyming give any comfort in the modern time.
Also it was very 2025 that when I went to listen on spotify 5 of the songs were greyed out and unplayable. So I went over to youtube and the same 5 songs were missing. My guess is uncleared samples but I didn't have any obvious way of finding out. Now I have to put actual effort into make sure I hear them
Elastica
3/5
Was it British? Check
Did it come out between 1985-2010? Check
Then Robert Dimery thinks you must absolutely hear it before you die.
At this point how many albums would have to be removed to have the list be called "1001 British Albums that came out in a 30 year stretch that I liked"
This was a band with a hit single and then when I listened to the rest of the album it didn't stand above anything else coming out in that time. It's not bad but it's not really something that should be on the list
Talking Heads
5/5
As someone who has felt like an alien in disguise during every social interaction, the Talking Heads is the music of my people. Especially the last few tracks on this album.
Duke Ellington
3/5
I just can't actively listen to this kind of big band jazz or whatever it is. It just all sounds the same to me and just endless. They could be the best jazz musicians of all time and I don't feel anything at all. It could be a personal shortcoming and that's fine I'll own it.
Neil Young
4/5
I bought this album when Sonic Youth was on tour with Neil Young and I was familiar with the radio hits that came off of it. I think there are some songs on here. I think his voice sometimes may almost be a disservice to the well crafted songs but their his songs to do how he wants. I'd love to hear some covers of Harvest and Out On The Weekend
Pretenders
4/5
I was kind of stuck between 3 and 4 stars on this one. There's some good stuff in here but nothing really sent it over into 'frequent rotation' territory. It might have been my crappy car stereo as well as that it was some 'deluxe edition remaster etc' but Chrissy Hynde's was a little too forward in the mix and it was kind of at odds with some pretty straight forward late 70's punk-adjacent instrumentation. When I got through the actual album and then was hearing some of the demo versions of the songs I honestly liked the rough mixes better. It made them sound like a band playing and not a voice hovering above a song.
When I was a kid I thought Brass-In-Pocket was cheesy but now I secretly look forward to hearing it
The Stone Roses
3/5
While this gets the 'British thing that came out in the 90's' boost from Robert Dimery it does in fact kind of stand on its own in a way that the mountain of other albums on this list don't. It wasn't really life changing for me at this exact moment to hear it but I'm not entirely against it being on the list
SAULT
2/5
Maybe its because a few albums before this I got Disposable heroes of Hiphoprisy but these songs all felt like almost a pandering lip service to the issues in comparison and then the beats underneath are pretty run of the mill. I really am confused by this relatively modern addition. Maybe the motivation is that any wordsmithing that conveys a depth of information about the issues is just wasted when slogan-like hooks are more effective? Like some kind of distillation? Or maybe it veers more into a celebration vs just justifiable outrage? Full disclosure I'm not really a qualified demographic to really assess any of this, I'd like to hear a more informed take. I think as far as more contemporary music in this vein I better see L'Rain's 'I Killed Your Dog' on this list.
Steve Earle
3/5
To me this kind of just falls into a bit of the like Dwight Yokam, Tom Petty, maybe a little bit of Cougar Melloncamp type feel. I don't know how to differentiate what of the 80's country adjacent music is worth knowing about or legitimate. But I will say that the album carries along pretty well and it finishes with a pretty great live cover of Springsteen's State Trooper.
Sex Pistols
4/5
I would put this on a list of music to hear before one dies even if in 2025 some of the impact is a little blunted. I think just the attitude that younger people have about music is kind of reasonable that after 50 years of people being exposed to what was considered "edgy", "transgressive" or "the decline of western civilization" it just doesn't really yield whatever effect the pearl clutchers were worried about at the time. The schtick got taken to it's logical conclusion with GG Allin and Hanatarash and anything less is just songs to be a little snot which always has some space in my rotation.
Frank Zappa
2/5
At least it doesn't have much Frank Zappa talking or singing. I'm not a very technical music appreciator so maybe there's a deeper layer to enjoy but this comes off as just a band in a really narrow groove pocket for 40 minutes. I guess with Zappa there's really just no pleasing me because at least this doesn't have kazoos or the default Zappa note flurries. But then this album doesn't do anything strange or forward-looking at all and then just kind of sounds like a bunch of other stuff happening at the time and it wears out its welcome especially in 'The Gumbo Variations'. Once we get to 'It Must Be A Camel' it has at least some interesting parts but that's all the way at the end.
I'm not a Zappa hater, I think Apostrophe needs to be heard by everyone. Inca Roads with Ruth Underwood is fantastic. Muffin Man at the Palladium Halloween '77 needs to be heard by everyone and I will forever advocate for that.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I'm ambivalent about this album. This is my first time hearing it. It starts off with some funk influence but there's something overblown about the production combined with the lyrics falling back on the old rap tropes that wasn't doing it for me. One thing I r
The Modern Lovers
4/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
I think Muddy Waters should be on the list. Electric blues is essential listening. There is a good amount of variation in each of the songs as well so it doesn't get too samey. My young kids were on board even for the first two tracks before they wanted me to play something else which is as great of praise as I could try to turn into words here.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
I liked the reference to Sister Nancy's 'Bam Bam' and then not to long after Wu Tang's 'Can it All Be So Simple' (or maybe it was a reference to the original that was sampled I don't really know).
This is well made and I have no doubt it is an important record in these genres of music, I have to admit I just don't really know much about it. I have an aversion to 90's R&B if ever a chime is used and there are a couple moments like that on here but then there's also plenty of moments I found more listenable. I'm not going to put it in my rotation but I think I can say I'm glad I tried it out.