UM HOLY SHIT??? HE JUST DIED??? this isn't some kind of site-wide memorial thing where everyone gets specifically this album today right??? (edit: I think it was lmfao) anyway I love the beach boys, even if this is only one of them it still has the same youthful vibes and surf/beach lyrics that remind me of my childhood. however it's also a lot proggier, with many songs having distinct parts similar to "good vibrations" (which is also on this album). it's nothing mind-blowing but it is a really nice, rewarding listen. also shout-out to brian (rip) for still having such a good voice at 62. favorite song: "good vibrations" obviously. overall: 8/10

first album i've ever done - I knew of both the artist and album going into it but didn't know that much about them overall. I can say that the first track on the album, let england shake, is something that I swear i've heard somewhere before. this is a strange album to get for the very first listen. it's one of the most british things I think i've ever heard. it's not trying to be mainstream in any way and is oppressively dour and depressing throughout it. that's not a bad thing though - she's very clearly trying to say something, the album has very obvious themes of war and loss of hope in your country. as an american in 2025, that is definitely a familiar feeling. it excellently portrays the themes and the songwriting is incredible, some absolutely heart-wrenching lyrics in this album. this isn't a very summery album - probably more fitting for 8 am on some rainy ass day in march, especially if i'm feeling depressed that day. kinda glad I listened to this late at night tbh. favorite song: "the last living rose" 8/10 (but I definitely know some people who would give this 10/10)

another artist/band I generally know of but don't know that much about. seeing "10 songs - 1 hour 11 minutes" scared me but the thing about post-rock is that you can kind of just tune it out and have it as nice background noise. great music to fall asleep or study to. I don't speak icelandic so I wasn't really able to get anything out of the lyrics though, and it didn't really grab my attention enough to be much more than some nice background noise - even if it does sound really pretty at times. favorite song - staralfur (that melody is really pretty) overall - 6/10

first album I actually know some songs from. I can never remember which creedence song is from which album but looking at the tracklist I was like "oh, holy shit, this has some absolute classics". this is the sort of album in which, despite never listening to it fully before, I already had 8/11 of the songs downloaded from various playlists. coming off of a sigur ros album the 7 minute opening track did scare me a little bit but the rest of the album is a nice blend of relaxing folk rock and energetic jamming that just comes across as charming and fun. this is with the exception of "ooby dooby", some kind of shitty ripoff of little richard's "tutti frutti" that repeats the (very cringy sounding) title an excessive amount of times. some highlights include the tempo change at the very end of "lookin' out my back door", the guitar riff at the beginning of "up around the bend", and the cover of "i heard it through the grapevine" (most famously by marvin gaye), which is an objectively incredible song. (although, does it have to be 11 minutes long?) favorite song - "travelin' band" (I love when he randomly goes UUWAAUAUAUWWW) overall - 8/10

OH HELL YEAH!!!! my dad used to play this all the time when I was a kid, especially the title track "yoshimi battles the pink robots, part 1" - nowadays the nostalgia from that song is palpable. anyway this is a 5, and also my first 5, I am 100% planning on listening to this many more times. the album is basically a cross between sgt pepper's and the steven universe score, having a lot of cool psychedelic elements that just make you feel like you're floating in a sea of clouds. the melodies in this album are absolutely beautiful, and wayne has a really nice voice that works well with this type of music. the lyrics are also a lot more cohesive than I expected - I thought they would be a lot more abstract and stream-of-conciousness, but there's a lot of meaning behind them to me, especially "fight test" and "are you a magician?" favorite song: still "yoshimi battles the pink robots, part 1". although I must also give a shout-out to part 2, an instrumental that I can only imagine soundtracks the actual battle against the robots. overall: 10/10 P.S. someone from my high school's senior quote was "do you realize that you have the most beautiful face". guess they had good taste in music.

"ah yes, the 'every breath you take' album", said many people - can you blame them? the song currently has 38 times as many spotify streams as the second biggest song on the album - maybe one of the worst cases of this from a non one hit wonder? anyway, i've never been too big on the police. sting very often uses a fake-ass jamaican accent that screams cultural appropriation, and when they aren't making shitty cod reggae, they're just really boring. (also their band name did not age the best considering modern day issues.) i've realized that "every breath you take" is actually very out of place in their catalog, it sounds nothing like all the cheeseball new wave / reggae fusion on the rest of the album. there's also tracks like "mother", in which he sounds like he's having a fucking mental breakdown. I wanted to like this, but sadly it didn't impress me at all. favorite song: every breath you take. I know it's a cop-out, but it's an objectively great pop song that's as well known as it is for a reason. sure it's creepy, but that just makes it more interesting. overall: 4/10

so this is one of those albums (artists, really) that can't decide what genre it wants to be and kinda just throws in a little bit of everything. which means it's honestly kind of impressive how something so stylistically eclectic still kinda just blends together. I mean, there are standouts - "devil's haircut", "lord only knows", "novacane", but by the end it all kinda just starts to sound the same to me. I should also take note of the album's most famous song, "where it's at", a radio hit with a catchy but repetitive chorus. I remember hearing this a lot as a kid and was surprised to learn it was by beck. it's alright tbh favorite song: "lord only knows". I like how it starts with "AAAUGGHAGHHDCEIUDVYUFBUIE" and then the rest is just a relaxing country/blues kinda thing overall: 6/10

UM HOLY SHIT??? HE JUST DIED??? this isn't some kind of site-wide memorial thing where everyone gets specifically this album today right??? (edit: I think it was lmfao) anyway I love the beach boys, even if this is only one of them it still has the same youthful vibes and surf/beach lyrics that remind me of my childhood. however it's also a lot proggier, with many songs having distinct parts similar to "good vibrations" (which is also on this album). it's nothing mind-blowing but it is a really nice, rewarding listen. also shout-out to brian (rip) for still having such a good voice at 62. favorite song: "good vibrations" obviously. overall: 8/10

a bunch of covers of old classic pop songs, so while I know that it isn't going to be bad or anything, I also don't have anything to say about the lyrical content or melody or anything since he's not the one who wrote it. generally not much to say except that it's gorgeous and soothing, even if a little boring. willie nelson is a cool dude. favorite song: "unchained melody" overall: 7/10

there is some beauty in the abrasiveness, even if it does get a bit samey-sounding. i'm kinda just happy this isn't what I think of when I hear "noise rock" (usually something akin to a broken radiator) even if I would rather be listening to the pixies, there's still a lot I can get out of this. favorite song: "pacific coast highway" overall: 7/10?

I grew up listening to bruce springsteen, but generally his older stuff - I was surprised to see an album so late into his career get enough attention to end up on this list. I shouldn't have doubted him though - this album is full of wistfulness and melancholically hopeful bangers. feels like daydreaming looking out the window - today is a rainy day which just made it fit the vibe even more. I know springsteen isn't for everyone - most of the top reviews for this are 1-3 - but this hit me right today. favorite song: "waitin' on a sunny day" totally a vibe overall: 9/10

apparently this is post-hardcore but it sounds more industrial to me? sounds a lot more like nine inch nails or fear factory than fugazi or something but idk lmao i'm probably wrong. anyway I have no idea what this is but it's kinda mid. favorite song: "bullet proof cupid" overall: 5/10

damn, I didn't expect the very first rap album I reviewed to be such an iconic one. I mean, this is the album with "fight the power" on it, which rolling stone once called the second-best song literally ever made, not to mention everything else on it. the whole album bashes institutional racism and the failure of the police, and just like most of this era of hip-hop, it absolutely slaps - it has a lot of energy and the flows are catchy and satisfying. also a lot of the songs have heavy metal guitars layered under the rapping which is a really nice touch. favorite song: "911 is a joke" absolutely slaps overall: 9/10

this album is weird because it's objectively very good but it just doesn't really make me feel anything. maybe it's because, while this was insanely ahead of its time when it was released, in the current day i've heard so much similar music that it doesn't really give me anything new. it's also a bit too robotic for my tastes. however, I do have to respect it for being as objectively excellent as it is. just not my personal taste. beep boop blorp favorite song: "spacelab" simply due to how catchy that synth riff is overall: 6/10. one point for every song (this is basically an EP lmao)

ok first of all that album cover kinda jumpscared me. anyway this is just a bunch of instrumental loops with random samples repetitively played over them for over an hour. i'm sure this would go hard if I was at a club, however i'm currently in my bedroom at 2 am so this kind of vibe isn't too easily applicable to my current surroundings. favorite song: speedway overall: 5/10

the title makes it sound like a live album for some reason? (it isn't.) what it is is very good though. dusty springfield has an excellent voice and you can tell she's just pouring out all of her emotions into this album. it's a really cathartic listen. while it does sometimes lean into 60's cheese, I don't really mind. favorite song: "i don't want to hear it anymore" overall: 8/10

I love the talking heads so I knew that even half of them would at least be pretty decent. first song is unlistenable but the rest is really pleasant and you can tell it's 50% of the talking heads. rather listen to the full band but it's nice to hear them play around a little and have fun. favorite song: "genius of love" overall: 7/10

for some reason I always thought dinosaur jr as a sort of primus-esque funk metal band and I have no clue why. there's a lot of interesting guitar tones/effects throughout the album, especially in "no bones" where it sounds like a lightsaber for some reason. sadly, there isn't much else that's interesting about this album - it kinda just languishes in its own midness for a while. favorite song: "no bones" overall: 6/10

i love their name. as opposed to what, perfectly average bongo band? and yes, this album does indeed have many a bongo in it. it's seriously catchy and fun as hell, there's some great covers on here. i especially enjoyed their take on "wipe out" and "i can't get no satisfaction". favorite song: "i can't get no satisfaction" overall: 8/10

some nice, standard prog rock. I have never had any idea as to what a "jethro tull" is and at this point I kinda don't want to find out at all. but it wouldn't be prog rock without some really cool musical ideas, and I love the combination of harder guitars with flutes in "up to me" in particular favorite song: "locomotive breath" overall: 8/10

not the worst thing ever, it sounds mid, but I don't exactly think this is one of the most important albums of all time. i put off listening to this for days and now have a giant backlog of other albums I need to review. best song: "with tomorrow" overall: 4/10

even separating the art from the artist i've never been that much into arcade fire, the only songs i've really liked that much from them being "wake up" and that one about the snow tunnels or whatever. this album didn't really make me a huge fan, but it was a pretty nice listen. there are moments in songs such as "intervention" and "no cars go" that are pretty similar to what I liked about "wake up" - specifically the huge, booming, anthemic sound. favorite song: "intervention" overall: 7/10 (p.s. go to 2:03 in the song "ocean of noise" heehee)