This album really cements Dire Straits place in rock and roll mythos. Mark Knopfler’s guitar work is inimitable and in a league of its own when it comes to style and sound. It gives you even more respect for him when you realize he’s also the singer! His vocals sometimes feel very Bob Dylan inspired, which works in the albums favor. The instrumentation feels very inspired by soft rock and blues rock bands like The Eagles and The Grateful Dead. John Illsley and Pick Withers lay down a solid rhythm section on every song, with Withers bringing in some very exotic sounding drum rhythms. David Knopfler is the cherry on top, backing up his brother on rhythm guitar. Songs like the Up tempo groove Down to The Waterline, the almighty guitar epic Sultans of Swing, and the smooth and laid back Lions, really show how tight the band members were and how they were all masters of their craft. There are some points where the songs can blend together, but I don’t think it damages the overall album experience.

This album hits you like a steel chair. Rage’s first album is a testament on why they’re regarded as one of the best and most revolutionary bands of the 90s. A lot of people may say this album is,”Too Heavy”, or,”Too Aggressive”, but that’s the point, to shock you out of your comfort zone in order for the band to get their message across. The band are tight as ever on this album, with Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk laying down funky bass lines and interesting drum grooves for the other to band members to be supported by. Tom Morello is seen as one of the great guitarists of the day, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. His use of effects on this album give his guitar parts an otherworldly feel on songs like Bombtrack and Bullet in The Head. The lyrics on the songs are as sharp as ever, with Zack De La Rocha cutting through the injustices of the world they lived in like a hot knife. The standout song is obviously Killing in The Name, which became a protest anthem and a symbol of rising up against injustice. But other songs like Bullet in The Head and Take the Power Back also shine on this album. Overall, a powerful addition to 90s rock, and an album that, in the time we live in, we need now more than ever.

Man, is this album a weird one! Still pretty dang cool though. I hadn’t heard of Siouxsie and The Banshees until this album, and I’m glad I got to experience them. Siouxsie Sioux has a very good voice, almost like a female version of Robert Smith from the Cure. Some of the lyrics on this album are wild, and I don’t think that the band could get away with them today, especially on songs like Arabian Knight and Head Cut. John McGeoch’s guitar is very new wave esque, and the album has some great guitar riffs on it that are quintessentially 80s. Steven Severin and Budgie finish off the band, laying down some good Bass and Drum rhythms. Some of the standout tracks are Spellbound, one of the band’s biggest hits, Halloween, which really sounds like 80s horror movie soundtrack material, and the up tempo Sin in My Heart. Some of the songs could drag on for a little too long, but the majority of the album is solid and a good album for anyone looking for deeper new wave cuts.

This album is definitely one of Radiohead’s best. Their penultimate album before Ok Computer and before their style switch to a more electronic sound, this album has so much to offer for people who like the band’s rock material. Songs such the title track and Black Star are standout heavy rockers on the album. The album almost has more soft, reflective moments on it, such as High and Dry, (Nice Dream), Bullet Proof… I Wish I Was, and Street Spirit(Fade Out). Jonny Greenwood’s guitar playing in this album is superb as always, with his echoey guitar riffs filling songs such as Planet Telex. Thom Yorke’s lyrics and vocals are also great, with the lyrics, in typical Radiohead fashion, being cryptic as always. His voice can carry from the heavier sections of the album to the lighter sections, feeling at home in all of the songs. Ed O’Brien backs up his brother on guitar, adding his own riffs throughout the album, and Colin Grrenwood and Phillip Selway complete the band, creating rhythms that hold up the rest of the band. Overall, this album is a standout of 90s Alt. Rock, and one of Radiohead’s best albums.

This album was certainly interesting. I’ve listened to one of Muse’s previous albums, and these two are both similar, and way different. This album goes a lot more down the electronic rabbit hole than Absolution, the other Muse album I listened to. This works in some cases, but in other cases, like Supermassive Black Hole(which I don’t see why it became a hit) it weighs down the song and makes it feel too dense. Matt Bellamy’s guitar playing on songs like Knights of Cydonia, which is the standout track on the album, is epic, but more often than not, the songs stick to similar guitar riffs throughout the songs. The lyrics are pretty good, not much to say there, and there are some good songs, like Soldier’s Poem and Starlight, but too much do the songs stick to a similar formula that doesn’t really go anywhere. I’d check out Knights of Cydonia, that song rocks, but if you want to start with Muse, I would start with another album.

This album is definitively a staple of new wave. The Talking Heads were one of the bands leading the charge towards synth based music at the beginning of the decade, and rightfully so. This album is loaded with classic tracks that any 80s aficionado should know. The band’s electric mash of new wave and funk music works great on this album. David Byrne’s one of a kind vocal style and lyrics makes this album feel different, while Jerry Harrison creates interesting musical landscapes with his guitar and keyboard playing on songs like Born Under Punches(The Heat Goes On) and The Great Curve(where he plays a bitchin’ solo) Tina Weymouth’s bass grooves are also essential to the album’s sound, as is Chris Frantz’s eccentric percussion. Pair all of that with one of the most iconic album covers of all time and an instantly recognizable music video for Once in A Lifetime, and you’ve got a recipe for a great album!

I didn’t know what to expect coming into this album. I did some research and saw that the band is from Mali. In all honesty, I wasn’t big on this album, but I can certainly see why other people would enjoy it. The main hurdle I couldn’t get across was not being able to understand the lyrics. As someone who usually listens to the lyrics first, this was hard for me to stomach. But, for everything I’ve said, I am willing to give the band its dues and say that the album did sound pretty good. The songs all had good rhythm and guitar work, and it really had that exotic feel to it. The album didn’t sound bad, it actually sounded pretty good. I may not come back to this album, but if your a fan of African music, or even if you’re from that culture, I’d suggest checking it out.

(Que Mr Blue Sky Intro). This album is amazing! I had listened to one of ELO’s previous albums, and it blew me away! So I figured I’d get another album I liked from them, and I did! The main thing I love about this album is its variety. It has slow ballads like It’s Over, upbeat pop numbers like Mr Blue Sky and Turn to Stone, groovy rockers like Across The Border and Wild West Hero, and everything in between. Jeff Lyne’s writing and production on this album are great, with all the songs feeling like they have their own distinct sound. Bev Bevamn’s drum grooves are always a welcome surprise, and Roy Wood, the other multi instrumentalist on this album, works well off of Lyne’s parts. Overall, this is a great album fusing orchestral pop and rock, and I would highly suggest checking it out.

Well, that was different. This album was pretty decent, but I’d say it was bogged down by one major flaw. The first three songs, Leave Home, In Dust We Trust, and Song to The Siren, were all musically interesting, with good use of effects and beats. Song to The Siren really caught my ear with its ethereal sounding electronic backing vocals. But the album seemed to hit a wall at Three Little Birdies Down Beats. This song, and the two songs following it all sounded the same to me, and curbed the interest I had in the first couple songs. The album sounded good, but it didn’t really catch my ear after that. Not a bad album, but besides the first three songs, nothing I would really go back to.

Talk about “I Want My MTV”. This album is a rare specimen, something I haven’t seen yet in my journey. It’s really, really boring! I can think of maybe two or three songs on this album that actually sounded different to me. The rest of them sounded the same. They all sounded over produced and awash with heavy synths. I would be able to excuse that if the songs were catchy, but none of them stuck in my head the way some other new wave classics have. No song felt like it had its own distinct identity or even a theme that I really liked. I’m trying not to say anything nasty about the band, because I know they tried their hardest to create a good album, but it really didn’t stick for me. Like I brought up at the start, it sounds like it was made to be played on MTV, and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

METALLICA!!!(Yelled out in an Otto the Bus Driver Impression). This album rocks so hard! While not my favorite Metallica album, this album still has some killer tracks that still get radio play to this day. Songs like Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters are staples of classic rock radio, and for good reason. Kirk Hammet’s guitar riffs are incredible on songs like My Friend of Misery and The God That Failed, his presence really brings the heaviness of the album to new heights. Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted make up a strong rhythm section, and James Hetfield’s vocals are some of the most recognizable in rock history. I’d recommend checking out Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning first on your Metallica journey, but this album certainly has lasted the test of time. Rock on!

Now this is an interesting little album. I did not expect it to sound like this. I had heard that The Jesus and Mary Chain were a nineties band, but this album came out in 85. The songs are drenched in feedback, and feel like they were a precursor to what music would become in the 90s. Jim Reid’s vocals are reminiscent of New Wave Acts like Joy Division and The Cure, which he definitely succeeds in emulating their style. William Reid’s guitar is a staple on songs like Never Understand and Something’s Wrong. Douglas Hart and Bobby Gillespie make up a solid rhythm section, too. A lot of the songs are pretty short, so the one’s I don’t like as much I probably won’t be coming back to. I tossed around giving this album a 3 or a 4, and I ended up going with a three, but I like it more than the albums I’ve already given 3s, so let it be known that this album seems more like a 3.5/3.8. Still a pretty solid album.

Talk about don’t judge a book by its cover. This album was actually a lot better than I’d originally expected it to be. Going into it, I thought it would be just another indie album that I’d forget within the day, but this one has actually stuck with me. The best way I can describe it is if you loaded a bunch of Beach Boys, ELO, and Radiohead songs onto a computer and tried to play them all at once. Now that might be a messy analogy, but all those styles feel present on this album, especially the Beach Boys influences on the catchy pop number, (Drawing) Rings Around the World. But songs like Presidential Suite and Run! Christian, Run! are longer tracks about more complex topics. The album has good variety on it, from songs that will turn into ear worms, to songs that may not stick out as much. The band, whom I’d haven’t heard of before this album, really pulled together to deliver a cohesive album.

(Insert Aqualung Guitar Riff Here). This album is awesome! Probably Jethro Tull’s most remembered album besides their even Proggier Thick As A Brick, this album really is a staple of Prog Rock. The songs on this album all feel very cohesive, like they were all meant to be on the album, and it doesn’t feel like you could remove any of them. Ian Anderson is definitely one of the great prog rock singer, and it shows on this album. He can go from soft and melodic to grizzled and percussive with the flip of a switch. He’s also regarded as one of, if not the only, greatest rock flute player of all time. His flute parts in songs like My God is an impressive feat, and his acoustic guitar playing on songs like Wond’ring Aloud is also great. Martin Barre is also another stand out musician on the album, from his iconic riff on the song Aqualung, to his acoustic solo on My God, he really brings the power behind a lot of the album. Jeff Hammond, John Evan, and Clive Bunker round out the band on bass, piano, and drums respectively, and all of their parts on the album are a great foundation for the band to work off of. Throw on some amazing lyrics ranging from schoolgirl prostitutes to the manipulation of religion, and you have the recipe for a classic progressive rock album.

Do you think these guys want the funk? I think they made it unclear. Just kidding, this album is funky as all get out! I’ve only ever heard one album adjacent to this, that being Maggot Brain, which I’ll review at some point down the line, but this album and that one sound nothing like each other. While that album is more of funk rock, this album is pure, undiluted funk straight into your veins. Instead of just a regular album opening, we’ve got George Clinton playing a black radio DJ space pimp, if that even makes sense! I’m not going to mention ever musician in this review because so many of them played on this album, but all of them contributed in their own unique way to bringing the funk to this album. One of my favorite instrumental parts is the keyboard on Night of The Thumpasorus Peoples. The bass on this album is also incredibly groovy. I’d say the two standout tracks are the first two, P. Funk, and Mothership Connection, both incredibly funky tracks that are 7 and 6 minutes respectively. Overall, this album is definitely an epic funk album, and if you’re a fan of funk, get on The Mothership as fast as you can!

…I think I need to go lie down. I barely have the words to even describe this album, it’s incomprehensible. I haven’t seen anything like this throughout all the albums I’ve listened to, an experimental album, which felt like the longest hour and eighteen minutes of my life. Literally everything about this album felt fine tailored to make you lose your sanity. The vocals felt sounded like an old hillbilly being dragged down a gravel road behind a truck. The music would sound passable sometimes, and then sound like a fight between overly territorial turkeys on the next song. But, in all seriousness, it’s hard to rate an album like this because although it sounds bad, it’s the sound that they were setting out to achieve, so does that make it good? Or is the album bad simply because it sounds bad? I think that’s a philosophical debate for another time, so all I have left to say to those going to listen to this album is, good luck, and you’ll never be the same…

…And welcome to everyone’s favorite show, Do You Believe In Life After The Velvet Underground! This is certainly an interesting album. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that Nico had albums on this list, but, I guess I was wrong. This album is not what I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be some weird experimental album, but I was pleasantly surprised to realized that it teetered more towards the side of baroque pop. The songs an are decently good, Nico has a good, strong voice, although it can kind of begin to drone when you hear it for a whole album. The songs also have some instrumental help from members of The Velvet Underground(So that’s a no if you were waiting for the answer to the question I posed earlier.) The album also has a variety of string arrangements, which sound pretty good, even though Nico was upset to realize they were added without her consent, which I get. I don’t feel this album has much I’d come back to, but it was still a decent album.

In all honesty, I really don’t have too much to say about this album. I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I didn’t feel like I heard anything that I would latch onto or remember the next day. Heck, I don’t even have anything funny to say about it! That’s how little of an impression it left on me!. But, I can still say that Monk is a great pianist, and his band at least tried to put something good together. I’ll just say it wasn’t really my taste. I’m giving it a two, but I’ll say a high 2 because the musicianship is good. Maybe I’ll like the nexts jazz album I get.

Now this is what I’m talking about! This is definitely better than the last album I got. When I got the album and saw that it was a jazz band, I was dreading listening to it. I thought it was going to be as forgettable as the last one. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out this one had more funk and R&B influences. The titled track feels like a progressive soul track, clocking in at 11 minutes and 28 seconds. This is the only song on the album with lyrics, sung by Randy Crawford, and it’s just a really catchy tune. There are other songs I liked on. here, like Rodeo Drive(High Steppin’) and Carnival of The Night. These are the songs where Wilton, Joe, and Stix(on saxophone, keyboard, and drums respectively) really get their chance to shine, with some really good, funky instrumentals. The album kind of sags in the latter half, where the last songs kind of blend together, but overall, not a bad album, and maybe it’ll help build up my tolerance for jazz.

I don’t have much to say about this one. You know, I’m starting to recognize a theme. I keep getting these R&B albums I’ve never heard of, and they turn out to be boring and I can’t write a very good review about them. But, I digress, as you can tell, I really didn’t like this album. I though that at some points Nina’s voice could become grating to listen to, and it wasn’t very musically interesting outside of some cool piano on If I Should Lose You, otherwise, there isn’t anything on this album that I couldn’t find better somewhere else.

There’s so many great things that go together: Peanut butter and jelly, cheese and wine, how about Gorillaz and being bone tired as 12 at night? Yes, that’s how I spent my time listening this album, I guess I shot myself in the foot for not having good time management, but I digress. In all honesty, I wasn’t that big on this album, but to be fair, I liked it better than the last couple albums I got. Damon Albarn’s vocals can get kind of grating at times when he attempts to go into a higher register, but when he stays low on songs like Tomorrow Comes Today, I feel like it works. I also really like the instrumentals on this album, it all oozes with this kind of apocalyptic hip hop vibe, which I liked. Del The Funky Homosapien does a pretty good verse on Clint Eastwood, which I would say is the standout track on the album. But the songs can feel repetitive at times and it took until the first couple songs were over for me to get into it. I’ll probably listen to Demon Days at some point, so I still haven’t given up on the Gorillaz. Let’s hope that they impress me.

Huh, this one was different. I have never heard of this band or this album until when I got it, so I didn’t really know what to expect. The album wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t awful. It feels like the took inspiration from bands like The Smiths when making the album, and it shows on songs like, Like Dylan in the Movies and The Stars of Track and Field. The album had some good spots like Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying, but a lot of the tracks I just don’t feel like I’d come back to. This is another case where I don’t really feel like I have much new to say about the album except for, it was fine.

N/A-Accidentally deleted my review. This album is definitely better than the last few albums I’ve gotten.

Paul on the Run! Paul on the Run! God, this album is fun. Paul’s fifth album since he left the Beatles, this one really shows his songwriting strengths, even though he only had two other main band members in the studio to make it, he had his wife Linda, and former Moody Blues pianist Denny Laine. The album seemed to have been plagued with issues, with two band members leaving before recording started, and even Paul and Linda getting robbed at knifepoint. Nevertheless, they still managed to make a fantastic album. The album shows off so many different sides of Paul’s songwriting. The title track shows a blend of pop rock and a little prog rock, while songs like Bluebird and Picasso’s Last Words(Drink to Me) shows his more laid back acoustic sound. The closing track, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, is a great full circle moment which wraps back to the beginning track. They even got Ginger Baker of Cream….to shake a tin can full of gravel! In all seriousness, this definitely is a great album, and we truly will be searching forever more for that elusive band.

And I’m going down! All the way down! Sorry, just had to get that out, this album is a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. I’ve liked AC/DC, but I’ve never loved them as a lot of their songs are played a lot, so I figured that this album would basically just be a collection of singles, and it was…But it was a collection of really good singles. Singles that actually work together due to most of the songs having a similar subject matter. So what I’m saying is it actually works as an album. This album was the last album to feature the late Bon Scott, whose vocals are great, though unnatural. Everyone would agree that both AC/DC frontmen have strange voices. The Young brothers are a great addition the band, with Malcolm laying down some crunchy rhythms, and Angus dishing out some great riffs and solos. Cliff Williams bass and Phil Rudd’s drumming are both essential to giving the album that hard rock sound that AC/DC is known for. Overall, I’d say it was definitely a great album, and I feel as though it got me to change my tune on AC/DC.

RIP Ozzy Osbourne🦇 Your contributions to music will never be forgotten. You were a great person and a joy to everyone who knew you. Now, with that out of the way, onto the actual review. This album is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. It’s also one of those rare instances where there isn’t a single bad song on the whole album. The band is firing on all cylinders this album, with Geezer Butler and Bill Ward creating an incredible rhythm section, especially on songs like War Pigs and Iron Man. Tony Iommi’s legendary riffs and solos are essential to this album. Tony is one of the only guitarists who can stand beside Jimmy Page in how many iconic riffs he’s created. Ozzy’s vocals are just the icing on the cake to this iconic record. His performance on the title track is one of the greatest in rock history. The album also has many great deep cuts, such as one of my favorite songs on the album, Planet Caravan, and Hand of Doom is another great song. Overall, this album is just legendary in every way, shape, and form. Thank you Ozzy, for leaving us such an incredible album, and thank you to all of Black Sabbath for making it possible. Rock On!

Well, this one is different. It’s both simultaneously odd and uninteresting at the same time. In all honesty, I wasn’t that big on this album. It probably doesn’t help that I’m not into the late 80s noise rock albums, so that already puts this album at a disadvantage. I wasn’t that big on the vocals, they felt like they got drowned out in the mix a lot, and even then they kind of just sounded like they were copying Ian Curtis or Robert Smith with the vocal style. The guitar parts sounded atonal to me, they distorted the sound a lot, but it still felt like it was being restrained, like they needed to crank the amp up a few notches. None of the songs really stuck with me, they kind of just went in one ear and out the other. So, overall, I wasn’t a big fan of this album, but hey, maybe I’ll like Loveless better.

So, my second funk album, did I like it better than Mothership…no, no I did not. This album was certainly a weird one. I’ve heard the name of The Temptations before, but I’ve never actually listened to any of there stuff or knew the names to any of their songs, so this was a first time listen for me. The first song, Funky Music Sho Nuff Turn Me on, was a catchy funk jam, but then we got to Run Charlie Run. I’ll be honest, that song sounded kind of ridiculous. The whole time I was listening to it I thought it sounded like it would have a better home in an episode of Veggietales. I then got to Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, which was the best song on the album, but I felt like it needed to build up to something, as it stayed the same for most of the song. After that it kind of just became a wash of R&B ballads that I never really got into. So, overall, I didn’t like too much of the album, but it wasn’t atrocious. I’m gonna roll my stone over to a better album if you don’t mind.

And Welcome back to everyone’s famous game, Do You Believe In Life After The Velvet Underground! This time we have frontman Lou Reed and his album Berlin. I’ve listened to both The Velvet Underground and Nico, and Nico’s Chelsea Girl, and never really gotten into either. In all honesty, I think there are two main problems with this album. But first, I’d have to say that this is a step up in quality from my last couple albums I’ve gotten, Lo: songwriting is pretty good, and the instrumentation in the whole thing is really good, my favorite part being the piano in the opening track. I think my main problems with it are, number one, it’s too raw for me, Lou’s vocals are unpolished, in a way that kind of makes him sound like he’s imitating Bob Dylan at some points, and the song topics can be unpleasant at times, especially near the end. The songs are also really long, and they don’t change in a way that keeps them interesting for that runtime, when they could have been pared down to 3-4 minutes and been practically the same. So while I didn’t really get into this album, this is one instance where, if you like Lou’s stuff, I’d say give it a try, it might not be my thing, but it may be yours.