Honestly? A tough listen. Giving it two stars because there was at least one song I kind of dug, and I don't know what else is going to be on this list but...man, it's weird sounding stuff. Edit: having now listened to more albums on this list, fuck this album. One star. Who likes this shit? Weird, weird music. Faves: - Holes - Opus 40 - Goddess on a Hiway
Like a big hug. Super pleasant to listen to, but it’s not without a few slightly more boring “skips.” Big fan though. Faves: - I Feel the Earth Move - So Far Away - It's Too Late - Where You Lead - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Exceptional album for a sunset drive or a bubble bath. Terrible album for every other life scenario. Faves: - Pitch the Baby - Heaven or Las Vegas - Wolf in the Breast
I hate pop music -- this album did not help. I kind of wish "30" was on this list instead, as I've been wanting to listen to that one and even a few quick samples immediately demonstrate significantly more interesting and complex musical choices. "25" is loaded with the simplest chord changes imaginable, and easy, boring lyricism. There are a couple hits here, and Adele's voice is unmistakably fantastic, but this album is a perfect example of why I can never seem to get into pop: it's homogenous, it's risk-averse, and it's just plain uninteresting. Fave songs: - Sweetest Devotion - that's it
Wow. What a fucking album. Complex, powerful, raw, fun, and strong from start to finish. Can't believe I hadn't heard of this sooner. Fave songs: - You Ain't The Problem - Rolling - I've Been Dazed - Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love) - Final Days - Light
Not a particularly memorable album. Enjoyable to listen to, and maybe it was groundbreaking at the time, but I feel like nowadays it kind of just blends in? Fave songs: - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - Une Annee Sans Lumiere - Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) - Wake Up - In The Backseat
Erm -- yeah, it's a five. C'mon now. I can remember putting on "Black Dog" on my grandparents' jukebox in their basement as a little kid and dancing my little heart out without knowing a damn thing about the wonderful filth Mr. Plant was wailing about. It's just great music. Rock at its best: complex, hard hitting, memorable, with a shockingly beautiful ballad. Thank you LZ. Fave Songs: - Black Dog - Rock and Roll - Stairway to Heaven - Misty Mountain Hop - Going to California - When the Levee Breaks (side note: is this the hottest fucking song of all time..?)
Wow. Turns out I'm a big fan of Amy Winehouse. Incredibly strong and enjoyable vocals, and an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, funk, and electronic. Too bad she was a total wreck. But this album was not. Maybe a little repetitive/boring at moments, but otherwise a hit! Fave songs: - Intro / Stronger Than Me - Know You Now - Moody's Mood For Love / Teo Licks - (There Is) No Greater Love - In My Bed - Amy Amy Amy Side note: it's my understanding that "Fuck Me Pumps" is the most popular song on this album, to which I have to say...really?
Jesus man, this was a slog. Dare I say - mindless garbage? Yet another good example of why I just can never get into popular music. I feel like the point of music like this is the lyrics - the music itself is kept very safe, familiar, and homogenous to make it more mass appealing, and what people really relate to and find interesting is the words. But I feel like...the lyricism isn't even that good?? So what are we doing here??? Fave song(s): - "Doves In The Wind", I guess
You know, I really, truly enjoyed listening to this album. It's right up my alley, and basically each song is fun and catchy, and I honestly think quite good. My main issue is, I wish they fleshed out some of these songs a little more -- each track being only like 2.5 minutes long really makes everything just sort of drift by, and there's no chance for things to land as much as they could. Edit: the more I play this album, the more I really like it. It's really, endlessly listenable. Fave songs: - Confetti - It's A Shame About Ray - Rudderless - Bit Part - Alison's Starting to Happen - Frank Mills (shoutout musical theatre!) - Mrs. Robinson
IMHO, Led Zeppelin was the greatest true rock band to ever have lived. So, this album is solid, and there are some absolutely phenomenal tracks here. I do think it's a much bigger listening commitment than other albums of theirs, and certainly not as instantly palatable. I feel like a lot of the songs (and, truthfully, the album as a whole) kind of overstay their welcome. But at the end of the day, it's still Led Zeppelin, and it's still a triumph. Fave songs: - Literally ALL of side 1 - Ten Years Gone
Goofy ahh album. Honestly super fun to listen to, even though it's totally wackadoo. Fuck it! Fave songs: - Uncontrollable Urge - Mongoloid - Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') - Shrivel-Up
Really mixed bag for me, and I'm kind of surprised by some of the other reviews here. Some of the songs here are seriously great, some of them I think are fine, and a few are genuinely some of the most painful and tough musical listens I have ever experienced. Like -- what the FUCK is going on with Into The Light?? That legitimately might be the worst song I've ever heard in my life. But, then, Spellbound fucks. So. Yeah. Fave songs: - Spellbound - Monitor - Night Shift
Okay -- I fucking loved this? One of the best examples I've seen of the ART of DJing: hearing new music in old music, and cutting and splicing to get there. Addictive grooves, pioneering art (he did this by himself? With just an Akai MPC60??), and a sonic landscape that just completely transports you. This rules..... Fave songs: - Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt - The Number Song - Changeling - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 4 - Mutual Slump - Midnight In A Perfect World - Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain - Medley - What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 - Blue Sky Revisit
Goofy ahh music. Goofy ahhh album. Who the fuck wakes up and actively wants to listen to Ska? Specifically white British guys performing reggae? There are a couple vibes, and it moves quickly enough but...boof. Fave songs: - Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) - Pearl's Cafe - Sock It To 'Em J.B. - I Can't Stand It
What the fuck is with the hate on this album? This is exceptional -- her voice is absolutely stratospheric, the music is diverse and interesting, and everything is so much FUN!! The whole circus thing is weird and I don't think it needed to be as long as it was, but this is a pretty great album overall. Fave songs: - Makes Me Wanna Pray - Ain't No Other Man - Slow Down Baby - F.U.S.S. (Interlude) - Without You - Still Dirrty - Here to Stay - Candyman - Nasty Naughty Boy - I Got Trouble - Save Me from Myself
Not my fave. But, certainly not as bad as I think a lot of these reviews make it seem. The vocals are pretty brutal, not gonna lie. It's decent. Frankly just surprised it's on this list. Fave songs: - The Fun Powder Plot - Hooting & Howling - All The King's Men - Two Dancers (ii) - This Is Our Lot
Solid. I don't think I like it as much as a lot of people seem to - it seems to kind of drone on, and the album finale is literally terrible. But, it's a very enjoyable listen with a lot of groove and a lot of hits. Makes me feel like I'm in the Matrix. Perhaps the closest I'll ever get to liking reggae. Fave songs: - Safe From Harm - Blue Lines - Five Man Army - Unfinished Sympathy - Daydreaming
A lot of fun, and pretty neat to see some of the birthing grounds of punk as we know it. Rocky Horror vibes. Plus -- it rocks pretty hard! Not the most incredible album I've ever heard, but easy to listen to and great to jam out with. Fave songs: - The Next Big Thing - Back to Africa - Master Race Rock - Teengenerate - Two Tub Man - Weekend - (I Live For) Cars and Girls
Weird ass album, but it kind of grew on me as I listened to it. Soooooo 60s, and sooooo psychedelic, and also was Dr. John white..?? But also, The Big Easy's one of my favorite cities on the entire planet, so you know I gotta put some respect on him for representing. God-awful album cover. Fave songs: - Mama Roux - I Walk on Guilded Splinters
I was actually throwing around whether I thought this should be a 4 or 5 star album throughout most of it. Such iconic songs and a surprising amount of musicianship. And then I heard Mississippi Kid. Holy fuck, what a terrible song. What the fuck are the lyrics implying? Free Bird is absolutely stellar and I still get goosebumps every time I listen to it, but for Mississippi Kid alone it gets a 3. And, at the end of the day, it is still sort of a generic rock album (and boy oh boy are there a lot of those on this list). Fave songs: - I Ain't The One - Tuesday's Gone - Gimme Three Steps - Simple Man - Poison Whiskey - Free Bird
I literally cannot make heads or tails of this album. Is it avant-garde? In which case, is it actually pretty decent? Or are they actually just fucking bad at music? I literally don't know. What genre do you even call this? Utterly baffling. Two stars, I guess. Jesus. Fave songs: - Typical Girls - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Really cool to listen to. Kind of like the best possible version of slam poetry at times. It's a shame this isn't on Spotify, because it makes it kind of hard to keep track of and return to, but this is definitely a gem. Fave songs: Really hard to do for this one, but special attention to "Very Special Time" and "Song For Bobby Smith"-- man oh man, those are beautiful.
I just...I don't know. Something about this album was just so inconsequential to me. Like, I listened to it, and I immediately couldn't remember any of what I had just listened to. So then I listened to it again. Still nothing. I don't even really know why -- it's not bad? I guess I'm just really not a fan of the David Bowie thing. I can see how people would call it melodramatic, that finale is something else. But for whatever reason it just floats right past me. Fave songs: - We Are The Pigs - The Asphalt World I think??
A couple thoughts about Bob Dylan: 1. If you're going to use a fucking harmonica so much, shouldn't you be decently good at it? I mean Jesus Fucking Christ, I could practice for a week and play every single line on this album. 2. Unfortunately it seems I belong to the camp of hating-Bob-Dylan's-stupid-fucking-grating-voice. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But if you're a singer-songwriter -- like, if that's your whole schtick -- shouldn't you be able to fucking sing? At all? Holy mother of God this guy's voice is annoying. 3. I get that the appeal of Bob Dylan is supposed to be that he's a "poet." Like woooooow, forget the music, but listen to those lyrics though. Fuck you. They're decent. It's not fucking Shakespeare. Two stars because I can appreciate that this at least took some level of musical ability and intellect. But Jesus man. Fuck you Bob Dylan. Fave songs: - One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
I was expecting to really like this -- I kind of didn't. As I've previously said, I just can't stand pop music (homogenous radio drivel). Turns out this is kind of just the 80s version of that. That being said, I still think it has style, and I do love her voice, so this was a pleasant listen -- but, there just isn't a lot going on here. Shoutout to that hair on the album cover. Fave songs: - Nick Of Time - Love Letter - I Will Not Be Denied - I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again - The Road's My Middle Name
Really great listen. Incredibly skillful and really unique. For all I know he could be singing about skinning live basset hounds. Still a total vibe. I'm glad this list introduced me to Jorge Ben Jor! Fave songs: - Ponta De Lança Africano - Hermes Trismegisto Escreveu - Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro - Xica Da Silva - Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado - África Brasil (Zumbi)
Oh man. Really, really good. This is a rare one for me -- I usually don't give much mind to lyrics, and my enjoyment of an album is mostly due to the music itself. Not here. Powerful, powerful words. THIS is poetry in music, and everything helps serve the message Mayfield is trying to get across. The vibe is a little repetitive, but I think the album is the right length to make it work. "So in Love" almost seems out of place, but I don't think it is. There's this constant push and pull in the album of trying desperately to find hope and joy and love in a broken nation that seems dead-set on making sure you never will. So, it works: it's a momentary triumph. And this album as a whole is a complete one. Fave songs: Everything. But, particular attention to "Jesus." Wow, wow, wow. How many people in America today would be ready to hear that song? How many people would even grasp what it means? And, isn't that an interesting notion -- how many people would be ready to hear a song that came out 40 years ago?
Nick Drake is my favorite artist of all time. "Pink Moon" is my favorite album of all time, and it's not even close. So naturally, I love the crap out of this album, and every single song he ever wrote, and for that reason, I tried to be really really objective when listening this time through. I do think this is his weakest album. Don't get me wrong -- some of the songs here are absolute perfection. "River Man" may just be the single greatest piece of music he ever wrote, taking 5/4 time and making it feel natural, incredibly complex chords and progressions that seem to melt away and feel effortless, and the endlessly fascinating lyrics: "Betty said she prayed today, for the sky to blow away. Or maybe stay. She wasn't sure." But there are also some songs that fall flat. "Way To Blue" and "Day Is Done" feel just a little bit too schmaltzy. "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" feels pretty cheesy. I love this album, but it's not perfect. What it does do is show glimpses of the mastery yet to come. Fave songs: - "Time Has Told Me" - "River Man" - "Three Hours" - "' Cello Song" - "Man In A Shed" - "Fruit Tree" Side note: the lyrics to this song are so impossibly fitting to Nick's own life that it's almost hard to listen to. It's almost as if he knew it would take his death to ignite an interest in his work. - "Saturday Sun"
According to Ozzy Osbourne's obituary in the New York Times, Black Sabbath got their real start because they figured, "people pay money to get scared watching horror movies -- why not music too?" Fucking genius. This album rules, and it's a shockingly complete genesis-of-genre attempt. Horrific, demonic, heavy, dank, and utterly ROCK solid. RIP Ozzy. Fave songs: The whole album.
Pretty interesting. Another one of those albums with a few really high-highs, and many low-lows. At its best, there's a real gritty, alternative, powerful edge that's awesome to listen to. At its worst, it's more like Lincoln Park, or Alanis Morissette: melodramatic, desperately-hit-radio-single junk. I also feel like Skin is kind of all this band has going for it. Fave songs: - On My Hotel TV - The Skank Heads - And This Is Nothing That I Thought I Had
Although I would desperately love to be contrarian, it's a five. When like 70% of your album's songs become ubiquitously iconic singles, the album is probably pretty damn good. Songs from Rumours are wayyyy fucking overplayed in advertisements and family gatherings, and yet they still manage to hit. Fave songs: Basically everything, except maybe "I Don't Want To Know" and "Oh Daddy," but special attention to "The Chain" and "Gold Dust Woman." Jesus Christ I still get goosebumps hearing those songs.