He’s the king of pop for a reason. Who knew a child raised to be a music star since adolescence would become the biggest music star on the planet. As such this album, like most of his discography, is nothing but banger after banger. The greatest praise I can give this album is the production and synth programming. In contrast with the more polished production on Off The Wall and Thriller, this album relishes in darker sounds throughout. And MJ isn’t holding back vocally either, songs like Dirty Diana and Leave Me Alone feature scathing performances from the singer. Being the last album to feature the production of Quincy Jones, I feel it’s the pinnacle of the two’s collaboration; and while I like Off The Wall the best, I think this might be the better album.

A thrash metal classic, I love this record. Despite all being the same schlock song to song I don’t get sick of it over the 40ish minutes.

This album is almost everything I crave in a good record. Blissful and funky synths, some immaculate bass, acoustic guitars to strum along to; I was at the edge of my seat soon as the first track ended, eager to hear the rest. Towing the line between melancholic and bombastic masterfully, this album has easily worked its way into my regular rotation

I appreciate nirvana less than I respect them as artists, but that respect grows each time I listen through an album of theirs. While the A-side is a breakthrough of unparalleled proportion, with hit after hit, the B-side falls short for me; especially with the studio freak out of Endless Nameless. It has an undeniable place in music history for its influence, but I can’t get myself to enjoy most of the songs on the album; between the very minimalistic songwriting and Cobain’s singing voice I can’t quite get into it like a lot of other grunge albums

Despite being a monolith in the rock world, I’ve never been a fan of The Rolling Stones. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that irks me about them; whether it’s Mick Jagger’s raw voice (when compared to someone like McCartney), or Keith Richard’s guitar playing (which ive never particularly liked). While I can’t deny that there’s interesting instrumentation on this record, for the most part it doesn’t hit me like listening to Revolver or Pet Sounds did the first time. There are certainly tracks I vibe to: Mother’s Little Helper and Doncha Bother Me both made it onto my playlist after this, but everything just falls into the realm of mediocrity that most of the 60s does for me. Ultimately, I just found it boring. Most of the tracks being under 3 minutes made it more tolerable, but why in the everloving fuck is Going Home 11 minutes long? It just drags and drags and made me wanna turn off the record halfway through. If you’ve never heard 60’s rock and roll then maybe it’d be better, but it just ends up sounding bland to me

Lost In The Dream.. more like Lost In The Sea of Same. While I enjoy most every song on this album, I don't think this is a great album. Mostly I feel that the material offered at hand is lumped in with every other synth-coated, jangly-guitar indie rock band that's come out in the 2010's. I genuinely couldn't tell them apart if you made me. Every song is atmospheric synth-rock with like 2 verses, and then 5 minutes of meandering guitars and keyboards; and this goes for an hour straight. Now, maybe certain songs will end up on a playlist of mine, or I might revisit a track or two from time to time, I don't think I'll be listening through the whole album again. Overall, I don't feel like this is an album one should sleep on, the songwriting is top-notch and the production is fantastic; but I don't vibe with the style The War On Drugs is giving enough to listen to another album from them. If you enjoy indie from that era, you'd probably love it, I just can't get it.

The greatest trio in rock history; Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. I've loved Rush since middle school when I first listened to this very record. They were instrumental in my accepting of synths in rock and my eventual broadening into all genres of music past metal. 2112 is half a masterpiece, and half a decent rock album. The A-side is a 20 minute long sci-fi epic, told through fast riffing, blistering solos, some of the best drumming ever put to tape, and beautiful melancholy at a world long past. I love every second of the title track, and feel it is in every way a perfect prog rock epic. The B-side, however, drags a little bit. The five tracks aren't the worst thing I've heard, but it's nowhere close to the material they'd release a year later on A Farewell To Kings. Whether it's the stereotypical Asian motif on A Passage To Bangkok or the guitar doubling the chorus vocals on Lessons, each of these songs just have something that irk me enough to not revisit this half too often. 2112 as a whole isn't even in Rush's top 5 albums for me, but that is a testament to the continued quality of their discography. Being only their fourth album, they still had growing to do; but they finally found their sound and niche with the title track off this fantastic record.

He’s the king of pop for a reason. Who knew a child raised to be a music star since adolescence would become the biggest music star on the planet. As such this album, like most of his discography, is nothing but banger after banger. The greatest praise I can give this album is the production and synth programming. In contrast with the more polished production on Off The Wall and Thriller, this album relishes in darker sounds throughout. And MJ isn’t holding back vocally either, songs like Dirty Diana and Leave Me Alone feature scathing performances from the singer. Being the last album to feature the production of Quincy Jones, I feel it’s the pinnacle of the two’s collaboration; and while I like Off The Wall the best, I think this might be the better album.

I’ve never been a fan of punk. I’ve always had a disdain for The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, and others like that, but any time I hear a female led punk band I can always dig it. The vocal performance is the highlight of the album for me; not too gritty and not too smooth. The other factor into my liking this album is the blend of new wave atmospheric guitars and punk bass and drums. While it does get tiring towards the end of the record, and I probably couldn’t tell the songs apart now after listening, the instrumentation is varied enough to keep my interest for the 45ish minutes. I’ll probably end up coming back to this album a few times, I didn't dislike anything I heard, but I feel like this is an album to pick songs from to play one at a time instead of listening through all of it.

I love an album that varies itself in genre. This record takes from all sides of the neighborhood if you will; metal and rock, ska and punk, a little bit of synth and jazz. Despite playing musical hopscotch, none of the tracks feel out of place or misused. The raw lyrical style more akin to punk mixed with the harder riffs on some songs and a more new wave feel on others makes this an album I’ll definitely revisit again soon.

The main thing I’ve always hated about the Sex Pistols is John Lydon’s horrible, nasally squealing. Despite the instruments being better than the Sex Pistols (who couldn’t play their damn instruments), I can’t like this record with his vocal style all over it. On top of the horrendous vocal performance, the instrumentals are all meandering or just uninteresting to me. Theres barely any riff changes in the 5-7 minute long songs, and the shorter songs on the record just fall flat in songwriting. There’s final nail in the coffin is the production. It’s all hard panned left or right, similar to the Beatle’s 2009 stereo remixes, but this is worse because it’ll randomly go to a normal stereo sound for 4 bars and then go back to hard panning. I just can’t like this album. I hate punk, bad mixing, and monotonous songs. This contains all 3 in a major way.

I now get the hype behind David Bowie. Much like with The Beatles, I never understood why people really enjoyed Bowie and saw his work as archaic. I had only listened to Starman, Fame and the singles from his last album in 2016. Now, after going through his most popular album I can confidently say I understand why people ride on his dick and balls. The songwriting is on point throughout every song, I wasn't disinterested for a single second. I love a good concept album (Tommy, The Wall and To Pimp A Butterfly were heavily influential to my music taste), and the story here of a bisexual jesus-like rock and roller is so unique to the time I can't help but be enthralled. All the musicians are giving their all the entire record. Bowie is giving an amazing vocal performance that's at once silky smooth and has the edge of the punk movement that's still half a decade away. The drums are never overplayed, the guitar solos are sublime, and the basslines underneath carry the record to a somewhat funky territory. Overall, I'm kinda sad i haven't pulled the trigger on discovering this album earlier. I always thought I'd just think it was eh, but I'm certain that late highschool, stoned me would've listened this to with such fervor as I did with The Wall. An absolutely astounding album I've neglected for too long

The extent of my reggae knowledge to this point has been Reggatta de Blanc by The Police and the Arthur theme song (funnily enough, sung by Bob Marley's son). As an introduction to the genre as a whole, this was a pleasant welcome to my sonic palate. The percussion is sublime throughout, aided by the always funky basslines. The guitar is shaded with phaser and chorus effects, which makes it fit perfectly with the aforementioned percussion and the Hammond organ lending a helping hand. Along with some well placed brass and woodwinds, its very well-rounded. The vocal performance is just phenomenal. Marley is giving his all on every track, giving soulful melodies through one of the purest singing voices I think I've ever heard. The Wailers aren't slouching on background vocals neither, rending some great harmonies to help round out the assortment. I don't think I've been this excited to delve into a new genre of music since I first listened to Hemispheres by Rush. The vibes and grooves are not to be denied, and are a much-needed boost to my musical enthusiasm.

Let me just say I was not expecting this sound when I hit play on the record. From the album cover and what little Wikipedia had on it, I was expecting a solo piano record with maybe minor accompaniment. Instead I was treated to all the sax and bass I could ever want, with beautiful melodies and solid foundation. I was wowed throughout, not just from the masterful composition and musicanship, but from the apparent obscurity this album sits in. All the tracks but Manenberg Revisited have under 60k streams, which itself only has 975k. The 12 minute soaring title track isn't even available on Spotify. Which is a damn shame because every other track went immediately onto my playlist. I am absolutely overjoyed with discovering this album, and this is exactly what I hoped for starting with this website. I cannot speak highly of this album, and I cannot discern any flaws with the material. This is what I want when I am in the mood for jazz.

How do I even start. Aqualung is such an important album to me personally. One of my grandfather's favorite albums, I heard this all the time in the background growing up. It wasn't until I was closer to 18 that I actually sat down and listened through more than just the title track. It blew me away the first time, and continues to with each listen. Despite the opener being driven by distorted electric guitar, the majority of this album utilizes acoustic guitar over a Les Paul. A lot of the tracks, like Wond'ring Aloud and Slipstream, are quiet and reflective interludes that last but a minute or two. To fill in the cracks an acoustic typically leaves, there's piano and an orchestral accompaniment to most tracks; along with the trademark Jethro Tull flute runs. That isn't to say the album is bereft of rocking songs. Up To Me and Locomotive Breath are both driving songs; but in my mind, nothing compares to the side 2 opener, My God. A 7 minute long epic building from a simple acoustic into to an electric explosion, leading to a choral and flute driven middle section that releases a guitar solo for the ages, and a responding flute solo to finish out the track. The overarching lyrical theme specifically of the separation of God and religion is a big reason to why I love this album so much. A lesson I think all humans, throughout history, ought to learn. It's so formative to me as a person, but I think it merits a listening from every person, much like people say about Dark Side of the Moon.

I love some albums because of their attention to detail and the musicianship of the members; bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Others because of the raw output, musical knowledge be damned; like Slayer. This goes so far to the detail that it wraps around to being devoid of music theory. When I first put this album on, the only thought running through my mind was "what the actual fuck am I listening to", and I don't think I've ever had as visceral a reaction listening to anything else before this. I understand that the atonal, polyrythmic style that dominated this album was intentional, I don't care. This album sounds like if you described jazz to someone completely unfamiliar with music. Some of the tracks like Pachuco Cadaver have some groove to them and sound kinda good, but good lord I can't for the life of me stand 95% of the tracks. I adore Frank Zappa to the utmost degree, but I don't understand what the hell he was thinking while producing this album. Maybe interesting to the right people, I am not one of them.

This is very much an 80s album, through and through. The jangly Stratocaster throughout and gated drums are the calling card of that era. And while it’s not my favorite thing, the mellow synth lines underscoring everything bring it together like super glue. Tina Turner’s voice is the highlight of the album for me. Her performance is immensely powerful and yet reserved when it needs to be. Overall, nothing life changing but a very good pop record from the early 80s

Nirvana-lite delivers yet another boring album, sounding like all other alt rock from the 90s. I love a good dirty guitar tone, but when it’s on every song, they all start to mush together. On top of that, I’ve always had a disdain for Billy Corgan’s vocal style. I can’t understand a word he says and all his melodies sound the same to me. I don’t hate this album, but i definitely won’t listen to it again. It’s too repetitive for my taste, and the sonic palate on display doesn’t jive with me

I went into listening to this expecting something more like Surrealistic Pillow, and got something more akin to an early Pink Floyd project. Very psychedelic, but serious in its own way. The piano is omnipresent throughout the album, laying a foundation for the sparse yet wide feeling instrumentation. Most notable in my opinion is the ethereal sound of the Mellotron. The vocal harmonies and call and responses throughout the album are very Beach Boys-esque. The performance is solid throughout, but remains laid back, which makes for easier listening all the way through. The mix isn’t the greatest, but I can forgive that because it came out in 1968, and not a lot from that time was mixed well by modern standards. Overall a very chill album, definitely worth a revisit or 2

Going into this I had very little in the way of expectations, knowing basically nothing about Hole beside knowing who Courtney Love is, I just expected female Nirvana. And while there are certainly comparisons to make to Love’s late husband’s band, it would be a discredit to write them off as such. While the angst and raw energy is still front and center throughout the track list, there’s a real pop sensibility in the way songs are structured, and the clean guitars here and there help to break of the typical tonal monotony of an alt rock album from the 90s. I’ve always thought female singers in a punk context are better than their male counterparts, and I feel that extends to alt as well. While I would prefer the instrumentals on any given Nirvana album over the ones on this record, i honestly think I’d prefer Love’s vocals to Cobain’s.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a carpet-bagging Yankee (and proud of it), but I’ve never liked southern rock. Besides the first Skynyrd album and a smarter of CCR hits, the sub-genre has never been my cup of tea. What we have here is a generic southern-fried rock sound, devoid of its own character and relying too much on nostalgia for Neil Young and Skynyrd. The instrumentals aren’t anything to write home about, and the vocals and lyrics are kinda just par for the course. The whole album just kind of happens, and I forgot it the second I stopped listening; which is a new experience for me with a double album. Even Trout Mask Replica was notable for being so… Trout Mask Replica, but this just has nothing. It’s not incompetent, just boring.

Honestly, I don’t get it. Yes, the songwriting is good, but it’s just so busy. I think a gospel choir can elevate a song if used right, but when it’s on every song it just becomes part of the background noise. I don’t like the singers voice, it’s a weird middle ground between Elvis and Roy Orbison, both of which I’m not really big fans of. It nails the gothic aesthetic I’m sure they were going for, but I don’t think it works without organs and heavier guitars. Maybe this all spins back to me not liking most Alternative music, but it just doesn’t click for me. On top of all that, it’s too long. If it was 2 separate records released close together like Load and Reload, I might enjoy it better, but I can’t take an hour and a half of this at a time.

You know, I can understand the appeal of this album. It’s a great mix of Bossa Nova, Industani classical, r&b and a few others, but it comes off uninspired and confused. A few of the melodies are cannibalized from other songs of the era, but they’re good melodies regardless. I’ve not listened to any Brazilian music so I don’t have a baseline for how to rate this, but do to the meandering nature of the album, and my general ignorance of the genre, I can’t rate it very high