I've never really given Radiohead a fair shot (outside of OK Computer) even with the heavy Muse comparisons. I think this genre is a pretty good fit to what I will like to listen to (especially compared to the 1000 other albums to come). I think it'd grow on me if I played through a couple more times. Overall, super solid.
Favorites:
- Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
- Faust Arp
- Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Album starts off with an absolute classic in Let's Stay Together. Really sets the tone for the album. Made for a good half hour of super easy listening to start the morning. No complaints, just vibes. Thanks Al 🤝
Favorites:
- Let's Stay Together
- I've Never Found a Girl
- How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
Starts off with Rehab which I had heard many times on the radio over the years. Rehab is the only Amy song I could name, so when the rest of the album was a much different style than that, I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised maybe? She had a great voice, could definitely tell she felt the words she wrote/sang. Overall, not my favorite genre, but it was fine. Can't see coming back to this though. RIP.
Favorites:
- Back To Black
More albums need an Introduction and Theme song. That was lovely. Some good old school country.
Favorites:
- Night Life
- Sittin' and Thinkin'
Had no idea this was the artist for Alright. I've heard that song many times before. I love me some upbeat, punk, Britpop. About halfway through, I found myself enjoying each song more and more. What's better than some pop punk on a Friday to get the weekend going? Also, this makes me want to play Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 on PS2. (4.5/5)
P.S. the cover art pisses me off for some reason. (Not going to let it influence my rating though)
Favorites:
- Caught By The Fuzz
- Mansize Rooster
- Alright
- Lose It
- Sofa Of My Lethargy
Starts off with Monday, Monday. Never knew the artist, but now I do! Same thing with California Dreamin'. Seems like this may be a recurring theme... Overall, strong Beatles vibes, especially on Straight Shooter. This makes sense I suppose for 1966 as that was a common sound of the era.
Favorites:
- Straight Shooter
- California Dreamin'
- Somebody Groovy
Iconic. Need I say more? Queen is one of the most influential artists of all time and this is them at their best. Bohemian Rhapsody is still relevant to this day is has been for 50(!) years. We also get Brian May's best song at lead vocals in '39. There's a little bit of everything here for everyone, but the whole album still flows so well song to song.
Favorites:
- Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
- You're My Best Friend
- '39
- Love of My Life
- Bohemian Rhapsody
I've never given The Smiths a shot and my first impression is that they have such a unique sound. I don't know much else to say about this. I liked it, but I can't see myself coming back to it. I also don't think this will be the last album we'll get from The Smiths, and I am interested to hear more.
Favorites:
- I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
- Paint a Vulgar Picture
Rock Lobster is the only track I knew coming in and to be honest I had no idea it was nearly 7 minutes. (Maybe 4 and a half minutes too long) Can't say any other songs stood out. A high energy album, but I don't think I quite vibed with it.
Favorites:
N/A
One of the more interesting rap albums I've listened to. A bit lengthy at over an hour. This comes with a lot of filler tracks. What may or may not be a filler track, "Can U Keep a Secret", had me laughing out loud. Favorite lyric being "Everybody in the world, you have dandruff." When you get to what feels like the meat of the album with some of the more traditional tracks, there are some good ones, favorites outlined below. Didn't know they made Me Myself and I. After hearing basically the whole album before this song, it tracks so hard. Overall, this was enjoyable. A definite early rap sound, great sampling, some good record scratching and a large dose of goofy. These guys seem like they'd be a good hang.
3.5/5
Favorites:
- (3 Is) The Magic Number
- Eye Know
- Me Myself and I
Sounds more modern than 1978. His voice is a bit annoying to me though, and I couldn't really get past that. Some fun guitar licks throughout. Not bad overall.
Favorites:
- Pump It Up
- Living In Paradise
I've never heard of Dirty Projectors heading into this album. The beat in Temecula Surprise was a bit jarring as it felt like each instrument was playing at a different tempo. (To be honest, it actually felt like multiple tracks had this sound.) I favored the female featured vocal tracks compared to David's. I think it fit the genre a bit better. Can't see myself coming back to this though. (1.5/5)
Favorites:
- Stillness Is The Move
Good timing on this album coming up (even if there was some manual intervention to do so). I really only know the hits from Black Sabbath and they aren't on this album. I feel like Vol. 4 is a move away from their metal sound and has a wide range of genre's in here. Changes being a good example of a ballad-esque track that works well. Still, there are some good old Black Sabbath tracks like Tomorrow's Dream and Supernaut that I really enjoyed. Solid album, RIP to the Prince of Darkness.
Favorites:
- Supernaut
- Snowblind
- Changes
A mostly instrumental album with some Spanish lyrics here and there. Had me bobbin' my head side to side at my desk. To me, a lot of the tracks blended together. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it hard to pick out favorite tracks if I'm not looking at the track listing as I'm listening. So much that I didn't notice that the album was over and it had switched to suggested songs. Easy listening and fun. No complaints!
Like most artists on this list, I haven't heard much of them besides the hits. This starts off with "Thunder Road" which is one of those hits that I've grown to love. I like that this album is a normal ~40 minutes, but only 8 songs, so we really get some longer tracks. If done right, it gives the songs a chance to develop. Most of these achieve that and they don't feel played out or get boring. "Backstreets" being a good example of this. Bruce's voice is so recognizable and just fits this genre so well. I enjoyed this entire album more than I thought I would going in! (3.5/5)
Favorites:
- Thunder Road
- Backstreets
- Born to Run
- Jungleland
I've never heard of Harry Nilsson, but I like his style. (And not just his wardrobe choice in the album art) I was not expecting the sound that "Coconut" had when it came on. Especially after the ballad of "Without You". I think I knew Tyga's lyrics were sampled from someone, but was not at all expecting Harry. This is a fun album and I enjoyed it.
Favorites:
- Down
- Without You
Interesting album. Not too sure what to say about this. Inoffensive, but I think if it were longer than 29 minutes, I would have gotten tired of it. Back half of the album got a bit too... Whimsical? for me. (1.5/5)
Favorites:
- Get Me to the World on Time
Ah, 80's country. Some synth, electric piano, but definitely country. Title track "Nick of Time" was definitely the standout for me. The whole album had me tapping my foot. Some easy listening!
Favorites:
- Nick of Time
I've definitely heard of Iron Maiden, but never gave them a listen. I got exactly what I expected which is some nice 80's (slightly satanic?) heavy metal. I think I had heard The Number of the Beast before on Guitar Hero, so that was a bit familiar. Not bad overall, not my style though.
Favorites:
- The Number of the Beast
An album in French, so I had to turn to listening more on the instrumentals. Considering Ali did most of all of the main instruments, it is very impressive. I also found that this was released posthumously just a couple months after his passing. Was a nice background album during work!
Never given Def Leppard a fair shake outside of the hits. PSSOM is an easy favorite. I really enjoyed almost every song on this album to be honest. They do tend to blend together a bit, but I didn't mind when I was liking each one. Only odd part that made me go 🤨 was the beginning of Excitable... Going to ignore that! I liked this whole album much more than I expected I would. Would listen again!
Favorites:
- Pour Some Sugar on Me
- Armageddon It
- Run Riot
- Hysteria
I've never heard of Grant Lee Buffalo, but I liked the sound. His voice reminds me of Brandon Flowers, especially in the opening track The Shining Hour. I liked most of the album, unsure if I'll revisit, but good.
Favorites:
- The Shining Hour
- Fuzzy
- Soft Wolf Tread
Hell yeah. The Smashing Pumpkins rule. I've listened to most of this album in pieces, but never straight through. I'll tell you what, this fuckin rips. Front to back each track just hits. Outside the popular tracks, Silverfuck stands out to me. A nearly 9 minute face melting track that gets the blood pumping. Billy Corgan and the crew know what's up. Definitely one of the best albums of the 90's.
Favorites:
- Cherub Rock
- Today
- Disarm
- Geek U.S.A.
- Mayonaise
- Silverfuck
An electric album title. A nice orchestral album that would probably a great live show. There are also a few tracks in here that would fit well for cocktail hour background music. Didn't mind it all all for a Monday morning. Not much else to say!
Nina Simone has such an iconic voice. An interesting style, to where it almost sounds like she's telling stories first and the music comes second. (Not in a bad way) It really draws you into the narrative in a way other songs don't. I did immediately recognize "Wild Is The Wind" as it was heavily sampled in The Weeknd's "Given Up On Me". I didn't know that was Nina Simone so I was caught off guard on that one. I've never heard any of the other songs before, but I enjoyed most of them! (3.5/5)
Favorites:
- I Love Your Lovin' Ways
- What More Can I Say?
- Wild Is The Wind
Interesting album to say the least. Learned that the Eminem lyric "Two trailer park girls go round the outside" is a reference to "Buffalo Gals" so that was fun to make the connection there. Favorite song was when there was a feature which is usually an indicator that I didn't quite vibe with the album. A super eclectic collection of sounds, but I couldn't quite get into it.
Favorites:
- World's Famous
Didn't realize how many hits were actually on this one album. The songs kind of all sound a bit similar after a while, but I think that is just because Jon Bon Jovi's voice is always at the center of the song. Outside the hits, I was pleasantly surprised with the rest of the album!
Favorites:
- You Give Love A Bad Name
- Wanted Dead or Alive
- I'd Die for You
- Wild In The Streets
I've never sat down and listened to David Bowie before and I didn't fully know what to expect to be honest. I didn't know how piano based a lot of his song this album would be. A very heavy album in terms of emotion that Bowie was able convey. Not really sure if this is my preferred genre, but was pretty good overall!
Favorites:
- Life on Mars?
- Queen Bitch
ZZ Top songs have such a distinct and recognizable guitar tone that you can tell it is them straight away. La Grange is iconic and also make me want to call GEICO. Sheik had some delicious guitar licks, Tom Morello-esque. Haven't listened to much Blues music before, but I'm thinking I need to explore this genre more. I enjoyed this album more than I expected I would!
Favorites:
- Precious and Grace
- La Grange
- Sheik
Oh Frank, I feel like I say this often, but he truly has one of the most recognizable voices. Thisnwould be a great album for a turntable as you can just play it through and enjoy the background music. Just easy listening and enjoyable! Need I say more?
Favorites:
- You Make Me Feel So Young
- Too Marvelous For Words
- I've Got You Under My Skin
Back to back 1956 albums. This one is vastly different from Frank though! Classic country that makes me want to sit on the porch and watch the sunset. Couldn't pick out any favorites, but enjoyed it enough that I didn't notice when it had switched over to recommended songs.
