I don’t typically listen to jazz, but when I do… Just doesn’t get any cooler.

Interesting. Jay-Z ish

Nice listen. Hear this band’s influence in a lot of other later stuff I’ve heard. Reminds me how much good music has come out of Scotland.

Need to listen to more Bowie to gain a better appreciation. Nothing boring about this album, but didn’t move me. Probably need to listen again and more intently. I know Bowie and this album was groundbreaking, but, with some exceptions, I don’t love this record. Recognize the great musicianship though.

Really nice listen. Adele has a remarkable voice and it’s just a pleasure the ears. Some catchy melodies too. Not the genre I’m typically drawn too, but in all honesty I just like this record.

Like me this more than I expected. Ozzy could actually sing! Some sweet bass lines and the guitar isn’t just noise. Sabbath really did rock. And there are quite beautiful interludes too. Great record.

Not for me. Elvis’s music grates on me and I don’t think this album is all that good. Maybe earlier Elvis would move me more but this is crap.

Phenomenal album. Top to bottom. Absolute classic. Musically, lyrically… Neal Peart was a genius. This is an all-time great.

Hadn’t heard this one straight through before, but of course had a song or two. Neil Young is always Neal Young… just is what he is. Some bluesy numbers. Solid, but not the pinnacle of Neil Young.

Appreciate learning about this pioneering band in the NYC 70s punk scene. But NOT my jam. In fact I couldn’t get through the whole record. Really grating and irritating. Sounds like they are trying to be funny, but it’s not. Maybe just really dated and hasn’t stood up.

Less pop, more maturity than I expected. Lourde clearly struggling with her stardom on this one. Still has some good beats and hookiness, but a very different album than Pure Heroine. Brooding and introspective and darker. As far as my take… surprisingly good with decent depth. Solid record.

Had never really listened to MIA (other than Paper Planes just through pop culture). Gotta say, I’m impressed, especially since this is the debut album. I’m not a hip-hop connoisseur, and while I like some hip-hop, it’s not my go to music. But this album is good! Groovy, makes you want to move, and feels like something unique. Might have to do a deeper dive in M.I.A.

I saw Brian Eno pop up and got excited. But what a disappointment. This album SUCKS. Annoying sounds, hand claps, and dumb lyrics. Spare me from this one.

Wasn’t familiar with Eels, so was glad for the introduction. Not bad at all. A little vanilla in spots, but a good listen. I’d revisit it. Made me think of Blink 182 for some reason.

It’s the Rolling Stones. What can you say? They’ve never been my personal favorite but hard to argue with the quality. Don’t think this is their best work though.

So I get that this was a big album with big hits that have had staying power. I just don’t like ABBA. Respect though.

Average hip hop. Not bad, not anything special though.

Great record! Somewhere between Oasis and the Beatles in sonic landscape. I’ll listen to this one again.

This band just knows how to do it. Not always in the mood for CCR, but the band is just so tight and to me is quintessential Americana bluesy rock and roll.

Dark subject matters dealt with here. Post-punk sound, and influences of Clash to GnR are audible. Vocals tend to get a little to glam for my taste, but the songs are great and this album is very strong straight through. Torn between 3 & 4 stars.

Moody, sonically beautiful, and lyrically outstanding. Maybe not S&G’s greatest, but still an excellent record. Hear the Dylan influence overtly on A Simply Desultory Phillic. Almost too overt. For Emily… is such a gem.

Just a classic. Not much more to say and hard to argue with the quality of the songs on this one. The music is soothing and pleasant and fusion of musical traditions results in a masterpiece. I’m not gonna give this one 5 stars, but only because it’s not my personal favorite kind of music. But can’t give it less than 4… and wouldn’t argue with 5.

Hmm. Some really good (‘Til I Die and Surf’s Up), and some really really bad (opening track, the one about feet, and the Tree song). Never really understood the critical love for The Beach Boys, but did a bit of deep dive once this album popped up and now I understand better the musical genius of Brian Wilson, even if I don’t love all of the music. There were spots on this record that were sonically beautiful, but some of the lyrics are just putrid. So this one for me was a mixed bag. At times during the listen, I was thinking a “2” at best, but then there was some truly genius tracks, and I was thinking 4. Guess I’ll have to settle in the middle. The 2-3 great songs save this for me and I’ll give it a 3, bordering on a 2 for a third, bordering on a 4 for a third.

Really not sure how to rate this. Are they pioneering musicians or just a bunch of dicks making noise? Kuntz is bizarre bit also weirdly likeable. Definitely hear the foundations for grunge. But is this something I’d ever want to just put on to listen to? Sorry, but I think this is mostly just a bunch of moderately talented douchebags who were screwing around and got lucky here and there. Album is also incoherent in my view. Lot of interesting experimentation, but is there a vision? I guess I appreciate that they were pioneers, but seems accidental. Maybe that’s just punk. Not for me though.

Blah. Nothing much to say about this one. Couple of good hits and a decent listen, but nothing special to me about this album. Definition of average.

Some great classics on this record. And a lot of interesting psychedelic music. Definitely belongs on this list. Highlights are all the Grace Slick songs. Embryonic Journey also good. But the other songs aren’t quite as impactful. Strong record that could’ve been a lot better with more Grace Slick. I give the Grace songs a 4 or 5, the rest of the album a 3.

I actually like some of Missy Elliott’s work and I think some of her stuff is really great groundbreaking hip hop. But not this record.

So fusion of jazz and tango. Not much of a jazz guy and don’t even really now what tango is other than a dance. Gave this a try. Certainly wouldn’t have picked to listen to this on my own and probably won’t ever listen again. Kuddos to these guys for doing there thing… and if it’s spontaneous live, then that’s impressive. But it’s their thing, not mine. Zzzz. No thanks on this one.

I mean the record swings and bops and rocks. But do I really like it? Not really. It’s not bad (with the exception of Tutti Frutti which makes me want to smash the music player), it’s just not my thing.

First thought was Nick Drake. Little dodo I know that the album was written for Drake and he and Martyn were friends. Also picked up on on fusion of varieties of genres… folk, jazz, blues, rock. This is a really good record that I’d never heard of and probably wouldn’t have listened to but for this project.

What a phenomenal album. Beautiful and layered and rich and expansive. In my mind I always think of Gish and Siamese Dream as the great Pumpkins albums, but maybe because I hadn’t spent as much time with this one. Glad I relistened. The Smashing Pumpkins are a helluva band.

Flavor fuckin’ Flav! In his prime! Lyrics are sharp, incredible sampling, great hooks and bone rattling beats. Ear worms all over the place and some classics.

Didn’t know this group. And didn’t need to. WTF is this doing on this list? Trying to bring the curve down? Just absolute trash, especially lyrics. Maybe worst record I’ve heard on this list so far.

Avant garde for sure. Lots of experimental sounds. Not really pleasurable to listen too although it has some interesting moments. Also too goofy and absurd for my taste.

Decent record. Doesn’t stand out for me though. Just Ok.

It’s good. Some great… like Imagine.

Schlock

Motörhead knows how to rock.

I don’t typically listen to jazz, but when I do… Just doesn’t get any cooler.

First track “The Stars of Track & Field” starts a little slow, and I was about to write this one off, but then it hits its stride. It’s followed by “Seeing Other People” which is super catchy. From there it’s a little up and down. Has some very “Smiths” moments and the last couple of tracks are totally Nick Drake inspired. I’m willing to bet these guys influenced Vampire Weekend too. Overall, it’s a good record. Wouldn’t call it GREAT, but I liked most of it.

Bring on the synths. I used to really love OMD. My first concert, I saw them open for the Thompson Twins. Listening with a more mature ear, I find the synthesizer music a little flat and soulless (despite the religious overtones). The vocals are also more melodramatic than I recall. It’s not a bad record, but not a great one either. And for the period, I feel like there were electronic pop bands that did it better and had more of a lasting impact. Glad to see this one pop up and glad to give it a listen after all these years, but it hasn’t aged all that well. Also, there are other OMD records I connected better with. Feel like this is a 2 even though sentimentally I want to give it a 3.

Well, it's an average pop rock record with the exception of a couple of catchy rockers. But for those, I'd give it a 2.

I have a hard time with Dylan. Music great, lyrics great, but the voice and the intonation annoys me. Leaving that aside, I understand what this man did for music, and this album was a turning point. Just can't give it less than a 4. If only Bobby could sing prettier. Haha.

Another one of those records I wouldn't have thought to put on. Some really catchy funky stuff on here I found myself grooving to. Clearly hear the 70's coming (so maybe this album was a bit ahead of its time?) Not generally into Motown, although I appreciate it. On whole, I'm giving it a 3, but I think there were some moments when I coulda gone 4 on this one. I'd definitely listen again, and it seems like a good record to put on in the background while doing stuff around the house to put you in a good mood.

Pumpkins at their finest. Rich, layered, filled with emotion. The guitars are masterful. Actually, all the musicianship is elite. This record has a little more polish than Gish, but it feels just as raw and fresh. Decade-defining for sure. People talk about Nirvana and Pearl Jam as grunge-defining bands, but the Smashing Pumpkins were right there too, and arguably, the music is more complex and creative. For me, it's the balance of the raw grungy emotion and the artistic precision of the writing and music. This album sounds sooo good, and incidentally it ROCKS! A true masterpiece. 5 of 5.

Listening to albums like this is part of the reason I'm doing this project. I wouldn't have thought to listen to this record and I certainly didn't expect to like it. Thought I knew what Iron Maiden was all about, but I was wrong... at least with respect to this album. It's pretty damn good! Much more melodic than I would've expected and less screaming than I anticipated. In fact, the guy can actually sing. That said, I'm generally not a fan of the heavy metal genre, lyrically it's not exactly poetry, and it's just not really music that moves me personally, so I'm not going to rank it that highly for ME. But that said, objectively, it's definitely a good album. 3 stars.

WTF is this?! First thought based on first song was "Portishead wannabees." the whistle, the snare, the sultry vocals. Then I thought, "are they gonna break into 'Goldfinger'?" Totally 1970s James Bond vibe going on. Is that a theremin I hear? I kinda liked the first song, "Lovely Head." Then "Paper Bag" comes on and I picture a dude in a ruffly shirt plucking a guitar standing next to a lounge singer, and then the strings kick in. Not liking it so much there. Then "Human" comes on and I hear this 70s vibe again and it's got this cool funky horn section popping in and out. I'm liking that one! Then we slow down to the lounge singer jazz + theremin again. And from there on it out it loses me and gets really weird and slow and it drags and then gets annoyingly weird and unpleasant ("Oompa Radar"... just hideously awful). Can't decide whether to give this an A for effort on the uniqueness scale, or an F for being weird just to be weird and for copying Portishead but mostly failing to achieve anything close to the musical greatness of Portishead's best work. Other than a couple of moments (most of "Lovely Head," all of "Human," and I couple of other spots which I found myself being strangely attracted to, on whole I don't really like the album.

Record showcases what a great band the Stones were. Serious blue on this one. Sympathy and Jigsaw are fantastic. The beats in Jigsaw are captivating.

Cheesy. This is no for me.

The guitar

Pretty cool. Funky and jazzy and a little psychedelic. I’ve heard some other Herbie Hancock I like better (Cantalope Island for example), but this was pretty good. Not my regular jam though.

I’m not the biggest Beatles fan, but this album is filled with gems. Incredibly expansive and really runs the gamut. Some real all time greats (“Dear Prudence”, “Blackbird”, “Helter Skelter”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” “Revolution” to name a few) Couple of silly clunkers (“Piggies” for example) that I don’t love, but on whole objectively hard to give this less than a 5. Glad to have listened to this one all the way the through.

Oh that voice. Hard to believe Fiona Apple was just a teen when she made this album. The first roughly half the album is absolutely masterful… vocally, lyrically, and musically. That sultry rich soulful voice just pierces right through you. The second half of the album starts to drag a bit and I found myself getting a little bored with the music… although her voice is still amazing. If the second half had matched the first, this would’ve easily been a 5.

Another Belle and Sebastian record? Really? I just heard one from the list. There are thousands of great bands out there yet Belle and Sebastian get multiple albums on this list?! This record was fine… maybe better than fine. Good. Kinda catchy in places and mostly pleasant (despite some dark lyrics). And maybe if I spent more time with it, it would grow on me more. But it just wasn’t anything special to warrant more than a 3.

U2’s crowning achievement. This album is a masterpiece. No one part is greater than the whole on this record. The opening to the record on “Where the Streets Have No Names” is just awesome. The building wave of sound. The crescendo of the Edge’s signature guitars. Add in Clayton’s driving bass, and then the Mullen’s beat comes in. Finally, Bono’s vocals come… soulful and powerful and filled with passion. The band is just so perfect together on this album. “With or Without” has always been a favorite… beautiful song. Top to bottom, there is not a low point on this record. Even the album cover is iconic. May be a “desert island disc” for me.

Started really really well with the first song “Soul and Fire” (conjured Pearl Jam ). “Two Years…” also good. Then downhill for a stretch. But then some gems in the last half. “Homemade” another highlight. It’s raw garage rock, and I appreciate and enjoy a chunk of this album. But some of it just doesn’t sound great to me. Hear the Dinosaur Jr overlap for sure. I do think maybe if I spent more time with it, it could grow on me more. I listened once and was leaning toward a 2. On second and third listen I’m easily a 3 and maybe a high one at that.

I like a few tracks. Not the best not the worst.

Who knew Cookie Monster songs in German? Weird, unique, and interesting for sure. But not for me.

Dated. Repetitive. Lacks depth. And I don’t appreciate dance music.

Absolute classic masterpiece. So good front to back. Bowie was a true artist. This record is the gold standard for concept albums.