4/5 - I needed to hear this so I could hear Randy Newman beyond animated soundtracks and "I Love LA," as well as pay attention to his smart, biting lyrics. You can just see the sideways grin he's giving with songs like "Political Science" and "Burn On.” I don't love his voice, but I'm jealous of his songwriting talent.
Would repeat listen Holes, Opus 40, and Goddess on a Hiway. Not an album I need to listen to all the way through again.
Far too long, but a real survey of “everything George.” I love the uptempo songs with the Spector wall of sound and horns, but could have done without the stoner jam band elements towards the end.
4.5 / 5 - Has possibly the best first line on a Song 1, Side 1 of any album, and is also one of the most aptly named albums of all time. The influence of Raw Power is obviously far and wide for the future of punk, but this easily holds up on its own legs with door-blasting energy beyond just being an "influential album." I had never listened to it all the way through, and I listened to it 4 times in a row. Rounding down only because it's early in the reviews and I need to leave space at the top.
3/5 - Imagine bringing this record home in 1970 with this creepy ass album cover and the opening sounds of the rain and bells. This is a demonic, Halloween MOOD. It’s hard to believe a recording this thick with atmosphere is a debut, but the vision of what they wanted to be is clear. Like many, I’d probably listen to the follow-up Paranoid (from the same year) any day before heading back to the debut, but “The Wizard” rocks.
4/5 - Why do you need to hear this album before you die? So that you can hear exactly what 1995 and 1996 sounded like. This is not a timeless classic. This is a time capsule that you dig up, dust off, and feel all the disillusionment, angst, and GenX attitude wash over you in waves. written and sung by a woman who is flat out going for it, because who gives a flick what you think. The lyrics are sometimes brilliant, and frequently bad, while Alanis' voice is sometimes perfect and frequently grating, but this is catharsis on compact disc. There's thousands of singer-songwriter records, but few have this specific of a voice for a particular generation. Just sing along. You know the words.
2.5/5 - Why did I need to hear this album before I die? I suppose to hear what all the fuss was about. I had no connection to this album in 1998, though I've given it several listens over the last few years. I think it's fine. The hallway chatter interludes annoy me, and most of the album fades into the background for me, with a few strong standouts as the exception.
3/5 - Why did I need to hear this album before I die? To get the feel of the ambience in a mid-century jazz club in Chicago from a time well before I was born. Vaughn has a beautiful voice, and the standards are classic material, but this isn't the type of music I really engage with. In terms of musicianship and quality, this is surely higher than a 3, but it doesn't really move me.
3/5 - I’m pretty sure I didn’t need to hear this album before I die. Breakdown and American Girl are obvious standout hits, and Strangered in the Night is pretty good, but this isn’t an album of hidden gems. I love dozens of Tom Petty songs, but the debut is a bit thin for me.
2/5 - I didn't need to hear this album before I die. It's well executed, relaxing, and beautiful, but also really dull if you've never listened all the way through before. Not for me.
3/5 - Why did I need to hear this album before I die? To fill in a gap of what I know about David Bowie. This isn’t a Bowie record I’m going to revisit, but Fascination and Right were both worth discovering. The collaboration with John Lennon was also new to me. I didn’t expect to hear a cover of Across the Universe.
1/5 - I most definitely did not need to hear this before I die. Britney Spears was a cultural phenomenon, but this album nose dives after the first track and hits bottom on “E-mail My Heart.” This album is laugh out loud, wretched pop written and produced by an exploitative factory. I only made it through this because I had 9 hours of driving today, and it made all the other music feel like a savior.
5/5 - This is an example of why I started on this project — to be introduced to worthwhile recordings I would never have listened to on my own. This is way out of my usual listening tastes, but I absolutely enjoyed it. Would listen again.
5/5 - You need to hear this before you die because of the guitar tone of Tom Scholz. This is production perfection joined with great hooks and Brad Delp's voice. I've listened to this album hundreds of times, and it's a cornerstone of 70s classic rock.
4/5 - I needed to hear this because I am unfamiliar with the genre and this was a fun, easy listen. I wouldn’t have guessed this was from the 70s. Taj Mahal and the song after it were standouts for me.
5/5 - You need to hear this because Smith’s influence keeps living on. The whispered melodies and spare production keep the focus on the songwriting here, so I like this even more than XO I think. I’m glad this album came up because it had been a good long while since I sat with some of these songs. Great stuff.
2/5 - I needed to hear this record so I could say I tried. It’s hard to access this album without a guide when it’s so far outside what I typically listen to, especially lyrically. Obviously, this is a landmark hip-hop album, and it will get plenty of high marks. I was fine with several songs, but when you’re not in on the joke on the skits, it’s annoying, and the album doesn’t invite spending more time on it.
4/5 - I needed to hear this because the drums and guitar rip. Lyrics and Cookie Monster growling do zero for me. Obvious major influences from Master of Puppets and Slayer here. Dead Embryonic Cells and Desperate Cry were my favorites.
3/5 - I probably didn’t need to hear this, but I enjoyed the singles, especially Fantastic Day. Their sound was overall pretty tight with the horns, and the songs were light and summery. Enjoyable but really dated. I guess they were bigger in the UK, because I hadn’t heard of them.
4/5 - I needed to hear this so I could hear Randy Newman beyond animated soundtracks and "I Love LA," as well as pay attention to his smart, biting lyrics. You can just see the sideways grin he's giving with songs like "Political Science" and "Burn On.” I don't love his voice, but I'm jealous of his songwriting talent.
5/5 - I needed to hear this because I could put it on repeat all day. Admittedly, on first listen, I wouldn’t be able to tell this apart from any of a thousand other albums in this genre, but this hooked me. “Desafinado” and “Samba Dees Days” were my favorite tracks, but I enjoyed it the whole way through. Guitar playing was fantastic.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this. It has some interesting moments, but doesn’t leave me with any lasting impression other than over-produced rock with a singer who reminds me of Chris Martin. By no means is this a bad record, but it doesn’t belong on a list of albums I need to hear. “One Day Like This” was pretty good, but ought to end 1:30 earlier.
4/5 - I needed to hear this because I didn't know psychedelic voodoo was a thing. I thought it was trouble after the first track, but it got a lot more tuneful after that. The music here has a real "feel" and rhythm that I don't think I have the words to describe; it just kinda makes you move. "Mama Roux" and "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" were the standout tracks for me.
4.5 / 5 - I needed to hear this because I didn't think I could enjoy a 15 minute drum instrumental. This is the sort of album I'm here for. I have no idea of this is a good Fela Kuti live album or how much Ginger Baker is adding to the sound, but I listened all the way through twice, and to a couple tracks 3 times. Great groove. Would listen to more Fela Kuti. Rounding to 5 for the drums.
2/5 - I needed to hear this only if I wanted to revisit the post-9/11 feeling. This feels very dated to me, and not a Bruce album I'd want to spend additional time with. Musically, this just doesn't do much at all, and lyrically, it's hard to engage for the first time with something that is so particular to a moment in time.
3/5 - I guess I needed to hear one of the early outlaw country albums, but nothing here is going to stick with me.
4/5 - I needed to hear this because the harmonies are great and it feels like a landmark supergroup album, since I'm not aware of a woman-led supergroup before this, though there probably was one. I'm not a huge country fan, but "Wildflowers" was a standout track for me.
4/5 - I needed to hear half of this album. There’s a solid 12-15 songs here, but like the production, and everything else, it’s all just so much. As a whole, it doesn’t hold up to repeat listens 30 years later, but the high points here are among my all-time favorites. Muzzle, Porcelina, 1979, BWBW.
1/5 - I did not need to hear this album, and I barely made it through. Just absolutely not my thing, though The One You Love and The Art Teacher were OK.
2.5/5 - I don’t think I needed to hear this, because it’s not going to open any new doors on what I think of Rod Stewart. The country-influenced rock and roll is perfectly listenable, but very little surprises here except the funky ending track. Rod sounds like Rod. Rounding down for lame album art.
4/5 - I needed to hear this, because I’ve never voluntarily listened to a full Yes album before. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Maybe prog isn’t so bad after all. Lots of great instrumentation here obviously, but I also really liked the opening vocal hook in Starship Trooper. Adding this one to my rotation.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this, because I never got into Pantera, and this album doesn’t change my mind. Maybe on a different day, but probably not.
2.5/5 - I needed to hear this because I didn’t know sophisti-pop was a thing before today. This album starts off pretty strong, but side B is a snore. I listened to the acoustic version of this album, and that was better for me, because it’s a little more focus on the songs without the overly lavish synth production. Everything about this record is really British, including the album art. “Bonny” was probably my favorite track. Rounding up because of the really unusual lyrics that kept surprising me. “Turkey hungry, chicken free. I can breakdance on your knee.” ?!
3/5 - I needed to hear maybe 5 songs of this album, but certainly not 2 hours. This is like when someone suggests The Count of Monte Cristo for your bookclub. You've got an epic assignment of 1200 pages of classic material to consume, and you've more or less got the gist 1/5 of the way in, because it's all more of the same. There's not going to be any surprises on side B of this monster. This is a documentary-worthy piece of work that is important for all sorts of reasons, I'm sure. It belongs on this list. I'll give it a 3 because if I'm in the unlikely mood for some bluegrass, now I know where to go. That said, it can't go any higher because: a) It's more of a catalog than an artistic statement as an album and b) I hate skits on country/bluegrass albums as much as I do on hip-hop albums. Just play the song; isn't the album already long enough?
5/5 - I needed to hear this in my life because it’s one of the original seeds that influenced so many bands I love. Smith is a complete badass on this recording and sets the tone right from the first line of Gloria. I don’t care if her voice is all over the place, and it’s often just 3-chord rock. It’s about the attitude and the message — still real 50 years later.
3.5/5 - i needed to hear this because Little Simz is a fresh voice that I otherwise wouldn’t have heard. This album surprised me with its musicality. Selfish, Wounds, Flowers, and FM 101 were the better tracks for me. I didn’t love all of it, but definitely plenty here to listen to again.
5/5 - Needed to hear this because I’ve heard all the hits hundreds of times, but never listened all the way through a Bob Marley album. Strong all the way through without a miss, it’s obvious why this is a classic. Marley writes timeless lyrics that were very much grounded in the politics of his home and time. The band is impeccable. This is music that lifts.
3/5 - I needed to hear this because it is a brief window into a particular moment in time that I’d never get from a studio recording. That said, I don’t care much for live albums, and they are almost always “one and done” listens for me. The tracks here are mostly shorter than I expected and feel like they’d be especially flat without the audience. I have a ton of respect for the outsized influence Brown would have for the decades to come, but I doubt I’d revisit this recording.
4/5 - I needed to hear this because I know it’s one of those “soundtrack to people’s lives” albums, and it has a beautiful, smooth sound with darker subject matter than the earlier Motown records. Enjoyable listen for me, but I hadn’t listened all the way through before, and I didn’t really connect with it.
4/5 - You really need to hear Revolver more than you need to hear Sgt. Pepper's, because it's the real masterpiece. A Day in the Life is one of the grandest pop songs of all time. Mr. Kite makes no sense. John opines dreamily about the girl with kaleidoscope eyes. Paul has some charming songs like 64 and Getting Better. Sitar! You've already read and heard everything about this album. It's one of the "important" ones, but it's definitely not the best one.
3/5 - I don't think this is an album of this era you need to hear, but it hits a spot for me. It has several solid tracks with Soul and Fire a clear standout, but Sister, Sacred Attention, and Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) are also really good. This is an album with three separate songwriters, and it really shows, with Barlow easily being the most talented writer of the group. Overall, a good discovery for me, and I'll be back.
4.5/5 - You need to hear this, because it launched hip-hop and rap into a generation of young suburban ears. The first 4 tracks are all-timers. It gets spotty in places after that with weaker songs like Perfection and Dumb Girl, but this is a must-listen classic. Pop culture juggernaut.
5/5 - You need to hear this because Ray Davies doesn’t get enough credit as a songwriter. Other than the leadoff Victoria, I had never heard anything on this album, and I loved every bit of it. Some Mother’s Son, Australia, Shangri-La — all so good, but I was into the whole concept of Arthur and the story of the lyrics. I clearly need to listen to more by The Kinks.
2/5 - I didn't need to hear this, because it made very little impression on me. The band name and album art put me in a skeptical mood from the jump, and the music didn't turn me around. Immediately felt like some 90s take on "world music" and all the generic associations that brings along. There were a few moments when I thought it was alright, but I kept thinking : "Is this anyone's favorite band?"
4/5 - I needed to hear this because discovering a hip-hop album with a positive message and great samples was a helluva good time. Day at the Races was the standout for me, but I had fun listening the whole way through, even if it got a bit long at the end.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this, because I couldn’t recall one hook or anything else after finishing it. I tried again and still nothing. I tend to like this type of sound compared to some other genres on this list, but this was a dud for me. Listenable, so I’ll give it a 2.
3/5 - I needed to hear this so I'd know how to get back to the chicken shack in case I want to visit again. I'm never going to have anything technical to say about listenable jazz like this, but I like this era of music, even if it doesn't really stick with me.
3.5/5 - You need to hear this because a big part of The Who's legend (for better or worse) is based on their live performances. I love this era of The Who and the setlist is great, but I'm just not a fan of live albums. Still, there's worse ways to spend my time than listening to a set of really familiar songs backed by Moon's constantly crashing cymbals.
3/5 - I'm sure I needed to hear this at some point in my life, but I don't need to hear it anymore. The hits were huge, but as a whole album, it's overrated. Deserves a place in pop culture history and on this list, but not in my listening rotation.
3/5 - I needed to hear this because it’s the closest I’ve come to enjoying a 90s gangster rap album. Don’t care for skits, but the samples were really good throughout. New Jack Hustler, Mind Over Matter, Fly By, Escape From the Killing Fields were standout tracks for me.
2.5/5 - I don't think I needed to hear this album. Despite recommendations, I've never thought that much of this debut. The vocals are uninteresting at best, and the music is totally fine. By no means is this a slog to get through, and there's a few tracks I like well enough, but no idea why this is on this list.
5/5 - I needed to hear this album because it is one of my favorite artifacts of the GWB administration. At the time, I had no idea I needed a rock opera from Green Day, but I did. I love this album front to back because it's simply a blast to listen to.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this album because it took the same track being on repeat 3x in a row before I finally noticed something was awry. I could not possibly listen to this as a focused experience, but as background while working on a weekday, it never grabbed my attention once. For that, I’ll give it a 2.
3/5 - I needed to hear this album as a whole once because of its mythology and history. This is an incredibly hard album to rate. It’s like an Old Masters painting presented as modern art depicting a landscape from an imaginary Disney planet. Smile has moments of incredible beauty, jarring transitions, barnyard animals, and then comes back and hits you with heavenly harmonies. It’s a masterpiece I don’t really understand and find hard to access. It also contains Good Vibrations which is about as good as it gets in pop music on par with God Only Knows.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this album, and I almost didn’t make it through. I’d like to either have some groove or some melody with my noise, and this had neither for me. Generally annoying, but I can see how some would find merit in it, so it’s a 2.
2/5 - I didn’t need to hear this, because the album tracks were fairly repetitive and the misogyny was gross. There’s better Stones albums than this.
3/5 - I don’t that I needed to hear this album today, but I might need to hear it again sometime in the future. The instrumental aspects of this are pretty enjoyable, but his vocal delivery put me off. I could see this growing on me if I let it.
2.5/5 - I didn't need to hear this because this was back-to-back with Bill Callahan yesterday, and I hope this isn't a trend. That said, I was prepared to hate this more than I did, and The Butcher Boy was alright. Still, it's too sedate for me in a way that isn't engaging. Rounding down for the falsetto and 90% of the lyrics which made no sense to me.