1001 Albums Summary

It's only been a couple of years since I went through her discography and it's hard to find an album that you could consider a weak entry. Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea isn't among my favourite PJ Harvey albums, but it's still a damn good one. PJ Harvey is always looking for new ways to evolve and this album is no different. It's a step in a more mainstream direction, but it's nevertheless a very good set of songs. It doesn't reach quite the same heights as Rid Of Me and To Bring You My Love, but that's a tough ask for any album, in my opinion. The collaboration with Thom Yorke is not as great as one would expect it to be. Both tracks are very solid, though. It's funny how much Horses In My Dreams sounds like a Radiohead track with no involvement from Thom Yorke, though.

While I generally enjoy R.E.M., it's appreciation more than adoration. I've listened to every album that has Bill Berry on it and I definitely like all of them, but a large percentage honestly starts to bore me halfway through. The exceptions are three albums that are coincidentally on this list: * Murmur, Document and Automatic For The People. Document might be my favourite, honestly. It's their first step towards a more polished sound and they pull it off very well. It's a punchy, fun and consistent set of songs (bar a couple of tracks near the end). I should definitely listen to some of their later work sometime in the future. I've heard good things about New Adventures in Hi-Fi, so I'll probably start with that one. Favourite track: Welcome To The Occupation

This was alright. I like the mixing a lot, but I kind of don't care about the songs themselves. I doubt I'll ever give it another thought, honestly.

While I wasn't really fond of this as a whole, a couple of tracks are definitely worthy of saving for the future. Favourite track: Why'd Ya Do It

It's a far cry from their earlier stuff, but I still think it's decent. To be fair, I don't think there's anything of value I can add to the conversation here, if there's an that album has already been discussed to death, it's this one. I'm just kind of ambivalent about it. Favourite track: Enter Sandman

The Jam have basically been a constant presence in my life for more than a decade now. They were my first bridge towards music that isn't punk (and all of its different variants), which was pretty much the only kind of music I listened to as a young teenager. Sure, The Jam could be labeled as post-punk, but they still felt very different to me because of their obvious pop sensibilities. Paul Weller is, in my opinion, one of the most consistent songwriters in modern music and it's an absolute shame he never left a bigger mark outside of Europe. His music is good at its worst and downright jaw dropping at its best. It's a very diverse catalogue when you take a step back. His vocals are also among my favourite of all time, there's just something so magnetic about his tone and delivery. I saw him live in 2023 and the man still has that special something. Anyhow, Sound Affects is a good represantation of The Jam. The songs are frantic and dominated by phenomenal percussion by Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. Weller is just slightly buried in the mix, just how I like it when it comes to this type of music. His bleak commentary on society at the time is smart and well-written. Overall, it's not my favourite album from their catalogue (I have to knock down a couple of points just for that damn bee intro on Music For The Last Couple), but it's still a damn good release. Favourite track: Man In The Corner Shop

It really is an essential Johnny Cash album and a real return to form. His charisma is incredible and strongly felt throughout. The rapport with the inmates is my personal highlight. I'd also like to mention the great mixing by Bob Johnston that really helps each member of the band and Cash himself stand out. Not to mention how much the audience contributes to this whole atmosphere. Favourite track: Cocaine Blues

This was the most alright album I've had so far. Well executed, chill and enjoyable, but I doubt I'll ever come back to it. It was a good background for my morning coffee, at least.

In Search Of... has been on my to do list for quite some time due to a couple of recommendations, so I was surprised when a completely different N.E.R.D. album I've heard nothing about popped up today. I'm starting with this one, I guess. Honestly, nothing about this makes me want to go through the rest of their discography any time soon. I wouldn't say I strongly disliked it, but the songs feel haphazardly put together and the melodies feel like an afterthought. It's well-produced, but overall a bit plain, which is really weird because it obviously draws from a bunch of very different influences. I will still listen to In Search Of... someday, but I really hope it's better than this.

Probably the worst album I've had so far. I lost count of how many times I genuinely cringed while listening to this. I get it, this album is obviously drenched in irony, but I don't see how that should improve my listening experience in any way. It's just so painfully corny. I can't even say anything positive about the performances. Every single instrumental here is a dime a dozen and the only thing that stands out is one of the weakest, flattest attempts at a falsetto I've heard in quite some time. It's spammed in every single track, of course, because this album can't just be boring, it has to annoy me for forty minutes straight as well. I have a friend who loves this kind of stuff, though, so at least I have a recommendation for her.

I slightly preferred this one over Savane, but not by a large margin. Overall, really good and compelling throughout. Favourite track: Gomni

I never really cared for The Who, no matter how hard I tried, and I couldn't even tell you why. I generally don't really care for live albums as well, with a couple of honourable exceptions. The combination did not manage to exceed my expectations.

It took me way too long to find any notes on this release until I found out that this is a completely random compilation. I really don't understand why it was picked over her studio albums. I'm not even sure I picked the right version, I found at least three different tracklists under the name of this album. I don't really like compilations, especially when I'm just getting to know an artist, so if anyone has a recommendation for one of her studio albums, I will gladly give it a listen. This is an interesting set of songs nevertheless. The vocals are phenomenal. It did its job, at least, I'm definitely interested in exploring further. Favourite track: Aprendendo A Jogar

I can't decide if I like this or not, definitely an album that takes some time to settle in. For now, some tracks were really promising, but I feel like the majority of the album never gets out of first gear. It was a decent listen overall, though.

If you enjoy the pop aesthetic of the '80s, you're gonna love this. I'm not really a fan, but Prince is so unbelievable at what he does that I can't help joining in on the fun. Favourite track: Automatic

It's one of those albums that either hits or it doesn't, depending on the track. Some phenomenal highlights, but also a bunch of tracks that I personally find to be very forgettable. SZA's great vocals are always a treat to listen, though, even when the album is at its worst. Favourite track: Broken Clocks

Dirt immediately starts guns blazing with Them Bones and doesn't let up whatsoever until the end. Great vocals, great hooks, great mixing. Not the first band I reach for on most days, but there's really nothing I can fault here. Favourite track: Would?

Another strange inclusion in the bottom 20 club. I've already had at least fifty worse albums and I'm only twenty percent through. Then again, I have a weak spot for anything that's noisy and messy. This one doesn't have much beneath the surface, but it's still a good time. A far cry from anything Nick Cave did later, sure, but still decent. Favourite track: 6" Gold Blade

A 45 minute hit parade fully deserving of its status. It's very much of its time stylistically, but the production is so lush and gorgeous regardless of that. I still need to listen to all of his self-titled albums, but So is very much a green flag for the rest of his albums on the list. Favourite track: Red Rain

I like the concept, but I was a left a bit disappointed by the album itself. Despite the many interesting choices in production, very few tracks grabbed me. Favourite track: Blue Flowers

I never really liked Boston, honestly. It could be that my impression of them is simply dulled by an insane amount of overexposure over the years, but I honestly don't remember ever having anything but a lukewarm response to these tracks. It's overall just a bit too anthemic and theatrical for my tastes. Also, the less said about the lyrics, the better. I'm less familiar with the second half of the album and that's not a surprise since it's an obvious step down. It's nothing offensively bad, though. It's an important album, especially because of what it did for the recording practices in the future. The way that this record sounds on a technical level is truly incredible for the time, and I will always appreciate that, but I doubt you'll ever see me giving it a listen outside of the radio sphere. Favourite track: Foreplay/Long Time

There's not much, if anything, wrong with this release, but I do like it considerably less than the rest of the Miles Davis catalogue I've heard, simply because it is just too short and slight. Personally, I'd go with another one of his numerous great albums over a compilation, but this is fine as well. Favourite track: Move

Sinéad O'Connor is one of those artists that I appreciate more than enjoy actually listening to. Some quality stuff here, but rarely something I will seek out on my own.

Almost every time there is a single album from an artist on this list, it's the wrong pick. This is at least the tenth example I've had so far. This is a solid album, but Aimee Mann did better on at least a couple of occasions. Favourite track: I Should've Known

I don't know if I'm in a weird mood or something, but nothing really hits lately, either in a positive or a negative way, including this album. My sixth three star rating in a row. There are a couple of highlights here, but I doubt I'll revisit this album in its entirety any time soon. I'm not the biggest reggae guy, though, so maybe that plays a part as well. Favourite track: No Sympathy

This album is the perfect showcase of The Rolling Stones experience. You get to enjoy Mothers Little Helper and Lady Jane, but you also get to suffer through Going Home and High And Dry. Favourite track: Out Of Time

I know almost nothing about grime as a genre, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I am very positively surprised. Creative, incredibly fun beats, paired with some very unique flow. It does overstay its welcome by just a bit, though. Favourite track: Fix Up, Look Sharp

I genuinely have nothing of note to say. Loretta Lynn has a very nice voice, that's about it.

I was only familiar with a couple of Supergrass tracks, so I was looking forward to listening to an entire album. It definitely met my expectations, I liked this a lot. I love how relentlessly energetic it is throughout, while also having a lot of fun switch-ups. There are a couple of low points here and there, but nothing too egregious. The mixing also deserves praise, it isn't as compressed as you would expect it to be given its loudness and the time and place it was released. Favourite track: Caught by the Fuzz

Easily one of the greatest electronic albums from this particular era. Every song here has a great starting hook and progresses brilliantly from there. It's a very dynamic and layered album that debunks many allegations against electronica I've read here. An essential listen. Favourite track: Pacific 202

I thought I would like this much, much more than I did. The first five tracks are absolutely phenomenal, but the latter half of the album, while having a couple of very good tracks, fumbles with just as much tracks that didn't work for me at all. Favourite track: Penitentiary Philosophy

I'm almost quarter of the way through and only now am I realizing what a daunting task going through this list is turning out to be. I already feel like I've been doing this forever. These completely mediocre 2000s rock albums absolutely nobody needs to hear before they die certainly don't help, but the list seems to have an endless supply of them.

It's nice listening to a familiar classic after a decent string of new listens. I don't really share the near universal love for Black Sabbath, but they're undoubtedly a brilliant band. Paranoid is just full of undeniable bangers. Rat Salad is the only slip in quality and even that track is just slightly weaker than the rest. Favourite track: Hand of Doom

A brilliant piece of funk, relentlessly entertaining throughout. None of the songs overstay their welcome, despite their long runtime. It's a bit frontloaded, though. Favourite track: Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!

A landmark post-punk album that basically defines the phrase "more than the sum of its parts". Such a good time, regardless of how short it is. I think the percussion is the highlight here, it's so lively and punchy, really gets you in a groove quickly. The whole album has this incredible, infectious swagger to it, I just can't resist it. It's a record I keep coming back to. Favourite track: Pink Flag

I tried for years, but the truth is that I don't really enjoy Led Zeppelin. All the ingredients are there (the absolutely godlike rhythm section in particular), but they just never clicked for me, right from their debut and all the way to Physical Graffiti, so I've definitely given them a fair shake. I really dislike Robert Plant, so it could be down to that. There are a couple of tracks here I really dislike and it's mostly down to him. I do have to point out that this album is probably my personal favourite out of all of them, but I have to revisit the rest because it's been a while. Favourite track - The Lemon Song

Like Water for Chocolate is an album that really relies on gripping you with its atmosphere. The beats are gorgeous, soulful and there's always something extra in the background to give each track a new dimension. Common does a good job with his flow, even if it's a bit reserved at times, and there are some really nice features here. Sadly, the album didn't really grab me today, but that might be just because I'm having an exhausting day so far. I'll be sure to give it another listen soon. Favourite track: The 6th Sense

Overall, a dull listen. There are a couple of highlights, to be fair, but I just wished this album would end for the majority of its runtime.

Probably the best noise rock album not made by Sonic Youth I'll get on the list, or any other list, come to think of it. Favourite track: Shut the Door

I genuinely can't stand these songs anymore, I've heard them way too many times in my life and I didn't exactly love them back when they first came out either. Can't really fault the album for being overexposed, but I also can't pretend that I enjoy it. Also, a necessary dishonourable mention for that Lovesong cover, possibly a spawning point for the still active epidemic of horrible lounge covers of classic tracks.

A rough listen, mostly in a good way. I understand why it's in the bottom 20, but personally I'd disagree with that placement.

There's not much to criticize here, Joan Baez has a beautiful voice and all of these renditions of traditional folk songs are well-made, but personally I could never fully connect with her music. I just think there are plenty of more interesting artists in the genre. I wish the list went a little more in-depth with '60s folk, though, having no Townes Van Zandt or Phil Ochs on the list is a strange decision, to say the least. Favourite track: Fare Thee Well

It's amazing how someone can come out with such a brilliant piece of art and never come close to that again. To be fair, Endtroducing... does feel like catching lightning in a bottle, especially when you listen to the hilariously inferior re-imagined version that came out 20 years later. Anyhow, this is a wonderful album that truly deserves all the praise it gets. It's just perfectly constructed and its atmosphere is unmatched. Favourite track: Building Steam With a Grain of Salt

Decent, but it didn't exactly blow me away. Kind of listened to it in a hurry, to be fair, it probably deserves a second listen. Favourite track: I Can't Dance

Love it or hate it, you just have to respect how relentlessly berserk this thing is. Are you really not glad you've heard this before you died? Favourite track: Siege of Power

The White Album is a complete mess full of filler and random left turns, which is the key to its charm. It's like an insane after hours DJ set on the radio. I will never have a random desire to listen to Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, Revolution 9 or Wild Honey Pie, but I always smile when they come up while going through the album. There are probably at least three Beatles albums I prefer, but The White Album is the most unique album in their catalogue. The fact that the best tracks on the album are also some of the best songs ever made goes without saying. Favourite track: Happiness Is A Warm Gun

This was easily one of my most listened to albums in high school. The creative musicianship, the enigmatic persona of Jim Morrison, the drawn out closers on at least half of their catalogue...all of this was incredibly appealing to me back then. Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger had an incredible chemistry, the guitar and the synth combine beautifully here. Add Morrison's iconic drawl on top of that, what's not to like? Nostalgia aside, my opinion of this debut, and most of The Doors catalogue in general, has somewhat diminished over the years. Nowadays, Strange Days would probably be the only release I'd label as a masterpiece. This one is really great at times, but it's filled with inconsistencies that would become even more apparent from The Soft Parade onwards. Here, the second half is decent, with End of the Night as a highlight. However, if you swapped the aforementioned track with Twentieth Century Fox, you'd get one of the most frontloaded albums I can think of. Even the legendary closer, The End, starts to become tedious after one too many listens, especially as you grow a bit older and realize that Morrison really isn't as deep as you once thought. When the Music's Over is, in my opinion, a much more engaging closer of similar nature. I've gotten way too negative over an album I like in general and have very fond memories of, though. The highlights are absolutely phenomenal and worth their status. Favourite track: Break on Through (To the Other Side)

This was a brilliant next step after Different Class, with a darker, more morbid approach. Jarvis does particularly great in this sleazy enviroment, especially in the tracks such as The Fear, which require a pretty big range, both vocally and emotionally. Kudos to the rest of the band as well, everyone leaves a special mark at a certain point here. Still, it's not quite as consistent as one would expect a Pulp album to be at this point. There is a decent number of tracks I tend to skip nowadays. However, the highlights are some of my favourite tracks of the decade, so it evens out overall. Favourite track: This Is Hardcore

I've been in love with Emmylou Harris' voice ever since hearing her harmonizing with Dylan in Desire, but this is the first time I venture into her discography, so I was looking forward to it. Sadly, there's not much to bite into here. It's a solid set of covers with a great original track jammed in-between, but I can't say I was blown away overall. Her voice is expectedly great and the arrangements are solid, but it does miss that X factor that I can't really pinpoint at the time of writing this. Favourite track: Boulder to Birmingham

I never listened to Muse, but, as a distant observer, all the discussion about their rise and fall over the years has been an amusing read. This was a decent listen. A couple of very good tracks, but the whole thing is uneven and, while I appreciate the sentiment, the commentary is poorly written and superficial. It's a very smooth and polished album, yet jam-packed with millions of bells and whistles, which works in its favour in a couple of instances, but many tracks also end up sounding a bit sterile. This is more of a problem later on, with a couple of songs just merging inside my head into one big, empty crescendo. I'll explore more of their music sometime in the future. I heard the most praise for Origin of Symmetry so I'll give that one a listen soon. I doubt I'm going anywhere near anything they made after this album, though. Favourite track: Map of the Problematique

This album managed to constantly surprise me with its switches in style. It mostly pulls it off well, but there was a decent amount of tracks that just did nothing for me on a first listen. It does feel at times that they just threw on everything they could think of and hoped most of it will stick. Definitely something I will revisit in the future, though. Favourite track: Juxtapozed with U

I was only familiar with Epic before going through this album. I'm glad to say that it maintains that kind of energy throughout. The last three tracks slightly undermine the rest of the album, but they're far from bad, just slightly worse than the rest. Favourite track: Zombie Eaters

Not the absolute best Stevie Wonder, but pretty close. These instrumentals are like an ear massage. With Stevie's wonderful vocals on top, the result is near flawless. Sadly, Talking Book is a victim of its creator's brilliance and, as a result, it slightly pales in comparison to his later work. Favourite track: Superstition

Funk is currently my top rated genre on the list. Considering how well it's represented with albums such as this one, it's not hard to see why. What I love the most about this album is how deep and layered it sounds. You get lost in the groove so easily and it's such an enjoyable ride. The percussion is downright tantalizing. Still, the sound here is surprisingly dark and swampy, which is pulled off really well with some appropriate lo-fi mixing and the absence of the trademark '60s optimism. All in all, an essential listen for the genre. Favourite track: Thank You for Talkin' to Me, Africa

Eno and Byrne create an interesting and innovative collage of sounds here. It's exactly the sound you'd expect from these two collaborating. However, it is a bit substandard compared to their respective works of this era. It's never dull, but it does tend to get repetitive. It doesn't really develop much past its starting point, which is a shame because this album is an absolutely brilliant listen at times. Favourite track: Regiment

Paul Simon's music is just way too polished and sappy for my tastes. Nothing against him, just not my thing. The first track in particular is so damn twee that I barely powered through it. A couple of other tracks are great, at least. I somehow managed to go through life without listening to *Graceland* yet, though, so maybe my opinion will change with that album. Favourite track: Peace Like a River

I'm struggling to write much about this one. It was a decent listen, but I doubt I'll come back to it.

I'm somewhat conflicted on Hail To the Thief. It has both the best and the worst songs in their entire catalogue. If I'm being honest, though, the only album in their discography I like better is Kid A. It might be a bit strange, but I'd take this one over The Bends, OK Computer or In Rainbows any day of the week. It has that ferocious energy and rhythm that they never really replicated in their other albums. Maybe I'm a sucker for a more straightforward approach, but this style is exactly what suits me the most when it comes to Radiohead. The weaker tracks like We Suck Young Blood and The Gloaming actually fit decently, regardless of how much I have a desire to instantly skip them when they come up. Favourite track: Where I End and You Begin

While I'm definitely glad that I've heard this, the songs are just way too repetitive for me and they aren't interesting enough to justify it. When the album is almost an hour long, these song structures start to wear you down fairly quickly. It's kind of rough trying to critique this when I know absolutely nothing about the cultural context in which this album was made, though, but we can consider this a first step.

I wish this wasn't their only album. At least their discography is near perfect this way. Favourite track: I Can't Sleep

I'm far from an expert, but for my money, this is the best jazz has ever sounded. Genuine perfection. I obviously love music, but I very rarely feel music as much as I do while listening to this masterpiece.

That's the Way of the World starts off wonderfully, but it comes to a grinding halt with All About Love and it's just too short of an album to regain momentum successfully after that point. Favourite track: Happy Feelin'

There are some strange choices on this list, but picking an album from the niece of Chico Buarque while simultaneously failing to include a single Chico Buarque album has to be the strangest of them all. Genuinely absurd, Construção in particular is easily one of the greatest albums I've ever heard and it's nowhere to be seen here. I live as far as possible from Brazil and even I am stupefied. It's like picking Jakob Dylan's The Wallflowers over Bob Dylan. Anyway, I get why this album was picked, it's a fresher and more modern take on bossa nova with its little electronic touches and lounge elements, but overall it's an unimpactful, inoffensive set of renditions that won't stick around in your memory for very long, other than a couple of great tracks.

Two of the finest jazz albums ever made generated in a week? Don't mind if I do.

I love a good jam, but this album really pushed my limits. I can't see myself coming back to this. The album gets far more interesting after that whole Who Do You Love suite ends, though, so there's that. I get what they were aiming for with that cover, but it just didn't work for me at all.

The Verve was always my least favourite of the major Britpop acts of the time. They're a solid band that rarely, if ever, amazed me. A Northern Soul is alright, but this is my second listen of the album and the first was almost a decade ago, which says a lot. For me, they lack just a bit of that griminess that Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede all had at least at a certain point in their respective careers. Not to mention how tedious these songs become with their completely unjustified runtimes. It's like Be Here Now before Be Here Now, but without the messiness that would at least make it somewhat interesting.

This mixture of tango and trip hop is like ear candy to me, but the album still manages to overstay its welcome and it basically repeats itself throughout its entire second half. I would definitely love to expand on this kind of sound, though. This really had the potential to be better than it actually is, but I'm still glad I heard it. Favourite track: Queremos Paz

Aladdin Sane was once upon a time my favourite Bowie album. Nowadays, I think it wouldn't even crack top five. It's a nice continuation of the style of his previous albums, with an added touch of quirkiness, but the songwriting overall feels more indulgent and less rewarding than it was before. It's been a while since I listened to this album in its entirety and it was surprising to realize how little enjoyment I'm getting out of it now. Favourite track: Lady Grinning Soul

I loved this. The rhythm is so incredibly engaging and layered throughout. The horns are a really enjoyable addition as well. I'm definitely going to do a deeper dive through Youssou N'Dour's discography, this was a really fun listen. Favourite track: Taaw

The Only Ones is the type of album that's blessed and cursed with having a song that's so clearly superior to the rest that it really makes it hard to judge properly. Even after a couple of listens, I still think this is just a decent album elevated by a moment of brilliance right at the start. Favourite track: Another Girl, Another Planet

I've drastically changed my opinion on Sea Change more times than I care to count, but after all these years, I think my opinion on the album is pretty much set in stone. First of all, I have to give some praise to Nigel Godrich. Overall, he's easily the best producer Beck has worked with and he does a great job here as well. Despite the dreary subject matter, Sea Change has a surprisingly warm and comforting atmosphere, mostly thanks to its polished sound and apt placements of the rare moments of messiness you'll stumble upon here. Beck's vocals are dark-toned, yet soothing and emotive, as well as perfectly mixed. The songwriting, well, it's a mixed bag. In fact, Sea Change is one of the most front-loaded albums you'll ever hear. The lyrics switch between creative and uninspired almost constantly, which is a shame because I can't remember Beck ever really fumbling in this department before this album. However, I really have nothing bad to say about Sea Change for the entirety of its first half. The second half is where the cracks really start to show. The album switches from a display of creative moroseness to a display of dejected boredom. I don't want to discredit the second half entirely, there are a couple of really great moments there as well, especially between Already Dead and Little One. Sunday Sun is the highlight with some surprising and welcome touches of neo-psychedelia. However, in general, the wonderfully emotional choruses of The Golden Age and Guess I'm Doing Fine, the fabulous instrumental breaks of Paper Tiger and Lonesome Tears and the sheer beauty of Lost Cause are all painfully missing here. The tracks I haven't mentioned are sadly a massive fumble in all departments and really bring the album down. Overall, though, it's a solid release, even if it pales in comparison to his best work. You'll definitely start to appreciate it much more once you try going through Morning Phase and his latest one-off ballads. Not even 300 days into this challenge and I generated all Beck albums from the list. Personally, I'd pick four of his albums for the list that do a better job of showcasing Beck's diversity and creative brilliance at the height of his songwriting abilities. Those albums would be Odelay, Midnite Vultures, Mutations and The Information. Favourite track: Paper Tiger

While this was an interesting listen, it didn't really appeal to me as much as I thought it would. I wish a lot of these tracks were longer by a minute or two, many of them felt too slight just because they were too short to fully grasp. I'm still glad I gave it a listen, though. Favourite track: Congo Mulence

Great, energetic little piece of punk. It's just so short that I barely register it. It's no Minor Threat when it comes to brilliant short albums, but still a good time. Favourite track: Back Against the Wall

Skunk Anansie are decently popular where I'm from and they're a frequent live act. I never really gave them a proper listen, though. Post Orgasmic Chill has a couple of cool moments, mostly at the start, but the songwriting is in most cases either forgettable or corny and it pales in comparison to some of its peers. The hooks are merely acceptable and the super clean mixing leaves a lot to be desired. I do have to give some praise to the vocals and the major themes of the album, which are delivered well. Overall, it's decent, but I doubt I'll come back to it.

My first encounter with a Zappa album and, man, I was not dissapointed. Great stuff. Favourite track: Son Of Mr. Green Genes

This is one of those albums that gives you a constant feeling of deja-vu. It's just completely uninspired, a plodding, overlong collage of tired neo-psychedelia tropes of the '90s, downright stereotypical. A couple of tracks do manage to break this suffocating mould, but they are few and far-between. 2/5

I was never able to get on the SOAD train. There's obviously a lot to like here, especially when you focus on how well the band gels together and how strong the lyrical content is on a lot of these tracks, but everything about them is so ridiculously over the top, almost constantly. I love when a vocalist shows some personality in his delivery, but Serj just goes overboard with his random inflections way too often and it quickly stops sounding fun, especially when you go through an entire album. These loud-quiet-loud song structures also tend to get repetitive after a while, especially when a couple of obvious fillers start to go one after another. I know this is one of the typical "right artist, wrong album" issues the list has, but a lot of my problems with this debut carry over on their later releases, even if they're obviously superior to this album. Still, I have to give credit to at least a couple of tracks here, which manage to win me over despite my grievances. Favourite track: Spiders

I like some of Fatboy Slim's work, but it's clearly a couple of steps below the best artists in the genre. The build-up in a lot of these tracks feels really unimaginative, which is sad because the hooks often show promise. The second half of the album thankfully shows some improvement in this regard. Overall, though, I think this album could've ended up much better than it is with just a couple of adjustements. Favourite track: Soul Surfing

I understand the low ratings, but I completely disagree. This album carries such an unique atmosphere and it does really well to make itself stand out at such a short runtime. Favourite track: Ghost Rider

While definitely a nice piece of early melodic punk rock, it really lacks a special track to bump it up closer to the classics. Still, a very enjoyable listen, even if it's more style than substance. Favourite track: On the Roof

I've heard plenty of Clapton adjacent albums, and I've definitely enjoyed a couple, but I never indulged in his solo work. I never knew blues could sound so lifeless. Clapton sounds like he can't wait to get out of the studio. It's competently made and there are a couple of decent radio staples here, but I couldn't imagine listening to the entirety of this album ever again.

I'll just have to let my nostalgia do the talking here, it's unavoidable. American Idiot is the first non-compilation album I've ever listened to, any and all objectivity goes out the window with that fact alone. Not to mention that they're the first band I've ever seen live and that I've learned how to play guitar almost exclusively with their songs. While I'm way more into their early work nowadays, there's a lot to love about this album as well. First of all, the hooks are consistently pretty good, and the mixing accentuates that perfectly. While the guitar is the most prominent part of every composition here, it's massively carried by Mike and Tré's tremendous energy. My biggest gripe with Green Day albums made after American Idiot is how little attention Mike gets in the mix, but that's not a problem here at all. In fact, I'd argue he's the star here. Billie Joe changes his vocal delivery and tone for this album pretty drastically. While I prefer his younger, sloppier, rawer delivery of the '90s, this change was a wise choice for this album and helps prop up some of the more emotional moments sprinkled throughout. Finally, the song structures are ambitious, well thought out and executed almost perfectly. I never agreed with the critique of American Idiot being too shallow in its presentation of political themes and emotional turmoil. Sure, Billie Joe has shown himself to be a lacklustre songwriter in this department for the last couple of Green Day albums, but those criticisms don't really apply to American Idiot, in my opinion. It's an attempt shove it in a particular punk sphere it just doesn't belong in. They're not Bad Religion. This is a rock-opera about an edgy, moody teenager, of course the songwriting has melodramatic tendencies and lacks nuance. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm not gonna act like it's a flawless album, though. It has a couple of weak tracks, mainly She's a Rebel. Also, as I've already mentioned, I definitely prefer their more energetic and bratty albums, such as Dookie, Insomniac and Nimrod, that type of pop-punk is when they're at their best. Favourite track: Holiday

I had to wait almost a year to finally get a Tom Waits album, easily one of my all time favourite artists. While this is still a very characteristic sound, it's very different from his '80s run. Waits sounds more mature, serious and sinister. Bone Machine offers a constant clash of tone that oddly works. At one moment you're listening to a...well, a literal bone machine, and at the other you'll stumble upon an emotional piano ballad. It's a frequent contrast present in many Tom Waits albums, but it was never this obvious, in my opinion. With that being said, the result is slightly inconsistent. It's one of those incredibly rare albums you'd call backloaded. The second half of this album consists of wall-to-wall bangers and it's one of Waits' finest hours as an artist. The first half is great as well, but there are definitely a couple of tracks I'll skip during a casual listen, and I don't really feel the need to do so with many of his other albums. Still, this was a great beginning of a new phase in his career that he'll only proceed to perfect with his upcoming albums. Favourite track: Goin' Out West

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀 Favourite track: Firestarter

Crime of the Century is an enjoyable piece of prog with some phenomenal highlights. For me, though, Breakfast in America is much more suited to my taste, it's a shame it isn't on the list. The middle of the album is a slight let down compared to how it starts and ends, but it's nothing too detrimental to the entire experience. Favourite track: School

I'm having an insane run of albums lately. Dig Your Own Hole is a downright masterful piece of electronica, particularly the '90s Big Beat scene. It encapsulates everything great about the sound. The beats are incredibly dynamic, powerful, versatile and layered. The odd appearances of vocals and the various different soundbites sprinkled throughout are perfectly placed. Every track has a wonderful flow to it and every single progression feels very natural. The album's centerpiece is a brilliant homage to The Beatles featuring Noel Gallagher. The rest of the tracks are just as great, though. It's hard to pick a favourite, each one offers something different and serves the album tremendously, aside from a couple of slightly weaker moments, which is to be expected with a runtime slightly exceeding an hour. The only flaw of Dig Your Own Hole is that it's not Surrender, an album that somehow manages to sound even more vibrant, creative and diverse. Sadly, it's not on the list, but I encourage everyone who enjoyed this album to give it a listen. Favourite track: currently, The Private Psychedelic Reel

I woke up sick this morning, so there's a chance that I'm a bit unfair to this album. Overall, it's an enjoyable ride, but I expected more. While there are a couple of truly phenomenal tracks, I found the rest slightly underwhelming, mostly because of the beats. Most of them just didn't click with me at all, and it's a shame, since this is a top notch album when you focus on the lyrics. The middle is probably the strongest part of the album, it's where it really starts to get in a groove that I was expecting. Outro is a baffling way to end the album, though, just unnecessary bloat. I'll give it another listen soon, though, I think that would be fair given the circumstances right now. Favourite track: Daydreamin'

I'm sometimes conflicted on how to judge a Neil Young album. This is a very good release which would probably be a career highlight for many, but I've always had a tendency to put it aside, especially because it's in the middle of the greatest album run of his career and it kind of pales in comparison to what comes directly before and after. It definitely does some things to make itself stand out, but it still feels like his other albums of the time, just slightly less impactful. Favourite track: Tonight's the Night

Often cited as a left turn for a more commercial sound (for which I'd honestly credit Out of Time), Automatic For The People is also regularly named as R.E.M.'s best release. It's definitely up there. I'm not the biggest R.E.M. fan by any means, but Drive is one of the best songs of the decade and easily the best opener to any of their albums, along with Harborcoat. The album maintains momentum with a great set of diverse tracks in the first half. The second half is also filled with some spectacular highlights, Find The River in particular, but there is an odd track here that I regularly skip, which sadly isn't out of the ordinary for their albums. They just can't resist placing at least one stinker in all of their releases, but maybe someone will disagree with me on that. I still haven't listened to Monster and I definitely should, especially because I wonder how their next step sounded and if they pulled it off. Favourite track: Sweetness Follows (Drive isn't the only all-timer here)

There's nothing really wrong with this album, but the constant clash between punky and classic rock soundscapes is just unappealing to me most of the time, at least in this example. I get that it sets them apart from the rest of their contemporaries, but that doesn't really win me over. There are a couple of great tracks here, though, and they are spread out in a way that at least kept me entertained throughout. Favourite track: (Get A) Grip [on Yourself]

This album was a necessary change in style after The Great Escape, which had plenty of deserving hits, but overall felt like a case of diminishing returns. From the very first muted guitar strum on Beetlebum, you can sense the band going in a different, more experimental and overall morose direction. Their biggest hit ever, Song 2, continues to showcase how much the band has changed in just a couple of years, but it also shows that there is still some levity left in the group, which will be all but gone by the time 13 comes out. As always, I have to give special credit to Graham Coxon, whose signature crunchy guitar tones sound more fitting than ever on this release. While I have tremendous respect for this album, I do have to say that it's shockingly inconsistent. Blur are known to drop a stinker here and there, and some mistakes are to be expected when trying out a new sound, but the amount of clunkers present here is too large to ignore. Any time the album builds proper momentum with a couple of great tracks, the band will proceed to completely drop the ball with songs like Theme From Retro, Chinese Bombs, or I'm Just a Killer for Your Love. The closer, Essex Dogs, is also among the weakest in their discography. Thankfully, Blur will proceed to iron out the kinks by the time 13 comes out, which is, in my opinion, their best album not named Parklife. Favourite track: Death of a Party

There's a different energy here compared to Rum Sodomy & The Lash. MacGowan sounds even more rough, his voice now carrying a bit of a mean streak. It really gives the tracks an edgier feel, which I welcome. However, the edge is lacking in other departments. While The Pogues slightly diversify their sound with this album (Turkish Song of the Damned signfies this right at the start), ironically I feel like the album loses its legs much quicker than its predecessor. I can't quite figure out why that is, maybe losing Costello as a producer played a part, or maybe it's just a case of slightly worse sequencing. Still, any time spent with The Pogues is time well spent in my book. There are a lot of great tracks to take away from this album. I wouldn't mind a couple of others being outright cut, though. Favourite track: Turkish Song of the Damned

One of those albums I'm glad I've heard, but still left me cold. It's a comfortable listen, though.

I understand the low ratings on this one, it's definitely harder to appreciate if you're not aware of the context in which it was made. Stylistically, it's also very much an acquired taste. However, I really do believe this album should be as far as possible from the bottom 20. I wasn't alive when Yugoslavia was around, but I have heard more than enough from my family to know that I should be thankful for that. With Opus Dei, Laibach showcased one of the most impressive satirical takedowns of an opressive leadership that I'm aware of, by portraying them as identical to any other fascist regime. They also make a comparison between fascism and western pop music as a sidenote, which is just amusing whether or not you agree with the sentiment. Personally, I've always disliked Queen so I'm fine with it in this particular example. Other than that, it's just a damn good industrial album. The performances are damn near perfect from each band member and you definitely can't knock them any style points off either. Favourite track: Leben: Tod

When I first started getting into Hip Hop, Kanye was already starting to show some cracks both as a person and as an artist. As a result, I wasn't really interested in researching his discography. I can separate the art from the artist most of the time, but I already had so much to explore that I wasn't really in a rush to give his albums a listen. Much less so when he started pushing Nazi ideology. With all of that out of the way, in a purely musical vacuum, this album is incredible. The hooks are phenomenal, it's fantastically produced and Kanye's flow shines time and time again, even if it's often put aside in favour of melodic features and samples. There are two or three low points here, but overall this was a great listen. I'm not sure how much I'll actually revisit it considering all of the external factors, but we'll see. Favourite track: POWER

I never liked Foo Fighters and their bland brand of alternative rock. However, I've never listened to an entire album from them, so it's only fair that I give them a proper chance. This debut is surprisingly solid at the start, but it very quickly becomes annoyingly dull and uncreative, with very weak songwriting and uninspired riffs. Even if there was anything interesting happening in these songs, the loud-above-all approach to production would completely bury it. I'm open to different approaches to mixing, but if this is the way to go for the band, at least show some shred of attitude or charisma to back it up. Sadly, Foo Fighters avoid both of these attributes like the plague. I shudder at the thought of what the rest of their discography sounds like, because here they already sound like a 20-year-old band running out of ideas.

I liked the majority of this debut, but it admittedly lacks both the consistency and the highlights of their later albums. For what it's worth, there are some phenomenal tracks like Astronomy Dominé that really sound ahead of their time. Syd Barrett definitely led the band in some interesting directions while he was around. Favourite track: Interstellar Overdrive

This album decides to explain itself with a spoken word intro, but there's not much worth explaining throughout its short runtime. It manages to succesfully create that nocturnal atmosphere a couple of times, but the concept is quickly abandoned and all that's left is a pretty standard set of country tunes that does little to make itself stand out. It's not bad, but I doubt I'll come back to it any time soon. I really enjoyed the title track, at least.

Not quite as perfect as a remember it being, but still a brilliant, brilliant album. You don't know in which direction a lot of these tracks will go, but they always feel incredibly intuitive. Pure geniuses on each of the instruments. There are maybe four or five tracks I'm not in love with here, but their negative impact on the album is minimal. Favourite track: Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

After Bringing It All Back Home, which kickstarted the electric era with a bang, Dylan doubled down and affirmed himself as a musical genius. This is not my favourite Dylan album, but it's basically perfect. Famously, there is a revolving door policy when it comes to musicians that back Dylan on his albums, but this is, in my opinion, easily the most distinguished and talented group he has worked with (if we exclude The Band from the conversation, obviously). Mike Bloomfield's guitar work is absolutely mesmerizing in particular and he has great chemistry with Al Kooper, which will be showcased further on the absolutely brilliant Super Session (well, on half of it, at least). I'll take this chance to recommend the album to all of the blues and jazz enjoyers that haven't given it a listen yet. It's all produced perfectly as well, designed in such a way to make everyone stand out. Some of the choices made in this regard are downright inspired. Tombstone Blues sounds ahead of its time by at least a couple of years. Queen Jane Approximately is completely off key and it still somehow completely works, that's just incredible. It's not the first time it has happened on a Dylan track, to be fair, but it was never this obvious and definitely never this charming. Dylan's voice is great here, maybe the best it's ever been, along with his short-lived switch-up on Blood on the Tracks and Desire. He sounds incredibly bright throughout and the energy is just blasting through the speakers. His almost trademark sarcastic tone is perfect, not a single emphasis wrongly placed. Along with Blonde on Blonde, these are the definitive Dylan lyrics. Let me make it clear, that is incredibly high praise for an artist with such an incredible lyrical portfolio. He switches from surreal to direct, from emphatetic to scathing, from sarcastic to sincere, all with frightening ease. You can take any of these tracks as an example of brilliant writing, but the crown has to go to Desolation Row. The fact that such a brilliant piece of poetry even exists in popular music still does my head in to this day. Favourite track: Ballad of a Thin Man

Todd Rundgren is an interesting guy. A proper enigma of a man, at least to me. This album is insane in all the right ways. The first half in particular, what a rollercoaster. It's very inconsistent, though, with plenty of moments that turn the album from engaging to slightly grating. I definitely need to explore his discography beyond the generator, I have a feeling it won't stop surprising me. Favourite track: International Feel

I enjoyed this much, much more than Darklands. It's a similar style, but Psychocandy leans heavily into noise, which really suits my preferences. I appreciate the attempts to evolve your sound, but Darklands just felt like it was holding back throughout. Even with these mixing choices, Psychocandy is an emotionally potent album and it's a contrast that's incredibly well executed. In short, the name of the album is very fitting. There are a couple of clunkers here, but nothing truly bad, just a couple of moments where the whole thing becomes a bit repetitive. Thankfully, there are a couple of more peaceful tracks to relieve the pressure and they usually come at the right time. Sadly, the closer is easily the worst track and it slightly sours the entire experience. I think this is the first piece of music associated with Bobby Gillespie that I've enjoyed. Favourite track: Just Like Honey

I definitely don't love Oasis as much as I did in high school, but I will never get tired of this album in particular. Oasis, for me, is summed up with Columbia. It's a very simple song in every imaginable way and the duration of the outro is hilariously unnecessary. Somehow, it all works. I could genuinely listen to that outro for hours on repeat and I wouldn't get bored. Noel is a very smart songwriter and knows exactly how to write a bunch of nonsense and make it seem like a creative masterclass, both lyrically and melodically. Well, at least he did until Be Here Now, in that instance he flew a bit too close to the sun. Liam's charismatic presence is there to boost that effect and it does so perfectly. I'll take this opportunity to recommend Noel's solo albums, they're surprisingly fantastic considering the quality of later Oasis albums. Favourite track: Bring It on Down

This list has really soured me on '60s psychedelic rock. I love a couple of classica that belong in the sphere, but most of the albums I have generated so far were just an exhausting listen.

This isn't really what you'd expect from John Cale after Velvet Underground, but it's a solid foray towards baroque pop. Paris 1919 is not an album I was ever particularly in love with, but I respect it. Cale's voice is constantly at odds with the music, however there is a lot to appreciate here, especially when you focus on the lyrics and the overall atmosphere. These songs are also surprisingly diverse. It's probably going to be another couple of years until I reach for this album again, but it's definitely a solid listen. Favourite track: The Endless Plain of Fortune

Play did not age well, in my opinion. Apart from a couple of good singles, these songs are often way too underdeveloped and the album itself is unjustifiably long. I haven't given it a listen in years and with good reason, there really isn't a reason to come back to it.

Every track is an adventure here. McCartney is in one of the best songwriting forms of his life on this album, the whole thing is just bursting with excitement and creativity. It's not The Beatles, but it's the next best thing. Favourite track: Let Me Roll It

I was never much of a glam rock enthusiast, with a couple of obvious exceptions, but The Slider is a solid album. There are still plenty of tracks I'll be skipping in the future, they're just not my thing, but there are more than enough that I enjoy. Overall, though, I feel like the album quickly gets stuck in a rut of repetitive riffs and song structures. Favourite track: The Slider

At first, I thought I was in for the biggest slog of an album I've generated so far. I was half-right about that. After a very wonky start, the album started to grow on me, but it really needed some serious cutting, it gets unbearable at times. There's also an air of self-importance felt throughout, which isn't helped by the fact that it's split into four "phases". Peggy Suicide really isn't as original or creative as it thinks it is, rather the opposite. Overall, I really liked a couple of tracks, but it was mostly an annoying experience. I doubt I'll delve into Julian Cope's other work any time soon.

I was certain I'll give this a 4/5, but after yet another listen, I fail to see how this album is anything less than a 5. The tracks I remembered being a bit worse than the rest are honestly just as amazing. It's just a perfect display of hip-hop in every aspect. It's musically and tonally incredibly rich and diverse, Kendrick's flow is phenomenal and the themes are so well constructed and presented. Kendrick Lamar doesn't have a bad album, not even a mediocre one, but this one is head and shoulders above the rest. That's insane, considering he made Good Kid, M.A.D.D City and Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which would be clear highlights in the majority of other discographies. Favourite track: The Blacker the Berry (possibly my all-time favourite hip-hop track)

Probably Eno's best album? It's hard to decide with such a great discography, but Another Green World is absolutely a classic and a wonderful experience. It's perfectly structured and it flows so well. For me, it's hard to believe Eno wasn't even in his thirties when he made this, it sounds like it was made by someone much more mature and experienced. I really need to get a physical copy soon. Favourite track: Golden Hours

One of my favourite recent discoveries. Incredible variety, the tracks get very creative with the way they progress. The production is interesting and layered. The only weaker part of the album comes right at the end, which is a shame, but isn't too detrimental to the entire listen. I really came to love electronica as a genre in the last couple of years, so I'm always happy to add another great album to my collection. Favourite track: Poor Leno

Maybe a hot take, but there are a couple of Mingus albums I prefer to this one. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic piece of music and a must-listen. It's 40 minutes of fascinatingly organized chaos. It's insanely memorable for something so complex. To anyone who wishes to explore further, I would recomend Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus.

I have no idea what the proper tracklist for this album is, because I found at least three different ones, but the one I went with worked well. This is my first Big Star record and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I definitely need a couple of more listens to judge it properly. I loved the subtle build-ups on a lot of these tracks as well as many of the album's experimental production flourishes, but there were definitely a couple of songs that missed the mark on a first listen, the cover of Femme Fatale being the most obvious example. The mood is overall struck quite well, though. It's obviously a depressing listen, but not in a burdening kind of way (with a couple of exceptions). Favourite track: Holocaust

LCD Soundsystem are a 9/10 band with a 9/10 discography. The albums are always phenomenal, but there is always a weaker track among the bunch that slightly dampens the mood. Sound of Silver starts phenomenally and lays out its cards instantly. The influence of Kraftwerk is probably the first thing you'll notice, and the band isn't ashamed of it in the slightest. There are a couple of more obvious infleunces sprinkled along the album, all of them well incorporated into songs that in the end manage to sound fresh and original. The two obvious standouts are the electrifying production and James Murphy himself. He isn't often praised for his vocals, but he should be, because he delivers everything perfectly here. His lyricism is also great and adaptable to both serious and more lightweight songs. While it's an obvious step up from their debut, Sound of Silver remains only my third favourite album from the band (I predict some disagreement here, but I love American Dream much more than the average person). The stretch between Us V Them and the title track is probably my least favourite in their discography, which is a bit crazy to say because all of these tracks are pretty solid. However, the highlights of Sound of Silver are among their best ever tracks, so it all evens out. Favourite track: All My Friends

Decent, entirely forgettable. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully embrace Nashville Sound.

Is this a safe space for disliking Queen?

There are few albums that manage to capture a decade's atmosphere as much as this one, warts and all. It's got a solid amount of truly spectacular tracks, but it succumbs to psychedelia's worst instincts a few too many times for my liking. For every Somebody to Love, there is an accompanying My Best Friend that completely kills the flow of the album. Anyhow, there is still much to love here. It's certainly leagues better than the horrors that Jefferson Starship and Starship would produce in the future. Favourite track: White Rabbit

I liked this one much less than Moondance, but it was nevertheless a very enjoyable listen. Most of the tracks warranted their long runtimes with satisfying progressions and well-rounded conclusions, but a couple of them simply miss the mark. Morrison's vocals are a bit hit-or-miss for me and the tracks like Beside You really start to grate on me quickly as a result. The melodies are also surprisingly repetitive throughout the album. Overall, though, still a very solid album. Favourite track: Astral Weeks

My opinion of Eminem is constantly at odds between his brilliant technical skills as a rapper and his need to be the biggest edgelord imaginable. Thankfully, The Marshall Mathers LP is much more representative of the former. Even the edgier songs are edgy with some purpose here (well, a couple of them, at least, let's just ignore the existence of songs such as Kim). However, in my opinion, the album really drops in quality in its second half (with a couple of exceptions). Also, while the skits are scarce and short, most of them are straight up unbearable, Ken Kaniff in particular. Overall, probably the best Eminem album, but I'm not the biggest fan of his even when he's in top form, so that piece of praise is relatively faint. Favourite track: Stan

Overall, a solid album. While the comparison is a bit disingenuous, Femi Kuti's solo debut is obviously several tiers below his father's work. The ambition is there, but the build-ups often failed to meet my relatively high expectations. Still, it's enjoyable, just not as transcendent as something like Zombie. Favourite track: Plenty Nonsense

The performances are incredibly ahead of their time and the song structures are downright retro (a given, at least because of the choice of covers). This mixture creates a very unique and enjoyable sound, which does have its limits, but it's still very impressive. It's definitely one of those records I appreciate more than actually love, but the ride is short and sweet, with some great highlights along the way. Favourite track: The Witch

I came into this relisten with plenty of love for the album. I would honestly rank it in the band's top 3 at that point. Kid A is by far my favourite Radiohead album and sonically this is the next best thing. It seems that I forgot how incredibly disjointed Amnesiac really is. There is absolutely no flow to it. While it makes sense, considering the haphazard nature of its creation, it's not the greatest excuse. Incredibly strange sequencing, even stranger because I honestly have a hard time explaining why it takes me out of the groove this much. Half of this tracklist would easily slide into my Radiohead-best-of collection, but it's simply a project lesser than the sum of its parts. To be fair, when this album has low points, they really stand out. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors and this version of Morning Bell are some of their worst tracks not made in the Pablo Honey era. Favourite track: Life In a Glasshouse

Day 343 The White Stripes - Elephant A similar story to White Blood Cells. A bunch of phenomenal tracks mixed with a bunch of forgettable ones. Still, the duo is so damn charming that the album never becomes dull or annoying. However, as I said, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I think that the only Jack White album I'd consider consistently great is No Name. Favourite track: Ball and Biscuit A strong 3/5

I thought I was in for an all-timer after the first two tracks, but the album quickly turns into a mess. I'm Not Your Stepping Stone manages to shortly bring things back halfway through, but the majority of the second half feels dull and hollow. I do have to point out the mixing, though, it's surprisingly great. I've definitely found a couple of tracks I'll save for the future, but I really didn't care for the rest.

Listening to this album while driving on the freeway during the heatwave with my A/C being broken for some reason seems very appropriate. Great album. Even through its endless sarcasm and Mark E. Smiths' spoken word shenanigans, it just oozes with charisma, it's a very enjoyable and engaging listen. It's absolutely loaded with great hooks, as well. Favourite track: L.A.

While Coldplay have definitely sold out and I get shivers every time their newer material rears its ugly head across the airwaves, their early work certainly has more than enough merit. This album is a perfect showcase of truly well done pop-rock of the era. Chris Martin has a fantastic ear for melody and he gets very creative with it on a couple of tracks here. You are basically doomed to have at least one of these songs stuck in your head for days after listening to the album. However, it's a tale of two albums. While the second half definitely has its moments, everything after Daylight pales in comparison, especially Green Eyes and A Whisper. It's not a slog to get through, but it does feel like having a hangover after a great night out. Favourite track: Politik

Not my preferred type of rock, but it's solid overall, there's little to complain about here. I doubt I'll come back to it much, but it's always nice to learn something new. Favourite track: The Faith Healer

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I really, really like Kanye's music. After MBDTF, this is basically a confirmation. I slightly prefer the former, though. Favourite track: Jesus Walks

An irrefutable prog classic. It's hard to describe it and I won't even try. Not as great as In the Court of the Crimson King or Red, but it comes close. Favourite track: Easy Money

Amazing band and an amazing album. The music is rich, diverse and exciting throughout its short runtime. The musicianship on display is simply exhilarating. I'm definitely exploring the group beyond the two albums on the list, I'm gonna check out some Parliament releases as well. Favourite track: Hit It and Quit It

I decided that I need to control myself when talking about Dylan, in contrast to my downright logorrheic reviews of the past three albums I've had on the generator. In short, this album defines perfection. Every single second of it, every chord struck, every spoken word. It's one of those pieces of art that makes me appreciate my own existence. Imagine never being able to hear Idiot Wind. The funny thing is, it's not even my favourite Dylan album. The man actually made something better than this. Favourite track: Simple Twist of Fate

Easily among the bottom three albums I've generated so far. Nothing offensively bad, just completely vapid. I had to actively focus just to notice it's on. A song as empty and bland as Supreme I Preme lasting five minutes is downright insulting. This is my first one star album in more than four months, it's obviously not a rating I give out easily, but it really deserves nothing more than that.

The Kinks were such a brilliant band, it's a shame they never got the same mainstream recognition as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. They definitely deserved it, going by the quality of music alone. I haven't listened to this in ages, but it's still as spectacular as ever. It's easily one of their best releases, full of sharp, insightful lyricism, great songwriting and incredibly fun harmonies. Overall, an absolute must listen. If anyone wants to explore further beyond the picks on the list, I would suggest listening to Muswell Hillbillies next. Favourite track: Shangri-La

I just don't care for The Byrds that much. The music is decent, but I could never get invested for some reason. This album in particular actually manages to sound great at times, though, especially when it slows down and you can feel some interesting eastern influences on a couple of tracks. There is a decent amount of songs worth remembering here, but it's a very frontloaded set of songs. Overall, far from a bad album, but I don't feel the need to throw any superlatives around. Favourite track: Draft Morning

Easily one of the finest hours of 90's hip-hop. RZA's atmospheric, subtle beats are in perfect harmony with GZA's subdued flow. It's not a perfect album, a couple of tracks slightly weigh it down, but I feel like time was overall very kind to it. Favourite track: 4th Chamber

Based on my usual taste, Pavement are a band I should really love, but they never really clicked for me, even after numerous attempts. Well, I'm glad to say that they finally won me over this time. There are still plenty of slacker rock bands I prefer, but I really enjoyed this listen, to my surprise. Still, it's a somewhat inconsistent album, a couple of songs in particular feel borderline redundant. Favourite track: Summer Babe - Winter Version

Easily among the best Neil Young albums. While he was always a wonderful lyricist, some of the writing on this album is simply next level. It's not just about the way the lyrics are written, it's about how perfectly they are paired with the music. See the Sky About to Rain is such a beautiful track in this regard, incredibly poignant and touching. The great thing is, this album isn't afraid to absolutely rock out as well. Revolution Blues is among my favourite Neil Young tracks on the heavier side. Fantastic grooves throughout. Thankfully, the sequencing is great and the entire album flows like magic as a result. Favourite track: On the Beach

While definitely a solid album, it's easily the worst of their original run, in my opinion. For me, there are just too many forgettable tunes here and the whole thing manages to somehow feel slightly meandering at times, despite its short runtime. It just lacks that special spark present in Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. However, the band manages to somewhat grow into this sound by the end of the album. Favourite track: The Happening

A less interesting album compared to You've Come a Long Way, Baby, which I didn't particularly love to begin with.

I've said enough in the past on why I love Hendrix and this debut is no different. Great album with terrific highlights. Favourite track: Are You Experienced?

The only thing better than having your album start with Shine On You Crazy Diamond is having it end with the same track as well. The rest of the tracklist is somehow just as perfect. Favourite track: Have a Cigar

Sue me, but I never liked this one. It's spotty in quality at best and I'm genuinely sick of both the title track and The Passenger at this point.

I don't have anything against ska, but it's a genre that can get tedious after a while, in my opinion. Specials never goes that far, but it definitely has its fair share of weak spots. Overall, decent fun and I wouldn't mind listening to it again soon. Favourite track: A Message to You Rudy

A stone-cold classic. I'm not the biggest dream-pop enthusiast, but I really like a couple of albums in the genre, this one in particular. One of those releases that makes you dig deeper. Elizabeth Fraser has an otherworldly voice, it's the key to this album's greatness. She made gibberish sound profound, that's no easy feat. The rest of the band are no slouches, either. The rhythm section is spectacular at times, the bass on tracks like Pitch the Baby just shines. The guitar and the synths are in perfect harmony as well. All of this is mixed and mastered to perfection, such a clean sound in all the right ways. Lastly, the sequencing is great, the album comes and goes like a flash, a really impactful one at that. Favourite track: Cherry-coloured Funk

I remember the absolute craze when this album came out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was immediately album of the year and it only came out in March. I bought into the hype very quickly, and I'm very happy I did, because Fiona Apple soon became one of my all-time favourite artists. However, upon reflection, I consider this to be her weakest release overall. It's the furthest thing from a bad album, but it pales in comparison to her prior work. The lyrical content remains incredible, there are no objections from me on that front, but instrumentally there is a bit less to bite into. Some of these tracks just meander for a bit too long, especially near the end. I think a lot of it has to do with the DIY production, which definitely brings a dose of charm, but often makes the songs feel samey. All credit to the innovative percussion elements present throughout, but overall, a bit of editing would make the album an all-timer. I still like this album a lot and it definitely deserves its place on the list, especially because of the context in which it was made in. I just wish the superior When the Pawn... or The Idler Wheel... were included as well. Favourite track: *Shameika*

It's odd that I've generated both albums from The Specials in a matter of days. While it's more sonically diverse than the debut, it also feels really messy in all the wrong ways and I enjoyed it much less as a result. The semi-sarcastic tone is still the main strength of the group, but I feel like they slightly lost that special touch of the debut, the sound is more polished and the spontaneity just isn't there. Admittedly, there are a couple of truly great tracks here, Do Nothing in particular. I'll give it another listen soon, but my first impressions are underwhelming.

To me, this is the definitive Joni Mitchell album. While I appreciate her later, jazzier, overall more experimental escapades, I think this kind of music is what she is the best at. It's a one man show of vocal and instrumental mastery that creates incredible emotional resonance. Still, Mitchell maintains some of her trademark whimsy, which keeps the album from ever becoming overbearing. Following Little Green with Carey is an example of brilliance in sequencing. My only slight dig against the album is the fact that I never really enjoyed the title track as much as the rest of it. Also, it comes up right between my two favourite tracks on the album, so it always takes me out of it a bit. Favourite track: California

The Soft Bulletin is one of those albums I change my mind on each time I give it a new listen. I'm feeling a bit more negative this time. While the songwriting is on a good, often great level throughout the majority of the album, some of the technical elements can grate on me. I'm definitely not against a more lo-fi sound most of the time, but The Soft Bulletin does sound awkward and almost, dare I say, unrealized at times. Additionally, while I consider Wayne Coyne to be an overall engaging and interesting vocalist, the strained delivery in some of these tracks sounds more awkward than intended. Still, I don't want to be overly negative, because this album really does bring a lot to the table. The lyricism is very good throughout and some of the hooks are so incredibly catchy. Not to mention how intriguing some of the songs are in their progression. It's just that I prefer Yoshimi in all of these departments, which would put me in a very strong minority in The Flaming Lips fanbase, as far as I'm aware. Race for the Prize sounds brilliant live, by the way, and it serves as a great closer to their setlist. Favourite track: The Spark That Bled

While the entire story of Tommy is an interesting one, is it wrong of me to say that this album is kind of a mess? I mean, I appreciate the ambition, but how much of Tommy do I actually enjoy listening to? This is not a dig against rock operas in general, I can definitely enjoy them under the right circumstances, but listening to the entirety of this one often consists of "waiting for the good part". There was obviously a ton of attention given to the structure and the narrative is cleaner than one would expect, I'm not claiming otherwise. For whatever reason, though, I find myself just not caring. Even the weaker tracks, such as Cousin Kyle or Sally Simpson, are decent, but they get so annoying when they are followed by a seemingly endless stream of equally decent, yet entirely forgettable songs, which happens more than once. Every one of these tracks has something interesting going for it, at least. Underture, for example, is very skilfully played, even if its linear structure gets shockingly tedious halfway through. Most of these songs were created in a setting designed for something more than the sum of its parts, but Tommy is, in my opinion, a slight failure in that regard. What it does right, though, is give us a decent portion of great, downright timeless tracks, which I will continue to enjoy in isolation. Favourite track: Pinball Wizard

This is my seventh generated album placed in the bottom 20 and for the seventh time I am left scratching my head. All of them are decent at worst and some of them are really great. Reading the top reviews of Sulk leads me to believe we listened to an entirely different album. I am far from an '80s guy, but this album really has a lot to offer. It's obviously a product of its time, but it does some really interesting things that sets it apart from your average New Wave release of the era. I love the gothic atmosphere it slowly presents more obviously as it goes along, it's cleverly done. The vocals are great. They are deep, crooning and explosive in just the right moments. Sulk has a couple of tracks I'm not entirely on board with, but they are all decent. It also gets better as it goes along, in my opinion, especially because it gets more and more diverse. Not my favourite new discovery on the generator, but definitely an interesting set of songs I'm glad I heard. This list has some really odd picks, but this is not one of them. Favourite track: Club Country

Two Neil Young albums in a short timeframe is no reason to complain, especially when the two albums in question are my favourite in his discography. Rust Never Sleeps has a great atmosphere, it just brings me comfort any time I play it. I love the split between the acoustic and electric tracks, it feels very organic and raises the level of the whole record. Some songs were recorded live, some in the studio (well, only two), but they never feel too different from each other to create a distraction. Only three Neil Young albums left to generate in the next two years of the challenge. I will definitely expand on that in my spare time. Favourite track: My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)

I enjoyed a few tracks here (and surprisingly knew a couple from before), but I thought this was overall outdated and fairly plain. It's not bad, but it's also not something I plan to come back to.

Well, this was a mixed bag. Enjoyable, creative and lush, but dull and plain at certain points as well. It would've made for a great EP. Favourite track: Happiness

Well, now it's three Neil Young albums in less than three weeks. Again, a great one. After the Gold Rush easily has the best A side of any Neil Young release, it's an unbelievable set of classics. The B side is slightly less consistent, but still has a lot of great moments in it. Favourite track: Tell Me Why

This debut from The Who is fun, but you won't really find me raving about it. It doesn't help that the two best songs on the album are right next to each other, surrounded by inferior material. Favourite track: The Kids Are Alright

An uninspired retread of a specific type of rock music I never liked to begin with. The singles are an exception, with their dull-as-rocks attempt to emulate The Rolling Stones. At least those parts are somewhat more palatable. Overall, it feels like listening to an old band way past its prime. The only song I somewhat tolerated was a mediocre Otis Redding cover that I've already heard way too many times in my life. I know I'm being overly negative here, but the main reason I'm doing this challenge is to expand my horizons and experience new, interesting stuff. This is the exact opposite, a substantially weaker version of music I'm surrounded with since my infancy. It's one thing to wear your influences on your sleeve, I don't mind that at all, but there is genuinely nothing that makes this album stand out.

I would be a sorry excuse for a Tom Waits fan if I didn't enjoy Beefheart at least a little. If we're being honest, though, I've listened to Trout Mask Replica a couple of times over the years and, while I respected the work, I got nothing out of it. Well, this time it finally clicked. This was such an enjoyable listen. I think I'm going a little mad from an insane amount of both professional and personal stress I've been through in the last couple of days and this album felt like such a release. An album that completely got in my head and cleared everything out for a moment, a seemingly chaotic mess that was actually meticulously organized all the way through. Favourite track: Steal Softly Thru Snow

I wish every track on this debut was as good as Suzanne, but I don't think such an album can even exist. Cohen comes pretty close a couple of times, though, and that's honestly a marvel. I'm not in love with every track on the album, a couple of them do become a bit too deadpan for my taste, but it's an overall beautiful set of songs. The guitar brings an unique sense of serenity and the lyrics speak for themselves, just wonderful. The sparse moments of backing vocals bring freshness and depth to the songs. Cohen's somewhat one-dimensional delivery and range are an acquired taste, but I consider them integral to his work, especially in contrast to the music and the lyrics. I think a better singer would ruin, or at least diminish, this album. That would be a shame, as this is an essential listen. Favourite track: Suzanne

While it's far from my favourite Tom Waits album and my selection for the list would definitely be different, Nighthawks At The Diner has an unique place in his discography due to its recording method. It's kind of a perfect setting to record a Tom Waits album, honestly, the man has endless charisma and it was never more obvious. The audience has a lot of fun throughout, which creates a very pleasant ambience. However, the album just runs out of steam in certain moments and the highlights just can't match up against his best work. I always vastly preferred Tom Waits, the madman over Tom Waits, the bohemian crooner, that's just how it is. Regardless of the persona, though, it's still a Tom Waits album, and that's good at worst. Years of extensive runs through his discography just reinforced that belief. Favourite track: Better Off Without A Wife

Never listened to John Prine before and I found this very enjoyable. A great set of songs with a very slight dip in quality at the end. Beautiful storytelling. Favourite track: Hello in There

A hip-hop masterpiece with the worst interlude of all time. Favourite track: Big Poppa

By the time they became The Chemical Brothers, they were already the figureheads in the big beat scene known as The Dust Brothers, a name that was changed to avoid a lawsuit from their american namesakes. They already learned how to properly evolve their tracks and craft them into something consistently interesting. While they didn't exactly master this skill on their debut LP, they came close. It's definitely a level below Dig Your Own Hole and especially Surrender, but Exit Planet Dust is an incredibly important and influental album in the genre. It just slightly lacks the variety and the depth that turned their subsequent releases into something truly special and unforgettable. Favourite track: Leave Home