171
Albums Rated
3.48
Average Rating
16%
Complete
918 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Funk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
30
5-Star Albums
7
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Chelsea Girl
Nico
|
5 | 2.62 | +2.38 |
|
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine
Cee Lo Green
|
5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
|
Call of the Valley
Shivkumar Sharma
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
|
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (Live)
Motörhead
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
Trio
Dolly Parton
|
5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
|
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
|
5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
|
Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
|
5 | 3.21 | +1.79 |
|
Shaft
Isaac Hayes
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
|
GREY Area
Little Simz
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
|
Winter In America
Gil Scott-Heron
|
5 | 3.25 | +1.75 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
|
1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
|
Dirt
Alice In Chains
|
1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
|
Make Yourself
Incubus
|
1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
|
Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
|
1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
|
Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
|
1 | 2.84 | -1.84 |
|
Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
|
2 | 3.81 | -1.81 |
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
2 | 3.73 | -1.73 |
|
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
|
1 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
|
Van Halen
Van Halen
|
2 | 3.63 | -1.63 |
|
Document
R.E.M.
|
2 | 3.56 | -1.56 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 4.67 |
| Isaac Hayes | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| R.E.M. | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (30)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Michael Jackson · 1 likes
5/5
Listened to this one on a work site as well (seemed to go down better with the crew than The Darkness). I knew the two opening tracks of course, and “I Can’t Help It” (which I thought was literally from a Stevie record, his handiwork is all over that track), but most of this was new to me. What a pleasant surprise. Sun-soaked funk and moody emotional dramas. It goes to show that an album can go for mainstream pop appeal while still letting the musicians fucking rip. This has quickly become my favorite solo MJ record (and up there for Quincy Jones work).
XTC · 1 likes
1/5
I was intrigued for the first minute and a half and then the horns kicked in like a Casio stock-synth fanfare, and set the tone for the rest of the album. It seems like some people spent a lot of time and had a lot of fun with this album. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Cee Lo Green · 1 likes
5/5
I’ve never heard this album before, and I didn’t check the runtime before playing. After the first 20 minutes I thought, “this is a really fun time, a solid 4 stars.” Then the album kept on going and going. And each track just added layers and range and by the time I got to “Die Trying” it was unforgettable. Other favorite tracks include “All Day Love Affair” and “Sometimes.”
System Of A Down · 1 likes
3/5
A nice early-morning album to wake up, grab a brush and put a little makeup
Nick Drake · 1 likes
5/5
“I never felt magic crazy as this / I never saw moons, knew the meaning of the sea”
I wish I could explain why this album rocks my fucking socks off. It’s got excellent musicianship and songwriting that really pulls you in, but there’s something more than just the core component parts. It’s the vastness of a lush, carefully orchestrated album that still finds sparseness and plenty of room to groove. I love this cross-section of jazz and folk, and think there’s so much fertile ground there. I also enjoyed the instrumental suites that made it feel like a symphony.
Perennial favorites are “One Of These Things First” and Pat Arnold and Doris Troy on “Poor Boy,” but this time around I was really enthralled by “Northern Sky.”
1-Star Albums (7)
All Ratings
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
It had its highlights, but much of it felt resigned to shock rock. The missing link between Mott the Hoople and AC/DC.
The White Stripes
4/5
One of the greatest drumming records of my lifetime
Moby
2/5
Some interesting production techniques, but felt a bit tiring by the end
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
Felt so massive but could’ve been twice as long…did the original LP end with that teasing intro to Mountain Jam?
AC/DC
3/5
It’s actually incredible how much they manage to do with such a narrow palette
The Specials
4/5
Everyone wants to be Special but there can only be one Specials
Pere Ubu
4/5
Phenomenal sound. Would sit on the record shelf between TV on the Radio and Parquet Courts
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Thin Lizzy strikes again. Some excellent prog elements sets them apart from being just that “bar band” sound
Dusty Springfield
3/5
A great sound, but I often found myself wishing I were listening to the original versions
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Impressively and surprisingly consistent. “Embryonic Journey” is one of the greatest compositions of the decade.
Nico
5/5
Absolutely beautiful and devastating. A perfect album for early mornings or late nights.
Ray Charles
4/5
I wasn’t familiar with most of these standards, but when I was, I was amazed at how much Charles made these songs his own. An excellent themed album that manages not to feel like a gimmick.
Miles Davis
4/5
Very cool
Santana
5/5
The guitar-playing is stellar, yet it blends so well that it isn’t a “guitar record”
2/5
I could not find a happy balance between easy-listening and sonic experimentation
Peter Gabriel
2/5
The death of rock n roll?
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
Some great riffs, and some great tracks, but a lot to get through
Guns N' Roses
2/5
A lot of energy, but that’s about it
The Rolling Stones
3/5
They can make some decent music when they aren’t being complete tools
Black Flag
3/5
To the point
The War On Drugs
2/5
Like an ambient Tom Petty, or a smoothened out Kurt Vile, but less interesting than both
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I like Eurydice’s wordplay, but otherwise had trouble getting settled into this world
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Amazing how the production can be so lush, with a full band, strings, horns…without sounding ostentatious or over-the-top
David Bowie
4/5
Is it any wonder?
Nas
4/5
It’s hard to go wrong with productions by Pete Rock, Premier AND Q-Tip
The Velvet Underground
4/5
This gets wonderfully weird but I think it’s really well sequenced and makes me want to listen to it all the way through. Some days it’s a 5, today it’s a 4.
Shivkumar Sharma
5/5
The combination of instruments on this album feels so natural and full, but I never hear this type of arrangement. I also feel like the percussion was punching up a lot of these tracks but wasn’t getting a lot of credit considering the drummer isn’t one of the listed “artists.”
Frank Zappa
4/5
Partial credit for the creative arrangements…extra credit for Sugarcane Harris
Alice In Chains
1/5
This one was hard for me to get through. It’s interesting to me how the 90s sometimes gets talked about as a renaissance for rock, or the last time it was a relevant form. Maybe it has to do with the way bands stripped back some of the excessive and synthetic-sound studio techniques of the 80s. I love some 90s rock but albums like this feel like they didn’t have much they were trying to say.
Tears For Fears
1/5
I can tell this band worked really hard on this album…to hone in on all of the elements I dislike about 80s production and arranging and distill them into one album
James Brown
4/5
Not long enough…
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
I love Ella, but I guess I’m learning that Gershwin is pretty hit or miss for me.
Elton John
4/5
Some killer tracks, and I loved when the album went really out there, especially the intro. But did not care for Elton doing “reggae”
Q-Tip
3/5
I honestly never get tired of hearing Q-Tip say he’s gonna clean out your ears
System Of A Down
3/5
A nice early-morning album to wake up, grab a brush and put a little makeup
MGMT
4/5
They’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Yodeling, bass slaps, experimental tape effects, and 8-minute vamps? What more could you ask for?
Slipknot
1/5
I really wanted to enjoy it…
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Very cool sound. I can hear a lot of people who followed in their footsteps…Beach House, Phoebe Bridgers, Mac Demarco…
David Bowie
4/5
This young Bowie guy’s showing lots of potential
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
Shout out to all the internet sites
Eminem
2/5
Some creative production techniques and it did feel cinematic as he intended, but I think a lot of the appeal is shock factor and not something I’ll probably return to (apart from the great Labbi Siffre sample on “My Name Is”)
The Velvet Underground
4/5
This gets wonderfully weird but I think it’s really well sequenced and makes me want to listen to it all the way through. Some days it’s a 5, today it’s a 4.
Paul Weller
3/5
Some good tunes on this, but mostly forgettable
Dolly Parton
5/5
I haven’t delved deep into any of these performers’ catalogs, but I was completely struck down by these performances. The production is sparse, allowing their voices to stand out, on tracks that sound so timeless that they could just as likely be heard on 78 shellac discs or a cut on Zeppelin IV
Pink Floyd
5/5
I can’t believe I forgot about Part VIII
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
This mostly seems to rely on the strength of its singles. Unfortunately, the version I had access to uses the singles mixes, so I don’t know quite what the original LP sounded like.
George Harrison
5/5
I sometimes feel like the Beatles are too well documented, in a way that makes them seem flatter, less human and more spectacle. But there is something beautiful about being able to follow the musical journey of someone from the age of 15 who then goes on to make music like *this*.
Robbie Williams
3/5
I didn’t really know what to expect but I enjoyed most of it, even if I found some of the lyrics a bit corny. I’ll probably return to this album at some point to see if it grows on me. I miss the days of truly hidden tracks.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Such a stunning debut…it has so much personality and its own distinct sound. Not my favorite Tribe album but this was a pivotal one in my education. The samples themselves are a library into entire musical worlds. “Get the force like Wan Kenobi.”
The Band
5/5
Turns out to make a great album you don’t need fancy effects, lofty conceptual work, or postmodern medleys. Just good songwriting and a lot of feel. Not to say the Band aren’t capable of heady work, as I’m sure a lot of effort went into that unpolished, off-the-cuff “feel” of the album. I still don’t know how they got that ribbiting bass sound on “Cripple Creek.”
Aimee Mann
4/5
Excellent songwriting, of course, but I also love how well she fuses the 90s rock ethos with Magical Mystery Tour circus sounds. I previously only knew one album by Mann and on this one I heard some Laura Nyro-like arrangements that honestly shouldn’t work but manage to sound great. I just wish she dug into more of that funky intro on “Could’ve Been Anyone.”
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
A lot of great beats and some incredible cuts. It’s a sound which is so tied to its era, that nowadays it feels more like a novelty listen than something on regular rotation. It’s between 3 and 4 stars for me.
Blondie
3/5
Debbie Harry is obviously a star but this isn’t the most memorable record.
The Zutons
2/5
Definitely dropped me into an early 2000s time warp. I would’ve probably be really into them if I knew them at the time. But, as it is, I’m enjoying it more as a novelty than anything else.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Nothing is made in a vacuum, but there sound is so instantly identifiable and seems to have been developed so completely by their second album. This is definitely a record where I’m not even marking the passage of tracks, it just exists as one work for me.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Sounds of Television and Talking Heads, a strong example of early 2000s rock. Although “Take Me Out” will always be on a level of its own, this album was much more interesting than I knew.
The Beach Boys
4/5
I am usually tired of hearing The Beach Boys, since I find a lot of their musical tastes off-putting, but this had some really wonderful tracks. Was also surprised by the burgers skit, felt very modern, except for the fact they made it the finale!
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Powered by sheer charisma and persona building, I can hear how this has influenced a lot of people to come. But more importantly, it is an arresting listen on its own.
Barry Adamson
3/5
I’m not sure what to make of this. At first it sounded like Gainsbourg-esque spoken word riffing on the subconscious over nice musical textures. Then it took a left turn. And another left turn. And another. This is maybe the most postmodern album I’ve come across. For something so extreme, it seems only fitting to give it a mundane rating. Glad I came here, don’t think I’ll return.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Definitely not my favorite work by MJ or Quincy, but there’s a lot of powerful vocal performances and a strong hit/filler ratio. “Man In the Mirror” might be my favorite 80s track by MJ.
JAY Z
3/5
Some of Jay Z’s lyrics are crude, some tracks feel like marketing material for his other businesses, and some contain gems: “You’re a candle in the sun, that shit don’t even out”
While Jay’s contributions are mixed, Kanye’s productions, without fail, are exceptional. I would give them six stars if I could. But it’s not a Kanye album.
Ray Charles
4/5
(Duplicate)
I wasn’t familiar with most of these standards, but when I was, I was amazed at how much Charles made these songs his own. An excellent themed album that manages not to feel like a gimmick.
R.E.M.
2/5
I don’t think I really “get” R.E.M. An extra star for “Ignoreland”.
Beck
2/5
Serious Beck makes serious music
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
This was so good but I think a lot of its power was front-loaded. It seemed to lose steam in the second act, which is too bad because it could’ve easily been cut down to a regular-length, 5-star LP. As it is, there’s still a lot of great tracks here.
Red Snapper
3/5
Pretty good range on here, given that I’m not really familiar with early 00s electronica and I started to get away from feeling that “every song sounds the same.” Not sure that I will listen again, but it certainly felt like an inspired work.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I feel a lot of nostalgia for this album. After learning more about the making of the opening track, I also feel a lot of emotion and my experience of it is irrevocably changed (not for the better). It’s hard for me to judge this one on purely musical terms.
Some tracks are great, others are just fine. My rating on this could swing wildly from day to day, so today I’m putting it in the middle.
Terence Trent D'Arby
4/5
This was a nice surprise. Never heard of this one but there are some great tracks, especially "Wishing Well." Another debut that feels well sculpted and self-assured. I’ll definitely be returning to this one.
Julian Cope
2/5
Sometimes it feels like to make a respected 90s rock album, you don’t need great musicianship or powerful songwriting, you just needed the right "vibe." When people point to the decade as the last time rock had mainstream relevance, I don’t think it’s because the music was so good and successful. I think it’s because, with some very notable exceptions, it was too self-absorbed and fractured for people to care about.
Was going to give this 1 star but I like the guitar work on "Hanging Out and Hung Up On the Line."
Kanye West
4/5
This was my first time listening to the entire album. It’s not my favorite Kanye record, but I love the creative sampling and enjoy the incredible wordplay, even if he makes himself sound like an asshole (which may be the point). I also enjoyed the metal influences. This was a long album, but engaging.
John Martyn
3/5
This has its rough moments (when I heard the first track I assumed Martyn’s voice was shot, which wouldn’t be very surprising given his lifestyle). But it also has moments of brilliance (the sparse, restrained production of the closing track was everything that the opener was not). Altogether a mixed bag, and not the highlight of his catalog.
The Icarus Line
3/5
Sounds like a supergroup with the members of Jet and Cage the Elephant. Has all the raw power of such a collaboration, but is lacking in clear focus or sheer hit-making ability. Some great moments (the drumming on “Big Sleep,” for example), but not consistent enough to merit a 4.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I definitely have a bias when it comes to Dylan, but it’s been about 10 years since I last listened to this and I think it holds up great. It’s no surprise that his songwriting is strong but it’s quite a feat to carve out a fresh sound when you are in about 40 years into your career. He even manages to not sound very sarcastic on “Make You Feel My Love.” And props to the producer who brought you the soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption 2.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
A nice blend of classical and jazz. I’d like to hear more of that style. It has its obvious highlights. The rest of the album is very good, but not as memorable.
Cee Lo Green
5/5
I’ve never heard this album before, and I didn’t check the runtime before playing. After the first 20 minutes I thought, “this is a really fun time, a solid 4 stars.” Then the album kept on going and going. And each track just added layers and range and by the time I got to “Die Trying” it was unforgettable. Other favorite tracks include “All Day Love Affair” and “Sometimes.”
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
It’s been a while since I’ve listened to this in full, and I am appreciating it in new ways every time. I always loved “Expecting to Fly” and the orchestral/jazzy arrangements on the record. This time I really enjoyed the James Brown homage “Good Time Boy.”
In terms of rating, this is right on the line for me, 4.5 stars. It’s strong throughout but at 34 minutes there’s not much room for error.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I gotta admit, I don’t get it. I had heard about this album and was so ready to enjoy it (I don’t know Bruce’s discography much) but found this underwhelming. There’s some good storytelling, but that’s about it? I didn’t find it very exceptional, mostly just…inoffensive.
Maybe in other circumstances I’d rate this a 3 and I’m just reacting to high expectations. I don’t know, but each time I relisten to bits of it I’m less enthusiastic.
The piano riff on “Something in the Night” reminded me of Candi Staton’s “Young Hearts Run Free,” which just made me realize I’d rather be listening to that.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
One of the challenges to this project is jumping into what seems like an artist’s magnum opus without much context for their earlier work. Even the title track here suggests a departure of sorts from earlier work, but I have to take it on face value. I remember the days when CA was getting lots of airplay on MTV, but this is my first time listening to one of her albums in full.
I enjoyed most of it, with great songwriting and production that makes this feel more than just a pop time capsule. There were some really incredible songs, and some that were less so. I wavered a bit, I think this is somewhere between a 3 and 4.
Screaming Trees
2/5
1001 Mediocre 90s Alt Albums to Listen to Before You Die.
I enjoyed “Look At You” and “Traveler” but mostly I would just prefer to listen to Zeppelin or Dinosaur Jr instead.
Johnny Cash
3/5
This was quite enjoyable. I knew some of the Cash “revival” recordings but never listened to a full album before. I especially liked his versions of “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Danny Boy.”
I’m having trouble giving this a rating. I think the whole album is solid, but I don’t think I’ll be returning to all this material. This is right on the line, 3.5. I know some might feel it’s sacrilege to give this less than 4 stars, but today I’m rounding down.
Radiohead
4/5
I always enjoy Radiohead’s music, but it often doesn’t fully sink in for me on the first listen (as with today’s album). This has a lot of beautiful textures. I admit I have no idea what most of the lyrics were. My favorite track on this go was “Myxomatosis.” Radiohead is sometimes regarded as a heady – even pretentious – band, but tracks like that remind you that they are capable of creating some killer riffs. Looking forward to future listens.
Nick Drake
5/5
“I never felt magic crazy as this / I never saw moons, knew the meaning of the sea”
I wish I could explain why this album rocks my fucking socks off. It’s got excellent musicianship and songwriting that really pulls you in, but there’s something more than just the core component parts. It’s the vastness of a lush, carefully orchestrated album that still finds sparseness and plenty of room to groove. I love this cross-section of jazz and folk, and think there’s so much fertile ground there. I also enjoyed the instrumental suites that made it feel like a symphony.
Perennial favorites are “One Of These Things First” and Pat Arnold and Doris Troy on “Poor Boy,” but this time around I was really enthralled by “Northern Sky.”
Röyksopp
2/5
This was really on the line for me. I actively disliked most of the album, which is not something that comes up often on this project. I don’t know which is worse, (subjectively) bad music or mediocre music? I’ve encountered more of the latter on this project.
Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more if I were it was 2001 and I was rolling on E in a club at 2am, but alas I am judging it as an album in 2025. There were sections that I did genuinely like, however. Especially longer instrumental tracks that were a little out there, like “Röyksopp’s Night Out.” I enjoyed a bit of dancey experimentation and heard directions where this record could actually be more appealing. So this rating managed to achieve the staggering heights of 2 stars.
Nirvana
3/5
This reinforces my feeling that 90s grunge/alt-rock are is more about vibe and emotion than any other quality. It’s a genre I didn’t spend much time with before this project, and so far this album is one of the better examples. To my ears, it’s essentially a decent punk album with great production and some pop sensibilities.
I can’t understand 90% of the lyrics, and the musicianship isn’t stellar (though quite good for a punk album). It’s not that original (see my thoughts on it just being another punk album). But it definitely suggests a *mood*. And it’s a little more restrained/palatable than some other grunge albums I’ve heard.
There’s a nice balance of heavy to lightness throughout, and it’s well paced. It suggests that someone knew what they were doing in the control room. And whoever decided to put a cello on “All Apologies” is a genius.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Even though this is getting 3 stars, I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. When I first saw the band name I thought, wtf. A quick glance at their discography did not encourage things. It seems like they are leaning in to some sort of 80s Orientalist marketing. But at least the music on this album had something to offer.
This was an interesting listen because it charts a certain progression in rock music at the early 80s. I’m hearing echos of the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, with a moderate dose of sleaze (not as much of the heavily processed sleaze found on other records of this era). Listen to the bridge on “Malibu Beach Nightmare” and then the intro to “Pretty Vacant.” I’m also hearing the foundations they laid for future artists like Rancid and QOTSA (“Mental Beat” sounds like it could be an outtake from …Like Clockwork).
The album was a fascinating glimpse into a particular musical moment, threading the needle of glam, punk, hair metal, and old-school rock-n-roll. I’d be interested in returning to it and better understand the cultural conditions that led to a band like this coming out of Finland.
Moby
2/5
This is a duplicate selection for me. Original review below, from when I was less verbose.
Some interesting production techniques, but felt a bit tiring by the end
Fugazi
4/5
I was somewhat obsessed with Fugazi as a teenager, but ironically this is my first time listening to Repeater. At the time, I had a bootleg copy of 13 Songs, and eventually went searching used music shops in DC for anything Fugazi, coming up only with the soundtrack to Instrument (a great film and album in itself). I didn’t have the ways or means to track anything down over the internet, and by the time I started streaming music I was phasing into new musical territory.
So, I’m glad that 15 years later I’m finally spending some time with this album. As with most first listens, for me it’s mostly about the production and less about the lyrics. They do an incredible job balancing blaring distortion with weighty silence. The sawtooth riff on the opening track primes you for the playful and jangly chorus on “Repeater.” I loved the instrumental section on “Shut the Door,” slowly peeling back layers of sound to the dub-inflected rhythm section. Brendan Canty has got to be one of the best punk drummers of all time.
This one was impactful and will probably grow on me even more. Maybe I’ll even manage to get the CD in the end.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Sometimes the random generator creates interesting juxtapositions. I enjoyed listening to this right after Fugazi – two bands that are philosophically in such different camps, whose fanbases and culture are quite distinct, and whose music are categorized into different genres – yet who are sonically not that far apart. Lots of blaring guitars, screaming vocals, and complicated drum patterns. Just the kind of stuff that get teenage boys excited and make older people angry.
I only knew “Run to the Hills” before listening to this, and I feel like I got exactly what I expected. Nothing out of left field, nothing too challenging, but that’s ok. It’s an album that knows exactly what it wants to be, and it makes for some great listening. (I’m sure the album sounded much more edgy for audiences in 1982, but listening in 2025, this has given way to a charming campiness. Kind of impressive that it aged like that, though.)
Isaac Hayes
5/5
I did not realize that this was a Stax production, but the moment I read that, it clicked into place. Hayes and the session musicians on this album are making slight tweaks to that house formula, vamping it up here, adding some extra flourishes there. Not going to a place that is unrecognizable, but feeling eons ahead of what came before it.
The Darkness
3/5
Listened to this the way it’s meant to be heard: blasting it on a work site while driving a scissor lift around.
I remember the days when “A Thing Called Love” was getting constant rotation on MTV, and it was one of my favorite music videos. Never listened to the full album before. It’s pretty entertaining, a nice homage to Thin Lizzy while the lead singer imitates as many 70s belters as he can. Two stars for a perfect single and another star for attempting to resurrect glam metal as a genre.
Michael Jackson
5/5
Listened to this one on a work site as well (seemed to go down better with the crew than The Darkness). I knew the two opening tracks of course, and “I Can’t Help It” (which I thought was literally from a Stevie record, his handiwork is all over that track), but most of this was new to me. What a pleasant surprise. Sun-soaked funk and moody emotional dramas. It goes to show that an album can go for mainstream pop appeal while still letting the musicians fucking rip. This has quickly become my favorite solo MJ record (and up there for Quincy Jones work).
Le Tigre
4/5
The opening two tracks are some of the most blistering, in-yr-face, yet still danceable punk cuts around and will forever have a place in my heart. From there, it becomes a little bit more mixed. There’s some great riffs (“The the Empty”) and sampling (“Friendship Station”) but I was equally pleased that they blew up “Phanta” and got me out early.
Also, a sentimental listen less than two months before the NYC Metrocard is disappearing forever!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
Never listened to this album before, but coming in as a fan of Fever to Tell. I’ve definitely heard “Heads Will Roll” get some airplay, but that’s actually a lesser track for me. I did enjoy its danciness and electro-influence, but I was really into the build-up to the searing guitar on “Zero” and the tenderness of tracks like “Little Shadow.” Definitely gonna return to this one a lot.
UB40
4/5
I had listened to bits and pieces of this album over the years, but never the whole thing. I was previously most familiar with “Tyler” which I think is a great song, but also took to “Food For Thought” and their version of “I Think It’s Going To Rain Today” this time around. An interesting band to learn about. You could build an entire history course on how sounds like this came to be produced in Birmingham, England.
Paul Simon
4/5
Like many albums on this list (especially the 4- and 5- star efforts), this album owes its success to a lot more people than what’s written on the cover. I’ve listened to this one many times, and the thing that I always hone in on is the excellent guitar work and tone from Ray Phiri. Especially on the title track (which I was surprised to learn also features the Everly Brothers on backing vocals).
The first half of the album is pretty much perfect for me, but starts to drop off when we get to “Under African Skies.” Love my Paul’s and my Linda’s, just not today. Also don’t know how Paul Simon got a songwriting credit on “Homeless” – seems like LBM is doing a lot of the work in terms of performing and vocal style. Once again, a great record, but attribution is important here.
50 Cent
3/5
Nothing like listening to 50 Cent while reading Sense and Sensibility.
Haircut 100
2/5
This seems very much in line with something I WOULD like but it’s just not doing it for me. It’s got a nice blend of snappy rock with just tinges of funk and reggae influence; bouncy horn blasts; pop songwriting that isn’t too shallow. I guess it’s just a little too polite? I probably won’t be thinking about it much after a few days.
I like the track “Baked Beans” which reminds me of “Electric Avenue” or Big Audio Dynamite (I think this was recorded around the same time as Eddy Grant’s album, I’m not sure which came first). But the rest of it wasn’t enough to bring it up to a 3.
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
This is an album that I’ve grown with for many years, and over time more and more of it becomes meaningful to me. First I took to the pop pastiche of the title track, then the chugging energy of “Jet” and “Let Me Roll It.” There were weeks that I listened to the tender and affecting “Bluebird” on repeat. Most recently, it’s been the lament of “Drink to Me.”
Now, that’s more than half the album, which I consider pretty much perfect. The rest of the album is strong, but it just doesn’t make me feel that certain way. So this is a 4.5 rounded down. I look forward to seeing how this grows on me more with time. Still depressing to realize that Paul and Linda were my age when they made this.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
This album is bursting with musical ideas and it’s interesting to read about the making of it, with a unique collaborative structure. I wish I knew Portuguese, as the vocals are so forward in some tracks that it feels like I’m listening to a story but I have to rely on the instruments to carry the narrative. But I can still appreciate how this album weaves together so many contemporary genres in a way that doesn’t sound forced or erratic, it just melds together into their own compelling sound.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
I have to admit I had low expectations, judging this by its cover. I also had never heard of this artist before. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. This album is rough around the edges in an endearing way, and sounds a bit like the music I make in my living room, trying out every sound effect in GarageBand (granted it was made well before bedroom pop was a common genre). Even with that homemade feel, it is a pretty ambitious effort combining a lot of styles and musical influences. My favorites were the sparse folkiness of “The Shining” and the hand-clapping anthem “Bewilderbeast.”
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Sometimes it's just not possible to compare an album to those around it, when the musicianship and the songwriting are both so excellent that it wouldn't even be fair to cast anything else into its shadow. My favorite track from my (first) listen is "H₂Ogate Blues."
The Flaming Lips
4/5
This album is, in a word, exciting. There are a few perfect songs on here, but even the lesser tracks still bubble with energy from cinematic synths and Steven Drozd's chuggling drums. By the end, you feel ready to battle some pink robots. It makes me feel good, but I didn't exactly love every song. This is about as close as you can get to 5 without making it.
CHIC
4/5
The Chic sound is instantly recognizable: those silky hi-hats, the melodic pulsing bass, and that incessant jangling guitar. Having only known “Le Freak” off of this album, I was pleased to hear that the rest of the material held up. Some tracks were a bit repetitive, but I suppose this is meant to be listened to on the floor of Studio 54, not while riding the D train. I particularly enjoyed the closer, “(Funny) Bone.”
Dolly Parton
3/5
I have never heard a bad Dolly Parton song, but some tracks, like “Early Morning Breeze” are truly transcendent, while others seem like they require a passion for country music (that I lack) to truly appreciate and sit with. It’s such a short album so there’s not much room for error, which makes it hard to give a rating. I’d say this one is on the better side of 3 for me.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
This was a nice and pleasing listen, I played it thru twice. None of the tracks in particular stood out to me, but I did enjoy the percussion on “Irganda.” This is right on the line, 3.5 for me.
The Mars Volta
4/5
I previously only knew (and loved) The Bedlam in Goliath, and this held up my expectations from that. As with any album, my entry point is the rhythm, arrangements, and production, and the lyrics are barely registered on first listens. So I think there’s a whole story going on here but I couldn’t tell you what it’s about. But the album was thrilling, cinematic, and engaging throughout, with the intense dynamic shifts and complicated rhythms I’ve come to expect from the MV. This is not a relaxing album, but it’s not meant to be.
Weather Report
3/5
Fusion is usually a miss for me. This one had some highlights (I really enjoyed the opening track, which set the tone for the really nice blend of timbres throughout the album) but sometimes it felt like the musicians were having too much fun to care if the listener was too. It was all impressive, but not all of it kept me interested. Maybe I just don’t get it. I was actually surprised to learn that Wayne Shorter and Jaco Pastorious were members of the group – I’m a big fan of some of their other work. This is a solid 3 for me: glad I listened but not gonna go running back for more.
10cc
3/5
This was a fascinating listen, to say the least. There were fragments of it that I found really beautiful, and I have no doubt these musicians have some real raw talent. But as a whole it seems like they were trying to sound like Harry Nilsson but ended up coming across as an extra-corny Eagles playing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s zaniest compositions. Two of these stars are for providing J. Dilla with some great source material.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Another album that I encountered from my older siblings’ catalog of bootleg CDs (albeit probably an incomplete rip), so some of these songs have held importance to me at different points in life. “Sabotage” is still one of the greatest rock songs I’ve ever heard. I’ll be listening to obscure jazz albums and think, is that the sample from “Sure Shot”? As a drummer in high school, me and my friends would play “Sabrosa” while pretending to be high because we didn’t know much about drugs or how to get them.
Listening to it as a whole work, you can hear such a range of style, ability, and ideas, melding together in an instantly recognizable musical identity. When people talk about rap-rock, they’re usually referring to Limp Bizkit or some shit when they should be talking about this. It’s a long album, and sometimes veers more into vibey background music than a concise, cohesive statement. So it’s hard to compare this to more sparing, perfectionist records, while being fair to both sides. But it’s a pretty impressive album considering half of it sounds like it was sung through a walkie talkie.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
Marianne Faithfull is someone I hear about a lot in reference to other musician’s biographies, so I was excited to listen to some of her own material for the first time. Unfortunately, I don’t know that this was the best introduction. The first half of the album was a bit difficult, as something about the sparse and repetitive synthy production was not working for me (this era represents the rueful turn towards ultra-processed studio techniques that marred the 80s). But things became more interesting by the time I got to “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” where a little bit more tonality was a welcome relief. I also enjoyed the Ian Drury-like cheekiness of “Why d’Ya Do It?”
It was nice listening to this back-to-back with 1979’s maximalist synth of Gary Numan, and prompted me to return to this album with a little more satisfaction, now that I better knew what to expect.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
It’s impossible for me to be an unbiased listener here. I’ve been digging this since I was a kid and I still love it. Each time I listen I clue in on something different. This time, it was the vocal performance on “Manic Depression.” Also I listened to the bonus track version, which confuses me about the different editions, but gave me a new appreciation to learn that favorites of mine like “Highway Chile” are from this same era (if you can even call it that in such a tragically short career).
Rush
5/5
I’ve listened to and reluctantly fallen in love with several of these songs over the years. I tried to resist it, the production style and ostentatious drum fills represent so much of what I dislike about 80s music. But ultimately resistance is futile…these songs are just too much fun.
These are tracks that are so tied to the specific performance on the record that they aren’t conventionally good compositions that could or should be covered by anyone else. Really, the only “good” song might be “Limelight,” which at least has a pleasing and straightforward structure to it. It brings up interesting questions about the nature of a record: is it the preservation of a fleeting moment in time, does it lay the foundation for a permanent form?
All that being said, you don’t need to think about any of that to enjoy the album. I admit that even though I knew the first four songs almost as well as Neil Peart, I had never listened to the entire album before. So I walk away with “Vital Signs” as a new highlight for my air drums setlist.
Gary Numan
3/5
My first experience with Gary Numan was, of course, driving around in a stolen sports car in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, turning on the stereo, and hearing “Cars.” I still genuinely enjoy that track, even though it makes it harder for me to take it seriously. Listening to his other work for the first time, I gained an appreciation that he’s not just a one-hit wonder but capable of expanding on that synth landscape (although the album did feel a bit repetitive). This would probably gain higher marks from me but it sounds so indebted to the likes of Roxy Music, 801, etc. Also I didn’t care for the last couple tracks where it veered into “spooky movie soundtrack” territory.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
To me this is what the project is all about. Listening to great albums you’ve never heard of, or in this case, never considered exploring in full. One of the pitfalls of radio hits is that they tend to flatten songs, when they’re overplayed and become the soundtrack to totally disparate life experiences. As a result, I can’t listen with much joy to “Ironic” and have almost as hard a time with “You Oughta Know.” Which meant that I never took the time to learn all the other great tracks on this record. Now I can build new associations with less saturated songs like the powerful opener “All I Really Want” or the harmonica-grunge of “Head over Feet.”
ABBA
3/5
I've heard plenty of ABBA, perhaps the most-requested band of all time for wedding DJs. But it's always been the same set of songs. So I was excited to listen to them in a new context, since I had never listened to a full ABBA album. The first couple tracks were very promising to me, wielding synths like Kraftwerk or Neu!, with Kate Bush-level theatrics, and riding the dangerous line of a Kenny Loggins-like twangy pop sensibility. The rest of the album was hit or miss for me, with excellent production throughout but sometimes favoring heart-wrenching vocal performances at the cost of a groove, or sometimes, even a hook!
Funkadelic
5/5
It’s rare to come across an album that is simultaneously earth-shatteringly innovative, artistically ambitious, political without being didactic, and yet still just a thumping good album to enjoy. This ones for parties or by yourself with headphones, at the end of the day or hard at work, for the little ones and the elderly ones. It’s just really, really good.
The Triffids
2/5
Kind of reminds me of a mashup of The The with made-for-screen band The Replacements, but lacking the transcendence of the former and the bar band steadiness of the latter.
1/5
I was intrigued for the first minute and a half and then the horns kicked in like a Casio stock-synth fanfare, and set the tone for the rest of the album. It seems like some people spent a lot of time and had a lot of fun with this album. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Joan Armatrading
4/5
“Love and Affection” is the track that first made me fall for JA’s beautiful folk-rock stylings. The rest of the album does not stand as prominently with me, and is not my favorite album by her, but it holds up as a very enjoyable listen that I hope to return to often.
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
“I’m better than my competa / You mean competitor / Whatever”
It’s brash, it’s offensive, it’s sophomoric. It’s also a distinct and powerfully simple sound torched with energy and stitched together in an ambitious statement. With rapid-fire mic passes and sword-slashing interstitials, this album starts strong and stop to catch your breath until it’s over.
The Shamen
1/5
That was rough.
Supergrass
4/5
What a pleasant surprise. I always regarded this band as a one-hit wonder (albeit a great hit) but never checked out their other material. This entire album is just as exciting and refreshing as its single, bridging sounds and sideburns from The Beatles and Mungo Jerry to acts like The Fratellis and Wolfmother.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I love Joni Mitchell’s music, but I found myself inadvertently sticking to a comfort zone of her first five albums, and never branching out to see how her style evolved over time. As a result, aside from “Help Me,” this album was new and refreshing to me. I needn’t have feared her artistic evolution, because I’ve been missing out on a funkier, amped-up Joni Mitchell that I look forward to returning to. I loved almost every track, with the notable exception of the vocalese closing track.
Tricky
3/5
I went in ready to be mad at more 90s electronica, but was pleasantly surprised when I got to “Black Steel.” This album manages to use its production style to support some good songs, not just relying on technology to make a bad song sound interesting. I also really enjoyed the Isaac Hayes sample, making this feel like it is on the edges of genres, not comfortably sitting in familiar territory. There were certainly a lot of songs I didn’t enjoy on this album, but I’m rounding up to a 3 because it managed to pull me away from my preconceptions.
The Damned
3/5
Nothing’s more dangerous than a happy punk
R.E.M.
2/5
I was deeply disappointed by their magnum opus, A.F.T.P., but found this one more palatable, maybe closer to 2.3 stars. At this rate, they might even make it to 3! I have a feeling I’m not done with them yet on this list.
Cream
5/5
This album is well worn on my stereo, but among the obvious hits, on this listen I’m continuing to marvel on the groove and guitar tone on “SWLABR”.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
A pleasing record but a lot of it sort of wafted over me. I wasn’t too drawn in until I got to the exquisite melodic percussion on “Little Italy.”
King Crimson
5/5
Listening to this immediately after Supertramp, I am reminded what this prog rock moment in history was truly capable of producing. This album opens with an absolutely devastating face-melter (astutely sampled by another album on this list) and continues to employ baroque pop, jazz-inflected winds and percussion, and indecipherable lyrics in effective and surprising ways. I mean, who builds an entire riff out of harmonics? A rock opera with a vibraphone battle? Listening to this album you feel in one moment as if you’re climbing the Misty Mountains and in the next like you’re descending a spacecraft onto an abandoned exoplanet. Who needs TV when you got an LP?
Miles Davis
4/5
I admittedly couldn’t define “fusion” for you, but I normally don’t like music associated with that word. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve last listened to this album, and in the time since I’ve come across and grown to love other works by some of the musicians in Davis’s band (most notably Wayne Shorter). And I return to this album able to appreciate it on its own terms, not as a genre-type. This is not easy music for me, and it might be another 10 years before I listen to it fully again. But I enjoyed the heck out of it. And I still don’t like fusion.
Coldcut
2/5
Another hour of painful electronica. I relate strongly to the green figures on the cover, crying with my hands over my ears. This only gets an extra star for a nice feature from Queen Latifah.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
A powerhouse performance. There isn’t a single filler track on here. This was a first listen for me, and I didn’t really know anything about Amy Winehouse until now, other than hearing the opening track on the radio. The album lyrics are of course deeply (and painfully) personal, but so is the music in its blend of influences. I especially enjoyed the interpolation of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” for “Tears Dry On Their Own.” An album with a heart on its sleeve.
Bob Dylan
4/5
This is far from my first listen but each time I pick up something new. I forgot that about this early version of “Girl from the North Country,” and to me the later duet with Johnny Cash remains the canonical version. But it serves as a reminder of how sophisticated his songwriting was already. “Masters of War” is still one of the most harrowing protest songs in the English language, while “Don’t Think Twice” is perhaps Dylan’s best fingerpicking and most scathing tone. There are several tracks on this album that are not as flooring or memorable, and certainly not all of these tracks are made for binging, but the storytelling-nature of the lyrics makes each moment worth listening to.
Moby Grape
4/5
Until today the only track I knew (and loved) by Moby Grape was the rolling, hypnotic “I Am Not Willing.” To my ears, that remains the best track on the album, but I did find the rest of the material to be very solid, even if I preferred they stayed towards the trippier end of the NorCal spectrum between Relatively Clean Rivers and CCR. A new highlight for me was the dynamic shifts and powerful vocal harmonies of “Seeing.”
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Ready to Die is a musical odyssey wavering between the prosaic and the profound. There’s a reason why these tracks were both party anthems in their time and garnering critical praise decades later. I’m no prude, but some lyrics are a bit hard to listen to (and even explicit releases of the album feature some censored lines). I think that it’s meant to shock people, both in its vulgarity but also in its brutally honest and often poetic embrace of mortality. I don’t want to make too much of Biggie’s “prescience” or “premonitions” as people tend to do; he may have seemed bigger than life, but he was still a real person and his death was not just a symbolic one for us to wax lyrical about.
The music of this album is just as adventurous and ambitious as the words. There are samples that are classic, like the Isley Brothers wrapping around you smooth as silk sheets on “Big Poppa.” And productions that feel way ahead of their time: “Respect” sounds like it could’ve been an outtake from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And then there is the iconic “Juicy” with a Mtume sample that fits so good it feels like it was inevitable.
Once again this list is bringing up interesting juxtapositions, and I find myself listening to this right after the Freewheelin’ Dylan, thinking about how young these two voices were, and how powerfully they established an identity.
Various Artists
4/5
It’s truly amazing how many classics came out of this one album. I knew most of the songs without ever seeking out the record. But even so, there are overlooked tracks that deserve a little limelight. Personally, I’ll be singing “A Marshmallow World” for seasons to come.
Supertramp
3/5
I have to admit that I have a soft spot for Pink Floyd-inspired dollar-bin prog rock. The first half of the album delivered for me, with some powerful riffing and the frenetic medleys you’d expect from a band with too much studio time. “Bloody Well Right” has everything I could want from this record. However, things started to fall apart in the second half, which offers much less charm or inspiration. Maybe it felt like they were reaching too much for FM glory, or maybe that’s just how long it takes for me to get tired of hearing a Wurlitzer.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Isaac Hayes knows how to stretch it out. In ways that don’t sound contrived or like they’re compensating for a lack of ideas. His music may be decadent at times, but it’s also capable of using sparseness in ways that Philip Glass or La Monte Young could take notes from. “Walk On By” breaks down and pulls out music refrains before layering everything back together for a powerful final crescendo. You’re 9 minutes into “By the Time I Get To Phoenix” by the time you get to a chord change. At a moment when musicians are trying to move past 3-minute made-for-radio cuts, Isaac Hayes finds his own strategy to take the album format to new heights: not as a cheeky concept album or rock opera, but through the undying power of a vamp.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
Some nice easy-listening. I’m not crazy about a lot of the tracks on this album but the production is nice and the studio band is stacked. The duet on “You Didn't Have to Be So Nice” is really cute. I like a lot of people involved on this album but it’s not my favorite output by any of them.
Dr. Dre
4/5
Lots of thoughts on this one, but just judging it on the music, I think it’s stylistically a pretty powerful record. The formula works best with Snoop or the Lady of Rage at the mic. I thought this would be a jarring listen right after Astrud Gilberto, but it turns out my favorite sample on the record, the jazz cut “Big Sur Suite” featured the same producer as Gilberto’s album (and of course Ron Carter on the bass). Also, wow, Dre really didn’t like Eazy-E.
Little Simz
5/5
“Some people read The Alchemist / And still never amount to shit”
This album holds a special place in my heart because it was the record that first introduced me to Little Simz (and Cleo Sol!). The best record to come out in 2019, it is one of the few albums on this list that I can actually remember hearing as a new release and feeling like I was experiencing the future of music. My jams at the time were “Selfish” and “Therapy,” but listening back today I especially enjoyed the dreamy sample and hyperspeed delivery of “101 FM.” This is such a tour-de-force performance, it’s a shame it’s so brief. But at least it gives you some time to recover.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Some solid and tasteful performances, if a little bit repetitive. I really enjoyed her rendition of “Breakfast in Bed.” Her version of “Son of a Preacher Man” is obviously badass on its own, but when I hear it I lovingly think of the sample in “Hits from the Bong.”
Sam Cooke
4/5
A performance powerful enough for an arena, but then you hear the crowd chatter and it sounds like an intimate venue. It must have been awe-inspiring to be in that room. My favorite parts were when the audience joined in, like the chorus to “Bring It On Home to Me.”
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I don’t think I have a favorite Stones album, but this one is definitely up there. They really manage to make a lush sound with a lot of simple layers. I found Charlie Watt’s drumming remarkably sparse during the solo section of “Sympathy,” leaving plenty of space for Richards and Hopkins to trade off with some of the most musically sophisticated material in the band’s catalog. Other highlights for me are “Jigsaw Puzzle,” “Factory Girl,” and “Salt Of The Earth.” Minus one star for “Stray Cat Blues.”
Elvis Presley
4/5
What an incredible production. This album has such a full sound with just a few components. It’s like a warm bath of reverb that I could sit in for hours. I enjoyed Elvis’s rendition of “Fever,” although it’s not my favorite version. I also loved “Thrill of Your Love.”
Motörhead
5/5
“This one is a slow one, so we should get mellowed out” (proceeds to play at 116 bpm)
The only Motörhead I knew before this was “Ace of Spades,” but I feel like that set my expectations appropriately. As far as I could tell there were maybe up to three chords played during this entire performance, and it’s hard to differentiate tracks. But within the narrowest of palettes, this band wins you over with sheer energy and unstoppable momentum. It’s interesting for a band to become known primarily through a live album, but in an age where almost any sound lies at our fingertips, that liveliness continues to give it an aura of authenticity, making clear that this explosion of sound is not simply a studio concoction. There’s never a dull moment in what I can only describe as an Olympic feat.
Bonus points for naming a band after a song.
R.E.M.
2/5
This is the third R.E.M. album I’ve gotten on this list. After the second album, I optimistically expressed that maybe they’d eventually get 3 stars from me. I was wrong.
I have no issue with the lyrical content, but these songs just don’t groove.
David Bowie
4/5
It’s not everyday you get to listen to a David Bowie album for the first time. Not to mention one produced by Tony Visconti. When this album was first released, I honestly thought it was some deluxe edition of Heroes and unfortunately neglected it until now.
The opening track got me thinking that Bowie was slowly turning into Johnny Rotten, but then he quickly settled into those familiar dulcet tones. I enjoyed the swampy funk of “Dirty Boys,” the tender “Where Are We Now?,” and the adolescent bop of “Valentine’s Day.” Nice little allusion to the “Five Years” beat at the end of “You Feel So Lonely.” There were a few tracks which kept me from giving a 5-star rating, but I’ll definitely be returning to this one.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This album shows the Stones at their best (“Under My Thumb” and “Out of Time”) and absolute worst (“Stupid Girl”). Put in other words, this album captures the contradictions found in a group of cruel young men who occasionally made exceptional music.
Sisters Of Mercy
1/5
I’ve never heard SoM before and I’m not sure what they going for, but I wasn’t into it. I see them described as goth rock, but I find the gothic dressings of Black Sabbath or Bauhaus much more compelling. To me it just sounded like new wave that used the same synth for almost every track. I enjoyed “Corrosion” for a little bit, but that’s just because I deluded myself into thinking I was listening to The The (and then the choir kicked in).
The Killers
3/5
This album feels like an idealized portrait of early 00’s alternative rock, infused with the energy of groups like Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but cleaned up – maybe a little too cleaned up – to appeal to a wider audience. In the process, it loses a lot of the character and idiosyncrasies that made these peers so charming. It’s certainly not lacking in hooks, and I enjoyed the cascading synths throughout, but even the heavily distorted riffs seemed carefully dialed in and lacking any danger of surprise. I had most fun with tracks like “All These Things I’ve Done” and “Everything Will Be Alright,” that haven’t had so much radio play as to ruin their groove.
Soft Cell
2/5
I don’t think we’ve properly examined the impact that a decade of Reagan and Thatcher had on the psyche of a people
Van Halen
2/5
It sort of sounds like the same song on repeat, but it’s a decent song
Leonard Cohen
4/5
I’ve heard this album many times before, but it still took a couple of relistens before I felt ready to review. The entire album is hauntingly beautiful, in both the imagery evoked by the lyrics and the atmospheric arrangements. It’s clear that Cohen started out as a poet, and then slowly built up a sonic world to surround them. His performances are perfectly complemented by John Simon’s production: from the widget orchestra on “Sisters of Mercy” to the competing harmonies and discord of “So Long, Marianne.”
An aside: John Simon remains inscrutable to me, and seems completely unsuited to the music he managed to elevate. He’s outspoken about his dislike for rock music, and I once saw him perform a cabaret-style set live, singing such lyrics as: “Like a monkey looking at a banana / That’s me in front of my pian-ah” An utter mystery perhaps best left unexplained.
Alas I can’t justify five stars because, beyond the surface imagery, I couldn’t really tell you what these songs are about.
Eric Clapton
3/5
Ah, so this isn’t the same album as Hotel California
Sonic Youth
4/5
I’m a little surprised that, as someone who lived in western Massachusetts for much of my life, I never listened to a Sonic Youth album before (I was content with my Pixies and Taj Mahal).
But this album delivers, and from what I’ve read, probably serves as a good introduction to the band (a rarity for this list). Inspired guitar work, a nice mix of rock vocalizing and talk-singing, and a few guest features give the album a cinematic feel. It manages to avoid the pitfalls of many 90’s alt albums on here, I think because rather than just wallowing in distortion and sad boy moans for 50 minutes, there is a level of brevity and a degree of nostalgia (or at least awareness) of traditional pop songwriting. A bit like a bubblegum record put through a blender. But in a good way!
Elastica
4/5
Wow, what a cool find. This album shows the importance of a strong opener. I absolutely loved “Line Up” and that kept me engaged and open-minded even if the ensuing tracks weren’t quite as great. Nice reference to Wire on “Connection” (Wikipedia informed me of controversy about Elastica plagiarizing Wire and another band, The Stranglers. My first reaction was that this was a nice allusion, almost like sampling. I have never heard of The Stranglers but in this instance I liked their response, basically “sure it’s plagiarism, we’re not concerned.”).
Aside from the cringey “Indian Song” the rest of the album is a solid collection of snappy, focused punk songs, reminiscent of the Dandy Warhols. It closes out strong with my other favorite track, “Vaseline.” Whoever sequenced this album gets my fourth star.
The Offspring
3/5
One of those albums your friends tell you about in high school because they found the lyrics crude and funny and angsty. I was surprised I knew so many songs simply from that exposure, and I think this music held more appeal for me back then. But there’s still some solid tracks on here and as a lover of punk I appreciated getting a closer glimpse at the group that launched a thousand pop-punk bands.
Pulp
5/5
Discovering a five star album on here is a bit like watching a no-hitter in baseball. After the first couple innings, you think, “Things are going really well. Surprisingly well.” A few more strikeouts and you’re not even willing to acknowledge what might be underway. By the seventh-inning stretch, you say to yourself, “This is an incredible experience, no matter what happens. Those labels are pointless, anyways.” But then the last out is called without even an infielder error and you realize you’ve just witnessed something beautiful and unexpected, which is the reason you participate in this masochistic ritual in the first place.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
An interesting blend of roots rock with synthy 80s sadpop. Three stars for New Wave Mark Knopfler.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Although nearly ruined by a certain cruise commercial, this album holds up surprisingly well for a litany of Freudian trips, slips, and falls. Iggy Pop is a very charismatic singer, but I have to give a lot of credit to his collaborators for vaulting him to his status as one of the greats. David Bowie is, of course, all over this album, even if his contributions as “band keyboardist” don’t exactly make or break any tracks. In contrast, Carlos Alomar’s guitar work drives much of the album, and I continue to develop an appreciation for the magician behind some of my favorite records.
Randy Newman
4/5
I came to this album with the idea that I like Randy Newman, but all his songs sound the same. This album blew that assumption out of the water. While he certainly has a style that is instantly recognizable, there’s a lot of musical range on this record. In previously knew “Political Science” (which feels a bit too real in 2026) but on this listen I loved tracks like “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear” or “Dayton, Ohio” that seemed like they could’ve been at home in a 1920s jazzy saloon.
ZZ Top
3/5
I appreciate a band that is so sure and comfortable in themselves that they don’t need to rely on trends or over-the-top productions to make a name for themselves (all discussions of facial hair put aside). This is stripped-back, solid rock music, if a bit monotonous at times.
Incubus
1/5
Not what I expected to be listening to this Thursday morning. I remember seeing the music video for “Drive” a lot when I was younger, but that track feels like an outlier for the album. A extra star for the guitar on “Nowhere Fast” and “Consequence.” Minus a star for lyrics that I found to be corny or cringey. And we’re left at one star.
Fleet Foxes
5/5
I’ve listened to this three times over the past few days, and each time I like it more. Until now, the only Fleet Foxes tune I knew was “White Winter Hymnal,” which remains my favorite track. But this record works well for what I hope to get from an album: an artistic statement, charismatic world-building, and a strong cohesive palette that ties all the tracks together. This album accomplishes that, from the Bruegel cover art to the harmonizing vocal rounds. That’s why even though not all of the individual songs are standouts for me, I feel like rounding up to a five star rating.
Also, I’m not convinced that this isn’t Jim James doing all the vocals.
Blue Cheer
4/5
This was one of the first albums I ever bought with my own money, after hearing the CD playing in my local record store. As a young teen obsessed with Led Zeppelin and The White Stripes, it resonated with me on a primordial level. I was young, still developing my musical identity, before I had ever tried alcohol or drugs (Spotify included) and it felt magical to “discover” an artist on my own, without hearing about them from a friend or family member…well, I suppose some credit goes to the record clerk. Today I’m different person, nearly tripled in age, but this album still gets me excited, in all its distorted, head-banging, hard-panned stereo mix glory.
Lou Reed
4/5
I only knew “Caroline Says II” and “The Kids” beforehand, which are both very beautiful and very, very sad. So I was prepared for more material like the (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) “Sad Song.” I wasn't expecting the upbeat first half, with an almost whimsical "Caroline Says I." Experiencing the album out of sequence like that made it feel even more poignant, like reflecting on good times while knowing there's trouble ahead.
An aside: I'm glad to know that both Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker went on to work with better people.
Van Halen
2/5
Coming to this just two weeks after their debut album, I have to admit I was disappointed. Whereas their first album had a playful, unpolished quality to it, this felt like the same bag of tricks but with a fancier marketing and distribution campaign. But I do, unsarcastically, appreciate that their albums keep to an unpretentious length under 40 minutes.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
I like my share of pop chanson, but that was a bit difficult to get through. Some may find the production to be cohesive, but for me it leaned towards repetitive. I did enjoy the English/French split format though.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Come for the angsty rap parodies and stay for the warm and tender rhapsodies.