Consistency solid Not my usual taste but a few songs here I find are perfect when I’m on a nice walk or drive Favorites: Live with Me, You Can’t Always Get What You Want

The production was creative and kept me engaged The first half was strong (E-Pro and Qué Onda Guero stood out), but the album felt repetitive in the second half Didn’t feel any of the tracks were bad but also didn’t feel like any of them were very strong Favorites (A.K.A. Songs I added): None

One of the best rock albums I’ve ever heard Right on Time and Road Trippin’ were two of the defining tracks for me, with the former bringing a ton of energy and life to the album and the latter being a vulnerable closer that felt borderline cinematic Some of the songs started to blend together as I got deeper into the album, but didn’t really feel any of them were bad (except maybe I Like Dirt but I’ll give it a pass) Favorites: Scar Tissue, Get On Top, Road Trippin’ Honorable Mention: Right on Time

Trampled Under Foot is awesome and is followed up by Kashmir which has one of the best rock instrumentals ever The Wanton Song also deserves a shout Robert Plant also has a fantastic voice and his vocals were arguably the best part of this album I think this album wasn’t as much for me but I completely understand the hype and why this album is known to be very progressive for its time I feel like the album might’ve benefitted from being a little shorter (definitely felt a bit burnt out as I was finishing it), which is very rare for me to say Favorites: Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir

I really tried to like this, I did… But I just didn’t Bowie is obviously a legend, but I don’t think any of the tracks were very strong (the closing track was the closest imo), but I also didn’t think any of them were particularly bad either Part of why I rated it the way I did had to do with my very high expectations This is my first Bowie album and I know there’s plenty more left to hear so he’ll have more than enough chances to redeem himself Honorable Mention: The Secret Life of Arabia

Gonna preface this by saying that I was on a road trip with family when listening to this album so it was hard to fully pay attention (which likely affected my score so don’t take this review too seriously)… I don’t have much to say here I never really got too much into it and by the time it started to warm up for me, it was almost over already I don’t want to be too harsh because I found the album listenable but I didn’t really connect with any one song in particular Favorites: None

Vibes That’s the best word to describe this album’s strengths When songs like We Are Family (which is understandably a mega hit) and He’s The Greatest Dancer are playing, all you want to do is dance, which is exactly what I wanted from this album Although I always love and respect being versatile, I wish the album leaned more into being upbeat and funky since I feel that could’ve taken it to even greater heights Favorites: We Are Family Honorable Mentions: He’s The Greatest Dancer

I understand that this album was extremely influential on Brazilian music and progressive for its time, but it felt pretty outdated when I was listening to it I’ll give it a slight pass though since it’s 57 years old Definitely some fun songs on here, Clara and Eles being my personal favorites, but others fall a bit flat I feel like this is one of those albums that other people probably hold in higher regards than I do so while I had a decent time listening to it, I can’t give it more than two stars Favorites: None

If there’s only a few things in life you can count on, one of them has to be Earth, Wind, & Fire putting you in a good mood “That’s The Way Of The World” does exactly that with some classic 70s upbeat tracks like Shining Star and Happy Feelin’ while also knowing how to slow it down and connect with the audience through songs like All About Love Although I couldn’t give it more than a 3 due to not having many stand out songs (you can blame my grading system for that), it’s a fun album that meets every expectation you have when diving into the wonderful world of Earth, Wind, & Fire Favorites: Shining Star Honorable Mentions: Happy Feelin’, Africano

I’m all for creativity, new sounds, and experimenting… But this was just bad Maybe I don’t get it? To be fair, I haven’t listened to alternative music much, but the majority of this album sounds like it was produced by a kid who downloaded GarageBand for the first time and started mashing instruments together I want to give credit to the clear stand out track, Two Doves, which featured strong vocals and a nice change of pace from the rest of the album Now I never want to be too harsh on an song and/or album because art is very subjective (my comment about the production is my dumb attempt at humor so please don’t take it seriously) and what someone may think is bad, someone else might think is awesome, but I just didn’t have a good time listening through Bitte Orca If you listened to this and enjoyed it, that’s awesome Like I said, maybe I just don’t understand it That’s why I’m doing this in the first place; to branch out and grow my taste Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Two Doves

This album features some really creative ideas and lyrics along with some solid vocals that should make for a pretty cohesive and strong album… But I felt like the execution came up short The mastering on this album holds up extremely well which made my listen more enjoyable but it wasn’t enough for me to find any songs that I truly connected with I think this is one of those albums where I want to be more objective with how I rate it but I just can’t get past my personal feelings here Sorry :( Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: None

For an album with 16 songs, I don’t really have a whole lot to say about it I liked it. I didn’t think it was anything amazing but there was definitely some good tracks scattered throughout (my favorite being Son of Sam) The first half was also better than the second half and maybe could’ve benefitted from reducing the tracklist by a couple of songs A solid album Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Son of Sam, In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)/The Roost

The length of both an album and its individual songs is something I’ve always made out to be really important when it comes to how cohesive and enjoyable an album is… When an album has too many songs, it can start to feel repetitive or drawn out and when a song is too long, it feels the same way Sometimes a song can justify itself being long, but there’s also a point where it can just be too long. There’s no exact length that’s used as a benchmark, as sometimes a 5 minute song can become boring while a 7 minute song keeps you hooked, but the longer the song is, the more you have to do to keep the listener interested All that being said, this album really pushed the limit for me When I listened to “Physical Graffiti” (Led Zeppelin), some of the longer tracks like “Trampled Under Foot” and “Kashmir” were interesting enough to justify being 5 and a half and 8 and a half minutes respectively But when this album throws songs at you that are that long (including one that is over 9 minutes!), I got tired of it quick Okay, rant over… “Fisherman’s Blues” is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard so far and I had a good time listening to some of its songs (especially “World Party”), but by the time I got through “And a Bang on the Ear”, I felt like I had enough I had a decent enough experience to where I don’t think it deserves one star but anything more than two feels like too much Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: World Party

One of those albums that I don’t have too much to say It was a solid listen and while I didn’t think it was anything too special, I liked just about every song and had fun the entire time McCartney sounds as good as always Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Jet, Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)

Is it wrong to say that I felt like every song on this album sounded the exact same? I mean obviously not every song sounded the exact same, especially in the second half which was a nice change of pace compared to the first half Also, despite being remastered (and this might just be me), the vocals on a number of songs did not sound like they were mixed very well (too quiet) Had a decent time with a few songs but pretty forgettable otherwise Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: None

This album made me realize that not all 3 star ratings are equal… Sometimes I feel like an album that has 3 stars would be better suited with 2.5 or a 3.5 but obviously that can’t be done here so I stick with 3 “Stand!” is one of those albums that I think deserves a 3.5 The title track is the stand out song as it features the highlight of the album; an electric transition (with around 51 seconds to go) into an incredibly groovy beat that had me head bopping the second it started Sing a Simple Song was very close to being put in the “Favorites” category (an all-around fun track) but just missed the mark The rest of the album was enjoyable and it’s one of the better listening experiences I’ve had recently It’s hard to listen to an album like this and not have a good time Favorites: Stand! Honorable Mentions: Sing a Simple Song

Wow! I was not familiar with your game Janelle Monáe! I had such a good time listening to this. The first half of the album was flat out amazing (as you can tell by the songs I included in my favorites), but like many other albums, the second half started to drop off a bit and I really feel like the album could’ve benefitted from dropping 2-4 songs With that being said, this is easily the most versatile album I’ve heard so far and I see why it appeals to so many different audiences Not only is it full of great songs of different genres, but it includes a few interludes (which are usually hit-or-miss for me) that I feel add to the overall experience I also very much appreciate how the songs naturally blend together, which adds to the cohesiveness of the album Hats off to you Janelle Monáe, this album rocks Favorites: Locked Inside, Wondaland Honorable Mentions: Sir Greendown, Cold War

My first thought with this album is that I could tell that it’s had a lot of influence on a number of modern artists/groups (Brockhampton being a notable one that comes to mind) The insanely creative instrumentals and song structures left me pleasantly surprised at how well this album holds up (released 34 years ago) Unfinished Sympathy and Lately were both very enjoyable, but I found that the album’s closer, Hymn of The Big Wheel, stood out to me the most as the message of the song is one that I really needed to hear Although it wasn’t perfect and a few songs had me a bit underwhelmed, “Blue Lines” exceeded my expectations Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Blue Lines, Unfinished Sympathy, Lately, Hymn of The Big Wheel

I’ll keep it brief… It was fine Had a good time listening to it but pretty forgettable otherwise Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: None

I appreciate how authentic this album felt, but I didn’t connect with it the way a lot of others likely did There was nothing particularly bad about it outside of the fact that it started to get repetitive towards the end Some of my favorites parts of the album included… -Friend Zone, which featured my favorite instrumental on the album -Them Changes, which justified being the big hit it became -The features, which are solid for the most part with Kenny Loggins and Kendrick Lamar being the standouts It’s hard to find a lot of negative here, but I also don’t think it’s very special in any way Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Friend Zone, Them Changes

I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t think this album belongs on here There were some decent tracks in here, but it felt very outdated (although it might’ve been going for that?) and it’s possible that it was just me, but the mixing/mastering was flat out bad considering it’s one of the more recent albums on here Again, it might’ve been intentional in order to give it a more vintage feel, but it hurt the overall listening experience I didn’t connect with this album at all and although there are some objectively good moments, it wasn’t enough to make this album enjoyable for me Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: None

This might be the most amped up an album has made me Just an all-around fun album that doesn’t have any standout tracks but doesn’t need any since every song is full of energy (excluding the closer) Very solid Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise, Living After Midnight

Underwhelming. That’s probably the best word I could use to describe this album. This was my first Prince album so I had high expectations going in and although there is things to like, I was left feeling pretty disappointed Some of the instrumentals were creative, the vocals were great, and the entire album sounded really good (especially the drums), but the overall execution fell flat For as long of an album as this is (16 tracks), there wasn’t any song in particular I thought stood out as being great and a few that I thought started out good left me wanting me by the time they finished I’m still excited to hear the rest of Prince’s discography (especially Purple Rain), but my expectations have been lowered a bit Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Housequake

A very solid album that was entertaining from beginning to end A standout track or two could’ve made this album even stronger but I appreciate how consistent it was Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Suedehead, Break Up the Family

If I could give 3.5 stars, that’s what I would give this album but unfortunately I can’t so 3 will have to do Despite a few low moments, there was a ton to like here… -Michael Stripe delivered great vocals on just about every song -A big hit in It’s the End of the World… -A perfect runtime and amount of tracks, which made the listening experience even better There was a few forgettable songs, but the strength of the rest of the album more than made up for it Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), Lightnin’ Hopkins

Nice to see you again Beck… (My first repeat artist) This album started out strong with its experimental instrumentals and good vocals that resulted in good vibes, but after “Where It’s At”, the album’s standout track (and big hit), the whole thing fell apart I was ready for it to be over even with a few tracks left and although I gave all of them a listen (which I do for every song on every album because it would be wrong not to), none of them stuck with me After writing this out, I’ve decided to go with 2 stars (due to the lack of standout tracks) although 2.5 is what I would actually give it if I could Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Where It’s At

I don’t have a whole lot to say here… It was very repetitive but I actually felt like that was the strength of the album Almost every song was at least somewhat enjoyable so while none of them were memorable, none of them were particularly bad either The vibes were those of chilling at the beach at sunset so credit to her for crafting an album that would be awesome for that Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Mama Said, You Don’t Own Me (Cover), Summer is Over

Arguably the most interesting listen so far, especially when considering I didn’t realize it was going to be in German until I hit play (I guess the album and song titles should’ve given it away) All things considered, I had a good time with this album The vocals were very unique and powerful while having some really solid production I probably won’t listen to any of the songs from this album again, but this definitely does not belong with the albums I consider 1 star Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: F.I.A.T.

Wow. I didn’t know what to expect when I began listening to this album but whatever expectations I had were definitely exceeded Connected and Don’t Let Up were the two best songs, but no one song in particular was bad The production was some of the best I’ve heard on an album included on this list (so far) and I was bopping my head to nearly half the tracks This is a strong 3.5 for me, but I’m feeling generous tonight so let’s just roll with a 4 Favorites: Connected, Don’t Let Up Honorable Mentions: Everything, Creation

No

This is one of those albums where I see why it has such amazing reviews but it wasn’t for me An objectively great album that combines good vibes and good lyricism I also think it sounds great and holds up extremely well for an album that’s nearly 60 years old Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Somebody to Love,