Musically solid mix of electronic rock and psychedelia, but nothing too outstanding. I didn't really vibe with it, but it wasn't offensive either.
Solid blues rock album with strong vocals. Lots of emotion in Joplin's voice. This is probably the best blues rock album I have ever heard.
High-quality 70s hard rock album with strong guitar harmonies and vocals. There is a clear line from this to NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Diamond Head, as well as many 80s hard rock bands such as Motley Crue and GNR.
A straight 60s pop album with lots of strings, horns, and crooner vocals. I don't think this is a great album, especially coming from the King of Rock and Roll, but it's not offensive(except for the overbearing horns on a couple tracks.) I don't think this should be on a list of 1001 albums to hear before I die.
I'm not that into hip hop, but this album is definitely pretty enjoyable. I like the flow of the songs and Hill's singing is very much welcomed as a counterpoint to the rapping. In turn, I think this is a nice introduction to rap for me. However, the outros of the songs were a bit long and annoying.
A bunch of quality slow jams. This album is very well put together musically, and Gaye's voice is both soothing and emotional. The album doesn't overstay its welcome, either, clocking in at a rather lean 31 minutes.
This album sounds like every 90s alt-rock one hit wonder on rock radio. It isn't bad or grating, but kinda boring. The songs are very short, with only the Mrs. Robinson cover being over 3 minutes. This is good, because there's not much of note here. It's solid, but fails to stand out for anything.
A nice 60s rock concept album. The songs are all high quality, and for the most part enjoyable. The harmonies and singing are quite pleasing, and the instrumentals are pretty good.
This album is more energetic than I expected from Bob Dylan. His vocals suck ass, and the faster numbers really make this clear. The instrumentals aren't mind-blowing, but the songs are very enjoyable. Desolation Row is way too long, though.
Some fairly enjoyable 80s pop. The songs are all solid, and the vocals are decent. However, there's not much passion in the arrangements. The songs are quite processed, which makes sense when you consider the type of music.
Rather generic 60s folk rock with a hint of country. Not much of note here, except for the last track being a shift in style to a more psychedelic sound.
This album is some pretty interesting electronic music. The vocals are great, and the songs are very good chill music. Some songs have a definite hip hop influence to them, especially towards the end of the album. In short, this album has a nice vibe that I enjoy.
An electronic album with clear hip hop influences. This has a nice vibe to it that I liked, and it has notable stylistic variation between the tracks, which is a plus. Some tracks drag on too long, though. The Light My Fire cover is dog shite.
Very sonically interesting rock album. Songs tend to start slow before exploding into grungy dissonance. The vocals mirror this by being softly spoken word on the quieter parts and loud singing on the louder parts.
Some light country-tinged pop rock. The songs are not bad, but they are rather boring. I wanted a cool metal album to be my birthday album, but I got this grocery store pop album instead.
Some rather calm folk music. Nowhere near as loud as Highway 61 Revisited, which makes Dylan's vocals more palatable. Otherwise, the songs are as good as ever, and the lyrics are top notch as always.
This is a rather soft acoustic pop album with pleasing vocals and arrangements. The lyrics have a healthy bit of social commentary, but are sugar coated with good pop hooks and soft acoustic guitar.
This album is just generic new wave. There is absolutely nothing notable here, except for the singer sounding like John Lydon on a couple tracks. He then proceeds to sound like generic new wave singer #653 on the rest of the album.
A great post punk album with many strong tracks. Knopfler's vocal style suits the sound quite well, and "Money for Nothing" is iconic for a reason. The other songs are all bangers, too.
A very weird garage rock album. I didn't hate this, aside from the opening screams, but I don't know that I liked it, either. The songs are short and kind of pass by you, and the vocals are very garagey. Either way, this isn't blues music.
Some neat instrumental sitar music. This album is a vibe, and a nice relaxing one. The sitar covers of popular songs are certainly novel, and the lengthier pieces feel classical in composition and playing.
Some fairly entertaining British rap. Not much to actually care about here, but the arrangements are good.
Some very fun instrumental jazz. Sounds like pure, distilled spirit of the 50s. The playing is top tier, and I enjoy hearing it.
A nice folk-rock album. Full of beautiful, dramatic songs with great vocals and instrumentals.
Some pretty cool pop punk. For the most part, the tracks outside of the hits are just solid, but the hits are great. The drumming is great, and the guitars and vocals serve the songs well.
Some really good socially conscious hip hop. The songs all have great beats and flow, and the lyrics are good. I enjoy the samples and the wide variety of voices on display.
The musicianship here is solid but not outstanding, which is a problem when your album has one original song. Why did I need to listen to this over the many albums snubbed that were more deserving of a spot? The one original song, "Tell Me" was rather meh.
Some rather vapid soft rock. Heavy use of piano interspersed with some guitar and organ. Nothing here really feels that good or
interesting, it's just meh.
This wasn't the funky Stevie I was expecting, for the most part, but rather a lot of ballads. I don't know how I feel about those ballads. The one undeniably good thing, here, are his vocals.
This gives me one question: how the fuck did we go from this to the modern radio dog shit that we all call country nowadays? The songs are sung with talent and passion, something sorely lacking in modern country. They all have very down to earth lyrics retelling tales of life in America.
This isn't the funky disco music most think of when they think of the Bee Gees. Instead, it's some rather vapid 60s pop/rock. Pretty boring album without much of note. Some songs veer towards country, others are orchestral chamber pop.
I don't have much to say about this except that it's competent but boring. I'm pretty sure I don't need to hear grocery store music like this before I die. I absolutely hated listening to this, in fact.
A nice, mellow folk rock album. This has beautiful piano playing and instrumentals, and Mitchell has a good voice. This album has a nice vibe and good lyrics. Raised on Robbery was pretty fun.
A very fun listen. Some nice, scuzzy rock that doesn't require you to think too hard about it while listening. It is full of energy and rather rambunctious, but it's not overbearing.
This is a pretty good modern rap album. It has lots of nice melodic arrangements, and the rapping itself is pretty solid. However, nothing here stands out as great.
This album is some pretty solid blues rock. It feels more varied stylistically than the White Stripes, but it's not as simple and powerful. A pretty neat experiment.
A decent, but not great, neo-soul album. Some lyrics aged poorly, and the rest is nowhere near as special as I have been led to believe. A little too long, though.
This is some ok, but not great, pop music. Some songs structures are unconventional, but the album is still plenty accessible. Nothing here stands out as great, though, it's mainly just ok. The singer has a pretty good voice, though.
This album has a very distinct sound. It's the detached lack of emotion found in new wave mixed with interesting funky rhythms. It makes for a very entertaining and unique cocktail of musical influences. Byrne's vocals are very well suited to the type of music that's being made here.
Let's get something straight: it's a crime that this is the only Priest album on the list. There are many other albums by this band that deserve to be here as well. That said, it's a great metal album. Halford's singing is as good as ever, and the loud guitars and thunderous drums make for some invigorating heavy metal.
This album is highly indulgent and extremely long. It's a rock album with some soft rock songs. The playing and vocals are competent, but the album could have been split into two albums. Anyway, the length is the biggest issue by far.
This album is probably the most unique thing I've listened to so far. I don't understand a word of what's being sung, but the singing sounds expressive and highly distinct. Instrumental accompaniment varies from song to song and sometimes leans more toward an 80s pop feel and something towards the album's African roots.
A nice, relaxing folk rock album. The guitar is very good, and the singing is great. They combine to produce a uniquely relaxing sound that I quite enjoyed.
An okay alt-pop album. Reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette without the distinctive voice. Everything here is competent, but nothing here is truly great.
I was honestly scared I was going to hate this. However, I did not hate it. It turned out to be well made jazz pop with some great singing and surprisingly tasteful horns. It's somehow not boring, and everything here is good to great. It doesn't overstay its welcome, either.
This album wasn't on Spotify in the US, so I listened on YouTube. That said, it's a pretty energetic ska album with some new wave elements. Many of the songs have good brass sections mixed with interesting new wave style vocals.
An interesting instrumental jazz album with some rock and funk influences. The instrument playing is great, which helps a lot when the album is 4 instrumental compositions stretched out over an LP length. I enjoyed listening to the track "Sly" in particular.
This was a pretty good pop rock album. The songs are light and fun, and the vocals are good. The instrument playing, while not virtuosic, serves its purpose well.
I could write a whole review of how great the album is, but that won't be necessary. It's the Beatles at the height of their creative powers. Of course it's great, how else would it become as iconic as it is? It's not perfect, but it pretty fucking close.
An okay new wave album. I don't think it has anything too interesting or noteworthy on it, but it isn't horrible. The vocals were ok if typical for new wave, and the same can be said for the instrumentals.
This was a pretty fun, good indie rock album. The instrument playing is appropriately raucous and poppy, and the vocals really seal the deal. A pretty good album to just enjoy.
This sounds like the pure spirit of the 70s disco fever. It's fun and funky, with high pitched harmonies and funky guitar playing. It is a perfect time capsule to the era.
I was expecting boring new wave. I got weird British pub rock with lots of horns and terrible singing. It's ok, but not exactly great or even that good. The big hit, "Come on Eileen" was by no means the best song, and is in fact one of the worst. The album is also too long and could stand the removal of some of the instrumentals.
Very smooth jazz album with appropriately great drumming and sax playing. It's mostly instrumental, which allows the spotlight to shine on that sax and those drums.
This is an ok pop album with some folk mixed in. The voice is good, but it's rather unremarkable. Nothing here is that good, but it's not bad.
This is a very garagey sounding rock album with lots of distortion and strange song structures. The poor production does a number on the album's enjoyability, which would be aided significantly by a louder mix. That said, it's still a good and interesting album.
This is one of the best new wave albums I've had so far. The vocals are rather standard, but what really sets this apart is the songwriting, which is miles above most new wave albums on the list.
This is a pretty good hard rock/grunge album. The singing is famously slurred, and the real standout here is the guitar. This album rocks hard and packs an emotional punch.
This is an okay vocal jazz album. Ray's singing is great, but the album feels very dated. I don't like those blaring horns on the first couple of tracks.
Just a pretty sad, mopey alternative/indie rock album. I didn't care for anything on it, and it's a little too long. Everything here is ok, but not great.
I saw this and knew it would be a 5 immediately. The singing is soulful and pretty smooth, but the real star is that guitar. That guitar was revolutionary for its time and still holds up today. So yeah, I guess I'm now experienced. Listen to this gargantuan totem of godly guitar playing and you will be, too.
A rootsy country rock record. It's a shining example of what country used to be before it was corrupted by record execs+the ghost of 2000s butt rock. It has great vocals harmonies and good, rootsy instrumental playing.
This is a record from an incredibly controversial artist. Me personally, I'm more ambivalent towards it. It's pretty good, and it's honestly kinda calming, but also very downbeat. It resonates with me in a way few of the British pop albums do.
Not on Spotify in the US. That said, it's a pretty good rap album. It has all-around chill and funky vibes that provide a stark contrast to most rap.
Pretty standard 70s rock/punk fare. Obligatory songs about sex, drugs, and rock and roll are present and accounted for. That said, I quite enjoyed it, maybe because I love this style of classic rock. "Turn Blue" aged horrendously(fetishization of African Americans? Really?) as did "Sixteen" (obvious reasons).
Just an easy listening album. That's really all it is. It's nothing like the Velvet Underground's abrasive, dark rock sound. That said, it's a pretty decent pop album. The song "Macbeth" is significantly louder and more rock oriented than the rest of the album.
This album is primarily just loud guitar strumming with a decent vocalist on top. It's very noisy, but also somewhat polished and radio ready.
This is a good yacht rock album from one of the 1970s' most famous singers. It's well-produced and easy to listen to, and nothing here is too offensive. However, I didn't really enjoy it a whole lot.
A very British punk rock album. The songwriting is solid and the instrument playing is good. The heartfelt, mellow nature of "English Rose" contrasts sharply with the rest of the album's energy.
I hate U2's radio singles with a passion, so I came in expecting to despise this album. I just found it boring. It sounds like a generic pop band from this era, not a stadium selling legacy rock act. Even worse, some of the songs(Peace on Earth, New York) have absolutely terrible lyrics that sound like a 10 year old wrote them.
Random band I haven't heard of making old school country music. It's honestly kinda relaxing, and the songwriting is of acceptable quality, but hardly life changing. Less boring than yesterday's U2 album, though (thank God!)
Any album with "Dreams", "Go Your Own Way" and "The Chain" on its tracklist is an instant 5. However, it's not just these monolithic tracks doing all the heavy lifting; the rest of the record holds up to these songs to an extent. There's a reason it's tied with Abbey Road for highest rated album at the time of writing.
This is just OK country-tinged rock in the vein of Bruce Springsteen. It's boring and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay toooooooooooooooooo loooooooooooooooong.
This is a pretty good if very dated pop/new wave album. Some of the songs are really good, but the album is more as a time capsule for the 1980s than an all time classic. Either way, I'd take this over yesterday's Ryan Adams album any day of the week.
Let me get something out of the way: I can't do long albums. 60 minutes is pushing it, and anything over that tends to drag on. That said, this album is full of emotive ballads, driving rockers, and a couple duds. The tracks are for the most part highly enjoyable and well made, with a handful of exceptions(Dirty Little Girl, Jamaica Jerk Off) that brought the album down a couple pegs.
This album is a weird choice to include over one of his more popular 90s albums. After listening to it, I learned that it has all the trite lyrics Kravitz's hits have with none of the fun and energy. He would probably do well to shy away from political statements and social activism and stick to "Are You Gonna Go My Way?".
This is a very good early rap album. "The New Style" feels like it could have been written in the modern day with how many gangsta rap cliches it incorporates. The rest of the album continues in this vein, sending up frat bro and party culture. However, the vocal stylings were decidedly not great. Each Beastie only seems to have one voice that they use consistently throughout the record, and the interplay tends to follow a specific pattern.
This album is a masterpiece of storytelling; what it lacks in instrumental virtuosity is more than made up for by the lyricism and storytelling. Cash's unique baritone narrates stories of outlaw living and being behind bars like no other ever could. His songs paint vivid pictures of life as an outlaw, and he remembers to engage the crowd with often-entertaining banter. Country may not have the best reputation, but this shows just how good it can be when done properly.
This album is an easy listening soul record. Some aspects of it are dated, but Burke's versatile and emotional voice makes up for it. The combined effect is a nice, relaxing record to listen to after a long day.
Just a good old-fashioned bluesy rock album. It feels like something you'd find in an old, dusty record bin, the faded cover and yellowed inner sleeve telling stories of days long past. I'd buy it for $5 at a Goodwill and throw it on at home the next day, listening to the crackles and pops of the vinyl as the record plays out with a distinct analog warmness. Lyrics aren't great, but I never expected them to be. For many, it's trite, annoying rock with bad singing. For me, it's a trip back in time to the early 70s, even though I wasn't there when it happened.
This often gets lumped in with 70s punk. However, it sacrifices the anti-establishment energy and raucous anger for artsy inclinations and quality guitar melodies. This is music for the head, whereas most of the punk it gets lumped in with is music for the heart. That's not to say it isn't good, because it is. The songs are melodic and fairly accessible while also being sure to be technical showcases for the players' abilities.
Smooth, well produced jazz-rock that lacks the vigor and passion of either genre. We do get some quality instrumental playing, but the music has a smoothness and polish to it that makes it more palatable to the average listener. Lyrics are unimportant and take a back seat to the actual music, which is competently performed but lacks emotion.
This album is full of passion and vigor, as soul should be. It may not be the most refined soul record, but it packs a punch. The voice is appropriately great, but the lyrics are standard soul fare. That doesn't matter, though, because this album is at least 7 years ahead of its time. A true soul classic.
This album is some high quality 70s pop/rock. I can hear the influence this had on Cheap Trick, who are themselves considered influential. The songwriting is of excellent quality, and it feels weird that this didn't get hugely popular with how accessible it is. I could hear pretty much anything off this album being played on rock radio to this day, and I would enjoy it.
Just some Australian dudes making loud alt-rock. Unfortunately, though it has the loud guitars, it lacks the special sauce that characterizes the genre's best bands. As a matter of fact, I found it aggressively boring. I could do just as well to forget about this album as listen to it.
A detached yet softly emotional electronic rock album. The singing has a melancholy quality to it, but somehow feels detached at the same time. Instrumental arrangements are typical of post-OK Computer indie/alt rock, being a mix of acoustic guitar and synths. These qualities combine, however, to produce a beautifully melancholic masterpiece of indie songwriting and arrangements. This band might just be America's answer to Radiohead, at least in terms of sound if not lyricism.
My first impression of this album is that it's highly likely to be awful. It's not awful. The production is good. but the album is brought down by laughably trite and cliche gangsta rap lyrics. The backing vocals are bad, but 2Pac's flow and tone works well. There is a definite soul influence here, but the lyrics are still exactly what you'd expect. "Dear Mama" was a nice change of pace that showed off heartfelt lyrics instead of the typical gangsta rap cliches that permeate a lot of the album. It's a little too long, but the lack of skits helps it keep a consistent quality.
This album feels like typical 2017 pop music. There is some funk here, but it feels very sterile and devoid of passion. It's not particularly good lyrically, nor does it create an atmosphere. The second half of the album is noticeably better than the first, which helps this album a lot as the first half was rather boring. "Them Changes" gave me a sense of deja vu, despite me not having heard of Thundercat prior to this challenge.
This is a pretty good double album of 70s pop/rock. Most of it is consistently good, and some of it is great. Lyrics are fairly standard fare, but the album sounds good musically. It could stand to lose some of the songs(did Isn't It A Pity? really need a reprise in the second half?) The jam sessions at the back of the album go on forever and go absolutely nowhere. If they were a separate LP, they would be nowhere near this list.
This album is exactly what you'd expect from Talking Heads: art rock with the distinctive, deeply uneasy vocal delivery of David Byrne. It mostly lacks the engaging African rhythms of Remain in Light, but has the song craft to make up for it. Ultimately, it's a pretty good first outing for the Heads, with one of their signature tracks in "Psycho Killer".
This album is best described as jangly, poppy indie rock before indie rock was a thing. It's obviously influential, being the breakthrough album of one of the biggest bands of the 90s. The lyrics are quite good, and the lead and backing vocals are both good, if not excellent.
Learning what Beefheart vocals sound like on "Willie the Pimp" gives me anticipation for his albums. With that out of the way, this is very clearly instrumental jazz-rock jams with little formal structure. They clearly show technical prowess, but I don't know how much I enjoy them. "The Gumbo Variations" is a bit of a slog to get through, but most other tracks are fun enough.
This is a very dark and heavy alternative metal album. The lyrics tell tales of drug abuse and self destruction, and the album uses haunting, heavy soundscapes to great effect. The uniquely dark, droning vocal harmonies and sludgy guitar are the record's most distinctive and strong attributes.
Out of the whopping NINE albums Bowie has on the list, this is my first. There's plenty of good stuff here, but some of it isn't exactly my vibe. That's not to say it isn't good, because it is objectively a great album. Musically, it's excellent. Lyrically, it's good but not great(except Rock and Roll Suicide, which probably has the best writing on the album). Whether this truly is his greatest work remains to be seen, as I have many other albums of his to listen to.
The most interesting thing about this is that it had a song with a woman begging for sex ("The Rough and Quick"). The rest of it is just vapid electronic music with occasional rapping. It appears to have been completely forgotten; exactly the opposite of an album you must hear before you die. It is nothing; it made no impact. Ergo, it deserves the lowest of all possible ratings; the fabled 1 star reserved for only the worst of albums.
This album is exactly what you'd expect from the Foos; poppy alternative rock that usually doesn't require you to think too hard about it. Musically, it sounds like every radio rock band of the era. Lyrically, it's ok, but by no means excellent. It's fairly standard radio rock, but that's not always a problem; I enjoy this kind of rock.
This album is primarily an 80s pop album with some African music elements. It is somewhat inconsistent; while some songs are excellent, others are mediocre or terrible. Lyrics are often trite and lack the poetic nature of Simon's older work. Plagiarism controversies only serve to worsen the album's contents, but it's not bad in its entirety. In the end, I don't think it was anything life changing, but it certainly wasn't a bad album.
This is loud early 70s hard rock. Lyrically, it's godawful, with lyrics being either trite, incoherent, or both. Musically, however, it's great. The interplay between the organ and guitar give the Purple a distinctive sound no one has really replicated, and the vocals are suitable for the music, if not the best. It's one of my personal favorite bands, so I'm probably a little biased in my rating. But, alas, everyone here is; no one person can truly rate an album objectively. Such is the beauty of art.
So this is basically 60s psychedelic pop from Brazil? I don't understand any of the lyrics, not being fluent in Portuguese, so I kind of just have to listen to the music here. Musically, it seems to mostly use 60s rock instrumentation to create the same psychedelic soundscapes typical of American bands of the period. However, it does incorporate some traditional Brazilian percussion and bossa nova with its psychedelic stylings. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for it much.
This is basically the genesis point for rap music as a commercial genre. It has a very rhythmic, driving sound mostly lacking in melodies, with simplistic yet enjoyable flows. The lyricism isn't the best, especially compared to what was to come for the genre, but it's not horrible. This album may not have aged the best, but it essentially codified hip hop as we know it and broke the genre into the mainstream. Four stars for the quality; an extra for its place in rap history.
My God, this is not essential in the slightest. It's basically just a bunch of vapid pop pap with nothing actually worth hearing. Hell, there's literally a "song" that's mostly just random answering machine messages being played back from her fans. It does nothing well, and it's very much a product of its time. It's just way too long and boring, like every lousy album on this list so far.
This band has a distinctive atmosphere to them; both of their albums on this list are psychedelic indie/alt rock efforts. This is slightly noisier and more organic sounding than Yoshimi, but it still creates an atmosphere. Lyricism isn't the greatest, but it's mostly passable. Musically, it combines thundering rock drums with psychedelic guitar and mediocre vocals. Are they the best band on the list? Not even close. Are they still good with a distinct sonic identity? Yes. Something about their atmospheric, psychedelic sounds resonates with me, and they're probably one of my favorite bands discovered here.
Wikipedia says this is "psychedelic soul". It's basically smooth Motown soul with some flourishes of psychedelia. That means it's slick, well produced music with great singing. Granted, I have no idea why a Motown vocal group stuffed a 9-minute epic in the middle of their album which includes a child crying "I want my mama!". After said epic, it was just a string of 3-minute ballads that were excellent. This is a good album, but it falls short of masterpiece status.
This album is Latin American dance music with lots of horns and percussion. I don't quite understand the lyrics, but it's very musically well done. The whole thing is very groovy and upbeat, but also has some jazz feel to it. It was a fun listen, and it was from one of the Hispanic world's most prominent musicians.
I don't have high expectations for this at all. Band is obscure(13k Spotify listeners), album cover is shit, average rating is 2.6/5. It didn't do anything to blow me away, but it was surprisingly not godawful. It's basically some white British dude trying to make pop with Latin and African music elements. However, it suffers from redundancy; if I actually wanted to listen to these styles of music, I would listen to musicians from the actual countries and cultures, rather than a British white guy's versions of world music. Another gripe I have is that individual songs tend to drag on. But at least it wasn't terribly boring and overlong, unlike some of the other stuff I've had to listen to (*cough* Christina Aguilera *cough*).
This is some very weird shit. It sounds like the backing tracks to a bunch of rap songs without the rapping. I can see this being influential on the rap and electronic music scenes, but it doesn't really hit with me. There are some good parts, but a lot of it is just weird for weird's sake. It might be some kind of highbrow art, but if flew way over my head if that's the case.
Now THIS is a classic. The fourth in an unparalleled six-album run of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for the entire metal genre, it is packed full of excellent metal songs such as "Snowblind" and "Supernaut". However, it also shows plenty of sonic variation with "Changes" and "Laguna Sunrise" being more mellow tracks that serve to counterbalance the album's heaviness well. "FX" is nothing, but at least it's fairly short.
This is a solid power pop album. It's not the best entry I've heard in the genre(Big Star's #1 Record is better), but it definitely isn't terrible. The songs are well-crafted, fairly catchy pop tunes, but I don't think Nilsson has that good of a voice. It's not bad in any way, but it's not a masterpiece.
Ok, this is VERY 1980s. For starters, it's hair metal. It has everything you'd expect from the genre with added saxophone solos on top, which enhance the 80s feel. I don't really get why it's on the list as the band isn't hugely popular in modern times. Unfortunately, they lack the catchy hooks of the genre's greats. 3 stars for the music, loses 1 star for some very gross lyrics (the title track is the worst offender, but no song here is completely innocent).
An annoying quirk of this era of musical releases is that the British and American versions of the albums tend to differ in track listing. As such, I will listen to all available tracks from both versions. Now, let's get to the actual album. It's a pretty good 60s rock album with strong songwriting that really serves to show how far the Stones came in the two years since their cover-filled debut(which I rated a 2 earlier in the project). Granted, there is absolutely no reason for a Stones song to be 11 minutes long("Going Home"). "Paint It Black" is, of course, better than any of the UK tracks, but those are no slouches.
This is a pretty good new wave album. It's certainly better than some of the other new wave albums on this list in terms of songwriting. Tracks like "Nocturnal Me" and "The Killing Moon" have a foreboding, melancholy quality to them that, while far from unique, works well in this context. However, it does have some weak tracks("Thorn of Crowns" is terrible).
The choice to open the album with a 10-minute improvisational guitar solo is...well, interesting. The rest of the album is very heavy for its time, yet also groovy funk rock. "Super Stupid" in particular is heavier than many hard rock songs of the era, amazingly. "Wars of Armageddon" could stand to lose the random sounds throughout the track. Overall, a solid album, though not quite masterpiece level.
This is a very melancholy indie rock album. It features guitar jangles with a very downbeat vocalist singing world-weary lyrics. This is definitely not a record to listen to at a party. The lyrics are better than most of the stuff I've listened to recently, but the songs show very little sonic variance. It kind of all sounds the same: mid tempo, jangly indie ballads with very forlorn-sounding vocals.
Despite what the title may suggest, this is far from the "cars and girls" early-60s sound of the Beach Boys. Instead, it's thematically very dark by Beach Boys standards, despite musically sounding fairly light. "Student Demonstration Time" isn't that bad, it's just far heavier and louder than everything else on the album. I won't say this is a bad album, but it's not the best thing I've ever heard, either.
Suffice it to say, I was not looking forward to this listen. Apparently, the title track was highly controversial on release, which is weird because it's pretty standard fare lyrically and musically. It's catchy, but standard fare nonetheless. The rest of this album follows the blueprint set by that track(brainless yet catchy 80s pop). The more upbeat tracks work far better than the ballads in this album. Overall, it is nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be.
This is nowhere as experimental and odd as I expected. It just sounds like orchestral pop with electronic music beats in the background. It's a breakup record, and the lyrics are very straightforward to understand within that context. "Black Lake" works far better than a 10-minute orchestral pop/electronic song has any right to. The second side feels more energetic than the slow first side without abandoning the atmospheric qualities present here. It's also where the weirder songs are ("Atom Dance" is especially weird compared to the rest of the album). Overall, this was a pretty good album. It has more range than I would think while also being a fairly easy listen.
This is a good 90s rap album. The beats are all on point, and the lyrics are excellent for the time period. They paint a portrait of New York street life without resorting to the sexist and overly gratuitous tropes many 90s rap albums fall into. The flows and rhyming are extremely strong and, combined with the excellent beats, make for an essential hip hop record.
If I had a nickel for every experimental pop album by a woman I received in the last week, I'd have two nickels. That isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. That said, the above-mentioned coincidence isn't as weird as this album. The vocal histrionics on display are a bit off-putting, but it isn't horrible. It's definitely not boring(thank God!) but I'd rather listen to the Bjork album I had 2 days prior. I do like the sound of the percussion and piano, but the vocals don't do much for me. Perhaps her other albums rely less on vocal histrionics and experimentation and more on somewhat more mainstream pop tunes, which will likely be more palatable to me anyway. As it stands, this is pretty mediocre.
This album is mostly inoffensive 60s crooner pop at first glance. However, a closer listen reveals some unusual lyrics that most crooners of the era wouldn't touch. However, this doesn't set the album apart sonically. It's not terrible, but it doesn't really do anything for me. I wouldn't call this essential listening especially when it's mostly covers.
This is a good but fairly generic 90s rock album. The songwriting is a step above the numerous crappy one-hit wonders of the era, but not as good as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden. They sound like a female-led Foo Fighters on this album. I am partial to this genre, but this album just lacks the "X factor" that makes a truly great band.
This is just a dumb, fun 80s hard rock album. It's chock-full of catchy riffs and great solos, but the lyrics are standard fare for the era's glam rock/metal. The singer lacks anything remotely approaching range, and the album is kind of built around his limited vocal abilities as much as Eddie's solos. It's the epitome of "cock rock", and I am all here for it. Those riffs really do wonders for my hard rock-loving ears.
This is one of the most popular albums of the 1990s. While the instrumentals are good, the lyrics are dumb and make absolutely no sense. The vocalist is bad at rapping and only marginally better at singing. He somehow manages to be even worse at being a person, too. Those instrumentals are strong, though; they save this album from a 1 star rating. Only the singles really have good writing; the album drops significantly in quality towards the back half with stinkers like "I Like Dirt" and "Emit Remmus" that manage to be even dumber than the rest of the album. This is very much a front-loaded album, and even the front side's songs are just good(not great). RHCP are perhaps my first "singles band"; their big hits are good, the deep cuts are not.
This is far more experimental than Iggy's other album on this list. While that was mostly tight, hooky 70s rock, this features heavy use of synthesizers and is less accessible.
Unfortunately for this album, the lack of catchy hooks make it less enjoyable than the other album. It tries too hard to be different and ends up not really doing much for me.
I hadn't really liked the stuff I'd previously heard from Springsteen, so this album was a pleasant surprise for me. I found it to contain well-written lyrics about love, loss, and American life. Springsteen's vocals aren't as grating as I remembered(the main reason I disliked him), and the E Street Band is very solid musically. The saxophone is mostly gone from the album(another thing I disliked about Springsteen), which is always a boon. The songwriting here is excellent, with great lyrics and musical quality.
This album is essentially a forerunner to grunge. It pretty much sounds exactly like many of the bands that got popular in the 1990s. You can hear the alternating loud-quiet-loud dynamics here in every song. The vocalist isn't very good, and the lyrics aren't the best(they're still alright), but it's still a good sounding album. It's far from horrible, but it's just a bit too off-putting to be a truly perfect album. I think I could still give this five stars, though.
I'd say I'm pretty good at math. Sure, I don't have a PhD, but I'm a sophomore in high school taking- and having an A in- Precalculus. With that out of the way, this album is a pretty solid example of 2000s hip hop. The beats are good, and the flow is solid if not the best. The songs are well made and fairly enjoyable. Lyrics are excellent in that they don't rely overly on hedonistic and boastful tropes common in some rap from the period. Unfortunately, I found the album's sound a little repetitive and unengaging toward the end. It's far from terrible, however- even for this typical "intelligent kid" who nearly always has the answer and does consistently well on tests.
This album is primarily a soft, sparsely arranged pop album. It features some more upbeat tracks with noticeable drum beats and some soft tracks that serve primarily as vocal showcases. The singing is excellent, and the backing tracks are tasteful and well placed. However, some production is fairly dated. The lyrics are well written, but not quite excellent. While the lyricism and vocals are high points, the album's true strength is in its spare, down-to-earth nature. It prefers introspective statements to the brash bombast common in pop, allowing the songs to shine for their high quality writing.
This is definitely a gangster rap record. Though I enjoy this era of rap, the album's lyrical content(especially "I ain't the 1", assuming that wasn't seen as offensively sexist even when it came out)aged poorly. It's full of violent, sometimes sexist raps, albeit placed over excellent beats. NWA stands for N****z with Attitude, and they live up to their name on this record with attitude in spades. I can't deny that it's influential and well made, though; that would be an exercise in futility. The album also runs on a little too long; it could stand to lose a couple tracks.
This isn't the best Zeppelin album(that's IV all the way), but it's still an early Zeppelin album. And early Zeppelin albums are always full of excellent hard rock songs. The musicianship is undeniably excellent, and it sounds pretty much exactly like you'd expect from Zeppelin, with gargantuan guitar riffs, thunderous drumming, and high-pitched rockstar vocals. Unfortunately, this loses points for plagiarism. It's still an excellent album, despite having some flaws.
This album has a very distinct feel. It features deep, gravelly vocals and instrumentals that create a dark, grimy atmosphere. The vocal style can be a bit grating at times, but it fits the lyrics and music very well. He may not be the best singer, but it's amazing how well this works. I found "Downtown" and "Jersey Girl" in particular to be excellent tracks that fit the album very well. I will argue that Waits is a better singer than many give him credit for; what he lacks in technical prowess is made up for in emotion and soul, something many otherwise excellent singers lack. An excellent and unique album that I genuinely enjoy.
This is a very raw, punky album. For everything it lacks in polish, it has in spirit and energy. Nothing here is too technical, but it's enjoyable enough. I can see how this influenced punk and all it's related genres with its primal snarl. It has the tunes and hooks to support its loud sloppiness, resulting in an excellent and genre-defining album.
This is a pretty average new wave album. I see that it's widely considered Costello's best album; which doesn't bode well for his five(!) other albums on the list. It has some very good pop songs, but it is by no means great. The singing isn't great, and neither are the lyrics; it's distinctly average all around. It's the kind of album that doesn't really leave a mark on listeners.
This is an instrumental jazz album with a mellow feel to it. The instrumentation is impeccable and evocative, as you would expect from a classic jazz album. It is more focused on a groove than some solo-filled albums such as Head Hunters. I didn't think it was the best jazz the list has given me(it's hard to top A Love Supreme) but it's still good nonetheless.
This is better than the other Temptations album on this list. Where that felt at times grating and weird, this is mostly smooth soul mixed with funk. Both types of song are done very well, with excellent singing throughout. As with the other Temptations album, there was an overlong song(11 min!), but it wasn't as bad as the one on the other album. While that album felt like a work in progress, this feels like the finished, smooth product of a tight, talented performing unit.
This is a very good synthpop album with a dark vibe. Unfortunately, it stops just short of masterpiece status; while I find lots of excellent pop hooks underneath the 80s sound, and I like the sound in general, it lacks that X factor that makes an album truly great. It's almost a 5 star album, but I just can't bring myself to call it one. It's undeniably a good album, but it is by no means the best album of the era.
I genuinely have no idea why a fake movie soundtrack by some British dude I've never heard of is considered essential listening. There were points during this album where I genuinely couldn't tell anything was on. When it was discernible, it mostly just sounded like instrumental jazz-rock stuff with an eccentric edge to it. I can easily see this being good as a movie soundtrack, but it's far from great as an album, and even worse as an essential album to listen to before you die. It just does nothing for me.
Ok, why on earth did the generator give me this guy's other album and then this back to back? It would be fine if the other one was good, but it wasn't. Anyway, once I finally got around to listening, I found that this album was very different to Moss Side Story. It replaces the dark, shady feel of Moss Side with a hotel lounge atmosphere, with a similarly jazzy sound. It has more turntable scratches and other electronic elements than Moss Side, and is overall better. However, it's still far from a great album. The fake movie soundtrack gimmick is dumb, and I don't think either album is essential listening.
This is a country covers album. A very well done country covers album. The songs are all very relaxed and easy to listen to, which makes for a nice, relaxing album for the end of the day. Nelson plays these pop songs with a distinctive country twang that works very well in this context(a far cry from what modern country is, despite having a similar formula). However, an album needs to have original songs to get full marks, so -1 for being all covers.
This is an OK album. It's wildly inconsistent in terms of quality and could benefit immensely from the removal of Peking O, which is annoying bullshit noise. At best, it's groove-laden experimental rock with excellent playing and a trippy vibe. At worst, it's just random noises with no real rhyme or reason. It's an excellent album, however it loses a star for Peking O.
Yeah, no. This album opens with a 12 minute classically influenced instrumental that doesn't really do a whole lot for me. It them continues with a bunch of similar instrumentals featuring the vibraphone. Though he's undeniably good, the whole thing just feels like a showcase for the vibraphone rather than an album with good songs to listen to. It doesn't really do a whole lot for me.
I suppose it isn't surprising that I get a Christmas album on Christmas. What's more surprising, perhaps, is that this was on the list at all. It's well made, but it's still Christmas music, and therefore not essential listening for anyone. The singing is great, and the production is also great. However, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music, and this is Christmas music made by a literal murderer. So I have to pass on this one.
Meatloaf is a strong contender for the worst stage name in classic rock. The album he made is best described as cock rock for theater kids. I can't fathom how this is compared to Bruce Springsteen; it's far too different musically and thematically for that to make sense. In the end, despite solid arrangements, it lacks the tight songs that make a truly great album, instead featuring a 10-minute pomp fest of a title track and multiple other unnecessarily long songs.
This is a good 90s alternative rock record. While it doesn't hold the same status within the alternative canon as Doolittle(which I rated a 5 earlier in this project), it is still an excellent record with many of the hallmarks of the Pixies' sound. It is both abrasive and melodic in equal measure; the vocals reflect this despite their questionable quality. It is undeniable that this is still a great album, even if it doesn't hold the same status as their earlier work. I do find this a bit more accessible than Doolittle, which is perhaps strange as it's said to be the most spiritually Pixies of all the Pixies records.
This album isn't very good. It has weak lyrics delivered through even worse vocals and backed by a bog standard rock band. The music is easily the best part here, and it isn't particularly good, just passable. If their big album is this bad, not to mention completely inessential, then I don't have high expectations for anything else they made(including their two prior albums on the list). Also, any song about romancing a teenager ("17") can fuck right off, especially when it's on a newer album such as this(not that older ones are exempt).
This is a very bland, milquetoast indie rock album. There's not much to say here, it's just an over hyped, boring slog with no real substance whatsoever. All the critics hear the violins and French interjections in the lyrics and wet themselves trying to put this bland hipster drivel on a pedestal as one of the greatest records of the 2000s, but it's just a bunch of boring, vacuous drivel with no real substance to it. Get outta here with this crap!
There's not much you can really say about a classic of this magnitude that hasn't already been said. Say what you will about Zeppelin being "music thieves", this album shows them at their most versatile and adventurous. Even the standard rock numbers are excellent, and the ballads are peerless, including the monolithic "Stairway to Heaven". The more blues-inflected second side is earth-rattlingly heavy, yet manages to sound excellent. Simply a perfect album.
This is very different from Ziggy Stardust. Where that was fairly standard classic rock, this is more experimental and artsy. It's perhaps very akin to Iggy Pop's The Idiot, which isn't surprising as that had Bowie all over it. Now, onto the actual album: the synth sounds are fairly interesting, and the guitar is good. However, the lyrics aren't excellent(Ziggy Stardust was only slightly better in this regard), and neither are the vocals(though Ziggy Stardust exacerbated the nasal quality of Bowie's voice to a greater extent). It's not as accessible or tuneful as Ziggy Stardust, nor is it good as an experimental record(Tago Mago by Can was better in this regard, though that's likely to be expected). "Heroes" ultimately is a fairly weak record that doesn't really do anything it tries to well. If I wanted a synth pioneer, I would listen to Can. If I wanted a Bowie record, I would pick Ziggy Stardust.
And my first album of the year is...a very political 90s rap album, complete with mandatory misogyny and violence. If these rappers would just stick to political messaging (which is nearly always excellent), they would have better albums. But there's always a song like "Don't Trust 'Em" that's loaded with anti-woman sentiment, as well as violent fantasies. Admittedly, they're part of the experience, but it's still a bad look for Ice Cube and his contemporaries. Ultimately, this is a good album, but not a great one. While some songs remain prescient today, others are off-putting with violence and misogyny. The beats are consistently excellent, but I just can't give this album more than 3 stars; it's composed of some great songs, and some terrible ones that need to be cut. The album also suffers from being overlong, as is common with this era of rap.
This is a soul covers album with a few originals including the excellent "Respect". It has everything you'd want in an old-school soul record: excellent songs, excellent singing, excellent backing band. In short, it's perfect. Clocking in at a snappy 30 minutes, it doesn't suffer from any length issues, making this album stand with Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club as one of the foremost examples of early 60s soul on the list.
This is only my third album of the year. It's also my third album by an African American artist/group and second 1990s hip-hop album. It's also my 150th album of the project. Now, for the actual review: the album is excellent. It has some of the best beats and flows of any hip hop I've heard, and is lyrically excellent. The rapping is top-notch, and refreshingly free of violent content. The songs lack most of the profanity common in rap songs, as well as the misogyny. It has everything rap does well in spades without the genre's usual pitfalls.
This is an 80s college rock album that's 68 minutes long. The first thing I noticed when I put it on was the awful, tinny production. It's a shame, because the album is loaded with hooky, high-energy songs that are excellent. It's an excellent album, especially considering that it was a last gasp for air from a band that was rapidly imploding due to inner turmoil and drug abuse. The underlying songs are better than contemporary REM(a band that Husker Du are often likened to), but the production is far worse. I also don't think it should be anywhere near as long as it is(30-40 minutes would suffice). However, there's still an excellent album in here somewhere, it just needs a good remix with some cutting.
It can be quite annoying when the top 5 reviews are all a movie quote from a movie I've never watched that contains little actual review of the album. Now, onto the actual review: this is a very polished, laid-back country rock album. It's not revelatory in any sense, but it does exactly what you'd expect from the Eagles. It rocks with ample pop polish and a slight country twang. It is a little weak lyrically, but I've heard worse(I gave Deep Purple's Machine Head a 5 in spite of lyrics that are worse than this). Musically, it's competent but not excellent. It's a nice, easy listen that doesn't really give that much in terms of musical rewards, but requires far less effort than most other records to get them. The intro to "Earlybird" is nowhere near as bad or annoying as many say it is. In summary, I like the record, and hate the reviews that just say "I hate the fucking Eagles, man" with no explanation of why they hate the Eagles.
Apparently, this is considered one of the more essential records of the psychedelic era. Musically, it's solid, with good guitar playing and an excellent female vocalist(the male one is alright, but doesn't hold a candle to the lady). However, the drums leave a bit to be desired. Lyrically, some tracks try for profundity and succeed somewhat, though others are more cookie-cutter. The songs are short and try for hookiness somewhat, with mixed results. Overall, I'm mostly indifferent towards this. It has some good tracks and some mediocre ones, but it lacks any truly great tracks.
This is the newest album I've had so far. It is way better than I expected, but I didn't expect much from one of the most overrated artists of all time. She's a good singer, and the lyrics are surprisingly good, if slightly one-note(seriously, Taylor, the whole forlorn love thing is a bit played out at this point). The album's subdued, melancholy vibe works surprisingly well. It's far less annoying and awful than pre-1989 Taylor is, which is something that I'm very thankful for. It's not flawless; no album needs to be an hour long, and the repeated lyrical content grows tiresome despite their general quality being surprisingly high for Taylor. I have listened and will listen to better albums and worse albums, but perhaps none will have changed my perspective on an artist as much as this one. If you had told me a year ago that I would listen to and enjoy a Taylor Swift album, I would have laughed in your face and called you insane. Now, here I am, enjoying one and thinking it's a good record.
The length had me scared that this was going be awful. I just can't do long albums, and this is 72 min. It's far from awful; while some songs are too long, the album creates an atmosphere that is excellently crafted and engrossing. It feels rich and darkly theatrical, exactly as you'd expect from a goth rock album. It's essentially a darker, more atmospheric cousin of the new wave albums that permeate this list, and is better than all of them.
I last had a Kinks album with Arthur just 8 albums into the project. I originally gave it a 5, which was later changed to a 3 in the face of my unwillingness to revisit it. I realize while listening to this, at album 156, that I may have made a mistake. This album is loaded with strong pop songwriting infused with the Kinks' distinct Englishness. Strong hooks and good lyrics make this an excellent example of post-British Invasion pop songwriting, albeit with a rock flair as was common. Some think they could have been 1960s icons had they been able to tour in the US, and based on this(and, to a limited extent, successor album Arthur), I don't disagree with that statement. Certainly, they have the chops to have been a largely respected band.
I had Jack White's solo album for album 36, but this is the first White Stripes album I've had. Just a few songs in, it's clear that this album is not just the basic, garagey, yet infectiously catchy rock they are best known for. It's an attempt to broaden the sonic palate of the band with piano ballads and even some vibraphone here and there. This doesn't make for a bad album, because Jack White can write songs that are good and enjoyable, something all too many of the project's 2000s offerings lack(see my average rating for the 2000s compared to all other decades).
Oh, God. What I see before me is a 1980s country album from somebody I've literally never heard of. It's not completely insufferable, but it's also not great. It's very pop-tinged country, almost foreshadowing modern-day "bro country" but nowhere near as awful. It's okay musically, with decent hooks despite poor lyrics(though not quite as poor as most of what came after it) and an overreliance on pedal steel. It's not quite overproduced enough to descend into bro country terribleness, but it's not exactly a great album.
This is my first Radiohead album of the project. It's very electronic-tinged, possibly with krautrock elements. Vocals and lyricism mostly takes a backseat here to electronic ambient soundscapes and experimental rock songs, as happened on Tago Mago 30 years earlier. In fact, Yorke usually applies distortion to his voice on many songs. However, unlike Tago Mago, this album is all about atmosphere. This isn't an album that hits you hard with lyrical wit or flashy virtuosity; it's an album that takes you on an aural journey through numerous soundscapes. It's not the life-changing masterpiece many reviews say it is, but it's still a damn good album. And a damn good album is still worth five stars.
A grand, epic statement that birthed prog rock and remains one of its most esoteric and greatest totems. The tracks here evoke moods, whether it be the fear of "21st Century Schizoid Man" or the resignation of "Epitaph". I like prog as a genre, so this was always going to be a hit with me. But it truly is an excellent album, with an iconic cover and songs to boot. If nothing else, "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a Certified Banger, so listen to that at least once. Not all of the list's albums are essential, but this is, especially for prog heads. If you hate this, you probably just don't like prog rock as a genre as this is pure prog brilliance.
On today's episode of "Random Obscure British Bands Nobody Cares About", we have...drumroll, please...The Auteurs! (The nonexistent crowd goes mild). Anyway, this album is absolutely mediocre. I literally see zero reason to care about this band and ZERO REASON to put them here over Weezer's infinitely better Blue Album, or a death metal record, or really any record of any significance that was snubbed from the list. The band remain forgotten nowadays, having been buried a thousand feet deep under the remains of Britpop as a movement. This being here is offensive, and therefore it gets a 1. I think I need to upgrade Neon Bible to a 2 now because this is so insubstantial as to make that look good in comparison(it isn't, at least not for me).
Apparently, this guy does a lot of movie soundtracks. That's not exactly surprising when this does sound kind of like a movie soundtrack at times. It's mostly just decent techno music, however. I quite like the rhythms on display, which is good as there's not much else here. The spoken word interludes are weird and occasionally irritating, but this isn't a bad album. It's mostly just good background music, little more.
I mean, it's The Wall. Widely hailed as one of the greatest albums of the 1970s, if not of all time, it needs zero introduction. Though it is a double album, I find it hard to argue with the sheer amount of Certified Bangers found throughout("Comfortably Numb" "Young Lust" "Hey You" and of course, "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2"). But even beyond these iconic tracks, the album is loaded with excellent songs from top to bottom. You'll never convince me that this isn't the phenomenal album many say it is. To think that this is only the third highest rated Floyd album really shows their stratospheric greatness as a band for the bulk of the 1970s.
