Never heard of these guys before, but learned this album is known as being a precursor to punk rock. They were known for being comedians just as much as musicians, and have had a strong cult audience (particularly in Spain randomly!). They're known as starting proto-punk, and you can definitely hear some Lou Reed and Ramones in this album (and a little bit of New York Dolls). It's a fun listen, and the 40th Anniversary Edition has a couple remixes by Andrew WK who is a fitting character carry the torch and add some extra party-rock flavor into a few songs.

Listened to this album probably a thousand times since it came out. It's beautiful, swaying and floating.. feels like a constant cool breeze on a warm day. Though yes it can make you feel sleepy listening to this album on a road trip.

Yesterday my friends were talking about artists that had a bunch of big hits all on one album, and this was the first one I thought of maybe because it's starts out so strong with 3 bangers. To be fair there are a few that weren't hits, a couple of those being wacky semi-filler tracks (the two after Just What I Needed), but the rest of the album remains really strong with a few more familiar radio tunes in there. Really good debut pop rock album, and impressive writing by Ric Ocasek to make so many catchy tunes right off the bat.

Meaty Horror Picture Show. If you ever want an alternate Grease universe with a theater nerd's version of rock and roll, and some cutesy (slash rather die than have a relationship) lover-boy ballads, Meatloaf's got you covered. Really catchy and fun tunes, and would really love to see Bat out of Hell: The Musical, baseball-sex scene and all.

What an unfocused mess. Some great tracks in there: "Heroes" obviously, "The Secret Life of Arabia", and mostly-Eno "V-2 Schneider", but the rest goes from okay ("Beauty and the Beast", "Joe the Lion") to downright terrible ("Blackout", and wtf is "Sense of Doubt"). The other ambient songs at the end are decent, but it really doesn't make sense to flow into a short dancy "The Secret Life of Arabia" with an abrupt fadeout ending to finish off the album. Besides the few great tracks, I don't understand the hype of this album even with the Brian Eno collaboration.. it would have worked better as a slimmed down EP. Speaking of the Berlin Trilogy, "Low" is a much more coherent and put-together package even with its ambient tracks on side B.

If you haven't heard any other Radiohead record, this one could be seen as either epic, mesmerizing, and unique, or as pretentious, empty, and boring. Being a fan of Kid A and OK Computer back in the day, and not thinking about Radiohead again until In Rainbows, I never gave this one a try when it came out. Listening to it for the first time, it feels like a very Radiohead-esque Radiohead album, giving you everything you love about Radiohead even if not close to as good as their best albums.

Yeah I don't know about this one..

It's a terrible feeling listening to this beautiful, sad music knowing that everything bad in the world in 1971 is still happening in one way or another 55 (!) years later.. benefits being stripped away from veterans, police brutalizing peaceful antiwar protesters, the vulnerable being vilified and oppressed, children overseas getting bombed and starved with our government's support while also stripping school lunch and medical benefits from the children in our own country. The music on this album still feels just as powerful as I'd imagine it was back then, with the message ever-enduring.. and unfortunately it proves that nothing ever changes due to man's animalistic greed and selfishness. Anyway, a great album and Inner City Blues is a banger.

I dug Ba-Lue, I Surrender Dear, and Bemsha Swing. I appreciate the skill and musicianship, but it felt like work to get through the tracks Brilliant Corners and Pannonica.. there's so much tenor sax and it gets pretty harsh to the ear, that the piano solos feel like a reprieve. Also Max Roach is a goat.

On initial listen, never hearing of Marianne Faithfull, it honestly sounded like some cheesy early 80s wine-mom local radio soft rock that snuck onto this list somehow (I now see it was released in Nov '79). After reading a bit about the highs and very-lows of Marianne's career, its importance seems to make more sense. The record is more of a redemption story from starting as a young pop singer, actress, and socialite -- known for her distinctive melodic voice -- then her highly publicized relationship and breakup with Mick Jagger, losing custody of her son, years of heroin addiction, anorexia, and homelessness... and getting back into the business again with her new permanently-altered voice which gives a whole new sound and impact to her music. Learning more about the story behind the music gives me an added appreciation to its sound, and I am intrigued to know more about her life and career. To me however, the context of this album still seems to be the main driver for getting high review scores and making this list. Without that, it sounds like wine-mom suburbs jams.

Creative, pretty, and chaotic. Some of the intentional off-beat loops can get uncomfortable before resolving into a melodic pay-off.. on some tracks though, it can be so frequent that it demands too much attention and patience of the listener (e.g. Temecula Sunrise, the opening of Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon). Still, when the record was released -- during the height of Pitchfork-era indie quirk -- it stood out as a bold experiment. The result was a fun and melodic indie-jazz album that remains worth appreciating. Also what makes the record so strong and worth coming back to are the near-R&B hit Stillness Is The Move and beautiful Two Doves.

It's bittersweet that such a gifted and influential artist released his final album during his lifetime just 17 days before his death. Struggling with physical health issues (including multiple fractures of his spine), he had to record the record in his living room, which he said helped eliminate distractions. The result doesn't feel so much like a grand swan song as it does a quiet reckoning - a man speaking to God as much as the listener. Cohen's voice sounds just as ready to accept fate as he's left with a low, gravelly baritone. His son, Adam Cohen, recorded the vocals with him in the living room and shaped the accompanying arrangements, breathing life into the project. Together, they created a fitting final testament to one of music’s greatest poets.

At first it sounded like Dollar Store Oasis.. though in the end it is pretty good British pop and has that nostalgic 90s feel where everyone in the UK either had a sleek gelled up Oasis style haircut with a colorful faux leather jacket, or long hair with their choice of an athletic windbreaker, grungy oversized flannel, or long sleeve Adidas shirt with a collar.

I always thought Elvis Costello was modern 50s/60s-style music for older folks, and it still doesn't make sense to me at almost 40 years old. I'm thinking at this point it's not ever going to work for me, and that is okay.