New sound for the time, but all a bit dull
Not quite Dr Dre but entertaining gangsta rap
REM meets Manic Street Preachers without any charisma.
Still sounds fun, original and not dated.
Live music doesn't always sound good on an album. Prime example. Great memories if you were there, just a mis-aligned noise if you weren't.
Sting is an enigma and made for best ofs. He writes some wonderful songs with insightful lyrics, and then every album has a couple of dross tracks.
nice voice, some heart-felt soulful tunes. Some overly processed sounds, some unnecessary "duets" and some dodgy lyrics.
entertaining, with their cocky cockney lyrics.
3 of her best songs on one album! Worth a good review, just for that
Not appeal to me. Don't get all the fuss; doesn't sound any different from any late-80s heavy metal band, other than they take themselves too seriously. Poor man's Metallica? Nirvana it ain't.
Last of peak Pet Shop Boys? Being Boring is a great reflective song. Chilled pop album. 3 songs make their greatest hits collection, so decent return?
Initially loving the in your face '80s glam at its finest. But the album seems a bit like stuff was added as filler around their big four songs. Some filler is good, some not. An EP of their big four would have made for a top record.
They all start like Insane in the Membrane will kick in, even When the Sh** Goes Down, but wrong album. Mah. Funky Hip Hop, but all sounds the same.
I bet Andy Kershaw likes it. Could get a couple of decent deep house /trance tracks out of the album.
It's alright. I'll listen to it. People like it. I get it's ahead of it's time. Who am I to judge?
Better than expected. Not just bog-standard American 90s rock. Some nuance and different styles. Not bad.
Early 90s ambient was my jam. William Orbit never did it for me then nor now. Decent enough, but if you're dipping into the genre, there are better examples to choose.
Genius of a band. Would love to have seen them in their pomp, having to settle for seeing Marr and Morrisey separately. I hope this list also contains other albums of theirs, especially The Smiths. Their Singles is one of the best compilation albums
When Moby got trendy. Decent, but prefer the raw trance /ambient stuff of his earlier days. (Nothing beats Go).
Blister in the Sun! Will carry any album on its own, but the other tunes and lyrics are infinitely catchy and quotable, though end up with the jitters and Gordon Gano's screech messing with your head by the end.
Some tunes not bad. Needs a smoother voice a la Gregory Alan Isakov or Bon Iver. Not sure its an album you must hear.
I feel cooler for listening.
Honestly, disappointed really. California Dreamin' is a top record and The M&Ps come with a reputation for being 60s influencers. Beyond California Dreamin' and Monday, Monday, there's not a lot on here. The kind of band for which a best of album does the trick. Extra rating on the strength of California Dreamin'
A Great album! Never realized I knew this many Cars songs. Would not have picked this as being made in 1978 either - definite trend setter of an album, copied by many during the '80s.
Proper Dad rock. Mark Knopfler a genius with a guitar. Not their best album, but a great debut.
Quintessential for this group! Better than I remember the album too. Fondly remember watching Evan Dando live.
Unfortunately read general reviews on this and to class the album as Britpop is just lazy categorization of non-American early 90s indie/rock. The album itself is mostly unmemorable, with a couple of lively tunes that had potential. Giving it extra stars just to counteract they're-British-so-therefore-BritPop-and-inferior-to-US-rock.
A non-funny Monty Python album. Without Monty Python. Will never listen to again. People liked this?
"Finland, Finland, Finland; the country where I want to be..."
Quality Rock and Roll. The originator of pop music. So much better than Elvis.
Can appreciate the musical talent and musical variety on the album. Thoughtful lyrics if unnecessarily crass. Not sure the rapping is all that, and definitely not my scene.
90s Chillpop. College studying. Served a purpose, good for the day, wasn't the best of its genre, pleasant enough. Wrong and Walking Wounded are decent and had great mixes - not the ones included here - the rest is nothing memorable 30 years later.
Jeez, that was 30 years ago.
Give credit for genre-defining. Nuthin but a G Thang is class and brought Snoop to the masses. Cool music on some tunes when the funky bassline is allowed to breathe. Angry rapping about record labels is amusing. The rest of the gangsta rap bravado gets tired very quickly.
Nice voices, but cliched, repetitive and whiney.
The songs with Grace Slick as the lead are much stronger than others and the rock numbers better than the acoustic folk stuff. White Rabbit and Someone to Love are seminal psychedelic rock songs. Extra star for the influence they had on others to follow.
It's got some hype this album. Give it 5 stars for its influence. Some good tunes, some very 50s pop sounding Beach Boys songs.
It was alright. The music better than the rapping. Would have thought with the intelligent, diverse music they could be a bit more sophisticated with the rapping, more like Something in the Way of Things. N word needed in every song?
Remember not being fussed at the time. In retrospect, its a good album: not just another grunge album and more accessible than their later experimental albums. Forgot how good High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, and Street Spirit are.
Dated rubbish. Sounds like a couple of teenagers and a casio keyboard. Not as good as Human League, OMD, Kraftwerk or the like. One extra star purely for the Fascist Groove Thang, which is ok and has been sampled successfully elsewhere, and has a good message.
Rock and Roll! With its feet in the 60s, it definitely sounds like it could be a later era or in a smoke filled blues bar. Trend-setting rock and catchy guitar songs. Not as good as Who's Next, though.
Their best album. Some great tunes on the album (Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication) but some filler too, especially the ones sounding like a noisy Level 42.
I only knew Nilsson for the cheesy ironic-karaoke Without You. The rest of this stuff was way better. Surprisingly enjoyed the album. Its sound like he enjoyed making it too. And drinking buddies with John Lennon. Extra star for that.
Christmas shopping and Italian restaurants. Nothing I'd actively choose, but enjoyable background tunes for a change of pace and mood setting.
Have avoided Sinead O'Connor (except via her collaboration with Jah Wobble) because of the most annoyingly, over played song in the history of music, in an era where you had to listen to what was on a limited number of radio stations. With the ability to skip NC2U, the rest of the album had a couple of decent Celtic-tinged tracks, some dreary ballads, and some forgettable numbers. Overall, listenable. Lose one star for the awful, whiney elevator ballad. (Not Prince's finest moment, though his version is palatable-ish).
Aware of Rush but not listened to the album before. Maybe I don't like prog rock after all. Alternating between boring and screechy, the synths and guitars seemed to be in a direct fight for supremacy of a load of disjointed noise.
Tortured soul. Recklessness comes through in some of the lyrics, but a great voice and some good tunes. Not as polished as Back to Black, but that adds some authentic appeal.
Trying to open my musical tastes with these albums, but still struggling with rap. This one doesn't change that. With the same drum machine beat on all tracks, they all just merge into one, with an angry dude giving off bravado. Nothing deep in those lyrics, and not much from a musical perspective.
Definitely garage sound. Hi energy rock and roll with lots of 'Waaa'-ing. Too much Waaa-ing. Would be fun to listen to live. Really a top 1001 albums? I guess if they were influential on the punk and grunge scene, then fair play. I feel enlightened, though done with hearing WAAAA so much, which loses them a star rating.
Not a huge fan of live albums. Disc one was pretty tight however, and gives as good a noisy energy as a studio album would. Alright for an occasional listen. Heavy metal before it got pretentious and/or commercially slick. Give the album credit for that. Bonus star for Lemmy's facial hair.
Iggy mix for the win. Hadn't realized What's the Story is basically a rip off of this album. Really doing the history of punk with The Sonics and then this album. Bonus star for the trend-setting influence of this album.
The Start of Glam. Credit to Marc Bolan for creating a genre. A band where they needed a 'best of' to feature in this list. Too many of their best songs not on this album - Ride a White Swan, Metal Guru, 20th Century Boy, etc - but still a good, gentle intro to Glam Rock.
Eddie Van Halen can play the guitar really well. That's about it from an album substance point of view. Maybe because this is a retrospective listen and I'm influenced by all 80s metal that came after, but it all sounds formulaic and lacking any tune, just some chorus wailing harmony and heavy guitars. All a bit boring.
It was alright. Not sure why this album is on the list? Neither earth moving, revolutionary nor trend setting. I realize I'm not cool enough to like Costello. Beyond Oliver's Army, Watching the Detectives and Alison, everything else of his sounds alright, but nothing I 'appreciate'.
Dark. Bowie has changed a lot over the years, and done other experimental albums. Guess this is on the list because this was his last and he knew this was his last. Fair play to him. Don't like the music much, but there are some poignant lyrics given the timing. Bonus points for being Bowie and the significance of the album.
Really enjoyed this. Talking Heads have produced some excellent songs (This Must Be the Place, Road to Nowhere as two absolute classics) but hadn't listened to this album before. Was half expecting something very arty and pretentious. Instead we get a great accessible, rhythmical, funky album. Worthy inclusion.
If this is one of the greatest hip hop albums ever, then I don't like hip hop. Congrats on the influence, but don't want to listen to it again.
Not what I thought Alice Cooper sounded like. Entertaining, some amusing lyrics, and discovered 'I wanna be Sedated' was modeled on 'Elected'.
Not what I was expecting from Brian Eno. Definite 70s rock, with a hint to his more ambient future. It was alright, enjoyed the listen. Nothing to make a point of coming back to listen again.
Gangsta, gangsta. So badass, its become a parody of itself (Straight Outta Compton Dando). Influenced many a non-musical, white bro. If you take the lyrics with a pinch of salt (and not listen to them much), its entertaining enough album.
Dinner party background music. Like the story of how they formed. Nice music to have on in the background and feel somewhat sophisticated.
Sounds like a Christmas album, without the Christmas lyrics. Was Elvis still relevant in 1969? I do have In the Ghetto stuck in my head, though.
They had fun with this. Not my cup of tea, but energetic, well produced, and a good sense of fun in the record.
That electronic jug gets annoying in the background of every song. Maybe they were pioneers, but every song sounds like it has a better version done by someone else.
I think this is going to take more listening in the appropriate settings. Its a listen for a lazy, wintery Sunday morning. Can't say I'm a huge fan, but admire Springsteen and he has done some great tunes. I see the merit in this album, even if I don't immediately get it.
I have not found Kiwanuka in mainstream music channels in the US, so was not aware of him or his success. Decent album. Nothing stand out, but no duds either. Solid listen.
Smashy and Nicey, let's rock! Good for it's time, a couple of good, famous guitar riffs, but now sounds dated and a bit tedious to listen to.
That was alright. A darker version of the Byrds. Some weird lyrics, but wasn't too '60s kitchy.
Two Deep Purple albums in one week. Bad algorithm. Machine Head sounded over-indulgent and not very interesting. Live albums are generally over-indulgent and never sound great, unless you were there to bring back memories. Combine over-indulgent with over-indulgent and you get two hours of instrumental solos and intermittent screeching. An album for Deep Purple fans, not one that should be on a list for everyone else to listen to.
I understand why Lou Reed did the singing for Velvet Underground. Interesting lyrics, ok songs, wrong voice. I understand that Cale was eclectic with his musical style in his solo career - not sure why the bland 70s pop album is picked for this list. Though I didn't realize I knew and liked the earworm that is Paris 1919. Thought it was a Rufus Wainwright song.
I'll admit I'm not cool. I'll also admit, a bit more sheepishly, I quite like Adele. Maybe a 'best of' would work best as some of these songs run into each other a little much. 21 her best album?
Two bangers and a lot of filler.
Class. Strong enough to generate a 'genre' of music. Now go watch 24-Hour Party People.
More entertaining than I was expecting. Classic Grunge with some good melodies going on.
It's David Bowie! Actually a decent collaboration, but sounds much more Bowie than Iggy.
I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me, to see me looking back at you. 50s country lyrics wrapped into dark beats about possession and paranoia, in a genre of its own. One of the best albums of my teenage years, from one of the darkest, influential and genre-defining groups.
70s rock took itself very seriously. This album fits right in to all the different sub-genres of 70s rock; and tries to cram all of them into each song. You can hear the roots of a mature Queen in there, but overall it seems they are trying to follow along with their contemporary crowd. I wonder if any of these old bands cringe at their lyrics 50 years later?
It's not Tony Bennet elevator music, is it? Amongst the roaring there's a couple of alright tunes trying to get out. If this is your jam I can see the appeal, I on the other hand need a lie down and an ear rinse after that. "Why do birds suddenly appear..."
I go from Systems of a Down to Britney. Be careful what you ask for. The contrast with every element of the music is vast. This is just sickly, processed saccharine. The synthesized clap beat in every song is annoying. The lyrics are as dull and whiney as much as SOAD, if for opposite reasons. And Britney's warbling is as bad as SOAD roaring. Maybe it was a good juxtaposition algorithm to show there is lots of average music being made at the forefront of their genre.
I want to like Belle and Sebastian, I really do. Having listened to a lot of their music, they just flatter to deceive. Everything just seems a little uninspiring and bland. If You're Feeling Sinister was a grower, but nothing on it stood out as being a great tune. Not even sure a 'best of' would do it for B&S
Really enjoyable album. Not any hits of Velvet Underground that I knew, but a collection of good tunes.
ACDC - you know what you're getting. High energy Bluesy rock. All much of a muchness.
Why was this album included? It's not prime Bee Gees, it's not their hits, it's just bland, middle-of-the-road, easy listening ballads. What's its significance?
A couple of belters and some filler. Another candidate for a best of album to be included?
Not listened to any Rai before. A couple of the more traditional sounding tunes sounded quite good, the pop stuff was too cheesy. Tellingly, the tunes that Spotify played from other similar artists after the album ended, sounded much better.
Disc 2 is much better than disc 1. Disappointing if this is his best album. A couple of really good songs - Sign O'The Times and the catchy I Could Never..., some alright numbers and a couple of dross.
So very 60s lounge music. Cocktails and Mrs Robinson.
Cool chilled vibe, enjoyable short listen. Not playing every day, but for a change of scenery, its a good album. The Girl From Ipanema is always a catchy earworm, in its many different renditions.
Better than I expected. Very early 90s sound. Never really made any effort to listen to kd lang. Constant Craving was a big radio hit, and with age, its a decent tune and the rest of the album is a decent, chilled cabaret-style listen. Lang does have a good voice too.
Never heard of them before. A punkier, wackier version of Pulp. Had potential, a bit too pub-band-esque. The homemade punk feel is fine, but they've gone a bit too amateurish on a few tracks. The fiddle led tracks are much better, e.g. Last Dance.
Every song sounds like a Tarantino soundtrack. Was aware of the Cramps and stumbled into some of their tunes going down various rabbit holes and in random movies /tv shows. Never sat down and listened to a complete album of theirs. Its entertaining. Fair play to them. I think my issue is that I'm not a fan of rockabilly rather than The Cramps perverse take on it.
There's some weird pot smoking stuff going on here. All very funky. Is it any good? I really don't know!
More bluesy than I was expecting. Very Led Zeppelin though. Couple of classics, and some bluesy numbers. How many orgasms did Robert Plant have in the making of this album?
If you wanted to stereotype early 90s, American college life, this would be your soundtrack. Overly self-important and not a standout song. Boring and as annoying as Dave Matthews.
Had not actually listened to the album before. Though it was obviously made in the 80s, I didn't think it was overly dated. A stripped down, more modern approach to the album would be good, though. Some of his big songs make for a decent album.
Cocteau Twins are a pleasant listen. The music just drifts unassumingly over you. The shoegaze, wallflower in the corner. Not their best album - would rather have picked Heaven or Las Vegas.
Green Onions is a monster of a tune. Never realized they were an album kind of a group. But where's Soul Limbo?! Missing their second best tune, but dare anyone to not pull off some random twisty dance moves while listening. Don't forget to tip your waiter.
Got bored after More Than a Feeling. All very formulaic classic rock. 1 if you don't like that style, 5 if you do, big fat middle of the road 3 for those ambivalent to middle of the road rock. Listen for a song and then move on.
His rocky, blues half better than his folky half. He did well to move in that direction ahead of the curve.
My ignorant youth never thought of the Jamiroquai attempt to be Stevie Wonder. Nor how the lyrics were easily parodied by Flight of the Conchords. Nor how they just decided to appropriate a Native American nation. Lose points for all of the above. And the fact that this album is a bit lame. Jamiroquai did some catchy tunes over their first 3 albums - there's not many on here (Too Young to Die the only decent one), and the rest of the tracks aren't up to much. Your time is better spent listening to Stevie Wonder and Flight of the Conchords while reading about the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy.
You could argue somewhat self-indulgent, but who can blame him and its hauntingly beautiful. Not sure how often this is something you chose to listen to, but well done Leonard, a good send off.
Can I kick it? Not this one, but not bad. Good jazzy grooves and funky drum beat, but a bit uninspiring overall.
That was weird, in a better way than your usual macho bravado rap, way. Some good scratching, but most tunes weren't up to much though.
Are they taking advantage of their listener's teenage angst, or are they really that whiney and self-absorbed? Go do yoga or take some herbal stuff and get over yourself. Credit to the drummer's skill but the noisy whining is like dealing with a toddler.
Good bit of teenage nostalgia. Step it Up and Connected are good tunes. The rest not up to much. I join others in querying why the album is on the list though. Not sure many people have listened to it much since 1993, nor is there any reason to do so.
I have heard some Nick Drake tunes popping up on acoustic playlist, in film soundtracks - where his melancholy does the work for the director - but had not sat down to listen to an album of his. Glad I have. Beautifully bare and melancholy, appreciation increased after learning about his life. His sound is often copied now that I thought he was a modern artist - no idea this was written in 1972 and he died 2 years later. Glad he is getting posthumous recognition, but so very sad.
Not usually a fan of live albums, but it's the location and the live aspect of these songs that make this album.
Mate, get the hint - she doesn't like you anymore. Move on. A couple of stars for the influence but the same song, with slightly different lyrics, in slightly different time, 14 times over, gets a bit tedious.
More angry gangsta rap bravado. Bored after one song. I think rap albums need to be turned into drinking bingo. Mother F, N word, female dog, and assorted shooting phrases - gets you very drunk. Maybe you can then enjoy the music?
Pleasant listening. Nice voice. Extra star for influence.
Interesting. Listened to twice and can't get my head around what it is. how do you describe the music? How do you describe the story? Is the album saying anything? Neither negative nor positive, just confused. Solid 3.
