Wow! These guys are good at their instruments!

I've always loved Rufus's voice in small doses, but feared that listening to an entire album of his might just be too much eccentric crooning to bare. My fears were largely confirmed. Three or four songs in, I was really digging it. The classical arrangements and melodies were doing for me. But by the end, it has turned into background music.

This listen confirmed by general impression of Rod Stewart: He tries VERY hard to be soulful and earnest. When he hit's the mark, it's beautiful, but when he does not - which happens more commonly - the result is some combination of boring and humorous (or "cringe," as the kids would say). I did get a nice little chuckle from "Only a Hobo," which, aside from the unfortunate title and chorus line, might be the best song on the album.

Wow! These guys are good at their instruments!

Man! I haven't listened to this album since college. What a righteous jam! It sounds loud AF even if you listen to it quietly. For me, though, the ceiling for an album like this is four stars, simply because of the sameness of it all. But it hits that ceiling with authority. Or should I say . . . a vulgar display of power.

Prefab Sprout . . . Who knew? The prospect of discovering albums like this is what got me excited about doing this project. I had some ambivalence about it on first listen, but I've come to learn that that's often the sign of a very good album. This is solid songwriting with a unique voice. The '80s production sheen is there, but it's not overbearing. (The production sounds remarkably modern, actually.) I was initially thinking three stars, but I enjoyed it so much more on my second listen, I think it's gotta be four.

There are places for bluegrass in this world, but on a double album coming out of speakers in my home is not one of the them.

I've always felt I should like Patti Smith more than I do. Considering the music I like, all the components are there. But alas. I can appreciate her music on an analytical level, but I just didn't enjoy listening to this album very much.

I don't hate rap, but I think there's a ceiling to how much I can enjoy it, primarily because it doesn't deliver emotion the way singing does. I enjoyed this album somewhat. The lyrics are sharp and the tracks lean towards an organic sound, which I like. And British rap will always get a little bump just because the accent adds a level of interest. Bonus points for going with Little Simz instead of Lil' Simz.

The personal connections I have to this album make it very special to me. I'm happy it came up on a Sunday, and I was able to sit with it and enjoy it. It's really great. "Transcendent" comes to mind.

This was alright. I don't have much to say about it. James Brown is one of those artists for me where . . . I understand why people like him, but he just doesn't connect with me. And I can't listen to him without thinking of Eddie Murphy's "James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJnpaFRrlw) I kinda wanted to go two stars, but that felt wrong.

I was initially intrigued by this offering. I liked what I knew of Marvin Gaye, and I was excited to listen to an entire album. But man, this has a lot of filler. That's what's going on: Meandering, there-are-a-lot-of-problems-in-the-world stuff that at times borders on comical. "Save the Children" is a prime example. Of course, there are great tunes on here too, but I'll probably stick to the top tracks when listening to Marvin Gaye in the future.

There's not anything that I can add to the zeitgeist about how great this album is. It's a masterpiece, especially considering the time from whence it came. Still, I'm gonna give it four stars, not five. I have to leave room above it for albums that are more "my thing." And it's not even my favorite Beatles album.

Say! These guys are pretty good! Someone should sign them to a record deal! Anywho . . . this was a blast from my past. And I was definitely surprised to see this record come up. Sebadoh has better albums than this one, and I'd be even more surprised if there was ANOTHER Sebadoh album on the list. But I guess this is the "important" one? There are some good tunes on here (mostly Lou Barlow's), but as with most Sebadoh albums, it's a very inconsistent listen. I found myself wondering if I had talked myself into thinking I liked the band more than I actually did just because they're a Dinosaur Jr. offshoot. Also, I find my patience for the lo-fi approach, which I claimed to love when I was younger, has faded. Maybe it's just the improved home-recording technology. It's hard to get past, "I could record something that sounds better than this." (And if you think THIS album sounds lo-fi, take a listen to the albums they released before this one.)

I have liked every RUN-DMC song I have ever heard, yet I was still somewhat skeptical whether I could tolerate an entire album from them. And even as I got through the brilliant trifecta of It's Tricky, My Adidas, and Walk This Way, I was still questioning whether I could hang for seven more songs. Silly me. This is a great, FUN album, front to back. I realized there's something kind of punk about RUN-DMC's simplicity and the aggressive vocal delivery that's right in my wheelhouse. I like.

The Kinks are great, and this was an album of theirs I was not very familiar with, but I was just not in the mood to listen to this yesterday. I get the sense it might be a very good album. I'll give it a spin in a few days and see what I think. On a different day, it might have been a 4, but today . . .

Note to self: Good background music for when you open a restaurant - Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart's, "Rising Above Bedlam".

I forgot about Jurassic 5! What a treat. I enjoyed this album front to back. I have a hard time giving it a four, but there's a very good chance I will listen to it again.

I only listened to the first two songs on this album, but based on my rubric, I think I can rate it anyway. 😊 It's definitely not a 1 or a 5. And unless it takes a drastic turn, it's also better than a 2. Based on my (limited) familiarity with Girls Against Boys, I also highly doubt it reaches the level of a 4. So there you go. #cheating

I'm not a jazz guy. So I feel like I can't really pan this album, because it's jazz. But also, I don't love it . . . because it's jazz. In all, this is a pleasant-sounding album. I'm glad to be aware of its existence. I'll definitely keep it in my quiver.

The Who was a great live band, and this is an example of that. (I could listen to Keith Moon play all day.) I have trouble grading live albums on the same scale as studio albums, however. They're totally different creatures. So, I think it's gonna be 2's and 3's for me for live albums from here on. 3 if I enjoyed listening to it, 2 if it felt like a chore.

This record is the sound of my early childhood. Hearing it still brings visions of my parents' stereo system. And despite all of the changes in my musical preferences since I was five, it still makes me dance in living room. G' damn classic!

Green Day's work is so inconsistent that I sometimes get tricked into thinking that American Idiot isn't as good as I think it is. But then I listen to it and remember that it's fucking great. It's an all-timer for me. The context from which it came and the musical only add to the certain "je ne sais quoi" quality of this album. I will say, the back-to-back of Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams had me a little bored. I always felt that's the weak spot. But it gets right back to business afterwards.

Uh, yeah . . . No, thank you

I've always felt that the genius of Brian Wilson is appreciated more on an intellectual level than an emotional one. As such, I've never really connected with The Beach Boys or his solo work. I was only vaguely familiar with Smile. I feel like if I sat down and gave it a few focused listens, I would probably like it more. But for this exercise, it comes across mostly as a collection of unreleased Beach Boys tracks that I'm not vibing with all that much.

There's a lot to like here: Noisey guitars, the drum sound, some interesting song structures. At first - given the first song and the release date - I thought I was in for a noisy emo treat, but the more I listened, the more it sounded like Buckcherry. In total, it probably lands somewhere in between Buckcherry and At the Drive-In, and that's not a positive. The vocals are a little too cock-rock for my tastes, and the songs often seem self-indulgent. It's ... fine. But I don't need it in my life. (An aside: Listening to this randomly brought to mind the fictional band from Almost Famous. I have no specific memory of what that band sounds like, but I swear it's something like this. I'll have to check on that.)

Alright ... I didn't listen to this album yesterday. It was Friday. I really didn't feel like harshing my vibes with The Rolling Stones, the most overrated band in the history of the world. But I feel I'm familiar enough with it to give it a rating. It's a three. That's what the Stones do. They make albums that are threes.

An interesting listen, for sure. At times Willie Nelson and at times a middle-aged dad going through a midlife crisis who decided to turn his poetry hobby into an album. At least it's good poetry, though. These are the sorts of albums that I'm going to struggle with for this exercise. I'm thinking three, but if I spent more time with it, I feel I might move my rating to a four . . . or a two. Regardless, it's refreshing to hear something that sounds so unique. For that, and in the spirit of "needing to hear," what the heck ... I'll just just go four.

When the Wikipedia entry said "American rock band, Lambchop," I took that to mean that Lambchop was a rock band. My bad. Really, there's not a ton of difference between this and Bill Callahan. Callahan's record has a sparser production, which I like, and, to me, his voice is more interesting. The easy-listening style orchestral production on this record is just hard for me to sit with for very long.

Who am I to give this album anything but a five? It is quite good. Though I do think I prefer Rubber Soul by a smidge.

This is an album for a jazz enthusiast, which I am not. I'm glad I listened to it once, I guess, but the lengthy talking between songs kinda kills what I'm personally looking for in a jazz album.

I just don't have the patience for lo-fi anymore. I used to claim to like it, but now I'm doubting whether I ever did. Maybe I was just going for hipster cred. With so many albums in the world that are pleasing to the ear, why would I choose this? Anywho, whether it's lo-fi or intentionally industrial, I'm not a fan of the production on this one. It's a shame, because there's a lot of potential here. Also, one-star automatic deduction for the use of a drum machine with punk rock.

I do like Johnny Cash, and I certainly appreciate the significance of this album, and it's an enjoyable listen - between-song banter and all - but I doubt this is the album I'll ever choose when I want to listen to Johnny Cash. I see no compelling reason to abandon my live-album rating parameters for this one.

I came across a YouTube video the other day of one of the Tears for Fears guys playing Head Over Heels solo on the piano. I realized that it's a really good song, at its core. I think that applies to a few songs on this record - the hits and maybe a few others - but it can be hard to hear it through the din of the very-80s production. I did enjoy the nostalgic trip of listening to Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, etc, but much of this album had me bored to tears. (Hey oh!)

I've always enjoyed Rush, but I've avoided really diving into their catalog because it feels like too much work. That applies singularly to 2112 as well. I only had time for one listen, and I liked it quite a bit, but this is the sort of album that requires multiple listens over multiple days to truly understand how you feel about it. I can make an educated guess, though. I was inclined to go 3, but because I feel like I've probably been sleeping on Rush over the course of my life - to a criminal degree - I'll bump it up.

I can enjoy the Go-Gos in spurts, but I've never attempted an entire album. It was a bit of a slog after three or four songs. Pop records be like that, I guess.

I'm glad stuff like this exists, but ranking it on the same scale as some of these other albums? C'mon. A two is being generous.

De La Soul has a distinct vibe, which I appreciate. But, similar to the Go Gos, it's a vibe that grows repetitive and tiresome midway through an album. (It's a very personal thing, I guess, how long one can tolerate a particular musical sound. There are plenty of very repetitive punk albums that I could listen to on repeat.) I enjoyed this album, but it's hard to imagine I'll ever choose to listen to it again. If I feel like listening to this rap sub-genre, I'll probably go with Jurassic 5 or Digable Planets, both of whom I find more interesting.

This is not my bag, man. Made me think maybe I should have given De La Soul four stars. There's just nothing interesting about this. I listened on my open-ear headphones while walking the dog, and I literally tuned it out. The sound of traffic, roofers, and ACTUAL birds was more engaging.

I was excited to see this album come up, but it wasn't nearly as good as I remember it being. I probably would have liked it a little more without all the shrieks and "eww!"s.

Great album! I wasn't quite as familiar with this as London Calling, I'll admit. I'm glad it came up. Funny story: Autoplay started playing EMI by the Sex Pistols after the album was over, and before I recognized it, I'm thinking, "Oh! I like THIS one." 😆 Says something about where I stand on Clash v Sex Pistols.

I've always found Time of the Season to be a decent song, but an entire album in that vein is a little much to take. However ... I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was driving through rural Oregon while listening, and it was a nice soundtrack for that. And I'll give them an extra star for their crazy story.

This is a songwriter's album. Just a great collection of songs, well played and well sung, and captivating. And the concept album-ish nature of it makes me like it even more (Denver into O're the Waves is just ... chef's kiss). I've always enjoyed Willie, but I've never taken the initiative to dive into his catalog. Maybe I will now. I'm definitely keeping this one in my collection.

Janis is an artist who slipped through the cracks for me, which is a shame because I've always known I love her voice. This did not disappoint. It's a great album. I'm withholding the fifth star because that noodley 70s southern rock sound turns me off. But Janis herself . . . wow.

Ehhh . . . I don't know. I only had the time to listen to this once. Definitely not enough time to really get into something like this, though it's hard to imagine it making it into my library on a permanent basis.

Oh, man. I really like this one. Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld. I'm a sucker for brooding stuff that makes me cry, and this definitely does the trick. In the parlance of the times . . . this is some real ass shit!

Hmm. The blues, born of African music, returns to Africa. Fascinating. I genuinely have never heard anything quite like this. I was thinking three at first, but four is calling.

I hadn't listened to this album in a looong time. I enjoyed revisiting it, but there's a reason The Smiths never really made it into my collection. They're just not quite my thing.

Well. By Jason's metric, I suppose I needed to hear this. It was certainly entertaining, in a B-movie sort of way. I dig heavily orchestrated stuff, so I found the music to be pretty cool at times. So the real issue here is this damn singer. I don't think I have ever heard such a dichotomy between the content of the lyrics ("If you were a horse, I'd clean the crap out of your stable nd never once complain") and the way in which the lyrics were sung. Hello, Johnny Mathis. Y'know . . . I'm gonna round up just for the chutzpah of the whole endeavor.

Albums like this are hard to rate. I enjoyed it. They're great songs. I appreciate the mastery. I FEEL like I should be giving it a four or five. But am I ever going to listen to this again? Unlikely.

First, a confession: I presented my Paul Simon review yesterday as though I had given the album a careful listening. Truth be told, I had it on in the background and kinda just assumed what I was hearing was "okay" because it was Paul Simon. But when Jason said "Cars are Cars" sucks (paraphrasing), I had to revisit. And I can confirm: It sucks. Anywho . . . On to a subject matter that I'm an expert in: REM being boring. I wasn't exposed to them until Green, so I'm much more familiar with their latter material. I had never consciously listened to Murmur in its entirety, so I was hoping "their early stuff" might be better. No. As per uush, there are a couple of engaging songs on an album that's generally, zzzzz . . . .

Again, I'd probably like this more if I listened to it more. But not that much more. Not really my vibe, man.

Again, I'd probably like this more if I listened to it more. But not that much more. Not really my vibe, man.

As a young man who enjoyed Achtung Baby (my first U2 album), I went and explored their back catalog and somehow convinced myself that I didn't like War, and I haven't listened to it since. What the heck? It's a great album. It has a wonderful rawness that caught me by surprise, despite being familiar with Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day, of course. The Edge's guitar never sounded so good. Maybe I wasn't ready for it back then? Who knows. (Side note: I was also caught off guard by the similarities to The Clash on this album. I haven't heard that talked about before. But it's definitely there.)

A friend of mine, who was the hip music guy at my high school, loved this album. And I remember there being a lot of hype about it in music publications. I didn't get it, and I still don't. I mean, it's pretty good ... just not great, by any means. I will say, I think I like it more today than when I was in high school. There are lots of cool moments, but they're mostly instrumental moments. The vocals fail to bring it home for me.

Meh, Depeche Mode. I could take 'em or leave 'em. They are skilled at writing earworms that won't leave you alone, I'll give them that.

Uugh! I did not need to be reminded of this genre of music. Thing is, these are pretty good songs, and he has an appealing voice. And the production style is fine . . . for a song or two. It absolutely does not sustain for an entire album. By the end of the third song in a row of this stuff, I've had it. I'm out. Sitting in a coffee shop and watching David Gray play these songs by himself on an acoustic guitar would probably be fantastic, but as presented, I can't go higher than a . . .

My established opinion on this album was that I wanted to like it more than I did. My logical brain is going, "You like this. This is good," and my emotional brain is going, "Do I?" Listening to it now, that still holds somewhat true, but it definitely hits me in the feels a lot more than it once did. It's an admirable and delightful piece of work, but I'm stingy with my 5's so . . .

This is fine. Not really my thing. It's got some classic songs on it. I don't feel qualified to give it any lower or higher than a . . .

This isn't normally my style of music, but there's a certain je ne sais quoi about this record. I don't THINK I'm saying that based on nostalgia, but I could be. When I was in my early 20s and freshly free of school for the first time, my roommates had it on repeat. So it definitely reminds me of that fun period of my life. But whatever. Some of the more techno-dance tunes on the latter half are forgettable, but overall, it's better than a 3. So . . .

Ok. I feel a little better about my Ray of Light rating. This album was from the same period and was also played on repeat by a certain roommate. . . And I do not like it. It's just so contrived. I'll never understand how this band got so popular, or at least why people don't make fun of them the same way they do Nickelback. "In the End" is okay. Like they sort of stumbled across something approximating authenticity. And it's a fun sing-along song. I'll dole out an extra star for that. So <checks math> . . .

Nice to hear some proper rock and roll back in the queue. It would be easy for me to give this an extra star just for that, but this is a little too jammy for me to love. I'm more of a song guy. I don't see reason to go higher than a . . .

Straight bangers, front to back. That's a . . .

Given that this was a YouTube-only listening experience, and that I didn't find out about the YouTube option until after I was done with work, this album had a very limited opportunity to grab my interest and make me either sit in front of my computer or with my phone open to listen to it. It failed. Cool story about the band, but this project is hard enough to keep up with as it is. And it's so easy to put music on the streaming services. I'm deducting a star for inconvenience. So, that's a . . .

I've listened to all the big "grunge" albums from this era many, many times. There are only a few of them that still draw me back. Dirt is one of them. There's a freshness and urgency about it that still feels new every time I listen. It's got the whole package for me: It sounds friggin great, it's got pleasingly weird song structures, the lyrics are good, the vocal harmonies are fantastic, and Jerry Cantrell's guitar work is just *chef's kiss*. No way this isn't a . . .

Two Prince albums in as many months have made me realize that he is just not my thing. Respect to him as an artist, though. (If you haven't seen his guitar solo from George Harrison's Hall of Fame induction performance, I definitely recommend you look it up. It's equal parts miraculous and hilarious.) So . . .

I don't really get industrial music. It sounds cool sometimes, but it feels emotionally flat. I had so many friends try to get me into Nine Inch Nails from middle school through college, I'm pretty familiar with this album. And I still find it to be "meh"

This is fine. Again, I don't feel genre-qualified to rate it above or below a . . .

Nothing here for me.

"I should listen to Fiona Apple more" is one of those mental nags that lives in my head right next to "I should exercise more," "I should eat healthier," and "I should drink less." So I was very excited to see this come up. It's just a fantastic album with a beautiful voice. The songs themselves are brilliant, and the quirky production takes them to another level. ¡Viva Fiona! That's a . . .