80% generic early 80s drivel, 20% amazing synth runs that will be burned into my brain from now on. Truly inconsistent album, hopping between cuts I'll most certainly be coming back to and others I couldn't wait to be over. Highlights: While You See A Chance, Night Train

Edgy, so edgy! The album is a bit of a mess, not just in terms of the mixing (I can barely make out the vocals on most tracks), but the way it generally all comes together without feeling purposefully dynamic. I can appreciate the ambition of bringing together so many different styles and sounds, but it often ends up feeling more like a jagged collage than a beautiful painting. The upside is that I've never heard an album quite like this before, though I do see it as something of a precursor to acts like Linkin Park. Highlights: March Of The Pigs, Closer, Ruiner, The Becoming, Hurt

I listened through this album during my attempt to make my way through the 1001 albums chronologically, so I was somewhat dreading running back through this 3+ hour collection. Even calling it an album is somewhat misleading – it's more like 5½ albums rolled into one package. I'm not the biggest fan of show tunes in general, but Ella obviously has an amazing voice and makes what (in the hands of a lesser singer) could be an absolute slog into something tolerable. There are a decent amount of highlights across the 59 tracks, but most cuts aren’t particularly distinct from one another – if all my favorites were gathered into one short album and the rest were absent, it'd probably get four stars from me! Highlights: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, Things Are Looking Up, 'S Wonderful, The Real American Folk Song, I've Got A Crush On You, Boy What Love Has Done To Me

Despite seeing Elton John in concert and knowing almost all of his hits (thanks to my wife, who is a huge fan), I had never actually listened through any of his studio albums prior to this challenge. MATW has made me understand why Elton is known for his singles, rather than his albums – outside of a couple highlights and some wacky bits of instrumentation here and there, this LP is just not that memorable. I didn’t find myself aching for the album to be over, but I also can’t really see myself coming back to listen to any of the songs outside of the obvious one that everyone knows. Hopefully there’s a fantastic album from EJ yet to come on this list! Highlights: Tiny Dancer, Razor Face, Holiday Inn, All The Nasties

The artwork goes insanely hard. The album itself isn’t my favorite, but it is pretty decent – it’s sonically a bit all over the place, with occasional lyrics about environmentalism and social justice somewhat bringing things together. The unique arrangements and effects across the board are ultimately what sell the album for me – I can’t really see myself coming back to any of these songs individually in the future. Highlights: Take A Load Off Your Feet, Feel Flows, ‘Til I Die

As an American who was only familiar with Song 2 before this challenge, I was immensely looking forward to digging further into Blur and hopefully finding some gold. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up particularly enjoying this album. It feels like Blur is trying to poke fun at different rock trends across the tracklist, but the lack of context made it hard for me to tell whether or not I should be taking anything seriously and I tried to just enjoy the music for what it is. There are a few tracks I thought were decent, but I didn’t come away from this album with a new favorite from the band (Song 2 unfortunately reigns supreme, for now) and I spent most my listen itching to move on to something else. Highlights: Song 2, Theme from Retro, You’re so Great, Look Inside America

This is the seventh album I've had to listen through for this challenge and is fortunately the first that truly feels like essential listening to me! The songs are generally catchy, aren't overly long (outside of Sex Machine, but even that one doesn't feel like it goes on for nearly 14 minutes) and are loaded with brilliant musicianship/lyrics across the board. Even the bonus tracks from the 2007 reissue are pretty good! There were a couple tracks I wasn't in love with on first listen, but the main thing holding this album back is the mixing – I found myself struggling to hear certain vocal/instrumental passages that I would have loved the mixes to focus on more. Highlights: Stand!, I Want to Take You Higher, Somebody's Watching You, Everyday People, Sex Machine

I legitimately didn’t know pop punk existed in the ‘70s until I heard this album. It’s certainly not a slog to get through (as the songs are both short and fast-paced), but pretty much every track is interchangeable. Something I can appreciate retrospectively for what it presumably added to the cultural conversation, but not something I can really see myself coming back to over later (and better) pop punk albums. Highlights: Male Model, I Know a Girl

I literally looked up which ABBA albums made the list just yesterday and the algorithm gave me The Visitors as today's listen. Huh. My dad had a major ABBA obsession for a few years, so I know all the hits like the back of my hand. However, I had never given one of their proper studio albums a listen, so I was pretty excited to see what this LP had in store! Fortunately, The Visitors is a very good album. Yes, it's a brilliant display of vocal/songwriting/mixing/production talent, but it also comes with a whirlwind of emotions, effectively serving as both a breakup album for the band and a response to the divorces each member went through during the months prior. Admittedly, nostalgia does play a role in how much I enjoyed the album as a whole, but these songs hold up much better than other songs I enjoyed during my adolescence. This is the closest I've come to giving an album on this list five stars. However, if I'm going to give something a perfect score, the deep cuts need to speak to me just as much (if not, more) than the hits and that's just not the case here. Not to say songs like I Let The Music Speak and Two For The Price Of One are bad, but they don't shine nearly as bright as the album's more known tracks. I even ran through the album again after sleeping on it and the chasm somehow seemed wider the second time through. Probably worth noting that the Spotify version has four bonus tracks compared to the original LP, though none of them feel out of place to me. I'd even say that the album is probably better with them included! Under Attack legitimately might be a top five ABBA tune for me – what an absolute earworm. Highlights: The Visitors, Head Over Heels, When All Is Said And Done, One Of Us, Slipping Through My Fingers, The Day Before You Came, Under Attack

I'm a simple man. Get a Scottish guy to play some moody guitar and I'm probably going to enjoy it. Really, the main thing holding this album back is that Bert doesn't have a particularly astounding singing voice, but it gets the job done on the more lyric-focused tracks like Needle of Death. Needless to say, the purely instrumental cuts were generally my favorites here! Seems to be how other people are feeling too, considering how many streams Angie has compared to other tracks. I listened to about half of the album while reading The Electric State and it actually added quite a bit to the already uneasy atmosphere of the book. Would definitely recommend pairing this LP with a road trip through the desert or some post-apocalyptic media! Highlights: Smokey River, Oh How Your Love Is Strong, Veronica, Needle of Death, The Casbah, Angie

This is the first album released during my lifetime that I've had to rate for this and it's a fitting one! The College Dropout is one of those highly-regarded LPs that I've never had the chance to properly listen through – albums like this are exactly why I felt like I needed to finally commit to doing this challenge. Kanye West's debut album isn't the first I've heard from him (it's actually the eighth, including KIDS SEE GHOSTS), but I think you could make a case for it being his best. For the first seven tracks, it feels like a bona fide five star album – the beats are incredible and uplifting, the track-to-track flow is impeccable, the bars are clever and unique. There's a sense of adolescence & humility that I've never really heard from Kanye prior to this point and it makes me understand (ever so slightly more) why his day ones have stood by him through his many controversies in the decades since. The College Dropout is a great album, but it's not perfect (for me, anyway). The album has a pretty sizable dip from tracks 8-13, in which it veers into fairly generic early/mid '00s club hip-hop territory without much of the character and charisma found on the rest of the project. There are interesting moments during the dip (The New Workout Plan is a highlight) and I don't outright hate any of the songs in that chunk, but I probably would have enjoyed the whole album like 25% more if it went straight from Jesus Walks to the first School Spirit skit. Overall, it's a solid project and one that I feel I've truly missed out on all these years (which is ultimately what I'm looking to get out of each album on this list)! It also inspired me to finally check out Late Registration and Graduation, since [SPOILER] neither made the cut for this list. Might share some thoughts on those in my eventual reviews of MBDTF and Yeezus, assuming there's anything relevant to share. Highlights: We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, School Spirit, Two Words, Through The Wire, Family Business, Last Call

I feel like I shouldn’t like this album – pretty much every characteristic of it is borrowed from what came in the decades before (arguably much better) and this is one of my least favorite decades for this kind of rock music (Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock & Roll is maybe one of my least favorite hit songs, full stop). And yet… I somehow feel drawn to it at the same time. Maybe it’s John Fogerty’s distinct stanky vocals, maybe it’s the rowdy energy some of these songs bring to the table (see Travelin’ Band) or maybe I’m just insane. I definitely wouldn’t say I LOVED this album and there were very few true highlights, but I couldn’t bring myself to rate Cosmo’s Factory any lower than three stars. It’s not one I’ll be revisiting actively, but I won’t turn it off if it happens to come on! Highlights: Travelin’ Band, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Long As I Can See The Light

I need to admit something. I am 28 years old, have lived 1/3 of my life in Washington and I’ve never listened to a grunge album before today. I’ve walked through the Nirvana exhibit at MoPOP, I’ve even bought records from Sub Pop, but my entire experience with grunge up to this point has been Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are (hearing them probably fewer than 10 times in total). Diving into grunge is something I’ve been dreading because it’s a genre with so many beloved albums and I don’t want to be that guy who gave it a shot and didn’t “get” it. Prior to EGBDF, I genuinely thought grunge was just dudes singing poorly over rough rock instrumentals with depressing lyrics. The idea of it being a genre with legitimate musical proficiency had not really crossed my mind. That’s why Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge came as such a pleasant surprise to me – it’s an album that simultaneously had me moshing in my kitchen and gave me a fair bit of musical intrigue to really sink my teeth into. The album’s title (referring to the most basic level of music theory) is brilliant because the songs feel like a middle finger to the rules, even when there’s so much evidence of technical skill visible in between the cracks. It’s not a perfect album and there were a few tracks that honestly didn’t do much for me, but the high rock energy, slanted rhythms and occasional harmonica solos gave EGBDF enough unique flair that I can easily see myself coming back to it sooner rather than later. This was an excellent first impression of grunge and (for once in my life) I’m actually looking forward to digging in further! Highlights: Generation Genocide, Something So Clear, Thorn, Into The Drink, Broken Hands, Who You Drivin’ Now?, Pokin’ Around

Another artist I had never heard of prior to this challenge delivering another rock solid album – should I even be surprised at this point? This is also the second album of my lifetime that I've had to rate for this and the first chronologically, with the LP releasing just five days after I was born. This might be the understatement of the year, but Either/Or is a very melancholic listen. Reading about Smith's death while working my way through the album only added to that sense of unrelenting sadness it carries. I'd say almost everything here is a worthwhile listen – the songs are highly effective. At the same time, it's hard to say I "enjoy" this album the same way as the others I've rated highly because it's not something I'm willingly going to put on (beyond the initial listen through) at this stage of my life. I don't desire to be brought down in the way Either/Or provides and (by the grace of God) I'm not having frequent enough depressive episodes for this album to be good mood music for me, even if only on occasion. That said, I'm going to break my own rules a bit. By almost every measure, Either/Or is a three star album for me – one that I appreciate musically, enjoy a few songs on and wouldn't mind listening to if it happened to come on, but that I'm unlikely to intentionally revisit. However, I'm going to give this album four stars because it's got the indisputable quality of a higher-tier album (even if it sounds VERY 90s) and is one that I ought to keep in my back pocket in case I'm ever in the right mood for it. R.I.P. Elliott Smith, gone way too soon. Highlights: Alameda, Ballad of Big Nothing, Between the Bars, Pictures of Me, Rose Parade, Say Yes

Johnny Cash is one of those artists I always point to when I talk about the sort of country music I actually like, but I had admittedly never listened to a full album from him until today. The timing is quite interesting as well, as I listened to Hurt less than two weeks ago after hearing the original NIN record! Part of me is a little bummed that my first full Johnny Cash experience isn't a studio LP and that it's the second album in a tetralogy of live albums, but another part of me is happy that this was the one I got to hear first, because it's a good one. At San Quentin is a special album – not just for the music itself, but for everything that happens in between. The prisoners add so much atmosphere to the LP, from booing a guard bringing Johnny some water to laughing during relatable parts of the songs to shouting song requests up to him before he plays I Walk the Line. It might sound corny, but I don't think I'll ever forget the reaction to Johnny telling the story of how he ended up getting arrested/fined in Starkville for picking some flowers or him playing through San Quentin (a song he wrote the day before) twice in a row because the crowd loved it so much. This is an album that tells a story so effortlessly, cover to cover – it's no wonder why it made this list. One could probably make a case for this being a five star album, but the rough recordings and the occasional miss in the curation department does honestly hold the LP back (if only slightly). I also want to leave space for At Folsom Prison to blow me away even more, so I'll give At San Quentin a very respectful four stars! Highlights: Wanted Man, Darlin’ Companion, Starkville City Jail, San Quentin, A Boy Named Sue, (There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley

I had never heard of Moby Grape prior to this challenge, but the fact that this album made the “Uncontroversial Albums” list with an average rating of three stars had me a bit worried. Would Moby Grape be one of the weaker entries on this list? Turns out, nope – it really just is a three star album! The reasons why probably vary from person to person, but for me it’s a collection of good rock songs that just don’t do anything particularly unique or interesting. The fact that it incited a bidding war between labels somewhat perplexes me, but I guess they must have been confident fans of this style in the ‘60s were going to eat it up. As with many of my threes, it’s an album I wouldn’t mind being put on, but it’s probably not something I’m going to go out of my way to listen to. The fact that the full album isn’t currently on Spotify makes doing that extra difficult for me anyway! Highlights: Hey Grandma, Fall On You, Come In The Morning, Omaha, Changes, Indifference

The Generator recommending albums in a random order is a double-edged sword for me – on one hand, it prevents me from getting too bored of a particular sound/era and giving up, but on the other hand, it makes it so I often end up listening to albums without as much context as I'd like to have going into them. I have not yet heard 36 Chambers and I really would have liked to listen to that one first, but I suppose the Generator giveth and the Generator taketh away. Raekwon is not an artist I'm incredibly familiar with (I literally only recognized his name from an old Flume track that I quite enjoyed), but I went into this one with an open mind. Most of these these post-ETWT solo albums are highly regarded and I wanted to make sure I could properly digest this one, even without the context I desired. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is an album that I enjoyed, but I honestly wish I got more out of it. RZA's production across the entire project is incredible, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah play well off of each other and deliver some impressive bars and numerous guests bring just as much heat (including RZA himself, who might have the craziest flow on the entire album in Wu-Gambinos). At the same time, OB4CL feels bloated from an overabundance of skits that are often confusing (with several voices talking over one another) and don't add much to the songs they're part of. I also felt like there were many times were verses started/ended in different spots than they should have (based on the cadence of the beats) and that made a lot of the tracks feel sort of off. Ultimately, it's an album I appreciate for a lot of reasons, but also one that is dragged down by a lot of little things that add up throughout its 1+ hour runtime. It's definitely got me looking forward to hearing more RZA-produced albums like Enter The Wu-Tang and Liquid Swords, but The Purple Tape is probably not one I'll have in heavy rotation in the future. Highlights: Knowledge God, Rainy Dayz, Guillotine (Swordz), Can It Be All So Simple (Remix), Ice Water, Wisdom Body, Ice Cream, Wu-Gambinos, Heaven & Hell

Considering the Generator gave me The College Dropout less than a week ago and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (an album by Raekwon, produced by RZA) just yesterday, getting Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy today has me beginning to wonder if it truly is randomized. I'm catching on, Generator – you better watch your back! In all seriousness... MBDTF is one of the few albums on this list that I actually have heard, but it's been quite some time (probably around six years since I last spun it). Since then, he's released five new albums (haven't bothered to check out the most recent three, as I've heard nothing but bad things about them) and I've been properly educated on all his pre-2010 albums. That said, I feel pretty much exactly the same way about this LP as I did back in 2019 – these are some of Kanye's most iconic tracks, bundled together in a pretty odd way, with some baffling mixing decisions. If you don't think about it too hard, it FEELS like near-perfect album... However, for someone like me, who actually cares about an album telling a story through its direction and sequencing, it does fall flat. Don't get me wrong, MBDTF is a pretty strong album – it just plays more like a greatest hits reel than a bona fide concept album (which it's clearly trying to be). My biggest takeaway from revisiting the LP after finally hearing Kanye's first four albums is that there's a little bit of each project here – you'll find the chopped-up soul of The College Dropout, the infectious beats of Graduation, the emotional auto-tune of 808s & Heartbreak and even a little bit of Late Registration's conscious lyrics here. If someone were looking to get into Kanye West (no idea why they would in 2025) and knew basically nothing about his music, MBDTF would be a great place to start because there are so many potential avenues to explore depending on which style they're feeling. Kanye may not be a very good person, but My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a pretty notable and enjoyable piece of his storied career! Highlights: Dark Fantasy, POWER, All Of The Lights, Devil In A New Dress, Runaway, Hell Of A Life, Lost In The World

Maggot Brain is the first full album I've listened to from the world of the great George Clinton and, to be honest, I was hoping to get a bit more out of it than I did. The musicality on show is excellent, but the first & last tracks feel like they have a completely different sonic identity than the middle five tunes and I was hoping for the "funk" part of Funkadelic to come out a bit more than it did. It's an album I can appreciate and I certainly didn't have a negative experience running through it, but it's not something I can really see myself putting into heavy rotation. Highlights: Can You Get To That, Hit It and Quit It, Super Stupid

I’ve known Carlos Santana as the funny “Smooth by Santana feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty” guy for so long (yes, I have the t-shirt) that I never even considered the possibility of him being a serious musician with critically-acclaimed albums. You could definitely say that Abraxas came as a surprise to me, not only because it’s somehow nearly 30 years older than Supernatural (an album which is pushing 30 itself), but because it’s legitimately good fusion/psychedelic rock that goes so far beyond the boundaries of the “guy plays catchy Latin guitar melodies with popular singer” music he’d later score so many radio hits with. That said, Abraxas is a bit all over the map stylistically. It’s all perfectly listenable, but I definitely see myself gravitating toward certain cuts (Black Magic Woman is the big one) than the project as a whole. It’s a textbook three star album for me! Highlights: Singing Winds Crying Beasts, Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen, Mother’s Daughter, Samba Pa Ti

Another CCR album only eight days after getting Cosmo's Factory? I would have probably preferred someone new to start my work week, but I suppose I'll take it. I enjoyed Bayou Country about the same amount as I enjoyed Cosmo's Factory (three stars), though I do feel like the songs here have a little more identity compared to the 1970 album. BC is also a few minutes (and four tracks) shorter than CF, so I'd say I'm slightly more likely to return to this one in the future, but not enough to give it four stars. My main takeaway from Bayou Country is that Creedence Clearwater Revival wrote that "rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river" song and that it's apparently called Proud Mary? I might have gone my entire life without knowing that and I've heard the song at least a dozen times (probably more). Highlights: Graveyard Train, Good Golly Miss Molly, Proud Mary, Keep On Chooglin'