Surprisingly political, not at all what I expected. Heavy synth and drum sounds, very 80s hip hop, but edgier. Lots of social justice issues addressed. I wasn't sure about this one as it is not something I would usually listen to, but it surprised me. To make such a politically engaging album this danceable was quite a feat. Progressively gets more dancy and lighthearted as the album goes on. The last track, Someday is Tonight is baby-making music for sure, top five, haha. Ends with a reminder of the beginning.
Definitely quintessential hair rock and kind of what I imagine the genre to be. Photograph is a classic and stage fright really shreds. Foolin’ is pretty iconic as well. Better album than I imagined, couple of hit songs on it.
Variations of love songs mostly, but definitely more diverse than the few Buddy Holly hits I’d heard in the past. Very obvious the influence on Elvis. Guitar so iconic. “That’ll be the Day” is so good. Overall, this is probably the album when it comes to Buddy Holly. “Send me some loving” seems to usher in later Motown sounds.
They must have been incredible live! “I want to take you higher,” “Everyday People,” this album is stacked. The use of stereo is something I didn’t realize until I listened with headphones, but the use of left ear vs right ear really creates this surround effect. The bass lines slap. This album is one of the best. “Horns and bass on “sing a simple song” are so good! “Sex Machine” is such a jam. It really felt like the song to end the set, right before “you can make it if you try,” a great encore to a great concert.
Seems like a solid example of gangsta rap, solid beats and bass lines. Nas seems to be greatly underrated in terms of his lyricism and ability to rap, very impressive considering I don’t typically think of his name in the canon of great rappers. It’s a solid album.
It’s crazy that Tiny Dancer is the opening track. So many hit songs on this album. Madman across the water might be my favorite Elton song, so powerful. Last half of the album is a little slow, but good.
The amount of hits on this album is incredible. Not sure of the flow of the album, thriller kind of seems out of place. It’s hard not to give this five stars just for the incredible songs on it, but there are a few songs that kind of seem random. Wanna be starting something, thriller, beat it, Billie Jean, pretty young thing, so many good songs!
I’ve never heard of DJ Shadow, so I’m excited for this one. It's amazing that this is all samples and drum machines. Pretty sweet bass lines throughout, especially "What does your soul look like, pt. 4." Easy to play but slaps. Very cool beats, easy to listen to. Pretty cool album, reminds me a lot of trip hop like Massive Attack. Not sure which came first.
Ugh… I just don't get the seemingly universal appeal of Bruce. The second half of the album seemed to hit its stride. When he tries to push beyond his vocal range it just sounds forced, but not in a good way. The lyrics are all stories but just don't really resonate with me. The drumming is all just first and third beats and reminds me of that gif of him dancing, its just simple. I wanted to like it, but it just seems blah.
I'm torn on this album. On the one hand, 50 is an incredible rapper and his songs are simple but really good. This album has some incredible hits, PIMP, In da Club, What up Gangsta, 21 Questions, Wanksta, etc. It's a great album. It's also filled with a bunch of tracks that seem superfluous gangsta rap about drive-bys and blowin' brains out. He seems to reuse the same or similar lines about each of these themes in multiple songs and it kind of gets old. I feel like the album could be half as many tracks, could use more songs like 21 questions or PIMP and only one or two songs about the rest.
I've always wanted to get into LCD Soundsystem but for some reason found it somewhat inaccessible. This seems like a great gateway album. Time to get away is an incredible song. Followed by North American Scum, which is one of my favorites and a reason I've wanted to get into LCD Soundsystem. Someone Great is another really fun song. Overall, I think this is a great album to introduce LCD Soundsystem and I see a lot of parallels between other artists like Daft Punk or Radiohead. It's kind of a blend of the two.
It’s interesting, very indie, good mix of Brit-pop and indie sounds. Simple chords and guitar. Sounds a bit like Generation X, especially Auditorium. But just a little less edgy or punk. Real lo-fi sound. Reminds me of an easier to listen to Sonic Youth. So many tracks, each really short. Overall, good album. Very indie, which I like.
This was cool, something I’ve never heard before and kind of the goal of this journey. Kind of a mix of audioslave and queens of the Stone Age and something else. The bass is real crunchy, distorted bass isn’t something you hear all the time. Pretty good stuff.
It’s interesting how it’s 90s, but sounds older. Led Zeppelin vibes, but also like Foo fighters. Like Grateful Dead and Franz Ferdinand. It’s both old sounding and ahead of its time. How have I not come across this before? The driving bass lines are sick, but also not driving, also very smooth and funky. Such a great combination of so many things.
Seems like the iconic album from ZZ Top. So many hit songs on it. I think its a solid album, not really up my alley. Gimme all your lovin, sharp dressed man, legs, all great songs.
The guitar work is amazing. Smokey River is incredible. Folk and Spanish guitar in one. I don’t know the impact of Jansch’s music as this is my first time hearing it, but it is 10x more beautiful than Dylan, but probably more true to folk tradition or obscure. Very impressive nonetheless. And so beautiful. Casbah, so intense. Finger plucking acoustic is something else. Like blues, but folksy. Dreams of love, so beautiful.
Overall, very listenable and fun. Some Daft Punk moments, some Calvin Harris moments, very reminiscent of the 2010s sound. Never quite gets going enough to be amazing, though.
This album is incredible. Stevens is a master of dynamics, songs crescendo and decrescendo multiple times and his voice goes from tremendously soft to boisterous and passionate multiple times in a song. On the road to find out is special, where do the children play, father and son, wild world, each more beautiful than the last. Such a beautiful songwriter.
I’m having trouble rating this one. On the one hand, each song is really beautiful and Charles reimagined a lot of these songs in really creative ways. I didn’t see him being so jazzy, I’m used to his R&B or soul hits. I wonder about the crossover power of this album and its importance to race in the 60s. I think this is a great album, but I think I like his uptempo stuff more.
I wasn't sure what to think of this album initially. I had to give it a second and even third listen and found myself really enjoying most of the tracks. Very funky bass lines, busy, moog-y and synth heavy, but simple and clean at the same time. Smooth soul-like vocals, most songs have very whimsical lyrics and are relatable and funny, but it also features some great collabs with Pharrell, Kendrick, Wiz Khalifia, that go a little harder. Kind of a mix of party songs and funny life songs. Uh Uh slaps and Friend Zone is great. Reminds me a bit of like Frank Zappa meets Michael Jackson.
The songs and vocals are pretty epic. The singer has some incredible range and ability to sing softly and beautifully, but also to rage and scream with the best of them. It kind of reminds me of like an Evanescence with a numetal sound. I think I might like their early more punk or alternative stuff because they sound like they can really excel in those genres. Musically they are talented, but this album just didn't really do it for me. I think the hard rock, numetal sound is just something I'm not that into.
I saw a documentary that talked about this collaboration between Rick Rubin and Johnny Cash, but never actually heard the album. What they accomplished is incredible. The song choices and the way Cash chose to perform them is amazing. He really made them his own. Rubin also helped Cash shine from a production standpoint. Great album!
There are elements of each song that I’ve liked when other bands did it; discordance, keys, synths, nonsensical lyrics, etc., but for some reason every way Genesis did it is just off putting to me. I find myself either saying, “get on with it” or “is it done yet” repeatedly. I keep thinking the song is building to something or going someplace and it goes the other direction. I was really hoping this album would turn around my preconceived notions about Genesis and in a way I was impressed by the experimental nature of the album, but for the most part all my doubts were reaffirmed.
Very dance-y and late 80s early 90s sounding. Some fun songs, but nothing like overly amazing. I don’t know if this was a particularly groundbreaking album or anything, but it’s kind of hard to see why it made the cut. It’s good, not great. Fun, but not like overly so. Groove is in the heart is a bop, I’m down with that track.
I’m a little biased as “Fell in Love with a Girl” was the first White Stripes song I heard and I immediately bought the album and after I heard “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” I was a fan.
My sister was super into like Britney Spears and Christina Aquilera and I turned her onto the White Stripes and she’s been a rock fan ever since. My dad even made a comment to me that it was a bummer that there was no good rock and roll any more and I played him this album and he said, "I was wrong, I guess rock and roll will never die."
For just a guitar and drums they manage to fill the space. The layered instruments, cymbals, chords vs melody, etc., really seems like a much bigger band. The lyrics are catchy, but unique. Everything about this album is great.
Classic Frank, but I love the Bossa Nova twist. Smooth vocals, great songs, good Bossa Nova Beat, great album and added it to my at home chill playlist.
Wow, the hits on this album! I don't think I've ever listened to a Frank Sinatra album in it's entirety, but if there was just one, this is it, no skips here. I think he really does well with the swing/big band genre. I loved the Bossa Nova stuff from the previous album I heard, but swing is definitely his wheelhouse. I didn't realize this album had so many great songs, but it is on my playlists now.
I was excited to see some non-western music on the list and to explore the sitar sound more and this album did not disappoint. It was both relaxing and invigorating at the same time. I’m not familiar with any artist other than Ravi Shankar, but based on the complexity, I’d have to say Shivkumar Sharma is one of the best.
Feeling the funk. Honestly, Papa was a rolling stone automatically earns this album four stars. It’s cool to see an edgier temptations and to see them leaning into the civil rights movement despite Motown’s reluctance. Wish there were more solid tracks though.
I had never listened to this album before and recognized Babylon and This Year’s Love, with having no idea who David Gray was. I think I enjoyed every track. Reminded me a little of Damien Rice or something. I want to give it a 4, but I feel like it was just a little flat, songwriting was good, everything was good, just never quite elevated to what I would consider great.
Each song starts like a how-to of each style of Indian raga followed by probably the most impressive rendition ever. I'm not too familiar with sitar players and Indian musicians, but I know Ravi Shankar because of the Beatles, but after listening, I would assume he is probably one of, if not the best, Indian musicians in the world. The legacy of his instruction is undoubtedly present in a lot of psychedelic music in the 1960s and probably influenced the rest of Rock history by further expanding subgenres and styles of music. Dádrá sounds reminds me a lot of Within You, Without You, by the Beatles. I am wondering if this is the raga they are playing. Very cool album and I liked hearing a little bit about how they are structured.
Opening with Running up that Hill is tough to beat, such a great song. Haunting and driving. Most of the rest of the album is really intriguing, lots of cool synth and sound effects in various songs, each on sounds unique. I liked Jig of Life. Overall, just not really my jam, but I didn’t really dislike any of it.
Driving, intense, discordant, but listenable. It's controlled chaos right from the first track, Assassins. Dracula Mountain really captures the essence of the name somehow, I can't really explain it. It's probably not easy listening, but it is truly music that makes you feel something and I can't help buy tap my foot and bob my head. At times there is this repetitive droning quality, but there is always something varied enough to move it along and it always seems to switch tempo at just the right time. Overall, I'm blown away by the technical prowess and sound crafting going on. I don't really understand it, but I respect it.
This is an iconic album. Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Heart of Glass, so many great songs. The album has good variety and the guitar riffs and bass lines are solid. Debbie Harry's voice is at once powerful and subtle. Its got an early punk sound and musically simple, but just sounds so great.
I thoroughly enjoy this album. It’s like Bloc Party meets a chill Mars Volta meets Imagine Dragons or something. Each song is better than the last. Good lyrics, solid bass lines, good drumming. Solid album and I’m excited to have been turned on to this.
I had a friend growing up who was part of the cult of Zappa and that was pretty much all he played. I had trouble understanding what he liked about it and we would always joke about his "weird" musical taste. Having listened to this album, I think I found my gateway Zappa. This album is incredible. The compositions, the bass, the guitar solos, its outstanding. Peaches in Regalia, Willie the Pimp, and The Gumbo Variations are a particular highlight for me. It must be a camel has that familiar strange time signature, discordant melody, and key playing that I typically associate with Zappa, but it still has the jazzy drums and bass driving it forward, so I even like that one. All in all, this is a great album and I think I need to explore more Zappa!
I wanted to give this album a four, but I just felt that a lot of the songs never quite went where I hoped they would go. They are very good beats and the production is great, I enjoy listening to every song, but I never quite saw the songwriting as compelling or the crescendo I wanted. As a result it was kind of flat. Enjoyable, though, and I will be exploring them more. Great for studying or working.
Smack My Bitch Up is definitely a classic and the rest of the album is pretty enjoyable. Breathe and Firestarter are jams, too. I think if I were in high school and listening to this, I might have blown out a 12-inch subwoofer and vibrated my mirrors off. It hits pretty hard. Diesel Power might be my favorite song and I had never heard it before. Pretty solid album, electronic but rock sounding. A little repetitive at times, but definitely bobbed my head throughout.
This might be my fourth favorite Black Sabbath album. I think I stopped checking out their discography after the Self-Titled, Paranoid, and Master of Reality. I never made it to Vol. 4. I can kind of see why. Some of the songs are pretty great, I liked the opening track and really enjoyed Supernaut. I wasn't sure why FX was on there as a track, sounded like my kids trying to mess with my guitar and someone recorded it. Kind of a waste of a track. I'm not sure why Changes is such a popular track, too, it has the most listens of the album on Spotify. Not all that impressive of a ballad, imo. I think this is a good album, but as far as Sabbath goes, the first three albums belong on this list, not sure if Vol. 4 does.
This album is pretty great. Iconic Lou Reed and some really great songwriting. The lyrics are rich and compelling, the compositions are at times elaborate and others just showcase Reed’s unique voice and style. I really enjoyed this album.
I’m surprised I’ve never heard this album because I’ve heard quite a few of the songs before, likely through other people’s covers. This is up there with some of the great albums to come out of the early 70s. Great songwriting, classic sound, I can see why they had a big impact on later artists.
Growing up, I was a huge Who fan because of my dad. I've listened extensively to all of their albums and anthologies, watched documentaries about them, can sing their songs inside and out. But honestly, I don't think I ever listened My Generation. I don't know why. It is such an epic album, the fact that all those great songs are on one (well, four) albums is incredible. What a track list. So many cool blues covers that I'd never heard, too. Each member of the band is a virtuoso in their own right and it shines through on this album, as early as it was in the band's career.
After listening to this album a second time, I found I appreciated it more. The Weight, is obviously a great track, Caledonia Mission was appealing to me, as was Chest Fever. Pretty good example of the Soft Rock genre and easy to listen to. Other than The Weight, nothing really stood out to me as amazing though.
This is a pretty incredible album. I've never really been a big Adele fan in the sense that I've never purposefully listed to any her albums. I've heard plenty of the songs through radio or pop culture, but this was my first time sitting down and actually giving it a listen. The song writing is wonderful, each composition is unique, the album moves from pop-y danc-y vibes to slow piano ballads. Her voice and range are amazing and the R&B raspy-ness of her voice is special. I didn't imagine I would give this five stars, but it is a great album.
