Have I ever heard of this band? Nope. Did I enjoy their music? Not really. Will I listen to any song on this album again? Probably not. It's overwhelmingly mediocre and the lead singer doesn't have much vocal range. It's also just kinda.. sad. Apparently the lead singer is a bigot and a racist too. So goes the saying: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." 2/10 - It's like life on Valium.
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
|
5 | 3.42 | +1.58 |
|
Aja
Steely Dan
|
5 | 3.47 | +1.53 |
|
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
|
4 | 2.51 | +1.49 |
|
Document
R.E.M.
|
5 | 3.55 | +1.45 |
|
Machine Head
Deep Purple
|
5 | 3.57 | +1.43 |
|
Black Holes and Revelations
Muse
|
5 | 3.59 | +1.41 |
|
In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
|
5 | 3.6 | +1.4 |
|
Van Halen
Van Halen
|
5 | 3.62 | +1.38 |
|
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
|
5 | 3.69 | +1.31 |
|
Next
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
|
4 | 2.7 | +1.3 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Harvest
Neil Young
|
1 | 3.81 | -2.81 |
|
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
|
1 | 3.62 | -2.62 |
|
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
|
1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
|
The Clash
The Clash
|
1 | 3.53 | -2.53 |
|
Blue
Joni Mitchell
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
|
1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
|
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
|
1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
|
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
|
1 | 3.44 | -2.44 |
|
Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
|
1 | 3.44 | -2.44 |
|
Heaven Or Las Vegas
Cocteau Twins
|
1 | 3.41 | -2.41 |
5-Star Albums (16)
View Album WallPopular Reviews
1-Star Albums (38)
All Ratings
Overall 6/10: Very good soul and funk album. Good D&B, some absolute vibes. Surprising variety in styles contained in one album. There were a couple stinky songs, but the majority is good. The remixes are absolute bangers. Track 1 - Keep on Movin' - Very chill, simple lyrics, great piano back tracking and a wonderful drum and bass solo around 4:30 Track 2 - Fairplay - Forgettable, deharmonized voice and melody Track 3 - Holdin' On - Fun clubby song, great upbeat song Track 4 - Feeling Free - Live from Westside Studios, United Kingdom/1989 - Beach vibes, early rap style vocals Track 5 - African Dance - Very chill, has great flute; minimal lyrics Track 6 - Dance - This song is a bop feels like a modern Trance song Track 7 - Feel Free - Pretty good, a little long Track 8 - Happiness - Dub - Backing melody and piano chorus is such a vibe Track 9 - Back to Life - Amazing vocals Track 10 - Jazzie's Groove - Fantastic transition into this song from Back to Life, very chill song Track 11 - Ambition (Rap) - Old school rap, great beat sample with good trumpet sample. Track 12 - Keep on Movin' - Big Beat Accapella - Forgettable but enjoyable Track 13 - Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) - Amazing remix of the original, the beat is so catchy; makes me want to head bob Track 14 - Jazzie's Groove (Piano Version) - 10/10 intro, amazing drums & bass, very funky Track 15 - Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) - One World Remix - Not as strong as the other remixes. Definitely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vibes Track 16 - Keep on Movin' - M Beat Bonus Mix - Would go hard with a drift edit or when playing Gran Turismo
Overall 9/10 One of my favorite albums which makes the tragic passing of the artist a couple months later that much heavier. Track 1: Mojo Pin - A song of the time; bands like Radiohead and early Led Zeppelin can be heard in the vocal and instrumental melodies Track 2: Grace - The guitar in this song in particular really stands out in combination with Jeff's lyrical voice and melodic harmony Track 3: Last Goodbye - Upbeat and fun; super depressing lyrics Track 4: Lilac Wine - Ultra chill, musical poetry Track 5: So Real - The crash out song of the album Track 6: Hallelujah - Such a classic and so emotionally charged; beautifully written lyrics Track 7: Lover, You Should've Come Over - Such a sad, sad song; even more tragic as it relates to Jeff's passing shortly after. Track 8: Corpus Christi Carol - Very opera-like voice Track 9: Eternal Life - Its a bop, rock and roll; maybe playing into the popularity of Creed? Track 10: Dream Brother - The most forgettable on the album, witchy vibes Track 11: Forget Her - Late night depression, super relatable song personally
Overall: 5/10 - Very alternative, but not my personal cup of tea. I like the backing tracks/samples but there are some insane sounds that cut through the vibe to remind you that it's an alternative Beck album. Track 1: Devils Haircut - Great drums and bass; classic weird Beck lyrics Track 2: Hotwax - Stoney bologna song Track 3: Lord Only Knows - Very alternative and non-traditional sounds Track 4: The New Pollution - Good song, chill but upbeat vibes Track 5: Derelict - Absolutely insane drumline, Beck is getting funky with the sounds and how they combine Track 6: Novacane - Super chill, Beastie Boys inspired, lyrics seem to be drawing a parallel between opiates and semi-truck drivers; maybe a metaphor idk Track 7: Jack-Ass - I'm definitely not high enough to interpret these lyrics, the song is very chill and reminds me of laying in a hammock on a summer day Track 8: Where It's At - I've definitely heard this song before but didn't know Beck heard it. Classic chill song Track 9: Minus - Very alternative punk, acid vibes Track 10: Sissyneck - Backing bass & drum track is a banger; the lyrics work very well with the backing track and the chorus hits really well Track 11: Readymade - Stoner rock; the low-fidelity record scratch works really well Track 12: High 5 (Rock the Catskills) - VERY Beastie Boys; you can definitely hear the label's influence on this one Track 13: Ramshackle - Total opposite of the previous track. Very acoustic and chill; almost melancholy. Track 14: Computer Rock - Outro, nothing much to say about this track; would have been a great reminder that the vinyl is over.
God, I hate Kanye as a person, but this album is alright. It takes a lot of effort to separate the art from the artist, especially with this PoS. However, after listening to this album, I can see its appeal and understand why it is so popular. Overall rating 7/10
Speakerboxxx is a 4/10, The Love Below is a 2/10 except for one song. No wonder I never hear anyone saying OutKast is their favorite artist. "Head doesn't count, right? Ah, thanks God, I knew you'd understand."
4/10, no notes.
Elmo sings off-kilter soul/country which could be easily paired with a found-footage compilation of a psycho-murderer doing their passion crime. I was unnerved the entire album, which I think is the point. It's incredibly haunting with its cheery up-beat melodies paired with the disturbingly suggestive lyrics peppered with violence and fist-clenched insinuations. Like watching something drown in the most picturesque lake you've ever seen. Probably going to give me nightmares - 6/10
The best track is the first track, and the album gets worse from there. Not a terrible album, just extremely depressing. The fact that the first track has nearly as many listens as the rest of the album really speaks volumes. There are hundreds of quirky coffee and antique shops playing some of these tracks on repeat. Overall 4/10
10/10 no comments. Incredible album I've never heard of.
Classic UK punk album. Pretty good for what they were trying to go for. Their song "We're Not Supposed To" is pretty creepy and unhinged though. 4/10
First 60% of the album is incredibly good. The last 40% is alright. Overall 8/10 because the whole album is a 90s vibe.
Boy band vibes. Very '85 synth pop sound and N-Sync/Backstreet Boys vocal style. Wouldn't be surprised if those bands pulled inspiration from Scritti Politti. Personally this is my least liked genre/style so my rating will be bias. 3/10, wouldn't listen to again, and none of the songs made it on my playlist.
I love The Black Keys so this review will be biased in favor of their music. In general the album is a whole vibe. Great "strut" music or walking music. Some very viral hits early on and just good alternative rock for the whole album. Is it the best album? Not necessarily, but it's damn good. Multiple songs on this album are in my daily listening playlist. Good stuff 8/10
Had most of the classic Nirvana songs, but I've never been a big Nirvana fan. It was good to hear some of their lesser played music but still did not enrapture me like it does with some of the fans. Solid 5/10 album
Just as relevant now as it was when it came out 10/10
It was alright, the viral songs are viral for a reason. Not really my style of music. 4/10
I was stone cold sober when I listened to this album. I don't think that's the intended way to listen to this music. If I was tripping on acid or shrooms I am sure I would have had a much better time. I appreciate the historical significance of this band and music, but this was absolute trash. Lowest rating yet, worse then OutKast 1/10
It's aight, 4/10
An OK album. I didn't look up the history or significance if there is any. They just seem to be a bunch of kids having a fun time. It's pretty generic punk rock which for 1979 was probably unheard of. However Black Sabbath was in their prime, and the Rock genre was in its golden age. I've never heard of the Undertones until today when this album was recommended, which I guess plays towards their name. I added a couple songs to my playlist, they're alright. 4/10
Absolute classic and has some bangers. Defined the American Rock genre for years to come and still remains relevant in 2025. 7/10 He only got better after this album.
Solid mid-90s rap album. Fantastic drums and samples. The flow is definitely an evolved version of the early 90s style while also having a few sections that are an homage to the early style. I loved "What's Golden" and "High Fidelity". One of the better rap albums I've ever listened to. 6/10 - the second half of the album was weak.
Now that's a stinker of an album. 2/10. Not as bad as OutKast.
I've never immersed myself in funk, and I believe this is one of the greatest funk albums of all time. It was an interesting experience though I personally cannot get into it. It's alright, 3/10.
A very classically mid 70s album. I did no research on why it's as popular as it is besides it just sounding like another 70's yacht rock album. It's okay, I'd listen to it again. 5/10
A very chill album. Radiohead always makes me depressed or sleepy and this album is no different. I was dozing off around weird fishes and had to force myself to listen to the rest of the album. I always like the noises Radiohead experiments with and this album is particularly experimental. I didn't save any to my playlist and probably won't listen to it again. 4/10
Classic Sinatra. Some of the songs haven't aged well, but I can't deny that most of these songs are just good. It's not music I would have on repeat unless I'm in a very specific mood. But I do enjoy me some Sinatra. 5/10.
What a strange album that somehow... Works. It's definitely a concept album that I don't think I would want to pull a single song into my playlist. It's good though, like really good. 6/10
Damn, I really had to listen to a full Kid Rock album. This guy is on the same level as Kanye West for me. Just absolute filth and ego. I despise him as a person, but I'll separate the art from the artist. The album itself definitely gives off redneck Kanye West vibes and Kid sings/raps about trailer park and trashy hood life. I sometimes get Hollywood Undead party vibes from some of the songs. It's alright, I do not like Kid Rock's music, personally. 3/10
A very nice brit-pop band with chill alternative sound. The song "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" is very good and I've added it to my playlist. The album as a whole is good coffeeshop vibes. I disassociated through most of it while I worked but I don't have anything negative to say about it. It deserves a solid 6/10.
8/10 Big Iron and El Paso are classic country bangers. Love this whole album and reminds me of driving on country roads with my dad playing this album through his cassette tape to AUX from his gen1 iPod. Good times.
I do like Deep Purple, but this album did not do anything for me. It's an OK 1970 rock album but no particular song enraptured me. In fact, I kept finding myself hovering over the skip button. I would say it's a 2/10 ablum.
1987 vampire music. Love this genre and the synth vibes. Lucretia My Reflection is my favorite song and went straight to my playlist. Solid 7/10 album and so unique.
It's a good 70's era country album before the "Country" genre was really defined. I appreciate the lyricism, instruments, and general tone of the songs. This particular genre of music isn't necessarily my favorite but it's pretty good. I'll give it a 4/10
It's pretty good, not a genre I have ever enjoyed. James Brown has a hell of a voice though.
Pretty solid R.E.M. album but not my favorite. I think it deserves an average rating without knowing any historical significance or why it hit a top 100 chart. I'll give it a fair 4/10
Really not great. There's a couple alright songs, but the vocals and general musicality is so bad. Definitely a stinker album. 2/10
It's a pretty chill album. He sort of sounds like Jim Morrison which is a unique contrast to the generally upbeat instrumental melody. I almost get cocktail lounge vibes from the arrangements. I wasn't overly impressed by any song in particular but this was a good album. 5/10
It's alright. Good elevator music. The album cover is one of the most horrifying uncanny valley images I've ever seen in my life. The actual music would be great while travelling from floor 1 to 50 in a Chicago skyrise. 3/10
Jam band, jam sesh album. I definitely had some songs that I could not relate to, but that's not the point. They have just good vibes and are in it for the love of the game. I bet they sounded amazing live. Not sure of their cultural significance or relevance but this album slaps. 6/10
The album that started it all. It's good and has some absolute slappers on it. Not all the songs are great though, it's not a perfect album. It's a 7/10 for sure though.
Masterpiece of an album and Muse is one of the GOATs. Every song bangs, every lyric slaps, such an amazing album. 10/10
It's an alright metal album. It's not very musical, more like noise in the background with some growling and grunting. It's a solid 3/10
Did not know this was the album that Corona came from. Pretty generic 80's punk album otherwise. Good summer punk vibes. 4/10
Chill samba album. 4/10
An alright funk album. 3/10
The first song is the best because it's used in quirky indie films, the rest of the album is hot trash. 1/10
3/10
Very artistic album. Not really something I would listen to again but it wasn't bad. Very weird, but not bad. 4/10
Pretty solid American Rock album. RIP Tom Petty. 6/10
The first half of the album is gold. Very good music with good fusion sound and an amazing voice from Janelle. The second half is not that great. Overall this is a 5/10 album.
If I could give it a 0 I would. Shit album, shit concept, shit music.
Absolutely wild album. Jazz, funk, pop, country, rap, rock. It has a little bit of everything. It's a wild ride but every song has something good about it. A couple songs are coming to my playlists. 6/10
Solid Christmas album, can't listen to more than a couple weeks a year but this one definitely will be played next holiday season. 8/10
Not a bad album, I didn't understand any of the lyrics but I liked the cuica sounds. It's a very Brazilian album and a fun listen. 3/10
Biased because this used to be a daily play on my iTunes rotation. Absolute classic Green Day album and such good tunes. So far one of the best albums in the 1001 albums list. 9/10
Chill americana folk album. Not much more to say than that. I'm sure there's significance, but it's really just a pretty standard post-summer of love California folk album. None of it was offensive and the lyrics are above average. 5/10
I genuinely didn't think it could get worse than Velvet Underground. I was wrong. Another 0/10 that I have to give a 1/10.
It's aight 4/10
Solid modern rap album. 7/10
Ahh this one brings me back to road trips with my dad. My dad loves Judas Priest and we listened to all their albums growing up. This one is a banger and has some very good early metal songs on it. 8/10
Rolling Stone wannabes and really not that great. 2/10
Some absolutely gruesome guitar and base tone in this album. This whole album rocks and is the epitome of "classic rock" in my opinion. 10/10.
Solsbury Hill will forever be one of the greatest musical pieces ever written. The lyrics, the tone, the rhythm, and the subject are all just exquisite. The rest of the album pales in comparison to this one song. Overall album excluding Solsbury Hill is an average 4/10. With Solsbury hill is much higher.
A wonderful album, still holds up to this day. Some of the best rebellious American music ever written. 8/10
What a strange album. Ethereal and a very alternative sound, even for the 90s. Something I've experienced once, and will leave at one experience. It's not bad, but it's definitely not my cup of tea. 3/10
Pretty good Elton John album. I'd say a 6/10 is an appropriate score.
Absolute funk jam band album. This one rocks and would sound amazing on stereo surround sound. Going to save this one for later and hopefully add to my Vinyl collection. 8/10
Yeah, whatever. Very forgettable music about drugs, sex, and deviant behavior. Radiohead wannabe and doesn't even come close. 2/10
Absolutely classic Black Sabbath album and among their best records ever produced. Every song is amazing in its own way; even FX which is just experimenting with guitar and bass effects. Long Live Vol. 4. 10/10
Very good album. I've never been much of a pop fan, but Adele does the job. She has such an amazing and powerful voice as well. 8/10
Hot stinky dog turd of an album. 1/10
Now that's one hell of an album. Fantastic creative beats and melodies. Excellent sampling, very good lyrical flow, great voice. I've added 3 of their songs to my playlists. Good stuff. 8/10
Not my cup of tea, but it wasn't bad by any means. Solid 5/10.
Listening to this album felt like watching a movie. One of the best if not THE best live album I've ever listened to. The early songs debut the technical skills of the band, the announcer introducing and celebrating the members of the band, the swell of the crowd getting more drunk and rowdy as the album progresses. It felt like I was in the room smelling the cigar smoke, feeling the floor rumble as the people danced. Every song was an incredible and unique showcase of the bands skills. Even the imperfect audio where we can occasionally hear the echo of the announcer's voice bouncing back just shows how loud and impressive this event must have been. This is probably the greatest jazz album I've ever listened to and that's not a compliment I give lightly. 10/10. Perfect live jazz album.
Not the Beach Boys I'm used to. Definitely a more political take and protest rock than their other album. Not great, but not horrible. 3/10
Sounds that defined the 90s and an era of cartoon themes. Personally, it's not my cuppa tea. 4/10
We don't like Blur in this household. Rude, self-important, pretentious Brits thinking they were making waves when it was just a drop in a lake. Rude to interviewers, rude to fans, rude to producers. This album has their one famous song that elevated their ego to astronomically unrealistic levels. Ironically, their best and most popular and famous song was them trying to poorly imitate and make fun of American rock music of the time. Little did they know that their poor mockery would be better than the rest of their entire anthology. The whole album is a stepped in wet shit. 1/10.
Ahh, I have very vivid memories tied to this album. I remember driving for hours through the southern U.S.A. to get to Destin, FL with this album playing on repeat in the family car. When I hear this album, I think of white Gulf of Mexico sand, Gameboy Advance, Spongebob in the hotel room, and souvenir shops full of beach and pirates ship trinkets. Thanks Mom and Dad for that trip. For nostalgia reasons, this will get a higher rating, but it's also just a good album. There's a reason The Beatles have been so popular and so successful for so long. It's classic British pop rock, the drums are clean and precise, the bass is on point, and the lyrics are shallow, light hearted, and simple. It's everything that makes pop, pop. 10/10.
I've never really listened to NIN despite them being in the genre of music and generation I listen to. This album was my first real introduction to them despite having heard "Closer" several times. The cold industrial sound is amazing, so unique and creatively done while also being rock at the same time. Dare I say it's like a prototype Sleep Token, or perhaps Sleep Token pulled inspiration for their sound from NIN? It's definitely an album that I need to be in a specific mood for, but it is good. 7/10
It's alright, nothing to write home about. I'm not a fan of the windy voice and dissonant vocal/instrumental melodies. I'll give it a 4/10 because I didn't immediately hate any of the music.
"Up On Cripple Creek" absolutely bangs, the rest of the album definitely seems to be inspired or the inspiration for Lynard Skynard. It draws influence from funk, blues, and gospel music. This album would be a great grilling soundtrack for the summer. 6/10
It feels like flossing your brain. So many layers, such technical skill showcased, incredible melodies and counter melodies. Drums are absolutely insane which is why the drummer left after this album was released. Bass has amazing tone and is arguably the most complex bassline I've ever experienced. The synths and instrumental extras are also appreciated and utilized well. This is the epitome of prog rock and actually led to the rise of punk bands wanting simpler, dirtier, and less precise sound. Incredible album and the acoustic guitar halfway through "And You and I" is wonderfully beautiful. I'd rate it at the same caliber as Rush's 2112 album. 9/10
Very chill and beautiful album. I particularly enjoyed "Country Road" and it reminds me of the song "The Greatest Adventure" from the old The Hobbit movie from 1977. I've always heard of James Taylor but never listened to him. Decent classic 70's small band music. 6/10
It's not bad, but a little old for my taste. It's sock hop rock which is what my grandparents would have listened to in High School. It's definitely cut from the same cloth as Elvis and you can hear it. It's a 4/10
If this is Neil Young's best and most popular album, I am not a Neil Young fan. It's American rock at its best but he just does not have a voice for music. It's unfortunately one of the weaker albums so far. 2/10
The kind of album you hear at the Millennial Burger Joint (TM). It's glorified elevator music at best which isn't a bad thing. Making small talk on your way up to the 6th floor needs a backing track and what better artist to do that than Hot Chip. Milk and crumpets with any seasoning kept far far away. I genuinely got so bored listening to this album that I had to take a break multiple times in order to actually digest this coconut water puddle of an album. Genuinely one of the most uninteresting albums I've ever listened to. 1/10
Huge improvement from their album "I Should Coco" which I've listened to previously. The song "Tonight" is great and "Going Out" is also a fun song. 6/10 album.
Knowing this entire album is nothing but sampled vinyl makes it extremely impressive. Just thinking that the artist had to listen to all these albums to find which parts to sample then to compile them in a way that's palpable is a feat within itself. This is like looking at a collage and realizing that every single piece of fabric, magazine, photo, and newspaper piece was placed there intentionally by hand. Incredible technical skill showcased in this album - and it bumps. Great D&B sections, fantastic old-school hip-hop sections, and just incredible vibes all around. What a gem. 8/10
I've never really been a Prince fan, but this album had some great vibe songs. It also had some stinkers, but not every album is perfect. I think it deserves at least a 5/10
Great lyrics, and a meaningful message, but the music lacks in several departments. The David Bowie vocals are not my favorite musical fad but it's a good cover if you aren't a classically trained singer. I remember seeing one or some of the members of this band in the news for SA charges so that's a bummer, but tis the life of a rock and roller. I guess when you get good at music you feel entitled to force your body on someone else's. I wouldn't know because that seems like the wrong thing to do but I'm also not a rock and roll musician. 4/10
Holy god that was a rough listen. I get that it's art and pushing the boundaries, but that was like those videos where they try to imitate what it's like to have a panic attack and be overstimulated at the same time. This is what I imagine a bad mushroom trip sounds like. I can't put a timestamp on any good or enjoyable moment in this album. Pretty sure I made some GarageBand music better than this when I was 8. 1/10
Decent punk album for 1977. 3/10
I came into this not knowing anything about the artist or what to expect. Her voice is so full of pain and emotion and after reading the wiki article I understand why. Marianne lived such a hard life before creating this album. This album must have felt like the sun coming up after a long cold moonless night for her. Unfortunately, it's not something I enjoyed listening to. Despite her courageous battle with drugs, heartbreak, and sickness, this album is average at best. This is pre 80's pop and you can hear the sounds and synths that led into prime "80s Pop Sound". 5/10
1968, the peak of the American-Vietnam conflict for the US. A time of extreme liberalization and progressive cultural transition and the extreme corruption of the UK government. Rock music was thriving, people were partying, life was a blast. The Kinks were regionally popular and their music was similar to the kingpin group The Beatles but was more experimental, more boundary pushing, more alternative. This album is considered one of the first "concept albums" and has prevailing themes connecting each song to each other. The opening track and namesake of the album is very good. A couple stand outs like "Last of the Steam Powered Trains", "Big Sky" and "Picture Book" are above average songs on this album. Unfortunately, the good songs are contrasted to flavorless bland tracks that act as filler and back-end weight. Overall the album is above average and deserving of a 6/10.
Wow, what a refreshing bluegrass compilation album. There are several stand-out songs on this one. "Nashville Blues", "Tennessee Stud", "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and of course the album namesake "Will the Circle be Unbroken" all stand out as powerful testaments to American Bluegrass. I grew up Appalachia adjacent and this brought back so many memories of summer drives to fishing creeks, hiking trails, and swimming holes. I imagine this album would sound amazing on a high fidelity surround sound vinyl system. My only complaint is that it's two full hours. That's not really feasible to sit down and digest the whole album in one day. It's possible to hear the whole album, but not fully understand who and what is happening in each song. I will say that bluegrass is much less technical than it sounds and as stated in the album: "Every time you go through it, you lose just a little something... To let's do it the first time and to hell with the rest of 'em". My bias rating is 9/10.
I have never heard of this band or this album, but it's an apparently popular album based on Spotify track-play numbers. First impressions: Strong "sidewalk strut" base and guitar mixed with rock & roll musical tropes. "Flight Test" is a hell of an introduction to the album and really sets up the vibes and general sound you should expect to hear. It's a concept album at its core and the steady heartbeat of drums carries this album much further than the other instruments. The second half of the album after "In the Morning of Magicians" feels specifically designed for experiencing while high or tripping. Overall rating is 7/10
A live punk album from a band I've never heard of before. It's about what you would expect. Some of the guitar distortion and tone is cool as hell but this is the music that my grandpa was describing when he said he didn't listen to rock and roll because "it's just noise". That describes this album perfectly. Just loud for the sake of being loud. No message, no structure, no clarity. Just in your face noise and aggression just to stick it to the man. Needless to say, MC5 never made it big in mainstream culture. After reading some peer reviews - apparently it's supposed to sound like this and some people love it. This album just goes to show that just because something is important doesn't mean it's good. It's just objectively bad music. 2/10
What a wonderful and fun album to listen to. 9/10
A genuinely all-round good rock & blues album. No lyrics, just a group of artists jamming out with some music. Fantastic listening and no message besides good vibes. 8/10
Imagine a 22-year old white guy wearing an Affliction t-Shirts, baggy black shorts with a chrome chain, a skull belt buckle, dirty hi-top black & white Vans Sk8s, waxed spiky hair, a juvenile scraggly beard, a nose piercing, and two huge black gauges in either ear. That's your stereotypical Limp Bizkit listener and it hasn't changed since Y2K. You either love or hate Limp Bizkit. I fall in the category of ironic love. If you listen to the band just to headbang in your garage while pounding natty lights, this band rocks. If you listen to it expecting genuinely good metal music, you're going to cringe. It's aggressive drums, bass, and guitar, catchy tunes, chantable lyrics, and all round "dude-bro" vibes. They sing about sex, breaking the law, drugs, taboo behavior, and drinking. It's mosh-pit party metal to its core and inspired an entire sub-genre of metal "Nu-Metal" and also "Rap Metal". On this album, notably, is: "My Way", "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)", and "Take A Look Around" which are arguably this bands 3 of their top 5 songs. I make fun of Durst's voice all the time and I think it's hilarious, but this whole album actually jams. I go through my "Divorced Dad" metal phase about once a year (Though I've never been either) and this album is always in the rotation. 8/10 - I understand the hate, but choose to ignore it.
I hear this album and I think of Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It's about sex, breakup, hookup, and more sex. I was in middle school when this album came out and it was explicitly banned for me to listen to by my parents. So I never really listened to it until now. It holds its genre of "art punk" with white knuckles and could be defined by the stereotype that goes along with it. All these years later, it's not for me. I would turn it down if someone gave it to me to listen to. 4/10
"Finally some good fucking -music-" Literally a perfect rock album 10/10 no notes.
I do not understand the appeal or the praise this album has. It's melodramatic, trying way to hard to be soulful, and just did not interest me in the slightest. I knew there was going to be an album like this eventually where everyone gives it such high praise, but I just cannot find enjoyment in this album. 4/10 I must have been vaccinated because I don't need The Cure.
It had it's moments of beautifully written lyrics and very thicc beat tracks. I'm not a rap connoisseur but I know Kendrick is one of the best of his era. I'd rate the full album as a 6/10
I am not the target audience/demographic and I did not enjoy this creative endeavor. It sounds like the music they put on baby toys that look like instruments. The vocals sound like a high school theater kids first musical. Kate Bush in recent pop culture is associated with Stranger Things as one of the characters favorite musical artists. This shit is not for me and that's OK. 3/10 - it wasn't unbearable, just not good.
Fagen's time in Steely Dan really shines through this album's tracks. It's the smoother, calmer, classier side of what can be easily glimpsed in Steely Dan songs. Beautiful, calm, and reminds me of walking down NYC streets at 1AM thinking about the one that got away with a slight whiskey buzz. 7/10, it's got me brooding like a burnt-out retired homicide detective.
As strange as this album is, it's actually a really fun listen. It's just a bunch of policitally charged musicians making music that inspires them to be more politically charged. I know nothing of this culture or of the group but as an ignorant outsider, it feels like an homage to perhaps their culture while also fighting the current culture. It's masculine, vocal, and almost a call to arms. When I learned its song "Opus Dei" is a national anthem for an art project country whose visas are literally classified as art projects, I fell in love with it. It's a wild industrial album that's reminiscent of Rammstein and has some catchy tracks. I would use the term "avant garde" to describe this album. 6/10
Above average big band album. I'll give it a 6/10
One of the best R.E.M albums and it shows. I've always been amazed that this band didn't come out of the British underground music scene and that they're actually from Athens, Georgia, USA. They have such a unique and beautiful sound. They often get compared to U2 and I think R.E.M blows U2 out of the water because they never sold their soul to the corporate gods like U2 did. I love a good R.E.M session. This album is a 9/10
Sleezy, grimy, dirty, and perfectly exuding the undercarriage of 70s rock & roll culture. This band was for the rockers who lived out of trailers, who fist fought in parking lots drunk at 2AM when the bars closed, who woke up smelling like sex, hard liquor, and weed. This is a disgusting and awesome album, it fucking rocks. 8/10
Per the Wiki article, k.d. lang DEFINITELY wrote this album to make a pass at Marlene Dietrich. If I wasn't at work stressing over deadlines and going to meetings, I could appreciate this album. I love her voice and how smooth all the tracks are. It's not a repeat listen for me but I'll think of it next time I'm drinking a paloma on my back porch this summer. 5/10
It's produced very well and touches on very sensitive cultural topics specifically in regards to being a black man or woman in modern times. All the reviews make this very apparent. The beats, the vocals, the instrument variety, it all works so well together. It touches on historical musical traditions in a fresh way. I very much enjoyed this album and I have traditionally avoided soul/R&B since it never really did anything for me. It's creative, catchy, and unafraid to say the things that are normally whispered in close circles. It's artistic music done correctly. Politically, it's a call to empathy. To see one another as equals. To end violence and prejudice based on physical human characteristics none of us can control. It's asking you to be a loving caring person, which is a language everyone should understand, but unfortunately don't. 7/10
I'm learning I'm not a Neil Young fan, but this one definitely has some good USofA vibes. It's melancholy, calm, and heavily inspired by US culture. 6/10
Unfortunately, no one will every be high enough to enjoy this album to its fullest extent. This is the epitome of English stoner rock. Trust me when I say this sounds fantastic on surround sound hi-fi vinyl. It's a 10/10
Pretty good Talking Heads album, not their best, but pretty good. Hopefully "Speaking in Tongues" comes up later because that album is undisputably their best produced and musically intriguing album. This album is good, but definitely doesn't showcase what Talking Heads is all about. It's a solid 7/10 and would've been higher if they didn't keep producing banger after banger. Just knowing what's to come drops this score a little. Musically, it's so unique. Only Talking Heads sounds like Talking Heads. No imitation band or cover can even come close to the swagger and pure passion that comes from this band. Stand-out songs on this album are "Life During Wartime", "I Zimbra", and "Heaven". Every song has that Talking Heads sound, but those three are a preview of what this band is known for.
Each song is different from the last. This is an obviously early rap album which the Wiki claims to be experimenting in figuring out the album format with this emerging genre of music. Some of the tracks just absolutely do not hit. "Scorpio" just did not do it for me despite the Spotify plays being the third highest played on the album. Having tracks like "It's a Shame" transition into "Dreamin'" was also a hilarious transition in tone. Some of the rap flow is very clearly improv which makes this album feel real and alive, but also it carries with it an awkwardness. When I finally got to the album's namesake song "The Message" it was like a bucket of cold water waking me up from a nap. This song is fantastic and stands as this album's strongest song. It's powerful, unashamed, and a robust commentary on life in the 1980s inner cities for black Americans. This song alone brings up the whole album. Overall 6/10
For an album that's essentially only 5 songs, it's pretty good. "Who Do You Love - Pt. 1", "When You Love", "Where You Love", "How You Love", "Which Do You Love", and "Who Do You Love - Pt. 2" are all essentially one conceptual song broken into six parts. Imagine if Rush broke their song 2112 into each individual act as an album track. That's how this series of songs was essentially created. It's also cool that half this album was recorded on the east coast, and the other half was recorded on the west coast of the USA. Really gives a deeper meaning to that beautiful oil or acrylic painted album cover. Despite this album releasing in 1969, it sounds quite contemporary and has that "Local band playing at the local dive on a Thursday night" vibe. The Who Do You Love Suite is just a great jam session from start to finish. Nothing really offensive besides it being 25 minutes. What really gets me about this album is how it just keeps going and going. It definitely started to feel like the songs were going on just for the sake of going on, and not that they needed to. The 7-minute "Mona", the 13-minute "Calvary", the 6-minute "Where You Love" did not do much to introduce anything new. It seemed to drone on and on in the same 5 chords while the guitarist just shredded for the whole song. Overall 4/10. Needlessly long and drawn-out.
Wonderful, beautiful, easy listening album. It definitely deserves its spot on this list. It's an album everyone should hear at least once and pairs great with the smells of pines on the summer air and campfire smoke, the feel of cold water and the heat of UV rays reflecting off sunscreened skin, and the taste of watermelon and cheap light beer. 9/10, it's Steely Dan.
It's 10/10 and every millennial's father played them this album at one point in their lives. The introduction into the album with "Runnin' With the Devil" is so iconic only to be followed up by one of the most deservedly over-rated songs in rock & roll history: "Eruption". Van Halen is legendary, and rightfully so. Their music is extremely simple, very palatable, and tastefully high quality despite the actual members of the band being the opposite. They are generally considered THE definition of 80s hair metal. What a hell of an album, I can't decide if this album or 1984 is my favorite Van Halen album, but all their music rocks. 10/10 - Hell Yeah
It's an above average rap album. Snoop is a great human being as well. Just living life doing everything that makes him happy without hurting anyone around him. I'll give it a 7/10
A depressing ambient ephemeral album of whining vocals and the same chord playing on repeat with the sounds of wind and water as back tracks. This album probably gets played on repeat in massage parlors and hospital waiting rooms. I hated it. 1/10
Each song has incredible variety. It feels like weather in the Midwest USA. The saying in that area is "If you don't like the weather, wait an hour". Well in a sense, that saying applies to this album as well. If you don't like the song, wait 3-4 minutes and you've got something completely different than what was just playing. I didn't hate any moment of this album, but it was pretty room temperature the whole way through. No particular song stood out to me, no song made me skip, no song had any lyrics or melodies that I can justify adding to my daily playlist. It's white bread with bologna and American cheese. It's inoffensive, universal, and unapologetically bland. If any album so far deserves a 5/10 it's this one.
Whether I hate it or love it, it doesn't matter. This album marked the beginning of Marshall Mather's success. The least played song (besides the intro, skits, and interludes) is "Amityville" with 39 million plays. That's more than the majority of any of the albums on this list. This album is notorious, controversial, and beloved by fans of Eminem. Personally, I could take it or leave it. I don't listen to Eminem for the content of his music; I listen for his flow and his rage. This is great gym music and I've had many good exercises with this album playing in my earbuds. Not for the faint of heart 6/10
If you would have asked me 10 years ago what my favorite album of all time was, it would have been this album. For almost 5 years in a row, this album was my most listened to album on my Spotify Wrapped. I can play every song on this album on guitar, I know every lyric, I can air-drum every beat. Every song is so cool and has so much musical swagger. Say what you will about the band members of Metallica. I agree with you. They are stuck up, rude, self-righteous assholes who value their profit more than their music. But despite that, this album is timeless. It's the soundtrack of every pubescent man feeling a surge of testosterone when he shoulder checks his high school rival, every gym-bro has played this album in their earbuds at least once when they've gone for a PR, every football player has done drills to one of these songs playing on the speakers. It's just a damn good metal album. This album is important for one reason: It made Metallica mainstream. Before this album, Metallica was generally viewed as something the guys smoking cigarettes in the back of the bus listened to. This album made them famous with "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters" slowing their jam from thrash to rockabilly and undeniably appealing to billions of people. The topics on this album range from singing about a dream eating demon, to fighting your inner demon, to fighting other people's demons, to werewolves, to rattlesnakes, to being homeless, to travelling to the darkest parts of your mind, to loving someone so close to your heart, to fighting the world for that person. It's metal as fuck and also strangely introspective. This album absolutely deserves its spot on this 1001 Albums to listen to before you die. Personally, it's a 10/10. Thanks to my friend in middle school for being such a shit influence and getting me hooked to this kind of music. And to my dad for playing this at an uncomfortably loud volume while we drove to and from the running track.
What a pleasant surprise to see Sepultura made this list! This whole album is awesome. High energy, loud, gritty, and catchy. I typically jam to songs on this album at the gym, it's a good one. 8/10
Incredibly meta and constantly breaks the 4th wall. It's ridiculous and on the nose. Why it's on this list? I have no idea. It doesn't do anything that The Who weren't already known for. The critics who think this is their greatest album does make me laugh though, just like the image of Robert Daltry sitting in a bathtub of beans. It's milquetoast, 4/10.
It's pretty average. I don't hate it and I don't love it. Some of the guitar is very inspiring and well done. There's three great songs which are going on my playlist "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Mother Goose", and "My God" are all great tunes. "Mother Goose" in particular reminds me of a Led Zeppelin song because of how whimsical and fairy-like it is. Overall it's a fluty 5/10
It finally happened, I've been forced to face this album head on and address it for what it is. It's art and it's not for everyone. Listening to this album from track 1 through track 7. I don't typically say this about music, but this album is really just audio art, it's not for casual listeners. Every note, every instrument effect, every drum tap and strike, every instrument used, even Bowie's voice is all intentional and meant to "paint" an image in your brain. How you react, how you interpret, the emotions that ebb and flow, it's all part of the experience. As a casual listener, it's jumbled off-tune pretentious self-indulgent music rambling about random shit for because why not. Calling it anything besides that would be ingenuous. It's not for everyone, and it's not something you just listen to on your commute to work and back. This is something you commit time to listen to on quality audio equipment and really absorb what's happening. I understand the low reviews, and I understand the high reviews. For me it's a 8/10 because I got to listen to this album in the right place at the right time.
"Velouria" was the only song that really stood out to me on this album. I know they inspired super influential bands, but they do not inspire me. You can definitely tell that the band members did not like each other. Each instrument seems to be its own unique sound and none of the music sounds like a cooperative effort. I'd skip them if they ever popped up in my playlist. 3/10
Holy shit, ANOTHER Neil Young album. There's gotta be a staffer who helped make this list that just added Neil Young's entire discography as a bit. I can't stand Neil's voice plain and simple. He's a hell of a guitar player and writes great tunes, but all of his albums need instrumental versions because that voice is horrid. This album is fine, it's a decent sloppy, messy, garage rock "fuck it" album that was made in Neil's mid-life crisis years. I saw that review about the dude saying "It's best enjoyed in a convertible on a sunny day". Yeah, I bet it is gramps. I have no complaints about the instrumental pieces of this album, in fact if it was just that or if Neil stepped away from the mic and let someone else sing this would be a significantly better album. As it is with Neil whining into the mic, it's a 5/10. I'd bump it up to at least a 7/10 if someone else sang.
If Weird Al thinks it's a good album, you know it's a good one. I enjoyed every minute, Elton John has such good sound even on some of his off-kilter songs. It's at least an 8/10 for me. Great album.
A genuinely good hip-hop mix album. It's relaxing ear candy that I'd listen to on a walk through the park. I love the vibes, definitely going to try and get this on vinyl if I can find it. 8/10
Dare I say this is one of the first viral breakup albums? This is 1971 "Folklore" and I do not understand why I need to listen to this before I die. "California" and "A Case of You" are the only two that are better than a 3/10. Other than that, this whole album is a 1/10. I think this is famous for the same reasons as the Kardashians are, apparently you can grab fame and squeeze it all over you to make yourself famous.
RHCP known for embodying what it means to live in California during the 90s, known for catchy riffs, known for thoughtful lyrics such as "Ding ding, dong dong, ding ding, dong dong, ding ding". Respectfully, this whole album is stinky nasty. It's so refreshingly creative and subverts your expectations. The weird instrumental sounds, wacky baselines, popping drums, and how they somehow strip naked during every live performance. Keep on keeping California Red Hot.10/10
Island vibes, great feelgood music, not something I will keep on rotation but it's not a bad album by any means. Standout songs are "No Woman No Cry" and "Natty Dread". I'll give it a solid 6/10. Definitely above average but nowhere near my favorite albums on this list.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. I am pleasantly surprised and honestly this is a great album. Her voice is so weird and interesting that it actually benefits the house music in the background. Genuinely glad I got served this today, this is such a cool listen. 8/10 "Bjork" is the sound my dog makes when she sees a cat in the back yard.
As one tear rolls down my face I say "Yeehaw" and flip the record to side B. The sounds are that of 70s through 90s country. It's honky-tonk whiskey-sippin' reminiscin' and shootin' the shit with the old-timers kind of music. Buck Owens has definitely made his way to every U.S. truck stop's overhead speakers. It's just traditional Texas country and it's a perfect example of the genre. I personally love this music once every blue moon, and today happens to be that blue moon. I am over here vibing hard with this album and am tempted to give it a 10/10, but on any other day I would have rated it a 7/10 which is more realistically what it deserves. When someone references "I miss old country" they're talking about Willie, Waylon, Han, and Buck and his Buckaroos.
Timeless jazz, nothing really to be impressed or offended by. This is what all jazz sounds like to the untrained ear and it's classically good. 6/10
Irish Glam Rock at its finest. I love Thin Lizzy and this is surprisingly energetic and good to listen to Live album. It's missing "Whiskey in the Jar" which is arguably one of their best songs since it's a rock & roll reimagining of an old Irish ballad (despite the band hating it). It does have the highly recognizable and popular "Jailbreak", "The Boys are Back in Town", and "Dancing in the Moonlight". Also, "Cowboy Song" into "The Boys are Back in Town" is one of the greatest Live transitions I've ever heard in my life. A little history on this album, this tour was performed in one of the most significant and violent years in recent Irish history. The La Mon Restaurant Bombing by the IRA, daily killings of RUC soldiers, and Ireland broke from the British Sterling becoming economically independent of Britain. Ireland was baring its teeth and clawing at the hand that had been strangling it for so long. Thin Lizzy was an icon of the youth and this album in particular launched them far into the clouds of viral and sensational music. All that said, knowing that their home country was in political unrest and they just kept on rocking is the soul of rock music. This album is a 9/10 for me.
As a gamer, this album is straight out of the Fallout series soundtrack and gives me a sense of nostalgia. As an average listener of music, this album is.. eh. It's just big band jazz that you'd hear playing in the cocktail lounge outside the casino. Does it have it's place? Absolutely. Is it something to listen to while pecking at my keyboard during work hours? Absolutely not. 4/10, it's alright.
Pleasantly surprised but not impressed. Without diving into the lyrics and their meaning, it sounds like a drug fueled rant against capitalism and consumerism which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think it deserves a 5/10
Probably the greatest album to grace middle school and high school weird kids and proto-feminists in the early 2000s. An album for people who were too afraid to actually protest anything but would listen to this while scowling at people they pass in the street or at the mall. It's for the converse-wearing angst-ridden awkward phase of their life teen outcasts. It's too happy for people who shopped at Hot Topic and too edgy for people who bought American Eagle. The people who genuinely like this music are in their 30s now, drive Subaru Outbacks or Honda CRVs to their office job and jump on every opportunity to tell us how poorly their country has declined since their youth - while unknowingly being a cog in the system they hate so much. Their favorite movie is still either "Juno" or "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" and they unironically wear backpack buttons in the year 2026. 1/10 - I have always - and will continue to - hate this genre of music. Poorly written, poorly sung, poorly composed. Making noise is not making music. Slapping a brush with paint on it onto a canvas is not art. Art and music require effort, which this has none of.
Have I ever heard of this band? Nope. Did I enjoy their music? Not really. Will I listen to any song on this album again? Probably not. It's overwhelmingly mediocre and the lead singer doesn't have much vocal range. It's also just kinda.. sad. Apparently the lead singer is a bigot and a racist too. So goes the saying: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." 2/10 - It's like life on Valium.
Listen, I love the Beatles as much as the next guy/girl, but their biggest problem is that they lean HEAVILY into stereo sound. Sure it was groundbreaking tech of the time, but nowadays when you have one earbud in at work and just hear the digeridoo and bassline while the other 50% of the sound plays in the other earbud it gets kind of weird. They sound great with both headphones in or on a surround-sound stereo system. Stereo sound complaint aside, this album is very good. Standout tracks are "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", and "In My Life". I am particularly fond of "Nowhere Man" because I grew up watching the Yellow Submarine animated movie and that particular sequence was always a good time. 8/10 because of stereo sound, otherwise at least a 9/10.
I gotta say, I've listened to a lot of metal in my life and have particularly avoided Slipknot and Korn because of the fanbase around them. Everyone I've ever met who when asked what their top artists they enjoy are and they mention Slipknot, Korn, or Limp Bizkit I am genuinely not surprised. Music generally does not reflect you as a person, it's just audio and sound preference, but for some reason Nu-Metal/Rap-Metal fans let it control who they are. They're the ones with the gangster Bugs Bunny oversized shirts, or the Affliction apparel. They reek of week old B.O., cigarette ash, cheap whiskey, and litter box. They have extremely abrasive personalities and are generally products of toxic divorced parents. Now the music itself is just rage. It's noise and experimenting with horrible sounds to produce sounds and music that make me want to claw the skin off my face. I think this is actually a pretty decent nu-metal album with industrial metal influences. It definitely got my heart rate up and started putting me in a bad mood by the end of the album which - respectfully - is what the point is. I think the mask gimmick is pretty fun too, and using the masks as different horror personalities is awesome live. I particularly liked "(sic)" and "Wait and Bleed". Their drums are fucking awesome too, it's the first time a snare drum has sounded like it belongs in music. Metallica tried to make it work in St. Anger - probably influenced in part by this album - but it just sounded awful. This snare drum fits in great to the general sound of this metal. Overall I'll rate it 7/10, it's still got that ashy taste in my mouth from its core fanbase, but it's not bad nu-metal music.
What is this pretentious Prada-wearing bullshit - Oh... It's Soho music. That tracks, and it's... interesting. Giving it a 2/10 is generous but that's what I see in it. I haven't got a clue why this album is important or why it was awarded any prizes. It's a mish-mash of electric sounds and synths with occasionally some mumbling vocals. There's a couple of songs that are palatable but in general it's just sort of generic electronica. Crystal Method was doing this but way better and didn't have the pretentiousness that somehow oozes from these songs. Also it's a long album, there's a couple 6 and 7 minute songs that just drag on. Racing gamers know "Aesha" from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec title screen theme - which is arguably the only song worth listening to on the album (it's still not great, very abbrasive audio). Final rating 2/10, would not listen to again.
It started rough but honestly the sound and music grew on my as I listened. It's not bad by any stretch, but Nick's voice does get old after the first album. I may revisit this album, it's got some great stories and I love the bluesy Deep South inspired goth rock. It's a 6/10
"Gloria: In Excelsis Duo" is an attempt at punk. "Redondo Beach" is minimalist blues (if that's even possible). "Birdland" is a 6-year old kid trying to explain their day to their parents. "Free Money" is a hybrid between Lynard Skynard's "Free Bird" guitar solo and Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" if a cover band somehow butchered both of them. "Kimberly" is slam poetry about a woman. "Break it up" is about having sex. "Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de)" is incoherent ramblings of a lunatic to the same drums, guitar, piano, and bass for almost 10 minutes. "Elgie" is depression and mental instability in song form. You can DEFINITELY hear the Velvet Underground inspiration in this one. God it sucks. I hated the Velvet Underground album and now I have something as bad if not worse thrown in my face. It's a 0/10. I have to give it a star, but it doesn't deserve it. This shit sucks ass.
I honestly don't have a really good opinion of this album. I don't really like Bruce's singing voice, and the music is quite forgettable. The content of the songs are pretty generic U.S. nostalgia and no particular song stood out as being good or bad. It's just unflavored oatmeal. I'll give it a 4/10
Wow what a hidden gem of a rap album. It's so modern in so many ways despite it being 26 years old. The lo-fi backtracks with witty lyrics have always been the rap I enjoy the most. It's good vibes with a powerful message. I love this album, 8/10.
What an interesting album. I never EVER would have listened to this if it hadn't popped up in this list. Having never heard the source material, I have nothing to judge it against. It's not bad by any stretch of the term, but it isn't conventional music. I'd say it's definitely earned its spot on this list but it's a one and done. I will say the final "encore" song "Nutrocker" was a blast to listen to. The whole time I was expecting Boston to show up because the keyboardist has such a similar sound. Seeing Greg Lake show back up for some wonderful vocals and guitar (I got served King Crimson a couple weeks ago) was a pleasant surprise. I think some of these albums are here specifically so you will explore more of the artists discography. I did so after listening to this album and I'm absolutely adding ELP to my listening rotation. This album is a 6/10 but the band is definitely more than just this album.
Very enjoyable listen. Sort of got PTSD on the first track expecting it was going to be a Kid Rock inspired album, but it didn't disappoint. Very good, very chill rap album. 7/10
Significantly better than "Neon Bible" which was my first encounter with Arcade Fire. I still hate that they're involved with SA charges. Some of the songs tend to drone on and on and so do some of the lyrics. I'm still not a fan of Arcade Fire but this album is leagues better than "Neon Bible". Overall I'll give it a 5/10
This is porch sittin; sippin' a little whiskey while watching the grandkids play in the yard kind of music. For me it's a 8/10 and if more members of the band were alive besides Eric Clapton I would buy the album to support them. Put your politics aside and acknowledge that Eric Clapton is just like every other rich asshole who gained a crumb of power by becoming famous and you can't deny that this album has some absolute rippers in it. I get that people love to hate and cancel people outside of their work, but Eric Clapton is undeniably showing off what he can do on guitar in this album and it's great. Every guitar player out there can hear the mastery in Clapton's rock & blues skills. Just ignore what comes out of his mouth.
Wow, listening to this album from Track 1 to Track 10 in its intended order was something. I've never really been a Bon Jovi guy, just learning a couple riffs from their most popular songs on guitar just to entertain people when they ask if I can play Bon Jovi. This album encapsulates the late 80's hair band corporate sponsored arena concerts to a T. Every song has been engineered and algorithmically designed to appeal to midwestern white male nostalgia. Songs about drinking cheap beer, smoking cigarettes, having sex with women, driving fast cars, and making questionable decisions on Friday night. The lyrics are chantable, the sound is designed for stadiums holding 40k people with lasers and pyrotechnics. I did have a good chuckle when I heard Never Say Goodbye because you can hear almost the exact part of this song that inspired Nickelback's album "All the Right Reasons". If you were to make a Venn diagram of Bon Jovi and Nickelback fans, it would be a circle. Make of that as you will. I'll give this album a 6/10 because it was a fun listen but at the end of the day, it's still Bon Jovi.
The production quality alone brings this well above the rest of the albums on this list. It's like audio recorded in 4k. Not only that but the mix of the highs, lows, and middle range of audio is perfect. This is my first time listening all the way through this album and I love it. It's easily one of the best albums I've heard on this list so far and definitely going on my daily listening playlist. What an experience. R.E.M. is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. Michael Stripes voice in this album is so hauntingly melancholy and it does wonders with the lyrics being sung. This is definitely a 10/10 and I'll absolutely be revisiting this album.
Ska is not for me. Though entertaining, there's only so much Coventry accent I can handle a year, and this was my yearly fill. It's not a bad album, objectively, but it's not a genre of music I've ever learned to enjoy. 4/10
Though I really enjoy Nirvana from time to time, this album really solidified my interest in them. Kurts voice, while not much in range, has a melancholy and haunting baritone that really compliments this acoustic album. The drums aren't overbearing, the base has clean legible tone, the guitar is crisp and eerie. This whole album feels like I'm walking through the woods in a foggy morning, just minutes before the sun comes up. It's strange, fae, reeks of danger, but is also strangely hopeful. I love it. It's an 8/10 on my list.
"Roadhouse Blues" and "Peace Frog" were absolute bangers. I love Jim Morrison's voice, it's so clean and elegantly American. The subject matter of this album is so uniquely post-hippy as well. It came out one year after the iconic Summer of '69. It's got themes of materialism, monogamy, American maritime, and the music is heavily influenced by Blues. It's not my favorite Doors album, but it's definitely not the worst on this list so far. 7/10
Hell yeah, another Peter Gabriel! This one is crazy af and is definitely an entire album highlighting the crazy, deranged, and evil parts of the human race. Maybe it's a call to the era it was produced, maybe it's commentary on humanity at a larger scale, maybe it's Peter Gabriel just doing Peter Gabriel shit. I loved it, it's so fuckin weird and eerie. Here's a fun though experiment: This album is about Dante's layers of Hell represented in Peter Gabriel's style. Purgatory/Limbo - "I Don't Remember" and "Lead a Normal Life" the exploration of feelings of disconnection, disassociation, and amnesia Lust - "Intruder" from the eyes of a hidden serial stalker watching his victim in her home. Gluttony - "No Self Control" and losing your sense of personal agency Anger & Violence - "Family Snapshot" which is inspired by the diaries of Bremer and the events of the JFK assassination. Heresy - "Games Without Frontiers" is several notable international names all leading different cultures against one another. Greed & Fraud - "Through the Wire" about a partnership based on deception, complication, and forced separation Treachery - "Not One of Us" being about racism and extreme xenophobia and "Biko" about Steve Biko who was murdered for being an activist. I love this album but everyone I know probably wouldn't. For me personally it's a 9/10
10 outta 10, no notes. Gotta listen to it to love it. It's so good.
I'm going to really try to listen to this album even though I do not speak the language, have never been exposed to this kind of music, and have never heard of this musician before. I am not sure if this will affect the review, but three songs on Spotify aren't available: "Yaadan Vichhre Sajan Dian Aiyan" with a total of almost 179k plays and "Sanson Ki Mala Pey" with over 15.5m plays on Disc 1, and "Ni Main Jogi De Naal" with a little over 200k plays on Disc 2. as of the time of writing this review. I'll get into my review and reaction to each song. I read through the Wiki while I was listening and learned a lot about this genre of music that I've never heard of. Great read and apparently NFAK is one of the greatest Qawwali singers of all time. "Woh Hata Rahe Hain Pardah" is 8 minutes of cyclical music with truly impressive vocal control. Near the end, you can hear the incredibly popular South Asian and Indian Pop sound. "Yeh Jo Halka Saroor Hae" is 7-1/4 minutes and the most played song on the album. The lyrics translate to a battle with alcohol and knowing shame while indulging in its intoxication. The song progressively gets faster as it plays and is quite intriguing. Again, the vocals are very technically impressive. "Biba Sada Dil Morr De" is 7-1/4 minutes and is about a one-sided love or at least requesting the other half of the relationship to love them back. "Yaadan Vichhre Sajan Dian Aiyan" is not available on my Spotify "Sanson Ki Mala Pey" is not available on my Spotify "Un Ke Dar Pen Pohchne to Payen" is 4 seconds shy of 8 minutes, and is the weakest song up to this point. It's vocal quality has dropped, the musical technicality has dropped in quality, and the audio mix is completely blown out. "Allah Hoo Allah Hoo" is 8 minutes and the harmonium comes in STRONG for the first 45 seconds. This song is a powerful devotional song to Allah. "Yaad-E-Nabi Gulshan Mehka" is the lowest plays on the album at 138,578 plays at the time of this review clocks in at 7:37 minutes and is the most Anglo/European sounding song so far. The main and backing vocals are very reminiscent of some experimental Beatles music. "Haq Ali Ali Haq" is a 7.5 minute song and the backing vocals with the drum is honestly a vibe, great song. "Ali Maula Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam" is a 7-3/4 minute song and this song bops. It's got such great trance-like rhythm and groove. It's so easy just to zone out and vibe to it. It reminds me of what house music would sound like if we humans didn't have synthesizers and drum machines. Also NFAK's vocal skills are on showcase at the end with a little super-fast scat improv, good stuff. "Mast Nazroon Se Allah Bachhae" is the shortest song at 6 minutes and 24 seconds. The intro should be extremely recognizable since it's been in a viral song as a sample. Not as catchy as the song before it, but it's a very good song to lose your train of thought to. "Ni Main Jogi De Naal" is not available on my Spotify. Overall I'll personally rate this as a 6/10. I was genuinely surprised and enthralled by this music despite never having heard of this artist or genre before. This is why I'm doing this venture, I came to hear new songs I've never heard before, and I've found some today!
I was awarded "Green Onions" a couple weeks before this album and I loved it. This album is the same, it's just a great chill 60s bluesy jazz album. I love the soft organ so much, it screams wood paneling, shag rug, and TV dinners. An extremely "of the time" jazz album. 7/10
I have tried time and time again to enjoy The Clash and I just cannot. It's just angry tea and crumpets. I never understood the hype and everyone I ever met who enjoyed them was extremely superficial and just liked their album covers on black T-shirts for sale at Spencer's or Hot Topic. I'll gladly accept that Brit-punk is just not for me. Here's your 2/10, now go'on git.
I listened to this whole album and honestly don't have much to say about it at all. I'm thankful to hear new music from artists and cultures I've never heard music from, but this album left no positive or negative impression on me. It's a lukewarm 3/10. I will likely forget this by lunch today.
"The Weight" is hands down the best song on the album by several miles. I did enjoy "Long Black Veil" for its storytelling and "Chest Fever" for its crunchy Lowrey organ as well but the only song worthy of carrying to my daily playlist is "The Weight". I also think the album cover is quite humorous. It's a sleepy 4/10 for me.
Maybe it's my general exhaustion with the world, maybe it's my tiredness that won't go away with my morning coffee, maybe it's my jaded perspective on humanity. Whatever it is, this album directly appealed to it and really brought down my mood this morning. It somehow manages to capture what it's like to live in small town midwestern America. Every song has that melancholy feeling that hasn't left since the Dust Bowl, and lingered through the shutdown of major Auto in the Rust Belt. Having lived a significant part of my life just an hour south of the Nebraskan border, the emotions evoked by this album, the subject matter of the songs, and the instruments used are all so beautifully accurate to what it's like to live in that part of the country. Even the album cover, which shows what appears to be a muddy rural road through the great plains with last week's remaining snow on the hood of the dash. Just a windshield and some metal between you and the grass, dirt, and cold-ass wind blowing 25mph constantly. It's the land of the 3-month snow piles gray & black from the road grime, salt, and dust scraped up by the snow-plows. I don't like Bruce's music, generally, but this one is so uniquely site specific to the album's namesake. 8/10 I'm glad I moved away but I do miss the harvest season in that area.
One of the better Radiohead albums. Several very popular songs and I would consider this the iconic Radiohead sound. I have seen the reviews and I know people doing this list do not like Radiohead, but I have no problem with the voice or lyrics. It's great background noise to working and is less controversial than some other politically motivated albums. I think it's pretty good, 7/10.
What an album cover LOL! I'd leave this album at the music sampler at Barnes & Noble. I remember getting lice from those shared headphones, I guess I wouldn't have gotten lice if I would have followed Isaac Hayes example. 2/10 I've heard much worse but this music is just not enjoyable.
Ah, a band I have put off listening to for about 2 decades. I love heavy metal and have always heard that Napalm Death is one of the original "Death Metal" bands and kept up with Slayer and Metallica during their Thrash Metal phases. I've never actually sat down and listened to any of their music until today. And honestly, having the lyrics open as I listened actually did not help at all with interpreting their speed chants. This is a core album to any skateboard parts/repair shop or tattoo parlor. Reading the lyrics, I actually find myself loving the message in their music. It's anti-corporation, heavily critical of consumerism and flock-mentality which is a message that is still extremely relevant in the year 2026. The media that the message is delivered via is extremely energetic and offensively raw. Every song definitely took one take and they just said "fuck it, keep it like that". The guitar tone is crunchy as hell but also comes through extremely clean, the bass thunders in the background of every track, and the drums are ridiculously fast and it all sounds like it was recorded in a garage next to a bunch of metal trash bins. Hilariously, the lyrics read like a high school LitMag with its various prose and poetic techniques. Sort of like thrash metal slam poetry. I definitely knew people in my high school who thought they were enlightened when listening to music like this. I get it, but also - objectively - it's just not great music. I think for me, personally, it's going to get a 4/10 which is carried purely by the content of the lyrics which you can't understand unless you read them. Honestly, they could have written anything in the transcription, and I wouldn't have questioned it. Cheers to those lads and their Dresden adventure. That review had me crying and trying not to make a scene at work.
Wow, what an enjoyable experience that was. I love this album and I've never heard of it before. Ray's voice is so crisp and easy to listen to and the backing band is the perfect compliment. I get chills every time that steel guitar starts playing and the fiddle so expertly included. This is not his best album, but it's way up there. I'll give it an 8/10 and I'm definitely going to try and find this album for record player.
Milquetoast. 3/10
The quintessential Millennial punk rock album that got way too famous to be punk. It's a great album and I can't deny it. The subject matter of every song is real and relatable. The sound is clean while also rowdy and energetic. BJA has such a great Californian punk-rock voice and the major keys in each song really bring it forward as an accessible album. The bass guitar is the star of the show and is absolutely perfect. I'll give this one a 7/10 because I know I've got one more Green Day album on this list which is the 10/10 I'm waiting for.
Listen, I already got "Elvis Presley" by Elvis Presley, so everything after is just going to be a downgrade. This one is definitely much less energetic, but it's still good. I enjoyed it but started falling asleep about halfway through. 6/10.
Absolutely delightful. 9/10. Only two songs that took it away from a perfect album. "Pubic Enemy" and "Ham 'n' Eggs" really don't belong here despite their cultural relevance. They're just bad songs.
*Whoopie cushion noises while a fire alarm goes off during a hail storm* 1/10