We get it dude, you love your wife! Not my favorite macca, but it's still macca. Feels pretty disjointed throughout, but the highs are nice and high. The story and context surrounding Paul and the Beatles at the time is more interesting than the record itself, but it all adds to the album's lore and it does deserve some reverence. Highlights: Every Night, Oo You, Maybe I'm Amazed Skips: Junk, Teddy Boy, the first two minutes of Kreen-Akrore

Best hip-hop album of all-time? It just might be. It's hard to decide what's more impressive between the production or the lyricism. The production team's (Q-Tip, Pete Rock, DJ Premier...I mean c'mon?!?) immense individual talent shines through on every track but everything remains impressively cohesive throughout. The rhyme patterns are insane from beginning to end. Despite the fact that Nas' subsequent work has never reached Illmatic's height, this one, nearly perfect, album has properly cemented him as a living legend of hip hop and music at-large. I'm embarrassed to say it's probably been close to ten years since I've given this one a proper listen but it definitely won't take another decade until I throw Illmatic on again. Highlights: 0:01-39:51...okay, fine! My favorites are Life's a Bitch, The World is Yours, Memory Lane, It Ain't Hard to Tell Skip (if I had to pick one): Represent

4.5/5

An insanely cool album cover for a big band orchestra. Never really listened to or thought about any of Count Basie's work, but after listening to the podcast, A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs (check it out, fellas), it's not an overstatement to say that rock and roll wouldn't be what it is/was without Count Basie. A lot of his earlier work was incredibly influential the jazz musicians and R&B singers that would begin creating some of the early proto-rock and roll songs of the 40s and 50s. The Atomic Mr. Basie feels like the last word from the era of big band orchestras that dominated American music up until the birth of rock and roll, and it's a last word worth hearing.

Never really been an Elliott Smith fan. This sounds like an okay Beatles album to me.

A fine album, but not my kinda thing.

You guys know me. I like loud. I like weird. But something tells me you got to be in the right mood for this album, and I guess I just wasn't. Cool sound though, fellas!

I dig it

It's a classic for a reason! The original songs are all strong, even if a few of them have been mercilessly overplayed on classic rock stations for 40 years. Personally, I still get stoked when I hear those screeching guitars at the start of Run Through the Jungle. The danger feels imminent from start to finish; it sounds like getting chased. Probably my favorite CCR song. Four cover songs throughout the album and all of them are also pretty solid (Ooby Dooby? Gimme a "hell yeah").

The musicianship is a 5/5. But as someone who doesn’t play a single instrument, I have a hard time truly appreciating each member’s proficiency and skill. In most cases, if you ask me, what makes prog rock appealing is how incredibly talented the bands usually are and how they like show it off; it’s music for musicians. Tarkus from ELP is prog rock at its finest, I can acknowledge that. But I guess most of it is just one of those finer things in life that I can’t seem to get in rhythm with. For the record, I still enjoy lots of prog rock (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway better be on this list), but I often feel a lot of this scene was too full of itself and too difficult to digest for the average dumb guy like me.

I remember the title track for this album popping into my Spotify sometime during Covid and almost immediately becoming obsessed with it. I should've taken the time to listen to this album back then, because not only is it catchy as hell, but it's a near-perfect blend of most of my favorite genres of music. There's something for everybody on here! From country to rock to gospel and even a little psychedelic and funk. I think the first half of the album is a little stronger than the second, but it all comes together nicely. Silver Raven sounds like a Townes Van Zandt song and is probably my favorite track besides No Other. Lady of the North was another beauty. It's a shame to think about what Gene Clark probably thought of this album. After reading up on it, you find out that it was basically a critical and commercial flop and it essentially discarded Clark to the trash bin of has-been's. He died in 1991 from complications of his addictions to alcohol and heroine and one wonders if the failure of No Other contributed to his downward spiral. At the time of his passing, the album was slowly on its way to being rehabilitated, but he never got to see it get the true praise it deserved. Unfortunately, I'm sure we're going to come across several albums with similar stories.

I’m sure this album sounded much fresher upon release, but it comes off as a bit corny to my 21st century ears. The 80s ruined synths for a lot of people, and I think this album is a victim of it to some extent. The over-saturation of this type of music in the decade that followed this album is tough to ignore. That said, there’s still some great moments brought to us by straight up maestros. You’ve got Jaco on bass, Wayne Shorter on sax, and Zawinul on synths; these guys are literally legends of modern jazz. They knew how to make cutting-edge and incredible music, and maybe that’s exactly what they did on this album, but the shine has faded. Birdland is one hell of an opener, but unfortunately, it was also when the album peaked in my opinion.

Thought I was gonna like this a lot more than I did. I like Thin Lizzy and I think Phil Lynott was a hell of a front man, but this live album just didn’t do it for me. There’s still some great songs but it’s a little uneven for me.

Can’t go wrong with the King. The way he makes that guitar cry still blows my mind. You can tell that both he and the crowd are really into it and that makes for a fun listen. Makes me wanna go smoke a cigarette inside somewhere with sunglasses on.

Actually, *this" is the album that makes me want to throw on a pair of shades and chain smoke cigarettes in a dimly lit subterranean bar. Tom Waits does what he does best on this album. Genuinely funny at times and surprisingly tender in other spots. The atmosphere created throughout the album is really cool, too. Still can't believe this was recorded in a studio and not live in some tiny, hole-in-the-wall jazz club. I'm not the biggest Tom Waits fan but I won't hesitate to back to this album.

Just a lovely jazz album. Perfect for the autumn evening where it's pitch black outside by 6pm; a very cozy listen. Beautiful voice, beautiful set. Will definitely be coming back to this one over the next few weeks.

The Smiths are bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I know that Morrissey is like top-10 shittiest people in music but he knows how to write a good pop song, even if they all start to have a pretty similar vibe (i.e. I'm mopey and horny but nobody gets me). What I really like about the Smiths is Johnny Marr's guitar work. That jingle jangle sound he uses is infectious and it's his hooks that really get stuck in my head. I think it's fair to say he's one of the most influential guitarists of his generation given how many other bands and acts have built off his work (The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Oasis, etc.) The Queen is Dead seems to be the consensus pick for The Smiths' best album and I can see why, but I'd personally take their debut over this. Marr's guitar work is incredible and Morrissey turns in some great songs, but that raw energy they exhibited when they first burst onto the scene is missing if you ask me. Favorite Tracks: I Know It's Over, Cemetery Gates, The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, There Is a Light that Never Goes Out 3.5/5

See this is the type of weird shit I'm here for! An album that I otherwise would've never come across, but I'm glad I did. No, I don't speak Portuguese. Yes, I do like avant garde music. It's out there, but in the best way possible. You can absolutely hear the Western psych influences but it's still taped together with elements of traditional Brazilian music (the drums on Bat Macumba!?!). If I ever see this in a record store, it's mine! Favorite Tracks: A Minha Menina, Baby, Senhor F, Bat Macumba

Smarter people with better ears for music will probably rate this a 5/5 and I can understand why. But at the end of the day, despite giving it the ole college try every couple of years, this album has never done it for me. I've come to realize that Radiohead is not my kinda band but I'm still able get down with some of their other albums (The Bends, In Rainbows). I find OK Computer to be quite boring for long stretches, but I'm sure that says more about me. While I can still acknowledge how important and influential this album is for 21st century music, I'm finally saying it, once and for all: I don't like OK Computer, and that's OK!

This one’s an all-timer for me. Whenever I listen to anything else, this is one of the albums against which all others are measured. Every part could exist on its own and still be incredible. The vocals, the bass, the drums, the guitar could be listened to in isolation and it’d still be a great piece of music. Every British band that have come after these guys have stolen from them whether they know it or not. Just one of my favorite pieces of recorded music in all of history. One of the great tragedies of modern music is Ian Curtis’ suicide. I truly believe Joy Division could’ve been the biggest British band of the 80s (not a diss to New Order). I’d give this 10 stars if I could.