Great easy listening, very agreeable, upbeat, good vibes. Mostly reggae-esque with rock influence. I like this a lot.
I've been on a Brit-Pop kick lately and am pleasantly surprised to have The Bends come up as my 2nd album. This is an album I've been listening to on and off for 20 years. It's a true classic to me. Radiohead would have been an influential band even if their career ended here.
Catchy, fun, pretty much perfectly written pop songs. Even the more experimental, less catchy songs like I’m in Touch With Your World, and Moving in Stereo are great. I love when a band can mix some ingenuity with infectiously catchy songwriting. It’s hard to think of anything I don’t like about this album. I love a lot of bands in the realm of New Wave but somehow I hadn’t really given The Cars a fair chance. I love most of their hits, but I hadn’t listened to one of their albums in its entirety yet. I see myself coming back to this record a lot.
Fun, agreeable, creative, well-arranged. A monster of an album for it's time. I'm not super familiar with ELO's discography other than their singles. I like Out of the Blue overall but its one of those albums that could have a few songs cut off. It goes on a little too long to the point that it's hard to remember the stand out tracks. Despite that, it's still a very agreeable album that you can put on in the background and no one will complain.
One of my favorite Bowie records. The title track is nearly perfect, as is the rest of the album. One of his most consistent records.
I like the last half of the album the most, from Supersitious on. It seems like a great album to put on while cuddling on the couch or in bed with your lover. Romance has not been much of a part of my life lately, and I think that’s why I wasn’t entirely feeling this album. Still I can see why it’s on this list and I will probably revisit in the future
This album is fine but nothing really stood out to me. Meh.
Good ol' fashioned dirty bluesy hard rock.
There were a couple moments that were almost interesting but overall this was a pretty awful listen. If this were the soundtrack for an actual movie, I’d be hiring a new composer. I’m not sure what Barry Adamson is trying to convey. The music is too boring and uncompelling to care.
Yeah it’s repetitive but it’s electronic music! I had listened to some of this album a long time ago before I had really listened to much electronic music. And I thought it was ok, but the repetitiveness turned me off.
Giving this album a full listen yesterday, I like it a lot. A lot a lot. It’s a little rough around the edges but I appreciate that. I like debut albums like this where you can tell the artist is still figuring out their sound but they have lots of good ideas. Homework has plenty of them. Discovery may be a more concisely crafted album, but Homework is a fabulous debut and definitely one I’ll keep in rotation.
The album starts off strong with "Money Changes Everything." Then of course the timeless anthem "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Soon after, another classic hit "Time After Time." Things tail off from "She-Bop" on. I'm no prude but I still found She-Bop cringey. The rest of the album is kind of meh. A quintessential pop album of the 80s. The hits definitely carry it, the rest is just fine.
Still a classic at nearly 70 yrs old.
Really good. This album deserves to be more well known. Really great 70s soft rock / pop. Very well composed songs. I love the Velvet Underground but had never listened to any of John Cale's solo work until now. I know this is more pop oriented than most of his work, I'm glad he made a change of direction for a moment. This album still has got me interested in exploring more of his work.
I liked this more than I thought I would. I held off listening for a few days because I thought it would be a more challenging listen. I like Ramblin' Jack's voice. It is the kind of album where it feels like once you've heard one song, you've heard them all. I think if I were a more avid folk / bluegrass fan, I would be more into this. But I still enjoyed it overall.
Well this was an easy listen. Another one of my all time records. It feels like Nirvana was building up to this album their entire shorter career and this is their defining work. I love when bands have a progression of each album getting better than the next, rather than starting off with a spark that they never seem to find again. They definitely found it here. And unfortunately we’ll never know if this is where Nirvana would have peaked, or what they had in store next. Thanks Kurt for leaving us with this fantastic record.
I like to think I’m fairly well versed in 90s hip-hop but I’ve never listened to much Ice-T. This is a pretty good album. The production and beats are great, and there’s a good variety. Body Count really adds some variety, was not expecting a metal song on a hip-hop album.
Raw, straight forward and to the point. This is one of those albums I feel like I'm supposed to like more because of it's influence. I'm not quite in love with it yet but I can see it growing on me.
Probably Radiohead’s most challenging album when it was released. Stripped back production on most tracks compared to their prior releases. I would say Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors is more experimental and challenging than anything on Kid A. The album has a cold, dark, mellow vibe overall. In some ways it feels more like a collection of polished demos than a cohesive album. As many songs as I like a lot here, mostly the middle section of the album, there’s as many that are meh or I really don’t care for. An interesting, worthwhile listen overall but I wouldn’t consider it an essential album. I consider it in Radiohead’s 2nd tier under The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows in Tier 1.
Lyricism, flows, and beats all on point here. Even the covers are fantastic. One of the best hip-hop albums of the 90s.
Another 50s album I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I’ve never been a fan of Elvis. I’ve been turned off by his voice whenever I’ve heard his songs.
The main context I have on Elvis is his influence on rock music and that he is often accused of gaining fame by taking songs from black artists. It’s not something I’ve researched on my own. Regardless of the context, I enjoyed listening to this album. I still don’t love his voice and there were moments it made me cringe, but tolerable overall.
There’s other artists from the era who did it much better, and who I would prefer listening to. Still, there’s no denying the influence Elvis and this album had on modern music. My impression is that he wasn’t an innovator, but he played a big role in bringing the rock ‘n’ roll to a wider audience. Does it say more about him or about white America in the 1950s that they needed a white artist to make rock music palatable?
A great album. The exact reason I started this project- to be exposed to music I don’t usually listen to. Being that English is my first language with limited French, I didn’t understand most of the lyrics. But the album had a pleasant vibe overall. There’s a nice variety in the songwriting, especially having songs in 3 languages though majority are in Spanish. A really pleasant, fun listen and an album I’ve added to my library.
A great debut from metal legends Iron Maiden. Raw, fast, gets your head banging.
This really blew me away. I've listened to the hits but had never given this album a full listen. After just one listen I feel like this is one of the best pop albums of all time. It's sexy, smart, well-crafted and produced. The songs are varied and interesting. Prince has such passion in his vocals. An absolute classic
It's nice, it's relaxing, it fits in the background but didn't really evoke any strong feelings for me.
A solid album overall. Muse's best effort. I like the stadium rock opera aspirations Muse has. I have a soft spot for them because I feel the comparisons and accusations of ripping off Radiohead feel unfounded to me. I've also seen them live a couple of times and they put on a fantastic show. I think Muse knows where they stand in the realm of popular rock music. I don't think they were ever trying to be as innovative as Radiohead.
Are they the best to ever make this kind of operatic stadium rock? No. But is this still a solid record. Supermassive Black Hole is one of their best singles. I think this album is worthy of being on this list as an example of popular alternative rock from the mid 2000s.
It’s a bit much getting 3 Radiohead albums out of my first 25. I haven’t even got OK Computer, Kid, or In Rainbows yet - my top 3 favorite and the first two are inarguably essential albums.
Still I was glad to be forced to re-listen to Hail to The Thief. It’s not an album I’ve come back to much since my first listen. It’s a much better effort than their prior release and last Radiohead album I’ve listened to from this list, Amnesiac. The songs here are much more creative and varied. The first several tracks through “Where I End and You Begin” are all brilliant. The middle hits a bit of a lull but the last few tracks finish a strong note, especially the closer A Wolf at the Door.
I wouldn’t necessarily say this is an essential album but I think it’s great overall.
Way too safe and boring. The first track and On Hold are decent. Little to no variety in the songwriting. Can’t decide if it wants to just be a mellow, chill album or try to say something interesting. The songs feel like they’re trying to be compelling but are flat as day old soda left at room temperature. Even with a couple of songs being OK this was a very long 39 minute record to get through. That plus the blandness of it all makes this closer to a 1 for me.
Definitely the kind of album where the hits carry it. I like it overall though. Common People is a 5 on its own.
A good album overall. The first half through Little Ghetto Boy is the best. The last half is a little hit or miss. Lyrical Gangbang is underwhelming compared to its title. It seems like Dr Dre and Co set a template for 90s hip hop albums here- a little bloated with silly skits in between. The skits here are pretty entertaining though. I definitely have some nostalgia for this album, as a suburban white kid who used to bump this in my beat up late 90s Toyota Camry. It doesn’t hit the same way as it did when I was 16, but this is still a good album overall and definitely an essential listen.
Solid album. On my first listen most of this was kind of meh, but it was growing on me by the last few songs. So I listened to the album again. It’s straight forward, noisy, heavy, sleazy rock. Nothing amazing, but I like their sound overall.
A little underwhelming. Everybody Wants to Rule the World is a 5 on its own. I feel like I am starting to repeat myself but this is really a record carries by its hits. The rest is just OK, though the closer "Listen" finishes the album on a high note. A decent album with a few very strong songs.
I really enjoyed this album. Very cozy, comforting acoustic folk. It was the perfect soundtrack to being cozy inside on a cold winter day.
Creative, funky post-punk, alt. rock, psychedelia, dance. I think I might have seen the name of this group before but I hadn't heard any of their songs until now. I really enjoy bands in the realm of the Madchester & Baggy scenes. I think this is just as good as the Stone Roses' debut. Happy to add this to my library.
I cringed at first when I heard twangy guitars but they slowly grew on me. Country has never been my favorite genre, though I find a lot of older country tolerable and every now and then I hear a song I actually like. This is a solid record even for a non-country fan like me. I’m not super familiar with The Byrds other than some of their hits. And I’m certainly not well-versed in country. But this album seems ahead of its time in a way. The songwriting is fairly well developed. Though there’s not much variety and the songs start to blend together. Still, I liked listening to most of this. I don’t think it’s a record I’ll come back to often though, just not the style of music I’m usually in the mood for.
I found this album to be pretty good. The songwriting is clever. Sharp political comedy disguised by it's easy listening style. You do have to listen closely to appreciate the wit. Otherwise it's kind of just solid easy listening. So while it's pleasant, nothing really jumped out at me. Still, this was a pleasant, enjoyable listen.
Instantly one of my favorite rock albums of the 70s. I never realized that half of the songs on this album were singles. Great hard, bluesy rock. Great guitar playing. They probably could have cut “Things Goin’ On” - it just doesn’t really stand out amongst the other tracks. But it’s still not bad. This album has enough really strong tracks to warrant a 5.
Overall a really beautiful, well composed oddball art-pop / chamber pop album. The first couple of tracks are incredible. Her voice gave me the chills more than once. The production is top notch. If it wasn't for Oompah Radar and Horse Tears, this would be closer to a 5 for me. Oompah Radar sounded like circus music. But overall, a really strong unique album that I'd rank close to my other favorite art-pop / chamber pop type albums.
Really fun, unique alt-metal album. One of the few to really do the funk-metal type sound. It works very well. The songwriting is great, the musicianship is great. Had a lot more fun with this one than I was expecting.
Smooth, groovy, and nice but not something I’ll probably come back to a lot. Never realized Chef was a Soul singer!
I didn’t really care much for this album. There’s a handful of songs that are solid, like Fuck You and the closer, No One’s Gonna Love You. But even for its genre, it feels middle of the road. This just wasn’t really for me.
Really well composed and written songs, at least for the first half of the album. Rufus clearly has a lot of talent, though his voice is at its best when he’s hitting higher notes. Sometimes his vocals get a bit croony or monotone. But he clearly has range. I feel like I want to like this more but the album just drags on too long and only a few of the songs really resonated with me. Still a decent and interesting record worthy of being on this list.
An album that was so ahead of its time. Who would have thought one of the best east-coast 90s hip-hop records would have come out in ‘89? Really creative beats and production. Not the best lyricism and the some of the tracks do start to blend together. But these are overall minor critiques in light of how good the overall song crafting is and how the vibe De La Soul creates on the album. 3 Feet High and Rising really stands the test of time as one of hip-hop’s best albums.
Great straight forward garage rock n roll
Nice, straight forward, fun punk / post-punk
Heads Will Roll is great. The rest ehh not bad but not really feeling it.
I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would. I like most highly regarded hip-hop albums from the 80s & 90s. And I like Public Enemy’s most well known songs. But the record feels hit or miss to me overall. There’s a lot of tracks that are lyrically strong, especially Don’t Believe the Hype. However, I really don’t like the very high pitched squealing sounds looped over the beats on many tracks. Rebel Without a Pause would be a great track if it wasn’t for that. This is definitely a unique record and I appreciated some of it, but the deliver of it all really didn’t land with me.
Lovers of Today is a great track. Nothing on the album really stood out until that song came on. Not bad but nothing enticing to me for the most part.
Definitely a fun album. More dynamic than any other ska album I’ve ever listened to. A good job mixing in other styles like hardcore. Catchy, upbeat, enjoyable.
A nice, fun, loud, youthful rock ‘n’ roll album.
Probably one of the best classic rock albums
Hold up really well in the political climate we have in 2026 with the US continuing to act like a bully on our planet.
Really great example of dark wave. Does get a little repetitive but overall a big step up from their debut and a must listen for anyone who likes darker post-punk
Classy, melodic, and soulful. A great Soul album. Great for sipping a cocktail late at night.
