I was grooving throughout most of this album… Very cohesive but unique sound (although rather repetitive). Fascinating combination of psychedelic techno and sometimes hip-hop. Entrancing production and melodies and the lyrics also did a good job in moving me through the various tracks. However, the sound is certainly dated. My rating increased when I tried dancing. "I can move, move, move any mountain." Not really my cup of tea, but a fun album nonetheless.
An enjoyable listen. Very raw, emotional, and soulful. Sam Cooke talent shines through clearly, but I don't connect with this music. There is a simplicity to the instrumentals and the lyrics that doesn't warrant repeated listening for me. The track "Cupid" bumps the entire album up one point for me. The bass line and his vocals were simply beautiful.
Historic album. (Mostly) stylistically consistent, but lacks lyrical depth. The Beatles ability to create catchy songs is on full display, but there are definitely a few duds (which is inevitable in an album with 30 tracks). However, the duds are overshadowed by so many iconic songs which are recognizable as some of the best tracks from the single greatest band of all time. I really didn't enjoy WDWDIITR and there is absolutely nothing profound about Revolution 9 (although I listened to all of it).
Gunfighter Ballads is not only a culturally significant album but it is a delight to listen to. Robbins not only wrote 4 of the songs on the album, all of which have become legendary folk songs, but his renditions of the other songs have become the versions that introduced post-War America to the Spirit of the West. Robbins' singing, storytelling, and strumming is earnest and yet performed with the ease of a Cowboy.
Concept album (I hope?) that is too aggressively hipster in its overall execution for my tastes. He certainly has a good sound, but I didn't find myself blown away by anything in particular. The chorals are nice. I think it is a very neat concept and a lot of work went into this, but I don't see myself putting any tracks on repeat.
Favorite track: The Black Hawk War.
This is the first Bowie album I've listened to. I found Bowie's vocals unpleasantly chaotic and also very grating (which he attributed to his heavy cocaine use during this part of his career). His forced and limited vocal range does not lend itself well to Black soul, and this is especially clear when contrasted with Luther Vandross' sublime backup vocals. The accompaniment, especially Carlos Alomar's funky guitar, was great, but its ease contrasted with Bowie's apparent unease in this genre was too disorienting for this album to be any good. When Bowie leaned more into rock/funk I didn't mind it at all, and I did enjoy "Fame."
I've never liked Radiohead much… The understated, whispery, static-y, and blase qualities that a lot of their music has has never really done anything for me. I did appreciate the more acoustic/less distorted sound of this album, but I wasn't blown away by anything, although I did like "Where I End and You Begin," "A Wolf at the Door, and especially "Myxomatosis." Overall, I think this was a well-made album and Radiohead is a great band, but I still haven't connected with anything they've made.
Great album and one of the biggest influences in hip-hop. I love the sample-heavy, harder rap that Wu-Tang spawned, but their sound is a little more old school than I would typically listen to. I loved the storytelling, the humor, and the rawness of this album. I hadn't heard the track "Tearz" before, and I really enjoyed it. I think I'm moving away from hip-hop, but it was fun to listen to this album for the first time.
I thought "Hedonism" was okay, but I had a hard time getting through the rest of the album.
It was pleasant enough, but nothing I would listen to again. 5/10, but a 2/5.
Favorite track: Oh What a World.
A very sweet-sounding voice and a wholesome, fun album. I enjoyed it! I can't see myself listening to it again, though, and this really isn't my kind of music.
1st listen (10/19/2025):The fast-paced, harsh, and rather simplistic vocals of a couple tracks (especially the first and last) set me off, but I couldn't help but be enamored by the production of this album. Pure artistry. I don't think I'm a headbanger, but a couple of these tracks (especially "Orion") were pure glee. Amazing album overall. 2nd listen (10/31/2025): Enjoying the vocals more this time around. I think I like it more than last time. I'll give it 9/10, 5/5.
Really catchy songs, great sound, and some lyrical depth. I enjoyed this album, especially "Rent," and the bassline for "Shopping." Really catchy, strong melodies in this album and a great technopop sound. 7/10, 3/5
Not a massive fan of their image but I thought Spit It Out was awesome.
"Easy-listening" rap. I enjoyed the soul elements and I thought Kanye's feature was great. Common has a nice flow, but he doesn't compel me to much further listening. I enjoyed "Real People," which I think Kanye produced.
I don't know much about music, but I think I can recognize something as true art when I hear it, even if it isn't exactly to my tastes. I really liked this album, especially the tracks "Hotel California," "Wasted Time," and "Victim of Love." Really great!
Her lilting, sliding vocals grated on me a bit, and I only enjoyed them in a couple songs. She has a unique sound, but I only really enjoyed it in a couple songs, particularly "Leaving Las Vegas."
Lifeless. He has no magnetism or compelling energy in his songs, neither in his voice or the melodies. Not a fan.
Very gloomy and dark. There isn't much movement or variety to this album, it seems. Similarly distorted songs back to back and very simple backing. There isn't much substance to it, for me, but it does effectively convey a certain darkness. Favorite track (although I didn't really enjoy any of them): Cold 3/10, 2/5
The lead-singers intentionally lazy-sounding vocals are a poor substitute for just singing badly. It drove me crazy. Any semblance of melody is barely discernible. I did appreciate the drums in a few tracks. I really didn't enjoy the lyricism either, especially in Tennessee. I did not enjoy this album. This is terrible art. 1/10, 1/5
I actually really enjoyed listening to this album. It was very fun, light listening, and I enjoyed the incorporation of techno and hip-hop beats with the more traditional tango.
7/10, 4/5
The Beatles are untouchable. I didn't want to stop listening to the album. It really is a great work of art. I don't have much else to say, except that my favorite track is probably the title track. Each track was a delight, though!
First shoegaze album I've listened to. There were some pretty neat songs, but there was too much trudging in between them and the album was too long. I loved the sudden guitar shredding in "Leaves and Sand," and the intervals of quietness and loudness. But the album melded together after a few tracks. By the end of "Spun Around," the noisepop elements started to get too absurd and annoying. 4/10, 2/5
I really started to enjoy this album by track three, "Marlene On The Wall." "Undertow" and "Knight Moves" also stood out to me. There's a mystery and charm to this album that I can't quite put my finger on, but in general I really enjoy North American singer-songwriters from this period. I enjoyed least the tracks where she "spoke-sang" a lot, especially the first two and the last tracks.
From the very first track I was loving this! The lyrics are all stupid and pretty meaningless, but the band knows this (Mike Patton says he focuses more on the sound of words than the meaning). I consider an album a great listening success based on how many times I make some sort of incredulous double take or if it introduced me to something new about music. There were themes of jazz, classical, hip-hop, progressive rock. The piano at the end of "Epic" was really awesome. I know I'll listen to this album a lot more in the future! My only critique was I feel like it could have ended more strongly than it did.
9/10, 5/5
This took me a few tracks to warm up to, but it's a great album. Each song is different, the album has a great progression, and it left me wanting more. I doubt funk will ever be my favorite genre, but I appreciate this album's artistry. Favorite track: "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks"
Great sound, great harmony. Not my kind of music, although it was a pleasant listen.
I didn't really enjoy it.
Beautiful. The emotion, tenderness, and yet grit that she conveys with her voice is just amazing. I hadn't heard most of these tracks, and each of them was uniquely beautiful. The a cappella "Behind the Wall" really struck me, but so did all the other tracks. I am just so impressed with Tracy Chapman. Favorite track: "Fast Car" but everything else as well.
I might need to give this a more thorough listen in the future.
Pretty good, but it got old and repetitive pretty fast. I liked "Night by Night" a lot.
I thought it was OK. No melodies really jumped out at me, nor was I ever deeply immersed into the music. But it was enjoyable. The most popular track "Someone Great," I found pretty annoying and repetitive.
Her flow is good but UK rap never does it for me. Not as deep as I think she'd like her lyricism to sound.
A lot of emotion. I really liked "Ironic."
