I have already listened to Fela Kuti, so this is not a revelation. Still, Femi is good, the compositions are interesting. This is softer and more melodic than Fela, though I feel like Femi is not as good of a singer. Seems like this includes some additional electronic elements. Like the other Afrobeat I've listened to, the tracks get overlong and repetitive if you listen to enough of them.
Many tracks on this album are pretty grating. They remind me of Bananarama. I'm not a fan of the signing and the pop instrumentals are not interesting. There are some rock-influenced tracks that are, in my opinion, much stronger ("Lust to Love", "Fading Fast", "Can't Stop the World"). Those have an edge and creativity that I don't see in most of this album.
Definitely a classic. The hits still hit, the deep cuts are rough and discordant. Its a punk album made purposely to alienate their new fans. As a statement of intent, its amazing. Some of the deep cuts aren't my cup of pennyroyal tea, but overall its a great album.
There are some classic tracks in here, but the album as a whole is not that interesting. Without The One I Love this would be a below average album. Finest Worksong and End of the World are also great. Beyond those its hard to see much value in the tracks here.
A classic. Danceable at any time. The guitar is incredible and drives every track. The blue print for a lot sounds I enjoy to this day.
There are some fine pop tracks on this album, though there are just as many flat covers of black american artists. Does this really deserve to be on this list? Just because it's by the Beatles does not mean it's essential. I'm sure there are hundreds of more interesting, influential, and deserving albums out there.
Brilliant and dark. Can't imagine anyone else making something like this, its romantic, desperate, brooding, passionate, but also hopeful. "I Want You" is probably the best representation of what this album is about.
Really intense. There are some great tracks on here that combine manic energy, screaming vocals, and an underlying groove. Its both psychedelic and punk rock, and I'm a fan. There are a few clear skips, but also some amazing songs for the playlist.
Music for the Xanax generation.
Probably the most overrated artist among critics. This guy is bad.
Ethereal. I appreciate that this album was groundbreaking for its day. Listening today, however, it sounds dated. I feel like I've heard many elements of this music in later shoegaze, trip hop, and electronica music. Overall, I can see the value in this album as a trendsetter, but didn't love the actual listening experience.
The sort of album that people say they like because its experimental while secretly hating it.
Some pretty good blue-eyed soul! This is not amazing, and there a good number of misses, but there are also some great tracks in here. It is mostly a soul album. Dusty is a great singer, so it stands up next to Motown and other girl acts from the time. Overall, a good listen.
Pretty good crooning. Very low-key, sad, and mellow. I liked this more than I expected. Its not that interesting musically, but Price is a good singer. Overall, not bad.
I can see why some people like this kind of music, but its not for me. Sounds like background music to a marvel movie's action scene.
A few big hits, but the rest of this was a hard listen.
Very good album. It kickstarted the return of blues rock and had some real bangers. Its probably not their best, but worthy of inclusion on this list.
This is not terrible, its a perfectly middling 00s pop album. I'm at a loss for why this is an album I need to listen to. Its as essential as elevator music.
The thing that really stood out in this album is how hard Aguilera was trying to be black. She uses AAVE everywhere, models her signing style on R&B from earlier decades, and uses instrumentals that mix 60s soul, 80s R&B, along with some new jack swing. I don't have an issue with emulating your idols, but we'd be better off listening to a lot more Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and a dozen other artists that Aguilera copies, than her.
One of the best pop albums of the last few decades, if not ever. Melancholic, dramatic, and beautiful. Adele's an amazing singer, but that's not what makes this album, there are a lot of great pop singers. Its the quality of the songwriting, the on-point production, and the cohesiveness of the project that sets it apart. I'm confident in saying this will be remembered as a classic of the 2010s.
PS: Shout out to the Dido-esque Cure cover near the end. I had no idea that existed, but it was very well done.
Knew this was going to be on here. Despite the hit song, I don't see the great value in this album. Its electronic, somewhat experimental, sometimes discordant. There are also a few tracks of peaceful, spacey synths. Besides the hit song there's not a lot worth remembering on the album.
Is it manufactured? Yes. Is it a Beatles rip-off? Also yes. But is it good? Yes.
Maybe I'm biased by my mom showing me Monkees episodes as a child, but I think this is a pretty good pop rock album from the 60s. Its got a good mix of styles, good vocals, and even some classic songs. Overall, a good listen.
Very good reggae record. I've always preferred more soulful singers from this era like Dennis Brown and Freddie Mcgregor, but Tosh brings his own unique style to this. I'm impressed that he found a sound more rootsy than Marley while maintaining groove and rhythm.
The best Blur album. Its uneven, but has some real high-points, including "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Badhead", and "To the End". Its also experimental and has some tracks that are borderline throwaway. Still, it is a worthy album in this list.
Honky tonk. Not terrible, but also not that enjoyable. This gets more grating the more you listen.
Some classic tracks in here. Its a good change up from the typical hip-hop sound in this era, in the early Kanye-style. That said, there are some big misses on this album. An alright listen.
I had heard of Carole King, but had never listened to her music before. This was much better than expected. It's a mix of 70s singer-songwriter and late 60s blues rock. It works quite well.
Messy at times but really interesting. A big band of Gaelic folk and punk.
Sounds like a typical Joni Mitchell album, which is to say boring.
Lots of classic songs on this, but overall uneven. It's punkish but ultimately closer to classic rock than many of Costellos contemporaries.
Quite relaxing. It's barely even rock, but it's not bad.
This is my third album of British guitar music in a row (after Coldplay and Elvis Costello). While this is the dumbest of the three, its also the best. Its pure rock, swagger, and indulgence. There are some classic tracks and some nice deep cuts. A lot to admire, even if its admittedly quite dumb.
Have no idea why this was selected.
Pretty boring. Maybe I dont appreciate jazz enough, but this sounds like elevator music.
Pretty good psychedelic rock album. Both whimsical and heavy at times. It definitely sounds dated, but is an interesting addition from a band I hadn't hear of before.
Not as good as I was hoping. I have some Massive Attack tracks in rotation but most these didn't hit.
I listened through this not too long ago. Listening to it again, it has no business being on this list. It's pretty basic folk country and nothing more.
2nd Joni Mitchell album I've had in the first 40. I hope there aren't any more.
Strikes a droll british tone. It works in only a handful of songs, though I see the musical talent.
I knew the big songs here. I was surprised by how heavy and morose the rest of the album was, in addition to the many unique instrumental elements it included. Overall an interesting listen and definitely worthy of inclusion on this list.
I had listened to this on my own just a few months ago. On first listen I would have rated it a weak 4. Now, its a 5. Just a great album from front to back. Tender and soulful, low-fi and desperate, a really specific and indelible sound. Hard to call it anything but a masterpiece.
I had heard a few Pavement songs before listening to this, but I mainly knew them from music critics. The most annoying and opinionated people you know love this band, Pitchfork chief among them. After having listened to this in full I can say with full confidence that they're full of shit. This is middling, stupid, noise rock. Its not that special.
I already knew and loved this album before this challenge, but listening through again only strengthened my opinion. This is some top shelf indie electronic dance music. Almost every track is great. Its got real momentum, keeps a consistent sound but avoid being boring or repetitive. A modern classic.
This is the second Dexys album I've had in the first 50 of this challenge. Like the last record, I was surprised by how much I liked this one. But, I would not like to hear another album from them. I feel like I know what their Celtic, punk, ska, soul entails at this point.
This is the first of what I'm sure will be at least a few Simon and Garfunkel albums on this list. They are a great group and this is a solid album. Its very calming and beautiful. Its weakest on "A Simple Desultory Phillippic" where they try to channel Bob Dylan for some reason. They're best when sticking to their core sound, folksy, melodic, calm. The back half is a worse than the first, but its overall a very good album.
Pure Punk. You can hear a strong Iggy Pop influence. I also think the lead signer borrows a lot from Mick Jagger. Musically its pretty basic, but sounds a lot like the best of early punk. Definitely appreciate the inclusion of lesser-known bands like this over the fifth best Neil Young or Joni Mitchell album.
Was surprised to see this called heavy metal. It sounded like a weird mix of punk and new wave. It was not great.
This was my third Joni Mitchell album in the first 50 of this challenge. After the first two I was ready to avoid her music for the rest of my life. This one was a lot better. I felt it veered away from some of the pretentiousness, added better production, kept within her best vocal range, and was better lyrically. I'd give it a solid 3.
A very good folk album with some classic tracks. It's uneven, but deserves to be on this list.
I've always thought this album was overrated. That is still my opinion. I would take just about any album from a great 60s rock band over this, Beatles, stones, kinks, doors, birds, I'll take it. This is trash.
I appreciate having a newer album here. I had heard some of these songs before and liked them. The full album is less impressive to me. There are a lot of songs that sound the same, it becomes a hodgepodge of noises by the end.
Not amazing, not terrible. I had listened to this on my own a few months ago and had thr dame opinion.
A modern classic. This is more of a story than it is an album of music. Its spoken word poetry, mixed with a handful of songs, instrumentals that come and go, interludes, live performances, and an ending discussion with Tupac. Personally, I'd find it tiresome if the music wasn't so good and if Kendrick didn't have such a consistent through-line of thought and spirit across the album.
Focusing on the music, its mostly fantastic. There are several era-defining songs on this album, including Alright and King Kunta as well as other tracks that are long-time personal favorites (i, Wesley's Theory, The Blacker The Berry). Its jazzy, but also incorporates funk, gospel, and soul, along with the overriding, overproduced sound of g-funk. Its an amazing album that will be remembered forever as among the best of the 2010s.
Midway between rock and metal. You could have told me this was a heavy rock band like Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly from the late 60s and I would have believed you. But, compared to those bands, there are more operatic elements here. The music is a bit heavier, but also longer, more dramatic, with increasing experimentation in the music. Ultimately, the closest comparison for me is Led Zeppelin. I think Zeppelin is better than this (as is early Black Sabbath), but its not bad.
Not Mayfields best album but still a great example of his funk-soul.
Decent electronic album. Don't really care for the spoken word interludes.
One of the great soul artists. This is a classic. Only two big hits on this album, but pretty much all of the deep tracks also bump. "I've Never Found a Girl" and "So You're Leaving" are particular favorites of mine. Green has the perfect blend of gospel influence and romance, soul with a southern swagger, and a perfect melodious voice. This is an all-time album and deserves to be on the list.
This is one of the worst genres of music I've ever heard. I can hear their influence on modern metal, and its terrible. I had heard of Napalm Death but never listened to them before, but I've certainly heard their acolytes. Their songs consist of grunting and growling vocals, which say nothing, and bashing drums that provide no rhythm or differentiation from song to song. The worst part is there are instrumentals that sound good on many songs until they start bashing the drums and grunting endlessly. Every song ends up at the same place, and its useless. It conveys nothing. I don't see why anyone would listen to it beyond an ironic hatred of music itself.
Not a huge fan of jazz but this was good.
Some great songs on here. As an album it's uneven, but overall very good.
Ethereal pop. Very unique for its time. I think this is a great album.
This is a few hit songs and a bunch of weaker deep cuts.
I'm sure someone finds this good. It's folksy and sounds like it's old school. In reality, it's terrible singing and songwriting paired with poor composition.
Christmas songs are the lowest form of music.
Lots of great songs on here. I liked it more than I expected to. But there's also the seeds of horrible hair metal here, with cheesy lyrics, annoying background vocals, and some serious sexism.
The songs can blend together but this is as smooth as it gets. Nothing else out there like Sinatra, he's instantly recognizable.
I used to be a fan of the fugees. These days I find the much of the music cringey, especially knowing what Lauren Hill and wyclef would do with their lives.
A truly great album centered on an all-time single. I listened to this album on my own a few months before this was selected and was surprised by the quality of the deep tracks here. Now that I've listened through again I'm confirmed in my first impression. Consistently great folk/rock/pop music that combines catchy melodies with low key instrumentation.
Smooth but cutting. This was an interesting record. Much of the singing was unconventional but fit well with the slow grooves of the songs. I'll have to listen to it again sometime, but on first listen I liked it.
I had listened to many of these tracks before. They have a unique and cohesive sound that was influential to the underground. But, it's not amazing to me. Its lyrically gimmicky at times and musically repetitive at others.
This was disappointing. I'd heard a few Ray Charles songs before and liked the R&B and blues aspects of his music. This is 50s style country that is monotonous and basic. I don't think his voice goes well with the style either, I'd rather listen to Arthur Alexander.
Groovy with a strange take on blue-eyed soul. I like this record more now than when I first listened to it a few years ago. That said, its uneven and swings and misses in the backhalf. Bowie is undeniably talented but in my view his imitations of popular genres never quite live up to the real thing (glam rock excepted).
Smooth and ethereal like the other Cocteau Twins album I listened to. They have an interesting sound. The main issue with this and the other album was that tracks bled together and the vocals often turned to nonsense. There are some good tracks here, but its an uneven album.
Mekons usual mixture of punk, rockabilly, and atypical vocals. I was disappointed in this, it just wasn't that great except for a few of the more popular tracks. I don't think this warranted inclusion in the list, though I'm glad they are representing less popular artists.
I loved this album, much better than I expected. Nick Drake finds a consistent tone throughout. Psychedelic mellow folk pop that floats through your mind. A great listen when you're in the right mood.
I think there's nothing special here, a standard and uninteresting 90s R&B record.
Very unenjoyable album, lots of jibberish and trying to seem weird for the sake of seeming weird.
Unique progressive rock sound. Its hard to describe this succintly. Even knowing Aqualung and Locomotive Breath beforehand, I was surprised and engaged by the musical changes throughout the album. That said, the back half isn't as strong as the first. Overall, quite a good, ambitious album.
The first four tracks on this are incredible. They are all-time classics that set the template for this era of rap and in many ways inspired all of hip-hop to come. The rest of the album is pretty good too, though not on the same level. For a rap album this early in the game, there's nothing else like it. I think the only knock on the record is that it sounds dated in comparison with the works it inspired. Still, this is several years before the first Public Enemy album dropped, 5 years before Biggie and Tupac, more than a decade before more modern-sounding artists like Nas. No one can deny the influence of Run-DMC.
This is an overlong ode to Lynyrd Skynyrd. I'm not sure why its on this list. While it has some decent tracks and a fair amount of diversity, it seems to all be made in the vein of 70s and 80s southern rock and country. What makes this unique?
Close to classic status, just not quite as good as the very best of Zeppelin and other rock acts of the time.
Great album. In the vein of Roxy Music, but slicker and with some east Asian influences.
Not on Spotify. Listened in YouTube. It's your typical funkadelic, very much a mix of psychedelic rock and soul with more groove and weirdness mixed in. If they'd dropped some of the spoken word I think many of the tracks would be better.
I've listened to this before, its a great American rock record. Mixes the heartland with folk and even presages alternative rock.
Total Trash is an apt description.
