Electro-pop. A complete project in terms of cohesiveness, but that cohesiveness also made it difficult to distinguish between songs, when not paying full attention. 3/5
Solid album that brings mw back to high school. A tight album with iconic guitar riffs, that distant but intense vocal tone, and drums that give a sense of urgency. Overall, a great album, but a few cuts short of perfect. 4/5
Solid work from the hardest working man in show biz.
Minus one star for the length of the performance (only 30 minutes) and a single track that takes up 1/3 of the runtime.
A handful of radio hits from the mid 90s sandwiched between forgettable rock riffs. I see why this was popular at that point in time and why Oasis won the battle at this point in the BritPop wars vs. Blur, but at the same time the unoriginal tunes reminds me of Blur’s first album, which is to say, this album feels like it came out in 1990, not 1995, which makes most of the non-single tracks feel stale even 30 years later.
Yes, the singles are iconic, yet, cliche for the most part. The one song that saved this album from 2 stars is Don’t Look Back in Anger.
Anyways, here’s Wonderwall.
A seminal heavy metal album, turning a page on the genre and etching a sound that is still recognizable today. Make no mistakes. I don’t like it. It’s not my cup of tea at all but there are still some gems on this album.
Honestly the hardest part for me to swallow is that people take this seriously. Couple the vocals with the lyrics and it reads to me as ‘I am sooo badass. I’m a step-dad from Jersey, who slams Monsters, and is overly protective of his daughter from his first marriage, and if you mess with me I’ll pull out the national gaurd training I received at Fort Benning in 1991.’
After Metallica’s self titled album, this was honestly, refreshing. Still in the metal genre, but the talent and musicianship kept the album fresh.
I’m surprised the band is not classified as heavy metal/prog rock, as it seems apparent in their bass lines, changing melodies, drum fills, and vocals.
After the slog that was Metallica’s Metallica, I was honestly reluctant to press play on the album, but it flew by quickly, I was entertained and I’m looking forward to a new (hopefully not metal) album tomorrow.
Was pleasantly surprised by this album. Especially the Jazz cut near the end. Was also intrigued by the blues cut near the end of the album.
Not something I’d normally listen to, but above average!
This is not my type of album, but it was a good listen. Probably won’t go back to it, but still not a terrible listen by any means.
The opening track was quite promising, I was hoping the rest of the album would follow suit, and in some ways it did. I totally see why Damon Albarn collabed with the group. But I just can’t see myself coming back to this album.
I would have loved this when I was 17, but I’m not 17 anymore, so I found the no stop energy and shouting vocals quite tiresome. For an album with an average song runtime of just over a minute, I found myself frequently checking how much time was left in every song. Mercifully, the album was just 15 minutes, but I felt as though I felt every second of thise 15 minutes.
Partly classic 90s hip hop before more complex rhyme patterns were introduced with a heavy dose of social/political criticism splashed in that both rings true today, but also laughably shows the album’s age given the current political climate.
This is a good album for anyone who is into Public Enemy, Rage, The Coup, NWA, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, even Deltron 3030.
This is a good album for say a vinyl library to give you some cred with the socialist liberals, to say I’m down with the cause, but beyond its virtue signaling value, this record isn’t really getting any spins. Did I enjoy it? Sure. Was there a single song I want to listen to again? Not really.
Despite the fact that there is some filler on this album, there are 3 certifiable classics that have lasted decades as culturally relevant.
The style of the album is indie but leaning more towards traditional comercial pop. Overall a good album, probably wouldn’t revisit it in it’s entirety, but it’s still solid.
A nice dive into neo psychedelic/indie. Brings me back to being a teenager. Definitely above average but also far from perfect.
Fun, pop-y, etherial, jazzy, bouncy, haunting. Not a perfect album, but above average.
Obviously a foundational piece Rock n Roll history.
Not particularly mind blowing by any means by 2025’s standards, but journey back ~70 years, and you’ll realize this album was revolutionary. And there are still songs I recognize today.
Holy generic 80s rock batman!
My non-formed opinion on ZZ TOP dropped with this one.
Ok… so… this album, largely a snoozefest. None of the songs particularly stand out. It’s mostly techno with a few low-fi tracks mixed in, but as I said none of the songs stand out. Like at all. The title track is possibly the worst cut on the album, as it’s just a satanic panic preacher listing off the top names in pop/rock from the 60s through the 90s while the techno beat drones on in the background. As an album on it’s own, 2 stars. Its inexplicable inclusion on this list lands it at a 1.
With the last few 2 star albums I’ve had, Metallica, Circle Jerks, ZZ Top, I at least found some redemption in seeing the artist’s and album’s place in musical history. Each album largely had a stand out single, or in not at least a song that stood out.
This album had basically no redeeming qualities. As a fan of Lo-Fi, there are artists who did it much better, and as someone who basically has no interest in techno, I know there is better out there.
Really not sure why this made the list, at all.
A decent album. A bit of what is this doing on the list but not nearly as egregious as ‘Destroy Rock’.
Easy background music and fun to play Balatro to. Nothing too revolutionary or catchy that I’m going back to it.
So I was surprised to like this album as much as I did. I’m not an 80s fan, nor do I have much love for Morissey. But here I can see the influences on Blur, Oasis, Superfurry Animals, even Radiohead.
Yes, there was some 80s pop on here but there was one track in particular-Last Night I Dreampt Somebody Loved Me- that made it onto my favorites list. For that, I’m bumping this up to a 4.
A nice change of pace/genre. Nothing particularly stood out to me and nothing is going in the daily rotation from this album, but I didn’t actively dislike anything either.
Classic britpop through and through. This should probably be a 4/5, as it is a solid album, but not my favorite from their discography, but because of my own personal bias, and the fact that I’ve been listening to this album for ~20 years it’s my first 5/5.
The music itself is actually quite good and the singing is soulful and powerful.
My issue is, I don’t understand French so the lyricism and wit are fully lost on me.
Really a great album with 2-3 timeless jazz melodies. I wish we had .5 as an option because this would get 4.5, but instead I’m going to round down to 4.
Mostly boring. Odd to choose Spanish lyrics and put it over Indian/Middle Eastern/Northern African themed music.
Pretty generic surf/Garage rock the would do well as background music for a surf shop in Nor Cal/ PNW.
Then Toonerville Trolly came on and the album lost a star.
The official soundtrack to the entrance to the restroom at Red Lobster, Bubba Gump, and Papadeauxs around the world.
Jokes aside, this album is iconic. Was feeling a 4 star until I went back in for more.
Not a bad album. Unfortunate about who the artist is as a person, but I’m not going to dock points because that would be hypocritical, because of how I will be rating future Beatles/Michael Jackson/name any artist with a controversy.
Anyways, the album features laid back but still upbeat African beats and rhythms.
Unfortunately, I don’t speak French, so I can’t evaluate lyrical content.
Now, THIS is the reason I’m doing this challenge. I’ve never heard of Beta Band, but I can hear their influences in bands I do live, like Radiohead and Gorillaz.
I downloaded this album for future listens, but at this point it’s a 4.5/5, rounded down to a 4.
Got this on Christmas. Thought ‘OMG what are the odds’, posted it to reddit, felt dumb when everyone told me first year users all get a Christmas album.
This could be a 5/5, but it’s a Christmas album, so it loses a star
Foundational disco, not my thing but not terrible and contains some classic samples.
The album is ok, but really R.E.M. never felt like a band that made music that was made for me.
The one song that struck home was the one about California.
