Some great songs, but album is too long and dragged down by skits.
Not my bag. Not bad per se, but doesn’t move me. Might suffer from the hype.
One of my favorite bands, but this album is 6 songs too long. How’s this for a better track listing:
1. In the Light
2. Custard Pie
3. In My Time of Dying
4. Houses of the Holy
5. Trampled Under Foot
6. Down by the Seaside
7. Bron-Yr-Aur
8. Kashmir
9. The Wanton Song
10. Ten Years Gone
I remember loving this as 13 year old, but, man, it’s boring! The sound of the drums is a dead horse that doesn’t need any more beating, but really there are just no dynamics on this record - just one continuous sound. It’s possible these songs would rule re-recorded today with boutique pedals and a drummer with emotions.
Perfect prog-pop mix of nostalgia, cheese, and emotion.
Didn’t move me, but was pleasant as a soundtrack to the work day.
For a Christmas album, this is a banger - rating reflects this specificity.
Proto-indie rock, without which we'd probably be missing out on so much fun, twee, modern music.
A fine album - it didn't move me, but it was pleasant to listen to.
I weighting the rating based on the half of the album I love. The more they ditch ska and embrace experimentation, the better they get. I don’t think Gorillaz, and other trippy, eclectic bands, would exist without this album.
💯perfect album, no notes.
Not a bad album, but it's buoyed by Morrison's voice. Without that, it's just a collection of mostly mid-tier blues rock.
I love every one of these songs individually, but I tire of them fairly quickly as an album. Perfect mixtape fodder, boring album.
Incredible musicianship. Schmaltzy, saccharine smoothness. Pretentious pricks.
Such a good album. Despite all his faults, Morrissey is one of the greatest lyric writers of the 20th century, although the music doesn't always live up to them. Just shy of a 5 star album.
Fun, danceable album, but I wish I liked his voice.
SCC. A couple of stinkers, but mostly perfect.
I appreciate the White Stripes for doing something different, I've never been able to get behind them fully. LIkes: Lyrics, melodies, and energy level. Dislikes: Jack's voice and guitar tone.
Nothing but respect for Aretha - she can do no wrong with her voice, and this is entirely a pleasant experience. But...is this an album, or a compilation of ballads? There is no adventure or excitement here, just a perfect voice singing bog-standard R&B/soul grooves.
A month in to this project, and I've reached the first album I couldn't finish. A couple of good songs, but they weren't kidding when they called it infinite.
Good shit, but didn’t get to listen closely enough for a review. Will definitely revisit.
b o r i n g
Had only heard the hits, which are SCCs. The rest of the album isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it sure was fun.
Probably deserves a higher rating, but I know nothing about the genre except I don't really enjoy it. Based on the number of bands associated with Heaven 17 I imagine they're groundbreaking in some way. Good for them.
Felt like a vampire in a night club.
The. Worst.
A very good, but not perfect, album. In a world where U2 followed this thread they could have done great things; instead, their God complex kicked in and they were reduced to producing drivel (with an occasional bright spot) catered to hollow masses.
This was fine. Not amazing by any standards. Maybe it was more groundbreaking at it's release?
Compared to her contemporary pop-girlies, this is very listenable. Still not my bag.
Boring background funk
The is album makes my choogles choog:
During the first track I thought, "This is going to be an easy 4 or maybe even 5, despite the terrible mix." By track two I was proven wrong. By track 3 I was annoyed by his voice and the audio levels. By track 4 I remembered why I don't listen to Elvis. The deification of Elvis Presley is a great example of how the lack of choice can influence the popularity of mediocre talent.
Stone cold classic. Lyrics that cut through the faf. Strong songwriting delivered with great fragility.
Good for a lark, but not something I come back to a lot. I was just talking to a friend about Steely Dan last week and told them they're the kind of band I like on a play list, but not the kind of band who's records I would collect. Also, they're insufferable, pretentious dorks (trust me - takes one to know one), which makes them hard to like.
Every once in a while I listen to some live Dead and it's okay, but not spectacular. Album Dead doesn't move me at all.
Too bad about the pedophilia or whatever was going on.
I finished it! Listened to it twice, even. Not entirely my cup of tea, but there are couple of bangers and nothing that pissed me off.
An all time great. The thin, reedy vocals and filtered overall sound might not be everyone's cup of tea, but to me it matches the lyrical themes of depression, loss, anxiety, and moving on perfectly. Truly an album that everyone, especially people who make music themselves, should listen to at least once before they die.
If you took every good song that Elton John released and stuck them together, it would be a 5/5, perfect, all-time great, fun and moving double-album. Instead we get a bunch of albums of mostly cheesy filler, each with a few stand out tracks.
While I appreciate albums like this, they definitely show their age. I can hear the bones of what came after, and I understand why they're on this list, but they just don't capture my attention.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the genre, but I know I dug this.
Great listen! Very cool snapshot of the era.
Rufus Wainwright has one of my favorite singing voices of all time, moving and creative lyrics, and beautiful melodies, but something stops me from giving this a 5. For all I love it, it is not something I come back to very often. Sorry, Rufus!
A perfectly fine indie-rock album.
An album so vapid, I don't remember listening to it. At least it wasn't offensive.
Look at us! We love America! We love Elvis! Edge - hold this spotlight on me while I vamp.
Not their best effort, but I always appreciate some Talking Heads in my ears.
Not my thing, hard to rate. Hard to believe it was any kind of hit with only 4 songs, one of which is spoken word.
There are very few Laurel Canyon type singer-songwriters I can stand. This isn't one of those. Boring, overproduced, warbly muzak.
Nice background music. No reason to be on a list of albums you must hear before you die.
Fun album.
Not as high a peak as some Neil Young, but still speaks to the soul.
So dumb it's fun!
It's fine for what it is, but I'm not a honky tonk guy.
Easy listening for hipsters. Nothing offensive, but nothing to knock my socks off.
No denying her incredible voice, but suffers from Top 40 production cheese. Just too glossy for it to be in any regular rotation.
It's showing it's age, but there's no doubt how influential and cool this album was in the nineties.
Boring blues rock from a boring twat.
I adore this album. Cash's voice was never better than when it was barely holding together. The arrangements are mostly perfect and gave new life to songs from other artists that would otherwise be forgettable.
Beautiful voice, but only a couple of tracks that I come back to.
Most of the things I hate about 90s music all wrapped up in one place.
Classic, informative album.
Not my favorite Belle & Sebastian, but I would never say no to listening.
Boring ass millennial easy-listening written by a sexual predator. Perfect your next blind date at Starbucks.
Not bad, but really hit or miss. Amazing riffs followed by bog standard rock and back to cool riffs again. Josh Homme's voice gets better in later albums.
I enjoyed this, but it was a little too sedated to keep me super interested. I would live to see it live, though!
Just not enough music to make it enjoyable.
I always think I'm going to love R.E.M., but they never quite get me there.
I've been aware there was a band called Teenage Fanclub, but I believe this is the first time I've heard them, and I don't know how this album isn't more talked about when we talk about the 90s. Sounds like they took the Beatles, Kinks, et al and did Britpop better than any of the more radio friendly versions could ever dream.
Historic album, what else can one say?
On songwriting alone, this album is a solid 5. George Harrison was a man with so many fascinating contradictions, and this record offers a fun peek into his mind. However, he needed a producer who was comfortable saying no - everything is so busy the songs end up diluted.
Nice, quick album of mostly forgettable tunes. Like with many other british invasion bands, it was probably impossible to make an album that was actually representative of what was I'm assuming a loud, violent, and raw live show.
There is zero reason for this album to be on the list. It's not terrible, it just has no original thought.
I know almost nothing about tropicalia, but dug this.
Not bad, but not terribly original or as "out there" as I would prefer. Great to have on at barbecue or game night to set the mood.
If you love this album, I can guess your age within 3 years, how tight your jeans are, and if you’ve sat cross legged on the floor of a two-bedroom house that four roommates shared while a scene-famous artist played a secret show.
The Calvary Cross is one of my favorite songs of all time, and my guitar playing owes a lot to Richard Thompson. The rest of the album is great, but I can see how the sort of Village folk subjects and singing voices can turn people off.
Very 90s and UK>. Very boring.
It's fine, but dance music is not really my jam.
Awesome riffs, marred by classic rock vocals. Can hear both influences they pulled from and things they influenced.
There are a couple of real bangers on here, but doesn't keep me engaged. I'd much rather listen to the Dap Kings with Sharon Jones.
American Pie as a single surely deserves to be on this list. However, the brand of meandering and monotonous modern folk that fills out the rest of the album isn't enough to make the whole thing a must listen. I'm starting to have my doubts about the breadth of musical knowledge the book's author has. Did I get fooled by a Rolling Stone reading, boomer dad?
While beautiful, it all turns into elevator music.
Like many of the albums on this list: it's not offensive to hear, but I'm baffled by its inclusion here.
Finally another album that actually belongs on a list of must listens. While not something I listen to all the time, it's influential, creative, and fun to put on.
Classic Bob. Pretentious, sure, but I love this era of his music.
Such a great album, without which we may have missed out on so much good music directly inspired by it. Every time I listen I want to throw out every song I've written and try again.
Should be a 5 then, right? Despite all I said, because of the loud/quiet dynamics and long whispered sections, it's not the most listenable album. A perfect work of art, yes; a perfect album, no.
Perfect for playlists, karaoke, or watching live at a bar. Would never throw on the album just to listen to.
Does this do anything new or original with the genre? This feels like the kind of generic soul music a man in a sitcom puts on after ignoring all of his wife's needs and desire for years, forgetting an anniversary, then buying flowers and cooking her the one and only meal he knows how to cook (that he assumes is her favorite, but she thinks is mid) as an apology - and somehow she forgives everything and they are more in love than ever before.
Some of the lyrics are funny, though.
Not a single miss on this album, just a bunch of perfect pop songs.
One hit after another, but a little too smooth for my taste.
It's so hard for me to rate dance music - it triggers a lizard brain mixed response of revulsion and boredom. This must be good by the standards of people who like dance music, but I just can't see it. Fun video, though.
I may not listen to it much anymore, but where would music be without it?
New to me and very welcome! It won't be in my regular rotation, but it's a sweet back pocket option for playlists.
Nick Cave is one of those musicians that - on paper - checks all the boxes for me: poetry in the lyrics, a weirdo, cool guitar work, and arty. However, I'm never taken in by it, it just kind of exists.
This album could be on any time and I wouldn't mind. It also starts to fade in to the background after a few tracks.
Great, nostalgic album. Didn't do anything new or exciting with the genre.
Obviously a stone-cold-classic; a foundation on which most music that followed was built. Even the sillier songs, when listened to in context, are otherworldly.
Gets you ramblin' and tamblin' and never lifts off gas! An elite album with start to finish bangers, from tight pop singles to meandering stoner jams, equally at home on the bayou or in the city.
I may be in the minority, but YHF is one of my least favorite Wilco albums. It has a few bangers and some sick guitar work, but overall is is fairly bland and everything "weird" feels contrived. Give A Ghost is Born or Sky Blue Sky anytime.
Led Zeppelin is without a doubt one of the greatest rock bands to ever exist - they've been in my personal top 5 favorite band lists since I was probably 12 years old. This, however, is Zeppelin at their worst. The album starts with two of the worst songs in their catalog and is followed by an LOTR folk song pastiche (all things considered, still a pretty good song). Stairway to Heaven is fine, but at this point has become almost a parody of an "epic" song.
Misty Mountain Hop and Four Sticks are amazing, but Robert Plant offers some of his shrillest vocals, so points off there. Going to California is a return to form, featuring one of his best vocal performances, and When the Levee Breaks is all things cool about Led Zeppelin.
This was a pretty boring experience. A wall of fuzz does not an album make! Vocals felt like a parody of Sonic Youth. Another band that is better at making songs for mixtapes that for albums.
Not something I'd be likely to put on, but one has to acknowledge the impact the album still has on music.
This is a stellar pop album and she wasn't kidding about the rhythm. It does start to feel a little samey toward the end.
I was really looking forward to this, because I like every Can song I've heard in the past. But this sounded like one album-length song. It's a good song, but still...
Outside of Fairytale of New York, I'd never really listened to the Pogues. It's good shit!
While it has some real bangers on it, it gets a little too atmospheric and repetitive at times. I feel like it something I would put on in high school after getting ripped and just lose myself in the reverb.
Lyrically, like with most Leonard Cohen, a masterpiece, but suffers from a lack of creative producing. He needs a foil to the straightforwardness of his melodies and smaller vocal range.
Not a bad album at all, and has a few songs I added to my playlist. But it dragged on a bit and eventually I grew tired of the overabundance of modulation effects.
Please, God, let it stop.
I imagine this music is fun to make, but God, is it boring!
This week has been soooooooo long - Guns n Roses, Fatboy Slim, and now this? Please, god, let it stop.
Jangly pop with Bjork's unique vocals. What's not to love? Great summer time album.
There are a few stone cold classics on here, but overall the album feels dated and repetitive.
Meh. I don't hear emotion when I listen to Willie. It's fine in the background.
One good song. Seven more that sound similar, but aren't.
Indisputable classic record.
No misses.
A few standout tracks, but otherwise pretty middling blues-rock buoyed by skilled musicians and a pretty voice.
Very vibey, and would never mind having on in the summer.
Stone Cold Classic.
So boring.
It's good, but get's a little samey after hearing the same sax run for the 28th time. I enjoyed the piano focused parts a little more.
It's fun for what it is, but feels more dated than a lot of other hip hop from this era.
A lot of good songs and a few absolute bangers, but the album drags on just a little too long and a couple of songs feel like Bowie is doing a pastiche of himself.
Why would I listen to this when I can just listen to Bob do it himself?
As an elder millennial who grew up on classic rock radio, I absolutely love Thin Lizzy's radio hits. I was skeptical about a live album because their hits are such tight little songs, but it was great! The dual guitar leads are clean as hell, and the vocals deliver.
A talented group of people making a boring album.
This took grit and determination to finish listening to.
Meh, there are a couple of singles on here that are ok, but overall its just an easy-listening, no-impact record that can spin in the background of suburbia. If you want to have some fun, listen to Joe Walsh's solo stuff!
Pretty enough, but probably needs an edible to really get into it.
