I'm actually surprised that I haven't listened to more Radiohead, as their music is right in my wheelhouse of stuff I tend to like. I guess I've sometimes felt that their music always seems the same to me. So, it was interesting listening to this album as a whole, as the songs were all very different. A bit mellow, but I enjoyed it!
An iconic album. So many classics on this album. And when you listen to it today, you realize how ahead of his time Jimi Hendrix really was. While I've heard all the songs many times previously, this may be the first time I've listened to the album from front to back in one sitting. Not as much of a fan of the two ballads. I think it's just that when I listen to Hendrix, I want to hear the driving rock with the big guitar solo Hendrix.
This is a completely new to me album. I've never heard any of the songs and I'm really not familiar with Nick Drake. When reading about him and the album, he's referred to as a folk musician, and I would definitely not consider this music folk music. I found the songs to be beautiful. The strings and his voice add almost a haunting quality to a lot of the songs. Definitely something I would listen to as background music, but not as a primary listen.
Definitely some Christmas classics on this album that I love to hear every year. I've heard most of these songs many times, but didn't realize they were all on one album and the history of that album. Have to say that the "Silent Night" at the end with Spector doing the talk over about the album is a bit bizarre and self-serving.
I love this band and I'm honestly not sure why I don't listen to them more. Loved every single song on this album. So much influence - especially in the guitar - from Robert Smith and The Cure. Also influence from New Order/Joy Division. Love the vocals and the music. So glad this popped up and I listened to it from start to finish.
Steely Dan is one of those bands that I appreciate for their talent, but it's just not my kind of music. I think the songs on this album are clearly very good from an instrumentation perspective, but they just don't seem to flow. Not an album I'd seek out to listen to again, and not one I'd put on my top album list.
The songs on this album definitely get across the sound the band was trying to create - robotic, machine-like, mechanical vibe. I think the album has good flow and it's clearly meant to be listened to as an album and not individual songs, which I like.
Not one of his more popular albums. A little more "rock" than I'm used to with an Elton John album. I feel like other albums of his are much better.
Classic album. Almost feels like a rock opera rather than just an album. Jethro Tull isn't necessarily one of my favorite bands that I would regularly listen to, but this album is a classic and definitely deserves to be on the list.
This is definitely an iconic album for this genre and time period. I obviously knew all the songs that were hits, but the other songs were new to me. I enjoyed listening to it.
Honestly, I just don't really get this one. It's good background music, but I wouldn't sit and intentionally listen to this album or feel like it's worth being on the list.
Super quirky, but I liked it. All of the songs are super short and the styles are all over the place. Some songs almost gave me a Beatles feel to them, while others had an early punk feel. I enjoyed this one!
This is just not my thing. Just not my style of music at all. I didn't enjoy it.
I listened to this album many times when it first came out, but it's been awhile. Of course, I hear the songs that were big hits still from time to time. But listening to the album front to back again today reminded me of how good it is. It really shows off the diversity of Soundgarden, and that they could do things outside of their "typical" sound and still be so good. Definitely one of my top albums from that time period and still stands up today.
Elliott Smith and this album are new to me. I love the fact that the music on this album is pretty diverse. It's not the standard "singer/songwriter" stuff. I found myself tapping my toes while I was listening to a lot of it. I liked the album. Did I hear a song on it that I thought was amazing? No. Is it a memorable album for me? No. But I enjoyed listening to it. Just sort of average for me.
Interesting album in that it's a "studio" album that was recorded with a live audience over the course of two nights. It definitely makes you feel like you are just listening to a live band playing in a little jazz club. Definitely great as background music for me, but it was quite long and seemed a bit repetitive.
Another new to me band and album. I actually think if the band had stayed together a few years longer (or I had been born a few years earlier), they would have been in my regular rotation, as their music is right in my wheelhouse. I love the post-punk English music. So many great albums and great bands. Loved this one and added several songs to my "favorites" on Spotify.
So good! Just an iconic album. Even if you aren't into heavy metal or AC/DC, everyone knows so many of the songs on this album, which makes it an instant classic in my book.
I love a good punk album and this is a great punk album. Just classic British punk from the 70s. It's punk, but all the songs don't sound the same like they can on some punk albums. Loved it!
Very bluesy, which I like. Interesting, because the album is mostly covers and not originals. Classic Clapton album.
Patti Smith is just one of those artists I've never really "got" for some reason. I know how much of a legend and trailblazer she is, so definitely appreciate that. And I feel like as a fan of punk and a lot of that genre of music, I should have liked her. But I just could never get into her. It was good to listen to this album and give her another shot, but it just isn't my thing.
I'm not normally a "jam band" fan. I think this is a great album to have on as background music, but it would be hard for me to just sit and listen to it with nothing else going on. Clearly a classic and this is definitely a great album for what it is, but just not my thing.
I'd never heard of White Denim before or this album. Definitely a jam band feel with shorter songs. Their sound reminds me a bit of Widespread Panic or Goose. Definitely more musically driven than lyrically. I liked it and would listen again.
Interesting how they put the album together with side 1 being all more up-tempo songs and side 2 being all ballads. Definitely more mature both musically and lyrically than their earlier stuff. I enjoyed listening to it.
I did a lot of research on the origination of the songs for this album and the recording. It basically happened at the beginning of the end for the Beatles. Yoko Ono was now fully on the scene, which caused issues between John Lennon and the rest of the band. Ringo Starr left the band completely for a few weeks. Most of the songs were written while the band was attending a Transcendental Meditation course in India. It's amazing to me that this album came out of all that chaos. Having said that, a good chunk of the album is made up of songs that clearly belong to one band member or the other. Rare on the album are songs where the band is one cohesive unit. Some of the songs are just bizarre and really not that good. But the number of absolute classics and iconic songs that were not only classics for the Beatles, but songs that have been covered over and over again, is a tribute to how talented they were not only as a band, but as individuals.
Such a good album. I'm a huge fan of Prince and this has such a Prince vibe to it. Listened to it on a rainy and chilly Sunday morning and it was perfect.
Kind of unsure, actually, why this one made the list. I think the Isley Brothers are great and definitely have their place in music history. But the album has almost as many covers as originals. And while I like that they always put their own spin on covers, it just doesn't seem like this is an album that should be considered on a greatest albums list. It was fine, but nothing spectacular for me.
Definitely not an album to listen to if you are looking for something happy and a good pick me up. A whole album of songs about death and murder is for sure not for everyone. But it's a cohesive album for sure and a classic Nick Cave album.
Just really not my thing. I'd never heard of this band, so wasn't familiar at all with their music until I looked up the info. I have to admit that I went in a bit biased, as any time I see an album where the whole first side is just one song, I know it's probably going to be tough for me to listen to. Sounds to me like so many other jam bands. I don't hear anything extraordinary with this album.
This album to me is the ultimate yacht rock album. It has everything you want in yacht rock - smooth beats, polished sound, interesting composition, etc. I read that they used almost 40 session musicians on this album and you can definitely tell - the instrumentation is fantastic and the album sounds so polished and professional. Not an album that is going to necessarily take you anywhere emotionally, but extremely well put together.
Definitely a classic Rush album. You get side 1, which is basically a mini rock opera with a science fiction theme. And then side 2 is more "typical" Rush with a group of short songs that show off their ability to rock. If you love Rush, this is one of their classics for sure.
I am admittedly not a fan of rap music. I can appreciate it, but it's just not my thing. This is not an album I would ever seek out and listen to. Having said that, I can totally appreciate this album for what it is. It's truly more like listening to the audio of a movie than listening to an album. Truly genius in how it's put together. Definitely a classic and influential rap/hip hop album.
Love Talking Heads! I think they have always been one of the most musically creative bands out there. I love that you can't really fit them in one genre, and this album is a perfect example of what they do. Some eclectic songs. Some fun songs that you just want to tap your toes to. Some slower songs. Just a great blend and album.
I've listened to this album many, many times, but it's been awhile and it was nice to listen to it again. It's one of those albums that you can play all the way through from front to back and not skip any songs. At the time it came out, it was so much different than anything else that was out at that time. It's truly an album that defined a musical genre.
I'm not familiar with Mercury Rev at all, so I don't have any idea of this album is typical of their music or not. I read that before Jonathan Donohue started writing the album, he was in a period where he was listening to some of his favorite childhood records, including one that was a collection spoken-word fairy tales set to classical music. You can definitely hear that influence on some of the songs - it's almost a whimsical feel with a little angst thrown in. I feel like this is an album I'd probably want to listen to a couple more times to get more familiar with it, but on first impression I enjoyed it.
I've heard of Sugar, but I'm not super familiar with any of their songs, so listening to this album was all new to me. Interesting that I just had Nirvana's "Nevermind" album the other day and according to what I read, that album was a big inspiration for the album and the band in general. I liked the album. Nothing super memorable for me, so not sure it belongs on a list of greatest albums from my personal perspective, but a solid album.
Everybody knows "Take Me Out", which seemed to be played non-stop the year the single came out. I had heard a couple of the other songs on the album, but wasn't familiar with most of it. I think this is a really fun album and really well done. There wasn't really a song that I didn't like or that I didn't think fit the album. Franz Ferdinand is definitely in my wheelhouse of music I tend to like and I thought this was a very solid album as a whole.
This is the first album I've had on the list where I actually own the album in my vinyl collection. I bought the album when it first came out, so clearly I have a love of this album. I've been a huge fan of the Police for a long time and have listened to all of their stuff - including this album - extensively. This album was really a shift for the Police from their more reggae, fun style to a more serious and synthesizer heavy sound. It also catapulted them to being one of the biggest bands in the world at the time. Ironically, it was the beginning of the end, and Sting was already moving towards a solo career. You can definitely hear the musical direction shift from the early sound of the Police to the sound that Sting as a solo artist would have. One of my favorite albums and glad I got to listen to it again this morning!
I've gotten lucky with the albums this week. A lot of bands/artists that I love, including Gorillaz. Their stuff is always so unique and "Clint Eastwood" is one of my favorite songs. The album is a bit long, but full of so many different styles of music. It was a good Saturday morning listen!
So this is really two separate albums - one by Big Boi and one by Andre 3000 - that was released as one double album by the two together as Outkast. Two totally separate albums with different sounds. Speakerboxxx by Big Boi is more rap based, while The Love Below by Andre 3000 is more hip hop and lyrical. Everyone knows "Hey Ya!" which is really the only song I knew. The album was very, very long. I'm glad I got it on a Sunday morning and I had other things to do on my laptop so I could just play it in the background. I actually preferred the Speakerboxx album, which surprised me as I'm not typically a big fan of rap.
This is definitely one of those albums that always comes up in conversation as being a classic and one of the greatest albums out there. The album was a shift from early punk Clash to music that had more of a reggae/ska vibe to it. Some iconic songs on this album that everyone knows. I do have to say that I've gotten a few of these double albums now and if you aren't a huge fan of the artist, they are just really long and the songs start to all blend together. But this is a classic for sure!
I think everyone has heard the song "Sunshine Superman" (even if you didn't realize that's what it was). That song is what I think of when I think of Donovan's sound, and I was expecting the rest of the album to sound similar to that song. Actually, none of the other songs sounded at all like that song. They were all quite slow and I found the whole album to be a bit boring. Wasn't really my thing.
wasn't familiar at all with this album, so this was my first time listening. Badu has such a soulful voice and the album just has this chill vibe to it. I can definitely see having this play as background music when you just want to have a laid back vibe going. Badu is so talented and this is definitely a great album.
This album is definitely different. The songs to me were sort of all over the place. It had a jam band vibe, but the songs were all super short. The only song I recognized was "Lake of Fire", and that's only because Nirvana covered it during their Unplugged session on MTV. Very odd and eclectic. Not really my thing.
The Pretenders are one of those bands that I don't listen to a lot, but when I do hear one of their songs, it reminds me how much I enjoy them. So, it was nice to listen to this album this morning and revisit some songs I knew and hear some songs I wasn't familiar with for the first time. The thing I will say about this album, generally, is it seemed a bit inconsistent to me at times. There are some great songs on the album and then suddenly there is a dud of a song. But overall, it's a great album.
Caveat to this one is that New Order is one of my favorite bands and this is probably my favorite album by them. I've listened to in many, many times. It's the album where they transitioned from being a mostly post punk band to more of a dance rock band. The sound on this album is the sound that made me start to love New Order. I think all of the songs on it are amazing and it made me happy to spend an hour on my Saturday morning listening to it!
I hadn't heard of Orange Juice, but when I looked up the info on the album, I thought I might like it because of the genre and when it was released. After listening to the title track, it did sound a bit familiar to me, so I've probably heard it at some point. I also had high hopes for the album after listening to the title track, but it went downhill from there. From what I read, the band was a one hit wonder, and even that hit wasn't very big and only really in the UK. Honestly, not surprising. There was some potential on a few of the songs, but the whole thing just fell flat for me. Not sure how this made the list, but I wouldn't have included it. Just not a memorable album.
When you listen to this album, it makes you remember how much of a trailblazer Amy Winehouse was for female artists. She totally broke the mold about what a female pop artist should sound like and the type of music they should make. I always felt like Amy Winehouse was one of those people you would describe as an "old soul", and this album perfectly depicts that. She did her own thing and she did it beautifully!
've listened to this album many, many times. We have it on CD and up until we got rid of our last car that had a CD player in it a year or so ago, it was on regular rotation in the car. Trent Reznor is such a musical genius and this album is a great example of that. The songs are just raw and a look into everything he had going on in his life at the time. If I was picking a personal list of my top albums, this would definitely be on it, so totally worthy that it made this list in my opinion.
This is another album that I've listened to many, many times. It's one of those albums that when I listen to the album, it immediately takes me back to a particular time in life. In this case, I was getting ready to enter my second year of college when this came out and I had this cassette tape playing in the tape deck of my car over and over again for months. While the first side of the album (tracks 1 through 5) are the ones people are probably more familiar with, I think the second side of the album (tracks 6 through 9) is actually the better side. It's much more melodic and the music is more complex. That side of the album is in memory of Perry Farrell's girlfriend, Xiola Blue, who died from a heroin overdose at the age of 18. And the song "Then She Did" is about Farrell's mother dying by suicide when he was just 4 years old. If the songs on the second side don't punch you in the gut, I don't know what will.
So, this album is definitely way different than any of the others I've had so far. And it's a big difference from the albums I've had the last couple of days (Jane's Addiction, NIN, New Order, etc.). I knew "The Girl From Ipanema" and a couple of the other standards that they included on the album sounded familiar to me. Otherwise, if I've heard any of these songs before, I had long forgotten them. I remember my grandparents have one of those old-fashioned huge hi-fi units that was like a piece of furniture, and I remember them playing music by a lot of the old greats like Sinatra, so it's possible I've heard this album before, but was too young to realize it. Definitely not my normal thing (my Spotify algorithms are probably so confused now), but no one can argue with Sinatra's voice and the smoothness he brought to every song he touched.
I think most everyone is familiar with "Smoke On The Water", as it's probably one of the iconic rock songs of all time. Outside of that, one other song was familiar to me, but the rest of the album was not. This album is exactly what you want in a rock album - classic guitar riffs, lots of guitar solos, and pounding drums throughout. The lyrics aren't deep and aren't going to blow you away, but the music itself is what makes this album a classic. Definitely worthy of the list!
This is a new to me band and album. I love a good punk album, and this one is pretty solid. I like that they used some different sounds, including the saxophone. But, the lead singer's - Poly Styrene - voice could definitely be a little grinding at times. On a couple of the songs, it was just too much for me. Solid album, but not one I'd add to my regular listening rotation.
Tito Puente is a legend in Latin dance music and this album is full of classic mambo songs. It definitely is a good representation of this style of music. Even though I'm not super familiar with the style, it always gets me tapping my toe and makes me feel like getting up and dancing!
This is a classic Stevie Wonder album. Lots of classics on this one that I've heard before, but I've never listened to the whole album in its entirety. It's really a well put together and well rounded album with everything from ballads to funky songs that you want to dance to. Even more impressive is the fact that the album is pretty much a Stevie Wonder solo production - not only does he play most all of the instruments on the album, but he wrote all the songs and produced all the tracks.
I love Lenny Kravitz, but this is not one of my favorite albums by him. I can definitely hear in it the sound that he eventually would evolve into, but most of the songs feel a bit slow to me and not as hard hitting as some of the Lenny stuff I love. This album was not his most successful album commercially either, so interesting that it's on the list. I have to give him credit in that this is another of those "one man show" albums, where outside of the lyrics on two of the songs (which were written/co-written by his then wife, Lisa Bonet), Kravitz wrote all of the songs, played all of the instruments and produced the album. Pretty impressive for a debut album!
I had high hopes for this album. While I'm not familiar with anything from the Associates, I definitely knew of them because of their associations with The Cure (which many of you know is my favorite band). Michael Dempsey was the original bassist for The Cure and joined the Associates after leaving the band. And, Robert Smith was friends with Billy Mackenzie, who was the lead singer of the Associates. In fact, The Cure's song "Cut Here" is about the regret Robert Smith always had when he blew off Mackenzie backstage at a Cure concert just a few weeks before Mackenzie died by suicide. Having said all that, I just didn't care for this album at all. A lot of the songs just sounded like noise to me. I'm not a fan of Mackenzie's voice. Honestly, just not sure how this one ended up on the list. In fact, there were some bonus tracks from the re-release of the album that were listed on the Spotify track list and I didn't listen to them. Normally I would, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Electronic dance music is admittedly not my thing. This album is really, really long and it just sounds very repetitive to me. I had a lot of busy work at my desk today, so it was fine to just play it in the background while I was doing other things, but I wouldn't seek this one out to listen to again. Not bad in any way, but just not something I would listen to.
When this one popped up this morning, I actually didn't have any idea what it was. After I started playing it, I realized that I knew a couple of the songs, just wouldn't have put the name of the band together with those songs. The descriptions I read about it described the music as power pop. I would call it a mix of yacht rock and southern rock. Really solid album and the sound was way before it's time in 1972. I surprisingly enjoyed this one!
I don't know that I've ever sat and listened to this album in its entirety before, but it has so many good songs on it that I absolutely love. I've seen the Adam Lambert version of Queen a couple of times, and Queen is one of those bands that I regret that I never saw live with Freddie. It's always interesting to read about the albums too, and it's amazing to me that despite their commercial success at that point in their career, the band was pretty much broke at the time they made this album due to a bad contract they had signed. The band was only making about 60 pounds a week from Trident Studios. Everything else was going to the label and their management. This was also the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release. Total classic that shows off the talent of everyone in the band and the diversity in their music!
