Overall did not interest me. I Have always enjoyed single tracks by Nick Drake, but felt very bored after a few in a row. Rounding up to 3 stars because the production and guitar tone was lovely.
Fav - which will, place to be, free ride
least fav - know, from the morning
My first ablum was Nick Drake, and I was a little disapointed to see this come in at number 2, as I was hoping for more of a shift in tone. However, this is a fantastic sounding album that grabbed me a lot harder than Pink Moon.
I forget how much I like Cat Stevens. All good songs. It's sitting right at 4.5 stars for me. Father & Son made me cry at work, which seems like a 5, but it's also just the 2nd album of the list for me. Feels too soon to be giving out marginal 5's... I guess it's 4, tough though, really good album.
Favorites - Wild World, Sad Lisa, Where do the Children Go, Father and Son
Less favorites (still good)- Longer Boats, Into White
2/1001+
Can't deny the incredible production and indelible impact. I thought that I would be giving this a 5 star without a second thought.
The problem is that I'd rather read about how important this album is than listen to it.
Love - Pet Sounds (kind of wish the whole album was instrumentals), Sloop John B
Like - God Only Knows
Take or leave the rest
5 star for influence and place on list, 2 star listen for me. I'll call it 4
3/1001+
I hate Christmas music, especially this kind of Christmas music. Painful.
I assume that if I liked classic cars I would love this. However, I am at best indifferent to cars of all types, much like this music.
Just as good as Nevermind. Love the production by Albini. It loses 1/2 a star for my because I find the transitions a bit rough, maybe because of the non-Albini reworks on a few songs.
Amazing song writing. Cobain's pain can be hard to listen to, but makes moving music.
Absolutely love this album.
Coming to this after The Bends and OK Computer I wasn't sure about it the first time I heard it, but it has grown on me every time I've listened. Idoteque and The National Anthem are favorites, but all are good and make up a coherent album that flows beautifully. The drumming and bass playing are so tight and perfect. Singing is subdued for Yorke, fits perfectly.
Album number 6, and my first 5 star
New to me. Album #9 on my list. First album on here I wasn't very familiar with which was fun.
I enjoy house/techno, but have never really paid much attention to individual artists or albums in the genre. This is pretty good, interesting layered sounds. Definitely goes beyond just a beat for dancing. In fact I don't think much of this is that great for dancing to, too many little hitches and variations.
Probably not something I'll come back to, but I had a good time.
Too long, started to drag
3.5 stars, round down to 3 because 4 implies either something that I want to own and have in regular rotation or something that feels particularly important or influential. While I enjoyed this, it doesn't meet those criteria.
favs - don't give up, Same old show
Positives - great metal drumming, super tight. Good bass too.
Too clean for me. I prefer more distortion and emotion in metal, or rock music generally. There are features here that certainly influenced music that I like a lot more.
I appreciated the lyrics for the most part, but did not enjoy the singing.
Songs felt repetitive. I can't remember any that I preferred over others.
Maybe I'm grumpy, but 2/5
I'm really not a fan of crooning music, Sinatra, Bing Crosy, ect. There are parts here that give me that cringe, but there are also moments with depth and beauty I don't hear in the Vegas crooners.
When the country or jazz or soul comes through a little stronger there are moments that I love. Ultimately I would rather listen to a full on country or jazz album and leave this as an interesting album that I don't revisit in full.
This was an unexpected experience. I loved this when it came out, and now I can't really remember why. It has not aged well.
It is still pleasant to have on. It has a lot of nice instrumentation. Whatever emotions it spoke to at the time aren't connecting anymore. It also doesn't hit me with the nostalgia high that some music from the era does. Maybe I'm just dead inside, but this is the most 3/5 stars I've heard so far.
I did enjoy this as a kid in the 90's, but now find the music rather dull and the vocals vaguely unpleasant.
Some of the reviews mention that they find it derivative and just like a dozen other bands of the era. I'm inclined to give some credit for being a few years ahead of the curve. In my experience at least, '94 was on the early end of this brand of blended stoner-rock/hip-hop/whatever it is. That being said, it is post Beck and Beastie Boys, and not nearly as good as either. Inessential and doesn't need to be on the list, I'd put 90% of the user albums above this.
2 stars
Top Covid lockdown album? Love this one, love the bass lines, love the arrangements.
Just the right amount of weird to be engrossing and interesting.
Very surprising 5 stars, really happy to be reminded of this one.
Not bad, not my favorite music.
I know that Springsteen's messages are nuanced and he seems to be a good person, but I find it difficult to separate this music from conflicted feelings about patriotism and US imperialism at the beginning of 2026. Just not what I want playing in my head these days. I'd rather have someone screaming at me or hitting me with some atonal nonsense. Wish it was Tom Waits.
Curious to see how Springsteen's older stuff hits if it comes up soon.
Probably a 4-star album that I'm giving 3 because of feelings
Really like this. A few all time classics. I used to listen to this all the time.
Every song is drawn out. In my opinion cutting just a couple of them to be tighter would make the long drawn out songs feel more emotionally powerful and would make the while album better. Maybe I just got too drained by the end, maybe I'm just too jaded to handle so much Cure.
Love - Pictures of You (one of my 100 desert island songs), Lullaby
Strong 4 stars
Easy 5 stars, classic. Perfect voice and so much feeling. Sometimes great singers leave me feeling a bit cold, not Aretha. Love it
Favs - People Get Ready, Good to me as I am to You!!!, kind of all of them.
Second album that I haven't heard before. Not a super exciting discovery
The dated synthy sound isn't working for me here. I don't hate the beat and groove of it, but it's pretty boring.
It has a kind of lo-fi quality that I love in rock music, but I generally want my electronic music more polished.
A few songs give a hint of early Nine Inch Nails, but don't get there in quality or emotion. They don't sound as good and this is 10 years after NIN's first album. [Just noticed that this came out in 1999, I would have guessed '89, deliberate? Part of the late 90's Euro aesthetic?]
Lot of Daft Punk too, just way worse.
Disco II Disco is a strange song, makes me feel like I'm losing an arcade game over and over again.
The more songs I listen to the less I like this.
Won't be coming back to it. Wouldn't have included on the list.
I Kind of liked the last song, drags it up to barely 2 Stars
Top Review - "Mumble Sad bastard music"... My favorite!
Right up my alley. I feel like this would stand up well to multiple listens to go deeper into the lyrics.
Not quite my favorite Silver Jews album, probably "American Water", but still really good.
4.5 stars, probably rounded down to 4 because even though I love this I would consider it a minor album, not essential listening.
Obviously this is pretty weird. I don't hate it.
I'm super impressed by the production. For 1968 the sound is really crisp. All the little studio sounds really pop. You can tell before turning it on that it's going to be riffing on Sgt. Pepper's and I think that it does the studio stuff just as well. Listening on decent headphones I was struck by how good the stereo effect is. All-in-all feels ahead of it's time and a great illustration of Zappa's genius.
First phone call skit that somehow became ubiquitous in 90's hip-hop?? I guess maybe Bob Newhart's comedy album.
Two problems:
1. The satire has not aged all that well, as it often doesn't. No connection to the lyrics or stories being told.
2. It's cool, but it's barely music. Not something that I would just put on and listen to.
Glad it's on the list but don't think I can go above 3 stars
Starts off incredibly strong, stays really good. I love the opening 4 songs, raw but beautiful. Her singing is incredible and hard to believe given her age at the time. The piano and instrumentation is also great.
I was surprised to get this just a week after "Fetch the Bolt Cutters". Very interesting to compare the two. Both are really good, but I prefer the later work by a hair. I appreciate the confidence to be experimental gained over time. I'm a bit younger than her, so possibly her more mature songs speak to me at this point in my life. I was also a little too young to appreciate this when it came out, unlike "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" which hit me immediately and hard.
If I got served this a year from now with more space from FtBC I'll bet I would give it 5 stars, but I'm unable to avoid a direct comparison and end up at a very strong 4 stars for "Tidal". Still an album that I will listen to many times and always love.
Fav - Sleep to Dream, Sullen Girl, Shadowboxer, The First Taste
Very difficult to separate from the circumstances of it's release. Deeply melancholic.
From Lazarus to the end is excellent and right up there with the best he ever did. The first 2 songs are not my favorites.
I did not like this at all.
"Tainted Love" was the only song I was familiar with, and that was okay. It's a 2.5 minute song and that was about how much time I wanted to spend here.
I used to say that I hated 80's music, that was silly, but this vibe is exactly why I said it.
Really good album. Consistently good songs all the way through. The radio hits were severely overplayed, so I actually enjoyed the non-singles more.
Favorites are "Oracular spectacular" and "Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters".
Not quite an all time classic, but no skips which earns a solid 4 stars from me.
Completely unfamiliar with this which is exciting!
It's pretty good, most songs have a nice groove to them. Strikes me as finding a home somewhere between the Rolling Stones and Pavement. I like the singers voice for a few songs, but find that I'm tiring of it as the album goes on.
The Replacements' cover of "Another Girl, Another Planet" is a favorite song. I like the version here too, although not quite as much.
Overall, I'm glad this came up. I was thinking 3 stars, but then I saw that the album is 33 minutes long and for some reason I really appreciated that, rounded up to 4 stars!
This is... fine I guess. Probably pretty cool when it came out, borderline comical now, enormous Spinal Tap vibes. The falsetto yells on "Bloodsucker" caused involuntary eye rolling.
I am enjoying some of the organ playing though, little bit of funk to it. I'll take this over The Doors any day. At least these guys sound like they're having a good time while being ridiculous.
"Child in Time" has a nice sound (favorite on the album), but why oh why is it over 10 minutes long? The song has a perfect ending point at 6:15! They were not into restraint.
"Flight of the Rat" is pretty good too, cool guitar.
Downhill after that, pretty over it by the end.
There are 2 more Deep Purple albums on the list, really? I think I get the idea, not excited about that.
Overall well done but not for me, 3 stars.
Right off the bat, this is cool as hell. I'm not familiar with the album although I've heard bits of it here and there. Sits nicely in the junction of jazz and soul.
H20 Gate Blues is amazing. Not much changes I guess, but if anyone is making a song like this now I would like to hear it.
Not something that I would listen to very often, but when I'm feeling right for it this would hit hard. I wish I'd gotten it in the summer time, feels like a summer time album despite the name.
Had this down as 4 stars, but after H20 Gate Blues I'm calling it 5 stars. Moved by this album and will be checking out some of his other work.
Well this is a big one. Certainly an album to listen to before you die, but did I need to listen to it again before I die. I'm not so sure.
Some music gets more personal and powerful the more you listen to it. This is not in that category for me. Admittedly I'm not particularly interested in 70's classic rock, but I've heard all of these songs so many times that they bore me.
This is a tough one to rate. Yes, it's technically excellent, yes it's a big freakin deal, but I don't like it that much. Sounds like 3 stars and get out of here without upsetting anyone too much.
I do kind of like "When the Levee Breaks", killer bass line.
I've never heard this before, and I won't be coming back. It's mostly dull. Somehow sleepier Nick Drake. I gave "Pink Moon" 2 stars and I think I liked it a fair bit more than this.
The only song that I didn't dislike was "Dreams By the Sea" which had a tolerable jazzy tune. Then it went into a song that would feel right at home performed for an open mic night at a decent coffee shop near a medium sized midwestern college. My clapping would be half hearted.
I can't see a single reason to include this album on the list. I actually listened to most of it twice to see if I was missing something, still don't see it.
First thing, I love the album art! Really cool
Second thing, I love Janis Joplin, one of my favorite singers.
This album doesn't quite hit the highs of her solo work. It doesn't feel like she's going quite as full into it, but is rather working with the band. That makes sense, but it downplays the part that I like. I care a lot less about the run of the mill late 60's psychedelic rock than I do about hearing Janis Joplin take it all the way to the limit.
I know they were trying to recreate a live sound in the studio, but the production is not my favorite. A bit muffled.
about 3.5 stars that I'm rounding up to 4 because of the R. Crumb art.
This is right in my zone. The list nailed my general mood today.
Super cool sound. Love the guitar tone throughout. You can hear some of the qualities that Albini would contribute to other artists' work as an engineer, but they've still got a unique and interesting thing going on.
Favorite song was probably "Kerosene", no skips though.
This is probably a 3 or 4 star album that I'm giving 5 stars because I loved listening to it today and I want to be reminded to turn it on when the mood strikes in the future.
I like this, don't love it.
David Byrne is an icon and seems genuinely cool. I like their aesthetic and the undeniable fact that they do their own thing. You can't mistake them for anything else. Still, I rarely go for the Talking heads, something just doesn't feel right, maybe you had to be there.
I like this album more than their others that I've listened to in their entirety. It has a hint more of their punk roots coming through.
4 stars, seems essential but just misses for me
Not sure how to rate this one. She has a beautiful voice, no surprise there. She is rightfully revered. Really pretty songs, but I tried listening twice and very literally fell asleep both times. Send me the best 35 minutes of this and we can talk about a 5 star classic.
I feel like 3 stars for an "album" that I couldn't get through isn't bad.
32 albums in and my second Nick Drake album, not thrilled
I am glad that there are at least some other sounds and instruments on this one, but it sounds like a collection of theme songs to 70's sitcoms.
If Bob Dylan rhymed "Jane" with "again" I would probably think it was great, but for some reason it annoyed the hell out of me here.
I do enjoy the piano on "One of These Things First". It would make top notch music to be placed on hold with your doctor's office. Actually maybe that's what all this music sounds like.
"Fly" has my favorite singing on the album, but it sounds like Ren fair music, not a compliment.
I haven't listened to Rage Against the Machine in years, but I felt irresistibly compelled to turn it on after this, odd reaction.
I wanted to like it more than Pink Moon, and there are little touches here and there that I liked, but nope, still 2 stars.
Right in my wheelhouse.
I love the drumming in particular. Early version of what I think of as "90's drumming"
It's hard not to compare to Nirvana, and the lyrics and singing don't hold up to Kurt Kobain. The influence is strong though, and The guitar, drums, and bass are right there.
Minor quibble, songs are a bit repetitive, none jump out as real classics, just all pretty good. no skips though, solid album. Happy to see it here.
Okay, I would call this very inessential. Not sure what it's doing on the list. Not very interesting and I am not blown away by the sound.
I was only vaguely aware of them before, and don't expect to revisit.
This rocks! Opening Track is great.
Amazing rock drumming, Ozzy's voice was one of a kind.
They are certainly one of the most influential heavy rock/ metal bands of all time, but listening to it now, it just feels like solid rock. Really holds up, I'll listen to this over most other guitar music coming out of the 70's
Not my favorite Sabbath Album, but still a solid 4 stars. Almost 5 stars, I think I'm secretly wanting to leave room for Paranoid. This one has a few more filler songs than Paranoid.
Aside, I'm a little surprised that there are no solo Ozzy albums on the list. Feels like Blizzard of Ozz could have squeezed on.
They get a catch a lot of hate for the bands that follow after. I don't think that's particularly fair or relevant.
1. That's not their fault. Just because they were a little ahead of the zeitgeist doesn't mean they should be blamed for all the bad songs that put mediocre rapping over guitars.
2. Yes there is a bunch of terrible nu-metal, but there is a lot of terrible music of all kinds. I don't blame De La Soul for Vanilla Ice.
Still, I don't like it. The singers voice is not pleasant. The rapped parts are not catchy or clever. The music is Guns and Roses coded, but without Slash, so a bit disappointing. A few decent bits here and there, but not one I'll circle back to.
2 Stars
Love this album. For some reason I'm always surprised by how hard it is. I have listened to it many times, yet in my mind it's always kind of dour and shoegazey. Then what I get is shoegaze singing and lyrics with hardcore music.
Favs - Sludgefeast, In a Jar, Soledo
Probably not a 5 star album objectively, but it's 5 stars in my heart.
I've heard of this, but never listened to it before. Really good.
Very much enjoy the steel guitar and general punk/country/blues vibes.
Favorite - "Preaching the Blues" never heard it, loved it.
This came up the day after Dinasaur Jr.'s "You're Living All Over Me" from 1987 and it is great listen to 2 albums that more or less bookend the 80's with such cool rock music. Goes against my preconceived idea that the 80's had decent but not "cool" music. The Replacements tomorrow??
Not my favorite singer, and it did drag a little towards the end after a great start.
Solid 4 stars
Fantastic, incredible voice, this album is such a statement. Marvin Gaye's reputation in my mind is mostly about sexy music. He may be sexy, what with that voice and all, but this is not background sexy music. Maybe that comes more from Let's get it on (that would make sense). This is political and painful and demands attention. Love it.
I love the mix, good music, but the voice is all the way out front. The orchestration could have been out of date, but somehow is perfect.
Title track is amazing, loved "Mercy Mercy Me"
What is that sound on "Right On"? It's cool as hell! Favorite song on the album, jazz flute and all!
This one captivated me even more than I expected, not an everyday listen, but a 5 star experience.
Sure I guess. I've actually never listened to a Steely Dan record. Lets see.
What if we made wild and impressive jazz, but we were the most boring people you'd ever met. Really good music as made by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Yacht rock in the goddamn doldrums, we're going to get scurvy out here.
It takes nerve to make music this dull and just let other people listen to it like it was normal.
I hate it, I hate it more than I thought I possibly could. Why do I hate it so much? It should be okay, but it's just not, I hate it.
1 star.
Here we go!
Got this right after Steely Dan, what a relief.
Great energy and drive. Love Lemmy's singing and bass. Super good drumming. Title track is so good, all time classic.
"Jailbait" keeps this from being a 5 star album. I feel like it is them playing to a persona, but still tough to get over. The lyrics are not the point, but in general they're not that great.
Maybe my favorite older metal. Solid 4 stars/
Sounds surprisingly clean and crisp.
Some of these songs I've heard multiple versions of. I'm not well versed enough in country to know how many are old standards vs Marty Robbins originals that have been covered later.
Some interesting guitar sounds that I would normally associate with traditional italian music, especially on "Billy the Kid". I wonder whether that is spaghetti westerns influencing my idea of what italian music sounds like, or some natural affinity between the two.
Definitely a classic and pretty well done, but I feel like I'm listening to it academically despite how emotional it's meant to be. Just a bit too far removed from my life and experience I guess.
Pretty bored by the end. Going with 3 stars, my standard rating for something that I appreciate but don't particularly like.
So funky
Love the opening track.
Like this a a lot. Solid rhythm section back there and really cool guitar and brass. Great voice.
Strong 4 stars
This is an interesting one. For some reason many of us millennials have a bunch of baggage with Courtney love, but this is a damn good 90's grunge/alt rock album. She certainly doesn't lack for emotion or attitude. This album nails the way that grunge mixed the big clean sound of 70's and 80's mainstream rock with the DIY too cool to try hard 90's. I'm a sucker for that 90's drumming. Her lyrics are better than I remembered.
Hole will always be stuck as a part of the Nirvana story, but this is a strong 4 star album. A few forgettable songs but mostly really great and with a coherent vibe.
Not really my thing. Nice voice, but the music is pure lounge singer and very dull. Maybe in the right mood I'd get into it, but not right now. The production feels pretty dated. I had Curtis Mayfield 2 days ago, which is 9 years older but sounds much much better.
Nothing on here qualifies as a favorite song, they all kind of make me cringe.
Tempted to one star it, I don't care for it, but I'll bump it to 2 for her solid singing.
No, finished listening and I'm going back down to 1 star. I just don't like it at all. I don't like smooth easy listening and I don't really like pop, so there we have it. An well done example of music that I happen to viscerally dislike.
I happened to play this on regular youtube while sitting at my desk. There were multiple 3+ minute ads that I let play all the way through because I found the background music more pleasant than the actual album. Not ideal. (I did go ahead and skip the ad about the "terrifying biblical prophecy", it didn't have music).
Everything here sounds so damn cheesy. It makes me scrunch my face up.
we're really starting to get to the bottom of what kind of 80's music I can't stand. Soft-Cell, Sade, Duran Duran, all in the past couple days. Looking through the list I see a bunch of great 80's albums, bad luck so far.
I kind of thought this would sneak out a begrudging 2 stars because "Rio" is a bit catchy even if I don't love it, but I hated the rest of the album. 1 star and not looking back.
This one's pretty easy for me. Hugely influential to a bunch of my favorite music and still sounds great. tracks 2,3,4 is an incredible run that I can listen to on repeat.
5 stars for me, a real favorite
This is okay. Cool sounds for the era, especially the opening track. Nice guitar work tat sounds better than most of what you find from the mid 60's.
I don't love the singing, and the overall vibe doesn't do anything for me. This may well have been influential at the time, but it now feels a bit lost to time.
Very middle of the road 3 stars, didn't hate it, didn't love it.
Not really into this. Early Ska. I can handle ska if it leans pretty heavily into the punk side, but this is way more reggae toned. Rather slow and doesn't have the frenetic energy that can make ska fun. I don't know the history of the genre well enough to speak to the influence, must be significant or this kind of minor sounding album probably wouldn't be on the list. Would be decent in a small club setting, but I don't need it here.
Very very British. Overall not exciting and I will not be revisiting.
I really really don't care for Van Halen. From the very first "yeah yeah, Ahh Wha" I am annoyed and slightly angry.
Yes, they are talented at their instruments, but what are these garbage songs. No amount of guitar noodling can save this for me. Impressive does not equal pleasant or musically interesting. I don't hear or feel emotion. I paused and listened to the Kinks "You Really Got Me" for comparison, and I prefer the Kinks to a really surprising degree. I think the difference is that I believe the Kinks.
There are smatterings of cool sounds here and there, but I can't get away from a 1 star rating, some of my least favorite music.
Not familiar with this album or artist. Enjoyed it. A cool project, gets a bit boring by the end. They probably could have made this 20 minutes shorter and stopped at 700 samples.
I would queue this up again to have on while working or otherwise occupied. It blends nicely and is not distracting. Not something that really blows my mind, dead middle of the pack, 3 stars. Maybe if I spent the time to really dive in I would get more engaged by the depth and layering, but I don't want to.
Fav - Frontier Psychiatrist
This is some silly nonsense. Did not need to listen to an entire album of it. Like most people I've heard "Come on Eileen" 100 times. That would have been sufficient. The rest of the songs are the same, but worse.
The only positive thing I can think to say for this is that it is distinctive. Play me a single lyric from this album and I would say "oh, is that Dexy's Midnight Runners?" They found their thing and went with it.
They should have gotten into children's music, could have done great putting on shows at local theaters with comedic outfits and funny lyrics. Maybe the medium sized town public library circuit. It sounds like balloon animals.
Maybe I just hate fun, but I dislike this album and am barely giving 2 stars.
Edit, I've just seen that they have three albums on the list!?! How can that be? I am flabbergasted and will be giving all three albums 1 star in protest.
Really good. Although it's got funk to it, more pure rock than I expected. The first song gave me strong Pink Floyd feelings. Really enjoyed "can You Get to That" too, a little more poppy and catchy. Not totally sold on the fart noises, but that's okay, they earned it.
Fantastic guitar, bass, and drumming. Feels like they're having a hell of a good time making the music too. You would love to experience this live.
Strong 4 star album, kept out of 5 territory by feeling just a little backgroundey. A little something missing, maybe more variety, maybe singing, keeps it from being an all timer to me. The middle of the album fades a little between very strong opening and closing tracks too.
This is very pretty. I don't have the cultural touchstones that really let it speak to me, and don't understand the lyrics, but it's a pleasant listen. Nice 70's production, I like the levels of all the different parts, everything is easy to pick out, jazzy.
Reads a tiny bit elevator music in parts, just a little dated.
Can't really pick out any songs as more memorable than the others.
3 stars, would be open to listening to in the right setting.
hmm, the day after "Clube Da Esquina" by Milton Nascimento. Maybe a little too much international elevator music in a row.
Enjoy the violin, not enamored with whatever the xylophone-ish (bandoneon?) instrument is. To me, not a sound that needs to be foregrounded. I don't hate that it's on the list, it is unique and interesting. Happy when I get albums that I don't know and are representative of different traditions.
Aside: 58 albums in and I have not gotten a hip-hop album, how?
Best I can do here is 2 stars. No interest in listening again. Wouldn't be mad if it was playing in the background while I sit and watch people go by at a Paris sidewalk cafe, otherwise not interested.
Now we're talking. I am far from a jazz aficionado, but this is a wonderful album.
Not a ton to say about it. I could listen to Miles Davis play the trumpet all day. Classic, 5 stars
New to me, pretty much missed this whole contemporary R&B era. Relatively easy to listen to, but not particularly gripping. Moody but not in a way that I can identify with.
As I listen I am finding it a half formed. Neither telling me a compelling story nor engaging me musically.
The middle of the album had some highlights with a stronger beat and interplay between the singing and music that I found solid.
First few songs bored me and last couple dragged.
Did not feel essential, don't expert to revisit or frankly remember a few weeks from now. 2 stars in the context of the list.
Nope, low rent Beach Boys, and I don't particularly like them either.
Most of this sounds to me like it came out in 1956 not 1966, the same year as Revolver. Whenever this music shows up on a movie soundtrack I'm annoyed by how on the nose it is.
My overall enjoyment of the album was in 1 star territory, but I'm giving it 2 because they do have nice voices and there were a few pleasant moments on the drums and bass. California Dreamin annoys me overall, but there is a cool sound hidden in there.
I have a real soft spot for this classic county bluegrass, and this is a great version of it. Big fan of the banjo and fiddle work. Singing is catchy, and even some very appropriate feeling harmonica. Makes me wish I had some whiskey.
I do have to dock it a bit for the length. 52 songs? maybe as background music, but I'm not capable of sitting and appreciating this much of one thing unless it really blows me away. I guess this doesn't make it.
Solid 4 stars though, there was a lot of toe tapping through the 1st half.
I'm starting to feel obliged to say that this is my 60th album and I have not been sent a hip-hop album yet. Feels wild, first hip-hop album might get an automatic 5 stars at this point.
No question, Morrissey is overrepresented on this list.
Not much doubt, he is a complicated figure, almost certainly a dick, very possibly racist. I might think more about that for his solo work, and expect to run out of patience by the time I finish.
But this is the first Smiths or Morrissey album I've gotten and it is really good. I love Marr's guitar. It's brief enough that Morrissey's singing doesn't wear out its welcome, and matches the lyrics and vibes really well. For me, this is moody in a good way.
It sounds great. Identifiably an 80's album, but missing the synthy artificiality of most 80's pop-rock.
No doubt this belongs on the list, borderline on a 101 album list. An exemplar of the genre and era. I think I have to give it 5 stars and accept that it looks controversial on my dashboard.
Favs - "The Queen is Dead", "Never had no one never", "Cemetery Gates" no skips though.
Only a little familiar with her work before. It's good, not really grabbing onto me right now. Songs blend together. Feels like I could use a change of pace in the middle of the album.
Hard to say after just one listen, but the lyrics are interesting and moving. I think there are other times in my life when I could have been more into this.
3.5 stars, good album
Favs - Undertow, The Queen and the Soldier + Knight Moves (nice together)
For some reason I came into this wanting to be contrarian, but half way through track 2 I gave up and admitted it's wonderful.
"Tangled up in Blue" is a classic song perhaps rendered a bit dull be how many times I've heard it.
"Simple Twist of Fate" is one of my favorites
"Idiot Wind" has some slightly different and more ambitious singing that I'm really enjoying. On the right day (today) my favorite song on the album.
A few songs in the middle don't interest me as much. I appreciate the bluesy county sound on Meet me in the Morning, but I'm listening to Dylan for the lyrics and storytelling. To me, it's missing for a few tracks.
We're back in business with Shelter from the Strom and Buckets of Rain. Excellent.
I didn't want to do it, but it's a 5 star album.
Not my music. This is pretty pure prog rock and it's tedious. Don't care for the singing or the vibe in general.
Really saved by the drumming, there is so much drumming. Arguably too much drumming, wild stuff. Why hit the drum once when you could hit it 3 times?
If these guys had different interests they could have made a kick-ass metal band. Certainly influenced 80's metal, they just weren't angry enough.
3 stars, and they're all for Neil Peart. Without his drums it would be a fully disinterested 1 star album.
My favorite Springsteen and it's not particularly close. What can I say, I love sad bastard music.
Some comments take issue with the authenticity of the songs, but I buy them. I find the expressiveness of his voice really moving in these emotional and pared down songs. Really solid murder-ballads in an Americana tradition, incorporates the empathy that is Springsteen's specialty.
Very high end of 4 stars, almost a 5 star classic. Only Springsteen album that I seek out and would be my choice for the list, even if it doesn’t have the cultural impact of his biggest hits.
There are plenty of complicated characters in music history. Jerry Lee Lewis doesn't seem that complicated though, just bad.
All things considered this does kind of rock.
I'll give it 2 stars, for a live recording from the era it sounds great. The rhythm section is solid. The piano is really catchy. I won't be listening again. It's dated, and not really enjoyable considering the context.
I'm getting tired of this 80's silliness. At least I'm getting it out of the way. My least favorite brand of music (see rating for Sade, just like her this is a talented musician making music I hate.) It's like more boring Michael Jackson who is already one of my least favorite artists. No thank you.
This is one of the first albums I just couldn't get through. I had no interest. I can't imagine the context were I give it another shot. It's a little rude but it has to be 1 star
Haunting
When this came out I found it very difficult to listen to, not because of faults in the music, but because it made me feel so raw. There is still a sensation of sandpaper in the music, but it's also so beautiful.
Not an album that I can listen to very often, but when I can, I love it. As good as anything Cohen ever made. The music is sparse but perfect with his voice. His music is never about the singing per se, but here it is just right to convey the stories of the songs.
An incredible artistic achievement
Didn't do much for me. Not a fan of the singing. I listened an hour ago and honestly can't remember what it sounded like. Maybe exciting at the time and influential, but now is just generic 80's metal.
Pretty cool bass playing saves it from the bottom. Some fun and unexpected tempo changes. Just 2 stars, not interested.
This is directly up my alley. Somehow I've never listened to it before.
Love the horns in come together.
Very pleasant listen overall. Doesn't stick with me like a 5 star album, but easy 4 stars, like it a lot.
Great album, not my personal favorite Dylan, but still great. There are a handful of songs on here that I like to hear on a compilation, but has more skips for me than most of his albums.
The song about a pill box hat has always kind of grinded on me. It used to be on a playlist at work when I worked in a coffee shop. We played that dang thing every day. Coworker got fired for playing the Ramones at top volume all night one time, I respected it (I think it was "The KKK Took My Baby Away" that got him reported by a customer.
I will be knocking this down from 5 to 3 stars because of this memory, and because of my general distaste for a double album.
I do love "Stuck Inside of Memphis..." and "Visions of Johanna".
Love it, so grimy, so cool sounding. Hugely influential to music that I love. I think I like the stooges a little more than solo Iggy.
I tend to lean towards giving personal favorites 4 stars and undeniable classics 5, but I’m going with feelings on this and calling it 5, even if it’s a stretch to call it a classic or essential listen. So stoogy!
I should like this more than I do. There are some pleasant parts, but it kind of annoys me. Guilty of overplay when it came out. Very of it's time and pretty dated for such a new album. I don't think we needed three Arcade Fire albums on here, or even two. I probably would have gone with just Funeral, feels like their most innovative album. This is my least favorite of the three. In a vacuum I would probably give it 3 stars, but I'm doing 2 stars for too much Arcade Fire.
Not the biggest Pearl Jam fan broadly speaking, but this is all bangers. Huge album, sonically and culturally.
Not much to say about it, firmly belongs on the list, 5 star classic album even if I don't 100% connect with the vibe.
Have to be in the right mood for Neil Young, it seems that I wasn't today. Some decent songs here, but I prefer his music less classic rocky.
I quite like the country inflected miserableness of "The Losing End" and the vibes of "Down by the River"
I find "Cinnamon Girl" a bit overrated. and the rest of the songs forgettable. On the right lazy day, a nice album, but not my favorite of his or one that makes the must revisit list.
3 stars
Another influential album where I would rather listen to the stuff that was influenced. Give me the Replacements any time.
I like Chilton's singing, but the production sounds tinny and dated. Quite a number of short same sounding songs.
I've been writing this as I listen, and towards the end I am more into it, the feel of it overcame the sound which was initially off-putting. The best songs are the saddest songs, which is normal for me I guess.
4 stars, glad to listen to it.
Silly nonsense. Overproduced and dated. Do I need different drugs to like this? Sounds like an SNL parody. I keep picturing what it would be like to see this in concert, and it is hilarious.
One of my favorites, Venus in Furs buys you 5 stars
So British
Never enjoy early Blur as much as I think I'm going to. Came to them in the late 90's. Maybe it's not the hip thing, but I prefer their more generically radio friendly singles from later work. It's not necessarily better, just hit me at the right time. This album just gives me low rent Oasis, and I don't really like Oasis.
Probably about 4th on their discography for me, just 2 stars
Despite a general aversion to the genre, I've always liked the title track. It has a pretty killer bass line, the guitar is a little over-clean, but cool, and the lyrics are memorable. A classic song for a reason.
The rest of this album is kind of trash though. Decent bass lines here and there, but the singing on every other song annoys the hell out of me. When they go full proto-yacht rock like "New Kid in Town" I find it intolerable.
Tough one to rate, but one great song does not make a great album. 2 stars
Gorgeous sounding music, wonderful voice. Good vibes
I find myself having a difficult time following the lyrics. They feel like they're telling a story, but I can't make it out.
Nothing Compares 2 You get this right up to 4 star territory. The other songs are good, but tend to blend together and fade into the background.
Favorite Neil Young album. Deeply felt, Simple and to the point. Perfect length album, does it's thing and leaves me alone. About as much of the Neil Young sound as I want in a sitting.
Really like "Vampire Blues" Cool sound.
Title track has some of his best singing (to be fair an acquired taste).
Really good album, 4.5 stars
Time for an aside. I have been sent 84 albums so far by this project. I have not received a single hip-hop album (I did have a gil-Scott Haron album, which was great and had some proto-hip-hop beat poetry type stuff, but definitely not hip-hop). By my simple count there are 85 albums on the list tagged with hip-hop.
It's been a while since I've taken a stats class, but I get a 0.045% chance of that happening for 85 samples out of 1001 with no replacement. What the hell! I've gotten 3 Neil Young related albums.
The Easy listening 70's music will continue until morale improves!
I guess I'll get a run of rap at some point, but it's weird.
I like this. Lot of influences coming through. I hear some Bowie and Radiohead and like it, also some Coldplay that I like less. Very listenable. Album is overlong, pushing up against feeling pretentious. Not sure it belongs on the list, better than average example of it's type, but not a must listen. Nice music for a chill bike ride, with a good consistent tempo and a few little bursts of energy to get you going.
3.5 stars or so. Rounding down because it's not as essential as the past few 4 star albums on my list. I will listen again though, higher on my personal replay list than most 3 star albums. Also right from my sweet spot era wise. Eh, talked myself into 4 stars I think.
Right in the first song there is flagrant use of the word "Dadio" that's a big negative for me.
There's some fun flourishes throughout, but I find it a bit trying to listen too. Too busy, too produced.
Would probably be a middle of the road 3 stars, but the afore mentioned dadio loses one.
Some really good songs on here. Breaks my general rule against double albums, and absolutely could have been cut down to a classic normal length album.
First track is solid, dig those canastas, pretty good prog-ish rock and has the coolest guitar riff on the album. I've never cared for "Candle in the Wind" or "Benny and the Jets" (is the album version fake live, or is that just the streaming version I ended up with. I think it's like that on the album, and that's probably why I don't like it.)
Safe to say he should have stayed away from Reggae.
"Saturday Nights for Fighting" is a solid dad rock song, kinda fun.
Awful lot of cocaine seems to have gone into the making of this. Not exactly my flavor, but he can jam on a piano. He has a thing were he moves away from the microphone and holds a note for a long time. To me it doesn't do his voice favors. He's of course a good singer, but I prefer when it sounds close and intimate.
Not mad at it. Solid 4 star album that isn't a personal favorite, but is a classic with a huge cultural footprint.
This came up and I said,
"oh cool, some Madonna, I haven't listened to her in a while, she's not a favorite, but it's something different to break the 70's and 80's rocktamist streak I've been on." I'm kind of glad every time a women artist comes up.
Then I saw what album it was and I was genuinely baffled, why is this on the list. I didn't love Ray of light, but it was a huge album and an important moment in the career of a pretty iconic artist. This continued the trajectory of the previous album, but not in a great direction.
A time capsule of a pre 911 sound and and vibe, but others were doing it better. I'll take Britney over this, feels more honest. Maybe I'm being harsh, but everything about this album feels inauthentic and pandering. Not into it.
Not really a fair comparison, but this came out 2 weeks before Kid A if we want to check out someone experimenting with electronic sounds.
Felt really long, wanted it to be over. Not quite 1 star, because it wasn't upsetting sounding from moment to moment, some of the songs are perfectly catchy if fully vapid. The most 2 star album yet though, can't imagine why it was included on the list.
I love this. Pared down but lovely sound. Every song, though simple, has little flourishes that elevate, little bits of piano or banjo.
Classic country storytelling that doesn't dip too far into cliche. Its also really nice to have a great country artist with mostly progressive political views. You wouldn't guess from looking at him that he's a long time supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, wish there was more old country music (or music in general) that didn't require an internal discussion about art vs. artist.
Love his version of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain".
27 second songs maybe don't translate to streaming, but I'll allow it. He definitely doesn't drag anything out. I Would really like to check this out on Vinyl, I'll bet it sounds really fantastic.
The only song I don't love is "Down Yonder" a little hokey. It's one of the many short ones though, so no harm done.
I'm going a little crazy and giving this 5 stars. I just really like it, and Willie Nelson is really cool.
Whole lotta Neil Young goin on around here.
Not my favorite example of the form. A couple of the tunes are catchy and okay, but overall it really highlights his singing, and he is really leaning into being out of tune. I don't need perfect singing, eg. Leonard Cohen, but this isn't working for me.
Very much prefer On the Beach, which I had 5 albums ago. That album felt melancholy and full of feeling. This one feels kind of hungover, tired and a little queezy.
Also extremely long. I didn't check, but it seemed interminable.
I'm being a little harsh, but going with 2 stars
I like "Albuquerque", song and place. Struck me as out of place on this album.
Edit: I realized that the version I was listening to on youtube had a bunch of extra songs and alternate versions tacked on, thus the overly long opinion. Still 2 stars, but a more digestible 2 stars.
For some reason I always think of Air as a much older band than they are.
Pretty sure I've never listened to a full album from them. Easy enough to listen to. Gets your foot tapping from time to time. A few too many laser guns ruin the synth-jazz parts that can be pretty cool. Overall very chill and nice sounding.
In the right context, pretty good. For me this is summer day drinking music.
Solid 3 star album, good not great. Glad to have checked it out, probably won't make it onto the repeat list beyond a few songs tossed into chill out mixes. Can't really say any specific songs stand out, kind of liked "Talisman".
We maybe could have gotten away with just one Air album on the list, I'll have to see if the other one changes my mind when it comes up. Oh, I just looked and the other one is the soundtrack to Virgin Suicides, barely counts.
Hurray! Album number 90 is my first hip-hop album. Insane that it took this long. I ran the numbers and it's about a 0.02% chance to go 89 albums in a row from this list and not get an album tagged hip-hop, 1 in 3600!
This album is the perfect way to start getting some rap. Groundbreaking sound. Certainly a bit dated, but still solid. The beats are simple but still good. The lyrics don't jump out at me, but the delivery is excellent.
For everyday listening this isnt on my go to list, that will always be the 90's hip-hop I grew up with, but it is a classic and essential entry on the list. 3 star listen, but 4 star album off influence alone.
Super fun!
I've always like the roots. I like how playful they are, always messing with beats and sounds. Just a bit of rock mixed in. I enjoy hip-hop with real drumming, gives it something a bit extra that's hard to pin down. Not exactly going out on a limb, but I really like Questlove's drum style. Even a decade of Jimmy Fallon doesn't make him not cool. Bass is really good too. Nice rhythm, really stands out on "Complexity".
Favorites are "The Seed" and "Complexity", great drumming on "Something in the Way of Things".
Lyrics don't always blow me away, ("pussy Galore" is pretty dumb). Flow is good though. A lot of nice layering of lyrics. The Black Eyed Peas ripped this off and made it terrible.
I might be overrating hip-hop and modern music because I've been getting nothing but 70's and 80's rock, but this was a great change. 4 stars
Only negatives are the lack of cohesion as an album, and a bit of a drag around the long song "Water". Not sure about the last track, its kind of fun, but doesn't fit and is a weird way to wrap up the album. Should have snuck it in the middle somewhere if it needed to be included at all.
Tough one, I'm not a massive Beatles person. I don't hate it, and really like some of their stuff. This is not my favorite of their albums, despite it's undeniable groundbreaking sound and form.
It starts and finishes so strong, but I just can't get into the meat of the album. Everything between "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and the title track reprise is just a little goofy. Some Beatle's music is timeless, but a lot of this isn't
It's an album that one should listen to before dying, probably multiple times, but not my favorite. I've probably heard it enough by now. I can just listen to the good songs from now on.
4 stars, too much filler for me, as wild an argument as that is.
I absolutely love this album. One of my all time favorites. I'm not sure what this says about me, but I can listen to it over and over.
"People Ain't No Good" is a particular favorite.
I have complained about other albums that are so spare (Nick Drake)
but for reasons that I can't explain this gets me. Feelings.
I don't know if everyone needs to listen to this before they die, but I certainly do. Love this mopey shit!
Right near the top of my personal 5 star list. (Better than Sgt Peppers yesterday, ha! What can you do?)
Very familiar with this album. Used to be in regular rotation. Not too much to say about it. I've always really like Meg's drumming style, simple but emotive. Great guitar playing that still sounds really cool to me. I perhaps suffer from a bit of Jack White oversaturation, but his voice does grate on me a touch.
Really good album, 4 stars
This is fine. I like the jazzy rhythm section. Pretty tedious though. Probably really fun to play, probably would have been cool to see at the Filmore. Not that fun to listen to while going about your day.
Getting pretty deep into pretentious territory.
My dad loved this, and I've gotten old enough to no longer see that as a negative, but rather as a positive in a nostalgic kind of way.
Too long, 2.5 stars, I think rounded down because there's no way this is a must listen to album. Very minor feeling. I've already forgotten most of it.
Getting this the day after Quicksilver Messenger Service from the same year is not exactly exciting. The vibes are very similar. That being said, I definitely prefer this.
I don't always get Zappa. The tongue in cheek humor feels like it's aged out of the music to me. But there are a few bangers on here, and since it's almost entirely instrumental there's not much humor anyway.
"Willie the Pimp" has a pretty killer 6 minutes of guitar noodling with really fun drum fills throughout. Highlight of the album for sure. Could have done with fewer little twinkles on other songs.
Overall, manages to not overstay it's welcome. Pretty much nothing from the 60's makes it into my regular rotation, but I had a decent time with this. Pretty strong 3.5 stars. Probably round up because I'm in a good mood. Nice production for the era too. After this I really hope for something modern and scream-ey though.
