I was not familiar with any other songs besides the album's namesake, Heroes, so this was a new listen for me. I've honestly always been a bit on the fence about Bowie and this album was no different. There were definitely parts of several songs that really caught my ear, but none were added as new faves. Overall a cohesive album.
Loved that it ended with American Girl like the live shows always did. Great debut.
I liked this album better than Heroes. A couple of the tracks reminded me of some of the quirkier Beatles tracks and I really liked that.
I really enjoyed this one and have to mention this is one of the great albums on the list so far for me that had me dancing. Great album. Sam Cooke is a classic.
While I appreciate Bruce Springsteen and how he inspired some of my favorite artists, he's just not my thing. He reminds me of my dad, kind of, but he's not at all. Pretends to be a blue collar guy but in reality seems good daughter to Olympic horse jumping lessons. Also, I feel like he's, not talking or singing, but loudly yelling at me that the American Dream is so great. Um, no, buddy.
Soulful, smooth, and overall a pretty solid album.
What a great listen. Starts with the wonder of "Tangled Up in Blue" and just keeps you hanging on for more all the way to the end. First 5 star! Dylan at his best!
I had only heard of this band by name before this listen and I have to say this was quite a surprise. I like just about everything from the 90s but was genuinely shocked at how much I liked this album. First album on this journey where I added a new song to my personal playlists and on this album I added two. (Cold Beverage and Babys Got Sauce). Great album. I'm sorry I ever doubted it and avoided it for so long.
This album is Spacey Kacey perfection. I relate to her so much on many different levels. This is definitely an album I could listen to many times and never skip a song. Also, props for finally getting a female singer from the list.
I did not like this album at all. While I agree that "The Weight" is an essential song, especially if you are talking about essential songs from the 1960s, but as an essential album I disagree that it should even be on this list. The singing is all over the place and the guitarist clearly had moments of clarity but seemed to check out for a majority of the songs.
Paul Simon always brings a sense of calm. It was great listening on a winter day. I knew only two songs before hand and noon of the rest really grabbed me, but I definitely didn't regret this listen.
I am pretty sure every Tears for Fear song I know is on this album. While I struggle with most 80s stuff I can see the roots of some music I listen to daily in this album. Rating this much higher than I would have thought when it first came up. Another surprising listen.
This album came out when I was in high school and I thought Madonna felt out of touch and was very upset with the atrocious cover of "American Pie". Now I'm about the same age she was when she made this and I get what she was trying to do and knowing Madonna has a large gay fan base makes me excited she made some club songs for them, but this album is not for me. I hope this isn't Madonna's only entry on this list. This can't be her best work.
How I love this album. Let me count the ways. 1. "Movin Out" and "Only the Good Die Young" are my 2/3 of my top Billy songs. 2. "Vienna" is in "13 going on 30" and just makes that scene. The song says things the character can't. 3. When I was in college I went to a music fest in Canada and left a weed pipe in the case of this album on the American side and it was still there when we came back so I have a cassette case of this album as a souvenir. 4. Love that scene in "Step Brothers" when the band plays only 80's Joel and the crowd wants to play "something from The Stranger". 5 So many hits. Billy Joel is so nostalgic for me. He reminds me of some of the Gen Xers from my youth that I looked up to. This is a great album from start to end and is peppered all over pop culture. 5 stars!!
I had no idea who this band was so I looked them up. My husband says it's awesome. Modest Mouse is one of my favorite bands and their singer cites DLJ as one of his favorite bands and I can definitely see how this album inspired a lot of their songs. Parts of "New Intro" sound like they were taken right out of one of their songs. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of hardcore punk but this is hardcore punk at it's most digestible.
I've loved the Temptations since the biopic from the 90s/maybe early 2000s and this album was no different. Upbeat, funky and at only 35 minutes a pretty quick listen.
I put on this album to try to get in some steps today and it was pleasantly dancy. There were a couple of tunes ('Australia' is a great example) where it started and I wasn't sure I was going to like it but after about 15 seconds I was all in. I'd put this one on again for a long headphone walk or a road trip.
If I could give the just Slash 5 stars I would cause that guy is fucking killing it. Even on the songs I wanted to skip Slash is over there just blowing it out of the water. Axl Rose's voice is too much like Geddy Lee of Rush and both make me want to pull my hair out. My friends older sister had their posters on her wall but she was in her prime when this came out. I've always found Axl kinda gross so it goes down to a 3 for me. 5 for Slash, Axl gets a 2 and the rest of the band holds it down so a firm 3.
Idk. This album was kinda meh for me. Like Guns And Roses I don't like the singer and Navarro didn't really impress me. I like most 90's stuff but this one didn't hit it.
I had never heard of this album or band but damn, did I get into this. Funky. Experimental. Every song is a new groovy adventure.
I love Clint Eastwood and even though I've definitely heard it hundreds of times I'll continue to jam to that song for life. This album came out when I was in high school and buying CDs was how I acquired music and I'm glad I never bought this CD. The rest of the album doesn't really hold up behind that song for me. 19-2000 is ok but again not a song I want to put on it go back to. I don't regret this listen but I did think I would like this a lot more than I do.
New band for me in every way and they definitely did not gain a new fan. Bland, boring, and background music are how I would rate it. It's like the meh emoji in music form.
Listening to Aretha sing is a beautiful, joyful, and glorious experience. I can't believe she made 10 albums before this one that weren't successful. Someone clearly did not know how to guide her into using her voice at Columbia. Not all the tracks were my style so this one gets a 4 but hot damn, Aretha. Girl, you can sing!
Gah! I loved this and honestly am surprised I haven't listened to this whole album front to back before. Where Its At is a song I can credit with shaping my music tastes from the country of my upbringing to the indie fanatic I am today. Bek is always ahead of his time. While made in 1996 this album could have also been made in 2006, 2016, or even today and it would still be a hit. Ahead of his time, yet also timeless. Amazing.
If I liked jazz even a little I likely would have enjoyed this. I saw Herbie Hancock at a music fest a few years ago and this album was leaps and bounds ahead of that. Something about jazz just makes me uneasy and ramps up my anxious feelings. Not for me.
As with Madonna, I really hope that this isn't Aerosmith's only album on the list. I didn't hate this, but also didn't love it. I was only familiar with the first 2 tracks (Back in the Saddle and Last Child) and neither would crack my top 5 Aerosmith songs.
I really enjoyed this. What can I say about Joni Mitchell that hasn't been said already. Hauntingly beautiful. Written from the soul for the soul.
Since I just had Aerosmith the other day, even though they were from different decades, this album just felt like a continuation of the other one. That being said, if I was a bigger Aerosmith fan I would be very happy cause the band doesn't stray or try to be anything different than before. They are the same old reliable band they've always been, with a couple more hits.
I really enjoyed this album. Cecelia and Bridge Over Troubled water have been favorites of mine since high school. Simon and Garfunkel are a warm cup of coffee on a cold day.
I didn't know who this band was. A couple of the songs like Hard On For Jesus and Cool As Kim Deal grabbed me simply because of the title. The album itself was just ok for me. No stand out hits really. And no songs that made me stop and dance or add to playlist.
This album packed a lot more bass than I expected. It was pretty great. Smooth Operator will probably be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Deerhunter, along with Wilco, belongs on a list of bands I should be all in on, but I just can't get there.
It's interesting that The War on Drugs was right after Deerhunter. Both albums were really good and both had at least one part in every song that made me go "oh yeah, I like that" but neither had a banger or hit that really grabbed me. I did add one song from this band to my playlist but I imagine, just like Built to Spill, it will be the only one and the War on Drugs will continue to be a "background" band for me.
Eesh. I'm sure there's an audience for this but it is definitely not me. As with "The Weight" by The Band, I agree that "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" should be an essential songs to listen to before you die, but the whole album? Um, no. I really tried on this one but I think the hits were the only song I listened to the whole way through, and I struggled with that.
I had never heard of John Martyn before this. Wow! What a talent. The album was funky, cool, bluesy, and soulful. There were a few times I caught myself daydreaming about dancing to a few of these tunes at an outdoor fest in my flowiest skirt and flower crown on with my danciest friends.
This album was pretty neat. I loved the ocean sounds on one tune and then the sound of the wind eases you out of the next track. Really cool and unique listening experience.
I've seen The Flaming Lips 3 or 4 times in the last couple of years and they play most of this album still today and it's well over 20 years old. Such amazing positive welcoming makes you feel good band and album! I've never smiled more at a show than when I watched the Flaming Lips. So. Fucking. Good. Holy. Shit.
Do not judge an album by it's cover. I expected reverb or noise chaos but that's not what delivered. I really enjoyed this album and added two songs to a playlist of mine full of Indie essentials. I'm not sure I would call this indie overall but a few songs definitely were. Definitely a genre trip but I loved every moment.
This album was so smooth. The cameo from Kendrick was great as well as the nod to bitch don't kill my vibe. I've seen Thundercat live and that huge bass is so cool and mesmerizing. Funk groove bass at it's finest.
Van Halen is another band where if I could give the lead guitar a 5 I would but just can't get behind the 80s jams that accompany these fucking amazing guitar licks. Had I been 10-15 years older than I am I would have been all over this. I know for a fact seeing Eddie Van Halen play live would have given me multiple guitar orgasms. However me, an 80s baby, does not find as much joy in this.
I've always just told people I'm not a fan of Bjork but my goal with going through this project is to be open minded and flexible in my listening. I'm a huge fan of Regina Spektor and drew comparisons between the two on several songs. Bjork's over all delivery and style are vastly different than Spektor in a more experimental and almost jazzy kind of way, which just isn't for me.
This album felt like having a conversation with an old friend. Familiar. So completely 70s. Cat Stevens is a favorite artist of my favorite artist, Kimya Dawson. I really liked this.
Loved this! Full of bangers, countless memories, and raw talent. Dookie is a millennial staple.
I didn't listen to much hip hop and I didn't hate this, but it also didn't convert me. Common has a lot of smart and poignant lyrics that I appreciated.
This album was pretty good considering I had never heard of this band. They really took advantage of their studio time. I listened to this on headphones and both sides were on fire with layered sounds the whole album. It was great to listen to on the way to work.
This album was good. The outro is the only track I didn't listen to as it got a little long. I don't jive with most hip hop but I didn't hate this.
As an elder millennial who is into guitar guys every guy I've ever heard tinker around on a guitar knows that riff to Smoke on the Water. Classic. The rest of the album delivers a simple but steady and overall pleasing set of guitar licks.
I've given Mars Volta a few tries over the years and they just don't grab me. In the moment, I like it a lot. When it's done I forget that it existed. This album had a lot of good noise nuances but really all the songs just ran together for me.
I really liked this album. Lodi and Bad Moon Rising are my two favorite CCR songs and I had no idea they were back to back. So neat.
I couldn't avoid the comparisons to Sgt Peppers on this one. The Kinks were clearly influenced by the Beatles, or maybe the other way around. If Sgt Peppers or the Beatles didn't exist I wonder how this would have done. Would we all have Kinks tshirts instead? I did really enjoy this and even added two songs to my rock classics playlist.
The album was artistic and moody but also kinda blended together. It started over and I didn't realize it until track 2.
I enjoyed listening to this. It was funky and cool. Good background music for chores on a gloomy day.
I loved this! I cannot believe this is from the 90s. I'm going to Bonnaroo this year and this album would fit so well with thev rest of the lineup. What a surprise for me as I was totally unfamiliar with this before yesterday.
I was at a Paul McCartney show recently and even though I was in awe on the way home I was thinking would I have liked John Lennon more if it would have been him I just saw? After listening to this album, I know that answer is a resounding yes. John wrote all my favorite Beatles songs and brings that weird yet so cool style to this album. Imagine is one of my all time favorite songs. It was great to see John use other instruments his band never went into much such as the sax and harmonica.
Wilco never seems to grab me. They have the makings of a band I should love. Most of my favorite bands are from the early 2000s, incorporate cool little guitar frills, have a smooth guitar presence, and a singer who stands out but isn't a show off. Wilco fits all of this for me but they have never been a band where I remembered they existed once it was done. I have yet to find any Wilco songs that inspire me or get stuck in my head and I need to hear again. That's being said I didn't hate this and didn't wanna skip any of the songs. I just think they are a background band and this album was no different. Lyrically they hit the low hanging fruit almost every time. It's so predictable.
One of the most solid guitar albums I've ever heard. This guy is just amazing and was killing it the whole record. You can tell he was just dialed in and right in the zone. I imagine he was mesmerizing to watch live.
While I found some of the song titles such as Rock Against Ass pretty amusing I did not like this. I bet this is a fun band to be in and maybe they are good live, but not so great on the album for me.
Historically I don't really like Arcade Fire but a couple of the songs were pretty catchy and I even added We Used to Wait to my indie playlist. The rest of it is like boring theater. You can tell there is passion and talent there but I just really don't care.
Leonard Cohen would be very cathartic to listen to if I was navigating grief or loss. This album was a great listen on a slow Saturday morning. Diamonds in the Mine seemed fitting for the current political climate, especially living in Minneapolis. Overall, a solid and balanced album.
I really liked this and even added two songs to existing playlists. I could hear the influence all over this record.
I'm glad this wasn't the first I'd heard of the Pixies because this album was deeply underwhelming. The songs from this band that I know are from the first two albums and this one just doesn't hold up to it's predecessors.
I found this to be pretty average for a punk album. I was gonna only rate this a 2 but my husband reminded me that our recently deceased friend Brad would have loved this and that jumped it up to a 3 for me.
Weird. Great. Eccentric. Cool. Odd. Entertaining. Strange. Interesting. Funny. An adventure for the ears and brain.
This album was pretty good. The Vines were big when I graduated from high school and it's disappointing they aren't bigger than they were predicted to be.
I really tried on this one but just couldn't get into it. Some of the songs I really liked the beat and the melody and lyrics but Sting just doesn't do it for me.
Isaac Hayes is great. Shaft is no exception.
This album was trippy, and groovy and so cool and fun to listen to. I really appreciated this.
I didn't hate this jazz as much as I have previous listenings. This sounded a lot like what you hear in movies sometimes and that part I didn't mind.
I didn't know Metallica had so many epic ballads. I think the shortest song was about 5 and a half minutes so these guys really know how to jam for the long haul. I've seen Metallica live and they were really good.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Celtic punk in it's prime.
Felt like wannabe Nine Inch Nails except NIN is at the top of their game and this band is only like part of the way there.
I finally get to see The Strokes live in just a couple months and listening to this just amped my excitement!
The only other Velvet Underground I had heard before this was the album with the banana on it. While this one was much more hardcore and raw it was still pretty good and I would have been satisfied with this as a follow up.
I learned by this album that it's important to do a bit of research on why some of these albums are on this list. Ray Charles covering a bunch of country songs sounds kind of mid until you realize that it was the first time a black artist was allowed to call his own shots and mix their own music the way they wanted it. That's phenomenal. Plus, Ray being a blind junky on top of all that, makes this that much more impressive.
So so so fucking good. If I could go back in time it would most definitely be somewhere to see Hendrix play live. I love the guitar so much and Hendrix was one of the greatest to ever play it.
Loved every moment of this. I discovered the Scissor Sisters far too late and I have regrets about that, but I will continue to be a huge fan until the end. Great debut.
Loved the guitar riff on Hero. Added You ain't the problem to a playlist. I've seen Michael Kiwanuka live after his first album and he sounds so incredible in person. This album was very rock like and I loved it.
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby. Come with me Friday don't say maybe.
Why is every song at least 7 minutes long? I just don't get it. Honestly you almost could just listen to the Humpty Dance and then turn this album off.
I enjoyed this much more than Amnesiac but Radiohead still really just doesn't do it for me.
I was on board with that beginning riff and the album cover but what started out as hopeful acid rock quickly dissolved into a late 80s keyboard party. This could have been so much better.
Great album. Sid Viscous' voice is forever synonymous with punk. Added 3 of the tracks to my punk playlist. I haven't listened to the whole album in about 20 years but it still holds up.
This was very basic, mid and unimpressive. No.
Elvis is wonderful. This album was beautifully sung and that bass was killing it the whole time. I can't say these are my favorite songs by Elvis but they did showcase his voice and range.
Finally a girly band on this list. The GoGos are really fun and were a great start to my Saturday. Upbeat and breezy and starts with a straight up banger.
I thought this album was really fun but it got much better after Groove is In the Heart. That's definitely the stand out track. I didn't hate the rest of the album but likely would never listen to this again.
The White Stripes are so fucking good. Told album was great and Blue Orchid and My Doorbell are definitely in my top 5 songs that Jack White ever did. Although this isn't my favorite album of theirs it's still pretty solid.
Emotional and raw. I felt everything she was singing right along with her. Great listen.
