Not really my thing. Pleasant, but doesn't capture my attention. Perhaps needs several listens to appreciate.
Clearly important and impressive, but not something I would ever put on.
Can get a bit samey, but lots of great tracks. Energy and evocative lyrics.
I knew SBS and NYD already, and they seem like the only memorable songs. Bono's wailing can get a little tiresome. Still, 2 great songs.
Doesn't feature any of my favourite Beatles songs, but a sign of the great things to come.
Didn't get to listen to the whole album properly but there was nothing that I liked. I don't think noise rock is my thing.
Alone Again Or is wonderful so I was expecting to like this, but I didn't click with many of the other songs. Some of the lyrics are laughably bad, with weird stressing of syllables. A bit puzzling that this is so highly revered.
Previously added to favourite songs:
Tunnels, Power Out, Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies).
Didn't feel the need to add any others, but still really like everything else. An album that feels intimate and epic at the same time.
Probably a 9/10, but I will round up.
Didn't get a chance to listen enough times to give it 5, but really enjoyed it. Surprisingly catchy and poppy at times. How have I not heard 'I Want You' before?
I can appreciate that this is a landmark record, but it's lacking musically. A hooky chorus would have been nice; even Juicy's isn't great. Some great story telling despite all the sexual objectification.
Initially was going to give it one star but it grows on you after a few listens. Still, not my kind of music and no tracks that I would want to revisit.
I can appreciate the production but I might have enjoyed this more as a teenager. Other than Hurt, the only tracks I enjoyed were the mellow ones like A Warm Place.
It's always nice to listen to something a bit different but this was dull and forgettable.
Got off to a strong start; I enjoyed the brass on Know Your Product (did it inspire Dexys' Geno?) but everything after that was a bit disappointing.
I enjoyed it. The vocals are often corny, but some fantastic synth riffs and melodies. Interesting to hear some similarities to the work of Giorgio Moroder.
Enjoyed the disco elements, less keen on the jazzy elements.
More like a 4.5, but rounded down. Why? It's hard to explain.
Only had time for one listen but enjoyed it, if not blown away. I’d never heard of them; my first new discovery so far.
Lots of interesting stuff going on, but there's a reason Once in a Lifetime is by far the most well known song on the album.
Famous Blue Raincoat was the only song with which I was previously familiar. Avalanche is fantastic, and I liked Love Calls Your Name. The shouting in Diamonds in the Mine felt very out of character.
It feels strange to rate a live album as I would never purposely listen to a live version of a song over a studio version. I was already familiar with Deep Purple but I was impressed with their musicianship, although as ever I could have done without the drum solo. I also enjoyed the typically British introductions to the songs.
As other reviewers have noted, this does not sound like a record from 1983. I had heard 'Blister in the Sun' before but would not have known the title or the artist, so that was fun. Some fun, energetic songs with wry lyrics, but the lead singer's voice grates in parts.
I like Ray Charles but this really didn't do anything for me.
20ish records in and I have begun to resent long albums; I've barely had time to listen to all of this. This is not my favourite genre but there was plenty to enjoy; I was only familiar with Doo Wop (That Thing) beforehand.
After the nearly 80 minute slog of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill yesterday, this was a breezy delight. I prefer the upbeat stuff to the ballads, but even the lesser songs are enjoyable to listen to. The wonderfully lush vocal harmonies outweigh the trite lyrics.
Another album that's too long, and therefore couldn't be properly listened to, but there are some undeniably great songs here.
This was better than I had expected, especially the first side. I didn’t care for the ballads, but, Trouble and Me especially, the upbeat stuff was good fun.
This was disappointing. Nothing stood out other than the tracks I already knew, That Lady and Summer Breeze. I like Listen to the Music, but it was a worse version than the Doobie Brothers' original.
This is just great fun. Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally are the big hits, but I don't think there's a dud amongst the twelve. 12 bar blues is hard to beat.
I don't really known Pulp outside of the big hits, so it was nice to hear a bit more. That being said, this album doesn't feel like a must listen. There are some good moments and plenty of wry lyrics, but not many songs stand out after a couple of listens.
Slipknot were never my thing even as a metal loving teenager, but I can appreciate the abilities of Joey Jordison and Corey Taylor, amongst others. I had never heard anything off this album before (I was more familiar with the Wait and Bleed era), so it was interesting to hear a ballad like Snuff.
It's fine, but it seems like the critical claim was mostly for the lyrics. Nothing on this album is as good as 'Losing You', which is a genuinely great song.
I like Blur and so was initially surprised that I only knew For Tomorrow from this album. After listening, I'm less surprised. Other than the piano led outro to Chemical World, these tracks are not memorable.
Not much to get excited about outside of Le Freak and I Want Your Love, although Happy Man features some fantastic bass playing and sounds like a precursor to the Nile Rodgers penned We Are Family.
I like Runnin', but nothing on this album matched that for me. I almost deducted a star for a debut album having II in the title.
A 78 minute album called Stripped is ironic. That being said, there's no denying that there are some bangers on this album. She can really belt it out, but I prefer a 'less is more' approach to that kind of singing.
I wanted to like this more because I adore Everyday People and other Sly songs, but ultimately Stand! and I Want to Take You Higher are the only other tracks on this album I'll revisit.
Feels odd not giving this 5 stars given its legendary status but there aren't that many classic songs on the album. Still, it's a remarkable work and God Only Knows is as close to pop perfection as it gets.
I didn't expect the Black Sabbath references, although I'm not sure the Iron Man cover was an interesting take. I enjoyed the first half of the album and hadn't heard Step On Me before despite its millions of plays on Spotify.
Four great songs is enough to get four stars in my book.
It gets an extra star because I like One to Another. Everything else was bland.
I've been a huge Billy Joel fan but this album is packed with hits. It was interesting to read that he was at risk of being dropped by his label if this album hadn't been a success.
I love Bowie but agree with those who feel this was over praised due to his death.
I don't think this is my genre of music.
Enjoyed the opening track, but wasn't captivated by anything else, including the Van Morrison cover.
An impressive recording technically (Waters' voice sounds great and the band are tight), but the songs didn't really do anything for me.
The question going into Stankonia was were any of the other tracks going to be up there with 'So Fresh, So Clean', Ms Jackson, and Bombs over Baghdad? Unfortunately the answer for me was no, which leaves this album a bit of a bloated mess at over 70 minutes.
I've never heard of Marty Robbins was surprised to see that a couple of the tracks on this album had over a hundred million streams on Spotify. I enjoyed this more than expected; lots of good story telling.
I wanted to like this more but the slower stuff didn’t really speak to me. Beautiful guitar playing, as expected, but not sure I’ll be revisiting any of the songs I didn’t know already.
I quite enjoyed the outro to A Very Cellular Song, but that was about it. I can appreciate they were influential and innovative, but that doesn't make an album enjoyable to listen to.
It's not quite five stars for me, because there are plenty of tracks that I *like*, but none that I *love*. I hadn't listened to this in years and it was fun rediscovering some of the lesser known tracks.
A very strong half, but the more experimental second half didn't work for me. 'Jig Of Life' felt particularly jarring.
I was not familiar with Lucinda Williams and, like other reviewers, I was amazed to learn how critically acclaimed this album was. What on earth was going on in 1998? The music is perfectly pleasant but completely unremarkable.
This was very uninspiring. Overly long and dull. I liked the brass riff of 'Sock it 2 Me' and that was about it.
A little indulgent at times, as expected, but at only 5 tracks it's a welcome tonic to some of the overly long albums in this list.
This was disappointing as I like their later stuff. The opening track has a bit about it, but little else caught my attention.
I really wish I liked this. People rave about her lyrics, but I found her voice grating and it wasn’t easy to make out the words. Her melodies are often similar and there’s a lack of dynamic range. Sorry, Andy. Quaid army.
This was probably impressive and remarkable in 1998, but is rather uninspiring today when anyone can do this. It was at least interesting to find out that Holmes has scored lots of Soderbergh films, and you can definitely hear similarities to the music from the Oceans movies in some tracks.
Close to one star but I found some enjoyment in 'Blues Music' after a couple of listens.
'Without You' to 'Coconut' has got to be one of the most jarring song transitions in popular music. How sad that both songwriters of 'Without You' ended up killing themselves. Fuck Stan Polley.
An interesting listen as I was only familiar with Goldfrapp's big hits. The album sounds more like a film soundtrack than a pop record, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but not much clicked with me.
I already like the Kinks but only knew Days and Picture Book (because Green Day plagiarised it) from this album, so this was a treat. I enjoyed the baroque pop sensibility and nostalgic lyrics.
It's odd that an album of only 9 tracks totalling 40 minutes can feel ill disciplined, but I found most of the tracks overly repetitive. Even Rock Lobster overstays its welcome. In general the vocals are unpleasant and the instrumental work feels pedestrian.
There's no denying the monster hits on this album, although the quality drops off considerably in a lacklustre second half. The more I listen and read, the more Kiedis feels like the weak link; Flea, Frusciante and Smith are excellent musicians.
Surprisingly dull, and what on earth was that song about cars?
Not really my thing. I prefer the less jazzy Steely Dan stuff although I appreciated the production values.
A bit disappointing to be honest. The stand out track is You Haven't Done Nothin', but the heavy clavinet usage makes it feel like Superstition-lite. This list is a constant reminder that even the greats produced plenty of mediocre stuff.
This album really didn't need to be 23 tracks long; Thundercat may be a great bassist but I'm not sure he's a great song writer. His falsetto voice doesn't seem to have much range which means a lot of the tracks sound very similar.
More albums should be 9 tracks and 35 minutes in length. This feels solid rather than spectacular, but it inspired James Hetfield, amongst others, so I'm thankful for that.
Muse were an important band for early teenage me so it was nice to get an album I knew well. That being said, I would have chosen any of the three previous studio albums over this as the Muse representative on this list. The poppier stuff on Black Holes (Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole) doesn't work for me but I enjoy the more electronic Take a Bow and Map of the Problematique. Knights Of Cydonia remains the stand out track; bombastic and silly but great fun.
Sorry, Duke, but I just don't like jazz. Sounded like the crowd was having a great time, which was nice.
